Two

Chapter 17

The training did go well. As she practised a new stance, Maul corrected her with a strong but surprising gentle grip on her arm or leg. It still shocked her, though he had never used force against her even though he was a Sith, known for anger and hatred.

Nima tried not to let her lekku move in a way that might reveal how she was feeling. She didn’t know if he could understand the body language related to lekku or if he could understand through the Force, if that was even possible. She smiled to herself as she got the stance correct and she started to practice the next one.

She sat cooking with the spices he had gifted her. Nima cooked for him too, though she remembered not to use any spices since he wasn’t fond of them.

This was how it had gone for days: training, meditating, eating, sleeping. She had no way of keeping track of weeks or months, not that it bothered her too much. She only wished she could somehow practise her dancing. Part of her wanted to perform a routine for Maul, though she had no idea if he would actually be interested in seeing it.

“I need to go to Coruscant in a few days.”
“So you’ll be leaving?”
“Yes,” he said. “But you may come with me if you’d like.” Nima’s eyes widened and she paused eating her food.
“Are you sure? I won’t get in the way or anything?” she asked. Maul shook his head slightly. “Then I’d love to come with you, I’ve never been to Coruscant.”
“We’ll leave in two days.” Nima nodded and smiled to herself as she looked down at her food. She was almost too excited to eat but did so anyway, otherwise she would only be hungry later.

“Thank you,” she said once she had finished eating. “For letting me come with you.”
“It is about time you left this place, you cannot stay here forever,” he said. Nima nodded, trying to avoid frowning. Her lekku drooped slightly which would have revealed her sadness as if it were a frown if he could understand.
“No, I can’t,” she said. Even though she liked this place they had, he was right.
“And you can protect yourself now, most blasters function the same way as the one I had given you,” he said. Nima nodded again. She was quite good now, though her aim was nowhere near Maul’s. She was still better with the staff and that was even further away from his abilities.

“What are you going to Coruscant for?” she asked hesitantly. Maul rarely spoke of what he did.
“I’m meeting with someone. You will not be able to come with me for that but there are many places you can go on Coruscant, diners, restaurants, shops and theatres,” he said. Nima nodded, she didn’t expect her to be a part of whatever he was doing. It was likely Sith business, which, truthfully, she didn’t want anything to do with.
“How will I afford it? I have no credits.”
“I will sort that out,” he said and Nima furrowed her brow again. Deciding not to question it, she thanked him again.

As she headed out to sit by the lake before the sun set, Nima found herself unable to stop smiling. She thought of all the things she could do that she never could before. She could perhaps buy another set of clothes, maybe even some different foods from a diner or restaurant. She was almost too excited to sleep.