Obi-Wan lay in his bed, ridiculously calm and composed on the outside compared to how he felt on the inside. This was true love—the little things, like not being able to sleep, or still feeling her head against your shoulder long after the fact, not the dramatic declarations of undying passion. Those were secondary to the everyday things that made love really matter.
"I love you, Padmé," he whispered into the air, as he'd done so many nights before. Tonight, her proposal of marriage was keeping him from slumber. He had ached to tell her yes; his heart had been screaming the word to him. But as a Jedi—and, more importantly, the man who loved her—he had to say no. If only, if only…
Once Jedi had been allowed to fall in love, marry, and have children almost as they pleased. Nomi Sunrider, one of the great masters of Battle Meditation, had been married to a Jedi and only trained because of her husband. Their union had created another great Jedi, Vima Sunrider. Of course, Nomi had also loved Ulic Qel-Droma, and that had not ended well. Ulic had turned to the dark side, betraying his brother, Cay, and Nomi alike.
Obi-Wan could see why the council was so wary, and yet, he also couldn't. Did the possibility of an Ulic outweigh the creation of many Vimas? After all, Vima had been a vital part of Ulic's eventual redemption.
But it was not his place to question the council. He must follow the code and continue in his duties as a Jedi, and as Padmé's love.
He did eventually sleep that night, although meditation would be required later that day in order to make up for the time spent thinking of Padmé rather than sleeping. He dressed, ate, and made his way to the Queen's throne room for another dull day of listening to officials. But he had nothing better to do with his time, and it made them both happier and the days more bearable to be near each other. It she had to suffer through this, he would too.
It was ten minutes before the proceedings began and, as usual, she had not entered yet. She had still not entered by two minutes until, and that was her usual time, but Obi-Wan was not worried. He was surprised, however, when, at the appointed start time, not Padmé but Sio Bibble emerged and beckoned him behind the scenes.
"The Queen has not arrived. There is also no word from Sabé, and she was sent to Amidala's quarters this morning, as usual."
"Sir, I'm sure Pa—Amidala is all right."
"Now, Jedi, listen to me. I know of your love affair; the whole palace knows."
Obi-Wan's heart felt like it would burst from his chest and his entire body got hot with nervousness. "Love affair? I don't know—"
"Well, only myself and the lower workers. Do not worry; it is our job to keep these things from the public. Although, I can't say I approve," he said in a voice lightly laced with contempt. "Right now, my concern is for the safety of the Queen."
"Sir, if it will put your mind at ease," he said with slight scorn, not liking Bibble's tone. Obi-Wan closed his eyes and searched…for that one Force presence…
He found it and his eyes shot open.
"Padmé!"
-
"Please tell us exactly what you have sensed," Panaka requested again, this time with several guards standing around him.
"But I've told you three times already!" Obi-Wan was almost ready to throttle the man. Instead he took a deep breath. Patience.
"She's not in any immediate danger," he began. "She may be unconscious, but I think it is merely shock. Around her is an evil presence that somehow seems not to wish her harm but is taunting…. With Sabé's permission, I have probed her mind and she knows nothing of her attacker and was very confused about the whole ordeal. I agree with your conclusion that she was drugged from behind."
"Thank you, Jedi Kenobi." Panaka turned and uttered a few words to the guards, who then turned and marched off.
"What is your plan, Captain?" The man looked at him like he'd grown an extra head.
"I'm sorry, but that's classified information."
"What are you talking about? I'm here to help!" Once again he had to squash the desire to hurt someone.
"The Royal Guard is handling this, Knight. This is the way things work."
"But I'm the Queen's protector! You know I can help. Why don't you trust me?" What was wrong with him? They'd fought alongside a mere month and a half ago! "Captain, you must let me be a part of the rescue."
"We will contact you if your abilities are required again." He stared icily. Obi-Wan simmered with anger as he glared back, then strode out of the room.
He went straight down to the garage, snuck past the guard, and 'borrowed' a speeder.
-
He was on fire.
His entire body burned and he knew what he was doing was rash but if he didn't get water he might do something even more rash and he was ready and oh so wiling to do anything and everything in his power that he had to and Force that scared him so much he might just go insane and surely if he didn't go insane his head would then implode from everything pushing and squishing in in in.
All he wanted was for her to be absolutely and completely safe and in his arms. He hoped he would not encounter any of her captors, because he was afraid he would not be able to handle what he might do to them.
Obi-Wan pushed the pedal on his speeder even harder, knowing he couldn't possibly squeeze even more out of its engines. He was so, so worried. She still wasn't hurt, but he could tell she was out of her semi-conscious state now and would be scared.
His mind was focused towards his one goal of saving her, but there were still a million different things running around in his head. Could he stop himself from completely destroying everything that came between him and his goal? So far he had been able to resist choking Panaka, but if he was faced with those who had taken her, would he have even less control over his emotions? Was he turning? It was an awful thought, but if he was honest with himself, he knew this was a definite path to the dark side if something didn't seriously change for him. He wished more than ever that Qui-Gon were still here to guide him in matters so grave. This was his first time without his master that he was attempting something that could seriously throw him off the track of a Jedi. He needed his master.
He pushed the pedal harder.
Sorry it's been so long! I'm not going to make excuses, because they're useless. Things should move a little quicker from now on, seeing as I recently finished up one of my other multi-chapter fics and I watched Moulin Rouge again. :) But then again, maybe not, since I have a new obsession: Battlestar Galactica. (Sigh) So much to write, so little time. Anyway, we're still not at Obi-fighting-action, but we're getting closer! This was a very Obi-centric chapter, but most of the chapters thus far have been Padmé-centric, and this is his story too! Oh, and the thing about Nomi Sunrider is NOT mine. It's from a set of comics about Jedi Knights from 4,000 years before ANH. Tales of the Jedi, I higly recommend them.