Chapter 23 - The Proposal

As she made her way back to her quarters Blue sat in the corridor. A loud gasp escaped her lips. She hoped it wasn't loud enough to hear. She grabbed him up and placed him on her bed.

"I told you to stay here." His small head rolled around in a circle. "Okay, there has to be some rules. Now first, you can't leave this room. You have to hide. Um, two, You have to stay here." She sighed.

He whirled, lights flashing.

"Sshh! I know those are the same thing. I've never done this before. Okay. One, don't leave this room. Two, no noises. No beeping. Nothing. You got that?"

He beeped his understanding. Fayra giggled. "Okay you just broke rule two."

She squinted her eyes and stared down at him. When he made no noises after a moment she nodded. "Okay. Now all we have to do is play it cool."

After a day, which felt like eternity to Fayra, nothing had happened. Blue was tucked away safely and she was going about her duties. She was in the kitchen when Mando walked up behind her.

"May I speak with you?" He asked.

She wondered why he was so polite. He has the ability to do whatever he likes. What would he do if she said no?

"Yes." She replied, turning to face him.

"I thought you might like some more ship duties to perform.

I've been thinking-"

Fayra's eyes grew wide as she saw Blue rolling across the floor toward her quarters. She was certain her heart stopped beating. She forced herself to keep her eyes on Mando. Don't look, she repeated to herself, don't look, don't look!

Mando turned to look behind him, just as Blue disappeared through her door. How did he get out? What was he doing? Mando turned back to Fayra.

"Is there something wrong?"

She shook her head, trying to wipe whatever terrified look she had on her face.

"If you'll follow me, I'll show you."

She scolded herself, he had been explaining what he wanted her to do, but she was so freaked out she didn't hear him. He led her to the back room of the ship. She glanced in her dark room as they passed. She didn't see Blue, thankfully. Mando removed a panel from the ship. He explained about the ship and keeping it clean. A few minutes later she was scraping away the rust and dirt.

Good thing Mando never went into her room. It had been three days, and no major incidents. Except for a light mysteriously being fixed, Mando's tool went missing and a strange thud sound when both she and Mando were on the flight deck. She even began to relax a bit. Mando stayed grumpy for a couple days over the tool, until it turned up in the cabinet. She had to lie about that light, she explained to him that she had fixed it and forgot about it. She was one hundred percent sure he didn't believe her.

The longer they stayed on the ship the more nervous of being discovered Fayra became. sShe was so nervous she kept dropping things, breaking things. She couldn't focus. Mando even stopped asking her to do extra work. He went about doing his normal routine, training, cleaning, maintenance, more training. She wondered if he ever stopped and relaxed, and do nothing. He was always going and moving. Fayra finally came to the conclusion that this is what he enjoyed, this was his fun. Especially the train part, he trained sometimes three times in a day.

They were now going on a week. She was enjoying the company of Blue when she was in her room. At night they played games and he showed her pictures from all kinds of places across the galaxy. He even had pictures of waterfalls of all types, that was her favorite.

Fayra spent her mornings sitting at the galley's table drinking her tea and looking at the many books Mando kept around. She couldn't read, she never got the chance to learn, she loved looking at the pictures. Fayra watched Mando each time he walked past. She wondered why sometimes she wore his armor and other times he only wore his helmet. Sometimes he wore gloves and other times he didn't. She didn't want to ask, she was nervous when she talked to him and he could tell. It felt like lying to him. Besides it wasn't like he was a great conversationalist.

So, Instead she had conversations in her head. She decided she liked to see him with his armor off. He looked a bit smaller, less intimidating, but she knew he was just as deadly. On the days he didn't wear his armor he wore a gray tunic that, of course, wrapped all the way up his neck. He wore gray, sometimes black pants and always his boots. The only thing he revealed regularly was his hands. Which she was fine with, she liked his hands. They were broad and thick, large enough to handle anything. They were rough when warranted, yet had been gentle when she needed them. She shook her head, she was thinking way too much about him.

Today was an 'armor on' day, Fayra hoped that meant they would be landing soon. She stood and washed her cup and went to put it back, opening the cupboard. She screamed loudly as Blue popped out at her. Her eyes went wide. The droid was out of her room again. She grabbed him out and began to take him back before Mando came back through, but she heard him on the ladder moving swiftly. She knew she didn't have time, and would be seen. She shoved Blue back in the cabinet. She slammed it shut as Mando entered the room. She turned.

"What is it?" He said approaching the table.

"Nothing," she gulped. "Not a thing." Her breath was heavy and she tried to swipe the petrified look from her face. "I just slammed my finger in the door." she laughed nervously.

She moved slightly to the side, hoping nothing seemed conspicuous. When he advanced toward the cabinet she stepped back in place blocking his way. "What are you doing?" she asked.

He turned his visor on her. "I'm going to get a drink."

Her eyes grew wide, she looked from side to side trying to think up an excuse for him not to get a cup for his drink. "I.. uh.. Could get it for you" she stuttered. She licked her lips, nothing was coming to her.

"I'm capable." He replied, reaching for the handle.

"H, h, how about those flying lessons?"

"I'm thinking about that." he responded. She moved further in his way.

"What about fighting lessons?" She said too loudly with her nerves.

"Fayra -" he said, leaning to brace himself against the cupboard just beside her head.

"Yes." she said too quickly, fidgeting with her fingers.

He paused, looking at her with that abyss like visor. "You're acting strange… are you hiding something?"

Panic began to settle in her chest. "H-hide." she smiled. "What could I possibly hide… from you… on your ship."

He stood in silence a moment her breath ragged and she knew he could see right through her lies. "Step aside." He instructed.

"How about I make you some tea?" She tried smiling at him. "I mean you've gotta let me be in charge of something on this ship. I'll make it right now, it'll be nice and h-."

"Fayra."

She stopped.

"I'm not going to ask you again." His voice dropped to that low warning tone. He dropped his hand and moved just inches from her. He moved slowly on her, giving her a chance to yield. Her breath quickened. He came so close she could feel his body heat radiating through his armor. She couldn't look up at him, her eyes were filling with tears. He gripped her shoulders, she shuddered.

"Manny, please." She begged quietly. He pushed her aside.

Mando pulled the cabinet door open and a small blue blur jumped at him and clanged as it hit the floor.

Mando immediately drew his weapon and turned to Fayra. She gasped at his quick movements.

"You have a droid on this ship?!"

She backed away from him. "It was an accident." She confessed. "It followed me, I didn't know he was onboard until after we left." She explained quickly. Blue zoomed in behind her. Mando raised his blaster. Fayra put her hand up as he advanced on them.

"Wait." she begged taking small steps back. "Don't."

"No droids on this ship!" he reminded her.

"He hasn't done anything. He's been on the ship for a week and nothings happened."

"He's been here a week!" His tone changed from anger to furious.

"Oh, well that was supposed to be a good thing!"

He was so close to her now the hand she was using to try to block him hit his chest.

"Get out of the way." He instructed.

She was shaking her head, "Manny, please." He advanced, further crushing her hand against him. No, she couldn't let him do this, Blue had become her friend, she liked him. Mando just doesn't understand, she thought. She needed time to make him understand. She pulled in her focus, calling her wind. She just needed to knock him back at little. Give her some space to explain. Suddenly she was jerked forward. Mando pinned both her arms to his left side.

"You don't want to do that." he suggested, that low warning tone sending chills down her spine. "Fight me." He suggested, practically daring her. She looked at him, she had forgotten just how terrifying he could be. She squirmed as the wind she called died quickly.

"I know how you work," he explained. "You need your hands to use that power. That's why you were chained when I found you."

She shook her head. "Don't." she pleaded. "I'll do anything you want, please, don't kill him." Mando raised his weapon again, catching the droid in his sights. All those pictures he showed her of all those places she longed to see flashed before Fayra's eyes. "I'll do anything…" she screamed at him. "If you want, you can have me."

Mando froze. Fayra realized the magnitude of her offer. She didn't know if he even engaged in that type of activity. She didn't know what kind of man he is at all, or know what kind of man he would be intimately. All she knew was he took money to hunt down kidnapped girls. She scolded herself. She probably should have been trying to flee this whole time. What were his plans for her anyway, why was he keeping her? These past months she had been in shock, unsure what to do or where to go. She didn't even know what planet she's from. She was so young when they took her.

Now she's offering herself to a man that she's never even seen his face. Could she actually do this. She wasn't completely ignorant about sex. She had seen things the Niktos would do. They didn't care much about where they did it, so she witnessed many things. Some interesting things, but some horrible things too. Things she wouldn't want to be part of. Was all species like that?

She felt Blue tremble at her feet. She would do it, she decided. She would give herself to Mando, if that is what kept him from killing the small droid. Tears fell down her cheeks. Her breath heavy, "You can have me." She repeated as Mando stood upright.

He didn't loosen his grip and his gaze bore down on her. That dark visor offered no answer as she gazed back at him.

"You'd do that?" He said flatly. "For a droid?"

She nodded. They stood there frozen for a long moment as Mando studied her.

He looked back to the droid and raised his blaster.