The first thing I felt was a pounding headache. I pried my eyes open, only to see an unfamiliar stone ceiling. I slowly looked around and realized that I was in someone's home, whose walls and ceiling were all made up of rough stone.

Am I in a.... cave?

I slowly lifted myself into a sitting position, groaning as I felt several parts of my torso ache, but mostly my back. Fortunately though, it didn't feel like I broke any bones. After steadying myself, the first thing I noticed was that my hands were already bandaged, with just a minimal trace of blood across my palms where my wounds were.

The next thing I noticed was that my large black cloak was nowhere to be found, but thankfully I was still in my usual black turtleneck.

Did that man.... that weird shopkeeper... bring me here?

Come to think of it, he did save me from those dock guards. But as much as I was grateful, I still had to keep my guard up. He was still a stranger, after all, and I had no clue on his full motives towards me, or if he'll end up selling me out to the hutts.

I kept my feet light on the ground to avoid alerting him in case he was actually just somewhere else in the cave house. After failing to see my cloak anywhere, I gave up on it and decided to head towards the nearest exit (other than the front door, of course) which was a cave opening leading to an open area. But upon looking closer, much to my dismay, it only led to a rather steep cliff with jagged rocks at the bottom, that looked like it will be the death of me.

I glanced at my bandaged hands. They were not in the best condition, but surely I can manage. It was the only way out, after all. I stepped closer to the edge to try and scan the cliff walls to confirm the feasibility of my plan, but as I leaned over, my head suddenly spun.

Shit.

I lost my balance and started to topple over, and I could only think how ridiculous that I was going to die this way. But that was until a strong arm wrapped around my waist, quickly pulling me back into safety.

"You're not well, you should be careful." His voice vibrated against my body as I was pressed firmly against his chest. I pursed my lips as I stared at the cliff that almost took my life.

Not only did I fail to escape him, but he even had to save my life for the second time. Embarrassing.

"Come inside, it's cold out here." He said as he released me, letting me follow after him. Once we were inside, I remained standing in once corner as I cautiously watched his every move. Instead of the rags he was wearing back at the shop, he was now wearing a plain white robe. In fact, he looked much more clean and neat now as if he'd already taken a bath. He looked like an entirely different person, if I were to be honest.

He headed straight to the stew that has been cooking and crouched next to it.

"Where are we?" I slowly asked.

"Somewhere safe," he answered vaguely. He probably knew I wasn't satisfied with that answer so he added. "Don't worry, those dock guards will not get to you here."

My last few memories at Olega flashed in my head as I was fighting for my consciousness back then. How he easily subdued the large dock guards, how he easily broke their bones and snapped their necks. How could a shopkeeper know how to fight like that?

"Did you... kill them?"

His hand momentarily stopped stirring the stew, as if wondering how to answer that.

"Yes," he said bluntly, not even bothering to glance at me. Well, I appreciated the honesty.

Feeling a bit more at ease, I sat on a nearby stool. A deafening silence stretched between us as we both waited for each other to say something. I had so many questions myself, but I didn't know where to start.

"Why were they chasing after you?"

He finally asked, and I wondered if I should answer honestly. But come to think of it, he already saved my life twice, so I think I owed him some sort of explanation.

"I illegally boarded a transport ship from Collossus.... Well, I didn't have any credits on me so I actually had no choice."

"What were you doing in that dangerous place?" He glanced at me, his brows furrowed. It somewhat felt like he was scolding me. Of course, I knew Collossus was dangerous. It was packed with pilots, gamblers, smugglers, criminals, and other people of sorts-- basically dangerous people. It wasn't a place for the light-hearted.

"Stuff," I answered vaguely, shrugging my shoulders. "Well, that's why I left. I was good as dead there."

He stared at me for a few seconds, his expression unreadable. I just blinked back at him. Well, he couldn't expect me to reveal my entire life story now to him, could he?

Thankfully, he seemed to finally drop the topic and proceeded to scoop two bowls of stew. I took the chance to ask my own set of questions.

"Back at your shop, you mistook me for someone.... who is she?"

He had his back turned to me, but somehow I had a feeling that he didn't want me to ask that question.

"Someone I used to know," he answered vaguely again. I almost rolled my eyes. Why is it so hard to get to know this guy? "Well, I think we've established that you're not the same person, haven't we?"

He smiled, trying to charm me as he handed me my bowl of stew. Well, I wasn't buying it. With the way he reacted upon seeing me, I could tell that she was more than just someone he used to know.

"Okay then, who are you?" I rephrased the question in annoyance.

"You can call me Qimir," he smiled. "As you already know, I'm just a shopkeeper that lives in a cave."

I just stared back at him as I started eating. He's oddly charming, I give him that. But I could tell it was just a facade for something.

"A shopkeeper that could fight like that?" I couldn't help but smirk. Did he really think I was going to believe that? "You might as well tell me you're a Jedi undercover."

His face suddenly became serious. Did I hit a nerve? He seemed offended by the word 'Jedi'.

"Not all force users are Jedi, you know?" He said calmly, his head tilting to one side. "And what about you?"

"I didn't even know I could do that," I mumbled, remembering what I did back there at Olega. "I had no idea that I was even a force user."

It was true, never in my life did I once think that I was connected to the force, or whatever feeling they call it. Perhaps, I was too busy trying to think of ways to survive, and fighting my own nightmares on a daily basis that I never stopped to think or wonder about the force.

"Maybe I should apply as a Jedi, hm? That would be better than getting constantly hunted by dock guards." I joked, though half-meant. If only I found this out earlier in my life, I could've applied as a padawan. My life would've been much simpler training under the Jedi forces.

"You're too old to be trained as a Jedi," he was quick to shoot down my momentary dream. I glared at him, but he didn't see it as he turned around to wash his bowl in the sink.

"Okay then, how about you train me?" I smirked at the bright idea. I stood up and stepped closer to him as I continued to persuade him. "If the Jedi will not accept me at this point, then you could. I saw you fight back there. You know well how to use the force."

"Don't get ridiculous ideas," he blandly responded. "I don't know the force as well as you think."

Lies.

Does he think of me as a clueless woman?

Determined to prove him wrong, I threw the spoon at his head. And as I expected, he was able to catch it mid-air even without looking.

"What do you think you're doing," he growled lowly, his face now absolutely pissed. He clutched the spoon so hard that it bent in his hand as he intimidatingly stepped closer to me.

"Proving you wrong," I said bluntly, keeping my feet firm despite him towering right in front of me. "I know you just saved me, and I'm grateful for that. But once you kick me out here and I'm back there in Olega or Collossus or whichever goddamned planet I end up on, I will just be running for my life again. I want to learn how to fight. And right now I don't know anyone else that could teach me that other than you."

"You don't understand what you're asking for." He said lowly. Despite his gaze burning into my eyes, I dared not look away. I made him know that I wasn't changing my mind anytime soon. As I peered straight back into his onyx eyes for who knew how many seconds, I felt like he was finally about to break.

He suddenly stepped back, shaking his head. "No, not you." He whispered, but it seemed more to himself than to me.

I looked at him in confusion as he brushed up his hair in frustration. I stepped towards him in an attempt to clarify. "Qimir--"

"Elysia, don't..." He held me back by my left shoulder. We both stopped. He seemed to have realized too late what came out of his mouth.

"What did you call me?" I slowly asked, but he failed to answer, too dumbfounded at his own mistake. "My name is Eli."

I slowly corrected, assuming that he mistook me for that woman again because I never told him my name.

A long silence stretched between us again as we tried to make sense of the situation.

"Two days," he said as he backed away from me, refusing to meet my gaze. "You can stay here for two days, then you have to leave."

He left through the front door, not even waiting for my response.

As his footsteps slowly faded away from the stone steps outside, I stood in silence in the middle of the room, alone and disappointed.

****

[A/N:]
Her name is pronounced as "E"+"lie"

I'm sure most of you are confused at this point. I know, I know.

It is on purpose. 😉😆