Chapter Text
Devon couldn’t sleep.
It wasn’t a surprise really. Every night was the same.
Every nightmare was the same.
The Empire.
Inquisitors.
A desperate attempt to escape.
A monster in the forest.
Lightsabers clashing all around.
Daki.
Lying on the floor. Lifeless and left to waste away.
The torture was almost unbearable, and it seemed never ending. Devon knew there was no hope of getting rid of the pain, as it was the only thing keeping her going. Now, she would train for a new purpose. She had something to fight for.
Maul was the only path forward.
There would be no going back.
She would devote to a damned path of revenge if it meant that no other innocent soul could fall victim to that heartless beast.
She had a duty to protect.
Rylee.
Devon opened her eyes softly, her face expressionless. With an aggressive tug of her mental force, she pulled herself out of meditation. She wasn’t going to find peace with this line of thought…not that she wanted to anyway.
She just wanted…Rylee. In some way.
But she couldn’t. She couldn’t come to him. She couldn’t look into his sorrowful eyes, having seen the light inside of the boy snuff out the moment he lost his father. Devon still didn’t know exactly what happened, but Rylee’s tears told the story.
His tears appeared in her dreams too. When she was alone, she let herself cry for it all. She sobbed for her master, for Lawson, and for the boy.
The boy.
Rylee.
He didn’t deserve any of this.
He had no future. Certainly not with his mother. He had expressed no desire to go back to her.
He expressed nothing at all. The silence of it was awful. For days, as they headed toward their destination, Rylee would quietly whimper in his corner of the ship. Other than that, no sound came from him. Devon didn’t know what to say to him…words didn’t seem enough.
Frustrated, she stood up from her sitting position on the floor and leaned back against the wall. She bottled her hands into fists, feeling her nails cut into her skin. It wouldn’t be enough to distract her. Her thoughts would needlessly repeat over and over again, and she was helpless against them.
Devon didn’t like being helpless.
Talk to him.
She shook her head, pushing off against the wall. The ship rocked slightly as she approached the door, exiting her room. The hallway was small and coated an ugly bronze, with a few faded scratches. It was empty, and Devon took a left towards the back of the ship. She knew he’d be there, no doubt avoiding his droid friend.
She passed a couple other rooms…she could sense which one Maul was in, and that he was very much still awake. She tried to ignore his presence as she walked by and stopped at the cargo hold door. Pressing the unlock button, it slid open, revealing multiple crates of cargo.
With a sigh, she went inside and scanned the room. It was hard to see past everything, as well as find a walkway. It was much louder back here, as it was closer to the engines. The walls creaked and the crates would shake softly.
As Devon looked around, she was about ready to give up when she heard a slight scratch of movement from her right. She was listening to every independent sound, trying to latch onto his breathing. Sure enough, as the noise grew a little louder, like the scratch of boots on the ground, his breath became more evident. Closing her eyes, Devon locked onto his presence. She pushed aside a couple of boxes in front of her to make a straighter path, only momentarily hesitating, thinking she might startle him.
He already knows I’m here. He’s waiting.
As she moved crates and fuel canisters aside, she found the boy.
He was sitting on the ground, holding his knees to his chest, looking down. All the cargo was completely crowding him, as if he found the spot and then surrounded himself to stay hidden.
He didn’t look up at her, but his breathing stuttered. Devon froze in place, emotions of all kinds slamming into her.
Empathy, fear, depression…
She could feel it from herself as well as him.
Without a word, Devon sat crisscross right in front of Rylee. He shifted at the movement, releasing his knees and raising his head slowly.
Nothing could prepare the girl for what she’d see.
The boy’s eyes were puffy and red, with dark circles looming on his skin underneath. His face was dirty and wet from leftover tears. His lips were quivering, as he forced himself to meet her eyes. In that moment, Devon could see the full extent of his suffering.
He was so afraid…and so lost. There was no peace in sleeping. Hiding himself here was all he could bear. He was amongst strangers, in an unfamiliar galaxy. He didn’t want to be seen.
He wanted to suffer alone.
Until…he saw her.
And she saw him too.
“Rylee,” Devon whispered, her voice cracking. “I’m…sorry. So sorry.”
That was the breaking point. Rylee slid his boots down to the side, exhaling somberly, and threw himself into Devon’s arms and lap. His hands came up to grip her upper back. The Twi’lek wrapped her arms around his back, grasping his jacket tightly. Rylee buried his face into her shoulder, sniffling loudly as new tears fogged up his eyes. Devon was crying too, silently, as she could only focus on her sympathy for the poor boy.
Nothing else mattered in that moment. She just wanted to hold him, and be the support he needed. It was so hard though…because she didn’t have her own shoulder to cry on. It felt selfish, and she chastised herself for giving in so deeply to sorrow. Her emotions made everything hurt a thousand times more. It was a lot to feel, all at once, which led her to holding onto anger most of all.
But she was just so sad…and at the time it felt like she would never recover.
“I’m-I’m sorry too.”
Devon blinked rapidly, tears still flowing. She looked down at Rylee, whose face was still concealed in her shoulder. Slowly, he pulled his head back, and she loosened her grip. His face came up inches away from hers, and he looked straight into her eyes with an expression of pure openness.
“You’re not alone…Devon.” He said softly. “You’re not alone.”
Devon’s eyebrows furrowed, and she lifted her hands to cup the boy’s face. The instant reciprocation of sympathy put her at a loss for words, but she managed a nod. Tugging him even closer, she pressed their foreheads together and closed her eyes with a shaky exhale.
They stayed there for a while in silence, embracing the comfort of each other.
It was then that Devon realized it.
The nightmares. The torment. The regret.
She wasn’t alone in all this.
She had Rylee.
And nothing would ever hurt him again.