PART ONE
NARRATOR:
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. . . .
CUE THEME
SCENE 1. INT. CASTLE SERENNO. KEEP. NIGHT.
Atmosphere: Wind whistles past a balcony, high in Dooku’s castle.
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
I hate it here.
I hate the castle. I hate the cliff. I hate the spikebats whirling above the forest far below. I hate the moons grinning down at me.
I hate the fact that night after night I stand on this ledge, feeling the breeze against my skin, wondering what it would be like to jump, to drop down into the trees.
Would the Force guide me?
Would it help me find that perfect branch that would take my weight so I could spring to safety, leaves crunching beneath my feet as I ran, rodents scurrying for their nests.
KY NAREC: (GHOST)
How did you get here, little one?
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
Most of all, I hate that voice. The stupid, impossible voice. A voice of the past. A voice that doesn’t belong.
KY NAREC: (GHOST)
I said . . .
VENTRESS:
I know what you said, Ky.
KY NAREC: (GHOST)
And yet you choose to ignore me, my Padawan.
VENTRESS:
I’m not your anything!
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
I whirl around, expecting to see his face. Those crinkled eyes. That crooked smile.
But the room is empty, dust motes whirling in the moonlight.
He’s not here. And yet . . .
KY NAREC: (GHOST)
How did you become this?
VENTRESS:
A monster?
KY NAREC:
(DISTORTED) Do not twist my words, little one.
VENTRESS:
Don’t call me that.
KY NAREC:
(DISTORTED) What do you want me to call you?
VENTRESS:
You could try my name.
KY NAREC: (GHOST)
How did you become this, Asajj?
VENTRESS:
Actually, that’s worse.
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
I know I’m being contrary, but what does he expect? How did I come here? How did I become this woman? This creature?
He did this. He led me here.
He left me behind.
KY NAREC: (GHOST)
I never left you, Ventress. I never would.
VENTRESS:
Shut up! Get out of my head!
LEP-10019:
Mistress?
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
The damn droid makes me jump. The castle is full of them, with their whirring servos and lifeless eyes.
VENTRESS:
I wasn’t talking to you.
The droid looks around, its neck servos whirring.
LEP-10019:
There is no one else here.
VENTRESS:
No. No, there’s not. (SIGHS) What do you want, droid?
LEP-10019:
My designation is LEP-10019.
VENTRESS:
I don’t care.
LEP-10019:
Oh. Um. He needs you.
KY NAREC: (GHOST)
Ventress . . . please . . .
VENTRESS:
Lead the way.
SCENE 2. INT. CASTLE CORRIDOR.
The LEP-100197 droid clanks as it leads Ventress through the castle.
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
I think of the ways I could destroy the waddling robot as it leads me through the castle. The corridors are long and as sterile as its workforce. As a building it’s impressive, with its high vaulted ceilings and arched doors. We had nothing like it on Rattatak, nothing that wasn’t pockmarked by laser burns anyway. But where are the portraits of long-dead ancestors? Where are the statues? Where is the stuffed rancor head mounted over a roaring hearth?
The castle is pristine but empty, devoid of warmth.
Like its master.
LEP-10019:
This way please.
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
Dooku is in the great hall, standing on a raised dais. He stares through the circular window that dominates the far wall, his family’s sigil etched into the stained glass.
LEP-10019:
Wait here.
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
I fight the urge to separate the El-ee-pee’s stupid rabbit-eared head from its narrow shoulders. It totters off, leaving me in Dooku’s presence. The imposing man doesn’t turn. He doesn’t even acknowledge that I am here.
I wait, every muscle aching with the effort of appearing nonchalant.
As if I can fool him.
DOOKU:
Your feelings betray you.
VENTRESS:
I’m sorry. I—
DOOKU:
(STERN) Did I grant you permission to speak?
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
I grit my teeth, trying to calm the fury that twists in my belly like a nest of bloodvipers.
DOOKU:
No. Let your anger grow. Let it seethe.
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
Finally he turns, regarding me not with interest but with idle curiosity, the way a scientist examines a rodent to see if it has mastered a new trick, to see if it deserves a reward.
But there are no rewards here.
DOOKU:
Your burns are healing. Do they hurt?
VENTRESS:
No, Master.
DOOKU:
Liar. Try again.
VENTRESS:
Yes. They hurt very much.
DOOKU:
Good. Focus on the pain. Use it. It is the source of your power.
VENTRESS:
Yes, Master.
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
Master. The word sticks in my throat. I vowed I would never call anyone Master again. Not after Hal’Sted. And especially not after Narec.
And yet, here I am.
KY NAREC: (GHOST)
Here you are.
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
I clench my fists, nails biting into my palms. The voice has plagued me ever since I was brought here. A voice only I can hear. Unless this is another test? Has Dooku summoned a phantom to torment me?
I square my shoulders, raising my chin. I must appear strong.
Dooku’s dark eyes narrow.
DOOKU:
You are troubled.
VENTRESS:
No, Master. It . . . It is nothing.
DOOKU:
I told you. Do not lie to me.
VENTRESS:
I wouldn’t. I . . . I couldn’t.
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
A smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. The rat has performed well. Squeak, squeak, squeak.
DOOKU:
You wish to kill me.
VENTRESS:
No. I—
Force lightning crackles out from Dooku’s fingers, striking Ventress.
VENTRESS:
(CRIES OUT)
VENTRESS: (NARRATION)
Dark lightning bursts from Dooku’s fingers, coursing over me. In one agonizing, mind-shredding moment, he proves to me that nothing else matters. Not the droids. Not the castle. Not even Ky.
There is only his authority and his voice.
The lightning continues to flow throughout the scene as Dooku taunts her.
DOOKU:
Of course you want to kill me. You are a killer. That is what you do. That is why I chose you. Do you think I came to Rattatak by chance? That I somehow stumbled upon your pit?
VENTRESS:
(PAINED) No . . .
DOOKU:
The Force showed me. It showed me a Dathomiri sold to save her coven. A slave liberated from captivity. A Padawan forced to watch her Master bleed out in the dirt.
VENTRESS:
Please . . .
DOOKU:
Is that how they begged, your victims, as you took revenge, as you slaughtered every Rattataki who conspired to murder your Master? I wish I’d seen it, Ventress. I wish I’d seen their faces when they realized the storm they’d unleashed.
Copyright © 2019 by Cavan Scott. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
