Bridge Over Troubled Water

Bridge Over Troubled Water

Disclaimer: Jedi don't belong to me, though. King Lucas made 'em. Heh, the Jedi mentioned at the bottom is mine, as is the slave… Only a prologue, tell me if I should continue it, please.

It is a cage of invisible bars, of steel that cannot be felt, cannot be seen, but still has the icy cold taste of fear attached to it. She was a 'Hand Maiden'. A Lady-in-Waiting. A slave. Call it whatever you'd like, but she still had no life of her own unless she wished to die. Perhaps then, then she could be free from the torture, from the pain of whips and being slammed into the floor, into the wall. Of burns, slaps, kicks, horrible teasing and hatred. Maybe hatred was the worst of all. She knew no love, no kindness, no gentle hand to soothe the burns. Her mind raced, and yet, the slavery seemed to never end. It was now or never. She would die of insanity or die of pain.

As she picked up the dagger, the one she called 'Master,' the one she disliked so much pulled back the whip as she ran into the room, sending her body reeling. Rolling backwards, hugging the wall like a caged animal, she still held the dagger close to her palm, so close she felt the sensual heat from it, warming her already sweat-soaked palm. Yet her easy, strong grip never faltered as the gleaming object was held to her throat.

            "You hurt me again, I swear I'll twitch, 'Master'," she hissed through tightly clenched teeth, her heady anger slipping through the ancient hold on her emotions. She gave the word 'Master' an ironic, condescending expression in her normally blank servant voice. "You couldn't stand losing your most productive… Hand Maiden, is it…?" Her breath came in harsh, sharp gasps, rasping through her raw throat. Her frustration grew, fueling the hot flames of anger more. This person in front of her was the one who had nearly killed her, had starved, beaten, raped her before, so many times before.

            Slowly, the master pulled back, folding the whip in his palms, then dropped it slowly at her feet.

            "You win." His hands slowly drifted to chest height, as he backed up. It seemed so sincere… Slowly, her dust gray eyes wary, she stood, her body tensed to run. With a small smile, malicious as it was candy-sweet, he smoothly called the whip to his palm and reeled it out swiftly, letting it bite deep. Hoping it did.

            Before her eyes glazed in the red haze of pain, he murmured in her ears, "See you tonight." Sharply, the pictures behind them fell and shattered.

            Deep within the Jedi Temple, hundreds of light years away, a young Jedi Knight woke with a scream…