Disclaimer: The universe and some charaters belong to George Lucas, but the characters and story belongs to me
The next few years for me where fairly uneventful, well that's if you don't count being a slave. Taarbuck kept me in his room, hidden away from everyone else. It all I knew in those early years. The same four grey walls, a small bed and not much else, except for the ever comforting warmth of Taarbuck.
Whenever he wasn't busy working, Taarbuck spent his time teaching me. He told me about his home planet Toola, the wide open tundra where his tribe used to roam, and his family. Taarbuck got quiet when he talked about his family, and got a faraway look in his eye. While whipids are solitary creatures by nature, he always spoke fondly about his wife and their young. He never told me what happened to them, or where they are now, he just regaled me with tales of great hunts, cruel winters and fearsome warriors. It was all very fascinating.
When I was left alone during the day, I used to pretend we'd escape to Toola together, far away from this place, and hunt the great beasts of the icy plains. Just the two of us, together forever.
Taarbuck also taught me the whipid language. Though I could speak it, in all honesty I just sounded foolish, so I usually just stuck to galactic basic.
Unfortunately this peace and relative happiness could not last; when I was old enough, Taarbuck told me that I was expected to begin work in the mansion, more specifically the kitchens. And so it transpired that I ended up scrubbing dirty dishes, cleaning the floors, and generally doing whatever Ran Jax, Mako's head chef told me to do.
It was through this work that I met Vaas. I'd only been working for a few months when it happened.
Mako had just thrown a big party, inviting some of the most influential people in coronet. Lots of government officials that Mako had in his pocket. It was an important night for him; he had to keep the right people sweet, the rest scared. As a result Ran was feeling quite flustered, and he was taking it out on us. I was subject to a few clips round the ear before the night was done.
By the end there was a lot of cleaning up to do, and as the newest one there, it was up to me to do it. As the night wore on I was left alone to finish up as everyone else went to bed. I worked quickly but meticulously, knowing I'd be up for a severe beating if my work wasn't up to scratch.
I had finally finished and was just getting ready to head to bed when I heard a clatter coming from the larder of the kitchen.
"Who's there?" I called instantly alert, muscles tensed and fists bunched ready to defend myself if need be. I edged nervously towards the source of the disturbance, terrified and desperate to turn away, yet my curiosity wouldn't allow it. Reaching the larder I saw that the door was slightly ajar, a thin sliver of light shone from the gap.
I could feel the adrenaline surging through my veins; my hands trembled with both nerves and excitement as I reached out to open the door.
Gathering all my courage I threw the door open and came face to face with a twi'lek boy. He was only young, not much older than me and had bright purple skin. We stared at each other for what felt like an age, not daring to move. Suddenly the boy grinned and stuck out a hand.
"Hey!" He greeted me brightly
"Hi…" I replied hesitantly, looking at the outstretched hand with caution. I'd learnt to be weary of offered friendship round here. Most of the people I'd met so far were just looking out for themselves, only showed you kindness if they got something in return.
"You shake it" he said, laughing at my discomfort. "I promise I won't bite"
"Sorry," I murmured shaking his hand "I guess I'm just not used to people in this place actually being nice"
"I know what you mean," he nodded in understanding "but you don't need to worry about that from me, us kids need to stick together. The name's Vaas by the way. Vaas Trykoon. Who're you?"
"My name is Katja Dilana"
"Nice to meet ya Kat. You're new here aren't you?"
"What makes you think that?" I reply with a slight smile. I wasn't completely sure I trusted him yet, but this strange boy had amused me.
"Well, I've never seen you round here before, and I've gotten to know damn near everyone else in this place." He smirked smugly
"Well I've been here a bit longer than you might think. You are right in that I've only been working in the kitchen for a couple of months, but I've been in the mansion for a few years at least, though I'm not sure exactly how long."
He looked at me oddly, and scratched his head in confusion.
"Are you sure? You can't be much older than about six or seven." He murmured half to himself. He puzzled over it for a few second before looking at me sharply. "How old are you exactly? When is your Birthday?"
I shrugged my shoulders and suddenly became very interested in my feet.
"I really should be going. I need to go to bed, I'm tired." I mumbled turning to leave.
"No wait, stop!" he grabbed my arm "what's the matter with you?" I sighed and turned back to Vaas. He eyed me with what could have been concern, or maybe suspicion, I wasn't sure. Either way I could tell that he wasn't going to let it drop.
"I'm not quite sure." I said, my voice barely more than a whisper "anyone who knew are long gone now" And so I told him my story, or what I knew at least. After a while I felt the tears start rolling down my cheeks. I wanted to stop but knew I couldn't, I'd started and now I had to finish. By the end I was sobbing freely. It was the first time I'd told anyone about my past and I hadn't realised just how much I'd been holding it in. As much as I loved Taarbuck he wasn't great for deep and meaningful talks.
At some point Vaas had drawn me into a soft embrace whilst I bared my soul to him. When I'd finished he didn't say anything at first, he just held me. It was rare for me to be so close to a person and I found his presence to be very comforting. Eventually the tears stopped and I looked up at him, wiping my eyes on my sleeve.
"I'm terribly sorry; I must look a right state."
"Nonsense," he replied brushing a lock of hair from my face "you look great!" I grinned like a fool and let out a giggle.
"I'll tell you what," he continued "you say you don't know what date your birthday is? Then how about we have today as your birthday? That why we'll always remember"
"Why's that?" I asked confused
"Well I'm not gonna easily forget the day I met you. If you ever do forget, you can just ask me. Okay?"
I nodded and smiled at him. "Wait a minute, does that mean you want to be friends?" I had never had a friend before, and whilst I knew hope was a dangerous thing I couldn't help myself.
"Of course I do. We'll be together forever."
"Promise?"
"I promise" he replied.
Vaas told me a bit about where he came from. Though he was a Twi'lek he wasn't born on Ryloth, their home world, nor had he ever seen it. His father had been killed before he was born by pirates, and his pregnant mother ended up stranded on the smuggler's moon of Nar Shaddaa, where she gave birth to Vaas. His mum took up dancing in one of the many bars on the moon, whilst Vaas took to pick-pocketing many of the patrons. They had little money, and the life was less than glamorous but they got by.
That all came to an end though when the owner of the bar angered one of the local crime lords. Vass wasn't entirely sure what happened but whatever the reason, it was enough for the crime lord to come looking for revenge. He took Vaas and his mother as captives. Vaas isn't sure what happened to his mother but he was sold into slavery. Ownership of him changed hands several times over the years, and he ended up working on many worlds throughout the galaxy. He even had a brief stint working for the infamous Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine, but about year ago he was lost to Mako in a game of Pazaak and had been there ever since.
We stayed up talking for most of the night, about life in the mansion, dreams for the future and basically just finding out more about each other. Vaas did most of the talking really but I didn't mind. Honestly, I think I could have stayed there for the rest of my life just listening to him. He could make anything sound interesting; he had such enthusiasm for life. It was infectious and I felt optimistic about the future for the first time since… well the first time since ever.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed chapter 2, thank you to all who've read it :) i'll get the next chapter out as soon as i can.
