A Prince of Dathomir (Darth Maul x OC)

Selection - Part 2

Maul had been engrossed in the knowledge of the Nightsisters' tomes all day, while usually he and Zaiya read together, she had been noticeably absent from the Temple Archive. The droid had not been able to tell him, but he had thankfully been distracted from worrying about it, when Talzin had entered and began speaking to him.

She told him of the power of the Nexus, of the spells that could be cast from it, and the history of the Nightsisters... all things he had heard Zaiya speak of during their Dreamwalks, but he did not let on to Talzin that he knew it.

She had spoken to him of his vision, the last time they had been there and he had taken part of the ritual and the hallucinogenic powder. He had seen himself in a position of power... and a great shift in the Galaxy. It was maddening that he could not recall it with great clarity.

Talzin had offered to help unlock the visions for him, if he were but to allow her to enter his mind. Maul had not been inclined to agree and had deflected while he contemplated her words.

Currently he found himself waiting for her return, meditating and trying not to think about Zaiya. He pretended not to be relieved when he sensed her presence. But she wasn't alone.

The curtain flung back and she entered the room followed a step or two later by... Feral?

"What is it, Lieutenant?" he asked with a scowl, the rage coming off her was palpable.

"She took Savage!" Zaiya snapped, "they have some plan and they keep avoiding me... I have to guess it's a ritual of some kind, and not a good one either! I don't know what they will do with him!" She was furious but not making sense. Where was Savage? What ritual did she mean? What was going on?

"Why did you agree to it then? Why did you help them?" Feral asked, accusingly, he seemed sullen and angry but Maul was lost on the specifics. What was Feral even doing here?

"I didn't help them! I need them to believe me and I just..."

"Then why did you claim me as your mate!?" Feral cried and Maul froze.

"You what!?" he snarled. After all her sweet words?! Would she really--? No... no she wouldn't!

"I didn't--" she let out a cry of frustration as a sharp ache formed in Maul's chest. "Feral... I had to say that... you think I could stand by and watch you be killed?!"

"She... she wouldn't have, it's not allowed!" Feral frowned.

"I couldn't trust her not to. She has killed people I care about before, and I will not allow it to happen again." She looked at Maul and with a sombre expression. "I claimed Feral as my mate, but they were only words, sire."

He didn't like this. He didn't like that she even had to pretend. She turned to Feral who seemed confused.

"So... we don't have to...?" he trailed off and Maul saw a stricken expression cross her face.

"Goddess no!" she gasped, "Feral, it's me! I would never--!" Then her shoulders slouched. "I suppose I have no grounds to be outraged; but I know how you feel about Brutus, I would never force that upon you, it was the only way I could think of that might save your life." Feral seemed more relaxed and Maul too... but he still hated this. All of it. Worse still, he was worried. Where was Savage? What were they doing to him?

"We should not have to hide like this, nor bend to the whim of these witches," Maul sneered. "We should take Savage and leave. Was that not the next step of our plan? To take my brothers and forge our own path?"

"If you think you could defeat an entire clan of Witches, be my guest," Zaiya snorted. "You are strong, My Lord, but you would need nothing short of an army."