CHAPTER-12
Aarya woke up excited; it was her seventh birthday. She dodged out of her room and reached her bathroom. She freshened up and wore her new tunic and pant. She ran to the hall and was greeted by Maul and Sidious. She stopped dead in her tracks. Her joy turned to a bit more serious as she saw Sidious. Maul then stepped forward and bent towards her.
"Have your breakfast quickly, we have a surprise for you." He said in a soft voice. Aarya ran inside the kitchen and had her breakfast quickly. Disturb was on the verge of a breakdown when she saw Aarya eat so quickly. She tried making Aarya sit and eat more before she jumped, dodged Disturb and ran towards the hall. Maul was talking with his master when Aarya came running and dashed into him. Maul placed a hand on her head as she hugged him tightly.
"Do you remember what I told you that day about your name?" Maul asked her.
"My public general name is Aarya but my actual name is Darth Vader, right?" she answered earnestly.
"Yes."
Sidious cleared his throat. Maul and Aarya turned towards him. She was still hugging him. Sidious then nodded at Maul. Maul bent and carried Aarya and set her in a speeder. The three then moved to the capital of Theed. The three stopped in front of a café. Aarya turned towards the two men in confusion. Maul nudged her forward. She walked behind Sidious whose hood was down.
"Senator…" The café owner said bowing his head low.
"Oh please rise. I am just a servant of the people here to ask you a favor." Sidious spoke in a buttered tone.
"What can I, a simple café owner, do for a great senator?"
"Oh I just need you to provide a job for this child who I know."
"As you wish sir, I will need to inquire her a bit." He said moving towards Aarya. He then bent towards her, "What is your name young bud?"
"Aarya." She replied.
"Okay Aarya what do you know?"
"What do you want me to do?"
All the people in the café laughed. The owner than spoke, "Her tongue has a brain of its own." He then placed a hand on her shoulder and told, "Consider it done sir. Are they any conditions?" he asked Sidious.
"Oh she is just to work and return home before sundown." Sidious spoke.
"As you say sir, anything else?"
"She might not come at all some days."
"That is no problem at all, my good sir. Thank you sir."
"Oh, I must thank you for this humble help. She will be paid, won't she?"
"Of course, it is the law."
"Very well. She shall come from tomorrow."
"So be it sir. So young Aarya we will meet again tomorrow." He said rising up and petting her. Aarya just smiled and turned around. She along with Sidious and Maul drove back to the palace. She practiced along with Maul for one hour before resting. She then spoke, "Why am I working so early?"
"It is a ritual of Naboo." He answered.
"To make children work from the age of seven?"
"Yes. Now remember whatever happens you must make sure that you won't use the force."
"Okay." She answered.
Aarya spent the entire day imagining how her new life would be. She slept excitedly.
The next day Aarya woke up early. She freshened up and wore her work uniform. She then sat waiting in the hall. She finished her breakfast early and sat there. Maul arrived half an hour later.
"Are you excited?" he asked her after getting ready to drop her. Aarya nodded eagerly. Soon they were in the speeder and left to the café. The owner was waiting in the door. He had just arrived and had opened the door. He nodded to the two. Aarya got down and ran towards him.
"She is a decent kid, eh?" he asked Maul. Maul nodded.
"What is your name?" Aarya asked innocently.
"You can call me Master Irkins, Orson Irkins." He replied as he pushed open the doors. "Now listen I will need you to clean the display glasses now. They must be shining, all right?"
"Yes." Aarya nodded. She turned towards Maul and smiled. Maul nodded at her and bent towards her. He then removed a transmitter. He gave it to her and told, "Call me when your work is over." Aarya nodded. She then tucked it inside her pocket of her pants and ran inside. Irkins gave her a cloth piece and a cleaning solution. Aarya ran towards the display window and started cleaning. She remembered what the droids taught her. She used the chairs and reached the higher places. She finished cleaning half of the window in half an hour. She then turned and saw that she had another window to clean. She turned and started scanning for a ladder. She finally saw one beside the other window in the corner. She dragged it towards the window she was cleaning. She then climbed it and started cleaning. As soon as she finished one window, customers started arriving. Irkins started working quickly. He then called out to Aarya and told, "Clean the windows quickly and come here to serve the people."
"Okay." She called out. She then quickly moved towards the other window and started cleaning. Half an hour later she ran towards the kitchen. The first serving was done by Irkins. "I finished cleaning the windows master Irkins." She said as she went to hold the tray.
"Wash your hands with soap, kid. After that give order number seven to the table number three, order number eight to table number five and order nine to table one." He ordered her. Aarya nodded as she proceeded to wash her hands. She then ran towards the tray and carried to the respective tables. After finishing the second serve, Aarya ran to the kitchen. Irkins then told her to clean the tables. She finished that as another set of customers came. She served the orders again for three more times. Soon it was reaching sundown. Irkins then closed the café.
"Good job kid. You did a decent job. Here is your first pay." He said before giving her a bag of fifty credits. Aarya beamed at him and then reached for her commlink. She called Maul who arrived in ten minutes. The two then reached the palace quickly. Aarya went on talking about her first day. She gave Maul her first pay. Maul smiled at her and asked her to save it in a pot. Aarya nodded as she took a piggy bank which was given to her by Sidious. She placed her first pay in that. She slept peacefully. The next day she would return to her work.
"And then I held the beast by its ears and banged it to the floor. All the ladies were awed by me." The space pilot was speaking. Aarya was listening to him intently. It was two months since she started working in the Irkins' café. She would often hear the tales of the space pilots in the middle of her serve. She would finish her serve and then listen to them speak again. Few told unbelievable tales. Few told scary ones.
"Aarya..." her boss called her.
"Coming." She said before jumping and running. "I'll come later." She called out to the space pilot who was telling his tale of him wrestling a Rancor. She ran inside the kitchen and received another serve.
"Order fifteen to table six, sixteen to table four, seventeen to table one, eighteen to table seven, nineteen to table five, twenty to table two, twenty-one to three, twenty-two to eight, twenty-three to nine and twenty-four and twenty-five to table ten." He said before shooing her away. Aarya ran across serving the customers. She was rushing across making sure that she wouldn't delay anyone. After finishing the serve she ran towards the kitchen again and awaited her seventh serve. Soon one of the tables which were occupied was cleared out; a bunch of girls in their early teens sat there. Aarya ran towards there with a cloth and cleaned the table. She then took their order down and ran towards the kitchen. Her boss was flustered by the orders arriving. Apparently Aarya was his lucky charm as the people coming to the café had increased after she had come to work there. She stood there waiting for the next serve. It was almost sundown. Irkins placed the last order on the tray. "Order twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight and twenty-nine to table six, thirty to table two." He said shooing her. Aarya ran towards the table two and placed their order on the table and proceeded to table six. The girls were gossiping.
"Your order." Aarya called out. A girl of the age twelve or something turned towards Aarya.
"You work here?" she asked softly. She had soft features and a soft voice. She was very beautiful.
"I do." Aarya replied before placing the orders on the table. "Your orders madams." She said dutifully.
"You can call me Padme." The girl said. "May I know your name?"
"Aarya."
"Hmm, how long have you been working here?"
"For two months."
"So you are new."
"I guess. You look beautiful."
"Oh why thank you. You too are beautiful."
"Thank you." Aarya replied before running to clean up the tables while Irkins prepared to clean the floors.
After half an hour, all the customers were gone. Aarya had called Maul. She received her pay; fifty credits.
Another three months passed away. Aarya often met Padme after her work. Padme asked her about her work and the customers who come there. The two became close friends. Sometimes Aarya would be skipping her work in order to sharpen her skills as a Sith. She was improving every time they would practice. Maul was proud of her. Sidious would often come and train her too.
Aarya got up early and got ready to leave for her work. Maul left her and returned to the palace. Aarya ran inside. Irkins was waiting for her. Along with him was someone else; a Kiffar. She ran towards him and asked, "What shall I do today?"
"Just clean up the oven a bit." Her boss replied.
"You make a child work?" the Kiffar asked.
"It's a tradition. Kids in Naboo start working from the age seven." Irkins replied.
"What is her name?"
"Aarya."
The Kiffar spat out the drink he was drinking. He started coughing as he was choking. Irkins started patting on his back.
"Calm down Vos." Aarya froze at the name Vos. It was the Kiffar Jedi. She wanted to dig a hole and hide herself in it.
"Where is the kid?" Vos managed to ask.
"In the kitchen, why, what happened?"
"Call her, now."
"AARYA…" Aarya walked towards the front slowly. She swallowed her fear and walked out in the front. The Kiffar was waiting for her. He then muttered something into the commlink he had. "What happened?" Irkins asked again.
"Step back." The Jedi said as his apprentice, the Twi'ilek, arrived.
"The kid on Yaavin IV."
"Now Aayla, we'll go slowly. It might also be a misunderstanding." The Kiffar said before moving forward towards Aarya. Irkins was bewildered. Aarya was frightened. Aayla was behind her master. Soon the Kiffar reached Aarya. She was frozen. She couldn't move. The Kiffar placed his hand on her shoulder and closed his eyes. He started using the force, reading Aarya. He winced as he felt nothing. He tried using his ability to feel her past. He sensed nothing. It was as though his abilities were nothing in front of her. He opened his eyes and turned to Aayla. She moved forward and placed her hand on Aarya's shoulder. She then shook her head.
"That's weird. I remember feeling something from her but now I feel nothing." She told.
"I too felt nothing." Vos replied.
The two then got up and left. The rest of the day went on as it did. Aarya met new people and Padme.
"Aarya." She called out.
"Padme." Aarya called out.
"What is your full name? I never asked you that."
"I-I don't have one."
"Oh."
"What about yours?"
"I am called Padme Nabberie."
"Okay. My guardian is here I need to go."Aarya said before running towards Maul and climbing the speeder. Soon they reached the palace. She changed her dress and sat to eat.
"Do I have a full name?"she asked Maul.
"Why do you ask?" Maul asked.
"My friend asked me. She has one."
"Hmm. How is your food?"
"Good. My name?"
"How was your work?"
"There was a Jedi over there."
"I know."
"It was you." Aarya said with a new cheer. Maul nodded.
She was overjoyed and brushed the topic of her full name aside. She slept tranquilly.
Another six months passed. Aarya did her work pleasantly. She even worked on her lightsabers skills equally. She was growing in the dark side every day. Maul had to concentrate even more to shield her connections.
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