Once upon a time, there were two kingdoms at war.
One was a land of fierce warriors, clad in steel, who saw a science in war.
The other, a land of wise scholars, carrying blades of light, who saw an art in battle.
They had been battling for aeons now, and most had forgotten the cause.
The first kingdom was ruled by a brilliant queen, with eyes like ice and a heart of fire.
The other kingdom was governed by a judicious king, with hair the colour of fire and a tongue of silver.
They led their nations in terrible battles, fighting for them with each ounce of their might.
It took over ten years of war for them to meet, queen to king, king to queen.
Their battle was more vicious than any wound. It was one of wits.
Their words were like fire, hot and scathing.
Their hearts were like ice, cold and unforgiving.
It took another ten years for them to finish their speeches.
Over the time, their argument went from burning and callous to the civil discussion of equals.
Their peoples laid down their weapons to watch in awe, as their leaders smithed invisible weapons into unseen tools.
In those ten long years, they shared many a grief with each other.
They knew each other better than themselves.
One day, a warrior clad in steel stepped forward. He kneeled before the foreign king and spoke:
"O wise king! Does thou know mine people's rites of courtship?"
"I know it not, brave soldier. Tell me, sir, what is thine people's rite of courtship?", the king asked.
"It is the way of our people to lay bare our souls to the one who has our heart. For the one we court shall be our equal and ally in despair and joy. To know our lovers' weaknesses is our strength," the warrior told him.
The masses fell silent as the night.
The queen, in the silence, listened to her mind echo the words the king had spoken, laying his deepest fears bare to her in combat.
The king, without a sound, spoke to her the ancient words his people shared amongst each other at unifications.
The fierce warriors of steel recalled the words the king and queen had shared as they quarreled and cried in joy.
The wise scholars of light, who heard the words their king was not speaking and saw the queen's heart, joined their jubilant cries
The king and queen, with their hearts of ice and words of fire, saw one another in a new light.
It was on the battlefield, amongst their jubilant people, that they opened their hearts to each other and captured their most guarded treasure: Their very selves.
A/N: We were having a discussion on the Obitine Discord server about how the relationship between Mandalorians and the Jedi has been a bit of an enemies-to-lovers thing, to which I then said "Stop talking or I will write an actual enemies-to-lovers fic for Mandalore and the Jedi Order". Well, as you can see, nobody stopped talking.
I got the "Mandos share their weaknesses with whomsoever they desire to marry as a part of courting"-idea at random. I thought it made sense that, in a culture focussed on strength and honour, those married are supposed to know each other from back to front, top to bottom, inside and out, to be able to protect each other better and be better fighters together. Perhaps similar to Ancient Greece where soldiers were encouraged to enter relationships with those fighting besides them, because the Greeks believed this would make them fight harder in battle and lead to victory.
Now you get to appreciate my greatest work yet.