LEILANI SERENNO bridged the past and the present, born into a family of cruelty and then groomed to fulfil a role in the grand scheme of things. She was a puppet manipulated by her brother, ensnared in a larger narrative orchestrated by the Force. Y...
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"NO!" only the voice stopped him, the voice Leilani knew all too well — the single word rang out like a blaster shot, freezing the guard mid-swing. She turned her head sharply, almost afraid her mind had conjured the sound out of desperation. But there he was. His robes were tattered, his hair damp with sweat, and his face bore the grime of battle. Yet his piercing gaze, filled with equal parts resolve and fury, was unmistakable.
She wasn't sure she'd ever hear his voice again, let alone see him standing here. And yet, he was.
"Step away from her!" Obi-Wan's voice carried through the suffocating silence that followed, his presence impossible to ignore. His sabre was gone, his hands empty, but the sheer force of his presence made the Zygerrian guards falter for the briefest of moments.
Leilani's lips parted, her breath caught somewhere between a sob and a gasp. "Obi-Wan..." she whispered, her voice trembling as a flood of emotions threatened to overwhelm her—relief, disbelief, and a love she had buried beneath layers of Jedi restraint.
Obi-Wan's eyes flickered to hers, softening for the barest second. Then, as though spurred by the sight of her bruised and broken, he lunged forward with a speed and determination that defied exhaustion.
The guard raised his whip again, but Obi-Wan intercepted him before it could fall. With a deft, fluid motion, he grabbed the man's wrist, twisting it sharply until the whip clattered to the ground. The guard yelped in pain, but Obi-Wan didn't stop. He drove his shoulder into the guard's chest, knocking him to the ground in a single swift motion.
The other guards surged forward, shouting, but Obi-Wan stood firm, his chest heaving as he positioned himself between them and Leilani.
"You'll have to go through me," he said, his voice like durasteel, unyielding and unafraid.
Leilani tried to push herself to her feet, her body trembling with the effort. "Obi-Wan, don't..." she croaked, but her words were drowned out by the guards barking orders and the rising chaos around them.
Obi-Wan's hand shot out, steadying her before she could collapse again. "I'm here, Leilani," he murmured, his voice low and grounding. "I won't let them hurt you."
The Zygerrian slaver's voice cut through the noise, dripping with icy amusement. "How noble," he sneered, stepping into view. His gaze swept over Obi-Wan, assessing him with a predatory smirk. "A Jedi, risking it all for a fellow slave. How touching."
Obi-Wan straightened, his jaw tightening as he stared down the slaver with an intensity that seemed to shake the very air around them. "Let her go," he said evenly, though the edge in his tone was unmistakable. "You'll gain nothing by keeping her here."
The slaver chuckled, a low, guttural sound that made Leilani's skin crawl. "Oh, I disagree," he said, his mismatched eyes gleaming. "She has proven herself quite resilient—and now, it seems, she has friends who are willing to die for her."
