**Chapter 796: Fractured Bonds**
**Scene 1: Jedi Temple – Corridors**
**Zule POV**
What is it — penance or personal growth?
I kept my distance from Dagon and the other girls. Ever since the memory of using my lightning on him at Geonosis resurfaced during the party, whenever there was intimacy, I stayed away.
*Are you secretly hoping for pity sex?* the dark side of her whispered.
*No, I'm not. I'm being respectful. I just need space,* Zule thought back.
*Really? The man you scarred is right in front of you and you're ignoring him. Not that he seems to notice,* the dark side taunted.
Zule looked up and saw Aubrie and Talon sitting on each of Dagon's shoulders as he walked, carrying them effortlessly. Miaria clung to his right side, Erictia to his left. Those four were continuously the most affectionate, with almost no limits at all.
The other girls had stopped saying anything. So had Dagon. The rest were held back by modesty and control. Dagon… he couldn't just say no anymore. He was partially responsible for their lovesick tendencies.
"Aubrie, stop. You can't do that while Dagon is carrying us," Talon said, blushing as Aubrie whispered something in her ear.
"Doing what?" Dagon asked innocently.
"This," Aubrie replied, leaning sideways so Talon had to support her. Her crotch ended up inches from Dagon's face.
"Okay, stop. We're in the Temple. Could we just behave?" Zule snapped, storming off angrily.
"What happened to Zule?" Ahsoka asked, watching her go.
**Scene 2: Jedi Temple – Grandmaster Chambers**
**Dagon POV**
"She said she needed space since the party. Something about collecting her thoughts," I said.
"Nope. She's hiding something," Miaria said confidently.
"How do you know? Can you smell it?" Flare asked curiously.
"No. It's the same sign a friend of mine used to get more special attention from her boyfriend," Miaria replied.
"Kitana… wow, didn't think she was the type," I said.
"Yeah, me either. Anyway, back to the main point — you need to go and open up her shell again," Miaria insisted.
"Again, the details between me and Zule get fuzzy the more we're together," I admitted.
Ahsoka stepped in to explain. "Zule was the first where the Force bond activated because Dagon risked his life to protect her. Then followed by Dagon healing her arm, several close intimate moments, Dagon dying the first time closest to her, helping Zule confront her trauma at home, rescuing her sisters, burying her mother… and then she was the first with Force lightning."
"Are we missing anything?" Shin asked.
"Nope, that's pretty much it," I said. "The problem with all that is she sees me more as a…"
"A father figure," Atroxa interrupted. I nodded.
"So what is wrong with that?" Miaria asked. "I heard Shin call you 'daddy' at night."
Shin blushed angrily and shoved Miaria.
"It's different, I think," I said. "Even with the soul bond, she sometimes sees me as more of a protector instead of who I am."
"Which is what exactly?" Sakura asked.
"Uh… obviously a messed-up 50-year war veteran in the body of a 27-year-old monk that is very cool and psychotic at the same time," I said.
The girls burst out laughing.
"That you all married and fell in love with," I added, gesturing to the rings on their fingers.
"Fair point," Flare said, still chuckling. "But I think our moral code went a little out the window after the second time we brought you back to life. So yeah… just go and break Zule."
"But—" I tried to protest.
"Go and give her a good spanking," Flare said with a smirk.
**Scene 3: Jedi Temple Gardens**
**Anakin POV**
Conflict. Peace. Jedi and Sith.
Those were the thoughts swirling in Anakin's mind right now.
The new Code was the easiest to deal with. No problem there — why would Anakin have a problem with attachments being allowed?
Yes, he had a secret relationship with Padmé. They were married. Now it was legal and okay for Jedi. But he still had to hide it from the Senate.
And since senators were allowed to visit the Temple, Padmé refused. Why, he didn't understand. They could finally do all the couple things they couldn't normally do here. But she said she was busy.
Anakin had been given temporary leave at the Temple while Obi-Wan went to Kamino. His padawan, Etain, was also enjoying her new position as youngling trainer. The girl had a real knack for it, along with the clone commandos in charge of her.
So what was the problem? Was the secrecy of keeping the relationship from the Jedi the reason their love had blossomed? Looking back, since the first year, Anakin was always on a Council mission instead of with his wife, who was stuck in the Senate. Even when he was back on Coruscant, time together was limited. Responsibilities, yes… but still.
As he walked through the gardens, lost in thought, he saw Knight Zule walking furiously ahead. Dagon was following briskly behind her.
*At least I'm not the only one having relationship problems,* Anakin thought with a small, bitter smile.
---
**Later – Temple Gardens**
Zule stopped near a quiet lotus pond, arms wrapped around herself. Dagon approached slowly, keeping a respectful distance.
"Zule… talk to me," he said gently. "You've been pulling away since the party. Is it Geonosis again?"
She didn't answer at first, staring at the water.
"I almost killed you," she whispered finally. "My lightning… I thought I was protecting you, but it was an illusion. And even knowing that, I can't stop seeing it. Every time we're close, I remember the scars on your face. I remember what I did."
Dagon stepped closer. "That wasn't you. The Bow Hero manipulated all of you. You were trying to protect me. I never blamed you — not for a second."
"But I blame myself," Zule said, voice cracking. "You keep saying I see you as a protector… maybe I do. Maybe that's why this hurts so much. Because the man I love, the one who saved me so many times, got hurt because of me."
Dagon reached out, gently tilting her chin up so their eyes met.
"Then let me protect you from this guilt," he said softly. "You don't have to carry it alone. We're bonded — all of us. That means the pain is shared too."
Zule's eyes filled with tears. She stepped forward, burying her face in his chest. Dagon wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight as she finally let the tears fall.
The Dragon stood quietly in the Temple gardens, comforting one of the women he loved most, while the war waited just beyond the horizon.