Memory - Part 1

The first memory she could recall was the pain; in her face and across her whole body. Pain coursing through her whole body, like she was being torn apart, unable to breathe, screaming in utter agony. Her mother above her, looking worried toward another figure. She could hear cries, more screams of pain. Her vision was blurry, seeing red beside her, the tiny babe reached out for the sound. She felt something warm touch her hand, and the pain seemed to ease, a warmth swelled in her, and the pain was gone. So too did the screams she heard. After that, the memory faded.

The next memory was some time later, she saw the flashes of green and feeling the power rise in her, it was weak, a flicker, like a candle flame. The next thing she knew was the strange power pulling at her, and following it to its source. A boy, one of the brothers, with the Great Mother Talzin. She watched in awe as he managed to move the small rocks before him without touching them. She approached, soft little feet tapping on the stone floor. The boy looked at her, his grey eyes meeting her soft blue ones. He looked curious as she sat beside him, Mother Talzin looking on curiously. She tried to mimic what he had done, but she was only able to make the small pebble rise.

"You're really good." she grinned at him, his red skin covered in black markings shifting on his face, his brows rising as he watched her. She grinned, her own markings, dusty grey on her pale skin as she beamed.

"It seems you have the power too, child." Talzin murmured above them.

"Can I learn to be as good as him?" the girl asked, looking up at the Great Mother.

"Perhaps, but you will need to practice, little one." she nodded. The girl zabrak looked at the boy with a bright and excited smile, while he seemed more unsure.

"I am called Zaiya." she told him and held out a hand.

"I am called Maul." he replied, returning her gesture, resting his forehead on hers for a moment, his hand resting on the back of her head while she rested hers at his, just below his stumpy horns. It was a symbol of their clan, one of their bonds. Though Talzin scoffed.

"He is a male, little one, there is no need for such an honourable greeting." Zaiya looked up as she lowered her hand, confused and annoyed. That didn't make sense to her, but she did know she wanted to learn to do what he could, and squeezed his little red and black hand as they turned back to the stones.

She learned more of the power as time went on, and though she later learned that he would have to live in the male camp once he got older, but until then, they were allowed to spend time together. She found herself following him around the village most days, walking through the twisting pathways, lingering near the glowing river. Sometimes they even ventured to the red fog marshlands. Hiding and testing their abilities through the tall flora and huge twisting vines and roots of the surface beyond the main temple. He scoffed at her annoyedly, trying to muster up enough of his power to push her away, or lose her in the marshes; though most of the time she found him again after a short time, somehow always managing to know where he was. As they got a little older, Talzin had two more sons, smaller and weak, but on seeing them, Maul found himself drawn to protect them, while Zaiya was often playing with them and making them laugh. These were the times when Maul seemed to smile the most, and found her songs less irritating over time.

They trained everyday, not just with their magic, but how to fight as well, even though they were small, they had to learn to defend themselves early, their home was not the safest place for a child. Not just because of the flora and fauna, but also the elder Nightsisters were powerful, and it became apparent that they did not treat brothers the same as the sisters. Maul was not given the same allowances that Zaiya was, though she noticed that he was far stronger with the strange magic. It wasn't the green smoke type of magic she and the other night sisters used, it was invisible, and she could feel it inside, some sort of strange push and pull when he used the power. She could not understand how he was not praised for it as she was, it was clear to her he was stronger, and he was clever too. This did not make sense to the young Nightsister, and she noticed the look in his ashen eyes when they spoke to him, the flash of anger.

Training was always rigorous, one of the strongest Nightsisters, Battlemaster Sheena had been training them in combat, no one had been able to defeat her that Zaiya had seen. She had organised to pit some of the younger brothers and sisters against the older ones, a complete unfair battle, to just humiliate them all it seemed.

That night, the young brother sat alone, outside of the light of the fire, a tired expression on his face. He was different to the other males, no one had the same red skin as he did, even his brothers had more yellow tones. She wondered why he was so different, it was the same crimson as the earth below them, and the same crimson of the anointed Nightsister robes, it had to all be connected. She watched him, taking an extra serving of dinner over to the boy. He still looked angry, having been scolded earlier and humiliated in losing a fight with one of the older males.

"I got you some food." She suggested, padding over on the bare stone.

"I don't want it." He muttered, refusing to look at her.

"You fought really hard today, you will need your strength for tomorrow." She insisted, shifting to sit on the bench beside him. She laid her bowl next to her and offered the bowl in her other hand to her friend. "Come on-"

"I don't want it!" he snarled, slapping her hand away, the bowl of hot meat pieces and liquid spilling all over her pale arms and the stone of the floor. Zaiya let out a gasp of pain, causing Maul to freeze in place, another sister approached a moment later in response..

"Did this male attack you?!" she snapped, eying the zabrak with a glare.

"Ah-no!" Zaiya stepped between them, "I just spilled it, its my fault." she insisted. The sister looked displeased, but turned away with a scoff.

"You spend too much time with these males, child." she insisted, but stalked off. Zaiya's expression dropped as soon as the sister turned away, making a face at the woman before looking back to the mess. Maul was staring at her.

"Why did you do that?" he asked accusingly.

"Because… it was just an accident." She shrugged, not really sure for a moment, then let out a sigh, scowling and looking back at him. "Besides, they don't treat you right! You were great today and you are so strong, they expected you to fight the older males, it's just…" She let out a growl, then winced, looking down at her arm. It still stung. Her companion sighed, and stepped over to a nearby barrel of water, fetching a cloth and gently wiping her arm down. She winced slightly, but let him, then helped him clean up the mess as best they could.

"You can't protect me forever." He grumbled, "And I don't need it! I will get stronger on my own!" he insisted, eyes flashing in anger.

"I know, you are so strong, but… I can help you sometimes, especially when they are being so… so…." She growled again, though her anger was interrupted by a chuckle from the zabrak. Zaiya looked up, confused at the little smile on his lips.

"It can't be so bad, if I have someone like you looking after me, anything I can't handle, I suppose you can help with." He smirked, shaking his head. Her smile returned, and suddenly the scalding pain on her arm wasn't so bad.

"I will, I promise." She swore, a determined look in her eye. "Now, my arm still hurts, so you have to eat." The boy blinked, not understanding her logic, but she didn't care, taking up the other bowl and offering to him.

"But… what about yours?" he asked her, tilting his head.

"I guess we will have to share," she giggled, he frowned at her and she just laughed again. "Should have thought about that before you got all mad." She shifted to sit beside him with a bright smile.

"No other sister is like you." He muttered, though it didn't seem to be a compliment, there was just a sense of confusion in his words. Zaiya just looked at him, it was not the first time she had been told that, so she just shrugged, and held out the fork to him, a piece of meat on the end of the utensil.

"Well, when I take the trial and become a true Nightsister, then they will have to put up with it." She huffed, Maul shook his head, begrudgingly taking the fork and sharing the bowl they had.

Zaiya would hear that often, that she was unlike the others. She seemed to be more energetic and brighter than her sisters, she was getting used to the mentions of her odd behaviour, but she couldn't help but feel a little out of place. Was she not meant to enjoy the smiles of her sisters? Was it so bad that she would make Feral laugh so hard he got the hiccups? She liked to spend time with the three brothers, though it seemed not all the sisters and Dathomiri women agreed with it.

Most of her days were spent with Maul, especially after he had been spared punishment because of her, the zabrak boy seemed to tolerate her a little more with each passing day. She even saw him laugh once and stopped what she was doing, proclaiming -very enthusiastically- that it must be marked as a holy day. He rolled his eyes and just walked away, scoffing, he didn't dare show the little smirk at the corner of his mouth.

+-Notes-+

This is the first real story I have written in a long time and my current Star Wars obsession channelled into this.
I haven't a beta reader so if you are keen on Star Wars and have seen the films and Clone Wars series and want to be an assist on this, lmk.

Any feedback is welcome, so please don't hesitate to comment. You have my appreciation!