The road to the city was long a winding; outside the car, the sky grew dark and stars began to peek through the passing clouds above. As we grew closer, the sounds of cheering and laughing became louder and the smell of smoke filled my lungs. I looked over to Din, his hands were nervously rubbing his legs which were bouncing quickly.
"Hey," I called out while grabbing one of his hands, "are you okay?"
"Yea, I've just never had this many people see my face." I looked out the window at the people crowding the streets and the staircases. One man, in particular, had a mask on, one that only covered his eyes and nose but left his mouth visible. I tapped Din's shoulder and pointed to the man.
"Would something like that help?" He nodded his head, the nervous look beginning to fade from his face. The vehicle stopped at the base of a grand staircase; the building atop it had a large dome as a roof and pillars all around the front. "You stay here, I'll be right back." I stepped out of the car and walked down the street, back to the man I had seen just moments before. "How much for your mask?" I asked one I had approached him.
"Excuse me?" he replied.
Your mask, I need it, how much for it." He looked around at his friends and laughed sarcastically. I reached into the coin purse Din had given me and pulled out a handful of coins and offered them to him. The laughing stopped once they saw the currency and the mask quickly replaced the credits. I quickly walked back to the car, making sure to hold up the hem of my dress to keep it from getting stepped on and ripped. I pulled open the door to the car and tossed in the mask.
"How did you-" Din began.
"Just put it on," I replied. He did as I asked and placed the mask on his face. It hid the most identifiable feature of him, his eyes, while still making him appear human and non-threatening. I nodded in approval and stood from the doorway, shutting it and turning to wait for Din to walk around. I wrapped my arm between his arm and the side of his body but was quickly denied that as he wrapped the arm around my waist. I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat and prayed that the rouge I was wearing would hide my natural blush. We walked up the staircase together, every so often a group of people would look back and point at us as we passed. I did my best to ignore it, but the attention was making me feel lightheaded. Once we reached the landing, two men pulled open the large doors to the entrance. I nodded at the one closest to me as a thank you and stepped in, pulling Din along with me.
"What's the plan?" he asked.
"If we split up it would probably be faster, but that runs to the risk of not being able to find each other quick enough to confront the person."
"So together it is," he said. I nodded in agreement and grabbed his arm. We strolled through the casino, analyzing each of the thousands of tables for anything representative of a rabbit. My focus on the plan distracted me from enjoying the beauty of the building. The ceiling was filled with paintings lit up by crystal chandeliers. The molding around the tops of the walls gave an antique vibe to the room, making me feel as if I had been thrown back in history. We stopped at the final table and watched as the dice were rolled and the gamblers celebrated. I looked up from the table and searched the room. My eyes glazed over every person I could see, before landing on a certain individual sitting at the bar.
"I'm going to go get us drinks, you stay here." Din nodded at my words, but at that moment, I didn't care for his approval. I gravitated towards the bar, watching the man's every movement, making sure not to lose him.
"One glass of Tsiraki," I called out to the droid working the bar. The man was beside me taking a sip from his beverage, but I didn't dare look at him out of fear that he would know.
"Tsiraki, a beautiful beverage, fitting of someone with your elegance." I looked over at him, he had blue eyes, almost white, and pale skin. My eyes analyzed his face before falling to his jacket, his purple, velvet jacket.
"Velvet, that's quite rare these days, I imagine the only people able to afford it are ridiculously rich," I replied. He let out a dry chuckle before sitting his glass on the bar counter.
"Let me buy you a drink," he said. I opened my mouth to agree to his offer, but the familiar feeling in my stomach said otherwise.
"I don't drink," I replied. Yes, I do; I love to drink.
"But you just ordered a beverage?"
"It's not for me, it's for-"
"Me," Din said from behind me. He wrapped his arm around my waist and looked the man up and down. "Velvet. Isn't that -" he began.
"The rabbit's suit," I finished. The man's face soured, and he darted from his spot at the bar. Din reached out and grabbed the back of his jacket before he was just out of reach.
"I'm a member of the guild, I wouldn't try anything like that," he growled lowly in the man's ear.
"People know I'm here, if I go missing, they'll come for you," the man spat out.
"We don't want you dead, we don't even want you, we want your product," I replied. His eyebrows raised as he looked between the two of us.
"Most people that want my product are trying to hide the victims of their human trafficking. I can't imagine a couple like yourselves are trying to do that?"
"What we do with it is our business," Din replied in the same low voice.
"Well, the demand for my product is high, and my supply is low. But I would gladly give you a vial, on one condition," he began, "a private game of Pazaak with me and six of the highest scorers in the casino." I looked up at Din as he looked down at me. I was good at Pazaak, but not good enough to put the fate of Grogu on a card game.
"Deal," Din replied. "She'll be playing." I looked up at him, wide-eyed and brows furrowed.
"Wonderful!" the man said while clapping his hands together. Two men joined us and guided the two of us to a room; after a few minutes, we were joined by the man and the six other players. "Only she can come into the room, you'll have to wait outside." Din's jaw clenched at the man's words, but eventually, he turned and walked out of the room, leaving me with a kiss on the cheek and a simple "good luck".
I turned and looked over my opponents; only one other woman was at the table. The cards were dealt out and the game was called to begin. Within seconds of the game starting, I had the same feeling from the night on Yavin 4; I wasn't the person controlling my body. I watched from the inside as cars were laid, men were slowly picked out of the game as they lost, and it was left to me and the other woman. The cards in my hands were good, but the odds of her having a good hand were just as high. She laid down her four cards, a 5, 7, 2, and 3. I looked down at mine, 6, 8, 1, and 2; we were tied. I went to set down the cards but stopped when my number 1 card morphed into a 4 card. I watched as the cards were laid down, showing my hand of sum 20. The girl in front of me threw the cards off the table as she stormed away. Leaving me at the table by myself. The world around me came up to a normal speed as I felt myself enter back into my own body. Beside me, the man held out a vial of purple liquid.
"Your prize." I smiled and grabbed the vial out of his hand before standing from my chair. I walked through the room to the other side where the doors were. I pushed them open, looking around for Din who was nowhere in sight. I stood looking out into the sea of people before feeling a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and smiled while holding up the vial to show him. The only problem was that it wasn't Din, it wasn't anyone I had met before. The man was tall and had a scar across his face. He wore a dark cloak and at his hip, I could see I saber attached, just like the one the Jedi had. I opened my mouth to speak but was quickly shut up by a hood covering my head and arms wrapping around me, carrying me away. I tried my hardest to scream, but the sound wasn't coming out. My body was frozen still and the only sounds I could hear were the hushed whispers around me. Eventually, I was placed on a hard floor and the hood was removed. My eyes took time to adjust to the bright light, but once they did, I could make out some of the people around me. The man with the saber, two women, and behind them, Din. One of the women walked closer to me, grabbing my jaw and pulling my face up to look at her. It was at that very moment that I had realized the trouble we were in. Her red hair fell from behind her ears and she leaned down to me.
"I want my Darksaber," she whispered between clenched teeth.
"I don't want to fight Bo-Katan," I muttered.
"That's a shame," she said with a sarcastic smirk. She let go of my face and stood, shaking her head while she walked away from me. "Where is it?" she asked Din. He looked just as drained as I did, but he looked like he had the shit beat out of him as well. He looked up at her and there was silence for a moment. He looked over at me before reaching behind his back and pulling it out of his waistband. Why did he bring that with us? Bo-Katan ripped it from his hands and walked over to me, placing it in mine. I looked down at the object in my hands before standing up and igniting it. All was still for a moment until I heard the firing of a blaster. Pain seared through my leg as I fell to the ground. A look of shock crossed Bo-Katan's face as the saber dropped from my hand clattering beside me. Behind her, Din was holding a smoking blaster pointed in my direction. He walked towards me and picked up the saber, the light igniting once in his grip. My hands were covered in blood as I tried my hardest to stop the bleeding.
"I told you Bo-Katan, you come for her, you're coming for me too This is between you and me now." The man with the lightsaber picked me up and carried me out of the room into another one. I screamed out for Din, but he only looked towards me and nodded. He shot me to become to the rightful owner of the Darksaber, to protect me, and now he was in a room, armorless, about to fight a woman in full Beskar.
There was a good chance the man I love could die tonight for me, and there is nothing I can do about it.