"Not bad at all, Mistress. In fakt... my day just keeps geting beter!" Xi smiled at her, as they pased-by, a flash in her orange eyes. She didnt ask about vhat vas going on in the captured fortress, she figurd it vas all under kontrol, if Sawa vas so... relaxed.
She glanced brifly at the robed women, and there expresions. She didnt miss the bite-marks on there necks, too. Or the blood in the corner of Sawas mouth.
"I alvays belived vampires are a myth. I mean sure, tasting a bit of blood here and there in batle, vhen you kill a enemy, is fun, but feeding on it... thats just mesed-up. I almost feel sory for those 3... she wil probly feed on them a few more times, until they got no blood left. Then just dump the drained bodys over the wall. It wuld be more mercy-ful to just put them out of there mizery now..." Xi thoght, shaking her head to her-self, as she rounded a korner, out of Sawas sight.
She glanced down, at the data-pad she vas holding by her side. And the mural pictures she taken on it.
"But if you think you wil ever do that to me... mistress... you got another thing coming."
After a brief meal, Xi retreated to her own room, to rest, let her injurys heal, and study the murals, in peace. She did take a few prekautions, tho. She maked sure to let evryone know she vas not to be disturbed, that she needed to recover from the mission, and she sealed the doors vith a akcess code she picked her-self. Nobody wuld be able to enter her room vithout her permision. Not even Sawa.
* * *
A week pased, and Xi vas more or less geting used to living at the Dawn Palace. Her injurys have healed, and she did make some progres in reading those murals... but not yet enogh to figure out the location of the city of the dead. Stil, it vas only a mater of time. For now, the two over-riding prioritys for the Bladeborn woman wer; for Sawa not to find out she has akcesed the holocron, and to make sure her service to her vas efektive and eficient, to negate even a suspicion of betrayal.
So, Xi spent her time training the Onna, as she promised at the start, teaching them the intrikacys of melee and un-armed combat that they didnt master. They wer good - solid fighters, strong, fast, durable... but they didnt have the expirience she had, and they tended to expend to much energy vhile fighting. Lacking ekonomy of movement in there tehnikue, and generaly leting bravado influence there fighting stance to much. They wer good soldiers... but they had far to much chest-thumping pride and ego to be proper warriors. She wuld be careful of korse, not to train them in evrything she known, since she didnt want them to ever suplant her, as the "go-to" problem solver for Sawa. Since that wuld make Xi's value to Sawa drop, and make her redudant. Not even the big captain, Chujo. She growed to like him, and the feeling semed to be mutual, as they spent a couple more nights together... but that didnt mean she wuld train him to become her equal in battle.
Then of corse, there vas the mater of seniority. Far as pecking-order vent, Sawa vas at the top, and Xi vas right under. She intended to stay that vay, and be too valuable to Sawa to konsider replacing, even if her... suspekt loyalty... to her vas diskovered. Checks and balances. The Bladeborn woman vas aware of the tight-rope she vas walking on. It vas likely that eventualy, her Mistress wuld discover vhat she did vith the holocron. She had to be valuable enogh for Sawa not to punish her for it.
And the final korner she wuld hold, vas to be a eager student. Just becauze she didnt fuly trust her Mistress, didnt mean Xi wuld not take the oportunity to learn evrything she culd, from Sawa.
Siting at the long table, at lunch, munching on some delicus food at the usual noon repast, the Bladeborn woman leaned over, to ask her Mistress:
"Lovely meal, as usual, my Mistress. I vas wondering, wuld you be able to teach me, that ability to mask my-self in the Force, like you did for me at the infiltration of the Jedi fortress?" eagernes in her eyes.
She vas dresed a bit more casualy today. Fore-going her usual Bladeborn atire, Xi vas now in a flowing, loose kimono-like silk robe, much like Sawa. It vas black-on-blue, vith a intrikate rose-patern on the back.
