THALIA

That night, sleep continued to evade Thalia as she mulled over a thought that had been plaguing her since her meeting with the Jedi.

Was Obi-Wan really prepared to leave his life as a Jedi behind, especially since war had just been announced?

She couldn't believe she was even contemplating it. She knew how he felt, she knew how she felt but could she in good conscience keep him from his calling?

She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, smoothing her hair out of her face before wrapping her white, lace robe around herself and heading for the door. She walked down the corridors, filled with people talking quietly, laughing or sleeping against pillars. The castle was full of people, but there was only one person on her mind in that moment.

When she reached Obi-Wan's door, she paused, her hand about to knock. Before her mind decided, however, her hand was tapping on the metal and the silver door slid sideways, revealing the darkened room.

"Thalia?" A sleepy voice asked, and she saw Obi-Wan sit up in his bed.

"May I?" She asked.

"O-Of course." He replied, surprised to see her at such an hour.

Thalia stepped into the room, hugging her robe tightly around her and Obi-Wan came to meet her. He only had on his tunic and trousers, but still looked very much the Jedi Knight.

"Are you alright?" He asked, reaching his hands out to grip her arms just above her elbows.

"There's…I don't know…" Thalia began and rubbed her forehead with her fingertips.

"What is it?" Obi-Wan asked worriedly. "Speak your mind."

Thalia sighed, and looked him in the eye. There was no easy way of saying it, so she just had to say it straight.

"Obi-Wan…you have to go back to Coruscant with the Jedi tomorrow." She said and the look on his face nearly broke her heart. His hands slowly slid away from her arms and dropped heavily to his sides. "I cannot in good conscience know that you're giving up on your dream for me, especially when you'd be so needed in this war. It…it would be incredibly selfish of me to…"

"Selfish?" Obi-Wan asked quietly. "What's selfish is you deciding on your own not just what's best for me, but for us. I'm not just following you blindly. I've made my own choice. Every possible scenario has played over and over in my head for the past few weeks, regardless of the war." He finished angrily, the hurt clear in his voice.

"And what have those scenarios come to?" Thalia asked. "I know you well enough to be certain that you'd never be completely happy here knowing there was a war raging and Jedi were fighting and dying for a cause you believe in so strongly. We'd be constantly living with regret and 'what ifs'?"

Obi-Wan turned away from Thalia and moved to stand in front of the tall window, which let in a lot more light now that the city wasn't there to block it. He sighed heavily and ran his hand over his jaw before both arms crossed over his chest.

"I wish more than anything that I wouldn't say what I'm about to. But…these thoughts have plagued me too and the guilt that comes from them is unbearable. But how could I ever leave you?" He asked, turning to face her, his eyes pleading.

Thalia stepped close to Obi-Wan and held his face in her hands, resting her forehead against his.

"It would not be forever." She whispered. "Once the war is over, you can leave knowing you've done your duty without any regrets…The second the war is over. You hear me?"

"I do." He sighed. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

"Of course it isn't." Thalia whispered. "But I love you too much to make you stay."

"I'll make sure the war is over as soon as possible now that I know you'll be here." Obi-Wan smiled, and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into him as he took her lips in his.

Thalia sighed against him and looped her arms around his neck, her fingers running up his neck and into his short hair. Obi-Wan's hands splayed out against her back as his mouth moved against hers.

Finally, they parted but stood in each other's embrace as their breathing slowed.

"First thing in the morning." Obi-Wan sighed before raising his head to look at her. "Stay here tonight." He decided and Thalia nodded.

Until early light shone through the windows, they sat in each other's embrace, tucked into the corner of the sofa. They talked about the future, the adventures they'd shared together and Thalia listened to Obi-Wan's promises of return as she twisted his Padawan braid around her fingers. Once the sun had risen, they knew their time together was at an end.

. . .

Barely two hours after Thalia had left Obi-Wan's chambers, she stood surrounded by what was left of her royal guard on the city's main landing platform. The Jedi's ship was fired up and ready to depart, the breeze from the engines gently blowing Thalia's silver gown around her.

"It has been an honor to serve you, your highness." Qui-Gonn bowed, a warm smile on his face.

"I am indebted to you, Master Jedi." Thalia replied, returning his smile.

"I'm sorry we cannot stay to help you with the rebuilding, but if we've learnt anything about Troska over the year we've been here, it's that it's people are determined. And with the strong leader that you are, I have no doubt they will return stronger than ever." Qui-Gonn assured her.

"Thank you for your kindness." Thalia said warmly and he stepped aside.

"Your highness." Obi-Wan began, stepping forward and taking her hand to press his lips against the back of it. "We will never forget you or the people of Troska."

"And I you. You both will always be welcomed here." Thalia smiled, feeling tears begin to burn the back of her eyes. "Take care."

Together, the Jedi bowed before turning away and walking back to their ship; Obi-Wan trailed slightly behind Qui-Gonn.

"Obi-Wan." Thalia called out and he slowed to a stop, before turning to face her. "May the force be with you."

"May the force be with you too, Princess." He smiled and then, he was gone. Thalia watched the last of his cloak disappear up the ramp before it slid shut.

Thalia tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but she gave up and let her tears silently roll down her cheeks as the ship lifted off the ground, turned away from the platform and took off into the sky. Thalia strained her eyes to keep them trained on the ship and just managed to see a blue stripe across the sky as it jumped into lightspeed.

'May the force be with you, Obi.' Thalia thought, but he was gone.

A/N: And that's the end of Part 1. Thank you so much for reading along, and I'm sorry for being so ad hock with publishing chapters. Thank you for putting up with me There will be a Part 2, but unfortunately it won't be out for a while because I lost the file when my computer crashed. So, once everything is re-written it will be up!

Thank you for the support, patience and reviews and I hope I'll be more consistent with my posting in Part 2.

Best wishes and take care!