The Secret Life of Ri'ma Kenobi
Part One: The Phantom Menace and Secret Romance
Chapter Nineteen
The baby girl was loved and adored by all of those around her: her proud papa, who cradled her tiny form in his strong arms and rocked her to sleep; her proud mama, who cared for her every need and ran at the sound of her whimper; and, last but most certainly not least, her honorary uncle, Anakin Skywalker, who treated her like she would break if he simply looked at her wrong. He fussed over the infant almost as much as her mother did, and if anyone was ever looking for the boy, they had only to find Ri'ma, and there he would be. Countless afternoons and evenings were spent as he huddled over her cradle, watching her sleeping form, counting her tiny fingers and ties, and gasping if she sighed. The baby had beautiful, downy-soft strawberry-blond hair and greenish-blue eyes with the longest lashes ever beheld by man. Anakin was completely smitten and if he hadn't been so much in love with senator Amidala, Obi-Wan feared he would have wanted to marry his daughter when she was grown.
One fine afternoon, just as spring was coming again, and Anakin was in his normal position leaning over baby Ri'ma's cradle, an alarming sound poured through the open windows and rattled the house. The baby began to wail and Anakin took her into his arms and held her close to him as Obi-Wan rushed outside to see what the ruckus was. Eirtae' came out of the bedroom where she had been napping, tying the tie to her robe.
"Anakin, what's that noise?"
Anakin shrugged and yielded the baby to her mama with a little sigh. "I'm not sure. Obi-Wan went to check it out."
Eirtae' rocked the baby but the noise continued and the infant would not be calmed. Anakin shifted impatiently, plugging his ears against the racket. Eirtae' hurried to shut the windows. After several minutes of waiting, the front door flew open and Obi-Wan came bursting in.
"Eirtae', Anakin, fire! There's fire!"
"Fire?!" Eirtae' panicked. Obi-Wan began packing everything he could as quickly as possible. Eirtae' thrust baby Ri'ma into Anakin's arms and ran off to dress. Anakin held the child to his chest and shushed her, rocking back and forth as best he could on his short legs. Within ten minutes they were outside and Obi-Wan was telling them what to do.
"Anakin, you have to escort Eirtae' and the baby. I can't afford being seen with them. You must take them by the back roads to the temple. I will be waiting with a speeder. Try not to be seen, and hurry."
"Where's the fire?" Eirtae' managed to ask.
"Towards the middle of the city. It's far away now, but it'll spread before we know it. It's not safe being here anymore." Obi-Wan gave Eirtae' a quick kiss and tenderly caressed his sleeping daughter's downy head before disappearing down the street with the luggage. Anakin led Eirtae' on, who held the sleeping infant. After the sound of the alarm, the silence was ghastly, foreboding. Anakin's heart thundered in his chest as they hurried through the quickly-forming crowd. No matter what happened, he would get them to the temple safely. Then they would leave this dangerous place.
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