It really isn't alleviating her fears at all. She nuzzles his cheek and whispers, like she's afraid if she speaks too loudly, the whole world will come crashing down around her ears.

"My life is not so simple, I've tried to tell you. I have been presented hundreds of suitors since I was widowed. I do not have the luxury to spend years getting to know someone, only to go back on that decision. I have too many other lives hanging in the balance, depending on me to be their Jeddak."

She's come too far, she knows. This -- what she feels for him -- it has wound itself deep into the fabric of her being. Her grip on him tightens.