Beauty and the Beast
a Star Wars story
by Hermione Eveningfall
Obi-Wan Kenobi frowned deeply as he rested a hand against Anakin's forehead late one evening. The boy shifted in his slep, bundling deep beneath the blankets to stay warm.
"Any change?" Loila asked, pulling a glass phial from her black leather satchel.
"Not since we last saw you, no."
Two days following Senator Amedela's arrival on Coruscant, Anakin had fallen terribly ill with a bout of influenza that was rapidly spreading throughout the Jedi temple. Between Anakin's almost constant sneezing, coughing and high temperatures, Obi-Wan had quite a bit to deal with.
"Poor dear." She touched Anakin's shoulder gently with her fingertips, but he jerked away.
//Master...please...I just wish to be left alone,// he begged through mindspeech, his thin body shaking with harsh coughs.
//I know you don't feel well...Loila is going to give you a bit of medicine, and then you may go back to sleep. Please try your best to cooperate with us, my Padawan.// Obi-Wan encouraged, knowing all too well how the boy felt.
Anakin turned around at last, revealing a pale face covered in a thin layer of sweat. Dark circles outlined his eyes, and his cheeks were rosy.
Loila pulled the stopper out of the phial, and nodded her thanks after Obi-Wan handed her the spoon. "Thank you." She poured out a bit of the light blue liquid, and eased Anakin into a sitting position so he would not choke on it.
"Pad..." Anakin croaked, sniffling and shivering violently as the cool air hit his burning skin. Loila brushed his Padawan braid aside, and supported him with her free arm.
"Here." She held the spoon to his cracked lips, and Obi-Wan watched as an expression of deep disgust appeared on the Anakin's face. His lips puckered, and for a moment it seemed as though he were going to spit it out, but Loila shook her head.
"Swallow every drop of that...it will help you feel better."
Tears sprung to the boy's eyes as he forced it down, and he gratefully accepted the glass of water from the night table. When he was finished with it, she took it away and then eased him back against the pillows. Once she covered him with the blankets, she smiled at him.
"There's a good boy." She gave his hand an encouraging squeeze, and began to pack up her things.
Anakin, his eyes still open halfway, gave her an irritated glare. "...not a boy..." he muttered, and Obi-Wan gave the healer an apologetic look.
"He's always a bit cranky like this when he's ill. Pay it no mind." He insisted, and she chuckled warmly.
"No offense is taken, naturally. I understand. Trust me, I have had worse." After closing her bag, she led Obi-Wan out of the room. The two barely made it into the hallway when they were followed by a pair of sneezes.
"HuhKESHHH! EhSHHHHSHH!"
Obi-Wan shook his head once the door closed, and folded his arms. "I'm shocked I haven't come down with this bug yet."
Loila made a few notes in her charts, and then glanced at him. "I have been noted of your condition," she replied, flipping to his chart, and shook her head. "If you start to feel the least bit ill, see me straight away, sir."
"What condition?" Obi-Wan asked, wondering what she had been told. Then he sighed, remembering the almost fatal illness he'd suffered in Naboo, and since then, everyone in the Jedi council tended to be a bit overprotective. Especially after Qui-Gon's death, even though that had occurred ten years before. "Ah, of course...yes, I see."
"Not worth taking any risks, Master Kenobi. Please do not forget to rest, or you will be more prone to this illness." She smiled again. "I must make my rounds. Please do not hesitate to send for me if the boy takes worse." She nodded respectfully before whisking away down the corridor.
//Master...//
Obi-Wan hurried back into the sick room to find his apprentice vomiting over the edge of the bed.
//Lad, relax now...it's all right.// He sat down beside the teenager, rubbing his back till the fit was over.
//I want to die, Master...I don't think I can handle much more of this...//
Obi-Wan brought the fresh glass of water over from the nighttable so Anakin could rinse out his mouth.
//Do not focus on the negative thoughts, Anakin. This will pass...you are fighting well.//
Anakin sipped from the glass, coughing again afterwards. "I... I wish to see Padme." He shivered as Obi-Wan pulled the blankets back up to his neck.
"Anakin, you know that is not possible now. You are too ill to have any visitors at the moment."
"But I need her," he begged. "I need...ehSKHHHHUH! UhKSHHHHH!" He groaned at the throbbing pain behind his eyes.
"Bless you." Obi-Wan offered a fresh handkerchief. "You need to rest."
"I'm s-so cold," Anakin whimpered, feeling absolutely pathetic. He hated being ill more than anything else...
"I know. Would you like an extra blanket?"
"I s'ppose so." Anakin closed his eyes, trying to block out the pain. The room had to be as dimly lit as possible, because the usual bright lighting only made matters worse. Obi-Wan found a spare blanket in the closet, and wrapped his Padawan with it.
"We do not want to make you too warm," he explained. "Would it be all right if I left for a little while? I need to speak with Master Windu about the current situation."
Anakin shrugged. "Okay."
"If you need me, you know what you need to do," Obi-Wan added, and, after cleaning up the spot on the floor, made his way towards the council room. He was not but five feet from the main set of doors when Padme caught up with him.
"Is he all right?" she asked, her dark eyes wide. "Oh I can't help but feel partially responsible!"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "Senator, do not even feel that way...why would you think such a thing?"
"Everyone started becoming sick after we arrived..." she wet her lips. "Oh, never mind, I'm being silly...you're right."
Obi-Wan smiled at her. "No worries. He's still the same...the healer's just been to see him. But I would not advise visiting him for at least another day or two...until his temperature has gone down. We would not want you to fall ill also."
Padme nodded in understanding. "Of course."
"Forgive me, but I am just about to have a bit of a talk with Master Windu...I do not mean to leave so abruptly," Obi-Wan apologized, and Padme stepped back.
"No, no, do not apologize."
Obi-Wan stepped through the doors into the room, leaving Padme alone. She waited until she was certain he could not hear her, and quickly clutched her skirts, hurrying towards the cafeteria. If there was one thing that Anakin liked above all others, it was ice cream...she remembered watching him gobble it as a child on Tatooine, as though he had never tasted anything so wonderful in his life. She ordered a tub of chocolate ice cream from the cook, and gathered two spoons as well.
"Good day, Senator," the cook told her politely, and Padme thanked him before heading towards Anakin's bedroom. She pushed the special code on the panel by the wall, and watched as the doors slowly opened, biding her allowance to enter.
Almost as though he'd sensed her coming, Anakin quickly lifted his head from the pillow, beaming when she came towards him. "Padme..." he whispered, and she put a finger to her lips. "Oh..." He struggled to lean up against the headboard, swaying a little as he was overcome with dizziness.
"I'm not supposed to be here," she whispered, hiding the ice cream behind her back. "But I couldn't not see you."
"I'm glad you are here, Padme...I miss you." Anakin cocked his head to one side. "What have you got behind your back?" he asked, amusement in his voice.
"A surprise. Close your eyes, and you'll find out in a moment."
Anakin did as he was told, grinning. Padme pulled the small table beside the bed and an extra chair, before placing the ice cream on it. She removed the lid from the tub, and then sat down. "All right, open your eyes," she announced, and he did so. When he noticed the ice cream, his face lit up.
"You shouldn't have done this," he told her, coughing into one fist. "Th...th..." his face scrunched up, and Padme paused in digging into the smoothe, creamy substance. "USHHHHHSHH! UmmpSHHHHH!" he'd managed to turn his head to the side, muffling the sneezes into the crook of his arm. "Sorry," he croaked.
"Don't be. I know you're ill. And I am thinking you were going to thank me...so, you're welcome. It was the least I could do."
"HekSHHHH! EpSHHHHH!" Anakin snapped forward again, blowing his nose with the handkerchief Obi-Wan had given him.
"Bless you!" she pulled the chair closer to the head of the bed. "Here...let me help you."
Anakin looked at her, and then opened his mouth willingly while she fed him a spoonful of the ice cream He closed his eyes, sighing contentedly as it soothed his throat. "Mmmm...my favorite."
Padme giggled. "I thought it was. Would you like another spoonful?"
"Mmm hmmm." He gazed at her fondly as she dipped the spoon into the tub again, before raising it back to his lips. "Feel better already," he added, though almost instantly began coughing.
"Don't try to talk too much, Ani. You could loose your voice."
"My Master probably wouldn't mind that so much," Anakin mumbled, accepting more of the ice cream.
"Don't say that," Padme told him. "Obi-Wan is very proud of you."
"I don't understand why it is so difficult for him to show it," Anakin replied, watching as Padme took a bit of ice cream for herself with the clean spoon.
"Everyone is different at how they express their feelings," Padme replied thoughtfully.
"Padme?" Anakin asked as she took another bite.
"Mmm?" she asked, before swallowing.
"If I were feeling better, would you dance with me?"
She frowned, looking down at the table. "Ani..."
"Would you?" He persisted, and she sighed.
"If the time was right," she replied. "Anakin, you know if we begin showing our feelings like this for each other, it will be very dangerous."
"Dance with me," he told her, and she blinked.
"You're not to get out of bed," She replied, but he pulled the blankets down.
"I am feeling better after the ice cream..."
Padme set her spoon down, sighing. "All right, but only right by the bed, in case you feel too tired again. I'm not risking making you worse." She stood up, helping him to his feet. Then she smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close so he could rest his head on her shoulder. Holding his head up was too much work for him at the moment. "You do not mind that we have no music?" she added as she rubbed his back, closing her eyes as they began to sway softly.
"Mmmm, no."
Padme shook her head softly, and began to sing in a quiet voice an old lullabye her mother used to put her to sleep with.
"Tale as old as time
True as it can be
Barely even friends...
Then somebody bends..
Unexpectedly..."She did not notice that the floor was slowly moving away from her feet.
"Just a little change...
Small, to say the least...
Both a little scared...
Neither one prepared..."Anakin smiled to himself as he finished the verse, "Beauty and the beast..."
Padme sighed. "You know that song also?" she asked.
"My mother used to sing it to me as well...I think it's rather appropriate for us, isn't it?" He asked, and it was then Padme happened to look down.
"Ani!" she yelped, realizing they had risen about two feet from the ground. She grasped his shoulders, trembling.
"Ummm?" Anakin looked into her eyes, and then looked down. "Oh..." he blushed. "I guess I uh...got a bit carried away."
Padme nodded, and he gently lowered them again, before stumbling against her. "All right, my silly Jedi," she ordered. "Back to bed with you." She allowed him to lean on her while she helped him climb back up onto the mattress, helping him under the covers.
"Thank you for coming to see me, Padme...it meant so much," Anakin whispered as she dampened a cool cloth to lay against his forehead.
"You're welcome. But I should go...you need to rest."
He took her hand when she started to move away, and begged her not to go with his eyes. "Please, don't..." he whispered. "I feel stronger with you here..."
Padme bit her lip. "It's not safe, Anakin..." she knew it would cause a great riot with the council if she and Anakin were found "together". He released his grip slowly, a frown pulling on his lips. He turned away from her, and she lowered her head. "I'll sing to you for a bit longer, but then I must depart. I do not want Obi-Wan to come back and find me here..." she sat down, and tucked him in properly.
"Okay..." Anakin sighed, his body relaxing.
Padme took his hand, massaging it between her fingers.
"Ever just the same...
ever a surprise...
ever as before...
ever just as sure...
as the sun will rise..."She did not notice when the doors opened again, and Obi-Wan stepped back inside. The Jedi Master stopped dead in his tracks, watching the Senator with wide eyes as she sung to his Padawan.
"Tale as old as time...
Tune as old as song...
Bittersweet and strange...
Finding you can change...
Learning you were wrong..."Obi-Wan snuck around the edge of the room, sitting down on the couch by the window.
"Certain as the sun...
Rising in the east...
Tale as old as time...
Song as old as rhyme...""Beauty and the beast." Obi-Wan finished, causing her to gasp and whirl around, startled.
"Master Kenobi...I am so sorry," she apologized, and Obi-Wan merely blinked in understanding.
"If only I had as wonderful a voice as yours, I would be able to get my Padawan to fall asleep more quickly. As it happens...I'm afraid I sound more like a bullfrog croaking."
Padme smiled. "You do not mind that I..."
"I clearly can not tell you what you can or cannot do, Senator. I can only suggest."
Padme released Anakin's hand once she was certain he'd fallen asleep, and she stood. "I shall retire, Master Kenobi. Good evening," she told him, leaving the tub of ice cream sitting on the table as she left.
Obi-Wan noticed it, and shook his head. //Oh, Anakin...// he thought, sighing. //What am I going to do with you?//
This is story #3 for my one-a-day exercise! Yet another Anakin/Padme-based story, though this one takes place in an AU setting when Padme first arrives on Coruscant. Again, feedback is encouraged!