(I do not own anything from Star Wars.)
Chapter Six: Piggy
The air came through fast, which unsettled the dryness in her tender mouth and throat. Unceasing coughs followed immediately and scratched at her now worn pipes. For a few minutes, she remained in this state caused by the shock of sudden, available oxygen.
Maul watched the Jedi, who was becoming used to the absence of his strangle, with disappointment for himself.
Still getting used to all of the available air, Uriael began to tremble. The air seemed to be the rivers of milk and honey that now soothed her whole existence. Being able to breathe after she swore she would die had to have been one of the most beautiful sensations that she had felt in her life.
The now lighted room seemed to welcome her and the wall that she lay against felt cool and comforting on her tense back. The air in the room nipped at her, but she was not disquieted by the goose bumps that arose on her exposed body.
After she had fallen into a much needed rest, it felt as though not five minutes had gone by before reality set in.
I am still naked in a room with a Sith that just tried to kill me.
She snapped out of her restful trance and situated her back even closer to the wall.
Uriael shut her eyes abruptly, because she was not used to the amount of light in the room. Her arms and her hands searched the floor in hopes of finding the dress again but it led to nowhere and she ended up having to use her legs and arms to cover herself. The Jedi kept still and opened her eyes steadily so they could get adjusted to the morning light.
Finally, her tired eyes focused in onto the Sith.
He sat upright in a chair right across from her wearing a black outfit consisting of a collared under shirt that fit close to his neck, a folded over tunic which was both loose and long, but held together with a leather wrap and loin cloth around his waist. The pants he wore were nearly covered by the tunic's length, but from below the knees, they were stuffed into a pair of thick soled trekking boots. He was currently situating a glove onto his right hand.
At that time, though, she was more concerned over what was permanently done to his skin.
His whole face was painted with crimson and ebony colors, with etchings of the same cabalistic symbols she had seen not long before. Two viciously angled lines of black traveled over the red, starting from two horns placed on the edge of where a human's hairline would grow, all of the way to his brows, giving him a permanent look of petulance.
He must be a zabrak, she thought to herself, noting the way the horns grew.
Black ink brought out the brightness and intensity of the yellow color of his eyes, which must have penetrated into her mind more than once.
Her eyes darted away from him, from her own feeling of discomfort, as he must have been sitting there with her like that the whole time she was regaining air.
"Finally alert," the darksider commented, with a malicious yet indifferent tone.
Uriael did not answer.
"I believe that you now understand that there is no use for defiance. Tell me your name and your rank."
She was about to ignore his order and wanted to keep quiet and calm, but she remembered him last night and how he had almost brought her to death. Though curious as to why he showed mercy, she decided against testing his limits.
"Uriael Lumen. Jedi Knight..," She answered, showing her obedience.
"You were a Knight?" the Sith questioned insultingly. "Tell me your age."
"20 years."
He shook his head, with a prominent smirk.
She held back her tongue, not wanting to give the impression that she was annoyed. He had no idea what she had done to be given the status of knighthood.
Her eyes wandered the room in the hopes of looking at anything but this new captor.
What are you going to do to me?
Maul watched her with the full knowledge that she was discomforted by the situation that they both were in. His eyes dug deep into her and studied her slightly shaken movements, and he noticed that she once again had begun to avoid eye to eye contact with him.
"Do you find me grotesque?" Maul smirked wickedly within himself.
He got up from the seat and walked towards the Jedi, until he stood directly over her, and then forced her to her feet.
She met up with the invisible hold that was around her two shoulders and once again, to her distaste, her nude body was in sight.
He was a few inches taller than her and his body was large. Her eyes were at the same level as his black lips were. She herself was muscular, but only with what her female frame would allow.
"Look at me."
He clutched onto her chin and pulled her face towards his. She let the tension in her neck release, so the leather hand could do so and looked at him blankly.
His eyes were still the same and his being closer wouldn't change that. His look didn't seem more demonic or arcane. The only thing that was slightly different was that she could see a horn in front of each ear, a piercing in the cartilage of his left ear and the shapes of the tattoos that were on his face.
Maul noticed that she was observing rather than fearing and had begun to stare down at the two scars under her eyes. They weren't there when he saw into her mind the last time.
"You aren't afraid of my appearance," Maul smugly responded.
"What reason would I have to be?" Uriael asked.
She had been so used to the many different races of alien Jedi that roamed the temple, this artwork was nothing.
"Because Jedi are automatically accepting," Maul commented, almost sarcastically.
"We were accepting," Uriael said flatly.
She turned up to him with a look of anger.
He smiled an evilly humored grin. "Now, it all falls to you."
It amazed her how anyone could find the death of anyone humorous, and most of all, how anyone could parody the deaths of her surrogate family.
They never hated anyone. They never brought harm to anyone because they could easily over power them. She always thought of them as neutral and the only time that they felt the need to fight was during the Clone Wars, and that was only because they wanted to help protect the Republic.
Her lips folded inward, and the direction in which she was looking went right back to the floor. Warmth filled her cheeks and her long purple bangs fell over her face.
That's what you deserve you tramp, for showing me your rape- for stopping me from finishing you off.
"Pathetic," Maul scorned.
He walked away from her and she sat back down on the floor.
Maul reached his hand out towards the couch, and a large robe shot into his grasp. His other hand beckoned for the double ended saber, which spun into his hold. He then latched it onto the clamp holster that was on his leather wrap.
"You will stay here."
Uriael's eyes darted at him, almost stunned by what she had just heard.
"You're leaving?" Uriael inquired. "And leaving me here?"
"How dense," he poked. "I have business of my own to attend to- not some Jedi turned call girl."
His left hand opened up to his side, and a strange metal bracelet flew from the kitchen into his palm. He secured the cuff around his left wrist, which was the control device for his droids, infiltrator, and speeder.
He threw the robe over his body and shoved his arms through the sleeves. After he seemed to be caped, he advanced towards the door.
"You should get a shower," Maul criticized, "and some clothes."
"I don't have clothes to wear, other than that," Uriael calmly snapped as she pointed at the dress which had been tossed near the couch.
"Why not wear it? It was the only thing appealing about you last night."
"Then why were you so quick to rip it off?"
The two glared at one another, Maul with intimidation and Uriael with a sudden refinement.
"Don't think of running away."
He picked the hood of his robe up, and let it fall over his head. The both of them traded looks, and he left her by her lonesome.