AN:
This Story follows Characters AFTER the Events of Wartorn, which is like an Origins story main characters of this story. This is set around 18 years after The Darkside Chronicles, and may involve flashbacks of scenes written for TDC, or scenes I breeze over in TDC due to concerns of content. On more severe chapters I'll put an authors note.
Enjoy and please, if you like it or have anything to add leave me a review. Its how I improve as a writer, taking in opinions.
Chapter 1 – Intrigued
Ebony was sitting in the shadows of the cantina with her usual blank expression. It did not take much to force her expression to be so blank, she was utterly bored. Maraudor had been away for several weeks now, and she almost missed her large friend's teasing. She was at a point in time where she had a very slight need of friends, which was more than usual. Ever since Ayla had left Ebony had been a mess. The rare smiles she had begun to smile no longer appeared. Her eyes which had begun to be filled with active hatred and disgust for the galaxy had once again returned to dim and indifferent. Darth Envy had returned with a vengeance, an ice cold vengeance that gripped the woman's heart and froze it solid. She had begun to trust another, begun to believe she had found someone to act as the family she had lost and then the woman had simply vanished. It was enough to anger the Darth, and yet she could not be bothered being angry. She wanted to go slaughter battalions of Republic soldiers, or even her own Imperial troops to vent, however yet again she simply could not be bothered to seek appropriate targets. She had taken it out on her own crew, and had to order more people to operate her ship. That of course had led to staring when the first dead girl had been dragged from her room. By the time the thirteenth had been removed however, and the crew replaced a few more times things had begun to settle down. Of course her crew whispered about her, of course they tried to warn every bright eyed young woman that came in with ideas of saving Ebony, of having a powerful Darth for their lover, to stay away. That Ebony would kill them before the night was over. It never worked. No woman would walk away from the pale Darth the moment she had won their affections, and most of the time they wound up dead. Sometimes Ebony killed them to silence them and their illegible screams, or their moans and begging. Other times she simply lost control and her power killed them. Either way, she did not have to deal with the bodies so it did not concern her.
"Darth Envy? I've been looking for you" a woman's voice broke Ebony from her thoughts. She tilted her head and arched an implant covered brow as the woman approached. She didn't take time to admire the light shining across the woman's red skin.
"An Alien? How intriguing" Ebony's thoughts rung as she slowly inspected the woman from the feet up. The robes hid the woman's legs, yet clung to her waist and upper body. Her body was the size of an average healthy woman, yet she was curvy in the right ways. Her breasts were full and large yet no ridiculously so, her waist was slim yet not unhealthily so, and her hips seamlessly balanced between functional and cosmetically pleasing, both wide enough for children and slim and comfortable enough for someone's hands to sit on. She was curvy yet impeccably proportioned at the same time from head to toe. Her strides were confident and ladylike, a perfect harmony that would have usually intrigued Ebony. Lately however she had not found herself even remotely attracted to anyone; she was barely able to notice a woman's beauty. She would sleep with the girls that came to her, she would seduce the loneliest one at the bar or even drag an acolyte away from training, yet she had never felt attraction. Her life had become cold and emotionless, her thoughts her only true expression of self. Of course she had killed, she had bathed herself in death and despair yet she had taken no pleasure in it. Any woman she slept with could please her body, make her lose control and yet she knew there was something missing, something that nobody could ever give her. It simply became a mind consuming hunger that continued to grow to the next night, the next woman who became the next corpse on Ebony's rapidly rising kill count.
Contrasting with the Alien's seemingly perfect red skin was harshly designed black warpaint. It started some lines down her lean chin and continued to cover her luscious lips. Lines jutted out from the corner of her mouth, zigzagging to the side of her face where there were thick blocks of paint. It made her face look finer, more angled and harsh despite soft features. It made her cheekbones seem even higher, enhancing and drawing attention to their perfection. Lines also made her adorable nose and fleet brow look jagged. Chocolate coloured hair hid some of her forehead, and made her horns seem less intimidating. The metal jewellery she wore also took attention away from the short, sharp horns. What startled Ebony out of her indifferent state however were her eyes. They were a soft yellow, with a flaming orange aura. It was as if her eyes were a soft, golden field surrounded by a ring of insatiable fire.
"It cannot be. This is just coincidence" Ebony reassured herself, feeling a subtle heat spread through her body. It was not out of desire for the woman, rather desire for the dreams she had been having. To see if there was any truth to her strange visions, the peculiar sensations they gave her. She could not control the dreams as she could common dreams, which intrigued but also intimidated her. Darth Envy was a model of control, at least on the outside. She was a product of intense and precise routine, a life on a timetable and a mind nobody could begin to comprehend.
"I am at a disadvantage. You know who I am, yet I haven't the faintest idea of your identity" Ebony replied in her naturally cold voice. She fell back on her training in her shock, to conceal and not to feel. She could not let the Zabrak know what emotions she was feeling, what thoughts she was thinking. She resisted the curious urge to shift in her chair, instead remaining as still as a statue. She regarded the alien woman with a calm, emotionless expression.
"My name is Ivo'ress… my lord. I want to become your Apprentice" the red skinned woman said in a mostly confident tone. There was some doubt, although Ebony could instantly tell the doubt wasn't in the woman's desire to become her apprentice.
"I see. What makes you believe I am taking another apprentice, or that you would be worthy?" Ebony asked the question bluntly. She saw the woman wince, yet the Zabrak did not back down. Normally it would have been enough to impress Darth Envy, yet this day was different. Not only did the woman have to impress her, but entice her. She quickly decided to turn the woman's desires into a game, hoping for some form of entertainment. She had no desire to sleep with the woman, or to even feel her soft skin against her own. All she could think about was combat and power. She wanted to see the woman in action, to see if such a feminine body could also be a powerful warrior.
"I may be young but I am powerful with the force. I am a fast learner, and a dedicated student" Ivo'ress stated boldly. Ebony could see straight through the boldness however, the lingering doubt was becoming stronger. It was a demon raising its ugly head in the woman's mind. The Darth suddenly found herself somewhat curious about what could be causing the woman such distress. She was also impressed by how well the woman managed to control herself. She was able to fake her accent perfectly, to keep the voice expected from a Sith. Ebony had a sneaking suspicion however that her sithly voice was a put on. She could honestly care less about the woman's voice, her accent or her upbringing. All she cared about was the woman's skills and her dedication. A few questions formed in her mind, yet she restrained them. She forced them out of her mind as she nodded to the woman.
"Meet me in my hanger in precisely half an hour. If you are late or cannot find it, then I have no use for you" Ebony stated, keeping her voice cold and emotionless. She knew she should have shown some gentleness to the woman and yet she also knew she could not. This woman was not Ayla. The memories of Ayla were bitter to the Darth, almost as bitter as the realisation that she was beginning to feel again. She had to get out of there, she had to get out of this strange Alien's presence and regain her control before something happened that she would regret. She rose from her chair quickly, forcing the gesture to look calm instead of the acts of a desperate woman. She walked past the fiery eyed woman, barely daring to look at the slightly shorter alien. She was terrified and confused at the same time. How was it possible? What on Alderaan was wrong with her? How could this woman begin to make her feel? The feelings were small, mostly overwhelmed by negativity yet they had been there. Interest. Curiosity.
Ivo'ress had just forced the cold hearted Darth Envy to feel.