[Obi's POV]
I silently prayed that I could go back to sleep, to let the comfortable darkness grab onto me again. But thanks to my annoying headache, that was impossible. It felt like my head was being beaten over and over again, from the inside.
Though that was not the worst part.
I had no idea who I was.
No memories of the past, of my previous life, of anything. Nothing. Gone.
I opened my eyes, searching for something familiar.
"Obi-Wan?"
I gasped as I turned my head. It was bandaged, I realised. Maybe I was injured? That would explain both the loss of my memory and the sharp pain.
The man on the chair in the other end of the room was tall and dressed in dark clothes; loosely fitting trousers and similar shirt, high boots, a black leather-vest and a broad belt, in which hung a bunch of things. A dark cloak lay draped over his chair.
He rose and walked closer to me, his dark grey eyes scanning me.
"How do you feel?" he asked, looking down at me. I honestly felt quite uncomfortable, having him staring at me like that.
"Well, my head aches like hell", I answered honestly. "What did you call me, by the way?"
"Obi-Wan, of course", the man answered, frowning. "What did you… oh blast, you do not remember, do you?"
I carefully shook my head.
"Blast!" he exclaimed again and started pacing. "I'll kill those rebels when we get to them, I swear that to you, brother…"
"Brother?"
"Yes, I'm your brother", he said and turned towards me again. "I'm Anakin. Don't you remember me?"
"Well, I feel like I connect the words Anakin and brother", I admitted. He let out a relieved sigh.
"Maybe you just need a few reminders then", he suggested and leaned over, helping me sit up. "Alright, Obi, I'm the younger one of us, but I'm the one with the highest position. You've never been one to want to make yourself seen more than you have to."
He grinned at me.
"We're apprentices of Darth Sidious and we are learning how to control the Force. Our codenames are Darth Vader and Darth Norious. Norious is you, right?"
I nodded, though I felt like Anakin had never called me by that name before. He seemed to realize.
"I do not call you that", he explained. "I just say Obi-Wan to you, as you say Anakin to me."
"Right."
"Well, Darth Sidious is the leader of the Intergalactic Empire and we sometimes act as his lifeguards. He's getting quite old, you know. So our current mission is to hunt down and destroy the forces rebelling against us. They are led by a woman named Padmé Amidala."
He nodded towards my bandage.
"She shot you with a gun from the back, you were unprepared", he said. "We all know that if we get to her, the rest of the rebels will give up. There is no one else to take her place."
"And when I was hit…"
"When you were hit I forced our troops to retreat. I couldn't leave you there, you know. You're everything I have left from our old life, with our parents…"
He looked away for a moment.
"Anyway, I'll make sure that you get to rest and get back into shape before we move out again. I'm sure you'd like to get Amidala yourself."
He looked grim and I felt just the same. I was a warrior, I had to be out fighting for the right thing. But now this Amidala-person had tied me to this bed for quite some time.
For some reason, I found that rather attractive.
[Padmé's POV]
"I'm so sorry, Padmé", Bail Organa said. "Me and my men searched the whole bunker. There are no signs of Obi-Wan."
I nodded, fighting back the tears.
"Nothing?"
"Except for this."
He handed me something wrapped in a piece of cloth. I slowly unwrapped it and the two pieces of Obi-Wan's lightsaber fell down on the floor in front of me. I could not bear to pick them up.
"I'm sorry", Bail said once again, before he left the room.
I was glad that my old friend had allowed me to stay with him and his family for a few days. They had never blamed me for loving Obi-Wan, in fact they had been our witnesses when we got married. I trusted them all with my whole heart.
But I still had to keep running. We, me and Obi-Wan, had never been able to stay very long in one place. We kept moving from place to place, hiding on ships that got us to other planets. We could not fly one ourselves; all ships were controlled by the Empire and if we showed up in an unregistered ship… well, it would not work out too well.
Now I was running alone and I blamed myself for it. I should have stayed with Obi-Wan, then this would not have happened at all. He would still be here or I would be… wherever he was now.
I could not even think that word. Dead. It was impossible. Obi-Wan could not be dead.
But the thought came back, stronger every time, until I started to cry and sank down on the couch.
I stayed in my room for a few days, not wanting to talk to anyone. Not even Bail, who came by at least twice a day. His servants had to leave the food outside my door.
When I'd been there for a week, I joined Bail and his wife at dinner. I spoke about travelling, a code for saying it's time for me to leave. Bail suggested a whole bunch of destinations that I should visit, meaning these places you can get to by sneaking onto a ship. We spoke in codes regularly now, whenever we were in the same room as someone who was not involved in all of this; servants and such people.
After dinner I walked back up to my room and stuffed the two pairs of clothes I always carried with me in my small pouch. I had to leave soon, maybe even tonight. Bail and his wife would understand me perfectly.
"Hello there."
The far too familiar voice, the accent, even the smell that now surrounded me, made me freeze before I turned around, slowly. He was standing by the window, wearing the same clothes that I had seen him in last time; his Jedi-robes. A new lightsaber was hanging from his belt.
"Obi-Wan!" I whispered, not sure if I was to cry or laugh or if this was just my imagination.
"Surprised?" he said with a crooked smile that somehow did not reach his eyes. He actually looked angry. I had never seen him angry with anyone, not even Anakin, and it frightened me.
"You want a recap of what has happened since last time?" he asked, walking slightly closer. "I suppose you have not forgotten that you shot me in the head?"
I felt my jaw drop. Shot him? What was he talking about?
"I have spent a week in bed, wanting nothing but to get here and finish you off, as I intended to do last time."
I involuntarily took a step back. Had he gone mad? I had not shot him, I would never harm him!
"And this time, Amidala, you won't escape", he said, his voice stern. I stared into his eyes and noticed a red gleam. The same red gleam that I had seen in Anakin's eyes last time I'd faced him. The gleam that signalled a Sith.
I continued to back away.
"Obi-Wan, don't", I whispered. "You will only hurt yourself by doing that."
"Oh, really?"
He laughed silently.
"I doubt it."
"Obi-Wan, I don't know what has been going on in your head since we parted, but you were the one who asked me to leave", I whispered, as I managed to grab my pouch behind my back. "You asked me to leave so that you could push Anakin away, so that… so that I would survive… you loved me, Obi-Wan. What happened?"
He seemed caught off guard, which gave me enough time to climb out through another window and down the vine outside. I ran away from Bail's residence without looking back. I did not want to know if my lover was chasing me or not. He had changed.