Here's chapter 3, but I'm afraid revealing Prince Charming will take a little longer than that ;)
Enjoy!
"I will," she says.
The two words carry a great weight, and Rey is overcome with a sense of solemnity, as if she is playing a part in an important ceremony; quick to follow is a sense of finality.
The masked man nods slowly, then unexpectedly sweeps a bow before her.
"Your chambers shall be prepared shortly," he says.
"No!" Finn shouts, a hint of panic in his voice. "Rey, don't—I won't let you!"
"You," says the monster, "are not the one to decide, and the lady has spoken her will."
"Her will!" snaps Poe, who is suddenly there, although Rey has missed his arrival. "All of this is your fault!"
The man turns his mask towards him, and once again, the air takes on a darker quality.
"Not all," he growls at length.
Rey stares at them, dumbfounded, as Poe's eyes widen and he takes a step back, clenching his fist in powerless anger.
"It's all right," she says.
"No it's not!" Finn protests, "We-"
"You may leave tomorrow morning," says the monster.
"And leave Rey with you? Never!"
"Finn-" Poe interjects, but the masked man speaks over him.
"Then you would negate the point of her sacrifice?"
"No! We-" his shoulders slump in defeat. "Rey, you shouldn't have-"
Rey glances between all three; she is not certain what her face may express.
Perhaps nothing.
"It's all right," she repeats, "look—could we eat something, actually?" she asks the host. "You mentioned food earlier, and I'm famished."
"Eat?" Finn exclaims, flabbergasted.
"As you wish," says the man. "You will find dinner in the dining room. I assume you will not be wanting my company; however, if you need me, call."
With that, he leaves them, as if nothing has happened.
On cue, Finn and Poe turn to Rey; on their faces she reads expectancy, almost imploring, and she understands they are hoping her request is a ruse and are waiting for her to reveal her plan, any moment now; but she is genuinely hungry, and exhausted, and the enormity of what she has agreed to lies heavy on her; and she doesn't want the conversation she knows is pending, or at least doesn't want it in the hall, on an empty stomach.
"Where's the dining room?" she asks.
They gape at her.
"Rey, you can't possibly-"
"Please," she interrupts; her tone is pleading, and it quietens them. "I know what you're gonna say, and I'll listen to it. All I'm asking is that you let me eat first. I'm starving."
To that they defer, and lead the way; Rey follows a few steps behind her friends, so as to watch them stride through yet another corridor, and as she does, she wonders if her request is truly that uncommon.
She refused food and rest before, worried about Finn and Poe; was she supposed to do so again? Is she supposed to be too overwhelmed by emotion, or distressed about the future, to even think of food? Is that how another person would react?
(Is there some added significance to accepting food and drink that she is not aware of?)
Rey doesn't know. All she knows, after the important issue has been settled, is to be practical; practical in everything except the big things, because otherwise she wouldn't ever manage to survive to pursue the big things.
(Another thing she wonders is how long it will take her to learn to navigate the halls.)
They find the table laid, which does not surprise her; Rey takes a place and helps herself to the meal, which appears and smells delicious. Finn and Poe sit on both sides of her, as if flanking her, but they make no move to reach for the food. Instead, it is their time to watch her, and she feels their gazes on her and knows they are forcibly restraining themselves from speaking. Under their scrutiny Rey finds herself taking deliberately small bites and chewing them very thoroughly, her weary mind empty and grateful for this short respite into thoughtlessness.
At last she swallows the last bite, pours it down with a long drink of water, sets the glass down with decisive deliberation and raises her eyes to meet Finn's.
"Rey," he says immediately, "I'm sorry, so sorry. It's my fault, you didn't need to-"
She shakes her head.
"I'll be fine. I'm not afraid of him."
As she speaks the words, she realises the truth of them: her new host inspires several emotions, most negative, yet fear is not among them, its place occupied by wariness.
(Should she be afraid? After all, he's the monster.)
(She shoves the thought aside.)
"We'll come back for you!" Finn is now saying. "We'll find a wizard who can defeat the monster and free you, I promise you, Rey, you'll hardly know we've gone-"
(Is he listening?)
"I'm sure you will," she says, in an attempt to sound confident, or perhaps reassuring. She has a notion it hasn't worked. "I'll be waiting, then," she adds.
Waiting. That much Rey can do.
She's good at it.
She hesitates, reluctant to name her greatest concern aloud; yet if there is a possibility of alleviating it, of passing it on – sharing some of her responsibility, as she has taken on theirs – she needs to speak.
"Only… could you do something else for me, too? Keep an eye on Jakku and… out, in case..." she trails off.
Of course, they understand.
"Sure thing," says Poe. He has been quiet earlier, and it occurs to her there is something else troubling him that he is not sharing.
"We will," Finn promises solemnly, and Rey smiles softly, her discomfort soothed a little; she knows Finn, who doesn't remember his family either, realises how taxing it is to endanger her chance of meeting them more deeply than Poe could.
"Then I have nothing to worry about," she proclaims, hoping to prevent another string of apologies and assurances.
A part of her that is not overcome with weariness recognizes that this is what they need to say, that it results from guilt and a deep unwillingness to see her sacrifice herself for them; after all, she wouldn't want such a sacrifice from either of them.
This part of her understands the difficulty of accepting a sacrifice, and the paradoxical comfort of being the one who decides; it seems now her thoughts and actions turn around and she is forcing her friends to leave her here, because she could not bear to be the one to abandon them.
(This must be what friendship is, she thinks.)
(It is also friendship, she thinks, to be able to accept.)
However, a significantly larger part of her is tired and impatient, and she catches herself reflecting that she would rather they already left, if they mean to add to the burden she has taken upon herself.
(She has taken that upon herself, too.)
(But she really is too tired.)
Briefly, she closes her eyes.
"I'll be fine," she adds, "I'm used to-" staying behind, she thinks, yet checks herself in time; she doesn't want to be harsh. "Staying put," she says, forcing a smile. "I'm sure you'll find help sooner than I could, well-travelled as you are."
They swear to do their best, to return in no time; she wonders what it will be like, this rescue mission of theirs, for as of now, it is an entirely abstract concept to her.
She wonders what situation it will find her in.
Rey shakes her head again, in a futile attempt to clear it.
"I left my things in your room, didn't I?" she asks, feeling the need for a more immediate subject matter.
"You did," Poe informs her. "You'll be wanting to move them to your chambers, now, I expect."
"Guess so," Rey mutters.
Her chambers, when she is escorted to them by her new host, turn out to be more spacious than the tiny hut in Jakku Rey is used to; however, the first word that occurs to her is soft. Soft, lush carpets, soft, flowing hangings, soft, ornate cushions on soft, elegant sofas, soft, warm blankets and soft, wide bed, in soft, toned colours – all together enough to make Rey feel coarse and rough in comparison.
"I trust they are to your satisfaction," says the masked man; his tone is polite, and she cannot decide whether he is mocking her or not.
She nods.
He inclines his masked head in response.
"Please feel at home," he says, and withdraws, leaving Rey among the softness.
Once alone, she dumps her backpack in the middle of the room and leans her staff against the wall by the bed. Then she walks over to the window and opens it wide, breathing in the air and the scent of roses; she closes her eyes and revels in the sensation of light wind, so unlike the dry air she is accustomed to, caressing her skin.
After a while Rey closes the window, kneels by her backpack, retrieves her rope and ties one knot. She pauses for a moment, then, almost as an afterthought, removes the rose from her jacket and lays it carefully down on the toilette.
Then she undresses and crawls onto the soft, wide bed and under the soft, warm covers and immediately falls asleep, because she is practical person and she really needs the rest.
In the morning Rey wakes up rested and fully alert, in a pool of light pouring through the window.
(She knows about morning grogginess, but not from experience.)
(Sometimes she thinks it would be a luxury.)
She springs out of bed; while her mind assures her Finn and Poe would never leave without seeing her, it does little to ease her impulse to run to them this very instant. She stops to refresh herself quickly and catches sight of a large open wardrobe filled with clothes: elegant and simple dresses, blouses, skirts, pants and jackets, even shoes, all looking well-made, comfortable, and tailored to fit her perfectly.
Rey stares at the assorted pieces of clothing for a moment, shuts the wardrobe, puts on her own garments and storms out of the room.
Finding her friends is not hard: they have, in fact, been waiting for her.
"Rey!"
She glances between them; how could she find them irritating just the day before? How could she want them to leave? Now, she almost wants to implore them to stay a little longer, not to leave her here, alone with the monster; suddenly, she is apprehensive.
She doesn't say anything; instead, she smiles at them encouragingly and moves to embrace Finn, who holds her fast and strong and tells her "thank you" and "take care of yourself" very quietly, and she is truly grateful he is not trying to change her mind any more. When she hugs Poe, she expects him to act cheerful and confident, if falsely; instead, he pulls her close and whispers in her ear, on the edge of audibility.
"Listen, Rey," he urges, "Be careful. I don't know what this guy is, what kind of monster he is, but there's something about him – something familiar, and not in a nice way. He knows magic, too, and looks like he's good at it. I don't mean to scare you, just – watch out. Okay?"
"Sure," Rey hisses back, mildly surprised.
Together, they head towards to the gates; none speaks any more – none can think of anything appropriate to say, so they merely make their way in silence.
They stop by the gates, which are still open.
There, Rey finally finds words.
"You guys take care of yourselves," she says, simply, and stands on the yard and watches as Finn steps through, tensely at first, yet quickly relaxing his pace as the gates let him pass. Poe follows, and both look back to her, the entrance now gaping between them.
Rey waves at them.
Finn appears as if he wants to say something, but Poe pulls him away; and so she watches them leave once again. It is painfully familiar.
When the two disappear from sight, she switches her attention to the gates, and after a while takes a hesitant step towards them.
Then another.
And another.
Very carefully.
The barrier doesn't stop her violently, or even all that abruptly; it is just that at one point she cannot take another step forward.
If there were any doubt before, they are no more: she truly is trapped.
As she turns back to the house, she spots the masked man standing in front of open doors, observing her.
"Just checking," she calls, moving in his direction.
He nods, as if in understanding.
She halts before him. "What now?" she demands, cocking her head to one side.
"Whatever you wish," he says.
"Except for leaving."
"Obviously."
Silence falls between them, and Rey suddenly realises it is not a silence she is comfortable with; it is too open, too demanding. She tries to think of something to say.
"What's with this trying to dress me up?" she asks, archly.
"Do you not like the clothes?"
"I don't like you giving me clothes," she clarifies, narrowing her eyes.
He gives a booming sigh.
"I thought you might want to change out of your travel clothes," he explains. "How many have you taken?"
Rey glares at him.
"You will do as you please," he says. "Also, I would like to take the occasion to ask if I may join you for dinner."
Rey blinks, surprised.
"For dinner," she repeats flatly. "Yes, I expect so."
"Very well. Now, with your permission, I shall take my leave."
He inclines his head to her and starts to walk away.
"Wait," she calls after him; he turns the mask back towards her. "What's your name?"
A new silence descends on the yard as he stands still for a moment before finally answering.
"You may call me Kylo Ren."
Can't have a Beauty and the Beast story without dinner! There may be a few interesting revelations during the dinner, too, so stay tuned, it should be fun.
In the meantime, if you are into tragic, kinslaying Elves, check out my exploits from last week.
Have a nice day!