Okay just a quick side note; there's gonna be a lot of important information in this chapter, and I know that it is no fluff or anything like that but be patient because next chapter will make up for it!
"Hurry Kenobi!" I laughed as I watched him run towards the entrance of the estate.
"Well, I can't fly princess!" He yelled back as he held his cloak above his head and was sprinting even faster. The rain poured down on him mercilessly and his feet splashed water everywhere. I laughed as he almost tripped over his own feet and dashed inside in a daze of mud and dirt.
"Watch it, you're soaking the floor!" Chuckling as he ruffled his hair and drops of water spilled everywhere I closed the door right behind him.
"What do you want me to do?" Obi-Wan said as he took off some layers of his robes, wringing the water out of them and groaning in frustration. He dropped it with a disgusted look on his face, groaning softly. "You're the one that left me in that storm."
"You're too heavy to carry, my dear Obi-Wan." I walked over to him and handed him a few towels I was sure Finn had placed there for us. When he struggled with his tunic I helped him pull it over his head while laughing at him. His cheeks flared red and he tried to look angry but an amused smile continued to play on his lips.
"Hey! If you want to continue whatever you've been doing I suggest you get a room. " Anakin walked down the stairs leading to the main entrance where we were. "The hallway isn't the place, at the very least."
"Anakin!" His former master retorted, throwing a soaking piece of garment his way.
"All right, I'll stop." He easily dodged it and walked towards us. "I've talked with Finn. Everyone has got a place to sleep tonight. Should we be thinking about what to do tomorrow?"
"Yeah just give us a minute to get changed." I smirked as Obi-Wan huffed as he dried his hair. "We'll meet you in the study after."
Anakin continued to glance between us as we dried ourselves off and crossed his arms before his chest. "So, are you going to tell me what happened or should I just let my imagination fill in the gaps?" He was clearly amused as the smug grin grew even wider.
"Anakin, try not to get too excited." Obi-Wan retorted. "We both know your mind isn't capable of imagining anything."
Anakin just scoffed in response, his gaze landing on me. "What about you, princess?"
"Just go get Cody and Rex." I pushed past him as I went up the stairs. "I'll fill you in later." Halfway up I came face to face with the owner of the house. His kind brown eyes met mine as he chuckled lightly, his gaze wandering over to the soaking jedi master at his doorstep.
"I'm glad to see you two are all right." He laid his hand on the small of my back and guided me further up the stairs. "I was getting worried you'd get lost in the storm."
"I don't think the storm was what they were lost in." Anakin followed us. "More like in each other's-" he yelled in surprise when his tunic suddenly caught fire at the edges. When the flames started to spread out he hopelessly darted for the door, running by an all too amused Obi-Wan. He dashed through the entrance and jumped into a pool of water right outside the house.
"As much as this amuses me, maybe lighting people on fire isn't the best way to silence someone?" Finn nudged my side.
"He's fine, look at him." I pointed at Anakin as he rolled around to douse the flames. "If there was ever a chance of him getting hurt I would've stopped."
"Right. Do no harm and all that." Finn sighed deeply but he couldn't wipe off the smile on his face. His gaze darted to Obi-Wan as he motioned for him to follow. "Come, let me get you some new clothes."
He walked up the stairs wearing just pants and a white, soaked shirt that didn't do much to cover his toned chest. While getting his hair out of his face with one swift stroke of his hand his eyes met mine, and I was immediately reminded how close we had been. How lost we had been in each other and how much I wanted more of him.
"Princess." Obi-Wan took my hand and placed a kiss on top. When our eyes met I knew he was thinking about the same thing. I also knew that he could sense my emotions, and how much I wanted to rip his shirt off. Yet he remained in control, as he always did. He bowed slightly before me. "I will see you soon."
"Yes, you will." Our eyes remained locked for too long to be formal. Finn could sense the tension and cleared his throat to get the jedi's attention.
"I still think you should get a room!" Anakin yelled from outside. He'd finally managed to put out the fire, but now he was literally soaked in mud. Obi-Wan cursed under his breath and used the force to shut the door right in his face.
"How I've been putting up with him all these years."
~
It had taken only about half an hour before we were all settled and changed into dry clothes. I'd always had a stash of spare clothes lingering in the house, for I occasionally visited Stefan's home for a short vacation. We'd always been close, especially after I saved his husband from almost certain death.
I sighed deeply as I looked into the mirror before leaving for the study. My hair was down and flowed down my back, contrasting with the light cyan dress I had chosen. It wasn't anything special, just simple to get into and not too informal. However, it may have had a little bit more cleavage than I normally would've accepted. Because of some weird instinct I wanted to look good for one specific human and I hated the fact that he had that effect on me.
"So, we have a plan?" Anakin questioned when we were all in the study. He was sitting on the large, round table in the middle of the room where Finn had splayed out the map of Valeria. He himself was standing in the corner, watching from a distance while Obi-Wan leaned his hands on the table. Finn had given him one of his plain dark shirts and I had to admit that it was weirdly attractive. Obi-Wan always wore lighter clothes, but the dark brought out a different side of him which I was eager to explore.
When I had entered the room, I'd noticed that his eyes lingered on me longer, but other than that I got no special reaction from him. I, however, couldn't keep my eyes off of him. "Sort off." I huffed. "We have to head north. There's an ancient burial site there where we, or rather I, will find some answers."
"And what does that have to do with Arthas?" Obi-Wan asked as he looked up to me. My body was immediately on high alert and I suddenly became conscious of how I was standing.
"Well I hope that in some way finding out who I am can help us defeat Arthas. My father told me it would right before he died." I sighed deeply and straightened my back. "Who knows, maybe I'm a time turner. It would certainly be a nice surprise for once."
"Wouldn't you have found out already?" Obi-Wan frowned deeply as he straightened his back. "As you have described it, time turners are very powerful. Wouldn't you have felt it already?"
"Not necessarily." Finn chimed in. "As you know, time is a power that is inherited. But in a very specific way. As in most genetic powers, it is passed on from generation to generation. Only, it is passed on when the parent has died."
"How does that even work?" Anakin asked in confusion.
"When someone dies, and he or she has that kind of power, it will be transferred from parent to child using a link that has always been there. A force link, or so you jedi call it." Finn explained. "Time isn't the only power that's inherited. There are many more, but most have been lost. When there is no child to inherit the power, it takes a physical form of some kind of orb. We call it an echo. We bury it with the remnants of the family, hoping that one day some long lost relative will claim it."
"What if a random person takes it?" Obi-Wan asked. He stroked his beard in thought, as he always did. "I assume there are many powers which some people would like to take for themselves."
"Then he or she dies." I finished the story. "So, either I'm going to find a living parent, or I'll find an echo of my long-lost family. If none of the above, then I say we're screwed." Sighing deeply I leaned on the table and watched the map in front of me. "Either way, we will have to hurry. Arthas will be here in a few days and if we leave tomorrow, we'll be there the next day afternoon. We'll have 3 days to find what we need and head all the way back to Eagle's Fall before he attacks." My fingers followed the journey on the map.
"Sir, if I may interrupt." Rex chimed in. "With the amount of wounded clones we have we can't take them with us. Not all of them."
"Will we need them?" Obi-Wan looked at me for an answer.
"Honestly, I don't know." I shrugged. "If what we find can really destroy Arthas he's sure to be sending people out to guard the place. That is, if he knows of its existence. I think we'll need a few clones just to be sure, the strongest, but not too many."
"Then I suggest we take Rex and a small platoon." Anakin said. "And make sure none of them try to find any eggs again."
Rex chuckled softly, remembering how the Griffin attacked us last time. "I'll be sure to remind them."
"What if Arthas himself is there?" Finn questioned as he worriedly glanced at me. "I assume that last time you met he wasn't very keen on letting you kill him."
"Well, then..." My mind went back to the previous battle. I hadn't even managed to hold out more than 5 minutes against him. His powers were too great for any of us to combat. "We won't have any choice but to run. But as far as I know us, we probably would do something stupid and die." Chuckling softly my gaze went to Obi-Wan.
"There are too many people counting on us." He said sternly. His eyes were narrowed in thought and his fingers were repeatedly tracing his beard. He shrugged, a small smile playing on his lips when he looked up. "Anakin and I have beaten worse odds."
"Let's hope you'll do it again." Finn's worried glance didn't falter. "Because I don't want to be the one to explain to my husband how I let our favourite doctor die."
"She'll be quite safe with us, trust me." Anakin laid his hand on his shoulder. "What can I say, she's growing on me." He glanced at me sideways and smirked, making a warm feeling spread through my body. "Maybe a little bit more on some of us, but-"
"Anakin!" Obi-Wan stopped him before he could finish whatever he was going to say. His former apprentice only chuckled in response, but when my eyes narrowed at him he suddenly became very conscious of the fact that there was no water near.
"Generals, if there is nothing more, I'd like to get back to my wounded troopers." Cody shuffled on his feet.
"Do you want me to take a look, captain?" Even though my legs were weak due to exhaustion, I offered to help.
"Thank you, princess, but they'll be fine." Cody smiled in gratitude. "I'll only need master Finn to accompany me to get some more supplies."
"I'm right behind you, captain." Finn answered and lifted himself back on his feet, following behind the two captains as they conversed about their wounded and which troopers they were going to send on the mission.
My eyes followed them as they left the room, somehow feeling guilty that I'd dragged them into all of this. Of course, I left out the part where they were only breathing because of me.
"You think this will work?" Obi-Wan shook me from my thoughts when the door was closed. I looked up and saw him and Anakin looking at me expectantly.
"Honestly, I don't know." I sighed deeply. "Arthas is... He's powerful." my eyes fixed on the location of Eagles fall on the map. "And we've lost the support of most of my people. We're alone in this fight. It's all up to us."
"The people, they supported someone called Fireheart." Obi-Wan noted and then his eyes lifted up to me. "Is there any chance you're his daughter or relative?"
"That would make things a lot easier, wouldn't it?" I chuckled softly. "But no. Anduin died 200 years ago just after he defeated Arthas. He had no relatives left, no sons or daughters. I'd make me a lot older than I am now, and a lot more powerful. "
Anakin huffed, folding his arms before his chest. "Who is this Anduin anyway? Must've been quite some guy for them to support him still."
"They called him the Phoenix." A smile played on my lips as I remembered all the stories my father used to tell about him. "A born leader. He brought all the clans together to fight against Arthas. When he called, they all answered. He brought hope to the whole kingdom when there was none." The story itself brought hope, it seemed. Both jedi watched in amazement as they saw it appear in my eyes.
"He wasn't just a king, he was a legend. He changed everything. He burned with the power of the sun, as a beacon of hope, and so flew across the whole planet and brought everyone with him. Where the Phoenix came more people followed, and with that he brought Arthas to his knees. He sacrificed his own life so that the timeturners could capture him."
Sighing softly as I finished the story, I cast my eyes down when I realized how excited I had gotten. "But he's gone, and I'll never be like him."
Both jedi shuffled slightly on their feet when their words got stuck in their mouths. "Well..." Anakin coughed awkwardly when Obi-Wan continued to shamelessly stare at me. "We'll find out soon enough." He walked towards me and patted me on my shoulder. "See you tomorrow, princess."
"Sleep well, Anakin." I watched him leave, too shy to look back at Obi-Wan. Realizing that we were left in the room together made me nervous, but in a good way. My body was on high alter and every sound send sparks through me. When his deep voice filled the room again, my eyes darted to his immediately.
"We should go as well." He said pensively while not even sparing me a glance, slowly walking towards the door. When he was just past me, I spoke softly.
"Already changing your mind?" I was reminded how he had rejected me just a few days back. Satine was still fresh in his mind, I was sure, and her death was still haunting him every day. I could understand that he wasn't ready for anything else yet, but the doubt in him was killing me. Not because I was rejected but because I could feel it. I could feel his sorrow, his hesitation and his desperation to hide his emotions. As a jedi he never was very good at handling these things.
Obi-Wan froze in his steps. "Oh, I'm not." He chuckled softly. I turned around to look at him in confusion, not expecting him to deny it so bluntly. His eyes sparked with joy as he spoke again. "I fear we're both already in too deep." He then frowned as his hand softly stroked the bare skin on my arms, making goosebumps appear almost immediately. "But we have to be careful with this." His eyes connected with mine. "If it ever gets out of hand, if we bring danger to anyone else, if we have to choose-"
"We end it." I finished his sentence. "I know."
He smiled softly yet sadly as his hand went up to my cheek. "I knew you would." Obi-Wan pulled me down, placing a soft kiss on the top of my head as his thumb traced patterns on my skin. As he let go he placed his hand on my back, guiding me towards the hallway. "Come princess, we should get some sleep."
I hope you're all healthy and doing okay! I'm sorry this chapter and the coming updates will be a bit slow. Research is kinda taking all of my time and sadly it is a priority right now. Knowing you're all safe and staying home will make it a lot better though. Let me know!