Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

[Darth Carnifex]

There was hardly any indication that preceded the sudden, intense burst of movement that erupted from the Sith Lord as he proceeded to whirl on the balls of his feet to face [member="Calina Ovmar"] as she was neared the threshold of the chamber. His hand shot out like a spear with his palm facing towards him and his knuckles careening towards Calina's head to collide with whatever side that was immediately facing him, but despite its landing the blow carried enough force to send her sprawling and cause blots of light to scar her vision. All throughout his face remained passive, the only indication of the sudden rage being the slight downward angle of his mouth and the fire in his pupils.

"Insolent child, you are as unruly as that vixen you called a master. I will no longer tolerate this, so say one more word out of line again and I really will cut out your tongue. My patience already wears thin with you."

Callously he exited the chamber, not even sparing Calina a second glance after her rather violent scolding, and proceeded to move further down the hall. The two guards that had been stationed outside to guard the door would make sure that she followed him with hands only minutely less cruel than those of their master. The chambers beyond were all barred and locked except for a pair of iron doors that led to a very plain, spartan courtyard ringed by high walls and spiked parapets where guards could be seen doing their routine patrols. The idyllic Panathan sky was marked by distant storm clouds that brought with them a chill wind that swept across the already cool marble to caresses the Sith Lord and his newest protégé like a forlorn lover.

"I want to see how much you already know, little shrew. Arm her."

The nearest guard would unstrap the vibrosword from his hip, and would hand it over to Calina scabbard and all. Vornskr, however; would remain unarmed as he cast off his cloak and disengaged the cuirass that clung to the standard black tunic covering his muscular torso. Despite the removal of armor and cloak alike he seemed all the more imposing as the details of the body hidden beneath the fabric became more acute.

"Draw upon your hate and show me what it is worth."

 

[Mia Monroe]

Stars exploded across Calina's vision, as head head snapped sidewards with the force of his punch landing her on her back. She drew in a gasp of pain, blinking hard to try and shake the bright spots from her vision. She stay where she was, unmoving and submissive as Vornskr's scalding ignited a fresh anger within her. Anaya had struck her many times for such slips of her tongue, but never were her words filled with the venom that poured from his mouth. She'd always catch the hint of a smile, a touch of approval and now she understood why.

Because Anaya saw herself in Calina, because Calina showed so many signs of becoming more like her and less like her father. She hated her for it, she hated anaya for approving of such behaviour. She didn't want to be like either of them, she would be free of them both of them one way or another. She sat up wordlessly as her new master swept past her, clambering to her feet and following in sullen silence. If Kaine Zambrano was half the Sith her mother made him out to be, the Calina had a great deal to learn from him. She would hold her tongue, as much as she could, and she would learn because there were very few people in this galaxy that Anaya had high views of. She offered no protest to the rough hands that pushed her sharply into the centre of the courtyard.

She stumbled, only slightly and lifted her gaze to the walls, she counted the guards...eight...perhaps ten. Too many, and certainly not worth the pain that would follow if she ven tried. She dropped her eyes back to the Lord before her, seizing the weapon offered to her. It was unfamiliar, even as she slid the vibrosword free of the scabbard it felt alien. Heavier than the lightsaber she was used to fighting with, still she twisted it in her grip, slowly at first, moving through steps her mother had taught her the moment she was old enough to walk. Immersing herself in the force, drawing upon her anger and her hate she recalled a friend. A dear friend whom she'd never been able to speak to. Taun Wa, her true parent, beheaded simply for his knowledge. She closed her eyes and recalled the horror that stuck on his features as his head rolled to her feet. Her steps got faster and she came to a sudden halt before Vornskr. Fire danced in her eyes and she darted forward, closing the gap between them, bringing the sword in for a low strike, aiming to bring him to his knees.

[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

He could feel it, the anger welling in the young woman who stood before her with closed eyes and clenched fists. He could also feel his own rage fester within his gut, one built from decades of resentment and fanned by the flames of conflict. It was a wellspring of dark waters that he could call upon at any given moment, a spear that he could thrust into the breast of his enemy; bringing death to countless worlds.

Now he called upon it again, as the Dark Side coursed through his like a turbulent river he could feel the paradoxical fiery warmth and frigid chill spread out from his torso and through his limbs. It manifested visibly as wreaths of crimson fog that coiled around each of his arms like great and mighty serpents that gradually seeped into his flesh. Eventually his skin would turn molted and a dark gray, taking on the consistency of stone.

It was then that he punched downward with speed unbecoming of his impressive form to batter into [member="Calina Ovmar"]'s strike, and despite the excellent cutting ability of the vibro-blade it was unable to cause anything more than a nick in the alchemized stone-flesh. "You can do better than that, little shrew. Anaya Fen is a ferocious combatant, did she teach you anything?" He immediately followed up that quip with a Force Push directed at Calina's stomach, aiming to shove her back without completely flinging her into the far opposite wall. "I want you to try and kill me. I won't accept anything less than a lethal strike."

 

[Mia Monroe]

The force push was a powerful punch to her stomach sending her back several paces as she fought to maintain control of the bile that threaten to escape her mouth. It was true, Anay Fen had taught her far better, but Calina had never killed anyone, in fact the only person she'd ever dreamt of killing was her own mother. That was the way of things, an apprentice killed her Master and became the master. That was the way it should be. Two sith, at any one time. Not thousands of them. Chaos was everything to Anaya, but to Calina it was a mess. Something that should be controlled in order to ensure survival.

By that reckoning, Kaine needed to die. Her anger was fuelled by the desire to undo everything Anaya had set out to do. That and the pet name, 'little shrew' was beginning to irritate her. She reached out in the force, and attempted to yank Kaine's legs towards her and place him on his backside, bring him lower than her and making a decapitating swing far easier.

[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

He could feel her anger swelling again, stemming from the almost humiliating attitude that Vornskr was showcasing as he easily cast her back and continued to treat her like a child rather than a blossoming Sith. She had potential, yes, but in Vornskr's eyes she was unrefined and sloppy. Then again he reckoned that was the reason why Anaya had haggled her off to him in the first place so that he could sharpen her into a weapon of the Dark Side. He also sensed some lingering resentment for Anaya fluttering at the peripheral of her mind, although surprisingly impressive mental barriers shielded him off from her innermost thoughts and could not be broken down with anything less than a full mental assault.

At least she could recover quickly, and could immediately recognize both the strengths and weaknesses of Vornskr's monolithic frame and aimed to knock his legs out from under him to leave him lying on his back like a kicked over turtle. Normally he'd be able to easily swipe aside such an overt strike against his person, but he was feeling particularly punishing this day and so allowed himself to be knocked down in this manner. As Calina approved to deliver her strike, aimed at his head to try and land a decapitation blow, he swiftly swung his legs out in an arc to intercept her approach vector and hopefully sweep her legs to the side.

He followed through with his momentum to momentarily spin on the ground before righting himself with a flourish of his body so that he was resting on his haunches, both hands resting on his knees. "What a clever little shrew! Maybe Anaya taught you something after all, but did she teach you how to cope with dying?" He thrust out his right hand to form his fingers into the shape of a gun with his index and middle finger as the barrel and his thumb as the hammer, and then with a rather coy smile he depressed the hammer as if firing and out from the tips of his two extended fingers erupted forth a single concentrated bolt of lightning that arced through the air towards wherever Calina was.

[member="Calina Ovmar"]​

 

[Mia Monroe]

Calina knew he had gone down too easily, there was little triumph in bringing him to the ground, but her anger got the better of her logic. It burned in her chest, blinding logic and self preservation. Kaine's legs caught her hard, the courtyard floor rushed to greet her and she threw out her arms, the blade clatter against the floor as she prevented an unwanted collision of face and floor.

She scowled at him, as that awful pet name slid from between his lips again, getting back to her feet and leaving him poised on his haunches. As she dusted herself of, she felt a change in the air, a shift that made her hairs stand on end. She had a split second to act as the lightening leapt from Kaine's fingers, with only a vibro-sword for defence she brought it up to meet the lightening. A foolish move really, born from being so used to working with a lightsaber capable of capturing and deflecting lightening.

She watched it in slow motion, eyes followed the red electricity as it moved through and over the blade in her hand like it was nothing and connected with her skin. Every muscle in her body convulsed, the blade slipped from her fingers. She landed hard on her knees, unable to scream, the pain closing about her chest. Somewhere in the back of her mind she could hear Anaya cooing softly, almost see the smirk on her face. This wasn't the first time she'd felt this pain, she recalled her lesson, remembered the words that Anaya spoke as she tortured her own daughter. What are you going to do about it, hmmmm?

The vibro-sword that rested on the ground between them twitched, focus through the pain was difficult, but all she had to do was distract him. I am Calina Ovmar, I will not be a toy. I will not lose.

Her hand twitched, flicking the sword with the force and sending it spinning towards Kaine.

[member="Darth Vornskr"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Stray discharges of crimson lightning continued to spasm wildly through the ozone-enriched air between master and apprentice, crackling and hissing like the grievances of a mighty serpent. Dark eyes watched [member="Calina Ovmar"] writhe in agony as the unnatural energy coursed through her body, singeing her flesh and setting her nerves alight with pain. Along with that pain came forth a righteous indignation that bubbled up from somewhere deep inside Calina that provoked Kaine to smirk darkly, her resolve was more formidable than he was led to believe if she could conjure up such feelings even as her body had been cooked by his power. A subtle echo in the Force alerted him to the blade that had tumbled from Calina's grip to bounce across the floor, which now vibrated as the young girl sought to exert her control on it and send it hurtling directly at the Sith Lord.

It got within foot of Kaine's person before it froze in midair, seized by an invisible hand that stopped the blade dead in its tracks. "An amusing attempt." Kaine flexed the fingers of his right hand, and the blade crumbled up into a ball before letting it fall down to the ground with a dull thud. "You have potential, that much is obvious. Your hatred gives you strength, and it gives you focus... We'll have to harness that, but for now I think I have seen all I need to see."

 

[Mia Monroe]

The lighteneing ceased and Calina lay where she'd fallen, breathing heavily. She fixed her eyes on the sky above them, pain lanced through her whole body and did her best to slow her breathing, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. She was certain her skin was smoking slightly. With great effort she sat up, crying out in agony as she did. Anaya was a cruel teacher, but her cruelty was born out of love and of a desire to see Calina do well.

Kaine on the other hand, his cruelty was born out of hatred. He had no love for Calina, and certainly none for Anaya. This was a necessity, an inconvenience he was required to endure for whatever deal he struck with Anaya. She reached up to her face, brushing away her tears before looking at him. She felt like a five year old child trying to prove that falling over and scraping her knee didn't hurt. She wanted so badly to cry out, to seek comfort, but she would find none here. Her lip trembled.

"So what now?" she said finally, voice wavering "You throw me back in my cell till you next feel the need to torture me?" As she spoke, her tone became more venomous, finding comfort in her hatred, her tears slowed.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Perhaps" he teased, "But if you unsatisfied with your current accommodations I can always find something even more inhospitable." No doubt compared to the levels upon levels of barbaric cells that wound beneath the great castle like the putrid roots of a diseased tree the room [member="Calina Ovmar"] was forced to occupy was a paradise. It wasn't above Kaine to commit Calina to the same depravity and torture he inflicted on the Jedi he had managed to capture over the many years of war between the Sith and the Jedi, but then again by doing so he could incur [member="Anaya Fen"]'s wrath, something that by now he wasn't all too worried by but still such conflicts served nothing other than to widen rifts in an already tenuous partnership. "So if I were you I would learn to bite your tongue, and accept the fact that your master left you in my charge. Until you are ready to be given back to Anaya I will break you and rebuild you as many times as it takes until you are strong enough."

Strong enough for what? He didn't say, but no doubt it was for whatever Anaya had in mind with her apprentice after he was done putting her through the blender. Ultimately it didn't matter to Kaine, he didn't consider Anaya or her entourage to be any threat to him, they were far too preoccupied with their own personal gains to interfere with his grand designs for the galaxy.

In the end they would burn as well.

 

[Mia Monroe]

Calina's jaw tightened and she met his gaze with one that burned with anger. Had she had the energy, she might have launched another attack at him, as it was the mere idea of getting to her feet made her legs tremble.

"I will not break." She whispered. "I can promise you that I will bend, I will play your games but I will never break."

He had skills she required, this was a necessary evil, but there was no way she would let herself be broken by a foul smelling schutta like him.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"We shall see." He chuckled and turned, preparing to make his exit as the guardsmen who had accompanied them outside moved to holster [member="Calina Ovmar"] up by the arms and either help her walk back to her chambers or forcefully drag her across the ground back. That decision was left up to Calina on whether or not she was willing to cooperate with the brutish goons that so often left bruises on her otherwise unblemished skin from their manhandling of her as if she was an object to be moved from one place to another with no heed to her comfort or discomfort.

However; before Kaine left Calina in the care of his brutes, he made one last statement to her in a voice underlined with hungering malice: "Remember, Calina, everything has a breaking point, and it will only be a matter of time before I discover yours. And no matter how much you struggle and squirm, I will break you in the end."

 

[Mia Monroe]

Calina let out a low hiss of pain as the guards seized her arms, hoisting her up from the floor. Her whole body ached, but she would not be reduced to this. She scrambled to get her feet up from under her and struggled meekly against their grip. It only served to tighten it. She winced as armoured fingers made new marks on her near perfect skin. She glared at his retreating back, not hiding her hatred when he turned to speak again.

She had nothing to say to him, nothing that would serve purpose. She let them half guide, half drag her away from the courtyard, following the route in which they had come. What could he possibly do to break her? She loved no one, such gifts had already been stolen from her. So what? He would make her suffer in ways she couldn't imagine? She sucked in a deep breath and made herself relax as she exhaled. What didn't kill her, would only serve to make her stronger, and she needed all the strength she could get to survive all that was to come.

***

She slipped out of consciousness somewhere between the courtyard and her cell, and woke to find herself face down on the hard floor. She groaned, and rolled onto her back, the cool floor offered no comfort to the pain that ransacked her body. She closed her eyes, squeezing them tight against the swell of emotion in her chest. She reached out in the force, looking for the familiar mind that had landed her in this mess in the first place.

Where are you now, father? Now when I need you most.

[member="Jared Ovmar"] [member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Calina Ovmar"]
--

No answer came to her immediately. For a while it seemed like she was truly and utterly alone in the dingy cell beneath the greater complex of Vain Hollow, but then a presence started seeping into her immediate surroundings. It was unfocused, like a tightly-spun fabric stretched out past its limitations while continuing to stretch further. But it came, eventually, like the trickle of a river dammed but not completely blocked yet.

Right... here. It was a whisper gathered and released after the eerie sigh escaped. I see your mother has put you in quite the situation again.

 

[Mia Monroe]

She had almost given up hope, almost slipped into the dark place in her mind in order to find her own comfort, when he finally reached her. She clasped a hand over her mouth to stifle the sob of relief. She forced herself onto her knees, unable to stand and crawled to the bed. It wasn't much more comfortable, but it was a touch warmer. She closed her eyes again, letting the tears escape the corners of her eyes silently. She'd be damned if was going to let the guards know her pain.


This is your fault. The words were full of venom, a teenage lash out in pain and fear. A desire to pin the blame on someone other than herself. She regretted it after a moment.

I cannot escape this, can I?

[member="Jared Ovmar"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Calina Ovmar"]

No, I don't think you can.

The voice replied after a moment of thought. It had never been in Ovmar's nature to make things easy for his children, he could have lied and made her feel better in the moment, but what purpose would that have? He probably could have walked up to Vain Hollow's doorstep and send it crashing on Zambrano's head, but would that make Calina strong? No, the only one who could fix this situation in any permanent fashion was Calina herself.

A weight settled itself next to the girl. A brief touch brushing past her hand, so, so warm, but the weight so, so light. She would know it wasn't real, he wasn't here, but if there was one thing Jared had always been good at... it was making people believe.

Just for a moment. Just for that inclining of relief that would allow her to keep on moving.

Do you need my advice? Warmth would start to flow her, a trickle of energy.

 

[Mia Monroe]

Calina dared not open her eyes, knowing in her heart that the touch wasn't real, but unwilling to believe the truth. She sucked in a shuddering breath, desperate to keep the sobs at bay, she exhaled slowly.

Pretty sure your advice got my in this mess. I'm also pretty damn sure that you're as bad as she is. You enjoying toying with people so much that you've actually forgotten what it is to be nice. If you care, if you have ever cared, you would have prevented all of this. You would have caught up with both of us and taken me away from her, long before she could inflict the damage that she has. Instead you chose to take a back seat, whispering in the back of my head, like that's what good parenting is.

New's Flash. You're a terrible parent.

She went quiet for a moment.

But right now, you and the psycho are all I have. So tell me, father, what advice do you have for me?

[member="Jared Ovmar"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[member="Calina Ovmar"]

You are so much like her, you know? The voice carried on while disregarding her little temper tantrum. Always lashing out, refusing to see that sometimes it's better to bend and live to see another day, instead of breaking before fading to obscurity. Learn to temper your pride, because it will not serve you here.

Zambrano... hmmm, I take it you tested his patience, so you already made an impression.

To survive here? Bend. Make it look like you are caving to his application of force, but do it slowly, lest he will figure out you are simply playing him for a fool.

The voice hummed, but the warmth that lessened the aches of her body and made her feel less cold did not waver. He kept stroking her head, before finally speaking once again.

I am Sith, Calina, as is Anaya. Yours will never be the way of peace, of happiness bought cheap or a life lived easily. You will suffer great indignities, like your mother did... like I did and it will make you strong. You will get through this and eventually, you will get your revenge.

This is the Sith way, our way, your way. It is time to accept this.

The presence started to recede as the last syllables rolled out.

 

[Mia Monroe]

Calina's anger flourished at his words. She was nothing like her! She refused to be. She opened her mouth to retort aloud but snapped it shut as he spoke again. She could feel his hand on her head, wearing away at her anger and offering comfort that she'd not received in a long time. She sniffed, bringin her hands up to wipe the tears away from her face.

I will do as you suggest.


She smiled slightly to herself.

And I will have revenge. On all of them.

She felt him drifting away as she herself began to drift into the bliss of sleep. Her body no longer aching, she slipped into a dreamless sleep.

[member="Jared Ovmar"] [member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

The darkness of the night quickly melted away before the rays of the rising sun, the beams casting elongated shadows across the bleak plains that branched out from Vain Hollow in every conceivable direction. Already the nightly guard shift was being rotated out for newly risen soldiers, their minds fresh and their wits sharp, and the sound of marching boots could be heard even from the tallest parapet. Both slaves and free servants alike were engrossed in their routine tasks of preparing breakfast, washing clothes and bed sheets, and performing other housely duties for the extensive Zambrano family that occupied the highest levels of the massive citadel. Many of the God-King's children, lovers, cousins, and others bound to him by either blood or sexual means were already rousing from their deep slumbers, and soon enough the castle was filled with a cacophony of mingling voices that heralded the morning blitz.

However; Kaine Zambrano did not slumber that night, and instead deigned to prowl the darkly lit chamber he shared with the voluptuous Invicta Zambrano, his wife of many years who bore him many strong healthy children, and the curvature of the sheets pressed tightly against the blossoming bulge in her stomach was evident that she was again burdened with child. She was one of the only people in his entire life that he felt some sort of compassion for, but it was only the dying embers of the love he once experienced for [member="Anaya Fen"] all those long, long years ago. Death had moderately tempered his burning hatred for the Twi'lek, but even now he still felt a pang of loathing every time her mental image flashed into his mind.

He pushed away the memories that threatened to surface, burying them deep for a time when he would need to feed on them to sustain his anger. Then again it seemed the God-King had no end to the resources he could tap into to feed the furnace that seethed at his center, his hatred was insatiable and all encompassing. He silently excused himself from the inner sanctity of his chamber to stand upon the stone balcony that overlooked many of the courtyards below, and he placed both hands firmly upon the expertly chiseled stone railing. His gaze fell over the domain he ruled over with a topaz fist, because everyone knows that topaz is far harder than iron, and sighed contently. His kingdom was grand, there was no doubt, and his people were prosperous from his harsh, yet subjectively just, rule. Yet his enemies sought to waylay him at every opportunity, but soon enough he would enact his vengeance against all who slighted him.

But for now, there was the matter of the girl. At a mental command he instructed the guards left to, well, guard the entrance to [member="Calina Ovmar"]'s chambers to fetch the girl and bring her to his own chambers. Yesterday demonstrated how much farther she had come and how much farther she had to go in terms of martial prowess, but for one to be strong then could not only sport rippling muscles and an advanced understanding of how to fight, they also had to have a deep understanding of more intellectual subjects. He would expose her to his vast reservoir of knowledge, and he would teach her the ways of the Sith in a way he doubted her master could ever properly do.

 

[Mia Monroe]

The clunk of her lock sliding open brought Calina sharply out of her slumber. Swinging her legs off the edge of her bed she waited for the door to open, rising as the guard entered. She practically growled at him as he went to seize her arm, moving swiftly out of arms reach.

"Touch me again and I promise you the last thing you will see in this world will be my smile bearing down upon you as your life slips away from you."

He seemed to find the threat amusing, chuckling slightly he gestures towards the door where the second guard waited. They fell into step, one behind her, one ahead. She cast her eyes over the palace as she was led through it, catching glimpses of lavishly ordained lords and ladies of court, all who sneered at her as she passed, whispers and giggles passing behind hands.

The ridicule irritated her and she stopped looking at them, holding her head high she chose to ignore all of them. She told herself she was better than them, and she would always be so. Kaine's chambers were expansive, the room in which she was told to wait had a number of doors leading off it.

After a moment, she was led into the large balcony, unable to keep the awe from her face at the view that stretched before them. Her gaze settled on [member="Darth Carnifex"] and any joy that was on her face evaporated.

He really was hideous. Her mothers use of the dark side had left her scarred in other ways, he had truly been distorted by the dark side. Was that to be her fate? Ugly and insane, warped by the shadows she seemed to use against the Galaxy.

"Good morning." There was no joy in her greeting. Eyes glittering with the same hatred they had when she'd been dragged back to her cell.