𝕮𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗪𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗬-𝗢𝗡𝗘
━━ 𝙒𝙄𝙇𝘿, 𝙈𝙄𝙂𝙃𝙏𝙔 𝙉𝙄𝙂𝙃𝙏

━━ 𝘊𝘙𝘠𝘓𝘓𝘌𝘚 / 𝘚𝘈𝘙𝘐𝘈
𝟸𝟹 𝙱𝙱𝚈

The steady beeping of the machines around him threaten to lure him into sleep, each little noise a push further into warm slumber. 

Beep. Beep. Beep.

He can feel the hard material of the chair that he's sitting on, the smell of disinfectants invading his nose, harsh white light penetrating his eyes. He blinks slowly, as if to evade these uncomfortable surroundings, foggy tiredness creeping up on him again, making his bones heavy and his thoughts slow, thick currents meandering through the fatigued paths of his mind.

Her voice echoes from the depths of his memories, he hears her call out to him, happily, excitedly, on that one day they'd had to themselves and spent on Nadia's homeplanet, where they'd steered a little boat through clear, brilliant water, chased those gleaming spots of sunlight across it's surface, had watched thick, billowing plants in the cool currents below rush by, alternating with sand painted with patterns of sunlight breaking on the ripples above.

He'd dipped his hand into the river they'd been travelling on, felt the smooth liquid run softly through his fingers, watched a dragonfly buzz lazily around them, wings iridescent, Anakin!, Selyn calls out, Anakin, look, pointing to their shadows in the water where the sun behind them casts a rays of light around their shadowy heads that look like a halo, and he'd turned to her, grinning, had seen her there in the bright sunlight, had seen her eyes catch it's sparkle, her smile, her carefree laugh, and he'd sworn to capture this moment, to lock it away in his heart forever...

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Anakin jerks upright. The sun fades, her laughter becomes distant, the water disintegrates between his hands. His chin has fallen towards his chest, eyelids fluttering closed.

He can't sleep now, he chastises himself. Not when he is watching over Selyn, waiting for her to wake up. He wants to be there for her when she does. He cannot recall how long he has been sitting here by her side – one hour bleeds into the next and time has long lost its meaning by now, in this sterile room, with memory his only companion.

To distract his mind from the drowsiness looming in his eyes Anakin shifts his attention towards the sleeping figure of Selyn.

He examines closely; the loose strands platin blonde hair flowing around her head, moving with each exhale, the now relaxed features that never fail to render him speechless. They're the same as they were two years ago, and yet, they aren't. She has changed deeply since their time as padawans, on the in- and on the outside.

Selyn's hair which used to be more flowy and partly open as a padawan is now completely braided around her head in complex patterns, ending in one long, thick braid. The little golden rings are still cleverly woven into the braids to adorn them, even though there are more of them now – some of them are only tiny rings, others thicker, showing delicate patterns.

They are not the only jewellery catching the cold white light of the infirmary anymore though. For one there is the necklace he gave to her. It gives Anakin a strange rush of emotion every time he sees the sunlight pendant resting on her chest. And then there are the numerous, tiny earrings flashing at her earlobes and helixes – these are Cleodys' work. Many guards on Crylles wear them, and one evening when they'd visited Selyn's family home she had the idea to pierce Selyn as well.

Anakin doesn't think he could ever thank Cleodys enough for this genius idea. The tiny golden rings and studs suit Selyn excellently, and she looks positively stunning with them. But most importantly it fills him with joy to observe how she is regaining elements of her culture, her home again, and he sees how these little tokens of Crylles steady her, remind her of the people who believe in her.

He can read the change on her exterior, but much more remarkable is the change that has started within her since the beginning of the war.

Selyn is strong, always has been, and he knows that she is more than capable to look after herself, but to her strength there is a great sensitivity and feeling of lostness to match it, and when he looks at her in the moments she believes to be unobserved, he has the impression that she is balancing on a tightrope far above. She is out of his reach, setting one foot in front of the other, windy hands tearing on her frame as she steps with cautious movements, gazing into the void below, nothing to keep her from falling. Nothing but him.

Anakin knows that she detests the war, hates the very essence of it. And he knows that the prophecy is a constant weight on her shoulders. The idea that her life might not be her own tugs on her conscience from time to time when it is unprotected, and it has set something off within her, sent her staggering on that tightrope, with even stronger gusts of uncertainty that threaten to send her plummeting into the endless abyss below.

One dies, one shall fall.

Another prophecy has dictated most of his life, has led his steps and imprisoned him in a cage formed of the Jedi's expectations.

He is cursed for greatness.

And Selyn...he doesn't dare to think about the prophecy, he stomps out the tiny flickers of doubt whenever the ancient words cross his mind. But with what happened on Kantoonia...no, this prophecy isn't about them. He won't allow it.

Selyn coughs and wakes with a start. The surroundings are unfamiliar, the sterile white blinding to her eyes which have been shut for too long. A headache seems to split her head in two, and she groans, pressing her palms on her temples to ease the pain. The room sways as her vision adjusts and shapes form before her eyes.

A blurry figure sits before her, sliding in and out of focus. And then something tilts, and everything snaps into place. The outlines of the room and of her hands against the white blanket are sharp again and she can finally make sense of what she's seeing.

"Anakin!" she softly calls out. Her voice feels raw.

He gives her a smile that never fails to make her heart jump.

"You scared us there a bit," he says, leaning towards her. There's a look in his eyes that she can't quite place.

"What-?" she asks groggily, feeling slowly returning into her aching body and limbs.

"Noa told us what happened. It seems you became quite the fury, didn't you?"

"Noa?" she asks. She is worried for him, but why again? "What- is he alright, is he okay?"

"Yes, he is," Anakin says gently. "Of course he is."

Selyn nods, not sure what to say but nonetheless relieved.

Anakin seems to sense her struggle for words, too, because he says slowly: "I...I spoke to Nadia whilst you were out, she is worried for you. She saw what happened from a distance and she said she's never seen you unleashed like that. What happened?"

Memories come streaming back to her now, the red snow, the narrow, claustrophobic canyon, clones dropping to the ground all around her like birds plucked from the sky and sent plummeting downward. Selyn's eyes burn as her mind fills in the gaps, partly because of the memories of this bottomless pain and fear flooding back and partly of shame of how she had reacted.

"It was Noa's first battle," she says hoarsely. "They had us encircled, they were too many. He was so scared before we went into combat...I just wanted to protect him. I didn't want it to happen like that."

Anakin nods, absently taking her hand as he gazes into the distance, probably facing his own images of battle.

"And then...I don't know, something inside me snapped." She shudders. "It's like...like I was a different person, I don't remember it all...it was like a blur after that. But I was powerful, so powerful, and I slaughtered them...as if they were human, as if they could feel pain...I wanted them to feel it."

Tears well up in her eyes and she feels as if her chest is too tight. "I can't lose control like that again. It was terrible."

Anakin nods. "I know."

He moves closer, pulling her into an embrace and stroking over her back in slow, reassuring strokes. She sticks her nose into the fabric of his robes, drinking up his scent.

As Selyn calms to the sound of his beating heart, he presses a kiss atop her head. "You know, that really shouldn't happen again. Ahsoka is leading with twenty kills now since you had the courtesy of going into full fury mode and finishing off all the droids. You didn't leave any for poor Noa, he didn't even stand a chance."

Selyn laughs shakily, still a little teary-eyed. "You're right. We really can't have that, can we?"

She is glad for him to be here, but there's one thing she wasn't ready yet to tell him yet. How good it had felt not to be in her head for once. Not to be afraid. Not to be weak, not to be herself, but something different. As if she was powerful.

Anakin leans back to look at her again, but their hands stay entwined.

He fiddles his thumbs nervously but plays whatever he was nervous about off as he looked up with a mischievous smile.

"You've kept your end of the bargain. Got yourself nicely injured and scored a five-day recovery time on top, huh?"

Selyn grins. "Always happy to oblige."

"I may have exaggerated your injuries a little when talking to the council, but that was worth it. And the best thing is, I've got just enough free time before my next mission to...uhm, maybe..."

She raises a brow. "To do what?"

If she didn't know better, she would say Anakin looks nervous.

"I've been thinking," he says. "I feel like we should get married, don't you think?"

"What?" Selyn's heart does a funny little jump in her chest.

"Of course!" he answers. "I mean it only makes sense, you see...I love you and you love me, and we've broken enough rules already so why not take the big prize and get married, too?"

Selyn's heart is now positively wilding inside her chest as Anakin looks at her, smiling widely, barely able to contain his excitement.

"And besides...I've spoken to Cleodys, she's up for organizing a small wedding, Nadia's in, too." He looks pretty satisfied with himself. "I was thinking about a little private ceremony on Crylles' moon, what do you think?"

Selyn tries to contain a wide smile. "Well...I suppose I could fit it in my schedule..."

Anakin feigns a frown. "You don't seem very convinced."

Selyn tilts her head. An invitation. "Then convince me, Skywalker."

His face spreads into a wide grin, and he leans forward, one arm snaking around her waist and the other supporting her back.

"You're so very demanding. And I love you," he mutters under his breath, his lips finding hers.

Selyn pulls him even closer. "I know you do."

She closes her eyes as they sink into that kiss and for a moment all is good. Her blackout is gone, the war, everything. Everything except that vision of a future, a good future, he'd ignited in her mind by his proposition.

Anakin draws back and looks at her. "Convinced?"

Selyn smiles so widely that she must look like a total idiot. Giddy with anticipation, she brings his hand to her lips, pressing a tiny kiss on it. "Absolutely. Let's get married."

Wisps of pale fog surround her, and beneath it, in dark, gleaming waters, waits the sky.

She hears the steady, quiet drop of moisture rolling off of pine needles and ferns and dripping onto black earth or the dark pools of water that lie silently between those gently rising curves of mossy stones and islands covered in ancient, towering pine trees; their branches hanging lowly, loaded with dark green needles and huge, gleaming cones. Through the air, heavy with moisture, she can hear faint, muffled echoes of silver deer calling out in their deep, longing voices, mystical, holy creatures, the only ones to roam these wide forests.

Never had she seen nature this raw, this wild, this untouched. It feels as if the planet and it's ecosystem is a living being, alert, watchful, thriving without a human touch, and she is intruding, walking ancient grounds, careful not to raise her voice too much as if not to wake this all-permeating presence. But it is not a hostile, uneasy feeling that comes with it – she feels safe, protected, watched, as if she were tucked under a bird's wing in this balmy, sweet air, the soft wind a caress by gentle, kind hands.

She raises her eyes to the sky, this untamed masterpiece of darkness and specks of light, framed by the jagged, black outline of treetops – as if some ancient god had sprinkled that darkness before him with generous, angry splashes of yellow, white and red light. Looking into the sparkling depth above makes her dizzy, she feels as if she'd be swallowed up by this void if she looked at it for too long, feels a steady pull around her ankles like a low current in an ocean, threatening to tip her over, and to be pulled by these waters into the swirls of stars that form her galaxy.

It is quiet, but it's a peaceful quiet, as if this place exists apart from time and space, a serene sanctuary, where stars and night and gentle spirits have come together to form this beautiful temple. Water ripples all around her, quiet and smooth – Crylles' moon Saria is mostly covered in it, safe for some rocks forming islands rising from the calm waves. Steam wafts over the waters, swirling as if stirred by invisible hands.

Again, the twinkle in the water catches her eye.

"They are tiny organisms, living in the waters," Selyn had described it to Nadia upon landing. "It looks like stars have fallen from the sky. It's...it's beautiful."

And it really looks like they have, above and below they are shining, gleaming, thousands, millions of them – Saria's atmosphere is thinner, and different than Crylles', filtering less starlight, breaking the incoming light at such a low amount that the moon's sky in eternal, inky blackness, littered with specks of white, blue and yellow. As she watches the tiny creatures dance and flow in the dark waters, like swaying stars, as she watches the twinkling lights above, she thinks of another night, where she's felt as if the earth was mirroring the nightsky, she thinks of the pale, glowing flowers, of a fire in the cold dark.

Selyn looks to her right, and she sees her homeplanet rise above the horizon, huge, warm and golden, the living rings around it, glittering in the distant sun's light as its beams hit the icy rocks. The sprits of her ancestors, suspended in space for all times, drifting through the nothingness side by side. It feels strange, being so far away from it all, she feels encapsulated, floating here in this wonderful parallel universe, just a traveller of endless skies.

They are on an island of smooth rock, soft earth and moss swallowing up the sounds of their footfalls as she draws closer. Around them drifts the thin fog, breaking apart occasionally and granting them a glance at the hidden depths of water below.

Selyn feels her robe move around her in the breeze, the cape of translucent, weightless fabric playfully intertwining with the pale blue long sleeves, the seams embroidered with tiny stones, just like around her chest and waist.

It feels strange to be that untouched, that innocently looking, this clean and filled with joy when merely a day ago her hands have been stained with blood and dirt, her soul crushed by feverish, flaming panic.

It feels strange to be that hopeful and carefree amidst the war raging around them.

I deserve this, she tells herself. She had given this world so much in the past year: her blood, her sweat, her tears, her peace of mind. She deserves to now take something from it too.

To carve out this chance at happiness, to seize this moment, and to grasp this hopeful future tightly. Because they both deserve it, they deserve a reason to hold on. Something to fight for. Something to live for.

And then, finally, she looks at him, amidst this wondrous, unfamiliar landscape, amidst it all there's always been him, waiting for her to meet him right here. He who'd held his hand out to her since the beginning, always wishing for her to notice, to seize it, ever hoping, ever patient.

And now, finally she has, hesitant at first, but now she has grasped him firmly, not willing to ever let go.

He keeps his eyes fixed on her as she steps under low branches, their sweet, earthy smell filling her nose, and finally sets foot into the clearing, solemn, shining. Under his gaze she feels precious, special, as if the moon's surface could burst into a million pieces and he'd still be looking at her.

As Selyn comes closer she notices the priestess now, too, a tall hooded figure standing beside Anakin, her dark gown threaded with fine bands of gold falling heavy over her shoulders. Cleodys must have organized for her to be here, all the way from the temples of the capital.

The priestess casts back her cloak, revealing a surprisingly young face. Selyn smiles at Anakin, and buzzing with anticipation she feels so light, so free like never before.

"Ready?" she asks.

He grins. "So ready."

The priestess nods to them both and begins. "My name is Aylinn Ereis. I have come here today blessed with the power of the Spirits to bind these two souls for eternity and for whatever waits beyond. For love is the greatest power of all, for love holds the skies and the earth together, I call to you, Avaar. For love is gentle and persevering, finding its way like a river to the sea, I call to you, Elowyn. Be witness to how these two people found the love you sought. Be witness to how their breaths of life are joined, and they become one."

She gestures them to hold each other's hands between them. First, she wraps a blue ribbon around their linked hands, symbolizing the water, the moon and Elowyn's serenity.

"Anakin Skywalker of Tattoine, will you share your life and your love and your sacred breath with Selyn Val'aeon of Crylles?"

He nods, his eyes not leaving hers for one second. "I will. Let the dunes sing our names. Let the water remember us always. Let the Living Rings welcome our souls side by side so that not even death can separate us."

Tears shoot into Selyn's eyes as she recognizes the words. Because Anakin is reciting the cryllean wedding vows – he must have learned them for her, he must have known how much this would mean to her.

A second ribbon follows. This one shines golden around their hands, resembling the desert, the fires and the dragons.

"Selyn Val'aeon of Crylles, will you share your life and your love and your sacred breath with Anakin Skywalker of Tattoine?"

Her heart beats in her chest as if it is a bird flapping its wings, rising into the sky. "I will. Let the dunes sing our names. Let the water remember us always. Let the Living Rings welcome our souls side by side so that not even death can separate us."

The priestess lays her hands on top of theirs. "Then you shall be one. You shall complete each other, you shall be the waters and the flames, gentle and wild, giving and taking. In life you will give your love, and in death you shall find each other again."

From a satchel on her belt, she pours fine, red sand into their free hands. Selyn notes with a slight smile that Anakin doesn't even pull the slightest grimace upon being confronted with the hated material, showing just how much he is taken aback by this moment.

Their hands still bound; they step towards the water. The waves whisper gently below, it almost seems as if their quiet, steady lapping against the shore are words of welcome. Delicate tendrils of steam curl around her palm as Selyn stretches out her hand above the glowing waters. She watches the grains of sand fall into its mysterious depth, and she could swear that the breeze sweeping around them sounds like a lover's sigh.

The priestess bows her head. "Elowyn's and Avaar's love has found a home within you. Cherish it."

"I have a promise to make," Anakin says when the priestess is finished. "I once promised you I wouldn't let you run away from this love between us. Now I promise you, I will go to the ends of the world and further to keep us forever."

Selyn smiles, tears welling in her eyes. Her heart finds easily the words she wants to speak. "I love you, Anakin Skywalker. All that I am and all I can give belongs to you."

The priestess lets go of their hands. "You have found each other to be bound in life and in death. By the power given to me from the spirits I proclaim you husband and wife."

Anakin's face breaks into a wide smile.

Husband and wife.

If someone told her a year ago that happiness of this scale would be possible for her to reach, she would have never believed them. And yet, here they are, side by side, despite it all, their hearts light and brave, drunk on this moment. It is all unreal and yet so richly detailed, the wind swaying the tall pine trees above, the familiar feel of his warm, calloused hand in hers, the dark greens and hues of midnight and emerald, the gradient of lush, tender darkness between the gnarled bark of the slender stems, the sweet scent of sap and life.

Selyn knows she must be grinning like an idiot as she looks at Anakin now, his face in an unreal, eerie glow. He is that reckless boy whose smile had sent her heart skipping a beat under Crylles' beating sun, he is her fierce rival, darting out of her lightsaber's reach, taunting her with words of mockery, he is her brave companion in all danger, leading her wherever her heart was once too afraid to follow.

In an instant, he bridges the gap between them, sliding his arm around her waist and lifting Selyn's chin with a finger. Their kiss is soft and gentle and full of promises, and it makes her heart leap, makes her feel as if she could escape all that is pulling her down.

As if as long as she has him she could even defy gravity. Take on the impossible, the unendurable, the unthinkable.

The soft wind sighs in treetops above, carrying their promise out, out, into the wildly swirling night.

✧･ﾟ:* 𝕬𝘜𝘛𝘏𝘖𝘙'𝘚 𝘕𝘖𝘛𝘌 *:･ﾟ✧

^me watching them get all the happiness they deserve 🥰 for now

WEDDING!!

who would have thought, who would have thought??! not me 🤭

i was really debating wether to write this wedding or not bc i find it quite hard to implement something like weddings into star wars and the vibes, but i hope it was still fitting! also my excuses for the excessive descriptions this chapter I got a little carried away lmao 😮‍💨 but I found the scenery extremely gorgeous, hope you did too 😙

also I changed the dating of this chapter to 23 BBY bc one year after beginning of the clone wars and already getting married that's a little fast for my liking,,,like what was I thinking

anyways they truly deserve some happiness after all the shit they've been put through and I will gladly give it to them ....until next chapter ...I love my babies but sometimes they do have to suffer...for the plot 🙃

hope you enjoyed the fluff and cuteness and happiness bc I sure did!

hugs n kisses my loves, thanks for reading!! 🫶🫶

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