Love Across the Stars

Chapter 5

Draboon (Part II)

Scene

He was running, his body propelled forward by fear. No, fear wasn't the word. The word he was looking for was… terror. Terror that he'd never speak to her again. Terror that he'd have to look into the eyes of her brother and tell him that his beloved little sister's death was his fault. His fault because he couldn't quell his overwhelming desire to… to take her. Take her as hard and as fast as he could, eliciting shrieks similar to the ones he was hearing from that slender, pale throat. Making her scream his name over and over and over again was a recurring fantasy of his, and he hated it. He couldn't help himself. When he'd told Qui-gon of his agonizing need, his master had simply told him to leave it be, to part ways with her and seek meditation whenever necessary. When he had bowed his head in shame, Qui-gon had told him not to be ashamed, that he had felt the same urges with the Mando'a girl's mother, his best friend's wife. He had even confided in his padawan that there was a miniscule chance that he could be Satine's father, but that Gothel had denied it fervently. He had to admit, he had seen a little bit of his master in the now 16-year-old girl. The calm, calculating manner, the tilt of the head when they were annoyed. So many things reminded him of his master. He wondered if he'd ever be able to make those connections again.

She wasn't scared. At least, not really.

She had never been a fan of bugs, but she had never hated any form of the disgusting, multi-legged creatures as much as she hated the venom-mites. These creatures were reminiscent of common Mandalorian spiders (which she also hated), but their bite was strong enough to kill a grown man in a matter of hours. This worried her, but it didn't worry her nearly as much as the fact that Obi-wan had not come to save her yet. Had they already gotten him? Was he lying in a pool of his own blood and other bodily fluids, dying in the way these creatures' bites made custom? She didn't want him to die, and she certainly didn't want to die herself, so she kept fighting in the way her father had taught her to block blaster bolts. Thanks to her Mandalorian blood, her reaction time was far faster than that of even a Jedi, a natural adaptation to their lightning-fast attacks, forged over hundreds of years. More were coming to her now. She was getting too tired to handle them all at once. Too late, she noticed one flying at her neck, tiny fangs poised to bite…

A glowing blue blade killed the beast with ease, getting so close to her pale throat and the medallion held around it by a silver chain that she thought he may have burned her.

He sliced through the little monsters with ease, killing them instead of just knocking them away and pissing them off, like she had been. She gave herself a brief moment to glance at her protector.

He was glorious, as beautiful as the painters of warriors past would have made him out to be, were he one of them. His handsome face, dripping with sweat (Draboon was hotter than hell this time of year) was covered with little venom-mite parts, which almost covered the determined and frustrated set of his lips, which she suddenly realized she wanted to kiss very badly.

His gaze shifted to her. The little creature's bodies lay scattered in pieces around him, most nearly disintegrated by his 'sabre. His face practically glowed with pride (or was that the aforementioned sweat?), making him look like a conqueror. Obi-wan Kenobi, conqueror of bugs. The very idea brought an amused grin to her face, which must have looked rather silly, considering the moment.

He grinned back. "What is it you find so funny, highness?"

At this moment she didn't even feel the need to chew him out for applying her title. She was about to answer him, but then she heard something, and remembered part of her biology lessons. Something she never should have forgotten.

"Obi-wan, we need to get out of here. Now."

He looked confused. "What? Why? I don't think we're in danger anymore, Satine. The venom-mites are dead."

At that moment, a very large creature, similar to the ones they had just vanquished, appeared in the clearing. This one, however, was much larger, about the size of a speeder (the other ones were no bigger than Satine's fist), and much, much angrier. He (or she) also decided to bring some friends. Satine, nearly shaking with fear, pointed to a spot behind Obi-wan, her eyes wide.

"We may have killed them, but not their mummies and daddies. And they look pretty angry! RUN!"

The duo wasted no time hitting the road. Satine ran faster at first, but then tripped, twisting her ankle and getting her foot tangled in a root. Obi-wan knelt beside her, using his lightsaber to cut apart the fibrous tissue of the plant. He picked her up in his arms, much to the young duchess' dismay.

"Go, Obi-wan! Run! I'll be fine, just go! Carrying me will only slow you down!"

"Satine, it's my duty to protect you. I'll either do it or die trying. Now stop arguing with me and hold on!"

As ridiculous as it was, considering the circumstances, Satine found herself getting a little turned on by the situation. Obviously, it had nothing to do with the bugs. However, it did have everything to do with Obi-wan bossing her around. Not to mention the fact that he was all sweaty. I mean, come on! Who in her right mind could resist a sweaty man? She was a little grossed out by the bug-bits, though…

He had to keep going. Satine's accident had slowed them down, and he could almost feel the bugs' feelers touching his neck. He was using the Force to aid his movements, so he was going faster than the average human being, but these things had WINGS! Not to mention the fact that he was carrying a 120-pound girl in his arms, whose scent of sweat, fear, and something else that he hoped was all in his head was driving him nuts. He looked over his shoulder to see the creatures slowing down. Feeling pleased with himself, he kept running.

And ran right off of a cliff.

Oooh, a cliffy! Literally… xD I'm back, baby! And badder than ever! Sorry about the six-month delay, I've got hardcore family stuff going down. Not to mention all my pre-college courses. However, I am on break, so I'll try to update Dark Secrets soon, okay? Love you guys!

*Nykki*