I'm back! Just as I stated on my profile, thank y'all SO much for being so patient these last months!
DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN STAR WARS! I DO own Rayn and other OC's.
(Anakin Skywalker)
King Tzerah yelled for guards immediately. Rayn and I both jumped to our feet, ready to fight as Obiwan sprinted for the door, pulling out his lightsaber. I knew he would be fine, but I worried for myself and Rayn.
Guards in gold armor poured into the throne room from the sides, some chasing Obiwan, others surrounding me and Rayn.
Rayn began fighting, immediately kicking away one guard who then barreled into three others. I tore my eyes off of her to my own attackers. I threw a punch at the nearest guard, breaking his nose. I effectively kept off guards for a while, but eventually there were too many of them.
One larger guard had latched onto my shoulders from behind, shoving me to the ground. The air was pushed from my lungs as his whole weight landed in the middle of my back, rendering me useless. I looked over to Rayn to see her arms captured by three guards.
The guards that weren't holding us down backed away so King Tzerah could stand in front of us, glowering down at me then across to Rayn. King Tzerah's dark brown eyes gleamed with hunger and satisfaction. He marched up to Rayn and pulled the earpiece out of her ear, crushing it under his foot. The urge from earlier to throw up hadn't left me yet, and I was on the verge of panic. I had lost contact with the Council and was stuck as a slave now. I almost prayed that King Tzerah would just kill me instead of putting me back in the slave market. Going into this mission, I knew I would be acting as a slave, but my only comfort was that the Jedi Council was listening in and could get me out. That luxury was gone now…
"Take him through initiation." King Tzerah said, staring at me. He then turned to Rayn. "Take her to the harem."
My heart plummeted and my stomach dropped. I could see the fear in Rayn's eyes, which probably mirrored my own, as the guards began to drag her away. She must have realized the same thing I had: we were completely at King Tzerah's mercy. She snapped out of her stupor and began struggling desperately as the man kneeling on my back eased up enough for two other guards to heave me up.
I was still partially dazed, my eyes locked on Rayn as the men started pulling me towards a side door. "No… Rayn!" I yelled at her.
She kicked at the guards around her, craning her neck to look back at me. She said nothing, but her look said it all. She was determined. Determined to not let us get stuck here. That look broke when the guards finally managed to wrestle her through the golden doors, slamming them shut behind them.
(Rayn Tarwynn)
I kept fighting the guards until we came up to a woman dressed in a pink, toga-like dress.
The guards marched me right up to her. "A Jedi. King Tzerah-" They began but were cut off by the woman.
"Yes, yes, I know." The woman waved her hand around irritably. "She and another Jedi arrived and King Tzerah wants her as a slave. Be careful with her. She's dangerous. Blah blah blah."
The guards just stared dumbfounded at her.
The woman shrugged nonchalantly. "Word gets around fast." She took my arm and led me away from the guards. "Don't even try to fight, honey." She told me before we were out of earshot from the guards.
I looked at her like she was crazy. She was easily a foot shorter than me and I could take her out with only a few seconds.
"Don't forget that your friend is in this, too. If you misbehave, you won't be the only one to face the consequences." She told to me.
She didn't need to explain any further. I knew what would happen to Anakin if I didn't cooperate. I dejectedly followed the woman down the stone hallway to a side room with three small cubicles with a curtain separating it from the hallway.
"Step inside. You'll find new clothing." The woman instructed me, glancing scornfully at my ripped Jedi robes.
I walked through the curtain to find a dress like the woman's, but it was emerald green. There was a skirt and a separate top piece that showed a couple inches of skin, which was then mostly covered with a long, green and gold-trimmed scarf that wrapped around my skirt and draped diagonally across my chest and over my right shoulder.
Once I got it on, I pulled away the curtain, leaving the room to stand in front of the woman.
She looked me up and down and nodded slightly. "Follow me." She began walking down the continuing hallway. I easily caught up, following and listening to her explain the rules of the harem. "While you're with the other women, you are allowed to speak freely, though I would still guard your words. When around King Tzerah, do not speak unless spoken to. You do everything he says without question. If you do question it, don't make it known."
She kept telling me all I needed to know for now as we continued walking. As we neared the end of the hallway, the sound of talking women became louder and more distinct. When we reached the end of a hallway we were met with sheer, gold curtains covering the entrance to another room. The woman next to me stopped, turning to face me.
"And, in your case, remember that it's not just your head on the line." She reminded me with warning in her tone.
I nodded silently and watched as she drew back the curtain, revealing a large room full of at least thirty women. The room itself was limestone, just like the hallway and outside of the palace. Various couches and colorful pillows and blankets littered the golden tile floor of the room.
The talking I had heard outside the room stopped, and all the women – which, as I noticed, included a few girls who couldn't have been older than 16 – turned to look at me. They all had the same dresses and the woman and me, but in a grand spectrum of color and design.
"This is your new sister." The woman who led me here told them all. "Mistri, she is your duty for now."
A woman in a yellow dress nodded her head, dark curls bouncing. "Yes, Fizva."
The woman – Fizva, I assumed – then gently pushed me inside and left.
Mistri then walked over to me, holding out her hand to shake. "I'm Mistri. Do you have a name?"
"I'm Rayn." I said, shaking her hand.
Though the shake was a gesture of kindness from Mistri, I felt as though I was finalizing my deal on selling my soul.
(Anakin Skywalker)
I never stopped struggling as the three men took me through the door and down a short, stone hallway to a large, dimly lit room.
There were three stations with two guards at each station. One sat at a desk, the other held a beating stick in his hand.
The guards dragged me over to the nearest station, holding me as still as they could.
"He's a Jedi. King Tzerah wants him to start today." The guard on my right said.
The man at the desk nodded, looking me up and down then looked over to his partner with the stick. The burly man walked up to me, crowding my nonexistent personal space. He began poking and prodding; examining me which, sadly, was a process I was too used to as a child.
The man then stopped, staring at my right arm. The dim light of the room shone dully on the metal of my arm.
"What?" I asked, my voice dripping in sarcasm. "Never seen a metal arm before?"
Without hesitation, the man let his stick fly, hitting me in the chest, knocking the wind from my lungs again. I doubled over, gasping to regain precious air.
"Cocky." The man at the table said with no emotion. "That won't get you far here, boy." I said nothing in return, still catching my breath. "Alright." The man continued. "Station him with Navraen."
The two guards holding me wrestled me down the dark tunnel past the three stations and through to a courtyard.
I blinked, trying to shield my eyes from the bright sun. When my eyes adjusted, I looked around. The courtyard was huge with the back of the king's palace behind and to the side of me. White, limestone walls surrounded the open area with a balcony on the left side. Despite its apparent beauty, there was a fountain in the center of the courtyard that had been cracked. I knew that this area was probably were all the slaves stayed, and the beauty was only meant for show though the courtyard wasn't to be seen by all. There were many arched doorways leading to who-knows-where, but I could guess that the one the guards were leading me to was probably leading to the slave area.
When we passed under the arch, we entered yet another dark hallway. It was a short tunnel, leading to a gigantic, dusty clearing. The clearing was full of slaves and slabs of rock. A few mineshafts were visible off in the distance, but the majority of the barren field was guards watching men pick at massive boulders. Guard were scattered about the clearing, most of which had a whip or stick in their hands.
A surprisingly short man in a golden robe walked over to me and the guards.
"Who is this?" The stout man asked.
"He's a Jedi. He is under your command now, Navraen. King Tzerah wants him working." One of the guards explained.
Navrean nodded, turning around, motioning the guards to follow him. We went over to a small lean-to which provided the only shade I could see in the whole field except for the shadows cast by boulders.
Navrean picked up a light tan toga that had been sitting on a table and shoving it into my chest. "Put it on, slave." He commanded.
"No." I responded, staring down the shorter man.
He packed a punch must stronger than his size suggested. I could already feel the bruise beginning to form on my jaw when he repeated the command.
I reluctantly grabbed it, seeing no point in fighting while all I had were my bare hands. If I could get my hands on one of those picks, I could have a chance at bringing at least a few of these sick "masters" down.
I put on the toga, glaring at Navrean and fighting a grimace as he smiled in contentment.
"Since you're new I'll say this once," Navrean said coldly. "You're no longer a Jedi. You're a slave now. A slave under my command. If you do as you're told, you will be rewarded. If you fight, I promise you'll regret it. Understand, slave?"
I clenched my jaw, nodding stiffly.
"Good." The barest hint of a grin pulled at the corners of his mouth. He looked at the guards. "Take him to the mines."
The guards – who I was thoroughly sick of – lead me to one of the mineshafts with a guard at the entrance. The two guards shoved me towards the other one.
That guard tossed a pick my way, and I caught it deftly before it impaled me. The gesture spoke volumes of how valuable I was to these men. Most people would be overjoyed to have a Jedi at their will, but if King Tzerah really was creating an army of slaves, a Jedi wouldn't make much difference.
The guard stepped aside, nodding to inside the mineshaft. "Go. Someone will explain what to do."
I stepped forward, allowing the shadows of the mineshaft to swallow the sunlight from outside… From freedom.
(Rayn Tarwynn)
"So where are you from?" Mistri asked after had taken me over to one of the couches, sitting me down and introducing me to the other women in the harem.
"Uh…the Jedi Temple." I saw no reason to lie to these women. After all, the rest of the palace would know eventually.
"Are you a Jedi?" One of the younger girls – Zarah was her name – asked me.
I nodded. "My partner and I were sent her when things went kind of…wrong."
"Why did you two come here?" An older woman – Kierra – questioned.
I slowly shook my head. "It's…complicated." Though there was no real reason to lie, telling them that Anakin and I were sent to free all the slaves might not be a good idea.
"Well, welcome to the harem." Mistri said, though her welcome didn't hold much joy behind it.
"Thanks." I replied equally emotionlessly.
Mistri and the others continued to explain how the harem worked. Two meals were served every day, both of which were eaten in the main hall with King Tzerah. We were allowed out onto the balcony or even the courtyard at sunset, but we had to be back inside by dark. Besides that, we were free to do whatever we wanted as long as we stayed in the harem.
"So…why does King Tzerah keep you here?" I asked, slightly confused as to the purpose of just housing over forty women and not necessarily using them for anything.
"King Tzerah used to…require our skills." Mistri timidly explained. "But he hasn't needed that in a good year. Occasionally he'll come here and make us tell stories or some odd request like that."
I nodded slowly, feeling slightly better about my position in the harem.
"You needn't worry, dear." Kierra told me as if she had read my mind.
A grin glanced across my lips before I let it fall again. Despite their words, I was still incredibly uncomfortable. "Why has King Tzerah not come?" I asked after a moment.
Mistri shrugged. "Busy with the slaves from what I've heard."
This immediately caught my attention. "Doing what?"
"I heard he's picking the strongest to turn into warriors." One of the girls around my age blurted out.
"Oh, hush, Layari." Kierra scolded her. "What would King Tzerah do with warriors?"
"I-" Layari began again, but Kierra's glare shut her up.
"The king's business is the king's business." Kierra told us. "And if he heard you conspiring about him who knows what he would do to you."
The women then began speaking of random topics, but I wasn't focused on that. If what Layari said was true, then King Tzerah really was creating a slave army. I needed to talk to Anakin, but I wasn't sure how. If I could get to him, maybe we could think of something. We needed to get out of here as soon as possible, but I didn't want to leave these people with King Tzerah.
I looked outside one of the windows to the balcony outside. The sun was beginning to set and soon we would be allowed to go outside. I didn't know where the slaves were kept, but if I could even get a glance at Anakin, maybe we could manage to get in a few words and maybe we could refrain from being kept here the rest of our lives.
(Anakin Skywalker)
"Alright! Everybody out!" Guards yelled into the mineshaft.
I dropped my pick in the black dust at my feet. I had met a slave named Rauul who had told me what was expected of us. The slaves were to mine for a coppery mineral called Tristidind. It was found in the black-rocked mountains behind the place. Rauul didn't know the name for the rock, and asking the guards would be fruitless, so I was fine with leaving it nameless. But besides mining and following orders from guards, that was all I needed to know for the moment.
Rauul was standing next to me, covered in sweat and black dust which was probably a mirror image of me. "Let's go." He said breathlessly.
I nodded and followed him and the other slaves out of the mineshaft. Thankfully the setting sun wasn't enough light to blind us as we walked out of the dark shaft and to the courtyard where I had been before.
"What are we doing?" I asked Rauul.
"Be quiet." He whispered back. "The guards don't like racket."
I nodded, staying silent as we passed another whip-wielding guard.
"We're going to the rooms where we stay." He whispered in response to my question once we were out of earshot from any particularly menacing looking men.
I knew that by rooms he probably meant the crappiest looking places with beds you've ever seen. I grimaced at the thought, but my aching back wasn't exactly protesting at the thought of sitting down.
Throughout the afternoon I had thought about just refusing to do anything, but I knew that my own safety wasn't the only one at stake.
Rauul and I passed under the arch I had gone through with the guards earlier. The courtyard had been beautiful earlier, but its beauty was tainted with dust, blood, and sweat-covered men trudging through it.
I looked up at the balcony that lined one side of the palace, and stopped dead when I made eye-contact with Rayn.
Her lips parted and she looked like she wanted to say something, but couldn't in this environment.
"HEY! Keep moving!" A guard yelled at me, swinging his whip and hitting me square in the back.
I gritted my teeth, refusing to make a sound. The strike was painful, but not enough to break the skin. I glared at the guard and started walking again, glancing back up at Rayn whose lips were moving over-exaggeratedly.
"Meet me here later if you can." She mouthed to me.
I nodded enough for her to see, before looking back forward, searching for Rauul.
I caught up to him before we walked under one of the many archways I'd seen earlier. Rauul glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, but said nothing.
After a very long walk down yet another stone hallway, we came to a dank-smelling room that was overcrowded with sleeping pads lining the four window-less walls.
Rauul made his way over to one and motioned for me to follow. He pointed to the bed in the corner next to his. "You can take that one. Cruz doesn't have any use for it anymore." Rauul said with a slight twinge of sorrow in his voice.
I wanted to ask why, but figured I'd know the answer anyway.
I sat down on the hard pad, sighing as I half-heartedly attempted to brush some of the black dust off of me.
Rauul stretched before sitting down on his own bed. He was lanky, though I had no doubt in his strength. He was dark-haired, with a bit of scruff on his face, though his hair made his blue eyes stand out starkly compared to it.
"They'll bring food soon." He told me quietly.
As if on cue, two scrawny boys came in carrying plates with bread and some sort of meat on them. They passed them out to each slave, going back to get more a couple times.
"Who are they?" I asked Rauul quietly, wondering why boys below the age of 10 were in a place like this.
"A couple years ago, some of the people of Tanvuia thought that King Tzerah was too controlling so they attempted to start a rebellion. The rebels failed and as punishment, the king enslaved their children." Rauul explained to me.
I said nothing more, content with eating the stale bread and bitter meat.
After a while, all the slaves finished and laid down to sleep for however long they could. There was no source of light in the room except for a few candles. The guards eventually came in and doused the candles, grumbling something about us going to sleep.
I laid down on my cot, though I kept my eyes open, waiting for the moment where I could go out and hopefully meet Rayn. I knew that my chances were slim, but I had to try.
After an hour, all the slaves were snoring soundly, and no guards were in the room. They were probably positioned outside the hall, but this was my chance. And I took it.
I honestly don't know when I'm going to update this again, but HERE YOU GO! :D I will try to get the next part up soonish. :)
Side note: the dresses for the women in the harem are basically saris from Indian culture.
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