He burst through the glass doors leaving them swinging in his wake. The Jedi's panic eased as he saw the soft rise and fall of her chest.
Anakin perched at one side of her "What's wrong?"
"I'm not sure" His master replied. He put his hand in the crook at the base of her neck "Kyia can you here me?" Her name felt strange coming out of his mouth, not used to addressing her formally. He said it anyway, reaching out through the Force. He raised his hand, tilting her head back slightly and her eyelids fluttered. "Don't try to sit up"
She ignored him completely and sat up anyway, "I'm fine, I just fainted for a few diacts, that's all." She muttered trying to repress the spinning sensation.
"What happened?" The human Jedi spoke gently trying to get what Qui Gonn used to call a 'good bedside manner', however he just got a look of annoyance. She clearly felt uncomfortable and preferred Anakin's watchful silence.
"I was trying a distancing technique to find out what I was feeling earlier. Whoever was at the other end was stronger than I was and raised a wall of dark energy" She blinked and tested her limbs gingerly before standing unsteadily.
"Do you really think that's…"
"I am fine" She cut him off forcefully. "Stop staring at me like I am a museum exhibit".
It silenced him quickly. He was not used to people being so sharp with him, especially another Jedi.
Anakin however, seemed to know exactly what to say "Sorry, we were just worried that's all, we didn't mean to make you angry"
Kyia softened and smiled "I'm not angry. I'm just frustrated. I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I'm sorry"
Obi Wan rose and put his hand on his Padawan's shoulder, grateful to him for defusing the situation. He didn't need anymore political blunders this trip. "You don't have to apologise"
"How about we both quit while we are behind"
He nodded and Anakin rose. He could sense that Kyia believed the dark energy was of Sith origin but was being tactfully silent in front of the boy. A look passed between them that confirmed their agreement.
With her years of experience Anice took one look at her Quelena and deduced something had happened. Kyia, with the same amount of experience recognised 'that look'.
"It was nothing, I meditated and fainted. That's all"
The old women put her hands on her hips, clearly used to the battle of wills. "Hardly nothing. Shall I get the medic to look at you or am I going to have to drag you first?"
"I'm not going to dignify that with an answer" Kyia replied in the usual manner. From behind her Anakin and Obi Wan looked on bemused.
"Kyia" Anice glared back, also in the usual manner.
She sighed, giving in "If I don't feel right later, I'll go see a medic. I promise."
Anice eyed her sceptically. "Okay, but at least have some breakfast. I'm sure you're guests are hungry." She added the blackmail for extra effect.
Once again she conceded. "Fine" she turned back to Obi Wan and Anakin "Would you like to join me?"
The Jedi nodded courteously.
"Where would you like it?" Anice asked
Kyia gave her assistant a look that suggested a possible answer, but instead said "The garden".

It looked different in daylight. The flowers seemed brighter and the whole garden seemed larger and more vivacious.
"I've never seen this many colours in one place before" Anakin said as he sat down at a white table.
"I had better tell you," said Obi Wan as a server put a plate of what looked like locally grown fruit in front of them "She knows our real names"
"I'm a Jedi" Kyia added.
"I know," said Anakin
Obi Wan almost choked "What?"
"Master Yoda told me before we left"
Kyia put her hand to her mouth to cover her expression; "He doesn't get any better in his old age does he?"
"You didn't know?" his padawan smirked.
"No I did not," said Obi Wan through his teeth.
The Quelena was still laughing "We only made fools of ourselves..." That was when the screaming started.
The two Jedi knights sprang up in motion drawing their lightsabres. The server dashed out from the palace door. "Your Royalness"
"I'm fine" She rushed. "Fera Skywalker de coona!" Her tone despite speaking the flowing Elphoran language was clipped. "Shé!" The server nodded her head and took the padawan's hand. " Your padawan's being taken to the caves. He'll be safe there" She reassured Obi Wan. The two Jedi ran in the direction of the screaming.
"It's the Sith" he shouted as they sprinted up the stairs.
"I know" She replied, without any hint of 'I told you so'. Several of the doors at the other end of the passage were open. "And he's brought company". She leaped through one doorway, he started to follow her "I'll be fine, take the other door"
"I'm supposed to protect you"
"And I'm supposed to protect my people. Go the other way. If I need you I'll call." She urged. "I don't want them to find anyone else first."
He sighed and headed off in the other direction.
Kyia darted off down a side passage sensing beings in an anteroom. She turned the corner and there they were, dressed in black. Straight away she took up a fighting stance and retracted her lightsabre, she would need her hands for this one. She kicked the nearest assailant in the chest, pushing him into a tall cabinet. There was a sound of broken glass as Kyia guessed her first victim had several broken ribs and probably wasn't going to get up. Kyia turned her back to him swiftly as she sensed an anthropoid closing behind her. She punched him in the face doubling the force of her punch by using the motion from his own charge. It's head exploded.
"Gross!" The anthropoid slumped against the wall. "Who's next?"
Two came at once. She leaped and did a double kick, hitting them both in the chest. She landed in the gap and did a round house kick, the two fell to the floor. Suddenly she wished she had chosen to wear her comfortable Jedi robes instead of the long cream dress that was now splattered with blue goo.
Another charged at her. She grabbed him and head butted him, knowing her physiology was better for the task than his. The two she had initially knocked to the ground started to rise but Kyia she pushed the human she was holding into them. She winced as she heard the crack of someone's leg breaking.
The remaining two stood and looked at each other then at her.
"I know what you're thinking." Kyia said calmly "You're thinking how can you take this Elphoran alive with just the two of you." She smiled. "You can't. It's either me or the Sith." She closed her eyes briefly "I understand." They ran at her and a few minutes later they were unconscious.
Obi Wan searched the room adjacent to the first room he had searched. He had already faced three of the Sith's warriors, but this room was empty. Suddenly he heard something thud against the wall.
"Kyia!" He shouted and ran into the passageway. He mentally cursed, wondering how many of the Sith's retinue had been waiting for her. When he got to the doorway he found her dusting off her hands.
"Surprised?"
"You said you weren't a warrior"
"With a lightsabre" She finished off his sentence. "The Quelena is traditionally the head of the Quelena's Guard, in combat as well as politically. I've been trained as such"
"So I see" Obi Wan looked over the devastation in the room "You didn't use your lightsabre?" the last sentence came out with more bewilderment than he had intended.
Kyia shook her head "The guy over there has a few broken ribs, that one had a broken leg, and the other three are just unconscious. I couldn't have used a lightsabre and not killed them. They didn't use blasters so I didn't see the point."
"What about him?" He indicated the anthropoid
"They grow back. Did you find the Sith?"
"No" was the short reply. They left the room and searched the rest of the floor; it was empty. "Downstairs?" he suggested
Kyia nodded, wishing she felt as calm as he looked. As they made their way towards the stairwell he appeared in front of them. There was no mistaking the power that surrounded him, aura of evil.
"You, Jedi, have no right to be here." The black cloaked figure words warped with bitterness "I warned you before, Quelena Kyia Levelle" He spat her full title. "This time you will not be so lucky"
Kyia pulled herself up to her full height refusing to be intimidated. Obi Wan found himself in awe of the Quelena's bravery. She said four words. "Don't count on it". This time she did draw her lightsabre.
The Sith's lightsabre was turned on with a hiss. The Jedi answered it igniting their own.
Green and yellow against red.
The Jedi waited for what they knew must be, the Sith to strike first, because in the end that was all that separated them.
Defence and attack.
Good and evil.
They didn't have to wait long.
Unexpectedly it was against the male Jedi. Kyia had been ready with her lightsabre expecting to take the first blow. Obi Wan deflected it easily but each new attack came quicker and harder than the one it had followed. Gradually they were driven back up the stairs. Kyia jumped high as a strike was unleashed low. Obi wan spun round and parried it, he could see the Quelena was struggling and he was finding it difficult to maintain his own focus while having to defend some of the hits meant for her. The partnership was unbalanced.
Get a grip Kyia thought to herself in frustration. She kept trying to connect with the Force but it would not come. The lightsabre felt unnatural when it should have been an extension of self, it would not embrace her. Suddenly images of the Jedi temple came into her head and the helmets used to blind the young padawans, granted they had been fighting droids instead of Sith Lords.
But it shouldn't matter She thought. Taking a huge leap of faith she closed her eyes and surrendered herself to the Force. The change was instantaneous. Obi Wan briefly glanced over to her, seeing the change in her fighting style, however they still were not in sync and the dark lord still gained ground. The other Jedi sighed inwardly then also closed his eyes.
The Force took control, working through the Jedi as if they were two hands of the same person. They did not see, only felt. They stopped losing ground and the Sith's exertions increased and so did theirs. It was a stalemate. There was a hiss as the Sith withdrew his lightsabre. The Jedi opened their eyes, but he was gone.
Suddenly the Sith dropped from above, activating his sabre as he fell from the ceiling. He caught Obi Wan on the arm, and with the same strike hit Kyia's shoulder. Obi Wan cursed silently that he had fallen for such an obvious tactic. He looked over at Kyia and saw her wince at the injury. She drew the pain away from the wound to where it was useful. The Quelena used the Force in unison with her Elphoran sixth sense to magnify the pain and hurl it at her attacker.
It caught the Sith by surprise. "Your feeble attempts won't stop me" but the pain was naked on his face.
Obi Wan took the distraction and used his weaker left arm to strike the Sith's right shoulder. In response his attacker he wrenched a piece of marble off the wall using the dark side of the Force.
"Obi Wan" Kyia shouted too late as the rubble struck him from behind.
He staggered forward from the blow. The dark warrior laughed grimly and started to tear more objects from the wall.
It took Kyia's full concentration, using both her lightsabre and the Force to ease the bombardment, however they came faster and with more strength than she could keep up with. She glanced over at Obi Wan and saw beads of sweat on his face as he also tried to control the multiple projectiles.
He's playing with us he thought. The frequency of the objects sped up. He saw Kyia get hit, hard. They needed to find away out of the stale mate. Kyia was struck again; she gave him the same look.
The Sith Lord cackled again. He took a deep breath and screamed with all his might "Stay away!" The sound that came out verged on lunacy. The window to the side of him shattered, the Sith Lord leaped through it and disappeared.

Kyia stared around the shattered stairway; its ornate carvings and ordainments were destroyed. The two Jedi slumped against the wall panting heavily.
"Was that the Master?" Kyia breathed
""I" His chest heaved, "I'm not sure. He was definitely more skilled than the tattooed man on Naboo"
"The Master" She stated
Obi Wan looked sideways at her and gave in. He wasn't even convincing himself anyway. "Yes"
"Your Royalness" A voice shouted from below.
"I'm up here" She replied
A male Elphoran with grass green hair rushed up the stairs. "Your Royalness, are you badly hurt"
She shook her head "We just both need a medic, that's all. The young Jedi are in the caves with the others. They can come out now" She paused for air.
"My first duty is to you your Royalness." He said with surprising weight
Obi Wan struggle to rise "Please tell me the medic centre isn't far?". Kyia summated to the other Elphoran and shook her head in reply to him. "Good".
They both led on leaned on the Elphoran male. "We were worried, your Royalness, was it the same man who attacked you last time?"
"I think so, yes". She answered. "There are some more of his companions upstairs. There's seven in the third guest room and how many?"
"Three"
"Three in the fifth guest room. See that they are detained"
"You don't have to worry about two of them" He commented lightly.
Kyia rolled her eyes. Not a good thing to mention.
"Dead?" The Elphoran gulped
"He couldn't help it" She defended the other Jedi "It's not always easy not to take a life when they are so eager to take yours, Yoma."
Yoma nodded and continued in silence. Finally as it seemed to Obi Wan they hobbled into a room with pale yellow walls, unlike the other rooms the light game from a large glow panel on the ceiling.
Several rooms branched off, most containing white beds.
"We'll be okay from here." She told Yoma. He looked at her sceptically. "You've done your duty, there are more important things to do now."
He stared at his mistress again reluctantly, then finally said "Very well"
Kyia sighed deeply then sat down nearby in a white chair.
"Are you all right?" He could sense her pain; it rolled off her in waves. She nodded and closed her eyes, trying to focus far from the hurt. "Did I say something wrong?"
She opened her eyes and raised her head. Obi Wan staggered to the chair beside her "It wasn't your fault. You didn't know. It's just that we value life here more than many places and it shocked him. It probably would have been better if you had not said anything. How is your arm?"
"It hurts a lot. I think I have a concussion, I'm finding it hard to stay conscious."
"Me too" She admitted.
Obi Wan had the feeling she didn't admit weakness very often.
Suddenly the door swung open and a female Elphoran rushed in.
"Oh by the Force, Your Royalness, Master Owen. I'm so sorry I couldn't get here sooner".
A male Elphoran followed her "Shut up Lityre. Take Master Owen through and treat him instead of blathering".
"Very sorry Syrous" She muttered. She wheeled Obi Wan's chair through the door and into one of the side rooms.
Syrous took Kyia's chair through another door. It was harder to stay awake than before. Her body relaxed, the danger was over. She let the darkness take her.