Trusting is hard. Knowing who to trust is a mindfuck.
Year 12
—————
Kat
Thrawn and I meet gazes but remain quiet as Tarkin walks away. "I suppose we should get you somewhere to stay this evening."
"I might just stay here," I wave around the massive residence with a chuckle. "I'm not sure I've given them enough to talk about."
"You've given them plenty to talk about," he says without humor. "I suggest you rest, and not here."
"Admiral," I begin to tease. "Did this evening not go how you expected?"
"You should not have accepted his invitation." He's gazing around, but at this statement, his bright red eyes return to me.
"Do you believe he would put me in harm's way?"
"Yes." Oh. Well, that sends chills down my spine. "If nothing else, to test you, but I imagine Vader losing his chief of security would be fine with him. People do not like things they cannot understand."
No. They don't.
"I suppose we'll see," I grin, though I am definitely feeling the anxiety.
"This was a mistake," he almost mumbles, and I know he'd expected something else from me—I just don't know what, nor do I know if I disappointed him.
That's okay. I'm not a doughboy. If they didn't want to take chances with me, they wouldn't have thrown me into the Imperial lair. Servitude, I can do.
But they forget who I'm serving. To Anakin, rules are merely suggestions.
———
"Jewel," I say, catching her attention.
"My new friend!" She laughs and spins away from the two men she was speaking with. "Are you leaving?"
"I'm not sure yet. It would seem I now need to stay the night on Coruscant so I can visit a den tomorrow."
Her face almost wavers, but she catches herself. "Which one?"
"I am destined for Eriadu."
She blinks, looking a touch displeased. Then, her lips split apart into a large smile, revealing her perfect teeth. "Then you shall stay here! Come, let me show you a room. Am I to assume you do not have the attire for a trip?"
"Lord Vader suggested I bring a bag, but no, I only brought the clothes I flew in with. Why, does this dress not go well with Eriadu?" I joke.
She laughs and starts up a massive spiral staircase. "Perhaps in the city, but I have a feeling you'll be seeing more than just the tall buildings."
"Wonderful," I mutter now that we are closer to privacy.
"My thoughts exactly," she says in a quiet tone. "This way," she gestures down a corridor.
Once we are in step next to each other and not surrounded by people, her face falls into a frown.
"Why did you accept this invitation?"
"A shadow has no autonomy," I mutter. "Who am I to deny a request from the Grand Moff?"
"A smart person," she says, all earlier teasing and flirting gone from her voice. "He does not like your master, Kat."
"I've picked up on that."
She shakes her head but motions through a doorway.
"You may stay here. I will have a handmaiden bring you a few articles of clothing. Do you possess a weapon?"
YOU ARE READING
Anakin's Fortress - Book II (temporary cover)
FanfictionA Darth Vader Romance Kat I am no one. A shadow. Insignificant. Or at least, that's what I was taught to be. I could not have predicted that it was exactly this, the shell I lived inside, that would one day cause Darth Vader to pull me into his wor...
