MAY WE BE FORGIVEN.LOVE IS THE GREATEST HORROR and wonder to be encountered by all living souls. Obi-Wan knows that he should — must even, according to the Jedi code — avoid that discovery. It would be wise. But logic and prohibition cannot shield him from the inevitable. While his upbringing and training have done very little to foster the understanding of emotions, he knows what consumes him like a giant black hole, a swirling maelstrom. Do you stop loving someone because it is forbidden?
He cannot escape destiny. There is no way that their story will not spell out tragedy and Obi-Wan recognises the singsong melody of warning bells that accompany Theala Visz wherever she goes. He has learned to ignore the reckless humming beneath her skin, that is warping along their Bond. But he can sense the rebellion in her soul, how it weighs her down. Obi-Wan has turned a blind eye to Theala's foibles for years — some falls from grace take time, after all.
Eighteen years after they first set eyes on each other, the singularity that is Theala Visz abandons the teachings of the Jedi, finding refuge with her old Master. And it is not about deceit. A snake sheds her skin because she has grown too big for it. A snake sheds her skin because she is moving on — from the distrust within the Council and being a keeper of peace yet being thrust into war, from the lack of sleep, of empathy, of appreciation, and seeing her clones being treated as nothing more than cattle bred for slaughter.
Obi-Wan knows he's lost her years ago to whatever darkness brewing in her, but he denies it as long as he's able. Because admitting it means admitting her treason, and he cannot bring himself to that point yet.
There must still be good in her. He believes it.
There is.
But that's a sadder story.
For a star to be born, there is one thing that must happen: a gaseous nebula must collapse.
So collapse. Crumble. This is not your destruction.
This is your birth.ZOEY SKYLAR