Chapter nine: The apprentice
"So this was Riku's old room on this ship, huh?" Asked Shika as she wandered deeper into her new bedroom.
"Affirmative." Answered the battle droid that showed her to the room moments ago. Shika turned and smiled at the droid.
"Well thanks for everything." The droid stood there. Shika blinked." You can go?" The droid then turned and left the room. Shika grinned and shook her head before sitting herself down on the bed; there wasn't much to look at. It was just a simple room, a bed, a large window set off to the side, a dresser with several jewelry boxes on top of it, a mirror and a bathroom. Shika slipped her robe off her shoulders and pulled her saber off her belt and set it on the bed. She stood up and wandered towards the dresser. I wonder if master Riku left any clothes. She thought. I wouldn't want to wander around in Jedi robes for the rest of my life. She pulled open the doors, and found her self digging through a large selection of black and red clothing.
Riku liked those colors. She always did. She would often wear Jedi robes in that color, even though the Council did not approve, they said it made her look like she was apart of the Sith. But she didn't care. She kept wearing the robes anyway; the Council actually grew used to her seeing her dressed that way. As Shika pulled out one peace of clothing after another, she realized none of these would fit her. She was shorter than Riku; actually, Shika was a normal sized woman. Riku was just tall. So finding a fitting outfit would be difficult.
Shika browsed through piles of clothes until spotting a bottom half to a dress, she pulled it out, and it was black, go figure. She tilted her head and pulled the dress over her pants, normally it would hang above Riku's waste, but being Shika was shorter, it fell to the middle part of her waste before it stuck. Shika tilted her head again before smiling. At least she found a bottom that somewhat fit. She quickly slipped it off and threw it onto her bed. Then she began shifting through the clothes again when she came across a black tank top looking thing, thin strings to hang over her shoulders. Shika slipped that over her self, it fell down a little ways that it normally should have. She couldn't wear that! She went to pull it off when she spotted a red sleeveless jacket with red see through netting hanging off the bottom. She picked that up and grabbed the dress bottom and quickly moved into the bathroom.
Moments later, she wandered out towards the mirror. The outfit worked! The bottom fit tightly around the middle of her waste. The black tank top was covered by a tight red sleeveless vest that would button up at the top with a ruby jewel and would button up at the bottom with a tiny black button. She smiled before looking down at herself; she needed a little more clothing. So she began looking through the dresser again. She found a black leather belt, she put that on and it hung half on her waste, the other side drooped down towards her legs. And she found two arm sleeves. She slipped one on and it slid down her arm. She stared at it for a moment before looking up at the jewelry boxes, maybe something in there could hold them up?
She quickly looked through the boxes until stumbling upon four red bracelets that had a small button to un-hook it. She grabbed that and pulled the sleeve up, she then hooked the bracelet around her upper arm. The arm sleeve didn't move. She grinned before doing the same to the other arm. Then there were the two extra bracelets. She grabbed them and hooked them around her wrists. Her outfit was complete. She smiled before noticing her earrings. Now she knew Riku had a pair of these that were red and black, because it was Riku who gave Shika the earrings she wore as a gift for achieving the Jedi Knight rank. Shika dug through her jewelry boxes again until she found them. She then replaced her old ones with the newer ones. She then hooked the two old earrings on either side of the mirror. She then slipped on two leather black boots that came up to her knees and a black headband with a small ruby dangling off it. She was pleased with her new look.
Moments passed and Shika had brushed her hair out of the normal braid, she sat there brushing her hair before flipping it over her shoulders, her long bangs were finally pulled back with her hair. She sighed until noticing lipstick. She smiled at it. She was having way too much fun with Riku's stuff. She slowly rubbed the lipstick on her lips and grinned. She was like a child digging through her mothers stuff. That's when she heard clanging footfalls echoing through out the hall outside her room. Her head snapped towards her door, she knew that sound.
She quickly scooped up the mess of clothes and shoved them into the bathroom, she backed up from the door and it slid closed. She quickly darted to the dresser and pulled all the laid out jewelry into the dresser, she then closed the dresser. She shifted to her bed and straitened her bed sheets. The clanging was getting louder. She pulled her hair from her face, pulled on her shirt, got the wrinkles out from her dress before standing at attention. The footfalls stopped. Shika's eyes traveled to the door and it slid open, standing there was Grievous, a most displeased look in his eyes. Shika's eyes darted to the front of her again as he wandered into the room, two magnaguards following behind him. The guards stopped right when the door slid closed. Grievous continued walking until reaching Shika; he began pacing around her, seeming to be observing her new wardrobe.
Grievous came to a stop in front of Shika, she kept her gaze forward. He set a small jar, full of thick red looking paint, on the dresser; he then turned to Shika and grabbed her by the jaw. She grunted as he pulled her face up to him. His free hand forcefully whipped the lipstick off her mouth; his hand was cold, lifeless, and hard. He shoved her away once she had no more on her lips. She held her mouth and jaw with both her hands.
"A warrior does not attempt to make one self look nice." He said coldly as he grabbed a black silk sash that was hanging off the mirror also. He slowly walked behind her. Shika just stood there, pain throbbing through out the bottom half of her face. She then felt her hair being lifted. What was he doing now? She wondered. For once, he was being gentile as he collected all of her hair in one spot. That didn't last very long. He then yanked her hair up, causing her to yelp quietly as she was flung back. Why did he just rip her whole head off? She then felt something tie her hair together. Then Grievous walked out from behind her and towards the jar. Shika looked over at herself in the mirror; he just tied her hair up in a pony tail, her long bangs that were once pulled back now dangled out to the sides of her face. What the heck was he doing to her?
Was he attempting to fix her the way he saw fit? Grievous notice she was looking at herself in the mirror, he sighed as he opened the jar." Hair will get in the way while you're in combat," Shika snapped to attention as he spoke." It is best you keep your hair out of your face." He explained as he stuck his index finger into the jar. Shika watched him with a puzzled look. What was he doing now? He then looked over at her, her eyes snapped forward again. He slowly walked over and reached his hand out to her face, in that instant, Shika's eyes automatically shut tight. She then felt his slim, sharp clawed finger, followed by a wet cold feeling, run down from the bottom half of her eye to her jaw. She then felt his finger start from the middle of the last line dart up towards her nose, and then she felt it run down to next to her mouth.
There was a long pause.
Shika opened her eyes again only to shut them closed once seeing his hand reach out to her face again. She felt the same finger run the same patterns on her other cheek. It was weird; he was gentle during this part. What the heck was he doing? Finger panting on her face? She then felt his finger lifted off her and she opened her eyes slowly. He was putting the top back on the jar. Her eyes slowly shifted towards the mirror again. Indeed, red lines ran from her eyes to her chin, a second line started from the middle of the first line and went up to about her nose, then curved down to her chin. He was finger painting on her face! She couldn't believe it. Grievous whipped the remaining paint on his finger onto a shirt sleeve that was hanging out from the dresser; he then looked over at Shika's shocked expression. He stared for a moment; her facial expression must have meant she was totally oblivious.
"Karabaa-blood." He said. Shika looked over to him.
"What?" Grievous looked annoyed; it seemed he didn't like that word.
"Karabaa-blood. It's what I put on your face." Shika looked ill. She had blood on her face? He finger painted on her face with blood? Grievous just shook his head." It's war paint." He added as he walked passed her.
"Why did you… Put this on me?" She asked as she watched him take her light saber." Hey don't touch that!" She snapped. Grievous jerked towards her.
"What did you say?" He hissed.
"I said don't touch that, it doesn't belong to you!" Shika answered. Grievous narrowed his eyes; he then walked to her and towered over her. She only gulped.
"You cannot tell me what to do, girl. I am the Droid General of the separatist army; I run this very ship that I allowed you to come aboard. You are just a woman. You are lower classed than me; you have lower skill with a saber than me. You are nothing." He hissed. Shika nodded in agreement that he was the leader. He backed down.
"Count Dooku has informed me that you are now my apprentice… You work for me now." Grievous began circling around Shika, she only stood at attention." You are to follow my orders without question. You are to listen to no one other than myself, Count Dooku, or Lord Sidious. The Jedi are no longer your allies, they are your enemy; you are to show no pity on them. The war paint…" He then grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him."… Is to never come off." His hand slipped out from her chin." It is an honor to wear the war paint of a warlord. Do not think of it lightly." He then pointed at her bed." Regain your energy. Tomorrow we leave for Kashyyyk." Shika stared at him before looking down at her light saber that he still held tightly in his hand.
"But what about my-" Grievous growled. Shika shook her head." Sorry sir… I'll get to bed as quick as possible." Grievous eased back.
"Good…" He then turned towards the door, the two guards stood aside from the door, Grievous walked towards it, it slid open and he walked out, the two magnaguards followed behind him. When the door shut, Shika fell back onto her bed. She took several deep breathes before gripping her bed sheets.
"The nerve of that… That… DROID! Taking my saber away from me like that! If I would have known he was going to be such a jerk I would have stuck with Count Dooku!" She growled." You are to follow my orders. The Jedi are your enemy. Blah blah blah! He's just as bad as the Jedi Council!" She pushed herself up from her bed and walked towards the bathroom, she stopped once she walked passed her mirror. She turned and walked towards it instead. She stared at her face.
"It is an honor to wear the war paint of a warlord. Do not think of it lightly."
She placed her hand on the reflection of the war paint. What kind of warlord would wear war paint like this? In all her years of traveling the galaxy she had never seen a warlord that actually wore face paint designed like this. I wonder what Warlord he spoke of. She thought. Maybe I'll get to ask him…
She shook her head.
"That thick headed jerk would yell at me if I took a quick glance at him! No way will he tell me anything about himself… Or this war paint… I wonder if it's really blood from a… Whatever he called it." She went to touch the actual paint before she stopped herself." No. No. I don't really wanna deal with an angry General…" She thought for a moment." Besides, he wouldn't put REAL blood on my face, it's like… Bad for you. Maybe it's just normal red paint…" She completely forgot what she was originally going to do; she wandered back to her bed and collapsed on it. She grabbed her pillow and held it.
"So begins my new life with mister meanie boss cyborg… Droid… Thing." She said as she stared up at the ceiling, still unsure on what to call the General." My new life doesn't feel any different than my last one… Except Obi-wan isn't barging in and Eleic isn't here… I kinda miss the little droid." She yawned before setting the pillow under her head." Who knows… Maybe I'll meet a new droid or something…" Having little knowledge of the force meant she had no idea what was in store for her in the future. She just hoped whatever she ran into she was going to be able to defeat it with a simple twist of her saber... If she ever got it back from the General. With a final yawn she drifted to sleep. Not knowing that her view of Grievous…
… Was going to take an unsuspecting turn…