Please, she thought. Please. All sound was almost drowned out by the blood rushing in her ears, by the thundering of her heartbeat and her harsh intake of breath. She could no longer feel her feet which was a blessing. She knew they would be blue from the cold and cut almost beyond repair from the hard ground beneath. She had been running for what felt like hours, though it could have only been a few minutes.
The forest was thick and blanketed in fog in front of her, and she could feel the small cuts and bruises she had accrued while running, just faint stings on the peripherals of her conscious.
Please, she thought again as the foot falls, breaking of branches and crushing of leaves underfoot sounded closer. I can't do this for much longer. It was with this thought that her foot caught on an elevated tree root and a stunner hit her on her side. What little breath she had was knocked from her lungs as she fell, hearing a snap. Sudden pain shot up her arm and her vision swam. Please let me die here, was her last thought as a fiery red head of hair came into her view.
It was as he was eating veal stew, his favourite, he might add, that the doors to his dining room were unceremoniously wrenched open by Mitaka. At the same moment Threepio apparated in, twisting his ear to the point of almost tearing it off.
"I is sorry master. Threepio tells them the master was not wantings visitors but theys stunned Beebee-" at this, Kylo's blood began to boil. The high pitch of the house elf's panicked squeaking only managed to increase the pounding in his head.
"It's fine, Three. Tend to him. I will manage my guests." At that, Threepio disapparated with a pop. Kylo continued to eat his stew, lest Mitaka's ramblings caused him to lose his appetite. As the man continued to stand there in silence, Kylo cleared his throat, which only caused him to jump in fright.
"Why is it, Mitaka, that you continue to barge in to my home to remind me of your own incompetence?" Kylo spat. He winced as movement of his head caused his migraine to intensify.
"M-my L-l-lord. Sir Hux has a delivery for you -"
"Ah, Ren, I see that you have deigned to remove yourself from your study this fine evening!" A nasally voice dripping with condescension boomed through the room from the front door. Kylo imagined his brain succumbing to fiendfyre at the pain he was experiencing.
"Hux. I do not have the patience nor the inclination to bend to your whims. Please do get on with it."
"Ren, you're no fun. I have gotten myself quite the treat tonight." The slimy ginger haired git sauntered in. His patronizing smile was plastered on his wan face, making him look more constipated than usual, Kylo thought.
At the corner of his eye, Kylo saw a small body levitate into the room. He glanced at Hux, only to see the unmitigated glee and dark look in his eye that made Kylo's insides roil. Of all the Supreme Leader's men, Hux was the most vile, especially with women.
He carefully set down his fork, stew all but forgotten. "If you plan on performing your usual lewd debauchery, do so on your own property. I will not permit such activity to be done on mine."
"Oh, but we used to have such fun, you and I. Don't you remember, Ren?" Hux flicked his wand to levitate the girl towards him, only to snatch her tightly in his arms in a lover's embrace. But from the girl's face and the trembling in her body, Kylo knew such attentions from this man was not welcomed.
He looked at her now, seeing the cut lip causing a thin streak of blood to run down the corner of her mouth and her chin, and a cut above her eyebrow, a dried trail of blood running to her ear. Her long brown hair was limp and knotted, caked with mud and Merlin knew what else. Her wide eyes looked at him, pleading and it caused a lump to form in his throat. He couldn't help her. But as the thoughts formed, he saw a fiery look come to her eye. Hux was thrown off her and hit the wall. His wand flew to her hand and she aimed it at Mitaka.
"STUPIFY!" she roared before the dolt even had the chance to raise his wand. Kylo watched this unfold and before she could turn and do the same to him, he cast the wordless spell and caught her stolen wand in his hand.
"Petrificus totalis," his voice rang out in the now silent room and the girl froze with her hand outstretched as if to snatch the wand back.
Kylo walked to the girl, looming over to her frozen form. Her eyes followed him, and he knew that if she had had a wand, he would have been hexed within an inch of his life.
"Impressive, for such a slight little wench," he sneered into her face. Her eyes spit venom at him. "Very much so. It has been quite some time since Hux has been caught unawares and it is about time that someone threw him to a wall. I'm envious that it was not myself who did so. However, when news travels that he was overpowered by such a flimsy slip of a girl," he tsked to indicate the shame. The girl's eyes followed as he paced around her.
He noticed the chemise she wore was torn and threadbare, almost to the point of indecency. He knew that Hux would have threatened to have her any way he saw fit, and taking her clothes until she was left in her thin chemise was a signature impulse. It had been years since he had seen Hux's handiwork, and he was curious to know why he was resorting to it now when he was no longer just a simple lackey. After all, the third in command of one of the most powerful factions the wizarding world had ever seen should not lower himself to such base impulses. To add, Mitaka had said something of a delivery. Surely this girl was not it. Surely Hux knew he had better things to do than this. As Hux was now so blessedly indisposed, he turned his attention to the girl.
"Now. I will release you on the condition that you answer all my questions with the unreserved truth," he returned to stand before her. The fire had died from her eyes, replaced with a resolve that was almost desperate. She had such expressive eyes, he found himself drowning in their hazel depths. How could someone so fragile have been powerful enough to throw off two men so quickly? Such a formidable creature in such a small frame. He caught himself leaning in to catch the scent of her - under the smell of terror and sweat she smelled of lavender. He cleared his throat, scrambling to catch his line of thought. "If I so much as sense you are lying, you will find yourself under the Imperious curse with veritaserum poured down your throat. Am I clear?" He looked into her eyes again, only to see some of that resolve sinking away. Good, he thought. Smart girl.
He returned to his seat with a flick of his robes, pulling his chair in. Only once he was comfortable and poured himself a knuckle of firewhiskey from his decanter did he return his attention back to the girl.
"Finite," he murmured, with a lazy flick of his wand.
The girl let out a small sound of indignation that he found rather amusing and he felt his lips curl up in response. This only seemed to irk her more as her hands balled into fists. Such a little spit fire. Any other woman would have sunk to her knees and collapsed in tears.
"Sit," he iterated while simultaneously flicking his wand to push her into the chair. He cast a sticking charm to her back and hands for good measure which only rewarded him with a squeak of disapproval. The glare and audible grinding of her teeth he received was much more pleasing.
She fought at the restraining charms, hands clawing into fists around the chair arms, and he could see her straining her neck, chords clearly visible, to move. He tut-tutted, shaking his head.
"Be aware that I have had a long day. My dinner has been disrupted and I have many other pressing matters that I would like to pursue. However, it has come to my attention that my esteemed colleagues," at this he waved a dismissive hand to indicate the prone forms of Mitaka and Hux to punctuate his sarcasm, "have taken an interest in you, other than the obvious debauchery that they usually dally in." He steepled his fingers on the table to prevent them from clawing into fists. He despised what Hux was doing to wizarding and muggle women alike. It was not something he liked to be involved in and had not wanted to participate. However, he was ashamed and despised himself for the acts he had to commit to appease his Master in the early days of his Marking. He could still hear their screams and he could do nothing but press his fingers together to stop them from trembling. The girl watched on with a curious look, one she seemed to tamper down once Kylo's eyes flicked back to her.
"Who are you?" He began.
"I am no one, and I come from nothing" she whispered, her voice hoarse from screaming.
"Are you purposely trying to be obtuse?" he snarled. At this the girl cringed, and brought her knees to her chest. Kylo felt a pang at her reaction and worked to calm himself. Why he seemed to care what this girl was going through was a mystery to him. He pushed the thoughts to the side and tried with something different. "Well, it does not seem as if you come from nothing. How did you learn to perform wandless magic?" His question seemed to take her aback as her face screwed up in confusion.
"I-I don't understand. I cannot and never have performed wandless magic" she replied. Kylo clenched his jaw and sucked on his teeth. Either she was telling the truth and was absolutely oblivious to what had just happened, or she was very, very skilled in lying. He was debating the benefits of pouring Veritaserim down her throat when her chest seized in a cough and blood bubbled on the sides of her mouth. Kylo barely had a chance to stand before a pale hand wrapped around her throat and squeezed. Hux's face was contorted in rage, and as the girl's face twisted in pain and panic, Kylo had to dig his nails into his hands to keep himself in check. It would not do to show Hux that he had an interest in this slip of a girl.
"Hux, do please restrain yourself," Kylo managed to keep his voice from trembling. "I will not have blood on my carpets."
"I could not give two flying fucks about your carpet, Ren. This little bint has something I need and she says she knows nothing about it. But I have ways to get the information from you, don't I, little lamb?" Hux whispered into her ear, lips contorted into a snarl, as the girl whimpered.
Kylo could barely keep himself from strangling Hux where he stood. It would only take a small thought, barely any effort at all on his part. The blood lust in him began to sing. Yes, yes, strangle him. He deserves it, deserves to suffer for trying to usurp you, the voice, sounding very much like his master's, rang through his head. As Kylo watched, Hux continued to choke the girl, to the point that her lips were turning blue and within no time at all, her eyes had rolled into the back of her head. Kylo's nails broke skin as he stood, footfalls heavy with unmet need for violence.
Hux seemed to come out of a daze as he stared up at Kylo, panic rising in his eyes along with the blood in his pallid cheeks. He snatched his hands away from the girl's exposed throat as if he had been burned and her head lolled to the side. As easy as breathing, Kylo used Legilimency to delve into Hux's thoughts. The pendant, like clockwork, ticks when needed, stops when wanted. The pendant, came the small chants from Hux's mind. He withdrew, adding the riddle to the list of things he would need to reassess once the night drew to a close. At Hux's indignant sneer, Kylo breathed out a laugh.
"Your skills in occlumency have not improved at all. You should be ashamed. It was like slipping a hot knife through butter, reading your thoughts." At Hux's sudden intake of breath, Kylo held up a hand. However, as he was about to speak, the gravelly voice of their Master could be heard coming from his fireplace which roared behind where he stood.
"My apprentice. Why have I not heard from you?" Icy dread spread through Kylo's veins. He had forgotten. His weekly report to his master was tonight. And he did not like being kept waiting. He bowed low, showing the respect the Supreme Leader deserved.
"My humble apologies, master, it will not happen again."
"Do see that it does not, Kylo Ren. I am not above finding a better man to take your place." Supreme Leader Snoke hissed. His words were like a slap in the face and Kylo's skin erupted in goose bumps. He could not lose his position, could not leave the First Order. He bowed his head.
"Please forgive me, Master."
"Yes, yes," he waved his hand in a dismissive manner, but his piercing gaze was still locked on Kylo's own. "Are you not lucky to have such a benevolent leader? Anyone else would have disposed of you by now. Has Hux come to you?" Kylo glanced at Hux as he sidled up next to him and bowed.
"I am here, master, ever your loyal servant," at this he smirked at Kylo, which then fell at Snoke's next words.
"Loyal you may be, but your ineptitude is insurmountable. That is why you were to take the girl to Ren." Hux's face visibly paled and then suddenly went red. Kylo wondered if it was painful to change colours so quickly.
"Yes, master," he uttered and bowed his head.
Snoke turned his attention from Hux to Kylo. "It is of the utmost importance that the girl is searched for any evidence of the pendant. She may also have other useful information regarding the Resistance. Do not fail me, Apprentice." The flames guttered out as the last hissing sounds of the Supreme Leader could be heard.
Within seconds, Kylo took Hux by the throat and pushed him up the wall. "Do not delude yourself into thinking that your behaviour tonight has gone unnoticed, Hux. I know what you are doing," he tightened his fingers around Hux's throat, delighting in the way his eyes grew wider. "And you will not succeed. I'll be sure to tell our Supreme Leader just how incompetent you are that a woman could beat you so quickly. I will add that you are failing at your tasks set by him. Do you really think he will appoint you as heir, even if he did not hear about tonight's little events?" He brought his face closer to Hux's, avoiding his flailing legs as he continued to hold him against the wall. "Get out of my house," his voice barely rose above a whisper, tone deathly calm and brokering no room for argument.
When released, Hux straightened his robes as his feet touched the ground and turned on his heel. As Kylo heard the front door slam shut he strode to the girl and kneeled in front of her. She was still breathing, her face peaceful in her unconsciousness. "Threepio," he mumbled. The pop of the elf's apparition brought his headache back to the forefront of his mind.
"Is the master needings Threepio?" he asked, large gold eyes meeting Kylo's brown ones.
"Yes, Threepio. Take Mitaka, and deposit him at the edge of the estate's wards." The elf scrambled to comply with Kylo's words. Left alone with the girl once more, Kylo shook his head. She was so thin she must not have eaten in some time, and from the bruises littering her person, Hux must have had her in his form of care for at least a few hours. He stood with a huff and undid the sticking charms keeping her body upright in the chair. Tucking his hands under her knees and behind her shoulders, he lifted her up. She weighed nothing at all. Her head fell to rest in the crook of his neck, and as he walked up the stairs to one of the many bedrooms in the manor, he couldn't remember if he had ever held someone so closely before.