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🔥War of Hearts - Ruelle

*****

I was lying in the middle of the grass field, and I could hear chirping birds at a distance. I didn’t even know how long I've been lying here. All I knew was that it was calm, and I liked this place.

It was nice.

I felt footsteps that stopped by my feet. I looked down and was perplexed to see a woman that looked exactly like me, except that her hair was long, reaching down to her waist. She sat down on the grass in front of me, a soft smile on her lips.

“Elysia…?” I asked carefully as I sat up as well, making our positions look like we were mirroring each other.

"Eli." She greeted as if she knew me well. All of a sudden I felt self-conscious, because she carried a light yet confident air around her. It was also probably because her white robe enhanced her graceful and regal appearance, while on the other hand, I was wearing old jet black robes. I probably looked like my usual shabby self, a literal contrast from her.

Yet somehow, I still felt an odd sense of familiarity, as if I was with an old friend.

“How…?” I whispered, still baffled by the fact that she was sitting right in front of me. “How is this possible? I saw you in Qimir’s vision. You were… killed.”

“Qimir, hm?” She chuckled and shook her head. “Yes, that is true. Which was unfortunate.”

I saw sadness flash across her eyes as her hand unconsciously hovered above her chest. The exact spot where she had been stabbed by a lightsaber.

“You, however, you shouldn’t be here. He still needs you.”

"I think he needs you more..." I said softly, trying but desperately failing to hide the pain in my voice. I understood the fact that Qimir still loved her, and it was a fact that I had to accept. "He misses you so much."

"Yes, we didn't get to spend so much time together." she smiled sadly. "But our time together has passed. I've accepted that, but I need you to help him accept that as well."

"But..." I started to argue as a small guilt pestered in my chest. Yes, I did want to help him, do anything for him, but it felt wrong to have feelings for Qimir when I was right in front of the woman he loved the most.

"Eli, the force has connected you to him, just as it connected me to you. It's only you that can help him now."

She reached out an upturned hand, and I knew to lay my hand on top of it. As soon as our skins touched, my head rushed with thoughts and memories that were hers. But strangely enough, I recognized most of them.

The beach.

The bloody battle.

The lightsaber piercing my chest.

The dreamcatcher.

All of a sudden, it all made sense. The repetitive dreams I had were memories of Elysia, not mine. It was both confusing yet fascinating that I was bearing remnants of her memories.

Was I her reincarnation?

"You shouldn't stay here any longer." She withdraw her hand from mine. A gentle smile was on her lips, almost like an unspoken understanding that she understood my affection for Qimir.

"He still has unresolved pain, and he needs you."

Before I could protest, Elysia put a hand over my eyes, forcing them close. As I opened my eyes again, I realized that I was tightly wrapped in Qimir's arms, and Elysia was nowhere in sight.

"Can't... breathe..." I tapped his arm as he was hugging me too tightly. He slightly pulled away and looked at me in disbelief, his eyes full of tears.

"Eli..." his voice broke as he whispered my name. His hand cradled my cheek as he looked at me with such tender eyes, and I really liked how warm his touch felt against my skin.

"I thought I lost you."

"What happened...?" I carefully asked as I looked around. The last thing I could remember was the holocron cracking and exploding into pieces. I could even see some of its remnants on the ground several feet away.

"You died..." he whispered back, and a tear dripped down on my cheek. "Your heart stopped for a few minutes. I wouldn't have forgiven myself if you never woke up."

He lifted my hand to kiss it. So he was crying because he thought I was dead? I knew I should've been worried about the fact that I just died, but instead, I was happy to know that for once, someone actually worried for me. That someone would actually cry if I was gone.

"I wasn't able to help you. I'm sorry..."

"It's okay. I'm here now." I smiled and hooked my arm over his neck to pull him into an embrace. A sigh of relief escaped his lips as he hugged back, his tear-streaked face burying into my neck as if to savor my regained warmth.

"Qimir, let's go home."

*****

As we arrived back in the ocean planet which now Qimir had revealed to me as Thereīn, relief has completely washed over me. Just yesterday I was so worried that I would never be able to step foot here again. I now realized that this place was my official safe haven.

One that I could consider home.

As we walked from the island all the way back to the cave, Qimir never let go of my hand. I could constantly feel his intense gaze on me, as if he was afraid I will vanish into thin air the moment he looked away from me. Meanwhile, his open intimacy warmed my soul very much.

I very much liked the feeling of his touch. It made me feel grounded and safe, as if a silent assurance that he was always there with me.

As soon as we entered the cave, I finally had the chance to open up about what happened back when we were destroying the holocron. I felt like there were a lot of things we had to clarify between us before we could move forward.

"Qimir?" I softly called out as I sat on the edge of the bed, nervously fiddling with my fingers at the topic I was about to bring up. He stopped in his tracks just as he was placing down his bag on a nearby chair, noticing my serious tone.

"I just wanted you to know.... that I've seen everything." The way expression turned serious meant he knew what I was about to say. "The holocron... it showed me your helmet. And those Jedi that you.... you..."

"Killed."

He finished for me, noticing my hesitation. His jaw clenched as eyes turned darker.

"So you now know what I truly am. That I kill Jedis whenever it suits me. That I kill with no remorse." He tilted his head and slowly stepped closer as he spoke. "Do you still want to stay with me?"

"Yes," I answered without hesitation. "Because I know what made you like this. I saw what the Jedi did to you. To Elysia. I know how your master betrayed you."

"What if I end up hurting you as well?" He growled as he laid his hands on the bed on both sides of me, his onyx eyes piercing right through me. He probably thought I was going to be intimidated and see him as this evil being he was making himself to be, but I wasn't fazed by it at all.

"You will never hurt me."

"What if I betray you?"

I softly smiled. "Then it must be for good reason."

"You trust me too much." He whispered, his face now just a few inches away from mine.

"With all my life." I whispered back, and an electrifying tension lingered in the air as our gazes bore deep into each other. He kept searching for something in my eyes, as if testing if I was telling the truth.

The tension his eyebrows had somehow loosened, but I could still see he had difficulty believing how well I was taking in the revelation of his entire being.

"I remember everything that happened last night." I suddenly admitted, and his eyes slightly widened at that. He probably thought I was too drunk to remember everything that happened.

"Do you regret what happened?" He asked carefully, testing me. I smiled and shook my head.

"I was drunk, but I meant everything I've said and done." I inched closer to further narrow the distance between us.

"I'm fully sober now." I whispered against his lips. Knowing full well what I meant, it was like a fire lit up in his eyes. He finally let go of all his restraint and pulled me into a deep, intense kiss, his hand cradling the back of my neck.

I felt all of his emotions pouring into his lips and onto mine. Sadness, longing, but most of all, desire.

I willingly reciprocated the kiss and ran my hand through his hair. I felt his hand snake under my coat and all the way underneath the hem of my shirt, his touch feeling feverish against my bare skin.

Qimir was right. It was much better to do this completely sober. I could taste everything; feel everything more clearly without alcohol blurring my senses.

I didn't want us to stop now.

*****

[A/N]:
Not to ruin the mood, but I just wanted to share this meme. It felt so accurate that it made me snort

They started off as a cutesy push-pull duo and now they're a full blown dark side couple that can burn the world down lmao