The Life of a Slave

Chapter 4: Friends and Foes

Author's Note: Alright, I've begun to notice the lack of reviews so how about a little compromise. I get five reviews per chapter and I'll update. How does that sound to you guys? Anyway, here ya go. Merry Christmas!

"If you have good friends, no matter how much life is sucking, they can make you laugh."
-P.C. Cast

The next morning, we all sat in the kitchen merrily eating breakfast, except for me. I had a headache.

I sat hunched over a plate of eggs and toasted bread, rubbing my temples, wincing whenever a wave of pain would hit my brain. Jadella brought me a warm, damp rag and I accepted it gratefully. Luminara and Barriss looked at me with concern. "Are you ill, Ethan?" Luminara asked.

I shook my head and winced as the pain hit my head again. "Just a headache, that's all. Why do you ask?"

She shrugged and sipped her water. "We just wanted to make sure that you didn't require aid."

"What could you do to help?" I asked, rubbing the dust out of my eyes.

"Barriss is studying to be a healer," Luminara replied. "She knows how to deal with things such as headaches and sickness."

I smiled despite the pain, and answered, "Don't worry. I've had many migraines before and this will pass."

"Are you sure?" Barriss asked, concern evident in her tone of voice.

I looked over at her and nodded. "Yes, Barriss. I'm sure." I laughed nervously. "Not all things require worry."

I took a bite of toast and looked at the holo-clock. It read seven-thirty. "I'd better be on my way. Master Kade will have my head if I don't get to arena soon."

I ruffled Jaden's hair and grabbed my bag. "Wait."

I turned around and Jadella looked at me inquisitively. "Aren't you going to show them around?"

"Show who around?" I asked, confused at my sister's question.

She rolled her eyes and mumbled, "Sometimes I wonder about you Ethan." She gestured to the Jedi and replied, "Them, genius."

"Oh," I said, rubbing the back of my head and feeling like an idiot. I looked over at Luminara and Barriss. "So, do you guys want to see the worst of 1313?"

Luminara took one more bite of her eggs and brought the plate to the sink. "I suppose that my padawan could come with you. I would like to learn more from Jadella, if you will. Barriss, go with Ethan to collect more intel for the Senate."

"Remind me again, as to why the Senate won't approve taking action against slave trades," Barriss replied.

"They don't believe that slave trades are taking place down here."

"Then, you should bring them down here to take a look for themselves," I said with a wicked smile.

Luminara tried to disguise it, but I knew that she was trying hard not to smile. Barriss placed her plate next to Luminara's and said, "Where do we go first?"

I shrugged and said, "Work. Come on. I need to get to the arena."

She followed me out the door and we were immediately met with the sound of a woman screaming and two human men rushing by with a squirming sack. I dropped my satchel and grabbed one of the men by the throat. He gasped for breath and I kicked him in the knee. It went backwards and a cracking sound could be heard. He shrieked and collapsed.

I look over the other man and he was white as a ghost. He tossed the squirming bag over to me and ran off, leaving us with the broken man. "What in the Force was that?" Barriss asked, her voice hardly more than a whisper.

"That, my Jedi friend," I said, opening up the large bag and revealing a child, "was an attempted kidnapping." The child was a female Togruta with red skin and black stripes running down her headtails.

Barriss gaped. "I'm assuming from the way you handled the situation that this has happened more than once."

"Once or twice a day," I replied and turned toward my left to see an older female Togruta running down the street. She had blood running from her nose, yet she didn't seem to care. Her eyes widened when she saw me holding the crying child.

She rushed towards me and grabbed her child. "Thank you, sir. Oh, thank you for rescuing Tala!"

I was about to reply "thank you", but the woman just kissed me on the cheek, pressed a few credits into my hand, and ran off. I turned around and watched her retreating shadow. "What did the men intend to do with the child?" Barriss inquired.

"Raise her until she was old enough to use for sexual desires. Then, they would rape her continually," I replied bluntly.

I picked up my satchel, stepped over the unconscious man and walked off, but she caught up with me. "And this doesn't bother you?" Barriss asked.

I stopped walking and I looked down at her with contempt. "How could it not bother me? My sister was raped for a fortnight and no one rescued her when they heard her cries! My nephew, Kael, when he grows up will forever has to live with the knowledge that he is a mistake in this Force-forsaken world that I have to call home! This bothers my mind every single second that I'm still alive!"

She met my gaze, except that her gaze held pity and remorse, instead of rage like mine. "I'm sorry for angering you Ethan, but from the way you reacted you indicated that it didn't faze you."

I sighed and said, "I'm sorry for my outburst Barriss, but you shouldn't judge people from their outward appearance."

"You sound like a Jedi Master," she said bluntly and we began walking again.

"Is that a bad thing?"

She didn't answer that question. Instead, she asked one of her own. "Do you really think that Kael is a mistake?"

I looked over at her and nodded. "Whenever people are in a relationship and they have an unexpected pregnancy, their own actions created the life form. But rape is an abnormality and it creates things that shouldn't have ever come into existence."

"Yet it still happens," Barriss replied coolly.

I shrugged. "Kael might be a mistake, but unlike other mistakes, he has a family and friends that love him. But it still troubles me that he has to endure life knowing that he was brought into the world by an abnormality."

"Then maybe he isn't a mistake. Maybe rape is the mistake," Barriss replied.

I remained silent and let this idea come into my mind. I had been raised around pirates, slavers, and smugglers all my life and some of their ideas and thoughts had become mine as well. Ideals about rape and unexpected pregnancy had entered my mind through their own conversations throughout the years. Barriss had just changed my thoughts in a few statements.

"How old was she?"

Barriss' question brought me back into reality. "Who?"

"Jacinda. How old was she when she was raped?"

"Thirteen." That year of her life brought bad memories to my mind, memories of Jacinda, broken down and crying in her room, and of Jaden, standing there, confused and wondering what was going on. If only he had known.

"That's much too young," Barriss said, her head hanging from the impact of the truth.

"Like you said, rape is a mistake and mistakes mess things up," I replied, looking down at her slumped form.

Our eyes met and her gaze held sadness, an emotion that the Jedi Order forbid. Though, the Jedi Code had forbid all emotion. There is no emotion, there is peace. Barriss' statement from the night before came to mind, yet I refrained from reminding her of this. Why? In my mind, you weren't a person if you didn't show emotion and I liked seeing Barriss as just a person, a friend even.

But her eyes regained a neutral look and she tore away from my gaze. "We should get to the arena."

"Sure."

We didn't talk much after that.

"We're here," I said, stopping at the massive building that was more commonly known as the Gladiator's Playground.

Barriss' eyes widened just a little, showing surprise. "And people come here to watch others get killed?"

"You really don't get out much, do you?" I asked, smirking a little and going inside. She followed.

"Master usually keeps me on a leash, if you will. She can be strict at times, "Barriss said, walking at my side.

"It should be relieving to know that you have someone that cares about you," I answered, looking down at her small frame.

I saw her mouth form a frown. "Yes, but she takes caring to a whole different level. I mean, she wasn't even this strict when I had just begun my training under her!"

"Maybe she thinks that something will happen to you if you're not by her side?" I said, though it came out as more of a question.

She scowled at me and said, "I'm almost twenty-years old, Ethan. I was trained from ages three to thirteen by the best Jedi in the galaxy, and then from thirteen to the present by Master Unduli. I highly doubt that anyone will injure me, especially if I have a lightsaber on my belt." *(A/N: Barriss says that she is nineteen, but in reality, she would be twenty-three. I just figured that I would change her age to shorten the age difference between her and Ahsoka and/or Ethan, who are seventeen and nineteen, respectively.

I smiled and said, "I certainly wouldn't." I looked over at her and said, "But what's worse? Having a master that cares about you or one that wouldn't give a kriff if you tried and died on a mission?"

She sighed and mumbled, "The latter." She added with a mock glare, "Sometimes you can be such a Windu!"

"A Windu?"

She laughed, a real one, and said, "I'll have to tell you later."

She laughed again and I chuckled too. But I had no reason to. I just wanted to laugh for once. "Well, if it isn't my favorite little slave."

A cold, eerie voice caused me to whip around. I met the obsidian eyes of a Twi'Lek and stumbled a few steps back. It was my master, Kade Renkaan. He had light blue skin and eyes dark as a black hole. He wore expensive robes that only a Senator could afford and had a whip attached to his belt.

I looked down and didn't say a word.

"You were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago," Kade said, smiling coldly at me.

"I was preoccupied," I replied, not raising my voice past a mumble.

Kade ran his hand across my face and made a tsk-ing noise. "Oh Ethan, you know how I feel about my slaves being tardy." He pulled me closer and whispered, "It bothers me." His hand ran down my arm and I whimpered.

He pushed me away and said with a glare, "The next time you're late, Slash gets to take care of you."

And with a cruel laugh, he exited the arena.

I stood absolutely still and goosebumps appeared where he had touched me. Fear and rage filled my mind and I whimpered again. Barriss placed a hand on my shoulder. "Ethan?"

When I didn't answer, she grabbed my shoulder and forced me to look at her. "Ethan, answer me."

"Don't tell anyone about this," I muttered, my eyes wide with worry and fear.

"What do you mean by 'this'"?" she asked, taking her hand off my shoulder and making quotation marks with her fingers.

"The confrontation that you just witnessed," I replied, brushing past her and heading towards the changing area. Barriss opened her mouth to say something, or ask I suppose, but I said, "Please don't ask about it."

I could tell by the mumbling I heard and tension that appeared in the air that she was not happy about being silenced. "Fine," she muttered and an image of her pouting and crossing her arms appeared in my mind. The frown on my face loosened a little at the thought of such a proper person like Barriss acting like a child who didn't get their way.

I reached the changing room and opened the door. I looked back at Barriss and said, "Wait here. And if anyone gives you trouble, tell them that you're a friend of Durasteel. They'll know what that means."

"Who's Durasteel?" she asked.

I smirked. "It's my stage name in the arena."

She raised an eyebrow and smiled a little. "How'd you come up with that?"

"I ran into a durasteel wall when I was trying to come up with a name. It just stuck with me," I said, giving her sheepish smile and hoping that she forgave me for not explaining the earlier confrontation with my master earlier.

Thankfully, she smiled back and said, "I would expect someone like you to be more aware of their surroundings and not run into walls."

I shrugged and said, "Be right back."

I turned around and walked into the changing room. Opening up my box in the corner of the room, I pulled out my black combat boots and black pants. I took off my shirt and placed it next to the box and took off my pants as well. I jumped into my pants and forced my boots onto my feet.

I placed my casual clothes into the box, yet sat for one more moment. Looking inside the box, I pulled out the beaded necklace that my father had given me before we landed on Coruscant.

"What's this, Dad?" I asked, examining the necklace that he had stuffed into my palm. It had beads and rocks on the string, but in the middle was a shiny stone that seemed to change colors. It was like it didn't know what it wanted to be or it couldn't decided which shade it liked better, blue or red, orange or yellow.

"It was your grandfather's necklace. He wore it in every battle or fight that he was in. When he died though, he left this to me. And now, I want you to have it." Dad saw how I was fascinated with the rock though, and he chuckled. "The stone is called a Coloring Stone."

I smiled, knowing that it had been properly named. "What's it do?"

"It changes colors," Dad replied bluntly.

I looked up at him, dismayed that it only had one function. "That's all it does?"

Dad laughed, a quiet laugh, and ruffled my black hair. "Not everything has to have some kind of big purpose in life. And sometimes, it's the small wonders of the galaxy that are the most important, Ethan. Remember that in the future."

"But I'll have you there to remind me, right?"

"Right, kiddo."

I placed my head in my hands and I said, "I miss you, Dad." I ran both my hands through my hair and a sob escaped through my lips.

But I couldn't afford to cry.

I glanced at the Coloring Stone once more. It kept on switching from blue to red to purple to everything else. Every minute, a new color. When I was child, I wondered if it would run out of colors to just start creating new shades for fun. I still wondered if that was true.

I picked it up and rolled the necklace around in my hand. The rocks and beads tickled the palm of my hand and the stone felt cool against my warm, calloused skin. And as usual, I was tempted to wear it.

But I couldn't. I had worn the necklace once before and I had been beaten up and bloodied when someone tried to steal it. Things such as Coloring Stones are worth something in the surface world and 1313. I obviously had something of value and that of course, meant that there were people who wanted to take it.

And as I've already said, I couldn't afford for the necklace to be taken. I couldn't afford for my father's most prized possession to be stolen.

Laughter and conversation interrupted my train of thought. I looked up from the stone and knew that I needed to get back to Barriss. I stood up and placed the stone back in the box. I closed it and grabbed my practice blade on the way out.

I was immediately met with Barriss laughing as a boy dressed in a blue jumpsuit told her jokes about me. It was my best friend, Hafiz. He finally noticed me standing behind Barriss and said, "Well, if it isn't Mr. Tall, Dark, and Gruesome!"

I smirked and replied, "Nice to see you too, Hafiz!"

He smiled his crooked grin at me and said, "You know, you shouldn't leave your girlfriend out here! It's a dangerous place 1313!"

"I know that, Hafiz," I said, stepping up and slapping him on the back. "I know that better than anyone. And she's not my girlfriend."

He again smiled that weird smile and I couldn't help but laugh a little. Hafiz was a green-skinned Nautolan with the goofiest personality and appearance that you'll ever come across. He was a servant like me, but he served Crime Lord Omarian, the King of 1313, or at least that what he was considered to be. We didn't really have a government in 1313. Anyway, Hafiz was five inches shorter than me and only sixteen years old. But he always managed to make me laugh when I first met him so we kind of grew closer. He was the only one who knew my secret besides Jadella.

"Well, if she's not then dibs!" he said, raising a hand in the air as if he were at an auction.

I smirked, knowing that no one would ever be able to call "dibs" on Barriss. "Sorry dude, but she's not available."

His expression changed from excited to disappointed the back to excited. "You are dating her! Nice job, man! So, when's the wedding?" He held up his hand in a high-five gesture and I shook my head in disbelief.

I looked over to Barriss and asked, "Can you tell him?"

She smirked and shrugged. "Hafiz um, I'm actually... a Jedi." She whispered the last part so softly, we were barely able to make out what she was saying.

Hafiz' eyes widened and he turned to me. "So, you're dating a beautiful girl and she's a Jedi? I always thought that I would end up with the hot and dangerous one!" He sighed and added, shaking his head, "Guess not."

I rolled my eyes and punched him on the shoulder. "Man, we're not dating!"

He laughed and said, "I know, dude! I know! I just needed to tease you about something!" He turned to Barriss, who had started turning a darker shade of green. "See Barriss, that's the beauty of him and I's friendship. I get to tease him and he protects my ass whenever there are thugs looking for me!"

She laughed again and replied, "That sounds like me and my friend, Ahsoka. Except without the protection. She does that on her own."

Hafiz brightened up and he loudly whispered, "Maybe you could introduce me to this Ahsoka person?"

I smirked and rolled my eyes. "Alright, you joker. That's enough. Get back to cleaning the stands."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" he said, holding up his hands in a defensive gesture. "I have one serious question to ask your Jedi girlfriend." He looked over at Barriss. "What are you doing down here?"

"We're trying to free everyone," she whispered after she had scanned the area for potential eavesdroppers.

"Everyone as in everyone? Or everyone as in servants?" he asked, lowering his voice to a mumble.

"Servants," Barriss replied.

Hafiz smirked and said, "So, when's the invasion?"

"I don't know. Why do you ask?" Barriss replied, curiosity evident in her tone.

"Because whenever you and those clones march down here, I want a gun and thermal detonators to use against the slavers and crime lords," he replied, smiling his signature smile. "They need to pay for their crimes against us and I'm willing to help when all of this goes down."

Barriss raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Hafiz nodded. "Just bring the weapons and I'll be good to go."

A cough from behind me caused all of us to whip around. I came face-to-face with a tall human male who had a cold smile on his face. It was Abaddon, my rival. He smirked at me and said, "Well, if it isn't my arch-nemesis, Dabria."

I glared at him and replied, "Abaddon."

Abaddon was about two inches taller than me and had bleached-blonde hair. His eyes were black, blacker than Kade's, and his teeth were bared in a kind of smile or growl or sneer. But it probably wasn't a smile. You don't get a lot of those from Abaddon. "How have you been doing, Dabria?" he asked.

"Why do you want to know?" I questioned, steeping up to him and looking him in the eyes.

He sneered and said, "Just wanted to make sure that my rival was ready for our little match in a week. I can't wait to show everyone that Durasteel can be put down like the pathetic animal he is."

"You're calling me an animal?" I growled, taking another step forward so that there were only inches between us. "Then prove it. Let's go right here."

He cackled and I resisted the urge to cover my ears. He sounded like a dying mynock being hit with a piece of duracrete. "Sorry, but I only fight when there's an audience. And we've only got this Nautolan trash to watch." He sneered again and looked over at Hafiz. "Shouldn't you be cleaning?"

Hafiz muttered a sorry and said to me, "See you later, Ethan." He ran off and went into the stands to clean again.

Abaddon smirked and his eyes settled on Barriss. "Well, I know that you're not here for him." He brushed past me and took Barriss' hand. "The name's Abaddon, miss. But you knew that already." He kissed the back of her hand, which sent rage boiling throughout my body.

"Sorry. Never heard of you," Barriss replied, tearing her hand away from his and wiping it on her robes.

His smile faltered a little, and that sent a small smile across my features. He laughed nervously and said, "Well, I would sure like to hear about you."

Barriss raised an eyebrow, probably a little pissed off at him. "Sorry, but ass-wipes aren't really my type." She glanced at me and smiled. I smiled back.

Abaddon was speechless. I had heard stories about how women swooned over him, despite his servant-status, and it was probably shocking to him that Barriss was turning him down. Like I said, shocking to him. I already knew that Barriss would say no. His face turned from surprised to angry and he said through clenched teeth, "Why you little bitch!"

He started to raise his hand, but before he could, I had tackled him to the ground and furiously punching him in the face. He shoved me off and kneed me in the groin. I groaned in pain and he pushed me to the ground. He straddled me and punched me in the nose, causing me to groan again and making stars fly around my head. He pulled out a vibroblade and said, "Screw the arena and witnesses. I'll kill you right now."

But once again, something stopped him and it was a rock that had been thrown into his shoulder. I looked over and saw that Barriss had picked up a few rocks and used them against him. "Leave him alone," she said, her face expressionless, yet her body language had enough emotion to tell what she was implying.

She was ready for a fight.

Abaddon started getting up, but a familiar voice stopped him. "Slave, stand down."I looked over to my left and saw Kade, his hand on his whip. I had never been so happy to see a slaver in my life. "Abaddon, this behavior is intolerable. Save your blood-thirst for the arena next week. And Ethan, keep your woman under control." I saw his eyes narrow when he laid eyes on Barriss and not just because he felt threatened by her. He knew that she didn't belong down here.

Kade walked away, but not without glaring at Abaddon.

Abaddon got off me and said, "Have fun with your whore, Dabria. You only have one more week to live, after all." He walked out of the arena and Barriss rushed to my side.

"You didn't have to do that, Ethan," she said, disappointment evident in her voice. In that instant, I went from being in awe at her to anger.

"Well, you didn't have to call him an ass-wipe," I shot back, standing up and taking a few steps away from her.

She sighed and stood up as well. "I meant that you didn't have to place yourself in danger for me. As I've already mentioned, I can handle myself."

"You might be able to, but I was always told by my parents and Jadella to protect my friends. And at that moment, you, my friend, looked like you needed protection." I stared down at her as her expression went from blank to surprised and maybe a little flattered.

"Thank you, Ethan. I suppose that you're my friend as well."

"You suppose?" I said, raising an eyebrow and smirking.

"Well, I just met you yesterday," she said defensively, but I saw the corners of her mouth come up in a smile. I liked seeing her smile.

"Anyway, let me clean my nose and I'll be right back." I started to walk off toward the dirty refresher, but I turned back and asked, "You sure that you'll be okay out here? Alone?"

"Yes, Ethan. I'm sure." She smirked and added, "Not all things require worry."

I rolled my eyes at her statement, or more like the statement that she had stolen from me. But as I walked off, I felt a small sense of flattery. I liked that she remembered what I had said earlier; that she was paying attention to me. It gave me pleasure. But I hadn't known why. At least, at the time.

"Is your master homosexual?"

I had just finished my daily training and Barriss and I were walking back to Beggar's Row, where my home was located. I had been drinking out of a small bottle of water when she asked, so I started choking on it. "What?" I said, bending over and coughing.

"Well, my master has taught that intruding on a person's mind to find answers is rude, so the only way to find out was to ask," she replied. I could hear laughter and a smile in her voice at my reaction, though this wasn't a laughing matter for me.

"Um... do youthink that he's gay?" I asked, wondering where the question came from.

She shrugged. "It's just that earlier, when he approached you in the arena, he seemed... interested in you. And from the way he looked at me after all of that Abaddon business, it looked as though he saw me as a threat to um, creating a relationship with you."

I Looked away and said, "Yeah, he's homosexual." I started to walk away, but Barriss, persistent as ever, caught up with me.

"Why does this bother you so much? Do you have something against homosexuals?" she asked, probably seeing my reaction to the question.

I laughed a little, though I was thoroughly embarrassed about the whole matter. "Oh no, Barriss. I have nothing against homosexuality. It's just that..." I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. "Well, my master is gay. And he's a man. And I'm a man. And he's my master."

Her eyes widened a little and she looked down at the ground. "Oh, um... sorry I asked."

"It's alright," I replied, smiling down at her. "Better to just get the truth out of the way."

"Well, are you?" she asked.

I made a face, confused, before the meaning of the question dawned on me. "Oh, Barriss! No! Force, no! I'm straight! Gosh, I mean, I have nothing against homosexuality, but me and another man? Never!" I laughed nervously and Barriss smiled at my reaction.

"Yes well, I guessed that you were heterosexual, but I just wanted to be sure."

I raised an eyebrow and smiled suggestively. "Why? Is the Padawan Learner thinking about making a move on the gladiator?" I wiggled my eyebrows and laughed when Barriss' expression changed to horror. "Relax, Barriss. I was kidding."

She let out a breath and said, "Good."

We started walking again, but I looked down at her and asked, "What about you?"

"Huh?"

"Are you um..."

She rolled her eyes and said, "Ethan, I'm a Jedi. We're not allowed to form attachments."

I looked away again and sneered. At the time, I had realized that the Code was the law of the Jedi and that they should obey it, but that didn't mean that Jedi couldn't think someone looked nice or if they preferred men or woman. "Barriss, I'm aware of the fact that Jedi aren't allowed marriage or relationships, but that shouldn't stop you from looking at someone attractive."

She seemed to contemplate this and suddenly, a bright smile crossed her features. "And again, you've reminded me of Ahsoka."

"There goes that name again. Okay explain to me who this Ahsoka person is."

Her smile faded as she tried to concentrate. "Well, do you know who Anakin Skywalker is?"

My eyes brightened and I smirked. "The Hero With No Fear? Who doesn't know about him?"

"Ahsoka was assigned to him at the beginning of the war and we met at the second battle of Geonosis when we had to destroy a droid factory there. In the end though, we ended up being trapped beneath the rubble of the structure and um... almost died. But Ahsoka managed to fix her comlink so her master was able to detect us and save us from oxygen deprivation."

I smiled, though the story sounded a little dangerous. "Well, she sounds resourceful."

Barriss smiled and said, "Yes. She certainly is creative. But you remind of her a lot. Especially with the jokes."

I shrugged. "But you have failed to answer my earlier question."

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "You are like Ahsoka. But men, I would prefer." She looked up at me and smirked. "Definitely men."

I chuckled and said, "Come on. We need to get back to the house. We have lot's of work to do before you and Luminara can go home." But even though we remained silent the rest of the way, I could tell that we were trying not to laugh. Why? I guessed that having friends around you just removes the ability to contain laughter.

Author's Note: Okay um, remember. Five reviews equals an update. Also, the next chapter will be called Plans of Revolution, if that gives you any indication of what it'll be like.