The Lion and the Princess (redux) [Hadashah]

[Er'in Tenel]

S I N N E R ' S​

W E L L​

​

Er'in stalked the corridors of Sinner's Well late into the 'night' - although no night came here on the dayside of Ryloth the home of her Master still kept to a routine, even when he was away. The few droids and attendant personel who stood watch during the masters absence kept well out of her way, for the normally polite (if condescending) Hapan had become waspish and bitter of late, and all of them whispered about her unique, glittering eyes.

She let the light robe she was wearing hang loose, enjoying the feel of warm Rylothian air on her skin. Truth be told, she would miss this place when the time came for her to leave, as it surely would. She did not agree philosophically with her master, but that did not mean he was not without taste. She wondered, almost absently, where he was - the galaxy was in turmoil and the Confederacy had taken in the Alliance refugees (something she considered an amusing cosmic joke) and it was rare he was home anymore. She was now basically autonomous, free to go where she willed as long as it furthered the Confederacy. But she'd needed some time away from the Knights Obsidian and their overbearing leader - the odd collection of power players who now competed for the top of the Cofenderacy hierarch frustrated her immensely, each and every one - mostly, because she was not one of them.

Not yet.

Perhaps, not ever.

She had repressed that thought, once, but now she let it and the anger blossom inside, almost purring to herself in fierce contentment as she swept down the corridor towards the baths. The lights inside were dim, the curtains half-closed to block out the brilliant light, turning the room into a chiaroscuro mixture of light and darkness cast across still water. Somehow appropriate, she felt.

She set her lightsaber on a table, missing the other lightsaber sat in shadows next to it due to her poor night vision, then shrugged off the robe, letting it pool in a silken heap on the floor, then quietly padded into the water, only to freeze with the cool liquid barely above her knees.

She was here.

Er'in couldn't help herself, letting her gaze wander over every languid curve, the ripples of muscle, the intense colour of her skin, her high cheekbones and her burning eyes. The woman lounging like a hunting cat in the dark, cool corner of the bath was quite astonishingly beautiful - like a female version of her father. She was also quite unmistakable.

[member="Hadashah Vi'dreya"]

Darth Sentis.

A girl, younger than her, less well trained than her. A Darth. It was a horrible, cruel, nepotistic joke. One made all the more absolutely infuritating by the other woman being just about everything Er'in might admire in a person, and just as... aware of her own rank.

Er'in wanted to swear, loudly and in a most unladylike fashion. She'd know the Lioness was home, she even knew Haddie's routine - and Haddie liked these baths as much as she did, and being family, had priority for them. She should have checked. But her Hapan night blindness had finally caught up with her, and now here she was, standing nude in a pool of water with the one woman she would cheerfully strangle... or settle into a quiet corner and... talk with.

Her jaw tightened and she looked levelly at the other woman, head raised and chin high, as if daring her to say something.

 

[Valgærd]

The baths.

I had expected it to be the sole thought to consume my mind upon returning frm Dagaobah, particularly considering I'd spent almost my entire time there fighting in the thick mud. However, everything had changed from that trip. My father, the man to whom I looked up, the one pair of eyes I cared to be on me, had given me something I would treasure until my dying breath; his approval. Hadashah had died out there in the mud. Darth Sentis had risen in her place. A girl had gone out into the void, dragging her patient father with her. A woman had returned.

Eventually, once the high had worn off, life had returned to normal.

I'd returned to Sinner's Well on Ryloth. Eventually I was going to leave. Find my own path in the galaxy. I was a Darth, now. It was time to gain my own influence, my own fortress, my own armies. I knew I'd always have a home here, but this time was one of transition, both internally and externally.

Your aunt Ginnie hadn't always had a home.

Sitting in the baths, I felt my previously relaxed muscles tense, as the unpleasant thought forced its way into my mind. I swallowed, attempting to slow my suddenly-raging heart and calm my breaths. Of course, I'd heard what had happened. Father had... killed her. He was a Sith, one of the strongest I knew. Of course he'd made that decision. Back on Dagobah I had pledged that I would make that same decision. But... as I lay in the soothing water I couldn't help but wonder, would that blade one day come for me?

I was pulled from these thoughts as the calm, quiet of the baths were disturbed.

There she stood. For a split-second I thought the beautiful woman in the dimly-lit shadows was [member="Srina Talon"], father's favoured apprentice, as she had the undeniable sensation of his influence about her. But as I focused on her, I realised with something of a sigh of relief, that her hair was ebony, not ivory. Er'in. Another of father's apprentices, one I'd not had as much time to get to know as perhaps I ought to.

She stood facing me, as if waiting for something. I raised one slender, ebony arm, beckoning her into the water.

"Er'in" I greeted, smothering the subtlest of grins that tugged at the corners of my mouth, "you may sit. I don't mind."

Oh yes, it felt good to flex my title a little. I now out-ranked Er'in, even though were we ever to face off in combat, it was likely she would, at the very least, give me a run for my victory. In fact, if I was honest, she could beat me. But in my father's house? In the baths, where I had more rights than her right now? She wouldn't dare, surely...

"How does the day find you?" I asked sweetly.



[member="Erin Tenel"]

 

[Er'in Tenel]

Er'in's eyes widened in the dark light, the sharp violet glow intensifying and casting its radience across the bathwater.

I may sit?

She stalked slowly into the middle of the pool, her gaze not shifting from [member="Hadashah Vi'dreya"], her stance languid and relaxed even as emotions roiled in her soul.

How dare this girl speak to her like that? What? Did she think lineage counted for anything in this house?

Did it?

She out ranks 'rini, she out ranks you. Why? Because she's his daughter? What is this, the Sith Empire? Metus' version of Carnifex's little playground in the galactic north? Long held doubts and fears bit at Er'in, but she knew what to do with fear.

Breathe it in.

She smiled, every motion the aristocratic langor of Hapes, matching the dark-skinned woman poise for poise. Although... she swallowed, her gaze flicking downwards to take her in again. She did look just like her father, in female form and Er'in had... issues with that appearance.

"I'm sorry, Hadashah, I think I must have misheard you."

Every inch of her posture was a challenge, lets see if this girl has what it takes to be Sith.

 

[Valgærd]

I kept the sweet smile carefully balanced on my lips as Er'in stepped into the middle of the pool.

It was unclear whether the air had suddenly become static from the Sith's reaction to my words, or if it was my own sudden tenseness, but there definitely seemed to be a crackling in the air as she approached. As poised and elegant as ever, I could see why father had picked her. Not that I judged my father's choices, goddess knows I'd had my share of little rebellions against him, but his two apprentices were both beautiful, elegant women.

She smiled at me, her delicate facial muscles under perfect control. We were two lionesses circling one another, each of us posturing, sizing the other up. I'd climbed above her in the pecking order, and no doubt the admittedly likely superior hunter had issues with that. Her sweet smile was like a gnashing of fangs, the languid sashay of her hips like the swishing of a tail. The blazing, fiery gaze was identical, however, to that of a predator whose kill had been stolen from under them.

Oh yes, I was playing with fire.

She spoke, using my name, my old name, not my title. In truth, I didn't particularly care, so long as she hadn't called me Haddie, I couldn't have spared it another thought. However, father's apprentice simply had the misfortune of being the first person I saw upon returning from Dagobah. I couldn't lie, there was a part of me--my inner princess--who was like a child with a new toy, and I just couldn't resist the urge to play with it.

I stood as well, bringing myself up to match her height. Even though she was a few inches taller than me, I'd hoped by now I'd mastered the art of looking down my nose at her. Keeping my chin high and my shoulders back, I tilted my head ever so slightly to one side, making sure my lightsaber was visible should this turn vicious.

"Darth, if you please, Er'in." I replied, letting the venomous honey drip from my tone. Oh yes, she was allowed to know just how much I was enjoying this, "but I understand, you've probably not heard about that yet. I know father's been too occupied for you of late, to tell you himself."

If she was watching closely, she might have noticed the slightest crack in my armour. Too occupied for us of late might have been more truthful. However, while he was away, this was how I entertained myself.

"I said, you may sit."



[member="Erin Tenel"]

 

[Er'in Tenel]

The mixed meaning of the words was not lost on Er'in, nor was the challenge that accompanied them.

But that didn't stop her breath catching in her throat as [member="Hadashah Vi'dreya"] rose, she told herself it was fear and like all fear, to be embraced and conquered - just like she would conquer this upstart. But it wasn't, and the shiver that ran down her spine as she caught the emotion and held it was visible.

The Verd - the Vi'dreya - moved like a cat and had the aristocratic langour of one, too.

Er'in crossed the pool with motions that were more heated that cool, her poise not breaking, but definitely shifting up a gear into passionate tempered as she was spoken down to by the beauty, halting well within Hadashah's personal space, mere centimeters seperating them.

"Oh, I knew." She could dig the barb in, but that was a barb that stung both ways, and for all that she wanted to humiliate and break her competitor, she wouldn't sink so low. "But a title like that has to be earned..." The word 'Haddie' didn't leave her lips, but the silence implied it. "... and, Hadashah, I don't see a Sith standing before me."

This was like being back home, only with lightsabers and the danger of an immediate fatal consequence with a mistep. She told herself she hated it, but really, her blood was singing.

 

[Valgærd]

I stiffened as the Sith apprentice rose to my challenge.

With all the grace and power of a war cat, she crossed the pool, the dappled water rippling in her wake as it lapped at her porcelain skin. I steeled myself, forcing my body to remain under my complete control. There was no way I was going to let her see the mote of fear that shot through me as she confidently strode into my personal space. Er'in was taller, by a few inches, so now that she was so dangerously close, I had to tilt my head up slightly to look directly at her. Did she like that? I had been told how much of my father I'd inherited. Was she enjoying having a facet of him forced to look up at her for once?

She spoke, her voice as flowing and sweet as her words sharp and vicious. This close, with such little distance between us, there was almost no chance for me to hide the flash of rage that passed briefly across my features, before I settled the mask back in place. For a moment, I didn't answer, letting the silence settle around our shoulders as the water stilled around our thighs.

There was something... almost intoxicating about the exchange. It wasn't simply the woman's exquisite form, or how the light danced upon her skin in dappled rings. It wasn't simply being the 'bossy princess', a role I so greatly enjoyed. There was something about actually engaging Er'in in this battle of wits, something addictive. There was a completely different set of rules here. As the sting from the Sith's words cut into me, my own strikes were made all the more satisfying.

I crafted my response very carefully, arching one eyebrow slightly and pulling my features into an expression of dissatisfaction that I sincerely hoped matched father's. My words were soft, even, forcing myself to keep my eyes directly on hers as my mind honed in on my lightsaber. Any moment now I was ready to call it to my hand... just in case.

"Then try looking a little harder, apprentice," I replied, a subtle hiss to my words, "I'd have thought you'd mastered at least that by now."

As much as I tried to imitate father's power, it occurred to me. Would he approve of my actions? See my show of power as stepping into my heritage? Or would he simply have his ivory woman attempt to strike me down?


[member="Erin Tenel"]

 

[Er'in Tenel]

The tone, the posture. How did she manage to make Er'in feel as if she was looking up to someone shorter than her? Force Alive, the woman was a goddess. She'd fight right in on Hapes without so much as an eyeblink.

Which... put her posture into perspective.

Oh. OH.

... apprentice.

What?

Er'in was deeply familiar with the term 'seeing red' and her vision almost vanished into a haze of red and dark as the final word sunk in, those burning eyes became the center of her world, unwavering and condescending. Unwavering was good. [member="Hadashah Vi'dreya"] wasn't going to make the first strike... yet.

Er'in stepped the last few inches forward, pressing into the slightly shorter, dark skinned woman with all the grace of a tigress and all the passion of a lover, settling for an aggressive posture, one leg forward, positioned thigh to thigh as she leaned in. Even through her blinding temper, she was slightly surprised you couldn't see the sparks fly between the two. The cut of her words burned, but Er'in felt the that burn as something as energising as it was painful.

"Oh no," She purred into the other woman's ear, her gaze never wavering. She knew this was less playing with a live weapon as it was grabbing onto a thermal detonator in the last seconds of count down. But she wanted the backlash that was about to come - it would make her own final victory over this upstart considerably more satisfying. And for the moment, it let her ignore any other emotions. "no, you don't get to call me that Haddie."

There were even odds the woman might kill her. This was a dark room, Er'in was classically Hapan nightblind. They were hip-deep in water and pressed so close a single knife could end it all. It was more stupid than anything she'd even done with Fawn. Which of course, was exactly why she was doing it... and she knew it.

 

[Valgærd]

Haddie

I knew this was coming. Anyone who'd spent more than a few days around me knew how much I hated, absolutely LOATHED that name. Like molten fire, the rage erupted through my core, igniting an energy deep within me that I didn't even know I had. Er'in had stepped closer, her much paler skin brushing against my ebony flesh. We were yin and yang, black and white. But when the tension ultimately broke, both of us would bleed crimson.

Haddie.

I revelled in the fury that tore through me. My heart was raging against my ribs like a rabid beast against the bars of its cage. I drew in a slow, long, deep shuddering breath, letting the sigh dissolve into the air as if I was breathing literal fire. Oooh, this woman wanted to die today. My fingers curled at my sides, goosebumps springing to life upon my skin. The tingling energy seemed to make the air almost crackle with static. The desire for destruction all but taking over. We were so close I could have leaned forward mere inches and taken her lips in a kiss. The moment that thought took my mind I couldn't help but wonder... Had father ever done that? Had he wanted to? Had she?

Haddie

My thoughts were reeled in. Like a rubber band snapping back to its place, my mind snapped back to that word. Several moments of silence had passed. I hadn't given her an answer.

The answer came as my dominant right hand suddenly lashed out, using the force to call my lightsaber to my side. In the single, swift motion I grabbed the weapon and moved to hold it in both hands, igniting the crimson blade. I had to take a step back, for while our skin was touching, my limbs were weaker, shaking almost. With a backwards step, I hoped to create enough distance to swing my blade from right to left, aiming a powerful swing for Er'in's left side. Her reflexes were likely as good as mine... they'd have to be, as neither of us had protective armor right now.


[member="Erin Tenel"]

 

[Er'in Tenel]

Force. She was fast.

Er'in felt the warning ripple in the Force even as she was staring into the eyes of her opponent, watching them come alive with a fire that she well recognised. For a moment, she felt the heat against her skin and felt her own body and feelings flare in return.

Then in a eyeblink, [member="Hadashah Vi'dreya"] had stepped back and was summoning her lightsaber. Er'in cursed her nightblindness, there was no way she could call hers quicker. She bent back, arching her back to summon the blade from behind her and allow the Hadashah's blade to pass from left to right above her. It was close, but she was just too fast and Er'in let out a long, indrawn breath of air as the blade scortched a shallow line at the bottom of her ribcage before her own saber flew to her hand and she got her guard up.

Blood was in the water now. Both women could smell and feel it.

She smiled at Hadashah, her own blood singing in her ears and offered the other woman the duellists salute so common to Makashi practitioners.

"Deeds, not words, Sentis." She purred, sliding backwards through the water to give them space. Doubtless, Hadasah practiced an... athletic style, Ataru seemed likely, given the frankly fierce feline disposition of the other woman. "Much better. But only one of us will be on her feet at the end of this." She lunged forward in an eyeblink, her own speed not as natural as her opponents, but her saber drill expert (not flawless) and deliberately conducted in unflattering conditions, like high heels or in water. She came in low with the lunge, blade extended forward only inches above the water, sending purple-black light dancing around the room to give it a new aurora.

Maybe, maybe she might not kill the upstart. Which was a mistake of the highest order, in traditional Sith thinking...

 

[Valgærd]

Oh I was so tantalizingly close.

I could feel the slight resistance as the tip of my blade met with flesh. There was something... primal that seemed to spring to life within my core, something hot and vengeful. In that moment, as I felt the tip of my blade graze into Er'in's chest as she dodged backwards, my entire being was consumed with a passionate and all-consuming lust for her blood. I needed to plunge my blade into her core, to hear her scream, to show her that I was, in fact, Sith. This was what it was to use the dark side, to let those wild, intense, violent emotions drive you. My heart thudded heavily in my chest, my mind completely dissolving into the thrum of crackling energy.

My jaw clenched as I withdrew my blade. Oh I'd scratched her, drawn first blood. But it was only a scratch. It wasn't enough, I wanted to feel her go limp, to see the light leave her eyes. I wanted her scream resonating in my ears.

"You're used to being on your back are you not?" I hissed back, "should be little different tonight."

Oh yes, we women held nothing back. Whether striking with words or with blades, nothing was off-limits.

I fought and trained to my strengths. Being smaller and lighter than many sith, my advantages lay in being quicker than them. However... the hip-deep water slowed me down significantly. I couldn't dart around or move my legs with nearly as much ease as I was used to. My training had been predominantly in training grounds, on the dirt or metal surfaces. This... this was alien territory to me. The glow filled the room, dancing off the ripples in the water as the woman lunger forward with a literal low blow. I sought to dart to my left, but because of the water I was slower than I'd expected. It was with a shriek of pain that I felt the saber slice deep into my thigh. The sting was intense, shooting through me instantly.

However, my own counter-strike was intended to be just as vicious. Using my honed reflexes, I sought to let Er'in lock herself in her forward momentum. In the same movement of dodging to my left, I brought up my right arm holding my blade. Unless she was quick enough to stop herself, Er'in would likely feel its wicked plasma cutting deep along her left side.


[member="Erin Tenel"]

 

[Er'in Tenel]

Er'in almost purred as the hit landed home, almost as if she could drink in her opponents pain.

She could feel Hadasah's rage, feel the passion building and shifting, the pent up tension in the woman that demanded she slay Er'in, to prove who was the most powerful.

It's stupid chit like this that gets Sith killed, Er'in Tenel.

She didn't care - she felt the rage and passion as well, she enjoyed duelling a great deal and this was the first real duel for her life verses a skilled opponent. Blood sang in her veins as she pushed herself to move faster, to bounce backwards and deflect the blow sideways, then stop herself on the tiles and lunge forward for a quick feint, then an elegant turn on the blade to bring it down across her opponents upper arm.

Pain bit into her side and she hissed in response. Startled. She should have been fast enough to dodge that. But even as part of her exulted in the pain, another part wondered - had she wanted to get hit? She could have dodged that blow, she should have been aiming for the core of her foes body, instead she was playing cat and mouse with a lightsaber.

So why did she feel so alive?

"At least I earned what I've got, I don't rely on sucking up to my daddy for titles, my dear."

[member="Hadashah Vi'dreya"]​

 

[Valgærd]

Sucking up?

Sucking up?

My successful hit had left me with a flasely inflated sense of confidence. I was cocky, I was reckless. I fell for the feint. It was with a hiss that I felt the vile sting of her saber seer into my upper arm. The sensation was twofold. On the one hand, the searing heat lanced through me, a violent and sudden pain that shocked me as it coursed through me. But... on the other hand, that vile bite from her blade was... almost intoxicating.

There is no peace. There is only passion​

And there was little more passionate than pain. It was here, dancing at the precipice of the void, where we felt more alive than ever. Through this dance I would know Er'in more intimately than all the talk in the galaxy, and she would know me. Already I could feel the energy at the other end of her weapon. She was a true sith; as addicted to power as I was. I forced myself to resist the temptation to grab my wounded arm as she taunted me. My chest heaved, we'd exchanged only a few blows but the intensity of the fight had me panting already.

"Aaw, apprentice," I sneered with a grin, "jealousy is unbecoming on you."

Those words were her only warning. The moment they left my lips, I struck. Holding my injured arm close to my chest, I darted directly for her, my glowing blade aimed for her chest. Oh you want to go for the heart? Fine. The hart it is.


[member="Erin Tenel"]

 

[Er'in Tenel]

Er'in smiled as the barb landed home, feeling the uncoiling of violence within her opponent, as well as... something else.

She flicked the now omnipresent sweat out of her eyes at just the wrong moment, assured of her victory in the war of words. The only warning was the flicker of light from the blade and it was only training and reflex that saved her life.

She engaged [member="Hadashah Vi'dreya"]'s blade moments before it struck her, forte to foible, giving her the leverage to twist the incoming attack aside from her heart - this time she screamed in pain as the blade drew a line across her chest and along her ribcage and she sprung backwards with a catlike leap, taking her out of the water to avoid the follow up strike which surely would have killed or maimed her.

She landed on the edge of the pool, crouching to maintain her balance with the multiplying minor cuts, water dripped from her wet hair and sweat soaked her body as she drew in heaving breath after breath, glittering eyes never leaving her opponent.

"It seems neither of us have what we want." She replied with disarming honesty, not at all referring to the mutual desire to murder one another. "But at least I have some freedom from my leash and a home away from this cage."

She let the words linger in the air before bounding forward with a force-enhanced leap, aiming to fly over Hadashah's head and land behind her, twisting elegantly in mid-flight to end up facing her as she landed, bringing the blade down her back.

[member="Hadashah Vi'dreya"]​

 

[Valgærd]

I hissed in frustration.

Er'in was clearly trained at fighting in adverse conditions like deep water. She frustratingly had an edge where I didn't. My brow furrowed into a scowl as once again my blade only managed a superficial wound. She leapt away, landing out of the water as the woman spoke. Sweat and bathwater glistened upon her skin, her eyes burning with hot, passionate fire. My own ebony skin similarly now shone with beads of water. In a way, combat was beautiful.

Her words cut me deep.

No. No way. She was the apprentice. I was the princess. She was wrong. I had whatever I'd desired. Father had made sure I wanted for nothing. I could go wherever I pleased in the galaxy. I had more power and influence than this... woman. She was wrong. Why... then... did those words cut me so deeply?

The glow in the room seemed to turn red. All I could hear was my heart pounding in my throat. My fingers around the slender metallic hilt of my weapon tightened, my knuckles turning pale. How dare she. If perhaps it had just been rage, I would have been able to channel it. If perhaps I didn't think she spoke a mote of truth, I'd have been able to turn it into violent energy to reflect back onto her. But instead... I was frozen. What she'd said had struck me so deep to my core that I could only flinch as she leapt for me, landing behind me.

The heat from her lightsaber warmed my back, goosebumps rising on my skin. The moment I felt it, my breath caught in my throat. My head spun, my breath caught in my throat. I'd lost fights before, but this time... could she do it? Could she? I felt the fear erupt in my chest. It was a helpless, vulnerable feeling, one that would not make father proud. I cringed, biting my lip so it didn't tremble. My fingers still curled around my blade,

"You'll have to kill me, apprentice," I spat, turning my overwhelming fear into a venomous hiss, "because I'm not dropping this weapon."



[member="Erin Tenel"]

 

[Er'in Tenel]

So this was power.

Er'in watched the fear and the fury take hold of her opponent and in doing so, felt the shift in the balance of the dark side back to herself.

She understood now, why a Sith might rule through fear. Why a Sith might rule through anger. Why power was seen as the power to subjugate another. It was intoxicating.

Her breath came easier now, her stance more fluid. She had killed before, yes, but never in the heat of a true lightsaber duel. She understood now why people sought it out - and why she would seek it out again.

It was a waste, really.

But it was also an exercise in power. Real power.

She smiled cruelly, ruby lips twisting into a parody of humour, her pride matching her percieved ability.

"If that's the best you can manage, then I shall invent better last words to tell your father."

Then Er'in twirled forward across the short distance between them, bringing herself in close so she could feel the fatal strike as her blade swung round at head height in a glittering circular arc of death.

[member="Hadashah Vi'dreya"]​