Chapter 49

While Alex made sure that the S-11 droid made its way out of their room, his apprentice took her first look around.

Meri slowly lowered her hood and glanced around their quarters — quarters which were several floors up from the main level. She was quick to notice several things, none of which helped settle the fluttery feeling in her stomach.

Taking a step out of the entryway, she glanced briefly at the large double divan in the corner of the room. She really didn't want to contemplate that right now.

Moving her fingers up to the fastening at the hollow of her throat, she loosened the tie and allowed her cloak to slip off her shoulders. Catching it with one hand, she draped it over her arm and moved to stand before the large sliding glass door that opened onto a small balcony.

She only had time to notice that the rain had picked again before Alex entered the room behind her. Turning slightly, she immediately dropped her eyes and was rewarded with a testy sigh from her Master.

"Aren't you getting tired of that yet," he asked, though not unkindly. Moving past her, he didn't wait for an answer.

"I'm sick of it," she murmured in return as he quickly pulled the drapes over the balcony doors, blocking the view of anyone outside.

Without waiting for permission, Meri gave a sigh of relief and raised her head. "I've a crick in my neck," she smiled ruefully, not quite able to keep the hint of weariness from her voice.

Even though she was used to traveling and the associated time changes such travels meant, Meri felt quite drained. And it was very late on Nuvanai.

Alex seemed to notice this as he studied her. "Let's get our things settled and then get some rest," he suggested.

Meri's eyes slipped over to the divan and she tensed almost imperceptibly.

Alex, however, again noticed this. It was obvious that he didn't know how to deal with Meri's distress, so he simply said nothing and moved to put away his things.

Meri did the same, at the same time searching for something suitable to sleep in. She was mortified to realize that the only garment provided offered nothing in the way of modesty. Moreover, she certainly was not going to wear it while sleeping in the same space as Alex. She didn't even have a simple tunic to wear. Everything she had was designed to show off her body — like some trophy — and it was humiliating.

Trying to think of an alternative, she stalled for time. By now, Alex had already changed for the night and he was waiting on her so he could dim the lights.

Frustrated, she sat motionless on the floor, the scrap of lace in one hand. Her back to her Master, she forced down the compulsion to rip the thing to shreds. She was a Jedi and she had certainly been through tougher things than this, though perhaps none so personal. Now was not the time to let her temper get the better of her.

// I'm just tired, \\ she rationalized. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that she was terrified of Alex seeing her in such a state of undress. She was just as afraid that in the closeness of their sleeping arrangements, he would sense her affection for him, as her Master, was really something else. Something she had been fighting since before Dubh nán.

"Meri?"

Alex's questioning voice broke through her chaotic thoughts, bringing her back to the moment and the realization that both her fists were clenched, the one still holding the lacy nightwear.

Quickly she relaxed, but it was already too late. Alex had approached and knelt by her side. He had seen her obvious discomfort with her new role.

When she didn't answer, his gaze dropped to what she held clenched in her hand.

Without a word he took it from her and unfolded it. A grin pulled the corners of his mouth up and Meri felt a flash of irritation. "It's not funny," she retorted sharply.

He sobered quickly. "You don't have to wear this."

She shook her head. "That's all they gave me. Everything else is like … this." The word "this" was almost spat as she indicated the skin tight, curve-hugging clothing she wore.

"Not even a simple tunic ..." he dropped off as she shook her head. Understanding was swift in coming to the Jedi Master.

Sitting back on his heels, Alex had to fight the urge to take Meri into his arms, although he suspected he would get an elbow in the ribs for his effort. It was obvious that there was more at issue here than the fact that she felt humiliated in having to wear this garment. Alex assumed it also had a great deal to do with the fact that they would be required to sleep on the same bed. The only thing he didn't understand was why she feared it.

It took a few moments of contemplation, but the solution came quickly. Lifting his arms, he pulled his large tunic over his head, ignoring the startled face of his apprentice.

"Put this on," he offered her the garment that was still warm to the touch from his skin.

Meri hesitated, her face uncertain as she shyly glanced at his now bare torso.

"Look," Alex finally said, holding it up to show its size. "It will swallow you, I promise. It should come down to your knees at least."

"Don't you have another I could wear?" she asked at last.

Alex's mouth again turned upwards in the ghost of a smile. "Sorry, no. You'll just have to put up with a lot of my bare skin now."

Meri didn't think this funny, but allowed a distracted smile anyway. It was times like these that she desperately wished Jedi didn't travel so lightly.

Taking the garment from his hand, Meri rose and headed to the 'fresher to change, by this time wanting only to sleep.

When she finally emerged from the 'fresher, she was greeted by the soothing rumble of gentle thunder and the sound of rain pelting against the glass. The lights were out. She already felt better with her hair hanging about her shoulders and her face washed of any cosmetics.

Glancing toward the divan, she noticed Alex was already sprawled on his side of the bed, though she wasn't certain he was really sleeping. She approached slowly, but hesitated to join him, her gaze falling to the floor. Wiggling her toes, she dug them into the plush carpet and wondered if it would make a hard place to sleep.

"No, Meri." Alex voice came out of the darkness and Meri looked up to find his blue eyes shinning in the dimness of the room. "If anyone slept on the floor it would be me, but you know that won't work."

Meri wanted to say no she didn't know, but there was no use arguing. The hint of firmness in his voice was proof enough.

Sitting down, she then lifted her feet and pushed them under the covers. She was careful to lay as close to the edge as she could and as far away from her Master as possible. She thought she was being completely inconspicuous.

"Meri, if I sneezed in your direction you'd fall off." Her Master's voice was thick with amusement.

"I would not," she muttered, but slid a little more toward the center. Alex just laughed softly, before falling silent and it wasn't long before they both drifted off.

****

Alex didn't know what it was that stirred him from sleep. It could've been the thunder rumbling away into a gentle roar or just a sense that something was different. Lying quietly for a time half dozing, his Jedi senses remained attuned to feel of the room, but felt nothing amiss.

Moving to lie on his back, he realized his hand was moving over the curve of a hip and it wasn't his own. Withdrawing his hand quickly, his sapphire eyes snapped open and it immediately become clear why he'd felt something different and now felt rather awkward.

For a few moments there, while not quite awake he'd forgotten about Meri. She was making that particular mistake very hard for him to forget now.

He wasn't sure if she was the one prone to cuddling or if he was, but somehow they had ended up that way. With one hand lightly braced against his chest, the other around his waist, Meri was in a deep sleep curled around her master.

Even with his mind warning him to distance himself, he couldn't help thinking how lovely she was. Her dark lashes rested against her pale skin and her hair that was now curly was spread beneath her head. With a splash of color in her cheeks and her full lips slightly parted she looked innocent and rather distracting.

Alex made a sound in the back of his throat that almost resembled a groan as he attempted to delicately extract his apprentice from his arms. He quickly stopped his motions however as Meri stirred and nuzzled closer still.

// Okay…I should have slept on the floor…\\ he mused with an unsteady breath. The last thing he wanted to do was wake Meri up. The situation would be even more awkward than it already was just for him. With the way she had been reacting so far, he could only imagine her response to finding them like this.

Oblivious of her master's thoughts and her effect on him, Meri released a light sigh and became still as she fell back into a deep sleep.

// You just have to make this hard for me, don't you? \\ Alex thought as he looked down on her. The scent of her freshly washed hair, like Alderaan roses assailed his senses and without thinking he grasped one of her curls, stretching the dark strand out slowly as he wondered at the softness. Releasing it, his eyes then moved to gaze at her face, unhurriedly tracing the curve of her cheek, the outline of an eyelash and finally her mouth. The knight's eyes, normally bright blue, were now a hazy mist of lavender.

Releasing a heavy sigh of his own, Alex jerked his gaze elsewhere as the beginnings of guilt bit at him. She was his apprentice and he had to remember that. Such thoughts were inappropriate, and completely out of place.

With tension running through his body, Alex's thoughts were far from sleep. He gave up on moving at present and tried to focus his thoughts elsewhere, even attempting to meditate on the mission. When finally Meri turned over and put a little space between them, he heaved a sigh of relief, but more time passed before he was able to fall back asleep.


****

Meri came awake the next morning slowly, feeling more rested than she had been in quite some time --- and just from one night's sleep. Stretching languorously to her full length, it took a moment for her to remember that Alex wouldn't be far.

Halting mid-motion, she propped herself up on her arms and quickly glanced around the room. Her master was nowhere in sight, but the door to the 'fresher was closed. Sitting up, she quickly pulled the overly large tunic back down around her legs, only then realizing she had been sleeping with it bunched around her waist, sprawled atop the covers.

Color flooded her face at the thought of Alex seeing her like that as she slept, but she wasn't given time to contemplate the image further. The door to the 'fresher slid open and Alex ambled out, drops of water glistening on his black hair as he headed for his clothes bag. His chest was still bare, but he had thought to put his sleep pants back on. In one hand, he held a towel that he ruffled through his thick hair, drying it as he walked.

Meri watched him quietly. She didn't want to be noticed, but rather wished there was some way she could dart into the 'fresher before he saw her in all her morning glory. She was embarrassed to be seen with her hair wild and sleep still in her eyes.

While Meri's thoughts were consumed with avoiding Alex, her master moved to a tray set out by the serving droid. Breakfast had been brought into the room while she slept. Picking up a cup of juice, Alex took a taste of it, before glancing at his apprentice and smiling disarmingly.

"Good morning," he greeted, his voice low and still a bit husky from sleep.

Meri dropped her eyes, this time only from her embarrassment at the situation.

"Would you like some juice?" he offered, ignoring the color infusing her cheeks.

"I think I'd rather freshen up first," she said tentatively, casting a glance at the 'fresher.

Alex merely nodded and watched as she quickly disappeared into the 'fresher. The smile that had been on his face fell as he turned and pushed aside the balcony door drapes to reveal a bright and clear day with no sign of any storms.

Lifting his juice, he took another swallow, a contemplative frown creasing his brow. His thoughts were clearly not on the view and were in fact on more serious matters. He had reason to believe, as Anthian had suggested, that their serving droid had more than one duty. The unit that entered their quarters had actually been what woke him that morning. He'd awoken to find it's sensors trained on them and Alex was convinced it had been recording. The question was, what was it recording?

However, Alex smiled inwardly as he recalled the position he and Meri had been found in. It was more than convincing. His mouth turned upwards wryly at this thought. They had become entangled again sometime during the night and it was this scene the serving droid had come upon. But when it discovered Alex's clear gaze on it, the droid had quickly begun laying out their breakfast as though that had been its original intent all along.

Releasing a sigh, the knight dismissed his thoughts on that subject and considered something that troubled him even more than the mission did.

He had actually been quite grateful that the droid had awakened him before Meri. He had meant to wake before her in the first place, but somehow when he was with her what usually worked back at the Temple didn't work at all here. *At least not in her arms*, his mind was quick to point out.

His eyes slid shut at the thought and not without a sense of unease. Waking with her in his arms, it hadn't been any wonder his body responded and his blood quickened. The knight wanted to groan at thought. Thank the light she hadn't awakened!

He downed the last of his juice in a quick toss before running a hand through his damp hair. There were times when he appreciated cold water more than he ever had longed for hot.

****

The morning was spent in their room while Alex read through the files Anthian had sent regarding a few of the more important individuals he suspected were involved. Their contact had also provided them with invitations that would admit them to a private meeting with potential investors, or at least get Alex admittance. Meri was his slave, and as such, would be allowed wherever he was.

The invitations were under the name Alex Solail, his pseudonym for the mission. Their entire mission had been staged to appear as though he had arrived only for this gathering of potential investors. All who had been invited were among the wealthiest on Nuvanai or its surrounding moons and no doubt would each be accompanied by appropriate signs of stature --- the personal slave.

Anthian had warned them that these meetings could get out of hand at times and that drinking was unavoidable. It often became rather wild after the business had been concluded, with the men exchanging slaves for the night and not bothering to find rooms.

Alex wasn't so much concerned for who he would be meeting, as that wasn't his goal at this time. The critical bit of information relating to this meeting was where it was being held: at the estate of one of the most important crime lords. It was also the suspected holding place of Jedi Lavyin.

The fact that these meetings became overly rowdy wasn't of a concern to him. In fact he counted on it to serve as a distraction. Anthian had already stressed how much they drank, but Alex was confident that through the use of the Force, he would be able to filter enough of the alcohol out of his system to stay sober. However after the remaining men were drunk or at least well on their way to it, Alex planned to separate from Meri. Then they could both concentrate on searching for the missing knight.

This was provided they received a sense of him through the Force. Already Alex had sensed something. It was fleeting and so faint that it was disturbing. Meri, who did not have her Master's control of the Force as of yet, did not even sense it. The only thing easily felt by both was the darkness shrouding the entire mission. To Alex, it was as if they were scraping the surface of something bigger in their attempts to locate the missing Jedi knight. Putting these elusive concerns to rest, Alex focused all his energies on preparing for the nighttime meeting.

Little did Alex know that in spite of all Anthian had warned them about, and despite the knight's carefully made plans, nothing that night was going to go as it should have.