The night was oddly quiet, without a hum out of place. This made the sleep deprived Zabrak stir. Maul’s eyes shifted beneath their lids in his dreamless slumber, and his fingers curl deeper into the distraught bedsheets. Then a shrieking cry rang out through the hall and into the bedroom. Both bed occupants groaned in unison, awakened from their short slumber. The woman beside Maul made a meager effort to pick herself up.
“Sleep, my love,” Maul assured, placing a comforting hand to her shoulder, “I’ll check on her.”
With a thankful mumble as a response, she flopped back down on her plush pillow. Maul smiled, gazing admiringly at the only woman, and person for that matter, who never saw him as a monster how others did. No, he knew he was most fortunate to be gifted with such a strong and loving individual. And so his good fortune continued and had given him the precious bundle of shrieking joy in the other room.
Skillfully, Maul slipped out of bed to make his way into the hallway. On instinct, his glowing golden eyes scanned down the empty hall left and right. After concluding that there was no danger, he moved on. With a wave of his hand, the door to his destination slid open. Only then did the volume of the cries intensify. Maul could not help but to wince on reflex. Quickly, he eyed the infant’s room. He stepped briskly over to the crib; even going as far as to crouch down to peer underneath the furniture. As he stood straight, he gazed upon the small creature.
Garbed in a custom lilac handmade onesie, the little girl kicked up her legs and clawed at the air with her fingers. Maul sighed at the sight of her; eyes squinted in her ongoing frustration. It was still unknown to them as parents whether or not their daughter would develop more Zabrak attributes. One of them most prominently being horns that might one day begin sprouting up around her head, if any. But as long as their baby was healthy, happy, and safe, that’s all that mattered to them.
“What is troubling you?” He whispered as he reached into the crib to softly stroke her chubby cheek with the sides of his fingers. “(D/N),” he cooed gently, “shh, why won’t you sleep?” Her cries only intensified. Gingerly, he grabbed ahold of his daughter and placed her into his warm and secure embrace; cradling her as if she may break at any moment.
“Shhh,” he pled, attempting to bounce her lightly in his arms. However, she did not take it well. With a swing of her arms, she pounded her clenched little fist against his firm chest. “You are without a doubt, my child,” he chuckled, beaming down at her form as her willful cries finally lessened.
“(D/N),” he began, her bright eyes blinking open, “may I tell you a secret?”
She babbled her mouth at him as if in response.
Maul nodded with a cheerful smirk, “Good. Because I want this kept between just the two of us. You see, I was not at all…kind in any sense of the word before I met your mother. In fact, I was annoyed by her sheer presence when I had first encountered her. Mind you, it was because of how distracted I had become with her. The sight of her. The pleasant ring of her voice, and her scent. Her intoxicating aroma drove me wild; it numbed me and erased all sense of anger within me.”
Maul proceeded to poke a single index finger toward her grabby hands. She clanged onto him faster than he had initially expected.
“You are indeed a wonder to behold, little one,” he muttered through his breath, “and you should know by now that your mother and I both love you with all our hearts. You must never forget that.” There was nothing in that moment that could ever tear the grin off of his face. “You are a tough one, like your mother.” To his utter joy, (D/N) made a much more happy sound in comparison to her previous wailing. “And one day,” he wiggled his finger within her grasp, “I will train you. And you will follow your own destiny, as I did. And you will succeed.”
Though his words of encouragement only made her stare up at him, he knew that the day would come when this talk would resonate with her. But until that day, he would gladly, however tired he may be, follow to her beckoning calls of distress and soothe her to the best of his ability.
“Now,” he inquired, wandering aimlessly around the room, “shall I tell you about the time that I defeated a bull rancor?”
She gave his finger a mighty squeeze with what strength she had as a month old.
“Very good,” he encouraged, much to her now giggling joy.
Eventually, they would receive some much needed sleep. But in the mean time, Maul decided on telling a not-so-gruesome version of one of his missions.
