By obi's girl
Summary: Years later, as an old woman, Sabé remembers a special day she spent with her love, Obi-Wan.
The old woman smiled, looking down at the faded locket in her palm as she sat before her dresser. The locket wasn't very old, but she had had it in her possession for a long time. The front clasp, though fading, had rough engraved markings on the sides. The markings were actually a poem, a love poem, written in Nubian. She closed her eyes, holding the locket close to her heart.
Sabé's eyes remained closed as she waited patiently. Obi-Wan had invited her on a picnic while he was on leave from his last mission with Anakin, and he had opted to take his leave on Naboo. Anakin wanted to come with him, of course, because he missed Naboo and Padmé, but Obi-Wan wanted the young Padawan focused on his studies. He also wanted to be able to be alone with Sabé, the real reason for his stay on Naboo.
"How long do I have to wait, Ben?" she asked curiously.
The Knight grinned as he settled in front of her on the blanket and opened up her palm and rested a small box in her hand. "All right, m'lady, you can open your eyes."
Sabé opened her eyes, playfully glaring at Obi-Wan as she fixed her dress. The couple was situated in the middle of a grassy area, in Naboo's lush countryside not far from Sabé's parents' home. She eyed the box and suddenly feared what was inside of it. Sabé loved Obi-Wa,n but marriage was the last thing she'd ever expected, especially from him. Jedi were forbidden to marry. She sighed and opened the box, hoping she didn't see a ring, but was relieved. A gold locket rested in the center of the box; Obi-Wan leaned over and held it up in his hands.
"I know that you're not the type of woman that keeps a lot of jewelry, Sabé, but when I saw this in the marketplace, it reminded me of you. The simplicity, elegant beauty...it's stunning as you are, m'lady," Obi-Wan said. Sabé smiled, her cheeks becoming a shade of red, and then held up her long brown hair as Obi-Wan placed the locket across her neck and found the clasp in the back.
Sabé sat, fingering the locket as she thoroughly looked at it. As she looked at it, she noticed small engravings on the backside and looked at them more closely. She knew the writing was in Nubian but because the locket was so small, she could barely understand what the inscription meant. "Obi-Wan, what's written here?"
"Hmm," he asked absent-mindedly, and Sabé playfully hit his shoulder as he leaned over again and looked at the locket. "You don't recognize it?" Sabé nodded no. "It's your poem, well, two lines of it."
Sabé looked more closely again and as she did, she realized that he was right. It was her poem. "I feel you in the wind, calling my name, and I know, wherever you are, you feel me too," she read it aloud. Sabé smiled as waves of emotions washed all over her. She knew she loved Obi-Wan, but until that moment, she had no idea how much she truly loved him. Sabé had always seen Obi-Wan as perfect, flawless, and dedicated, but he had become so much more to her now. She leaned over suddenly, took his face in her hands and kissed him.
As she kissed him, she felt wetness come from her eyes and Obi-Wan pulled back and frowned, confused by her tears. "Sabé, love, what is it?"
"You're perfect," she whispered. "You're everything I want, Ben." Obi-Wan shrugged and grinned as Sabé continued. "I mean it, you don't know, you'll never know how much this small gift – this gesture – means to me. You may think it's only a simple necklace but it will always hold special meaning for me."
"You didn't look inside."
Sabé frowned and looked down at the necklace, and opened it. She tilted her head side-ways and wiped her face as she gazed more closely. There was a small holo image of Obi-Wan on the left heart, and on the right, a picture of herself looking over at Obi-Wan with dreamy eyes. He was younger then, and so was she. His face was clean, no beard to hide the grin on his face.
"It was a day or two after the victory Parade…"
"Yes, I remember," Sabé said, "I took you on a private tour of Theed, I showed you the art museums, the palace gardens and…"
"I don't recall seeing any of those things actually," Obi-Wan said suddenly, "I don't remember seeing them because all I remember of that day was being with you. You helped me, you saved me, Sabé, from myself."
Sabé blushed and shrugged. "I was trying to cheer you up. I knew how much you were hurting after Qui-Gon's death…I wanted to see you smile again and it worked." She looked down again at the necklace, still fingering it. "We're good for each other, Obi-Wan…I know I don't say it often, but I love you."
Obi-Wan crawled towards her and kissed her passionately. Sabé giggled and laughed as she fell back onto the grass and then laughed loudly as Obi-Wan started tickling her.
Sabé opened her eyes again and curiously looked at the locket again in her palm, and then turned and looked at herself in the mirror. She was an older woman now; her brown hair had become faded with streaks of gray. She wasn't the same lively, passionate woman Obi-Wan had fallen in love with. /Ben would be surprised if he saw me now. I bet he never imagined me like this/ she thought to herself. /He'd want to remember me as a young, beautiful woman with so much spirit and love. /
/I feel you in the wind, calling my name and I know, wherever you are, you feel me too/
Sabé frowned and turned in her chair, looking around her room. No one was there, but yet, she felt someone was there, a presence. She turned around and started to put the locket away back in its' box. Sabé looked up briefly at the mirror and then gasped, staring back at the blue reflection. He smiled gently, his eyes still a color of gray and blue. Sabé put the locket away, closed the box and placed it inside the dresser before turning around again and facing him.
/Hello, Sabé/ he smiled and sat down on the bed. /I didn't know you still had it. /
She turned and looked at the drawer and remembered the locket, and then turned back to Ben. "Of course, I still have it. You gave it to me."
Ben nodded, smiling. He hadn't seen Sabé in years, the last time he saw her, it was to say goodbye to her. He didn't want to leave her, but he had no choice. She couldn't be involved in his problems; he didn't want her to know about Anakin. After that day, he was sure that Sabé had taken the locket and threw it away. To him, she was still graceful, elegant, beautiful…a lady.
Sabé wanted to look away from him, ashamed that she had become so old, but she didn't. "You shouldn't see me like this. I wanted you to remember me as I was then, not as an old woman."
/Do you see me, Sabé/ he questioned. / I died an old man. More than ten years under that Tatooine sun, and it did nothing for my complexion except help the aging process. It doesn't matter to me that you're not the same anymore. /
"I wanted to stay with you, you know that," she muttered. "I could have stayed with you."
Ben sighed and leaned back, /Yes, you could have stayed with me but would that have changed things? I couldn't let you throw your life away like that, Sabé. /
Sabé shrugged, "I wouldn't be throwing my life away. I would be with you," she said and sighed. "But there's no use talking about the past because it's finished and we can't go back."
/No, we can't/ Ben agreed,/but I wish we could. I made a lot of mistakes, Sabé, and leaving you, I believe, is my greatest regret. /
Sabé smiled, leaning back on her chair. "We'll be together again one day, Ben. I've always waited for you, but now it's your turn to wait for me." Sabé looked at the mirror and left the dresser and sat down on the spot where only minutes ago, Ben sat. The spot felt warm. Sabé smiled and crawled beneath the covers and closed her eyes.
/Goodnight, my love…I'll see you soon. /
The End
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