"Master," Obi-wan finally spoke after a few minutes of silence. "What was the real reason you left me behind in the ship?" he asked, a hurt edge to his tone.
"I told you, it was to make sure that the Queen was safe," Qui Gon replied, not daring to look at the younger Force-user. Obi-wan only sighed and continued walking, through his shoulders were slumped forward angrily until the moment that they got to town. He straightened up, his back going completely rigid as he looked around for something. "What is wrong?" Qui gon questioned, his brow furrowing in worry for his young padawan.
"Can you feel that?" he asked, his own brows furrowing together with confusion and worry. "There's a pulling feeling like I'm being drawn to someone or something," he said distractedly.
"Follow it," Qui gon urged, recognizing the feeling that was being described to him as he had felt it once before. Obi-wan turned around and looked at him with wide eyes. He only headed forward after the older Jedi had given him another nod of approval, signifying that it was really all right. They walked hurriedly, but not quick enough to arouse the suspicion of the nearby market patrons.
They were almost instantly at the same stall that they had been at before, the young boy still sat just barely out of the summer heat. He had a couple pieces of metal and rock that he could have easily found lying around on the ground. Qui Gon nodded slightly, humming as he thought. Obi-wan walked over to his master, falling into step with him as they walked away from the stall quietly. "What does this mean, Mater?"
"I'm not sure, but I need to make a call for a moment," he said, passively walking away from his padawan into the open space meant for transmitting calls. Obi-wan followed close behind, standing just out of the reach of the station as he watched his master type in the coordinance.
"Qui Gon?" Mace questioned, the passive look on his face turning softer when he saw the Jedi in front of him.
"I have found a student for the Jedi Academy, he is much older than we normally train but his ability to control the Force is so strong that both Obi-wan and I were drawn to him," the Jedi rambled, his heart beating rapidly in his chest.
"If you can bring him to the council we'll see if we can train him. He may very well be the Chosen One if what you tell me is true," the older Jedi sighed, quickly ending the transmission.
Obi-wan sighed as they began to walk again, this time in the direction of one of the currency exchange stations. He took in a large breath as he looked over at his master with the corner of his eyes, "I feel like there is something you're not telling me."
"Faith in me will help you graduate sooner, young one," Qui gon snapped.
"Is that all you want? Is to get rid of me?" Obi-wan sassed back, turning so that he was looking dead on at the older Jedi.
"Of course not, Obi," he said, using the familiar pet name to defuse the situation.
The young padawan took a deep breath to calm himself as he folded his arms in front of his chest, a trait that he had picked up from his master. "I apologize for the way that I had been acting, Master. Finding the young boy through the Force shook me," Obi-wan said curtly.
"I understand, young one. Now, can we continue on the mission?" Qui gon asked, his heart aching as he wanted nothing more than embracing the younger Jedi.
"Yes," he whispered, following after his Master as they made it the rest of the way to the currency exchange station. They quickly transmitted some of the credits that they had in the mission fund into the local currency. "Is a hyperdrive really that expensive?" Obi-wan asked, looking down at the numbers that flashed on the stick.
"You'll see," Qui-gon murmured as they walked back to the parts stall. Obi-wan felt restless as they walked slowly, he bounced and shifted uncomfortably underneath the hot sun. When they reached the stall, Qui gon spoke first, stepping in front of his Padawan.
"You again?" the child asked, still staring down at the bits of metal he had been toying with earlier. "Are you gonna buy something this time?" he asked, turning to look at the two Jedi.
"We plan too, yes," Obi-wan said, giving the young boy a pleasant smile. The child only nodded and stood to go and get his master. They repeated what Qui gon and Padme had done before as they looked over the hyperdrive.
"Sir, I have a large sum of money that I willing to give you for the boy slave you have," Qui Gon said, pumping as much power into the words as he could.
His heart fluttered with happiness as the alien creature seemed to fall for the force trick. "Alright. It's not like he does me a lot of good anyway," he croaked out, his voice heavy with an accent. "Boy, get over here. These are your new masters," the alien said, shoving the young slave towards the two Jedi.
"Obi-wan, please take the child back to the ship," Qui Gon said dismissively. The young padawan nodded and looked to the boy who had run up between the other two force users.
"Please come with me," the padawan asked, turning on his heel as he began to walk down the busy streets. They moved silently as they darted around crowds of people they were pooling out of stalls and shops. The younger child stumbled over his own feet as he tried to keep up with the long legs of the other. After noticing this, Obi-wan slowed, falling in step next to the boy. He stuffed both of hands in his sleeves as they walked, which, only after doing it for a few moments, was something that his master did.. His padawan stepped forward for a moment as he gestured for the child to follow after him. As soon as he had the child next to him, he turned on his heel and began to walk away. They wove through the small groups of people that poured out of shops and grouped around street vendor stalls. Obi-wan tucked his hands into his sleeves, covering up the skin on his arms. Only after he did this was that he realized that he was mimicking something that his master did often. He unfolded his arms and dropped them down to his sides, his cheeks lighting up in a faint blush.
After they had reached the outskirts of the city, the facade that the young Jedi had put up dropped instantly. "What's your name?" he asked the boy who had continued to walk next to him throughout the entire city.
"Anakin Skywalker," the young boy said confidently, puffing out his chest. "I'll make sure to be useful for you, Master."
"Don't call me that," Obi-wan said, panic seeping into his voice. "I'm not your Master. We have bought you to set you free, in a way."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Anakin quickly apologized. "Then what do you want me to call you?"
"Obi-wan is fine," the young padawan responded quickly, though his tone was far more pleasant than it had been moments ago.
Back in the ship, things were more than tense. Padme sat next to the other handmaids, her fingers threaded tightly together as her hands hung between her spread legs. The baggy pants and tight shirt felt odd compared to the clothes that she was used to wearing, making her feel uncomfortable as she fidgeted and moved.
"Sabe, would you come to talk with me for a moment?" she asked, gesturing to the woman who was dressed in the clothing that she was meant to be wearing.
"Yes, of course, my lo- your Highness," she quickly corrected herself as she stood from the throne like seat that she had been perched on. They walked away from the other handmaidens, finding their own private sector. When they were locked away in one of the empty sleeping chambers, the handmaiden spoke. "Are you all right, my love?"
"I am worried, for your safety and the rest of ours. I feel that I am too young and inexperienced to be dealing with things such as these," Padme rushed, her arms wrapping around her lover's waist, bringing them closer together.
"Oh, Panda," Sabe hushed, her painted hands coming up and rubbing her back up and down in a soothing pattern. It was not the first time that they had a conversation along the lines of which they were having now. "You know that you can handle it. I know that the stress gets to you at moments, but I trust that you will pull through like you have every other time. I love you with all of my heart, and if you cannot pull through this for yourself, then pull through it for me."
"I love you more than anything," Padme murmured, burying her head into her lover's neck, despite it being covered in cloth from the extravagant dress that she was wearing. "I'll try. For now, I would like you to hold me."
"I can do that, my love," Sabe hummed, her hands stilling in the small of her lovers back, just resting contentedly. The Queen's hands traveled from her waist to her shoulders, pressing them apart for each other just for a moment before she connected their lips together.
It was nothing more than a peck, as the other woman was wearing too much make up for there to be anything else. They stared at one another for some time, just looking at one another, searching the other's eyes for a sign of anything. They spoke to each other in hushed whispers, just telling the other how much love they held for the other.
Both women jumped when they heard the hanger open, banging on the hard, cracked ground of the desert planet. "We should probably go see what that is," Padme whispered after a moment of eerie silence. Sabe only nodded, clamping her heavily painted lips shut as she followed the Queen out of the chambers.
Padme rushed to the hanger, peering around the corner as she made an attempt to see who was entering. She felt almost all of the tension she had been carrying slip away as she saw the young Jedi and the young boy that she had seen in the town center. "Master Jedi," she said, a smile slipping onto her lips as she stood from around the corner.
"Lady Padme," Obi-wan said, nodding his head curtly in welcome.
"And who is this with you?" she asked, walking slowly down the ramp to meet the man half-way.
"This is Anakin, the newest member of the Padawans," Obi-wan said almost a little too quickly. Padme only nodded in response as she walked with the other teenager further onto the ship.
"I thought he was a Slave to the man who owned the shop," Padme whispered just loud enough for the teenager to hear her.
"He was, my Master bought him because he was too strong in the Force to be led astray by a dark power," Obi-wan whispered back to her, his hand falling into his sleeves once again as he walked. Anakin trailed a little ways behind him, just sort of wandering as he looked at everything around him.
"Let's hope that you can teach him right then," Padme said as she retreated back into the same room that the rest of the handmaidens were residing in.
Obi-wan looked back at the child, motioning for him to follow closer, "We're going to get you cleaned up as best as we can."