"So how did the meeting with the Chancellor go?" Anakin questioned me as he concentrated on flying the ship towards the correct coordinates that would lead us back to Solaris. "I'm assuming well, seeing as he did not request that you stayed on Coruscant for an extended period of time to discuss your business further with him."

I sighed, nodding slowly as I turned my head to face him, "He seemed to be understanding and compliant with my wishes... he was extremely friendly towards me though, which was slightly odd. Not that it matters seeing as I didn't travel there to form a formal relationship with the Chancellor, of course. However, he also wanted me to tell you that he sends his regards."

Anakin's mouth curled into a half-grin as his eyes remained on the black, star-speckled void in front of us, "He's a wise man, y/n. A good mentor too; he's always had my back since I arrived to join the Jedi Order when I was young. I'm sure he'll attend to your business as soon as he can."

I mumbled a inaudible 'mhm' in response as I tried my best to shake off that strange feeling that has been sticking with me since the meeting. It's probably just my anxiety playing up again... not that I'm too sure why though. I suppose the Chancellor being friendly wasn't as unorthodox as I had initially perceived it to be; I'm sure he was just trying to make me feel welcome seeing as I am new to the Republic as my system's official leader. I guess the fact of how I am so young could come into play too, not he should be underestimating me because of that though.

You're overthinking this; he's completely trustworthy.

I probably am overthinking this. I mean if Palpatine was untrustworthy, then the Senate wouldn't have appointed him as the Supreme Chancellor, now would they?

My fingers slipped the green material of my skirt between them and messed around with it subconsciously as I swivelled the co-pilot's chair around to face the opposite side of the room, where I noticed a familiar young woman loitering in the doorway, her body slumped on the frame, arms crossed and burning holes into the back of Anakin's head with her stare. A small smile appearing onto my lips as I admired how she was already so protective of me, like she had already been my big sister for my whole life.

"Enjoying the view, Lao?" Anakin spoke up suddenly, eliminating the silence in the room as he caused Devica to shift and roll her eyes into the back of her head. I sniggered quietly to myself at the both of them, my gaze shifting from Anakin to Devica several times. Anakin suddenly directed his ocean blue eyes to land on mine, his eyebrow raised at me, "What are you sniggering at? Don't act like you don't love it too," he smirked, winking at me as I felt a hot flush spread across my cheeks, finding myself at a loss for words once I tried to respond, but no noise emerged from my mouth.

"Loth-cat got your tongue, (y/n)?" Devica chuckled, heaving her body from the doorway and making her way over to me and Anakin, then leaning her arms on the back of Anakin's chair, making his body tilt backwards due to the weight she was putting onto it.

"Do you mind?" he spat in annoyance, looking up at Devica.

She shook her head down at him in an amused manner, "Not at all, Skywalker." Devica immediately looked over to me, biting her lip to suppress a laugh as Anakin sighed and leaned his back forward off of the chair to continue to pilot the ship. "So is it just you two back on Solaris or?-"

"Actually no, there's another three of us. Anakin's Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi; his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, and Captain Rex from his Clone Trooper battalion... and then there's me and Anakin, of course," I explained to her, Devica slowly nodding as she seemed to absorb each of their names and relation to us both.

"You might want to take a seat Lao; we're about to land," Anakin snapped, punching the accelerator forward before even giving Devica a chance to even start to process what he was telling her.

My hands gripped harshly onto the armrests of my seat, Devica flying off-balance into her own as Anakin laughed maniacally, flying the ship dangerously fast towards the green clump of trees and shrubbery shrouding the borders of my palace. My eyes darted to him in fear and then over to Devica sprawled in a heap on her chair directly behind him.

"Are you trying to kill us, Skywalker?!" Devica exclaimed, gripping onto her seat for dear life as she frantically blew away her brown locks covering her face.

Anakin remained silent simply to spite her and continued to fly the ship at an ungodly speed until we were but metres above the treetops, where Devica's yelling at him had heightened drastically. Just as we were about to supposedly crash and burn, Anakin abruptly slammed on the brakes and gently landed the ship onto the cracked concrete landing pad. As Anakin deactivated the ship, he got up and walked slowly past the breathless, terrified Devica, ruffling the top of her hair before leaving the ship.

I looked to her, quickly straightening out the creases in my skirt as he stared at me with wide eyes, her breath heaving up and down as she continued to grip harder and harder onto the seat, "He is a maniac."

I laughed softly to myself, going over to peel Devica from the leather and help her up. "I know he is... but he's my maniac."

I slipped my arm through the crook in Devica's once she had composed herself, the two of us then following Anakin out onto the ramp on the landing pad. I noticed my sister cover her eyes from the sudden blinding light of my planet's sunny and vibrantly green surroundings attacking her, as she obviously was not adapted to the landscape here due to living on a rainy, dull and dusky planet for the majority of her life. As we make our way down onto the platform, I notice Anakin stood with a familiar set of people I had grown to love dearly over the course of the past couple of months.

Continuing to make our way over to them - Devica clinging tightly onto my arm - I catch the eye of my favourite togrutan Jedi in the entire galaxy, a smile spreading across her mouth as she spots me approaching her. Beaming at her, she suddenly came running at me and before I knew it, I had an Ahsoka wrapped around my waist, squeezing me affectionately.

"I'm so happy you're back, (y/n)," she mumbled into me, squeezing tighter every second or so.

"I was only gone for a few hours, Ahsoka," I giggle happily, holding her at arms length once she had released the choke-hold she had on my waist.

Smirking back at me coyly, she let out a small giggle too. "Well it was a few hours too long," she said happily, her eyes darting over to Devica stood awkwardly beside us, scratching her forearm as she watched me. "...And you brought a friend; who is she?"

"Ahsoka, meet my long-lost older sister Devica. Devica, meet Anakin's Padawan and my best friend, Ahsoka Tano," I introduced the both of them to each other, gesturing my hands from Devica to Ahsoka and vice versa.

After the initial shock had released Ahsoka from her momentary freeze, she suddenly outstretched her hand in front of Devica, who took it graciously and offered Ahsoka a warm smile as Ahsoka gripped onto her hand and shook it vigorously. As the two of them began to be a little acquainted with one another, I looked past Ahsoka to greet Rex with a smile as he spoke with Anakin, my gaze moving onto Obi-Wan, who seemed to have his own eyes glued onto something else. Furrowing my eyebrows together, I subtly followed Obi-Wan's eyeline, my own eyes widening once I had found what he was glancing quite obviously at.

Devica.

I studied him further, noticing his eyes gleam as he stared at her and how he gulped once he slowly began to approach the three of us. I tried to hide the grin wanting to shape my mouth as he finally took his place beside Ahsoka, causing her and Devica's conversation come to an abrupt halt as Devica's brown eyes landed on Obi-Wan's.

"Let me guess... Obi-Wan Kenobi, right?" Devica asked him, folding her arms confidently across her chest as Obi-Wan seemed to stay there completely motionless and almost frozen. "I'm sorry did I get you wrong?"

"No, no! I- I am Obi-Wan. My apologies, I was a little spaced out... And-and you are?" Obi-Wan stumbled over his words nervously, his hand shooting out in front of Devica suddenly.

Amused by his actions, Ahsoka let out a quick snigger as she looked me in my own eyes, almost causing me to burst out in laughter also. I pressed my finger to my lips subtly to silence her before the two of us moving our attention back onto Obi-Wan and Devica.

"Devica Lao... I'm (y/n)'s older sister. Long story short, I ran away before she was born and I was living on Corellia until she found me and brought me back," Devica took Obi-Wan's hand in her own and shook it firmly, offering him an apologetic yet also understanding and somewhat simultaneously amused smile.

Even once their friendly hand shake had concluded, their hands remained in one another's, their eyes fixated on each other. I watched as Obi-Wan's eyes explored my sister's face, seeing him trapped in her chocolate brown eyes, getting lost in each dark curl on her head. Devica also seemed to keep her attention focused on Anakin's master; I could sense her feeling conflicted and confused the longer she looked into his tired, bluey-green orbs.

After the silence began to feel a little awkward, Ahsoka suddenly cleared her throat, snapping Obi-Wan and Devica out of their trances and each of them releasing their grip on one another. Devica scratched the back of her brown hair tensely as Obi-Wan stroked his beard to distract himself from my sister's presence beside him.

"This is going to be a slightly difficult thing to interpret how you are going to react to this (y/n).. but while you were away, Master Obi-Wan, Rex and I actually planned a little memorial service in the old Temple for your brother. A funeral, I suppose, but once where you can say goodbye to him and have some sort of closure. Obviously you don't have to go, but maybe seeing as your sister is here too, it might be good for the both of you in order for you to start to heal?" Ahsoka says, tiptoeing carefully around the situation as I could sense her fear in upsetting or distressing me and even Devica too.

"I think that's a beautiful thing for you to have done for her Ahsoka," Devica smiled warmly at Ahsoka before placing a gentle hand on my shoulder to bring my eyes up to meet hers. "I know it'll be hard to accept it (y/n), but we need to let Ayzel rest. And to do that, I believe we - as his family - should be there to full say goodbye. I think we should do this."

Gulping and tensing my neck as I start to feel the warmth rush through my body in stress, I slowly nod and squeeze my eyes shut to take a deep breath, "We owe it to him... I'm in."

***

Around a few hours later, the six of us made our way to the Temple for the service Ahsoka, Obi-Wan and Rex had so kindly put together for me and Ayzel... and now for Devica too. I found myself stuck standing outside of the grand room where the funeral was about to take place in. The very same room Ayzel and I used to spend countless days of our childhood together in before everything happened between the two of us and Mother.

And now I have to say goodbye to him for the last time.

I continue to stare at the decayed doors, my chest heaving quicker the longer I look at them. I feel the black lace of my gown suddenly start to itch against my shoulders, the palms of my hands now becoming clammy with sweat and the dry lump in my throat rising as my anxiety heightens, the feeling of not being able to even bring myself to go in there.

After a moment or so, I heard someone quietly approach me from behind and then feeling the coolness of a black leather glove come softly into contact with my shoulder and somehow immediately soothing me at the feeling of the coolness.

"You ok, Princess?" Anakin whispered softly, resting his chin gently on the top of my forehead as he slowly brought me into his reassuring and comforting embrace I have grown to love so much. 

"How can I even say goodbye, Anakin? He's my brother and I know he's already dead... I just keep thinking that it's my fault that he died," I sighed, sniffing back the tears as I allowed myself to melt into Anakin's arms, feeling almost safe with him.

He then immediately took his arms from around me and gripped onto my shoulders firmly and holding me at arms length to force my eyes to meet his, "You listen to me, (y/n). Your brother died because he loved you, because he wanted to prove he wanted to be better. His death was an accident, but he did because he wanted to keep you alive and protect you. By saying goodbye... that doesn't mean you forget him completely. You will never be able to forget, matter how hard you try; but that isn't a bad thing. It shows how much you really love and have loved him, (y/n). You are more ready to do this than you think, and I will be right there for the whole thing."

I force a shaky smile onto my crumpling face that was trying its hardest not to open the flood gates again. Taking a deep breath, I nod and begin to enter the room, holding tightly onto Anakin's hand as I slowly make my way to the coffin in the centre of the room. My breaths grew more heavier and more rapid once I had reached it, squeezing my eyes as a tear rolled down my cheek to prepare myself before looking in.

I took a deep breath, feeling Anakin squeeze my hand from behind and open my eyes. Once looking down, my eyes land on the ghostly-white face of my deceased brother, his stab wound bandaged in white linen and he was now dressed in an emerald green suit, his old crown placed in his hands. I look over to Devica, who seemed almost emotionless aside from her red, puffy eyes and the singular tear dripping down her cheek.

I can't even imagine what she must be feeling right now. She hasn't seen Ayzel in years, or watched him grow into the man she was looking down upon. She had talked to me of how she had longed to reunite with him someday, and now she finally has... at his funeral. This was affecting both of us in each a very different way. For her; she was pained at the fact the little boy she basically raised and missed every day for years was now laying dead before her. For me... it was basically the same; but I had actually grown up alongside him and was there for each of his highs, and mostly his lows. I idolised him when I was younger, he was always there for me.

And now, I have Devica... I see Ayzel in her so much, but she could never ever compare to him. She just couldn't.

{ SONG ALERT - Come to This by Natalie Taylor }

"Maybe we should give (y/n) some time alone with him," Devica suggested, breaking the silence as she spoke in a croaky and strained voice whilst she tried her hardest to blink back the tears. The rest of them collectively nodded in agreement and began to follow Devica out of the room. Anakin lagged behind for a little, placing a gentle kiss in my hair, squeezing my hand one more time before he followed the others out too.

"I guess it's just you and me now, brother," I sniff, reaching my hand into the coffin and gently stroking Ayzel's brown locks off of his forehead as the tears now streamed silently down my cheeks. "If you want to prove you're miraculously not actually dead again like last time, I'd be totally good with that. I won't even care if you even want to kill me again," I let out a little broken laugh, my eyes observing how peaceful he seemed with his eyes closed.

I lift my eyes up to the ceiling, observing that familiar intricate mosaic before moving down the wall and landing on the engraving carved in the wall just behind Ayzel's coffin.

Ayzel + (y/n)

"You remember this place don't you Ayzel? We spent hours of our childhood in here when Mother was being too suffocating... we played in here, cried in here, laughed in here, and we even solidified our bond here when we engraved our names on that slate. Do you remember? You were always such a complicated soul, Azzie, but I never loved you any less. Hell, even over the past few weeks I couldn't find myself able to hate you for what you did to me. I don't know if this makes any difference now... but I forgive you. And I am sorry too for never standing up for you with Mother. I know that in my heart that even though I would give anything for you to be with us right now... that you would just be suffering still. That sort of trauma never leaves you, and I feel sick at the thought of the guilt you would have had to be wrestling with for the rest of your life because of every single thing that has happened ever since we were small."

I quickly take a breath and place my hand gently on his cold cheek, "I love you, Ayzel; I always will. But you deserve to rest. You deserve to be at peace at last, and I owe that to you."

Quickly looking left and right, I slide my hand into the pocket of my skirt and pull out Ventress' lightsaber in front of me, turning the hilt over in my hands. I grip my fists around it, my knuckles growing white from the hate and resentment rushing back to me all at once. This was the lightsaber I had killed her with... because she had taken something from me that I wasn't ready to lose.

His death wasn't my fault. It was hers.

"I know this won't bring you back or change anything, but I have avenged you, my dear brother. I have eliminated your killer and now I can set you free. I can finally say... goodbye," I whisper in a hushed and broken voice, gently laying down the curved hilt on the white material, concealing it under Ayzel's emerald tail-coat.

Bringing my eyes back onto his peaceful, still face, I feel a smile spread across my trembling lips as my eyes mist with tears, many of them escaping down my cheek. I slowly lean down and place a gentle kiss on his hair, one of my rogue tears splashing down onto his own cheek before straightening back up and taking one last look.

"Goodbye, Ayzel."

{ SONG ENDS }

***

After the cremation, we all adjourned back to up to the palace. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka made themselves busy by settling Devica into her old bedroom, Rex travelled down to Vis to send away the clone battalions summoned here because of the Republic's bill, and Anakin was wandering loose somewhere in the palace. I had decided to go and sit by the fire in the parlour to reflect on my life and how it was going to be different from now on with Devica's re-entrance into the family and Ayzel's tragic departure. I found myself circling on one thought over and over again, plaguing my mind until I was very near insanity.

Anakin doesn't know that I love him.

As I stared into the roaring flames of the fire, I heard a gentle knock on the door echo from behind me. I shifted my body on the couch to see who had decided to pay me a visit, my eyes straining to see them in the dim light. As they ventured further into the room, my heartrate suddenly increased dramatically and I felt the butterflies return.

"Hey Princess, may I join you?"

"Please, sit... I need to talk to you about something," I say to him after fighting for the words to actually leave my mouth.

Anakin looks at me with a fearful expression pasted upon his face as he slowly descended onto the cushion at my side, his blond-ish curls looking golden in the firelight. "What is it, (y/n)?"

I took a deep breath, finding myself staring into his ocean blue eyes and completely getting lost in them. I felt as though I was about to be sick, but at the same time, I felt as though I could explode if I kept these thoughts in any longer.

"From the moment we met, I have always been so stupidly obsessed with you... infatuated by you and that cocky smirk of yours and your confidence. I could go on for hours about how I could look into your eyes forever, or how I love every single damn curl on your head. You have been unconditionally there for me over the past few months; you have protected me, even taken a dagger for me and still stayed by my side no matter what ridiculous decision I made.."

"What are you saying, (y/n)?" Anakin asked curiously, raising his eyebrow as he reached to take my hand in his, edging his face but metres from mine.

"I-I love you, Anakin Skywalker. I'm hopelessly and deeply in love with you."

A childish grin crawled upon his beautiful mouth, feeling the butterflies want to murder me from inside as I suddenly felt his soft lips come into contact with mine, the both of us now sharing a passionate and loving kiss we both had been craving since the very moment we met. After a few seconds of bliss, Anakin parted our lips and rested his forehead gently upon mine, looking me dead in the eyes.

"I love you too, my Princess."