Lysa arrived back at her doorstep, arms laden with items of shopping.
She felt exhausted if truth be told, working five full days a week along with two additional days for getting to the market and then baking the breads and cakes ready to be sold.
Her days felt long, out on her speeder from dawn until dusk, with barely any time to stop for a break or to eat. Mainly Lysa would snack on a piece of fruit here and there when she found any spare rolling around in the bottom of the basket. But often there was no time to stop at all while there were deliveries to be made.
Lysa never had any time to herself these days, but that was a good thing. For it never gave her any opportunity to dwell on what life was truly like for her behind closed doors.
For the moment she got in at dusk, arriving home exhausted to the tiny apartment she shared with Crix Val'shif, she worked tiresomely.
And after that full day of toiling in the hot sun and the equally hot earth of the lava planet, at sundown her partner of five or so years would expect a meal on the table. No exceptions.
Expecting good food, meat, and the freshest breads and vegetables. No ration packs here.
But eating well was expensive and Lysa often found herself struggling to pay for what Crix considered proper food. In addition to the cost, Lysa would also grow anxious as the day progressed, about leaving enough time to get home and make dinner. Meaning that a delivery or two would quite regularly fall off her schedule - meaning that she would have even more to pick up the next day. Leaving her spiralling at some points.
But making sure Crix had a good meal on the table often meant that he wasn't so angry with her, that his punches were not as accurate. And, with his belly full, it meant that sex was not as likely - something which Lysa was always grateful for.
Once upon a time, Lysa and Crix's relationship had been fantastic. He was once loud and funny and had almost charmed her into bed when they had first met. But that was years ago. And these days that life, so far removed from what she had now, was hard to think about.
There was no intimacy when it came to sex between them anymore. No loving relationship there. Zero romance.
Crix demanded what he demanded, and if Lysa didn't give it to him there would be hell to pay, in the form of a cut lip the next day, or worse…
Lysa would never forget the couple of occasions Crix had arrived home from the bar, reeking of ale and other women, and forced himself onto her. Lysa had cried afterwards, sitting on the floor in their sonic shower so that Crix couldn't hear her sobs.
He shouted at her afterwards. Told her that it was her duty, despite there having been no marriage vows uttered between them. A duty to give him what he wanted, when he wanted it.
Blaming her for what he had done. Telling her she was the reason he did what he did.
Lysa should have left him that day, like any sane person would have. But after years of being beaten down and told that you were no good to anyone. Lysa had already begun to believe it.
But gratefully Crix hadn't pushed her for sex in months. Lysa knew he was likely having an affair - probably with more than one woman knowing him - but she had given up caring. If it meant that she could rest easy at night for just a few hours while her partner was entertained by another, she didn't care.
She wondered if there was anyone else out there who would ever feel the same about the person they were supposed to love? Happy to be cheated on if it meant that they were satisfied and not as angry.
Lysa knew she was crazy for sticking with Crix. But it was as though she was strapped to a bungee cord. Each time she stepped away, thinking she was free, he would give it just a slight tug and here she was, back with him.
But this time it had been blackmail. And perhaps the first time, so transparent too.
For the threats he had made to Grogu's life had been too much for Lysa to bear.
Crix was a very capable man when he put his mind to something. And she didn't doubt that he would have found a way to get to Grogu, if Lysa had not agreed to stay with him.
But now surely even Crix knew that this wasn't a relationship anymore. For what did he have to gain for keeping Lysa?
He obviously had other women to sleep with, other places he could stay. And yet Lysa knew the truth. She was his property now. Someone he could leech off, but not love. Never love.
She often thought about the millions of couples out there in the galaxy, happy, in love, treating each other with the respect they deserved.
Wishing that somehow she could change everything, and that she could have that too.
A man who loved her, adored her, who treated her with kindness and devotion above all else.
But there was only one person who appeared in her mind's eye these days when she pondered this daydream.
Din Djarin.
Seeing him there in the marketplace only served to make her heart ache for him even more than it already did.
For a week since he had threatened Crix on her doorstep, Lysa had known that had been it. There would be no more deliveries to Din and Grogu's door. No gentle walks through the city with Din at her side, where she felt safe and happy. And that had caused Lysa to turn in on herself somewhat, becoming a mere husk, merely surviving her life with Crix, but no longer living.
But seeing Din there today had caused butterflies to appear in her stomach once more.
She might not be able to see him around often any longer, but that didn't stop her being able to imagine how it would feel to have him beside her, in the depths of the night. Holding her close.
Crix may have control over her body and what he did with it. But Lysa's mind was still hers, and Din could still be there, in her dreams.
And dreams were all that Lysa seemed to have these days, apart from her job.
But even that was a weight upon her shoulders now.
Her landspeeder had been old when she'd bought it, and she could see it each day, getting slower and slower as it travelled the great distances she needed it to across the lava flats.
The demand was high for her foodstuffs, but Lysa just couldn't keep up anymore.
She was tired and weary and was desperate for something more.
For a long while, Lysa's dream had been to open up a little bakery, just like her parents had owned all those years ago.
She had saved and saved, and despite her being the only one bringing in an income, she had still managed to save just enough to put down a deposit for a lease on a tiny place on the West side of the City. Something which the High Magistrate had brought up only today.
But on the day, upon getting home from the viewing, full of excitement, knowing she was finally one step closer to her dream, Crix had been there to laughingly inform her, that her saved money was gone. Gambled away without her knowledge.
She had been furious of course, perhaps one of the only times she had ever raised her voice in return to Crix.
But she had paid for her tone, in the form of a fractured cheekbone and a blinding concussion.
Once again, Lysa knew that she should have walked out that day and never come back.
But fear and shame had taken hold fairly quickly. And Lysa had soon come to learn that it was easier to let these things go.
That her life just wasn't meant to work out the way she had hoped.
That she wasn't the type of person who deserved it to.
Crix had been sure to remind her of that every morning that she woke, and every evening before she went to sleep.
Giving a weary sigh now, Lysa heaved her heavy basket into her apartment hallway as the front door slid open.
She had finished her shopping a little early and was usually not due home for another hour or so, but was eager to make a start on dinner so that she could have a sit down afterwards.
She hadn't eaten all day and felt a little faint now, as she wiped at her brow with the back of her hand, placing down some of her shopping in the tiny hallway for a moment just to catch her breath.
But as she did so, she heard voices from inside her living quarters.
One of them was Crix's, But the other's, were men Lysa didn't recognise.
Crix often invited his buddies around drinking, that was not unusual, but these voices tonight were low and hushed.
A mild curiosity washed over her suddenly, wondering what was going on. Normal conversations could easily happen in the bar, so what were they talking about if they chose instead to do it here?
Lysa lingered in the hallway listening intently.
"We'll do it tonight," came Crix's familiar smooth tone. "As soon as it gets dark."
Lysa gave a frown.
She knew that Crix was sometimes involved in some awful things but she had never really been privy to any of this before.
It made her feel a little sick as she wondered which sorry soul was going to get hurt tonight at the hands of her partner and his buddies.
"We already know he'll be there with his kid," came a hissing voice from someone else. "And he won't be expecting us."
Lysa paled suddenly, all the breath immediately leaving her lungs.
She pressed her fingertips to the whitewashed stone wall before her, listening hard.
The group of men must have been huddled around their tiny dining table, with what? Five, maybe six seats in total?
With just a single wall and no door between them, Lysa held her breath, almost feeling the heat radiating off of the men from here.
She heard Crix let out an easy groan.
"Oh he's gonna get what's coming to him," he uttered in an oily voice. "That Mandalorian thinks he can fuck with me…then he's gonna have to learn some tough lessons tonight."
And with that he gave a cold laugh, as Lysa parted her lips, as the true horrifying realisation of just who Crix was talking about dawned on her.
And then in that moment, it was as though a veil had been lifted.
Like a sudden dawn appearing over a clear horizon, blinding her instantly.
The true horror of what Crix had done to her for these last couple of years, appearing before her so stark and clear now.
And it was then that she realised…
No matter what Lysa did, Crix would always be this way. Cruel and abusive, punishing others for his own sorry life.
For years she had put up with it. Thinking she was worth nothing, because he told her it was true.
But now it was as though, in this very moment, she could see him for what he really was…
…a vicious and evil human being.
Punishing Lysa so that he could feel like a big man.
Telling her that she needed him.
Telling her that she had to love him.
Telling her day in, day out, that she had no one else. Convincing her of that fact.
But Lysa did have someone else now.
She was no longer alone in this world.
And Din Djarin had made her feel more in just a few weeks of knowing him, than Crix Val'shif ever had.
Din was kind and brave. And had treated Lysa with respect. Treated her as an equal.
And she could see now that all he had tried to do for her….had been to try and help her.
Not because of duty, or because he wanted to judge her relationship with Crix.
No.
It was because he cared for her.
And now that the fog was lifting, Lysa could see that she cared for him too. More than anything else now.
And there was no way she was going to stand back and let Crix and his buddies hurt the only people she cared for in this world.
And so knowing that she could leave no trace that she had been there, Lysa silently and hurriedly gathered up her things and exited her apartment once more. Running towards her landspeeder as fast as her legs would carry her.
So...what did you think? EEEEEE!
Thanks so much to ReRe00, chipiam, HipCheckChick and J-James for reviewing the last chapter.
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