Chapter 1- Who do you think you're talking to?
A collective groan echoed off the walls of the classroom. The brunette at the front smiled chidingly.
"Now, class! What do we say about math?"
A few unintelligible murmurs bounced around the room.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear that!"
"Math is important. Math is fun!"
A sturdy-looking boy from the back broke in, "But Sister! What use is trima-gonagy to me? It's just hard math I'll never have to use!"
A quieter, higher voice from the front added, "My ma says math and science are pointless for us here and that girls aren't good at it anyway." She hung her head sadly. "I won't ever use this either, especially when I'm chosen as a wife."
The teacher took a deep breath as if to steady herself before she said something rash. Then she tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear and looked over her class. The students held mixed expressions of boredom, hopelessness and annoyance. Her eyes landed on the student who had spoken up in the back. "Walter, tell me again what your occupation will be once you've grown."
He puffed up his chest, and his expression looked like a cat that had just caught a mouse. "A farmer, Sister Andor. Just a farmer."
"And your family raises dairy cows and grows hay, am I correct?" Walter nodded, the grin still on his face. "Well, just-a-farmer. Trig-o-nom-etry is very important for you personally. Say when you build your house that there's a tree close by. How would you know whether that tree needs to be cut down so it doesn't threaten your home?"
"Guess?"
A few concealed giggles peppered the room. The corner of her mouth quirked up for a split second before she suppressed the urge to laugh. She turned to the blackboard and raised the chalk. Then she peeked over her shoulder and asked, "Is there something on your farm that you know the exact height of?"
"Yes, Sister. My horse."
She tucked her hair again with her left hand while drawing a rough outline of a horse with the other. Then she drew a large pine tree. She turned to the class again. "Let's say it's a sunny day and you have your tape measure." She drew shadows next to the two objects. "Let's say you measure both the shadow of the horse, whose height you already know, and the shadow of the tree, whose height you might be able to guess if you're good, but personally, I wouldn't want to take the risk of having it fall through my roof. If you use trigonometry, you can get, within a very small margin of error, the exact height of the tree in question."
She turned to another student nearer to the front. "Peter, you're to become a carpenter, right?" The lanky boy nodded. "How do you suppose you can find how long to make a diagonal brace for part of a wall? Without guessing? " she added as she swung her dark hazel eyes back in Walter's direction.
"Trigonometry, Sister?"
"Precisely!" The teacher then turned to the blonde girl in front who had spoken earlier. "Eliza, I'm sorry to tell you that your ma is very very wrong. Not only does our community need math and science to survive, but it needs it to thrive! It's the very backbone of building up the First Order so the plagues will never come again."
She stopped and took another steadying breath. "Ladies, never let anyone tell you that you can't be good at something simply because of your gender. While God made man and woman different in purpose, He did not make them unequal in intellect. He has given each of us different strengths and weaknesses, and it is your job as students to improve your minds as much as possible to be a profitable servant in the FIrst Order. It's more obvious what the boys will be using this knowledge for. But ladies, when you are caring for your children and trying to save a little money for Christmas gifts, how will you know where to make cuts in the grocery bill? You may not need trigonometry for your role in the household, but your very knowledge of it can bless your children as they are struggling and learning it. If nothing else, the study of trigonometry strengthens your problem solving skills and allows you to exercise logic in ways you may not have thought of before." She paused, scanned the room and gave a small smile. "And with that, brothers and sisters, please copy down the following problems, and we will solve them together as we review the Pythagorean Theorem."
Rey Andor sighed loudly as she opened the door to her studio apartment. She deposited the worn textbooks she carried on the small table next to the door and stared at herself in the small mirror above it. An oval face with high cheekbones and the tiniest hint of freckles stared back, the lips somewhat downturned. The nostrils of her nose flared in anger. Of course the comment about Eliza's mother being wrong had gotten out. What had she been thinking? You don't criticise the Patriarch's wife and get away with it, even if she was wrong and even if she was only the sixth wife.
Rey spun away and growled. Since when did telling the truth get you in trouble? Her fists balled up and she marched over to her pantry, hoping to find something brown and sweet to comfort herself. She'd never gotten along with most girls and it seemed that all the games and politicking that had gone on in school hadn't stopped just because most of her classmates had married young and borne children. Her penchant for the "masculine" school subjects and her ability to get along with the boys made her a target for the ire of her female classmates. Mostly, she never cared what they thought; she knew who she was and she was happy with herself.
The pantry yielded no treats to soothe her frustration, so she slammed the door shut, crossed the room, and flopped on her bed. A knock sounded at the door. She rolled her eyes, groaned, and noticed one of the papers hanging on her wall. The contract outlining the rules was printed on bright green paper, as if to pound into her head the way she should conduct herself at all times. She hauled herself off her brightly colored quilts, steeled her face and opened the door.
The smell of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies greeted her, as did the kind smile and green eyes of Jyn, her mother.
"Hi. I heard what happened. Figured you might need a little sugar."
Rey sighed and moved aside to let Jyn in. She was a striking woman even after years of hard work. Her once brown hair was streaked with grey, which did not diminish her still-clear skin and sparkling eyes. Jyn set the plate down at the small table and seated herself. "So I'm sure you didn't mean to insult Beth Snoke, but really, you need to be more careful about what you say. You know you're being watched more than usual."
"I didn't even say anything! Well, ok, all I said was that she was wrong for saying we don't need math and science and that girls aren't good at it anyway. I just…" She sighed and grabbed a cookie. "I can't fathom that amount of cluelessness."
Jyn sniffed. "You and I both know that there's more to us women than having babies and making dinner. And that's in line with First Order doctrine. But you also know which of the High Council argued against you continuing your education and becoming a teacher. They don't value their girls the way they should." She paused. "That doesn't leave this room."
Rey waved her off. "Yes, yes, I know all this, Mom!"
"You have a responsibility to set the example to everyone of what a woman can be besides a wife and mother. If you fail, you fail all your students who want to be something more. I've heard some of them talking. You screw this up and they're not going to consider giving any girl any job other than washing clothes and being a seamstress.
Rey growled. "I got it, Mom. It's not enough that I follow every kriffing rule they've imposed on me that the men don't have to follow. It'd be enough to make me want to quit if I didn't want this so much." She grimaced and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I suppose that's the point. No one wants me to succeed."
Jyn reached over and patted her hand. "If no one wanted you to do well, they wouldn't have let you teach in the first place. Patriarch Snoke believed enough in you to let you try." She stood up. "Enjoy your cookies. Papá says hi."
As she began to show herself out, she paused in the doorway. "Oh and Friday night, there's a special Gathering. A few of the new prospective Elders are coming in from some of the other communities and there's going to be a dance. I know you're not allowed to dance, but you ARE allowed to come and mingle. And don't use grading as an excuse this time!"
"Seriously, Mom?"
The door shut with a chuckle.
Riding in the bed of a rickety old truck was fun when you were a kid. It was decidedly not fun when you were crowded in there with as many men as could sit down. To add insult to injury, the sun was blazing and the tires were kicking up dust and sand. All worth it for the ability to prove themselves worthy to take a wife.
Kylo had gotten lucky and was sitting directly in the middle of the back window. He wasn't getting nearly as dirty as the other men seated near the back. Still, he hoped there would be time to freshen up before the Gathering.
He glanced over at the only other person from his settlement to accompany him to Naboo. Armitage Hux thought he was God's gift to everyone around him. His arrogance and sense of entitlement had finally gotten him into enough trouble that he had been sent to Ahch-To to instill some humility. In Kylo's opinion, it hadn't worked. The man had whined and complained the entire time he was there, eventually scaring some of the other boys into doing everything for him. His initial refusal to sit in the back of the truck had earned him a spot in the very back and his pale face was grimy with sweat. At least, Kylo mused, the dust was good for something. Hux had remained silent for the whole ride.
The truck began to slow and Kylo began to notice the trees and wooden structures that surrounded them. With a squeal, the truck stopped and the men in the back hopped down. As Kylo stood, he surveyed the part of town he could see. The buildings weren't too different from the ones he knew in other communities; they were an odd mix of old pre-Plague buildings and newer ones cobbled together from scavenged supplies. Newer roofs were made of an eclectic mix of different colored shingles and the outside walls were painted with either adobe or whatever color paint the owners could find. The large Hall stood opposite the Patriarch's residence and somehow, both of them managed to be uniform in materials and color. The Patriarch's residence was tall and classically styled with a three story tower complete with bay windows. It appeared to have been old before the Plagues, but it was well taken care of and several wings had been added to accommodate the Patriarch's families.
Kylo noticed a curtain in one of the bay windows moving and looked up to see a few teenage girls peeking down at the men and giggling wildly. When they noticed him looking, they quickly squealed and yanked the curtains closed. He sighed. If they were any indication, the girls in Naboo seemed to be as vapid as the ones he'd encountered on trips to Hosnian Prime.
He jumped down from the truck and approached the Hall, brushing off his clothes and stomping his feet to rid himself of the dust. It wasn't perfect, but at least he no longer looked as if he'd come in from the fields. Seeing that the other men had gone inside, he decided to follow them.
No one was in sight as he entered. Confused, he stepped from the lobby into the large room that made up most of the Hall. Long tables sat on the wall opposite the large stage, covered in perfectly ironed white tablecloths and vases with flowers. A few serving dishes with vegetables and fruit sat here and there, interspersed with trays of simple cakes and cookies. Punch bowls next to stacks of glasses sat on each table.
Next to one of the punch bowls was a woman with her back to the door. A pounding sound told Kylo that she was breaking up a block of ice to fill the bowls with.
"Can I help you with that, Sister?"
The woman whirled, clearly startled to hear a man in the room with her. Her hazel eyes assessed him before answering, "No, thank you. I have it covered, as you can see." She held up what looked like a chisel and a hammer.
Kylo nodded. "Smart! Most people just attack it with an icepick, but I see you've found a more efficient way to do it."
A small smile brightened her freckled face. "Thanks. I haven't seen you before and you look lost. Can I help you?"
"Maybe. I came with the men from the other colonies and I don't know where they went."
"I smelled a stampede of male hormones headed toward the bathrooms not too long ago. You might try there. Although," she appraised him again, "you don't look like you need that much grooming, if I may say so."
Kylo grinned. Maybe there was some hope for finding a good wife after all. As he opened his mouth to reply, a familiar voice resounded behind him, "Ah! There you are, Ren!"
The pasty man still had dust in his hair and clothes. Seeing the woman, he stopped. "You, Sister. Bring me a damp rag and a drink. I've been on a long journey and your facilities are inadequate."
Kylo noticed the woman's eyes narrowing and her nostrils flared. "No. You have two hands and two perfectly good eyes, I presume, so you can go find those yourself."
"Who do you think you're talking to? I am-"
"Not important right now because I'm under strict orders to help get this ready for the Gathering." She answered flatly. "Why don't you brethren go rest, I'm sure you must be tired"
She turned her back on Hux and went back to her work, quickly and violently cracking the ice into big chunks as if to prove a point. Kylo chuckled. Unfazed, Hux turned and stomped his way back out of the main hall, muttering obscenities under his breath. Kylo had long ago learned to tune him out, but this time it wouldn't have been hard to do anyway because he'd just noticed that the woman wasn't wearing her hair down the way unmarried women did, but had it pulled back in three buns. His heart sank like a lead balloon. The only interesting woman he'd met so far was already taken.
"Thank you, Sister. Perhaps I'll see you later." He called.
She glanced sidelong at him and raised her left hand in farewell.
He followed Hux to a side room with the other hopefuls, passing a utilitarian kitchen full of gossiping wives. While the other men talked and preened, Kylo ran through the last few minutes in his head. She was intriguing, not just because her high cheekbones and almond-shaped eyes made her look slightly exotic, but also because she clearly had a brain. Not to mention that she seemed to be a good judge of character, he mused, thinking about her interaction with Hux. Suddenly, he remembered something that made hope swell in his chest like a sprout pushing its way out of the dirt.
She hadn't been wearing a wedding ring.
A/N I got the idea for this story from a dream I had where my husband and I had to escape from a polygamous cult. There was lots of planning and trial and error involved and now I honestly can't remember if we made it. I base a lot of my ideas of how things should look and feel on things I've read about the FLDS, but post-apocalyptic. More on that in future chapters.
I came up with the idea for the apocalypse to have been caused by disease well before I ever heard about the Corona virus, so it's just good timing.
In this story, Kylo Ren is about the same age as Rey, maybe slightly older, but there isn't as much of an age gap here.
I posted this even though I'm not as far into the story as I'd like to be because my Beta Bestie PhantomBove gave my husband and me a challenge to post our first chapters. PhantomBove writes a fantastic Labyrinth AU set in the late 1700s and hubbie started a Harry Potter AU that we've been begging him to write since he came up with the idea. (He still has yet to write it as he's an essential worker at his hospital and has to do reports 7 days a week.)
Reviews would be appreciated!