Rosella remained stood by Poe's side, her hand moving slowly across his forehead continuously as she moved his hair from his face. Poe's eyes were closed, clearly because he was drained from everything the interrogators had done to him. Rosella kept her other hand on his arm, slowly stroking along his leather jacket as she ignored the presence of the troopers in the room with them.
"They know," Poe finally whispered, his voice weak and low as Rosella bent down to hear him better. "They know about the Resistance…Ren…he was in my head."
"Don't worry," Rosella assured him in a soft voice. "He saw into my head too. He knows where they are based…everything I knew…I couldn't keep him out."
"He was in your head?" Poe checked and Rosella nodded at him.
"I wouldn't tell Armitage anything," she said. "But he wanted the information."
"What did he do to you?" Poe demanded from her, his eyes soft and his lips parted as Rosella closed her eyes and shook her head slowly, unsure if she could tell him what had happened or not. She had her bottom lip between her teeth as she remembered everything, the memories causing her nothing but pain.
"He is my husband," Rosella weakly spoke. "I…I can't talk about it, Poe."
"Did he touch you?" Poe demanded and she shook her head.
"Don't," she urged him, a tear spilling from her eyes.
But her lack of willingness to discuss it spoke volumes to Poe. Shaking his head as much as possible, his cut hands balled into fists.
"I'll kill him," Poe muttered and Rosella tightened her grip on his arm.
"Don't talk like that here," she demanded from him. "Just focus on getting away from here alive. Do you understand me?"
"With you," Poe told her. "Rosella, I will not leave here without you. Do you understand me?"
She shook her head slowly and bent down to kiss him on the forehead before looking to the troopers guarding the room. There was no chance she could persuade them to leave her alone with Poe. She knew that talking about escape seemed futile. How could she escape? There was no way out and that made her even more anxious than she cared to admit.
"I will think of something," Rosella promised Poe, knowing that the one man she could appeal to was the one man she couldn't stand being near. But if it saved Poe's life then it was worth it.
She slowly moved to press her lips against Poe's and then pulled back, her touch fleeting on his hand as she moved towards the door and prepared to do whatever to save Poe.
"I want to talk to my husband," she demanded, looking between the two troopers in the room. They both looked to each other.
"Take her back to her cell and have someone guard him," one trooper demanded from the other. "I will fetch the General and tell him that his wife is willing to speak."
Rosella didn't complain as one of the troopers took hold of her arm and dragged her from the room. She said nothing as his grip loosened on her, almost as though he didn't want to hurt her. She could hear Poe yelling her name behind her, telling her not to do anything foolish. The tears began to build back up into her eyes as she let out a sob once they turned the corner back to the cell she had been held in.
"You cry for him," the man in the white suit commented. "The Resistance pilot."
"I love him," Rosella whispered. "I…"
"But you are the General's wife," the man continued, pressing the buttons to her cell until the doors whizzed open and he walked inside with her, turning the lights on low.
"I escaped before and met him," Rosella said. "I thought that it was common knowledge."
"I heard a rumour," the trooper mumbled. "But you escaped? How?"
Rosella frowned and stood up tall, folding her arms over her chest as she eyed the man in the suit before her with intrigue. It was only then when he began to remove his helmet from his head to reveal his face. He was still quite young, sweat dripping down his glistening forehead. His eyes were wide, but there was something inside of him. There was still emotion there.
He was just a boy who had been taken from his home. He was like all of the others Rosella had taught. But he hadn't been changed. She could see that.
"Because it was the right thing to do," Rosella whispered. "Life outside of the First Order…it's…it's much more than you can imagine now. But why are you so interested?"
"Because I don't want to be here," he replied honestly. "I never wanted to be here."
"Then find a way to get out," Rosella urged him, stepping closer to him in fear of being heard by someone who might be eavesdropping into the cell. "Please, find a way to get out."
"I don't know how," he admitted to her, running a hand up and down his neck. "They're always watching and I don't know to escape their gaze without dying."
"I don't know what to suggest," Rosella said. "I can only tell you what I did, but I don't know if it would work. Faking my death…it wasn't easy…I…I don't know how I truly did it. I just know that one day I couldn't go on and I had to get out."
"Then try again," the man urged her. "We can help each other."
"No," Rosella said. "If I escape then I escape with Poe and they come looking for me. I need to think of Poe…I need to help him escape…"
"What if I help him?" he wondered from her. "What if I can think of a way to help him escape?"
"Then I would be forever in your debt," Rosella answered honestly. "But if you go back to him then tell him…just tell him that I am trying to keep him safe and if he gets out of here, but some miracle, then I need you to tell him that he can't come back for me. It's too dangerous and my husband would never let him leave here alive."
"Do you think he will listen? I saw how he was with you." He said.
"He just needs to listen," Rosella whispered. "It will keep him safe."
"I'll do what I can," he promised and Rosella moved forwards to take hold of his hand.
"Thank you," she whispered, her voice genuine and small. "What's your name?"
"I don't know," the man whispered. "I only know the name they gave me."
"Then think of a new one," Rosella urged him. "Don't let them take anything more away from you. You're good. You're not one of them and you never have to be. I promise you."
He smiled over to her and she stepped back at the sound of the door whirling open. She said nothing as she watched her husband walk in, his hands behind his back as the trooper put his helmet back on with haste and Rosella went to lean against the wall, preparing to bargain for Poe's life.
"Leave us," Armitage demanded from the man who nodded and left as Rosella watched him go.
"I have a proposal," Rosella informed her husband and he arched a brow, chuckling lightly as he looked to the floor and shook his head.
"What makes you think I intend to listen to you?" he enquired from her, his voice low and dangerous. "You are my wife, Rosella. You will do as I command."
"No," Rosella said. "I think we have established that is not how our relationship has gone, Armitage, but I am willing to change. I am willing to do as you ask…let you see that I am willing, but I want you to spare Poe…let him go…"
Armitage did laugh then, the sound enough to make Rosella feel nauseous as she moved closer to her husband and he moved to take hold of her cheeks in his fingers, soothingly stroking her face.
"I have the upper hand here, Rosella," he informed her.
"I will do anything," Rosella said, her voice soft and trying to be sultry as she ran her hands over his shoulders. "I will give you a son…a child…I will be a good wife…I will do anything…"
Armitage sneered then, pushing her hands from him as she looked at him with wide eyes.
"You would whore yourself to me to save him?" Armitage demanded from her. "You truly are nothing but a cheap little bitch."
The words stung her as she recoiled from Armitage, her face pale as he then moved back to her, grabbing hold of her by the shoulders and shaking her as she tried to push him from her.
"Get off of me," she demanded.
"Why?" Armitage asked from her. "A moment ago you were begging me to touch you."
"Just let him go!" Rosella snapped, unable to stop herself. She knew that all of the bargaining had gone now and she was simply pleading. "Please, Armitage, just let him go. Killing him won't do anything…it won't help you…make you feel better…"
"Pray, tell me why not?"
"Because it won't change how I feel for you," Rosella blurted out to him. "Killing Poe won't make me love you, Armitage…it will only make me hate you more than I do right now…don't you understand that?"
Armitage looked shocked at what he was hearing from her as she spoke, her voice low and honest as he shook his head. He didn't need to hear this from her.
"Your emotions do not interest me," Armitage informed her and she shrugged her shoulders.
"Then you really are nothing but a heartless bastard."
Armitage was about to advanced towards her, but he had no chance as the door suddenly opened. She looked over to the door as Armitage turned around, his face turning to thunder as he saw who stood in the doorway. But he had no chance to say anything as Poe stormed into the room, his fist making contact with Armitage's face and knocking him back.
"That's for hurting her, you bastard," Poe snarled and Rosella moved her hand to her mouth as Armitage remained on the floor, knocked out. She stepped over him as Poe took hold of her hand and she noticed the familiar looking stormtrooper behind him.
"I told you not to come for me," Rosella said.
Poe scoffed and began to drag her from the room. "As if that was going to happen."
"Poe," Rosella whispered, her voice low and scared. "I can't…"
"You can and you will," Poe demanded from her.
"We have knocked out a trooper," the stormtrooper helping them declared. "You need to change quickly and we're going to steal a ship and get out of here."
"You're crazy," Rosella said as Poe pushed her behind a corridor, his body pressed tightly against hers as she was handed the stormtrooper outfit.
"Only crazy for you, Rose," Poe told her and she rolled her eyes, wondering how he could be so charming while they were in danger. He helped her into the outfit, kissing her swiftly before placing the helmet on top of her head.
"Grab hold of his arm," she was demanded and she did as she was told before they began to walk. Rosella did her best to control her breathing as the stormtrooper lead them down the corridors, trying not to lead attention to them.
"TIE fighters only fit two," Rosella informed Poe in a whisper, her voice distorted as they moved with haste towards the hanger.
"That's why you're sitting with me," Poe whispered. "But you need to get out that uniform before we climb in or you will never fit."
"This is mad," Rosella complained and Poe shook his head.
"No," he said. "Finn here told me we could do it."
"Finn?" Rosella commented.
"Yeah," Poe said. "I didn't like his stormtrooper name so I changed it."
"He was very persistent," Finn muttered and they moved towards a TIE fighter once the coast was clear.
They climbed the steps up to the jets and Rosella began to peel the uniform from her body with Poe's help. He removed the helmet as Finn climbed into a jet and Poe took hold of Rosella by the shoulders, looking her in the eye for a moment as he kissed her softly.
"You okay?" he checked with her.
"I don't know," she admitted to him. "Let's just get out of here and go."
"Got it," Poe agreed and climbed into the pilot's side as Rosella soon followed, slipping down onto Poe's lap as he reached around her to take hold of the controls. She looked ahead as Poe peered over her shoulder and began to try to move the TIE fighter.
"It's not moving," Finn called out when they were suddenly jolted backwards.
"It's been tethered," Poe complained. "But I've got this…I can do it…"
"We need full throttle before we move," Rosella said and Poe nodded in agreement.
"I got this," he assured her, doing as she had suggested and breaking free of the restraint.
The TIE fighter began to move with haste out of the hanger as they were fired at, but Poe was fast. He was a quick pilot. He moved the jet outside of the hanger and Rosella wondered if they could relax, but she suspected that they wouldn't be able to as more fighters took off after them.
"Finn, you see the controls back there?" Poe enquired. "Well, I need you to hit them and shoot anything that comes towards us."
"Got it, Finn agreed.
The jet continued to shake and Rosella did her best to remain calm as Poe let continued to fly.
"We'll be fine," Poe assured her and Rosella scoffed before turning to look at him.
"I'll share your enthusiasm when we're out of here."
Poe kept his eyes fixed firmly on the sights in front of him as he felt Rosella shift slightly on his lap. It was only when she checked behind her did she see the bright light moving towards them. Lunging with haste, she grabbed hold of the controls, lifting the ship upwards to avoid the blast that had come from another TIE as the light hit another ship that had been coming towards them.
"Thanks," Poe muttered to her, wondering how he could have missed it.
She said nothing, instead keeping her gaze behind them before she was jolted forwards, unable to escape being hit. Her head made contact with the control panel above them, her forehead smacking straight against it, not even Poe's arms enough to stop her from flying forwards. She sagged back then and Poe looked down to her, noting that she had blacked out.
"Rose!" he called out to her, doing his best to focus on her and the job at hand. He moved a hand down to check her pulse and remained assured that she had just been knocked out.
"Finn, I need you to prepare to eject if this thing goes down," Poe warned him. "Jakku isn't far away."
"Jakku!" Finn snapped. "Why are we going back there?"
"I need my droid," Poe said.
"They'll find us and kill us," Finn complained and Poe shook his head.
"I need BB-8," he declared. "Now, get-"
Poe had no chance to finish his sentence as the final shot hit their ship and he lost control, knowing that there was nothing more that he could do as they hurtled towards Jakku.
….
A/N: Do let me know what you think!
