The Jedi and the Duchess
Chapter 4
Hello there! This story will include both canon plots (actual events from the Clone Wars/Star Wars) and stories I have come up with myself. May the force be with you.
Disclaimer: These characters are the creations of George Lucas, Lucasfilm, and Disney. I do NOT own them!
The two Jedi and the young duchess landed on a nearby moon the night of their escape from Mandalore to get some rest, and Satine had been unconscious since the attack on her home. It seemed that the sleeping spray Obi-Wan used to remove her from the burning palace was incredibly strong.
"Are you still awake?" Qui-Gon asked his Padawan who was resting on a chair by the duchess.
"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan yawned. He had stayed up all night watching Satine sleep. He felt so guilty for removing her from her planet against her will and wanted to apologize as soon as she woke up.
"I'm going to look for a safe place to build a shelter. Stay here with Duchess Satine. She'll need someone to explain what is going on when she wakes."
"Of course," Obi-Wan acknowledged and returned his attention to the girl. To his surprise, she began stirring as soon as Qui-Gon left the ship. She groaned and slowly sat upright.
"Where am I? Are my people safe?" Satine whispered, rubbing her eyes.
"You're fine. I'm not sure about your people, but Prime Minister Almec should have everything under control." Satine nodded and scanned him up and down. He looked as if he hadn't slept in days. His eyes were clouded with worry and remorse.
"I forgive you, Obi-Wan," she reassured, knowing his distress about their last encounter. "I understand that leaving Mandalore was the best thing I could do for my supporters. They need me alive, not dead. I didn't realize that during the attack, and I apologize for being so difficult when you were just trying to do your job."
"Satine, I—" he began but was interrupted by Satine's crushing embrace. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder. Obi-Wan had no idea what to do now. His whole body was in shock. Knowing he had to react fast, he slowly placed one arm around her waist and the other around her shoulders. Suddenly, he heard a small whimper coming from her. The sound broke him and he began stroking her beautiful platinum hair. "It'll all be alright, Satine. Don't cry," he reassured. He felt her shudder and held her tighter.
"What if I can't negotiate with the Death Watch and go back home to my people?" she cried into his chest. Obi-Wan had no idea how to help her. He knew that the Death Watch were terrorists from the moon Concordia who opposed Satine's pacifist views, but he had never studied their negotiation tactics before. Besides, he was certainly no politician and couldn't give her much diplomatic advice. All he could do was make her feel safe and happy.
"My instincts tell me that getting you off of Mandalore was necessary. The Force often creates an unexpected path for people that turns out for the better," he stated. This information seemed to calm Satine down since she pulled away from him and dried her eyes.
"I suppose so," she lightly smiled. Obi-Wan grinned back shyly. "Thank you for putting up with me. I'm not usually so emotional." She smoothed her dress and straightened her back.
"It's alright. You should appreciate the fact that you are allowed to feel such emotions," he said more to himself than her.
"What do you mean?" she asked curiously. She didn't know much about the Jedi way of life.
"Jedi aren't allowed to feel strong emotions because they lead one to make biased choices," he replied. He didn't want to go into detail since he was still trying to process his own feelings for Satine.
"That's a little crazy don't you think?" she laughed.
"A bit," he answered, "but it's necessary."
"So you aren't allowed to fall in love?" Satine pried. She had no idea what prompted her to ask such an upfront question, but she seemed to have a bad habit of not being able to hold her tongue around him.
"It's not an explicit rule, but love is a terribly complex emotion, so I doubt any Jedi would be able to feel such a thing," he responded, curious to see as to where she was going with this.
"Oh. Well, that's too bad," she murmured, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She lifted her eyes through her eyelashes to meet his gaze and blushed. Satine had no idea why she felt so jittery and hoped that it wasn't a sign that she was falling for someone unable to love.
"I'm sure Qui-Gon has found a nice place for shelter by now. Shall we assist him?" Obi-Wan asked, desperate to change the subject.
"Of course," Satine nodded and stood up. Once they gathered all of the luggage, they walked towards the door, lowered the exit platform, and stepped out onto the new terrain.
Satine couldn't help but cringe at the mud she stepped in as she dismounted the ship. She wasn't exactly dressed for such a swampy climate. They seemed to have landed on a lush, moist moon swarming with insects.
"It's about time!" Qui-Gon exclaimed as he jogged over to them. "I was about to come and get you myself. It's good to see you awake, duchess."
"Thank you," Satine replied with a small bow.
"I believe your handmaidens packed travel clothes for you before we left. You should change into more suitable clothes given the environment." Qui-Gon waved his hand at her bag right next to Obi-Wan.
"Good idea." Satine grabbed the luggage off the floor and disappeared into the shrubbery.
"As for you, my young Padawan," Qui-Gon added, "we need to start building some sort of livable space."
"We can use that tree as a base. It looks very sturdy," Obi-Wan suggested. Qui-Gon nodded in approval, and with that, the two Jedi began building their temporary home.
After a few minutes, Satine returned to the camp where she saw her Jedi protectors busy at work. They had built much of the shelter already since they used the force to speed up the process. "It's coming along nicely," she praised.
"Thank you, duchess," Obi-Wan answered, wiping his hands on his robe.
"I think we'll stop for today. We ran out of twigs to use for the walls, and it's too dark to look for more," Qui-Gon suggested. "Both of you should get some rest, I'll scan the perimeter for any unwanted visitors," he instructed.
He and Satine walked towards a curtain that served as the yet-to-be-made door. Obi-Wan pulled back the fabric so that the duchess could enter. The shelter was only halfway built, and there wasn't much space in it. Three lousy blankets laid on the floor for all of them. "You should take the blanket on the far side. It's closest to the fire and farthest from the door," he offered.
"Sure." Satine carefully stepped over the other two blankets and sat down on hers. Obi-Wan claimed the blanket in the middle. "I don't think I've ever been in a room this small with this many people," the duchess thought out loud. Obi-Wan chuckled. "Oh sorry! I just now realize how vain that sounds," she quickly corrected.
"It's okay. To be honest, I don't think I've ever been in a situation quite like this before either," he added, but not referring to the size of the room, for he had been on several missions that forced him to hide in much smaller spaces. He was referring to never having been in a situation that required him to sleep right next to a girl. He hated himself for thinking such a thing, but for some reason, he couldn't help it. The thought of being so close to her clouded his judgment. Maybe he should move to the blanket near the door before his mind wandered elsewhere.
"Hello? Earth to Obi-Wan," Satine waved her hand in front of his face.
"Sorry," he mumbled, shaking off the last of his thoughts. It seemed that Satine had gotten comfortable. She was underneath her blanket and propped up by her elbows, looking strangely at him.
"Your mind is always on another planet," she joked. "Is something bothering you?" she asked in a more serious tone.
"It's nothing," Obi-Wan lied. In fact, it was the complete opposite of nothing. However, he didn't think telling her about his strange feelings for her would be wise, so he lifted his blanket and got under it as well. "We should probably get some sleep."
"Well then, goodnight, Obi-Wan." She turned on her side to face him, and he caught one last glimpse of her beautiful blue eyes before she shut them. He knew he should probably do the same, but he was so fixated on how calm she looked. Her hair was spread around her head like a fan, and even in her sleep, she looked regal. Obi-Wan finally tore his eyes off of the sleeping duchess and laid down, but was interrupted by a light tap on his shoulder.
"Are you awake?" Satine whispered. He opened his eyes and turned to face her. She was covering her arms with her hands and was shivering.
"I'm up. Are you cold?" he asked, taking note of the freezing wind from outside. The sun had completely gone down and with it all the warmth.
"Yes. I don't mean to bother you, but maybe we could go out to the fire for a while?" she suggested timidly. Satine really hoped she wasn't disturbing him.
"We shouldn't. Qui-Gon is already out there, and all of us outside could attract the attention of possible predators." Obi-Wan shook his head and tried to think of a solution. Maybe he could— NO! He couldn't. Getting close to her, even strictly for warming purposes, was a dangerous idea. He looked over at Satine who was clearly fighting the urge to chatter her teeth, and he knew what he had to do. "Come here," he instructed. She obeyed and got closer to him. He wrapped one arm around her and used the other to lift both blankets on top of them. "Studies show that when two people are—"
"Shhh," Satine hushed. "Go to sleep." She placed her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him. He smelled like pine trees. Satine quietly scolded herself for noticing and willed herself to sleep before she began focusing on how strong he was. Despite the effort on both their parts, sleep didn't find them easily as they both spent hours trying to understand why they were reacting to each other in this way. But when they finally felt themselves drift off, all their anxiety slipped away, and until daylight shone again, it was just the two of them in each other's arms.
Author's Notes
Hey guys! I apologize for taking so long to update this chapter. My schedule was severely altered by COVID-19, and I barely had any time to write. I hope you are all staying healthy and safe in these trying times. Wash your hands!