{DEVICA'S POV}

Ever since Anakin and my sister had decided to announce that they were now moving up the wedding and Ahsoka had to return to train for the Jedi Trials, Obi-Wan and I found ourselves in the positions of being in charge of planning the wedding. 

Now, only a week or so from the wedding, Obi-Wan and I began finally tackling the task of finding the impossibly rare Solarian flowers (y/n) requested and bringing them back to the palace to decorate the temple with along with also using them to go inside her bouquet. As much as I love my sister, and I promised that I would do anything to make her big day special... did she really have to choose the rarest type of Solarian flower there is?

This unfortunately called for a long and difficult trip into the forest where there was a singular grove that contained the only patch of flowers she wanted in the entirety of our system. Luckily for us, it was a rather cool but still sunny day and seemed as though it would cause us no problems on our trek.

Obi-Wan and I set off for the forest after we had collected a few samples of food from one of the stalls at the Bazaar in Vis, possibly at around noon. The sun was shining down on us in the clear blue sky, the breeze thankfully creating a calm balance to shield us from the heat. It took us around half an hour to reach the forest, Obi-Wan hauling the basket of food with him in one arm as I led the way to the grove.

Fortunately, it was exactly where I remembered it to be. A feeling of nostalgia and homeliness suddenly rushed through my body as I stopped in my tracks, taking in the sight of the flower filled garden before me, majestic trees towering over and surrounding us from all around. I looked up to the sky and noticed how the sun peeked through the vibrant green leaves in streaks of light, the branches swaying gently in the breeze. I found myself fixating at the dewdrops still delicately positioned on the leaves above us, hearing the sound of birds and other woodland creatures scurry around in the wood as the smell of bark, grass and pollen from the flowers wafted through my nose.

I remembered all the times I came here as a child, recalling how I used to sit at the trunks of the trees, peacefully weaving a variety of flowers to make into a crown. Ironically - with me being the Princess at the time - it was the only type of crown I actually enjoyed wearing.

I found myself laughing a little as I remembered how I used to return to the palace after spending a good couple of hours here with mud and grass stains all over my dress and dirt splattered on my face from rolling around in the leaves once they began to fall in the colder seasons. I sent Mother into a frenzy every single time, usually ending in a screaming match between us along with her forbidding me to leave the palace unsupervised and return to the grove again.

Of course, I never listened to her.

It was my safe place.

For me (although it sounds incredibly cringey), it was a place where I could simply just be Devica. Not Princess Anara. Not the future Queen of Solaris. Not even my mother's daughter. Just plain old Devica... and that is how I liked it. To be honest, the only probable reason I didn't run away from home any earlier to try and join my father on Coruscant was because of how the only thing I loved most in the whole galaxy was in that palace; and that was my dear little brother, Ayzel. 

Here, I knew I could always at least feel like I was free for a mere few hours, and not bound by royal decrees, rules and regulations, and especially my mother's crushing and frankly unreasonable expectations of me. Somehow, I always had the feeling that she never even loved me and instead loved the fact that one day I would continue her legacy as Queen, despite my many attempts to convince her to abdicate to Ayzel... which she inevitably did once she had stopped bothering to search for me when I had disappeared.

I bet she was relieved when the guards had called off the search for me after confirming that I was definitely gone... although there is another part of me which thinks that the only reason she tried so hard to make me interested in becoming Queen was simply to avoid having to pass the crown down to my brother. And unfortunately the fact that she also chose (y/n) to be the successor instead of him so quickly and for the stupidest reason, only seemed to reinforce my theory further.

All three of us deserved better; from both of our parents for that matter. Although I loved our father dearly, and I respect the sacrifice and commitment he had made in protecting the galaxy, he was still never there for his children, especially when we needed him. Most of the time, Ayzel and I would go months and months without seeing him; and even when he did come back, it was like he was never even here at all... hell, (y/n) didn't even meet the man! As for our mother - and I can't speak for all of my siblings on this - but she only seem to care more about her title and her power, and possibly even the system more than she did her own children. She tried to force me into a life I did not wish to live out; she drove Ayzel to insanity due to neglect... and she lied to (y/n) her whole life, despite her being the only one of us three who she actually seemed to care for.

And now there's only two of us.

"Are you feeling alright, Devica?" I heard Obi-Wan's charming voice gently speak to me, snapping me out of my thoughts. I must've zoned out staring at the grove and reminiscing.

I shook my head gently and offered him a comforting smile, "Yes, of course I am. It's just that I used to come here all the time when I was a child and it's brought back a lot of memories." I let out a sigh and take another look at the trees surrounding us.

Obi-Wan chuckled a little to himself and followed my gaze to the trees also, "Sometimes I forget that this was your home before you lived on Corellia... you were there for so long. Didn't you ever wish to come back?" he asked me softly, carefully walking over a tree stump and placing the basket of food upon it before returning to stand in front of me.

I thought for a moment, feeling a little conflicted on how to answer. "Well, aside the fact that I didn't have any way to leave Corellia, it did cross my mind a couple times. I did miss Solaris a little; but to be honest, there was not really any reason for me to be there. I mean aside from my brother being there of course-" I paused for a moment, reflecting on the life I could've had if only I had stayed. "But no... I knew that if I went back, I would either be disowned by my mother or pushed into being someone I know in my heart that I'm not. I mean, could you imagine me of all people as the Queen?" I snorted at the thought.

Force that must've looked so unattractive-

Surprisingly, Obi-Wan laughed along with me, and looked into my eyes with a kind expression on his face. "On the contrary, even though that it wouldn't exactly be in your character to be Queen... I actually think you would make a fine ruler. You're kind, compassionate, empathetic, just, and you also have a brilliant mind. To be frank, I'm fairly certain you could easily take on anything handed your way, Devica."

I couldn't help but allow a small smile to creep across my mouth after hearing his words.

"Well, thank you General Kenobi-"

"Please, call me Obi-Wan... if I am permitted to call you Devica instead of 'my lady' or 'Miss Lao', then you can most definitely just call me Obi-Wan," he said to me kindly, only causing the stupid smile on my lips to grow more.

"Thank you, Obi-Wan," I replied to him, causing his mouth to twitch into a small smirk. "But still.. I felt more at home on Corellia than I ever did here. And even if I had managed to escape there, I probably would've gone straight to Coruscant and start a new life as a ship engineer or go and find my father. Although, my life on Corellia wasn't all bad. Sure, I was living in poverty and employed by gangsters... I still had Xavian, who thankfully stuck by me for the 22 years I spent there."

"Xavian?" Obi-Wan asked curiously, anxiously shifting on his feet for some reason.

"My best friend. He took me into his home and got me a job with him when I crashed onto Corellia when I was twelve. I felt so guilty about leaving him to come back here, but (y/n) has kept us in contact and he seems fairly happy to be finally living with his partner, Dax." I explained, frowning a little because of how much I missed him. 

Obi-Wan nodded as he listened, breathing out a little after I finished speaking before then going to ask me yet another question. "So, you didn't wish to return home to see your mother again?"

I laughed nervously, "My mother probably didn't even care that I went missing in the first place. If I did come back though, it would be purely to see Ayzel or meet (y/n). Now he's gone, it sometimes makes me wish I only had gone back. I mean what if I had gotten there just in time? What if I could've helped him? What if that if I had only gone back, he wouldn't be dead right now?" I felt myself get a little distressed as I opened up to Obi-Wan, seemingly losing all control over my feelings.

Offering me a sympathetic look, he gently placed his hand on my shoulder, commanding my watery eyes to look into his. "You must not beat yourself up over the past or what could've been, my dear. Your brother undoubtedly suffered a great deal over his life, especially towards the end... but even the Queen - I mean (y/n) - couldn't save him when his time came. He made a great sacrifice for her that day Devica; I was there. You would have been proud of him," Obi-Wan said to me in a calm and reserved tone, sighing as he remembered that horrible day. "It truly is a tragedy though; he was so young... but he is in a better place now, and it is now our duty to honour him by keeping his memory alive."

I felt so touched by Obi-Wan's little speech that I found myself wrapping my arms around him in a grateful embrace. He felt a little stiff from the shock at first, but after a moment I felt his shaky hands awkwardly trying to figure out how to return the hug. I stood there for a minute or so, simply just allowing myself to indulge in the comfort of being in his arms as I rested my chin on his shoulder, his sweet scent of what I thought to be a mixture of cinnamon and a cool cologne filled my nose. I felt him tighten his grip a little to balance us out, then going to gently stroke my brown hair affectionately. I smiled to myself, taking in one final moment of the hug before pulling away, looking into his tired and yet somehow also dreamy eyes.

"Thank you for that.. I-I really needed it," I whisper, not too sure of what to say after such a long silence.

He nodded a little, "Anytime... now, should we get to gathering these flowers?"

I peered past him at the small meadow of flowers beneath the trees and nodded my head in agreement. I stepped past me and then carefully into the bed of flowers, specifically the ones with blue and butter yellow speckles on their petals. I lay out a cloth on the floor and Obi-Wan and I finally got to work, spending what seemed like hours collecting only the most perfect selection of Solarian roses for my sister.

"Trust (y/n) to be so traditional when it comes to things like this," I joked, swiftly wiping the sweat from my brow with the sleeve of my black tunic. Obi-Wan looked at me with a confused look as he gently tied up the cloth of flowers with some string. "The Solarian Rose is the rarest flower on the planet, and is only used by the royals on special occasions such as a wedding or the celebration of the birth of a royal baby for example. Mother would definitely be proud of her for continuing the tradition."

"Ahh, I see," Obi-Wan said, gently picking up the bundle of roses from the ground and placing them beside the basket of food samples. He then returned back to me and extended his hand down to me so he could attempt to pull me up from the ground. I grasped it firmly and hauled myself up, brushing off any leaves or limp flower petals from my pants.

"Although, Mother must be turning in her grave seeing as she won't be marrying any form of royalty and instead a Jedi of all people," I laughed, making Obi-Wan chuckle a little also.

Obi-Wan walked then over to the tree trunk and picked up the basket with one hand, passing me the delicately rolled up selection of Solarian Roses in the other. I made sure I had a firm grip on the package, looking to Obi-Wan to confirm he was ready to head back to the palace. He took my side and glanced down at the items we had accumulated today, beaming proudly at me as his eyes glinted in the sunlight.

"We make a good team, don't we?" he mused, grinning down at me as we began to start to leave the grove.

"The best. Wedding planners of the century, I say!" I laugh, announcing our new title dramatically as I presented the flowers to the sky as though it was a symbol of our union.

He doubles up in content laughter and resumed walking, leaving me to fall behind a little as I plunge my hand in my pocket and produce something in my grip, hiding it in my balled fist. I rush back to Obi-Wan's side quickly, just before he disappeared through the trees.

"Hey, Obi-Wan!" I call, making him stop in his tracks and look down at me to see what I wanted.

"Mhmm?"

Opening my fist, I reveal a flower crown I had quickly produced whilst Obi-Wan was preoccupied collecting the roses, reaching up and placing it neatly upon his head and smiling ear to ear, proud of my handiwork.

"Perfect," I grinned, Obi-Wan looking at me with an amused look in his eyes as he looked to the top of his eyes to try and see the chain of flowers I had adorned his head with. He shook his head in amusement and smiled kindly at me, signalling his head towards the footpath so we could start walking again.

I slid my hand through the crook of his arm, happily linking us together as we made our way back to the palace, wedding supplies in hand.

~•☾❤︎☽•~

a/n : I did NOT expect to love this chapter as much as I do oh my goshh ahhhh! I hope you all liked this chapter; it was just a filler, but I wanted to gift to you all some ✨wholesome Obica content✨  hehe :). I'm very excited for the upcoming chapters, and I hope you all are too!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it, so make sure to vote and comment your thoughts if you liked it!

I love you all!

- heather <3