Naboo – Theed.

"Where are you?" I call through the darkness of my mind.

I can feel him, a dark shadowy presence at the edge of my consciousness.

"Why are you here?" I question with my mind, the essence of my being
merged and one with the chaotic and constant moving, all encompassing energy
field called the Force.

All I hear is silence, but I feel the faintest caress upon my mind, the
dark presence growing in strength and intensity, bringing a gasp to my lips
when I suddenly see a dark figure before me in my minds' eye – all black,
face unseen.

And then, just as suddenly as the figure appeared in my mind, it is gone.
I want to know…see more, I want to know who this dark being is, why I sense
him so intensely in the Force.

I reach out through the Force, reaching out to the mind of the dark being
and instantly I cry out in pain as I receive a backlash for my attempt.

I collapse to the floor of my dark candle lit room, tears streaming down
my cheeks, my hands grasping to my thrumming head, my mind burning – on
fire. I breathe in ragged gasps, my body trembling terribly. I have never
felt such a powerful attack like that before, never felt such mental pain as
I do now.

Whoever – whatever that being is, it is far more powerful in the Force
than I have ever encountered before. And it scares me...yet it intrigues me.

I lie motionless for a long while, my thoughts still lingering on the dark
being…my wonder and curiosity of it peaked.

Finally after a while longer, I rise to my feet, and picking up the white
satin robe from the nearby chair, I wrap it about me as I exit the room, my
meditation over.

It is night in Theed, the capitol city of the planet Naboo. Cool evening
air blows through the open balcony doors of my apartments, the sheer black
gold trimmed curtains dance lightly in the currents that pass through the
wide open doors.

The planet is under siege, the Trade Federation placing a massive trade
embargo about the planet and every single inch of the planet has been
scoured by battle droids rounding up the planets' peoples and placing them
in imprisonment camps.

I had been left alone for some strange reason I know not. They filled the
halls of the building, gathered everyone and filed them out to be processed
and placed in camps, but my door remained closed, ignored by the droids as
they wreaked havoc throughout the night after they overtook Theed.

The Queen, with the aid of two Jedi, escaped the planet for Coruscant in
seeking help from the Republic Senate to save our planet. It has been almost
a week since Queen Amidala disappeared.

The dark being – I felt his presence the moment he landed upon the Naboo
only a day ago, its presence filling me with a great sense of intrigue and
desire to learn all I can of the dark presence.

I step out onto the balcony, looking up at the brilliant and beautiful
full moon having just risen over the horizon on its journey about the
planet. I hold to the railing before me with one hand and my robe close
about me with the other, the soft breeze making my long dark brunette hair
dance against my back, rear and thighs.

This had been my first attempt in contact, unsure as to what to expect,
but now I know and my head aches terribly for it. I should have expected as
much, but I did not know what would have truly happened if I did not try.

*********

Day.

"My Lord." Nute Gunray, Viceroy of the Trade Federation greets the black
garbed figure who stands before a nearby window overlooking the courtyard of
the Theed palace, as the Viceroy enters the throne room after being informed
that the Sith Lord awaited him there.

There is a slight quaver in the Viceroy's greatly accented voice, though
despite trying his best to keep his growing fear at bay.

"* What a futile attempt. Pathetic. *" The Sith Lord thinks with a soft
growl deep in his throat, his arms clasped together before him, the hood of
his robe pulled forward upon his head.

The Sith seems to take little or no notice of the Neimoidian, remaining
motionless as he pears out of the window at the vast scene just beyond.
Elegance, splendor, grace and beauty unmatched by any other planet he has
seen in his many travels. Something small he takes pleasure in when he
actually is able.

Minutes pass in silence, the reptilian-like Trade Federation Viceroy
unconsciously wringing his long fingered hands together nervously, unsure as
if he should speak, or wait for the Sith Lord to break the silence.

And then, the Neimoidian almost leaps out of his reptilian-like skin, as
the errie silence is finally broken.

"My Master sends word that the Senate remains as he has made it. Things
will remain as they are in the Senate until the young Queen returns and
signs the treaty with your Trade Federation." The Sith Lord speaks, his
voice giving no hint of emotion, except that he speaks with the manner of
one of great education and the accent of one of great stature in the ranks
of social standings.

"Yes my Lord, I assure you, she will sign the treaty, and if she denies,
then she will be forced."

"What of your progress in the overtaking of the planet?" The Sith diverts
the subject quickly and effectively, the slightest hint of a grin tugging at
the corner of his lips as he senses the fear, nervousness and confusion of
the Neimoidian with the sudden change of subject.

"We have over 65% of the planet under out control, my Lord. The entirety
of the planet should be ours within a matter of days." The Viceroy answers,
fidgeting ever so slightly with the hemmed edge of his robes.

Instantly the Sith Lord turns about on his heels, eyes intense and
burning, facing the Viceroy as he remains standing before the window.

"We, Viceroy, do not have days." The Sith growls in tightened fury, his
black gloved hands fisted at his sides as he looks hard upon the Neimoidian.
"The Queen and her lackeys are at this very moment, upon Coruscant. Time is
of the Essence, Viceroy. The planet must totally be in your control before
the Senate hears the Queen's appeals for help."

"W-we will redouble our efforts my Lord. More droids shall be brought to
the surface and we will take control the remainder of the planet as quickly
as it is possible." Nute Gunray answers in sheer terror as he looks into the
eyes of the Sith Lord, seeing darkness unlike he has ever seen before,
intense hatred, and disgust of him, forcing the Viceroy to take a quick step
back.

The Sith Lord says not another word, but gives a slight nod of his hooded
head and returns his attention back to the scene beyond the window, gazing
out as the soft light of day sets the stone walls of the buildings aflame
with gold.

With that, Nute Gunray turns hesitantly, then quickly leaves the throne
room to fulfill his promise to the Sith Lord, not wishing to see those eyes
upon him again as they had been, not wanting to anger the Sith…not wanting
to die.

He, the Dark Lord of Sith, senses the Neimoidian leave the room, taking
his small cadre of battle droids with him, leaving the Sith to stand alone,
gazing out the window upon the capital city of the planet of his Master's
birth. Naboo.

Only moments before the Viceroy entered the Throne room, the Sith Lord had
been deep within the recesses of the Darkside of the Force, remembering the
touch of another mind to his as he meditated in his quarters. One strong in
the Force and knowledgeable in the abilities and training it would require
in utilizing the Force – the Darkside, as that person had.

She had called out to him and he had heard her but remained silent,
masking himself within the Darkside, yet she sensed him nonetheless.

"* Curious. Who is the female that attempted to reach out to me? She is
strong in the Force, and the Darkside…and she is near. *" The Dark Lord
thinks to himself, his mind drifting ever constantly with the ebb and flow
of the Force, feeling every chaotic spiral and lurch, the many minds that
populate the planet, the life of the ancient spinning rock, the fear, the
pain, the terror, the suffering…and the presence of the woman who had sought
him out. "* And there is something…familiar about her presence *"

Title: The Master's Daughter
Author: Sythe aka Dawn
Rating: NC17
Characters: M/F
Category: Smut, Het
Feedback: Yes please! TELOXI@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: I don't own em, I just borrow em for my fics. I received no
money in its creation.
Summary: The Queen and Jedi have escaped from Tatooine and make their way
back to the planet of Naboo. Having been ordered to go and wait for them
there, Darth Maul finds something he did not expect to find on the homeworld
of his master.

Part II

I wake to a new day, a day that is filled with silence except the droid
transports buzzing the skies of Theed. Yawning sleepily, I rise from my
bed, slipping into my robe and entered the refresher.

I turn on the shower, hoping it will help wake me and soften my tense neck
muscles. And as I stand under the falling warm water, I close my eyes,
standing directly under the showerhead as I think of what I had experienced
the night before.

"* Who is he, what is he, why is he here – that, I want to know. *" I
think with a sigh, letting the water run down over my face.

I lather my hair with fragrant soap, letting the scent fill my nostril and
slowly wake my senses.

"* And why did those droids not come after me. *"

After rising my hair thoroughly, then my body, I step from the shower,
wrapping a soft crimson towel about my wet body. I enter my bedroom, parting
the gold, crimson and black drapes just a little to pear out the window.

I see Trade Federation tanks and brigades of droids moving together as one
along the center of the courtyard, my apartment no more than city blocks
from the main steps leading up to the magnificent and ancient Theed royal
palace.

I pray that the Queen will succeed in her attempt to ask the Republic
Senate for help in stopping the Trade Federations attack on our people, our
way of life, our planet.

Sighing softly, I leave the drapes as they are and I begin to dress in a
black and gold body suite – I must train.

My teacher. I remember him – a man dressed in all black…and I never saw
his face. He appeared one day when I was a little girl and he took me under
his tutelage, taking me from my home to a hidden underground facility deep
within the forests surrounding Theed. He taught me how to use my strange
abilities and to utilize and increase them far beyond I ever thought I
could. He taught me about the Force, and how I could tap into it, send my
mind and ethereal self along its always flowing currents, to feel and sense
things about me, to feel danger, to touch the minds of others.

With his help and training, I can sense, feel, touch and taste things
unlike I have ever experienced before, in ways no normal being would be
able. It is an awesome experience to feel things you never thought you
could.

He called himself Sidious.

A strange name, but he was a great teacher, hard but he taught me many
things.

I have not seen nor heard from him in over two years since he declared my
learning complete, giving me a gift of a long black velvet box that I have
not even opened till this day. I have not for he had made me promise not to
open it until I knew the time was right.

To this day, I wonder what he meant and what the black box holds. I wonder
who he really was and why he left me as he had.

Following the paths my teacher Sidious had shown me to move from one place
to another in the city unseen, I leave my apartment and move through the
deathly quiet city to a hidden doorway that leads to an underground
passageway.

The passageway, old – no, ancient, leads me underground, under the grassy
fields just beyond the edge of Theed, under the great forest that lies
beyond the grasslands to the underground facility where my teacher had
trained and taught me for over 18 years. Thick layers of dust and grime
would be covering everything if I had not taken it upon myself to keep the
entire facility clean and organized, with the help of a few strange looking
hovering droids that were kept there. And the droids instantly appear and
greet me upon my entrance into the main room where a long black table with a
chair at either end resided in the center of the black stone walled room.

I give them their daily objectives as they follow me through the main room
and into the training room adjoining it. And with the last word, the leave
me to complete their tasks while I begin to stretch before I begin my
exercises and training routines.

After a short meditation, I begin my exercises, utilizing a short stalf
inturn of a sword.

I go through my moves methodically, perfectly with deadly efficient grace
and coming to the end, as part of the move, I come to kneel softly upon my
right knee as I place the stalf upon the floor horizontally before me.

Sweat drips from my nose as I close me eyes, looking upon the floor
before me, panting softly, I can feel the Force coursing through every
single microscopic inch of my body, flowing through me like water, giving me
strength. It is euphoria.

And then I remember the dark presence I had felt the night before. There
is some familiarity to him that I just cannot place…something about his use
in the Force, the way he utilized it against me as I attempted to touch him
mind.

He is here for something I sense to be related to the Trade Federation and
its presence upon Naboo, but why?

I have so many questions and too little answers. But to acquire the
answers I desire would require stealth, great use in the Force and entering
the palace through one of the secret passageways Sidious had shown me not
long before he left.

Hmm, I remember something else about my teacher…there was a boy with him,
about my age, but he was not like Sidious and I.

He was Zabrak, I remember my teacher telling me when I had asked, but he
gave me little else – not even the boy's name, except Khamier. And I
remember…gold eyes.

As I remember things from my past, I place the stalf back upon its holder
on the wall and took a longer one into my hands, twirling it before me once
as I returned to the center of the mat upon the floor.

Khamier…Sidious trained him along side me for a time until he began to
train him harder and more ruthlessly. At times I was taught alone while
Khamier was being trained alone by Sidious in a separate room.

Sidious did not allow Khamier to get close to me, especially as we reached
puberty. We were fellow students, almost like brother and sister, but not
friends - nothing more, nothing less.

I go through my long stalf routine, finishing with a spin over my head and
tucking the stalf under my right arm as I bring its leading end out away
from me.

I wonder what came of Khamier. He left with Sidious, but when my teacher
left the room after presenting the box to me, Khamier had remained behind,
looking at me with his magnificent golden yellow and red eyes, the first
three of his horns upon his forehead already prominent.

That moment seemed to last a lifetime, he looking at me as if to remember
my image eternally. But before I could speak one word to him, he lowered his
eyes as he shook his hairless horned head, then turned and without even
glancing back to me once, he left me standing in the main room, the black
velvet box in my hands, bewildered.

Khamier…

Part III

His eyes scans the horizon, watching the sun slowly fall from its place in
the sky to be swallowed up by the horizon, the last rays of sunlight
fighting to remain but too fade.

Night comes again, and the Sith senses something in the air, something
that sets his senses and mind on full alert. What, he knows not – not even
his ability to foresee gives him insight.

A soft groan rumbles deep in his throat, slipping his last tunic from his
body, placing it upon the foot of his bed with his black robe and outer
tunic. He does not like not knowing what is to come. And he does not like
surprises.

The Neimoidians had offered him the Queen's own royal chambers, before the
Viceroy had quickly moved all his belongings from the quarters, having used
it previous before he had landed upon Naboo. He can still smell the stench
of the disgusting creature lingering in the royal rooms. A most foul odor
that he can feel clinging to every part of him – inside and out.

"When this mission is over, I must fully cleanse myself of this…wretched
filth." The Sith Lord growls, the nasty stink filling his nostrils and
lungs. In turn, he moves to row of floor to ceiling windows and opens every
single one, allowing the sweet clean air rush in from the outside to take
away the offending odors.

As the darkness falls, the night creatures beginning their nature's
serenades, he slips out onto the high balcony, looking out over the deathly
quiet and very elegant city that lies just beyond. He can feel the cooling
sweet soft breezes kiss the bare skin of his upper body, and he takes a
great breath, inhaling deeply of the clean air.

"Why does my master wish such a place as this the center of his great
plan? He has told me very little, but I am only his apprentice, unworthy of
such knowledge." The Sith Lord thinks to himself, his eyes rising to take in
the slowly appearing stars in the darkening sky, noticing a passing droid
upon its transport zipping through the air. "Why this planet? This planet
where he had been born, lived all his life, and even now he defends as
Senator in the Senate?"

Suddenly, a fleeting movement out of the corner of his eye catches his
full attention. He has seen something…no, someone – a person moving through
the shadows, utilizing the shadows like a veil to hide him…or her, from
sight, along the far side of the courtyard, moving toward one of the hidden
entrances leading into the palace. The person, small in size and frame,
dressed in full black, appears once more but only for the splinter of a
second, vanishing once again in the darkening shadows of the courtyard.

He knowing his senses true now, he had seen the being as clear as day. A
grin crosses his face and quickly he turns about on foot into the
bedchamber.

**********

Sidious had taught me many things and I now put many of his teachings to
use as I silently, unseen, enter the hidden passageway into the palace,
moving through the shadows, hiding myself within them, and veiling myself in
the Force.

The passageway is dark, my footsteps echoing dully along its length, old
lighting fixtures slowly fading, the light dull but sufficient enough for me
to see my way. And it does not take me long to reach its end, coming to a
solid stone doorway at its very end.

I hesitate to push it open, unsure if there be anything that lies beyond
that would prove dangerous to my night scouting. Falling to one knee, I
close my eyes, calling the Force into me, setting my mind and senses along
its current…but I sense no danger – not even a droid.

Slowly I rise to my feet, and with all my strength, I push the heavy stone
door forward, hearing the sound of stone against stone as the doorway opens
and stops only leaving a space small enough for me to pass through.

Once on the other side, I instantly find myself in utter awe as my wide
eyes take in the elegance and magnificence of the royal Theed palace –
marbles', gold, silver, wood, statues…things regal and most expensive. But
only for a moment and I quickly push the doorway closed then turn and follow
my senses and instincts down along an open corridor, my eyes and all my
senses on full alert for any sign of possible danger.

My mission, to find the being who's dark presence I had felt, the being
who has intrigued me unlike any other person before…and to find the true
reason as to the Trade Federation's ruthless boycott of my home planet.

**********

He waits quietly, his senses drifting along the currents of the Darkside,
watching the person who has infiltrated the palace with the ease of one
trained and skilled in the use of the Force. But he leads the person to him,
to the young Queen's bedchambers that he may capture and interrogate him…or
her and learn the reason why he is sought first over the reasons for the
trade embargo upon the planet.

The intruder is not far, having entered through one of the secret hidden
passageways leading into and out of the palace. He felt the sheer awe as the
intruder looked over the splendor and extravagance of the palace corridors,
but he did not miss the strong connection to the Force the person has. And
it does not miss him that this being…this individual, is somehow very
familiar to him, an old almost long forgotten familiarity.

"Come…come to me…" The Sith speaks in a whisper through the Force, bidding
the person forward, luring the being into his lair as he sits motionless,
perfectly, upon the floor with his legs crossed before him. His eyes closed
in the total darkness of the room, except the soft white light of the full
moon showing through the wide open balcony doors. A soft sweet fragrant
breeze wafting through, the sheer white drapes dancing in its currents.

The shadows of the room hide him from sight as the Darkside surrounds him
in an impenetrable veil. He can feel the intruder drawing closer, his power
like the flame which draws a moth to its brilliant, warm light.

Soon, very soon…

**********

I move slowly, quietly – unseen and unheard through the palace corridors,
searching…no, I am being lead by something…a power, a presence…urging me
forward, urging me to follow and I cannot deny but let it take me where it
desires.

Quickly I halt in my tracks, hearing the sharp metallic clank of Trade
Federation battle droids' feet moving along the nearby adjoining corridor
not far ahead of me. I press my body against the marbleized wall, beside a
graceful and regal statue of a warrior woman wielding a sword of gold and
stone.

I blend into my surroundings, masking myself in the Force, silent as
death, motionless as night, sensing the mechanical automatons moving in two
perfect lines of two, the sounds their mechanics echoing through the
corridors.

When the last echo fades, sensing the droids having continued on without
noticing my presence, I slowly, carefully move forward and peer about the
statue. I see nothing but soft rays of white moonlight filtering through the
high windows, making strange yet beautiful designs upon the stone floors of
the corridor. I press back against the wall behind me, preparing to slip
from out my shadowed hiding place…

Instantly I gasp as I feel my mind touched, instinctively stretching out
into the Force with my feelings and my mind, searching for the one I sense
along the edges of my mind.

"Come…come to me…"

Part IV

"Who are you? Where are you? Why do you lead me?" I speak with my mind,
my thoughts traveling along the currents of the Force, the urge that leads
me pulling on my very being like guidelines of a marionette doll.

Is it the Force that leads me? Or is it something…someone else pulling the
strings? I think to myself as I move along a softly lit corridor, large
pillars of marbleized stone along the walls, a single floor to ceiling
window between them offset by a magnificent statue of a warrior woman
wielding a weapon. The light of the full moon shines upon the floors and a
soft breeze moves through the hall, the windows cracked open to let in the
fresh evening air.

The sheer magnitude and opulence of the place would make one envy the
noble and rich, but only so much. I myself would not be able to meet the
demands of stature nor the social duties and requirements. I am a solitary
person, preferring my solitude to company.

But here I am, seeking the being who's dark presence I felt, wanting to
learn who that person is – learn all and everything about him.

I am led into another adjoining corridor. It is more elegant…and has a
more personal feel to it. As I move slowly, silently along the length of the
corridor, I see no signs of any doorways – nothing but windows at either
side of me, filling it with soft white moonlight, sheer gold trimmed white
drapes dancing softly in the breeze that moves through the corridor.

Abruptly the corridor ends with a pair of doors, white with beautiful
swirling gold designs which look like that of the kera vines that climb the
walls of Theed's majestic buildings. They give the appearance of a room of
importance or that of the quarters used by someone of high rank…or maybe
yet, the Queen Amidala herself!

But why this room of all places? What is beyond these doors, another
corridor? A room filled with treasures? A library of some sort filled with
books and datapads?

I near the doors, keeping to the walls and with a whisp of the Force, the
doors slowly, silently open, parting down the center. Beyond all I see is
shadows, darkness hiding everything from my sight. But I step away from the
wall toward the open doors, oblivious to what may be lurking in the
blackness, oblivious to what my senses do not tell me.

**********

She is near, he can smell her scent in the air, sweet spring snow roses,
hear the beating of her heart in her chest, even and strong - the heart of a
warrior. Then the doors of his room opens, sensing the use of the Force. The
moonlight of the corridor enters the room, forcing the shadows to retreat
from its luminescence.

The Sith holds his eyes to the door, unblinking, awaiting her to enter his
domain. He hears her soft footsteps, then sees a shadow begin to move across
the threshold of the doorway, stretched and misshapen due to the angle of
the light shining upon her from behind. A foot first, then a leg, arm, and
with a few more steps, she appears.

Her body is covered in full black, her legs long and her waist slender,
her hair flowing, falling against her back in a shimmering cascade as the
light from the full moon shines upon her.

She is a black silhouette surrounded in an aura of soft white light, her
face hidden in shadow; her eyes have the faint flicker of reflected light in
them. Tall and sleek, she moves closer toward the door, just entering the
threshold, her fingertips upon the door to her right with the softest of
touches.

He remains motionless, hidden in the shadows and veiled in the Darkside,
watching the shapely figure enter the room silently with a skill only a Jedi
would be able…or a Sith. But she is not Jedi, that much is certain for her
abilities lie in the Darkside of the Force.

"If that be the case, then who is her master?" The Sith Lord thinks deep
within the untouchable vast darkness of his mind, his thoughts. The muscles
of his jaw flex, his body relaxed, breaths even, his thoughts calm and his
eyes watch as the woman passes through the doorway, taking slow silent steps
into the darkened room.

**********

Cautiously, I enter the dark room, pausing just inside the threshold, my
senses in the Force scanning my surroundings. I sense no danger, no life
except the soft breeze moving through the room for the wide open windows
along the wall to my left, their sheer white drapes dancing in the currents.
Soft white moonlight filters in, creating glints of gold and silver upon the
metallic surfaces of objects nearby the windows.

"There is nothing here in this room - nothing that I can sense through
the Force…but it was the Force that led me here, wasn't it?" I think with
confusion, moving toward the open windows, finding them leading out to a
balcony overlooking the capital city of Theed, my home. I stand just inside,
wrapping my arms about me, taking a slow deep breath of the clean fresh
Naboo air as I close my eyes, feeling the purity of the full moon's light
upon my face, my hair dancing in the breeze blowing gently about me.

I can sense the fear, the despair of my people, the greed and pleasure the
Trade Federation Niemoudians of their forced takeover of our planet. And
yet, somewhere out there…I can sense a great dark power influencing
everything that has taken place.

"What is happening here? Is this part of some grand scheme? Take over a
peaceful, insignificant planet out in the middle far beyond the Galactic
Capital of Coruscant – for what? What is it all for…what does it all mean?"
I think aloud in a sigh, not finding what I had hoped in the room, the
urgency having faded. I was lead here for a purpose, a purpose I seem to
have overlooked or…

I close my eyes once more, letting my mind and senses travel along the
currents of the Force, touching everything within the room behind me, moving
from my left to right…until my mind touches something entirely unexpected. I
feel something black as death and as cold as ice…and I cannot break through.
Fear creeps into my thoughts, my mind like climbing vines the longer I try
to break through the barrier keeping me from looking there.

A dark shiver races down my body and back up, taking my breath from my
lungs when a sudden hard shudder racks my body. I feel as though death is
breathing down my neck, caressing my body, touching my mind and creeping
into my soul. And yet, it feels so good…so seductive…

I breathe aloud, feeling as though someone stands behind me, dark fiery
eyes burning through my clothing, into my body – to my very soul. Running my
hands up my arms, I cross them over my chest, placing my hands gently about
my neck.

"What is happening to me? Who is doing this to me?" My mind suddenly
returns to me out of the trance that was enveloping me, hearing the sound of
a Trade Federation sky flyer in the sky, a droid completing its usual
security parameter checks.

I sigh softly, opening my eyes to look at the night stars once more before
I turn to leave the room and return home. I will return after the midnight
tomorrow, and the night after – as many nights as it takes for me to
discover what I can about the Trade Federation's capture of my planet and
the dark being whom I wish to find…and possibly why I was lead here this
night.

***********

He can hear her thoughts, smell her scent in the air, feel her presence
strong in the Force, see her face glowing in the light of the full moon.
Eyes dark with thick black lashes, lips luscious and hinting with sweetness
– she is beautiful to him, very much so…and yet...so familiar somehow.

The Sith Lord feels her mind reach out, touching all that is in the room
then come upon his presence in the Force, unable to break through his mental
shielding and the veil of the Darkside that envelopes him. And inturn, he
reaches out to her, moving without sound to stand behind her, touching her
without touching – standing so close that he can feel the heat of her body,
taste her innocence.

Grinning, his veins on fire in the Darkside and in growing desire, he
takes a strand of her hair and runs it carefully between his bare fingers,
feeling the silkiness of it in his hands. And bringing it to his nose, he
inhales deeply of its scent, feeling the dark strands teasing his lips.

"I am the one, my little one." He thinks deep within his mind, releasing
her hair, touching her one last time as her mind returns to her, slipping
from his enchantment. And returning to the shadows, he watches as she looks
up into the night sky. "I will see you again shortly."

The young woman then steps out onto the balcony, looking over the railing to
the surface below, measuring. And then, suddenly she surprises him as she
climbs up upon the stone railing and leaps…

Part V

He is instantly looking over the edge of the railing, looking down at the
black figure as she lands upon the balls of her feet then hastily vanishes
within the shadows of the night before any will see her. She utilized the
Force to greatly decelerate her decent, a trick hard to master in fact.

"Indeed a warrior." The Dark Lord of Sith growls with delight, finding a
kindred spirit and the bonds of similarity between he and in the mysterious
woman. Yet he continues to find her familiarity a curiosity, unable to quite
remember where and when – or even if he has seen her before. Her actions and
her mastery of the Force tells him only a great and skillful Master could
have apprenticed her, but Masters of such degree are Jedi…except one, Lord
Darth Sidious, Dark Lord of Sith – his Master.

She is not Jedi, nor is she Sith, but her abilities and skills lie in the
Darkside and is part of the very training he himself had received. She is an
enigma – a memory he knows he has but will not clearly surface.

"Soon you will be a mystery no longer my little one."

**********

Early morning.

I stare out the window before me, the Theed palace and it's great
waterfall in full view. I could hardly sleep at all after my first venture
into the palace, after entering that room…touching and being touched by
that…darkness.

"Why…" I think aloud, but finding no answers as I take a slow sip of my
cup, the warm tang of softly sweetened tea coursing down my throat to my
knotted stomach. I am on edge, my senses telling me so many things – more
than my mind can register so quickly. I sense there is something behind all
this, behind the Trade Federation taking over Naboo, behind the dark being
suddenly being present shortly after Queen Amidala and the Jedi escaped. But
then my thoughts drift to the past, recalling a day when I was 14 years old
and Khameir, 4 years older than I, we were playing a game.

We were playing when we were supposed to be practicing the routines
Sidious had taught us. He wanted me to find him but everywhere I looked I
could not – not even when I used the Force. It was as if he had vanished
totally. Afraid, angry and in despair, I sat down in the center of the
training room mat and began to cry.

"Don't cry," I heard Khameir's voice but when I raised my eyes and looked
about me he was nowhere to be seen. "Don't cry, our Master will be angry."

"Khameir! Where are you?" I sobbed, tears streaming from my eyes, looking
about me, hoping to find the only friend I ever had. "Khameir!"

"Don't worry, I'm right here." And suddenly he appeared right infront of
me out of thin air, laughing. I swear I almost leapt 10 feet off the floor
for fright when he did that but he quickly fell to his knees before me and
embraced me, comforting me.

Khameir had never done that before – disappear like he did and I unable to
find him anywhere using all the means I had. And he never comforted me
before like that, it too surprised me but it gave me great pleasure knowing
he cared enough.

"You do that to me again and I'll hurt you!" I suddenly pulled out of his
embrace, slamming my fist as hard as I could against his shoulder as I
jumped to my feet and stalked away, furious.

He did not do that again after that and when I asked him how he did it, he
never told me, instead telling me that Sidious would teach me one day. But
now, as I think back on that day that seems a lifetime away, I recall having
felt a cold black presence move to stand before me – unbreakable and
impenetrable…just like I had felt in that room in the palace last night.

"Khameir…"

I turn my eyes abruptly from the window before me, staring at the black
velvet box sitting upon the table before me like an ominous thing. Whatever
is within its walls I feel calling to me – reaching out through the Force
like a whisper, silver laced black tendrils emanating from the object or
objects within like incense smoke…like a siren's song.

"No, not just yet. The time is not here." I hear myself exclaim, knowing
instinctively that I cannot open the box Sidious had given me until the time
is just right…but that time is fast approaching – my senses and soul feeling
the almost unfelt pulse of time ticking downward. That hour is fast
approaching.

With another sip of my tea, I slowly rise to my feet, my flowing robe
dancing about my ankles and I stand before the window, crossing my arms over
my chest as my eyes and senses scan the scene before me.

It is so quiet, so decollate without the constant comings and goings of
Theed's citizen folk, merchants, police and the smells of morning bakeries
and shops cooking their wares. It does not feel right at all and a sudden
shiver races up my spine, bringing a soft gasp to my lips.

Slowly I turn from the window, my eyes falling for a moment upon the black
velvet box before I make my way to my room to dress. I must return to the
underground facility to train, give the droids their chores and meditate.
The facility is a place of great Force energy – it flows and penetrates
every wall, every object and thing within. I will utilize the extra Force
energies to strengthen my own when I begin my meditation.

"Soon I will know who you are and why you are here and then you will be a
mystery no longer."

**********

He has been awake long before the rise of the morning sun, his thoughts
upon the woman that had come during the night in search of him, believing a
day of hard training would clear his thoughts. But after many hours of
intense rigorous training, his mind continues drifting back to her.

The Sith Lord watches the scene before him, the great falls that flow
behind the palace, thousands of feet over the sheer drop off, disappearing
in a wall of thick misty spray. A natural majestic beauty unlike any other
he has seen.

After waking, he dressed and made his way beyond the edge of the great and
ancient city of Theed, to a place in the nearby forests where he could
meditate and train. He could hear the roar of the great falls drown out all
sound and he immediately knew he found the perfect location when the forest
broke up and thinned out about him to suddenly stop at a beach towered over
by the great falls some several hundred feet across the way.

Just beyond were waters as clear as pure crystal, clean beaches of soft
white and tan sands, lush thick tall water reeds and plants creating a
lagoon of sorts. A place of privacy and purity hard to come by in the
galaxy. It is peaceful and serene, the waterfall creating an atmosphere of
ease and he sensed the area was strong with the Force.

He trained long and hard, cutting several small trees down, having used
them as targets. And with a deep breath of the moist clean air, he places
himself just along the edge of the beach and mainland, sitting cross-legged,
his lightsaber lying upon the ground before him. Another breath and he
closes his eyes, letting himself be filled with all the dark emotions of his
body, fed by the Darkside.

The Sith feels his veins burn icy cold with the Darkside, yet it is as hot
as the hottest star. It courses through his body with every beat of his
heart, fills his nostrils and lungs with each breath he takes, fills his
mind with images and sensations. His ears are bombarded by the roar of the
falls as well as the whispers of the Darkside, the voices of the Sith Lords
past and future.

"Khameir…"

He hears a voice sigh a name, a voice soft and sweet – the voice of a
woman. And with that voice comes an image; brown eyes brilliant yet sad,
lips sweet and perfect, her tall slender frame adorned in a white robe that
dances about her slim ankles as if alive. She stands before a floor to
ceiling window, sipping tea from her black cup, looking out at the scene
before her…the Theed palace and the great waterfalls that flow behind it.

It is her – the woman who has been searching for him, the one who came to
him last night dressed in black, the woman he cannot recall to memory from
his past. What the reason why she is so familiar? There is something about
her face, her eyes…but he cannot connect it and it angers him even more so
than his curiosity in the woman which is slowly diverting his attention from
the reason why he was sent to Naboo in the first place.

Another image enters his mind. It is the woman once more. She is dressed
in a loose fitting black training uniform, and he watches as she steps from
her fighter's stance and begins her routine, wielding a short stalf as if it
were a lightsaber – cutting, slicing through the air with grace and deadly
precision. But something catches attention – the way she moves, how she
executes each step of her routine, her style…Sith.

The Sith Lord is fascinated, unable to find any answer as to the reason
how she knows to fight, to move as a Sith…as he does. As she ends her
routine, she kneels perfectly motionless, the short stalf lying upon the
floor behind her…and it is then when he recognizes suddenly her
surroundings. He knows this place, knows it all too well – the Sith facility
that was long ago built underground deep within the forests beyond the
outskirts of Theed.

"Why are you there my little one?" He thinks, his thoughts a whisper
through the Force, traveling along it currents to the woman he feels in his
mind and in his body…to Her.

Part VI

Kneeling upon the mat in the training room, my stalf lying before me, my
heart a few beats faster in my chest, my breath is slow and regular, yet my
muscles burn with exertion and the icy burn of the Darkside's energies. I
can feel the Darkside all about me, within me, part of me, part of
everything about me – one and yet separate.

And then…

My breath catches in my throat, my heart feels like it almost stops as the
Force – the Darkside thickens with intensity, swirling about me like smoke.
I am not alone, yet I am. I feel and sense a presence about me, with me,
part of me and yet not. And it is His presence – the dark being who haunts
my every thought, haunts my every dream.

Quickly I am upon my feet, the short stalf in my hands, prepared to defend
myself if need be for his presence is so thorough it is as if he is in the
room with me. My eyes and senses scan my surroundings, my mind searching,
stretching out for any sign of him here in the facility. But his presence –
his great power stifles my own, leaving me half-blind in the Force.

"Why are you there my little one?" I suddenly hear a voice – a voice low,
dark and breathy, velvety to my ears and senses…a male voice. I feel it
echoing in the room about me, within my ears, within my mind and within my
body.

His presence sends a shiver to course through my body, the soft delicate
hair on my arms and the nape of my neck to rise, and my skin to tingle – the
air itself seems to crackle with his very presence.

"Why are you toying with me? Show yourself!" I cry aloud, my voice echoing
loudly against the black polished stone walls of the training room, and
through the Force to the dark being, my anger rising as well with the
Darkside's power coursing through my veins like liquid fire.

"I will show myself when I deem the time right, but until then…"

Instantly my knees give way from under me and I fall on my back upon the
mat, a heavy weight lying upon me, my hips cradling an invisible body as
hands make quick work of my training uniform, leaving me almost completely
undressed upon the mat. I then feel hands caress my bare exposed breasts,
long fingers playing my hardening nipples between them, bringing an
involuntary sigh to my lips.

I can't move, my body under another's control as I mentally witness what
he does to me. He is a black silhouette hovering just above me, his hidden
eyes burning me where they wander. I moan when I feel his hot slick tongue
flick at my painfully hard nipples, swirling about them then his mouth
envelopes them, suckling them hard and hungrily, his hips slowly beginning
to move, rubbing his hardening sex against my uncovered womanhood.

I try to fight, to stop him from taking me by use of the Force, but I
can't move…yet, I do not want to. My insides begin to ache, burn with a need
I have only felt once before and my blood courses like fire as the nerves of
my entire body starts to tingle with an electricity I have never felt
before. His very touch makes my body yearn for more, to feel more of him –
all of him, to feel his body, mind, heart, and soul join and be part of me
and I with him for only moment. The moment of eternity.

Closing my eyes, I feel my mind and soul slowly leave my body to become
part of everything…

My body arches from the mat, against him when I feel his astral self enter
me, passing through my purity as if it were never there, filling me with his
hot silken length. My cry of surprise, disbelief and pleasure immediately
muffled with his mouth, covering mine, his tongue teasing mine into play.

Slowly he begins to move, bringing a cry of discomfort to my mouth,
catching it in his own, allowing me to adjust to him inside me, slipping his
arms under my back, cradling my head in his hands as he begins to move
faster, harder, deeper.

What is happening to me? I find myself thinking, unable to understand how
and why he does this to me, but I soon realize I cannot think – all I feel
is his kiss, his body upon mine, his manhood moving within me.

I am crying, moaning, sighing, whimpering, his body moving between my
parted legs, his skin hot against my own…and I can smell his scent – spiced
sandalwood with hinted leather, incense and his own natural yet alien scent.

The band is tightening, my insides constricting about him, slick, hot and
wet. I can't breathe, my soul is soaring far above me, shooting far up, up,
up into the heavens, my senses spinning, my mind reeling and all I can see
is the black abyss behind my closed lids and flashes of light and swirls of
hazed color.

Faster he moves, thrusting so hard within me, yet all I feel is utter
pleasure. Suddenly his lips part from mine, his body tensing, a groan
building deep in his throat, his fingers grasping to my hair tightly.

And then…

"Khameir!!!" I scream aloud, the band snapping, my insides pulsing within,
squeezing him within me as I fall from the sky into the black of
nothingness, falling without end as my body trembles from my first true
release. And I just barely hear as he groans loud and long with one last
thrust - the hardest and deepest, releasing a new warmth inside me, a warmth
that slowly travels from my inner center out through my body.

"You are mine…" I hear him whisper in my ear as he pulls away, kissing my
breast and then my lips one more time before he is gone – his presence
fading slowly, the Darkside's power swirling about me as I lie panting for
breath.

Instantly my eyes shoot open, crying aloud with disbelief and confusion as
I sit up and begin to look about me, then at myself. I am alone and I am
fully dressed, my tunic, pants, sash and boots still upon my body, yet I can
feel the final pulses of my insides. I can feel the slickness soaking the
inner fabric of my pants, feel my body on fire, my skin sweaty…and I can
feel his taste on my mouth, smell his scent in the air about me and on
me…feel the fire of his release deep within my womb.

What happened?! I think, unable to understand what happened, why I saw
what I had seen…yet, I experienced it all, somehow. Was it real? Was I
dreaming?

Slowly I stand to my feet, my body aching more than it normally does when
I train, and walking slowly to the edge of the mat, I bend over to pick up
the short stalf from the mat next to me. I gasp with surprise and pain,
instinctively placing my hand upon my belly as I feel my insides sore and a
new hot dark energy swirling within me.

"You are mine." The words in that dark velvet voice echoes through my
mind, chilling me with a sense of dread yet with a sense of great longing
and anticipation. I do not understand, I am confused…what do those words
mean?

With a soft groan from my new and foreign aches, I replace the short stalf
upon its holder on the wall. And turning back toward the training mat, I
look where I had lain under him – the dark man as he took me. Placing my
hand upon my belly once more, feeling what I know now to be his dark energy,
move within my womb, I leave the room to return home, my day having been cut
abruptly short.

**********

His eyes slowly open as his mind and soul return to his body, the Darkside
dancing about him in swirls like smoke caught on a current. He remains
silent and motionless as he looks across the beach toward the great
waterfall. The sun is setting to the west; the smell of sweet blooms faintly
perfume the soft breeze. Hours have passed since he began his meditation.

Something happened he had not anticipated, had not expected, something he
had not foreseen nor saw in her mind as he was joined with Her, the woman of
his vision, the woman now part of his body and soul. She cried out a name, a
name he knows well, a name he never thought to hear again. His name.
Khameir.

She cried out his name when she released, cried out his name without
realizing. She cried out his name from the very depths of her soul, with all
that she was, filled with such desire, such passion…such longing…and love.

"How?"

Without another word spoken, the Sith Lord rises from his meditative
posture, calling his lightsaber to his hand with Force, and turns from the
peaceful scene before him to return to the palace to see in the progress of
the Trade Federation's Viceroy promises. It is time he returned to his
duties, to complete what his master had sent him out to do. He will finish
what he has begun with her soon enough.

Part VII

The Sith Lord growls aloud with irritation and growing impatience. The
Viceroy Nute Gunray gives his progress report, his fear causing his voice to
quaver, his words to stumble out, pauses of hesitation between words or
sentences. But things are going as to his Master's wishes and soon the child
Queen shall return to Naboo and when she does, he will stand over her as he
forces her to sign the treaty between Naboo and the Trade Federation.

"Soon, the Jedi shall lie dead under my heel and I will place their
lightsabers at the feet of my Master in triumph." The Sith thinks inwardly,
greatly anticipating the battle he feels soon to take place.

"The droid armies have entered the underwater cities, but have found no
traces of life. It was found abandoned. We are searching the swamps for any
trace of the creatures and their possible hide outs." The Viceroy continues,
standing before the Sith Lord who has taken the throne for himself, his eyes
full of darkness and hate, his face hard and fierce, giving no hint of
emotion except for the snarl that is beginning to appear with his annoyance.

"Enough!" The Sith growls in contempt and annoyance, rising to his feet
from the throne to his full height, eyes flashing darkly upon the cringing
Neimoidians. He turns his eyes from one reptilian-like being to the other,
glaring hard and dangerously. “Continue your search, Viceroy.”

And with that, the Sith Lord moves passed the two cowering Neimoidians in
a brilliant display of his black robes, leaving the throne room to the
Viceroy and his lackey.

Growling low and deep within his black throat, the Sith paces about his
quarters, his thoughts of the woman troubling him. He must keep his mind on
his task! He must keep his thoughts in check!

The Darkside swirls about the room with his growing anger, swirling about
him like wafts of smoke as he moves, the edges of his black robe dancing
about him wildly, gracefully.

He comes to a quick and final decision…

**********

My body aches more than usual, having been touched unlike I have ever felt
before…but how? I have been touched, yet I remain pure. The Dark Man…he
filled my senses with his presence, my mind with his, my body with his
own…and filled my womb with his dark seed. And as I lie upon my bed, naked
and unable to sleep, I can feel a strange…connection…rapor…along with the
Dark Man’s energy coursing through my veins like black fire from the place
where he laid his claim upon me…within.

With a deep sigh, I slowly rise from my bed, wrapping the black fire-silk
sheet about my frame. And coming to stand before the window of my room, I
slowly part the drapes and cautiously peer out into the darkness that
envelopes Theed like a thick black blanket.

The sky is clear, the moon is full and the stars shine so brightly this
night. But I can just make out the reflection of the light glinting off the
circular hulls of the Trade Federation’s droid control ship in high orbit
about Naboo.

I gasp aloud with a start as one of the Federation’s STAP speeders
suddenly flashes passed my window in a blur of movement and shadow, causing
me to take a quick step back away from the window.

“Nerves! My nerves are on end!” I think in distress, unable to silence my
mind, calm my thoughts – even despite utilizing the techniques that my
teacher, Sidious, had taught me.

“The Dark Man! It is His doing!” I exclaim aloud, returning to the window
once more where my eyes falls upon the balcony at which I had leapt from the
night previous…the room where I felt that…cold…emptiness where I should have
felt something – anything! The room where I felt like I was loosing my
senses…

I close my eyes, letting my mind and senses drift along the Force…feeling,
sensing… The darkness. It surrounds everything. Nothing is left untouched by
its allure, its seduction. And I sense there is something…or someone behind
all that is happening. But the Dark Man…he lingers along the fringes of my
mind…yet I can feel him under my skin, sense him in my mind…and he is part
of almost every thought that I have.

“Please! I beg you! Let me go!! Please…” Tears slip from my eyes, feeling
His grip upon me tighten ever so painfully. And grasping to the drapes
before me, I fall to my knees, having lost the ability to stand as my
despair begins to overwhelm me unlike I have ever allowed it to before.

But once more His words fill my mind…my body…my soul… “You are mine.”

I place my hand upon my belly, over the place where I have never been
touched before by any man, feeling the dark energies the Dark Man left
within me surge and move about like the currents of the Darkside itself…as
if almost…alive.

“Why do you haunt me?”

Slowly, wiping the tears from my cheeks, I rise to my feet, knowing there is
only one way to rid myself of the thoughts and feelings that seem to rule
over me, control me.

Training – hard and rigorous training.

Once more I stand within the training room, my eyes gazing for an endless
moment where I had found myself lying helpless and being ravaged
so…possessively…so…exquisitely. And tearing my eyes away from the black mat
covering the majority of the hard black marble floor, I call the long stalf
from its holder upon the wall before me and it comes flying toward me to my
waiting hand.

I look for a moment at my right hand, the hard wood-like long stalf held
out horizontally before me, feeling the Force itself coursing from the
object into my hand and up my arm. It is hard, cold and lifeless, yet the
Darkside – the Force surrounds it, permeates it, infuses it and I call upon
its energies to strengthen my own.

With a slow, methodical and ingrained movement of my body, the dance
begins once more. Placing my right foot forward, I spin the long stalf over
my head, striking forward with a downward cut before lowering into a low
stance over my left leg. I raise my right leg before me off the mat and
bringing it up as I rise once more to my full height. It is quickly followed
by a back kick – high and powerful as the stalf is held out to my side,
defending any openings if I were attacking someone, or being attacked.

I can hear the stalf fly passed my ear by mere inches to a defensive block
as I move, entering the next part of my training, leaping into the air with
my legs parted far to either side of me and I use the momentum to flip
forward, but I land some distance away, utilizing the Force to aid in my
movements.

Now, in my mind, I imagine the Dark Man standing before me. He is like a
black shadow…a silhouette – a man dressed in flowing black robes, a deep
hood upon his head, the shadows hiding his face from my sight.

He moves so silently, his steps like that of a great predator, sizing up
his prey, measuring and preparing for the battle to come. His hand wields a
weapon long and metallic in color, and cylinder shaped. A lightsaber. And
from its hilt hums a brilliant beam of laser light the color of blood.

I can feel him watching my every movement, his eyes burning me wherever
they may wander. I can feel the darkness about him, the strength of the
Darkside flowing through his veins like fire.

“You cannot win,” I hear his silken voice exclaim almost in a whisper
within my mind, but I do not listen. The anger and Darkness he emanates, I
make it my own, strengthening me, my own body seeming to burn with an icy
fire that could never be truly described.

In my hand I no longer hold the stalf, but a lightsaber of my own, its
blade too burning in a crimson hugh like blood. I can feel it vibrate in my
hands, smell the scent of the air itself burning – ozone. And I can feel the
metallic sting of its metal casing against my burning skin.

He has an arrogance about him. Maybe it’s the way he moves, the way he
holds his weapon, the way he holds his head…or maybe it’s the way he just
stands there before me as if knowing already that he will win. His arrogance
is something that could one day get him killed.

I use my anger that has been welling up in my stomach from him taking me,
using it and turning it into power – power to defend this man who haunts me
and holds me in an unbreakable…and unbearable grasp.

“Let me go.” I hiss through my clenched teeth as my hands wring the shaft
of the ignited lightsaber in my hands, moving it to glow before me, lighting
up my soft complected face in an eerie red glow.

And then I charge, raising the blade of my weapon up over my head, but
keeping my arms close to my body, prepared for any attack that he may
attempt in the blink of an eye.

But as I send the lethal blood red blade flying toward the Dark Man who
remains motionless, I gasp aloud as he suddenly vanishes and I feel
something wrench my weapon from my hands, sending it flying across the dark
training room as something takes hold of my wrists. In the beating of my
heart, I can feel long strong fingers wrapped my wrists, feeling warm
leather against my bare skin, and I can smell the scent of leather,
incenses, musk…and that of something I recognize…something male.

Waking up from my mental vision, I find myself still being held. Long
strong arms hold me to a hard muscled and tall frame from behind, and my
arms are crossed over my chest, keeping me restrained and unable to fight
back or break free.

“I do not understand! How?! Has my own imagination come real?” I think in
confusion and disbelief, not quite registering everything my senses is
telling me.

“No, I am as real as the heart beating in your own chest."

Part VIII

I feel the heat of breath against my cheek, my senses slowly registering
that I am…not alone. And I hear the voice - low, breathy and dangerous. It
is male…and it sounds disturbingly familiar.

Instantly I tense, unsure if I am awake or dreaming, unsure if my mind –
no, the Force, has created a scenario for me to compete and complete.

My mind tells me I am still imagining, but my heart and senses tell me
that is far from the truth. My body can feel the strong arms embracing me,
hands holding my wrists crossed over my chest, keeping me pressed to a body
hard and powerful… And my body, it can feel the Darkness surrounding and
emanating from him in almost choking strength.

I cannot breathe – I am unable to. The room spins about me, and the Force
seems to appear as wisps of white and black, moving about us like living
smoke.

“Let-“ I begin to speak, but find my throat dry and my lungs constricting.
Fear wells up in my stomach like a lead ball as I feel myself in a deadly
embrace, knowing that I could die on a whim, or… “Let me go!”

My fear becomes a searing hot ball of rage that courses through my veins
like liquefied metal, power surging throughout my body with each beat of my
heart. And with a great cry, I try to break free. But all for naught. He
does not release me. His powerful, unbreakable embrace only strengthens.

I just vaguely feel and sense him move; just vaguely feel the shiver that
courses down my spine when his lips press against my right ear with the
softest of touches.

“You are mine.” The sultry voice whispers into my ear…

My legs give way from under me, collapsing and he follows me down to the
matted floor, leaning my numb body back against him, his arms holding to me
possessively, protectively…

“NO!” I cry aloud, unable – not wanting to believe what my body, mind,
heart and soul tells me all at once. Him! It’s HIM! The Dark Man!

Closing my eyes as tightly as I can, I try my best to wake myself from
this vision…this…nightmare. But no matter how much I try, he is still here.
And he is not letting me go.

“No, no, no, no, no, no-“ I hear myself murmur under my panted breaths,
finally able to breathe. “He…no…he…can´t be…”

“But I am. Look, open your eyes.”…

I dare not open my eyes, afraid of what I might see, what I might learn,
yet I find my head lying back against him behind me, my hands holding to his
arms about me. I can´t open my eyes…but I know – I feel that I must.

His mouth is so close. I can feel the heat of his every breath against the
exposed skin of my neck; hear the sound of his breathing in my ear. And I
can smell his scent surrounding me.

Moaning softly, his scent fills my nostrils, swirls deep within my lungs
and it courses throughout my body. Leather…incenses…maleness…familiar – but
how? I must know. Who is he?

Slowly, taking a deep breath, I turn my head toward him, feeling his
strange soft skin against mine, and it is warmer than anything I have ever
felt before from another being. My brow grazes his ear, feeling the sting of
something small and metal along the outer curve. I open my eyes.

Black…black as deepest space and as red as blood. His head is entirely
devoid of hair; every inch of skin is visibly covered in red and black
tattooed designs of some tribal or ceremonial type.

Horns. Horns? I see horns crown his head, only where black shows up his
skin.

I am not afraid. I look farther, moving to get a better look upon this…man
who has claimed me as his, who has lingered along the fringes of my thoughts
and senses until now.

The Dark Man allows me to shift in his arms, loosening his embrace only
but slightly until I can look upon him more clearly. And I do not miss the
way his hands hold me to him; soft and careful…like a lover, but sure and
ready…a man always prepared, a man far more dangerous than any bounty hunter
or mercenary.

“Open your eyes, Little One.”

Finally, cautiously, the lids of my eyes flutter apart and slowly open.
And instantly, they widen wide and my lips part in a gasp at what I see…

Eyes that burn like the fires of I´Rosa – golden and glowing hotter than
any sun, and I feel myself being drown within them as they hold to mine.
Lips soft and perfect baring a pair of black fangs and forked tongue
between, leading from the bottom lip to his softly square chin. A mask of
red and black covers his face; black patches surround his eyes, setting them
off ever greater. Jagged lines lead from those patches over his brows to two
of three horns high upon his forehead. And a line of three diamonds travels
up the bridge of his nose, up to the third middle horn in a long curving
diamond upon the center of his head.

He is monstrous…he is beautiful…

I know him – I know this man!

“Khameir!” I cry, not believing my eyes, unable to. This man – the Dark
Man…Khameir, the boy who Sidious trained me along side with. But now…now he
is a man – a man who has claimed me as his own.

Just for the faintest of a moment, his eyes flash wide, his arms
slackening about me as if in confusion and surprise. But quickly his body
tenses and his embrace about me tightens ever greater as anger slowly begins
to burn in his darkening eyes, and I can feel the Darkside strengthen ten
fold about me.

I do not understand. The man I thought I knew looks at me as if he does
not know me…as if he has forgotten that we had spent almost our entire
childhood together.

“Khameir?”

His eyes flash dangerously at me as his hands grasp hold of my shoulders,
spinning me about painfully to kneel before him, his powerful mind entering
my own, probing my brain like black fingers of satin death. Why does he act
this way?

“How do you know that name?” The Dark Man – Khameir demands in a hard and
dangerous tone, making his sultry liquid velvet voice like a razor sharp
edge.

Words fail me as I stare helpless up into Khameir’s eyes. My heart beats
wildly in my chest and breath barely passes my lips, but not a sound comes
from me except the sounds of my heart pounding against the inner walls of my
ribcage. His grip tightens ever more – just enough to make me wince and a
cry to escape my mouth.

“Answer me woman!” Khameir growls low and with a hint of rage broiling up
inside him, nearing the surface, pulling me closer to him, twisting my arms
in such a way that I would not be able to escape, nor escape the pain that
it is causing.

“Khameir? Please…” Finally I speak, my heart aching with despair, slowly
realizing that the Dark Man…Khameir…the boy I grew up with does not know or
does not remember who I am.

A tear slips from my eyes as I close them, lowering my head as images from
my youth dance through my minds eye. And with a slow, deep sigh, I open my
mind completely to the man before me.

“Then see…see in my mind…see who you are to me…who I am…what we are…were.”
I speak with my mind, my words travelling along the currents of the Force.
“ I have missed you so…Khameir.”

Once more, golden eyes open wider, seeing, learning…knowing. Learning.

**Author´s Note: So you don´t get confused...this part of the fic is in
Maul´s POV.**

Part IX

The Sith frowns as he reads the memories that flood her mind. Memories of
two children playing together. Could that be him? The Sith Lord growls
softly, tightening his grip on the woman’s arms. No…this foolish and
childish behaviour could never have been his. Chasing a little girl about
large, dark halls? Never…not he…yet the images he sees are those of a young,
slender boy with jet black skin…like himself… and the girl looks up at him
adoringly with clear, liquid brown eyes.

“Khameir, catch me!” her child’s voice calls out and she giggles, running
from the dark hall in search of a place to hide.

“…stop! You know the Master does not allow foolish play. Come back and
exercise as he told us to.” Khameir sounds a little annoyed, but the little
girl does not return, and, with a devious smile, he runs after her,
searching for her in every dark corner and any possible hiding place until
he finds her. With an excited cry she jumps from her hiding place and runs
from him once more, racing down an adjoining corridor, glancing back over
her shoulder for a moment.

And in that moment, he watches how her satin hair moves in the air like a
curtains of silk caught in a breeze, dancing behind her teasingly. In that
moment, he sees the twinkle in her eyes, the tender smile upon her face. He
sees the innocence of youth…

The Dark Lord’s frown grows deeper as he sees himself standing there in
that dark hall as a young boy rushes past him on the trail of a small girl
and the flow of air causes his dark robes to move softly against his legs.

Suddenly it is he who becomes that boy chasing after her, his legs still a
little awkward from growing so fast, pumping to catch up with her. Finally
he is close enough to grab her and his hands close around her tiny waist,
tickling her. She screams with laughter and surprise, falling to the floor
at his feet, trying vainly to make him stop his relentless teasing.

“Khameir, stop!”

With a start the Dark Lord finds himself in the present again, his
powerful hands still holding the woman captive. Once more she lets him see
more of her memories, this time of the both of them training together in a
large training room, the immaculately polished walls reflecting their images
in the deepest of black. They hold long stalfs with blunted ends so as not
to cause injuries while training, and they face each other, panting from
their exertion.

She takes on a fighter’s stance, bending her knees and repositioning her
feet for more stability as she draws the Darkside in to anticipate his next
move. When it comes, it is swift and powerful, almost too fast for an
outsider’s eye to follow. He spins and thrusts his stalf at her from
different angles, a succession of blows coming from every direction. She is
an adept pupil of her teacher’s as well as he is and she deflects them
cunningly, trying to cause him to make the most minute of mistakes. Then a
quick lunge upwards while she pushes forward, her stalf hits his arm. His
eyes glitter as he grabs her arm holding the stalf and pulls her off
balance.

With a soft growl of annoyance the girl falls forwards against his chest.
He catches her without missing a single move and holds her to him. Her dark
eyes meet his fiery, golden ones and her breath catches in her throat. He
can hear her heart beating faster and not only from exertion. He senses she
suddenly finds it almost impossible to pull away from his hypnotic gaze and
finds herself drowning in his eyes of liquid fire. She catches her breath
and puts her hands against his chest, pushing away from him.

The Dark One sees her inhale sharply before walking away from him in this
shared memory from her past, straightening her shoulders as she moves
quickly towards the exit of the training room. He does not miss the hints of
refining muscles moving under her skin hidden beneath the tight black
training uniform she wears. He watches how her hands place her weapon upon
its rack on the wall, the respect she has for every weapon before her.
Watches how she pulls the clips in her hair, letting its length cascade down
against her back in a brilliant display of shimmering golds and browns. And
he watches as she leaves him behind in the training room, only glance to him
as she turns the corner to go to her rooms...

More memories flood him, coming quicker as the connection between them is
completed. The next image brings them together once more in the training
room. The Dark Lord can see training weapons neatly resting in their proper
places upon the racks along the polished, black walls around them. They are
older now, his horns showing his maturity. Their combat skills are now even
more advanced, every move trained a thousand times over until it becomes
instinct, second nature. As they face each other across the floor, they
command the Force, allowing the intricately decorated Sith swords to fly
into their waiting hands.

Their fighting has become more aggressive now, each of them trying to
become the best pupil, each of them competing as best they can for the
approval of the Master. Swords cleave the air, making whistling sounds as
they circle each other and somersault to avoid strikes.

A small rivulet of sweat trickles down the girl’s temple as she blocks an
attack from his sword. She pushes on and they continue to exchange fast
blows and attacks. He notices her dark hair sticking to her flushed skin and
he can hear her breaths coming ragged from her throat. As he parries her
last blow he feels the impact of it reverberate through his arm, up to his
shoulder, but also he knows she is tiring. A swift circling move rips the
sword from her hand and throws it across the floor, skidding with a sharp
metallic sound. Within the same move, he pulls her arm, flooring her with a
perfectly executed shoulder throw. As she lands with a distinctive thud upon
the black mat, he lets himself go down with her, pinning her body down with
his weight, half straddling her between his muscular thighs.

The girl glares up at him, but she has no other option than to call
surrender and give him victory. But, instead of releasing her and returning
to his feet for the ceremonial bow, he bends forward slowly, his eyes
nearing her face. He can feel her panting breath on his lips and opens his
mouth to share it, making it his. He can taste the sweetness of her breath,
feel her life coursing through her body with every raging beat of her heart.
And he can feel her growing breasts pressed against his chest, small and
firm. Girlish.

For a moment in time they are joined, the Darkside of the Force flowing
freely between them. His mouth nears hers for a first tender touch, but
before he can take her mouth captive, he senses the approach of his Master
before she does, and with a fluid move he jumps to his feet.

The Dark Lord sees himself staring down at the girl, he senses how she
wants his kiss, he reads her thought, asking him to be hers, but he shakes
his head slowly and reaches out his hand to her, offering to help her to her
feet. However, she feels hurt by his rejection and slaps his hand away,
rising to her feet as gracefully as he did. They take the starting position
on the mat, facing each other, bowing respectfully as their Master enters
the training room…

The Sith Lord shakes his head almost imperceptibly as if to clear it. He
sees himself through her eyes; he relives those moments from his youth
together with her, yet he cannot remember… the images too fleeting for him
to firmly grasp hold of. This woman seems to be part of his life, part of
him, if only he could hold the memory and understand its meaning. He
definitely felt her love for him; this woman he holds captive here is a
woman who once loved him.

No, the Sith Lord ponders, still loves him, he can sense it as clearly
here as he sensed it through her memories as well as see it in her eyes.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” he demands, his eyes flashing
dangerously.

The woman shakes her head. “Do you not remember?”

“Why should I remember a mere woman?” he growls, angered by her hold over
him.

“Does the name Eridani mean nothing to you?” the woman answers, a note of
irritation rising in her soft voice, her hands having grasped hold of the
front of his black robes, holding to him as if not wanting to let go.

“It means nothing to me,” he replies, although a sense of her presence in
his mind wants to surface. Memories so faint that he can feel them, do not
appear, but linger behind a shroud of haze and forgetfulness…darkness.

“We were trained together as children, you and I, right here in these
rooms. Our teacher, Master Sidious taught us our combat skills, but we were
separated before we became adults. One day you were suddenly gone and I
never saw you again…the day when Master Sidious gave me the black velvet box
that I was not to open until the time was right.” For a moment the woman’s
voice lowers. “You left me standing there in that room and you left without
even glancing back…without saying goodbye.”

The Sith remains silent. He merely faces the woman before him, his golden
eyes boring into her dark ones, his powerful mind searching hers.

“Yes…” the single word comes in a soft hiss and a narrowing of his eyes.
“ Yes… you were there, somewhere hidden in my mind. You are powerful, yet you
are not Sith.”

He releases her and allows her to rise to her feet, looking her over
completely in a silent glance. She is slender, but she is tall and her
muscles are well developed, giving her body that lean and warrior-like
appearance in her black uniform. She may not be Sith, but she might make a
worthy opponent, if she should be foolish enough to challenge him.

As the Dark Lord gazes at her face, he is once again struck by the
familiarity he had experienced before, like a cloud moving in the sky and
revealing the sun for a brief moment. He rises swiftly to his feet,
straining his mind to remember who this woman is, and whom she reminds him
of. What is more, she spoke of Sidious, his Master, claiming him as her
Master as well. No one but he, Dark Lord of the Sith, would dare claim the
honour of being apprentice to Lord Sidious…the sole apprentice. Again the
Sith utters a low sound at the back of his throat, this mere female calls a
Sith Master her teacher? Unspeakable! Impossible!

“There can be only one…” he mutters under his breath.

“Khameir…” Eridani pleads, turning about to face him, “can you not
remember?”

“The name you call me by has no meaning to me. That person no longer
exists. I am Darth Maul, Dark Lord of the Sith, apprentice to Lord Sidious.”
Lord Maul straightens his back as he speaks, his arrogance and pride
flashing from his eyes.

Struck by his attitude, Eridani’s eyes dart icicles at him. “Indeed! Well
I shall have you know, Lord Maul, that I too have been trained by Master
Sidious - if it pleases you or not.”

Lord Maul grabs her shoulders roughly and pulls her to his chest, his
fiery eyes only inches from hers. “Be careful, woman, I could destroy you in
a heartbeat!”

“And how, pray tell, do you think my Master would react if you killed his
apprentice?” Eridani bites back, standing her ground, pulling back away from
the Sith Lord as best she is able.

“There can be only one Master and under him, one apprentice, and I am that
one. I shall be the one to rule the galaxy and I shall be the one to destroy
the Jedi and their sanctimonious Order,” the Sith growls in growing rage.
“ And if anyone stands in my way, he or in this case, she, will die. I may
even let you have the choice…a quick death or a slow one!”

“Then so be it, my Lord, fight me and see if you can kill the apprentice
of Master Sidious as easily as you assume in your arrogance!” Eridani cries
out in anger, her hands clenched tightly at her sides.

Lord Maul releases her and pushes her away. “You always said I was
arrogant,” he says, surprising even himself with this sudden revelation.
“ When I could cloak myself in the Darkside, you were angry and jealous
because you could not follow me there.”

Her chest still heaving with dark anger, Eridani unclenches her fists.
“ Yes…you disappeared and I could hear you laughing at me. I tried to cloak
myself as you did…I could not. You had the power to appear from out of
nowhere and you did to make me jump, to frighten me.”

Lord Maul manages a slight grin. “Yes and you slapped me if I remember
correctly.”

“No my Lord, I punched you as hard as I could.”

“Ah yes, and my Lord Sidious inquired where I received the welt,” Maul
remembers, slowly recalling memories long hidden…or made to forget.

He leans closer to her, drawn to her by the Force as well as his desire to
make her his. Her scent is intoxicating, alluring, like that of a dark night
of sensuous passion. He lowers his head and brings his nose closer to her
neck, noticing the small vein throbbing with her wild heartbeat. Her ears
are small, delicately shaped shells and he brushes his mouth over them,
finding a strand of dark hair has escaped from the tight bun upon the back
of her head. The soft leather of his black glove moves over her skin as he
takes the thin lock between his fingers. The Sith hears how she utters a
soft sigh, leaning her head back a little as he finds the silver clasp that
holds her hair up and removes it slowly.

Long dark tresses fall into his waiting hand and he buries his fingers
deeply in them, the sound of satin against leather firing his passion,
making his blood burn in his veins, and his body responds to the nearness of
her.

Closer and closer Lord Maul pulls her to him, feeling the tips of her firm
breasts press against his chest. It arouses him, like all those times before
when he saw her and wanted to make her his. He feels her hands slowly go up
his back, the warmth spreading over his skin through the thick fabric, her
fingers tracing the hard muscles along his spine.

“You are mine,” Maul says in a low, husky voice, holding her possessively
to him. “There will be no escape for you, Little One, no one shall ever
possess you after I make you mine.”

His hands move over her body, from her back to her shoulders and up to the
neckline of her training uniform. Strong fingers hook themselves inside it…
and with a single move, tears the fabric from the neck to her waist,
exposing her exquisite, white skin to him…

~To Be Continued in Part X~