Two

Chapter 26

Trigger Warning for a panic attack/PTSD flashbacks.

The club was luxurious, decorated with fine fabric drapings, expensive rugs. The tables hovered, lit in lights that could change colour. Maul headed in the direction of the bar. The bar didn't float like the tables, but it did have similar lighting, slowly changing from one colour to another. In the centre of it all was a stage, and above it was a balcony area that gave a perfect place to sit and look down at the entertainment.

"Do you want a drink?" Maul asked as he headed in the direction of the bar. Nima nodded as she followed, leaning against the smooth bar counter as they waited to be served. "What do you want?"
"I don't know. It's alcohol, isn't it? I wasn't allowed to before." She'd never been good enough to be rewarded with alcohol. She had been a bit clumsy at times, and being given alcohol would have only made her a worse dancer.
"I'll get something then. You can go pick somewhere to sit."
"Even on the balcony?" Nima asked. Usually that was an area reserved for distinguished guests but Maul nodded.

Smiling, she nodded and searched for the balcony access. They were lifts in the corners and even they were considerably fancier than what she was used to. How much would the drinks even cost in this place? Probably a lot. She looked at herself in the mirror. The last time she'd looked in the mirror was the last time she was on Coruscant, in the clothes shops. But for some reason, she looked different. She'd put weight on, and muscle too.

Nima's appreciation of her improved appearance was interrupted by the lift doors opening. She headed out onto the balcony and found an empty booth. Part of her wondered why the place wasn't that busy, maybe they catered more for the late night crowd.

While she waited for Maul to arrive, she pressed the buttons on the table that changed the colour of the lights. She tried every colour, and several shades of green and orange, but eventually settled on a warm purple colour.

Barely a minute after changing the lights, Maul arrived holding a drink in each hand. The one he set down in front of her had some sort of smoke coming from the drink and there were several pieces of a small unrecognisable fruit on a skewer which balanced on the rim of the glass.
"This looks expensive."
"You're not paying," he said simply before drinking his own drink. He was far less fancy looking, some sort of amber liquid. "Try it." The drink had stopped smoking so Nima took the skewer off and held it in one hand while she lifted the glass in the other. The drink was cold and sweet and she took another sip of it.
"It's great," she said, drinking a little more.
"Don't drink it too quickly, you'll get drunk." Drunk. She'd never been drunk, but she'd seen many drunk men. Just the thought of it made her shudder. "Unless you want to get drunk, but if you do, I'll order something a bit more plain."
"I don't," she said before trying one of the fruits on the skewer. It tasted similar to the drink, just stronger. "Not this time at least. Thank you for the drink, you picked well."
"Of course I did." He almost smiled again. What would it take for him to smile properly? Were Sith forbidden from showing their happiness when people could see?

A singer took to the stage as they got to the end of their first drink. The singing would fill in the silence. There wasn't much to talk about with her limited life experience, and Maul never talked much anyway. So Nima kept drinking and staff replaced her drink, but with a similar tasting one without the fancy skewer and smoky effect.

As Nima sipped her third drink, she gazed down to see a skimpily dressed woman take to the stage. Nima knew she should look away, but she couldn't bring herself to as she watched the woman's seductive dance. Her heart started racing as a pole rose from the floor and the woman's routine started to include that. Suddenly the music seemed louder and she could see herself, performing her usual routine in front of the Hutt's guests on their ship. Despite the luxury of the ship, it had been the worst she'd been treated in years.

She tried to calm herself and took another sip on her drink. And another. Until it was empty and her heart beat harder and she still couldn't ignore the performance.
"Nima?"
"I have to go." She stood and searched for the lifts, weaving through the people who stood around talking. Nima couldn't even glance in the direction of the stage as she rushed to the doors.

Only when she was outside, hiding in a narrow street out of view did she realise how shaky she was, how she was breathing hard and trying to catch her breath. The woman in there... She tried to remind herself that it wasn't like what she was before. The woman wore no slave collar or chains, not that it would make any difference. But on Coruscant slavery was illegal. But that never stopped people.

The memory of the ship flooded her mind, the slaves cleaning up the Hutts' mess, the guests leering at the girls, asking if they were allowed a private dance. The gazes, the wandering hands...

She wasn't there anymore. And she repeated it to herself over and over again, glancing at the main street to her left. She sat on the floor, ignoring the dirt, and tried to take deep breaths.
"Nima." Maul stood to her left and he walked over, crouching in front of her. "What's wrong?"
"I just... The woman... I..." She sighed, feeling tears in the corner of her eyes. "I didn't think watching it would be... would make me feel like this. I can just... I can just remember it all so vividly." Maul awkwardly placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I won't make you go back inside. What do you want to do?"
"I want to go home."

Maul seemed to freeze as Nima reached to hold his hand. Her fingers intertwined with his.
"Home?" he repeated.
Nima nodded. She just wanted to be off of this plant, away from all of this. Away from everyone but him. She wanted to go back to the simple hut by the lake where she wasn't reminded of what she was before. "Can we go home? Please?"
"Yes." He stood and helped Nima to her feet, still holding her hand as they made their way back to his ship. "We can go home."