Two

Chapter 6

"You're back," said Nima. Maul continued walking towards her.
"I am." She moved so he could walk inside the hut and smiled to herself. She was glad he was back. Her lekku moved to mirror her feelings as she stood in the doorway. Holding the knife with a reverse grip so it wasn't pointing towards him, she watched him grab some of the food.

"You haven't eaten much."
Nima's eyes widened as she glanced at the food. "I haven't?" Maul said nothing as he looked at her, maybe he wasn't sure what to say. "I'm not exactly used to eating too much." She couldn't look at him, she felt oddly ashamed.
"Look at me," he said. Hesitantly, Nima lifted her head and looked at him. His striking yellow-red eyes stared at her. "This will last us maybe a day or two longer than I expected but you should try to eat more."

Nima just nodded. He was right, she did need to eat more. She was used to eating the small amounts that she was given. Some were rewarded with extra (but not too much because some were deemed more attractive when they were thin) and some were punished with less food. Nima had received less food a lot of times for not dancing well enough. She just needed to remind herself that the food wouldn't be taken away from her.

"Maybe I'm just scared that I won't get food later," she said. "That I'll run out before I can get more food."
"I can provide you with food easily," said Maul as he stared at her. She couldn't tell what he was feeling, she hadn't seen many Zabraks, maybe one or two. Not enough to know how their body language correlated with feelings. "You do not need to worry about that." Nima looked away from him again, his eyes unnerved her a little.

"I have something to show you, on my ship," he said as he took some of the food. He ate it quickly, as if he hadn't eaten anything since he left.
"You do?" asked Nima, a small smile spreading across her face. "What is it?"

Maul didn't answer, instead he grabbed more of the food before pushing past her and heading off in the direction toward where his ship had been before. Assuming his ship was there again, Nima set the knife down on the table and began to follow him, pulling the door closed behind her and hoping it wouldn't reopen. Maul had no reason to hurt her and he could easily protect them from any attackers.

Close to where she had been sitting before was a bag. Maul gestured to it and Nima hesitantly walked over and opened it. Inside were a few bottles of spices. The spices were on top of fabric. Curious, Nima took the spices out and set them aside. She pulled the fabric out and held it up. Clothes. They were far less revealing than the clothes she was currently wearing and they oddly looked a little better fitting.

"You got all of this for me?" she asked, turning to look back at the red Zabrak. He nodded once. "Thank you." He said nothing in response as she put the clothes back in the back and put the spices on top of them.
"The bag is yours too." Nima smiled and put the black bag over her shoulder.
"Thank you so much," she said, her hands resting on the bag.

Nima tried on the clothes in the hut while Maul wandered off into the forest. He said he would return before dark and she trusted that he was telling the truth. He had returned before, she was sure he would return again.

Nima wished she could see what she looked like wearing the new clothes. They were a little better fitting than her other clothes. They were a lot more comfortable and they were made of a softer fabric and it looked easier to wash and keep clean than her other clothes too.

After eating food, Nima sat on the bed. She wore her old clothes again, she had decided to sleep in them and save the new clothes for the daytime. The door swung open as Darth Maul walked in. The door shut and locked behind him without him even touching it. Without saying a word, he grabbed food and proceeded to eat it as he sat down.

"What do you want from me?"
Maul froze and turned to her. "What do I want from you?"
Hesitantly, Nima nodded. With his attention on her, she felt rather nervous and looked away. "People always want something when they have given me things. You have given me food, somewhere to stay, clothes, you helped me get away from Nal Hutta. What is it that you want from me?"
"I want nothing from you."

"So you're just being kind?" asked Nima, looking back at him. "Sith aren't known for being kind."
"You interest me," said Maul.
Nima's eyes widened, she wasn't expecting him to say that. "Interesting?"
"There is... something different. And yet you are not Force-sensitive." Nima furrowed her brow and her lekku mirrored her feelings as they tensed and twitched. "Other than that, I am not sure why. Besides, you should sleep."

Maul stood and then sat on the floor with his eyes closed. Not sure what else to do, Nima lay down and pulled the blanket over her. It was dark now but she couldn't sleep. There was the fear that she would wake up anxious and panicked. She couldn't even close her eyes.

Noticing that Maul was now lying on the floor, she felt a little bad. He had given her a lot of things so far and yet he was sleeping on the floor. His robes were in a pile under the table, leaving him only in trousers. Nima pulled the blanket off of her and lay on the floor next to him. Despite the lack of light, she could make out the red of his skin and the black tattoos on his chest.

"What are you doing?" Maul sounded irritated.
"I, uh, I felt bad about being the only one to sleep in a bed," she stuttered. He turned his head to look at her and she looked at him.
"You will sleep in the bed."
"Then so shall you," she insisted. He had said about confidence so she would stick to what she said. Or, at least, she would try to. Maul stared at her and this time, Nima didn't look away from his yellow and red eyes.

Then, Nima stood and Maul quickly did the same. She looked up at him, still standing by what she had said about them sharing the bed.
"Go on then," he said. Nima smiled to herself and got back into bed. She shuffled over and Maul lay next to her.
"Thank you," she whispered as she closed her eyes.

Oddly, she felt a little more comfortable with the prospect of sleeping. She still dreaded waking up in fear but she had less to worry about with Maul to protect her, it sounded like he wasn't going to let her die any time soon. Nima smiled to herself.