Work Text:
There is no emotion, there is peace.
He knelt there with her body still warm in his arms, and knew that was a lie. Peace was something he would never find again.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
His mind churned, unable to process the scene in front of his eyes. The chaos of his thoughts pulled at him, drawing him towards the dark.
"I do swear on my honor to use the Force only for good, denying, turning always from the Dark Side; to dedicate my life to the cause of freedom, and justice. If I should fail of this vow, my life shall be forfeit, here and hereafter."
Let his life be forfeit then. Without Satine, what was the use in living?
Honor is life, for with no honor one may as well be dead.
Satine’s voice echoed in his head, so real that he had to look down to check that she wasn’t truly speaking to him now. He had been a Padawan when she first said those words to him, but they still rang clear in his memory.
Loyalty is life, for without one's clan one has no purpose.
His clan. His family. Satine was part of it, yes. But there were more. Anakin. Ahsoka. Cody. Rex. He fought to regain control of himself again.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There was no fight left in him. They dragged him out of the throne room, forcing him to leave her behind. The flight back to the prison dragged on forever as he knelt there, still hearing her voice in his head.
I adhere to the Resol'nare. The core of what it means to be Mandalorian. A sacred law giving us direction and purpose.
His body itched in the stolen armor. It wasn’t the first time he had worn Mandalorian armor, but the last time, it had been made for him, to match the suit Satine owned, but rarely wore. It had been dragged out of storage for that day. Other women wore silks and dresses on their wedding day, but Satine had wanted to honor the traditions, and he had been more than happy to follow her.
Education and armor, self-defense, our tribe, our language, our leader—all help us survive.
Just because Satine was a pacifist didn’t mean she had abandoned any of the old beliefs, and as he knelt for the second time in his life and swore to follow another creed, he had never understood her better.
Obey the commands of the Mand’alor…
The smirk she had sent him at that part nearly made him lose his place, though nothing in the world could make him forget her next words.
We are one when together…
Her voice overlapped with his in memory, their hands joined together as they promised themselves to each other. They had not had much time together, but it had been worth it.
We are one when parted…
While they had spent the majority of their married lived separated, they had never truly been apart. The bond that had brought them together had stayed strong, and he could still feel it now. She would never be truly gone. Death was just the beginning.
Death is life, one should die as they have lived.
She had lived well, and died well, holding to her principles to the end. He kept that promise in mind as he tried to center himself again, drawing the storm of his emotions back down, reminding himself of the first code he has sworn to, the first vow he had made.
There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
Each word brought him further back to himself. They both had known this day would come. When they stood there together, vowing themselves to each other, they both knew there were other vows they had sworn. They could not have what most people had. They would never have a quiet life together.
We are one when together, we are one when parted, we will share all, we will raise warriors.
They had vowed anyways. They had never wanted that. They only wanted each other, in whatever way they could have. And if their time together alive was ended, it didn’t truly matter. It was not the end of their story. They would be together again.
There is no death, there is the Force.