"What exactly will you be offering?"

"Me."

A shudder went through Obi Wan hours later, still. He'd expected her to do a lot, to give a lot. But this, this he could never have predicted. If he had... he'd have dragged her far from Coruscant before she could even utter a word. To give herself over like that completely she would've been at the end of her options, would've been completely hopeless and defenceless. She'd sold herself to the Republic to save her planet as if she was some priced cattle. She'd deprived herself to become a mere object to right her mistakes.

With that, she'd become what she'd always feared she'd be.

A weapon.

A mere weapon, ready to be used by those in power. Wielded like some common blade by those who had accused her. Luckily, Obi Wan sighed in relief, the jedi would be in charge of her. He'd trust no one else but themselves, not with the power she possessed. At least there was that one plus to being the generals of the Republic's army.

He'd just come back from the council meeting that had been planned directly after the trial. It'd taken hours before they could agree on what to do, and now Obi Wan had the task to deliver the news for Anakin had started on his next mission with Ahsoka. It was almost ironic, he thought, how he was always the one to deliver the news while he himself had caused it.

With reluctance Obi Wan stepped out of the elevator and into the hallway leading to the Valerian's chambers. Just before he could even take a single step towards the door, it swung open abruptly to reveal a red-headed Stefan as he stomped his way out, dragging a single coffer with him.

He slammed the door shut just as fast and stood there, seething, until his eyes glided over to Obi's frozen figure on the other end of the hallway. "I hope you're here to talk some sense into her." Stefan snarled as he dropped his bags and pulled on his coat.

Obi Wan paused for a moment, fazed by the sudden dangerous attitude radiating off the usual gentle man. "Commander, -" A sudden loud bang interrupted his speech and they both turned to look at the closed door, where smoke now trailed through from under.

"Don't bother." Stefan sneered when Obi Wan seemed ready to sprint into the chamber to see what had happened. "She probably just burned some furniture." He finished pulling on his clothes and grasped his coffer, walking towards the elevator with large, furious steps.

"What happened, commander?" The jedi watched as he passed by and didn't spare him a glance.

"She send me off." Stefan hissed as he stopped in his tracks, his back facing his friend. His shoulders were tensed, Obi Wan noticed, and his hands clenched tightly into fists. "Back to Valeria, to "Be with my family"." The Valerian turned towards the jedi, his jaw tensed as his teeth gritted. "Her last order as a queen was to send me away."

Stefan took one, pounding step into his direction. "Me, Kenobi, me, her commander, her only damned friend on this cursed planet who gives two shits about her!" It must've been the one of the first times he heard the warrior raise his voice.

Obi Wan fought to keep the lump from his throat as he diverted his eyes to the ground, unable to look into the furious eyes of his friend for much longer. The guilt was already drowning his heart, anyway. "I'm sorry, Stefan." He dared to look back into his eyes.

"Sorry doesn't quite cover it." The danger in his eyes had Obi Wan shifting nervously. "My entire life I've trained, fought and killed to become the commander of Valeria's greatest King and Queen, betrayed everything I stood for just to help her along the way, only to lose her to a foreign country because of..." Stefan didn't finish his sentence, but the jedi knew what he had intended to say when his eyes trailed up and down his frame.

"Now, you, -" With one large stride he'd come to stand right in front of him and Obi Wan feared he'd grasp his collar or beat him unconscious with one decisive stroke. Yet, after mere seconds, it seemed Stefan had collected his wits and sighed deeply. "Will you be looking out for her?" His limbs were trembling with the effort it took to keep his anger in check.

"Always." Obi Wan answered simply, the promise clear in his eyes. He remained stead vast, not showing any of the emotions that swirled within him.

"Not that it mattered much now, anyways." Stefan hoisted the strap of his bag further up his shoulder as he towered over the jedi, his massive warrior frame almost completely shadowing over him. "I hope you'll be able to live with it." He glared at him as he turned back towards the elevator.

Obi Wan shuffled on his feet as he let out a deep breath. "With what, commander?" He dared to ask.

Just before the door shut Stefan looked right into his eyes, blue staring into blue. "Extinguishing her flame."

The clang that sounded when the doors closed resounded through Obi Wan's entire body, as if a jolt of electricity went through him. He let out a deep breath, closing his eyes momentarily to shut out the words that the commander had spoken. He couldn't blame himself, or he'd tear apart before he could even face her.

Extinguishing her flame. It could mean so many things. Extinguishing the hope and life she had evoked within her people and kingdom, or the fire that had played within herself. The fiery and lively way with which she always handled herself, gone, perhaps.

Either way, whatever he meant, it made the jedi even more anxious for what he was about to find. He walked towards the entrance of her chamber, his fingers hovering above the doorknob as he gathered himself. This was the woman he loved. He could face her, he had to, or else someone who didn't know her would do it and that would most certainly end worse.

"Your majesty?" He decided to knock first instead, but when no answer came he slowly turned the knob and peeked inside. What he found was something else.

White ashes danced through the chamber as they slowly descended, leaving a white coat over the otherwise black scarred floor. The entirety of the furniture was gone, as if evaporated in a single flash. The windows had burst, leaving the chamber open to the cold night air as wind and rain blew in, creating white puddles on the floor. There were no shards of glass, no sign that there even had been windows in the first place.

A chill went up his spine as the bitter storm flew past and he wrapped his cloak tighter around himself until he saw her there, sitting, in the midst of the destruction. She was on the other end of the room, sitting against the wall framed by two broken windows, mere inches away from the plunge off the building. Her entire figure was covered by the ashes, as if she'd been sitting in snow for hours. Her armor was scattered around her as if she'd discarded it in mere seconds, leaving her in a simple dark tunic and tight black pants.

But her face, her face was what made his heart skip a beat. Her skin was as pale as the ashes covering her, her wet hair slick against her cheeks. The black coal she'd covered her eyelids with now dripped down her face, seemingly leaving scars of the tears that had previously ventured there. Her lips where charred and her eyes red and puffy but now, now they were empty as her eyes met his.

"I'm not in the mood to talk." Her voice was rough, as if she'd been screaming for hours on end. She redirected her gaze to something behind him, staring out at nothing and discarded him just like that.

Obi Wan forced himself to shut his mouth and walked towards her through the ashes, kicking up clouds as he ventured. The cold bit at his skin but nevertheless he pulled off his dark brown cloak and knelt before her, words leaving him. Had he done this to her? Had he, through all of his efforts to keep her safe, failed to protect her from the dangers of politics?

It took her a few moments before she made her eyes meet his again. "I know." The jedi simply said as he laid his cloak around her shoulders and then sat down next to her, letting the rain soak his light brown tunic and wetting his hair. He only let out a deep breath as he laid his head back against the wall, accepting the bitter cold that now enveloped him.

They sat there in silence, listening to the wind rumbling through the chambers, until the Valerian mumbled quietly on a much softer note. "So, where will I be heading, master jedi?"

"Nowhere for now."

"What, has the war miraculously ended?"

"No, we just want to make sure you're ready for it." He watched as she scoffed and shook her head, biting her lip as she cast her eyes downward towards her fingers that were intertwined in her lap. Obi Wan studied her, her familiar features that had now so drastically changed. "I barely recognized you."

At that she raised her eyes to his, silver lining them. Curiosity sparked within the green hues, but the fire had gone. Extinguishing her flame. Stefan's voice echoed through his head but he decided to ignore it. "That person you were in that court room, it isn't who I met in Valeria, it isn't who I grew to..." Obi Wan stopped himself before he could go any further, diverting his eyes away from hers. "You were an entirely different person. Devoid of any warmth, compassion."

"Now you know how it feels." Lyanna whispered and felt the general's confused glance on her face soon after. "All you jedi and politicians, you advocate love and kindness yet at the same time deprive yourself and everyone around you of it." Her voice had grown razor sharp. She glanced down at the stark white scars now on her forearm. "I never knew ruling would entice such coldness, such brutality. And when I stood there it enraged me so fiercely I..."

She let out a low, humourless chuckle that sent a shiver through Obi Wan's body. "You know what Arthas whispered into my ear at that moment?"

All the colour drained from Obi Wan's face. Not only because of the fact that he was still haunting her, but because of the darkness that was now laced through her voice.

"Burn them all, he said." His eyes shot to her face, scanning her eyes. But they remained numb, emotionless as she stared out ahead. "Burn them all." She slowly glided her eyes over to his again and stared right into them. "And I wanted to." Whispers fell off her lips while her eyes didn't betray anything. "I wanted to burn them. And I could have."

Obi Wan couldn't look away. He was stuck in her eyes, searching for the woman he loved. What he found was fear and loneliness that threatened to drive her away and consume her. And now, she was trying to scare him away, too, just like she'd send her closest friend away mere minutes ago. "What does that make me, master jedi?"

Force, she was trying to drive them away. She was trying to protect them. Suddenly, she didn't seem that dangerous anymore. Suddenly, Obi Wan realised, it had been her all along, she hadn't succumbed to the darkness, she was only trying to protect them from it by pretending she was and cutting them off.

Obi Wan raised his hand to her face, wiping away a single tear that had glided down her cheek. At that her mouth opened slightly and silver started to line her eyes, her eyebrows knitting together as she fought desperately. Yet when he placed the palm of his other hand on the side of her face delicately she lost, and tears started streaming freely.

"It makes you like everyone else, my dear princess." Obi Wan whispered as he brough her face closer. "Human."

Lyanna choked out a broken sob as her eyes darted between his and then tore apart completely. There was a wall that had gone, exposing such raw and pure emotion as she stared back at him and started crying fully. When the sobs started to wreck her body Obi Wan pulled her cold, wet figure against his and enveloped her into his arms, holding her head tightly against his chest. "I know, darling." He whispered against the crown of her head as her fingers clawed into his tunic.

"I know." He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head, pulling her tighter into his arms and letting her settle on his lap as she shook with tears.

"What have I done, Obi?" She cried as she hid her face in the folds of his tunic. "I lost everything." She curled up into a ball, trying to find warmth in his soaked embrace. "Everyone." His heart broke at the defenceless sight before him, the pure truth that was her now. How could he have been so blind?

"No, not everyone." He had trouble himself to resist the tears threatening to spill. So, he clenched his jaw tightly to resist the lump in his throat, closing his eyes as he laid his head on top of hers. "I'm not going to leave you." He felt her fingers tracing the white scars on his forearm, knew what message she was trying to send with it.

"No matter how hard you try to push me away." Obi Wan added and felt her sobs lessen at his soft tone. He let his fingers draw through her hair, let his other rest on her waist as he cradled her. "I'll always be here, Lyanna." He whispered into her ear. "No matter how hard you try to convince me you've become a monster, that you've lost yourself or faded into bitterness, I'll always see you."

Her sobs dried out as she leaned against him, her breath evening. "Because I know who you are, and I know you will never be that person." The jedi continued to gently whisper. "Because I know you have a gentle heart." He felt her relax against him, felt the tension in her fingers lessening till they were no longer clawed into his tunic but instead feeling for the gentle beat of his heart.

A small smile played along the edges of his lips as he nestled himself further into her and found that her body had warmed up again. The rain that had previously soaked them now started to dampen, leaving them in a warm cocoon of her making. He knew she wasn't even doing it knowingly, which only made his grin grow wider.

"There's a fire inside of you, princess, one that is not made for destruction but for hope and compassion, healing." Obi Wan placed another kiss at the top of her head and relaxed into their embrace, ready to stay there for hours and hours on end if need be.

"And that fire, that fire will never be extinguished."

Guys

He's coming

Maul is coming.

Get HYPED.