Maul led Arya to the central chamber of his ship which he had designated for training and sparring. He often trained there alone as he had gone a long time without an apprentice. She seems eager to start. He noted. Good. Eventually, they reached the entrance to the training facility. As the door slid open, Maul glanced back to get a look at his new apprentice's reaction, and he was not disappointed. Her jaw dropped as he knew it would. His ship's training facility had walls upon walls of different weapons and equipment. He had mechanisms and machines that could be used for sparring when one did not have a sparring partner, as was often the case for him. The room even had an obstacle-like course that could be used to mimic situations where footing was dangerous at best. He had it created to his exact specifications, and he was proud of it.

"What do you think?" He asked.

Arya stood still for a moment, taking it all in. "It's amazing!" she said as she gazed upon wall after wall of weapons.

Maul was slightly taken aback. This small girl was actually fascinated by all these things. Well, we shall see how much she likes it when we begin her training. He thought. She may have learned a thing or two back on her home planet, but what could she have learned that would even come close to the training of a Sith? The Sith, who force their apprentices to kill someone they love to prove their worth. Who put their apprentices through training so rigorous that most die before it is complete. There was only one way to find out how skilled she really was. Maul walked over to a rack on the far wall and removed two wooden sabers. "Let us begin." He said, as he threw one to Arya.

Arya stood there gazing at the different weapons on the wall and couldn't help but be amazed. Even the armory in Winterfell wasn't supplied as well as Maul's ship. She was still gawking when she heard Maul say something. She turned just in time to catch a wooden sword he had thrown to her. As soon as she caught it Maul was right in front of her, bringing his sword down to strike her left shoulder. All at once her training from the past few years kicked in and she gracefully pirouetted to the side and blocked his blow. He seemed generally pleased that she had managed to keep him from striking her.

"That was well defended. You are quick for one who has had no formal Sith training. But I can assure you, you are not fast as you think." Maul's raspy voice reverberated throughout the training room.

We'll see about that. Arya thought as she squared off against him. Each of them stood still as stone for a fleeting moment. Finally Arya decided to go on the offensive. She reached Maul's position in a flash and feinted left towards his thigh, then quickly brought her sword's point up to his neck. As she did so, Maul's own sword mirrored hers exactly, and he blocked her initial attack. Arya blinked in shock. It was as if her sword and Maul's were connected by a string the way he had kept his blade in line with hers. The greatest swordsmen in all of the Seven Kingdoms wouldn't have been able to block that. But Maul had done it as if it were nothing. It was almost as if he knew what she was going to do before she did it.

While she processed this, Maul kicked her square in the chest and sent her tumbling backwards. Searing pain shot through her chest, but her training started coming back naturally, which allowed her to land on her feet and maintain a defensive position. Maul followed up his kick with an attack of his own. He slashed at her left side, but before her own sword could make contact with his to block it, he spun unnaturally fast and his sword slashed downward at her shins from the right, sweeping her feet completely out from under her. She grunted as she landed on her back side. She had hoped to make a good first impression during their sparring, but Maul was on a level she had never seen before when it came to fighting. She let out a small growl and pushed off the soft ground with her hands, flipping herself up to her feet. As she did so, she swung for Maul's neck again, hoping her attack would take him by surprise. Unfortunately, her sword swung uselessly over his head as he ducked with precision, rapped her hard on her right elbow, and back-flipped out of the reach of her sword all in one fluid motion.

"You are too predictable child." He jeered at her. "When I blocked your first attack, you stood there surprised, giving me a window to kick you. You underestimated me and overestimated your own skill. That small lapse in judgement could have proved lethal, because rest assured, I could have killed you with that kick." As he said this he lifted the bottoms of his robes slightly, revealing two silver looking legs.

Arya rubbed her bruised elbow and looked at the bottoms of his legs curiously. "Why do your legs look like that?" she asked.

A quick jolt of pain flashed across Maul's face, but he quickly corralled his emotions. "Because, many years ago I allowed myself to be distracted, and my distraction allowed my foe to get the better of me. I underestimated my enemy, and because of that I spent years and years in isolation, and almost died. My legs were lost in that fight, and I had them replaced with cybernetic implants."

Arya looked confused at the last part, but Maul continued, "Cybernetic implants are metal recreations of body parts that can be used as replacements if said body part is destroyed. I know this technology is beyond your comprehension, but just know that it exists. Also know that because of one small error on my part, I am forced to live with these metal contraptions instead of the legs I was born with."

When Maul looked up, he noticed Arya'a far-off expression. "Say what you are thinking child." He commanded.

"Well" she said, "I honestly didn't know any of this existed until yesterday. And now you're telling me that you have the ability to make a cripple whole again? I have a brother who is paralyzed from the waist down. I thought he'd never walk again, but if we can get him legs like yours, he can be himself again."

Maul's face hardened. "The mind, as well as one's ability with the force are more powerful than the body. That is not to say that you neglect the body, but a cripple with a strong mind may defeat a fully healthy, yet weak-minded foe."

Arya decided to push the issue." But is there any way we could go back and-"

"Enough!" Maul yelled.

Arya flinched. It was the first time he had raised his voice to her. Maul struggled to calm himself. "We will discuss this no further. I only brought up my legs as a lesson for you to not underestimate your enemy. But we are starting to divert from your training. Now, come. Try and strike me." Maul set himself in a defensive position as Arya stood there fuming.

"You don't plan on going back to my home world, do you!?" She yelled. "You-"

Arya's voice cut off her breath was suddenly choked from her. She tried to breath, but it was as if an invisible hand were strangling her. As she began to panic, her body lifted off the ground and was pinned to one of the training room walls. Wheezing for breath, she looked down and saw Maul holding his hand up as if he were choking her from afar.

"You will not raise your voice to me again. Do you understand?" he said through gritted teeth.

With that, he let his arm drop and Arya fell from the wall. She landed hard and instantly began gasping for a full breath of air. Maul walked up to her and looked down with no remorse.

"I am your master." he began softly but firmly, "and to disrespect me is to defy me. Have you ever heard of a master who allowed their apprentice to disrespect them?" The question was a rhetorical one, and Arya looked up at Maul with a newfound hatred. Maul stared straight ahead and continued, "As your master, I will determine our course of action. You will not get a say in what we do until you yourself become a master of the force. You-"

Maul, lost his train of thought when he noticed that the force waves that normally pulsed from the girl were pulsing even faster. What is this? He thought. He looked back down and saw that she was crying. Pitiful creature. She must be hardened. But, as Maul was contemplating how to toughen the girl, Arya's tear streaked face changed from a look of remorse and sadness, to one of pure hatred. The pulsing began to grow faster. Maul started to worry as the walls of his training room began to ripple. The waves now crashing through his own chest felt like point blank shots from a blaster causing him to stagger. Arya herself seemed oblivious to what she was doing. She just lay on the ground seething, staring at Maul with all the hatred she had built up over the last few years. As the rattling of the walls started to grow stronger, Maul raised a hand and let forth a small wave of force energy. As soon as the energy hit Arya, she fell fast asleep. Maul let out a sigh of relief. Powerful yes. He thought. But she needs to learn how to harness that power productively. I cannot let one of her tantrums destroy my ship. Perhaps we do not delve into her emotions until we reach Dathomir. For now, sparring will suffice. With that, Maul picked up the sleeping girl and laid her on a bench in the shared quarters, for he was not able to open the door to her room.