Two

Chapter 25

Coruscant was more than Nima remembered. Bright lights and noise everywhere. She couldn't tell where anything was coming from and this part of the planet was far different to the place they were last time.

"Where are we going to go?" she asked. She wouldn't know how to get to the places they went before, and they could be on the other side of the planet for all she knew.
"Wherever you want."
"I don't know anywhere," she said, frowning as she looked around at different shops. Some had displays in the windows, some had bright signs and menus by the door. "I don't even really know what we could do."

"There's shops, theatres, sports, restaurants," he said. Nima looked around as he continued listing possible things to do.
"So there's no scenery, this entire planet is just buildings?" Maul nodded and Nima frowned. "There's no mountains or anything?"
"Most were built on," he said. "There is one, at Monument Plaza."
"Just one?" It seemed strange that a planet like this didn't have any natural scenery left. She had seen the planet from space, but she figured the nature spots were just difficult to see. "Well, can we see it?"
"It's not far from here."

It didn't take long to reach Monument Plaza. People wandered around holding bags or devices to take a picture of them in front of the central attraction. The mountain itself appeared tiny as four cone-shaped towers surrounded it in a square. Nima read the plaque in front of the mountain's peak before turning to Maul.
"They built the planet up so much that this is the only part of the planet you can still see?" He nodded and she turned back to stare at the mountain. "It's actually kind of sad that there's so little of it left to see." A long time ago it was probably a magnificent sight, to gaze up from the village and see the imposing mountain, or maybe mountain range with clouds at its peak. They probably wondered what it was like to be at the top. Nima found it somewhat disappointing.

"You don't like it."
"It's not that I don't like it, it's wonderful that you can see it and be so close but..." She sighed. "It's not the same, is it?" Maul didn't answer but stepped closer to the mountain's peak. Then he turned to look at Nima.
"Nature hardly concerns me," he said. "But I can take you to other planets with mountains not covered by buildings. We can go now."
"Now?" Nima repeated. She shook her head. "Well, we don't have to go now. There's still lots of other stuff here, right? We can go get some food and find some entertainment, there'll be singers somewhere, right? Or some kind of show?"

Maul nodded and Nima gave a weak smile. She didn't want to seem ungrateful, she appreciated him bringing her here, but there was something depressing about seeing the urban landscape overtake nature so completely that the most impressive part left was the peak of the tallest mountain.

They ended up at a restaurant. It was clean, with people at about half of the tables. They were shown to one in the corner, as per Maul's request. He sat with his back towards the rest of the people and Nima sat opposite him. She looked through the menu at the pages upon pages of food options, most of which she had never heard of before. The drinks menu was almost as long.
"I want to try so much," she said, biting her lip. It was a hard choice. Each item had a short description underneath. "I suppose we could always come back to try the other foods, right? Another time?" Maul nodded and Nima smiled. Knowing that made it easier to pick, since she could come back, no one was withholding it from her.

Eventually, she settled on a starter, main, side and dessert, while Maul decided to order much less food for himself. Nima smiled to herself as the first was brought out to her. It was a sort of thick soup that tasted a little bland compared to the spiced food she usually ate. But she was happy to eat it anyway, offering some to Maul to try. He refused it. A few months ago she would have been terrified, in disbelief. She would have ordered whatever was least expensive and not likely to upset her owners.

"You look happier."
"I'm just thinking about how I can do this," she said before finishing off the soup. "I'd have never been able to sit here and do this before, not even once I escaped. I'd have been terrified." The nightmares had been less frequent lately, and the thought of travelling and encountering bounty hunters didn't worry her now she knew she could defend herself. She had Maul with her, and if he wasn't there, she had a small blaster hidden away which she could use. "I suppose that's because of you."
"It's the student's responsibility to learn when they have a teacher."

The waiter took away the empty soup bowl and bought their main courses, they sat eating in silence, with Nima too busy stuffing her face with the unusually coloured steak and wedges made of some sort of orange vegetable. Maul ate slower, glancing around like he was expecting something to happen.

Dessert arrived quickly and Nima frowned at the huge bowl of ice cream. It was in a fancy bowl with decorations stuck on the top. She realised it was supposed to look like a certain place, with small houses stuck into it with sticks.
"Do you want some?" she asked Maul. "I don't think I can eat all this, and it's not like ice cream is easy to keep for later." He looked at the bowl with Nima pushed slightly towards him and he then nodded.

Nima called over a waiter to ask for another spoon and he quickly returned with one so they could share the dessert between them. Maul looked hesitant to try it.
"It's nice, right?" Nima said, savouring the sweet flavours of the sauce and fruits.
He took another spoonful, avoiding the fruits, before answering: "It is."
"Where should we go once we finish this?" she asked. "You've been to places here, right?"
"The places I visit are where I am told to be," he said. Nima furrowed her brow and then realised. He went to the places his Sith Master told him to go. "We'll go to better places than those."
"Let's hope it's fun." Maul raised an eyebrow but said nothing as Nima continued eating.