2.2k words

༻✦༺

(Y/n)'s POV
"Who's there?" The man asked, stumbling over to the bottom of the tree I was in. The leaves and branches made it hard for me to be visible, but unfortunately he knew I was here because I had spoken just seconds prior when I assumed he was Anakin.

I debated on answering the man, but decided to remain silent in hopes of him thinking he was hearing things. He looked out of his mind anyway, probably stumbling over here lost and drunk from one of the saloons in town that are open at this time of day. These woods are also connected to the town, so it is not unheard of for people to explore them as I do, but many usually will not come to this part because of how close it is to the palace — they fear the Royal guards.

But judging by the state of this man, he has no clue where he is.

I watched him through the leaves as he placed his hand on the trunk of the tree, his eyes drifting down to my shoes. Then he slowly looked up with a smile, "I can see your feet." He sang and it looked like he was about to climb up.

My eyes widened, "Stay away!" I shouted on instinct as I broke off a small piece of a branch and threw it down at him.

It hit his shoulder and bounced off, making him laugh, "You do not have to be afraid, I am not going to hurt you. I just want to meet you." His tone contradicted his words. He did not sound kind like he was attempting to, he sounded mischievous.

He started to climb and I felt my heart slamming into my chest as I looked around to see if Anakin was near — he was not, and now I truly regret never listening to him, "I would keep my distance if I were you, I am Prin—"

"I do not care who you are," He interrupted me as he reached up and tried to grab ahold of my ankle, but I quickly kicked at him in hopes of knocking him down. But in my attempt at protecting myself, I lost my balance and fell backwards; he had gotten ahold of my ankle and when I pulled it from his grasp, that is when I started to fall.

I screamed as loud as humanly possible as I fell to the floor, landing on my back and knocking the wind out of me — which abruptly stopped my scream. I tried to breathe, but only coughed and choked as the tightness in my stomach and chest ached, "A—"

I heard the sound of the grass crunching underneath the footsteps of my attacker as he approached me. Although he stopped with a dread-filled expression when he finally got a full look at me, "Oh my god Princess (y/n)." He gasped as I glared at him through my teary red eyes, still unable to properly breathe or talk, "I am so sorry I do not know what came over me, please forgive me."

This man, he is afraid, and I could see it in his eyes as he quickly looked around - most likely searching for my protector. But what unsettled me the most about the situation is that if I were anybody else, this would be going a lot differently right about now. He is not apologetic because he feels sorry or because of who I am. He is only apologetic because he—just as everyone else knows—that wherever I am, someone else is not far behind.

He slowly backed away to leave, but it was already too late. The sound of footsteps were rushing in our direction and seconds later, Anakin and Piett came into view. My guard looked frantically around before he found me on the floor, struggling for air.

His eyes that were once full with fear and worry were now full of rage.

Piett was instantly at my side, "Are you okay Princess? Did he hurt you?" He inspected me with a worried gaze, unfortunately I couldn't answer.

I looked past him to Anakin who was approaching the drunken fool, "I swear I never touched her! She fell and I was only coming over to help her!" He backed away from Anakin with fear in his eyes.

Anakin instantly grabbed him by the collar and shoved him against the tree, causing the man to hit his head hard, "If you are just a good samaritan, then why are you so scared?" He tilted his head, "And trying to leave?"

"Word is you are not one to listen," The man said before holding his breath.

Anakin eyed him up and down, "I do, just not to the likes of you. Now you better hope the Princess' story lines up with yours," He placed his free hand on the sword he carries instead of the gun, "Or I will personally be taking your hands to the King."

"Can you breathe?" Piett turned my head to look at him. I inhaled, but it was sharp and painful, so I shook my head so he knew I was having trouble, "Do you feel a lot of pain or a small amount? Blink once for a little and twice for a lot." I blinked once. It was painful, but it was not intolerable. My main issue was the breathing troubles, it felt like there was a ball in my chest, blocking my ability to breathe correctly, "Last question, can you follow my finger?" He proceeded to swipe his index finger through my eye-line, and I followed it as he asked. After a few moments, he sighed with relief, "It seems like nothing is broken and you don't have a concussion, so you should be okay in a minute or two."

Eventually I was able to breathe again, and I slowly sat up with Pietts help, "Can you tell us if that man attacked you, Princess? Or is what he said true?" He asked as Anakin pulled the man from the tree and threw him to the floor by his shirt.

"He attacked me," I revealed with no hesitation. If this man had no problem trying to harm me as easily he did, he will likely do it again or even has already done it, and that is not behavior I, as future Queen, will ever tolerate, "But no maiming," I stopped Anakin before he went through with his previous promise, "Take him to the Palace and have my parents deal with him."

Anakin nodded, his eyes drifting to the new prisoner, "See, I listen." He set his heavy boot on top of his chest since the drunk was on the floor still, "And you are lucky that I do because the King and Queen are much more civilized than I. They may have you hung, yet I would have you eaten alive by wolves." He spat, adding weight to the man's chest, making him cough as he weakly attempted to push his foot off.

"Ani I am okay," I assured him, noticing the fire in his eyes that was burning bright.

"Yes, you are," He said sternly, never taking his eyes off the prisoner, "But I know what his intentions were, and I really want to kill him."

Piett helped me stand up and I wiped off the grass and dirt from my dress, "Let Piett escort him, I need you to carry me," I was sure I could walk on my own, though it probably would have been difficult, but I wanted him distracted from his murderous thoughts.

"I have rope I use for the horses, I will get it and use it to drag him along." Piett offered.

Anakin sighed, clearly knowing what I was doing, but did not argue, "Yes Princess."

✦

"Thank you," I thanked the nurse after she had checked to make sure all was well with me. She smiled with a polite nod before leaving.

Anakin closed my bedroom door behind her and his eyes slowly drifted to mine. He locked the door and made his way towards me, "No more," He said with high authority in his tone as he stopped at the edge of my bed next to me.

I looked up, "No more, what?"

"No more being stubborn, no more disobeying the rules, and to be specific no more running off alone," His voice slightly raised with each word, catching me off guard. He did not just look angry or upset, he looked pissed. I personally do not consider this incident that big of a deal, sure it was scary at the time, but I am perfectly fine.

"Why are you so upset Kin? Nothing happened to me." I rolled my eyes, "So there is no need to raise your voice."

"This time," He gripped my jaw and forced me to look at him, "Nothing happened this time, but we can not say that for the next. So for the love of the King, no leaving this Palace without me or any other guard, ever." Any by any other guard he just means his guardian. The last time I was meant to be watched over by someone who was not him or Obi-Wan, he had the biggest fit imaginable. And then of course got his way, as he always does when he bats those puppy eyes to my mother who annoyingly enough has a soft spot for him.

I was ready to give him a smart remark, until I saw the look in his eyes. Sure he was pissed, but I could also see fear and worry shining through, "I am sorry that I scared you." Now I see he was only angry because he was scared.

His expression softened slightly, "You will never understand the feeling I felt when I heard you scream. I thought I failed." He dropped his hand down with a solemn expression.

"Forgive me."

He sighed as he turned and walked away to the other side of the bed. It was there that he kicked off his shoes and took his weapons off, and left them all on the floor. He then got into the bed and sat next to me with his back against the cushioned headboard, "This is more for me than you." He said, grabbing ahold of me and holding me to his chest protectively.

My heart rate picked up when I felt him lean his forehead down and rest it against the back of my head, "You are making our no physical contact arrangement hard." I finally said in a low whisper as I hugged his arms that were hugging me. I enjoyed this position we were in, it made me feel warm and whole. Because despite how often we used to and currently argue, he has always been my best friend, someone I trusted dearly with my life.

He breathed softly and I could feel it fanning the back of my neck, "When I was little, about seven, my mother gave me ice cream for the first time," He mumbled, "I instantly became obsessed with it, the taste was always lingering on the tip of my tongue," He moved the hair from the back of my neck to the sides with his nose, "I craved it, but my mother tried to limit me. Of course, like a good boy, I tried to listen at first, but the craving was just too strong sometimes." He kissed my neck softly, "I had to have it."

I closed my eyes as he kissed me from the back of the neck, to the side, his arms tightening around me, "But if you have too much of something," I breathed, "You get sick of it."

He chuckled low, his lips grazing my neck until he reached my ear, "I eat it everyday."

"Anakin," I warned him as goosebumps enveloped my skin, "We should not fall victim to our desires. You were right about our different places in this world, we will only end in disaster." I could not believe I was saying this, especially with how my body was reacting to him. But the words were coming from my mind instead of my heart, it knew this would never end well — yet my heart was begging to have the experience of a lifetime.

"I know," He held me tighter, burying his face in my neck, "But the craving is strong."

My palms started to sweat and I turned my head slightly. He lifted his and our eyes locked, "You have plenty of others to pass your time with." I said, referring to the girl I saw flirting with him not that long ago.

He furrowed his brow, "You really think they compare?"

"Them, you are allowed to be with."

Anakin cupped my cheek and turned my head more so our lips could softly touch, but we did not kiss, it was a tease, "Yes but them, I would never die for. Them, I would leave out in the cold with a simple call from you. Them, I am not in lo—"

He was interrupted by a knocking on my door, which was followed by the jiggling of the doorknob, "(Y/n), sweetheart? Is everything alright? Why is your door locked?"

Anakin and I parted instantly, it was my father.

༻✦༺
Hope you enjoyed it loves ❤️
༻✦༺