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(y/n) POV:

Crap.

I stood frozen in place for a moment as Anakin's footsteps grew closer, and the distance between himself and the closed door to his room shortened. My heart began to pound against my chest so loudly that I could hear it ringing in my ears; Though I knew it was useless, I frantically looked around the room for an escape route before he inevitably walks in. But I knew that there was none, I pretty much trapped myself in here.

Of course this would happen to me, I have the worst luck.

My heart dropped as I accepted that there was no way out of this now. I'd have to face whatever hell Anakin would rain on me for being in his quarters without permission. Out of all things I do that annoy him, this would probably make it to the top of the list.

With little time left to think, I stealthily tiptoed over to his couch in the corner of the room which was piled with more clothes, and hid behind it.

Maybe when he goes to use his washroom, I can sneak out without being seen.

I stationed myself behind his couch, and desperately tried to calm my pulse so that he couldn't easily sense it. I also quieted my breathing as much as possible by pulling my shirt over my nose, taking long and silent breaths.

Finally, the door opened and closed as Anakin entered his room with an exhausted sigh. My curiosity got the better of me, so I peeked out from behind the couch. He thankfully wasn't facing my direction and took off his robe and, unsurprisingly, tossed it onto his bed.

I rolled my eyes at how much worse he was making his room, how does he find anything in here?

I saw him pause for a moment after he threw his robe off. He stood still and turned his head back and forth, as if scanning the room. My heartbeat quickened again; did he know I was here?

After a moment more of just standing there, he suddenly went straight into the washroom without another glance back. I watched in confusion at how random that was, but I wasn't complaining.

I must be in the clear.

A flood of relief washed over me as I made sure that he wasn't in sight, and instantly bolted out from behind the couch and straight to the door. My heart was racing as I reached for the doorknob; I was going to make it.

But then my relief was washed away when out of nowhere, my body was swiftly pinned to the floor as a hand roughly clasped around my neck and held me down, while I felt two legs straddle over my stomach. I winced from the sudden contact but was grateful that the piles of clothes broke my fall from being too harsh. For a short moment I saw stars; everything around me swirled as the after effects of being moved so quickly settled into my brain.

"(y/n)?" The unmistakable voice of Anakin asks confusedly, and his grip on my neck loosens as I felt his body relax. As my dizzy vision returns to normal, I look up to see him with a lightsaber to my neck in his other hand, which he quickly puts away into his belt upon realizing my presence.

"Yes it's me. Now let me go, you idiot." I growled in irritation; I was pissed that he had so easily overpowered me when my guard was down. I tried getting up from under him but he just pushed me back down to the floor by my neck, "What are you doing in my room?" He demanded in a low, and quiet tone; though there was evident anger in his voice which embarrassingly made me whiter in fear.

No, I can't give him that satisfaction. Even if my attempt to leave unseen failed, I can still hold onto my dignity. I probably could simply tell the truth and say that I needed a new bandage, but where's the fun in that? I wanted to humor him first.

A small smile tugged at my lips, "Oh you know, fluffing your pillow for bedtime." I mocked his words from yesterday.

He scoffed at my excuse, "You expect me to believe that?"

I once again attempted breaking free from under his weight, to which he only pushed me down more. I groaned and felt myself beginning to burn with vexation, "Why else would I be in this apocalyptic dump?" I asked through gritted teeth.

His eyes narrowed at my choice of words, so I added on before he could let his anger take hold, "I had nothing better to do, so I wanted to prepare for when you got back." I offered lamely. I didn't know what else to say but I had hoped that the annoyance in my voice would make my excuse believable.

And I think it worked, because his gaze surprisingly softened as he chewed his lip in consideration while looking down at me. I began to squirm uncomfortably under his power while he took an over-dramatically long time to decide if I was telling the truth. He had me pinned down, and out of any options to save myself.

All of this was so embarrassing. That's twice in two days now that he's gotten up in my space like this, and I hated it.

He took notice of my discomfort and rolled his eyes as he finally got up off of me. He moved back over to his bed and sighed, "You're lucky I'm agreeing to this." He caviled harshly while taking off his boots.

But I hardly listened as I coughed after the pressure was taken off of my throat and body. The aftermath of being tackled like that was catching up to me in waves of physical discomfort; my occipital bone was starting to throb and my throat was hurting from how he grabbed me.

"I think you broke me." I rasped while sitting up and massaging my neck carefully.

He chuckled from where he stood and put his lightsaber hilt on his nightstand, "Not my fault that you're terrible at sneaking around without getting caught. I thought you were some sort of spy trying to kill me." He shrugged.

Says the one who actually almost killed me.

The adrenaline from before has now left my body and was being replaced with more embarrassment. Humiliation flooded through me at how foolish I was to think he wouldn't notice me in here. I quickly stood up, which probably wasn't a good idea because of how dizzy I became again. I brushed myself off and crossed my arms in exasperation, "Whatever, just hurry up so we can start this already." I snapped.

Normally he'd go ballistic if I gave him an order like that. But this time as he was ambling over to his washroom, he smirked at my comment, "What, are you mad that your genius escape plan failed?" He questioned amusedly.

I huffed and rolled my eyes backwards, "No, I'm mad that I'm still hearing the sound of your annoying voice." I sassed back, picking up a random towel from the floor and throwing it at him as I spoke.

He kept his smirk as he nonchalantly called the towel to his hand with the force, then left to the washroom without another word. I clenched my fists as I did my best to not completely destroy everything in this stupid room. This whole thing is entertaining to him, and he basically just ridiculed me for it as usual. If he's not in his typical bad mood, then he's probably finding humor in all the ways he makes my life harder. As if life wasn't stressful enough with a potential war on the horizon between Alderaan and Dantooine, I also have to deal with Anakin constantly making me angry.

I took a deep breath and rubbed my face in my hands; how was I going to survive him on Alderaan?

"I'm sure other Queens have bigger problems than I do." I mumbled to myself, in hopes that it would help me calm down.

I sighed again and left the room to go back to my own, since I knew Anakin was about to start showering. While I'm waiting, I'll need to think of a specific story to tell him. I already have in mind what I want it to be about, but it has to be one that will hopefully stick in his mind enough that his nightmares will go away. Then, maybe tomorrow might only be half as bad as usual. That would be a start; if he could not be bitchy for once.

When I heard the sound of a faucet turning, and the silence that followed after, I knew Anakin was done with his shower. I changed out of my Jedi clothes and into loose shorts and a plain grey hoodie, which is what I usually sleep in every night. I put my hair up into a messy bun and took off my mascara, then proceeded to wash my face and put on some moisturizer so that my skin doesn't get dry. As soon as I re-entered Anakin's quarters, I was immediately hit with the strong scents of vanilla, cinnamon, and roses that I smelled earlier from his washroom.

I giggled again at his girlish tastes of smells, right as he walked out from the washroom and shut the door, "What's so funny?"

I was about to make a joke about his feminine scents when I noticed how he was dressed. He wore dark blue sweatpants and a white tank top, enhancing the large muscles that I didn't even know he had. He's always dressed in his black Jedi robes, so the only part of his body I've ever seen is his face and hair.

When I didn't answer, he chuckled softly as he walked over to his bed, "Take a picture, it'll last longer."

This time I huffed and snapped out of it. He may have a nice body but that doesn't make him a nice person. My mind was able to generate a good comeback for his cocky remark, "What do you mean? I don't see anything to take a picture of." I asked in fake confusion, hoping to crush his ego.

He shot me a quick glare as he took off his glove, revealing his robotic arm. Then without another word, he plopped down onto his bed on top of all the blankets. He sighed boredly, "Let's get this over with."

"Gladly." I cheerfully smiled and walked over to sit on the edge of his bed. But right as I was about to do it, he rose an eyebrow and sat up, "Oh no you don't." His voice sounded accusatory, as if he thought I would infect him or something.

I scoffed in disbelief at how dramatic he was being, "Well where am I supposed to go? I'm not just going to stand here all night." I gestured to my feet.

He pointed to the couch, "Sit on the couch and pull it over." He suggested like it was something I should've already known to do. I huffed in annoyance and stomped over to it, getting on the other side to push in closer to the bed. When it was right beside the bed, I hopped over the back of the couch like it was a hurdle and landed on the cushions.

Anakin scowled at my action, "Did you have to do that?"

I tilted my head and looked at him with a feigned innocent expression, "I'm sorry, was that too unladylike for you? Would you like me to dust off these ugly cushions as well?"

His gaze changed from frustrated into one of....concern? He rose an eyebrow as he was looking not at my eyes, but above them. "Is that why you were in here?" He asked, not taking his eyes away. I was confused until I realized where he was looking, and I turned my head the other way as I pretended to pick up something off of the ground, "I don't know what you're talking about." I muttered quietly.

His large, cold metal hand gripped my chin and forced my head back up, making me shiver from the strange coolness against my warm skin. Oddly enough, the contrast actually felt nice, so I didn't smack him for grabbing me like I normally might have. His eyes narrowed as he now got a clear view of the new bandage on my forehead, "Why didn't you just ask me for one instead of sneaking around and almost getting yourself hurt?" He demanded in a stern tone, referring to when he basically almost chopped my head off with his lightsaber.

I chuckled drily and swatted his hand away this time, "Don't act like you care."

He stared at me with a blank expression for a couple of moments, before laying back down and putting his arm over his eyes, "You're right, I don't care." He stated in his normal, irritated tone.

Though he didn't see, I found myself wincing at his words. I don't know why it hurt to hear him say that, since he's always made it clear before that he doesn't care about me, but I shook it off. I sat up straight and took a deep breath, knowing exactly what story I was going to tell him. But first, my curiosity prompted me to ask him a question that I've wondered for a while.

"Anakin, have you heard the legends or myths about The Lost Queen of Alderaan?" I asked, feeling my heartbeat quicken from nervousness.

This was the first time I've ever brought this topic up in a conversation with someone besides Yoda or my Mom or sister. Over the years, I've heard theories about me from them that they've heard from other people who like to gossip. This topic isn't as popular as it used to be since I supposedly 'disappeared' a long time ago, but it was definitely a topic that everyone knew about.

Anakin removed his arm from over his eyes and rested it on his stomach. His brows furrowed in confusion as he blinked a couple of times at my question, "Uh....Yes?" He sounded unsure.

I rolled my eyes at his vagueness, "Okay, like what?" I pried further.

He scoffed while still looking up at the ceiling, keeping his brows furrowed as he tried to think of what to say, "I mean, the only thing I've really heard is that she disappeared seventeen years ago and is presumed dead."

Alright, so he falls into the common category.

I nodded my head slowly and chose my next question carefully, "Do you have a theory of what happened to her?" I probably shouldn't pry this far, but I was truly curious to know what he specifically thinks. I didn't know why I was so curious, but it's probably because of how he treats me here; I wondered how different he would treat me if he knew who I really was.

At the same time though, it would be lame if he suddenly started being nice just because of that.

He chuckled at my question and looked at me, "Of course I do, I have a theory of everything." He shrugged cockily and went back to staring at the ceiling.

He continued before I could interrupt, "It's just that....this isn't really something I've thought of, I guess. But since you're asking, my theory is that she's dead." He began twiddling his thumbs against his stomach, "Supposedly, no one has heard from her or seen her since the palace was attacked when she was a baby. So unless she's somehow alive in a secret hideout, then I think it's safe to assume that she perished a long time ago." His voice became softer at the end as he turned his head and his blue eyes met mine.

"Did the stories of her make the nightmares of your Dad go away?" He asked with a vulnerable look in his eyes; I suddenly became painfully aware of how trusting of me he was being.

Even though he's probably the most arrogant person I've ever met, and the one person who hates me besides Alastair, he's letting down his walls to confide in me for this. He's choosing to let me help him, and that pressuring knowledge made me shift uncomfortably on the couch cushions. I wasn't used to seeing him so open, and I knew that if I said the wrong thing, then he'd most likely never trust me with something like this again.

I nodded and did my best to maintain eye contact with him as I let my realizations sink in. Everything happening right now was so upside down from how things usually are.

He looked at me intently after I nodded, with expressionless features. Then he laid his head back down and looked up to the ceiling once more, "I'm sorry about him." He mumbled.

Again, it was strange to hear him not being a jerk. But I guess, surprisingly, our similarities are making it easier for us to not be at each other's throats all the time. I sincerely didn't think this would be possible, but I remember what Yoda said to me this morning. What if we actually did try being friends? It was a foreign thought, and probably unachievable. At best, we'll probably just end up being friendly acquaintances, and I doubt it will get any further than that.

"Thanks." I nodded awkwardly, knowing that he could see in his peripheral vision. Wanting to alleviate the tension in the air, I placed my hands on my knees, "Okay, the story I'm going to tell you tonight is based on another theory I heard about The Lost Queen. In this story, she's taken from her family by an evil witch who places a curse on her. The curse is that she can't ever return to her home planet, and if she does, then she'll instantly implode."

Anakin's features scrunched up at my description, which caused me to chuckle, "But there is a way to break this curse. All the Queen has to do is fall in love." I said simply.

This was actually a real story, too. In the past, my Mom would tell me about it during our virtual meetings. We never had time to finish the whole story in one call, so she would always leave me on cliffhangers before the next time we contacted each other. Though this story is pretty cheesy, I'm using it specifically for Anakin because it has a happy ending, and I think that's what he needs considering that the ongoing war probably isn't ebbing his nightmares.

He chuckled as I finished my description, "That sounds about right."

I smiled as I finally began telling him the story and I didn't leave out any details:

(This is just a summary of the story because I figured you guys would want to know some of it. There is more to it but I wanted to include the most important parts💕)

The moment the Queen was taken, she was brought by the witch to live on a farm with a nice family for eighteen years. Her adoptive family warned her of the curse, but she didn't know how she could fall in love with being isolated on a farm for so long. The rural community was low in population and there weren't many boys her age. Then on a quiet day in the fields like any other, the Queen was happily picking the weeds and watering the planets when she heard screams from the farm. She ran back to find that everyone in the small community had been poisoned, but she was safe since she was out in the fields.

She panicked and hid in a cellar below the ground, knowing that the murderer was still lurking somewhere and waiting to kill her next. She quietly began sobbing as she heard the sound of another scream, and then rapid footsteps approaching the cellar door. She knew this was the end, and was ready to accept her fate.

But when it opened, the Queen didn't see a murderer. She saw a young man, who wore silver armor and held a sword in one hand. He asked if she was alright and helped her out of the cellar, telling her that he had killed the poisoner.

She noticed that this man was accompanied by a horse, signaling that he was a knight. But she recognized the symbol on his armor; he was a knight from her own kingdom. The Queen was overjoyed and thanked the knight for saving her by giving him a kiss.

He stayed with her on the farm for a while, since they had both taken a liking to each other. They shared their hopes and dreams, their troubles and sorrows, and everything in between. The Queen found herself falling in love with the young knight, and knew that he would be the one to break her curse. They confessed their feelings for each other, and instantly returned to their home planet to get married. The Queen's family was exuberant to see her alive and well, and they threw her a party in the castle town every day of the week. By the time the week was over, the Queen and the knight were finally married, and they lived a happy and curse-free life forever.

I sighed as I got to the end of the story, "I know that was pretty sappy and definitely