The Art of Chaos and Darkness

Chapter Seven

The Mandalorian unhooked the chain anchored to the wall.

He pulled on it and Valda slowly and painfully climbed to her feet. The door to his quarters hissed open revealing a spacious layout. His bed was built into an alcove against the wall. Shelves were stacked against one side and on the other was the rinse station.

The Mandalorian undid the cuffs on her wrists. "Do not try anything. There's no other exits out of here." He held up the shock collar remote as a reminder.

Valda looked at the remote. "Use that on me when I'm wet and I'll die."

The Mandalorian gave her push to the shower. "The glass is tempered so I cannot see through. I am not leaving you in here alone."

Fair enough. She did have plans to snap his neck. Valda turned her back to the Mandalorian, not caring if he was still watching or not and began to unbutton her shirt. Plenty of men had used her body already.

The his armor creaked as he turned away swiftly. Valda would have chuckled if she had the energy. She shucked off the rest of her clothes, leaving them in a dirty pile by the door. Then she stepped inside. The rinse station was nicer than most she'd been in.  The Mandalorian's entire quarters looked as if he'd added it on himself.  Not something that had originally come with the ship. Through the thickly blurred glass she could just make out his form across the room. His back was to her but she had no doubt he was still monitoring her every move.

Valda watched as the water washed down the drain in colors of pink and crimson.  As she scrubbed her skin, the tattoos and scars on her body became more apparent.  She couldn't remember the last time she'd been allowed to properly bathe.  Without the dirt coating them, the black ink on her skin seemed to devour the light, the patterns crisscrossing her body.

They began just below her collar bones, moving down both arms and stopping at her wrists.  Her back was also covered stopping at the tops of her shoulder.  Her torso was inked as well with the lines forming a pattern between her breasts.  They moved down her hips, covering her thighs and looping delicately around her calves before forming bracelets around her ankles.  

Sometimes Valda hated the tattoos.  Other times she was grateful for them.  They hid the scars that also marked her flesh.  The whip marks etched into her back.  The manacle scars around her wrists, that would be identical to the one around her neck once the damn collar came off.  She shuddered as she felt it and the memories that came associated with it.

The taste of blood in her mouth.  The pressure of a man on her body.  The hateful caress of another across her legs, her chest, her back.

No one had any idea what she'd survived on Nar Shaddaa.  And no one ever would.  She closed her eyes and scrubbed her scalp harder as if she could get rid of those memories.

Forget the past.  Kill it if you have to.

Finally satisfied she was clean, Valda turned the water off.

"Towel," The Mandalorian tossed it over the top of the glass. She caught it, vigorously rubbing her body down.

"Clothes," He tossed the articles of clothing over the top. Valda paused to wonder how he had women's clothes and then decided she didn't care as long as they were clean. She slid into the tight black pants which were a bit too long.  She rolled the bottoms and the tugged the elastic bands across her chest before pulling on the black long-sleeved shirt. Valda squeezed out her damp hair as best she could and then opened the door, stepping out.

It was significantly colder and her skin prickled in response. The Mandalorian folded his arms as if studying her. "Better."

She growled at him, the tone he used as if surveying a piece of meat, the tone men had used when she was a slave. Anger coursed through her, sharp and hot. She could take him, right here and now. Slip a blade beneath his helmet, into his neck. It'd get her close enough to steal a blaster, shoot him and-

The click of the cuffs over her wrists brought her back to reality. The Mandalorian directed her back to the cargo hold and pushed her down by the wall. "We're stopping soon."

"Plan to leave me here again?" She didn't hide the disdain in her voice.

"Clearly, that's not an option anymore. So you're coming with me."

"Can't wait."