Enjoying Death

[Stephanie Swail]

Asterion turned to stand sideways, maintaining the grip on the girl and feeling the tremor of violent Force rage streaming form her. The words left his mouth instantly before her eyes flashed and she did it - released an amplification of her anger in a burst of Force energy that kicked up the sand all around her in a spherical wave and blew it all around her.

It was enough to warrant her release, and Asterion twisted to cover his face from the burst as she dropped.

Push her...

"Oh well done, what was that? A tantrum? You know - " he stepped forward once and leant towards her, " - after I'm done with you I look forward to using all the information you've given me without even knowing it to find your whole pathetic family and wipe them out."

Then he moved to stand above her, holding his hands out, mimicking movements slow and precise.

"Gut those cowards you call brother and father. Strip the flesh from that boyfriend who demands so much of you and gives so little. And then - " he lowered his head and glared at her, " - see if your Mummy is as much of a whore as she seems to bear a runt like you."

His right boot pushed down in the sand to brace himself.

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

Coughing, she stumbled into the dirt. Breath. Air. Beautiful, filthy air. She adored it. Shakily, she raised her messy blond head to glare at the Sith. He mocked her, threatened her. That was fine. She could live with that. But Daddy. Graxin. She would not forgive him for insulting them. She wasn't going to let him hurt Owain. And mom-

She reached out, teeth grit. She had no weapon. Nothing. She was tired, dirty and injured. But she had the Force, even if she sometimes struggled with it. It was there. She could use it. She was watching his lightsaber. She wanted it. She wanted to hurt him, pull it towards her, cut him to bits. Pieces so small, he could never ever come back and hurt her again.
With every ounce of herself, she urged it to her open palm. Tear his lightsaber out of his hand. Use it. Kill him. Kill him!

"Shut...UP!"

[member="Asterion"]

 

[Stephanie Swail]

Asterion could swear he saw an air of darkness wrap itself around the girl, now on all fours in the sand like an animal; out for blood.

The tremor on his belt caught his attention. Looking down, the black hilt moved gently, and he flexed his hands gently at the assault to come. He had to be careful, for Felicity’s sake as much as his own.

And with her cry of anger, the hilt bolted away from him to her open palm, hitting her skin with a satisfying slap as her fingers gripped the weapon.

Asterion moved forward, pushing from the sand as soon as the weapon hit her palm, using the surprise she would have at actually calling the Force to do her bidding. He reached her and reached to grab her wrist, pulling it down and pushing the hilt against his temple.

”That’s it, kid – the Force is stronger in you than you could ever believe.”

Kneeling down in front of her, Asterion looked in her eyes and held her arm up, giving her more power than anyone else had been granted over him. Strangely enough, he trusted her to do the right thing and to determine his fate.

”Your anger and your emotion makes you powerful; makes you strong and fearless. Activate the blade and your journey ends here and you take my life with blood on your hands.”

He pushed her hand harder, mirroring the moment on Ession where he had her. How the tables had turned.

”Or give me a chance to shape you into someone your father would be proud of. Take your destiny by the hands and become a follower of the Sith with me. I will teach you, I’ll protect you and we can continue the fight your father never could against those who have you’re your family and prevented you from being all powerful.”

No Force persuasion; only the truth, and the belief that if his time was over, it was over unless he had something left to give the galaxy.


[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

Cold. The blade felt cold at once when it hit her palm. Her blue eyes went wide, her lips parted in a tiny gasp. She hadn't thought this far. What would she do now? Activate it? Jump at him? Wave it around until she hit something? He didn't give her much more time to decide before he had closed the distance, snatched up her tiny hand and pressed it to his own skull. She had a flashback to Ession, to the forest, but the roles were reversed. The girl felt her red cheeks go pale.
She had to just flip a switch, turn it on. Daddy would have done it. Daddy knew what survival meant. Then she could take the ship to the nearest neutral system and send out a distress call. She could do it. She had to do it. She had to. She-

Her grip went weak on the blade. Graxin. She had to remember Graxin. What he taught her. Graxin would not forgive her if she killed like this. He would be ashamed. He would never be able to even look at her the same, let alone teach her again. That was all she could think. She had to learn. Somehow.

"I... alright," she whispered as the hilt hit the sandy ground, "When I saw you in my vision, I admit, I never saw this."

[member="Asterion"]

 

[Stephanie Swail]

Time seemed to freeze as her mind whirled with emotions but her eyes never left his. And when they did, she broke the spell and dropped the hilt. Asterion wasn’t lying when he said there was a pang of relief as she did.

Letting go of her wrist, he stayed on her level.

”What vision do you speak of?”

He leant down and took the hilt in his hand, brushing the sand off and fixing it back to his side.

”Tell me what you saw and what you felt.”


[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

Regret. She could not help but feel regret, like she let her one chance slip through her fingers.
No. I couldn't. Not like this. Never like this...

She bit her lips, wrinkled the tip of her freckled nose. Explain her vision? She always struggled with her explanations. People were always so disappointed when she spoke of it. Like they all expected some deep, interesting prophecy. In reality...

"It's hard to explain," she answered slowly, shivering in her thin nightgown, "My visions are a bit foggy. I see flashes. Just pictures, really. Like a corrupted holorecording. Sometimes things are more detailed, most of the time it's just faces, places. When I dream, though, I can feel, taste, smell. I'm told... that's not normal."

She shrugged, crossing her arms in front of her, trying to warm herself.

"When I saw you, I just saw your face. I saw red light. I saw someone else too. I don't know who. I wasn't afraid, not really. I was... worried? I can't be more specific than that yet."

[member="Asterion"]

 

[Stephanie Swail]

Resting his arm on his knee, feet sinking into the warm sand, he noted the girl shivering now her defences were down. No adrenaline would warm her, and her thing nightgown wasn’t helping. Still, Asterion wasn’t here to make things easy. She would need to learn that she needed him rather than he needed her.

”It’s not normal, what you experience. Not to those who are afraid. People fear what they don’t understand, and no-one understands you. Except me.”

He gently tapped his temple with two fingers.

”Your aura brought me to you. I’ve been watching you for months – the way you are treated, how you are restrained and dictated what to do and how to do it. I thought it was about time you find your own way free from their restraints.”

The breeze was the only sound between them both, bar her broken shivers and breathing.

”I won’t live your life for you, but I can help you find out how you SHOULD live it. I want you to learn from me and be my student.”

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

Student. That was what he wanted? The girl blinked at her kidnapper. What would Mother do? She would probably play along. Same with Daddy. Celeste would agree happily, eager to learn something new. Owain would probably scoff and say something stupid.
And Felicity? Felicity was fairly decided now. She didn't have a choice in the matter. It was this or death, and her dying would do nobody any good.

"...Very well," she surrendered, "I'll do as you say."

After all, there were worse things he could be asking from her. It could always be worse.

[member="Asterion"]

 

[Stephanie Swail]

As Felicity mumbled her solemn response, devoid of any actual conviction or belief, Asterion snapped. He stood up quickly and grabbed hold of her nightgown by the neck, catching some of her blonde hair, and pulled her across the sands, regardless if she stumbled or was dragged.

”The offer I give you is NOT one I want to waste. There are thousands more who I could bend to my will, but I chose you!”

Reaching his ship, the Sith pulled her up effortlessly and this time went for her throat, clamping his hand around it, pushing her back against the cold steel.

”For the second time your emotions have given away your true feeling and you’re one step away from being killed.”

The dark eyes bore into the young girl – captor and captive.

”If you don’t believe what you have is worth building to become a Sith, I’ll break you in half right now and find someone who does.”

His brow furrowed as he restrained himself from beating her, eyes looking up at hers as she held his grip.


[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

It hurt. For the second time that day, she felt her vision go black for a moment as the back of her head hit the ship. She didn't bother to struggle against him this time. If he was going to kill her, he was going to kill her. No amount of struggling was going to help. But by the time she found it in her to open her eyes again, she met his steady gaze and did not look away.

I'll learn. I'll learn. I'll let you teach me... and then I'll kill you.

She couldn't say it out loud, of course. She was barely conscious of herself thinking it even. But she knew she didn't want to die. She would do whatever it took to stay alive, and learning from a Sith was not a bad bargain in exchange for her own life. She was starting to see the appeal in it, actually.

[member="Asterion"]

 

[Stephanie Swail]

Asterion let go of her and looked away, taking a deep breath. His aggression was…out of sorts. As he had been beaten and restrained during his training, was it really the best way to continue that with a girl he wanted to keep on side?

Placing his hands on his hips and looking up at the huge orbiting moon, he thought to himself about how to go about breaking her in.

He needed to go somewhere out of the open, for no doubt there would be others coming to the planet a Sith would be expected to flee to. He knew of one place…it would be a long shot, but he would try it.

”Get on the ship. Take your nightgown off.”

He turned back and walked straight past the girl and stepped up into his craft, mind racing with how best to take the next step.

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

His words didn't quite sink in for a good moment. She stared in shock for almost thirty seconds. Get on the ship and... Get on the ship and...

"What?"

That was stupid. She felt the word slip out before she could stop it. She heard him. She knew what he said. But she couldn't imagine herself actually following that order. She couldn't. She folded her arms in front of herself, shivering again, this time it was not the cold that bothered her.

[member="Asterion"]

 

[Stephanie Swail]

Stopping mid-stride hearing what he expected, Asterion sighed and turned back. For a young girl she had a large amount of venom inside her, alongside brains. Perfect.

Walking back down the steps into the sand, he reached out and grabbed her arm, once more dragging her up into the ship. Her resistance was greater, her voice laced with that curios panic. He got her into the loading bay and tossed her gently forward.

Reaching over to his right, Asterion pulled down a black robe from a unit that held 2 or 3. He threw it over to the girl. It was designed for comfort and warmth rather than mobility and battle.

”Get that thing off – it lets in more cold than it retains heat. This is thermal. It’ll keep you warm. We’re heading off planet. Get comfortable.”

Moving into the small cockpit, he exhaled as he took the controls in the pilot seat and input a series of coordinates from a place he knew all too well, and was fit for use to mould the girl in his footsteps.

[member="Felicity Mason"]

 

[Felicity Mason]

Her frantically pounding heart desperately banged against her rib cage as she mentally visited every awful thing that he could do to her. She didn't want this. She didn't. Owain wouldn't forgive her. Owain-

She stumbled forward into the ship again, whirling around to face him, argue, fight. But a black cloak was thrown into her arms before she could do any of that. Her frantic heart slowed as it sunk in. She took a deep breath, calm again as he strode past her, leaving her alone to change. He was right. It really was much warmer.

She turned away from the cockpit and did exactly as she was told, stripping away the thin, dirty white in favor of the think black. It didn't suit her, but it was comfortable and it was warm. She held it close, sunk to the floor, leaving her discarded nightgown where it fell... no. She picked it up and tossed it outside just before the hatch closed. Another clue. If her brother was tracking her, he would find it. He might even think the worst, but at least that would inspire him to hurry.
She was not stupid. She knew people always came to the absolute worst conclusion first. In this case, it was advantageous.


[member="Asterion"]