(If you're new to this story, I want to thank you for your interest in it. I finished writing Unwanted Bindings years ago and have been more focused on the sequel Disregard Everything. Please pardon any grammatical errors and rushed storytelling, I know I'm not the greatest writer. Comments are always welcome. Thank you!)
During the following days after her test, Cinis was sure that Darth Kyves was trying to kill her. The hours she spent in training stretched long into the darkness of night. She was pushed to the boundaries of her sanity and given no reprieve.
To make her life even more miserable, the other students began to see her as a viable target. Cinis was in the presence of Darth Kyves every day, the only time they had an opportunity to do anything was while she slept. When they came the first time, Cinis was sound asleep and didn't expect it.
She awoke abruptly, afraid to move as she felt that something was wrong. There were others in the room, leaning forward to see her better, but keeping their distance. Her bare arm tingled and she looked down her nose to see a tube worm crawling towards her face.
With alarm, Cinis shook her arm frantically, trying desperately to get it off. The worm bit into her skin and hung on for a few seconds. With the use of a force push, Cinis sent the worm across the room where it hit the wall and died instantly. She got to her feet and raised her fists, ready to fight those responsible for this.
"Hey stupid," One of the girls, an alien shaped like a reptilian bird. "You think you can stand up to us?"
Cinis glared at her, noting that she'd seen this student observing her before tonight. Her sight blurred and Cinis blinked away the tiredness from her eyes. That didn't seem to help. She huffed, realizing now that her body was becoming weak.
"What did you do to me, freak?" Cinis was now fighting against her body's desire to collapse.
"Just a little experiment to test your intelligence."
"Call it initiation." Chimed in another.
Without much strength, Cinis sucker punched the speaker. It must've done some damage because blood began to flow as the student covered her face with a hand, but made no noise. The room was spinning and it was hard to see who was coming towards her, she stood her ground and sent her fists flying in different directions.
Cinis was almost knocked over as she felt her feet leave the ground. They had a hold on her legs, and a couple others grabbed her shoulders to keep her upright. They were moving her across the room and it slowly occurred to her that the large window was open. Before she could even try to grab a hold of anything, she felt the cold night air hit her back. The hands let go of her shoulders and she fell backwards.
She gasped as her body fell and then her head smacked hard against the stone wall of the Temple. It made her wish that they'd let go of her completely so that she could at least attempt a smooth landing. Instead, Cinis felt the overwhelming need to vomit as she tried to steady herself. She made the mistake of looking down, it was further than she thought. Back up in the window she heard the others laughing at her expense.
That was all the embarrassment Cinis was willing to endure. There would be no further bullying by those who had to fight her in this manner. Cinis took a deep breath and stretched out her arms. The others thought that she was going to try getting back in the window, but that was not her intent. They got her into this position, she intended to make them get her out of it.
The two students holding onto her legs went still, but their grip strengthened. The others were confused. Cinis concentrated on forcing her will, her command into their heads. They tried to resist, but they took steps backwards and pulled her legs into the room. When Cinis was close enough, she grabbed hold of the window sill and hoisted herself back inside.
"How dare you!" One of the students she'd manipulated began to threaten her.
"I'm not who you want to mess with." She warned. The large creature stood in her way, but did not stop her as she attempted to leave the room.
Without checking behind herself to make sure that she wasn't followed, Cinis walked at her normal pace down the hallway. She briefly heard hushed tones discussing what had just happened, but then she descended the stairway and they faded.
Cinis was seriously ticked off, not because she realized that she just made enemies with some of the academy's most powerful students, but because she had to be awake in a few hours for training. She was still loopy from the tube worm bite and felt a pounding headache setting in.
Down on the main level, she wandered around until she stopped just short of the kitchen. There was a room filled with boxes full of supplies, feeling no need for comfort, Cinis wedged herself into a corner and leaned her head against the wall to rest.
The soft sound of her chrono woke her and no one was around to see her leaving her hiding place. She was grateful that the worm venom had worn off, but now she was left to deal with a blinding headache.
When Darth Kyves arrived for their lesson, he announced that they would be attending a class sparring lesson. This wouldn't be the first time, they had gone before and stood on the sidelines to watch. Afterwards Darth Kyves would run drills with her until late.
Today's lesson felt different. Instead of meeting on the roof of the temple, they walked deep into the forest until they came into a clearing. The area was completely filled with students, nearly all of them seemed to be in attendance.
All eyes fixed on her as she arrived and Darth Kyves marched her straight into the center ring.
Master Varpax, the saber instructor stood before her in the middle of the arena. Next to him was one of the strongest students at the academy; Gusti. Cinis recognized her from the night before. She was the tall, lizard-like alien with small wings on her back. Her features were soft, and she made herself appear adorable. Cinis was not fooled, she seen her spar before, the girl was quick and cunning and easily dispatched her opponents.
"Gusti, Cinis, you are both going to participate in a demonstration today." Master Varpax informed them.
"What demonstration?" Asked Cinis, she'd heard nothing about this.
"Reacting to the unexpected is the lesson and you'll both be fighting with full power lightsabers."
He held out two blades, they each took one. Cinis wasn't sure how she should or did in fact feel. So, she decided not to think. No matter what the Sith Masters intended made no difference to her, Cinis would face this challenge like she did any other. It didn't matter what it would take, Cinis intended to come out on top.
"You may begin."
Blending into the thick of the crowd, Darth Kyves stood unmoving with the hood of his robes covering his face. He did not want to be bothered while he observed his charge in her first competitive duel. He knew that the High Lord would not approve of testing Cinis to such extremes. Despite the liability of injury, he intended Cinis to learn humility by putting her mortality on the line.
Darth Varpax was at his disposal to organize a large assembly to witness such a lesson. The sparring Master watched from the sidelines, Kyves kept an eye on him. Varpex reveled in watching the stronger students beat down the defenses of the inferior. By pitting two unequally talented students against each other, bloodshed was to be expected.
When deciding who to compete opposite Cinis, it was Jarv who recommended Gusti. The beautiful young lizard was graceful and had a deceptively warm smile. Kyves had not seen her spar before, but Jarv assured him that she was merciless.
As the hushed crowd waited, Cinis looked the weaker of the two as she took a few defensive steps backwards. She activated her saber and Kyves was disappointed to note that she did not move to strike first, she waited for the attack to come to her. Gusti elegantly stepped forward like she was going to begin a dance. Instead, she pounced forward, making a wide, sweeping strike at Cinis's neck.
It looked like the duel would be cut short as Cinis barely escaped decapitation. Darth Kyves was displeased to see that Cinis neglected his sparring lessons; she did not put up a defense, and behaved as a coward by evading the strike. Instead of engaging straight on, Cinis dropped to the ground and struck out at her legs. Gusti stumbled but did not fall.
Cinis flipped backwards and returned to her feet and Gusti wasted no time closing the distance between them. Their sabers swung in a series of strikes that were fast and unrelenting. Kyves was curious how Cinis could endure that type of advanced maneuver; this was a skill he had yet to teach her.
Breaking off the onslaught, Gusti jumped high into the air, and lashed out as she came back down to the ground. Cinis moved out of the way, meeting her blade and nearly twisting it out of her hand. Many of the onlookers sounded their surprise, which added insult to Gusti's close call. The look on her face was vicious as she grasped tighter to her weapon.
Both girls exchanged blow for blow, keeping their distance while calculating their next moves. Kyves could sense the end in sight and either girl could come out the winner. This displeased him as this was supposed to be a one sided match.
The rhythm and speed changed abruptly, their sabers a blur of red sizzling through the air. It was a maze of well inserted parries and blocks. Kyves sensed that Cinis was becoming weak, her weapon lowered slightly as she backed off and Gusti moved in for the final attack. Cinis was driven towards the edge of the dueling ring. It seemed to be over when she duct away, but she came back up and pointed the tip of her saber straight forward, burning Gusti's hand.
There was a murmur of appreciation with the conclusion of the duel. Kyves stood motionless as he watched Cinis retrieve her opponents' lightsaber before deactivating her own.
"Very good, Cinis." Master Varpax said. "Now, finish her."
Despite the order, Cinis gaped, concern filled her eyes. Darth Kyves recognized the fear of one who had no experience in cruelty as a form of discipline. This was a lesson the young Sith allocate must learn. He scanned the audience, searching for his other apprentice, but he was not present. The seconds got longer as Cinis remained frozen, a saber hilt in either hand.
"I don't want to kill anyone." She spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "Gusti is a good warrior, the Sith need her."
"Shut up," The quiet warning from Gusti was barely audible. "Just end this before…"
"Cinis, kill her now!"
Cinis ignored his words and confronted Master Varpax. In an act of boldness, she deliberately threw both sabers across the grassy clearing. Without a word Cinis turned her back on him and stomped off towards the crowd. A smile crept onto Kyves's face; he knew that Cinis didn't have the experience to realize the mistake she'd just made.
None of the students signaled the oncoming danger. As Cinis reached the barrier, Varpex bounded soundlessly across the expanse and met her with a strong kick in the center of her back. The girl held out her hands to absorb the fall, but her face still hit the ground. When she rolled over, Kyves saw that her front was smeared with dirt and grass. She got to her feet, quickly trying to compose herself as she held a hand up to stem her bleeding nose.
Master Varpax stood over her, he wasn't a tall man, but next to the twelve year old girl, he was massive. He lifted his red lightsaber above his head. Fear showed in her widened eyes. She rolled away from the fiery beam as he struck out at her. Cinis sprinted back to where she left the sabers. She scooped up both weapons into her hands, activated them and stood ready for another attack.
"Your insolence will only earn you pain and suffering."
His lightsaber came down upon her in long, sweeping arcs, hammering into her with strength she could not match. Because of her size and lack of training, Cinis could not absorb the blows. Kyves was briefly entertained as he watched the proceedings. Cinis was completely on the defense as she struggled to remain on her feet as she ducked, twirled, and rolled away from danger.
After only a few moments of this, he could see that Cinis was becoming weak. Her grip on the sabers slackened among strikes and she was breathing heavily through her mouth. Kyves was ready to end this if Master Varpax went too far in this lesson, which he anticipated.
"I'm…more powerful… than you think." She spoke in between ragged breaths.
Cinis now raised both sabers, signaling that she intended to go on the offensive. With two sabers she was able to strike out multiple times, and together the two blades made a substantial assault.
Her movements were uncoordinated and sloppy. Kyves didn't expect her to keep up the pace. He hadn't yet provided her any sparring practice with the use of two sabers as an offense, but Cinis wasn't attempting to gain the advantage.
Cinis abruptly backed away during a pause in the action; she closed her mouth and let out a long stream of breath through her nose. Kyves squinted, trying to understand what she was thinking and wondering how much longer she could hold out. To his surprise, a sizzling crackle of electricity filled the air. Both of her red lightsabers had blue energy bands encircling the blades. Kyves had never seen force lightning used on sabers in combat.
When Darth Varpax's lightsaber connected with hers, the effect of the lightning traveled down his own saber and shook his body with a convulsion. He recovered quickly and brought his saber down in a dangerous arch towards her neck. She blocked him, letting the electricity engulf him again, but he pressed on, determined to strike her.
The saber master was consumed with a fury that demanded retribution. He intended to land a fatal blow in order to ensure dominance. Kyves knew that High Lord Oomis would not allow for Cinis to be killed.
"Excellent demonstration, Master Varpax." The crowed separated as Kyves walked past the young Sith and into the dueling ring. The two opponents faced each other, each ready to strike if threatened. Kyves leaned in and whispered to Varpax, "I think that will be enough for today."
"Clearly there are some that need to learn their place here." His menacing words were aimed more to Cinis than to Kyves.
As the girl turned to address Kyves, expecting that he was ending this duel, Varpax struck. Her instincts were unbelievably quick. Her right handed saber blocked him and wrenched his arm away. She took a step forward and with the left hand she thrust the saber into his gut. He convulsed from the lightening and fell backwards. Within seconds his body went limp, eyes wide open but unblinking.
Kyves felt the conflicting emotions overcome Cinis. The implications of this were severe, the killing blow had been instinct, but she regretted it immediately. If Kyves had ever witnessed a student taking down a Sith Master, he'd know how to resolve this incident.
Cinis finally deactivated the sabers, the lightning vanishing. When she turned around to face Kyves, he saw a calm resolution on her face as she met his gaze. He was put off that she showed none of her usual fear of him. She placed the sabers gently onto the palms of his outstretched hands. With their eyes still on each other she echoed a word full of intention.
"Clearly."
Cinis walked hesitantly through the forest. She was in tune with the force, constantly testing the boundaries of her ability to sense if anyone was following her. She maintained a steady pace, wanting to get back to the temple but not sure where she should go after that.
A hoard of scenarios swept through her mind. Having just killed a Sith Master, she didn't know if the action would result in a reward or punishment. Cinis could see it going either way, in a strange way, she felt like she deserved both. A tiny voice inside told her that it was wrong to kill. The truth as Cinis saw it was that it was wrong to bring down a Master. She'd disobeyed orders, not even an act of self-defense was going to hold up against that.
Reaching the temple at last, Cinis decided that the safest choice was to avoid exposure for some time. At least for the remainder of the day, whether or not Master Kyves expected more from her, she had to keep her distance.
If she was going to disappear for a while, she needed food to tide her over, and since nearly everyone was still outside, the dining hall would be empty. She ran lightly on the balls of her feet, quickly reaching her destination and retrieving a large can of beans. The concentration she had of being force aware had weakened. As she stepped into the hallway, she felt the danger and turned in time to see Gusti, her lizard eyes mere slits as a knife left her hand.
"Shuta!" Cinis exclaimed. With no time to react, she put her hands in front of herself. The blade pierced through both sides of the can. She dropped the can immediately and braced herself as the larger reptile slammed into her.
The headache that Cinis had earlier came back as she fell backwards and hit the ground. Gusti probably weighed twice as much as she did, so she couldn't break free as Gusti tackled her. Cinis blocked the incoming fists, using the force to give her strength. It made her opponent angry.
"Stop it!" Cinis demanded, knowing that it would do little good. "I saved your life, just let me go."
"Saved me? Fool, you condemned me!"
Somehow she'd managed to pin down Cinis's wrists against her throat. Gusti used her free hand to pound into her face repeatedly. Although Cinis was the one being beaten painfully, tears began to run down Gusti's scaly face.
"Sith show no mercy!" She spat.
Her next attack was aimed at Cinis's stomach, the weight behind it was strong enough to knock the air from her lungs. She gasped, unable to suck in the air she needed to breath, it made her feel far more afraid that any of the initial beating had.
To her relief, a figure appeared and it was clear by the stained apron he wore that the older person was on kitchen staff.
"Enough," The heavyset man spoke in a deep voice. "Ya wanna teach her a lesson, then put 'er on ice. Then budge off, I've got a job to do."
Cinis was barely coherent enough to understand what he meant about putting her on ice. It couldn't mean to put ice on her wounds. A few shallow breaths filled her lungs, but it didn't give her the strength to fight against Gusti. When she stood to her feet, Cinis kicked out weakly, but her attempts did nothing. Gusti had a firm grasp on her wrists and hauled her across the hallway surprisingly fast.
With the oxygen suddenly filling her, Cinis used her returning strength to twist her body around, making Gusti lose a hold of one of her hands. Cinis sprang to her feet, the movement causing her head to explode into a rapid throbbing that nearly blinded her. She swung her arm wildly and felt sharp teeth scratch across and break through the skin of her hand.
The impact did more damage to Cinis than it did Gusti. She hissed, fueled by anger she overpowered Cinis, shoving her backwards. Cinis tried to make a fist again, but the stinging pain was too much. She was about to produce a force push, if only to give her the space to break free and get away. Gusti sensed this and used it against her, causing them both to separate.
It was all part of Gusti's trap. The overwhelming chill gave Cinis the missing information about what she questioned earlier. Gusti put up her hands, and with a sly grin she used the force to slam the door.
Darkness closed in so completely that not even the smallest amount of light entered. Cinis pounded her one good fist against the solid metal door and shouted profanities. The cold air irritated her exposed skin and seeped in through her clothes. She lost interest in trying to escape. At this point she was too disoriented to know exactly where it was. Her stomach was still twitching, her head pounding and the cold temperature made her feel like vomiting.
There was no way to tell how big the freezer was. Cinis needed to get far away from the blowing air to prevent further injury. She kept tripping over piles of rock solid boxes and running into the walls or shelves. Giving up completely, Cinis felt around for a lower stack of boxes, she hoisted herself on top and curled into a ball to help retain warmth.
The minutes ticked by as Cinis fought a losing battle to keep warm. Even while using the force to keep her body temperature regulated, she wasn't so good at it that it worked properly. There was so much that she knew about, but little that she had any training at. Knowledge only got her so far and right now her frozen nostrils were evidence that written and verbal instruction would only get her so far.
While her eyes were closed tightly, her ears prickled at the sound of the door. Light was cast inside from a different position than she'd have thought. Cinis shut her eyes again, expecting Gusti, or worse, Darth Kyves to be standing there.
"Hey."
The voice was almost a welcome one. Cinis looked up at Jarvon, she wondered how he knew where she was or why he'd even come to help. Well, she hoped that's why he'd come, otherwise she was dead.
"Come on, stupid." He addressed her. Cinis frowned, but didn't say a word as he helped her stand and then walk out from the freezer. Being in such close proximity to the kitchen near lunch time, it felt burning hot in the hallway. Jarvon led the way, keeping one arm around her waist. Cinis observed that they were turning the opposite direction of the dining hall. Jarvon pushed open a door and the daylight nearly blinded Cinis. Her head and face throbbed painfully. She let Jarvon guide her and she kept her eyes closed most of the way, she shivered violently, embracing the heat but felt like it was too much.
Without warning, her feet stumbled sharply downward. Her eyes popped open and she saw that Jarvon was leading her into the river. The water was warm enough to thaw her cold extremities, but not so hot that it burned her skin. She continued forward until she was submerged up to her shoulders.
For a few minutes Cinis let the flow of the river run past her and reverse the effects the freezer caused. Although her lungs ached, she held her breath and dipped her head beneath the surface. She did this a few times until her cheeks merely felt cool to the touch. Then she pushed her way towards the water's edge and went to sit next to Jarvon.
"Thank you." Her voice was squeaky, but she couldn't help it. "I think I've escaped death three times today."
"Better get some rest then. If Kyves doesn't get permission to end you, then many of the other students will make their attempts."
"I don't get it, why now? If he wanted me dead then why not arrange it earlier in my training?"
"It's all about keeping the scales tipped in his favor. Doing it in such a way that the High Lord will favor him, but also so that he can withhold his most useful information in order to have leverage."
"Sith are consumed with egotism. Always wanting more power to upstage each other, which, by the way, is exactly what I did today."
"Except that you're not ready to take on the wildfire that comes with challenging those in higher standing then you."
"No, I guess not." She agreed. His words made sense, she could see now that in a small way, by killing the Sith Master, she'd asserted herself too much. "But I proved myself to be more powerful. Doesn't that show you that power doesn't necessarily need to be ranked?"
"Of course you would say that. After all, your destiny is already laid out for you."
"No, it's not." Cinis frowned, she disliked it that others referred to her future. It was her future, not theirs. "Besides, destiny is just a seven letter word for pain."