The Jedi and the Duchess

Chapter 5 pt. 1

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.

Disclaimer: These characters are the creations of George Lucas, Lucasfilm, and Disney. I do NOT own them!

There was something different about this morning than any other Obi-Wan Kenobi had ever woken up to. Maybe it was the fact that he was sleeping in a half-built shelter that felt strange? Or perhaps it was because he was on a foreign moon surrounded by swamps? Soon enough, the slight movement of a petite figure in his arms answered the question. He had almost forgotten the events of the previous night and how he had fallen asleep with the young duchess of Mandalore who was now slowly awakening.

"Oh, um… good morning, duchess," Obi-Wan sputtered. He didn't know what he should do now that Satine was waking up. He didn't want to let her go, but he knew he had to. She slowly turned to face him and sat up.

"Good morning," she yawned. "Did Qui-Gon ever get a chance to rest?"

"I haven't seen him. He probably stayed outside all night watching over the camp and familiarizing himself with our surroundings." At least that's what Obi-Wan thought his Master was doing. Qui-Gon had said he would enter the shelter after only a few hours of patrol. He was most likely outside sleeping.

"Let's go check on him," Satine suggested.

"Good idea," the young Padawan agreed.

As they stepped outside, they both cringed at the immense wave of heat that swept over them. The sun was blazing over the camp. All the cold air from the previous night had vanished. "If Qui-Gon has been out here all morning, he's insane. It's sweltering out here." Obi-Wan was never one to complain, but he was honestly shocked that his Master hadn't entered the shelter as the boiling sun began to rise.

"Maybe that's because he's not here," Satine responded. She had scanned the entire area and there was no sign of the Master Jedi anywhere. "He doesn't seem like the type of person to leave without letting us know," she continued.

"Well, then where could he have gone? It's not like we're on an intriguing moon, planet, or wherever we are." He really didn't think his master had gone off exploring when all of their surroundings were so unappealing.

"I've been thinking about it since last night. You said that we landed on a small moon near my home planet, so given my studies of terrestrial bodies around Mandalore, we are most likely on Draboon."

"We now have a name for this rock, but what does that have to do with Qui-Gon?" Obi-Wan asked. He knew the duchess knew more about her system's geography than he did, but he struggled to see where she was going with this lead.

"Draboon is home to several creatures such as the venom-mites. Maybe your Master ran into a swarm of them and tried to fight them off?" she suggested.

"Qui-Gon is a Jedi. We are not easily fooled," he defended. He didn't think his Master was foolish enough to chase anything into the forest and abandon the group.

"Do you have a better idea?" Satine asked with a glint of playfulness in her eyes.

"No but—"

"Then follow me. Unless you want me going into the dark, dangerous, scary, possibly deadly—"

"Okay okay, I get it. You win! Let's go," he laughed. She smiled and grabbed his arm, pulling him to her side.

"I hope you have a good sense of direction," she muttered.

"Now look who's backing down," he teased. She lightly punched him on the shoulder, and he pretended to be hurt by the impact. He wished that they could continue having fun with each other, but the approaching forest seemed to suck away all joyfulness from the air. Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber, which earned him an awestruck look from Satine, and used it to illuminate their surroundings as the darkness of the forest engulfed them.

Author's Note

Hello all! I know this "half-chapter" was SUPER short. I really had no logical reason to divide this chapter into two parts and to be honest, I did it mainly because I just didn't write all week. However, I hope you at least liked something about this 30-minute piece. I will post the next half later this week. I promise part two will deliver!