"What do you mean, he's betrothed to Rany?" Rey hissed out of the side of her mouth at her aunt Tivona. She couldn't keep a smile on her face, but she at least kept her voice down so that the man who had just passed her – Rany's betrothed – couldn't hear her. "He has to be at least… triple her age!"

Tivona cast a cool glance her way, one elegant eyebrow arched at her niece. She held her hand up to halt the next group of nobles who were heading in their direction, and then gripped Rey's elbow as she turned her to face in her direction. Chewbacca, on Rey's other side, glanced down and then stepped between her and her aunt and the rest of the guests filling the state room. It was Rey's first official event with the nobility of her realm, barely two weeks after being introduced to the population at large. It was just enough time that she didn't feel completely ridiculous in the yellow gown she wore, her hair loose beneath a thin silver circlet.

"Oh, don't give me that look. He's only twice her age, which is a damned blessing if you ask me. Rany's eight. He's sixteen." Rey cast a glance at the retreating man and realized that he was, indeed, rather younger than he'd first appeared.

"But…" Rey was at a loss to explain what exactly was going through her mind. On Jakku, sometimes parents married their children off to other villagers, but this was… this was a civilized world. "When will the marriage take place?" was all she could choke out. She couldn't imagine Rany being married, let alone any time soon.

Obviously Tivona could read the expressions on her face – or she was just really not covering up very well – because she let out a little huff of laughter. "Goodness, Rey, we're not barbarians. She won't be married until she's at least seventeen, which is our age of consent here. The marriage is arranged, but rights have been granted over the centuries to women – and men – to back out of these sorts of deals if they so wish. Sometimes there are repercussions such as a trade deal falling through, but the fact of the matter is that there is no forcing going on here. That aspect is heavily enforced and honored in our culture. My own marriage to your uncle was arranged, as were the marriages of basically every single member of your family, on both sides. A few have backed out over the years, but most follow the family's wishes."

Rey could only stare at Tivona as her mind whirled around all this new information. She was more than a little disturbed at the prospect of a betrothal between an eight year-old and a sixteen year-old, but she had to admit to herself that it was only the association of marriage to their ages which was throwing her off. And that it was arranged at all, in the first place, actually. Yes, she'd grown up around the practice herself, but that didn't mean she condoned it.

She could feel a grimace struggling to find its way across her features, and she smoothed her expression back into one of calmness as soon as she realized it. Well… perhaps the matter wasn't so bad after all, considering that both sides still had to consent to the marriage once they reached the appropriate age, and that their decisions would be respected by either side. Rey herself had been told time and again by her own family that if she wished to back out of regaining her heritage and claiming her position as the princess of Itamar, that they would respect her wishes.

It wasn't so hard to believe that they would support Rany if she wished to back out, with the examples Rey had seen from her family over the last few weeks.

She let out a sigh of relief, though she still felt slightly uneasy at the whole conversation. It was one more thing for her to get used to, living in an entirely different culture, but she was sure it wouldn't be the last. She offered the Countess a shaky smile, which the black-haired woman returned gracefully and much more steadily. "There's not a betrothal for me, is there?" she asked, only half joking.

Tivona pursed her lips in thought. "Not that I know of. I don't believe so. But even if there were, or if your grandfather arranges one, you'd still have the option to refuse. It's a little trickier as a Crown Princess, but that sort of thing would be taken into account before negotiating even began."

This time Rey caught her features before they even started to slide into a grimace, but it was a near thing. She was getting better at this whole 'princess' thing, even if at times she wondered what sort of drug she must have been slipped, and if she were still back on Ahch-To – or even worse, back on Jakku.

She barely repressed the urge to place her forehead in her palm and clench her eyes shut. Rey, married? She'd never really given that more than a passing thought, and even then she'd always imagined it would be with someone she had grown to care deeply for – not an arranged marriage of all things.

Rey's mind quickly called up images of Finn's smiling face, and the friendship and care that she felt for the man filled her heart – it might not have been love, but Rey could easily imagine it growing into more… if it weren't for the drastic one-eighty that her life had become.

She frowned as all of a sudden an image of Kylo Ren powered through her mind, dominating every last nook and cranny within her thoughts. It was the first time she'd seen his face, after having woken up in the interrogation room. Standing there, in the state room, Rey was only slightly aware of the movements of the people around her as she was filled with the emotions she'd felt during that first meeting: some fear, yes, but a great deal of courage and curiosity, and then pleasant surprise and… attraction. He had been nothing like she expected.

Rey was suddenly aware of something barreling towards her within the Force; a light surrounded by a dark shroud, projecting… was that curiosity and desire? What an odd –

Rey threw up her mental walls quickly, realizing almost too late that the thing was deliberately looking for her, and that it had sped up as soon as she'd focused in on it. She closed her eyes, concentrating on her breathing techniques, and ignored Tivona trying to get her attention.

Long minutes passed, and then finally Rey edged her way back out into the Force. There was no sign of that… dark light, she supposed she should call it. She gave a soft sigh and then opened her eyes, shoving all thoughts of the Force – and of Kylo Ren – out of her mind.

She tapped Chewbacca on the arm and he stepped aside, and Rey was faced with a large group of young men and women – about her age – dressed in their finest to meet the Crown Princess.

"My apologies, I had some Jedi business to attend to," she greeted them. "Now where were we?"

It wasn't entirely a lie, but Rey was deliberately choosing to address the issue of her being a Jedi – even one in training – just so she could test a theory of hers.

She watched carefully, taking note of those who winced or offered other visual clues at the mention of the term 'Jedi' – it would be useful information for the future.

Rey knew that some only saw a scavenger from Jakku, and still others a Jedi, 'pretending' to be their Crown Princess. Oddly enough, Rey preferred those who assumed so little of her. It allowed for more room to surprise them as they tried to take advantage of her seeming lack of intelligence or worldly knowledge.

She may not know much yet, but she had common sense, intellect, and allies to back her up as she went.


The next morning found Rey sitting on the ledge just outside of her window. She'd been sitting there for over an hour, having watched the sun rise. She had always been a rather early riser – most of the time, at least – and she had taken to sitting on the ledge to observe the city going through its daily rituals.

It was a fascinating sight – and, oddly enough, a calming one – to behold. Even though Rey had been used to solitude for countless years, she'd always been intrigued by people-watching. Though preferably from a distance, she thought wryly. From her ledge, she could engage in the activity of watching countless people interact without being unnerved by the thousands and thousands of people who were surrounding her.

She was alone… but also not.

It was actually a rather nice balance.

Not like last night, she thought as she grimaced. All those people surrounding her when she was already thoroughly uncomfortable in her own skin; in the finery that still felt like a disguise hiding the wild child she still felt she was – still wished she could be.

It hadn't been as awful as she'd imagined it would be, though. She'd been able to hold her own decently well in the myriad of short conversations she'd engaged in as she'd been introduced to the nobility of Itamar, who had travelled from all across the series of systems that swore fealty to her grandfather… and now to her.

Rey shook her head, still feeling as though everything were completely surreal about the situation. She knew this all wasn't a dream, but at times it just felt so completely… ridiculous.

Like something out of a fairy tale, really – something that shouldn't be happening to her of all people.

She fully expected, at some point, for someone to show up and tell her everything had been a rather terrible, hurtful joke. That none of this was meant for her. That a mistake had been made, and she would be expected to return to her old life, and give everything up. To give her family up.

At times, she wanted to go back to the way everything was – even to the way everything was, going as far back as living on Jakku before the whole mess with the Resistance, and the First Order, and Starkiller… Sometimes she just wanted the simplicity back. She didn't want any of the dresses, or the finery, or the responsibilities – it wasn't her, and she was uncomfortable with it all.

But now that she had grown to know her family, and been accepted by them… well, she thought that it might just be worth all the struggling she would have to do to fit herself into her new life.

At least they didn't insist on completely reining her in – that had been a pleasant surprise. Her family had so far allowed her to be her own person, smiling contentedly and lovingly as she at times completely defied convention.

Like last night, her grandfather had only laughed along with her when she'd devolved into a series of very unladylike snorts and giggles as a baron had tripped and fallen into a sprawl right in front of her. She'd leaned down and hauled the man up herself, all while laughing, and the nobles surrounding her had looked at her as if she'd shown up wearing a sack for potatoes. It was as if she'd committed the greatest of social errors… but her grandfather had complimented her on her courtesy after he'd tamed his own laughter. His support had meant the world to her – and really, who cared if a bunch of uptight nobles thought she was uncouth? They could deal with it, as long as she continued to represent them fairly and well.

It was amazing, and scary, to be responsible for so many people. She'd only ever had to care for herself before, and here she was learning all these new skills and filling her mind with information so that she could help others.

She found that she liked that – helping others.

Rey smiled fondly as she noticed a large group of children run up excitedly towards a woman wearing clerical robes. The bright blue robes were easily recognizable, one of the first things that had caught her eye when she'd started people-watching, and she had asked Miron what the people wearing them did. He had told her they belonged to the Tzedakah Order, a religious branch that specialized in charitable works. Even though their society had moved past having any official religion and many chose not to believe in anything like a higher power, the Order continued to thrive on donations alone based solely on the fact that they were well-loved by the people for helping where no one else would.

Suddenly struck by an idea that had her beaming from ear to ear, Rey scrambled back inside through her window and grabbed her commlink from the table where she'd left it. "Uncle Miron?"

"Yes?" came his clear voice after a moment.

"Can you help me arrange to assist with the Tzedakah Order sometime soon? Hopefully this week." Rey was filled to brimming with the desire to help. She wanted to go out among these people who were hers and care for them where she could, in whatever way she could. It wasn't like her family didn't have the credits for it. Her uncle had mentioned some charities that they donated to, but had made no mention of anyone actually doing any ground work among the people themselves.

Rey wanted to make a difference. She would go out and help, herself.

It was as if all of Itamar was an extension of her family, and she wanted to give back to them for having accepted her so graciously with open arms and love.

"Why… never mind. I actually think I can answer my own question."

Rey arched a brow at the commlink even though he couldn't see it. "Thank you, Uncle. I… really appreciate it. And… please, if possible, can we go with as few guards as possible?" Rey glowered at the fact that she even had to ask. Yet another ridiculous thing for her to get used to in this life, but one she wanted to mitigate as much of as possible if she were going to go out among the people and not intimidate them.

He was quiet a moment, likely mulling over the possible risks. "I'll see what I can do," he finally replied. "Do you need anything else, or can I get back to being bossed around by my little girl?"

Rey laughed, wished him luck, and shut her commlink down.

She looked down and finally acknowledged BB-2, who had come racing in as soon as she'd stepped foot inside of her apartment, and had rolled around her non-stop until she finally set down the commlink and crouched down beside the droid.

"What is it, BB-2?" she asked fondly.

He trilled and beeped at her, announcing three new videos that had been sent together from the Resistance. He had already decrypted them and was asking if she'd like to watch them now, or later.

"Now, please!" she responded, enthusiastically clapping her hands together at the prospect of hearing from her friends. She rose up quickly and shivered slightly at the chill air making its way through the room and over her bare legs and arms. She hadn't really noticed it earlier as she'd been so lost inside her thoughts.

Walking briskly towards the couch, she snuggled under a blanket as she got comfortable on the seat. "Okay!" she announced. "Let's hear them."

Leia's message was a generic catching-up. Though she knew that Leia couldn't say much about particulars going on in the fight against the First Order, she appreciated being kept in the loop even the small amount she was being allowed to. Leia then trailed off into a rather funny anecdote about an adventure she and Luke had gotten into in their earlier years after the Empire had fallen. Rey laughed out loud as Luke popped into view behind his sister and rolled his eyes nearly the entire time, while acting out particularly scenes in a rather ridiculous fashion. Leia never once turned around, but at the end of her message, right before she hit end, she drawled, "If my idiot brother is finished mocking me, I believe he wants to say a few words. I'll be sure to smack him if he gets too boring – or too mystical. You can be sure of that." Then she'd winked and ended the recording.

Leia had kept her promise. She'd literally smacked Luke three times in the next video message, though he had held her off when he'd told her he had to tell Rey about some texts he needed her to find and read for her studies. Rey had paused the recording and asked BB-2 to make note of the texts so that she could track them down later, and then continued the message. Luke had wrapped it up by giving her some vague retellings of missions he'd been completing for the Resistance, but Rey could tell that they were truly taking their toll on him. He seemed much happier for being around his sister more, but there were more wrinkles on his weathered face than ever before and occasionally his eyes wandered off into the distance and a pinched look took over his face before he shook it off and returned his attention fully to the message. Luke had wrapped up the message with the affirmation of his intent to join her sometime soon to continue her training – if the General would allow it, he'd stated half-jokingly.

Rey made a mental note to reassure her Master that they would work something out, but to also enquire with her uncle if there were any protocols she needed to follow for having her Jedi Master stay with them for a while.

The next message was from Poe, and the first words out of his mouth had her head spinning gleefully for the rest of the day, eagerly planning her response.

"Rey! Finn's awake!" he'd practically shouted. "I managed to convince Luke and Leia not to let onto it so that I could tell you myself, but he's awake and alive and everything is looking good for him! He's still sleeping a ton, I mean, or else he'd have sent a message himself, but I'll be sure to get one out of him and send it to you as soon as he can manage." His grin had been met with an equally large one from Rey. She listened to the rest of the message with half an ear, her mind already wandering happily.


He'd felt her thinking about him last night.

She'd been like an open book to Kylo Ren in that moment and he had immediately moved towards her, zeroing in on her across the odd non-distance of the Force. Her light had called to him and he'd been able to see a brief flash of his own visage before she'd shut herself down completely.

He hadn't been able to connect with her in time, but he had caught something that nearly overshadowed his resentment of that fact.

She was attracted to him, as well as curious.

Kylo only wished he had enough time to track her down in person before they were to arrive in Itamar. He sighed, keeping thoughts of Rey on the edge of his mind as he mulled on everything else that vied for his attention.

They were due to arrive at Itamar in ten days. At their current speed, they would barely make it. They'd been nearly clear across the other side of the galaxy when the messages had first started to arrive. The only thing that had stopped the negotiations from stalling completely from the lag in communication had been the arrival of an Itamaran diplomat authorized to speak with full authority for the crown. Final negotiations would take place on Itamar, of course, but there had been much to discuss.

The First Order couldn't ignore a powerful system like Itamar, even if they'd wanted to. They were too big to ignore, and it was much better to simply go along with the treaty like they had wished. It would cost too many resources in an effort to subdue the enraged Itamarans if they were to deny the betrothal agreement – if the First Order even wished to do that.

Which they did not.

It played perfectly into their need for credits, resources, and allies. The First Order would never turn down an agreement such as the one that was nearly being handed to them on a silver platter.

Kylo huffed as he looked at the traveling cases pushed against the side of his room. Someone had ordered him to get fit for a new set of clothing.

He was pretty sure he knew exactly who it had been, though he couldn't quite drum up anger at the redheaded thorn in his side since he hadn't been forced to appear for any fittings at the tailors.

Hux had been complaining about Kylo's penchant for black everything for years now, though there had never been an opportunity for Kylo to really wear anything other than black. It had always been the shade that looked the best on him, though the fact that it hid blood so easily was the ultimate reason for it gracing his wardrobe.

These new clothes were for a wide variety of social events – he'd snarled at that, directly into the arbitrator's face – as well as some everyday ensembles.

He admitted that his usual robes wouldn't do very well for those sorts of things, and had at least been pleasantly surprised when he'd looked through the clothes that had been made for him. They hadn't been too awful, and most were in blacks, greys, reds, and deep blues. He could accept them, if he must.

They would stay on Itamar in a wardrobe just for his things, even as he spent his time off-world and back on the Finalizer. He had missions to complete, Knights to oversee… and a little scavenger girl to find.

Kylo turned towards his grandfather's helmet where it rested on its pedestal, mulling over whether to keep it here, or transport it back and forth with him as he went.

Pulling his glove off of his left hand, he touched the well-worn surface of the helmet and let a small frown twist on his lips.

He had meditated deeply the last few days, asking the Force if he was doing the right thing; if he would be able to accomplish his goal of balance by following his orders to marry the newly-found princess of Itamar.

Each time, the Force had sent him an unequivocal 'yes,' followed by the most peaceful of sensations he had ever felt come over him.

It was… unnerving.


Note: I had a rough weekend with pain and other major difficulties, so I wanted to have a little happiness and normalcy in my life by posting five updates today, since at least I can do it from the comfort of my bed! I know it's a lot and probably not the most productive way to get new readers and the like, but it makes me feel better, and that's what counts, eh?

The new chapters today are for Behind Closed Doors, Codega, this (Mitzvah), Delicious Ambiguity, and even starting to post the beginning of my (new) old fic, Gradations - the first longfic I ever started, waaaaaaaay back when!

Hope you don't mind. Much love to everyone. *hugs tightly and sends love to everyone*. Special love to my husband, my daddy and to Perry Downing for helping me over the last four days. Love you. So very much.