Ben slowly recovered. It was an uphill battle of trying to regain range of motion and trying to keep the pain at bay. There were days when he was unbelievably exhausted, days where he could barely find the stamina to get out of bed, but little by little he got better and better. Rey was with him often, and in those moments it got easy to forget that they were up against any sort of walls at all. They ate together, laughed together, and Ben found himself opening up to her. Before long he found that when she wasn't within his sight line he missed her.

Luke had taken his nephews almost death as an excuse to visit his home out in the countryside. Ben could not say he missed his uncle's presence, but it made him uneasy. Had they gotten too close? Ben felt sure that it wasn't a good idea to allow him time to regroup, but what could he do? He was a bit like an injured bird, it would be awhile before he could fly again. At the back of his mind rested Snoke. He doubted the man would allow him to live this encounter down, and he was probably twice as full of rage as he had been. There were days when he missed Leia's council, terribly. He began to think of all the times that Snoke had traumatized him as a boy, and was determined to overcome his fear of him - it would be the only way he could manage to take him down without being taken down himself.

That night, after all the fussing had been done, Ben found himself strangely alone. The watch on him had gotten lighter as he had gotten better, though he was surprised that even Rey hadn't come to visit him. Her duties had gotten heavier, and she'd gotten busier, but he only had himself to blame for that. He slid out of his bed, tired of the sight of it, and dressed in plain clothes. He had learned his lesson (apparently) about going places on his own, but he hated to think he was some frail boy who fell down when people weren't looking.

Finn stood outside, looking solemn and fierce. They had grown more friendly in the past few weeks, but Ben suspected it was mostly due to Rey. They seemed to have some sort of quiet bond that Ben felt himself just a tad envious of. Finn looked at him in a questioning manner, he didn't need to speak at all.

"Just outside, Finn," He said in his deep tones. Is this what it was like to have people care for you?

Finn nodded his head, his motions always precise and quiet.

"Don't go too far," He said, and Ben thought he saw the crack of a smile. Was that a jest?

Ben was sure that someone might follow him, but when he broke out into the fresh air he felt revived. He had gotten bored being in bed all of the time. He found his way to the training area. It was empty, having been swept and cleaned up earlier in the afternoon. Most of the activities tended to take place in the morning, after all, when the sun was high.

Ben picked up one of the old practice swords. He thought, perhaps, that his own might be too heavy, and took a few cautionary swings before he began moving through the drills that Rey had set up for him. It was as if Snoke had never trained him at all. He was so pleased with the activity that he didn't realize that his wounds had started to bleed, just a bit. He felt strong, stronger than he had in weeks, and he didn't seem to be thinking of the price he might pay the next day when it came to sore muscles and torn stitches.

He wasn't able to get too far along his path of self destruction when he heard his name.

"Ben!" It was firm, and he knew who it belonging to almost immediately. He turned to find Rey standing there, arms crossed over her chest. "I thought even you knew better than to fight with an injury," She said, closing the distance between them.

"'Tis but a flesh wound," He said, jokingly.

"You're in high spirits,"

"I'm bored," He replied. "Feel like a challenge?" He took stance, ready to spar.

"I can't, in good conscience, take you up on that offer,"

"Worried about being beaten by a weakling?" He teased, though she quickly pushed the edge of the wooden sword away, returning the playful gaze.

"No," She replied.

"What then?"

She pointed, and he realized that there were bright spots of red blood on his shirt, sinking into the cross stitch of the fabric from the bandages he still wore. He hadn't realized he was bleeding, but he didn't think it was serious. Just a few spots of blood. She regarded him as if he were a puppy who didn't know when to quit. She surprised him when she touched his middle, lifting up the shirt he was wearing, using her fingertips to gather it up and pull it over his head. He felt the pain then, when he shifted, but he didn't stop her. She wasn't shy, but he might have been all too willing to mistake this for something else. He felt her fingertips with surprising potency, each time they brushed his body he was aware of it. She undressed him with careful clemency, and he watched her silently while she did it.

Finally, she sensed him watching her and she looked up, her eyes mischievous and her mouth set into a determined line.

"What?" She asked, carefully drawing away the bloodied bandages to get a better look at the damage.

"What are you doing?"

"You're bleeding," She reiterated, gently peeling away the remainder of the bandages.

"I know I'm bleeding, I can go to the infirmary,"

"I can handle it," She said, ever determined.

He allowed himself to be lead, taking seat so that she could examine the wounds. They were healing rather well, pink flesh surrounding the wounds. She went to retrieve the first aid kit and cleaned the blood up before putting on fresh bandages. She handed him his shirt, balled up in her hands, and he slid back into it, looking a bit sheepish. He thought of how different it might have been if it hadn't just been because he was bleeding. He thought of it quite abruptly, the flush of her cheeks and pretty moans falling from her lips. It almost caused him to blush, but he thankfully recovered himself without any notice.

Or, almost without notice. Rey seemed to notice the odd look on his face and gave her one of her own, and it caused them to stand there staring at one another as if they were trying to read each other's thoughts. It didn't work. It didn't work for either of them, and they were forced to continue on with regular conversation.

"Ben," She started. "I wanted to ask you something,"

"What is it?"

"I remember you saying something about how the poison that was used on your mother is an expensive endeavor," She pushed her lips together thoughtfully. "What does it entail?"

"A large, dark area," He admitted. "Blood from living humans,"

"Do you think perhaps we just weren't looking in the right place?"

"Why?"

"We didn't get much time to look, but something seemed off about that place," She admitted. "I think we should go back,"

"I was planning on it, anyway,"

"I think you should stay here," She clarified. "I think Finn and I will be better off going,"

Ben was a little hurt at the idea that he might be a liability, but he couldn't deny the fact that she was probably right. He was injured, and he was likely just to slow them down.

"You seem to be good friends now," He said simply, resisting the urge to fiddle with his hands.

"We respect one another,"

Ben nodded his head in understanding, but it was hard not to feel disappointed. For a brief moment, he had forgotten what they were to each other.

"I see," He stood up, quietly thanking Rey for her attention and exiting the arena.

Ben started to regain some of his strength and went back to training fairly regularly. He bounced back more quickly than he might have guessed, but was just in time for good old Uncle Luke to return. He brought another girl with him, this one younger and sharper - and much less friendly than Rey. He couldn't expect that Luke's intentions with this girl were the same, but it clearly made all of them uncomfortable.

Luke called a meeting that very same day, forcing them all into the throne room - himself, his father and the entire court - filling the space up to the brim with onlookers. Ben wondered at it, and knew it could not mean anything good. Ben took his spot at the head of the room, finding that it grew warm with all of the people packed into it. He spotted Rey and Finn, looking concerned, and his father, looking aloof. There were others, guards, courtiers, advisers, strategists. He had dressed for the occasion, though the gold leaf crown on his head felt like a mockery. He was sure he was no king.

Ben waited until his uncle came in, wearing his favored white robes doused with crimson lining. At this side was the girl - a waif of thing with freckled skin and bright red, curling hair. He had never seen anything like her, and he was sure his Uncle had stolen her from the wildlings in the wood.

"Nephew," He said, loudly, so that all might hear. "I'm glad to see you looking so well," There was something in his eyes that suggested he meant exactly the opposite. It was a disappointment that Ben hadn't died, even if he'd had no part in planning out Snoke's attack.

"Uncle," Ben said, pulling his cloak around him and taking a seat. "Why have you brought us all here?"

"Well, your highness," Luke began, magnanimously. "I've called you here to ask you what you intend to do in lieu of your mother being gone. As of yet I've seen no indication that you intend to take over the throne, or her duties,"

Ben was surprised at it, but he wagered he shouldn't have been. Luke continued.

"There are villages being burned in the outer layer, and other than an ill fated visit to see the chaos I have not seen you taking any steps to solve the problem," Luke looked pleased with himself.

"And you needed all of these people here for this?"

"Ben, I would like you to meet your cousin," He pulled forth the red haired girl. It was a shock, certainly, like cold water had been dumped over his head. The people gasped in lieu of the confession. "Jade, meet Ben," Ben could see the tale tell look of dislike in her eyes, likely planted there by Luke. Even if her face was pleasant and she curtsied very low, Ben could not ignore the look in her eyes.

"And you expect me to believe she's blood when you've never brought her here before?" Ben asked, anger rising up the back of his throat.

"To be frank, I don't care what you believe," Ben moved around as if he was orating to a classroom. "If you don't intend to take over your duties, I am within my rights to offer my own blood for the throne,"

"You cannot do that without majority," Ben roared, his voice getting louder and meaner. He hated himself for getting so angry. "Unless you have my mother's seal of approval," Ben said, snide.

"How could I have gotten that? She's barely clinging to life," Luke looked at him, sharply. "And the stone seems to have gone missing,"

It seemed to make sense now why he had run into his uncle stalking the corridors late at night. He was probably looking for that damned thing.

"I have the stone," Ben said, sharply.

Luke looked pleased. Ben could tell he'd shown his hand too soon.

"Be that as it may," Luke said. "With your mother sleeping and no real coronation ceremony having taken place, I believe you'll find I am still within my right,"

"Not without majority," Ben suddenly understood why his uncle had drawn all of these people here. He intended to take a haphazard vote. Luke wouldn't have believed that Ben would win such a vote, not with his poison having spread far and wide. Ben began to wonder if that was some of the reason for his awful reputation.

"So we'll take a vote, then,"

When he looked at Rey, she would not meet his eyes.

Luke indicated that those who voted for Ben should kneel, and those who voted for Jade should stand. Ben thought he had known what the outcome would be, and was shocked when he realized that the room was divided, exactly in half. Half for him, and half for Luke.

Luke was visibly surprised himself. It was a stumbling block, but it had really only bought Ben more time - and it had been what he'd thought - they would have to instate a regent in his mother's place. They both turned to his father, who was the only one who could fill the job now without conflict from either side. Until a real vote could be established across the kingdom, Han would stand in Leia's place. It was a job he never wanted, and Ben could tell he wasn't terribly pleased with the verdict.

When it was all said and done, Ben burst out into the hallway, his rage carrying him quickly out of the hall. He plucked his crown from his head and threw it, enjoying hearing it clatter against stone and settle somewhere. He didn't care, he had no intention of retrieving it. He was making a plan as he strode along, unaware that he was being followed. He had to get his mother out of the palace. He had been stupid to believe that Luke wouldn't find ways to continue dosing her, and though she'd held on this long, he couldn't imagine that would continue forever. Luke had kept her alive, but he had made sure she wouldn't be able to contribute to the process of him taking over the throne. If there was no one to hand down the right, then someone would be put in place to watch over the kingdom until the matter could be resolved.

Why was he so angry when it was something he hadn't even been sure he wanted? Well, now it was personal, and he intended to make sure that Luke never saw the light of day again - killing him would have been too easy, and he wanted to strip him of everything he had, just as he'd tried to do to Ben. He angrily stalked into his chambers, the door slamming behind him but not closing completely. He fought with his cloak, slinging it off of his shoulders and balling it up, chucking it across the room without care.

He heard the door click behind him and he turned around, finding Rey standing there with his crown in her hands. It had gotten bent in the fury.

"Did you know about this?" He asked.

She nodded her head slowly, but didn't reply. He shook his head, looking at her, breathing heavily like an angry bull.

"What else do you know about?"

Rey looked as if she might come clean, but something stopped her.

"You lied to me that night," He said simply. "You lied about everything," He seemed to know it with awful clarity then.

"No, not about everything," She said. "Ben, you don't understand,"

"No, I guess I don't," He said, finding that the look on her face took some of the wind out of him. "But I have no desire to," He said, harshly. "This kingdom is not mine, it never was," It was a fresh betrayal, stripping away the pain of the old ones.

You are not mine, you never were.

"Get out," He said, his tone empty and his voice breaking, betraying his resolve. "Get out," He said again, this time more firmly. The third, time he shouted it, causing her to jump and drop his crown where it rolled like a coin and settled noisily.

When she turned, he could see the tears building up in her eyes, but all he could manage to do was let her go.

Ben realized he could not let his mother stay here another day. He might have let it go on for too long already. He knew he had to act that night. Rey did not come to see him again. She might have been thinking he would oust her from the Palace, but he no longer had any illusions about his power here. He realized his enemies were growing daily, and even though there were those that had stood with him, it was inevitable that his uncle would find a way to get his way.

Ben realized he might have to be just as ruthless, if he was ever going to stand up to this and win.

That night, he put on the quietest pair of boots he had and he dressed in all black. He packed what he could take, the damned stone being the first thing he'd tossed into his bag after smashing his mother's puzzle box open. He only took what he'd need and nothing else, and he realized that what he would mostly need would be gold. He took everything he'd been squirreling away with him. He didn't think Finn's guard would be easy to disarm, but he was glad to find it wasn't Finn. He used his easy knowledge of botany to his advantage, taking with him a high potency powder that he blew right into his face the moment that the guard tried to stop him. Ben caught him before he had a chance to fall, heavily onto the ground, and laid him in a nearby chair. He would wake up in a few hours. Ben didn't need that much time.

He found her, resting in her bed. She was barely breathing, but he could find her small pulse beating away in her wrist. He hoped that this wouldn't be what killed her, but he knew to let her stay there would be to definitely condemn her to death. He lifted her out of the bed, wrapping her in the heaviest, darkest cloak he could find. She was so frail it was as if he was carrying nothing at all. He doubted anyone would be pleased about the theft of their queen, but Ben knew it was the most important thing.

He had been stupid, and weak.

He would not be so again.

He decided not to take anything with him. No horses, no carriages. He didn't want to risk being tracked, and it would be much better to find something that didn't draw much attention once they'd gotten into the city. He carried his mother that whole distance, but adrenaline and pure rage fueled his energy, he didn't even notice she was there. She was so still and she breathed so low that Ben wondered if he had done this all for nothing.

Ben began to see farms, and though he might have felt a twinge of guilt about stealing a cart, he realized he had to. He set his mother down, drawing the fabric around her in such a way that he hoped no one would notice that she was a human - hiding her as best he could. He crept into the place, doing his best to remain silent, having listened to what Rey had to say about how loud he'd been once before. Sneaking had never been his forte, but he had gotten a lot lighter on his feet. He released one of their ponies from the stable and lead it out, hooking it to a plain cart that they likely used to haul vegetables back and forth. He tried not to think of her. If she was snake poison he could have sucked out of his veins he would have done it in an instant.

He had almost gotten away with the cart until he saw a lone figure standing in his path. It was presumably the owner of the land, who held a torch and a rusty old blade. He intended to fight to keep his cart, it seemed. He questioned Ben first, but Ben didn't respond, standing silent and resolute, hidden by his generous cloak and hook. When the farmer advanced on him, Ben found himself moving with a quickness and a clarity he had yet to experience. Perhaps it was the skill level of the farmer, or perhaps the rage had cleared his vision. He disarmed him, pressing a sharp dagger he'd quickly drawn from his boot up against the man's throat. It would have been easy to cut, and let the life drain, but Ben only drew a pinprick of blood.

"Tell anyone you saw me here and I will come back and do much worse,"

Ben pulled his dagger away, wiping it on his cloak. He sheathed it, taking a moment to knee the farmer in his groin, sending him crumbling towards the earth. He wanted to make sure the man wouldn't get stupid and try to come after them. He dropped a few heavy pieces of silver in the dirt beside the farmer that would find as soon as he recovered. He supposed he wasn't totally heartless, not yet, anyway.

He continued on his way, retrieving Leia and laying her out in the back of the cart. She would have said something about how she'd smell of hay, but she didn't. She simply slept on. After attaching the pony to the pony cart, Ben found himself in the seat, spurning the horse on. It would be slow going, but he didn't have any idea where he was going, anyway.

The night turned into day, and Ben was thankful it wasn't the dead of summer. He kept an eye on his mother, stopping occasionally to make sure she was still breathing. The towns passed, growing smaller and farther apart before it seemed there were to be no more until he came on a small town that looked almost empty. He supposed the fear of the raiders had sent the people moving towards the cities. There was safety in numbers, after all. Ben stopped and purchased food and water, asking the shop keep if there were any places where he might stay.

"None in town," The man said gruffly. "Though if ye ask over there at Obaron's place he might be willing to let you stay in that old cottage of his,"

Ben nodded, but didn't speak again. He felt it was better that he not, in case someone recognized him for any reason. Obaron's cottage was not for rent until Ben placed a heavy bag of silver in front of the man, and it was obvious that it was for sale for the right, exorbitant price. He had the same warning for the man - if he told anyone he would do him ill. The cottage was sparsely decorated and had a few pieces of furniture. Ben laid his mother out on the only cot in the small building, pressing his hand to her forehead and testing again for her breath.

He might have been imagining things, but it seemed as if it was getting stronger.

Ben sold the pony and destroyed the cart, using it for firewood that night. The first night in the cottage was dark, there were no candles and the fireplace smoked and barely provided any light. He fell asleep curled in the corner of the room, his cloak wrapped around him. He wished he didn't have to go back into town, and when he did he bought whatever he could manage to carry before disappearing into the woods again. He was sure they must have found him to be an oddity, but after that day he didn't go back. He found he could mostly live without any need to see anyone else.

Sometimes he sat by his mother's bed, tipping cold tea down her throat and wondering how long it would be before she wasted away into nothing. He managed to get gruel down her throat sometimes, and he thought he saw some of her color return. Each night when he went to bed, he was too exhausted to think of anything else. This might be a temporary fix, but it would do for then.

After he'd been there for a few days, he relaxed just a bit. He was sitting at his makeshift desk, one he'd hammered together himself and one that wobbled, when he heard a rock come sailing through the window. It cracked, knocking against the wall and falling with a thud to the floor. He was up in an instant, and out the front door. He expected to see Rey standing there, or even Luke, so he was surprised to find that the entire cottage was surrounded by cloaked figures. He took stance, ready to fight them all off with a dagger if he had to - before the leader of the pack broke free.

He recognized her almost instantly. It was the woman who sold the daggers. His hand dropped in confusion, the dagger dropping into the dirt.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, obviously surprised.

"Followed ya," She said, cheerfully.

"How?"

"Farmer Graves was pretty vocal about ya," She said, smirking as she bounded up, picking up his dagger and handing it back to him. "I'm Rose,"

"And I thought I was so intimidating," He said, taking her hand carefully. "Ben,"

"Well, hard to keep you a secret," She admitted.

"You still haven't answered my question,"

"Oh, what I'm doing here?"

He nodded slowly in response, still confused.

"I want to help you,"

"Help me with what?"

"Luke,"

"Luke," He repeated dumbly.

"Yes, Luke. I used to be one of his girls,"

His girls?

woooo. did i pull the rug out from underneath ya? who's ready for badass ben? i ammmmmm