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(y/n) POV:

"(y/n)? Where did you get this?" Avery asked again, referring to the beautiful blue flower in her hands. I blinked and brought my mind back to the current moment, away from my thoughts of the shocking revelation that I just learned.

I shrugged, "Uh....I-I brought it from the Temple." I stammered, and hoped she'd believe it.

A love triangle is definitely not what I thought I'd stumble upon when we first got to Alderaan. What am I supposed to do with this information? Should I tell her, or should I just stay out of it? None of this is my business, but I feel so bad for Aero. It makes sense why he was so upset, felt so betrayed; his own brother is dating the girl he's in love with.

Avery said it was a secret so I don't know how Aero knows, but it hardly matters now. I want to at least check in on him. If he asks me to drop the subject completely, then I will, but sometime today I should find a moment to talk to him about this.

Avery nodded at my response and seemed to be satisfied with it as she continued admiring the flower. Then she walked back over to my bed, prompting me to sit up against my headboard.

"You're so lucky to have this. It's a rare blue hibiscus flower, usually they're purple but every now and then, one will bloom into a more blueish color. Legend says that when a someone wears it, their soulmate will wear it next." The stem of the flower was pretty short, so it stayed in nicely when Avery moved her hand to tuck the flower behind my ear.

"Soulmate?" I repeated, raising my eyebrows as I spoke. "Don't tell me you're that type of person who believes in all of that star crossed, love at first sight nonsense." I chuckled.

I don't believe in soulmates. Though I'm not really sure what I believe in about love, at this point, considering it's not really a topic brought up at the Temple.

She gave me an offended look, which slowly turned into a smile as she smacked my arm, "Hey, it's all real! I spent months researching on soulmates and the lore of it all, and it's fascinating. Now I need to get you out from under your Jedi rock and teach you this kind of essential knowledge."

Essential? We don't have time for this, we need to start searching the palace.

But she already began talking before I could protest.

"Everyone has a soulmate." She sat back down on the edge of the bed, "And whether they know it or not, there's somebody who is and always will be there for them. Many believe that soulmates are those who make you happiest. But that isn't true. Your soulmate is the one who makes you feel the most. The one who frustrates you to no end. The one who makes you so angry, that they push you towards your limit. The one who makes you cry, who makes you want to scream every insult known to man. But they make up for it by making you feel the most safe, by making you laugh to the point where you can't breathe. They cheer you up when you're down, and they're the only person in the universe who deserves your tears, your wrath, your smile, your laughter. Your soulmate is the one who you always find yourself going back to, even when you believe you want nothing to do with them. They're your other half; if they ever leave, you'll feel as if a part of your own soul is gone."

Avery spoke so passionately during that whole spiel, that I actually almost believed it. It was interesting, I'll give her that, but it's too unrealistic in my opinion.

I forced out a chuckle, adjusting the flower behind my ear so I could feel the coolness of the petals against the my skin. "That was a nice speech, but uh, we should get ready." I got off the bed and looked around for a my Jedi clothing which I tossed aside on the cushioned bench-chair last night.

My mind was too all over the place to think about her bogus soulmate effusion. I was excited to search the palace; to most people it might not seem that fun, but this will be my first real "job" as a Queen. I've never really felt like I deserved the title, since I've hardly done any of the work over the years. But today would be a good start to change that.

Also, I was still overthinking this whole love triangle thing, which I'm not even apart of, yet I'm probably the only one who knows about it. I'm the type of person that can't just sit around when I know about something like this.

Avery shrugged and got off the bed, leaving the room this time, "Don't forget what I said." She pointed accountably at me.

I rose an eyebrow but still nodded. I don't know why she's being so stubborn about the soulmate thing. It seems like she's trying to educate me on it so that she can pick out some guy for me. Or, maybe she already has someone in mind.

I almost laughed; that would be ridiculous. I don't plan on indulging in romance any time soon, and I'm sure she was explaining the soulmates thing just for fun.

I got dressed, applying some of the makeup that Avery left for me in one of the drawers. I didn't put on too much though; I'm not an expert on makeup yet compared to my Mom, sister, and probably every other person that wears makeup on this planet. While I'm here, that's something else I'll have to get better at.

I finally left my room and proceeded to walk down the bright, sun-filtered halls. I once again admired every object and design that came into view, wondering how a hallway could be so captivating.

I was brought out of my trance when I heard someone call my name. I turned around and saw Anakin walking towards me. I smiled, "I'm assuming you woke up on the nice side of the bed this morning?" I asked half-jokingly, even though I hoped it was true.

He rolled his eyes slightly but smiled nonetheless, "Sure. Now, remind me what we're doing today?" As he spoke, he looked above my eyes slightly, probably at the large flower still in my hair.

I told him about our tasks for today last night, but I'm not surprised he forgot since he passed out pretty quickly.

"I talked to my—the Princess, and she wants our help searching the palace for any weapons, bombs, ammunition, or anything dangerous that isn't supposed to be there." I almost said 'my sister', that wouldn't have been good.

His eyebrows furrowed, and he looked around, "You met her? Where is she?"

Before I could respond, someone else beat me to it.

"Here I am!" We both turned our heads to see Avery and Luca walking behind me. For a moment I forgot that he was her guard, and I almost had a heart attack that they were together in public.

"Hey—uh, Your Highness." I waved stiffly, throwing on a cheerful smile. This was going to be more difficult than I thought.

She giggled at my attempt to be formal in front of Anakin, and nodded her head at both of us.

Luca walked up to Anakin first, "Hey man." He held his hand out and surprisingly, Anakin took it. "Hey." They both did that standard 'bro handshake-hug' combo that men always do.

I blinked a couple of times and rose an eyebrow at the sight in front of me, "You actually made a friend?"

Every day keeps getting weirder and weirder.

Anakin scowled at me and released Luca's hand, "Of course I did."

I scoffed; I thought that when they met, Anakin would've been his normal broody and quiet self. "Well excuse my shock, Master, but you're not exactly a barrel of laughs to be around."

He smirked, "That's because I'm only friendly to people who don't annoy and embarrass me when they don't get their way." He crossed his arms.

I shook my head and sighed, "You know, I would try to see things from your point of view, but I can't get my head that far up my ass." I countered, giving a smirk of my own.

He rose an eyebrow, "That was so funny, I forgot to laugh." He turned fully towards me, so that we were now up in each other's spaces, "It's a shame the only exercise you get is running your mouth all day." His eyes looked down to my lips as he spoke, and his adams apple bobbed up and down when his gaze went back up to mine.

I tilted my head amusedly, having already thought of a comeback, "Well, any exercise is better than no exercise. Not that you'd know."

He blinked a few times, and couldn't seem to think of another witty remark.

Avery and Luca both failed to hold back their laughs, which brought Anakin and I out of our banter. "Finally, we'll get some entertainment around here." Luca nudged my sister as he spoke.

She nodded and kept her entertained smile, "Yes, but as much as I'd love to watch you two bicker, we should get started. If everything goes well today, and we don't find anything out of place, then we'll have some free time tonight."

We all nodded, and I then realized how long it would take to search all these rooms. This was a big palace, so along with taking breaks in between, looking in every room would last until evening at the latest.

"So," Avery walked in between Anakin and I, prompting Luca to follow her, "(y/n), you'll be with me and Aero in the west wing. Annabelle, you'll be with Luca in the east wing."

I rose both of my eyebrows, and snickered when I saw Anakin's bewildered reaction. "I-It's Anakin."

Avery didn't respond but I knew she was smiling, just as I was. You have to love the power of sibling teamwork, especially if it involves conspiring against someone.

I giggled, "Come on Annabelle, we gotta get moving." I took the flower out of my hair and reached up to put it behind his ear instead, further playing along with the 'Annabelle' joke. I giggled and jogged to catch up with my sister before he could say another word. I heard him groan frustratedly behind me.

By the time I entered the first room in the west wing, Aero was already there. The room we were in seemed like a communications room, which I'm sure isn't the only one in this place. "Hey there." I called to get his attention.

He turned away from a crate he was searching, and smiled softly at me. Even in the dim lighting, I could see heavy eye bags below his eyes that I know weren't there yesterday. And his dark brown hair seemed messy, and uncared for. Did he get any sleep?

I decided to not beat around the bush, and just get to the point, "So I uh....I had a question about—"

"There you guys are! I went to the wrong room at first." Avery chuckled from behind me, and continued to smile as she made her way into the room. I looked between her and Aero, while he just stared down at the maroon tiled floor.

This is so awkward.

No one was saying anything, but it's not like Avery could read the room since she has no idea that Aero is in love with her. But I know, and he knows, yet he doesn't know that I know, so now it's a whole jumbled unspoken mess of emotions and miscommunication.

She walked up to Aero, "Is this room—"

"It's clear. I checked it already." He replied curtly, not even looking at her but instead pushed straight past her and out of the room, leaving us both stunned. He must be in a really bad mood about this to be acting like that.

She stared at the spot where he stood, and then turned her gaze towards the door, "What was that about?"

I cleared my throat and crossed my arms, "Uh, I think he didn't get a lot of sleep last night." That was probably true, anyways. Wanting to change the subject, I walked over to the door and beckoned for her to follow, "So, is Mom going to help us with this?"

Avery shook her head, "No, how do you think Annabelle would react to seeing a mirror image of you?" She smirked amusedly.

I laughed at the nickname she has for him and shook my head, "Good point, it's better for her to not be seen when he's around." My Mom and I look very alike. Aside from our age difference and the subtle dissimilarities in our features, we're basically twins.

The three of us moved on to the next communications rooms, which didn't have anything suspicious or out of place in them. It was pretty much silent the whole time we searched unless someone had a question, to which one of us would give a short answer. And it's not like I could talk to either of them when both of them were in the room. Is this what people who aren't Jedi have deal with on a regular basis?

I take back everything bad I've said about exchanging files. I'd much rather do that than be in this bubble of awkwardness.

I internally sighed; we'd have a break soon, and then maybe we can switch up our groups.

˚✧₊⁎✿⁎⁺˳✧༚

After a couple hours of scanning the perimeter and inspecting about a quarter of the rooms in this palace, we decided to take a lunch break. I was all for it, considering those last couple of hours were too silent and tense for my on-the-go energy. I needed to move around and talk to someone.

I stretched my arms and legs, then decided to explore the palace. One place I haven't been to yet is the ballroom, which I'm dying to see.

As soon as I entered through two large double doors, I instantly knew it was the ballroom. A magnificent chandelier hung in the center of the ceiling, displaying glittering crystals from every angle. I let out a long sigh as I admired it, spinning in a slow circle. The floors were shiny and marble white, speckled with minerals and other gems that sparkled in the light.

This entire room was truly astonishing, and I felt like I could look at it forever.

After a few minutes of me standing around and admiring every nook and cranny of this room, I sensed another presence in here with me. One very arrogant presence.

I sighed as I heard Anakin's echoey footsteps behind me, "Sorry, this room is reserved for people who have more than half a brain. Come back never." I called from where I stood perusing the elegant dining tables in the back, not turning around to talk to him.

"Huh. More than half a brain? Then why are you in here?" He asked from behind me.

I stopped examining the tables and huffed, then spun around to face him, "I was here first, so scram." I pointed to the double doors.

I also noticed that the blue flower wasn't in his hair anymore. I'll ask him where it is later; I don't care where he put it, as long as he didn't throw it away like Aero tried to yesterday.

He scoffed, "You don't own this room." He gazed around the setting as he spoke.

"How would you know? Maybe I do own it, so you're trespassing on my property." I retorted and crossed my arms.

Anakin smirked, clearly entertained by my riposte, "Well too bad. I'm not leaving."

I rolled my eyes at his stubbornness; I don't know why he's so insistent on staying in here, considering he usually never wants to be in the same room with me for more than five seconds. But now that I think about it, this might just be his way of purposely ticking me off.

I shrugged, "Fine, you can stay here. But," I walked around him and into the center of the room, "we are in a ballroom, so you have to dance with me."

I know for a fact that Anakin can dance, mainly from all the missions he's had to go on where he went undercover at fancy dinner parties. I, on the other hand, have never had any dancing experience. And I feel like that's something a Queen needs, so it would be nice if I could learn to dance in an actual ballroom.

Anakin scoffed, which then turned into a laugh at my request, "Dance with you? You're joking, right?"

I huffed at his irritating attitude, "No you daft bonehead, I'm not joking. I want to learn how to dance."

A part of me was annoyed that he thought I was joking, but I should've expected that reaction since we don't interact this way normally.

He shook his head, "We didn't come on this mission to fool around. We need to be responsible and use our free time wisely." He crossed his arms, and gave me his 'strict Jedi Master' stare.

I smiled playfully, "I figured you would say that." Using one of my hands that rested at my side, I moved two of my fingers upwards, and used the force to bring his lightsaber hilt out of his belt and into my hand.

His eyes widened and he uncrossed his arms, patting his belt for where his lightsaber used to be. He looked back to where I stood, holding his lightsaber hilt up in one hand while my other hands was placed on my hip. His eyes narrowed, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Let's make a deal. If you can get your lightsaber back from me within one minute, then we'll back to work and you can live your best boring life." I smirked, while he scowled at my last words. "But if you don't get it back, then you owe me a dance." I offered. I was confident he would accept since he's known for wanting to prove himself when his skills are tested.

Anakin's features changed from annoyed to intrigued, and I knew I had him wrapped around my finger. "Should be easy enough." He commented, eyeing the lightsaber in my hand, "How is this going to work?"

Without taking my eyes off of him, I used the force to hold open the double doors behind me, "Catch me if you can."

Like lightning, I spun around and bolted out of the room, leaving Anakin in the dust.

I didn't know how close he was to me; maybe he was right on my tail, or twenty feet behind, but I still ran as fast as I could. My surroundings whirled in a blur of objects, which mushed together in my vision to create a view of jumbled colors. Something that Anakin always seems to forget is that I'm way faster than he'll ever be; he believes muscle and saber techniques are all that matter in life, which will prove to be wrong within the next forty seconds.

I didn't know where I was running, the only thing I was aware of was the turns I took and the corners I rounded. I tried following a maze-like path to throw him off. My heart was pounding against my chest as the remaining time shortened, and I still didn't know how close Anakin was to me. I wondered how many people I've passed so far, or how many objects I've knocked over from leaving gusts of sharp winds in my path.

Then suddenly, much to my dismay, I had to stop running and practically came skidding to a halt. I reached a dead end hallway, with no doors or windows low enough for me to reach.

I instantly turned around to face the direction I came, praying silently that Anakin wouldn't find me until the time runs out. My breathing was heavy from how hard I ran, and it was the only sound to be heard in the long, echoey hallway.

Sure enough, thundering footsteps grew closer and closer in sound until Anakin appeared at the end of the hall, opposite from where I stood. He stopped running, dropped his arms down to his sides, and looked around for me. Sweat dripped from his forehead, making some of his hair damp as it clung to his skin. Even from here I could see the patent determination that burned in his irises.

When they finally landed on me, his posture relaxed and he let out a sigh which then became a chuckle, "That was a cute performance you put on, but it seems you have nowhere left to run." He ridiculed the position I put myself in, gesturing to the limited space around me, and then proceeded to advance in my direction, "It looks like I've got you now."

I couldn't help but smile amusedly at his cockiness; he must've lost track of time, because he only had ten seconds left and he's ambling