Give Me Love

chapter twenty two

"Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker," the king announced as soon as the door on the shuttle ship opened. The balmy air of Elyria washed over the exposed skin of your arms and legs, coating your newly freshened skin in a soft warmth. It was already midday on Elyria, the middle of their summer, and already you could tell this was going to be a toasty mission.

No wonder all of your dresses were so lightweight and flowy. You could see a wave of heat coming up from the ground, and citizens outside the palace window fanned themselves lazily with whatever they could find.

You were glad for the choice in clothing now, walking down the ramp and clutching your small bag of medical supplies while Anakin grabbed your luggage and followed you. He was wearing his full Jedi uniform, seemingly unbothered by the already intense heat, while your hairline was already starting to bead with sweat.

You don't know what you were expecting. He had grown up on Tatooine, after all, so desert heat was in his blood. You, however, were from a planet where the default was grey clouds and a slow drizzle, so you were exactly the opposite.

You stood before the king and queen of Elyria, stumbling slightly at their beauty. The king, with hair the shade of midnight and eyes a deep purple, had a face cut from stone, as if each dip and curve had been chiseled meticulously by the galaxy's greatest sculptor. He stood tall and proud, a cape of furs on his back and dressed head to toe in expensive silks.

His wife, no less beautiful, had a soft pink shade of hair and eyes that sparkled red like gemstones. She wore an elaborate gold gown, shimmering in the light of the sun, but the sparkle of both of their skin seemed to drown it out anyways. It looked like they had galaxies swimming around in their veins, and you couldn't tear your eyes away, even to curtsy like you were supposed to.

Anakin tugged on the scarlet ribbon tied around your wrist-- one that matched his own tied around his flesh arm. A symbol of your "union", is what the Elyrians called it, and allowed for you to be seen with and interact with each other in public.

"Pleased to be at your service, your honors," Anakin dipped into a bow with you.

"Please, call me Vagabo. And my wife--"

"I am Samira. We are so thankful to have a Jedi Knight and an accomplished medic such as yourselves to help our dear Corina," her voice was like honey straight from the jar, and you found yourself slightly enchanted by it.

"Y/n here is the best medic Coruscant has to offer. I'm sure she can find a solution to all of this."

"That's wonderful. We've been so worried ever since Corina fell ill a few days ago. She's never had so much as a cold, and now..."

"Could you show us to her room?" you asked. "I'd like to evaluate her symptoms as soon as possible. And if you don't mind, I have a few questions to ask you as well."

On the walk over you learned that Corina stopped eating two days ago, began to look pale, and then collapsed on the floor of the library. A servant found her and brought her to the bed, where she's been too weak to stand ever since. She can barely lift her head anymore, her skin hot to the touch, and she complains of being thirsty but refuses all water.

You plugged this all into your mental checklist: loss of appetite, weakness, fatigue, fever. It could be any strain of anything, so that didn't narrow it down very much.

"Have your healers come to any conclusions?"

"They've tried every cure they could think of, but nothing seems to be helping," Samira said.

You saw for yourself soon, reaching Corina's room. She was laying down in bed, the covers pulled up to her chest, wavy pink hair perfectly fanning out around her. She looked like she was something straight out of a fairytale-- even ill, her beauty was impossible. Sparkling skin, face shaped like an upside teardrop, eyes so big and glittering and sparkling red like a garnet-- princess Corina was the spitting image of her mother, as was the woman sitting at her bedside.