Ben held the paper tightly in his fist and he made his way to Cell Block C. He nodded to guards as they opened a door for him to pass and he found that a chair had been set out in front of the indicated cell. He stopped for a moment knowing that the words Rose was going to say would be far crueler than sweet and thrown at him sharply. But he was no stranger to cruel. It just felt odd that someone who he considered a kind and quiet person was capable of such harshness. He made his way to the chair and took a seat, looking through the clear holding cell door.
Rose was standing with her back to him, arms folded over her chest. Ben swore he could feel the anger radiating off of her in a black swirling mass.
"Miss Tico-"
"Don't pretend like you don't know me," she hissed, turning to face him with fire in her eyes. "Say my name when you speak to me, you coward." Her words bit into him even though he knew exactly why she was saying them. It didn't make them hurt any less. "I'm surprised you're not hiding behind that mask you are so fond of."
"Rose," he corrected, shifting in the chair to a more comfortable position. "We have been trying to find your group for quite some time. Where are they?" he asked calmly.
She snorted. "Like I would tell you."
"Are they still in Naboo?"
Her anger fell from her face in surprise, clearing wondering if the rest of the crew knew as well now that he had said it out loud. Her eyes narrowed. "You've known all along where we've been, why are you asking?"
Ben leaned forward in his chair. "I'm trying to gauge how this is going to go. If I don't get answers now, Irwilig is going to have a crack at you and I can promise that she will not be nearly as kind as I am being."
"Kylo Ren can be kind? How endearing." She spat the words at him and he dropped his gaze. Was she really going to be this difficult? Did she really not trust him?
No, she didn't. None of them really did and it made him wonder if Rey did at all. She had always been on his side, but now he was wondering if maybe it had all been... No. Rey wouldn't do that. She wasn't that kind of person. She meant everything she did and said and that was one of the many things he liked about her.
"We sent several of our men to Naboo to, let's say… Remove the Resistance that are there." Rose didn't answer, but Ben could see the worry on her lips. "Their extraction has been successful." It was a lie, but that was the point. That had always been the point. Find a weakness and use it against them.
Rose looked over him like she didn't know what he was saying, like he was speaking a different language. She was at a loss for words as she searched over his face for something, anything that was a lie. But she didn't find it. Her heart shattered at the thought that everyone she knew was slaughtered and it was all because they had let this man into their lives, had trusted him with everything they had because Rey trusted him with everything.
"We just can't seem to find the Jedi," he continued.
"Does she mean so little to you that you can't say her name?" Rose shot, finally finding her voice
"This is not about me," he clarified, trying to keep his voice cold. He knew that Wayzac would be watching his every move, listening to every word. "Where is she?" – He insisted.
Rose strode up to the clear wall between them, hands gripping as the small slot that let them speak and that food was passed through. Her jaw was clenched and her knuckles were white from her grip. Maybe this was his chance.
"There is no way in hell that I am telling you!" she yelled back.
Ben jumped to his feet and snatched up one of her hands before she could move away. Her breathing was startled as he pulled her back to him. He pressed the piece of paper with his written note explaining everything into her hand. His expression softened and he hoped that she saw it.
"Rose, where is Rey?" he asked softly, hoping that the cameras wouldn't pick up what he was saying. Rose struggled against him for a moment, but he kept his grip tight on her. "Please Rose. Where is Rey?" Her eyes met his as he begged. "Please." She shook her head.
"We were separated," she answered softly, finally seeming to understand. "I don't know where she is." It was a worried whisper.
Ben nodded, releasing his hold on her. He went back to his chair and watched as her hand closed tightly around his note. He sat down, propping up his head with a hand to his cheek. "What do you want with the keys?"
"Keys?" Rose asked, curious.
"Yes. FN-2187 stole a pair of keys. What are they for?"
Finn stopped, eyes wide and flickering over the scene in front of him with a blush flooding his cheeks. With a deep, steadying breath he strode forward and grabbed a vase of flowers from a nearby table as he went. He removed the fresh blossoms and threw the water at the sleeping Poe.
The pilot gasped and sat up, waking the woman that was against his chest. Finn looked away with embarrassment as the two scrambled away from each other more fully dressed than Finn had expected. He placed the flowers back into the vase and replaced them on the table.
"We have a breakfast meeting that you are expected to be at," Finn announced. "I feel like that was made clear to you several days ago."
Poe glared and Finn could hear the anger boiling up in his voice as he spoke. "I was informed that it was canceled."
"Well, it's not. They expect you there in 15 minutes," Finn said again, daring a glance over. The woman was hiding her face in her hands and Finn wasn't sure if it was from her being uncomfortable or she was just trying to hide her face from him. He wasn't sure why she was trying to hide from him if that was the reason. She was beautiful in a rough sort of way. You could see her life trials across her skin, but that didn't stop the sharp angles of her cheekbones from standing out in a beautiful contrast. Finn glanced around and located the familiar looking helmet of the spice runner finally realizing who she was. "Zorii, you're wanted there as well."
She looked up at Finn with the clearest eyes he had ever seen a person have. No wonder Poe liked her. Just her eyes alone were enough to trap Finn in his place with no hope of escape.
"I need to return to the queen," Poe said as he got to his feet, shaking water from his hair that was sticking to his face.
"I'm sure she will understand if you are gone for a while longer," Finn pushed, trying to hold back a warm feeling in his chest. Pride, was it? Maybe excitement that he had finally succeeded in something. He couldn't' exactly place it.
"I'm not-"
Finn stopped Poe with a hand to his shoulder. "Come eat something and then you can see her. She wouldn't want you to starve and I'm sure that you didn't eat last night." Poe looked hesitant but nodded, giving Finn his que to leave the room.
Poe watched his friend leave and sighed, going to find a dry shirt. Once dressed, he returned to the main room to find Zorii already helmeted and ready to go. She took his hand as the left the room, and Poe felt like something had clicked into place. This was right. This moment wasn't supposed to be anything else but this moment.
They made their way to the large dining hall and some servants opened the large hand carved doors and let Poe and Zorii inside. Her hand pulled from his hand he immediately felt cold. He frowned as he watched her step to one side of the table and he stepped to the other.
Large bowls of fruit waited for them as well as what looked like to be some form of pastries that Poe wasn't quite familiar with but made his stomach rumble all the same. He rounded a very large pot of flowers and stopped as his eyes met a young girl at the head of the table with a painted face and an over designed gown and headdress that reached out in every direction with the most expensive snow white lace. Chains of crystals fell from each point of lace and some drooped across her neck to connect on the other side of the head dress.
His feet moved briskly without him telling them too and several of the guards took prepared steps forward to protect the girl at all costs. Poe didn't pay much attention. He was about to hug her, arms already up before he realized where they were and that they again had positions and titles and hers were much higher than his.
Instead he dropped to his knees in front of her and took her hand in his. Her head tilted to the side, the crystals swaying freely with her movement. Poe could make out a small smile tug at the corners of her lips that she quickly pushed away for her more blank expression.
"You're alright," he gasped out softly.
"Quite alright, General," she answered, her voice once again back to its monotone.
"You weren't supposed to leave the infirmary." Poe's hand clutched even tighter around hers and she returned the gesture subtly.
"When the doctor looked over me this morning, he told me that I was almost perfectly healed. Barely even any scaring. Said it was a miracle." She twisted her head again to look at something behind Poe. "Tell me General, do you believe in miracles?"
Poe followed her gaze to where Finn sat softly conversing with some other rich looking people who must have had some form of power or needed something from Cordella and were trying to get on her good side.
Had Finn done that? Had Finn healed her? Poe had never thought of Finn as a very good force user. Finn lacked the confidence and just couldn't seem to manage it well. His fighting ability was astounding, but his lightsaber skills were subpar and left much to be desired. Poe licked his dry lips and nodded to himself. It was Finn. He had helped the queen far more than Poe could and a strange mix of pride and gratefulness filled his chest.
"I just might start, Your Highness."
She was tall, thin and terrifying. There was something in the way that she entered the room that reminded Rey of the way that Queen Cordella held herself, but this woman commanded the room with fear, not with respect.
Rey watched as the woman coolly came to stand in front of the chair she was strapped in. It was a far more comfortable position than what Kylo had kept her in, but the restraints were much tighter around her wrists and ankles.
"Let me tell you how this is going to work," the woman announced, letting her long hair fall from the meticulous bun it had been in all day that was beginning to make her head ache. "I think you will find this pretty straight forward." She grabbed a spare chair and pulled it up to Rey, sitting in it with a stiff back. "I have some questions. You are going to give me answers. If you do not then we will find out what makes you talk. Do you understand?"
Rey was still for a moment before she gave a single nod and the woman reached out not at all gently taking the gag from around her mouth. As the cloth fell away, Rey worked her jaw as a soreness and stiffness set in, but her eyes stayed in a tight glare on the woman. The woman carefully pushed her red hair all over onto one shoulder and looked over Rey for a while, the silence tight around them. Rey didn't dare break it. She knew better. If Plutt had taught her anything, it was that you didn't speak until you were spoken to and this seemed like the perfect situation to try to implement that.
The longer Rey looked at the woman, she was able to figure out who she was. The picture was finally clear. Red hair, clear eyes, dreary disposition. This was Wayzac just as Finn had explained her and even if Rey had never met this woman before, Wayzac definitely fit here. She was made for here. This was her ship, she commanded it and that was exactly where she belonged.
"Where is Kylo Ren?" she demanded.
Rey found herself frowning at the question, having not expected that to be the first thing that Wayzac would ask. Wayzac waited patiently for a moment until Rey could see the woman's fuse growing short. She had about as much emotional control as Kylo did. Was everyone in the First Order always so guided by raw emotions? She couldn't help but wonder.
"I don't know," Rey finally answered. It was the truth. Rey had no idea where Ben was. She had a good guess as to where he could be, and nearby was Rey's guess, but she didn't have a definitive answer and that was probably for the best.
Wayzac watched her carefully for a moment more. "You don't know where Kylo Ren is?"
"I don't," Rey confirmed, glancing around the dark room. She could see the walls lined with different objects of various sizes, but with a light right in her face as well as how dark the rest of the room was, Rey couldn't make out exactly what they were. But if Wayzac's earlier statement was anything to go off of, Rey didn't want to find out. "Is he not with you? I would have thought that he-"
"I will be asking the questions here, Miss Skywalker," Wayzac interrupted provokingly, shifting in her chair to somehow straighten her back more than it already was. "Interesting name. Is it a family name?"
"Adopted," Rey whispered. The name still held a weight to it that she wasn't used to, but she didn't feel like it belonged to someone else anymore. It was her name and nothing would change that, save for one thing, but Rey didn't see that happening anytime soon or anytime at all for that matter. "Where is Rose?"
Wayzac's face twisted from something calm to something almost annoyed. She stood from the chair and took a step towards Rey who wished that she could move backwards. Rey bit her tongue and waited patiently for what was coming. Wayzac hummed amusedly and gave a small fake smile.
"I'll let you have an answer this once. She's perfectly fine. Just in a holding unit. No need to worry."
"She's safe?" Rey pressed finding it hard to believe the woman.
"Absolutely. I give you my word."
"Forgive me if I find that hard to believe."
Wayzac gave an offended look that Rey had trouble figuring out if she meant it. "I have broken many laws and done many things that I am not proud of, but I have never broken my word." There was a small pause as Wayzac waited for a comment, but when none came from Rey, she continued. "Your friend was just smart and told us what we needed to know. And I suggest you do the same, Rey. If you want her to stay safe." Rey's eyes widened, her mouth falling open. "Oh good. I pinned you right." Wayzac smiled. Rey watched as the woman began to calmly braid her long hair over her shoulder as if this was a normal everyday occurrence. Pinned her how? What did she mean? "Speaking of things that she's told us," Wayzac's eyes met Rey's as she continued to braid her long locks. "She told us that your companion, Finn, stole a set of keys from us. She stated that they were in your possession. Where are the keys?"
Rey stayed silent, unsure of what to say. She knew what keys Wayzac was talking about, but she wasn't sure what Rose had already told Wayzac. Could Rey lie about the keys? Was there really a point? Wayzac couldn't use them anyways. Not anymore.
"We're starting this already?" Wayzac asked, tying off the end of her hair into a knot so the braid would stay in place. "Glad to say I'm not disappointed." Wayzac took another step closer to Rey and lowered herself to be eye level with the Jedi. She took Rey's hand and glanced over Rey's fingers almost fondly. Rey wanted to pull her hand free, but the way her wrist was restrained made it impossible. Wayzac's eyes sent a shiver down her spine. There was something off set in them. Something deep that was corrupt that Rey couldn't place. "Rey, I have learned a lot about you. You grew up on Jakku, abandoned by your parents and now you have finally found a family, if I'm not wrong. It's a sweet story, really." Her fingers were warm as they took a liking to Rey's pinkie. "See, I didn't have much of a family either. My father was killed when I was younger in some raid. My brother and I were raised by my mother. She was a wonderful woman deep down, kind heart, but she did what she had to, to keep us alive, make sure we ate and were taken care of. I'm sure you've been in some difficult positions yourself."
Rey gave a small nod, afraid of what would happen if she didn't. Something was tight in her chest. Why was Wayzac telling her this? She wasn't as straightforward as Kylo had been. It was like the woman was toying with Rey, enjoying this time together. Kylo had simply wanted information.
"My brother and I were no stranger to the company of men. I think I was twelve the first time I was sold for a night."
Rey's breath caught in her chest at the woman's admission. What a horrible idea. Rey had never had to do that to stay afloat by any means. Begging in the street was in no way easy, but she could never imagine selling her body for money and definitely not the body of her own child.
"And it taught me something valuable," Wayzac continued, eyes not meeting Rey's. They stayed strictly on Rey's hand. "Men are easy to manipulate. You just have to promise something or stroke their ego and they're yours. They dance so easily. But women are different, Rey. You really have to work on them. Find their weakness and use it against them."
Rey wanted nothing more than to run away and hide. She didn't like the story that Wayzac was spinning. She didn't want to hear any more or know any more about this woman. She wanted to be on the Falcon, held tightly in Ben's arms, painting pictures of exploring the galaxy.
"It took a long time for me to get to this position. I worked hard with my brother beside me. We deserved it, after all we went through as children. He never would have admitted he cared for me, but he helped me. Then again, I was a monster to him. I never forgave him for that time he cut all of the hair off of my only doll that my father had given to me. So I used him too. Made him part of the First Order, the greatest power in the galaxy. I helped him rise through the ranks and in turn he helped me. And I suppose that he really was weak the whole time now that I can look back at it. He would have been easy to break and turn into a spy."
Rey didn't have to question anymore. It was perfectly clear who her brother was now that she had all of the little pieces to put together. She had never really met him, in all honesty. She had absolutely seen him though. The man with the same blazing ginger hair as Wayzac's that Ben despised so much. She recalled the name Armitage, a spy for Leia.
"And I know your weakness Rey." The words were a whisper that made Rey's heart quicken. "You hold your friends much closer than you should because they're the only family you have." Wayzac finally looked up with a gentle smile that made her look like she honestly cared about Rey's predicament, which was more terrifying than a ruthless Kylo Ren had been. Wayzac's free hand reached out to Rey and stroked her cheek. Rey blinked several times before she realized she was crying. "So, let's add some rules to this game, shall we?" Wayzac's fingers wiped away a tear and returned to Rey's hand. "You answer the questions and Rose stays untouched. You stay silent or give me an answer that I do not like, then you will be punished and I will do the same to your friend."
"A-Alright," Rey whispered, swallowing thickly.
"So, where are the keys, Rey?"
"They're broken."
The cry ripped from Rey before she knew what had happened. Her fingers strained against Wayzac who still held her hand. The crack echoed in Rey's ears as the pain traveled from her now oddly bent pinky, up her hand, through her wrist and up to her shoulder. A deep fire was setting into where the bone no longer connected and Wayzac dropped Rey's hand, rising back to full height and playing with a stray hair that had come loose from the braid. Her next words were peaceful in nature and would have disturbed Rey had she not been crying and trying to catch her breath.
"That is not the question I asked you. Where are the keys?" she repeated.
A/N: Thanks again to my sister and my wonderful beta, PitaGonzalezMe on twitter.
