The snow was falling outside and Aila had positioned herself so that she was seated beside a window to watch the snow drift as a storm came through the area. She was seated in the main entryway of what had been her home. Technically, the house was still her "home," but without Obi-Wan around it did not feel like it. Aila's parents were cleaning up after dinner, both worried about their daughter's well being.
Aila had contacted her parents shortly after Anakin abandoned her on her home world and they immediately rushed to her side. They could tell by the agonized grief in her voice that something was wrong. The absence of their son-in-law upon their arrival, seemed to tell the story.
"What happened?" Aila's mother asked, hugging her daughter tightly. "Where is Obi-Wan?"
A sob escaped Aila and she buried her head in her mother's shoulder at the sound of her husband's name. The wave of despair influenced her to disobey Anakin's instructions and she opened up her Force bond in an attempt to feel her husband. However, all she felt was nothingness and she knew the worst had happened. "He's been killed." Aila whispered before allowing the tears to fall unbidden from her eyes.
Aila's parents did their best to console their daughter during this difficult time. They knew this time of the year was going to make Obi-Wan's passing especially difficult. It was Christmas time and Obi-Wan and Aila's wedding anniversary was approaching.
Aila's parents would have spent the holiday with their daughter regardless of the circumstances, but they would not stray to far from Aila in her grief stricken state. They had considered taking Aila to their home, thinking a change in scenery would help, but their daughter refused. Although Obi-Wan and Aila had spent very little time in this home, they had still been there together and although she knew it was silly, knowing that Obi-Wan had once walked the halls of this house made her feel a connection to him.
Aila's parents reluctantly agreed to their daughter's decision, but questioned it after she showed signs of illness. Two weeks after her arrival home, Aila would frequently feel nauseous and lethargic. Her parents figured it was all related to their daughter's grief. As the symptoms got worse over time, they urged their daughter to see a doctor to get something to help her through the illness, but Aila refused. However, nothing seemed to sway Aila's decision as she stubbornly refused to leave her house. As a result, her parents did all they could to care for their daughter and attempt to bring some festive cheer amidst the mournful atmosphere.
Staring out at the falling snow, Aila wiped away tears as her mind recalled events from long ago. Although there was no sign of it now, to the right of her house was a spot where a lost Jedi Knight had crashed his starfighter and changed her life forever. He had been the great Jedi of legend, Obi-Wan Kenobi, defender of the Galactic Republic. However, his meeting of her, Aila, seemed to warp that persona.
Aila had tried to not show him the Star Wars movies, scared of what would happen if he knew what was to come. Those fears were not unjustified, her beloved husband had turned to the dark side and now as she opened her Force bond to feel nothingness again, she knew he was dead.
She silently berated herself for trusting Chancellor Len Itappa. She could not forgive herself for not seeing he was actually the Sith Lord in disguise. Itappa had been a constant presence in their lives for years and was able to twist Obi-Wan's perception of the Jedi and galaxy around until he finally snapped.
The Jedi Council had not helped to prevent Obi-Wan's fall, but facilitated its progression. Had her husband not hidden his actions from her she would have done all she could to help him. However, he had resigned himself to living a life of secrets until they tore him apart. Now all Aila had left were the memories of her husband and a few marks on her skin as a result of his demise.
Aila had suffered what looked like a light sunburn to her chest and back and a ring of angry welts on her knees and right shoulder as a result of her Force bond with Obi-Wan. She had felt the injuries he had suffered at Anakin's hand as well as receiving a visual manifestation of those wounds.
The sunburn like injury on her chest and back was gone, but the marks on her shoulder and knees still remained although they were fading with each passing day. Aila had not shown her parents her injuries because she knew they would have rushed her to a hospital and she did not want to be fussed over. Besides, she doubted any doctor would understand that the wounds were caused by a Force bond with her husband since the ways of the Force were not taught in medical schools on Earth.
The marks on her skin were just another reminder that her husband was gone. However, sitting in front of a window of her house meant that at the moment she did not have to look at them.
Obi-Wan's lightsaber was resting in her lap and she absently ran her fingers over it as she tore her eyes away from the drifting snow and gazed at her diamond engagement ring. Inset against the diamond were two stones taken from the Adegan crystal residing in that lightsaber. Although it was difficult for Aila to wrap her mind around the thought, deep down she felt that Obi-Wan's fall started the day he made her that ring.
It had been Christmas morning when he had made that ring, just a few hours after they had finished watching Star Wars Episode III. Aila could still remember the trepidation she felt at showing Obi-Wan the movies and felt another intense wave of grief and self disgust wash over her. She had initially avoided showing Obi-Wan the films with the thought that it could cause more harm than good, but her love for him and his pleas to her had changed her mind. She had let him watch the movies and in doing so set him on the path to his destruction. Upon reflection, Aila realized the two crystals in her ring, broken from the larger one in his lightsaber in a way showed the start of Obi-Wan's descent to darkness.
No longer was her husband the Jedi Knight of legend that the movies showed, for he was changed by a mere glimpse into a possible future. She had inadvertently shattered her husband's world by setting him on the path to stop his padawan's fall to darkness. Although Obi-Wan did manage to save his apprentice, he could not fight the allure of the dark side and fell victim to the lies of the Sith.
"I'm sorry." Aila mumbled to herself, her eyes scrunching in pain. She blamed herself for had she not shown Obi-Wan the films, he might not have fallen to the dark side. Additionally, although she loved him dearly, had she not married him he might have stayed on the path of the Jedi. No matter how she looked at it she was a major factor in her husband's destruction and she felt incredibly guilty for it.
"Obi-Wan, I love you! I'm sorry." She sobbed out loud, burying her face in her hands. Her loud outcry was heard by her mother and father her both ran to her side.
"Aila! Talk to me, let me help you." Aila's mother stated coming to kneel beside Aila, trying to gently move her daughter's face so she could look her in the eyes.
"Let both of us help you." Aila's father replied softly, his own heart breaking at the sight of his daughter's pain. Aila had never specified how Obi-Wan had been killed, but they assumed it had been in some sort of battle. Initially the two of them had visions of Darth Vader ending their son-in-law's life, but Aila had explained that Anakin had brought her back home, so that could not have been the cause of death. Their assumption was that Aila's presence had somehow changed Obi-Wan's future and unfortunately it was a tragic end. They had been giving Aila time to work through her grief before they asked for more details, but now they felt that answers were in order.
"Tell us what happened." Aila's father stated a softly, but there was a hint of command in his voice. "You will feel better if you tell us."
Aila shook her head and sniffled before speaking. "It doesn't matter now." She could not bring herself to tell her parents what Obi-Wan had done. Having to relive that would be agony. "He is dead. I can't change what happened. It is finished."
"No, you can't." Aila's mother replied, brushing away a strand of hair that was stuck to Aila's tear stained face. "But you might feel better if you talk about it and let us help you. You are very pale and have been becoming sicker with each passing day. You can't let yourself waste away, I know Obi-Wan wouldn't want you to do that."
"I did this for you, to protect you." Aila recalled Obi-Wan's words from the last time she saw him. The memory caused more tears to fall, but it caused her to nod her head in agreement to her mother's words. "I know. I miss him."
"We all do." Aila's father stated sympathetically, laying a strong hand on Aila's shoulder. "But you cannot stop living, now that he is gone. Tell us what happened, you should not leave that bottled up inside of you."
Aila's hands dropped from her face and rested on the lightsaber in her lap as she sniffled once more. Her eyes were fixated on the point outside where she had first met her husband.
"Aila?" Her mom prompted after a moment of silence.
Aila stood up abruptly from her chair and moved away from her parents walking towards her bedroom.
"Aila?" Her father asked, reaching out a hand to stop his daughter's retreat.
"I know you all mean the best, but I'm not ready yet." This was true, Aila could have told them what happened to Obi-Wan, but she was not sure how she wanted to broach the subject. She planned on telling them the truth, but she was still trying to figure out how to tell that story. She needed more time to think about that, but her tears and the illness that had plagued her for the last few days had left her weak and shaky. She needed some rest before she faced that topic.
"Aila…." Her mother and father began to protest.
Aila shook her head in response. "I promise I'll tell you, but not tonight. I have a headache and I need some rest."
Aila's father gave a resigned sigh. He could tell by looking in his daughter's eyes that she was exhausted both physically and emotionally. Although he still felt it would be better for her to tell them what happened now, rather than later, he could not deny her some rest. "Get some sleep. We'll talk about this in the morning."
Aila's mother looked up at her husband in surprise, but did not say anything. Aila just flashed a small half smile at them before turning back down towards her bedroom. Both of her parents cast a concerned look at one another as they heard the bedroom door close behind their daughter, but there was nothing more they could do until the following day.
Once inside the sanctuary of her room, Aila slid into a nightgown and climbed into bed. She placed Obi-Wan's lightsaber onto her bedside table, letting her fingertips linger on its smooth surface for a moment as if she was reluctant to let it go. Then opening up her Force bond as she had done every night since Anakin left her on her home planet, she whispered, "I love you," into the nothingness. This act always caused more tears to form in her eyes, but she hoped that wherever Obi-Wan's spirit was, he would hear it.