Chapter 7

It took Kylo Ren by surprise when Supreme Leader Snoke announced he needed to leave for a couple of days to oversee something in person. He left strict orders with Ren that his training with Xalaina would continue in his absence.

So in accordance with his Master's wishes and the fact he was personally invested in his training time with Xalaina, Ren waited for her to arrive at the usual appointed hour.

When she walked in, he watched her gaze go from her father's empty chair first before turning toward Ren. He was impressed she could walk so fluidly considering her injury from the day before.

He had also heavily considered her words from the previous day and had come to the conclusion that he could not kill her and she knew it. Not because of the reasons she most likely thought -whatever those might be- but because she had something he wanted.

She was the only person he'd ever heard of who learned how to cancel out the Force Mind Probe, and Ren was desperate for its secret.

He waited patiently for her to cross the room and select her weapon. Kylo Ren was not surprised that she didn't inquire about her father's whereabouts and he didn't bother offering up an explanation.

She twirled her selected sword twice before gripping it properly and stepping into the inner circle of the round training room. Ren had selected a sword that reminded him most of his destroyed lightsaber.

"If you win all three rounds today, I have a gift for you." She announced a tiny smirk spreading across her lips, mischievous in nature.

"I've no need for useless items," Ren replied. If one were to look in his private quarters they'd find nothing there of interest. In fact, they might think no one resided there at all.

"I promise you, this is something you'll want." She did not wait for his next reply, she spun at him full force. Ren was forced to step back against her attack and block awkwardly.

He growled beneath his mask when he met her next blow. He'd sorely underestimated how her wound might affect her skills. Instead of hindering her she seemed more determined and far more dangerous than any previous battle.

Kylo Ren was impressed and even smiled to himself as he continued to strike back against her. As always, the match at the beginning was always fairly even. She had yet to succumb to the usual human fatigue, but eventually, she would.

Ren was glad that fatigue was something that he rarely felt. The force was like an ever charging battery and it would take much more than three rounds against her to tire him.

The first round was always the most challenging as her skills made it hard to come out on top easily. Not that Ren wanted an easy fight, he enjoyed the challenge. With each time she defeated him in the past, he only grew in skill.

Seeing her now, knowing she was wounded and that no matter how she might be hiding it, it most likely was hurting her, we had to wonder if she'd yet fought a battle against him at her full potential. Had she been toying with him? Holding back?

Xalaina jumped toward him her sword raised high to strike down from above. Ren ducked, bringing his elbow up and back striking her in the back as she passed him. He caught the sharp intake of air she made before she caught her footing and whirled to face him.

Sweat was already beginning to matte her hair to her forehead. "Cheap shot." She growled low.

Ren couldn't deny she was right about that. Aiming for her wound had not been his initial intention but effective nonetheless. He could now spot the slight discomfort in her expression.

Her narrowed gaze attempting to hide the grimace as she straightened her posture. He should have continued his assault. In the moment he'd given her to recover he could have beaten her down, probably should have beaten her down. Without the Supreme Leader there to observe them he felt less inclined to end the battle quickly.

"I'm marveled by your ability to block me out." Ren raised a hand clearly catching her off-guard. For a mere second he touched her mind and saw pain there before all he could see was darkness.

Xalaina lashed out with a roar. Her face contorted into pure anger. Blocking her blow, Ren caught hold of her wrist. Almost just as quick as he'd grabbed her she twirled downward breaking his grasp and landing her elbow deep into his solar plexus taking the wind right out of him causing his to bend over.

Unlike Ren, who'd given her a moment to recover, she did not warrant him the same. He saw the wild look in her eyes he'd noticed their first fight together. She brought her weapon down to strike him a blow to the head but Ren was faster catching the strike against his forearm instead. In the same move, he brought the top of his sword to rest against her belly signaling that he'd won, but she didn't stop.

Her foot shot out, kicking him in the kneecap and her head came down and crashed into his face. Realizing that she didn't plan to stop Ren threw her to the wall using the Force.

She lay there stunned for a moment, breathing heavily. Blood had begun to seep through the back of her training top. Unsteadily she climbed to her feet while Kylo Ren stayed rooted to his spot.

'She's unpredictable.' Snoke's words rose to his memory. Perhaps in her father's absence, she would take a chance and kill Ren.

When at last Xalaina was back up, leaning on the wall for support she scowled toward Ren before throwing her sword to the floor. "Don't you dare try to touch my mind again. You have no right...," her voice betrayed her emotion, edged with tones of disgust and desperation.

He took note of the slight tremble in her hands and legs as she made to leave the room. Kylo Ren stepped toward her and stopped when she turned her icy gaze back on him, warning him to back off. He should have said something and yet he couldn't find the words.

XxX

Xalaina sat in her shower the water still raining down upon her. She willed herself to pull herself together but memories of Kylo Ren touching her mind remained fresh.

It had been a long time since she'd known the feeling of someone touching her deepest thoughts. That feeling made her sick to her stomach and dirty. She hadn't been ready for it, hadn't expected him to try it. Why had he tried it?

Ren's stupidity only made her want to punish him and with that feeling came anger. In that anger, she had acted foolishly, impulsively. She'd attacked Ren without regard for rules, she'd wanted to hurt him, badly.

Xalaina turned off the water and exited her bathroom. She began to redress her wound that had reopened when she'd hit the wall. When she was done she dressed.

At last, she withdrew a small shard from a pouch she'd kept hidden in her underwear drawer. She let the shard roll in her palm before closing her fingers over it. This Kyber Crystal had been in her possession for years. She'd stolen it back when the First Order had begun construction of their weapons. She didn't have a use for it, but she thought one day it might come in handy.

She knew Ren was without a Lightsaber, if he'd won all three rounds of their fight she'd intended to give it to him, hoping she might gain his trust as she began working her way into his life to eventually turn him against her father. After today she was not sure if she had a chance to gain his trust, she'd acted too harsh.

She needed to sleep, to clear her head. With the crystal still within the palm of her hand, Xalaina collapsed on her bed and fell asleep.

XxX

Kylo Ren sat meditating but he found his mind unable to focus as he'd like it too. Usually, he was very disciplined at this, but not tonight.

In the hours since her departure, all Ren could think about was his fight with Xalaina. He knew now it hadn't been the absence of her father that had her raise her sword so violently against him.

In his own stupidity, he'd reached out to probe her mind thinking he'd find only darkness there like before but instead he'd found himself a glimpse inside her barrier, shocking both himself and her.

The pain that brimmed her thoughts was vast and not just caused by the wound on her back, this Ren knew. He was trained to not just probe a mind but sense emotions within those thoughts. The pain was her emotion but it did not stem from thoughts of her back, but something much older.

He thought of the story she'd told him about her past, as vague as it was he got a picture of a girl tortured, manipulated, broken into submission, and then thrown aside when she proved useless. The pain the clouded her thoughts stemmed from that.

It bothered him. It was easy to pass her story off as yet another childish tantrum because she and her father clearly had a less than stellar relationship, but to even get a small vision of that pain had him wondering just what she'd went through? Could Snoke be as terrible as she made him sound?

Perhaps, the most important question was whether or not those answers would make a difference. 'Snoke is using you for your power. When he gets what he wants, he'll crush you.' Kylo's father had warned him and deep down he always wondered if he was right.

Ren tried to shake off his thoughts and attempted to focus on his meditation once more only this time a solid knock on his door interrupted him.

Ren looked toward the door but decided he would ignore whomever it was. He was in no mood to deal with them. Again he closed his eyes and again came a knock. He ignored it.

"Ren, I know you're in there." The words were muffled by the well-insulated walls, Xaliana had yelled for his attention. Ren stood and grabbed his helm but paused. Instead of donning it like intended he placed it back down and opened his door.

Xalaina stood on the other side dressed in one of her fancy gowns. No one else wore such garbs there and because of that, she stood out like a sore thumb. She rose a delicate eyebrow at the sight of him but whatever she was thinking he could not tell, she'd regained back her composure since their fight it would seem.

"Hiding?" She asked, almost teased.

"Meditating." He replied. Unwilling to stay stood in his doorway for prying ears to catch their conversation, he stepped back offering space for her to move inside.

She accepted moving only far enough in to allow him to close the door. "I had mentioned earlier today about a gift I had for you should you win our battle today." She stated.

"I did not win." He replied stood nearby in the short but narrow hallway that had led to his door. The space between them was small enough that he could smell the perfume wafting off her hair.

"True, but neither did I present myself as a good practice partner. We both failed today." She paused before holding a small pouch toward him. "For losing my temper." She offered.

Kylo Ren only looked at the bag but did not take it. "I shouldn't have read your mind. I hadn't expected to see anything. I was careless." For the first time in a long time, Ren felt nervous and awkward. He was not use to apologizing in any manner.

"As long as you never touch my mind again without permission, I'll overlook this one occurrence." She gave a tiny smile before shaking the package. "Take it. I have no use for it, but you will."

Ren conceded and took the pouch. Before he could open it she was moving past him toward the door. "Goodnight, Kylo Ren," she said as she departed closing the door behind her.

Finally, he dumped the contents of the pouch into his palm and out rolled a Kyber Crystal small enough to hone into a lightsaber. Stunned he looked back at the closed door wondering why she had such a precious item and why she would just give it away.

Thank you's

Physco the Cat: Your excitement keeps me excited! lol. You know the smut will be worth the wait ;P