"Do I have to be handcuffed?" Rey scoffs, trying to itch the center of her back. The Solider she has identified as the leader looks back at her and shakes his head.
"We have been advised to take a few precautions." His mask makes the words sound emotionless, and at once he swivels his chair back to the view port of the ship.
It has been three days of star travel before the shuttle finally lands.
Three days with three storm troopers and no conversation. Her stomach gives a long growl. Three days with no food. Rey lets out a pitiful sigh. Her hand tangles up in her hair, and as a large star destroyer comes into view she decides to take the time to fix her buns. It is less to impress any one and more to make her feel less disgusting. After all, its been three days without a shower. She had gotten used to that kind of behavior on Jakku but the Resistance had spoiled her. The resistance had given her a warm bed, and hot showers, and its best attempts at three meals day. Rey can loop the first bun no problem but the second is much harder to fix with her hands bound than she would have thought. She gives up after one attempt and lets the rest of her hair fall down. Rey settles on meditating instead, trying to build up her strength.
Three days without Finn or Leia or Master Luke.
Three days without hope.
From the small window on her side of the ship she can see that they've docked. Rey watches as the ship eases into a landing. Outside the window are First Order employees bustling around. Mechanics working on tie fighters, troopers bustling around like schools of fish. The sound of metal scraping metal hits her ears and when she turn to the noise she sees the commander opens her cell and the other two barge in and flank her. They grab her under the arms and pick her up from the ground.
"Excuse us, Lady Rey." The one in charge speaks. "We've been instructed to escort you to Captain Phasma." The trooper opens the shuttle and leads them out. Rey struggles with her footing down the ramp, both the soldiers are a little taller than her and her feet barley scrap the metal, but it does not keep her from trying to retain her dignity and waking on her own.
"This isn't necessary." She barks. "I've agreed to hand myself over."
The Stormtroopers nod.
"General Hux has asked us to keep you restrained."They drag her through the hangar. Rey is all but tempted to Jedi mind trick the men away. She wants nothing more than to walk up to a tie fighter and pilot the hell out of here. For a moment, she considers it, but her thoughts fall on the prisoners the First Order has taken. If there was some way for Rey to make sure they were already safe- then she would have no problem sprinting away. But she doesn't know, so she continues to allow herself to be humiliated like this.
They pull her into an elevator, and with the swipe of a card it launches upward. The movement is so unlike anything Rey's ever experienced it almost brings her to her knees. Her stomach lurches and somersaults around. When the elevator comes to a sharp halt she feels herself leave the trooper's grip for half a second, still heading upwards as everything else has stopped.
The door slides open and Rey's eyes almost go wide. Everything is cold and grey. The entire corridor is metal and the chill is already seeping into her bones. There are so many soldiers she has to do a double take. None of them bat an eye as she is lead down the hallway, as though this sort of thing happens frequently. Rey shudders at the thought of the First order constantly dragging young handcuffed women through their hallways.
The thing that infuriates her the most, however, is that she gave herself to this. It would be different if they captured her, or if Kylo Ren bested her in a fight (as if), but she bowed to them and said 'take me'. She has to remind herself it is for the good of the galaxy. She has to repeat over and over in her head that this is all to liberate the universe. Rey can feel anger in her bones that is not normally there. She can almost understand how someone would give into the dark side if they had to stay here where there is no warmth or love- Here, where she is almost positive, there will be plenty of torture. Finally they arrive at another metal sliding door, and once again the lead trooper takes out an I.D. card and swipes it.
Rey's blood runs cold.
A silver plated trooper stands on the other side, arms crossed, side by side to a hunched over Armeitage Hux. Rey wants to examine the room they have brought her to, and though her eyes flicker around enough to gather it is quarters, they can barley leave the pair.
"Welcome." The redhead bites. He straightens himself and cracks his knuckles. He nods his head to the silver trooper, who walks forward and releases her guards from duty. The soldiers on each side slowly set her to the ground. Phasma, Rey assumes this is who they spoke of, removes the cuffs from her wrists. Rey rubs underneath her armpits where the gaurds tight grip had left red marks.
"Quite a welcome." Rey sneers. "Where am I?"
"This is the Finalizer." Rey feels like rolling her eyes as the General speaks again. Of course this god forsaken ship has a stupid name like that.
"Is this where I'm to live?" Hux shakes his head.
"These will be your quarters for the next two weeks." He says. "You are to stay here at all times, unless Captain Phasma, here, fetches you. Meals will be delivered in the morning and evening. You will find everything else you need within this room."
"And where do I go in two weeks?"
"We are traveling to Chandrilla. You and Ren will be married there." Hux spits out 'Ren' distastefully and Rey can already feel the jealousy coming off him. He is an puny, easy man to read. Even though Rey is not at all scared of the General fear still boils up in her bones. Part of her had thought, or hoped moreover, that the whole marriage thing was just a joke. It had to be a terrible joke, right? The terror is apparent in her tight fists because Hux smirks like he's done his job. "If you require assistance you may call the captain-" He points to a small comm. Panel near the door. "Otherwise do not disturb her." Hux walks out, knocking into her shoulder on the way. Phasma gives her a nod before stalking off as well. The door slides shut with a slam.
Rey walks up to the glass panel near the entrance to press the command for the door to reopen. Despite activating it several times the steel does not budge. She leans against the wall next to it, defeat wracking through her. She is locked inside- just a prisoner in a cell once again.
Her eyes take the opportunity to take in the room. The walls are grey, big surprise, but there is a black double bed on a slightly raised platform near the back wall that looks plusher than sees ever seen. One wall of the bedroom is replaced with glass paneling that overlooks the galaxy. There is currently a few star clusters she in unfamiliar with and a blue and purple galaxy swirling about outside.
Rey has always found comfort in the stars; back on Jakku she would count them to fall asleep. Sometimes she'd share her thoughts with the balls of gas. She is comforted to know that she can still talk to them here in the darkness. It makes her feel a little saner. There is a little table and chair up against it.
There is a small desk pressed against the corner with writing paper and pens set atop it. Along the surface of the desk is also a small planted flower she has never seen before. It is tall and vibrant red but something about it doesn't feel peaceful. There is an chest on the other corner, but Rey is sure it is filled with black and she doesn't want to look in it, so instead she settles on opening the small door between them and is very pleased to find a 'fresher.
She bathes herself in the hottest water the system will allow, which is still quite lukewarm. It is less of a bath and more of a long, exhausted soak. She tries to keep it thoughtless, but Kylo Ren in ceremony dress keeps popping into her mind. It is enough to make her rise from the bath for a moment and physically throw up into the toilet. When she enters the water again it has gone cold.
The cold is the straw on the Bantha's back. Tears well up in her eyes, and though she does her best to prevent it, they fall down her cheeks in no time. Did anyone really expect her to be happy about this? It was her right to cry. They really expect her to marry him- to be his good little queen of the galaxy. They expect her to-
She pictures his gloved hands on her skin, clawing and leaving bruises in their path. Rey finds herself wanting to vomit again, but there is nothing left in her stomach to hurl up. She curls her knees up to her bare chest and sobs. The cries pull her shoulders back and forth. They tighten up around her heart and almost squeeze it into nonexistence.
There is a small tug on her rib cage, where her heart is breaking. It is soft and comforting, warm even, and Rey thinks it is her master telling her things will be okay because there is sadness behind it.
You just have to get through this, Rey reminds one more time, there is nothing you can do but wait. In the back of her mind she promises herself, when this is over and the rebels are safe, that her saber will go straight through Kylo Ren's heart. She pictures it in the same manor he had done to his father, and things start feeling a little better. Quickly, as her skin turns prune-ish, she washes her hair and face, scrubs the dirt out from under her nails and leaves the bath.
Rey lets herself air dry and scrubs her clothing in the sink with hand soap. She hangs them all up on the towel rack. When she enters the bedroom again a steaming meal is sitting on top of the table by the window. She gives the wardrobe one glowering look and strides over to it, mentally preparing herself to open it.
But the breath leaves her when she does, for a completely different reason. She had dreaded seeing the blacks she thought she'd be forced to wear here, but instead the furniture piece is filled with everything in the brightest white shade she's ever seen. It almost blinds her with the light reflecting from it. A small depressed smile finds her lips. She gets what they're playing at though. It makes sense now why Snoke thinks having her will help out his image- because he plans on advertising her as the good in the universe. And if the good of the universe could marry someone like Kylo Ren the Republic had no reason not to sign their lives away to him.
The good in the universe, the last Jedi, she wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone- and if she trusted these monsters, then maybe they weren't monsters.
Rey's smile turns into a frown and she slips one of the white dresses over her head. But Snoke hadn't anticipated everything- He didn't know Rey, not really, and he certainly didn't know how much of a pain in the ass she would be.
Rey sits at the table, examining her meal. It looks like some sort of thin cake, along with caff and some fresh fruit. This must be breakfast. She pokes it with one of the forks provided, and wonders if it's poisoned. The notion does not stop her from taking a bite- At this point she would rather them poison her than anything else they've got planned.
Its too sweet and makes her nose wrinkle. After a few more bites she decides she isn't really all that hungry and just drinks her caff. It is black and bitter, but so is her soul at the moment. She looks out to the stars between sips.
Far off in the milky darkness that is the void of space she can spot D'qar.
'Master Luke' She thinks, as hard as she can out to the stars. 'Please hurry.'
'Unfortunately, No one's coming for you.' It's Kylo's voice that responds in her head.