[Author's Note: I did a lot of research for this chapter and got my info namely from online and the books. I tried my best!]
The next two days were uneventful. Kuiil and I helped Peli wherever we could. Since Kuiil had experience with machines, he was able to help her, and the droids repair our ship. And as it soon became apparent that I was the best cook of the three of us, I prepared the food. Kuiil and I also got closer, spending more and more time together. There was this one night, however; the second night to be exact.
I was in the yard, staring up at the sky. While he and Peli talked shoptalk, I had my own discreet conversation with my great uncle. He didn't tell me anything new; just reassured me and told me to keep training. I agreed and said good night to him. Seconds after Master's spirit vanished into thin air, Kuiil came out to join me. I grinned over to him in a welcoming fashion.
"What are you doing out here?" He asked me. "Just looking at the stars," I gazed up, wrapping both arms around me. It wasn't cold or even cool out; I just wanted to hold myself for a bit. Kuiil also peered up and nodded. "Waiting for the Mandalorian to return?" He inquired. I nodded without thinking. "Yes. I just wanna know he's alright." "I'm sure he is. He's a hardened warrior." My head nodded slowly again. "Yeah, I guess he is….." My eyes wandered off into nowhere thoughtfully.
Kuiil waited for a minute, glancing my way and shifting his stance a bit. "By the way, what happened after you left Takodana?" "Huh?" I blinked to him puzzled. "When Mando took you last time. I thought he was bringing you in to collect a bounty," Kuiil clarified. "Oooooh! Uh, he did. Well, he brought me in to these guys called the Imperials. They paid Mando and this doctor got really excited to see me. It was really…. creepy. But I didn't feel "in danger", if that makes any sense. I was scared, sure, but…. I don't know. I seemed… valuable to them, somehow." There was a brief pause here. Kuiil remained quiet, letting me carry on at my leisure. I smiled a little and tilted my head back up to the sky. "And then, out of nowhere, Mando came back for me. He sold me to them, and then he saved me. We almost died, low key- but with the help of some other Mandalorians, we managed to get out of there alive." Kuiil nodded considerably. "Did he say why he returned for you?" He proceeded to ask. I looked at Kuiil and opened my mouth, but no words spilled out. Not right away anyway…. "N-no, actually…. he didn't," my eyes trailed off once more. That's right; he never did tell me why…. And I guess I never asked. Still…
Kuiil thought to himself for a moment, bobbing his head up and down. "Do you know why Mando is a Mandalorian?" He then inquired. I shook my head. Despite how much time we've spent together, I knew literally nothing of Mando's past. I admitted was curious but wanted him to tell me when he was ready. So I never asked….. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit interested. "The Mandalorians picked him up after his parents were killed." "His parents were killed?! By who?" "Don't know; he never said. But as a result of the combative nature of the Mandalorian culture, there is never any shortage of Mandalorian orphans," Kuiil expounded. "So were his parents also Mandalorians, then?" "Could be. Part of the Mandalorian code, or "way" as they call it, is to adopt children who lose their parents in battle into another family in the clan. I suppose that is what happened with Mando."
I nodded while mulling this over. So Mando was an orphan….. just like me. No wonder he has trust issues. He doesn't seem to have attachment issues though…. "That's why he's still a Mandalorian? They're like his family?" "In a way," Kuiil's head turned forward. So did mine. "Mmmm, he's already part of a clan, and well…. I'm not." Kuiil then looked in my direction but didn't say anything. I went on. "We're from different worlds, him and I. I don't even know how long we'll stay together for. I don't think I should get too attached to him, and yet…. I just miss him when he's gone. But I know that's crazy- we're too different. He's a warrior and I'm a healer…. We're opposites; about as opposite as you can get. And I don't want to be a burden on him…." My fingers twiddled uncomfortably.
Kuiil watched me; his eyes soulful and sincere. They lowered a bit; his lips parted softly. "You're beginning to care for the Mandalorian," he stated inquisitively. I looked his way but didn't say anything. What was there to be said that I hadn't already said? "You wish it not to be so, though?" His eyebrow raised. My mouth opened but the words in my throat hesitated for a moment. Then I chuckled- a hollow chuckle. "Oh, I don't even know how Mando feels about all this. He's not the most… expressive guy in the universe. Besides…. I don't know if marriage is a part of Mandalorian culture," my eyes lowered intently.
Kuiil appeared confused by this statement, as shown by the way he cocked his head a little. I flashed him a kind smile, suddenly overcome by the need to explain myself. "When I was young, my master once said that I had a great compacity for love. A singular type of love…. a kind that was forbidden by his uh, "clan". Anyway, he was alluding to marriage, meaning that I am destined to marry, I think…." Master Yoda's prophecies have never been wrong before, after all. I took a long, deep sigh; my eyes tenderly shut. "I never thought about getting married before but if it is the will of the For-….. uh, universe! The will of the universe…. Then there's nothing I can do about it." Besides, the idea of marriage was starting to grow on me. And I knew that was because of the time Mando and I spent together.
"Your master told you this?" Kuiil sounded very serious at this exact moment. His tone of voice made me blink over to him in surprise. "Uh, yes? When I was a child." He nodded severally, then turned to face me. There was a twinkle in the corner of his eyes. "Very interesting; very interesting, indeed." "Kuiil?" I pondered, wondering what he meant by that. But he merely grinned ever so slightly. "To clarify for you: yes, Mandalorians can get married." "They can?!" I gasped astonished. I don't know why that shocked me so much; I mean, they had kids in their clan- they didn't just appear out of nowhere.
Kuiil nodded for the last time in our conversation. "They usually wed other Mandalorians, but they can also marry non-Mandalorians. They are very particular about their marriage ceremony too. A Mandalorian can get married anywhere, so long as they recite the proper vow." "What's the vow?" I asked. He looked at me. "We are one whether together or apart, we will share everything and we will raise our children as warriors."
My heart sank. "That's a vow I can never take. I can't raise my children in the way of the warrior," if I can even have children, that is. Kuiil's eyes sharpened onto me. "You don't have to. You're not a Mandalorian." And I looked at Kuiil….. I looked his way and realized what he was saying.
"Are you two gonna come in to eat or what?! Food's getting cold in here!" We both flinched and turned to see Peli shouting at us from inside. We grinned at each other. "Come. Let's head in," Kuiil's hand reached out for my arm; his palm gently rested on my skin. The two of us were about to go in when all of a sudden, the back door opened. I excitedly spun my head around, thinking that Mando had returned. To all our surprise however, swagger man stepped through the threshold. Swagger man, and only swagger man. My heart skipped a beat as my blood grew cold.
"Hey there," he greeted us casually, coming further inside. "You're back?" Peli half asked, half noted. "Where's Mando?" I asked, not beating around the bush. "Oh, he'll be along soon," swagger man shrugged. By now Kuiil and Peli both looked nervous; we all glanced at each other. My lips then let out a gasp at the sight of swagger man pulling out a gun and aiming it at me- only at me. His smirk was deadly and long as he eyed me down. "Let's be ready to greet him."