The first rays of sunshine shone through the windows and coloured the furniture a soft orange, lightning her red hair and making it seem like they were pure fire, framing her face and cascading down in soft waves. The sounds of engines and traffic filled the room, but Lyanna remained focussed on the book before her.

Whilst Obi Wan was outside conversing with his clone troopers and getting ready to depart, the queen was once again submerged in one of the books she'd retrieved from the jedi's archives. Filled with mad scribbles, the one before her now was not one the jedi masters would've wanted her to have. Quite the contrary, it was forbidden for anyone other than the masters themselves to read it and even then, it was strongly discouraged. But she, as Obi Wan already knew and regretted, was too stubborn to follow their rules and above all; too curious for her own good.

Her green eyes glided over the pages and soon focussed on a drawing of the sith holocron she'd read so much about. Even glancing at the picture had nerves blooming in her stomach, the knowledge settling within her that this wasn't what she was supposed to be doing. Eyebrows knitting together, she looked up at the door Obi Wan had disappeared through before returning her eyes to the pages.

It was a device she had heard off before. One that was able to cure any curse, affliction or corruption, or so her Valerian legends had said. Here, however, it was written that this particular sith holocron could syphon someone's life force out of them and transfer it to the one who wielded it.

Could it cure me of this thing inside of me? Lyanna wondered as she closed her eyes and sighed deeply, feeling the presence of Arthas still looming over her. It hadn't left, but it hadn't gotten closer either. Can this be the solution I am looking for? She'd struggled with this darkness for the past few months but had gotten no closer to figuring out how to fight it. On the contrary, all it did was inch closer each moment she lost control.

Even if it can't help me, I could use it on Arthas, to make sure he never breaks free again. To make sure he never again has the power to tear apart Eagle's Fall as he did before. In any case, it would prevent this nightmare I've been dreaming off the past few months. Opening her eyes again and skipping to the next page, she soon discovered that the artifact had been lost in enemy territory for several hundred years now. Which territory, she couldn't find out because the page had been ripped from the book.

Figures. She sighed deeply, blowing away a strand of hair that had fallen before her eyes. Leave it for the only solution to be untraceably lost.

"Lyanna, darling."

Her head shot up at the sound of his voice, her hands closing the book she was holding in a reflex. She saw his blue eyes flickering towards the cover, his lips pursing slightly but soon his gaze returned to hers. A small smile played around the edge of her lips when she spotted the last few damp spots on his hair.

Despite her protests and attempts, Obi Wan refused to let her dry him off using her magic. In a way he was still scared of the fire, and of letting her use it in an environment he wasn't exactly sure was safe. So now, while Lyanna herself was fully clothed and dried off, the jedi still walked around with moist robes and damp skin.

"Yes, master jedi?" She propped herself up on the couch, watching him curiously as he walked to her side.

"Come, the other masters are waiting." He held out his hand for her to take. The stoic facade soon slipped into his previously adoring features. "They've got something special planned for today." Obi Wan pulled her on her feet and steadied her body when she swayed slightly, her legs still sore from that morning. He scrunched his eyebrows in worry but couldn't help the smirk that soon graced his lips.

"You don't seem particularly happy about it." Her eyes watched him as he guided her towards the exit and down the elevator, where their transport was waiting to take them to the temple.

"Well..." Obi Wan took in a deep breath as he folded his hands behind his back, watching outside as the elevator descended. "The council and I don't always agree on some things. This... thing that they have planned it's, well, -" He looked down at her smaller frame, smiling when he saw her curious eyes watching him closely. Momentarily he got distracted by the way her freckles danced on her skin in the morning light, by the light lashes that framed her eyes.

"Yes?" A knowing smile appeared on her face as she nudged his side.

"You'll see." Obi Wan bend down to place a quick kiss on her lips just before the elevator door opened. He then placed his hand on the small of her back and helped her enter the vehicle in silence, submerged in his thoughts. He settled on the backseat, right beside her, and soon turned his gaze to the city as he sunk even deeper.

Yet when he saw her darken the window that separated them from their driver, he turned towards her curiously, one eyebrow raised in suspicion. "Lyanna, my dear princess, perhaps now is not the time, -"

"Shush." Interrupting him before he could continue she simply snuggled against his chest, laying her head down in the crook of his shoulder and closing her eyes contently. "I'm not always trying to seduce you, master jedi."

"Hmm." Obi Wan simply scoffed, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her closer against his body. The bond between them seemed to hum in contentment, tightening its branches and bringing them even closer together. The jedi placed a soft kiss on the top of her head before lowering his lips to her ears to whisper;

"There's no need to seduce me, my queen, because I'm already yours."

~

"Hundreds of years ago, -" Fire reflected in their little eyes, their mouths hanging agape at the sight before them; the gentle waves of the fire as it danced before them like an ocean of red and orange, terrifying yet mesmerizing. Some of those small faces were turned towards their teacher, watching that dark armor reflect the sunlight, watching her red hair that cascaded down her back and the red cape that flowed behind her in the heat.

The queen of Valeria was one impressive being to look at but, as they soon learned, her stories and abilities were far more interesting than her appearance. The younglings all wobbled on their legs as they sat on the ground and leaned forward, listening closely to the story she was telling them as she visualised it all by using her powers.

She had directed the flames into the shape of a planet, where multiple cities stood proudly amongst hills and mountains, coloured in 4 different colours. "there was peace in Valeria. Sure, there were family feuds and small battles going on, but never was there any danger of an all-out war. After all, strength and honour are the main principles my country was built upon. Battles were, well, an occupational hazard.

The planet had been divided into 4 different countries each belonging to their own family. There were the Stormrages, Blackwings, Time Turners and lastly; the Firehearts." With each name she spoke, one of the colours flared brightly.

"All of them descendants of our gods, the Aesir, all of Odin's blood." An image of an old man with a large beard overtowered the planet, his hands cupping the planet. "He gave us our abilities which we call the seidr. You, you may also know it as the force. It bound all of us together, some bonds stronger between family and lovers, but always there. We were one people, no matter how many times we'd tried to prove otherwise."

"When the worst winter in Valerian history struck the planet those families fought and soon, soon battles raged the once glowing fields of Valeria." Suddenly those cities went up in flames, orange and red colours tainting the planet in a furious scar.

The younglings gasped, some slightly crouching back in fear from the display before them. "Because of that anger and fear, we lured an even worse enemy than pride. The so called sith managed to infiltrate the planet, stoking the flames of war even further and using it for their own gain."

Obi Wan chuckled lightly when she'd casted the dark image of a hooded figure, making some of the younglings let out a startled scream. He sat back further, leaning against the window, enjoying the display before him far too much whilst another master beside him, Master Windu, had his eyebrows furrowed with displeasure.

"When the jedi joined and took their war with them our planet succumbed. Valeria had fallen, and so had all the proud warriors that once ruled the lands. That until my father, Anduin Fireheart, took it upon himself to rally all the remaining families and unite them under one banner." The 4 different colours merged into a brilliant red that flared brightly, advancing over the ground towards the darkness that had pooled, vanquishing it entirely.

"And thus, the kingdom of Valeria, as we now know it formed." Cities sprang up from the former ruins and the population grew dense. "We drew the sith from our planet and banished the jedi from our fields never to be seen again. Only, there was one threat remaining, a darkness hidden in shadows in a cave deep within the palace, a menace that wielded so much hate that it could burn cities." The light in the room grew dimm. One could even hear a pencil drop in de silence that followed, as the little lips of the younglings quivered in fear.

"One that would destroy Valeria as we now know it and take it all for himself." Lyanna's eyes flickered towards Obi Wan as she smiled softly. "Until only a few months ago, when two jedi masters helped save our planet from imminent destruction and saved me from certain death."

She lingered on his face, until she seemed to wake up from a dream and clapped her hands and made the fiery display dissapear, looking over all the startled youngling's faces. "Any questions?"

Within no time almost all hands had shot up into the air, the eagerness clear on their faces. "Master je-, your majesty, -" The youngling stuttered. "Can you tell us more about the seidr?" The others all nodded, glancing back at their teacher as she chuckled softly.

"It is the force as you know it, young one, -" She walked towards the young jedi, kneeling before him and holding out her hand before her. "But within us Valerians, it works differently." She casted shapes of multiple humans which were bound together with a single strand.

"We're all bound together by the same living force, as I've no doubt your masters taught you, but ours is strung much thicker. It links family and loved ones, binding their very beings together. We give each other power not by living on our own and training by ourselves, but by linking our powers together and thus multiplying them. We transfer our strengths to each other to better each other." She thickened the branches between the bodies, letting the light grow even more brightly. "We call it Sha'hani."

She looked around, glancing up at Master Windu as if she knew he wasn't going to be content with what she would say next. "But you can't bind yourself to just anyone. There will be that one special person in your life, a girl, a boy, or one that is neither or both, that you would bind yourself to. To feel what that person feels, to experience everything through their eyes and yours at the same time. That link will only strengthen through time until your souls merge and then, -" She merged two bodies which then exploded into a thousand colourful flames, a smile appearing around her lips when the younglings gasped once more. "you will be one."

"All right, that's enough for today." As if on cue Windu stood up abruptly, waving away the younglings. They all scattered, some lingering behind and watching the queen with wide eyes and questions stuck on their tongues until they too were ushered away.

Lyanna simply smiled, crossing her arms before her chest and looking with fond eyes as their small figures retreated. She hadn't even noticed the jedi sneaking up beside her, following her gaze with a chuckle. At the sound she jumped slightly, relaxing when she noticed who'd joined her.

"That wasn't so bad." She stated. "What were you even worried about? They're kids. You acted like we'd do something life threatening."

Obi Wan slightly cocked his head to the side, biting his lip. "I fear that part is going to follow very soon."

Hiiiyaaaaa

It's me again. Been some time there, darlings. How are you doing? Still alive?

I've just returned from my rotation at internal medicine, and it was great. Exhausting, but great. Had my first few experiences with new patients, finally got to help people and learned a lot from my fellow coleagues. I'm glad to have done it but boy, am I glad that it's over now. 

I won't have a lot of time before my rotation at surgery starts but I'll be doing my best to upload the next chapter at least! I'm already halfway. 

I'm sorry to have kept you guys waiting for so long, but I hope some of you have sticked around and are enjoying the story just as much as before. Let me know! I'll be glad to hear from you again.

See  you then!