I am on a roll...I have been waiting to write these next few chapters for a bit now! I have it all in my head so it's a matter of just getting it out for you guys so the updates should be relatively quick. Just a note...I want to credit some star wars fan forums for the ideas in this chapter (You will understand when you read it) and again to Wookieepedia for helping me put some continuity in.

For all you guys commenting and giving me support...LOVE IT! You are all driving this story, and I hear you...I do, have patience...it will be worth it, I PROMISE! As always, keep the comments coming! I love those alerts!

Chapter 18

The festival lasted almost four full days before things started to wind down and preparations began for the men to go back out to sea. Rey enjoyed all of it, the food, the music and the general sense of lightness that seemed to float around the whole island. While Ben spent as much time back in the hut as Rey would allow.

Even with the festivities, their routine stayed relatively unchanged, with them meditating to shore up the wall twice a day, while most of the mornings were spent finishing and tweaking their sabers. Ben wanted them done prior to leaving to Malastare and they were finally at a point that they were going to head out after breakfast to try them out.

Rey had noticed that Ben's design was slightly different than she had figured he would make it, with a curved cross hatch pattern at the top of hilt. She was curious as to what the curved and crossed pattern would do as they walked down the hill, sabers in hand.

Some of the young Lanai boys gathered shyly at the top of the hill, peeking around rocks, watching to see what these new Masters were going to do and Rey grinned up at them as Ben was focused on their task.

"You first." Ben said, stepping back to give Rey some room. "It's like meditation the first time. You need to focus on the crystal, channel the force through it, as if it were an extension of your own arm." He said softly, almost like it was a reverent experience.

Rey closed her eyes, bringing the saber up in front of her with both hands and calmed her mind, focusing on the force, drawing up through her to flow through the saber.

"Good, the crystal knows you, is tuned to you..." Ben added quietly watching her carefully and she moved to slide the switch on.

Rey's saber extended, a soft golden hue emanating from it and she opened her eyes, feeling the flow of immense power through her and the saber. Her face became serious as she started through the patterns, the hum of the saber cutting through the air with her fluid movements.

Ben watched Rey move lithely, her saber flowing with easy, and a small, proud smile spread across his face. She was elegant and fierce; her natural abilities shining through with each arch and twist she made until she finished her patterns, stopping with a reverent exhale.

"It's perfect." She breathed turning to look at Ben, her eyes shining with pride and delight before switching off the saber. "Let's see yours." She added with barely contained excitement.

Ben moved forward and Rey shifted to where he had been standing and he closed his eyes and followed the same meditative focus that Rey had before switching on his saber. His saber extended, about a half a foot longer than Rey's, with his hilt's crossed pattern giving him two short angled hilt blades, slightly reminiscent of his previous saber. The cross-hilt blades were about a palm width long and narrow, angling about 45 degrees off the main blade, and matched his sabers deep golden hue.

As he moved through the saber patterns the blade seemed to reflect the goldish-red of a sunset on a clear day, like a direct manifestation of his internal rooting in the force. It was a perfect representation of who had become, strong and balanced with an acceptance of his darkness.

Rey grinned as his movements finished, his hair wild in the wind, clear and firm focus on his face as he stood and examined the saber carefully before turning it off.

"What do you think?" He asked turning with a cocky swagger and holding up his saber proudly.

"Very...you." Rey said with a smile, "Shall we?" She taunted, stepping around in a slow defensive posture, turning on her saber.

Ben's face turned serious, his eye flashing dangerously as he turned on his saber in response, stalking her in a slow circle like a predator. They clashed in a fantastic display of skill, duelling back and forth until they were both panting, arms feeling the strain of the effort they were exerting.

Rey watched Ben closely, aware that she was no match for his strength anymore and needed to find a way to out maneuver him. His feet shift slightly, hips changing their angle, and she anticipated his strike, spinning around to block, and shift at the same time, pushing him forward, using his momentum against him.

Ben felt the shove to late and stumbled, losing his footing as Rey's saber came around as he hit his knees, stopping as it crackled by his right ear. He roared in frustration and conceded the fight by shutting off his saber.

Rey was panting with the energy she had used to force push him on top of sparing for the last two hours with him and she shut down her new saber, as Ben shut his off, his frustration at being beaten swirling around his mind.

"You made me work for that." She quipped, teasing him to lighten his dark mood and was rewarded with a sneer.

"Next time, scavenger." He said as a challenge in a low tone, as his mood swung back the other way, lightening at the triumph in her eyes and the gathered crowd of young Lanai that had come out of hiding to watch their display.

"We have an audience." he said and tilted his head toward the hill causing her to turn and look which made the young ones scatter with yelps of excitement.

"Let's go get cleaned up." Rey said smiling at the scattering children while she strode forward up the hill, Ben in tow.

When they got back to the hut, R2 whistled and alerted them that they message from Finn and Rey grabbed her water sitting, telling R2 to go ahead with the message.

"The connections came through!" Finn's voice came across R2's speakers, tinny and broken in short spaces with some static, "We have secured a ship that will get you in unnoticed, and two invites to the ball. We are told that there will be appropriate attire for the event already on the ship for you both, whatever that means. We will be there in two days to pick up you up."

Rey shot Ben a look that told him he shouldn't have worried and grabbed her clean clothes and headed to the wash hut.

Two days later, Rey woke to an empty bed again, Ben sitting at the table, reviewing the holopad, the sky still dark, rain pattering lightly on the roof. She got up, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders and moved to where he was sitting, one hand buried in his hair as the other shifting the image, and adding notes.

Rey padded in her socks up beside him and slid her hand and the blanket across his shoulders, covering his back with the blanket and feeling the chill on his skin through his shirt, "It's still early. Come to bed?" She asked softly with a small yawn.

Ben sat up a little and leaned into her warmth. He had been up most of the night reviewing the plan again, his mind not allowing him to relax. He had been like this ever since he could remember, reviewing a plan endlessly until it was completed to ensure that it would run smoothly. He knew it had driven some of his troops to madness at times, but this was the only way he knew how to lessen his concerns.

Ben signed, "Not sure if I can." He said eyeing the holopad again and debated if he should pick it up again.

Rey huffed and pulled on his shoulder, "Let's go. Come on." She insisted pulling him out of the chair and pushing him towards the bed.

Ben hardly resisted, figuring he could wait till she fell asleep again and then go back to working the plan on the holopad. He crawled into the bed and made room for her to curl up next to him, and she pulled the blanket up over them both.

"You are no good to me this way." She chastised him gently, leaning back so she could see his face in the dim, early morning light. She reached up and cupped his cheek in her hand tenderly, her face filling with concern.

Ben frowned at her words, "This is critical. If we can't get the holocron," He started and Rey cut him off sliding her fingers over his lips.

Rey decided to change her tactic a little, not one to have ever used her feminine powers, but at a loss for how to get him off his train of thought, "You know, this could be the last time for a while we can be like this. Alone." She commented, reaching up to slide a few strands of his hair through her fingers.

Ben's mind paused as her words struck him. She was right, he had taken for granted the little bubble of a life they had on the island, not to mention that they had just, kind of, started to share a bed without really discussing it or what it meant.

"I, ah, didn't even think about that." He said quietly and wrapped his arms a little tighter around her, very unsure of himself and her proximity suddenly.

Rey smiled in understanding and continued to slide her fingers gently through his hair until his eyes started droop closed with his obvious exhaustion, his breathing evening out into a deep, slow pattern of sleep. She shifted up carefully and placed a light kiss on his lips before tucking her head under his chin and closing her eyes, letting his heat relax her back to sleep.

Ben rolled on his side to find Rey had already gotten up and he cracked his eyes open, blinking with a yawn. The rain was still pattering on the roof softly and Rey's bags were open on her bed, but she wasn't in the hut. He got up, stretching, and moved to start getting himself packed, a mild level of anxiety creeping into the back of his mind as he got things organized.

The door banged open and Tsaro entered, followed closely by Rey, both shaking off the rain as they did and shut the door behind them. Rey's hair was damp and pulled tight into her regular buns, and she was back in the clothes she regularly wore, wraps winding up her arms, and staff in her hand.

"You look better." She said quietly to Ben, placing her hand on his chest before she moved past him to her bag.

Ben nodded at her in thanks, not wanting to outright tell her she had been right, as Tsaro shooed them both to their chairs for breakfast.

"Will miss young Masters while gone." She sighed with a frown at the two as they ate.

Rey gave her a sad smile, "Will with miss you too. Hopefully we won't be gone long at all." She said with a nod of encouragement as Tsaro handed her tea.

"Master Ben. You not happy leaving for bit?" She asked as Ben frowned, staring distracted into the fire, his breakfast forgotten for the moment.

"Hmmm? Oh, sorry. What was that?" Ben asked noticing that both Tsaro and Rey were staring at him expectantly.

"Rest mind, young Master," Tsaro said shuffling over to pat his knee, "You keep each other safe." She said with a firm nod.

Ben sighed in thanks, "We will be back soon. And hopefully, we will be able to have more answers." Ben said as there was a crack from overhead and the sound of shuttle engines, that they weren't familiar with.

Rey got up and headed to the door, opening it just in time to see a sleek, mirrored metallic ship setting down. "Ben!" Rey breathed eyeing the beautiful ship.

Ben's eye widen in slight surprise, "That's a Nubian ship used for royalty." His voice colored with the shock he felt.

"Really? How did they get something that fancy?" Rey more stated than asked as Finn crested the hill and Ben sighed, turning back to the hut to finish packing.

Rey beamed at her friend as he trotted through the light rain to the hut, crushing her in a tight hug as soon as he could reach her.

"How are you?" He asked with his face in her neck as he squeezed her tightly.

"I'm good. Pretty much ready to go." She said, leading back into the hut. Tsaro eyed him carefully as she cleaned.

"Tsaro, I never introduced you last time, this is Finn." Rey said as Finn beamed at the caretaker.

"You train yet?" Tsaro asked, squinting critically at him as if she were assessing him for something.

Finn looked confused and glanced at Rey, his question unspoken in his look, "Ah, I'm not sure what you mean?" He asked turning back to her.

Tsaro took a couple shuffling steps toward him and nodded firmly, "You need to train, if want to be young Master too." She stated bluntly and went back to her chores.

Finn coughed a bit of an awkward laugh and Rey just tilted her head at Tsaro with a thoughtful look, "Young Master?" Finn questioned Rey.

Rey shook her head a little, "I will explain later. Here." She said tossing him one of her bags.

Ben had finished packing up and loaded R2 with some extra equipment before turning back to Tsaro and kneeling, "We will be back soon." He said gently and reached out to give her hand a squeeze.

Finn watched the moment with confused interest as he saw the soft look in Ben's eyes and the gentle way he held her small hand in his. It was a far cry from the man he had been just a couple months ago and Finn sighed inwardly at the fact of his change. It was obviously good for Rey, and the alliance, but for him personally, it was the nail in the coffin of his hopes for Rey and him.

"You're staring." Ben grumped as he stood, snapping Finn back out of his thoughts and back to the present.

"Okay, let's go show you our new toy." Finn said with a huge grin, and headed out the door with Rey.

It didn't take long for them to pack their stuff to the ship and Finn excitedly showed Rey around the luxurious interior, is pride in securing such a fancy ride evident in his swagger.

There was a crew with the ship and a lady in waiting for Rey, which she had no clue what she was supposed to do with. Ben walked stoic my behind Rey and Finn, not really paying attention until Rey placed her hand on his arm.

"Sorry. Did you say something?" He responded being brought around and realizing that both Rey and Finn were looking at him.

"I was just saying that I had no clue why we had to dress up." Rey said confused and Ben resisted the urge to smile at her.

"Rey, we are going to a ball. You are going to need help getting ready." Ben said and nodded at the lady in waiting.

Rey looked totally lost and Finn, just laughed, "Oh, this is going to be priceless." He joked, walking away to ensure they were leaving and to work out the timing for the arrival.

Ben turned to the lady, "What is your name?" He asked stiffly, while trying to come across as friendly.

"Fahdar, Lord." She said with a slight bow of her head while Rey stifled a small laugh at the term.

Ben angled his head to Fahdar and gestured to the posh quarters behind her, "Can you please assist Lady Rey in preparing for the ball?" He asked formally.

Rey stood shocked at his shift to a regal formality and watched the maid's reaction as she nodded slightly and responded, "Of course my Lord. Lady Rey, shall we?" And ushered her into the quarters, closing the door behind them.

"Ah, you can call me Rey." She said feeling increasingly out of place as she stood in the lavish room and looked around.

"My Lady, that wouldn't be proper. Shall we get you cleaned up?" Fahdar asked, showing Rey a fully equipped bathroom, with the latest refresher, eyeing her outfit with only slightly concealed distain.

Rey smiled at the thought of getting a really good shower and quickly moved to close herself in the bathroom. She shed her clothes and stepped in the refresher, turning it on and nearly purring with delight as it cleaned.

Once finished she stepped out, and found her clothes were gone and she wrapped herself in the only thing she could find, which was a fluffy robe, and padded out to the room. Fahdar was moving about the room, and there were elaborate gowns hanging up on a few of the closet doors causing Rey to freeze.

"Oh, stars. Please tell me those aren't for me?" She said in almost a whimper as she reached out and touched the gauzy pink material of one ornate dress.

"Of course my Lady. You must dress for the ball." She said almost dumbfounded in Rey's confusion over what was happening.

Rey sighed as everything fell into place in her mind. Ben and her weren't sneaking into steal the holocron unseen, they were going to walk in the front doors, in plain view and take it, and suddenly she felt nauseous.

"Lady Rey? Are you alright?" Fahdar asked concerned at how pale Rey had become suddenly.

"Um, yes. Just, ah, give me a second." She said sitting on the end of the large bed, looking at a very fluffy purple gown.

Ben had closed himself off in a smaller study, keeping his distance from Finn as he felt Rey having a very blissful moment, and gleaned where she was before he closed off his mind quickly. The last thing he needed right now was that kind of distraction, and he set to work reviewing the plans again.

His eyes were starting to glaze over when he felt a spike of severe anxiety through the bond and he stood abruptly, reaching out to find that Rey had realized she was going to need to play a part for the plan, and he sat at the desk again, nervously chewing his lip as he waited.

It took almost an hour for the rattle of the door on the main suite to shift Ben's attention away from his holopad and cause him to get up and move to see Fahdar a fitting the suite with a mildly frazzled look about her.

"Ah, my Lord, she is asking for you." She said with a thin nod and waved him into the room, closing the door behind him.

Ben entered the room slowly, taking in all the different gowns hanging off different surfaces until he realized Rey was standing with her back to him in the midst of them.

"I don't know if I can do this." She said and turned slowly to meet his stunned gaze.

She had been dressed in a soft green dress that was relatively sheer, and showed a slightly lighter, form hugging shift underneath it. The gown had a jewelled collar around her throat that gathered the thin material in the front and back, leaving her shoulders and arms bare. Her waist was synched with a matching jewelled thin sash that hung down in delicate tails almost to the floor. The skirt was full enough to show the curve of her hip, with the outer layer pooling a little on the floor at her feet while the inner layer stopped at just below her knees and her feet were laced into strapped flat sandles.

Fahdar had gathered her hair in an intricate braided knot on top of her head and dotted matching light green jewels throughout the woven braids. Her eyes were lined with a dark brown, making them seem as if they were the same shade as the dress.

Ben's mouth was instantly devoid of any moisture as he took in the sight of her and had opened slightly with the shock.

"Rey….you…look…" He started, unable to find the words to express the vision in front of him and walked forward as she hugged her arms around herself.

"I know…it's…." She said playing with the skirt self-conscious fidget, unable to meet his wide, staring gaze.

"Beautiful." Ben breathed in a whisper as me took her hand, "You look beautiful." He repeated, gently reaching to cup her chin and lifting it to meet her eyes.

Rey blinked in disbelief at his words, "Really?" She asked, unsure she actually heard him right.

Ben stepped back a little still holding her hand to get the full view of her again, "You have always been beautiful to me." He mumbled as his cheeks heated, "But, this is…Stars, Rey." He struggled to find the words to describe it.

Rey blushed furiously at his comments and grinned, "Don't get used to it. I'm going back to my regular clothes as soon as we are done here." She teased and swished the skirt a little, unable to help herself.

Ben smiled, amused at her very girly action, "Okay, but I am going to enjoy this." He said wickedly as his gazed heated, looking her over again, taking a steo closer to her.

There was a soft, tap at the door and Ben reluctantly turned, "Yes?" He said raising his voice, annoyed at the interruption.

Finn poked his head in with a look of surprise, "Oh, I thought…STARS Rey!" He exclaimed spotting her attached to Ben's hand and rushed into the room as she stepped forward carefully trying not to trip on the gown.

"You look amazing!" He said, eye sweeping over her appreciatively as Ben bristled.

"You think it's okay?" She asked as Finn just nodded and continued to gawk at her.

"It's my turn. I will need to fit the part too, so if you don't mind." Ben said, attempting to dismiss Finn with a glare.

Finn flicked an annoyed glance at Ben and reached out taking Rey's hand, "Let's let him get ready Rey, let me show you the rest of the ship." He said, leading her out of the room as she gathered her skirt, trying not to trip.

Ben scowled at the door as it closed, his comments not working the way he was hoping, but he headed to the refresher and got undressed, enjoying the simple luxury after just using cold water and a rag for so long.

He lingered, letting the warmth work through his muscles, trying to relieve some of the tension that was building up as they neared Malastare. He, eventually, reluctantly turned it off and stepped out to find his clothes had been removed at some point and he wrapped a thick towel around himself.

He looked in the mirror, noting the scruff that was starting and pondered it for a moment before deciding to remove it. It wasn't long before a hesitant tap sounded on the door and Fahdar's voice floated through.

"My Lord?" She asked softly, and he padded to the door opening it for her. "My Lord, would you need assistance to preparing?" She asked politely, eyes downcast in respect.

Ben paused for a moment in thought, "Do you cut hair?" he asked thinking of his shaggy appearance in the mirror.

Fahdar nodded, "Yes, my Lord." She acknowledged and Ben turned to sit in a chair as a sign that he wished her to cut his hair.

Rey paced the main chamber of the ship, unwilling to sit as she felt confined already in the tight shift that was under the gauzy material. She had also seen Fahdar slip into the main chamber and Rey was battling with herself as to whether or not to follow, the feeling through the bond being relaxation and contentment. She frowned at the door and turned to pace back the other way as Finn sat and watched her with an amused look.

"You are going to wear a hole in the hull." He commented quietly gaining a dark look from her in response. Finn scowled back and sighed, "Rey, come sit. I need to go over the coms units with you." he said, patting the seat beside him.

Rey paused in her pacing and reluctantly moved to sit beside Finn as he showed her the coms unit. Rose had modified one of the homing beacons that Rey had used in the past to be an actual coms unit, making it look like an ornate bracelet, that happened to go with the dress she had chosen.

As Finn was fixing it on her wrist the chamber door opened and Ben strode out with Fahdar at a respectful distance. He was dressed in soft grey jacket that had a high collar and lapel that crossed his broad chest in a wedge shape to be buttoned with ornate silver buttons over the right side of his chest. The jacked tapered at his waist down to mid-thigh where he wore a matching pair of soft grey pants that hugged his muscular lags all the way down to his polished black boots. As he strode forward, the jacked shifted at his waist to show a black, wrapped leather belt peeking through the small gap by his right hip.

As impressive as his outfit was, Rey's eye had been drawn up to his hair that had been cut shorter, a couple strands falling on his forehead while the rest was smoothed back in soft waves, barely covering the tops of his ears and curling out at the nape of his neck to brush the collar of the jacket.

Rey's mouth fell open slightly as he came to stop in front of her, "You cut your hair." Was all she could breathe out as he reached out to her.

He opened his mouth to reply, suddenly self-conscious of his choice while she continued to stare at him, but one of the pilots addressed them instead.

"We are coming up on Malastare." He said with a nod before heading back to the cockpit.

Rey rose, taking Ben's hand, eyes still locked on him. He looked completely different, and she couldn't help but reach up and slide the short strands at his collar through her fingers.

Finn cleared his throat awkwardly, "Ah, okay," He drawled slowly looking at the pair, "I'm going to be with the ship so I can coordinate if there are problems."

Ben tore his eyes away from Rey and looked over at Finn, "We will get better scans when we get into the ballroom. I will touch base tonight and we can plan to get the holocron tomorrow night before the auction. It's the last item so everyone should be focused on bidding." He said more as an order than a review of the plan.

The ship shuttered and the sound of the landing gear deploying rumbled through their feet. Finn stood and handed Ben two plexi-sheets that were brightly colored, "Your invitations. You are Lady Rey Bibble, from the Royal House of Naboo." Finn said to Rey, by way of explanation.

Finn turned to Ben, "You are Lord Ben Brandes, also from the Royal House of Naboo." He said matter-of-factly, "These are old alliances that offered help. They have been at the Grand Gala before, but not in a long time, so you shouldn't have problems."

"Besides, I barely recognise you both." Finn muttered and turned to the exit ramp as Ben frowned at him and followed, tucking Rey's hand into his elbow.

Rey took a deep breath and tried very hard not to trip on the gauzy material while she clung to Ben's arm. The small nuances of this grand style didn't seem to faze Ben at all as he strode forward down the ramp confidently, head high and eyes firm.

Ben....Rey sent him through their bond weakly, unsure of all the people gathered ahead of them in all their grand outfits.

Ben's eye flicked towards her for a moment and he squeezed her hand on his arm. This is just like a battle, he explained softly in terms she could wrap her mind around, you stay strong, confident and don't show weakness.

Rey took a deep breath in and stood a little taller, her hand gently holding the edge of her skirt as she walked in the delicate sandals. The straps were starting to rub uncomfortably, but they had been the only pair of shoes she had been offered that didn't have a ridiculous height to them that caused her even more concern when it came to her ability to stay upright.

She glanced back briefly at the ship to see Finn at the base of the ramp watching her leave and he gave her an encouraging nod as they entered the crowd in the dimming evening light.