The Mirror within the Mask 9

I came back home and was glad to shed the trappings of glamour. For over an hour I soaked in a bath filled with hot bubbly water, drinking a glass of Thrawn’s very good wine. Candles and the lights from the city illuminated the gorgeous bathroom, dancing on the pale peach marble walls. When the water cooled I got out and dried off with a big fluffy towel. I dressed for bed, and wrapped myself in one of Thrawn’s robes, the warm one. Then I made my way to the living room to curl up in the big chair that had effectively become mine, with a second glass of wine and a book. After realising that I had read the same lines over for the tenth or so time I gave up on the book. I turned off the main lights, lit candles and stared out of the floor to ceiling window that also doubled as a door to the balcony and watched the city at night. It danced and sparkled like a courtesan at the Grand ball. I had been working for the Empire for just over three years and only now was I beginning to see some of the beauty in this place.

I wondered if it should worry me that I was starting to think of this flat as home. That I was getting used to being here, having a place to belong here, and sharing a bed here. Thrawn made it easy for me to live in his place, made no demands on me and allowed me my freedom to come and go as I pleased. Yet we shared meals together when ever possible and when time allowed we shared each other. He was a man of many talents and many passions most of which he kept well hidden. We would talk for hours about any and everything. I loved the sound of his voice, deep and velvety, it was a caress as he described the things he was interested in but the wistfulness that crept into it when he spoke about the work he had been doing in the Unknown Regions, or when he spoke about his home world was ever present. I had asked him one night as we lay side by side in the quite dark why he had bought a Coruscant flat if his heart was truly in space.

“I needed a permanent mailing address.” He’d said simply.

“Seriously?” I had turned to look at him, leaning on my elbow, resting my head on my hand.

He’d nodded. “The bureaucracy in the Empire knows no bounds. HR does not consider living on board an ISD a permanent residence.” He had said. “I refused to live in the Palace accommodations, too close to work and prying eyes. I did not want to rent, you have no control ultimately when you rent so I bought this place. I looked at many apartments and several penthouses but this one had the best view. It is far enough away from the palace that I do not feel as though I am constantly under the Emperor’s radar. It has two secure entrances that can only be reached by vehicle and a view of the city on all sides. I suppose my line of thinking was, if I had to have a permanent address it might as well be a good one.”

“But this is not really your home.” I had placed the flat of my hand on his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart.

He had smiled, covered my hand with his. “My home is thousands of light years away, sj’iu tekari. This is a port in the storm, a place where I can be myself, where I can think and where the rest of Palpatine’s court has no say in what I do when I am not on board a ship. This place is, in a word, sanctuary.”

“Yet you gave me a key.”

He had just looked at me then, brushed away the lock hair that always fell in my face. “Yes,” he’d said. “I did.”

It wasn’t just a key and a safe refuge, he had also given me my own room to do with as I wanted and free reign of his home, making it in effect also mine. The only room I rarely went into was the library mostly because it was his room, his space. When he wanted to think, or meditate he retired to the library. I left him alone.

I smiled when I heard the back entrance door open and then close but I didn’t get up. I heard him vanish into the bedroom and fifteen minutes later he re-emerged, showered and dressed, like me, ready for bed. I glanced at the chrono, it was later than I had realised but earlier than I thought he would return. I got up and went to the kitchen, brought the open bottle of wine and an extra glass and joined him on the couch. I thought we would talk about his day but he had other plans.

Without words he pulled me to him and nuzzled my neck. I shivered. With fingers splayed he ran his hand under my still damp hair, warm upon the back of my neck, guiding my face upwards. His kiss was demanding and not open to negotiation. I didn’t debate him. His desire raced through him and showered over us both. I felt his need as keenly as I felt his touch on my skin. He had come home physically aching for me. His want was infectious and I was caught up in his scent, his touch, his voice before I could even think. Like a glitterstim addict, he was a drug I could never quite get enough of and when laid before me I could never refuse.

“You smell like wild berries and tabjio flowers.” He whispered in my ear, causing goose bumps to ripple up and down my arms.

“New bubble bath.” I gasped as his hands began to explore under the robe, under the pyjama top I was wearing as a night shirt. Sense and sensibility were rapidly being replaced by an intensely powerful desire and a longing which only he could answer. I welcomed the flush of heat that shot through me. His ability to send me reeling never ceased to astound me but suddenly Shiv’s cautionary speech about unwanted pregnancy reared its ugly face intruding in the middle of a spine shivering kiss. I opened my eyes, glanced up at him and pulled back.

He studied me carefully for a moment then sat back, catching his breath, then after a few moments said. “You have that look on your face.”

“Which one?” I asked.

“The one that says some particularly unpleasant thought just utterly interrupted my nefarious plans for the evening.” He said.

“Nefarious?”

He smiled. “What is on your mind?”

“Babies.” I said before I could censure myself.

This earned me a raised eyebrow. “Is this a new method of defence against my advances or is there something else going on that perhaps I should know about?” he asked.

I shook my head. He cocked his own slightly to one side, waiting for me to explain so I did. When I finished he reached for his wine glass and sipped at it to stop himself from smiling.

“I see I shall have to have words with Siavaan.” He said lightly.

“Well, he’s seen first hand the results when it happens to a courtesan.” I said. “He worries, is all.”

“Yes, and you do give us all reason to worry but not this time.” He said. “You won’t get pregnant, at least not from me.”

“How do you know that?”

“My dear, do you think I would enter into this delightful dance with you and not do some homework first? The chances of you and I creating a child are very slim. There are enough differences to our species’ physiology to make that particular biological wonder very difficult to achieve.” He said, caressing my face. “And I have taken precautions to ensure that even with that slender chance it does not have the opportunity to happen.”

“You have?” he kept surprising me at every turn.

“Females are not the only ones with such options available to them, you know. It would have been irresponsible to place both you as well as myself in a situation that could be compromising.” He said. “You seem surprised.”

“The whole baby talk thing surprises me, to be honest. It truly never occurred to me.” I shook my head at my own stupidity. “Tell me something, are you prepared for every and any eventuality that life has to throw at you?” I asked.

He was quiet for a moment. “I’d like to think so.” He said, and then added. “If I think of all the possible situations and outcomes through to their obvious and not so obvious conclusions then I am better able to solve the problems at hand. I enjoy the challenge of mentally walking through all the possibilities, even the very worst case scenarios. So, yes, I am fairly certain that I am ready for almost everything, within reason of course. There are always surprises which one has not or cannot account for, that one percent of chaos or chance.” He smiled. “Even I cannot foresee everything, but I try to be as prepared as possible. Unlike you, who are the most chaotic, least predictable person I know.

I stared at him trying to decipher that and he laughed.

“Do you ever want children?” I asked after a moment.

He smiled slightly, ran his fingers through his hair and sipped his wine thoughtfully. “Do you?”

I shrugged. “Maybe, I don’t know, I never actually thought about it before.” I looked at him. “You haven’t answered my question.”

“Perhaps one day I would like to father a child, when circumstances are a little different, but not at the moment.” He said thoughtfully, carefully.

I nodded. “So I can tell Shiv not to worry on this particular subject then.”

“You can.” He leaned over and kissed me gently on the forehead.

I smiled “So now that I have effectively foiled your grand and, how did you put it, nefarious plans for the night perhaps you can reveal all the secrets of your new club? I believe the word brutal was brought up earlier…?”

“Sj’iu tekari, the night is not over yet.” He purred in my ear.

I gave him a stern look. “Secrets first, seduction later.”

“You drive a hard bargain.” He said, mocking me ever so slightly.

“I’m nosey, I grew on Tatooine and I work for Lord Vader. Hard bargains and aggressive negotiations are my specialty, so spill!” I poked him not so lightly on the chest.

“As you wish.” He said with a slight smile, catching my hand in his before I could poke at him again. “But you need to promise you won’t overreact.”

“Overreact to what?”

“To this…”