episode sixteen — WRITERS AND WOUNDS
the clone wars

    "And so I told him, you either become a gentleman and open the door, or i'll become the anti-gentleman and slam it in your face!" Alleia joked, sipping her tea. Padme and Lillia laughed. The air was becoming a little bit colder every day, and the girls found themselves on a rooftop breakfast bar, even though it was eight pm and the sun was completely hidden behind the horizon. Somehow, between the three, they knew that war was coming. These moments were delicate, and they wanted to cherish them while they had it. It had been a month since Lillia and Anakin got married, and already, he was sent to a far away planet to investigate Separatists based, which were already taking form among the galaxy. Lillia knew this was the life she signed up for, but the string tying their hearts together was strong. She figured that she would have to keep herself busy until he returned.

"What about you? How's Elion back on Taphīos?" Lillia asked, pulling herself out of her daydream. Padme put down her cup, "It's strange, I never thought I'd end up liking him, but here we are." She smiled, causing the girls to chime brightly.

Padme and Elion were an arranged match, and both parties used each other for their own benefits, but behind it all, they ended up being exactly alike. Love impacted those in very funny ways, it hit you like a speeder going one-hundred miles per hour. It's unexpected. But love is also a parasite, eating your heart out slowly. It can be perfect, and also dangerous. Lillia picked up her cup, bringing the rim to her lips and sipping the sweet liquid. She always loved tea, ever since she was little. Soteria often brought it to her en she caught a cold, or when she was upset. Tea reminded her of Valérian, and she missed it terribly. A month ago, Lillia sought to find an apartment close to Padmé's and closer to the temple.

It was a safeguard for her and Anakin if it was needed. So far, Lillia has not returned home once, even though her heart was telling her to return. "I think we should take a break, perhaps a little vacation." Alleia suddenly spoke up, pulling everyone out of the silence. She had a sly smirk on her face. Alleia was always up to something, Lillia discovered that about her the first time they met. She was incredibly mysterious, and always had something up her sleeve.

"To where, and when?" Padme laughed, flashing her white teeth and smirking. "I don't know! Anywhere at anytime!" Alleia sunk into her seat, softly giggling. "I am very unsure what to say to you right now, Leia." Lillia snorted. "Well... You wouldn't have to say much because we'll finally be relaxing!" She threw her arms up.

"I suppose, I mean it wouldn't hurt!" Padme added. Perhaps a vacation was exactly what Lillia needed.

Alleia pulled out her holo-tab from her bag which was hanging on the chair. Lillia looked over, staring at her with a funny expression. "What? It's never too late to start planning!" She joked, "Your insane." Padme smiled. "That's what they all say!" Alleia hummed, tapping buttons on the hologram and searching possible places to visit. Something sunk in Lillia's stomach, her head pounded and she suddenly felt like the world was spinning. She looked over at her water, trying to reach it through her blurry vision. Her hand shook, but it wasn't noticeable enough for Padme and Alleia to notice. "Hey, I think i'm gonna head home, I have rest for the gala tomorrow." Lillia got up from her seat, smiling to hide the pain in her stomach. Alleia put her thumb down, frowning widely and then getting up to hug Lillia.

"Don't party too hard without us." She spoke into her shoulder, hugging the woman tightly. "You know there's no party without you, Leia." Lillia laughed, holding onto the woman's forearms and smiling.
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The journey back to the apartment was almost tiring. The speeder felt like it was going ten miles an hour, and time was as slow as a snail. Courscant was still bustling, as it never truly slept. Lights flickered across the sky, and the sound of speeders filled her ears. Valérian was beautiful, but Courscant would always linger in the back of her mind, she remembered the first time she ever visited, and the adventures she took during her time. As Lillia parked the small vehicle on the veranda, she noticed another speeder parked on the other side. As she walked toward the door, she heard it creak with the sound of her footsteps. A lump in her throat emerged, and the pit in her stomach dropped. She remembered locking it.

Her breath quickened. Lillia thought back to the day of her abduction, the cloth around her mouth, the blood seeping from her forehead. It was something she would never truly forget. It shaped the way she thought, the movements she made, every single thing she announced to the public. Her position as Queen put her in danger, she was a woman with a target on her back and a bounty on her head. Lillia Val'eaon-Skywalker would forever have a piece of her heart missing, and wherever her kidnappers were, they had her heart sitting on a golden tray.

She opened the door, taking a quick step back and scanning the conversation room. As she stepped in, she put her hand on the blaster Anakin gave to her. She thought she would have to use it, and called Anakin silly, but something low in her heart caused her to hold it out. She silenced her footstep, and the city's usual bustling sounds faded away into oblivion. The apartment was cloaked in darkness, except the light from nearby speeders filtering through the open blinds. Everything in the conversation pit seemed to be undisturbed, in fact, the kitchen and the living room looked exactly how it did when she left. Something pulled her out of her focus, a sound coming from her bedroom. Her heart began to beat much faster, it felt like it would eventually jump out of her chest and explode.

She approached the hallway, tightening the grip on her blaster as she did so. Her bedroom door was completely open, and she could see the bathroom light on through the small crack in the door. She never left it on. Lillia walked closer, getting ready to use her blaster and run back to her speeder. She put her hand on the cool metal handle, taking a deep breath and forcing it open. Lillia held up her blaster, looking at the man in the mirror. "Lillia!" Anakin shouted, his lightsaber drawn and the top of his clothes discarded on the ground. "Anakin! What are you doing here? I thought you were back on Ruusan?" The pit in her stomach suddenly vanished. "So.. I was, until it went south." He seethed, looking down at the bloody wound on his arm.

Lillia's eyes widened as she put her blaster on the counter. "How did this happen, Ani?" She got closer to him, distinguishing the fact that he had been away for a couple weeks. "Angry battle droids with staffs." He smiled through the sharp pain. Lillia looked up at him, a straight expression across her face. He was always getting in trouble, and now it was just the right time. "Come here." She put her hands on his upper arms, moving him toward the counter so he could lean against it. "You have to be more careful." She grabbed the bacta spray sitting on the marble.

"I am careful." Anakin spoke in a soft manner. "Sure you are." Lillia responded, looking at the wound carefully. She was always taking care of Perseus, who got himself into more trouble than anyone could imagine. He was always coming home with little scraps or cuts from hanging out with his friends, and Lillia played nurse. "It's gonna sting just a little bit, okay?" She looked up to Anakin, who admired her but nodded nonetheless.

Lillia pressed the button of the spray, causing it to latch onto the wound and disinfect the skin. Anakin seethed, his hands clutching the counter as he looked up the ceiling. "I'm sorry, i'm sorry." Lillia apologized, making sure the wound was in fact healing. "Does the council know that you're here?" The question slipped out of her mouth. "Let's hope." He smiled, looking down at the wound on her arm. It burned just a little bit, but it was covered and disinfected. Anakin hoped it would heal quickly so he could go back to training. Lillia looked up, staring at his cautious expression. "I missed you." She spoke, softly.

"I missed you, Aīna." (love) The Valérian nicknamed slipped from his tongue. He put his hands on her hips, guiding her closer to him in the dim bathroom lighting. Glancing down at her lips, and then back to her eyes. Anakin leaned in, taking her lips with his own. It had been weeks. Weeks of dreaming of his wife, dreaming of loving her, missing everything he left behind. Lillia was his weakness, his beacon. Her hands met his soft, but messy hair, and his hands still found home on her hips.

"When must you leave?" She asked through small pecks. "Two days." Anakin whispered, nipping softly at her jaw and onto her neck. Even a couple hours together was valuable, it would never be enough, but for right now, it was all they had. "I love you."

"I know."
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The gala was incredibly loud as Lillia stood off in the corner. She was not usually this annoyed with public spaces, and she was rarely ever standing in a corner by herself. She stood watching the people dance on the floor, and others mingle while hiding their flushed faces from their strong drinks. The lights were incredibly bright, and bothered Lillia's head horribly, along with the sound of blasting music and never ending chatter. Nonetheless, she smiled at every guest who attended. It was a small event organized by Lillia's parents, who wanted to celebrate her new big move to Courscant. Although Lillia did not see the importance of it, as it clearly was not permanent and she was very much needed on Valérian, she still decided to attend a party full of people she never met.

Her feet carried her over to the drink table, where her dry mouth craved a cold water, but as she made her way, she accidentally bumped into a man. "Oh my, I apologize!" She looked up to see a familiar man. "Elion? Oh my goodness, it's been ages!" She smiled. Elion and Lillia were childhood friends, but as they grew, they never saw each other often. Elion was usually busy with his classes and duty to his home planet, Taphīos, while Lillia was off adventuring around Valérian and mentally cursing out her tutors.

Long story short, him and Padme married a few months ago, which Lillia could not attend to because of her being confined to the country house. "It really has. How's everything been?" He asked, steadying himself on the floor. "I mean, Courscant is amazing, but i'm still getting used to the 'Queen' title." She smiled. "Took me a while too." Elion glanced, chiming happily. Lillia remembered him as the happy kind of guy, it took a little while to peel back the layers, but eventually, he became like a brother, a second brother.

"How's married life treating you?" She asked, staring back at the party around her. "It's wonderful, strange to actually be married, but it's truly wonderful." He responded. Lillia would not dare to say a word about her marriage to Anakin as of right now, it was too dangerous, too risky. Although she trusted Elion with her life, there were too many listening ears. "Lillia! I was hoping to-" A voice echoed behind her as she turned. "Oh Elion, how amazing it is to see you!" Soteria smiled, embracing him happily. "And you, Your Highness." He bowed. "Don't you do that." Soteria pointed a finger at him, she hated when family friends bowed and called her 'Your Highness,' friends were sometimes closer than family.

"There's someone I'd like you to meet, Lillia." She looked toward her daughter, who then waved Elion goodbye and walked away with her mother. As they approached Kier, Lillia noticed her father talking to a woman. She was quite tall, with green skin and white markings on her face and arms, her hair was mostly dark red, and lighter pink at the bottom of her loose curls. "Your Highness." She bowed, holding her hands together in her robes as she bowed. "Lillia, this is Master Yvette Nobuku." Kier introduced the Jedi. At the mention of the word "master," Lillia's ears pricked up. She wondered if she knew Anakin.

Next to her, there was a shy little girl. She had long silky silver hair, with a tight braid hanging off of her head. She wore similar robes to the woman next to her. "This is my Padawan, Ilithyria." Yvette stated, gesturing the young girl to wave. "Hello." The girls voice was soft and warm. "Hello, Miss Ilithyria!" Lillia chimed, her pearly white teeth almost blinding the whole party. "Me and my Padawan are investigating a Separatist base on the far side of Talisen." ( The jewel mines in the Kratos system. ) Yvette looked to the Queen in front of her. "Mhm." Lillia nodded.

"We have been keeping a close eye, but we need your knowledge to better understand their movements." Yvette spoke. "Is there anything you would be able to share now?" She looked up. Lillia thought for a moment, Talisen was home of the jewel mines, despite those mines, there was nothing truly there besides the capital, but it still held great importance for the Kratos System. "Talisen is heavily fortified, I'm unsure how they managed to sneak past the systems." Lillia blinked. There was too much happening at once, and for a moment, Lillia debated if her people truly had faith in her.

"We discovered a few vulnerabilities in their base, something we could easily exploit, but we are asking for your permission to do so. The Order understands the importance of the mines, and of the Talisenian people." Yvette was a smart woman, she was caring and dedicated. "I grant you my permission, please do what you must." Lillia's expression turned soft. Talisen was sacred for its mines, if anything were to happen to them under her rule, Lillia Val'eaon would hide in the crevice of the galaxy forever.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Yvette smiled, "Please enjoy the rest of your night." She added. Lillia smiled, bowing as Yvette did. The Jedi walked off, but her Padawan did not. "Your Majesty?" She asked, her voice was quiet but Lillia heard. "Yes?" Lillia looked down. The Padawan looked both ways for a moment and then moved closer. "Is it hard being Queen?" She asked. Lillia bent down to her level, smiling happily. "There may be some challenges you think you cannot overcome, but when you believe in yourself, it's never truly difficult." She smiled. Illthyria did not respond, she smiled, looking at her lightsaber, to her master, and then back to Lillia. She gestured the girl to return to her Master, leaving her to stare at the party once more.
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AUTHORS NOTE
WOOO, act 3!! So yes some really cute moments with the trio 🥰🥰 I love them, and I promise i'll give them some more scenes, but Act 3 is pretty crowded as of right now 😔 Also we met bb Illthyria 🥹 I'm so happy to start of act 3, I apologize that this was a bit short, I had another scene planned but writing it was kinda hard and I can add it to a future chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed ;))