Part 8
A couple of weeks had gone by since Rey had made those declarations and Kylo still couldn't shake it off. They had been connected through the Force a few times but either of them ever said a thing. At times, he was too busy, sitting in a meeting with the generals of the First Order, he just saw her there, all of a sudden, taking the place of one of his generals. She had kept quiet, only observing him, listening in to what they were saying, but there was nothing that could have been of use to her. Other times he would be by himself and she would appear, working or fixing something next to him. Sometimes he wondered if she knew he was there, but then she would do something, the smallest of gestures, the slightest change in the way she was breathing, something that would tell him she knew, she had acknowledged him.
He had also grown more attuned to her Force signature, more aware of her presence in the Force, of her thoughts and feelings. There was never anything clear, her mind was stronger then it had been that time on StarKiller Base, but he knew hat regardless, he would never try to enter her mind again. Not for her sake, but for his own. Searching into her mind had left him so open, so vulnerable to her and that is not how he wanted to feel around Rey.
Kylo closed his eyes for a brief moment, clearing his mind of anything that had to do with her; when he opened them, he saw the six Knights of Ren enter the boardroom, accompanied by Hux. Whilst their faces were covered by masks, Kylo could feel their envy and resentment radiating through the Force. He had always been more stronger in the Force than all of them; nonetheless, he chose to wear his mask as well. Hux was sat at the opposite end of the table, facing Kylo, whilst the Knights sat on either side, facing each other. He had noticed how Kara Ren and Aeneas Ren had taken the seats right beside him on either side, they had always been the most obedient, the ones most fascinated by his power. Towards the end of the table, on either side of general Hux, was where Hera Ren and Zeno Ren were sat; they had always been the most defiant. Kylo wouldn't be surprised if Hux had already managed to turn them against him. The ones left were Dai Ren and Cyrill Ren, neither loyal, nor particularly faithful, which meant they could be easily compromised. Kylo Ren looked around this room filled with people he knew he could never really trust and felt alone. Briefly only, what he felt most was pride, he was so powerful that people felt threatened by his very presence and that's what he'd longed for all his life. Now, not only was he his own master, he was the master of the galaxy.
"Well, I believe congratulations are in order, Master," came Hera Ren's metallic voice.
Kylo smiled to himself. It was such an obvious test, he believed he had trained his knights better. "Hera Ren, talking when you were not given permission to is an act of defiance," he spoke, his voice,
even though distorted by the mask, sounded calm and cold. "Also, your suggestion is an insult to our former Supreme Leader. We are still mourning his loss."
"Of course, Master Ren," Hera said. She seemed just as confident as she was before, but Kylo could feel her hesitation and fear through the Force.
"Now, we should discuss more pressing matters, such as what have you been doing in my absence?" Kylo demanded.
"Master, if I may?" Zeno Ren inquired, not wanting to repeat Hera's mistake. "Everything has been carried out as you and Supreme Leader Snoke have indicated. I believe I speak in the name of us all when I say we never would have strayed from your orders."
Kylo moved his head into Zeno's general direction. "No," he said, and felt the surprise of his followers, "you may not speak in the name of everyone. In fact, you may not speak again until asked to."
"Yes, Master-" Zeno started.
"Supreme Leader," Kylo quickly interrupted him.
Zeno cleared his voice,"Yes, Supreme Leader," he corrected himself.
"Supreme Leader?"
It was Hux who spoke then and Kylo took a moment to study his features. There was a hint of disappointment in his eyes that his plan to intimidate him hadn't worked, but there was also relief, miserable relief, that he was not the only one humiliated; that in fact, he now felt he was one of the most powerful people in the room.
"Perhaps you wish to inform the Knights of Ren of the plans of the First Order," Hux suggested.
"Ben!"
Her panicked voice erupted in his mind and he was deaf to anything else for a moment. He didn't understand what had happened, he couldn't see her, she wasn't there, but somehow she seemed to contact him thorough the Force. But what was most important, she seemed scared.
"Ben! Help!" came her second cry and then the sound of rushing water. "Please! Help me!"
"Supreme Leader?" Hux questioned.
For a moment, Kylo had forgotten he wasn't alone, he had forgotten there was anything in the world besides Rey's pleading voice. Abruptly, he got up from his chair, the table shaking in his wake. He could feel the confusion of everybody in the room.
"This meeting is finished," he dismissed them coldly, trying to focus on Rey'e voice again.
"Please! I need you!"
Ben clenched his fists, never had he felt more powerless. Not when his father abandoned him, not when his uncle tried to kill him; but now, now when this girl was pleading for his help and he could do nothing.
"But, Supreme Leader," Hux stammered.
"I said LEAVE!" Kylo growled.
In seconds, the room emptied. Once alone, Kylo took the mask off and tossed it to the ground.
"Rey?" He reached out with his thoughts but he couldn't find her.
He tried again. "Rey?"he said it aloud but the connection between them didn't seem strong enough. He realised he had started breathing harder, the amount of power he was using was draining him of strength; he didn't care. "REY!"
All of a sudden, she appeared in front of him in flashes and erratic images. She was somewhere underwater, drowning. Sometimes resurfacing and crying for help; mostly, she was tossed under by the waves. There was something else, the water, it wasn't just blue, there was a red tint in it, she had been injured. Kylo searched her body for injuries and found the cause of her bleeding: a gash in her leg. He tried to move closer to her.
"Rey," he called her name again, his voice sounded as if he was underwater as well. "Rey, I'm here," he was trying to draw her attention to him but she didn't seem to see him.
He saw her lips staring to turn blue and he pushed through the Force, trying to get closer to her. "Rey!"he called out again when he saw her eyes starting to close.
For a moment, she looked in his direction and he realised she could finally see him. "Ben?" The question fell off her lips just as she was rendered unconscious.
Ben tried to reach out his arm, tried to reach out through the Force, but nothing happened. He felt panic rise in his chest, felt suffocated by it. He squeezed his eyes shut trying to make the Force obey him, bend it to his will so that he would be able to help Rey.
A strong arm pushed through the torrent of water and grabbed Rey pulling her to the surface. By the time Kylo opened his eyes, he was back into the boardroom, panting for air, as if he had almost drowned as well.
AN: please make sure to check out my other two fanfics: Reylo Oneshots and When we were young xxx
