The Valkyrie (Obi-Wan x OC) completed

Chapter 46: From The Ashes

The waiting rooms were packed. Filled with mothers trying to find their children, sons waiting for their fathers to emerge from the operating room, wounded soldiers slumped against the walls and awaiting their turn. Obi-Wan had seen his fair share of what war could do but never had he visited a hospital this crowded at the end of a battle before. Never had he had to wait for news about someone he loved for he had often refused himself the luxury of caring.

"I hate this." Aidan sighed deeply, laying his head back against the wall as he fumbled with his blood-covered armour. He'd thrown off his crown to the middle of the hall, not even being spared a second glance by anyone. A single tear streamed down the king's cheek as his eyes focused yet again on the door to the operating room, as they had been for 6 hours.

He then looked to the side, seeing the older jedi master glance through the hallways, his eyes empty and devoid of any emotion. "We need to have patience, young king." Obi-Wan mumbled as he fidgeted with his beard. He had little hope. He'd seen the light go out in her eyes as he held her. It wasn't his first time, he remembered, and he could only think of the worst. After all, previous experience had taught him nothing more. In the end he started to believe that it was his fault, that he didn't deserve to be loved and that this was the way the universe tried to show him that.

"Your majesty?" The door suddenly opened, revealing a doctor who was still taking off his garments that were covered in blood. His face didn't betray any emotion, even when the jedi and king both turned to look at him immediately. "I have news of your sister."

"And? Is she alive? Is she okay?" Aidan stormed towards him without a second thought, taking him by the shoulders and shaking almost violently. "Tell me she's breathing, tell me there's good news."

"Could I speak to you somewhere privately?" He didn't seem faced, not in the slightest. He got rid of the garments by throwing it in a dispenser, pulling his white coat around himself. When Obi-Wan seemed to nod in agreement at the corner of his vision but the king remained frozen with fear he sighed, patting his shoulder, and guiding them to his office. As Obi-Wan seemed to follow he quickly turned around, trying to stop him from going any further.

"It's all right, he's with me." Aidan reassured him. At first the doctor seemed confused but when he saw the lost look in Obi-Wan's eyes he quickly realized the situation and agreed. He sat them down silently after leading them to his office and took his own position behind his desk, folding his hands before him as he decided on what to say. "Can you recall what happened, your majesty?"

"Well, I..." Aidan glanced at Obi-Wan, looking for reassurance. "She took another orb. It must've been too much, I think, and it wasn't hers to take. She collapsed." He reminisced, his voice becoming softer with each word he spoke. "Surely you can treat her for that, right? Surely there are ways to extract that power again."

"There are." The doctor sighed in defeat and cast his eyes down to his desk. "It was your sister that developed the technology. "He fell silent for a while before he continued. "By the time we got her here, her organs were already fatally damaged. The power had already destroyed many vital tissues, some of which we can't fix. We extracted the echo but the damage was already done and we couldn't wake her up." He continued to explain, looking at their faces at the end to see if the news had landed. "I'm afraid I don't bring you good news. We're looking at end-organ failure. I'm sorry, my king, but we can't save her."

"Then who can?" Aidan clenched his jaw, narrowing his eyes in determination.

"I'm afraid no one can, your majesty." The doctor concluded. "I'm sorry."

"I don't want your pity; I need your help!" Aidan suddenly stood up, slamming his fist down on the desk as electricity played around his eyes. Even with all that, the blood and dirt that was still covering his face, the doctor didn't seem faced in the slightest. "Your queen needs your help." Aidan continued, his voice breaking midsentence. He swallowed sadly as his fingers dug into his own skin, diverting his eyes when the doctor only nodded, looking back with sympathy.