Starry Eyed

Chapter 9. Apprehension

"Obi Wan." I stood in front of him, after the prince of Keluura had left.

"Y-yes? Princess?" I laughed at his distraction. He was looking all over the gardens. I tried to follow his gaze, which landed on the prince's ship, getting ready to leave.

"My father has invited him and his connexions to a ball tomorrow, right before the vote the following day." I tried to make conversation happen unsuccessfully. "May we train tonight please?" I tilted my head, switching the topic.

"As you wish." He replied, briefly looking at me before his gaze turned towards the garden again. "By the way..." He shook himself back to reality. "I haven't been able to decipher the information we took from the Banking Clan. If you have any ideas, be sure to let me know." He proceeded to leave a paper with the information in my hand.

"I will." I assured. "I'll leave you to whatever you're doing now, I have a meeting with the council." I added before making my way inside the palace. He briefly signalled one of the guards to follow me as he concentrated further, his hands behind his back.

"Princess." Keengar Brihal greeted me. "To what do we owe this visit?" Karskye and Jaycol shifted on his seats. I sat on the presiding chair, confidently looking around the room.

"I was wondering Tredar's current location." I inquired, clearing my throat at Jaycol's gaze which was detained on my chest.

"I'm afraid he has gone out." Keengar replied. I knew Tredar had gone out. The real purpose of my visit was to know what they had to say about him, and to find out whether any of them could also be involved in the conspiracy I was yet to decipher. "Any matter we can help you with?"

"I wanted to know about recent affairs with the Banking Clan." I tried to read their poker faces. "And inquire about his future position as senator." I lied.

"Well, not much we can help you with." Jaycol squinted his eyes momentarily. "Could I ask why is that of concern to your highness? Many preparations for the ball tomorrow must be made, if an impression on the prince wants to be guaranteed. " Jaycol coldly added, earning a reaction from Karskye, who swallowed hard at his words.

"You see, a prince doesn't concern me in these times of war." I snapped back. "However, as princess, my kingdom's affairs do."

"Unfortunately, the last Banking Clan affairs have been classified." Karskye finally said."I'm afraid only the king and Tredar would know. Although Tredar has been quite absent lately, acting strange."

"Thank you for your time." I said. I had gotten all the information I needed. Returning to my quarters to get changed to train with Obi Wan, I reflected on the council's attitude and tried to reason with their attitudes from an unbiased point of view.

I soon met with Obi Wan in the immense room we used to train; Although not meant for that purpose, I had managed to arrange a softer surface to practice in, so falling wouldn't be as painful. To my surprise, Obi Wan had gathered a series of gadgets that laid on a table on the side of the room. I looked at them with curiosity. Some were circular shaped, other's looked like data pads. Some had many buttons. He explained how each of them worked; Many could be explosive. He taught me how to identify and deactivate many.

"Why are you teaching me all this?" I asked. My hand ghosted over a metal sphere, activating a little beeping red light.

"Careful with that. It will cut down the electricity of the entire room." He said, bringing it to his side. "I have a feeling someone's watching us, and Bounty hunters have many tricks up their sleeve. Sometimes they don't care to put on a show if their bounty is paid well enough. Knowing these things might help you when I'm not here." He gathered everything back in its case. I looked at his hands intently, trying to shake off how the mention of his departure affected me.

"Should we start?" I attempted to fill the silence before it could be read into.

I was so exhausted after we had trained together that I fell asleep almost as soon as my head had hit the pillow. My peace didn't last long however; Nightmares about Suraniat in war crept in my sleep, making me tremble. The pictures of my close relatives suffering, my own people defenceless against droids and my own struggle became as real as my mind allowed.

I felt a strong grip around my throat which woke me up instantly to find my pain was in fact real. A shadow was trying to pull my necklace out of my neck aggressively, leaving marks and shaking me abruptly, as it tried to drag me out to the balcony. I held on to it, unable to do anything besides kick and push myself backwards. The creature was taken back by my door slamming open. Obi Wan appeared ready to strike with his lightsaber. The shadow left swiftly through the opened-wide balcony, the dim light of the corridor only revealing the silhouette of his hat. I gasped, sitting on the side of the bed, my back against the cushioned headboard in shock. Obi Wan, evidently concerned by the look of his face, sat right in front of me. Without saying a word, he delicately traced the marks on my neck with his fingers, and then, after he had looked me in the eyes holding the sides of my face, he pulled me into a hug. I braced him tightly, burrowing my face in his neck.

"So you're telling me your balcony door was closed?" The guards questioned. I turned the handle of the faucet, hearing it run as I looked at my bruised neck in the mirror. "The lock hasn't been forced."

"I've already told you everything I know." I said, my voice trembling from commotion. "I just want to be left alone now."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible." The guard replied. "The only way something like this won't happen is you remain with someone at all times tonight. King's wishes."

"Understood." Obi Wan said from behind. The guard looked at him, then back at me, and exited the room. I walked past Obi Wan to sit on one of the armchairs by the balcony, bracing my legs to my chest. He sat in the opposite one and observed me with his hand resting on his leg. Silence invaded the room while I stared out the glass, deep in reflection. I fidgeted with the hem of my nightgown, unable to look at Obi Wan.

"Why didn't you let go of the necklace?" He broke the silence, trying to sound firm, yet failing to do so as concern slipped through his words.

"They want it for a reason." I held it between my fingers. "And I'm the one who will find out." He shook his head in disapproval, leaning forward by placing his elbows on his knees.

"They could've killed you." He joined his hands.

"But they didn't." I concluded staring back at the glass, focusing my eyes so it reflected back my image, instead of the dark daffodils outside.

A few silent moments passed by before he spoke again. "Will you go to sleep? Do you need anything?" He asked.

I shrugged my shoulders in response. My mind was about to explode. The fears my nightmares had highlighted were now more capable of taking over my thoughts, as if I had been storing them back in my head, and they were just then able to escape and flood my senses.

All my efforts in letting go of the knot in my throat while not letting my emotions unravel became even more difficult when he asked. "Do you want to talk about it?" I simply shook my head, biting my lip and furrowing my eyebrows. He stood up and fetched a glass of water from the table next to me. He crouched in front of me, placing his arm on the arm of the chair after he had placed the glass on my hand, I took a long sip and placed it back down, feeling my muscles less tense. His unoccupied hand hesitated before pushing a strand of hair that was about to escape its place from the back of my hair. "Sometimes you just have to let the river flow." That sentence was all I needed to come to terms with how I felt. I didn't have to bottle up my emotions any longer, or at least that's how he made me feel.

And so I told him everything. How insecure I had been before and during his arrival, my feelings towards my family, my fears and anxieties. He listened tenderly, his eyes full of understanding. I felt a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It had been one of the very few times I had truly opened up, and the very first time I hadn't felt like it would be used against me.

The sun had rose, and I stood up from my seat to watch the fields before us. Obi Wan stood behind me from where he had been kneeling down, placing his hands on his hips. I turned around to watch his face illuminated by the cold light of the morning. I had revealed to him many feelings, yet failed to confess how I felt towards him.