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(y/n) POV:

I sat with my legs stretched out, my back against the craggy walls, which always seemed to be dotted with mist. Over the last day—or however long I've been stuck here—I've grown quite used to the scratchy feeling of the cave surfaces that surround me.

But I also became bored within my first hour of being confined in this cell. I tried sleeping for as long as I could to pass the time, but I overestimated my ability to easily sleep on the floor of a cave. So instead, I've been doing the one other thing possible to keep myself entertained; annoying Luca.

"Let's play I Spy." I suggested, purposely making my voice sound cheerful to irritate him.

He scoffed from where his back was turned to me, casually standing at the far end of the cave and staring out into the night.

"Don't talk to me." He retorted in lackluster.

Ignoring him, I hummed to myself as if I was in deep thought, while scanning the cave and making a mental note of the finite color choices. "I spy....something dark." I bit back a mischievous grin.

As I hoped, he broke his concentration and looked around the cave confusedly, "Everything in here is dark."

I nodded, "Exactly. That way it's more of a challenge." This time I grinned smugly.

He rolled his eyes and went back to his brooding posture, turning his back to me once more. "Just stop talking."

An idea suddenly popped in my head. It would be a long shot, but it's worth a try. Ignoring him a second time, I stood up and walked over to the bars, "How about hide and seek?" I suggested.

Luca let out an annoyed sigh and faced my direction again, "What part of 'don't talk to me' do you not understand?" He snapped.

I chuckled and gently gripped the rusty bars, "I think you're just too scared to play since you know you'll lose." I smirked.

A look of confusion etched onto his features as I got his attention again—which was my hope—adding to the annoyed scowl, "And just how would you win from in there?"

I shrugged, "Us Jedi have ways of shimmying into all sorts of nooks and crannies. And since I've been here literally all day, I had time to scope out the best hiding spots in the cave." A playful grin reappeared on my face, "Unless you think you can prove me wrong with better hiding spots, mister tosspot."

Two palpable emotions remained upon his features; confusion and annoyance. But this time, as I expected, he was actually considering my words. And I knew he would, since I learned yesterday just how fragile his ego is. Seriously, he really believes his crazy little plan to get Avery on his side—that he threw together within ten minutes—will work.

"But if not," I clicked my tongue, "I'll just have to deem you the ultimate loser, and assume that you know nothing about this cave."

He groaned and walked over to where I stood behind the bars, "If I indulge in this stupidity, will you shut up?"

"Maybe." I smiled sweetly, feeling my heart thudding harder against my chest. I might be pushing my luck, but if there's any way to get him to subconsciously reveal where the key is, then this is my chance. The only trouble is that hide and seek isn't the same as hiding a small object—and the key may not even be in this cave—but then again, this is the closest shot I have.

He huffed and slowly turned around, eyeing the large cave. "I know this cave a hundred times better than you. And I highly doubt you found any hiding spots. You see those spaces where the walls dissect?" He pointed to the side of the dark cavern where many stalactites hung.

I squinted, and saw nothing but the dark indigo wall. No spaces, and no shadows signaling more than one wall. I furrowed my brows, "No?" I half questioned.

He nodded, "Exactly. It's practically invisible to the human eye--like a mirage--unless you're trying to find it. if you look closely, and step into the right crevice, you'll enter a completely fragmented section of the entire cavern. If we're talking about hide and seek," He annunciated irritably, "it's really the only place you could hide, considering this cave isn't very maze-like.  If you tried hiding anywhere else, you'd get found in an instant unless the seeker is blind."

He turned towards me again, raising an eyebrow, "Are we done?"

Pretending to be fascinated, I nodded, "Wow, I had no idea. Maybe you're better at hide and seek than I thought."

His features twisted into a light scowl, obviously confused by my odd praise. Then he scoffed and went back to where he originally stood, watching the faint nighttime light as it streamed into the cave, casting moonlit vibrance on each wall it bounced off of. Including the invisible hiding spot.

The key has to be in there. He wouldn't keep it on himself, that would be too easy. But how am I going to get it from that secret area from this cell?

Then for a moment I got excited as I remembered Anakin's force location lesson—or whatever it's called, I didn't pay attention enough to remember. But then my excitement faded as I questioned myself; would it work on an object? He taught me how to locate people, which is so much more easy than trying to find some random key with no force signature.

I internally groaned, feeling like I've hit multiple dead ends just when I think I have a solution.

My head whipped up as a new sound replayed in my ears; boots faintly splashing in the shallow water. I knew it wasn't Luca, since he was still standing in the same spot expectantly. So that means someone else is here. The gentle splashing of water became louder and soon I saw for a second a person with head of wavy ginger hair, who was currently fidgeting with one of her soaked boots.

Avery!

I wanted to jump for joy, knowing that now I could have her get the key for me. Assuming—according to Luca—she doesn't fall under his villainous spell, or that something else goes wrong. If this cell opens in a way that doesn't involve the key, then we all die. There has to be a way to get it now that she's here.

"Princess, you made it." Luca rushed forward and pulled her in for a hug. Her eyes widened and she stiffened in fear, before hesitantly hugging him back. Her eyes met mine for a brief moment, to which she then pulled away from the hug.

"What in the world are you doing? What's going on?" She asked in a rush, gripping both of his hands tightly.

He sighed, "I'm sorry you had to find out this way, I swear I was going to tell you soon but my plans changed last minute. With (y/n) out of the way, you and I can rule Alderaan side by side. You can be the Queen and together we'll transform this planet into something better, diminish its ignorance." His eyes glazed almost crazily as he spoke quickly.

Avery's eyes widened even more, "What—Queen? Me? I—I don't...I don't even know what you're saying, Luca." Her voice trembled with fear. Though she didn't show it for very long, her once bright eyes lost all their vibrance, and probably any hope she had for their relationship.

He shook his head, "It's all going to be fine. I've been planning this for a while, and I promise I'll explain more but right now I just need you to trust me. Do you trust me?" He asked almost nervously.

Avery made eye contact with me again, and this time I nodded my head fervently, hoping she'd get the point that I wanted her to play along. At this point Luca is too far gone in his own head, which should make him easier to fool.

To my relief, she seemed to catch on, and nodded, "Of course I trust you." She swallowed nervously, but Luca didn't seem to notice.

I didn't have a chance to listen to what he said next, because I sensed a change in the force; another presence nearby whose signature grew more fervent and protective with each second. The signature of this presence, even from this distance, made me feel safe. It wrapped around me like a cloak, as if telling me that I was going to be okay. And as it became clearer in my mind, I began to realize why I felt so safe suddenly.

Anakin came for me.

Even after Avery was supposed to come alone, Anakin still came. Despite this harrowing moment, my love for him only blossomed further.

Holding onto that comforting thought, I brought my attention back to the task at hand and watched the scene in front of me in silence. Avery seemed to be nodding along to the speech that Luca gave me yesterday, glancing over at me anxiously every now and then. Just as I had expected, it was obvious she was still on my side. Luca will be in for a rude awakening as soon as I'm able to get out of here.

Avery suddenly felt around her neck, and her expression became shocked, "Oh no! I think I lost my necklace." Her voice suddenly became unnaturally high pitched—almost making me laugh since I knew it was feigned. She looked around frantically, and groaned as she put her face in her hands. "Luca, will you go look for it please?" She looked up at him sweetly.

He nodded with a smile, "Anything for you, my love." He leaned into kiss her on the cheek, which made her stiffen again and wince upon contact. I gripped the cell bars angrily, infuriated that I had to watch this asaroso touch my sister. She deserves so much better.

He eagerly hobbled off to the main tunnel of the cave, grabbing a lantern on his way, until he was out of sight from us. Avery ran over to me on her toes to be as quiet as possible, and instantly tried prying the cell bars open. "I'm so confused!" She whisper-yelled. "How did this happen? Everything was fine up until a couple days ago." Her eyes were glassy with emotion and I could tell she was trying hard to not break down on the spot. She sighed sadly, "(y/n), I'm so sorry I didn't listen to you. I wanted to believe that there was still good in him, that he wasn't capable of doing anything bad." Her voice cracked.

I nodded and gently grabbed her hands through the bars, "I know, I know. It's okay." I soothed. "Everything is happening so fast and it's probably overwhelming, but right now we have to focus on getting out of here." I whispered, before pointing to the invisible walls, "I think the key to this cell is in there. If you looked closely enough, you'll be able to see two walls dissecting to lead into another area. I would just use the force to break out, but this cell is rigged to self destruct if it's not opened with the key." I sighed.

She nodded quickly, "Okay, I'll go as fast as I can." She grabbed one of the lanterns and moved to the wall, and began feeling around for the divide. I anxiously glanced over to where Luca ran off to, hoping he would take his time trying to find the 'necklace' Avery lost. To my relief, it only took her about fifteen seconds to spot the gap in the wall. She tiptoed inside to whatever laid beyond my vision, and the light from her lantern slowly disappeared the farther she went. I felt my anxiety rising again. How big was the space on the other side?

My heartbeat quickened in fear when I heard footsteps running back through the main tunnel, and saw a bright light glowing as they got closer, thinking Luca was back already.

But to my surprise, it was Obi-Wan. The bright light I saw is his lightsaber, which he has ignited.

"Obi-Wan!" I cried in a whisper. "What are you doing? How did he not see you?" I asked in confusion. Wouldn't he have crossed paths with Luca by entering the same tunnel?

Obi-Wan ran over to me from behind the bars and put his lightsaber back in its sheathe. "I sensed him veering down a different part of the main tunnel, far away enough so that he wouldn't hear or see me." He breathed out, clearly catching his breath from his nerves. "Are you alright, darling? Did he hurt you?" He fretted, inspecting the lock on the cell I was in.

My heart warmed at his concern, and I shook my head, "No, I've just been bored out of my mind this whole time. By the way, how freaked out is my Mom?" I smirked, knowing the amount of pressure she puts on him to protect me.

He sighed which then turned into a chuckle, "She made it abundantly clear that if anything happened to you, my life would become a living hell."

I giggled, finding it amusing just how alike my Mom and I are. Despite her threats and fiery attitude, I can tell she's been enjoying Obi-Wan's company. He told me that they became good friends back in the day, so maybe it was easy for them to pick up right where they left off. Either way, I've noticed a brighter change in my Mom's mood every since Obi-Wan joined us. And I don't know how far their friendship goes, but as of now, I'm happy that she's happy.

"Wait a minute, why are you even in here? And where's Anakin? Avery was supposed to come alone. If Luca sees you, that might set him off. And I'm not sure if he has any other weapons or bombs." If he had access to regular and smoke bombs, then I have no doubt he must have a menagerie of other deadly things.

Obi-Wan grunted as he tried to get a better look at the lock, squinting, "I had your sister place a comm around her ankle so that I could listen to the commotion and decide if backup was needed. But I'm afraid her comm was destroyed in the water."

So that's why she kept nervously picking at her boot.

Obi-Wan sighed in defeat and pulled away from inspecting the lock. He didn't try to force it open, so he must've already been able to tell that a key is needed to open it properly, but was trying to look for a loophole.

He chuckled, "Much against his protests to join me in here, Anakin is still outside. I told him to wait in case any opposing dangers loomed from the outside of the cave. And while that is true, I also had him stay out there in case any secrets were revealed here that you aren't ready for him to hear." He looked at me sympathetically.

I sighed gratefully, "Thank you, Obi-Wan." Truthfully, I wasn't ready for Anakin to find out about my identity. Not like this. He'll know sooner or later once Alastair is defeated, but I want to tell him when the time is right. But that time isn't now.

"I've got it!" A voice snapped us out of our conversation, and we both turned our heads to see Avery waving a golden key in the air, excitedly running towards us.

My heart swelled with both relief and joy; we're going to make it. We're all going to get out of here in one piece. Avery fumbled with the key for a moment, her hands shaking as she pushed it into the keyhole and quickly twisted it, generating a loud clicking noise. I pushed the rusty cell open and immediately hugged her, "What would I do without you?" I laughed.

She patted my back and smirked after we pulled away from the brief hug, "You're my sister, we save each other's skins."

"As lovely as this reunion is, I'm afraid it'll have to be cut short." Obi-Wan began walking towards the tunnel. "We must leave now."

I nodded, grabbing Avery's hand and hurrying next to Obi-Wan. I looked between them both, "Let's blow this popsicle stand."

But before we could even make it ten steps, a figure appeared right in front of us to block our path. Luca looked at all of us in utter disbelief, throwing his lantern to the ground. He pointed at me, "You tricked me with that hide and seek bullshit. And you," He looked at Avery with a heartbroken expression, though I doubt she even recognized him anymore as the boy she once loved. "How could you? I thought you loved me."

Avery shook her head, frowning as more tears pooled in her eyes, "Not you. I loved Luca. But you're a complete stranger. I won't love a shmalien who's trying to hurt my family." She spoke every word clearly, holding her head high with confidence. It was nice to see that she wasn't going to let herself be hung up over him; I understand that she loved him and it may take a while to process this whole situation, but I have so much respect for her that she's standing up for herself.

Luca sighed and dipped his head for a moment. Then he began chucking deeply and pulled something I couldn't see out of his pocket. He held it out in his hand and shrugged, "That's a shame. I guess I'll just have to kill you all." He growled.

My eyes widened as I realized he was holding a detonator. One push of that button could cause a rocky avalanche and destroy all of us. I braced myself with what little time there was before he would inevitably push that button. It was like slow motion; his thumb inched closer and closer to the fateful button upon the detonator. And with each passing moment seemed to offer tidal waves of fear like I've never felt before.

TW: Death, stabbing.

And then his thumb halted, and his movements stopped altogether. But that wasn't the only change I noticed; he let out a strangled breath as a bright blue light seared straight through his abdomen. He dropped the detonator. His body slumped to the floor as all of us watched the scene unfold with wide eyes. Behind him revealed our savior—or as we know him—Anakin.

He glared down venomously at Luca's now lifeless body. His hair messy, his stature large and intimidating. His breathing was heavy and passionate as his fists curled.

Obi-Wan sighed, "Was that really necessary? You could've just knocked him unconscious."

Anakin scoffed and looked away from the body, the anger in his eyes slowly fading, "Of course it was necessary. He was about to kill all of you."

He put his lightsaber back into its rightful place in his belt, and then instantly locked eyes with me. All of his anger vanished in an instant. In his gaze was the most vulnerable look I've ever seen, and it became that way just from looking at me. His lips slowly curled into a smile as he looked at me—a joyful one—and it was like all the hate, the annoyance, and the strangeness of the previous night were forgotten in this moment. And I felt safe again.

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We returned to the palace—by ship this time, since they had apparently contacted a pilot the day before—and almost immediately everyone went their separate ways to sleep. Even the ship ride itself was hollow of any conversation. Avery had fallen asleep on the ride back, and Obi-Wan and Anakin debriefed everything that just happened with each other. That left me with time to replay tonight's events in my head, and I was shocked with how quickly it all happened. But the important thing is that it's over. Luca evidently had his own issues, and sadly got wrapped up in Alastair's lies.

Anakin and I walked in the direction of our room in silence. The halls were void of any other people, and the only audible sounds were our footsteps padding against the royal carpet. As my subconscious returned to a more simple reality, I remembered everything that happened between us yesterday. I became more tense with each second, and the lack of ambiance didn't help. My mouth felt so dry, my heartbeat quickened, and my eyes couldn't stay rooted in one spot. Would we just go straight to bed, and forget our previous encounter ever happened? Pain tugged inside my chest, as I knew fully well that Anakin would do something like that. More often than not, he chooses to not confront situations that could inconvenience him. And in this case, I have a feeling it