The first time Duchess Satine Kryze of Mandalore met Anakin Skywalker, aboard the doomed vessel heading for Courascant, and also before her entire council of peace-loving worlds, she immediately disliked him for various reasons.

Reason number one had been, obviously, that he was rumored to be the poster boy for the war, another pretty face to justify violence and devastation to the public.

A hero for children who knew no better to worship and wish to be like, solidifying the impulse for future wars in the present. A face that represented the need in people to shed blood over their disputes instead of shed harmony.

The face that showed nothing but arrogance at his own pedestal, because he had beaten everyone else down to achieve it and supposed that he could rightfully claim he had earned his place there.

His face was the face of everything she fought against. Satine had heard about this 'Hero with No Fear,' this general who crusaded about with destruction, and dared imply that it was in the name of justice.

Being opposed to all forms of violence no matter the reason, she had been infuriated that not only one Jedi, who irritated her enough as it was, now inhabited her ship, but two of them.

She had seen what war brought to a people, she knew what sacrifices had to be made every day for the cost of being a warrior, and the fact that he gazed at her with no small level of arrogant amusement rankled her.

How could he smile that cocky little grin at her when he led thousands of men to their deaths? When he and his Republic had bred clones for the pure purpose of being led to death?

When he was there only to protect her from the other side of ravaging beasts who also paraded about in 'the name of justice' killing and pillaging? It disgusted her, and really, it reminded her too much that he was now the face of what peace meant, he was victory and honor and courage.

He was the face of war, and she hated him by principle.

The second reason was one which she admitted only in the sacred confines of her deepest heart. Yet, at the same time, she knew it was just as vital a point as the first, and that in her own way he was a part of her inner war as well, now a warrior in what had been a constant battle since all those years ago when she had met a certain Jedi Padawan.

"Allow me to introduce my fellow Jedi Anakin Skywalker," that was the other reason she despised his presence, his very existence, because she had heard the pride in Obi-wan's voice as he stepped aside to permit his colleague the front stage.

She had not been fool enough to miss the diminutive, wry grin that quirked at the corners of Obi-wan's mouth, she had seen the admiring shine in his eyes, and had even noticed how his chest had puffed up, just a tad, as Anakin had stepped into the light.

This was a man she knew Obi-wan was proud to call his fellow Jedi, a man he cared for in a way she knew he could never care for her. Satine wondered if Anakin knew any of this, if he realized he had something she could never have fully, something she wanted with every fiber on her being.

So it may have been jealousy, also, that drove her to distraction. Anakin, of course in his naïve childish little way had been unaware of this, or perhaps he was all too well aware and that was why he was in the background sipping wine with the senators as Obi-wan defended his colleagues honor. That was what the fight had been, in truth.

Satine had glared at Anakin as he gave a small speech about the honor of the Order, all the while the sparkle in Obi-wan's eyes grew. "We are protectors, mi'lady, yours at the moment," Anakin's eyes, teasing before, had now dulled slightly, not enough for anyone else to make a scene of it, into a passionate dare.

He wanted her to try and argue with him on this, though she suspected that at a level, he knew that it was his arrogance that she wouldn't get far what with The Negotiator standing not two feet away that propelled such an action. It made her livid.

"We fight for peace," he had seemed so confident as he straightened, tipping his chin back just so that he could get his point across and remain respectful at the same time.

Satine snorted, was that what he thought he was doing? One could not fight for an end to fighting! Only peace could bring about peace, only nonviolence could bring an end to violence.

Two wrongs did not make a right, no matter how noble a cause you claimed it was for, how many times had she tried to beat that into Obi-wan's head? How many times had they fought over it, warrior to pacifist?

Peace to values? Emotion to action? Honor to Principle? And more importantly, exactly who did Skywalker think he was? She could only snort softly and study her drink at the rim, calming her aching temper.

She would not give Anakin the pleasure of feeling her frustration. She knew he could, if he so wished, and she could not stop him, but he would have no control over her if she did not relinquish control.

Obi-wan, though, she'd show him the fires of her rage, she would relinquish control to him because he already had it, and that infuriated her more.

He already had control of her, and she of him, and they of each other's tempers and moods. It was because they were one, and she did show him, most spectacularly, in front of the entire council.

It hadn't helped that their faces had been mere centimeters away, so close she could feel his hot breath, and stared into his deep azure eyes to see a sincere protective fury she wished could be unleashed for her opposed to against.

When she had stomped past the others, never having been so humiliated, never having hated someone so much that she could not get the comforting tones of his accented voice out of her head, it did not fail to come to her attention that Anakin stepped out of her way delicately.

There was amusement radiating off him in waves, for surely the ignorant child had no idea that the feud had been more over him than between them. He had no idea that he had more control over Obi-wan than he would have liked to admit, and thus, by extension, he had control of her too.

This was the third reason she hated Anakin Skywalker. She hated him firstly for his diluted principles of justice and peace, secondly because of his association with Obi-wan, and thirdly because of his power over them both. Who does he think he is? Satine wondered grumpily.

Later, it did not help her already sour mood when she was nearly killed by an assassin droid. Obi-wan had felt the need to stab it in the center eye, impressing all of the other senators with the aggression of his protective attack, (why and how he had to stab it that hard was beyond her, not that she faulted his timing) and she saw the flash of protective fury in his eyes that had been there earlier. She smiled and fought with him, back to back, for the protection of others.

It had felt good, to be at his side again instead of on the other side of where he stood. Somehow, it felt as if she belonged there at his back more soundly than she belonged on the throne; or even in the room with the other unknowing senators too afraid to indulge in war, rather than opposing it on belief altogether.

"Just like that swarm of venomites on Zaboo, remember?" Obi-wan asked fondly, as he picked up one of the tiny devils and examined it shrewdly. Satine smiled, observing those remaining on the ground for any sign of twitching or movement. "How could I forget? I still have the scars," she informed him.

Obi-wan looked up from his specimen, temporarily distracted. "Begging your pardon Duchess, but I specifically remember carrying you to safety," he said.

A bit of worry came into his eyes that he had somehow failed to protect her, failed to live up to the expectations placed on him as protector and that because of his failure, another bared the scars of it, a mental slap of his ever existing perfectionism. Her Obi was anything but undutiful.

Satine gave him a teasing grin over her shoulder, aware that the other senators were paying no attention whatsoever to what they were saying or doing, thus it was safe for the moment to act as if they didn't all exist. If only it were so, she thought. "I mean the scars I got when you fell, and dropped me," she explained.

Obi-wan's shoulders sagged and he gave a shamefaced look, eyes falling to the ground with remembered indignity at his clumsiness.

"Oh," he muttered sheepishly. "Yes," he offered nothing more beyond that, though he did straighten again and continued studying the bizarre creature.

"Did Qui-gon ever give you the well-deserved lecture for that incident as he promised?" Satine asked conversationally as she also nabbed a tiny spider and studied it. Were they remotely activated or was there a signal beacon somewhere? Perhaps they were already programmed.

"He gave me a variety of lectures after that incident, Duchess," Obi-wan snorted softly, eyes taking on a faraway look. "Including several on the dangers of attachment," he glanced up at her, eyes regretful, but then quickly back at his work. Satine showed no signs of her inner war.

"Which I assume you ignored to the letter?" She inquired innocently. "With all the power vested in me," Obi-wan chuckled softly. Satine allowed their arms to touch just barely, not anything more than the hairs on the ends to prickle against one another, if only a solitary moment when they were chuckling together instead of yelling.

"I'm sorry for my words earlier," she offered. Obi-wan waved his hand dismissively, casually accepting the touch without emotion or expression. "Already forgiven, my lady," there was no accentuation in his voice to suggest anything, yet Satine's heart swelled at the words 'my lady,' which she knew would never be used in a different context than those of polite politics. Ignoring the pang this thought brought about; she rashly approached the second means of her problems.

"I never expected to find you willfully in the company of the very face of all this bloodshed and destruction," she said softly, not considering to hide her frustration. At once, Obi-wan's eyes glazed over into the cold blankness she recognized as him holding back anger.

She was startled when he abruptly took a half step away from her, still studying the small device in his hands. The space where he had departed felt cold and empty against her side.

She looked at him quizzically. "That face of bloodshed and destruction is my most trusted friend, Satine," Obi-wan informed her tightly, quiet enough so that only she could hear.

"He is the most admirable person I have ever met," both of them knew that was a long list of people, added that Obi-wan met a great many men and women of amazing and unworthy qualities a day.

He traveled the galaxy finding them in all places, probably had innumerous examples of both cases. Yet he found this man the best of them all. Anakin Skywalker.

The face of the Clone War. It would not have been such an incredible feat if Obi-wan had merely said Jedi, though that warranted some praise in itself, but that he had said 'people,' an overall term of anybody and everybody.

Including her.

Stunned, hurt if not curious, she managed only a feeble nod before she turned and began calming the others, their conversation fresh in her mind. Perhaps she had underestimated the sway this Anakin Skywalker held over Obi-wan. It did not make him any less detestable in her mind, but worth looking into.

She had the opportunity later, when Governor Merrick called her into the surveillance rooms, where almost every inch of the ship that was covered in cameras was monitored. Droids and some clones were in the small space, and yet the entire space had an air of hushed about it.

Satine, who had been preparing the speech she intended to give before the Republic senate despite the late hour, walked into the small, stuffy and heated room to see Merrick wave her over with a genial smile.

What is he doing awake? She wondered, but quickly shook off the worry as insignificant. She trusted the governor with her life; he would never willingly betray her, his dedication to the cause of true peace was steadfast. He had often been her trusted companions and calm head in the face of many things.

"What is it?" she asked softly when she joined him. His eyes swept her up and down, taking in the close fitting robe she had hastily put on over her more revealing nightclothes.

She had no clue why, knowing Obi-wan was bound to come along on this trip, she had packed away all of her less…respectable dresses and some such.

It wasn't as if they were going to be doing anything, yet she had secretly held the hope that he might come to her rooms wanting something or another late at night, with some excuse or another and at least see what he was missing.

Not that she would allow anything to happen between them if he did suddenly turn into a lustful man, but…

It was a girlish fantasy, and now under the scrutiny of Merrick she felt increasingly foolish. All the same, she would not tolerate any questions on the matter; her reasons were her own.

"Were you planning on telling me what you wanted this year or so, Governor?" She inquired stonily, crossing her arms and somehow managing to look fierce as she impatiently tapped her foot. She had a speech to practice and write after all. Merrick seemed to come out of his stupor and grabbed hold of his senses relatively quickly.

"Oh. Yes, my lady. Forgive me," he said softly, eyes ducking in shame. Satine's face softened. He was a man after all, and the natural impulse to stare was what she had counted on when she had packed.

She just hadn't intended it for anyone but a particular male who hadn't even the grace to find some silly excuse to come see her like a good forbidden lover.

Honestly, what do I find so attractive in that man? Who does he think he is, treating me this way? She demanded of herself, infuriated with him all over again and he was not even in the room. "Never mind, Governor, just…What was it you wanted me to see?" She asked once more.

"Oh," he returned to staring down at the small screen among the dozens on the dashboard below them. "It's the Jedi, madam," he said softly. "What of them? Do they find something wrong with their accommodations?" she asked, cocking a brow. In vain, she attempted to tell herself it would not matter to her if they thought something was the matter with their quarters or not.

"No, my lady. It's only their taste in conversation that…" Satine briskly interrupted, pushing past him to see who exactly was on the screen. "I was not aware that every room was equipped with spy-ware!" she snapped, all too aware of what Obi-wan would say if he thought she had permitted a camera inside of his quarters.

Turns out, looking down at the screen had been a very bad idea, since the Jedi seemed to just have gotten settled down enough to prepare for bed, despite the late hour.

And Satine had a moment ago caught a glance of a certain Jedi master's muscled, scarred back, only partially hidden by the cottony, thin undershirt as he peeled off the warm layers of Jedi tunic.

Feeling her cheeks flame, she quickly snapped her head back around and focused on yelling at Vizsla instead of the very interesting scene unfolding on the screen below.

"Who put that camera in there?" She demanded, jabbing a finger down at the screen. "I-I don't know my lady," Merrick said, startled by the wrath in her eyes. "I ordered them put in, though, I admit. There aren't camera's installed everywhere but I insisted the Jedi's quarters. They're part of the Republic, Duchess, any order the senate gives them they will do," Satine refused to believe that Obi-wan would do anything that did not ethically agree with his somewhat warped but otherwise honorable beliefs.

"The Jedi are not slaves to the Senate," she coldly informed him. "I highly doubt they will do anything to harm any living being aboard this ship," after all, unless provoked, a Jedi was relatively harmless.

Even if some were cocky and others impudent, she knew that they were not bringers of death but rather just fighters in the endless war death brought to be waged at their doors. If only they could get in through their ever-wise, arrogant, all-seeing, forever -right, scarily perceptive heads that violence was not the kriffing answer.

"Not everyone shares your opinions, Duchess. After witnessing the damage they can do with those glowing sticks of theirs…"

"They're called lightsabers."

"Pardon?" Merrick looked increasingly confused. Satine narrowed her eyes at him and stood akimbo. "Those glowing sticks of theirs. They are termed lightsabers. They are blades of pure energy channeled from some odd crystal like thing inside of the main component. They represent the Jedi's pledge of honor. They are their lives," she explained without preamble, rather churlishly.

Merrick gave her a look that said he was wondering how she knew that (she, for one, was wondering why she had memorized that) but went on anyway.

"Yes, er…the damage they can bring about with their lightsabers, and the clones aboard this vessel far outnumber the personal guard and security we brought aboard. The Jedi command those clones, any order we give them can be overrode by them. We must watch them," he told her steadfastly.

Satine wanted to roll her eyes, but seeing that because Merrick had no prior personal experience with Jedi, he could in no way know how unfounded his beliefs were, she merely nodded, acceding to his ignorance if it assuaged his fears. After all, she did not suppose the Jedi would mind so greatly that their privacy was being intruded upon.

"Very well. What about them discomfits you?" She asked exhaling slowly to release her growing edginess. "Well, look at them, Duchess, they seem so smug," Merrick said as if it were supposed to be obvious, as he gestured down at the screen again.

Satine snuck a peek and inhaled sharply when she saw the hard lines of muscle bulging beneath the loose fitting and rather transparent undershirts. "The Jedi are naturally smug, Governor," she assured him, eyes roaming over the abundant scars lining Obi-wan's back and chest, heart clenching in her breast at the sight of them.

"It isn't necessarily a defect," she told him, in direct counter to her own opinions on the matter, but Merrick need not know any of this. "Yes, my lady," Merrick said to appease her she knew.

"But still…There is something about them I dislike. They've been speaking war strategies since they arrived back in the room. Strategies to use on whom, may I ask?" Satine shifted weight to one hip, not needing to mull this over. As much as she was loathe to admit it, they were generals in a campaign after all.

Were they supposed to cease their respective duties of planning and leading just because they were aboard a non-military related ship? Pre-planning was often the key to saving lives on a battlefield she knew. Far be it from her to stop them with that.

"They're generals, Governor," she reminded him reasonably. Merrick opened his mouth to contradict, but Satine waved her hand imperiously. "Enough. Your fears are justifiable but paranoid and unfounded. If I supposed that these two proposed any danger to this ship or her inhabitants I would never have allowed them to step on board my vessel without first bypassing me to do it," she firmly told him.

Merrick, suitably chagrined, blushed heavily and nodded. "Yes, my lady. I know. But-" she laid a hand on his shoulder. "Trust me," she said, turning his shoulders so that he was facing the door where she very much wanted to kick his behind in the direction of.

"You should rest; it has been a long journey as you pointed out so helpfully earlier. Please, get some rest for me for I shall have no respite myself tonight," not with the memory of Obi-wan's back in her mind. Blast, her emotions would not stop bombarding her at all tonight.

"Well…if you're sure…" he said slowly, allowing her to propel him out. "I am. Good night Governor," she said with a gentle shove toward s the door. "Yes. Well. Goodnight Duchess," he stammered, surprised at being so brusquely dismissed and took his leave with a flustered expression.

Satine exhaled in relief, glancing around at any of the workers to see if they had noticed her inappropriate emotions. If any of the clones had noticed, they did not show it. And the droids were not programmed to watch as a Duchess argued with her governor.

Good, then I'll just monitor them a moment and confirm my own suspicions, she thought ignoring what Obi-wan would most assuredly say if he were there to see her spying on him. At the dead of night, too.

That's why I won't tell him, it may have went against every bone in her body to have Merrick spy on the Jedi, but she was the Duchess and the safety of the people aboard was her responsibility.

She was sure Obi-wan could find it in his heart to forgive her if she noticed a few lines on his back.

Gazing down at the screen again, hugging her elbows as if to shrink from sight of the clones under directives from these men, she watched as Obi-wan sat on the bed directly across from Anakin's, a data-pad in his lap.

"Have you even started that book yet, master?" Skywalker was saying as he stood in the middle of the room, doing some sort of vulgar stretching movements that any younger woman would have been glorified to see. Satine ignored him.

"Yes, I started the first two words when I began your training and I haven't gotten in another word since then," Obi-wan told him.

Satine cocked a brow. Obi-wan had trained this being, this face of war? As Qui-gon had trained him? That was most unexpected. No wonder he was so protective of him, but had affection blinded Obi-wan to his old Padawan's arrogance and apparent naivety?

"I kept you on your feet then," Anakin surmised with a grin. "You are the one to blame for every gray hair on my head, you mean," Obi-wan corrected. Satine snorted. She doubted he had but two gray hairs, and even then his looks did not seem to have faltered with time and age.

"A Jedi shall not lay blame, master," Anakin said smugly, straightening. "And here you are again not letting me get in another word. Silence is golden, my old apprentice," Obi-wan replied just as smugly. Anakin snorted, but suddenly winced as he rubbed at his shoulder.

"Is your injury bothering you again?" Obi-wan asked a tad worriedly, as he looked up. Anakin shook his head. "Nah, it isn't that. I dislocated my shoulder trying to carry a family of seven on my back away from a bomb zone. Ahsoka still hasn't let me forget it," he replied. Satine cocked her head slightly, wondering if she should credit his story with any sincerity.

"As she shouldn't," Obi-wan agreed firmly with a sigh as he gestured for Anakin to come. He did not ask for any verification of the story. Anakin walked over and knelt at Obi-wan's feet, letting the older man gently massage the aching muscles and sore bone.

"Anakin, if you get into any more mishaps I'm afraid the council will be obliged to assign you two Padawan's to be there to get you out of your messes," Obi-wan informed him huffily as he ministered to his comrades hurts with a measured gentleness that she found endearing. As war hardened some men, she could see that it had softened Obi-wan.

"Oh force master, no," Anakin moaned as he laid his head on Obi-wan's knee. Whether or not he realized that he was kneeling in a subservient manner, directly parallel to his arrogant nature, he did not give it away. "Then I'd have a total of eighty seven people lecturing me to death," he groaned.

"Eighty seven?" Obi-wan inquired curiously. "Yes, you, Ahsoka, The Chancellor, Yoda, and a good majority of every other Jedi I meet," ah, so his arrogance had not gone ignored because of his apparent status. Satine nodded, not sure why she was so pleased with the fact that Obi-wan saw flaws in him.

"We criticize only because we care, Anakin," Obi-wan chuckled. "Sure," Anakin snorted, sounding as if he didn't believe this in the slightest. "Speaking of which, master, have you received your next assignment for when this is all over yet?" He asked.

Satine frowned. She had been under the impression that Jedi received their missions one after another. Were the problems of the universe so many that the Jedi were short?

Well, of course, Satine cursed herself, remembering that this particular rumor had been flitting around the galaxy for quite awhile, yet she had not believed it. She had not wanted to believe that the Jedi were being outnumbered and overwhelmed by the Clone War.

Yet it appeared that they were. "Yes. I've been stationed on Elssion to help settle the planet for a refugee camp," a camp that would not need to exist if this war were not so funded by the Jedi's efforts.

"Elssion? Isn't that planet already inhabited by native groups scattered in the plains and such?" Anakin asked confusedly. Obi-wan sighed and let his hands rest flat on Anakin's shoulders. Neither men moved from their positions, and watching them Satine felt a burst of sudden warmth in her chest.

They were just so...Intimate with each other. Satine was well aware of Obi-wan's aversion to close contact, bred as much in a sterile environment of the temple as in his own personality.

Yet the way he just sat there perfectly still with his hands on Anakin's shoulders and Anakin with his head on his knees was sure sign of what Obi-wan had said earlier. This man was indeed his most trusted friend. And by the way Anakin sat there, at ease and without rush, told a story within itself. The trust was not one sided, it seemed.

I suppose I should thank him then, she thought with almost fondness in her heart for the young man she saw now, affectionate and exhausted instead of the arrogant and irritating war general she had seen before. After all, he will keep Obi-wan safe for me, I hope.

"Yes, it is. They're primitive groups who have not much experience with politics or any knowledge of what it means," Obi-wan sighed, his face screwing into self-disgust. "That is why I'm being sent, to negotiate with them for their domain which the senate wants to build the refugee camps on. Its that or the Senate decides to have the land taken from then. I'm the only chance they have to keep at least a few acres of their ancestral lands," Obi-wan sighed, face somber.

Satine's temper flared. How dare Obi-wan use his skills of negotiation to take another person's property? It was akin to stealing, only with a pretty tongue and few strokes of signatures. It was wrong! Standing back, her frustration at this man heated until it was the hot rage of a The Furies.

She intended to have a word with him about that, not that it would help, but at least he would know how sorely disappointed she was that he would aid in this villainy. "It's for the greater good, master," Anakin said nonchalantly, backing away from his master to stand and plop down on the bed next to him.

"True as that may be, Anakin, it's still wrong," Obi-wan said with a sigh, his shoulders slumped under the great burden of leadership and his own natural abilities.

Satine wished to reach out and stroke the worry lines on his forehead away, after a moment she realized that her hand was slowly doing just that on the screen.

Quickly, she snatched her hand away, mildly embarrassed. "We're in war, Obi-wan. We can't do everything right all the time, sometimes sacrifices have to be made. Besides, they're in better hands with you than if the Senate would have sent one of its own representatives," Anakin told him, not at all troubled by the moral implications that Obi-wan's mission demanded.

Satine loathed him all the more for lowering guilt that Obi-wan deserved to carry when he was aiding this heinous plot, and even more because she wasn't the one comforting.

"It still isn't right," Obi-wan sighed again. "Neither is you feeling bad about something that's out of your control," Anakin reminded him, as he patted his shoulder and headed across the cabin to his own bunk. Obi-wan visibly relaxed. "Yes, you're right. Where is your next mission?" he asked. "Being on the council you should know," Anakin teased.

Obi-wan snorted. "I haven't spoken with the other council members in weeks. Every time they've been in session I've been busy battling for my life," those words, spoken with a hint of bitterness, made her heart wring. "Well, you know master, I'm starting to think General Grievous has a crush on you," Anakin teased lightheartedly.

"He's not my type," Obi-wan chuckled, propping up one leg. "Too cold and hollow," Anakin laughed softly and nodded. "Anyway, I'm headed back to The Temple to nab my Padawan. She was hurt trying to block the debris of that aforementioned bomb from hitting me and the family after I sort of passed out. She should be recovered by now. I wish I could have been there to help her," now there was palpable bitterness in his voice that he had not been allowed to remain with his apprentice while she recovered.

Satine was once more surprised. She had taken him as the kind who liked to fly solo. She would not have expected him to have, much less cherish, someone who could only slow him down in his quest for glory.

"Duty, Anakin. You know Ahsoka would have flayed you herself had you refused a mission only for her sake. Besides, she's a strong girl and in the care of Bant. You know she'll take care of her for us," he assured him compassionately.

Anakin ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah...And I made Bant promise to let me know if anything happened. She hasn't called in with life or death news yet..." He looked at Obi-wan almost for assurance that she wouldn't.

Daddy's boy, was the phrase that flashed through Satine's mind. "And if she does I'll be right beside you the entire way, that and I'll have to comfort Bant who'll begin balling and blubbering out apologies the second she sees your face," it was thin consolation, edged with dark humor, but it seemed to help the young man nevertheless.

"That's the reason I like Bant better than you, master, she has real compassion compared to sarcastic wit and wry retorts," Satine rolled her eyes, wondering just who this man thought he was to say such a thing, but Obi-wan took it in good humor.

"You'll break my heart with such things, Anakin," he drawled. "And if my heart is broken, I suppose the council will find it sufficient enough proof to put the Order at ease, and…"

"Madam?" Satine jumped, startled, ad pivoted around to come face to face with one of the clones. She had seen him before with Obi-wan. The Jedi called him Cody. Satine cleared her throat, embarrassed at having been caught spying on the two men.

"Do you require anything, Duchess?" The clone questioned politely, either deigning to say nothing about it or having not noticed and made a connection. She rather hoped it was the latter.

"No, no thank you soldier," she said brusquely, trying to sound as queenly and in control as possible. "I was merely checking up on my guests," that it had been from a spy camera meant nothing.

She heard the sound of laughter from the screen and glanced down to see Anakin laughing at something Obi-wan had said. his laughter was carefree, light, and f or some reason it made her feel…Better. As if all in the universe was well.

Stars above, these men were just infuriating her all over the place tonight, weren't they? Was there a class in the temple that taught them specifically how to get underneath the skin of women? She wouldn't be surprised, really, if they did. All Jedi she had met so far made her livid, except for Qui-gon; she had gotten along with him fairly well…

"But I shall leave you to your duties. I see everything is well under control," with that said, she quickly made as dignified a retreat as she could considering the swashay of her robe in the back and the night's new excursions.

Satine saw Anakin a last time right before the ship landed on Courascant. Her back turned as she finished making sure that she had everything packed, or that was the excuse she had given her multiple attendants and guests who had insisted she come be the one to open the champagne bottle traditional for the end of a perilous journey on Mandalore. She had given the honor to Senator Gosh-beck.

Satine needed time to think. Obi-wan's last spoken words words rang through her head ceaseless, haunting, taunting… "Had you said the word, I would have left the Jedi Order," she had read every nuance that included in his eyes, dark with regret, stormy with longing, wet with tears of sorrow and pain. He had missed her as much as she had missed him, and probably suffered pain between the two times that she had not been privy too. He had been alone. All this time.

Alone except for Skywalker, she found her own heartache transcending into anger at the one man who had everything she wanted…And didn't appreciate it.

"What? He was gonna blow up the ship," he had said as he mercilessly killed a man, without regret and with a shrug. As if life were something to be disregarded. She remembered his look of mild embarrassment as he turned away from them, as they had taken a step towards each other…

And then a Clone had run up, and she had turned away, tears in her eyes, pain and rejection flashing in his. They would never finish that conversation, Satine felt sure. She knew it; she could feel it…

They would never be together, no matter how much they wished it, and it was all because of a damned Code that Obi-wan would not defy for his life and because of her own damned heritage, which she had countless times never wanted!

Satine slammed a hand down on her pillow, teeth gritted. Tears ran unstopped down her cheeks. Damn that man! Damn them both! Who do they think they are? She thought vehemently.

Yet she already knew the answer: they were Jedi. With the name came a heart-wrenching amount of responsibility, and duty. With it came spiritual enlightenment, service, communion, victory…

But never love.

She was a Duchess, with her own curse came service, privilege, achievement, credit …

But never love.

Standing straight, wiping her tears lest they ruin her makeup, she looked down at the sheet less bed and reflected that they could still meet up, despite the trip being over temporarily. This was Courascant, headquarters of the famed Jedi Temple, and well…

She didn't have anything better to do with her nights, anything she could ever have wanted to do more. "If only it were so," she whispered brokenly, with a wan smile as she finished swiping away any mention of tears.

Obi-wan would never approve if he knew…Suddenly, the sound of her door chime went off. Satine sighed. The time for mourning what could have been as over it seemed. She was Duchess once more.

Straightening, putting a fake smile of jubilation on her face, she went to the door, and immediately cocked her brows in surprise when she saw the man on the other side.

Anakin bowed at the waist. "Everything is prepared for landing, Duchess. Estimated time of landing is five minutes," he reported, crisp and professional. He still stood there, overly proud, chin tipped arrogantly, but there was a bit more to it now.

Something like admiration. She nodded, numbly. Who in the universe did this man think he was? "Thank you master Skywalker. I suppose we'd best get going," she, for one, still used the time honored label of master instead of general when referring to Jedi.

Anakin noted the title with a smile small, but did not budge from his place at her doorstep. "Actually, I was hoping to have a word with you, Duchess," he glanced down the hall, inconspicuously.

"Privately?" He suggested, suave as could be. Satine, curious, irritated, stepped aside to let him pass. "Of course. I've sent all my attendants away. We may have a moment of peace before someone comes looking for me," hopefully not your old master. She didn't add that though.

Anakin nodded and stepped inside, eyes sweeping the room as if there would be an intruder inside of the empty closet. After this basic task was accomplished and she had finished furtively rolling her eyes at his paranoia, he stood to face her.

"Obi-wan loves you," ah, so they were discussing this, were they? Well, what business was it of his? Satine felt her irritation increase. "A very blunt estimation," she observed dryly. "I prefer the direct approach," Anakin agreed mildly, then sobered.

"I heard what you said in that hall, Satine. And I heard what he said," the first thing Satine thought was why he had been eavesdropping in the hall, the second was why he was using her first name.

"Who do you think you are?" She burst out furiously, finally voicing the thought that had been in her head the entire duration of this trip.

"To eavesdrop on covert affairs?" she demanded. He did not seem too stressed by her fury. He merely cocked a brow at her as if it should be obvious.

"I wasn't eavesdropping," he responded indignantly. "I had arrived to help Obi-wan take down Merrick, and well…I didn't want to interrupt the moment. You two seemed to have been on a roll. I've never heard Obi-wan speak that way before, not to anyone," he seemed to be studying her.

It's a wonder what he sees in this boy, she thought but did not say. She hardly cared if he heard it through his force.

"Do you have a point you're leading up too?" she asked at last, irritated into his oh-so-wonderful direct approach. "He'll stay for you. If you ask," Anakin said seriously.

"I'm aware," Satine ground out. He was really getting on her nerves. "Then why don't you ask?" Anakin inquired, sounding surprised that she, too, had been paying attention to a conversation, which she had rightfully started and ended.

"Why is it your business?" She cried, throwing up her hands. Anakin narrowed his eyes at her. "It's my business because that's my master, Obi-wan raised me, he's the closest thing to a father I've got. He's a good man, and I don't want to see his heart get broken. He loves you, so I want to know, do you love him back or is this just a passing fancy?"

Satine gawked at this…This youngling who dared insinuate that she was using Obi-wan to fulfill some sort of perverted desire for a tender look like an insecure schoolgirl. He dared snoop into her own private heart to try and see into things that had nothing to do with him and control her just like he controlled his blasted master who deserved much better than this boy…

Who did he think he was?

"You insolent child…Since you really must know, I love Obi-wan!" she ground out, completely maddened now. He took a step back, astounded by her vehemence.

"And I would rather writhe and die on the ground in agony than break his heart willingly! I'm doing this for him! Don't you think I know he'd leave the Order for me?" Her fists clenched, tears blurred her vision. She blasted loved him…

"Don't you think I don't want to fall on my knees and beg him to do just that? But I won't! I will not. Because he loves the Order and he is a part of the Republic and he needs the kriffing Jedi! It would kill him to stop that now; every day wondering about how much worse the predicament had gotten, worrying about all the people dying who he could have saved, all the Jedi he thinks he'll have betrayed by signing out of duty…It would kill him from the inside out, that would break his heart, and I will not stand by and watch that just because I want him here, dammit!" she stomped her foot.

"I won't!" She repeated. Anakin blinked, stunned by her vehemence. Satine glared at him acidly. Then, slowly, her vision clearing, she sighed heavily. "And…People need him. The Jedi need a general like him, who'll give everything he has without hesitation or question. The Republic needs an actual negotiator to keep people on their side," she looked up, eyes blazing, her hatred for this man evident.

"And you need him, too, no matter the farce of fearlessness you put on. I will not be the one to take him away from that; I won't be the one who takes him from the galaxy, because it needs him. People need a hero, and he's it. If my heart breaks in the face of such a thing, well at least it'll be for a good cause," she finished her tirade, finally feeling some semblance of peace since Obi-wan came aboard the ship those few eternal days ago.

Finally, after a moment of gaping at her, Anakin spoke. "Thank you," he said softly. Satine was taken aback, she blinked. "For what?" She demanded. Anakin took a step back, smiling gently.

"For loving him. Obi-wan deserves so much more than what he's been given…It's good to know someone else realizes that," after a moment, Anakin sat, thinking. "And thank you, also, for…For not taking him from me. To tell you the truth," he shook his head.

"I'm not sure how long I could keep going if Obi-wan weren't there to give me strength. I need him, more than anyone will ever know…Except maybe you," his eyes were soft with his compassion…And gratitude.

Satine sighed, examining this young man in front of her, and suddenly saw not the arrogant, naïve and vindictive man she had formerly believed, but a son. Obi-wan's son, and by extension, her own as well.

Her own heart softened, she smiled back tentatively. "Obi-wan cares for you," she said at last. "He told me you were his most trusted friend. I did not think you deserved such an honor, but…" she studied his earnest face, the face of a child eager for praise.

"But perhaps I was mistaken. Had I said the word and he have left the Order long ago when we met…Then he'd never have trained you, and he'd never have saved all the lives I know he's saved. If I take him now, he won't get to save the thousands more just waiting for him. And he won't get to help you along the path of a hero," she was only feeding his ego, she knew, but…Perhaps he deserved a bit of praise after all.

She didn't know who he thought he was, but she knew one thing, to her, he was her lost long son. She put both hands on his shoulders, a lump in her throat. "Take care of him for me," she requested, pleaded, commanded. Anakin grabbed one of her hands between his benignly, and placed a formal kiss on her fingers.

"You have my word," he intoned, and Satine knew he meant it. "Well, then the barve will be fine…And who knows? Perhaps after this war, I can convince the both of you to leave the Order. I need more bell-boys around the palace," she declared.

Anakin snorted and his eyes twinkled. "I look forward to it…Satine," he chuckled. She grinned and led the way out, back to their dismal war lives…Which did not seem so dismal anymore. She patted his shoulder, glad that Obi-wan had someone to love while he was forbidden her…And someone to love him back while she was forbidden him.

"I'll remember that…Anakin."