Two

Chapter 8

When Nima woke the next morning, she was slightly disappointed to find that Maul wasn’t there. His clothes and his lightsaber were also gone but the door was locked. Nima changed into the new clothes she had been gifted before grabbing the knife and heading outside.

The sun was bright and there was a stronger breeze than there had been over the last few days. She walked down to the lake, looking for Maul despite the hunger. It wasn’t hard to ignore it but he had said he wouldn’t be leaving for another few days.

Stopping halfway to the lake, Nima turned and noticed a strange shadow by the trees. She walked back towards the little hut and noticed Maul was sitting in the shadows of the trees. It looked as though he was meditating and Nima realised it was something Sith Lords might do. Deciding not to disturb him, she headed back to the hut to eat. She had no reason not to. As she cut herself some slices of the meat, she remembered what he had said about not eating much and cut another two. Two more slices seemed reasonable to her.

Looking at the bag she had also been given the day before, she pulled out the small jars and examined them. She recognised two from when she was younger and watched her mother cook. They were relatively cheap spices from what she could remember and it made sense to her, her mother was struggling to provide for them both. After tasting a tiny bit of both, she confirmed that they were the spices she thought they were and set them aside, she could remember watching her mother cook with them.

The third jar contained small leaves and Nima took one out and put it in her mouth. It tasted strange and a little bitter. Not sure what to do with it, Nima sprinkled some on top of the meat and tried it. Her face contorted at the weird taste but ultimately decided that it wasn’t horrendous.

The fourth and final jar contained something powder and light brown in colour. It tasted sweet and Nima wasn’t sure what to do with it. Maybe it was like the two spices she knew, she could always find out. As she put the small jars away, she carried on eating the meat Maul had cooked a few days ago, it still tasted almost exactly the same as before.

The door opened and Nima turned to see Maul in the doorway.
“I have a proposition for you,” he said as he walked over. Nima finished the last of the food before standing up.
“What is it?”
“I could train you to use a staff, perhaps some other weapons as well. I will provide you with the weapons and you may keep them, either to use or sell,” he explained.

He watched Nima, waiting for a reaction. Her face was relatively blank for a few seconds until she realised what he was suggesting.
“You want to teach me how to fight?” she asked with wide eyes. Maul nodded. “Why?”
“You mentioned not being able to defend yourself,” he said. Nima smiled, she had said that to him but she had never expected him to offer to teach her how to fight.

“What do you want in return?” she asked. She was used to everything having a price, even if everything else didn’t, surely this would. Maul seemed like he didn’t know how to respond. Either that or he was scared of how she would react to his price. But Maul wasn’t the fearful type so she doubted it was that.
“Nothing,” he said.
“So I can say no and I can leave? Or I could start and change my mind and that’s it?” she asked.
“Yes.”

“Would I have to stay here?”
“It would be easier and preferable but if you wish, we can find somewhere else suitable for training where the Jedi cannot find us,” he said. Nima nodded and thought it over. It wouldn’t be much more than she was accustomed to. Training to use weapons would be difficult, especially with a Sith Lord as a trainer.
“I’d prefer being here,” she said quietly. It was quiet and far away from any people or bounty hunters.

“Are you accepting my offer?” he asked. Nima looked him in the eye and smiled.
“Yes.”