Y/N, the princess of the independent planet of Suraniat, faces the threat of assassination by the Separatists due to her lenience towards the Republic. Jedi knight Obi Wan Kenobi is sent by the council to protect her. Together they will investigate...
"I must talk to my mother." I announced. I had resolved to discover why my necklace was wanted by whoever was conspiring against me, and figured the only way to get a clue was to look through my aunt's stuff once more. Even though my aunt Iris was my father's sister, when she disappeared, he decided to never speak of her again, specially to me. My mother didn't speak that much about her either, but at least I could ask her where my aunt's belongings stayed.
"And... why do you need her stuff, if I may ask?" My mother inquired, leaning casually against the door. "I mean, if you really think you can solve her disappearance by going through the stuff, the royal guards already went through it several times after she left, I'm sorry to inform you that-"
"No, it's not about that." I interrupted, dodging what could have been a pretty harsh message of disencouragement. "I just wanted to, well, I thought that going through her things would remind me of when she was here." She seemed surprised, smiling warmly as she crossed her arms. "You know, because I'm locked inside this palace."
"In that case, I suppose I can help." She turned around, guiding me to her room. She opened a drawer by her bedside table and took the key to my aunt's old quarters out, placing it on my hand. "Your father didn't want to see it anymore." I thanked her, and before I left the room she added. "You can keep it. I know it's special to you."
I wasted no time in entering the room to find it unpleasantly disorganised. Papers everywhere, drawers opened. "Someone has been here before me, that's for sure." I thought, lifting a bunch of papers from the ground. "And something tells me they were looking for this." I came across a sketch of the necklace in between the piles.
"But why?" I paced the room, picking and reading papers. It didn't matter how many I went through, I couldn't comprehend what the necklace had to do with the messy affairs of Tredar with the Banking Clan, apart from it being purchased there. I let myself slide down to the floor.
I sighed. It would be so hard to go through everything alone. I stood up and sat on the chair in front of my aunt's desk. A box laid misplaced. I opened it. It had a similar shape to my necklace carved onto it beside some sort of keypad. I figured it would be his original box, so I took the necklace out of my pocket and fit it inside it; It clicked perfectly. It started lighting up like it had when I was in Obi Wan's ship, and the keypad activated. I was quite confused but couldn't mess with it any longer as Nathali had appeared, telling me my father was looking for me to start getting ready so I wouldn't be late to the ball that had not been canceled after the events of the previous night. I rolled my eyes and took the box to my room, where I started getting ready.
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"Tiara, hair, makeup, jewellery..." I checked myself in the mirror, making sure I was ready to go downstairs to the ball. The worst part was over when I finished walking that insufferable staircase in the middle of the room; All guests turned around to look at me in silence while I tried not to trip. When I reached the end, the chatter and gossip resumed. I took a moment to admire the high ceilings and the massive golden chandelier. It didn't matter how many times I had been in that room, it amazed me every time. The velvet red curtains, the paintings, the throne sitting lavishly in the far end. I vowed towards my father. He was conversating with the prince of Keluura, who was soon making his way towards me. I spotted Obi Wan leaning on the wall to my right, but before I could approach him, the prince had asked to dance with me. I took his hand affectionately, remembering the positive impact it would make on the vote if the nobles saw the princess of Suraniat dancing with the future leader of a Republic planet. The prince danced elegantly, making conversation whenever he could. Whether it was the size of the ball room, the people or our gardens, the prince never seemed to run out of things to say. I received his compliments gladly and gratefully, not making many comments myself. I looked towards Obi Wan, who had not changed positions. His back leaned on the wall, his feet crossed, his hands behind his back, his chin tilted upwards as he scanned the room, occasionally letting his gaze fall upon the prince and I.
When the dance was over, the prince lead the way to join many conversations with the nobles. Deprived of opportunities to talk, I soon became uncomfortable, searching for Obi Wan in the crowd as my mind lingered to the ball where he had been my accompany. He nodded in reassurance and I turned back to the conversation.
"So, which one do you prefer your highness?" One of the ladies said. I looked in confusion. "Chiffon or satin?"
"Umm..." I stuttered. "Both are ideal for the summer." I looked at the prince and cleared my throat. "If you'll excuse me..." I let go of the prince arm and ushered towards Obi Wan. His gaze trailed over my body as I approached.
"Is the ball of your likeness, princess?" He made his way closer to the crowd, with me on his side.
"Would be better if the music was a bit more fun." I remembered the night we danced. "How about a dance, general?" I smiled.
Before he could even reply to my invitation, the prince had reached us, and with an amused tone he joined the conversation. "Isn't dancing deemed inappropriate for a man of your standing, general Kenobi?"
"I know the Jedi code is strict, but I didn't know it restricted having fun." I replied, turning to an uncomfortable Obi Wan who was about to speak, when once again, he was interrupted.
"I sure hope not, but emotional attachments sure are, and I wouldn't be surprised if General Kenobi fell in love with such a beautiful princess the second he entered the dance floor with her." He chuckled. I expected a witty comeback from Obi Wan, but on the contrary, his face dropped.
"No attachments?" I asked confused, trying to make sense of Obi Wan's gloomy countenance.
"I'm afraid not." The prince said, taking my hand to join the dance floor once again. I looked at Obi Wan as he retreated, avoiding making eye contact with me. He whispered something into a guard's ear and left the room. The guard had taken Obi Wan's initial position when the prince turned me around to dance once more. I could think of nothing else but the prince's comment, making it impossible to concentrate on the footsteps. I reflected upon all the signs of affection Obi Wan had showed right up to that moment, and tried to evaluate whether it could indeed true, and he felt nothing at all for me. I mean, I wasn't vain enough to imagine he was utterly in love with me, but I couldn't deny to myself my feelings had a possibility of being well received due to his attitude towards me. However, Obi Wan was a very rule-bounded Jedi, who was here for a mission.
After tripping and stepping on my companion's foot at least twice, I excused myself and went to search for Obi Wan, knowing he could be the only one to answer my question. Somehow I knew exactly where he was, so I hasted out the side door to the main garden, and that's where I found him, leaning with his arm placed on the fence by the same daffodil field we first met in. He lightly startled when he saw me and quickly stood straight.
"Ease up, general." I said, reacting to his stiffness. "I don't need to be one with the force to realise how uneasy you are."
"My apologies." He said. "Do you need me at the ball?"
"No, it's not that." I smiled briefly to try and shake off the awkwardness in the air. He didn't smile back. "Listen, I came to apologise about that unpleasant conversation earlier." I explained after a pause, getting closer, to which he reacted by taking a step backwards. I stopped. "And so... It is true?" He looked to the side, knowing exactly what I was talking about.
"It is." He admitted. My heart sunk. "I couldn't find the courage to tell you."
"Is that how you really feel?" I questioned. He silently nodded, directing his gaze out in the fields. I didn't want to believe he was not partial to me. Not after all we've been through. His silence once again invaded our surroundings. I looked at the daffodils fields. The night sky had taken away their brightness. They looked older and further away. I shook my head and looked one last time at his eyes, which glistened in sadness."No one is free of attachments Obi Wan. Not even you."
I came back to the ball in broken spirits, ready for the event to end and eager to let my emotions take the best of me the minute I shut my bedroom door.
