Welll, here goes!
(Also, to those curious, Grievous in this story is represented by the 2003 cartoon version of him, because I fucking love that version!)

/\\\

General Grievous conquers a new planet which isn't found on the data-tracks, and as he about to kill the royal of the planet, Princess Seeth, Count Dooku arrives and decides to offer a bargain. The neutral planet of Utaimasu would be spared, if Seeth offered her resources and loyalty to the Separatists... And for Count Dooku's most trusted General, Grievous, to take Seeth's hand in marriage.

(General Grievous/OC; AU - Rated T for violence, language).

/\\\

"The General's Bride"

Chapter Three:
Wistful

/\\\

Grievous woke up to the sound of a peacefully soothing melody by the tweeting birds outside in the nearby Kinzoku Forest (which he learned not to go and cut). He sighed in annoyance because of the early hour but he stayed awake to listen to the soft tweeting. It was still pleasant and Grievous couldn't really complain. They were birds after all.

Until he heard a knock at the door. Grievous sighed, "It's open," he answered and in came in Nia, the small fairy who had lead him to his room. She smiled politely.

"General Grievous, it is my job to escort you to the dining room for breakfast." Nia said, taking a small bow. She was slightly uncomfortable, but Grievous paid it no mind.

He laughed at the idea of eating, "Unfortunately, my Cybernetic body does not require nourishment." he answered, and Nia gave him a sheepish yet curious look.

"Well, you are still required to go. It is only proper that you sit with your, um... fiancee..." Nia said, slightly nervous but confident. Grievous gave her a silently unpleasant look but sucked it up and nodded. Count Dooku would not approve of any sort of defiance, he knew from experience.

"I suppose." he said as he got up from his comfortable but surprisingly not ripped bed and followed Nia out, giving the bed a curious look. Nia must have taken notice of this as she smirked.

"The bed sheets are made of a material called Steel Silk. It can only be ripped or torn by anything with a laser-like weapon. Your body can not rip or break anything on that bed due to that material." Nia explained and Grievous gave her a marveled look.

"That's some interesting technology and fabric then," he answered, amazed by such a thing. Nia smiled pompously as she lead the General to the large dining hall. The table was long and circular as it was made to host over 100 guests and the decor of the room was outstanding. Beautifully painted frescoes on the ceiling of some kind of a large winged creature with a woman apparently bowing before it. The walls were painted glass and golden pillars half way in the walls with precisely carved flowers and plants of some of the most exotic and outstanding.

Nia frowned at the dining table at the end of the table where the king's chair would be. However, there was no princess currently sitting on it. Nor any princess sitting anywhere. And the food for her was gone, as was Grievous'. Nia sighed annoyed. And Grievous also took notice of the missing princess.

"I really need to get that girl on a leash!" Nia muttered to herself disapprovingly. Grievous watched as the tiny creature flew back and forth in circles, trying to figure out where Seeth could have gone. Then she had a knowing yet huffy look on her face, "I know where Seeth is," and with that she flew off slowly, so Grievous could follow her without losing her.

The two ventured through the palace and into the back gardens where Nia promptly flew down a pebbled path and Grievous followed wordlessly. Curious yet also irritated to have to go through all this trouble to find a stubborn princess. Nia lead them down the main path before she turned onto another path near the end of the first path and in between two hedges where an opening was present. Nia went through wordlessly and so did Grievous.

But he froze when he saw the large stream quickly yet peacefully flowing downwards. On the other side was a small area, a garden in fact but much smaller and less fancy than the one he was previously in alongside a large wooden gazebo, painted with white. Nia had to nudge the General to get him to continue, as she lead him to a wooden bridge which was small yet large enough to cross the river. Grievous took notice how the tree above them, covered and hid the river, bridge and gazebo from the sun's light. It was actually pretty private as there were no other man-made object in sight.

The two crossed the bridge and that's when he noticed her. Seeth was sitting in the gazebo with table in front of her and eating her food. Yet she paused when she also had taken notice of the two. When Nia flew over to Seeth, angry as she scolded her, "Seeth! This is NOT how you behave to a guest let alone your own finace! You do NOT abandon the table just to seek refuge from whatever is irritating you!" Nia was furious to say the least.

Grievous watched, half insulted and half impressed. He did not often meet a royal like her. She was rude and impulsive as she had completely left the dining table and went to someplace else. But she was also, in a way, free spirited. She did not like to live the true life of a royal and this made Grievous perplexed by her. He gave her a neutral look as he hid away his emotions in his eyes, listening to Nia continuing to rant.

"...and also young lady, you need to get your priorities straight!" Nia ranted, and Seeth wasn't at all fazed by Nia's annoying chattering and instead was continuing to munch on her food little by little. Grievous was tempted to laugh at her antics but did nor said nothing.

"Are we clear?!" Nia asked, outraged. And Seeth rolled her eyes, pretending to have heard everything Nia said and sighed.

"Yes, mother," Seeth answered, annoyed yet also jokingly as she muttered some words in an unknown language and Nia was teleported away. Now Grievous and Seeth sat in silence. Until Seeth scooted over to give Grievous some space to sit and she gestured for him to sit. Grievous hesitated slightly before complying and seating himself as far from her as he could.

"Did you invite me to sit because you wish to speak?" he asked, a little agitated but also with dry humor. Seeth gave him a blank yet troubled look before turning away shyly and continuing to politely eat her food. Until she noticed her bad table manners and pushed a plate to him. He declined as he lifted his hand to stop her and pushed it back to her.

"I do not require food, so you needn't make the cooks make food for me." he explained, seeing her confused and puzzled gaze. She smiled slightly before nodding, making a mental note to go down to the kitchen later.

"Yes, I suppose I did." Seeth answered to his first question after a slight awkward yet a much needed pause. Grievous nodded as he fized his eyes on the floor of the Gazebo. Seeth sighed, "I suppose I want to talk about our marriage. Considering that Count Dooku wishes for us to marry, I see no reason why we shouldn't discuss more of this unfortunate topic." she explained further, Grievous took into consideration her words before nodding.

"Just know, little princess, that I have no need to be friends with you. We are allies in a war, and that is as far as we dare go." Grievous said, a little bitter. Seeth gave him a flabbergasted look.

"Excuse me, General, but I do NOT want to marry you as much as you don't want to marry me! And I don't want to be your friend!" she yelled as she stood up and began to walk away, bringing the now empty tray of food with her. But she stopped at the entrance to the Gazebo and turned towards him infuriated, "I would never even try to be friends with a monster like you!" she yelled as she stormed off, angry.

Grievous felt outraged with her, he wanted to strangle her, to cut her into little pieces! Oh, that blasted woman! But he couldn't help but feel dejected and a little bit depressed when he heard the word 'monster' come from her soft voice... He sighed angrily as he got up and debated whether to follow her or remain here until she was gone. He chose the former and sat down again.

"She didn't mean it like that," Grievous turned around to find the Soothsayer leaning against the post of the Gazebo with a somber look on her face.

Grievous sighed in exasperation, "She is the most infuriating woman I have ever met! Disrespectful, rude, annoying, and plain stubborn!" Grievous ranted as he got up again and walked out of the Gazebo, fully aware of the silent Soothsayer following him.

"Seeth has been through a lot. It's effected her mood deeply. She is troubled by so much loss that your droid armies have caused. Th royals of this planet can feel the deaths of each of his or her subjects. But it's not just that, she is troubled by her own mother's recent death." Grievous' curiosity grew at the mention of Seeth's mother.

"Her mother is... diseased?" he asked, and the Soothsayer sighed.

"Yes, Seeth's depression has effected her mood tremendously and with a marriage she was forced into, it makes her upset even more." the Soothsayer explained, and Grievous gave her a bemused look.

"And what would you have me do? Surely she is not the only one here who has witnessed loss and suffering!" he yelled and the Soothsayer sighed after a long and hard look into his eyes.

"I understand you lost your family and many comrades as well, so you must be able to sympathize with Seeth in some form. And what I want you to do is to try. Try to be friends with her. Try to hold some water with her and not spill it." The Soothsayer argued, smiling slightly at the end before giving him a full on smirk.

"Now, I maybe a 173-year-old blind lady, but I kid you not, I will help you in any way or form, " she said, taking a place next to him whilst giving him a good-humored and bewitched look. Grievous eyed her irritated but sighed as he nodded wistfully. The Soothsayer smiled as Grievous looked up and at the beautiful crystal stream of water, before turning back to look down at the Soothsayer.

And surprisingly, yet again, she vanished.