TW: Fighting, Attempted Murder, Hand Stomping, and Mind Torture.

Bold Text = Specking Marazies

Italics: Dream sequence or inner thoughts

Translations:
Anaman = Jedi

-

"Meli, I think you should get up," Eglantine said, shaking her friend's shoulder.

"What Eggie? We don't have to get to training yet." Melinoe said without opening her eyes or lifting her head up.

"Yeah, but someone's coming, and I don't think they're happy," Eglantine whispered while her eyes darted over to the sealed door.

Melinoe's eyes snapped open when she suddenly heard what Eglantine was talking about. Melinoe leaned up off the ground right as there was a loud banging at the metal door.

"Get up! Darth Heiss wants to see you both at the training grounds."

Melinoe and Eglantine both scoffed at the man's failed attempt to intimidate them. Melinoe got up from the old sleeping mat and the pile of rags on the floor that she called a bed, and started getting dressed. Despite the small space the two women shared they had both learned to move around without getting in each other's way over the past eleven years.

"Meli, have you seen my saber?"

"You put it in my usual spot."

"Thank you!" Eglantine said in a happy tone. Rushing over to where Melinoe kept her stuff hidden from the prying hands of the night. Eglantine picked up the slick dark silver blade and clipped it to her belt. Melinoe always felt a rush of pride for her friend when seeing the weapon. Eglantine had risked her neck to get the parts for it and always acted like it was the easiest thing in the universe to do.

After the two were done getting ready Melinoe made her way over to the door and yelled that they were ready to leave. The same guard from before opened the door for them while giving them an ugly look. Melinoe scowled right back at him as she and Eglantine walked down the hall.

As the two walked towards the training grounds. Melinoe let her eyes wander. The blue-green sunlight of Byss was exceptionally bright that day. But unlike a lot of people in the galaxy, Melinoe didn't take the weather as an indicator of what her luck would be like that day.

"What do you think she wants?" Eglantine asked. The guard frowned at the fact that she was speaking a language he couldn't understand.

"To make our lives as miserable as possible and eventually turn us into living weapons with no free will of our own."

"Well, I'm well aware of that, but what does she want today?"

"Alright, you two, shut up." The guard said as they arrived at the training grounds. He moved towards the ladies and motioned for them to show their hands. Eglantine was the first to move towards him with her arms out. The man cautiously removed the bonds from Eglantine's wrists, and he did the same for Melinoe.

Once he had done so, Melinoe felt the rush of the Force returning to her. She looked down at her hands then back up to the guard. He had a nervous look on his face. Melinoe's eye flicked over to Eglantine for a second. Who smiled at her. Like she could tell what Melinoe was thinking. Melinoe raised her hands toward the man. Causing him to impulsively flinch back. Melinoe grinned, and Eglantine let out a snort.

Melinoe hated a lot of things about her training and Byss, but one of the things she hated the most was the bonds she and Eglantine were forced to wear. Made out of ysalamiri pelts, the bonds were designed to make sure that the two women couldn't fully tap into their connections with the Force while wearing them.

They made it almost impossible to do anything other than sense the presence of others nearby.

The guard didn't say anything. He just gave Melinoe another pissed off look. Melinoe opened her mouth to say something but stopped when she sensed someone walking towards them.

"I trust you're not wasting time playing with servants?" Melinoe felt her whole body cringe when she heard that voice.

"Of course not," Melinoe replied in a flat tone.

"Good." The woman's pale eyes drifted over to Eglantine.

Darth Heiss was unsettling, to say the least. She had this weird way of making every cell in your body crawl. Melinoe and Eglantine had been training under her for eleven years and still had moments where their master's energy was just too much for them to handle.

"Interesting, you seem to have improved when it comes concealing your emotions," Heiss said. "Too bad you're still not on the same level as your friend."

Eglantine's face stayed blank despite the backhanded comment. She refused to give Heiss the satisfaction she wanted.

Heiss turned away from the two other women and gave them instructions, to begin with their daily training routine.

"Lord Sidious' apprentice will be sparring with the two of you later today. Don't disappoint me like you usually do." Oh, so that's why she got them to get up early.

Heiss made her way up the stairs to observe Melinoe and Eglantine's training from up above.

Melinoe couldn't help the annoyed grunt that came out of her throat. Heiss acted as if Maul could beat Melinoe and Eglantine without a second thought, but in reality, the two of them were more than capable of defeating him if Heiss didn't stop them before striking the final blow every time.

As the two of them walked to the centre of the room, Eglantine whispered in Melinoe's ear.

"Relax Darth Viveza. It's gonna be fine." Eglantine once again spoke in her native tongue, while placing her hand on Melinoe's shoulder.

Melinoe couldn't help but smile at her friend's nickname for her. Strange little gestures like this were used quite often with the two women. Speaking the language of Marazi was for Eglantine, and the handle was for Melinoe. Melinoe had worked out that talking the language of Eglantine's people reminded the younger girl that her home was still out there and that someday she would reunite with her family.

As the two of them got ready to fight, Melinoe remembered back to a couple of months after first meeting Eglantine. After first meeting Eglantine, Melinoe started to pick up how to understand what her friend was saying by just listening to them speak. Which came in handy when Eglantine began having more and more bad nights. Melinoe learnt quickly that the best way to calm Eglantine down was simply talking to her.

The 'Darth Viveza' nickname, on the other hand, was a bit more complicated. Melinoe wasn't like Eglantine. She didn't have a family or home she wanted to go back to. She needed something to look forward to. Eglantine decided the best way to do this was remind Melinoe that someday she would be stronger than the woman holding them captive. That she would defeat Heiss and anyone else who tried to hurt her. Eglantine had this strange way of finding hope in any situation.

The training droids all make their presence known to the two young Siths. Eglantine was the first to ignite her saber. Quickly followed by Melinoe.

"Let's do quick work of this, shall we?" Melinoe confidently asked Eglantine, to which she gave an equally confident nod.

The sounds of lightsaber strikes and breaking metal filled the area. The two of them would likely have to go through around thirteen more waves of droids then would be forced to fight each other. This was the most basic form of training they had. Most days it's like this, or they were pinned up against some hired fighters to see how they would fare against another living being.

It was a rinse and repeat cycle. To see how long they could last without passing out from exhaustion. The days only ended when Darth Heiss got bored. Sometimes it lasted until dawn to dusk. Most of the time it went much longer.

This kind of life had taken a troll on them - both emotionally and physically. As children, they would always be trying to find ways to escape. The more they did so, the harsher their punishments got. By the time the two were nineteen, they were too exhausted and hurt to move by the end of most days.

And that was just from the lightsaber training.

Anytime that wasn't spent in the training grounds, or the cells were dedicated to bettering Melinoe and Eglantine's skills with the Force. Training them to break the bodies and minds of the enemy, along with blocking out anything that may be a threat to their own minds.

Heiss claimed that it was the best way for them to become stronger, but Melinoe didn't care. To her, it just hurt. Having her mind broken down day after day.

As the day progressed, Melinoe could feel her energy start to fade away. Most of her muscles were starting to ache, and her head began to lightly pound. Judging by the worn-out look on Eglantine's face, she was reaching that point as well.

Melinoe took a deep breath and moved to strike Eglantine with her saber. Eglantine was able to quickly counter, causing the two to lock lightsabers. The red and yellow blades clashed against each other while both of them pushed to gain the upper hand.

While it was true that the two of them didn't enjoy fighting each other, they knew the consequences of refusing to do so. Melinoe and Eglantine agreed that when it came to one on one fighting, they would sever all attachments. Only focus on beating their opponent until the other shouted that they yield.

This didn't always work. Sometimes when Darth Heiss wasn't present, the two women found themselves enjoying their sparring. Being able to challenge each other without the threat of death or punishment hanging over their heads.

Melinoe did find it rather strange when the Lady of the Sith started spending less and less time on Byss. Eglantine theorised that the woman was finally starting to get bored of torturing them, but Melinoe wasn't so sure.

She felt that it was too simple. If Heiss was truly tired of them, why not just kill them and replace them with new victims. It was a dark thought on Melinoe's part, but there were thousands of unclaimed force-wielders in the galaxy. Melinoe and Eglantine wouldn't be very special to her in the grand scheme of things.

Eglantine and Melinoe kept pushing against each other until Melinoe attempted to use the Force to push her friend back. Unfortunately, Eglantine must have been thinking along the same lines, due to pulling the same trick.

The action caused the two of them to be pushed away from each other. Each quickly tried to regain their footing. Melinoe was the first to do so. She moved forward for another hit, but Eglantine was able to shifty jump over her and land a hard kick to Melinoe's backside.

This caused Melinoe to fall to the ground and start wheezing.

"I yield! I yield!" Melinoe said though the bursts of coughing.

Eglantine lowered her golden coloured lightsaber away from Melinoe and smiled triumphantly. She reached out her hand for Melinoe to take. Melinoe rolled her eyes at the overconfident look on Eglantine's face and took her hand.

Melinoe suddenly felt a shiver go down her spine. She looked up to the higher levels to see a new figure had joined Heiss. She recognised them as Darth Maul. A fellow Sith Acolyte and the apprentice of Darth Sidious.

Melinoe had never seen Darth Sidious up close before. Mostly because she and Eglantine were seen as Heiss' playthings to him. So there was really no point to him interacting with them. On the other hand, he was more than happy to let his apprentice beat them until they couldn't move.

Melinoe and Eglantine both stood to attention. Waiting for the next command. Heiss glazed at the both of them. Taking her time in deciding who would face the dathomirian.

Heiss' eyes landed on Melinoe. She gave her ugly smile and motioned for her to move toward.

Melinoe was able to keep her emotions locked away and didn't let herself show any of the dread she was feeling. Eglantine, on the other hand. Melinoe saw the look of concern on the other's face out of the corner of her eye.

It was impossible to tell what one should have done in these situations. After what felt like hundreds of duels with Maul, Heiss still found a way to keep things unpredictable. The two women could never tell which of them would be picked to fight, due to Heiss being able to block the two of them out of her mind.

Sometimes it was the both of them. Sometimes the winner would be dualing Maul. Sometimes the loser would. But they could never tell which beforehand.

Melinoe made her way over to the centre of the training area, while Eglantine moved back towards the edge. The worried look on her face never faded.

Melinoe could still feel a slight bit of pain where Eglantine had kicked her. She ignored it. Knowing that there was no point in focusing on it. As it would only distract her from the fight.

Melinoe and Maul both stood there. Silently staring each other down. Lightsabers at the ready. Waiting for the other to make the first move.

Maul was the first to strike. Attempting to jab his weapon into Melinoe's stomach. She stopped him and pushed him back in order to roll around him to get to his blindspot. She swung towards his backside only to be stopped by the second blade of his lightsaber.

Maul took another swing at his opponent only for her to dodge out of his way again. Melinoe continued to keep deflecting and avoiding all of Maul's attacks. Hoping that he would start to tire himself out after a while. After a while, it seemed like Melinoe's plan wasn't working out as well as she hoped.

It felt like no matter how long she tried to keep the man distracted, he just wouldn't slow down. As Melinoe narrowly avoided another stab to her chest, she decided that she needed to change her plan of attack. The only problem was she didn't know what to change it to.

Lucky an opportunity presented itself. Maul had obviously started to get annoyed with Melinoe jumping around. To the point where he ripped the metal grid from the floor using the Force to throw it at her. Melinoe countered by grabbing hold of it with the Force before it had the chance to hit her. She threw it right back. Only for him to slice it in half with his lightsaber.

Melinoe's eye snapped towards the opening in the floor, and suddenly an idea popped into her head. She rushed over to the gap and slipped into it. Steering clear of another one of Maul's assaults. She found herself to be completely surrounded by darkness after she switched off her saber.

Melinoe waited for a second. Waited to see if Maul would follow her down. When hearing a loud, frustrated growl, Melinoe knew Maul was doing precisely what she needed him to do.

She quickly hid behind one of the large piles in the complex underground area. She heard the sound of Maul's feet slamming onto the floor after he followed her down. She stayed quiet and waited. She just needed the right moment, and she could go for the kill.

It stayed silent for a while. The only things that could have been heard were the sounds of Maul's lightsaber buzzing and the occasional creaks from the machinery.

Melinoe was able to catch a glance of the look in Maul's eyes. It was a look of pure rage. He was clearly getting sick of Melinoe's little game.

Melinoe could feel the energy coming off him. He was frustrated and out for blood.

It was a good thing Melinoe was so good at concealing her emotions from outsiders. Otherwise, he may have sensed the anxious and foreboding thoughts building up in her mind. Melinoe continued maneuvering around the dark tunnels. Using her small size and flexibility to slip through the narrower openings.

The sound of a loud crashing in the distance caused Maul to turn away from Melinoe. She saw her chance and made a running leap at him while switching on her lightsaber. However, he managed to react quickly enough to block her.

Before Melinoe could even process what was happening, Maul sent her flying into one of the many walls of pipes. She felt a massive spike of pain in the area she had previously been kicked. She let out an agonised scream as she fell to the floor.

Maul stalked his way over to her. The light from his saber lit up his face with a horrifying red glow. Maul had a wide grin on his face. He was clearly looking forward to beating Melinoe into a pulp. Melinoe lifted her lightsaber back up. Causing the two to lock weapons.

In a much darker version of the previous fight, the two opposites pushed against each other. The pain from her back was starting to get the better of her. She couldn't help but let out grunts of pain as Maul's lightsaber started to get closer to her.

Everything was starting to hurt. The worst the pain got, the bigger Maul's smile seemed to get.

Just as Melinoe thought she lost for good, she heard the sound of footprints fastly approaching. Maul must have heard it too. Whipping around to see Eglantine taking a swing at him.

For a split second, a look of shock appeared on Maul's face at Eglantine's sudden appearance. Unfortunately, he was able to quickly recover from his surprise and stop her attack. Eglantine didn't hesitate and continued to navigate around the man similarly to when Melinoe was hiding from him moments ago.

Melinoe pushed herself off the wall and felt a sudden rush of adrenaline go through her body. She rushed towards him and finally managed to hit her opponent. Landing a slash to Maul's backside.

The three Acolytes continued fighting with Melinoe and Eglantine having a clear advantage against Maul. Not only was it two against one, but the two women had the extra edge of being able to move around the cramped space much better than Maul ever could.

After about three more minutes of fighting, Melinoe moved to take the final strike against Maul. She didn't hesitate. Didn't stalk or gloat about her victory. Just moved to stab him as fast as she could.

But as usual, no matter how hard she tried, Melinoe just wasn't quite fast enough.

Right before her lightsaber could make its way through Maul's head, horrid sounds filled her ears. It was the same sounds that had been used against her for the past eleven years, but always something she still failed to block out.

Melinoe's hands immediately went to clutch her head. Her lightsaber dropping to the floor with a loud clang. The high pitched screams and distorted drill-like sounds caused her whole body to start shaking uncontrollable.

Melinoe fell to her knees. Hands never leaving her head. She looked up to see Heiss walking towards her with her hand up and the same evil ugly smile on her face. The face that always said 'your suffering is my happiness'.

Melinoe started riving around on the floor in excruciating pain. Desperately trying to think of a way out of the situation. Her eyes landed on Eglantine, who seemed to be having as much luck as Melinoe.

Melinoe did; however, spot Eglantine reaching out a hand. Trying to will her lightsaber over to her. The dark silver hilt started rolling over to her friend. A small look of hope appeared on Eglantine's face. This was short-lived, due to a now standing, Maul stamping his foot on Eglantine's outstretched hand.

Eglantine let out a cry and clutched her bruised hand. Melinoe looked up at Maul with a burning hatred in her eyes. She tried getting up again to face him, but the more she tried to push past the pain, the louder the noises in her head got.

Eventually, the pain won out, and everything around Melinoe went black.

I'm looking for Melinoe?

I'm sorry, Sir. I don't know anyone by that name.

Anna! My hand! I can't hold-

Every one of my people is as trustworthy as I am!

I'll always find my way back to you, Thanatus. You know that.

Why are you helping him?

I dunno. He and the kid hold a place in my heart, I guess.

Nice to meet you, Poe!

Nice to meet you too, Finn!

Do you really mean that?

Yes.

Liar.

Melinoe could feel herself waking up. She slowly opened her eyes. Letting them adjust to the small amount of light in the room. The first thing she saw was Eglantine looking down at her.

"Melinoe! Thank Obriv, you're awake!" Eglantine said happily.

"How long have I been out?" Melinoe asked, looking around the same small cell. There was a small glow coming off a lantern, but other than that nothing seemed that different.

"Two weeks," Eglantine said in a cornered tone.

"That's a lot shorter than some of the other times." Melinoe lifted herself up to get a better look at Eglantine.

"You shouldn't be knocked out and basically put into a coma at any time!" Eglantine said.

Melinoe couldn't help but smile at her friend's concern for her. Eglantine's inner healer was popping out again, which was always a welcomed thing in Melinoe's opinion.

Melinoe's smile faded when her eyes drifted down to Eglantine's hand.

"Are you alright?"

"Oh yes, that healed up ages ago."

Melinoe frowned at Eglantine's dismissal at her own injury.

"Damn that Maul..." Melinoe hissed under her breath.

"Don't worry! we'll get him back eventually." Eglantine smiled.

"Yeah, I'll chop something off in retribution for your hand."

Eglantine's smile suddenly disappeared.

"I'm sorry about what I did to your back."

"Is it seriously damaged?"

"No! It's just-"

"You have no reason to apologise. It wasn't like you knew that I would be the one to fight Maul next."

"I know.... I wish there was some way to tell which of us she would pick."

Heiss had always been set keeping the two Acolytes in the dark as much as possible. Even when Melinoe had tried searching for possible futures regarding her and Eglantine, Heiss had found a way to keep any events involving her hidden from the younger woman's eyes. This annoyed Melinoe to no end.

"But that's not what's important right now," Eglantine said. Clapping her hands together.

"What do you mean?"

"There's talk of you being sent on a mission."

"What?"

Sure enough, when it was made clear that Melinoe was finally awake, she was dragged out of the room by two guards. She was taken to one of the many war rooms where an important-looking official (who's name Melinoe never bothered to learn) started giving her a mission briefing.

The man explained how there were plans for an invasion on the Mid Rim planet of Naboo. Melinoe could tell that a lot of the more important details were being left out. It was most likely a need to know the situation.

Essentially, there needed to be someone who could keep an eye on the newly elected Queen Amidala. Melinoe was to be a fail-safe. If all other options failed, she would carry out whatever instructions she was given.

A small part of Melinoe hated to admit that she was excited about this. It had been a while since she had been given a job like this, and Naboo was one of the many systems she had yet to visit.

Melinoe had a decent amount of knowledge on most of the planets within the Republic. Since she and Eglantine spent a lot of the training researching other worlds, to know how best to infiltrate them.

After the briefing was over, Melinoe was instructed to go and be ready for departure by sunrise. She quickly rushed back to Eglantine to explain what was happening.

"It's a shame they don't send us together," Eglantine said, now speaking basic, as the two of them walked towards the docking stations.

"As much as I hate to say it, they're not that stupid," Melinoe replied.

Heiss and her followers were smart enough to realise that sending Melinoe and Eglantine off-world together would only result in the two of them escaping the first chance they got. By separating them, Heiss knew that one would never leave without the other. They were both too stubborn to try and leave their only ally.

"Do you think they'll send any Anaman?" Eglantine asked with a tilt of her head.

"Probably. Naboo is a fairly high ranking planet within the Republic."

"You're gonna be okay, right? If any do show up?"

"Are you insinuating that I could be bested by a lowly Anaman?" Melinoe joked.

"Well... it's not like you've had much experience fighting any of them." Eglantine quipped back.

Melinoe let out a fake gasp, which caused Eglantine to start giggling slightly.

True be told neither of the women had ever met a Jedi. With the expection of Melinoe's father. The closest they had ever come to doing so, was fighting with Force-Wielders like Maul. Despite this, Melinoe still felt confident if she did end up facing a Jedi.

Much like with their studies of other planets, Melinoe had studied the behaviours of the Jedi. She had everything she would need to defeat one.

The two of them arrived at the loading docks and just stood there for a few moments. Watching the sunrise.

"Stay safe, Darth Viveza," Eglantine said, and moved to hug her only friend.

"Same to you, Eglantine Obriv," Melinoe said while returning the hug.

Things would never be the same.