Author's Note: Thanks to everybody who's reviewed this so far. Hopefully you will not be disappointed. Please read and review!
- - - - - - - - - - -
It took Maul the space of a few seconds to realize that he was alone on board his ship. He quickly used the Force to make certain, reaching out in an attempt to touch another sentient being, but there was nothing. Furiously, he spun on his heel and ran to the entryway.
He hadn't sensed her intent to run. He assumed that it was merely survival instinct rather than a set plan that had caused her to do so; otherwise he would have been alerted to her potential disappearance long ago. But as he skidded to a halt at the ship's former ramp, he sensed her terror and her last thought: I have to get out of here. I have to save my people.
Maul leapt from the doorway and landed on his feet. He was already running before he hit the ground. It had been foolish of him to let her escape so easily, but he had thought her too docile, too weak to even think of slipping away. She had behaved meekly and obediently the entire trip.
Of course she would have had nowhere to go in space, and then she had been locked in a single room.
Maul did not even pause as he sought with the Force to find where she had gone. He picked up her trail easily; she was the only sentient being to have been in the area. He again propelled himself forward with inhuman speed, avoiding obstacles with a near-impossible grace.
Maul widened his range, seeking to sense where Amidala actually was. He found her at last, just barely touching her consciousness. She was at most a quarter of a mile ahead of him, but he doubted that. He would catch up to her soon enough. He picked up his pace and followed her.
Soon.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Padmé felt a light nudge in her mind. It was a strange sensation, and at first she wondered if it came from her fear or if she was running too hard. Then she realized that Maul must have found her. She gave a tiny cry of horror and attempted to run faster, but she was already going at her top speed. She was small, lithe, and quick, but Maul's physical stamina would give him the advantage.
Why hadn't she found a village yet?
Suddenly, Padmé realized that she had broken free of the trees and that she was running on grass. The grass turned to sand so suddenly that Padmé had to halt. She looked up from the ground - and gasped.
In front of her was a wide expanse of ocean. Rolling blue waves crashed against the white, sandy shores. There was no other land in sight.
Padmé began to get a sinking feeling that she was trapped.
She drew in a deep breath and began to run again.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Maul felt Amidala stop just ahead of him. He did not bother to question why, but gave a fierce grin. Tired already, Your Highness? Pathetic girl.
He sensed her shock and dread and began to frown. Perhaps she has run into something dangerous. If it kills her…
Well, it would save him the work.
Suddenly she was running again, running perpendicularly to him now. He swerved quickly in order to cut her off. Why had she changed directions? To throw him off? Surely she knew that he could sense her presence and that she was merely making her capture easier for him?
He followed her anyway, cutting across the dense forest. Damn the trees, he though as he veered to avoid one. Why can't there be open space?
The moment he thought this, he came out into the open. He came to an abrupt halt just as Amidala had, staring in furious disbelief at the wide expanse of beach and ocean ahead of him. Are we… no! We can't be! He quickly used the Force to confirm his guess, and found that he was correct.
An island, he thought. We are trapped.
The thought caused him to give a scream of raging frustration. There was no way to repair his ship, as his scan had also indicated there were only two sentient beings on the island: Amidala and himself. If they built a boat and they were lucky, they might find their way to the mainland… but there was far too much risk involved in that. Besides, to make contact with other beings might mean the destruction of his master's carefully laid plans.
Then again…
If he could not escape, neither could Amidala. She was running frantically from him, but there was no way out. She was as trapped as if she had remained on board the ship.
Which meant that Maul could draw out his pursuit.
A slow smile began to spread across Maul's face. He loved the hunt, chasing down his prey; and causing that prey to stew in its own fear was his specialty. He would draw ever closer to her, slowly but certainly, and she would feel the noose tighten; but she would not be able to do anything about it.
Maul smirked and slipped back into the forest. Hidden in the dense foliage, he would wait.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Padmé heard Maul's blood-curdling scream of fury as she ran into the woods. She gasped and gave a small cry of her own - he was not very far behind her. He has discovered the ocean, then, Padmé thought.
She was still seeking a settlement, and she was certain that Maul's howl would draw out at least a few of the beings living here. Unless…
No. She wouldn't think that. She wouldn't let herself even consider that possibility.
As she ran, she kept to the edge of the forest. She began to note that the shoreline was continuous. Perhaps they were on a peninsula, or -
An island?
No! Padmé thought in silent horror. No gods would ever be so cruel as to trap me on an island with him!
A voice suddenly echoed inside her mind. Yes, Your Highness… the gods would be so cruel.
She recognized it as Maul's voice, deep, sinuous, silky. She shuddered as he purred in her head, You are trapped. You cannot escape. Why run? I will only find you eventually.
"You won't!" Padmé cried aloud, and she pushed herself to increase her speed.
Padmé could almost see the wicked smile on his face as his last whispered words echoed in her mind: So be it.
- - - - - - - - - -
Maul could almost smell Amidala's terror as she sped across the island. Soon she would find herself facing the sea on the opposite side of the island, and she would know his words were true. He began to project a sense of triumph, of his drawing ever nearer to her, and planted a single though in her mind: He is coming for you.
The terror in her eyes when he actually captured her would only make his victory the sweeter.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Instead of following Amidala's trail, Maul returned to his ship. Eventually Amidala would find herself back in the same vicinity as the ship, and Maul would be prepared.
He began to fix the two doorways he had broken, beginning with the entryway door. It was necessary for him to have that door blocked off first - after all, who knew what might come out during the night? Maul was certain he could defeat any night creatures, but he did not want to be forced to the make the effort. He did not think Amidala would be difficult to capture, but he had already underestimated her. Now he was prepared and on his guard.
He used his lightsaber to carve out a wooden door made of logs from the area trees, using heavy cords from a storage compartment in his ship to bind them together. He set fire to several branches in order to heat some scrap metal. He used the Force to create and attach the hinges that would allow the door to swing back and forth. Finally, he fashioned a lock and key, again from scrap metal and using the Force to shape them. He tested the door, leaping against it to ensure it would hold against even the wildest beasts. Once he was satisfied, he left it be.
For Her Highness, he began to fashion a set of chains of more heated metal, watching the links form and unite until at last they were perfectly shaped and complete. It would bind around her neck and attach to his wrist or to a post - whichever he chose. Then, he began to create wooden bars for her cell doorway. He created holes in which to place the bars with his lightsaber. As he continued this project, however, he noted that the sky was growing dark, and Her Highness Amidala was growing weary from running. She was not far from the ship, but her cage was not prepared properly. He could wait to find her. She would not be nearly so resourceful as he.
Maul found a store of food capsules and used one to make a meal for himself. He ate meagerly, aware that the supply would not last both he and his passenger very long. He would have to begin hunting for food soon. He wanted to use his lightsaber, but the power pack inside it would certainly not last forever, and without a charger, his double-bladed companion was certain to die. He wanted to begin saving it for more important uses, should any arise.
He settled down to rest, still keeping his senses alert to Amidala's whereabouts and emotions. If she were to come to harm he would go to her aid - but only to make her suffer all the more when she returned.
- - - - - - - - -
Padmé noticed smoke spiraling up from somewhere near her on the island. She paused in her running, knowing that only one person could be making a fire, and he was the person she most wanted to avoid.
Running that day, she had come to realize that the island was extremely small, not worthy of even a footnote on a map. She had nearly run around it in the space of two hours. This concerned her a great deal; she had to be certain to avoid Maul at all times, but the island was so tiny that he would easily be able to cover most of the distance during a day. No doubt he would discover her before she had any idea that he was there.
Night by the water's edge was cold, with the wind blowing off the water and the spray of the ocean on her face. She did not dare start a fire herself; that would be an immediate signal to her captor as to where she was located. She hid herself firmly in the trees, struggling to warm herself under the slightly damp leaves of the underbrush. She shuddered, thinking that she should have planned better for her flight. Then again, it had really been a split-second decision to run, instinct reacting to terror.
She had to get off the island. Padmé knew this more certainly than anything else. Her people were still starving and dying, suffering much as their queen was now.
Well, she wasn't really their queen. Not anymore.
Padmé remembered signing the treaty, Maul's lightsaber held threateningly at his side, the Neimoidians surrounding her and smirking in triumph. She could feel the betrayed stares of the handmaidens and guards who had survived Darth Maul's attack on the throne room, and she had felt a shame so strong, she had almost wanted to kill herself. All she could think was, We almost won… we almost defeated them…
"Almost" was never enough.
She should have felt depressed, but instead, the thought and the memory strengthened her resolve. She would return to them. She would rescue them.
And not even Maul would stop her.