Times of the Past

The Inevitable

     The morning began in more silence than usual. After learning that Satine's fever had disappeared the evening before, they agreed to leave this next day so long as her temperature remained normal when they all woke up, which it had. 

     Now, they had sat through a fairly solemn breakfast, where the silence was broken only to ask questions about the journey ahead or discuss strategic planning.

     Satine found herself remaining quiet though as she packed up her few things from the bedroom alongside Obi-Wan. They planned to leave at lunch today in the daylight to head to the market, which would be a slight detour. Then, they would head off around the lake towards the far side of Keldabe. There, they'd seek out the New Mandalorian groups, and hopefully find a way to get back in touch with the remainder of the palace guards.

     Obi-Wan finished packing before Satine did, however, and his gaze landed on her. She had paused in the midst of packing to stare blankly at the wall, but he noticed that she was twisting the ring he had given her absentmindedly.

     He set down his pack slowly and rounded the corner of the bed. As he approached her, he wrapped his arms around her to pull her close.

     She was drawn out of her thoughts, and she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

     Neither one said a word then, since it would be easy to be overheard now that everyone was awake and somewhere nearby in the house. 

     For the time being, it was enough to just be alone together for a moment.

*****

     It was time to say goodbye to Merida and Donix officially all too soon. Merida let a few tears slip, and the couple forced the trio to take some money with them, though they each tried to refuse. Donix argued and said that they deserved payment for all the work they had done to maintain the garden and the fields, and when it was clear that he wouldn't take no for an answer, Qui-Gon reluctantly accepted.

     Satine felt herself get a little emotional when Merida wrapped her up in a tight embrace just before they left. 

     "You need to take care of yourself, you hear?" Merida told her sternly. "I don't care who you are. You just need to be safe and do what's best for yourself right now. You might be the Duchess, but you're still young, and you have your whole life ahead of you. No one is saying that you have take on the whole system by yourself. There's no harm in having help, okay?"

     Satine pulled back and nodded, and Merida gave her one last serious look. 

     The men were all speaking just outside the door now, and she knew it was time to go. Yet, Merida squeezed her hand to get her attention.

      "If you ever need a place to get away... or..." she trailed off. "We'll be here for you."

     Satine searched the woman's face. They both knew it would likely never be safe for her to return, no matter what state the system was in, but she appreciated Merida's words nonetheless.

      She squeezed her hand one last time, and then turned towards her two Jedi protectors.

     Together, they stepped out into the sunlight, turned, and headed towards the beginning of the settlement.

     Merida and Donix's house finally disappeared out of sight.

*****

     Their trip to the market lasted only long enough to get a few supplies that would benefit them in the days to come, in addition to a light lunch.

     Then, they were walking past the cliff they had first stayed near in order to go around the lake.

      It was early afternoon by the time Satine managed to even catch sight of the opposite side of the shore where they would be headed, though Qui-Gon informed them that they wouldn't reach it until the following day. 

     And so, they set up camp not far from the water in the shade of a few sparse trees. 

     It was peaceful there, but Satine wasn't so fond of the quiet, nor the atmosphere. Honestly, she preferred when their journeys had less purpose, and when the end was not in mind. She was all too sure that they would come across the New Mandalorians when they reached the other edge of Keldabe, and regardless of the state of the conflicts now, she knew that there was no reason for her to stay away any longer. No place would remain safe for her; she had proved that in the past year. Also, from what little information she had found in the past few months, it seemed as though the New Mandalorian movement was prevailing in most areas. This all meant that she'd be stepping back up as Duchess as soon as she was discovered, and that meant that her royal guards would be serving her once again, thus eliminating the need for the Jedi's help. 

      And if she had reached this conclusion, then Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon surely had as well. 

     This mutual understanding led them all to maintain their silence for the time being.

     They fell asleep by firelight.

*****

     The next day's journey took them around the last corner of the lake, and they came to the edge of a small city by nightfall, where they were able to camp once again. They ensured they had all necessary supplies, but they left at dawn the next morning in order to keep moving.

     Satine and Obi-Wan never had a moment alone, and Qui-Gon was unsure how to feel about their lack of interactions. He didn't want them to grow too attached, but he wished they'd say more to keep a conversation going. 

     Part of him would be glad when they returned to the palace, because he knew the inevitable call from the Council would come. However, he also felt a pang of guilt, knowing that Obi-Wan would be deeply hurt when the time came for them to leave. His padawan had friends at the Temple, yes, but no one had ever connected with Obi-Wan as much as the young Duchess had. Qui-Gon would have been a fool to deny that.

*****

     The third night came and went, with them camping out in an empty portion of landscape. The fourth night passed without event as well.

      Then, the fifth night came, and they approached the next neighboring city. It was their first mistake in a while.

     Qui-Gon had asked for directions to Keldabe while Satine and Obi-Wan patiently worked on setting up their tent not far from other refugees and homeless.

     Satine felt a little sickened by the number of people living in desolate conditions, but she realized that meant they must be nearing the heart of the conflict where more people were being displaced from their homes.

     Qui-Gon confirmed that they were indeed headed in the right direction, but later that night, bounty hunters came through, searching for both Satine and many different officials and New Mandalorian supporters.

     Qui-Gon ended up stealing someone's speeder to get them out of there at the last second.

     They had been moments away from being seen, and Satine felt awful that they wouldn't be able to return someone's property, which was likely very important to someone in that small city. They had also been forced to leave behind their tent again.

     The only good outcome from the situation was that they saved time.

      As morning settled on the sixth day, one side of Keldabe could be seen in the distance.