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(Y/n)'s POV
"We were supposed to switch three times already," Anakin mumbled low as he awkwardly looked everywhere except for at me.

"I am the Princess and this is my party," I reminded him, "I dare them to comment."

He sighed as his eyes traveled to the floor and he watched our feet move to the rhythm of the music. Both of us excel when it comes to the waltz, especially when it is with each other. So it mainly comes naturally to us, we barely have to think about our next move, "Ignoring what happened is not something you are going to agree to — is it?" He asked as he finally shifted his eyes up to meet mine.

I shook my head — slowly we continued to move with the music, and avoided switching even when everyone around us had. We got looks from the party-goers in the room and Anakin would get jealous stares from the suitors, but neither of us paid any attention to them. Now it was only him and I.

"Not a chance Skywalker," I said as he spun me in a circle, and the moment I landed back with our gazes locked, I pulled myself closer to him, causing his breath to hitch in his throat, "Tell me what it meant to you."

"I-" He took a deep breath, "I am so sorry, it was not something that should have happened. It was against all the rules, and it was disrespectful of me to steal your first kiss-"

"I did not ask you to recite the rules that I am already aware exist. Nor do I consider my first kiss stolen. All I ask is that you tell me what that kiss meant to you and why you did it." My heart was pounding in my chest, because I was unsure what I would do when I got the answer I was suspecting I would get.

I feel like my entire world had been flipped upside down and everything I felt I knew about him was now being reevaluated in my mind. Have these feelings of his always been here? Are they new? Are there even any feelings at all? Or was I simply something he used for comfort during this difficult time? I needed an answer, and I needed it now before my head split into two from the headache this was giving me.

He was hesitant to answer as he bit his bottom lip and furrowed his brows, "Does it really need saying Princess?" He said in a quiet whisper that was almost drowned out by the string quartet.

I nodded, "Yes and please," I begged as I pulled our bodies as close as they could possibly get, "Do not lie to me." I made sure to never break eye contact and finally I saw the defeat in his eyes return, and I knew I was finally going to get some truth.

He took another deep breath, "I have been infatuated with you since before I could remember," He admitted and for a moment, I completely stopped breathing. Expecting something is different than actually receiving it, "I tried for many years not to be, because I knew we could never-" He shook his head as he looked down, then sighed, "But how could I not be? Yoo have the sweetest and kindest heart there is, and of course you make me smile like no other." He subtly smiled as he said those words, but the smile faded quicker than it came, "So yes, I have these feelings for you Princess and I always have — that is what that kiss meant."

I had not realized that I had completely stopped our dancing and now we were standing in the middle of the dance floor, staring into each other's eyes, "Ana-" I had no clue what to say and I was confused on what I felt, but I will admit my heart jumped into my throat during his confession.

He pressed his finger to my lips to keep me from speaking, "But nothing is going to change. You have your duty and I have mine. You will marry and have a family with someone that is not me. And I will be forced to watch it happen, because that is what is expected of me." I could see the devastation in his eyes as he spoke the harsh truth, and it hurt me more than I would like to admit. We may have always had a bumpy relationship, but I have never liked to see him hurting.

I slowly shook my head as his finger slid down and pulled on my bottom lip subtly, "What if I do not wish to pretend it never happened?"

As I stated previously — that kiss, it made me feel something I have never felt before. Were these feelings reciprocated? Is that all it took for me to realize that within those eyes is where my heart truly resided? For everything in my world to change?

A simple kiss?

"Sadly Princess," He moved me around the dance floor again so we would not draw too much attention to ourselves, "We do not get such a luxury and I promise, what happened in the garden will never happen again. So let us forget it all, please." He squeezed my hand tight.

I could not help but get teary eyed. I may not know how I feel in this moment, it just happened so of course I need time to really think about it. But I do know one thing, pretending it never happened is not something I want, especially given that I had the urge to kiss him again.

It felt so good and left a tingling sensation on my lips, and a tightness in my chest that reminded me of a craving, "But-"

"Excuse me," I was interrupted by an unfamiliar voice. We both paused and looked to my left where one of the suitors stood with a smile on his voice, but annoyance in his eyes, "Sorry to interrupt, but I was hoping that I would get a chance to dance with the Princess."

I was about to tell him no and to leave us be, but before I could, Anakin had already released his hold on me and practically shoved me into the man's arms, "I will be watching, so do not do anything that would require me to cut off a hand." He said in a vexed tone, his eyes no longer on me, but the suitor.

Anakin gave him one last glare before turning away. He never even looked at me again, almost like he was afraid to, "The rumors about him are definitely true," The suitor chuckled as he placed this hand in mine and put the other on my hip for a proper waltz stance, "He is a pretentious arse." He continued to laugh and looked at me as if he was waiting for me to laugh as well.

But that was not the case. Even before today I have never liked his name falling from anyones tongue in a negative way. Only I can say such things about him, "Watch your tongue before it becomes removed," I snapped. His laughter instantly died and his widened before he began to mumble a million apologies.

I looked away from him, ignoring his apologies, and watched Anakin continue to move further away from me, before he resided next to my parents and mumbled something into my fathers ear. I was curious at first to what it was that he would have to tell him, but moments later I saw the man who had gripped my wrist being escorted out and I then understood.

After Anakin got the man kicked out, he faced me with his hands behind his back and our eyes locked, causing him to breathe a sigh before he glanced at the floor to hide the woe in them that I already saw.

My chest ached and I knew it was because everything between us, our entire dynamic, was about to change. And it was unclear whether it was going to be a good change or a bad one.

Ahsoka's POV
"Hey," I felt a nudge on my shoulder and I slowly opened my eyes to see Piett inches away from me. He smiled when he saw I had awoken, and I took myself by surprise by glancing down to his lips before quickly looking back up before he noticed my involuntary act, "Sorry to disturb you Lady Tano, but sleeping the way you are now is going to kill your back. Would you like me to escort you back inside?" He asked in a soft tone and it was then that I felt movement on my lap.

I looked down to see all three of the wolves were asleep on me, curled up together, "And disturb them? I would rather suffer from a back ache." I smiled, shifting my gaze back up into his green eyes.

He chuckled quietly as he leaned back against the wooden walls, "If you insist, but you must know they would fall asleep again instantly, and they are safe and secure here. They will not get out."

"I know," I gently ran my fingers through their fur, "But I have grown to really like them, and since I will be returning home tomorrow, I choose to spend my time here." I revealed my real reason for not wanting to leave. As strange as this day has been, it was actually one of the more entertaining days I have had the pleasure of experiencing. I did not even feel like a Royal, I felt so normal.

"Oh," Piett furrowed his brows, "I did not realize you were leaving so soon."

I sighed and leaned my head back, "I only came for the roulette and the ball, but I have obligations at home." Although I wish I had none. Not everyone born inside of royalty wishes to be royalty. I would love nothing more than to have a normal life in a normal sized home with a normal man. But as fate has it, that is not a luxury I can divulge in.

He hummed as he glanced down to the stable floors and played with the hay, "What a shame," He tilted his head slightly before I king up a few of the hay strings and raising them up, before dropping them so they would float down to the floor, "Your company has been..." He trailed off, like he was trying to find the proper term to use, "A pleasure," He finally finished, shooting me a soft grin.

I smiled back, now this is a friendship I was not expecting, especially with how I treated him in the beginning, "I will return again soon Piett, and when I do, maybe you can finally tell me what it was that Anakin pulled you to the side for." Not long after Anakin came with a confession that he did something he should not have, he realized I was there and pulled Piett away to talk to him. Then when he returned, the brunette refused to spill whatever it was — loyalty at its finest.

He laughed as she shook his head, "Not a chance my Lady. It is not my secret to tell."

"Fair enough," I rolled my eyes with a sigh, "But do continue telling me more about your life before coming here, you mentioned you saved a lioness once." Before I fell asleep, he was showering me with different tales of his life involving many of the animals he has saved and many he has also lost.

He nodded with a growing smile, "She was beautiful," He scooted himself closer to me, our thighs touching, causing my skin to erupt into goosebumps, "One of the most beautiful creatures I had ever seen."

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