One Endless Night - A Mandalorian Fanfic

Chapter 19

Happy Reading!

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The steam swirled around Yara as her eyes adjusted. She was surprised to realize the entire building seemed to be built over a natural cave system. The healing bath chamber was illuminated with red light that came from crystal torches mounted on the natural rock walls. It was meant to be soothing, but against the black volcanic rock Yara found it unsettling.

There were others already occupying several of the shallow pools and Yara resisted the urge to cross her arms over her chest and shield herself. They were also wearing the same almost see-through white gauze garment. The only difference was that they looked entirely comfortable. She drew in a deep breath to calm her nerves and coughed as the steam hit her lungs. Her eyes watered and her head swam for a moment as she forced herself to keep breathing the dense air. She rested her hand against the wall to steady herself and after a few moments her body adjusted.

Yara moved to the first unoccupied pool and sat at the edge, sliding her feet into the warm waters. The coolness of the rock against her skin was in sharp contrast to the heavy, hot air that surrounded her and the warm water lapping at her skin. Sweat began to drip down her skin, soaking the thin fabric, and plastering her hair to her body.

Yara shifted and she felt the cool beskar of the knife Mando had given her against her skin. Her thoughts shifted to Mando. It was impossible to tell exactly where he had been looking with his helmet on, but somehow she knew he had been staring straight at her. She had been able to feel his intensity like a physical thing. Unbidden the image of how other beskar would feel against her skin went over her. She shivered and drew in another deep breath of steam. This time it made her limbs feel heavy and she felt more relaxed than she had in ages.

She slid herself down into the shallow water. The healing waters lapped against her skin, only inches deep and served to deepen the relaxation as another fresh puff of steam filled the room. Yara breathed the steam in and sighed as she felt warm and content both inside and out.

There were other women sitting around the edges of the other pools. Some of them had Twi'leks massaging their shoulders, doing their nails or working on their hair. They laughed and talked together quietly. Yara just sat and listened. She hadn't relaxed in this way since before her family died. A giggle bubbled up in her throat. Not only had she completely forgotten why she was there for a moment, but it was like the last year of her life didn't matter. It somehow felt removed, like it had happened to someone else. She scowled and forced herself to think. How had she forgotten they were here on a job?

She allowed herself to look over the other women, but it took more work than it should to focus on their faces. None of them matched the description of their target. A small Twi'lek approached her after a while and began massaging her shoulders. Part of Yara felt like she should tell the woman no, but there was another part of her that felt like it was too much work to make a fuss and it was important to blend in with the other clients.

"The next treatment is starting my lady," the small Twi'lek warned her as her hands moved over Yara's skin.

"What treatment?" Yara asked with a frown. She hadn't realized there had been a first. She must have missed it while she was enjoying the steam and the baths. "What was the last treatment?" she asked looking around.

"Relaxation," the Twi said and she took another deep breath of steam as if to illustrate to Yara how it worked. All of the stress and tension seemed to leach out of her slim body and she smiled dreamily at Yara.