Chapter 2

I landed again with a grunt. My goodness, you have no manners! I thought half furiously, half mischievously as I looked up at the monster that was General Grievous. This is no way to treat a lady!

"Grievous!" A voice barked behind me. I shuffled around to look at the owner of the voice. "This is no way to treat a lady!" Count Dooku mimicked my thoughts. I narrowed my eyes as I looked up at him. You better not be reading my thoughts…I can try to be menacing when I want to. Note here the key word is 'try'.

Dooku threw an evil smile at me when eyes suddenly looked beyond me. I turned to find that there was indeed a third presence in the room. A shadow approached me with an air of aggressive confidence. I quickly scrambled backwards until my back hit a rocky wall, trying to get away from this presence. The shadow stopped before it entered the light and I gulped. When the shadow revealed itself, my jaw could have hit the floor. Darth Maul stood in front of me, his sickened, yellow eyes observing me with an air of pride in ownership. The kind of aura you would expect to come from someone looking at their new pet.

I whimpered quietly and tried to press myself further into the wall as I saw the three of them approach me. I quickly calculated the odds: on one side there was me, a seventeen-year-old girl with numb legs and, although I've been told that I am strong for a girl, yet that was not strong enough. On the other side there was a metal monster and two Force-sensitive freaks. There's no doubt about who would with this fight. I realised it was hopeless, yet my mind refused to give up. I will not give in to them.

Dooku and Grievous stopped, allowing Maul to approach me and crouch right in front of me. I cringed a little and turned my head away from him, not wanting to face him. Maul grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him, his eyes searched mine. I don't recall ever being so afraid before and I desperately tried to get away from him.

My eyes looked elsewhere but at him. They looked in Dooku's direction and I sensed an aura of satisfaction coming from him. My eyes then moved to look at Grievous, who in turn stared back with his blank, expressionless eyes. Yet I could sense a very slight feeling of horror coming from his direction and I frowned.

"Look at me!" Maul growled menacingly at me. I jumped and gasped at the same time, and this time, when my eyes returned to his, I searched his eyes back. You kidnapped me, didn't you? He smiled, as if he was responding to my unspoken question, and I was really beginning to wonder if he could read my thoughts.

"Have you informed the Chancellor about her?" Maul asked, his eyes not leaving mine.

"All in due time, my friend," Dooku responded from behind Maul

"Make sure the Jedi are watching as well," Maul spoke, still looking at me "I would like to show them what we are capable of." What he did next threw me off guard. He, almost gently, stroke my hair with the back of his hand. I winced; a shiver ran down my back, his power overwhelmed me. Afraid, I attempted to push him away, but of course he didn't move and inch. His grip on my chin tightened.

"You would do well to submit to us, girl." He warned me, his hard eyes still stared at me. I started to become more restless, in a vain attempt to get away from him.

"Enough!" Dooku boomed from behind Maul, and my eyes widened as I saw that he was approaching us. Maul slowly stood up and I looked down, unwilling to see the two men towering over me.

"Grievous," Dooku called "Take her away and let her rest." His eyes fastened themselves upon me.

"She has a big day tomorrow."

As Grievous was about to grab me, and the other two stood at the door away, Dooku called out to Grievous once more.

"Be more gentle with her," He ordered and I looked at him. "I don't want her to be hurt…yet."

Grievous grabbed me by the jacket collar and took me to a cylindrical cage that stood in the middle of a room, where he carelessly dropped me on the floor of the cell. Had I not broken the fall with my hands, I would have landed face-first on the floor, probably breaking my nose. Is this your idea of gentle? I though furiously while I looked at him. I don't want to be around when you're told to be rough. I curled up on the floor and tried to make myself go to sleep, not that I got much sleep that night.

"Get up!" a voice near me roared "Now!!" I took me a while to realise that the demanding voice belonged to Grievous, who had remained in that room the entire night. Like I said before, I barely got any sleep. My mind kept filling up with thoughts and memories of what had happened in such a short amount of time. How long have I been here for? I wondered for the first time. I ignored Grievous and pretended to be asleep, hoping that he might leave me alone to get some rest.

"Get up or I will make you get up." His voice was filled with menace. I turned around to face him and opened one eye at him.

"Does this girl look like she gives a damn??" I asked him, half seriously, half mischievously. When he did not reply, I sighed softly and sat up knowing that I would not get any more sleep.

"What now?" I asked, a little annoyed.

"Get up and follow." He stated simply. I scoffed and gave him one of those looks that said: 'are you stupid??' before I gingerly attempted to stand and realised that I had regained some strength in my legs and that I was able to stand and walk. I made my way out of the cell and began to follow Grievous. The sensation of walking was strange, almost new to me, and it felt as though I was re-learning how to walk. We arrived at a door, which Grievous opened and when I saw that Maul was waiting for me inside, I took a few steps backwards, trying to get away. Grievous grabbed my arm before I could move any further.

"Get in." He growled lowly. I gulped and looked at Maul. My mind was ordering my legs to run but I did not dare to move with Grievous holding my arm. I took a shaky breath and made my way in. The door hissed shut behind me and walked backwards as Maul stalked up to me, until my back hit Grievous and I knew that there was no way for me to escape. I whimpered as Maul's hand went to stroke my cheek in an almost tender manner causing me to shiver involuntarily. I looked down, anywhere but at Maul. He grabbed my chin and lifted my head slightly in order to gag me. It was with a tremendous shock that I realised that he intended to take my freedom from me. And I wasn't about to give in so easily. I was trying to push him away from me, when Grievous grabbed my wrists and twisted them easily behind my back. I cried out in pain and twisted my back away from him in a vain attempt to loosen his hold on me. They bound my wrists yet, surprisingly; they did not bind my ankles.

Maul stepped away and Grievous started to push me ahead. I refused to move, afraid of what was in store for me past the next door. This proved no resistance to Grievous as he easily picked me up by the collar of my jacket and threw me in. I landed hard on my weak knees and moaned softly. Grievous stood behind me and when I attempted to stand, he forced me back down on my knees.

"Turn around," he commanded and I did not dare, at this point in time, to disobey, even if my rebellious mind screamed in protest. I turned around so that I was still on my knees and I faced him. I looked up at him, desperately trying to find a glimmer of emotion within those expressionless eyes.

He suddenly bent down and pulled at my hair. Hard. I cried out in pain again, and just as I thought that he was going to leave me be, he slapped me across the face with the back of his hand, with enough force to make me cry out and fall to the ground. He then grabbed me and pulled me back on my knees, this time I faced away from me. I winced afraid that he would hit me again. Instead, he grabbed my shoulders and pulled me close.

"You will watch." His voice was sensitive to my ear, which still rang from the strike. I opened my eyes to see that Dooku was looking at us, and that beyond him, there was a blue, life-size image of a group of people watching us. None of them moved a muscle.

"Leave her be," one of them, a man, spoke "She has nothing to do with this."

"Oh, not at all, Master Windu," Dooku spoke coolly "She has everything to do with this."

"What is it that you want, Dooku?" yet another man spoke "This planet is not useful to you."

"On the contrary, Chancellor," Dooku replied, his eyes now fastened upon me "This planet is of many uses to us, and if you do not give us the ownership we seek, then this lovely young lady you see here will die." The reality of what was going on hit me like a speeding train and I tried to squirm out of Grievous's grip. In seeing this, Dooku threw me an evil smirk.

"Grievous, why don't you bring her here to be better seen?" he invited sneakily. NO! I refused to be seen by these people in the condition I was in. I struggled against Grievous in a desperate attempt to get away but it did no good. He threw me near Dooku. I refused to look up at the people that stared down at me. I could feel Grievous squat down behind me.

"You will watch." He repeated and I shook my head in refusal. He grabbed my hair and pulled. My scream was muffled and I was forced to look up with eyes that were filled with tears, some of which slipped down my cheeks. I hated appearing weak and tried to fight Grievous off me. Knowing that my actions would do no good, I looked up at the people to meet their grave expressions. Tears slid uncontrollably down my cheeks as I watched them looking at me. An odd sensation of warmth and comfort cuddled me from the inside as I gazed at some of their faces, and I began to calm, my fear beginning to recede.

"Think about it," Dooku's voice made me jump "You have ten days." And the image disappeared. Yet the feelings of comfort remained. Grievous released my wrists and ungagged me, still I did not move from where I was, thoughts and emotions swimming through my head. I had come to the realisation that this indeed was not a sick joke. This was very real.