Two

Chapter 22

Confessing her feelings didn't make her feel any less alone.

Sighing, Nima looked out across the lake. She sat cross-legged on the banks, watching the breeze ripple the water. So peaceful, so quiet.

So lonely.

Sighing, she headed back towards the hut, she was a little hungry and had some leftovers from earlier she wanted to reheat.

Still, she smiled to herself as she ate the warm food and thought of him. He'd make room, that was what he'd said. He'd make room amongst his training, amongst his duties as a Sith and amongst serving his master. Being a slave but called another name didn't please her, but there was little she could do against a Sith Lord.

But having space with him, time with him. All she ever did was spend time with him, but now it would feel different. At least, to her it would. Would there be more... intimate? Or would it be the same as they had always been?

Two days seemed to last two weeks. Everything Nima did seemed to pass by in seconds and the gaps seemed to last forever.

Walking down to the lake, she sat down on its bank where it wasn't particularly steep, and closed her eyes. She focused on the gentle breeze, how its warmth tickled her neck and she shivered. The sun on her skin was warm too, and she wondered what the seasons on this planet were like. Most days were sunny, pleasantly warm without it being too much. The only times it sometimes grew cold were at night, and if it rained. The rain usually lasted a few hours at a time, but it wasn't often enough to be annoying. In fact, Nima quite liked the sound of the rain on the roof. Listening to it while cooking was relaxing, and satisfying to eat at the end of it.

Perhaps she hadn't been here long enough to know what the seasons were like. She knew some planets had shorter seasons than others, even if what she'd experienced was the harsh deserts of Ryloth and only fractions of the humid swamps of Nal Hutta, most of the time she'd been kept inside.

Eventually she had to sleep and she never realised just how alone she was, lying awake in the small bed and staring up at the ceiling. No warmth beside her from him. It didn't usually bother her that much, but the absence seemed to mean more now.

Tossing and turning didn't help her comfort as she tried to rest. Nima sighed and pulled the blanket closer to her chin, squeezed her eyes shut even more and tried not to think of just how much she missed him. Part of her felt pathetic for it, missing a Sith Lord, someone who had probably killed people and hurt many more.

And yet, he'd helped her. He'd saved her and taught her to fight. And he always bought her presents back. He'd been kind to her, and that was something she'd never had to ask for. She'd never needed to beg for mercy, even when training.

But did she love him because he'd saved her? Did she have these queasy feelings just because he was the first person to be truly nice to her since she was a child? Or maybe she was just thinking too much.

Taking a deep breath, Nima relaxed all the tense muscles, especially those in her neck and face. Her temples were starting to ache from how much she was squeezing her eyes shut. This was hopeless. The more she tried to sleep, the less likely it was to happen.

Sitting up, she wrapped the blanket around her to keep herself warm still and she looked around the hut. There wasn't much to do without Maul here to train with, and she wasn't going to start a fire and start cooking, even if she was a little hungry. Maybe she could ask for something to do, cards or something, just to have something to pass the time when there were moments like these. And Nima knew there would be more of them, more times when his Sith Master ordered him to go away and do who knew what.

Likely people would end up dead, or injured and threatened at least. It was almost certainly horrible, he was a Sith after all. He'd probably killed many people and hurt many people. Somehow it didn't bother her too much, and Nima wondered for a moment if that was bad, if she should care.

With all the cruelty she'd seen, but hadn't seen in him, she decided it didn't bother her as much as it might have years before.