The Secret Apprentice | Vader x OC

The Flame

My grip on reality was slipping, and my body was shaking uncontrollably as a result of his unpredictable rage. My skin felt as if it were on fire while it became beat red, the cool air around us hit my hot reddened flesh to draw chills from the unaffected areas of my body and temporary relief to my wounds.

Vader's powerful voice filled the room, drawing me to cower against the wall in the weakest fetal position, "as a result of your inability to use your dysfunctional brain for anything other than royally pissing me off, your wretched sister's lifespan will now last no more than a week's time. And you will live out the rest of your meaningless life alone. Everyone you will ever love will perish, and I will see to it personally that they do."

The tears never came to a stop, and I had no sense of control over my weeping. His breathing was so heavy and fueled by such an incredibly chaotic entanglement of conflicting emotions, that I was terrified to move a single muscle. But, with the last bit of bravery that I could muster from within my being, the words escaped my lips through a petrified voice, "...Just kill me...I just want all of this to end, please...!"

His focus on me never faltered, letting out a disgusted scoff, "Selfish cowards wish death upon themselves, and I assure you, those individuals are culled without hesitation. This Empire of mine will never incorporate weak-minded individuals. Fortunately for you, I am steadily coming to the conclusion that you may just be a weakling after all."

His words dug deep, and out of sheer exhaustion I dropped my head onto the floor. My body was rapidly bruising all over, and my wounds continued to bleed. I had expected him to storm out of my chambers, but somehow I could feel the slightest amount of hesitation from him. Before I could dwell into it any further, he took off through the blast door, the door closing immediately after him. All sensation of Vader was then cut off from his end, leaving me feeling entirely alone.

My extreme levels of exhaustion, emotional turmoil and indescribable amounts of pain all over my body barely left me with enough energy to cry. All of the anger I felt simultaneously melted away into a crippling amount of despair, beginning to feel my body shutting down.

The truth held itself over my head like an omen, that I will be the one responsible for my dear sister's death and there is absolutely nothing I could possibly do to stop it unless I am somehow able to think up a way to redeem myself of my actions. There was no way for me to even begin to focus right now, all I wanted was to sleep...

...I wanted to die. If being free from all of this meant being labeled as a coward, my pride no longer matters. I hoped that I would just end up bleeding out.

But if I die, Sabel is dead without any chance of me possibly changing Vader's mind. If I really want to live, then I must get myself to the medbay before falling asleep with a concussion and severe internal bleeding.

Slowly, I began to force myself to move. Keeping my eyes open despite how heavy they felt, I steadily rolled into my stomach, screaming out in agony the entire way. Once on my stomach, the large puddle of blood I had rolled through left my skin glistening with my warm, thick blood. Pushing as hard as I could to force myself into a seated position, the agony raked its way throughout my entire body, my blood loss intensifying as my muscles and body tensed. My heart rate increased along with my exertion, adding onto my blood loss. Despite all of this, I was determined to live.

"...Sabel...I won't give up..." Finally getting to my feet, my balance was lost and I tipped over, sprinting my way to the wall closest to the blast door as I fell, ending up slamming into it, crying out in agony.

I could not single out a specific part of my body that hurt more than the rest, my entire nervous system screaming and begging for me to lie back down. This was no longer a fight for my own pride, it was for Sabel. My sister was the most powerful influence to me that could make this near impossible task happen.