Slave For You
"Ma'am, we ask that you keep your property with you at all times," the soldier advised Laura as she stood by the quarantine gate. They were waiting for LaFontaine to return from testing the cure out in the field.
The Jedi frowned. "Property?"
He nodded toward Carmilla, who was walking along the high security wall, inspecting it. "This is a dangerous area to let your slave wander off."
Laura's eyes widened. "Excuse me?" she squeaked, which grabbed the pilot's attention.
"I don't mean to overstep my boundaries and tell you how to treat your belongings, but this is high alert area." Carmilla caught the tail end of his words as she finally fell back to the Jedi's side.
"Why would you think-" the blonde began.
"The collar, princess," Carmilla answered in a bored tone. She smirked bitterly before turning fully toward Laura. "How may I be of better service, master?"
The Jedi glared. "I don't want your service."
"That's not what you said last night."
Laura's face immediately turned red as she locked eyes with the soldier. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. "I have no idea what she's talking about," she tried to defend with her voice hitting a higher pitch.
Carmilla stepped into the blonde's space and ran her index finger tantalizingly down Laura's arm. "But you told me I did a good job. You rewarded me and everything," she said with pout.
The trail her finger made left a burning sensation. Laura’s mouth was suddenly dry and she was having trouble forming words. Thoughts of Carmilla slammed up against the wall with their bodies pressed together took over. Hands caressing bare skin. Hot breath hitting each other's lips-
"Cut it out," Laura said as she swatted the pilot's hand away. Carmilla looked unimpressed with the Jedi.
Beeping took over Laura's ear. She quickly reached up to press the comlink. "Hollis," she answered.
"Hey, it's Laf. I'm gonna be held up in here for a little longer than planned. I don't want you guys to wait around for me."
"Is there anything you'd like us to do? We're here to help, ya know."
"Well, you could meet Perry for dinner since I'm going to have to bail on her."
"You want me to go on your date for you?" she mocked.
"Ha. Ha. She isn't even your type."
"I don't have a type."
Laf openly chuckled. "Snarky pilot is definitely your type."
Her mouth fell open. "No, it is not!" Honey eyes locked with Carmilla, who lifted a brow.
"You're looking at her now, aren't you?"
Laura's eyes widened as she felt her cheeks turning red. She quickly looked away from the pilot. "No..."
"Liar," they responded with laughter. "I'll call Perry and tell her to expect you two. Go to the restaurant near the port. Cloud Nine."
She sighed. "Fine," she answered before ending the call. "Come on," she said to Carmilla. "We're going to dinner."
They started walking away as the brunette sped up to fall into step with the Jedi. "Dinner? Did I finally crack you? Am I getting lucky tonight?"
"The only thing you're getting is a good meal."
Carmilla smirked devilishly. "Oh come on, cupcake. I guarantee you’re tastier than just ‘good’.”
The Jedi scoffed. “You’re disgusting.”
“Mm, but you love it,” the brunette agreed with her hand subconsciously moving to her neck as if she could loosen the collar.
Laura looked at her from the corner of her eye before clearing her throat. “I, uh, I’m sorry that guy thought you were… ya know…”
Carmilla dropped her hands into her pockets and shrugged her shoulders. “Not your fault.”
“In a roundabout way it is.”
“And in a roundabout way it isn’t.”
“Did something happen?”
Carmilla’s gaze quickly turned to the blonde. “What?”
“I know you don’t like the idea of being a slave, well, because it’s bad and all that. But it just seems like there’s something more personal. Beyond the obvious 'not wanting to be owned by someone' fact,” Laura reasoned. “Plus, for someone who didn’t care much about other people, you let that woman go when you won her.”
“What woman?”
“The night we met. At the cantina on Manaan. You won that Pazaak game against Cochrane and then let the slave go. You didn’t keep her or try to sell her. Seemed out of character for you back then.”
Carmilla frowned. “So you thought I was that shitty of a person?”
Laura sighed. “Carm, I’m not saying that. You were a wanted criminal and it seemed strangely noble. Aside from the fact that you kind of freed her rudely.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t throw down a red carpet or buy her a drink,” she spat out.
The blonde groaned in frustration. “Fine. You want to be immature and start a fight, then I’ll drop it.” She huffed as they continued to walk in silence. After a minute, the pilot spoke.
“No one deserves that kind of life,” she said gently as her eyes remained on the ground ahead of them. Laura waited patiently for her to continue. “People can be incredibly cruel.”
Carmilla’s hand slowly lifted to feel the collar. “The Empress isn’t my birth mother. She took me and Will in when we were young.” She let out a chuckle. “She actually kinda saved us.”
Laura frowned at that. “How?”
“Will and I were slaves when she found us.”
The Jedi looked at her with wide honey eyes. “Carm…”
“I don’t remember much before being a slave. I just know that I lived on the streets. Will and I managed to survive long enough before being picked up and sold like chattel. Our owners weren’t kind to us. Particularly to me.”
Laura felt anger bubbling to the surface. Someone had bought and used Carmilla. Someone had treated her badly. Her hands turned into fists as her muscles began to tense. Then, Carmilla’s hand was wrapped gently around her wrist. The Jedi looked down in surprise as they stopped walking. She then met Carmilla’s dark stare.
She was smiling. The pilot was reassuring her.
“Getting angry now won’t fix anything,” she said sweetly. She then pulled on the Jedi’s arm and nodded ahead of them; a signal to continue to walk.
Carmilla sighed before putting her hands back in her pockets. “One day the son of my master was terrorizing us and I just couldn’t take it anymore. I felt the Force swirling inside me and it just- exploded. I flung him across the room, grabbed Will, and flung open the door. There, standing in the hallway, was a woman. She stared at me curiously before looking at the door we had come out of. She looked at me again and I felt like she could see everything about me. She stared right into me. Then, she smiled and said, ‘Let’s get you out of here, hm?’ And so she helped us escape. She took us in. And then she trained us.”
“You willingly trained?”
“I was a kid, cupcake. In my eyes, she was my hero. I wanted to be like her. It took me a long time to see the big picture. But I mean, would you rather be a slave or a trained killer?”
“That’s a horrible choice to make.”
“Luckily I didn’t have to make it.” She sighed heavily before running a hand through her hair. “No one should have that much power over you. Not even the Council.”
Laura turned to stare at her in alarm. “The Council doesn’t have power over me.”
“They tell you what you can and cannot do,” Carmilla answered simply.
“So do laws. I’m not a slave to the Council, Carm.”
The pilot scoffed. “Funny that you call them Masters though.”
“I’m not going to have this argument with you.”
“I was brainwashed too once.”
Laura came to a stop. “I’m not brainwashed!” Carmilla turned back to stare at her with lifted brows. “You don’t agree with my beliefs. That’s fine. But stop trying to tear them down. This is my life, Carmilla. You’re attacking who I am. I get that you obviously don’t respect the Council or Jedi in general, but respect me.”
Dark eyes searched the Jedi’s face. Then, she took a deep breath. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
Laura nodded slowly and then took a deep breath. “Me too.”
The pilot stared at her with confusion. “For what?”
“For everything you went through,” she said softly.
Carmilla then slightly smiled. “Thanks, but it’s not necessary. My new necklace is a shitty reminder though.”
“We’ll head back to the ship after dinner so you can take it off,” Laura suggested with a kind smile. She then motioned toward the building to their left. “Come on. That’s the restaurant.”
After dropping Senator Perry’s name with the receptionist, they were escorted to a back room. There, stood the two guards they had previously met outside of Perry’s house those few days ago. The one’s Carmilla threatened to dismember.
“Password?”
“What?” Laura asked with furrowed brows.
“What’s the password?” he repeated.
“We’re having dinner with the Senator,” Laura explained.
“Then you should know the password.”
“For fuck’s sake. You know who we are. Just let us in,” Carmilla answered.
“We can’t let you in without the password,” the other guard replied.
The Jedi frowned before lifting her hand and waving it slowly in front of the men. “We know the password. You will let us pass.”
The guards blinked for a moment before one spoke up. “You know the password. We will let you pass.” They then moved out of their way.
Carmilla followed Laura in surprise until they were in the next room. “Did you just Force persuade them?” she hissed.
“They were being difficult,” she answered nonchalantly.
“What happened to not using the Force when it wasn’t necessary?” the pilot asked in shock.
“Seemed pretty necessary.”
“You used the Force to get something you wanted,” she tried to layout for the Jedi.
“And?”
“How are you not seeing that it goes against your little Jedi rule book?!” she exclaimed.
“It’s not that big of a deal,” Laura said as she turned to walk around the corner.
Carmilla followed slowly with a frown. Laura was right. It wasn’t a big deal. Carmilla actually supported the action. But it was out of character for the blonde. Her holier than thou attitude would have never let her do that before. And Carmilla had felt anger in the Jedi more often recently. Little alarms were going off in the pilot’s head.
But maybe she was just being paranoid. Maybe Laura was finally loosening up. That was a good thing, right?
“Laura! Carmilla! I’m so glad you could join me. I was just finishing up a meeting with the Supreme Chancellor,” Perry greeted perkily.
“Mr. Vordenburg! What a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Laura smiled and bowed slightly.
“The pleasure is all mine, dear. I respect the work you do greatly,” he answered kindly. His stare then settled on Carmilla, and Laura saw something flash in his eyes. The blonde glanced at the pilot and noticed how rigid she had become. Laura then focused and tried to reach out with the bond. Fear and anger slipped through. The Jedi stared back at the Supreme Chancellor in alarm.
“Carmilla, was it? You look quite familiar,” the old man continued to stare at her curiously. “Have we met before?”
“No.”
“Hm. Well I have seen many faces in my time. People tend to blur together, you know?” he chuckled. “Are you a Jedi as well?”
Carmilla’s nostrils flared. “No.”
Laura took that moment to jump in. “Uh, she’s my partner.”
His eyes widened in understanding. “Oh! How lovely. How long have you two been together?”
“Wait, what-” the Jedi began to reply.
“We work together, old man,” Carmilla corrected with a snarl.
“Excuse me?” he started to ask. Perry quickly grabbed his arm and guided him toward the door.
“Oh, don’t mind her, sir. She recently lost her… pet. They were very close,” the ginger giggled. “Thank you for meeting with me. It was so nice that you made time in your busy schedule.”
“Of course, my dear. Perhaps we’ll discuss more at a later date. Thank you for the biscuits, by the way. They were truly delightful,” he smiled.
“You’re most welcome.”
“Good evening then,” he bowed his head and then exited.
Perry huffed and marched back over to the table where the two guests had taken their seats.
“You can’t insult the Supreme Chancellor, Carmilla!” she exclaimed.
The brunette rolled her eyes. The ginger’s yelling had little effect on her. “Why? Because he’s such a nice old man?”
“Well, for one, you’re supposed to respect your elders. And two, he’s in charge of our government!” the Senator shrieked.
“Neither of those interest me,” she replied lazily. “What else ya got?”
Perry groaned and spun toward the Jedi. “Laura!” she exclaimed for help as she pointed at Carmilla.
Laura sighed. “Getting into trouble with government officials should be something we try to avoid, Carm.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she commented, avoiding everyone’s gaze and crossing her arms over her chest.
Carmilla didn’t speak throughout the rest of dinner. She also didn’t say anything the entire walk back to the Lustig. Laura gave her some space. Something was clearly occupying her thoughts.
A little later, Laura was in her quarters trying to read a datapad when she heard grunts coming from down the hall. She frowned before curiously investigating. When she got to the practice room, she saw Carmilla with her hair tied up, wearing a tank top and tight, breathable pants. She was punching and kicking the air strategically. Sweat was slipping down her neck where the collar should be.
And Laura’s heartbeat was out of control just from watching her.
After a few minutes, the Jedi was knocked out of her thoughts.
“You can come in at any time, princess. The show is better up close,” Carmilla teased without bothering to stop exercising or look in her direction.
Laura’s heart was still pounding furiously in her chest. She forced a swallow before walking in.
“Are you okay?” Laura asked gently with her hands folded in front of her.
Carmilla groaned and threw another punch into the air. “You really need to stop asking me that. I’m limiting you to only asking once every three days.”
“What happened with Vordenburg?” she asked with furrowed brows.
“Drop it, Laura,” the brunette said, followed by a high kick.
“He even said he recognized you,” the Jedi pushed as she stepped closer.
“Well he’s going senile, I guess.”
“You were angry. And scared,” she added as she stood beside her.
“I said drop it!” Carmilla yelled as she spun to stare down the blonde. But when she turned, she didn’t expect to be so close. Their faces were only inches apart.
Laura had felt the immediate rage through their bond. But it quickly disappeared. A different rush replaced it. There was a peculiar feeling taking over now. She couldn’t tell if it was coming from herself or Carmilla. But it was something close to a hunger.
The pilot stared into warm honey eyes. Her adrenaline was already running high, but something else was keeping her on edge. Dark eyes fell to the Jedi’s slightly parted lips. She felt a bead of sweat slip down the back of her neck, causing her to shiver. There was a calming scent to Laura. Something floral, Carmilla figured. It drew her in; daring her to wrap herself within it.
So she did.
Carmilla lunged forward, her hands gripping the sides of Laura’s face and pressing their lips together. They stumbled backwards, Laura’s back hitting the wall. And that’s when the pilot realized it; Laura was kissing her back.
The blonde had wrapped her arms around her waist, her hands grabbing and feeling Carmilla with urgency.
Laura was lost in the feeling. She didn’t know how else to explain it, but Carmilla tasted like sin. It was wrong. Kissing her was wrong. Wanting to kiss her was wrong. Wanting was wrong.
But Carmilla felt so right.
Their lips continued to collide with need. Carmilla nibbled on Laura’s bottom lip and grinded into the blonde, eliciting a moan. The sound of Laura’s wanting drove her on. If Laura wanted, she could have it.
Then, Laura grabbed Carmilla’s hips roughly and shoved her back. “Stop!” she yelled before burying her face into her hands. “Oh my God,” she mumbled into her palms. “I-” she lifted her head with watery eyes staring back at the pilot. She then began to shake her head. “I can’t,” she said weakly before rushing out of the room.
Carmilla frowned toward the door; her breathing still trying to catch up. Then, she began to clench her jaw and flare her nostrils. She turned and suddenly grabbed the stool in the room with the Force, and flung it against the far wall; shattering it.
“Fuck!”