Too long had this nightmare lasted. Poison seeped through her body, leaving her mind dulled and incoherent. She was dying.
She suffered in her dream worlds, wheezing nearly every breath she took. Her arms and legs felt like lead, and Valkorian's taunts fell into the back of her mind as she collapsed.
Surely this time she would die. She rolled to her side, drawing her body in to tuck into a ball.
It was so incredibly tortuous to die alone with a mad man harrowing your thoughts. It wasn't exactly her ideal situation. None the less, she accepted her fate as it was served to her, one gasp of air at a time.
The dream world that has been her prison vanished from around her. Darkness crept in on her. Was this death coming to end her suffering?
Specks of light shot out through the dark, illuminating and growing rapidly. She was blinded by it, her eyes reflexively closing to shield herself from the light.
"... warn you... ... hurt a bit" a rushed voice spoke from in front of her. It seemed like it had been forever since someone other than Valkorian spoke to her.
Searing pain tore a cry from her, and her body toppled forwards. She sputtered and gasped, her eyes opening wide, but hardly registering what she saw. Everything was so blurry.
When she picked her head up to look upon her savior, she could have almost stopped breathing again. "Lana..." She croaked, her voice raw and dry. Her still shaking hand rose to grasp onto Lana's outstretched hand. Lana tugged her up to her unstable feet, then supported most of her weight when she nearly collapsed again.
"Easy, you've been frozen for quite some time. I would say take a moment to recover, but we don't have that luxury. We have to get you out of here." Lana spoke as she hurried them down the lengthy platform. Yvanna's brow furrowed, struggling to register all that was going on at once.
The only thing that captured her attention was reveling in the presence of another person. Especially someone she harbored intimate feelings for. She had spent so long in the company of a mad man, she had almost forgotten what it was like to be with Lana.
With now more steady hands, Yvanna grabbed Lana's head and jerked her down for a desperately needed kiss. She was clumsy, their heads knocking together accidentally from the sudden movement, but that didn't keep her from claiming the kiss she longed for. Though the moment was chaste, it flooded her cold body with the warmth she needed to get moving. She had thrown out the memory of Lana "breaking up" with her back on Yavin 4. She knew their feelings were mutual, and that was enough.
Lana was caught off guard, her lips still parted and her eyes widened. "Yvanna... This-This isn't the time or place."
"I know." Yvanna smiled as she released Lana. "Let's get out of here." She began to limp away from Lana, gathering her strength for the dangerous road to come.
Yvanna had allowed her newfound desire for revenge on Arcann to fuel her power as both she and Lana fought their way to an elevator. Fighting next to her adorable sith companion brought a euphoric feeling. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, Lana's com beeped. Lana had introduced Koth as they escaped. They spoke very familiarly with one another, stirring a twinge of jealousy in Yvanna. When their conversation ended, the words flew out of Yvanna before she could think to hold them back. "Are you two..?" Her tone had an edge, one she knew Lana would pick up on instantly. "I'll pretend that's not your greatest concern at this particular moment." Lana said in exasperation. The moment of respite the elevator ride gave them allowed them to recuperate. More than once she felt Lana's eyes on her, and she giggled and glanced over to her. "What?" Yvanna reached out to take hold of her hand.
Lana seemed momentarily embarrassed at being caught, but she squeezed her hand ever so slightly. "It's good to see you again."
Yvanna's chest swelled with more affection than she had ever experienced before. Andronikus had never sparked this kind of reaction before, but then again she had never returned his feelings.
"I've missed you." Yvanna cast her eyes away from Lana's face, as if afraid to find any sort of hesitation in her.
"As I've missed you." Lana's reply was so quiet she thought she had imagined it. When she looked up to Lana and saw the emotion in her, she visibly relaxed. The force between them thickened with the emotions that the two used to strengthen themselves. "But right now, we have to focus on getting out."
Despite the jealousy towards Koth Yvanna held, she knew she had no choice but to trust him for now. Even when it required that she fling herself from a collapsing platform onto the open air lock of his ship.
Then her most dire question was answered. Five years. She turned to Lana, taking in every detail of her face. There were no signs of aging, but then again Lana wasn't much older than she was. "I was frozen for that long?" Yvanna lifted her hand to touch Lana's face, but her hand stiffened as a thought crossed her mind. Five years was plenty of time for her to have found another. Her jaw set, and her hand returned to her side. "Yes. I spent a long time trying to find a way to rescue you." Lana touched Yvanna's side, bringing reassurance to her.
She hadn't found another.
The damage done to their ship took its toll, sending them crashing into a swamp outside of Zakuul. As they freed themselves from the ship, Lana and Koth once again reminisced about their adventures. It irritated her. Koth was too friendly for her liking. She set out with HK-55 instead to find whatever it was his sensors picked up.
Never had a droid been more useful to her. Discovering an entire ship in a swamp that just so happened to be the only ship known to take down the eternal empire's fleet? It was almost unrealistic, but who was she to complain. As Lana and Koth rejoined them, they all agreed that scavenging for supplies was their top priority.
Naturally, Yvanna stole away with Lana the first chance she got.
Finding fresh water was what Lana focused herself upon, and Yvanna followed along to ask endless questions about what had transpired the past 5 years. Everything she had known was gone, or drastically changed. Everything but Lana. When they stumbled upon a pond that looked promising, the two stopped for a moment of repose.
"When I was frozen, I never truly rested. Dreams came endlessly. Some tormented me, whereas others were memories of the past." Yvanna sat, her expression distant as she recollected it all. "Mostly, I dreamt of you. Our experiences, conversations, your touch.." She stopped herself short, her face contorting in rage. "But Valkorian, he.. More than once he twisted a dream and took me to a rocky clearing where all my crew lay dead, killed by enemies of my past. You were dying, and there was nothing I could do. I held you as the life drained from you. I couldn't feel the pull of your force, the warmth in your skin." She knew this was too much to say. Their relationship they had ended long ago, put to an end by Lana when she needed to focus on her job. Despite that, her adoration never stopped. Seeing Lana again had reawakened her passion. For a moment, she was terrified. She had just spilled her heart out, and could be crushed if she was rejected. Perhaps her feelings were too overwhelming for Lana to take in.
She held her breath, prepared for the worst to come. Lana lowered herself to sit in front of Yvanna. "You must have been lonely." She murmured, touching the curl of hair that hung in front of Yvanna's ear. "I can't imagine what it felt like."
"I said too much." Yvanna whispered timidly, reaching up to cradle Lana's hand to her cheek. "I don't even know how you feel, but I-"
"I didn't leave you because my attraction faded. It never left." Lana cut in quickly. Yvanna glanced up to her, a small grin playing onto her lips. "I'm glad."
The kiss that followed soothed Yvanna's rampant emotions. She had no reason to worry now.