Obi-Wan spent the next four days in the bacta tank in order to heal the hideous wound the Dark Lord had inflicted upon him.
He missed the celebration held to honour the "Heroes of Naboo", but given the tight schedule of newly-elected Chancellor Palpatine and the members of the Jedi and Sith orders, who had come on planet to examine the remains of the Dark Lord, it had been impossible to postpone it.
Padmé spent many hours in the hospital while Obi-Wan was there, and she was sitting by his bedside when, five days after she had first seen him lying pale and cold in the melting pit, he finally regained consciousness.
She watched almost fascinated as he blinked and tried to focus his sight. The he turned his head to her and smiled. A small, lopsided smile that caused butterflies in her belly.
"Handmaiden Padmè," he murmured, his voice low and hoarse. "You are a vision."
The young woman blushed at his open compliment, and wondered if he was still dazzled by spending so much time in the bacta.
"And you are even more beautiful when you blush…" Obi-Wan continued, showing he was everything but confused.
There was something playful in his tone, something Padmé would have never expected in a man who had been unconscious for so long and that made her smile.
"I think you are still suffering the after effects of four days spent in a bacta tank, Knight Kenobi."
"Four days? I have never been soaked for so long. That Dark Lord must have really done a good job. And it's Obi-Wan, Padmé. I am not on duty now," he gestured to the bed and winked at her.
Padmé grinned at him. She had never expected him to be so easy going and flirtatious. He had looked so serious and sombre during the crisis, but perhaps he was only so while on duty.
"You certainly are not, nor will you be for a while. The Sith Council has granted you a sick leave and the Queen would be very happy if you choose to spend it here, as her guest."
Padmé did not know why she did not use that moment to tell Obi-Wan the truth, that she was Queen Amidala. Probably it was because she was enjoying the way he was behaving with her.
He was open, teasing, charming, completely different from the courteous but ultimately distant man he had been while dealing with Sabe. She did not want him to treat her like a queen; she wanted him to treat her like a woman, nothing more, nothing less.
Thus she said nothing when Obi-Wan asked her to thank the queen in his behalf and to tell her that, yes, he would accept her gracious offer and spend his leave on Naboo.
Then Obi-Wan took her hand in his warm, larger one, and looked up at Padmé, his eyes now serious and intent.
"I hope to see you again, Padmé. I would love to spend some more time in your company."
His gaze held her captive and she nodded, before bending her head to kiss his stubble-covered cheek. Obi-Wan's other arm raised, perhaps to pull her closer, perhaps to caress her face, but whatever gesture he had planned to do was interrupted when the door slid open and the doctor in charge entered the room, wanting to check the patient.
center b § /b /center
i Obi-Wan watched Padmé go and then concentrated on the doctor and the questions he was being asked. Was he in pain? Dizzy? Confused?
Obi-Wan could honestly respond "no" to all of them, especially to the last one. In fact, he had never felt more certain of something in his whole life.
Padmé, that beautiful brown-haired and brown-eyed young woman was the one. The Force had indicated her to him from the first moment he had met her, but only now did he understand what it meant.
He had found the woman he was destined to spend his life with, and he could barely contain his excitement.
Obi-Wan had always known that somewhere there was a woman waiting for him. He had known it since he was barely a child, and he held on to his conviction even when the years passed and he remained the only unmarried Sith knight in his age group.
He had held on to his conviction even when his former master had bluntly told him sometimes the Force needed a push to set the events in motion, and that he had to be more assertive around the ladies if he wanted to conquer one. Obi-Wan had nodded, thanked his master for his advice and went on his way, so sure he had been he was right.
Now, finally, he had found her and her mere presence had made him behave in a way he had seldom, if ever, done. He had been charming, bold, flirtatious and managed to do it without feeling like an idiot as had happened in the past.
Padmé was really the one, although she was not exactly the woman he had pictured in his dreams.
She was so young! So petite! Her liquid brown eyes so trusting and gentle they made him want to take her in his arms and shield her against all the bad things in the universe.
She was probably new to matters of the heart – not that he was an expert, far from it! – and he would have to be careful not to move too soon and scare her.
'I can hardly go to Padmé and tell her the Force has indicated to me that we will be together for the rest of our lives! She would repute me mad.' Obi-Wan thought, shaking his head. Then he smiled, as he remembered what she had said. He was on medical leave, and he was going to use it to come to know Padmé better, and tell her everything about himself. And then, when the time to return to Coruscant arrived, he would no longer be alone. /i
§
Obi-Wan recovered quickly and was soon discharged by the hospital, although he was instructed to take it easy for a few days.
Padmé was there when he was released and personally accompanied him to the room he had been assigned in the guest wing of the Palace.
She had made clear with her servants, aides and handmaidens that they should never call her 'queen' or 'your highness' when she was with the Sith, and that she wanted to stay alone in his company.
Captain Panaka, Governor Bibble and her handmaidens were not exactly happy with it, but Padmé held her ground. She was not forgetting her duty—far from it. She was working up to fourteen hours per day and no one could criticize her if she decided to spend her little free time near a charming, handsome young man.
Padmé was aware that her entourage was worried she might fall in love with Obi-Wan and were trying to avoid how she may suffer because of it, but, by the time they made their intention known, it was already too late.
She had already fallen in love, probably she had been from the moment Obi-Wan had opened his eyes at the hospital and looked at her.
Padmé was in love for the first time and she thought that, if she was considered adult and mature enough to rule a planet, then she was old and responsible enough to spend time alone with a man. A man that despite being bold and teasing and ready to laugh was also very honourable and proper.
They passed most of their time together walking in the Palace's extensive gardens, talking about themselves and it was during one of this conversations that Padmé finally learned more about the Sith Order and Obi-Wan's life as a trainee.
It was a warm afternoon and Padmé had managed to complete the day work before time. Thus she had hurried to change into her handmaiden clothes and had joined Obi-Wan near the river that ran across the gardens.
The doctors had advised him to swim in order to regain his stamina and Padmé knew he preferred to do it outdoors than in the indoor pool.
As she approached him, dressed only in her bath suit and a short creamy bathrobe, her heart fluttered at the surprised and appreciative way Obi-Wan gazed at her.
"The queen has given us a free afternoon," she said as an explanation as she sat on the grass by his side.
Obi-Wan nodded and they shared a smile, then watched in silence for a while as a flock of Nubian seagulls landed on the water to hunt and rest, until she noticed how he was fingering his shoulder-long braid.
Padmé pointed at it and commented, "You never told me what it means."
Obi-Wan turned to stare at her with a surprised look, as if he had realized only then he had been toying with his braid. "This?"
"Yes."
"The plait is the symbol of my knighthood, and these," he fingered the yellow tiny beads inserted in the hair, "represents the missions I have successfully accomplished since I obtained this rank, five years ago."
Padmè stretched her neck to give a closer look at the braid. "There is quite a lot of them."
"Yes," he said, smiling proudly.
"I have seen Master Jinn gave Anakin a hair cut very similar to yours, braid included, before they left, but somehow I doubt it has the same meaning."
Obi-Wan smiled. "You are right. The braid has the opposite meaning for the Jedi. For them it is the symbol of their apprenticeship, and they cut it away when they obtain their knighthood. It is one of the differences between the two orders."
"Interesting. Can you tell me more? I confess that while I am a bit familiar with the Jedi, I had never seen a Sith before I met you."
The young man let out a laugh, a low rumbling sound that made Padmé shiver. "I am not surprised, dear lady. We are much less numerous than the Jedi and since we often go on undercover missions, we try to keep our faces unknown."
Padmé nodded, "This sounds very wise. I read somewhere the Sith and the Jedi were enemies long ago. Is that true?"
"Yes; but it is no longer so. Now we are allies and we often go on joint missions with the Jedi, as it happened with the crisis involving your planet. You see, the Sith Order was created about a thousand years ago, when a group of rebellious Jedi knights left the Temple in disagreement with the Council and the Code. They believed emotions to be important and refused to release them into the Force as the Jedi precepts dictated. A bloody war followed the rift, but it ended with no victors, too many deaths on both sides and a still-standing peace treaty. Since then the two orders have co-existed, first as rivals then as allies, because we both serve the Republic, albeit in different ways."
"How so?" Padmé asked, her curiosity stirred.
"Where the Jedi are mostly diplomats and negotiators, the Sith operate in situations where the diplomacy has failed. The Jedi work to prevent and avoid wars; we Sith work to end wars. The Jedi negotiate the release of hostages; we Sith rescue the hostage when the deals fail. The Jedi are guardians of peace; we Sith are warriors, even if we don't like war. The Jedi release their emotions into the Force; we Sith hold on them. We consider them important, but we never allow them to rule or control us."
"So the Sith can love? I know the Jedi are forbidden to," Padmé inquired, trying not to betray her personal interest in his answer.
"Yes, we can love, but the Code states our personal life will always come second to our duty to the Republic."
"And what about marriage?" Padmé asked, holding her breath.
Obi-Wan gave her a sharp look before answering, "We can wed, but marriage is not a simple matter for us. Since divorce is not allowed, the pair must be absolutely certain of the step they are going to take. You see, we are led by the Force to the right mate for us, but we understand from the start that having found our other half doesn't mean the other person will feel the same. That's why we are taught to be very careful before committing our heart. A Sith loves for life and it is important his or her partner knows and reciprocate the feeling—something that sometimes is impossible. We are not common people, we are servants of the Force, and it is not easy for normal people to understand that."
Obi-Wan kept his eyes fixed on Padmé during the entire speech, and she felt the need to lower her head when he finished, so overwhelmed she had been by the intensity of his gaze.
"I understand," she murmured, as a voice inside her wondered. 'Is he thinking of me as a potential wife?' Her heart surged at the idea. What would it be like to be loved by a man like Obi-Wan? By that enchanting mix of youthful exuberance and older wisdom, of harshness and gentleness, of… her musings were interrupted when a rustle of fabric alerted her Obi-Wan was undressing, shedding his blue bathrobe to take a swim.
Padmé raised her head and looked at him, being careful not to stare at his lightly haired, muscular chest.
True, she had already seen him down to his shorts as he floated in the bacta tank, but it was a completely different thing to look at him now he was conscious, well, and no longer so pale.
Padmé licked her suddenly dry lips as Obi-Wan stood up and smiled down at her.
"Are you going to join me in the water or do you plan to be the lazy one and sunbathe like a lizard?"
"That wasn't a very nice thing to say to a lady, Knight Kenobi," she commented, softening her words with a smile. "I think I will take a swim, only not now. Go on, I will join you in a while."
"All right."
Padmè watched as Obi-Wan turned toward the water and a strangled gasp escaped her lips when she saw his back. He heard the noise and turned quickly around.
"Is there something wrong? Padmé, are you all right?"
"Your back," she managed to say. "It is all…scarred…"
There was not just the angry red mark left by the recent lightsabre wound; his upper back and shoulders where marred by many, criss-crossing white scars.
Obi-Wan pursed his lips and nodded. "I know."
Padmé rose to her feet and approached him, hovering with her hand over the skin of his back. The desire to touch him was so overwhelming her fingers twitched. "What happened to you?"
"I was whipped," was the calm answer.
"You were tortured?" Padmé had the desire to caress him, and soothe away the memory of the pain he had felt when the wound that had caused the scars had been inflicted.
"No, I was not tortured. My master did it, to make sure I would never forget the lesson he taught me that day. He said that the pain would fix the teachings into my mind and that the scars would always be there as a reminder. He forbade the doctor from removing them." Obi-Wan answered with a calm, matter of fact tone.
Padmé could not conceal her horror. "Your master whipped you? How old were you?" She asked in a whisper, dreading the answer.
"I was ten."
"Ten! But this is criminal! That man should have been arrested!"
Obi-Wan stiffened, and his voice was clipped when he answered, "My master was a great man. He taught me well, and made me what I am today. He was harsh, yes, but fair and he did what he thought right for me. Please refrain from criticizing him in my presence."
Speaking so, he turned on his heels and walked to the river, leaving Padmé behind, alone and confused.
