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Zaiya was going to fall asleep if this mor’orn kept talking. She glanced past the hologram to her Prince, sat at his desk with arms folded across his chest. He was being surprisingly patient today. Zaiya however, was not in such high spirits and cut across the blithering idiot that was talking. Something regarding a Tango-level station. She rolled her eyes and leaned forward, making the stuttering human look at her.
“If you require personnel to deal with your little problem, then just come out and ask.” she snapped, her patience running out.
“I… oh… well I need someone to come and–”
“Very well I shall be there by the next rotation,” she ignored the look of surprise, though she also noticed Maul’s attention snap to her out of the corner of her eye. “Anything else?” she remarked, hoping that Lord Maul would spit some scathing but amusing insult. Instead there was a strange silence that passed between them. Maul finally scowled and spoke after a strangely long pause.
“Have everything ready for our arrival,” he said sharply and disconnected the call.
“Our?” Zaiya asked, turning to face him. She wasn’t usually so blunt with him, though for some reason today she was lett patient and more irritable. She hadn’t yet figured out why. Perhaps it was the fact Lord Maul had been so distant with her lately, and had either Savage or Saxon following her around everywhere. She felt babied. What had she done so poorly that warranted babysitting?
“Yes,” Maul drawled, “our.” It left no room for argument and usually Zaiya new better, but for some reason, today was the day she acted a damn fool.
“I do not need to be monitored so consistently, sire,” she said with a look of contempt. Maul’s head slowly turned to face her, brow raised in mild surprise. It was not often she spoke like that. Rarer still that such a tone was directed at him.
“You disagree?” he asked slowly.
“Yes,” she replied vehemently, “I can do this on my own–”
“Perhaps, but I have decided–”
“What I do is not up to you,” she hissed without thinking, but tired of being treated like she was some sort of weak child! She fixed him with a glare and his eyes widened slightly before scowling back at her.
“As it happens, Lieutenant,” he growled, “it is up to me.” There was silence as the two zabraks glared daggers at each other. But then she felt it, the little flare of pain in the Force. Her comment had hurt him and she decided she didn’t want to argue this further. She was tired. With a sigh she averted her gaze. The silence remained.
“Together or not at all,” he said finally and there was a moment of calm. That… was strangely sweet of him. When she looked up, he was staring out the window, the red mists of Dathomir covering many of the rocky out crops below. It was almost as if he were pretending he had not spoken at all.A tiny smile crossed her tattooed lip.
“As you wish, sire,”
It was certainly not what she had expected. For an undercover mission, their identities were not exactly concealed. The dress she was to wear was very elegant, long sleeved and high neck but backless, several strings of thin golden beading draped down her back from the shoulders of the dress. Then there was Maul… Winged Goddess left tit, he looked incredible in a suit. The waistcoat was particularly eye-catching, it hugged his figure accentuating his waist and broad chest, while the coat that hung from his shoulders was finely made and gave him a clean cut silhouette. That’s not even mentioning the finely fitted trousers. He was so insistent on her wearing the dress, that she had begun to suspect he had procured the garment himself… What she could not understand was why she was not in any disguise. Her identity was clearly visible, her tattoos and her eye, as was his not-too-subtle and gorgeous face. He was keeping something from her, and her suspicions grew by the minute. Though she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.
Alighting from their ship, Maul seemed to be taking his role seriously, and was such a gentleman in offering her his arm. Zaiya’s mounting suspicions were almost an alarm at this point. He was acting so weird. She had to assume there was a good reason, as her Lord would not throw her headlong into trouble without one.
“If I didn’t know any better, I would think you were intent on showing me off,” she muttered as they approached the doors to the venue. She had been told it was a private party, the owner hosting something on this small station, it was almost like a hotel that flitted about from location to location. The description seemed somewhat familiar, perhaps she’d read about it?
The doors opened and the light was too bright for a moment, the interior of the room luxurious, but, well actually rather tasteful. The colours were those she herself would have picked. In fact. She was sure she had picked them. Hadn’t she done something similar for outfitting one of their own rooms on Dathomir? The light fittings, the finishes, the rugs… even the flooring! Then she saw the people, all as elegantly dressed as they were… and all of them looking in her direction..
“What the–” she managed before the entire crowd burst into cheers and applause. She knew their faces. All of the faces. Some of her soldiers, friends, brothers… Savage, Feral and Adaji looked particularly pleased. The younger of the three Nightbrothers almost bounded over, joined a second later by the Mandalorian, even he scrubbed up alright in a suit.
“What in the sith hells is this?” she manages, looking between them.
“Happy Birthday, Zaiya,” Feral beamed, and hugged her.
“Happy what?”she blinked.
“I told you!” Adaji nudged Feral gently in the shoulder, “she would forget if we didn’t drag her away!” He looked at the Nightsister, “don’t you remember? We made it the anniversary of when you came to us.” Her eyes narrowed, he was far too happy about this. She rounded on Maul, standing silently beside her like he didn’t have a lot to answer for.
“You lied to me,” she hissed.
“Did I?” he replied as though it were some insignificant detail. He took a glass of what she assumed was alcohol of some kind from a passing droid, offering her a glass then actually taking one for himself. Oh… it must be her birthday if Maul was drinking. He never drank. She stared for a few moments longer. She couldn’t believe they’d tricked her like this. She was usually so attune to–
“So that’s why you had Savage and Saxon tail me? Why you had me babysat, deliberately making me angry to cloud my perceptions so I wouldn’t be noticing signs of–” she waved a hand, “–this?”
“You are far too perceptive at times, Lieutenant,” Maul replied, but he wouldn’t look at her. She knew him well enough to know it was a sign she was right.
“It was Treshan’s idea,” Feral began, and Zaiya turned to look at him, the burrety zabrak looked so damn pleased she could not find it in her to dwell on her annoyance with his brother. Feral dropped his voice to a stage whisper. “But Maul jumped on it and turned it into–” he made the same gesture Zaiya had, indicating the room.
“Did he now…?”
“He was like a man possessed–”
“It seems my brother wishes to leave early,” Maul growled and Feral held up a hand, becoming silent instantly.
“Alright, alright…!” he blurted quickly. Adaji let out a chuckle and reached out to guide her, a hand to her back.
“Come on, come and see the presents!” He sounded like he was the one getting gifts with how giddy he was.
“Presents?” Zaiya gaped in disbelief, “For me?” She took a mouthful of her drink, she was going to need it, she was sure, letting Adaji lead her away. Suddenly she spun and pointed an accusatory finger at the former Sith. “I will find you later, I am still angry with you,” she huffed. Maul - infuriatingly - just smirked.
“I look forward to it,” he replied.