Two

Chapter 10

Nima spent the next few hours lying down, her body was tired so easily. It was probably because she hadn’t eaten much as a slave and her only exercise had been dancing. It wasn’t much and neither had Maul’s training, but for her malnourished body felt tired.

Maul had also hit her a few times when she hadn’t managed to block quick enough. They had been sharp and hurt but she knew it was part of how training would be. She was going to get injured a little but as she improved, she hoped she would get less injured.

Still, Nima liked the training. She already felt a little less hopeless if she had to fight someone. She could at the very least attempt to block, or dodge. She had quickly learned to dodge some of the attacks that she knew she was too slow to block.

Once she had rested for a while, she walked along the edge of the forest. Exploring where she knew she wouldn’t get lost. She made sure that she could always see where the trees stopped and the fields started. It was strange that it was so clearly defined, she had been far more used to the swamp land of the planet she had been a slave on. Even if this world was strange, at least she was free.

Nima wondered about Maul. She had no doubt that if she asked to leave, he would let her, but she had no idea what he would feel about it. It was hard to tell what he was feeling sometimes. Would he be upset if she wanted to leave? He imagined he would be irritated since he had said it would be more awkward to train her how to fight on another planet. Maybe there were bounty hunters after him too, he did say he was a Sith. Did bounty hunters try to hunt Sith? Nima wasn’t sure. She didn’t really know much about the Sith other than they weren’t supposed to exist any more, but Maul did exist and she believed he was a Sith.

She wandered back to the hut as dark clouds gathered in the sky. She wondered if the rain was the same on this planet. Was it dangerous? Some planets had acid rain. Surely Maul would tell her if that was a risk. She reached the door just as a few drops of water landed on her. It didn’t burn. It just seemed to be normal water. Nima wasn’t sure if it was disappointing or not that the rain was normal.

Maul wasn’t inside the hut and she couldn’t remember seeing him outside. Where had he disappeared to?

A few minutes later, the door opened and Maul walked in. He pulled his hood down and then revealed a pouch filled with berries.
“This is all I can find for you, the animals won’t come out before it rains.”
Nima’s eyes widened. “For me? You aren’t having any.”
“No. I don’t eat them,” he said as he held the pouch out. The berries had been washed.
“Thank you,” Nima said as she smiled. Maul removed the cloak type clothing he wore and hung it over the chair.

As he sat down, Nima bit the berry.
“These aren’t poisonous or anything?” she asked. She knew that her species could eat a lot of things, but not everything.
“Shouldn’t be,” he replied. Nima nodded and ate a few more. She held one between her finger and thumb. It was like a squashed green sphere. It tastes a little bitter and she wasn’t fond of the taste but it was food, and it was better than nothing.

She continued eating and she was thankful for the rain hitting against the roof as it broke the silence. It grew louder, hitting the roof of the hut with more force.
“How long will it rain for?” she asked.
“A few hours,” he said. Nima nodded. A few hours of staying inside wasn’t the worst, though the hut was rather small. Maul wasn’t the worst company to have, she was used to being in cramped quarters with other slaves and this was far better, even if the hut was small.

“Thank you, for training me,” she said.
“You thank me a lot.”
“Because I’m grateful,” Nima said. She knew she thanked him a lot but it was because she meant it.
“No one has thanked me that much before.”
“Is that because no one has needed to or is it because you’re a Sith?” she asked. Maul gave her no answer and simply stared at her. “Well, I am grateful. You’ve done a lot for me, maybe more than you think or realise.”

Nima finished the last few of the green berries. She didn’t feel sick or ill after eating them, and hopefully she wouldn’t in a few hours.
“I’m going to sleep,” she announced. She was tired and the steady rain was oddly soothing. She changed clothes and then climbed into the bed, under the covers. “And you can still sleep in the bed rather than the floor.” Maul nodded and she rolled onto her side, careful not to lie on her lekku.