Chapter Text
She was laughing, he was smiling. The gold chains in her wavy black hair jingled with her movement – he had bought her those for their wedding anniversary, they had come from the Republic, sneaking them back across the lines had been difficult for him. The only other sounds that could be heard were the clinking of wineglasses in celebration of his return, the beads on the sleeve of her beautiful black gown knocking together, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
The calm was interrupted by pain; sharp, burning, searing through his chest. Both wineglasses crashed to the ground. His wife’s eyes widened, her hands clasped at the air, then she screamed.
Screaming, his sweetcake coloured eyes snapped open. This was not the place he was before; it was much more bright, clinical…a hospital?
Had he been dreaming? If so, that was some nightmare.
But a hospital?
He attempted to pull himself up to sitting, but the sharp chest pain he had felt in his dream struck him. Hard. His red form hit the mattress with an audible thud, followed closely by a pained cry that called the attention of a nurse.
“My Lord Dyn!” The human nurse came running into the room, closely followed by a medical droid, “My Lord, it isn’t safe for you to move. Your wound…” Dyn was focused on a few Force techniques, reducing the immediate pain enough to re-open his eyes.
“What…happened…?” He barely managed to say between pain gritted teeth, allowing the nurse to pull the covers back over him.
“It is…believed that you were attacked by an assassin, My Lord. A Jedi. Your wound is consistent with being stabbed by a lightsaber from behind.”
“I was…I was with my wife. Lord Lidya. Where…where is she?” The nurse dropped the covers she held.
“I’m sorry Lord Dyn, but Lord Lidya…she didn’t make it…”
“My Lord, please settle down!”
Dyn’s vision had gone red, his heart pulsed in his ears, he had barely heard a word, adrenaline coursing through his veins. Through sheer force of will, he had pushed through the thundering pain in his chest to not only sit up but to stand. The nurse, two orderlies, and three droids had entered the room to attempt to get him back to bed. He pushed them aside, knocking them to the ground with the Force, making a slow and painful journey to the open door. A doctor appeared in the doorway, someone inside the room spoke, but Dyn didn’t hear any of the words, they must have been shouting a warning to her. Instead of backing away as he came to the door, she instead approached him, her words being the only thing that stayed his hand from Force Pushing her away too.
“My Lord, I shall take you to Lord Lidya.”
Dyn paused, the red tint fading from his eyes, the thundering of his heart in his ears decreased some. Wordlessly, he nodded to her, allowing her to take his arm and – at his pain-slowed pace – guide him to another part of the hospital. To a room out of the way.
She let him go and opened the door.
Lord Lidya lay on the bed in the centre of the room – covers to her chest, arms to her side. She was dressed in the beaded black gown he had seen her wearing in his dream, the gold chains that he had smuggled in from the Republic glittered among the black waves of her hair in the harsh light. She looked asleep, but he knew she was not - the Force told him as soon as he saw her.
No more would he see her smile, no more hear her laugh, feel her arms pull him to her.
He approached her body slowly and silently, taking her bejewelled crimson hand in his own. He sat down and held it to him, touching the back to his cheek as she had always done. Slowly, he lay down, embracing her, and cried.