Dance of the Sith

Chapter 8 - Feeling the Pressure On Your Mind

Author's Note: I know this has an open-ending, but this IS the end! Enjooooy! :D:D:D

~ Amina Gila

Leia leans against the large window in the Senate hall, outside the room where her father is meeting with Maul and Sidious, staring out at the lines of passing traffic. She didn't need to come, but she didn't see any reason not to, either. Ahsoka and Ventress are momentarily preoccupied.

She doesn't mind being in the Senate, exactly, though the place does feel so much of corruption. There's a certain dirtiness to it that grates on her, but she knows some of the younger Senators, or the Senators in training, a little bit. They're some of the only people around her age she's ever interacted with.

She's about to wander off down the hall again but pauses at the sound of the door snapping open.

Maul steps out, looking decidedly grumpy about something.

"Hey, Maul," she calls, turning away from the window as he approaches. They know each other fairly well, even if they've never spent much time together.

"Still keeping up in your training?" he asks, eyeing her.

"Of course, I am," she replies, brushing a dark lock of hair behind her ear. She wonders for a fleeting moment, though, what it would have been like to know her real mother – who... apparently looked very much like her – to come here to the Senate to see her. But when she tries to imagine what it would be like to have a mother, she almost ridiculously finds herself thinking a little of Ventress. Or Asajj, whatever she should call her. "Did you expect anything else?"

"Vader seemed pretty unhappy that you came to the Sith Temple," he points out, dryly, "But that was a foolish move."

"What was I going to do, leave you there to get possessed?" She doesn't like thinking about how close it actually came to going terribly. Her father could've died there. Everyone could have.

"As I recall, you arrived too late to be of use," he replies, though she can tell it's more intended to be teasing than serious.

"I gave Father a ride," Leia defends, "And I could have helped a lot more if I got there sooner."

"I have little doubt of that," he replies, "Your skill is impressive."

She offers him a half smile. She is the best of the younger Inquisitors, and everyone knows it, even if she'd never brag about it.

"What of Tano?" Maul asks, "I imagine Vader has been speaking to her a great deal."

Leia nods. "They're working things out." At least, she hopes they are. After how Ahsoka nearly killed him, she's surprised they're smoothing things over so easily, but she knows Vader adores her unquestioningly. (That could also be a bad thing.)

"She is not attempting to deceive him?" Maul presses. He's...worried, she thinks, at least a little for Vader personally.

"I don't think so," she replies, "But I'm keeping an eye on her."

"I do not trust her intentions," he tells her, distinctly unhappy. Maybe that's what he seems so irked about.

"She wants to be with him," Leia answers, slowly. She's always been good at reading people, and she can tell that much is genuine. "Don't worry, I think it will be fine."

"Keep a close eye on her," Maul advises finally, before turning to go. She will, but... she doesn't think it's a problem, even if she knows why Maul's unwilling to see that.

Ahsoka does want to... know him again, even if Leia's wary after what happened on Lothal, but still, she doesn't know why the Togruta would ruin that chance.