::insert normal disclaimer:: I admire Lucas for not sue-ing the pants off all us fanfiction writers.
Short author note: Please Review!! ::gets on hands and knees and begs:: even if it's just a "hi I'm still here" + I'll give you a cookie. Also thank you for all the nice reviews I appreciate it :-D
Chapter 10
Released early from her studies she decided to go for a walk in the city and attempt to acquire the much-needed material she had been trying to get since before this whole thing started. She found a dealer in a quite corner of town and ended up buying enough material for a few new outfits and also some nice silk for sleepwear possibly even a robe if she was efficient enough with her material.
She strolled back to the temple and dropped off the new material before heading back out to lunch. Afternoon classes passed at a crawl and after dinner she and Ian went back out to pick out some patterns for the cloth. Content with her findings she went back to her room and began cutting the material for the nightgown which was the most immediate of her needs. It was a simple pattern plain v front, low in the back, for comfort, connected with spaghetti straps and long not ending until past her ankles. It shouldn't take her more than a night or two to finish but what she really needed was a manikin. She ran down her list of friends searching for one about her size but all of them were much taller than her well except for Ian. Ian, she considered this for a moment...yep he would work. As if by magic there was a knock on her door and she opened it to find Numiar.
"I was just thinking about you. Do you think I could borrow Ian tomorrow night for a while?" Numiar raised and inquiring eyebrow, knowing look on his face. She laughed, it felt so good to laugh. "I'm sewing a new nightgown because mine has gone to rags and I need a manikin for the finishing touches. He's the only one of you extremely tall people that's near my size."
"Only if I get to watch," he replied with a chuckle. "Pink?"
"Pastel, but only because that was the color on sale." Numiar continued to chuckle
"I didn't know you sewed?"
"Yes, I find it very stress relieving" she sighed wistfully
"Funny." he said thoughtfully "I only find it painful. Have you seen Chade today?"
"No, not other than this morning. He seemed in a sour mood. Is something wrong?"
"Oh no I was just wandering. I've been looking for him."
"Sorry can't help there. I thought it had been awful quiet today."
"Is he bothering you?"
"No." she lied "it was just a silly comment"
"Well goodnight Tess."
"Night Numiar." and he got up and left. She resumed her sewing and continued late into the night until exhaustion drove her to bed. Nightmares haunted her all night and she was sure not sleeping was more restful than the kind of sleep she had been getting.
The next day came and went. After dinner Numiar and Ian showed up at her door, she let them in with a wary smile on her face.
"I hear you need a model. Do you think you can handle all this man?" Ian asked playfully.
She made a point of looking him up and down.
"I think I can handle it. Here" she threw the half made nightgown in his direction and he caught it holding it up.
"It's pink," he said in a distressed voice.
"Yep" she agreed. "And you can change in there." she pointed to her bedroom and he sulked his way in closing the door behind him. A few minutes later the door opened and amber eyes peaked around the corner
"Is it safe to come out?" he asked shyly when she nodded he threw the door open and jumped out
"Tada! Ain't I a doll?" he asked batting his eyes and swaying his hips. She broke out into uncontrollable giggles which was nothing compared to Numiar who was about to give himself a heart attack he was laughing so hard. Red chest hair protruded from the neckline and the gown ended a full two inches above his bony ankles.
"I think we need to reconsider our choice in models," Numiar said teasingly
"What? Well personally I think I've never looked better." he said offended.
"Your beautiful." Tess said graciously "Now hold still I don't want any red stains on my new PJs!" he held still and she began. A few min later a knock came at the door.
"Can you get that?"
Numiar went over to open it and there was a flash.
"Got it!" Ian turned beat red as Nmi and Jonathan entered with a holocam.
"What do you think?" Ian turned around to show off his dress then reacted with an "OOW" when he poked himself with one of the pins.
"Absolutely gorgeous!" Nmi exclaimed
"Man" he mumbled conspiritedly to Jonathan leaning in close "If she ever invites you to her room late at night don't do it." he indicated himself and gave a self mocking smile. "its not what you think."
"If you would hold still for a min more it will all be over." Tess said enjoying their banter. He struck a pose but held still. She finished the last few stitches then removed the needled threatening to poke him occasionally to keep him in line.
"There I'm done. That wasn't so bad now was it? You can go take it off now." He gave a loud yippee and ran for the bedroom. He emerged a short while later in his regular garb holding her finished nightgown in his arms.
"You've seen it on me now I want to see it on you." he said pointing at Tess.
"I don't think so," she said kindly
"Come on I want to renew my faith in the beauty of the world" he urged
"Oh why don't you Tess." Nmi said, "after all you're not going to send us to bed with that" she waved a hand in Ian's general direction "as the last thing we saw."
"We'll all have nightmares for sure," Jonathan added.
"Thanks guys… I think. Come on Tess. Pleeassse?"
"Ok ok I guess you do kind of deserve it," she said resigned and left to change. When she emerged in the nightgown the two young men's mouths dropped. She smiled. Numiar clapped and Nmi commented "A definite improvement over Ian. Not that you didn't look dashing or anything Ian." She turned around to show off the entire outfit. Numiar stopped clapping and she turned around he was frowning "Something wrong?" she asked hoping it was not the gown.
"Where did you get those scars?" he asked. She shrugged
"Oh, a while back in a bar."
"Those don't look like something you would get in a bar fight." Jonathan commented
"No they look like something you get from being beaten with a whip." Nmi said
"That's because they're from a whip." Tess said sober now
"You let someone get close enough to whip you with those knifes of yours." Jonathan said half disbelieving.
"Yes." Tess replied coolly "it's generally not a good career move to pull a knife on your boss."
"What ever did you do to disserve something like that" Numiar asked his opinion that nothing could have been bad enough to deserve that clear in his voice.
"I refused the offerof a top paying customer." she shrugged "I probably deserved it." she said it as a fact because it was what she believed. She had lost him a lot of money that night and had refused an offer that would have provided for her family for a long, long, time. She heard gasps.
"How many times" Ian asked breathlessly.
"I don't know I was really trying not to keep count. It wasn't that bad really" Tess replied then thought to herself bitterly after all you don't want to mar the merchandise.
"Out you three" this came from Numiar and the three apprentices just looked at him "Now" he said softly authority in his voice. They turned and left her and Numiar alone. He turned to her.
"Nobody deserves to be beaten and especially not for refusing to be raped." his voice was stern but there was compassion in his eyes.
"I lost him a lot of money that night. It was the night Ravja..." she trailed off thinking then continued, "It was the night he shot that poor man. He had had way too much to drink and was bragging about some project he was working on. A ship or chip or something like that he kept blubbering about the empire re arising from the ashes or some such. He was trashed and I had escorted him to his speeder but then Ravja came up and shot him he was drunk too. I didn't think much of it. Then he offered me everything if I went with him. I refused he raged and complained to my boss and... we'll you can guess the rest." He got up and placed a hand on her shoulder
"Get some rest." he said gently and left. She shook her head and tried to get some sleep but the nightmares came again.
The next day Chade's mood was even worse but he said nothing of it too her. She determined that she had absolutely no talent for the light saber but he insisted she learn its use anyway. She acquiesced and he continued drilling her on the various forms. They spent the most time working on staff however her having arguing that beside knifes, and blasters it was the most practical.
She mentioned Chade's moodiness to Master Skywalker but he somehow managed to avoid commenting. The next few days went by the routine the previous days set. Chade's temper kept getting worse and besides from their morning lessons she hadn't seen hide or hair of him. Skywalker kept grilling her on things she might have heard. She told him as much as she knew about anything even vaguely mentioning the Republic, the Empire, Jedi, or Ravja.
Jonathan was a constant in her life although she did not necessarily appreciate it and she found that she was settling into life at the temple although she thought frequently of escape.