Saga One Prick to Bleed - an AU beginning in AotC (Obi, Ani, Sabe, Yoda) - Mar. 1

I really liked this update. Nothing critical happened, but the setting is ready for the meeting at the Temple. So many questions are up in the air!

Thanks for posting so promptly despite all your troubles!

 

?I have my duty.?

*shivers* That she does. That she does. But, what will happen if/when Obi-Wan discovers just who her duty is to? I have the feeling that she'll protect Yoda no matter what, but what will the final consequences be? Prison? Or something worse, given the state of war they're in and their first reaction will be probably be to think she's involved with Dooku somehow?

Great post, Amidolee! Still hoping Anakin gets what's coming to him!

AQ

 

*sigh* Still a handmaiden at heart after all these years.

Dude, Obbers... I still say the Kiss-shock-treatment will get her to talk.

Great job, babe!

 

Wow, Sabe's back in action! I gotta clap my hands for that girl... she handled him beautifully! Catching him off-guard, making the questioner questioned... and ending w/ such a no-nonsense statement! This is why I love her.

 

Very Powerful. I liked it a lot

 

Hi! Um, I don't have a post for you (but I am working on it). Just thought I'd say thank you for whoever's voted for this story at the awards thread. I'm slightly freaked out by it, but flattered as well. Life's currently slightly hectic, with my writing time tonight being used for my advanced fiction class (blame the prof who thinks his class is more important than fanfic). Hopefully I'll get something up this weekend! (I may get concussed by the roomies for my continual chants of 'I suck, this sucks, @#%!*$!!' so we'll see).

It also depends if I can pull Obi and Sabe out of the Mos Eisley cantina. They like it there.

Cheers, everyone!!

 

Great updates! Could it be possible that Obi was in love with Sabe? I love the suppressed emotions here...so sexy! I can't wait to see what Yoda says about all of this...

 

I have my duty.

Sabé watched Obi-Wan?s departing back. The hatch door did not close quietly behind him, did not seal with a hiss. An open invitation. A nod to her predicament. Let me help you. But there could be no help. That was the point. The former handmaiden leaned against the cargo support pole she?d once been shackled to, concentrating on the cool metal against the right of her forehead. Her eyes remained on the door, open and beckoning, but she would not pass through it. Not until she had to.

Let me help you. She could still feel Obi-Wan in the hold, a second, tingling skin of awareness over her. Before he?d entered, she?d been pacing, working her mind as well as her body into a fitness to endure what would soon come. The Jedi Temple. Yoda. The next stage of her failure. Obi-Wan wanted to help her. Well, he could not. She couldn?t even help herself if she wanted to. She had her duty. This was ridiculous, this wanting to help. Why did he want to help her?

?Stop it,? she whispered. Shutting her eyes, she pressed her forehead harder against the pole, pushing until her senses were physical, her mind following the ship?s turning keel. She breathed deeply, detecting the faint tang of recycled air, letting its treatment soothe her lungs, slipping into light meditation.

She had her duty. A weak argument perhaps, in such short words, but it went beyond simple obedience to Yoda. She failed him. But not further?no, she would not fail him again. Protect him and his secret, the secrets of the Jedi that, if known, would do more damage than she?d already done. Obi-Wan, out of some philanthropic insanity, wanted to help her. He could not, but she could protect him. Not that he mattered to her. He mattered to Yoda, and her duty was to him.

What if it?s not about duty anymore? She gripped the pole tightly, vainly squeezing the thought away. Pacing it off had not helped earlier. Maybe the argument was weak to some, but it did not matter. She would protect Yoda. Protecting people . . . she could do that.

Just stay here as long as possible, breathing with the ship?s movement, the cold metal numbing her . . . Sinking inward while anchored by the pole, Sabé drew on the Force, pulling it around her weakened shields, buffering the painful residue of Anakin?s assault. She saw Yoda?s sad eyes as she knelt before him in the hidden chamber, felt the heaviness of his words. The gateway to the Force, to its depths of light and dark, and through his veil she glimpsed something inconceivable that could only be felt. She remembered this, but it was gauzy, soaked from a hemorrhaging wound. It was like Obi-Wan?s eyes, absorbing Yoda and Anakin. Or was it blood on layers of white lace? Tuskens screamed as a campfire narrowed into a slashing blade, and Amidala, ice, turned away. The blood glowed and black, inky tendrils braided into it, and Yoda?s eyes glistened and closed . . .

The cold pressure against her forehead pulled her up, and the ship?s engines changed to a lower, gentler pitch. Her senses tingled and she breathed deeply, centering herself. Slowly she opened her eyes and raised her head.

Obi-Wan stood in the threshold, Jedi mask firmly in place. Yet, despite his situation, he seemed less severe than as Padawan. Surely the burden was worse now than ever. Were his shoulders just more able to bear it? Maybe he?d found a balance. She thought she had, so long ago, but . . .

Sabé bit the inside of her cheek, checking herself. No.

?We?re landing,? Obi-Wan said quietly. Sabé stared silently back, not to be obstinate, but what was there to say? After a moment, he said, ?So I?ll need my robe back.?

Startled, she glanced down. She?d forgotten. When she?d changed, she had folded it up and set it aside, but the chill in her bones had snatched it up again. It was a couple inches too long, but she grown accustomed to it, could even pace in it. A functional, simple robe, yet she had the wild urge not to relinquish it. Ridiculous. Sa

 

O.M.G. That was just amazing. So electric so dynamic and so damn perfect I can't even put it to words. I just love everything about this chapter that it just blows me away!

 

Kiss. Shock Therapy. Come on!


Hehehe.. this should be interesting.

Great job, babe!

 

?I demand asylum on Naboo.?

*trips over the line* Woah! Plot twist! Looks like Yoda and Sabé still have plans of their own. Interesting.

Will she give the reason that she maintains that the Jedi cannot be trusted, given what Anakin did to her? Will she use that as an excuse to wait on Naboo through all of this? In a court of law, if she dropped that bombshell, the press and the courts would have a field day with his actions against her. Police brutality or something similar.

Excellent job, Amidolee! Really cool!

AQ

 

OOOooooo! Aaaahhhh! Too short, too short! Gimme more.

 

I agree, too short! Cliffies are evil! Anyways, some lines I liked:

It might not be cold, after all.

So cutting, to the point.

the friendless trio

Mmm, makes Anakin's role in this whole thing become more poignant. Who is the true prisoner in this mess?

Gah, cliffie, evil evil cliffie! Yet Yoda has a plan... I can feel it! Sigh, always depend on Yoda!

 

love it!

 

Asylum on Naboo? Oh, boy! This is going to get more complicated.

And what's going to happen to Anakin?

Another great post!

 

Long post, folks!


Chapter Fifteen

The wind whistled down the landing platform, whirling between the braced figures, whipping cloaks around in the thick sudden silence. Mace Windu and Yoda were impenetrable as Obi-Wan sensed surprise and dismay ripple through the little group. Obi-Wan clamped down his own surprise, though he wished he could see her face. Her slender shoulders were straight, set back, and he had no doubt she was meeting Windu?s hard look with an icy glare. With only an inch or so between them, Obi-Wan could only sense her as stone, or glass. Hard and cold, yet a little grinding might break her.

?It is my right,? said Sabé, cutting through the wind. ?I claim homeworld asylum.?

She waits all this time, after we?ve come all this way, to invoke this? Obi-Wan thought, barely acknowledging her loosely gathered hair brushing against his crossed arms. What could be her motive? Or was it a desperate act?

Master Windu never blinked. ?That is understood. However, we will have to verify Naboo?s sanctuary act??

?As I have not actually murdered Skywalker and have been maltreated, my refuge claim needs approval by??

??sovereign or representative authority,? finished Windu. He raised an eyebrow. ?Senator Amidala.?

?Yes.?

Obi-Wan did not miss the slight hitch in her voice.

?She?ll never grant it,? said Anakin. He quickly fell silent under the Masters? eyes, his cheeks flushing as he looked down. Obi-Wan inwardly shook his head. This was a right mess. A Jedi Padawan married to a senator, whose former handmaiden tried to assassinate her newly wed husband and was now claiming asylum that needed to be approved by said senator.

Mace shot Anakin a quelling look, then turned back to Sabé. ?If Senator Amidala does not grant you sanctuary, you will be officially under Jedi custody.?

Sabé said nothing. The air stirred as a transport lifted from a nearby platform, carting Jedi away to some disruptive pocket of the universe. Chemical heat blurred the lines, yet no one noticed in this sharp, metallic point of meeting. Obi-Wan did not share Windu?s talent for detecting the interconnecting lines of the living and unifying Force, but he could almost feel the tangled, trembling cracks threading through them. Here, spoken words were nothing more than fallible coating. They could not protect nor instigate, hide nor render. Mace and Sabé?s words danced along the thin, vibrating cracks, agitating Anakin?s strangled knot. They were all connected and tangled into one another?he, Mace, Sabé, Anakin, and Yoda?but Obi-Wan was not sure how, in such a tight, twisted way. Why should the living Force pull him into Sabé? Should not his only concern be Anakin? Mace and Yoda?they were in this because of Anakin?s fate, surely, and yet the sharp, painful thread-dance swung through them . . .

Windu?s eyes met Obi-Wan?s again, but the Jedi Master revealed nothing in his emotionless gaze. He never did, and yet Obi-Wan felt uneasy.

I?m tired. This is all getting to me.

Windu looked to Sabé again. ?Will you submit to a healer?s examination?? he asked, his tone slightly less severe. Obi-Wan could feel her immediate refusal, and perhaps so did Windu. ?This has nothing to do with your offense. You must understand, we need to know the extent of any injuries you may have sustained from Padawan Skywalker.?

Obi-Wan glanced at Anakin as he felt his apprentice?s clench in the Force. Had it really happened? Had that really been his apprentice? Did I really throw him? A sick feeling washed over him, and Anakin briefly met his eyes. Again, and with another ghost of a retch, Obi-Wan realized he could not read the emotions and thoughts in Anakin?s face.

?I can refuse this,? said Sabé, bringing Obi-Wan back. He noticed Yoda sigh, perhaps in resignation.

?You may,? said Windu, ?but reconsider.?

?Did not Jedi Kenobi tell you??

Jedi Kenobi. It jarred a little. Yet, Obi-Wan reasoned, it was appropriate. So why did it rankle so? He blinked, re

 

Very very interesting! What a twist that Sabe would need Amidala's approval for sanctuary! I can't wait to see what happens. I sure hope Sabe doesn't die...

 

*hugs Obi-Wan and Sabe*

Awww!! Cute, yet sad.


YAY! Great job!

 

Wow...

I've been lurking here since the story started and I've never been brave enough to say anything...but wow!

This chapter was really amazing!

 

wow indeed.

That was so good. I rushed to read it, and then regretted reaching the end - cos now I have to wait again for the next update!

Great stuff!

 

Wow, the drama! The horror! The... love!

?She?s important to you.?

?Yes,? Obi-Wan said, finally. He could not lie. ?I just don?t know why.?

Aha. Nuff said.

Wow, the tatoo was a nice twist! Love how she tried to mutilate it... smart girl! Gee, I do wonder how Amidala's gonna play a role in getting her to talk... after all, those two have a different opinion on when to keep sacred vows.

 

bobilll: lol, about the "love" Sabe mutilated her tattoo?! Oooh, when Obi said it seemed the Naboo crest was altered. No, no, she didn't alter it herself. The handmaiden seal is an alteration on the royal crest.

Darth Target and cutemara: Hello and welcome aboard!

Miana: They are huggable, yes, but very grumpy. Can't imagine why

MasterSareBabe: Yep, Sabe isn't exactly with this arrangement. Now, maybe if Amidala somehow banished her to Tatooine, and the Council thought someone should keep an eye on her *coughobicough* she'd be quite alright with it.

 

That was great- everyone involved seems more than a little off balance right now.

 

Off balance is a good way to describe everyone involved.

It seems Obi-Wan forgets Sabe tried to kill his padawan. Anakin is right to be upset, butnot right for attacking her. Obi-Wan's certainly attached.

Love to see where this is going.

Looking forward to the next update!

~SL~

 

So . . . I should have a post up by now. Really don't have much for an excuse except for being sick, my roommates getting me hooked on House, and doing some reading. Um, I'm trying to start up the next post now, to hopefully be done by this weekend, but my head is thinking about the lovely pillow. It thinks it wise to form a deep, meaningful relationship with said pillow.