Lady Amalia: The Almost Queen [Star Wars | Obi Wan Kenobi]

Epilogue

It was almost time to go. Tomorrow morning she would pick up little Athara, the nanny droid would help her grab their bags and they would be on their way back to Tatooine. There was very little in the way of things that she still needed to pack, but Neva couldn't help but consider herself ready to depart. Never, in a million years, could she have ever imagined she would be so excited to return to the sandy planet, especially at the expense of leaving her beautiful Naboo, but she found that she didn't mind. Not when leaving meant that she was on her way back to her Ben. These last few months had been so hard. There was nothing she regretted more than not having Ben at her side when their daughter was born. It turned out to be a good thing she had returned to Naboo, as their daughter's birth had taken several nearly dangerous turns. Thankfully, Athara had arrived safely, so Neva couldn't fully regret her and Ben's decision.

But they were going back to Tatooine now. That's what mattered. She could barely contain her excitement at the thought of seeing Ben holding Athara for the first time. Right now, there was nothing she wanted more.

After checking that her tiny daughter was still sleeping soundly, Neva started her final sweep of the little house she had been renting on the outskirts of her childhood village. Not for the first time a tiny wish that they could raise their daughter here floated through Neva's thoughts, but she pushed it away. There was no use dwelling. Instead, she went from room to room, sifting through the items that remained just in case she had forgotten something important.

She was so focused on her task that the moment the door chime sounded she nearly jumped out of her skin. She thought little of it as she turned toward the door; neighbours had been dropping by all day to give their best wishes, and to say goodbye. Yet there was something that felt—off this time.

The feeling of dread that began welling in the pit of her stomach as she made her way to the door was wholly justified, for standing on the other side was nothing short of her worst nightmare.

The sound of Darth Vader's mechanized breathing sent chills down her spine as he crossed the threshold into her house.

***

It had been an anxious few months. But, life had to go on. So, Obi-wan continued discreetly checking up on Luke, focusing on his meditations and taking care of the little home they had made. He had also continued working on the hut they had discussed in the middle of the Jundland Wastes; a safe place to go if they ever needed to hide, she had called it. It was almost done, but there was no doubt that Neva was going to have a myriad little things that she was going to want to add or fix or adjust. And he would no doubt indulge her, he couldn't help but think wryly. Not that he minded in the least. It was her fussing and adjusting that had made their little house between Bestine and Anchorhead a home, and he couldn't imagine having things any other way. Because of that, he could barely contain his excitement at the thought of her and their little girl finally coming home. Soon they would be in his arms, and he would be whole again.

That was why he had traveled to Mos Espa. The Public Transport she was taking was due to land there, and he wouldn't miss meeting them for anything in the Galaxy. But they weren't due for several hours, yet. It was enough to cause him significant anxiety. But thankfully he still had his training to help him there. The Force was a powerful balm in such situations, regardless of his hesitation to reach out for it.

There was so much risk in reaching out to the Force now. Vader seemed desperate to find him, and with Neva and their child to protect, Obi-wan had tried to refrain from drawing too heavily on the Force these last few months. He had even gone so far as to try and keep from using it altogether for a time, especially when he and Neva found out about her pregnancy. There was nothing he wouldn't do to keep them safe. As it was, sometimes he had an extreme amount of difficulty in touching Neva through the Force. They were close enough that he was more attuned to her life-force than he had ever been to anyone before. But she was too far away. He couldn't feel her from Tatooine, no matter how hard he tried. It unsettled him. She had become his anchor just as much as he knew he was hers. She helped him balance out the feelings left over from Mustafar and Order 66 that he was still coming to terms with. And now added to that was his anxiety over the impending birth of their child and his worry for their safety. All of that together had come to colour his touch with the Force when it came to them. Every night he was haunted by nightmares that refused to let him rest, threatening him with images of something, anything, bad happening and causing him to lose his little family.