Times of the Past

Nuhoyir

     The evening of the third day and the day afterwards came and went faster than expected. On that fourth day, the three men got up early as usual to return to working outdoors, but Merida stayed inside the house with Satine for the day.

     Merida checked her temperature periodically, but it only went down a single degree before the end of the day, and so, she insisted that Satine continue to relax in the house. 

     Satine was feeling restless again, but she grudgingly admitted that she still felt a bit fatigued. It was difficult to stay in bed with little to do all day, even though Merida kept her company sometimes and Obi-Wan sat with her for a few minutes in the middle of the day.

     Mostly, Satine was left with her thoughts, and that led her to conjure up all sorts of possible scenarios that could occur in the days to come, some good and some bad. For example, she thought of how they might say goodbye to Merida and Donix this time, or how they might come face-to-face with the New Mandalorians soon. However, thinking about such things quickly made her worried and anxious about how little time she might have left before she would be stepping back into her role as Duchess.

     She recalled Obi-Wan's teasing the day before, and how he said he could finally imagine her taking her place in the palace once more.

     While part of her was definitely eager to go back to her position and make a difference in this fight between her people, a larger portion of her had been unequivocally and irrevocably changed during this time on the run. She wasn't sure how that would affect her role in the future.

     She had seen so many people in the beginning of their journey getting hurt, injured, and deeply influenced by the conflict around them, and while she hadn't seen said conflict up close in a little while, she remembered how there were countless beings who were starving, who had lost their homes, and who were living day by day throughout each of the areas they had passed recently. Those memories would probably remained with her forever.

     Her heart went out to her people. She now knew firsthand what it felt like to live each day as it came, and she knew now that war was something she quite thoroughly despised. It felt unnecessary.

     In addition to this though, her heart was growing increasingly attached to something new--a certain someone, to be exact. He was a warrior, and both him and his master possessed a type of inner and outer strength beyond what she could fathom. His life was about protecting and defending people--herself at the moment, and though she might not have appreciated his presence at first, she had deep feelings for him now. They had been through so much together, and not once had he left her side. He was loyal, trustworthy, and irritating at times, but...

     ...she was having a hard time imagining life without him. A life apart seemed like a pretty lonely life, but that was what her future was shaping itself into in the present. 

     Every day was turning into a countdown; every day was one day closer until the day when she would find herself waking up in her bedroom at the palace with the other half of the bed cold and empty.

     That was something she was not looking forward to.

     And so, by the time night approached, Satine found herself tossing and turning beside Obi-Wan. Yes, she had too much on her mind to sleep, but she had also rested for such a long while during the day that her body was no longer seeking as much rest.

     At one point, when she turned towards Obi-Wan, she found him staring at her, though he should've been asleep for quite some time.

     She felt guilty, realizing she must've kept him up or woke him up even when he needed to get up early again the next morning, but he just reached out and brushed a thumb across her cheek.