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Chapter 6

Schala stood at the edge of the trade district with her head down to hide her tear stained face. A worn, brown duffel bag was on the ground next to her, filled with her sparse belongings. Tears fell freely, but she remained silent and still.

She could still hear Quilp's voice in her head telling her the bad news: he had sold her last night. He said it so matter-of-factly that he could have been talking about a hovercraft instead of a human being. He didn't even try to break the news softly. He simply told her to pack up her things and be ready to be traded off in a few hours. She supposed in his eyes the details didn't matter to her because she was just chattel exchanging hands anyway.

Schala knew that as a slave she didn't have a say in the matter anyway, so instead of fighting it, she obeyed. It worried her that she didn't even try to resist or argue, and she wondered if her years in slavery had finally broken her free will. Here she was, obediently waiting for her new master at the agreed upon location, at the agreed upon time. Had it been so long since she'd had the freedom to make a choice on her own that she had lost the ability to chose?

Quilp had a habit of threatening to get rid of her whenever he was mad, but strangely she had hoped he would not. As rough as he could be, Schala knew she was lucky to find an owner who only marginally mistreated her. There were so many worse situations out there for Imperial slaves, and her heart sank as she wondered if that would be her fate now too.

Her life had been predictable, even monotonous for years. Just last night, she and Rizy had been together laughing at the night's most ridiculous customers, and Rizy had resumed teasing Schala about "Brown Eyes", the man who bought the hovercraft and who suddenly seemed to enjoy spending hours at the Ark. Rizy had talked to him briefly, got lost in what she called "his dreamy brown eyes" and had pestered Schala with theories about him the entire night. Schala laughed off all the teasing off, but that didn't stop her from going to sleep dreaming about "Brown Eyes."

Oh, what a difference a day makes. It was only a few hours later, and she stood out in the open, exposed, waiting for a man who had bought her - who owned her in the eyes of the First Order. She shivered slightly at the thought that someone had approached Quilp about buying her, like she was something on the cantina's menu, and now that man was coming to take possession of her. Schala wiped her face with her hands and took a few calming breaths. Crying wouldn't change her fate and it certainly couldn't help her. New masters could be unpredictable, and she needed focus to be ready for what was next.

Out of the fog of her mind, she registered that someone had called her name, so she turned her head expecting to see Rizy. Schala hadn't had a chance to say goodbye to her friend, and she hoped the girl would find some way to come see her one last time. To Schala's surprise, though, it wasn't Rizy coming toward her, it was Brown Eyes! Schala couldn't believe her bad luck. Of all the ways she daydreamed about running to him, while waiting for her new master was not one of them.

He approached her in wide, confident steps, his curly hair more disheveled than she had seen it before. His dust-colored jacket and pants looked wrinkled, as if he had slept in his clothes. As he came closer, Schala could see he looked more care-worn and less friendly than before, with dark circles under his eyes and no trace of his charming smile. He looked as if he'd had a rough night.

If circumstances were different, she might have dared to ask him what was wrong, but with a new owner who could show up at any time, she was not interested in a long conversation with Brown Eyes. What if her new owner was gross, or had tentacles or ooze, or was a hutt? How embarrassing it would be to be carted off like a pack animal in front of Brown Eyes. She was aware that her own face was probably red and puffy from crying, and she felt a pang of embarrassment.

Brown Eyes came to a stop next to Schala, and neither of them spoke for a beat. She looked up at him expectantly, waiting for him to speak first. He held her gaze for a moment, keeping his face neutral. Schala searched his namesake brown eyes, but she couldn't tell what thoughts were going on behind them.

Finally, he shoved his hands into his jacket and said quietly, "Let's go." His voice sounded hoarse and rougher than she remembered.

"Go where?" she asked, confusion evident in her voice.

"Where isn't important. Just follow me." He turned to go, looking over his shoulder to see if she was coming too. She was not.

"I can't," she said softly. She so terribly wished she could leave, could just run away and never look back. That it was Brown Eyes asking her to go made it even more tempting. But death was the penalty for runaway slaves in the First Order, so it just wasn't an option.

"What do you mean?" Brown Eyes asked, clearly surprised at her response.

"I'm waiting for someone," Schala answered back, suddenly ashamed to say any more. Why did Brown Eyes make her feel self-conscious about her status as a slave? It wasn't like slaves were uncommon in the First Order.

Her heart was growing heavy with so many conflicting emotions, and she hoped he would take her simple answer and go. Running into him had momentarily taken her mind off her present circumstances, but she could feel the pressure starting to build again. Any minute now, she would be forced into a new, unknown life. She really didn't want Brown Eyes to be a spectator of that moment.

"Who," the man asked.

Why couldn't he be one of those strangers who minded his own business just for once? "I'm waiting for my new employer," she said, her voice raw with emotion. "My new master," she added quietly, and then bowed her head.

Brown Eyes was quiet for a moment, but he didn't leave. Schala wondered what he must be thinking - did he pity her or find her disgusting? - but she couldn't bring herself to look up. "That would be me," the man replied, matching her tone and quietness.

Schala's head shot up, and she looked at him with wide eyes. He at least had the courtesy to look apologetic. "You?" She pointed forcefully at him. "You are the one who bought me from Quilp?" she quizzed, her tone more accusatory than she meant it to be.

He nodded, a slightly uncomfortable look on his face. "I'm surprised Quilp didn't mention it was me." He paused and smiled ruefully for a moment, "Okay, maybe not that surprised." He raised a hand to rub the back of his neck. "I'm sorry to spring this on you like this. I thought for sure Quilp would at least tell you who you were meeting." He pinched the bridge of his nose and briefly closed his eyes. "I'm sorry about this whole thing actually..." He trailed off, but kept his mouth open, as if he were debating whether or not to say more.

Brown Eyes glanced up and down the street and said to her with a little urgency in his voice, "Maybe we should discuss this somewhere else." He motioned to the ground and asked, "Would you like me to carry your bag?"

So many thoughts were running through her head at the same time, Schala wasn't even sure what to focus on. She didn't even know his name, and now he was her master? Where was he taking her? He didn't have a transport with him, so did that mean it was nearby? Did he own multiple slaves? What kind of work did they do? And the strangest question of all: Why would someone who bought a slave be kind enough to carry that slave's bag?

When she didn't respond, Brown Eyes just leaned over and picked up her bag. "This way," he said, as if trying to urge her to move with his voice. To Schala it seemed like he was uncomfortable out in the open, as if he didn't want to be seen. Could he be in some kind of illegal business? Did that mean she would be involved too?

Suddenly, Rizy's teasing from the other night came to mind. Rizy had joked that the man had been stalking her, which at the time Schala thought was completely ridiculous. Could Rizy have been right after all? As crazy as it sounded, she couldn't ignore the fact that this man had shown up everywhere she was lately. Was it possible that it had not been a coincidence? Could he be more dangerous than she realized?

Even at their first meeting Schala had felt something was off about him, like he had been hiding something. That she kept running into him made her even more suspicious. And now, inexplicably, she found herself as the man's possession? Her heart began racing in her chest and she was having trouble keeping her breath even. She had a feeling that going with this man would be risky, probably even dangerous. "I don't think I want to go anywhere with you," she found herself saying as she backed away from him, arms outstretched as if to keep him at bay.

The man's face darkened and some of the warmth left his eyes, which only made her heart beat faster. "I'm not going to hurt you. Come with me, and I will explain everything. Just not here."

"Why don't you explain it to me now and then I decide." Even though the street was deserted, she had no desire to leave the safety of the public area. Schala spotted a droid patrol walking past on a crosstreet, and she moved forward intending to grab its attention. Unfortunately, moving forward also brought her closer to Brown Eyes, and before she could react, he reached a strong arm out, spun her around and pinned her arms to her side. His other hand quickly covered her mouth, and he pulled her close so that her back hit his chest. She tried to wrench herself out of his hold, but he only held her tighter as he dragged her to the nearest alley.

His grip was like a vice, his chest like a solid wall behind her, and for all her struggling she couldn't get free. He drug her back to the darkest part of the alley before he finally let her go, but he maneuvered himself so that he blocked her only exit. The only way out was past him.

Her breathing came out in ragged gasps as she looked at him with wide eyes. He gestured with hands open in front of him and said, "Listen to me. This is not what you think. I'm not going to hurt you. I just need you to come with me."

Come with him? For what? Why did he keep saying that? Schala's mind started filling with horrible images, horror stories she had heard of slave girls never heard from again. "I'm not going anywhere with you. Please...please...just take me back to the Ark," Schala pleaded, unable to keep the fear from her voice. Brown Eyes did not seem so handsome to her now. He looked dark, dangerous. She could see the tension coiled tightly in his body.

Brown Eyes fumbled in his coat pocket, and Schala's heart sank as she saw him pull out the device that controlled her slave collar. Quilp must have turned it over to the man at his purchase. "Please just come with me. I can explain everything if you give me a chance." Schala wondered why he bothered asking. With that device, the man could make her obey him, and they both knew it.

She kept moving further away from the man until her back hit the far wall of the alley, but Brown Eyes matched her movement, never letting the distance between them grow. She frantically looked around, but there was no where else for her to go.

"Please don't make me use this," he said, more steel in his voice now. Clearly, he was not going to play this game for much longer. He held up the control device.

Rationally, Schala knew there was nothing she could do. Even if she managed to get someone's attention, the man in front of her was her master. He had every right to do whatever he wanted and she had no rights at all. But she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something very wrong with the man, that he was hiding a big secret that she did not want to be a part of, and so she dashed forward, hoping that she could somehow brush past the man and run out into freedom. Brown Eye's reflexes were much faster than she could have predicted, and she barely made a step forward before the man hit a button, causing an electric current to burst from her collar.

Schala cried out in pain as the force of the electric shock made her fall to her knees. It had been so long since she'd gotten a shock from her collar, she had forgotten how painful they were. Instinctively, she raised her hands to her neck as if she could pull the collar off, but all that did was cause her fingertips to tingle and burn too.

It could have been a lack of sleep, lack of food, worn nerves, or a combination of it all, but black dots started swimming at the corners of her eyes as the pain overtook her. She rolled onto her back, feeling herself weaken. She knew she would lose consciousness soon, which meant that she had lost this fight. When she woke up, it would be to her new fate.

The last thing she saw was Brown Eyes standing over her, the corners of his mouth turned down in a frown. "I'm sorry," he said. "I really never wanted to hurt you." She couldn't keep her eyes open as she started drifting off into the dark. She felt the man gently sweep her hair across her forehead and then she was lifted up, shifted to his shoulder, and then she was asleep.

A/N: Thank you again for the reviews and for sticking with me! Sorry if my writing is a bit rusty, but I haven't written in so long I'm still trying to get warmed up! I'm hoping to get my groove back soon. I'm not 100% happy with my two new chapters, so I plan to go back and fix them later. For now, I just want to focus on telling more of the story. I hope you enjoy! :-)