The Valkyrie (Obi-Wan x OC) completed

Chapter 20: the lost orphan

It had taken another few hours till the council had finally come up with a somewhat achievable plan. It was way past midnight, almost 4 o'clock when I walked out of the room. I didn't wait to talk with any of the councillors, I walked straight past all of them while ignoring some of their calls. I was fed up with all of them after all they had said about me and above all about the Jedi.

It was when I felt the cold air swipe through my hair that I realized that I had walked towards the balcony once again. Somehow, I always ended up there to think or just to stare off into the distance. One thing I found out too is that the two Jedi had been following me the whole time.

"And here I thought that the senate was bad." Anakin complained when the two arrived on the balcony. "Yet it seems that the yelling there is somewhat normal compared to what was happening here."

"There's a war here, Anakin. This planet has been at peace for a long time." Obi-Wan countered while I remained silent, my arms leaning on the balustrade as my eyebrows knotted together in thought. "And let's not forget that one of their own decided to betray them."

"They seemed not the mind that." Anakin scoffed and I heard his footsteps pacing around the room. "They seemed more concerned with whether to kill us or not or even with Lyanna's leadership which-"

"Anakin." Obi-Wan interrupted him with a warning tone. I took in a deep breath, my shoulders rising as my hands gripped the balustrade so tight till my knuckles turned white. "Lyanna," He spoke softly and walked up to me. 'what they said, is it-"

'It's true, all of it." I said before he could finish his sentence. "I was an orphan, left in the streets to rot. I stole from people to take care of the other orphans since the boss of the orphanage spent the money he received for us on drinks and gambling. So yeah, I may not have been fit to lead an army. But at least I didn't run the moment things turned south."

During my story I had turned around to face the two. Now they were looking at me with open mouths and widened eyes, eyeing me as if I was about to explode. I diverted my eyes away from them and looked at the ring around my fingers that was meant to symbolize my royal heritage. I took it off, twisting it around in my hand. "My fath... The king took an interest in me after he saw how I defended one of the other orphans on the street. The poor boy was about to get his hand cut off after stealing food. I couldn't, I wouldn't let it happen. The same would've happened to me if my father hadn't intervened."

I sighed as I looked at the ring while feeling their gazes on my skin. "So he took me in, fed me, raised me for as far as it was still possible and then crowned me princess. Few people know that my father knew me before all that. He knew my parents before I was even born, yet he refuses to tell me about them.
It wasn't soon after he took me in that he realized that my skills were more medical instead of practical. Yet his followers could never learn to see me as he did. No matter how hard Eric tries, his councillors will never see me for anything else than a thief."

I looked up and saw both up them deep in thought. Anakin's eyes darkened a little bit before he spoke up. "I was a slave once. Forced to work for a man who spent his money betting on racing. If it hadn't been for Obi-Wan and his master, I would've still been there." He walked up to me and laid his hand on my shoulder. "During my training, I could feel the past disappearing as I focused more on what I could become. Slavery seems just a distant memory, the boy I was once a myth. As long as you dedicate your life to becoming something more than a slave or a thief, people around you will see you for who you really are. If I can become a Jedi knight, you can become a leader of the Valarjar."

"Anakin, it's not that simple. Valerians are a proud people. They won't just see past the things I've done, especially not after everything that's happened since you got here." I looked back at the ring in my hand that seemed so much heavier than it really was. "All I've done since I got here is try to change. Yet it sticks to me like glue." Shoving the ring back around my finger, my eyes narrowed in determination. "If I fail in the next battle, I would be forever cursed to be the lost orphan. If I succeed, they would finally accept me as their leader."