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The Sith Lord and the Scientist Section E - Part 9

Author's Note: Warning - there is a non-consensual/rape scene in this part, and there is graphic content. If you want to read this section of the story with that removed from it, you will need to use the jump ahead link below to skip that part of it. Be aware that there are references to the rape after it appears in the text.

Month 3.

DAY 1

My ribs hurt from how I am being packed along, thrown over someone’s shoulder like a sack of grain, and my head is pounding in protest at how long it has been upside down. I silently put a hand to the cut above my ear, quickly pull out a hairpin, and drop it on the floor. Hopefully the others I have managed to leave behind have remained undetected, my trail of bread crumbs for Ani to follow, since I cannot sense him or anything else using the Force. The one who struck me in the garden has Anakin in his arms, so at least my son is safe, for the moment. My captors pause at the intersection, just long enough for them to notice I am conscious, and one of them immediately hits the back of my skull, knocking me into blackness once again.

***

I don’t waste any time, throw on my armour, grab my lightsaber, and go into the garden. Maia was here, right here, with Anakin in her arms, seated by the water when I last saw her. There is no possible way she could have left my quarters through the main entrance. The alarms would have sounded at the change in the sealed environment, and she would have been seen by the guards.

My eyes scour the area she was sitting in, looking for any clues to where she has gone. All I find during my search is a bent hair pin and a few of her long, flame-coloured hairs, all of them jammed between two of the flagstones in the farthest corner of the garden. I stare at that piece of twisted wire, but do not touch it. Instead, I step back and follow the edges of that slate slab, tracing its outline in the air with my finger. Her hair pin could not have become caught in that manner unless that stone had been moved.

I extend my hand, lift it upwards, and push it sideways, using the Force to yank the paving stone up and away from where it is resting then throw it to my left, to fall and crack into pieces when it lands. This is one of my dead master’s secret escape routes, one of the few I had left in place just in case I needed it. Obviously someone else has discovered its existence, evaded the guards, and bypassed all of the security systems, using it as a way in rather than out. A low, steady light shines up from below. The hidden passageway has been illuminated by a glow rod left behind on the floor under my feet.

I step forward and drop into the corridor, landing in a slight crouch, lit ‘saber in hand and prepared for an ambush. A military baton has been discarded beside the glow rod. When I examine it, I see some of Maia’s hairs stuck to its bloody surface. She did not leave me willingly and someone has deliberately hurt her.

A snarl of rage escapes from my throat, aimed primarily at her captors but also at myself. My merati’s last thoughts to me were not a farewell, but a coded plea for help that I was far too slow to respond to.

‘Thirsk,’ I call him over the comm in my helmet. ‘The Empress has been kidnapped along with our youngest son. Rouse all of the guards and lock down every entrance and exit, including the emergency and service ones. They could have as much as a two hour lead, but I suspect they are still within the palace, and probably in the secondary maintenance tunnels. See to it that my other wives and children are secure. I will be hunting for her, for them - personally.’

‘As you wish, my lord, but it might be wise to…’ Thirsk starts.

‘I can manage on my own,’ I growl at him, expecting him to suggest that I wait for reinforcements. ‘Too much time has already been lost.’

‘…take the wookiee with you,’ he finishes, ignoring what I had said. ‘He is an expert tracker.’

‘You have five minutes,’ I allow.

The clatter of booted feet soon draws my attention upwards. Above my head, Thirsk, the wookiee Chewbacca, Luke, Leia, Liora, and an assortment of guards are peering down at me. Leia pulls Liora back from the opening’s edge, and I hear her trying to soothe the panicking teenager.

‘Luke, you will stay here,’ I order. ‘Guard your sister and Liora. Chewbacca, come with me. Thirsk, I am leaving my family’s security in your hands until I return. Do not fail me.’

The floor beneath my feet shakes as I am joined by the wookiee. I hand him the baton and watch him inhale deeply several times, closing his eyes to concentrate on what he smells. He will use the scent from Maia’s blood to track her.

‘You will need my help, too,’ another familiar voice reaches my ears.

I snap my head up again and bite back my initial negative response to that offer. Maia’s brother is a nuisance, but in this instance I might need his medical expertise and he is a trained warrior. He pulls off his cloak, shoves it at Luke and jumps down to land beside me, his Sith robes floating around his body. The lightsaber he had borrowed from me is still at his waist.

‘Don’t pull any of your vanishing tricks, brother-in-law,’ I warn him, shaking a finger in his face.

‘No tricks, brother-in-law,’ he promises.

Chewbacca drops the baton. His eyes are searching the floor intently and his breath is being drawn in slowly and deliberately through his bared teeth. At the same time, we both spot the drops of blood leading away and to the right of where we are standing. He lets out an affirmative bark, gestures us forward, and begins to lope in that direction, Michael and I close on his heels.

‘I am unable to sense her directly and cannot contact her. From our bond, I know she is still alive, but her Force presence is no longer there,’ I admit when we pause at the first intersection. ‘It is being intentionally suppressed and blocked.’

‘Nor have I been able to get a response from her,’ the pest reveals, ‘and that does not bode well.’

Each of us selects one of the branching passageways to inspect. I find the bloody hairpin, first.

‘This way,’ I call to them. ‘She is leaving a trail for us to follow.’

***

My head bounces hard off the back of the person carrying me, and that jolt jars me into consciousness. He has stopped, this time at an access hatch of some sort. I listen to him speak in low tones to his colleagues, but nothing is distinct enough for me to make any sense of it. Moving my fingers slowly, undetectably, I drop another hairpin, but I don’t try contacting my husband. Every time I have attempted to do that, I have failed, and once they realize I am awake, I receive another blow to my head.

The hatch is opened and the stench which wafts its way into the corridor makes me reflexively gag. We are going into the sewer system, I guess, and all I can do is hope that Ani finds us soon.

***

Chewbacca hands me another hair pin. I close my fingers around it and look down the corridor towards Michael. He shakes his head in a negative, indicating that he still cannot contact or sense his sister.

‘It would be easier if I went on alone,’ he suggests again.

‘Hand me your lightsaber,’ I order, finally giving in to him. ‘You can go on ahead of us far faster without it.’

He returns my weapon to me, runs a few steps, and moves in a blur of blue light and the Force, leaving the wookiee and I to follow after him at a much slower pace. I reach out, locate the pest’s presence in the passageway beyond and pursue him as quickly as my armour, and the Force fuelling my speed, will allow, only slowing when Michael stops and hands me another one of Maia’s trail markers.

At the fourth set of connecting passages, he waits for Chewbacca and I to join him.

‘Some of your troops,’ he identifies the two armoured bodies a few meters down a side corridor.

‘They should not have left their posts,’ I admit, ‘and must have been ambushed or lured away.’

‘It’s too bad they didn’t raise the alarm,’ Michael states.

The wookiee ignores us and searches the hallway to the left. Once he finds what he seeks, he gives it to me, and we are off, once again, in our headlong, desperate pursuit.

How much farther ahead can they be?

***

This time when we stop, the access door opens into fresh air. I breathe in deeply, trying to clear my lungs of what I have been forced to inhale. When I am unceremoniously dumped on the floor, beside the container one of the men has been carrying, I am careful to slump over in a heap and not move. Through my barely cracked open eyes, I can see that we are outside of the palace complex, but where we are and how far I have been brought are mysteries to me. After being repeatedly knocked out, I have no way to tell how much time has passed. Anakin starts to cry, but I don’t move. I need to figure out what is going on, first. A boot shoves my arm, checking to see if I am conscious, I guess. That elicits no response from me, so one of them yanks on my hair instead, pulling out several hair pins along with a blood soaked clump of it. I let out a hiss of pain. That hurt.

‘Feed him,’ a low voice growls at me.

Somehow I shove myself upright, into a sitting position, and manage not to fall over in the process. I am dizzy, feeling rather nauseous from the sewer gases, and my hands are shaking as Anakin is handed to me. Trying my best to ignore the stares, I open my tunic and do as I have been told. Let them leer at me, I decide. My son’s needs take priority over maintaining my modesty.

‘Give him back,’ is the next command I am given, once Anakin is obviously finished.

I hesitate and glare at the hands which are reaching towards me.

‘Give him back,’ the order is repeated.

I shake my head.

A blow lands on my temple and I fall over, to the floor, and into unconsciousness yet again.

***

Chewbacca snarls in protest at the prospect of entering the sewers. With his sensitive nose, I cannot blame him for wanting to avoid going into that disgusting cesspool of human waste, organic garbage, and vile sludge.

‘What a truly marvellous smell you have discovered, brother-in-law,’ I dryly state, teasing Michael with the opportunity he has given me.

‘Thankfully, I am spared that indignity,’ he admits.

I don’t mention that my helmet’s filters will protect me from breathing in the various fumes and stenches. The one who will have to endure it is the wookiee.

‘Did you check to be sure they came this way?’ I ask.

He drops a handful of hair pins and blood-matted hair into my glove.

‘One from here and the rest from the other end,’ he reveals. ‘They have taken the shortest distance between two points, and are now outside of the palace.’

‘Then we have no choice and must follow them,’ I decide. ‘Going around or using an alternate route will take too long.’

I hold my spare lightsaber out to him, returning it.

‘You might need this,’ I tell him. ‘The smell is not the only unpleasant thing to be found in the sewers.’

***

Cold air blows against my skin and I feel goosebumps appearing on my arms as I am laid down on a durasteel deck. From the rapidly increasing glow in the sky it must be close to dawn. We are definitely outside somewhere, at a landing platform with a waiting shuttle, and the fact that no one has made an effort to stop us worries me. Surely Ani has realized that I am gone by now and has mobilized his guards? Or did he ignore my hasty telepathic message to him and opt to spend the night with Liora, unaware of my plight?

I pull out another hair pin, breathe in slowly, and bite my lip.

There is a very good chance that I am on my own, and that rescue, if it does come, could be delayed by hours or even days.

Remember what Thirsk told you to do in this type of situation: leave a trail behind and co-operate with the kidnappers to avoid being hurt or killed. I rest a hand on my stomach and glance over at Anakin, who has been set down beside me. My sons need me to be ready for when an opportunity to escape presents itself.

A tall, robed and hooded figure approaches. This is someone new, and not one of the four who had grabbed me. He notices that I am awake, comes close enough that I can smell the subtle scent he is wearing, and examines the blood on my head.

‘You were ordered not to harm her,’ he states in a flat and deadly voice.

A flurry of excuses follow, but that does not save my captors from his wrath. He shoots all of them in rapid succession with a small blaster, leaving their bodies where they fall.

‘My apologies,’ he smoothly says to me. ‘You were to be handled gently and with care, not treated like this.’

The gloved hand he rests on my forehead is cool rather than warm, and his musky smell is stronger with the physical contact.

‘It would be best if you are relaxed and co-operative for what will follow,’ he informs me.

He empties a hypospray into my arm and watches as I fight the sedative which was in it. When he carries me up the loading ramp and into the shuttle, he is far more careful than the others had been. I let myself go a bit limp, hoping he thinks that the drug has had more of an effect on me than it has. Once in the shuttle, he lays me down on the floor. When he goes back outside, I take a quick inventory of my surroundings. There is nothing I can use as a weapon and no place for me to escape to. My captor brings Anakin inside and lays him on a blanket next to me. I know he must be concerned because he takes the time to make my son comfortable, covering him with an insulated sheet. His gloved fingers check my pulse at my throat before he leans back from where he is kneeling and sits on his heels, obviously staring at me although I cannot see his eyes. I look up at him, puzzled by the change in treatment.

‘You are the greatest prize which can be won,’ he softly says to me, ‘and the perfect means for my revenge.’

A chill runs through me. This does not sound very good.

‘However,’ he adds, ‘that must wait for later.’

His fingers caress my cheek, so I turn my face away. Whoever he is, he is a total creep, and when Ani finds me, I expect that my husband will tear him apart.

‘Shy?’ he asks. ‘Or stubborn?’ A pause as he tips my head back in his direction and adds, ‘Both stubborn and shy, I think, but I always get what I want, in the end.’

I try to shove him back, but my hand is caught and held firmly against the floor. When I attempt to throw him across the compartment, nothing happens. The Force is still not there for me to touch and use. He grabs my other hand and pins both of mine down with one of his, using his strength and weight to hold me still.

‘One warning, and one warning only,’ he calmly states. ‘Resist me and your son will suffer the consequences.’

I breathe in slowly, try not to sneeze at how he smells, and do my best to stay calm while I take stock of my situation.

I have a nasty concussion from the blows to my head and he has sedated me. There is no way I can defend myself physically or with the Force. If I continue to fight, I am certain that he will follow through with his threat, and I cannot risk my son’s safety in that way. I swallow hard and nod my head, letting him know that I understand what he wants from me.

***

A bolt from Chewbacca’s bowcaster ricochets off the wall, his attempt to hit the eye stalk of the dianoga going wide of its mark. I deflect it with my lightsaber, sending the blast he fired harmlessly downwards, into the filthy water, before it can do any damage, and taking care that I don’t fall into that myself. The walkway we are using is narrow and barely above the level of liquid waste which is slowly flowing past us.

‘Put that away,’ I snap at him. ‘The walls are shielded.’

He shakes his head and barks a protest at me, something about being attacked by one of them before.

‘Put. It. Away,’ I repeat my order, stabbing a finger in his direction as I finish each word.

He obeys me, if rather reluctantly, returning his weapon to where it had been slung across his back.

‘And stay out of trash compactors, if you don’t want to encounter one,’ I advise him.

Chewbacca speaks at length as we make our way along the tunnel, telling me how that particular incident was due to Leia’s selection of escape route.

‘You should always think twice about whatever crazy plans my son and daughter want to involve you in,’ I warn. ‘They are young and prone to needless and foolish heroics.’

There is a splash as a tentacle breaks the surface of the water. The dianoga is still nearby and keeping pace with us.

‘It’s an immature one and curious,’ I decide, ‘and there are better ways to deal with it than blasters.’

A red tentacle reaches in my direction. I slap it back with the Force, warning the young sewage squid to stay away. The creature retreats quickly, creating a miniature tsunami as it ploughs through the water, but once it reaches what it must think is a safe distance from us, it stops. Its eye stalk turns around, to look at our small party.

‘Leave,’ I order, pointing at it with my finger and giving it a hard shove with the Force.

Another tentacle moves towards me. I push it back again.

‘You are rather persistent,’ I scold it. ‘Don’t make me destroy you.’

‘You do realize that you are arguing with a brainless trash monster,’ the pest just has to put in a comment.

Chewbacca begins to laugh.

‘It serves a useful, if rather unsavoury, purpose,’ I tell them, justifying my decision to leave the creature alive.

The dianoga continues to stare at me. It appears to have learned its lesson and makes no more attempts to move closer or to impede our progress. After a few more minutes of following us, it vanishes beneath the water, abandoning us completely once we reach the open exit hatch and step through it, onto the platform beyond.

‘She was here,’ I tell Chewbacca, pointing at the smear of blood on the floor.

I kneel down and brush my fingers where she must have been lying. The surface is cold and the blood completely dry. A ghostly image of her presence, filled with fear and pain, calls out to me.

‘She was here,’ I repeat, ‘and so was our son. There were four others with them.’

‘We need to hurry,’ Michael states. ‘We are more than an hour behind them and I have a bad feeling about this.’

His eyes meet mine and the worry in them is all too apparent.

‘Which way?’ I ask.

‘Towards the landing platforms,’ he tells me, pointing in the direction we need to go.

I activate the comm in my helmet.

‘Thirsk, the Empress is now outside of the palace. Prepare your best men and wait for me to contact you with her exact location,’ I order.  To Michael, I add, ‘Go, quickly. You can find her far faster than anyone else can.’

***

Jump Ahead

Two cold lips are set firmly against my own. I hesitate, remember his warning, and open my mouth to him. Pretend that this is just a nasty dream you need to endure, I decide, and do only what is necessary to keep him happy. His tongue is cool against mine when he slides it into my mouth and he tastes rather fish-like and metallic. I don’t respond in any way to his kiss, so he pulls his lips away and moves his attention elsewhere. Fingers brush down my throat, rip open the closures on my tunic, trace a circle around one of my breasts before he moves his mouth to its nipple and starts to eagerly nurse on it, drinking my milk and obviously enjoying himself.

‘You are rather sweet and pleasant to taste,’ he announces when he pauses for a moment.

I feel him latch onto my other breast and repeat what he just did. My body reacts to that, and there is a rush of pleasure and wetness between my legs as my milk releases and flows. He feels me tense up and lets my hands go. Don’t panic, I warn myself. Try to stay calm and distract him somehow, maybe try kissing him again, but he shoves me back to the floor when I go to pull him in for another kiss.

Do what you must to protect your son, I remind myself when he pulls off my boots, yanks my trousers down, and throws them away from me. He turns me over onto my stomach, and hauls me up onto my hands and knees. When I hear the fabric of his robes being opened behind me and feel his gloved fingers move my underwear out of his way, a part of my mind goes into hysterics, refusing to accept what is about to happen to me. Another part detaches itself, becomes an objective observer, and shoves the panicking part of me into a secure mental box. Later, I will deal with that, later. For now, I will do what I need to survive this.

He rubs himself up and down, seeking an opening, then tries to thrust into me when he finds it. My unwanted lover is not human from the size of the rigid, roughly ribbed, and cold appendage I can feel against my skin. I close my eyes and concentrate on not throwing up at the thought of an alien having sex with me. The second attempt he makes is no more successful than the first. His nursing on my breasts has made my body ready, but I am too small for him to easily enter. The third time, he uses his fingers to force his appendage’s large bulbous head inside, and after that is in, his thrusts are hard, deep, fast, and he only stops once he has driven a distinct, large ribbed area on his skin completely within me. Rather than cry out aloud, I bite the inside of my cheek at the pain of it, drawing blood which drips from my mouth onto the shuttle’s floor. His hand traces a circle, carefully checking, I guess, on how he is positioned. As he does this, I feel my body gradually being stretched tight around him as he somehow inflates that ribbed tissue.

‘What are you doing to me?’ I ask of him, needing to understand what is happening to me.

‘Your body is being joined to mine,’ he answers me.

The pressure inside me increases until he pulls back, forcing me to go along with him. That ring of his flesh, which is just inside my body, is keeping us securely attached to one another.

‘We are fully coupled,’ he states. ‘I will now mate with you.’

He doesn’t wait and his repeated thrusts are hard and deep. Despite my revulsion at the situation I am in and my attempts to stop it from happening, a strong orgasm ripples through me in response to his movements. I hold my mouth closed, clenching my teeth, and biting my lower lip until it bleeds, refusing to let him hear anything from me which might encourage him to continue. His actions or my unwanted physical reaction to them triggers something in him. A cold fluid spurts out of him, into me, and he hisses with pleasure as he throbs and pulses for almost a minute, filling me with what I can only assume is his semen. I don’t want him to do that to me again, I decide, and I need to do something to dislodge him. When I crawl forward to get away from him, all I manage to do is drag him, still tightly linked to me, a short distance across the shuttle’s floor.

‘Stop that,’ he orders as he uses his arm around my waist to haul me backwards, to where we had previously been. ‘You cannot remove me from your body, and it will be worse for you if you persist in resisting me.’

‘Let me go,’ I say in protest. ‘I don’t want you to do this to me.’

I feel a bunch of knobs on that hard ring of his start to dig firmly into my vaginal wall. This is going to make it more difficult to get him out of me.

‘You don’t have a choice,’ he warns me. ‘Until our coupling is complete, I will mate with you as many times as I please. It would best if you simply accept this and co-operate with me.’

He caresses me for a few minutes then bites the back of my neck like a stallion does a mare during a covering. I tense up in expectation at that and he immediately starts thrusting into me the way he had before, starting another of what must be his species’ orgasms. This time, I use another tactic. I try to sit up and do my best to shake him off of my back. He uses his weight and strength to force me down onto my hands and knees.

‘That was extremely foolish of you,’ he tells me.

I let out a scream of pain as those the knobs on him become spike-like projections, anchoring him irremovably within me. My breathing is ragged and my entire body shakes in agony as I lean forward onto my elbows for stability and try to comprehend my situation. He is tearing me inside as those spikes continue to embed themselves, until it finally, mercifully, ends. In the stillness of the following moment, I feel blood running out of me, down the inside of my legs, and onto the cold shuttle floor. Then, reality returns to me and I cannot stop sobbing at how much it hurts. In attempting to be rid of him, I have only made it far worse for myself.

‘Be still and do not move,’ he orders. ‘Because you have chosen to repeatedly resist our coupling, I have extended my mating hooks as a punishment, and I could keep us joined together like this for almost an hour.’

I swallow hard at the prospect of enduring an hour of having him in me like this. There is nothing I can do to escape from him or hasten that. Only his species’ physiology will determine when I am free of him. Be calm, be patient and you can bear this, I tell myself. It won’t last forever. I close my eyes, and concentrate on just being, just surviving, just breathing. The scent he is wearing saturates the air around us, and I inhale the pungent muskiness of it. He actually smells rather good and I feel myself start to relax a little.

‘If you allow me to mate with you and do not resist me, I will make my hooks retract,’ he offers. ‘That will be very painful for you, so make no more attempts at forcibly removing me. I do not want to overly damage you.’

He pushes lightly against me before giving a sudden hard thrust, which makes me cry out as his hooks are dragged with it deeper into me. We are motionless after he does that: he lying on my back with his arms wrapped about my waist while his stiff appendage pumps more semen into me, and I breathing slowly in and out, enduring what he is doing to me, and waiting for what might come next. The worst of the pain gradually eases as his mating hooks are retracted, but from how I am stretched tight around him, I know we are still securely joined together. This time, I know better than to do anything to resist him. I don’t make any attempt to move away from him.

‘Our third mating is finished,’ he announces after he pushes himself up off my back. ‘It is fortunate that you finally chose to co-operate.’

He wraps an arm about my waist and slowly, carefully lowers us both to the floor before rolling us onto our sides, ensuring the entire time that our bodies are kept in tight contact. I let him hold me in his arms and wait, patiently, to see what he will do. My captor shifts himself behind me, moving so that he is propped up on one arm and can look down at me when he rolls me over onto my back. I cannot see his face within his hood, not even when he leans over and gently sets his mouth on mine. Yielding immediately, I do as he wishes and passionately kiss him, much as it disgusts me to do it. There is no point in fighting him because he will just use his hooks to hurt me again. If I go along with him until I am no longer physically joined to him, it will be easier for me and safer for my child.

‘Our first mating was the most enjoyable one for you,’ he tells me.

‘Yes,’ I reluctantly agree with him, since that is what he wants to hear from me.

He pulls back slightly and my body moves with him.

‘We are still fully coupled,’ he admits. ‘It will take longer for it to end because you resisted it.’

For the next ten minutes, I lie quietly at his side, not objecting after he changes our positions slightly. Every few minutes he has been trying to withdraw from me, but we are still tightly joined together. His hard ring hasn’t shrunk much at all and we both have been silent while we wait for it to do so. My mind is busy, though, thinking about how I might escape from him. It is only a matter of time before he flies this shuttle somewhere else. Once off the ground, it will be much harder to free myself and more difficult for Ani to find us. That thought makes me realize that in being joined bodily to me he is in fact rather vulnerable. There is not much he can do if we are found together like this, and the longer I can keep him in me, the more time Ani will have to follow the trail I left for him. He might even make it here before my captor can leave. Vile as the idea is to me, nauseous as the thought makes me, and as much as it is going to hurt me physically to let him do it, I will somehow have to encourage him to mate with me again because he has to be coupled to me to do that.

‘Could you?’ I start to say it then stop.

‘Yes?’ he answers.

Say it, I tell myself, just say it and then let him do it with you. Think of the end goal, your freedom, and being back in Ani’s arms. You can do this, endure this, and survive this because you don’t have any other choices. I slowly breathe in and then out.

‘Could you mate with me again?’ I manage to somehow ask him the question.

His gloved hand traces a slow path from my hip to my face and back again.

‘If you wish it,’ he answers.

I hesitate. Say it, Maia, I give myself an order. You must do this with him even though you will hate and loathe every second of it.

‘I wish it,’ I confirm it with him.

‘Very well,’ he agrees.

He rolls over on top of me, his knees between mine, sits back on his heels and pulls me up with him. I am now on his lap, in front of him and straddling him, but he doesn’t leave us like that for very long. My left leg is grabbed, bent up to my chest, and then he is rotating me to face him. A long hiss escapes from me as he does this. The way he is moving me hurts, and his stiff appendage is being pulled uncomfortably hard against the tears inside of my body, but at the end of it we facing each other.

‘Human females prefer it this way,’ he tells me as he lowers me, on my back, to the floor.

His robes fall over top of me, concealing everything below my waist so that I cannot see him. I bend my knees to either side of him and wiggle my hips a little, making myself more comfortable and hopefully encouraging him to continue. Instead of starting to thrust, he leans forward and nurses from me again like an infant would.

‘Why are you doing that?’ I work up the courage to ask.

He pauses only long enough to answer, ‘You obviously enjoy it,’ and then his mouth is busy at my breast again.

Let him take as much of my milk from me as he wants. It will buy Ani and I some more time, and Anakin is sleeping and doesn’t need it right now. Eventually he stops and that delaying tactic is exhausted. My captor kisses me after he is finished, and his mouth is sweet with what he has been drinking. I respond with another deep and passionate kiss, and slide my hands down to his hips.

‘You are finally eager and wish to mate with me,’ he observes.

I pause. Say it, I firmly tell myself. You must say it to him.

‘I wish it,’ I invite him to mate with me again.

***

I keep Michael in sight as he runs along the various walkways and landing platforms. He pauses occasionally, checking the decking for hair pins and blood, before he is off again in the direction Maia’s trail indicates. Chewbacca has given up on keeping pace with either of us, but I know he will have no trouble following.

Time is passing, time we can’t afford to lose, and it is not clear to me if we will reach her before it runs out and she and her captors leave the area or even the planet.

Michael stops and waits for me to join him.

‘The landing pad they must have been heading for is that one,’ he tells me, pointing to the one with the shuttle resting on it.

‘Go to her, now, and don’t wait for us,’ I order. ‘I will comm Thirsk and have him meet us there.’

***

He caresses my breasts, begins to move as I expect him to, and then I hear a quiet beeping sound from the shuttle’s cockpit. Instead of thrusting into me again, he grabs my hips with his hands and forces me away from him at the same time as he pulls back as hard as he can. I let out a shocked cry as his still distended, but no longer completely hard, tissue ring is ripped painfully out from my body. The rest of his appendage quickly follows, its large bulbous head remaining just within me long enough for a substantial spurt of something more thick and sticky than his semen to be pumped out of it. Then, it is also withdrawn from me.

I sit up a little and bury my face in my hands.

‘Our joining is broken,’ he tells me, unnecessarily. ‘I would have mated with you one more time and let our coupling end naturally, but the outermost proximity alarm has been tripped and we must leave here now.’

Breathe, I remind myself, just breathe.

You have endured what you had to do and survived it. That alarm means Ani is close by and on his way to you right now. When I work up the courage to look down at myself, I see clots of a thick, sticky yellow mucous which is mixed with my bright red blood from the rip his sudden withdrawal produced and the pale cream colour of what must be his semen. All of that is oozing slowly out of me and dripping onto the floor. My stomach starts to rebel at the thought of what he has done to me.

Breathe, I repeat to myself, just keep breathing. This won’t last. The pain won’t last.

He tucks his appendage inside his robes, and reaches over to poke a gloved finger into me. Even though it hurts as he does that, I don’t try to stop him, having already learned my lesson about fighting what he wants. A pleased growl comes from his throat at what he finds inside me.

Keep breathing, I tell myself, don’t stop.

‘My wife, I have captured you, mated repeatedly with you, and coupled successfully with you, as is required for our pairing to be recognized,’ he states. ‘Were you of my species, rather than human, my heir would be developing in you now.’ His hand caresses my stomach possessively and I cringe a little at his touch. ‘Since we cannot reproduce, the human child already growing in you will be accepted as mine, instead.’

My breath catches in my throat as I somehow stop myself from screaming.

He sits back on his heels and watches me collapse onto the floor in front of him as I finally realize what he has done to me and why. I roll onto my side and curl up in a ball, my entire body shaking with shock. His actions have left me extremely sore, torn internally, and feeling vulnerable and violated in every way. I choke back my tears and resist giving in to the helplessness and hopelessness I am starting to feel at the prospect of having to couple and mate with him again.

Think of Ani, who will be here soon, not this creep, I remind myself, hold onto those memories of your loving husband and stay strong.

‘You human females are too soft and delicate,’ he decides, ‘but so enjoyable to mate with. Now that I have suitably tamed you, the next time you won’t resist our coupling and it will be much easier for me and far more pleasurable for you.’

He leaves my side, goes into the cockpit, and I hear him preparing the shuttle to depart. I start to cry at the thought that I did not delay him enough, but that does not stop me. With shaking hands, I sit up, fasten my tunic closed and reach over to retrieve my trousers. If I am fast, I might be able to grab my son and make a run for it, hopefully escaping before he closes the shuttle’s loading ramp. Unfortunately, he returns too quickly for me to make my attempt for freedom.

‘You are ready, my wife,’ he notes, ‘so come to me.’

I do as ordered and move to stand in front of him. He turns me about, and I feel his hands secure a metal collar around my neck and then gather up my hair, twist it and knot it, and with a single slice of a knife, he cuts all of it short.

‘The sacrifice of your hair marks our first completed coupling,’ he states, ‘and the gold collar shows my ownership. You are mine, now, and no longer his.’

I hear a lightsaber ignite outside the shuttle.

Ani.

My love is here at last.

‘No,’ I answer in denial. ‘I will always belong to him alone.’

***

Michael dodges around the four corpses and reaches the shuttle platform before I do. Chewbacca, far slower than either of us, is many minutes behind. The pest stops, tips his head in question, turns on the lightsaber I loaned him, and takes a hesitant step forward. The ‘saber falls from his hand to the durasteel deck and his Force presence flickers then disappears entirely. I see him jump back as he reappears immediately. He looks towards the boarding ramp, frustration and fury etched on his face.

I slow my approach and cautiously reach into the Force. Nothing can be felt within ten meters of that ship. There is a Force suppressing bubble surrounding it, which will make my own Force abilities useless in that area. Michael retreats to my side. He can do even less than I can, given that he has no permanent, physical presence.

‘We have to get to my sister,’ he insists. ‘I know that something terrible has been done to her. She needs you.’

‘First, we should locate and eliminate the ysalamiri,’ I decide. ‘That is how she is being cut off from the Force.’

I walk over, reach down, and retrieve the lightsaber he had dropped. Stepping into the Forceless area reminds me of how it felt on Maia’s homeworld, but there I could at least sense and use the Force within myself.

‘Emperor Vader,’ I am greeted from inside the shuttle. ‘How kind of you to join us.’

I know that voice.

‘Xizor,’ I snap at the Falleen, who is making his way down the shuttle’s loading ramp. ‘I am going to kill you.’

He stops and folds back his hood, and smiles knowingly at me in that smug and superior way of his which has always irritated me.

‘Now is that any way to greet the Empress’ new husband?’ Xizor scolds me.

 I point the lit lightsaber in my hand at his throat. He gestures for me to turn it off and put it away, but I ignore him. It’s time to kill him and shut up whatever nonsense he is spewing.

‘This time, I will make sure that you stay dead,’ I threaten.

‘Such unnecessary threats and theatrics,’ he replies, not the least bit intimidated. ‘What would the Empress, my dear wife, say?’

‘She is not your wife!’ I snarl at him.

He drops a thick coil of hair, Maia’s long, silky reddish blonde hair, at my feet.

‘We have coupled successfully and I mated repeatedly with her,’ Xizor baits me. ‘I was careful to not damage her too much during that, and I also made sure she enjoyed it.’

‘Liar!’ I roar reflexively. ‘She would never allow you to touch her.’

My rage makes little impact on him. Xizor merely appears amused and turns his head towards the shuttle.

‘Ask my wife, yourself,’ he suggests,’ since you refuse to believe me.’

My eyes follow his, only to see Maia standing at the top of the ramp, Anakin held tight to her chest. She is pale, shaking, and has obviously been sexually abused. Each step she takes is a painful effort for her. When she reaches Xizor’s side, he stops her by touching her arm.

‘Tell him, my wife,’ he orders, pushing her in my direction. ‘Tell him how I joined and coupled with you. Tell him how you asked me to mate with you - and tell him how much you enjoyed it.’

Her mouth opens and shuts, and she shakes her head in refusal. Xizor shoves her onto her knees in front of me, but Maia does not resist him. I lower my spare lightsaber and stare at her. Tears are falling down her face as she looks at the cold, durasteel deck.

‘Is it true?’ I demand answers from her. ‘Have you willingly allowed this creature to have sex with you and agreed to be his wife?’

There is a pause as her eyes glance between the child in her arms and me, and her lips move to soundlessly form my name. I hear her take a slow, shuddering inhalation then see the smallest shake of her head in denial. He forced her to have sex with him by threatening our child, and I know that she would do anything to protect our son from harm.

I curl my fingers into a fist, but it is Xizor’s face which is my target, not Maia’s. He staggers backwards, rocked by the heavy blow I have landed. I shut off the lightsaber in my hand and throw it back to Michael before quickly stepping around my wife, putting myself between her and Xizor and acting as a physical barrier to protect her.

‘There cannot be a marriage without her consent, and she will never give that to you,’ I tell Xizor. ‘I do not need a lightsaber or the Force to kill you for raping my wife - all I require are my hands.’

He settles into a defensive stance, fists raised and ready, and smiles at me.

‘I prefer to use whatever advantages I can gain,’ he taunts me.

We circle one another, trading feints and blows, testing what the other can do. As we move about, I see Maia crawl over to her brother, and Michael wrapping her and Anakin protectively in his arms. Chewbacca stands behind them, bowcaster drawn and loaded, guarding them all and watching Xizor and I with great care, waiting for an opening where he can safely shoot the Falleen.

My love is safe, now.

I focus my attention on Xizor.

I am going to enjoy slowly killing him.

***

Ani deftly dodges an attack and hits Xizor again, this time splitting open the alien’s cheek with his fist, sending green blood splattering everywhere. I hide my face in Michael’s chest. His Force presence soothes me and he is the safe haven I need right now. My brother strokes my hair, holds me close, brushes away my tears, and listens to my choking sobs.

Maia, he whispers to me. Little sister.

It was horrible, Michael, I admit to him, and what he did to me hurt terribly. I had to prevent him from leaving here and buy time for us to be found. The only way I could do that was to encourage him to keep mating with me. I feel filthy for doing that, absolutely filthy. Ani will never touch me again or want me anywhere near him after this.

It was not your fault, he gently but firmly reminds me. None of this was your fault. Don’t you ever blame yourself for what that creature did to you or feel guilty for what you had to do to keep yourself and your son safe.

But…

No buts, Maia, he insists.

But some of it felt good and I enjoyed it, I blurt out to him that terrible truth.

I turn my head sideways and start to retch violently at that thought.

That was just your body reacting to physical stimuli, my brother tells me. You could not stop that from happening, and you must not blame yourself for it.

I start shivering. My hands reach up to my neck and rip the golden collar from around it. With what strength I have left, I hurl it as far away as I can manage. Michael catches my hands and uses them to draw me close again.

Easy, now, little sister. You are injured, badly concussed, and in shock, Michael’s medical training starts to take over.

He lifts Anakin from my lap, lays him next to us, and rests his hand on my forehead. I feel him sweep over me with the Force and the throbbing in my head starts to ease. When he moves one of his hands lower, I shake my head in refusal.

I have dealt with rape cases before, he reminds me. There is nothing you can tell me or show me that I haven’t heard or seen some version of already, and it will be easier for you if I am the one to help you with this rather than your husband.

I bury my face in his shoulder and start to cry, reliving all of it and knowing he can sense it through our sibling bond. There is not a word in judgement from him, only love, quiet acceptance and support as he slips into my mind for the very first time. I feel him dull my memories of the past few hours, blunting the worst of it for later, for when I am more ready and able to deal with it. His hands are gentle as they brush over me, touching every spot that vile alien had, and bringing warmth and healing in their wake. I don’t raise any protests. It hurts and burns inside where I have been torn and bruised, and Michael soothes that for me as he heals it.

You should feed your hungry son, he hints when Anakin begins to fuss.

Michael helps me with Anakin, holds us both close in his arms, and my son’s eager nursing relaxes me. There is not much for him to have at the moment, but it is enough and my child is soon sleeping soundly.

Rest, now, my brother suggests.

I slump against his shoulder but despite my exhaustion, sleep does not come. Instead, I watch my two husbands fighting one another, with me as the obvious prize for the winner to claim as his.

***

Maia is leaning on her brother’s shoulder, but she is not asleep. Her eyes are on me, watching me fight Xizor.

Both of us have tired and are moving slower now. The Falleen is limping and dripping blood from his broken nose, the result of my latest successful punch, and my thigh aches where he had kicked it. This match is a draw, at the moment, and I need to do something to change that.

My eyes land on one of the small shipping crates. From the slats and air holes in it, something is alive in there. Perhaps letting it out and creating a distraction will help. I manoeuvre us both so that crate is within easy reach, pull my lightsaber from my belt, and swing at it. My blade sweeps through the crate, destroying its contents, the ysalamiri inside it spilling out onto the durasteel deck as the Force suddenly becomes accessible to me.

I don’t hesitate, reach out with my hand, and yank Xizor off his feet with the Force, holding him suspended in the air in front of me.

‘The advantage is mine, now, Falleen,’ I snarl at him.

‘You may kill me, but I have still won,’ he states, triumphantly. ‘I have had my revenge on you.’

My fingers slowly close as I choke off his air supply.

‘You have won nothing,’ I state.

Xizor lets out a gasping laugh and points towards my wife.

‘She’s mine,’ he whispers to me.

Rage surges through me. I swing my blade at his knees, his arms, and finally his waist and neck, dismembering him completely. He did not deserve as clean or quick a death as that, but Thirsk is almost at the landing pad and Maia must be away from here before he arrives. She is in no state to be seen by anyone, and I need to protect her from prying eyes and probing questions.

I shut off my ‘saber, return it to my belt, and approach my wife, her brother, and the wookiee.

‘No one else must learn what really happened here,’ I tell them. ‘Xizor’s men grabbed the Empress and beat her, he executed them, and then I killed him during the rescue. Nothing else is to be spoken of ever again.’

Maia shrinks back from me, making herself as small as she can, and hiding from me in her brother’s arms. All of this is my fault, not hers, although she is blaming herself for it. I crouch down close to her, but do not attempt to touch her. During the Clone Wars, I had to occasionally care for rape victims, so I understand her reactions without needing to use our bond to know what she is feeling. It will be days before she will let me come near her, longer still before I can touch her, and making love to her will be many weeks or even months away. The memories of how she was forced to have sex with Xizor will always be with her in the back of her mind, and are his twisted form of revenge. Every time she turns away from me, every time she flinches at my touch, every time I hear her cry out during her nightmares when she relives it, I will think of him and what he has done to her.

In a sense, as he had said, she will always be his - his innocent victim.

I should have taken longer to kill him.

>Maìá,< I whisper her name to her in Sith. >My merati, my most beloved one. Know that I will always love you, my goddess.<

Her trembling hand slowly reaches out to me. I wait until it is obvious that she wants me to take it before gently holding it in my own.

‘It will take time and patience, but I can help you to forget,’ I softly offer to her that option.

There is a nod from her in agreement. I did this for her, once before, and perhaps it will be the best way for both of us.

‘Chewbacca will carry you and Anakin back to our quarters,’ I inform her of my plans. ‘Your brother will stay with you, as a protector and healer, and will not leave your side. Have a hot bath, eat if you can, and rest, my love. I will see to what must be done here and I will return to you as soon as I can.’

Her fingers tighten over mine and I know she does not want to leave me.

Use our bond, I silently remind her. I will keep it completely open on my end. Your lightest touch will be felt by me and I will answer you immediately.

I slowly stand up, unhook my cloak, and gently drape it around her. Maia pulls it close, and wraps herself and Anakin in it before the wookiee lifts her up and cradles them both against his chest.

‘Go, quickly,’ I order as I see Thirsk coming rapidly towards us with his elite group of guards.

I stare at Michael, impressing on him a mental map of the safest unseen ways to return to the palace and my quarters in it. He blinks, nods in acknowledgement, and then they are away, moving as fast as Chewbacca can go with his burden. I turn around and wait for Thirsk, my attention shifting to the problem of cleaning up the mess Xizor has created for me.

***

I throw my ruined clothes into a corner of the ‘fresher and force myself to stand in front of the mirror.

I start with my head, my fingers touching each spot I was struck and flinching at the bloody cut above my ear. My hair has been sliced off at my shoulders and is a mess which will need to be thoroughly washed and properly trimmed. A few tears and a sob escape from me at how I look. Ani loved my long hair, but it will grow back, eventually. I push my hair aside. There are several vicious bites on the back of my neck, and bruises around my nipples where Xizor had sucked too hard on them. I rest my hands on my stomach, slowly making myself move them lower. Externally, I am badly bruised, and there is blood smeared inside my legs, but internally, I know it will be much worse. Taking a shaky breath, I go to slide a finger inside to check on where his mating hooks tore me and appendage ripped me when he forcibly pulled it out, only to find that my opening is blocked, filled with a solid mass. I poke at it, and quickly realize that it extends into my body.

I let out a horrified shriek.

‘Maia?’ my brother calls to me from the bedroom.

‘Michael!’ I answer. ‘I need you to help me!’

‘What’s wrong, Maia?’ he asks. ‘Calm yourself and carefully describe it to me.’

I take a deep breath. He’s a doctor and can deal with this, but the prospect of having my own brother intimately examine me fills me with shame and embarrassment.

‘I need you to … I need you to look at me,’ I admit with much hesitation. ‘There is something … there is something stuck inside me that shouldn’t be there and you will have to see what it is.’

Silence for a few seconds.

‘Put on a robe and come in here,’ he instructs in his professional, medical voice. ‘You will need to lie down at the end of the bed, put a pillow under your hips, spread your knees wide, and rest your ankles on top of my shoulders, since we don’t have any stirrups for you to use.’

I do as I am told, making myself as comfortable as I can on the bed, given the situation. My face goes red and I close my eyes tight when Michael takes my hands and pulls me into the position he needs. He kneels on the floor to put himself at eye level and gently squeezes my fingers with his once he is ready. In this instance, as terribly awkward as it is, I think I prefer my brother’s quiet presence and gentle approach to Leanan’s sarcastic humour and smart remarks.

‘It’s alright, Maia,’ he reassures me as I start to tremble. ‘I won’t hurt you and if you want your female doctor to do this just say so and I will ask Anakin to send for her.’

I shake my head and hold his hand tight. The fewer people who know what Xizor did to me, the better.

‘Please? Will you do it?’ I ask of him. ‘I trust you, Michael.’

I feel his fingers move my robe out of his way, part my folds and carefully, gently examine me.

‘It’s a sphragis, a copulation plug,’ he identifies the thing in me. ‘The males of many reptilian species use them to prevent another male from mating with the same female. Normally, the female expels it from her body, but it can take her quite some time to do it. You should look up what happens if the female is Falleen.’

He covers me with my robe to give me a semblance of privacy and glances towards my data pad which is over on the table. Michael can’t read Aurebesh script, so I will have to do that for him. I call it to my hand with the Force, do my best to ignore how weird and uncomfortable the situation is, and start a search on Falleen biology and mating behaviours. What I find makes my skin crawl and stomach churn, and I choke back the acid I can feel rising from it. I take a slow breath to calm myself. My brother needs to know the relevant facts.

‘Your guess was correct,’ I admit, my voice beginning to shake at the disgust I feel. ‘Falleen males will seal a female shut when they finish their first coupling with her. It’s a part of their pairing ritual. In a female Falleen, the plug will last for about a week before her body can dissolve it, and the semen held in behind it turns into a gel once the plug is put in place. I want all of it out of me, Michael. I don’t want it in there.’

‘Given its size, removing it in one piece might be rather painful for you,’ he warns me. ‘It could reopen your injuries.’

‘I want it out,’ I repeat as firmly as I can say it. ‘I want it out, right now.’

He nods in acceptance of my wishes, pulls a container over from Ani’s desk, and folds back my robe. My brother is ready, but I am not quite sure that I am.

‘Breathe deeply and slowly, and try to relax,’ Michael suggests. ‘I have never had to do anything like this before, so I don’t know what will happen.’

I drop the datapad on the bed, breathe as he told me to, and try not to gasp when he pushes his fingers inside me, stretching me as wide as my body will let him. He grabs the plug and pulls on it, and as he moves it, I start to hurt.

‘Ow!’ I loudly complain as he slowly tugs it out.

He looks at that thick disc of dark brown material, a mixture of Xizor’s mucous and semen and my blood, and drops it into the container beside him. I feel his fingers enter my body again and hear a sucking, squelching sound as he pulls a mass of dark yellow, gel-like material from inside me. I push myself up a bit on my elbows and stare at it as he examines that clump of stuff more closely.

‘Another type of reptilian mating barrier,’ he identifies it, dropping in the container with the plug. ‘I need to get the rest of that out of you. Leaving it in there is not a good idea.’

‘Why would that be bad?’ I ask. ‘Could it hurt my son?’

‘It could cause an infection or damage you, depending on how it interacts with human body chemistry,’ he admits. ‘There is a mucus plug in your cervix, so your foetus is protected. Lean back on the bed again and don’t tense up. It shouldn’t take long for me to remove it.’

I lie back down on the bed and concentrate on my breathing in an effort to avoid thinking too much about what my brother is doing to me. Michael’s fingers are light, gentle, as he moves them in and out of me, extracting more of that gel from my body. I close my eyes, dig my fingers into the blankets, and pretend it is my husband, not my brother, who is with me. That tactic works until Michael happens to repeatedly put too much pressure on one particular spot. His touch feels good and I bite back a moan. This is your brother, and he needs to do this to you, so stop that, I scold myself, to no avail.

‘Oh, my god!’ I gasp out as I arch up from the bed and feel my muscles clamp down hard on Michael’s fingers. ‘Please, don’t stop!’

I open my eyes once my short climax has finished and see my brother staring at me. My face burns with heat as I turn brilliant red. This has to be the most awkward and humiliating moment of my life: my older brother has unintentionally triggered an orgasm in me and I begged him for more. Michael ignores my embarrassment and pulls his fingers out, bringing more of that gelled stuff with them. He finishes what he needs to do as if my orgasm had never happened, and drapes my robe over me again.

‘That is the last of it,’ Michael confirms, in his doctor’s tone of voice. ‘You have ten parallel tears and a large rip. Those must be seen to properly. Go have your bath, rinse yourself internally to flush out anything I might have missed, and apply some bacta ointment to yourself internally and externally. Make sure you coat the damaged areas inside you thoroughly.’ He pauses and asks, ‘Is there anything else that you think needs my medical attention?’

‘No,’ I hastily answer.

I move from the bed as fast as I can manage and escape into the ‘fresher to hide from him for a while. My hands are still shaking with embarrassment when I start filling the bath for the long, hot soak I intend to take.

What is wrong with me? I ask myself as the water gradually rises. Ani is the only man I have ever wanted to have sex with, but I truly enjoyed the gentle orgasm Michael just gave me, unlike the unwanted one I had with Xizor. I put a hand to my mouth and slowly sit down in the chair, giving myself the time to think this through. Michael was helping me and my body reacted on its own to what he did. That unintended orgasm felt good because there was genuine caring and love behind his touch. All Xizor wanted to do was control and dominate me in his sick game of revenge. There was nothing caring or loving in anything he did and the thought that I had any pleasure from it makes me feel decidedly ill. You need to stop thinking about that creep, I scold myself. Ani loves you and Michael loves you. Concentrate on that and let them help you through this.

I push myself up from the chair and drop my robe on the floor. In one of the compartments is the rinse I need to see to myself, so I grab it, retreat to the toilet cubicle, and do as Michael had instructed. The water in the bath is soothing when I return and step into it, and I find myself relaxing, despite how on edge I still am. I lean back and let myself float, my short hair spread around my head. Scrubbing it clean feels good and once I have done that, I take a soft cloth and slowly, carefully wash myself. When the water starts to cool, I climb out of the bath and look in the mirror again. Nothing appears to have changed on the outside, but within, I am having serious doubts about myself, and especially about how I feel for my brother. I know the orgasm he gave me was unplanned and unintended, but at the time, I wanted more than that from him, and that still makes me cringe.

Anakin? I whisper to my husband.

Maia, what is it? he quickly responds. Do you need me?

Michael had to help me with something, I admit. It was necessary but extremely embarrassing.

Are you alright? he asks me, but I can sense that he really doesn’t need to.

I squirm and shift from one foot to the other and feel heat in my face as I start to blush. Michael must have told him what he removed from me, and Ani already knows about my orgasm because he felt it, too.

I just had a bath and I need to sleep for a while, I avoid answering his question.

Your brother is a doctor and he is willing to help you, he reminds me. It will not bother or upset me if he has to examine you, or if his touch makes you feel better.

I sigh in relief, knowing exactly what he is referring to. He is not angry that it happened and I am grateful for that.

Thank you, I reply.

I will be a while working on how to strengthen your security, but I will come to check on you, later, if you ask me to, he decides. Do not stay awake on my account if you need to rest.

His presence fades so I dig out the bacta ointment and apply it to the sore, bruised, and swollen parts of my body. Just inside me I can feel the ten parallel tears where Xizor’s mating hooks were anchored into me and one large rip from how he forced himself out of my body. I take my brother’s advice and carefully coat all of them, and the pain I feel from them quickly fades to numbness. In the middle compartment are the sedative patches I will need to help me sleep, so I dig out one of those and stick it on my back, adding an anti-nausea one beside it. I put on a nightgown, pick my robe up from the floor, and wrap it around me again. After I open the door, I stop in the ‘fresher’s entrance at what I see. My brother is sitting at the end of the bed, and on noticing me he looks as sheepish and embarrassed as I had been.

‘Thank you for helping me,’ I tell him.

‘You’re welcome,’ he replies.

I hesitantly hold out my hand to him. He accepts that invitation and comes to me. His embrace is warm, comforting, and I lose myself in it for a moment. My brother loves me unconditionally and he will always be there for me. I tuck my head under his chin and rest my cheek on his chest.

‘That was…’ I start.

‘… truly embarrassing?’ Michael finishes my sentence, teasing me as he comes up with different endings, each worst that the last. ‘Horribly awkward?  Extremely uncomfortable? Not the best moment in our relationship? Something we don’t want to ever do again?’

‘How about incredible feeling?’ I blurt out my thoughts.

He tips his head and looks down at me, raising a questioning eyebrow at my choice of words.

‘Incredible feeling?’ my brother repeats back to me.

‘It felt good when you did that to me, even though it was an accident,’ I admit. ‘I think I should be envious of those old girlfriends of yours.’

‘I did have a bit of a reputation,’ he says with a grin.

‘For being a terrible kisser,’ I tease him.

‘I am not that bad of a kisser,’ my brother scolds me.

‘You have kissed me before,’ I remind him, ‘and you were awful at it, so I know the truth.’

‘I only did that because your husband ordered me to,’ Michael fires back, ‘and I didn’t really want to French kiss my sister. I am far better at it than that.’

I touch his solid feeling cheek with my finger. My brother is a Force ghost, half-here, half-elsewhere, unless he chooses to manifest more solidly, like he is at the moment.

‘I love you and I trust you to never hurt me,’ I reveal my feelings to him. ‘I need you, Michael. I need to know you will always be there for me.’

‘You know I don’t have a choice about that,’ he tells me. ‘You and that Sith Lord husband of yours are permanently stuck with me.’

I nestle in tight to his body. Michael is warm and I feel safe in his arms. His lips brush across my forehead, down my cheek, stopping briefly on mine for a quick, chaste kiss. I sense his surprise as I kiss him back, and he reacts by playfully returning it. My rabid curiosity prompts me to take it a step farther, so I open my mouth to him in encouragement. He hesitates and I breathe for a moment while he debates what to do next.

‘Curious are you?’ he whispers against my lips.

‘Yes,’ I answer him. ‘This enquiring mind wants to know.’

‘Then relax and do what comes naturally,’ he suggests.

His lips soften, his mouth opens, and our tongues meet in a deep lover’s kiss. It feels strange doing this with him, as he demonstrates to me what he can do. At first there is passion, followed by love and then the gentle kindness I have always associated with him. He finishes our kiss by resting his closed lips on mine before moving them back to my forehead. When he lifts me in his arms, I lay my head against his shoulder, and don’t object when he carries me over to the bed.

‘Is your curiosity satisfied so I don’t need to kiss you like that ever again?’ he quietly teases me as he sets me down on the blankets.

‘My curiosity is satisfied,’ I sleepily admit. ‘You really are good at kissing - not as good as Anakin, though. It’s too bad Liz never found that out about you, like she wanted to.’

‘Come here and have a nap,’ he offers when he climbs in beside me. ‘We can pretend we are on a camping trip, and you are cold and need to be held to warm you up.’

I crawl into his arms and snuggle up to his chest in the same way I always do with Ani. Michael will keep me safe. No one will be allowed near me unless I wish it.

‘Tell me a story,’ I ask of him. ‘Tell me about going to summer camp when we were kids.’

He obliges me, but my eyelids soon become heavy and I fall asleep long before his story has ended.

***

I open the bedroom door but don’t step into it. Anakin is snoring quietly in his cradle. Maia is curled up in her brother’s arms, sound asleep, and obviously comfortable. Michael is awake, as he always is, and looks over at me.

She’s been out for hours and is still sedated, he tells me. Anakin nursed from her twice and she barely stirred either time I brought him to her.

And? I prompt him for more information.

We need to talk. She has been badly torn, deeply bruised, and sexually abused in a way I am not familiar with, he admits. I must know what was done to her.

He slides his arm out from under her head, kisses her lightly on her cheek, and settles her against the pillows. I follow him out of the bedroom to my private office.

‘What do you know about Falleen matings?’ he asks once I have closed and secured the door.

‘You mean what have I learned about that today?’ I rephrase his question.

I pace back and forth in front of my new desk rather than sit behind it. Between meetings and security briefings and everything that has happened, I somehow managed to find a few minutes to do some research on exactly what Xizor did to her. I have also spent some of my time meditating to help me control and restrain my anger at the situation. Maia doesn’t need to feel that from me and misinterpret it as aimed at her.

‘The Falleen are both mammalian and reptilian in nature,’ I tell him, ‘and their mating behaviour goes back to their ancient reptile ancestors. They are extremely competitive and possessive when it comes to their females. When a dominant male decides he wants to mate, he will pursue his choice, and force her, using his pheromones and brute strength, if necessary, to accept him. What they see as a permissible pairing by capture and forced coupling, we would class as a violent rape.’ I pause and look at him then ask. ‘Do you really want to know the ugly details of what Xizor did when he raped your sister?’

‘I need to understand what he did to her, if I am going to help her,’ Michael replies. ‘I studied reptiles on my home world as an undergrad, so I suspect I already know some of it.’

‘Very well then,’ I continue his biology lesson, trying to keep myself as emotionally detached from it as I am able. ‘Falleen males have a mating appendage, an equivalent to a human penis, but it is structurally different and considerably larger. Once they have fully inserted it into a female, they inflate specialized tissue, a joining ring, around its base which is designed to lock it inside her. This is intended to prevent her from escaping and mating with another male while she is still fertile. If she accepts the male and lets him mate with her at that point, their coupling does not harm her, can last for over an hour, and consists of as many as eight matings.’

‘That explains the degree of deep bruising she has and where it is,’ he quietly interrupts me, ‘but not the parallel tears.’

I stare at him. He needs to hear the rest of it, the worst of it - the parts of it that enrage me when I think of how Xizor intentionally hurt her.

‘Shall I continue?’ I ask.

He nods.

‘If a Falleen female rejects the male after their coupling has started, the male will allow his ten mating hooks to first emerge as knobs to discourage her, but if she continues to fight, he will fully project his hooks and embed them securely into her as a warning to cease her resistance,’ I divulge the worst of it to him, curling my fingers into a fist as I imagine hitting Xizor with it again. Michael needs to know this I remind myself, so I somehow force myself to keep talking, ‘The male will retract the hooks immediately if the female stops refusing him and co-operates, but he might choose to mate with her once or twice with his hooks embedded in her as a punishment. Because of that, most Falleen females don’t resist a coupling once it has started.’

‘Maia resisted him,’ Michael flatly states. ‘She has ten parallel tears inside, and from how long and deep they are, he must have…’

He looks ill as he thinks about that.

‘Yes, she resisted him,’ I confirm, slowly opening and closing my fist as I remember what I had seen. ‘She didn’t want to have sex with him and she didn’t know what would happen to her if she refused to co-operate. He deliberately hurt her to stop her attempts at fighting back, and when we arrived, before their coupling was naturally completed, he tore himself out of her body. The shuttle floor was smeared with her blood where he had raped her.’

My brother-in-law is quiet, thinking about what I have told him. I decide to give him something different to consider.

‘You told me about that plug and the other material you had to remove from her,’ I remind him, pause then add, ‘I know it was embarrassing for you both, but thank you for doing that for her.’

‘You’re welcome,’ he automatically replies.

I stop my pacing and watch him closely, gauging what I must say.

‘I know what happened while you were doing that,’ I flatly state. ‘Maia could not hide it from me.’

‘I see no point in denying it, Anakin,’ he confesses. ‘While not common, human females sometimes have orgasms during certain physical exams and procedures. I just wish it hadn’t been with me. It was rather awkward for both of us.’

‘It was completely unintentional?’ I suggest.

Silence and an annoyed stare from him at what I am implying.

‘You do realize that you have just accused me of sexual misconduct with my sister,’ Michael finally snaps at me. ‘I thought you knew me better than that and had more sense.’

I hold my hands out to him, palms down, in an effort to calm him.

‘My concerns are for how she might feel about it,’ I reveal.

‘She was embarrassed when it happened and teased me about it afterwards,’ he admits. ‘I kissed her and played along with her silly curiosity until the sedative took effect and she fell asleep. Knowing my sister, she won’t talk about it again unless you or I bring it up, and I do not intend to ever do that. Some things are best left alone.’

He tips his head in concentration then looks through the wall towards my bedroom.

‘She’s waking up,’ he notes what I can sense as well.

‘Go to her,’ I tell him. ‘I will wait until she asks to see me before I approach her.’

Michael disappears, his presence winking out for a few seconds before it reappears close by. I grab his borrowed lightsaber with the Force as it drops to the floor, and add it to my belt until I can give it back to him again. The pest keeps forgetting that anything physical he carries with him will be left behind when he does that.

I return to the other side of my desk and look down at the data terminal. Maia needs a clever and formidable bodyguard who will be with her whenever I am not. Given my wife’s personality and desire for privacy, she will not be very pleased with having a constant companion of that type. Neither of my female Hands is suitable for this task. Lumiya is loyal to me, but I cannot see Maia agreeing to have my erstwhile apprentice and former lover around her. Mara Jade is tolerable, yet I am reluctant to bring her and Maia together; the two of them would be like oil poured on an open flame. No, this requires someone with a specific skill set and a personality my wife can relate to.

With a few keystrokes I pull up the profile of the woman I have in mind. She thought her chosen means of faking her death would fool me. I went along with her plan and allowed her to escape, suspecting that sooner or later I would have need of her. Now, I will have to send someone to track her down and bring her here for me.

‘Jixton,’ I comm my most annoying agent. ‘I have a task for you.’

***

I slowly open my eyes and find that Michael has moved. He is now sitting on the bed beside me and watching me wake up.

‘How do you feel?’ he asks me.

I stretch a little bit and think about his question.

‘Still a bit tired,’ I admit.

My brother raises an eyebrow, so I grab a pillow and toss it at him.

‘What do you want to hear from me, Michael?’ I say to him. ‘That I still hurt a bit inside, that my head feels terrible, and that….’

I let my unfinished sentence hang in the air between us.

I sit up and pull my knees to my chest, hugging them close with my arms as the full impact of what has happened to me hits. Michael doesn’t say anything; he simply wraps himself around me, holds me tight, and lets me cry.

‘Xizor raped me,’ I whisper that horrible truth aloud.

‘Yes, he did,’ Michael replies. ‘You fought him as best you could and you survived it. You are a survivor, little sister, not a victim. Don’t you ever think of yourself as his victim.’

‘Ani must not want me …’ I start only to be cut off by my brother firmly stating, ‘Your husband loves you more than anything, Maia, and he knows that none of what Xizor did to you was your fault. Anakin is not angry with you and he does not blame you for what happened. He will tell you as much when you talk to him.’

‘I don’t know if I can talk to him about it yet,’ I admit.

‘Then don’t,’ Michael suggests. ‘Talk to him about other things until you are ready.’

I rest my head on his shoulder and don’t say anything while I think about that. My husband has left our bond fully open on his end, so he has felt all of my emotions since Chewbacca carried me away from the landing platform. Not once has Ani intruded or commented. Instead, he has patiently waited for me to initiate the contact, and not tried to prolong it beyond what I was comfortable with.

‘You have talked to him about what to do around me,’ I shrewdly guess.

‘Actually, no,’ my brother reveals. ‘Anakin fought in the Clone Wars, and saw and had to deal with some rather brutal situations. He didn’t need my advice because he already knew.’

I quietly consider that for a while. Women are often treated as targets during warfare, and Ani must have seen many atrocities. He has rarely spoken about his life as a Jedi or any of his experiences on the battlefield, and I can understand why. Who would want to remember and repeat those stories? Given what he has lived through and witnessed, it will probably be easier for him to hear what happened to me than for me to tell him about it.

‘I’m afraid of what he might say to me when he hears everything,’ I finally admit.

‘You are worried he will judge you for your choices?’ Michael asks.

I nod my head against his chest and bite my lip in an attempt to prevent myself from crying again.

‘Oh, my sweet little sister,’ he reassures me. ‘No one can ever question what you had to do. You did everything you needed to keep yourself and your infant son as safe as you could, and you cleverly laid a trail so that we could find you.’

‘I didn’t know what else to do,’ I confess to him.

‘You did just fine,’ he reassures me.

My stomach chooses to let out an unhappy growl. It has been a long time since I have eaten and it is reminding me of that.

‘You need to eat,’ my brother observes. ‘I can’t use the autochef, but if I ask, I am sure Anakin will make something for you.’

I tip my head back and look at him, a bit puzzled by that statement.

‘He cleared up the mess at the landing platform, dealt with all of the security breaches immediately, and has been working in his private office since then,’ Michael tells me. ‘Everything that was on his public schedule for today has been postponed or cancelled entirely. He even told Luke to go practice in the salle on his own, and has Leia busy helping Liora with her wardrobe. Your aides have been keeping your youngsters occupied, too.’

‘Oh,’ is my short reply to that.

Ani is staying nearby and available to me on purpose, and it sounds like he has everything else in hand, too. My husband is amazingly capable when under pressure.

‘Are you telling him what I say to you?’ I ask out of curiosity.

‘No,’ my brother honestly answers. ‘He knows about your concussion and injuries, but anything you tell me about what happened goes no further. I won’t break that confidence unless you give me your permission.’

‘I don’t really feel like eating,’ I tell him, hastily adding when I receive one of his looks, ‘but I will try.’

I watch his brow furrow in concentration. He must be having a private chat with my husband.

‘Anakin will bring your meal to you,’ he states. ‘If you want him to wait until you are busy in the ‘fresher before he comes in the bedroom, he will do so.’

My head falls back onto my brother’s shoulder. Avoiding Ani will not help me deal with my conflicted state of mind in the long term. This is one bullet that I should face instead of simply dodging it temporarily.

‘That’s okay,’ I decide, trying to sound more brave and in control than I am. ‘I am not afraid of being in the same room with him.’

No, I admit to myself, it’s not the physical proximity which concerns me. It’s what he might ask and expect of me that is.

***

I step into the bedroom, go to the table and set the tray on it in front of my wife. Maia watches me do this and I can sense her nervousness at my being close to her. Her uncertainty is understandable. We have not spoken at length since yesterday and neither of us has raised the topic she is concerned about. She tugs her robe tighter around her as I pour out the stim tea for her. I set the tea pot down when our son begins to fuss, and look over at him. Another set of eyes follow mine to the same location. Maia moves to go to our child, but I stop her with a motion of my hand, waving her back into her chair.

‘Let me bring him to you,’ I offer.

Young Anakin quiets as I draw near and he reaches up to my mask with one of his hands when I lift him out of the cradle. He knows my Force presence, just as he immediately recognized his mother’s. Maia holds out her arms and allows me to slide him into them. I am careful to keep my physical contact with her to the minimum. Time and patience, I remind myself. I must give those to her. I turn to go, to give her privacy, and to have my own meal, but her soft voice stops me.

‘Stay, please,’ she asks of me.

I hesitate, but don’t turn around.

‘Do you truly want me to do that?’ I seek confirmation.

A pause from her then, ‘Yes, I do.’

‘I will fetch my meal and return quickly,’ I reply.

The Jedi pest is waiting in the kitchen for me. I ignore him for a moment and gather up what I need.

‘She didn’t throw me out immediately,’ I tell him. ‘I suppose that is a good sign, in a way.’

Michael nods at me, but I can see worry in his eyes.

‘Go and challenge Luke to a duel,’ I suggest. ‘You can use the training ‘sabers stored in the salle. He could use a good workout against a Makashi master, too.’

‘I will, since you want me to,’ he agrees, pauses, and adds, ‘Be kind to her, Anakin. She loves you more than you know.’

His presence vanishes again, and I can sense Luke’s surprise immediately. Good. They can keep each other busy for a while.

***

When my husband comes back, he puts his preferred glass and jug of supplement down on the table and sits in the chair opposite mine. He quickly removes his helmet and sets it aside before filling his glass from the jug. I know he is being careful not to stare at me or make me feel uncomfortable. Someone needs me to move him so I shift my infant son to my other breast and smile at him. Last night’s events seem to have had little effect on him.

‘Anakin,’ I softly name him.

‘Yes?’ his father answers.

I pause, considering carefully what I should say. Pick a neutral, harmless topic and just talk to him, I finally decide. He has just given you one, too.

‘Having two Anakins around is going to result in confusion,’ I admit, ‘especially if the elder answers every time I speak to the younger.’

From his expression, my husband is thinking about that, but he takes a drink from his glass before he says anything.

‘I was called Ani as a child, Anakin when I was older,’ he reveals.

‘Little Ani,’ I call our son as I look down at him.

For some reason, the Sith Lord flinches at that, but he quickly covers up his reaction.

‘You don’t want me to use that,’ I shrewdly guess.

‘I haven’t heard that nickname in decades,’ he tells me, ‘and it was strange to hear it from you. If you want to call him that, do so, since it will reduce the confusion as you previously suggested.’

‘I think I will use Ani for him and Anakin for you,’ I decide. ‘That will be simplest.’

I stand up, take Ani over to his crib, and settle him in it. He’s yawning and not likely to stir too much once he is asleep again. Anakin doesn’t follow me. My husband is giving me all the space that he can rather than crowd me too closely. When I return to the table, I let out a sigh and look at what the Sith Lord has made me for lunch, which is all of my favourites.

‘Thank you,’ I tell him.

‘You’re welcome,’ he replies.

He moves his hand and lays it flat on the table beside his glass. I suspect he wanted to hold my hand in his, but thought twice about extending it towards me and decided not to risk a rejection. A sharp pang stabs me between my ribs as I realize that Anakin is afraid to do or say anything which I might misinterpret. I look over at him, but his eyes are focussed on his glass of supplement. We can’t have anything resembling a normal conversation if we continue like this. One of us needs to reach out to the other, and from how he is behaving, it will not be my husband who makes that effort.

I go to pick up my cup of tea then think better of it. My hand is shaking almost uncontrollably.

‘Maia?’ Anakin says my name.

I raise my hand to my mouth and stare at him. The only thing I can feel from him, the sole emotion he has sent to me since he found me, is a powerful, all-encompassing love. There is no blame, no judgement, and no anger towards me in him. Michael had once called Anakin’s love for me his only redeeming feature, and it was that which led him to destroy his master. Now, I will have to trust that and trust him.

I drop my hand and wrap my arms around myself. My entire body is shivering. Somehow I manage to stand up, with the intention of going over to the bed, but I don’t make it that far. Instead, I take a single step and then collapse.

Anakin’s arms catch me before I hit the floor.

‘I should call your brother,’ he tells me as he lifts me up and carries me over to the bed. ‘You are obviously ill and suffering from delayed shock.’

I hang onto his surcoat and refuse to let go of it when he sets me down, physically holding him close to me. The Sith Lord hesitates then sits beside me.

‘What is it?’ he asks.

I shake my head, not knowing how to answer him.

‘Do you want me to call Michael?’ he tries next.

I give another shake of my head in response. The Sith Lord lifts his hands to where mine are and tries to free himself from my grasp. That only makes me hang on tighter. My stubbornness and inability to express myself must be frustrating to him, but he gives no sign of that. Instead he lowers his hands and rests them on the bed to either side of me.

‘Maia,’ he softly calls to me. ‘What is it?’

I slowly look up into his face and meet his eyes with mine. All I see in him are love and concern. A tear falls down my cheek and drops onto his chest armour. His hands move as his arms enfold me and hold me tight. My fears that he might reject me have been soundly disproven.

‘Little love,’ he tries to soothe me. ‘I will stay or go if you ask me to. All you need to do is say what you want from me.’

‘Stay,’ I whisper to him. ‘Hold me.’

***

‘Stay, hold me,’ she asks of me in an unsteady voice.

I hold her close to my chest and gently rock her in my arms. Her confusion and uncertainty, and deep sense of fear that I might leave or reject her are screaming to me over our bond. All I can do is comfort her in return and wait, hoping she is eventually able to sort herself out.

‘I will stay, my love,’ I reassure her. ‘I will stay and hold you for as long as you want me to and I will never, ever leave you.’

DAY 16

It is late, very late, and of my family, only Maia and I are still awake. Liora is still adjusting to a day with more hours in it than on Hapes and retired early, Leia was exhausted by the end of the court audiences today, and Luke spent most of his time at my side. Everything on my public schedule has had to be rearranged to accommodate my Empress’ need to have me within a few minutes of reaching her, which has forced Leia to take on many of my ceremonial duties and Luke to act as my stand in during meetings.

I unhook my cloak and toss it over the back of my chair. After today’s stresses, I just want to relax a little before retreating to my meditation pod to sleep. I pour out a large amount of Corellian brandy, put the stopper back in the crystal decanter, and swirl the liquor around in my glass. As I swallow a mouthful, there is a heady and heated rush when the alcohol in it hits my system. I close my eyes and let myself enjoy that rather than using the Force to metabolize it quickly.

At the sound of a cup being lifted, I turn my head to watch my wife slowly sip on her evening dose of millaflower tea. Thankfully, only her brother, Chewbacca, and I know what really happened that night she was kidnapped, and Maia alone can tell the entire tale. Thus far, she has chosen not to and I will never press her for it.

I raise the glass of brandy to my lips and take another drink. Soon, we will both retire for the night, Maia to our bedroom and I to my meditation pod nearby, but I want to spend some time with my wife before that.

‘Shall we enjoy the evening air in the garden, my lady love?’ I suggest.

Will she choose to play along with me tonight or not?

I take another drink of brandy while waiting to hear her answer.

‘If my gallant knight is free and there is nothing for him to attend to,’ Maia agrees.

I accept her challenge, drain the last of the brandy, set down my empty glass, and go to her side. With a flourish, I bow to her, kneel beside where she is seated and take her hand, gently pressing my lips to the middle of her palm. Give her complete control, I remind myself, then see where she goes with it.

‘I am ever my lady’s to command,’ I offer. ‘Speak it and it will be done.’

Her warm fingers trail through my hair, cup my chin, and tip my face upwards. She knows this game we are playing because it has become her way to cope with our more intimate interactions. I smile at her and give her a mischievous wink. My wife laughs when I kiss her hand again, and leans over to set her lips on my forehead.

‘A walk in the garden would be most welcome, my brave lord,’ she teases me.

I rise to my feet and offer her my arm. Unlike a few days ago, there is no hesitation when she sets her hand on it and allows me to lead her outside. We walk at an ambling pace, taking the long gravel path next to the exterior shield wall, and stopping whenever she desires it. The gardeners and landscapers have been busy implementing my redesign of this space, and there are flowers blooming everywhere for her to examine and smell.

‘I owe my lady a waltz,’ I tell her once we are in the central paved patio.

Maia does not object when I take her hand in mine or when I slide an arm around her waist. She stays close to me as we trace the steps, dancing to an unseen, unheard orchestra. As I swirl her about, I sense her balance go, one foot of hers tripping the other, so I catch her, sweep her up into my arms and settle her securely against my chest.

‘Perhaps a rest, now, my lady,’ I suggest.

I set Maia down on the bench beside the fish pond and gently smooth back her short hair, which had become tangled during our dancing. She leans into my touch, so I bend over and kiss her forehead. It has taken three weeks for her to reach this point, to where I do not have to worry that she will flinch away from me, but tonight, she does something different. Her fingers brush my cheek and before I can pull back, her lips briefly contact mine.

‘Do you wish a kiss from me, my lady?’ I ask permission.

An almost bashful nod is her answer.

I sit down beside her and open my arms to her, letting her be the one to determine what she wants me to do. She happily curls up against my chest before her head tips up so she can look at me. Slowly, shyly, her mouth meets mine, and I wait for her to take the lead. Our kiss is short, chaste, the first we have shared in weeks, but it is a start.

‘Another one, my noble knight?’ she requests.

‘As my lady wishes, so shall it be,’ I reply, touching my lips to the back of her hand.

My wife has chosen to play the game of courtly love with me and we both know the rules. Everything I do must be at her request and I must acquiesce to her desires and wishes.

Her lips meet mine and open slightly. I respond in kind and allow her to take control. Our kiss quickly becomes a deep and passionate one and her fingers dig into the leather bodysuit covering my upper arms. Our lips part, Maia breaths in deeply, as do I when our eyes meet. What she wants from me is rather apparent. Beneath my codpiece, an erection starts to stir in response to our kiss and what I feel from her across our bond.  

‘Again, my lord?’ Maia invites me to kiss her a third time.

Our mouths make contact and she trembles in my arms. This kiss I quickly, reluctantly end because my comlink is chirping in the pattern used only for dire emergencies. I grab it from my belt and open the channel, expecting to hear a report of some calamity.

‘Hi Uncle Dee!’ a cheerful greeting echoes off the paving stones.

‘Wrenga Jixton,’ I snarl into the comlink. ‘I gave strict orders that I was not to be disturbed unless it was an emergency, and you are not that!’

My wife raises a hand to her mouth and starts to quietly laugh.

‘Uhm, I didn’t mean to interrupt you and Aunt Em,’ he tries to apologize. ‘Especially if you two were busy …’

That just makes her laugh louder.

‘Go away, Jix,’ I snap at him before he can say anything else, ‘and don’t bother me again, tonight!’

I turn off my comlink and toss it aside.

‘Now, where were we, my lady?’ I suggest as I lean in close.

‘My noble lord, I think we were here,’ she tells me before she grabs my surcoat with her fingers, tugs me closer, and kisses me again.

She slowly pulls me over with her until she is lying on the bench and I am above her, leaning on a hand to keep my weight off of her. I move my other hand to her hip and rest it there.

‘I want you, my gallant knight,’ Maia whispers into my ear.

‘Are you certain you are ready for this, my lady love?’ I ask her.

Her fingers give a light caress to my cheek and she nods in affirmation. I sit up, slide my arms under her, and lift her up. It is completely secure here and no one can see anything we do. My eyes survey our private garden, and when I spot a bed of fragrant white flowers, a wicked smile plays across my lips. That will be perfect.

‘My beloved lady,’ I whisper to her as I lay her down on it. ‘A bed of flowers for us, for tonight.’

The smell of the crushed flowers floats around us, a sweet and heady perfume that neither of us can avoid inhaling. I quickly kneel beside her, but don’t let her see my hands busily removing my codpiece and belt, opening my bodysuit in preparation, or tossing aside my gloves. For this, for tonight, I must follow her cues and directions.

‘Whatever my lady wishes, she has but to ask it of me,’ I offer.

‘Kiss me, my lord,’ she orders.

I lean over and do as she has commanded. We exchange kisses for many minutes, some chaste, some passionate, all starting and ending when she chooses them to.

‘I need you,’ she whispers to me.

‘You need me…’ I hint.

I feel uncertainty from her.

‘You need me to do something for you, but are afraid to ask me for it?’ I suggest.

She blushes and turns her face away. I slide my fingers down her leg, slip them under her gown and bring them up to her knee.

‘Do you need me to help you be ready for me?’ I ask.

‘Yes,’ Maia admits.

‘Fingers or mouth, or first one then the other,’ I give her the choices.

She touches my hand then my mouth and I have my answer. I don’t move for a moment, giving her the opportunity to change her mind. My first touch is to the inside of her knee, a gentle caress stroking downwards towards her ankle. Slow, go slow, I warn myself. It takes five minutes to move my fingers higher, to push the full skirt of her gown above her waist, and for her to let me actually look at her.

Other than a white mark from where she was ripped open, there is no visible damage on the outside. Within, I know that she is healed completely, yet has been left permanently and deeply scarred by what was done to her. I set my lips to the inside of her thigh and kiss her skin. This needs to be done with the utmost care and gentleness on my part. Maia shivers as I trace a path up her leg with kisses, stopping once I reach my goal. I part her with my fingers and kiss her there, sit back and wait.

‘Anakin?’ she calls to me.

‘Do you wish this, my lady?’ I seek her permission.

Hesitation and a slow inhalation on her part. Something I said has struck a nerve.

‘Shall I do this for you?’ I change my words but not their intention.

‘Yes,’ she gives her answer.

I set my mouth to its work. Her responses are slow at first, almost as if she is afraid to let herself relax and enjoy this. She reaches for me and I hold her hand in mine, squeezing it to reassure her when she is uncertain. My teeth lightly grab, nip then release, teasing my wife and prompting a girlish giggle from her. Another tactic, I decide. Tracing her contours with my tongue, I slide it inside and taste the sweetness within her. There is a roughness to her now and I quickly realize that what I am feeling with my tongue are her internal scars.

‘My lord,’ she softly moans to me. ‘Anakin.’

Progress, I note. Her body is relaxed at last and she is finally ready for me. I sit back again, rub the back of her hand with my thumb, and wait. Her eyes meet mine and there is a puzzled expression on her face.

‘You stopped?’ she states.

‘You must tell me what you want me to do, my lady,’ I remind her.

There is a flash of memory from her across our bond. Xizor behind her, above her, forcing himself into her, hurting her …. I don’t block it out and let it flow freely from her to me without reacting to any of it. She does not need to know what she has just accidentally shared with me. Never again from above and behind, I decide, and there must never be an element of force or duress.

‘You choose,’ I repeat my offer.

Maia uses my hand in hers to pull herself up. She kneels facing me, her eyes staring into mine. With a single finger, she pokes me in the chest. I let myself fall backwards at her touch, reversing our previous positions. She is now above me while I am the one on their back amongst the flowers. I watch her straddle my thighs and arrange her skirts so that nothing at all is visible below my chest box. Her hands are busy though, stroking me, preparing me, positioning me so that… I let out a startled gasp as she quickly, deliberately impales herself, taking all of me in all at once.

She has chosen to move far faster than I expected her to.

‘Maia,’ I say her name in a strangled voice.

‘Shh, my lord,’ she hushes me with a finger on my lips and then her mouth.

Her movements are slow, hesitant. She is still not sure if this is the right thing to do or not. I rest my hands on her hips to steady her, but make no attempt to influence what she is doing. The roughness from her scars being dragged slowly back and forth over me is almost unbearable, and holding back becomes my entire focus. Control, I remind my slightly drunk self, you need to control yourself for her. Then, what semblance of self-control I had is gone.

‘Hurry,’ I urge her onwards.

She moves faster which does not improve the situation at all. I am on the brink and she is nowhere near to it.

‘I can’t wait, my love,’ I warn her as I thrust hard upwards into her body, just before my orgasm begins.

She holds still at that and I feel our bond expand, her warm presence being engulfed and cradled by mine. Only after it ends, and she is curled up on my chest, softly crying, do I realize that she never had her own climax. I brush her hair with my fingers and silently berate myself for allowing that to happen. Somehow, some way, I should have held myself back until she was ready, too.

‘Let me see to you, my love,’ I suggest.

I hold her close and roll us over, so that I am above her with me still deeply inside of her. Slowly, gently, I thrust in and out of her, relearning how she feels inside and how to control my reactions to that. My wife is quiet while I do this, barely making a sound until I finally feel her body react around mine, and myself in turn responding to her. Her cries of enjoyment are soft but passionate, and this time our orgasms are mutual.

‘Anakin!’ she screams my name as she clings to me.

I hold her in my arms for a long time afterwards, stroking her face, her hair, and her body. Maia is silent, other than the odd contented murmur at my touches, and she makes no effort to encourage me to move.

‘Make love to me again, my lord,’ she eventually says to me.

I kiss her lightly on her lips and shake my head.

‘It’s late, my lady love,’ I remind her, ‘I am a bit drunk, and tomorrow will soon be here. If you truly want me to, I will, but do not expect too much of me.’

‘Then stay with me, please,’ she offers an invitation.

‘I will, little goddess, since you have asked it of me,’ I accept.

I sit up and look at the flattened flowers. The gardeners will not be impressed, but that does not matter to me. With a gesture I retrieve my belt, codpiece, and gloves, quickly replace them and stand up. Maia is still lying on her side, half-asleep, sexually satisfied, and content, her hair full of flowers and eyes closed. She looks sweet and innocent, and completely vulnerable. A surge of protectiveness fills me. I must ensure that she is always safe.

‘It’s alright,’ I quiet her as I lift her from the flowerbed. ‘It’s just me, your husband, Anakin.’

She barely stirs as I carry her across the garden into my quarters and then to our bedroom, leaving a trail of white flowers and petals behind us as they fall from her gown and my armour.

Tonight has ended in a way I certainly did not expect it to.

***

DAY 17

I wake to the sound of even, regulated breathing and my husband’s warm body securely snugged up against mine for the first time in weeks. Last night was no dream. I bite my lip and think back to what I allowed him to do. Kissing him led us to other things, some of which I wasn’t quite ready for yet. Within me is the dull ache of still tender scar tissue stretched unexpectedly. That, I know from experience, will settle down with time and as my body adjusts to Anakin making love to me again. It was much the same way after Mikal and the twins were born, too. I let out a sigh as I think of how he was unable to hold himself back, and how his climax came before mine. That has never happened before, and I suspect that his being drunk had something to do with it, but he was quick to make sure I experienced and shared mine with him right after that.

A tear slides down my cheek. He is being so careful and gentle in everything he does with me, asking me what to do, and respecting my choices, but letting let him touch me and trusting him to not hurt me has been hard, so very hard. Anakin loves you, I remind myself. All he has done for the past three weeks is look after you, and you know that he cannot do that indefinitely. There are too many pressing issues he has deferred to others or put off, and sooner or later, he will have to focus on those. Today, I need to tell him to go do what he needs to, or be brave and stay with him through some of the court functions. Leia should be given a break from that, too.

Anakin’s breathing breaks its usual slow sleeping pattern and I can sense him waking up.

‘My gallant knight,’ I whisper, checking to see if I am correct.

‘My lady love,’ he just as quietly answers me.

I roll over so I can look at him. Anakin props himself up with the arm he had under my head and smiles down at me. He doesn’t resist when I push him over with my hand, so I tuck myself in beside him, his arm behind my back holding me to him, one of mine draped over his waist with the other trapped between us, and rest my head on his shoulder. His skin is soon wet with my tears as I think about how much I need him to be near me and how hard it will be to have him away from me.

I am terrified at the thought of not having him close by to protect me.

My husband takes my hand in his, brings it to his mouth, and kisses it.

‘Scared?’ he asks me.

I nod in answer.

‘Tell me what you are afraid of, little goddess,’ he suggests. ‘Perhaps I can help.’

‘I need you to stay with me, to keep me safe,’ I admit.

Anakin is quiet while he considers how to respond to me. We have had this conversation many times before, and he has always been quick to reassure me that I am well protected and that he will always be nearby. Today, he shifts me slightly in his arms and kisses my forehead rather than give me the same answer right away.

‘I have been working on your security team,’ he finally tells me. ‘Its newest member arrived last night. You will be meeting her later today and she will become a constant companion for you. Whenever I must be away from you, she will stay at your side and keep you safe.’

‘What if I don’t like her?’ I decide to be stubborn. ‘What if I refuse to have her around?’

‘I think you will like her,’ he tells me. ‘Your backgrounds are similar, in some ways, and she is very good at what she does.’

I trace around his chest box with a finger. The Sith Lord needs to be doing things other than constantly worrying about me. Maybe this is an opportunity for me to let him do that and get used to him being away from me.

‘Will you stay with me for a while?’ I suggest.

‘If my lady love insists,’ he teases.

I pull myself closer and rest my cheek on his chest. Our day will begin soon, but I want to be held. Anakin picks up on my desires and tugs the blankets that had been kicked down the bed back over us. He is warm and I am comfortable. There is no need for me to move. His fingers lightly stroke my face, move lower, hesitate then touch my full, sore breasts.

‘You need to feed Ani,’ he notes.

‘He’s sound asleep and I don’t want to wake him,’ I admit.

‘I could help take the pressure off temporarily,’ my husband offers.

I freeze in place. He doesn’t know what Xizor did to you, I remind myself, and Anakin did this when you were nursing the twins. Maybe it’s time for me to create new memories with the Sith Lord to replace the ones I prefer to forget.

‘Yes, please,’ I accept.

‘Let’s shift you, then,’ Anakin tells me as he rolls me off his chest.

His mouth is soon on my right breast, kissing it before he latches on and lightly sucks, drawing a mouthful of milk from me. I run my fingers through his hair and hold his head firmly against me. Anakin quickly shifts to the left side and repeats his actions. My body shudders under him as he nurses from me but I force myself to stay where I am rather than push him away and bolt from the bed. Let him do this, I repeat to myself. Let him help you. He loves you and won’t ever hurt you. Anakin pulls himself free of my grasp and looks into my face, but instead of kissing me like I expect him to, he settles me back in his arms and runs his fingers through my hair to quiet me.

‘It’s alright,’ he softly whispers to me. ‘You are safe, my love.’

‘He…’ I manage to say only one word.

‘He did that to you?’ Anakin guesses.

I don’t need to answer. My tears tell him what he wants to know.

Anakin makes a low crooning noise in his throat then begins singing to me in Sith in his beautiful baritone voice. I feel him slide into my mind and I wonder what he is going to do, but don’t protest when I start to fall asleep again at his light mental touch. Whatever he is up to, his intentions are to help me.

***

I slowly retreat from Maia’s mind and hold her close. It’s taken almost an hour, but what I have managed to finish in that time should reduce some of her fears and panicked reactions. Because of her physical scars, I cannot completely erase what was done to her, but I can blunt it, blur it, and make it easier for her to live with.

Control yourself, Anakin, I remind myself as I think about what I found in her memories. She doesn’t need to feel your anger. Control yourself until you can go to the salle and take out your fury on some duelling ‘droids.

‘Sleep, my love,’ I whisper to her.

I settle her comfortably in the bed and kiss her cheek. Maia doesn’t stir at my touch. She will hopefully remain in that state until I must wake her.

See to your own morning routine, next, I prod myself into action. I grab my robe from the floor and take it with me, dropping it over the chair in front of the mirror once I am in the ‘fresher. My first stop is the toilet cubicle. I should have done this last night, but chose to wait and now I am paying for that with an overly full bladder. With a hiss, I force myself to relax and face the consequences of too much alcohol followed by a session of sex, but at least I don’t have a hangover. Next, I step into the shower, wash my hair, and let the hot water pour over my body. The heat feels good but there is still much to do. I turn the water off with a gesture.

Fortunately, I do not need to check all of my prosthetic interfaces today, but there are other areas requiring my attention. I open the side compartment and dig out the gauze and disinfectant. The control box leads detach at my touch and I quickly clean the skin around them before replacing them. My mouth tastes awful as I clean my teeth and rinse it out, and my reflection stares back at me in the mirror as I do this. I had considered omitting all of them from my quarters, but my wife requires one to help her apply her make up. Where I once would have shied away from looking, in the past month I have become used to seeing my pale and scarred face and body in it.

‘Anakin?’ Maia’s soft voice calls to me.

She has woken up before I expected her to. With a thought and a wave in the right direction, I open the tap and begin filling the large sunken bath for her. My wife will appreciate my preparing her morning soak.

‘Yes, love?’ I answer her.

‘I wondered where you were,’ she admits.

Maia won’t intrude on me if she knows I want privacy.

‘I just have to see to my skin,’ I reveal, ‘and then I can put my armour on.’

She joins me in the ‘fresher on hearing that, waves me into the chair, and retrieves a bottle.

‘Not that sweet smelling stuff you like to use,’ I warn her. ‘I had enough of crushed flowers last night and would rather not be trapped with smelling it on me all day.’

My protests are silenced with a kiss.

‘It’s your usual bottle,’ she tells me, ‘so stop fussing.’

I wrap an arm around her waist, ease her onto my lap, and hold her close. Maia doesn’t flinch or pull away. More positive progress, I note. This morning’s work of delicately adjusting her memories has been most successful.

‘Husband,’ she teases me. ‘You are in a mood.’

‘I just want to hold my wife, for a moment,’ I admit.

When I go to kiss her, she playfully dabs a drop of the moisturizer on my nose. I wait for her to finish coating my face with it then catch her hand and kiss her wrist before I allow her to escape. Her touch is firm and gentle as she works it into my back, and I don’t stop my contented sigh as she kneads it into my chest and shoulders.

‘I like it when you spoil me,’ I reveal.

‘You’ve spent plenty of time spoiling me,’ she replies in kind.

‘On the contrary, my love, I don’t spoil you enough,’ I tell her.

I take the bottle from her hand and set it aside on the counter.

‘I can see to the rest, and you should have your bath,’ I suggest.

‘I already let Ani nurse, and he is sleeping, again,’ she says to me as she lets her nightgown fall to the floor.

The water splashes up around her legs as she goes down the steps into the deep bath. I turn my attention back to myself. It’s important that I properly check my skin for contact sores, and that my scarred areas are kept in good condition. I see to my arms and legs while I keep an eye on Maia. She floats contentedly in the large tub, stretches, and washes her short, far too short in my opinion, hair before she pulls herself out of the water. That she is slightly sore after last night is obvious to me, but I don’t mention it to her. If it becomes a problem, and the usual bacta ointment is not enough to treat it, she will say something or ask for help.

‘Good morning, my gorgeous Jedi wife,’ I tease her.

‘Good morning,’ she begins, pauses, and then finishes, ‘my most handsome and noble Sith Lord of a husband.’

It sounds as if she plans to play the game with me.

I draw her damp body close to me.

‘Does my lady love desire a kiss from me?’ I ask.

Her answer is to give me a passionate one.

***

I try to do something with my hair this morning, but it is too short to twist it into any of the styles I prefer. Finally, I give up and just leave it loose. Leia trimmed it right above my shoulders so that it would be even rather than ragged and I will be stuck with this look for a while. It will take at least a year for it to grow long enough to make Anakin happy, and I want it to be back to the way it once was, too. Every time I see myself in the mirror, I have to stop myself from cringing at the memory of Xizor chopping it off.

I step back into the bedroom and smile at my husband. He is in his armour, save for his head coverings, and is busy playing with Ani. Despite being a Sith Lord, he has proven to be a surprisingly gentle and caring father. Our children all adore him, too, and I know that he will do whatever is needed to protect them.

‘Here,’ he offers our son to me. ‘He’s hungry again and I am not equipped to deal with that.’

I accept our son from him and sit down on the bed. My tunic is designed to be easily opened in front, so I give a tug on the closures and quickly set Ani to nursing from me.

My husband went over to the table while I saw to our son and poured out his breakfast. From there, he watches me feed Ani with a contemplative expression, but he soon comes back and sits beside us. His arms wrap around me from behind and hold me close, so I lean against him. When one of his hands settles on my stomach, I let out a sigh. Anakin is checking on our third son within me.

‘He’s fine and you are almost at the two month mark,’ he tells me. ‘Soon you will be starting to show physically.’

His lips kiss the nape of my neck. I turn my head a little, but don’t pull away from him.

‘We need to talk, Anakin,’ I decide to deal with something that has been bothering me.

‘About?’ he asks.

‘Ani’s future,’ I reveal. ‘You made a promise to me and you are going keep it.’

I give him a moment to think about that by taking Ani over to his cradle and softly singing him to sleep.

‘Maia, I …’ Anakin starts a protest then quickly shuts up at the look on my face.

‘You know exactly what I am talking about,’ I remind him as I walk back to him and stab him in the chest with my finger. ‘I don’t care what plans you are concocting or how you think you are going to find a way out of it, but you will keep any ideas about training another Sith well away from our children.’

‘He is far too strong to leave untrained,’ my husband states.

‘Then he will be trained as a Jedi, Anakin, not a Sith,’ I tell him how things will be. ‘This is not up for debate and if you try to sneak around me, you will find yourself wishing that you hadn’t.’

His mouth twitches and I know that he is trying very hard not to smile at me.

‘You are incredibly stubborn about certain things,’ he observes.

‘Anakin,’ I growl at him.

He grabs my hands and kisses the back of them.

‘Very well, my most stubborn wife,’ he concedes. ‘I swear to you that I will train all of my sons and daughters as Jedi, since that will keep you content.’

‘Good,’ I accept his promise.

***

I use her hands in mine to pull my wife down beside me on the bed. Seeing her stubborn streak roar back to life is a very good sign. She has been far too quiet of late, reticent and fearful, and I have missed arguing with her. Hopefully her return to normality will continue, but I will not push or rush her in this.

‘I have time scheduled in the salle this morning,’ I reveal to her. ‘Would you like to practice Niman patterns with me, for a few minutes?’

She looks over at Ani. Part of her reluctance to leave our quarters is connected to our son and her not wanting to be separated from him.

‘We can bring him with us,’ I suggest. ‘The Noghri will watch him for you and he is too small to go anywhere.’

Her eyes return to mine and she surprises me with a quick kiss to my mouth.

‘Yes, love,’ she accepts my invitation.

‘I will comm Luke and ask him to join us,’ I tell her, ‘and perhaps your brother might be of use, too.’

I return her quick kiss with one of my own and leave her in the bedroom to prepare. Luke is already awake when I comm him and I know that Michael will appear when I give him a telepathic prod. There is just one more thing I must do.

‘Jixton!’ I call into the comm. ‘Bring my newest employee to my quarters - immediately.’

I don’t give him any opportunity to answer or complain about my early morning comm call, and go back to my wife. She is wearing a set of her practical clothes, both lightsabers at her waist, and has dressed Ani in a new outfit.

‘I need to put my helmet on,’ I warn her, ‘so if you want another kiss, this will be your last chance until this evening.’

‘Did you really think I wouldn’t?’ she teases me.

‘No,’ I truthfully reply before I kiss her.

Ani distracts her, ending our kiss, and giving me the opportunity to put on my helmet and slip away, to go back to my office and do what I must.

Jixton comms his presence at the main door. I open it and wait for him to come in, dragging a rather reluctant dark haired woman along with him by her elbow. Her appearance has changed little since I last saw her, and she is wearing the same vest and goggles. Jix shoves her into a chair in my office and stands behind her, arms across his chest, and blocking her escape route. I close my office door to prevent anything we say from being overheard.

‘You owe me some overtime pay, Uncle Dee,’ Jix states. ‘It took me two weeks to trace her and another one to catch her and bring her back here. She’s pretty good at being hard to find.’

‘Wrenga Jixton, you should be grateful I haven’t killed you for last night’s comm call!’ I snap at him.

‘So I did interrupt you and Aunt Em,’ he smugly notes. ‘You should remember that the next time you bother me when I am with Red.’

I raise my hand in a warning.

The woman shifts uncomfortably in the chair.

‘Get out, Jix,’ I order, pointing at him and then the door. ‘Get out, now, before I forget how useful you can be!’

He doesn’t argue or make any more smart remarks.

‘Hi boss, Lord Vader, your highness,’ my soon to be newest employee greets me. ‘It’s been quite a while…’

‘Emperor Vader, Dr. Aphra,’ I cut her off and correct her, ‘although Lord Vader or my Lord are still acceptable forms of address. I require your unique skill set in a delicate situation.’

‘Two questions, first, before I agree to anything,’ she states.

‘Go ahead,’ I allow, curious to hear what she wants to know.

‘Did he really interrupt you and your wife when you were…’ I stop her impertinent question by grabbing her throat with my hand.

‘Yes, Aphra, he did, and if you ever do the same, you won’t live to regret it,’ I warn her.

She nods in agreement so I release her from my grasp. Once I step back, she rubs her neck and watches me with a wary expression on her face.

‘And your second question?’ I prod her.

She hesitates. It must be another prying one.

‘I’ll leave it for later,’ she decides.

‘Good,’ I tell her. ‘Do so.’

‘So, boss, what is it that you need me to do this time?’ Aphra brings us back to why she is here. ‘Do you want me to dig up some information, or find or steal something for you?’

‘Attendant and body guard duties,’ I state.

‘For you?’ she asks. ‘I wouldn’t think you would need me in those ways …’

‘No, for the Empress,’ I reveal, cutting her short.

She stares at me for a moment.

‘Really? You want me to do that? For her? Why?’ the questions pour out of her in a rush. ‘I thought you had something else in mind, like killing me, when you had that thug of an agent drag me here.’

I had forgotten how talkative she can be.

‘You are aware of the security test which took place three weeks ago?’ I ask her. ‘The staged abduction of the Empress?’

A nod.

‘It was no test,’ I reveal. ‘The Empress was kidnapped, held hostage, and badly beaten. I dismembered the perpetrator with my lightsaber before I executed him, and I will do the same to you, should you fail to protect her.’

‘Better your lightsaber than being thrown out an airlock, again,’ Aphra grumbles.

I ignore her complaint, take what I need from a storage compartment, and drop a stack of dark grey clothing in her lap.

‘You need to be properly attired as one of her senior handmaidens,’ I tell Aphra, ‘and you may have whichever weapons you prefer, but they must always be kept concealed and out of her sight unless the situation warrants it.’ I wave a warning finger in her face. ‘Under no circumstances are you to upset the Empress or our children. She is an empath, extremely sensitive, and we are permanently linked telepathically. If you cause her any distress I will know about it immediately.’

‘Hah!’ she exclaims. ‘Second question answered!’

‘Aphra,’ I growl a warning to her.

‘From how protective you are of her,’ she observes with some amusement, ‘the rumours must be true. You really do love her. I would never have thought that you, of all people, had a romantic side…’

‘That is irrelevant and none of your concern,’ I snap. ‘Cease your foolish attempts to provoke me, Aphra. I can and will permanently silence you if you prove to be more of a nuisance than an asset.’

My reaction gives her a moment’s pause.

‘Alright, boss. Is there anything else I need to know?’ she prompts me for more information.

‘The Empress was a well-respected academic on her home world,’ I admit. ‘Her areas of expertise overlap some of yours, but I know that in the intellectual arena she is by far your superior.’ I pause then continue, ‘She is also scrupulously honest. Don’t try any of your manipulative games or tricks on her, my son, or my other wives. That is another thing I will not tolerate from you.’

‘And my quarters?’ she moves to a practical topic.

‘Outside of mine, down the corridor from my son’s,’ I give her the details and hand her the electronic key. ‘All that you might require is in them. Each morning you will report here, to my private office, to be briefed by myself, Commander Esteen who is the senior-most of the Empress’ handmaidens, and Captain Thirsk, the head of my Royal Guards. You will stay with the Empress when I am not in her company, both in public and in private, unless I dismiss you for the day, or she requires complete privacy and asks you to wait outside of our bedroom. Your sole purpose is to ensure her safety, and you will be well paid to do that.’

‘Got it, boss,’ Aphra confirms my orders. ‘Look after your wife when you are too busy to do that yourself. I think I can manage that.’

‘Don’t be flippant,’ I warn her. ‘If you fail and she is harmed, I will kill you in the slowest, most painful way possible.’

My office door opens, revealing Maia holding Ani in the basket-like carrier she prefers to use when our children are infants. Aphra turns her head to see who has interrupted us, but says nothing.

>Beloved,< I address my wife in Sith.

>Husband,< she returns my greeting in the same language.

I extend my hand out towards her and she is quick to walk over to me and take it.

>Are you ready?< I ask.

A nod in answer.

This will be the first time she ventures outside of our quarters since she was kidnapped, and her nervousness is apparent to me.

>Are you afraid to leave our quarters?< I try to push her into being honest with me.

> A little,< she admits.

I brush her cheek with my fingers and draw her closer to me. Aphra starts to smirk, but quickly tries to hide it.

>Stay a moment,< I offer.

Maia sets Ani’s carrier down and slides her arms around my waist. I settle my wife in my embrace, her head resting on my chest armour, and slowly run my fingers through her hair to soothe her. The tension eases from her body, and I feel her slowly relax.

>Beloved,< I title her again. >You will always be safe in my arms.<

Aphra continues to stare at us. I let a smile appear but don’t allow my laughter to escape. She thinks she knows me better than she really does, so perhaps I ought to play my own game with the doctor and let her believe I have become a love struck fool.

‘Your new handmaiden has arrived,’ I tell my wife, switching back to Basic. ‘Her name is Chelli Aphra and she has been trained as an archaeologist. She will be joining us to observe our session in the salle and will stay with you through the day, so she can familiarize herself with the palace and begin learning her duties.’

My wife turns in my arms and looks at Aphra. The two women stare at each other, each measuring the other one in their own way.

‘Wait by the main door, my Empress,’ I suggest. ‘I will not be long.’

Maia is reluctant to leave my arms and glances back over her shoulder at me before the office door closes behind her and Ani.

‘She’s…’ Aphra starts.

‘She’s what?’ I prompt her to finish.

‘… sweet, gentle, obviously loves you, and is far more beautiful in person than in the holos,’ she completes her sentence. ‘She is not what I would expect you to choose for a wife.’

‘Fate chose her for me,’ I reveal.

Aphra’s expression becomes a thoughtful one.

‘Go to your quarters and change into the clothes I have given you. You have ten minutes to select the weapons you require from the arsenal and Jix will take you there. Once you have done that, you will wait for us in the corridor outside the salles,’ I order. ‘Your duties will start immediately.’

***

Anakin opens the door to the salle we usually practice in and our entourage enters. I am not comfortable having an audience for our workout and part of me wants to flee back to our quarters, but I need to become used to going out in public again. The Noghri follow me to one of the corners and help spread the blanket on the floor. I lift Ani from the carrier and set him down. He will know I am nearby and will probably fall asleep rather quickly.

‘Make sure he stays on the blanket,’ I remind his Noghri guardians. ‘If he starts to cry or fuss, I will come back to him.’

‘As you command, Mal'ary'ush,’ Kohvrekhar replies.

I stand up and look over at my husband. He is busy talking to that Aphra woman again. Luke and my brother have paired off and are busy running through one of the warm up sequences they prefer to use. Sooner or later, Anakin will join me, so I move as far away from everyone as I can and unclip my lightsabers from my belt. I haven’t practiced much in weeks and expect that I will be a bit out of shape. It’s better to warm up and work the stiffness out before the Sith Lord puts me through a more rigorous routine.

I turn on both of my ‘sabers, slip into the starting position, and begin the simplest Niman sequence Anakin has taught me. With my eyes closed I am able to ignore everyone and concentrate solely on what I am doing. A few minutes into it, I feel a lightsaber parry mine, followed by my parrying the attack from a second one. My husband has chosen to step in and join me in the midst of the drill. He gradually picks up speed, forcing me to do the same to keep up with him. As we complete the first sequence, he shifts us seamlessly into the next one. I open my eyes and smile at him, but I know his focus is on where our blades are rather than on me.

We dance, blade contacting and disengaging from blade, for almost ten minutes, until I start to tire. Anakin finishes with a flourish, acknowledging me with a proper salute, sweeping his lightsabers up in front of his mask then down to his sides.

‘Well done, my lady,’ he praises me.

‘It helps when your drill partner makes you look good, my lord,’ I tease him.

‘Then I should be thanking you,’ he replies in kind.

He shuts off his blades, takes both hilts in one hand and reaches over to me with his free one. I mirror his motions and slide my fingers across his palm. His grip is light when he pulls our hands, with their entwined fingers, up to rest over his heart.

‘My lady love,’ Anakin calls me.

‘My gallant lord,’ I answer him.

‘Are they always like that?’ I hear Aphra ask Luke.

‘Like what?’ he responds.

‘Hopelessly romantic,’ she tells him.

My stepson looks over at us and smiles.

‘Father is devoted to her and she loves him,’ he admits. ‘They play the game to amuse themselves.’

Anakin lets my hand go and slides his arm around my waist. He guides me over to where our audience is waiting. I know he must have heard what Luke and Aphra said, but he acts as if he didn’t.

‘You are still recovering from a concussion, so that is enough for you for one day,’ he decides. ‘I need to duel a few ‘droids. Luke can work with your brother while I do that.’

‘And me?’ I suggest.

‘You may stay here, come watch me, or return to our quarters,’ my husband gives me three options.

Be brave and don’t run back to our rooms to hide, I scold myself. Anakin will be with you, so you can do this.

‘I would like to watch you,’ I make my choice.

If my decision surprises him, he gives no sign of it. Instead, he waits for me to retrieve Ani and offers his arm to me before leading us out into the corridor and down the hall to the salle next to the one we were just in. Aphra and the Noghri trail after us.

***

Maia settles herself comfortably in the corner, in an area designated as out of bounds to my ‘droids and ‘safe.’ Ani is on her lap, and the Noghri and Aphra are surrounding her as guards. Her decision to come with me is not typical for her. She doesn’t trust my duelling ‘droids and rarely has been in the same room with them, so she must want to stay as near to me as she can.

I step into the center, activate two ‘droids, and settle into a low guard in anticipation. In here, I will let my rage flow, giving my fury a proper outlet, while keeping it well away from my bond with my wife. The first ‘droid moves closer. I shift slightly in response then react instantly as the second attacks. It takes little time to dispatch them and I am soon battling four ‘droids instead of two.

I let my need to destroy something burn through me for almost an hour. By the time I am finished, my anger has diminished from a raging inferno to a smouldering ember, leaving the salle littered with demolished ‘droids and their severed limbs. The door opens. Luke and Michael enter the salle, survey the mess, and look at one another. My brother-in-law leans over to check on his sister then straightens and crosses the floor to stand in front of me.

‘At the rate you have been going through ‘droids,’ he notes, ‘investing in the company which manufactures them for you should be quite profitable.’

I raise my ‘saber and aim it at his chest.

‘It is far better for the ‘droids to feel my anger than someone else,’ I admit.

He turns to look at Maia.

‘You can’t kill the dead, Anakin,’ he tells me. ‘All you can do is let them go.’

My grip on my ‘saber tightens.

‘Guard yourself, pest,’ I challenge him.

His eyes meet mine and he slowly shakes his head in refusal.

‘Not now, not today,’ Michael quietly declines me. ‘Don’t spoil her first day out by upsetting and worrying her.’

He’s right. I lower my lit blade and extinguish it. Instead of indulging myself, I need to encourage my wife to leave our private quarters, not drive her back into her self imposed exile.

‘Another day, then,’ I concede.

***

I dig my fingers into Anakin’s arm and do my best to ignore all the stares. This is my first public appearance in weeks and I know there will be all sorts of comments on my short hair. Lunch was with family, in private, but this afternoon my husband wanted me to go to with him to an audience with the governor of Lothal. My head turns as I look at Aphra. Her job, at the moment, is carrying Ani for me, but I do not entirely trust her. Luke and Leia have already had a fight with their father over her presence, so they must have had several bad experiences with Aphra in the past. Anakin chose to listen to their concerns and then told them that Aphra is his problem to worry about, not theirs. I don’t share his confidence in her at all and wish he had left my security team as it was.

My husband looks down at me and gives my hand a squeeze once we are on the dais. After I am seated, I settle Ani in his basket next to me. Aphra fades into the rest of the handmaidens behind me, but I know which one of them she is. Luke is trying to keep a serious expression on his face and is failing miserably. He knows why the governor is here. His new TIE Advanced has been delivered and my stepson can’t wait to try it out.

The doors open. I watch a woman in an Imperial officer’s uniform approach us and give a stiff bow. Her aides follow her a few steps behind. One of them has a large crate which is tipping him off balance, and the antics he is resorting to in order to avoid dropping it are quite entertaining. Eventually, he gives up and sets it down by his feet.

‘Emperor,’ the governor addresses Anakin as she drops to one knee.

Her four aides do the same.

‘Governor,’ he responds but does not give her permission to rise.

‘I have brought gifts,’ she offers. ‘The ship for your heir and,’ she motions the aide with the crate forward, ‘another for your Empress.’

The crate is picked up, carried to me, and set down at my feet. I look at the governor and her aide, and set my hand on top of it.  Upset hisses escape from the box when I brush my Force sense over it. Inside of it is a young and very frightened creature. Gently, carefully, I soothe whatever it is until I am certain it won’t try to flee. After a minute or so, I hear a quiet, almost cat-like meow.

‘Open it,’ I tell the aide.

He looks at Anakin for his approval, which is given with a wave of my husband’s hand. I watch the aide slowly remove the straps and lift the lid away from the crate. Once that is out of the way, I peer into it. Inside is a small creature that promptly looks up at me and jumps out of its box onto my lap.

It takes no time at all in making itself at home and settling in as if it has always been there. I stroke its short fur and scratch it behind its large ears.

‘How cute,’ I decide when it starts making an odd, obviously contented, purring noise.

Anakin is less than impressed.

‘A Loth-cat kitten,’ he identifies it, ‘a type of tooka. Those are best known for creating havoc at every opportunity and shedding fur everywhere.’

‘The solid black colour is actually extremely rare,’ the governor tries to placate him. ‘He should mature into a formidable guardian and is young enough to imprint on the Empress.’

I scratch the top of the kitten’s head. It lets out a cross between a meow and a squeak, and kneads its paws against my leg.

‘I think it already has,’ my husband wryly admits.

‘Jamie,’ I dub it, after my mischievous younger brother. ‘I am going to call you Jamie. I just hope you are better at staying out of trouble than he is.’

***

Two dark colored eyes stare at me from the end of the bed when I finally return to my quarters. My wife’s new pet lifts its head to look at me for a moment, before setting its chin back on its paws. It regards me with a combination of curiosity and wariness, slowly blinking at me as it watches me approach. Maia is sound asleep, on her side, but she stirs at my presence.

‘Sleep, my love,’ I soothe her with a touch to her cheek.

My strategy session with Michael, Luke, and Thrawn lasted far longer than I had planned, but there was much to discuss during our meeting. Soon, Thrawn will leave for his homeworld, on a delicate diplomatic mission to persuade the Chiss, his people, to form an alliance. His success is critical, if we are all to survive what will come.

I step into the robing room, strip off my armour, and wrap a robe around myself, my thoughts filled briefly with the events of the past few weeks. Rather than dwell on that, I force myself to consider what the next months will bring. Alliances must be made, ships comissioned, weapons manufactured, and troops trained, and time, never an ally of mine, will probably run out before I am ready.

Stealthily, quietly, I slip back into the bedroom. The Loth-cat kitten tracks my progress, but does not move from its spot when I fold back the blankets and slide into bed beside my wife. Hopefully it will keep to her side of the bed and well away from my feet, unlike this afternoon when it tried its best to trip me.

‘Stay there,’ I order it, not that the beast will do as I tell it to. ‘This is my side of the bed, not yours.’

It yawns at me and stretches out its front legs, making an impressive display of its teeth and claws, before it curls up in a ball and closes its eyes. The governor was correct. Once he is fully mature, at over a meter in size, ‘Jamie’ will most certainly be an intimidating creature.

‘Perhaps you will be of some use to me, after all, furball,’ I concede.

‘Anakin?’ Maia’s sleepy voice calls to me. ‘Are you talking to the cat again?’

‘Just making sure he knows who is in charge,’ I tease her.

‘He is,’ she quickly replies. ‘You should have figured that out by now.’

My wife tucks her head under my chin and quietly laughs at me. She is finding my reactions to her new pet highly entertaining.  I lean over to kiss her cheek, barely brushing her skin with my lips. There is no flinch or attempt to move away from me, so I ease my arm under her head and draw her close to my chest.

‘You should go back to sleep, my lady love,’ I tell her.

‘Good night, my gallant lord,’ she murmurs to me.

I watch her slip into a deeper sleep.

‘Good night, beloved,’ I whisper to her.

Part 10

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