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(y/n) POV:

My eyelids drooped heavily as I began to awaken. At first I couldn't even open them until I practically forced them open. I tried lifting myself off of whatever I was laying on with my hands, but instantly hissed when the surface scraped them. I looked down in confusion, and saw that I had been laying on a rocky substance.

Memories of the last time I had been awake came rushing back, and I shot up off of the ground. My first instinct was to reach for my lightsaber, but it wasn't in its usual spot on my utility belt. In fact, all of my weapons were gone.

"What the hell?" I muttered quietly, beginning to panic.

Since I had spent most of my life protected in the walls of the Temple, I'd never been in a situation like this before. And I have no idea what to do, I don't even know where I am. Someone obviously brought me here, and my first guess immediately was Alastair.

Regardless, whoever it was struck me when I was alone, which is the most frustrating part. I had one job; to stay safe. And I couldn't even do that. I shouldn't have run after I kissed Anakin, but in the moment I couldn't help it. I felt so embarrassed, and his blank expression worried me that I had done the wrong thing.

I turned around, and was met with a row of cell bars right in front of me, as well as lanterns that lit up a good portion of this strange place. That was when I realized by the cold rocks, the star-speckled roof, and the faint splashing of water in the distance that I was in a cave.

I gripped the bars and first attempted to pry them open, thinking maybe they're old enough to break with enough strength. And when that didn't work, I tried using the force to pry the cell door open with the force, and even tried using another technique Anakin taught me to open the lock itself.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A voice spoke from out of nowhere, startling me.

A figure soon stepped into the light of the lanterns surrounding my cell, and to say my jaw dropped would be an understatement. "If this cell is opened without the key, it's rigged to immediately self destruct, therefore killing us both." Luca shrugged as he sauntered towards my cell, making me step back.

"You?" I gasped in shock. "I'll admit I had some suspicions but....I didn't think you would do this. What am I even doing here?" I demanded.

I was becoming more confused by the second. Even though my intuition about him ended up being correct, it still doesn't answer the question of where he's been disappearing to lately, or what purpose he has for taking me here.

He sighed in annoyance, "Relax, you're just my leverage. And if everything goes according to plan, then maybe I'll let you live."

I scoffed, still wide-eyed, "How am I supposed to relax when you say that? Especially after you clocked me in the back of the head." I muttered, rubbing the hair of my sore spot.

He can't be serious. This whole situation is unbelievable. Tonight has been nothing but a quick, unstoppable turn of events so far.

"Also, why am I your leverage?" I asked curiously.

Luca's armor clinked to a halt as he finally appeared in front of the bars and brought his gloved hands up, gripping them gently. I took another step back, almost tripping backwards from the uneven rocky ground.

He chuckled, "I guess I could tell you. By the end of the night, you'll either be dead, or if you're lucky, at the very least you'll lose your title and your planet. So you knowing my current plan won't have any negative consequences."

I shook my head slowly, not understanding at all what he meant. How did it come to this? Everything was normal up until today, and even this morning I was trying to convince myself that I was just being paranoid about him supposedly disappearing all the time. And now according to him, tonight will end either by me dying, or losing Alderaan and my crown.

"I don't want to spend the night giving you my life story, but the beginning starts all the way back from when I first became a guard. My brother doesn't know this, but Alastair is the reason he and I were able to become guards in the first place. My family isn't very....fortunate, I would say. We were on the brink of homelessness, and your Mom did nothing to help us." He spoke accusingly, as if it was me he was blaming.

I felt a pang in my heart for a moment during his 'explanation'. I had no idea they were almost homeless. Aero told me that his past wasn't always easy, but this isn't what I imagined at all. And from what it seems so far, he doesn't have a clue of what his brother is doing or agreed to. When he finds out, that's definitely gonna sting.

"But," He continued, and began slowly pacing outside of the cell, "Alastair personally came to me one day in disguise, since he's technically banned from this planet. I didn't trust him at first, but he told me he could get my family out of poverty as long as I willingly contributed to his own personal plans. And I agreed to his terms, but now comes the current issue; when Alastair said he would get us out of poverty, he promised the entire palace to me, along with the chance to rule Alderaan as soon as he convinced you to form a marriage alliance with him."

I walked forward, interrupting him, "You daft baboso." I scoffed, "Making a deal with him is like making a deal with the devil. Did you really think he would just let you have this kingdom, and frolic through the garden like a dancing fairy?"

When Avery first told me about Alastair's plan to marry me so that our kingdoms would be 'aligned', we all knew that that was simply his way of saying that he wanted Alderaan all for himself. That was his fathers plan all those years ago when he assassinated my own father, but thankfully the Jedi arrived in time to chase them off for the time being. And it makes sense that they've known I was alive this whole time; they wanted an alliance with Alderaan to make themselves look good to the rest of the galaxy. If I marry him, he'll gain the praise and popularity that his own kingdom never got.

He scoffed and stopped pacing to turn towards me again, "Yeah, I did, actually. I was poor and desperate. So the opportunity to become rich and have the power to change the rules of this planet was very alluring at the time."

I leaned my shoulder against the cold, rocky wall, and chuckled drily, "So what changed?"

"He did." Luca snapped venomously. "He instructed me to plant real bombs at the party tonight, and then sacrifice myself to send a message to you; a threat as to the lengths he'll go to destroy your life and those around you if you don't marry him." He laughed humorlessly, "I may have been loyal to him, but I could never be that loyal. Especially not after I fell in love with Avery." He sighed. "But tonight I'm giving him a choice; he can either hold up his original end of our deal, making me Alderaan's ruler, handing you over to him in the process. Or, if he doesn't comply, then I'll give the galaxy one less inconvenience, and kill you."

I had trouble wrapping my head around everything he was telling me. So Alastair does know I'm here. I had a hunch from when that random guy tried to kill me a few days ago, but I didn't want to believe it. All I've wanted was to enjoy my time home, with the only surviving family I have. And I'm grateful of the time I've had with them and everyone else, but in the end I was too naïve to think something like this wouldn't happen. I wasn't careful enough, and this is where that carelessness got me. I feel like such an idiot.

"Does Avery even know about this? About what you've been doing?" I questioned with pain in my voice.

There's no way, Alastair is her worst enemy just as well as mine. And based on how she acted genuinely confused she acted this morning when we talked about Luca's disappearance, I strongly believe that she's completely in the dark about her own boyfriends intentions. This would break her heart.

He shook his head, making my heart drop, "No, but I left her a note tonight for her to come here as soon as possible, alone. It's entirely last minute, and none of what's happening now was supposed to take place tonight, but she's in love with me. I know she'll listen and agree when she hears what I have to say." He spoke confidently.

I laughed through my nose, finding his confidence so shocking that it was actually amusing. "You're joking, right? She would never betray her family or our planet like that, much less willingly agree with how much of a vindictive dill hole you are. And besides, arrogance isn't charming." I sassed.

This time he laughed, "That's rich, coming from you."

I blinked, puzzled by his words, "What's that supposed to mean?"

He smirked, leaning closer as he gripped the bars, "I haven't known Anakin for too long, but it's not hard to tell that he is reckless, arrogant, and annoyingly good at almost everything he does." He rolled his eyes, "But it's become blatantly obvious that you've fallen for him; all of him. Including his arrogance."

I sucked in through my teeth, and smiled sarcastically, "Luca, I hate to break it to you but there is a phenomenal difference between arrogance, and absolute treason." I rose my eyebrows to further exaggerate my point.

He grinned, "You didn't say I was wrong. About Anakin." He completely ignored my comment.

I rolled my eyes. Even though he's right, I won't give him that satisfaction. "Actually, you are wrong. I can hardly tolerate that knob head, and all of his hubris. Besides, why do you even care?"

He shrugged, "I don't, but I do find it entertaining that you managed to fall in love with your Jedi Master. And I have no doubt his feelings for you go beyond friendship as well. You have an easy way out because of your true identity, but what about him? Won't he get into trouble, or maybe even....expelled?" Luca clicked his tongue and slowly shook his head, "That would be a shame, and ultimately it would be all your fault."

In a flash of anger, I lifted my arm out and threw him into one of the rocky walls with the force, earning a grunt of shock along with a couple of coughs. "I think I've heard enough." I growled. "Have you forgotten that I'm a Jedi? I could easily end this now, with one quick snap of your neck. I'll be giving the galaxy one less inconvenience." I mocked his previous words.

He let out a pained chuckle, "That wouldn't be very wise. After all, I'm the only one who knows where the key to your cell is. And I can tell you now that it's in a very obscure location. So if you kill me, you probably won't find it, therefore you'll never be able to leave. That is, unless you're fine with using your superpowers to escape and getting blown to bits in the process."

I clenched my jaw in irritation, and quickly dropped him before my anger could make me accidentally kill him. My hope was starting to fade. There didn't seem to be any way out of this that I would win. Even if Avery comes and tries to talk Luca out of it, or if Anakin and Obi-Wan attempt to save me, the key is still hidden. And Luca doesn't seem like he's in a generous mood to hand it over, even if it means his own death. Although, I think he might just be so confident in himself that he doesn't believe I'll kill him.

Luca brushed himself off, and then scoffed as he viewed his now bruised elbow from when he hit the wall, "Smart choice. Alastair knows that I have you, but he doesn't know where we are. And I'll have him make a decision after Avery arrives." With that, I watched as he exited to the other end of the cave in silence until I couldn't even see his silhouette anymore. I was alone again, left to simmer in my frustration.

Anakin POV:

"You know what you have to do?" I asked the Princess, who stood between Obi-Wan and I just outside the cave—or 'Cave of Wonders'—as it's called here.

The name was starting to make sense the longer I took in the setting. This part of Alderaan is layered with mountains and cliffs, topped with blankets of snow here and there. At first I didn't even see the waterfall, and thought that this whole thing was some sort of ruse to lure us in the wrong direction. But when Avery led us further down a more secret path; there it was, clear as day. The sight of the waterfall was so majestic that it didn't even seem real. And the starry sky almost left me in a trance, as I inevitably found myself following their trail to see how far they stretched beyond the endless horizon.

So far the most difficult part of getting here was trudging through the thick snow and ice, and the three of us must've all but soaked our shoes. But that doesn't matter to me now, I'd fight my way through an avalanche if it means (y/n) is safe.

The other tough aspect of this is that before Luca left with (y/n), he practically destroyed all of our ships. And there wasn't enough time to borrow or buy new ones, so we had to get here by foot. It's taken about a day, with a break for sleep in between. It's the next night currently, and it couldn't have gotten here sooner. The entire journey is a blur, because all three of us have been drowning in our own stress.

When Obi-Wan first told me that she was missing, it was as if all those times I told her I didn't care about her faded, and I instead felt this protective instinct surge inside of me unexpectedly. Of course, I didn't make it obvious in front of him. I did my best to stay as quiet—and brooding, as Obi-Wan calls it—as possible. But it wasn't easy, like I'd hoped. Especially when my mind was still reeling from that odd yet intimate moment between (y/n) and I minutes before she disappeared.

That girl never ceases to surprise me.

Avery nodded, though even a fool could see that she was dreading the outcome of this situation. "I go in, leave my communicator on for Obi-Wan to listen," She pointed down to the small communicator wrapped around her shin, covered by her boot and out of sight. "I try reasoning with Luca, and calmly convince him to release (y/n) and step back from whatever his plan is. And if things get dicey, I say the code word 'Annabelle', and you both come in as back up." She smirked playfully.

I scowled in annoyance, "Does that have to be the code word?" I grumbled.

"Of course it does." She responded like it was obvious.

It's plainly obvious that she calls me 'Annabelle' just for her own entertainment. I don't know why, but she seems to get a real kick out of it. She reminds me a bit of (y/n), in that sense. They both find amusement in annoying me.

Although, I'm one to talk. I also find amusement in pushing (y/n)'s buttons.

"Good luck, your Highness." Obi-Wan nodded respectfully.

Avery's anxious expression returned, and her energy radiated off the most nervousness I've ever felt. I knew wasn't worried for her own safety, but rather what her not-so-secret boyfriend was planning. I almost felt bad; hence, almost. Luca and I were becoming great friends, but I haven't even known him a full week. I was shocked and absolutely bewildered at first when we found out that he had taken (y/n), but now I'm just angry. I get that Avery really cares about him, but it doesn't change the fact that he took (y/n). For that, all sympathy regarding him is gone. No one can take her from me and get away with it without at least a few broken bones.

I initially wanted to charge into the cave and save her myself, but Obi-Wan said that it was too reckless, and that she'll have a better chance of being safe if we followed Luca's rules for Avery to go in alone. I didn't agree at first, since getting her out of there was the only thing on my mind. But I soon realized that he was right; that's how these kinds of people work, and I would know from experience on missions. If you approach them calmly and play their twisted games, then you'll have a better chance of winning.

Avery finally began moving, but not before swallowing down a lump I assumed formed in her throat from anticipation. She waded through the shallow waters and soon disappeared into the dark, glittery cave, leaving Obi-Wan and I outside.

The wind whistled a calming tune in the silence, contradicting the rising stress I felt inside of me. I can sense that (y/n) is still alive and unharmed, but the fact that she's still in a dangerous position is enough to make me paranoid nonetheless. She's right inside, and it's taking everything in me to not disregard this plan and just run inside the cave, get her out, and never leave her side again.

And to top it off, I can't help but fear that she's in this situation because of me. I shouldn't have let her go after she kissed me. But on the other end, what would I have done otherwise? I was too caught off guard to do anything. If she hadn't pulled away so quickly, would I have kissed her back?

And even through all my strange feelings and clashing emotions, I didn't think I'd be this worried for her. She's been doing something to me, making me feel things I've never felt before. Beneath the shell of hate, anger, and frustration, lies a softer side of me that she's managed to get me to reveal. And last night that kiss fully broke the defensive shell I built around myself. And now I'm finding it harder to hide my emotions, and to hide from myself how I feel about her.

I don't think I hid my emotions too well in this moment either, because Obi-Wan suddenly chuckled, making me look over at him, "You truly care for her, don't you?" He asked earnestly.

My cheeks burned softly, and I turned my head forward again. Of course I care for her, though I've never been able to admit it to myself until now. And I didn't know how Obi-Wan would react if I said yes, so I shook my head, "I don't know what you mean."

Obi-Wan gently placed his hand on my shoulder, prompting me to look over at him again. He smirked and his soft blue eyes lit up in amusement, "You may think you're clever, but I can easily tell when you lie, Anakin."

I blinked in surprise, embarrassed that he had caught me in a lie. I shouldn't be surprised though. Obi-Wan is the one who taught me how to read people, and how to easily sense if they're telling the truth or not. Lying to him is pointless.

He sighed and walked to stand in front of me, "You're often arrogant, Anakin. You're also impulsive, and have a high tendency to do things on your own, because you don't like relying on others. Am I wrong?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

I stiffly shook my head. He's not wrong. But I'm confident in myself for a reason; not only am I the chosen one, but I've proven myself and my abilities time and time again.

And yes, I prefer to handle anything and everything on my own, convenient or not. It's a natural instinct, considering how I grew up on Tatooine. Living in such a restricting and controlling environment coursed my mind into a longing for independence. Relying on others makes me feel weak, exactly how I felt as a