Veesita stepped into the elevator lift with out looking up. She had her nose practically pressed against the digitalized pages of 'Enduring Prejudice', a book her father had given her before she had moved to the city.
She found it last night while digging through a box beneath her bed, and even though she was loath to admit it, she had been sucked into its story almost as soon as she had activated its screen, just as her father had said she would.
In fact, she was so engrossed that she didn't register that she had been standing in the lift for at least a minute with no movement until a soft voice from behind her broke her concentration.
"Have you chosen a level?"
Veesita jumped, dropping her book pad and the four other boards she had pressed against her chest in her free hand. The voice was heavy, almost a whisper but so crisp that it startled her.
"Lord Sarin, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there I.." Veesita fumbled her words as she dropped to her knees to gather the scattered boards. Her iridescent hair fluttered as she reached for the boards.
Lord Sarin regarded her with a bemused look, his yellow eyes glinting, following her movements.
"Miss Danta, have you chosen a level?"
Veesita looked up at Lord Sarin, her spectacles perched, slightly cocked, on the tip of her nose, threatening to fall off completely.
Her hair was ruffled and she gripped the boards she had gathered to her chest quite tightly.
"Oh, yes.. sorry!" She reached beside herself and gripped the handrail, pulling herself up awkwardly, almost dropping everything again. She cursed herself inwardly for wearing such a tight skirt, mentally noting that she should throw it away when she got off work.
"Senator Palpatine's office.." Veesita mumbled to the lift's operator and used her free hand to push her spectacles up her nose to a more balanced position, then reached down and straightened her knee length black skirt.
Lord Khamier Sarin watched the young woman. She was exuding nervousness, clinging to the hand rail and boards. His eyes followed her line, from her ridiculously tall high heels, over her ankles and well formed calves. Her skirt, pleasingly tight, began just below her knees, the back slit four inches to make walking a bit more possible. Khamier smirked slightly. The lengths women would go to for beauty still amused him. The woman's blouse, silky and as iridescent as her hair was tucked into her skirt neatly. Veesita always seemed to wear such high collared clothing, but he supposed that it suited her pent up character.
She was frail looking, he noted, her bones were small and long. She had her feathery hair pulled up, bits of down whisping around the nape of her neck. Silver tear drop earrings glistened at her ears, just as fine and delicate as Veesita. Khamier paused to admire this part of her.
She was a mess, he admitted, but a lovely, strangely put together mess, so different from everything he was exposed to on a daily basis. She seemed very fragile to him.
They stood in silence as they approached their destinations.
Veesita glanced to her right. Lord Sarin stood, ominous and handsome as usual.
She noticed over her time working for the Senator, that Lord Sarin wore dark colors. It set against his tattooed skin nicely. He also tended to wear gloves. She found it a bit odd but it was never something she dwelt on. If anything she liked it, it was mysterious.
He had strong features, a proud nose, lips that rarely changed except to speak, and piercing yellow eyes. She thought they reminded her of a predatory animal. Cold, precise, but most of all encompassing.
Veesita refused to look into Lord Sarin's eyes for more than a few moments, she always forgot what she was saying, doing, or thinking when she looked too long. She always got weak in the knees.
Even his crown of horns was some how attractive. Sexy, she thought.
Veesita shook her head sharply, trying to get his image out of her mind. He was standing right behind her for goodness sake.
She realized that she must have arrived to work earlier than usual. It was the only explanation for running into Lord Sarin as she usually never saw him on her way into work.
She decided that she must come in early more often... but with a little more poise. She was more than thankful that the rest of the lift ride was silent, it gave her time to kick herself for her idiotic behavior.
"Good day, Miss Danta..." Khamier brushed past Veesita, his robes fluttering behind him. She watched him leave the lift, transfixed, and as soon as the doors closed she leaned heavily back against the lift wall.
Veesita dropped the boards she had been carrying onto her desk loudly enough for Balie to jump.
Balie, a tall Twi'elek, had been contentedly filing her long green nails at the desk across from Veesita's and she looked up angrily for a moment.
A large grin spread across her dark blue features as she realized who had made such a racket.
"V!" Balie hopped up from her desk and hurried across the room to her coworker. "You will NOT believe who came in to the office after you left yesterday!"
"I don't care... I just had the wors-"
"Lord Sarin!" Balie interrupted Veesita, elongating the 'a' in Sarin's name to tease her coworker.
"And he was dashing as usual!" Balie sat on the edge of Veesita's desk looking smug and resumed filing her nails.
Veesita flumped into her chair and looked at Balie, scrutinizing her friend's outfit of the day.
She was a pretty girl. Her head tails were twined together in gold chain and were polished. She had a slender face and was amply blessed with pleasing curves. The robes she wore were bound to her body in all the right places, and her skin was dark blue and glistening with a popular gold powder she had been apparently addicted to for the past month. The residual of the powder was evident on random surfaces all over the office.
Balie always looked so together, Veesita thought, even if she did have metallic flecks shedding from her indigo skin.
"Well, I ran into him in the lift on my way up..' Veesita half groaned.
"Oh god V, tell me you didn't do something stupid." Balie stopped filing and glared at Veesita.
"Well, it wasn't so bad! I was reading this book my father gave me and, you see, I was very engrossed, and... I stood in the lift for a little while and forgot to tell the operator where I was going.. and well..Lord Sarin was there and he startled me and I dropped all the boards and..." Veesita looked up at her friend from her chair with a pleading face.
"V!" Balie shook her head and hopped off her friends desk, sauntering back to her own.
She secretly enjoyed her friend's hopeless behavior, but that's why she hired her, Veesita kept things interesting, and she was at least, very good at her job.
"Well the operator should know where I'm going by now! I mean, I have been working here for two years, and every morning I go to the same level and.." Veesita pleaded, hurriedly putting each of the boards she brought from home into their specified dockets for later use.
"And nothing! V, you have got to stop making a fool of yourself in front of men. You are never going to find a mate like this..." Balie put her nail file away and started opening up files for the coming day.
If there was one thing Veesita did not like about her friend, it was that she was constantly on the prowl for a mate, and she thought every female should be doing the same thing.
That and Balie was Veesita's complete opposite. Balie was beautiful, well dressed, and confident.
Veesita was.. well.. not.
She was pretty, but not beautiful.
She had pale skin for an Omwati, the darker blue was more attractive to her kind but she was very pale, almost powder blue, and her eyes were an uncharacteristic grey. Her species found these features odd and unattractive.
Fortunately, her frame saved her from too much ridicule. She was built very softly, not too tall but not average at 5 feet. She was thin and delicate, her facial structure was sharp, and her eyes were large.
But for her skin and eyes, she would have been considered a catch among her people.
Unfortunately Veesita was helplessly clumsy, and easily flustered when caught off gaurd.
This had caused Veesita to excel in other areas. Education and her career were extremely important to her, and she had worked her way up through the ranks and was now the secondary assistant of Senator Palpatine. Balie had hired her immediately after her interview, saying that she had potential within the political arena but that she was still a mess. Balie seemed to have a knack for blunt honesty.
Over the two years she had been with the Senators campaign, Balie had indeed grown to like Veesita on a personal level and had decided to groom her and find her a mate it seemed, and in turn Veesita had grown used to Balie's antics.
"Balie, I'm not looking for a mate! I am focusing on my career, working towards other things..." Veesita pretended to look intently at the screen in front of her.
"Yeah yeah yeah... tell that to Lord Sarin." Balie giggled and narrowed her eyes at Veesita.
"Shh! Balie, some one might hear you! Rumors are rampant in this office and its ridiculous." Veesita glared at her friend. "Besides, he's much too influential, he's probably got all sorts of women vying for his attentions..."
Balie leaned over her desk, her bosoms pressed against the cool metal table top, a sneaky look in her face.
"I heard he turned down Galthafi Dorthimenik for a dinner date just last week..." Balie looked smug.
"Really?" Veesita's expression softened momentarily.
"Good morning ladies." Senator Palpatine entered the room, his long purplish robes swayed about him, a broad smile on his face.
Veesita jumped, and the two women stood, bowing at the waist.
"Good morning Senator!" They both chimed.
Veesita grabbed two boards from her desk and handed them to Balie as the Senator swished passed them into his office.
"The Balarour proposal is in the second board..." Veesita whispered under her breath.
Balie snatched the two boards and whisked after Senator Palpatine, the door closing behind her.
Veesita sat again and sighed deeply, the prospect of another long day ahead of her.
"For the last time Balie, no! I have to go to this art thing at the editorial dinner tonight, I can't go dancing with you!" Veesita protested, gathering a few things from her desk before heading home to prepare.
"Why do you insist on going to every single business function we get invited to. Really V, I just don't see what's so great about hanging out in a room with a bunch of old political saps, pretending to care about the latest new art trend so that they can spread the lately gossip and dish the newest dirt." Balie came out of the powder room, rubbing lotion into her skin. She had changed into a much shorter, tighter outfit, with gold ribbons strewn about to match the twine holding her head tails in place.
"I go to these functions to further my career, you can't expect me to be an assistant for ever can you?" Veesita pulled a long black scarf from her desk and draped it over her shoulders. The scarf glistened, thin threads of silver woven into its fabric. "Besides, one of us should be there in case the Senator needs something...And seriously B, why do you insist on wearing so much gold, you're going to blind me if the lights are turned up."
Balie rolled her eyes and applied another layer of lip balm with gold flecks in it.
"Fine... just dont eat too many of those fritter things like you did last time, your gaining weight." Balie retorted and sauntered out of the office, leaving Veesita to frown after her.
The art hall was filled with people, all well dressed, draped in beautiful foriegn cloths and jewels, almost rivaling the pieces of art hanging and standing about.
A soft melody tinkled in the air, mixing with the hubub of the crowd.
Veesita stood on a balcony above the hall, leaning against the railing and enjoying the spectacle.
She had spent most of the evening networking and introducing herself to as many people as she could. She felt like her jaw was about to fall off from smiling so much.
Secretly, Veesita thoroughly enjoyed these business parties. Especially when there was free food, drinks, and beautiful art or music, or what ever the party centered around.
She smiled to herself and lifted her glass to her lips just as a voice from behind her broke her reverie.
"Good evening Miss Danta."
Veesita nearly dropped her glass, spilling its contents on the scarf draped over her shoulders.
"Lord Sarin!" Veesita blushed furiously as she turned to the voice, her scarf dripping.
"My apologies Miss Danta, I seem to catch you unawares more often than not." Lord Sarin smirked as he looked over her slight form.
"Yes well..." Veesita mumbled, setting the half empty glass on the railing and pulling her wet scarf from her shoulders.
"Allow me." Lord Sarin plucked the scarf from her hands and motioned a droid over. He handed the scarf to the droid and whispered his instructions.
The droid beeped twice and left hurriedly.
"I will have it returned to you as soon as possible." Lord Sarin said, his eyes moving from her face to her neck and shoulders and on down to her wringing hangs.
"Thank you." Veesita almost whispered. She suddenly felt very naked with out her scarf draped over her. She had unbuttoned the first five buttons of her blouse, which was usually buttoned to its high collar and the sudden cool air against her collar bone and throat gave her goosebumps.
She reached to button her blouse but Lord Sarin's glove clad hand wrapped around her wrist.
"Don't." He ordered.
Veesita looked up at him with wide eyes.
"Walk with me." Lord Sarin released her wrist and turned, walking towards another exhibit behind them.
Veesita shook herself from her daze and hurried after him, catching up and falling into step at his side.
They entered a room full of carvings and stones.
"You have been in the service of the Senator for two years now, correct?" Lord Sarin spoke, not looking her way, but instead gazing at a large stone sculpture just ahead of them.
"Yes actually." Veesita looked a bit surprised. She had always assumed she had kept a low profile and had only met Lord Sarin a year ago at a company gathering and even then he had been extremely distant and had not exactly acknowledged her presence.
Lord Sarin stood silently, still gazing at the carving in front of them.
Veesita glanced at him. His face was placid, lips slightly curved upward but not necessarily smiling. His tattoos were menacing but very intricate and they only served to set off his crown of horns in a pleasing manner in the softened light of the display room.
He was garbed in a heavy black robe. As usual, nothing flashy or particularly unique, but Veesita knew that when he entered a room, he could either remain completely unnoticed, as she was accustomed, or he could command attention immediately, regardless of his attire.
He had his gloved hands gripped behind his back comfortably, his head tilted a bit forward.
"Do you prefer silence?" Lord Sarin's smooth voice broke into her thoughts.
"Oh! Well, not particularly, I mean it is nice, but if you prefer we could talk about something, I mean there are lots of things to talk about, in fact just last week the artist we are hosting said that he wanted to do something completely-" Veesita rambled for a moment but as Lord Sarin's eyes moved from the sculpture to her face, she trailed off and stopped speaking all together.
"Yes?" Lord Sarin's brow lifted.
"I... I'm sorry I forgot what I was saying..." Veesita looked away, her hand brushing against her cheek, hot from blushing again.
Lord Sarin's lips curved into a faint smile.
"You know," Lord Sarin's eyes moved again over her neck and shoulders. "You should consider wearing your blouses unbuttoned more often.."
Veesita opened her mouth to reply but Lord Sarin turned and moved close to her, reaching his hand up to her neck, his cold leather glove grazing her skin.
He leaned over her for a moment, tracing her jaw with a finger, trailing down her neck and then over her collarbone.
Veesita's eyes widened as Lord Sarin dipped his head and she felt his warm breath against her ear.
"Miss Danta..." His whisper was intoxicating.
"y...yes?" Veesita half gasped.
"Veesita?!"
Balie's high pitched screetch broke the dizzying silence.
Veesita stumbled back from Lord Sarin almost falling into a display of stacked rocks.
"Balie!" Veesita looked at her friend, shocked. What was she doing here? She said she was going to go out tonight, not rub elbows with the politically minded.
"Veesita, you haven't introduced me to your friend here." Balie sauntered over to Lord Sarin. He had straightened and was again standing with his hands behind his back.
He looked at Balie coldly.
Veesita regained her balance and poise. "Oh Balie, this is.."
"Lord Sarin, yes I know, what a pleasure to meet such a man of high regard." Balie interrupted Veesita and held out a hand.
Lord Sarin took Balie's hand and bowed slightly.
"The pleasure is all mine."
Balie's eyes lit up.
"Well.. if you will excuse me, ladies, I have some business to attend to." Lord Sarin bowed to the women and turned, his robes fluttering after him as he left the room.
"So, little miss social butterfly, what did I just walk in on?" Balie turned to Veesita, crossing her arms and looking mischevious.
"Nothing! He was just asking about my work..." Veesita began buttoning her blouse, and walked hurredly from the room with Balie following close on her heels.
"What are you even doing here?"
"The Senator forgot one of his notes at the office, I had to bring it since I was already in the area.." Balie looked Veesita over with a scowl.
"Well, good, I need to go any way. I'll see you at the office tomorrow ok?" Veesita rushed away from Balie, through the doors of the art hall.
"Wait!" Balie called after her but she was already lost in the crowd of people still vying to enter the event.
The air was cold against Veesita's face. Such a relief from the burning she had felt in the art hall.
She hailed a droid and had it call her a transport. She just wanted to get home.
