Odessa - Blood Mettle - Intermission
The hum of the engines would be the only sound Odessa could hear as the ship soared through space, there was naught else but silence. The Echani warrior had locked herself away in a room of the Blood Mettle, where she had been instructed to change while her mind was heavily toiled with. As disgruntled as she may have been having to wear a dress once more, it was better than the alternative of only smallclothes. After getting changed, Odessa, knowing there was not much she could do, would try to find some semblance of sleep, however brief.
She is awoken by a light thump as the ship landed, and the sound of movement coming closer towards the door. A guard would attempt to open it, and after failing to do so, she would hear Nero chuckle, before the door was ripped open.
The Echani Noble then enters, that same confident smirk written upon his face, as he appraised Odessa and her choice of dress. It was royal purple, and was finely detailed with glitter and patterns of constellations, its edges trimmed with gold.
“I knew you would choose that dress. it’s rather fitting, truly.” His words flow confidently, the sheer arrogance in his words earning an infuriated expression from Odessa. Her mouth opens to speak but finds that no words ever leave it. Her features would contort in confusion, before Nero breaks her train of thought by speaking once more.
“Come, your mother is waiting, and she is quite eager to see you.” He stands there, waiting for her to depart the ship, a hand extended towards where the door once was. Odessa was resting against the wall, her spirit battered and bruised. She was tired, exhausted even, and did not have the energy to protest or escape, despite almost every thought in her mind telling her to run. Perhaps it was the hopelessness of the situation that was settling in, or perhaps something more sinister was at play…
Opulence would meet her gaze, her vision filled with white marble as far as the eye could see, when she stepped out of the ship. She would also notice the three story tall mansion she spent half of her childhood life within. Lush and lavish gardens rose up on either side of the path forward, exotic plants native to Eshan amongst them. Odessa scowled once she realized the reality of the situation she was now in, heavy steps carrying her forward.
And there she was, the woman she so despises, the woman who she thought she would never rest eyes upon once more, Gwe’nevre. She rushed right towards her, bringing Odessa into her embrace. Odessa felt nothing, for she was numb to her mothers affections.
“Odessa! my ray of sunshine! Oh how I have missed you! So glad am I that you have been returned to us!” Cupping her child’s face in her arms, she would closely examine her eyes. Her joyful gaze would be met by the tired and furious stare of Odessa.
“Ah! you must be exhausted from your trip! come, come! we shall have a feast! and we may talk as well!” Without prompt or hesitation, Gwe’nevre grabs one of her arms and practically pulls her along to the gargantuan mansion. Nero and his guards shortly follow.
tak tak tak tak
The sounds of footsteps echo loudly through the grand hall, as Gwe’nevre and those that followed walk upon the stainless polished floor. The Interior of the mansion was just as overly decorated as what could be seen outside, grossly so. Doors upon doors could be seen in any direction one looked, and high above, a large crystal chandelier that would have been double the size of the small ship outside hung overhead. Large golden statues littered the hall, one for each member of house Corin’thalla. One would stand out in particular, a recent addition. The plaque underneath reads: Odessa Corin’thalla. She would squint towards it as they passed.
Gwe’nevre opens a door to a dining room, or, what Odessa would consider a dining hall. It was large enough to feed hundreds of people, yet there was only one long table in the middle, with enough chairs for twenty people. Right at the end of this table was a chair that was more akin to a throne, and it would be where her mother would sit. She would direct Odessa to take a seat to her left, while Nero sat opposite to her. The guards would be not be seen anywhere, however what Odessa would notice was servants who came to and from the table, leaving excessive amounts of food upon it. The sight made her blood boil, not only due to her hatred of the Echani caste system, but because she could see Antrisse in each of them, and knowing she could not be in her company, it soured her already rapidly depleting state of mind. In contrast to Odessa, Gwe’nevre was in high spirits, and Nero had that usual noble smugness about him.
“Now, you must be wondering why we have gone through such efforts to find you, my dear. I am sure you have come to the conclusion as to why.” Odessa just stares at her mother, who in turn, observed her child sinking in the chair she sat upon.
“Your testimony! your description of the events that occurred, how you rescued a Jedi Initiate from death! it was your moment, your sign that you are like us! never were you a black sheep, and never should we have cast you away, for the force flows through you, just as it does us!” She grins so wide it makes Odessa shiver in her seat, as her anger is overshadowed by fear.
“You only see what you wish to see…” she responds, her tone flat, but the fear was there, and building.
“No, my child, what I see is my child who is soon to bloom…and we have such grand plans for you, our family. You see…” Her mothers voice would fade from her ears, as she stared at her, eyes widened as if she had heard something she was never supposed to. Seconds turn to minutes, minutes turn into an hour as she sits there while her mother talks at her.
“…And you are to marry Nero.”
She blinks, waking from her daze.
“…What?”
“Nero is to become Corin’thalla, and you are to be his wife. It is expected in time that you will sire children with him, as is the duty of each Corin’thalla.”
Odessa was stunned. Her mouth hang open in shock for a time.
“No.”
“No? there is no refusal to this, Odessa, you are to wed him. The date has already been set.”
She stares at her mother, and then to Nero.
“No.” she says plainly. “I refuse, I am not going along with this, for my heart belongs to another.”
“That -servant- owns nothing of yours, she has tricked you with her wiles, and you have foolishly been been hooked. Your place is at my side, where we shall grow and foster our own family, and you can live in peace. In a home where all you will ever need do is tend to our children, and live boisterously in luxury with family, friends, and nobility. Never will you need to lift another blade, to spill blood. You would be safe with me!”
The rage wins over her fear, and Odessa stands, knocking the chair back in the process.
“I will -not- be a trophy wife! not now, nor ever!!!”
Gwe’nevre exhales deeply, and raises a hand to Odessa.
“My love is with Antrisse! I will not fors–” She pauses, as what feels like a thick fog enters her mind. She holds her head in her hands then, as it starts to ache.
Antrisse… she is the one I have bonded with most, the one who I have fought alongside for many cycles, many days and nights have we toiled and marched as one. I am the beskar to her beskad, and we dance as one. always. When first we met… Her brow scrunches in frustration.
When first we met…Wait…how did we meet?..
A shake of her head.
She is the one who I would dance between the stars with, throughout the cosmos and the great beyond.
She thinks to herself.
Beskar, and beskad.
She repeats this in her mind intentionally, over and over again.
“You are tired my dear, you should rest. We shall talk more tomorrow, for it shall be a big day. The whole family will be here to see you, and we shall test the strength of your connection to force.”
Odessa stares at Gwen’vere in disbelief. A stare that lasts far longer than it should.
“Servants, if you would~” She claps, and Odessa is escorted out of the hall, and upwards to the third floor, where eventually she is left by the door to her room. Sighing, she opens the door to find someone oddly familiar to her. It takes a moment, but she finally comes to the conclusion that it was the nanny who once raised her, who oversaw much of her childhood in these walls.
“Ah, Odessa! you look so…so…unladylike!” Odessa furrows a brow at the words that slip out of her mouth.
“This dress, it suits you wonderfully, and yet…these muscles do you no favors. No no no! this will not do!” She frets, thinking aloud to herself. “Not to worry! we shall have you back to slim and slender in no time!” She says, cheering, which causes the warrior to sweat.
“I am a smith, I forge…” Odessa retorts tiredly, frustration toned in her words.
“No no no! that is not a duty of a lady, and you will no longer be doing that, oh no! We shall make a housewife of you yet!” Her chirpy voice was getting under her skin, as were her words. The nanny shuffles around, and closes the door behind them.
“Now let’s begin!”
“…Begin what exactly?”
Shortly after, screams of agony would echo throughout the mansion…