Of Love and War Book 1: Dawn of a New Life

Chapter 13: Loss

Zelina wasn't stupid.

She stayed back from the fight, afraid to be spotted by any of the three men. She feared what would happen if she was spotted by the red man, and she didn't want to make Obi-Wan or Qui-Gon mad if they saw her. So, she did her best to stay out of sight but close enough to see what was happening.

She poked her head out from behind a pillar just in time to see Obi-Wan go flying, kicked in the chest by the red man. She winced, resisting the temptation to run after Obi-Wan and see if he was alright as she anxiously turned her attention back to Qui-Gon. Sure enough, Obi-Wan got right back on his feet and rejoined Qui-Gon in the fight. When the trio progressed into the other room, Zelina fidgeted nervously behind her corner for a moment, knowing she's put herself in a very risky situation. Still, she closed her eyes, counted to three, and skirted out from her current hiding place behind the stone of the doorway to the room they had disappeared to. She stuck her head out to see if they had noticed. Luckily Obi-Wan's and Qui-Gon's backs were to her, though she could have sworn she saw the red man glance her direction for the nearest fraction of a second. She felt ice flow through her, but stayed where she was, watching as the three momentarily stood in tense silence.

Obi-Wan took a sudden step forward, and Zelina tensed, thinking he was about to engage the red man. However, he instead stopped halfway through the movement, and Qui-Gon was the one to take a swing at the red man.

Zelina was shocked to see the red man backflip a huge distance from the ledge he had been standing on to the catwalk that spanned through the middle of the room. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon followed after him, leaping to the catwalk in one bound. Zelina was astonished and excited to see it all. Maybe one day she could do that when she was a Jedi.

Obi-Wan slashed at the red man, reminding Zelina what she was watching as the fight resumed at its rapid fire pace. She kept her head peeked around the corner so she could watch, but they were getting farther and farther. Soon, she knew she would have to leave her hiding spot so she could see what was going on.

She glanced at the circular ledge they had come from, eyeballing it for a moment. If she moved fast enough and was very careful, then she could hide behind the controls and monitors that were there. It wouldn't be much, but she could remain inconspicuous and still watch the fight. Patiently she bided her time, watching the fight as they steadily glided farther away. When she couldn't stand it any longer, Zelina made another dash, this time for the spot behind the monitors. However, she couldn't quite see, and cursed her bad luck. She'd be putting herself in a very bad spot if she got too close, that much she was sure of.

She shifted from foot to foot nervously, afraid she'd make a mistake she couldn't fix. Her mind, however, was made up when Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon disappeared from view. She carefully crept out from behind of her hiding spot before making a mad dash down the catwalk; hiding behind one of the large white beams that disappeared out of her line of vision both above and below her so no one in the trio would spot her. If they hadn't spotted her making a dash down the sidewalk already.

Zelina stands at an angle, watching the three figures move back and forth in a seemingly perfect dance where she hopes she is just where they can't see her. She didn't really have any room to move around in since most of the beam was transparent. She had to stay in the middle so that she could remain hidden, that was her rule if she was going to stay unseen. And here she'd have to be extra careful: the catwalk curved, meaning that if she wanted to remain hidden, she'd have to keep moving.

She had just peeped around the corner in time to see the red man trap Obi-Wan's saber and kick Obi-Wan off of the catwalk. She felt her heart jump into her throat, afraid of what had happened to him. Without a thought about what could happen if she got spotted, Zelina jumped out from behind her hiding spot, running a little ways down the catwalk. If she was right, there was a service ladder back the way she had come...