"Why?"

"Why what?" Maul's voice had an edge of impatience as he glared at the changeling standing before him.

"Why me?" Ezra elaborated on his question more, gazing at the ground he was still sitting on. He felt disgusted at the fact at how much better he felt after drinking that murderer's blood, and hatred boiled beneath his skin at the fact that this had all been forced upon him. He rather wished that he had died rather than become the walking dead - literally. Then his family wouldn't have had to suffer, suffering that he had caused.

"Because, my spawn, it was you who broke that curse placed upon me long ago," he said. "That doesn't happen on a mere whim. I sense great power within you and I can help you unlock your full potential."

"But I don't want power or any of this," the boy replied, his lips trembling as he blinked back his tears. "I just want my family…"

"Your family is dead," Maul growled out, his patience thinning. "They're never coming back again. You are all that there is left and you belong here with me."

A tear escaped his eyes, staining his cheek red from the vile blood that came from the equally vile man, and he gave a small sniffle as he weakly wiped it away. Ezra couldn't help it, he wanted nothing more than to be in the warm embrace of his family, to wake up and find that this had been nothing more than a horrible nightmare. He let out a gasp when he was hauled up his feet before being shaken roughly, his head snapping back and forth with such intensity that it made him see stars.

"Your first lesson will be not to cry," the vampire snarled when he stopped shaking the boy. "Crying is a weakness, and there is no mercy for the weak."

Despite being told not to, more tears began to pour down Ezra's cheeks and he let out a sob before he could even stop himself. The glint in Maul's eyes sent shivers down the teen's spine, making him want to cower away from the silent promise of harm. He just wanted his family.

"Do you understand?" Maul hissed from between his teeth, his eyes narrowing into thin slits. Ezra, frightened, nodded his head in hopes of being released from the demon's hold. The vampire only tightened his grip and slightly raised his other hand, just enough to make his threat loud and clear. "Say it out loud."

Ezra shrank, and cracked open his dry lips, his voice barely there, "Yes."

"Yes what ? "

The changeling's lips thinned with disdain and defiance. He knew what the man wanted to hear and the thought made his stomach churn, threatening to heave his recent meal - which Ezra supposed he didn't mind since it was full with the blood that came from that vile beast.

"Didn't I already mention that your opposition is starting to get on my nerves?"

And so what if it did? Ezra inwardly challenged, trying very hard to put on a brave face as he glared back. In truth, he was very much afraid of the cruel and unpredictable demon before him. Despite being able to heal relatively fast, pain was still that - pain. It hurt to be hit, to have his bones broken and then feeling them mend back together, and although he did long for death, he couldn't deny that he felt frightened at the notion of death. I

t's just a word, just one word , he told himself, but it all seemed so wrong and disgusting.

"Yes… Master ," Ezra gritted out finally, nearly gagging on the word 'master'. Although he hadn't meant it, the title still left a bitter taste on his tongue. He hated having to call that appalling creature his master, that creature didn't even deserve it.

"See, that wasn't so hard, now was it?" Maul smiled, obviously pleased. "I will let this crying incident off with a warning, as we have much to cover, but next time I will not be so lenient."

Ezra shuddered in revulsion at the monster before him. How could something so delusional and evil even exist? The vampire let go of the boy in favor of tucking his hands behind his back as he looked down intently at his apprentice. His facial expression eased, twisting into one that some may call amusement, but to Ezra, it was an expression that repulsed him.

"I've got something for you," he finally said before stalking off to a nearby wooden table, grabbing something. "I found it while scouring the town looking for workers."

Maul threw the object at Ezra, the pages rustling as it soared through the air and into Ezra's hands. He looked at it blankly, his brain slowly catching up. It was a newspaper. Frowning, he couldn't understand why the vampire would give him this.

"On the front page," Maul said rather impatiently, using a tone as one would use when instructing a toddler for the umpth time on the most basics of tasks, crossing his arms over his chest.

Ezra glared at the vampire before turning the newspaper around to the correct page, lowering his gaze to the wrinkled paper. The headlines were bold and hard to miss, and a lump formed in his throat at the words.

"Family murdered, missing son suspected for arson"

This couldn't possibly be about his family, Ezra told himself. However, that was his family in the photo, the very same one that they had taken back earlier this year during the town's annual summer festival, smiling back at him from the newspaper page. His vision began to blur and the newspaper's flimsy paper started to crumble under his trembling hands, the sound of paper crushing barely audible as he cut himself off from his surroundings.

Tarkintown mourns the tragic loss of the Jarrus family. Coroners have identified the bodies found at last Monday's fire, through dental records, bones of the deceased Hera Jarrus, 38, Kanan Jarrus, 40, and Sabine Jarrus, 17. Upon further investigation it has been deduced that the victims had been murder prior to the fire. Forensic experts have determined no forced entry was involved and the fire originated from within the house. Son, Ezra Jarrus, 16, has yet not been found, making him the primary suspect of arson. Reports indicate that Ezra had been showing signs of instability earlier the day of the fire, taking violent actions against a classmate, unprovoked.

"He has always been a bit off," the victim stated, "But that day, he actually punched me! And I got the concussion and stitches to prove it!"

Authorities are still on the lookout for the missing Ezra Bridger and are asking the public to come forward if they have any information about his whereabouts

Ezra Bridger was adopted back in 2010…

The words blurred and Ezra could not bear to read any longer. He wanted to scream, reprimand them for their false accusation. Only, they weren't completely false, now were they? He had killed his family by his own hands, even if it had been unwilling. He was certain they had a word for such murders… he was under duress? However, thanks to this news article, his entire town now thought of him as nothing more than an unstable, psychopath on the run made his insides turn and his recent meal threatened to surface.

A deep chuckle made Ezra snap out of his turmoil and he looked up to see Maul's eyes glistening with mirth. The vampire found this situation amusing, he realised. If it hadn't been for this fiend, then none of this would have happened. It was all his fault! All his doing!

A murderous rage bubbled beneath the surface and Ezra's lips pulled back into a snarl, baring his gritted teeth.

"You monster!" He spat out, his whole body trembling with rage as red tears streamed down his face. Not waiting for a response, Ezra threw himself towards Maul. He had already suspected it would be in vain considering what happened the previous night, but was surprised when his nails scraped across the vampire's cheek. In his shock, Ezra faltered for a moment, expecting to be met with rage and violence. Instead, Maul regarded him with amusement as if his scratch was nothing more than a mosquito bite.

"Now, now," he chided mockingly, "Is that any way to treat your master?"

"I hate you!" Ezra spat out, his muscles tense as he went in for another attack, this time his wrist being caught in a bruising grip. It didn't deter Ezra as he brought down his other hand, but again failed and was left struggling against the man's hold. "I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! You'll never be my master! Just the monster that got my family murdered!" He shouted, his throat stinging from screaming.

Maul looked at him now unamused, his lips pressed tightly together and his eyes narrowed. There was a moment of silence before the vampire finally spoke in a low voice, "Are you quite done now?"

Ezra wanted nothing more than to scream more, but instead remained silent, knowing it would only further damage his already sore throat. If looks could kill, he was certain that the monster before him would have been nothing more than a decaying heap of useless flesh. Oh, how Ezra wished that was possible...

Maul's eyes narrowed further into thin slits as if able to read his spawn's thoughts. He momentarily let go but before the changeling could use the opportunity to strike again, Maul backhanded him across the cheek, sending the boy to the ground in a heap.

"Was yesterday's lesson not clear enough with having to respect me or do you need another one?" Maul gritted out and his lips pulled back. Ezra could tell that Maul was holding himself back from lashing again from the way he clenched his fist.

Ezra remained silent on the ground, clutching his bruised cheek as he stared fearfully at the monster, his defiance momentarily forgotten as he was rendered to nothing more than a scared child longing for the safety and comfort of his parents. He hated feeling this way, especially in front of the man who had taken everything from him, but he was just so emotionally exhausted that he couldn't keep himself together any longer.

"You are fortunate that I am not as terrible as my master was," Maul spat out and began to pace, his movements feverish as he glowered at the boy.

"Well, you are terrible enough," came the cheeky reply causing the vampire to halt. Ezra regretted the words as soon as they stumbled out of his mouth and he tried to scramble away as Maul marched up to him but he wasn't quick enough. The rough stone floor scraped against the underside of his legs, his pajama pants getting caught by the sharp edges as he was grabbed by his right ankle. He tried to find purchase but it proved futile against the vampire's strength as he dragged the changeling to a closet-like room that hid in the shadows of the staircase.

"Perhaps what you need is what humans call 'a little time-out'," Maul sneered and Ezra's stomach dropped when he saw the glint of dull chains that hung from the wall. He struggled as the man hauled him to his feet, however, his attempts proved fruitless as he was pushed against the stone without much effort and the cold metal bit into his wrists with a muted click. Ezra tugged on them as soon as Maul stepped away, smirking at his handiwork as his spawn struggled to get loose.

"You'll find that these chains are quite unbreakable, even with your renewed strength. I had them specially made by a sorcerer long ago for my... nemesis, but they prove to be useful for this, too, it seems," Maul said with mirth in his voice. "I'll let you mull over the things you've done wrong. I have more important things to attend to than babysitting you."

The door closed, encasing Ezra in darkness, although that did little to hinder his newly acquired eyesight.

Mull over things I did wrong?! He fumed as he bared his teeth to where the vampire had been standing. Ezra had done nothing wrong! It was that barbaric, distasteful monster that had done everything wrong! Turning him into this creature of the night, forcing him to kill his family, kidnapping him, and now everyone suspected him for murder! And it was all that despicable demon's fault!

Ezra let out a wretched scream as he yanked against the biting chains, the scraping sound of metal against stone drowned by his own voice. Never had he felt this hopeless and lost and angry and just so alone. His screams later died down into an ugly sob, his body heaving and trembling as big tears streamed down his cheeks, his previous futile struggles having long since stopped as anguish took its place in his unbeating heart. He could no longer run away from reality as he was strung up before its bleakness, forced to stare in its cold eyes.

His family was dead…

Ezra was alone...

So very alone...

Stuck with the very monster that had caused all of this...

The same monster that had left him in this dark room, chained like an animal that had misbehaved.

The very same monster that Ezra knew he could not defeat.

At least not defeat in the way he had been trying for the past two days. However, even if he did manage to escape from this psychopath, where would he run off to? Everyone suspected him of having murdered his family and no one would believe the truth. He wouldn't believe it if he weren't the one living this nightmare. And even if he did tell them, and someone actually did believe him, that it was Maul who had done it, the vampire would just force Ezra to tell the truth like he had done the previous awful night or worse- force him to take another innocent life.

The realisation of his situation weighed on his mind like a tonne, pushing him under into the sea of anguish, drowning him in his own incompetence and sorrow. He didn't want to be here. He almost wished in a sick and twisted way that Maul would just kill him instead of prolonging the inevitable - who knew what the vampire would do if he got bored of Ezra - and there was no way of knowing what this so-called training would entail. Something awful, he imagined. And what was worse was that now he had to live off the blood of the living, and despite Ezra having eaten meat from animals before, the very thought of willingly draining life from a human repulsed him.

Of course, his body betrayed him immediately just as it would when one would think of candy. Ezra hated feeling his mouth salivate at the mere thought of the red liquid that ran through one's veins and made up his falling tears. It wasn't normal, it wasn't right. And yet it was all really happening, just as all the events that had occurred in the past few days also had really happened. The newspaper's bold letters flashed in his mind, renewing his deep sense of forlornness as he cried even harder.

There was no way of knowing how long he had been there. His arms had already begun to ache under the constant strain of being held up by the unbudging chains, occasionally wiggling them in hopes of fighting off the painful numb-like sensation that prickled like needles. That had so far been unsuccessful and Ezra doubted that Maul would come back anytime soon. And when he did, what then?

That psychopath had taken everything from him, everything he had ever cared or loved in this now seemingly desolate world. Still, Ezra acknowledged that he could not defeat him, at least not in strength alone. However, he knew he couldn't stay here, he couldn't let this monster twist him into whatever the vampire wanted. Even if there was nowhere from him to go, anywhere was better than being in the presence of that murderer. Ezra just had to be smart about it, and then, suddenly, a thought occurred.

Ezra sniffed, his tears having dried up a while ago, and looked at the closed door with somber eyes, his hatred still burning brightly in the left over ashes of the fire that had raged earlier. The thought was a deadly one, however, it promised a sliver of hope and that was enough to toy with the idea. Even if it wasn't successful, he had nothing to lose. That murderer had already taken everything from Ezra, what harm could attempting deceiving that fiend possibly cause?

It only required lowering himself to distasteful levels in which the mere thought made his stomach churn. However, this seemed to be the best option as fighting head on proved fruitless. If he could deceive Maul instead, however, then he could perhaps escape after he had earned his trust.

A more treacherous and sinister thought bubbled up from the abyss of his mind as he continued to lay out his plan. If along the way, if the initial trick worked and Maul believed that Ezra was a… willing servant… What if he got a chance at revenge? That demon did take everything from him, so why not rid the world of that horrific parasite? That vampire was nothing more than a nasty stain, ruining all that was good.

Ezra nodded to himself, feeling renewed determination as hope flourished. Now all he had to do was practice his act before that cruel thing returns.