The Apprentice

Life as a slave is one of the most difficult lives to live, especially when you're the slave of someone like Watto. He wasn't just emotionally abusive, but he was also physically abusive, which I guess is normal for slavers. He constantly threatened to set off the bomb in my head that all of us slaves had. So I had the pleasure of living everyday worried that it would be my last, although there were some days I wished he would just do it already. Eventually you just get tired of having someone constantly holding something over you.

I'm nineteen years old and I've been here on Tatooine as a slave for him for nearly eleven years. I was told that he bought me a few years after he lost his previous slave in a wager. I knew the previous slaves mother though, Shmi Skywalker was her name, she was a lovely woman who could never stop talking about how proud she was of him. And that she missed him, but was grateful that he got a better life than that of a slave.

I envied him for being set free. I hoped that I would be freed just as he was, since him and I did share something in common.

I missed Shmi too, she made things around here tolerable, but then Watto sold her, and I never saw her again. That was about five years ago, so I've been alone here ever since with only Watto on my back about how I can never do anything right.

"Stupid girl!" He complained as he threw a wrench that I quickly dodged, I've had plenty of practice after all, "I lost a customer!"

I stood back up and gazed upon him with slight fear in my eyes, "I'm sorry Watto." Even though it wasn't my fault, but I got used to apologizing for things that had nothing to do with me, "I told you that pod was un-fixable, it was burnt to a crisp. There really wasn't much I could do." I sighed, even though I had a legit explanation, it didn't matter, it was always somehow my fault. I picked up the wrench with my abilities; so it floated in the air towards him and he grabbed it.

He groaned, "What did I tell you about using your little mind tricks eh?" He rolled his eyes as he set the wrench down on the table aggressively.

I shrugged as I picked up a rag to begin cleaning the shelves, "You said not to use it when anyone is around," I turned around to gesture at the empty room, "No one is around." I turned back to the shelves to finish my cleaning so I could go home and this hellish day could come to an end. I was also starving, the suns were setting soon and I haven't eaten a single thing today.

He growled, "That smart mouth is going to get you in a lot of trouble," I didn't even need to turn around to know that he held the remote for my chip in his hand, "You're lucky you're my only slave, I'd have used this ages ago." I heard the sound of his wings flapping away and I sighed as a tear escaped my eye. I was so tired of this, this is how every day went, I would do anything to get out of here.

After another hour, he came back inside, and I was finished with my duties for the day, "Is it alright if I go home now?" I asked with worry, sometimes he tells me no and I end up sleeping here on the sand covered floor.

He eyed me for a moment before nodding, "Get out of here. But I want you back tomorrow before the suns rise." He flapped his wings and flew slowly away from me. I sighed with relief and quickly left this awful place. I practically jogged home as I pulled my hair out of its bun and I let it flow down my shoulders.

I reached my small house, it was in a community where most slaves lived, if their slaver was gracious enough to gift it to them.The only reason I have one is because I shared with Shmi. But now that she's gone, it's just me in here. Watto never took it away either, so I consider myself lucky.

Once I finished eating and washing up from the day, I laid in the small bed that once belonged to her son. I could have taken hers once she was gone, but I've already gotten comfortable here. Besides I liked looking at the little drawings that he had carved into the wall, most likely from boredom. My favorite one was of him and her in a speeder, driving away from a poorly drawn Watto. I'm sure he drew him poorly on purpose, if Watto treated him like he treated me, no doubt he hated him just as much as I did.

I used the force to lift a small cup up from the floor and I sat up to grab it so I could take a drink from it.

I learned of this gift that I had when I was ten, I used it on accident when I was crying after Watto had hit me unnecessarily hard on the jaw. Shmi was hugging me to calm me down, but it didn't work very well. Soon the shelves in the station began shaking and things flew off of the wall; landing roughly to the floor. Watto had to dodge a few so they wouldn't hit him. Since that day, he's kept my detonator inside his pocket at all times.

I didn't understand what it meant, but Shmi did. She took me home that day after we cleaned up the mess and told me all about what I could do and who I belonged with, the Jedi. We both prayed that one day they would come and find me, just as they found him. But, they never did. I wasn't one fo the lucky ones.

I gave up hope a very long time ago.

I closed my eyes as I sighed, already dreading tomorrow.

~*~•~*~

"I said before the suns rise, not after." He growled as I rushed into the building.

I was out of breath from my long run over here, "I'm sorry, but there was a small sand storm, I couldn't leave till it passed." Sand storms around here can be quite deadly and I'll be damned if I get stuck in one because he's impatient.

He groaned in annoyance as he turned around to grab something off of the table, "Dont let it happen again." Yeah sure I'll just tell the sand to wait.. I rolled my eyes behind his back. He turned around with a small droid in his hands, "It's an easy fix, have it ready within the hour." He demanded me with a snappy tone as he practically shoved it into my arms

I nodded with a sigh as he left the room and I began working on the droid. I remember when I first got here, my skills in mechanics were severely lacking. But eventually I taught myself to be better, I'm still not the greatest, but I get what he needs done which is enough. His constant threats were pretty good motivators as well.

About half an hour has passed by when I started to feel a familiar dry feeling in my throat thanks to this heat. Without looking, I called my cup of water from the other end of the table and it began floating in the air towards me, "Now where did you learn to do that?" A deep voice that I never heard before filled the room and I jumped in surprise; causing the cup to fall and shatter against the wooden table. I jumped up and faced a dark figure that was standing at the entrance. He had this dark aura to him and the only thing I could see were his yellow eyes, the rest of his face was covered by a mask(think of a Bucky Barnes type of mask). His entire outfit was black, including the hood that he had over his head; which hid most of his hair, except for a few curls that popped out around the edges.

I realized I'd been staring and hadn't answered him yet, "Um I taught myself." Which wasn't a total lie.

He stepped inside and got a little closer, his intimidating eyes made me back away in fright, "Are you a Jedi?" He asked in a voice that was smooth like silk as he tilted his head and eyed my clothing.

I shook my head as I gestured to my obvious slave outfit, "Do I look like a Jedi to you?"

He chuckled darkly, "No, I guess not. So you're a slave then?" He asked and I nodded as a response, our eye contact never breaking, "Hm, how long have you been able to use the force?" He moved even closer and soon my lower back was pressed up against the table from trying to keep a distance from this man.

"Since I was ten." I answered honestly, I was slightly nervous that this was one of Watto's friends, although I've never seen him before. If he is though and caught me using the force, Watto is going to whip me for sure.

He eyed me curiously, "What is your name?"

"(y/n)."

"Last name?" He asked and I shook my head. He gave me a confused look and I decided to answer the question I knew he was going to ask.

"I don't have one, I'm not even sure if (y/n) is the name that was given to me at birth, it's just what Watto has called me since I've been here. I don't know any different." I shrugged as I turned to look at the direction Watto had left in to see if he was coming back. To my relief, he wasn't.

When I looked back, the man was now only a few inches from my face and I jumped at his sudden closeness, "Do you happen to know where he is?" He questioned in a more serious tone as his eyes bore into mine, my heart was racing out of pure nervousness by how close he was.

I nodded as I pointed to the doorway that he had left through just half an hour ago, "I think he's in the junkyard with a customer."

He looked in the direction that I pointed and I swear I heard a low growl, or I'm just hearing things. He finally glanced back to me and held up a gloved finger to my face,"I'll be back, don't go anywhere." He brushed past me and walked outside. Where would I even go?

I sighed as I sat down, so it seems he is a friend of Watto, I'm already sweating thinking about the punishment I'm going to have to endure by being so careless.

The man was gone longer than I expected and I finished the droid given to me by Watto. I stood up from the table to clean the water and glass that I had broken earlier. As I wiped the table, I accidentally cut myself on my middle finger, I brought it up to my eyes and saw a small glass shard that was stuck inside, "Damn it." I sighed as the blood trickled down my finger. I turned around to get a band aid for when I pull the glass out and I bumped roughly into a hard chest. I quickly backed up to be met with the dark figure once more, "I'm so sorry." I apologized, worried I would get in trouble for that.

He shook his head, "It's fine, what happened here?" He grabbed my finger and brought it up to his piercing eyes, that's when I noticed he had a scar near his right eye, and also just above his eyebrow was a liquid red line. Blood?

"It's just a cut from the glass over there." I informed him. Without saying anything, he lifted his other hand to the cut and the piece of glass lifted out of my finger and floated in the air before he dropped it down to the floor. My eyes widened, "You can use it too?" Ive never met anyone like me before, I've only ever heard stories, usually from Shmi.

He nodded as his eyes searched my face with confusion, "Do you not know who I am?"

I shook my head, "Should I?" I hoped I wasn't offending him, I hardly know about anything that doesn't involve this place. I listen to pilots talk sometimes, but it was never anything interesting.

He chuckled just as he did earlier, "You're interesting," He spoke softly as he trailed his gloved fingers on my cheek gently, I was frozen in place by his touch, "I can feel it, you have significant potential." He dropped his hand from my face but held it out to me, "Come with me."

I shook my head, confused by his request, "I can't leave, Watto owns m-"

"Watto is dead," He cut me off and my breathe got caught in my throat as I looked back to the red line above his eyebrow. I felt so many emotions in this moment and one of them was.. relief, "And I have this," He put his hand in the pocket of his cloak and pulled out the detonator for chip, he handed it to me. I reached forward and accepted it, wondering if all of this is a dream, "Now, (y/n), I'm going to give you a choice that I normally don't offer people with your talents." I looked up from the detonator to meet his gaze, I felt a sense of gratitude towards him, "You may go, live a free life outside of being a slave. Or," He held his hand out to me once more, "You can come with me and I will teach you everything I know."

I looked from his gaze and down to his palm. I thought for a moment, I can run and be free. Or I can learn more about who I really am.

A huge part of me was telling me to take the option to go out and be free. Mostly because of how dark this mans demeanor felt, even though I got this weird feeling that I knew him, he weirdly didn't feel like a stranger.

But there's this other feeling, telling me to take his hand and that if I didn't, I would regret it.

So I made my choice, I reached forward and placed my hand in his. He gripped it tightly and I didn't need to see his mouth to know that his lips tugged into a twisted smile. Something tells me that I just accepted the hand of the devil.