Sanctuary - The Story of Saraya Ophil

Chapter 8

R4 rolled up to the bed and let out another whistling sound. This time, however, he sounded more demanding than his first attempt to wake the couple. It was an important message he had for both of them. He felt disrespected that both just kept sleeping.

He moved his metal body against the bed. A slight noise sounded. One of them had to be woken up by him. The fact that it was Ben who looked for the Astromech first was very offensive to him. He couldn't reach his owner through her sleep.

"What's going on?" asked Ben. The young Padawan stood up and ran his hand through his tangled hair. The dark strands still hung in his face, but at least they weren't quite as disheveled as before. He noticed that Saraya was still sleeping quietly next to him.

R4 turned and scooted over to the side of the bed. As he did so, he announced the message that had just reached him. "Yes, thank you for your attentive ear."

Ben turned around, grabbed the commlink, and put it back on his wrist. R4 continued to beep to himself and headed towards the door to the room. "We'd be lost without you," Ben muttered.

He turned to Saraya. She was lying there peacefully. It would be a crime to wake her now. But he also knew that she would be furious if he didn't. He carefully placed his hand on her shoulder and shook her gently.

"Saraya," he tried to speak as gently as possible. Maybe that way he wouldn't violently tear her from her sleep. A soft moan escaped her lips and she rolled onto her back. Her brown hair spilled onto the pillow as her arm passed over her face. "They've called a meeting. There's news from Vodran."

The name of her home planet must have triggered something in the young woman because she opened her eyes. Although Saraya had slept, she still felt exhausted. Her joints were stiff and she had a furry feeling in her mouth. While her head processed the information Ben had just told her, she stretched her arms and legs. She could have sworn her right elbow cracked as she did so. Then she sat up and used her hands to steady herself on the mattress. "When is it scheduled for?" she asked, while Ben had already swung himself off the bed.

He seemed absent-minded as he gathered his things and began to get dressed. "As soon as possible. R4 has been trying to wake us up for a while now. It's an emergency meeting."

From the living room, she could hear reproachful tones from her Astromech. She rolled her eyes in frustration and then decided to get ready. She realized that she could no longer live up to her role as the senator's daughter at this meeting. With this thought in mind, she stood indecisively in front of the closet for a few seconds.

While Ben was already lacing up his boots, she chose a simple black top and trousers in the same color. With a quick movement, she threw her hair forward and combed it with her fingers. As she stood up again, she took a quick look in the mirror before tying her hair up. Finally, she slipped into her boots.

Ben waited patiently for her in the living room. He had a DataPad in his hand and was studying something on it. Whatever it was, it seemed very serious. "Do you want to fill me in?" she asked him and approached him. With a wave of his hand, he wiped the document off the pad's screen.

He placed the device on the couch and searched for words. "I think you'd better stay here. You've only recently been captured and you look like you really should be resting."

Was he trying to convince her to stay here? Saraya was silent for a moment as she realized this fact. For a moment, he hoped she would comply and go back to bed. But he knew her well for that. The question marks that were still written on her face were wiped away from one second to the next. Determination could now be read on her face.

"If there's news from my home planet, I want to be there too." She felt responsible. She walked past Ben and left the room without waiting for him. He looked after her for a few seconds before his gaze slid to R4. He also rolled past Ben and beeped something sad to himself. "Me too, R4. I'll do the same."