I wanted to do my own twist of the homely Reylo. So here we are. Welcome along on this journey as we explore personal experience with homemaking skills and lost arts of a self-sufficient and sustainable lifestyle. But you know, make it Reylo style.
Huge thanks to my wonderful beta reader - Cecilia Sheplin (@ceciliasheplin) who I am still in awe answered the call for a BR. Seriously go check out her work!
TW/ human trafficking, kidnapping - to set the background, not a story-long tag.
"Seee-woooo! See-woo, See-woo!"
Waiting for the last Summer train to arrive with new settlers was a highlight for most of the small towns that surrounded the capital district of Alderaan. For the outskirt county seat of Naboo, Theed, the monthly visit was a sign of fresh imported produce, clothes, and of course; new people. You could hear the train's brass whistle from mile's away, letting all those along the way that it was just about to the station. Whistling as though to say, "I have returned, my friends! And I bring wonders and treasures, come see, come see!"
The train had traveled long across the damp flat lands of the tall grassy prairie, after coming through the far side of a mountain range. Beyond that range, was the busy, boisterous, crowded capital, Aldera. In many ways Naboo was a different planet; a softer, slower world where the people were kinder and more thoughtful - if a bit more nosy.
Young men wearing oilskin jackets or damp rain-soaked button up shirts crowded the front of the old wooden platform, peaking out to look up the track for the steam engine. Interspersed were younger children who all wanted a glimpse of the mysterious train that only came once a month, all partly held back by the older out of a protective habit. As the train would draw ever closer, the rails would begin to gently vibrate and the sound of the wheels and rods would grow ever louder. Just when it seemed like the train was finally reaching the station about a mile out, it would begin to slow. The anticipation from the children would begin to settle, and the young men would start to muck about waiting for what now seemed like an hour's wait as the train began its long stop. Soon enough, their patience would win out, and the final whistle, only a few hundred feet would blow. The steam from the chimney would billow forth as the engineer would apply the steam break forcing reverse pressure to the rods. The children would once more scream and cheer a reply, almost saying, "Oh hello again old friend, we have missed you!"
As soon as the engine had passed the edge of the platform the smallest of the children, called uselessly by their mothers and caretakers to stand back, would chase the bright red machine until they could no longer or risk falling off the wooden form, stopped by a solid fencing for this very reason. Meanwhile the women, dressed in small town finery or service clothes, and the young men would begin to help greet passengers and unload luggage or goods from the freight cars. For those who were there to do work, including some young women, it meant two-day's wages and a sneak peak into what new things had come from the cities. Meanwhile the rest of the women would greet friends and family, hats fluttering in the crowd, others would be there looking for posted letters and packages, and some still, for lovers who had been away at war.
Toward the back of the platform, away from the bustle stood a tall figure with a Crofut Knapp Lincoln style oil sealed hat upon his head. Unlike the rest of the crowd at the station, Benjamin Naberrie Solo, son of Senator Leia Organa-Solo, was here for an alternative need. His stable-master, Armitage Hux, a tall red haired man, dressed in a pale waist length duster, hands behind his back, stood next to him carefully observing the disembarking passengers. Today they sought something that Ben, to his mother's dismay, had put off for nearly twelve years. A woman.
Ben Solo, heir to the Skywalker ranch and lands, needed a manager of his house. A wife, his mother said. A maid, Hux tried to rationalize. A nuisance, Ben argued.
"Not many passengers this month," Hux quietly observed.
Ben's deep voice, that had a hint of musicality, replied frankly, "With the war outside the Eastern capitals, can't say I'm much surprised. The cost of train fare has tripled these last few months."
Hux stiffly nodded, "Good we got out when we did."
A soft grunt in agreement was the only reply from his boss.
Another ten and three minutes passed before Ben pulled a leaking silver pocket watch from his driver coat. The yearly rains had started with vengeance two days prior. And while the dark brown coat was sealed against the downpours, not even the best oil-cloth could keep all the moisture out. The pocket watch would need to be dried later, and likely taken to a shop for proper repair.
Pulling Ben from his thoughts, a raspy voice growled from behind him, "Get over 'er, girl!" Turning to see what creature could make such disgusting sound in an otherwise quiet town he found a large man who was pulling along a mud and straw covered woman by her arm. She had tripped leaving the station's breeze thru, fell off the entry's steps and soaked her overcoat through. "Just had ta find the biggest water hole, didn'cha. Clumsy girl! Now who's gon ta take ya!"
Without looking, Ben tapped Hux's arm and gestured to the pair making their way past the crowd in front of them. Hux had leaned passed, gave a short nod, and went ahead as Ben followed him approaching the portly man.
Armitage Hux did most of the talking when in town as he was firm, no nonsense and quick with bartering. So he tipped his hat, put on his most contrived smile and leaned over the railing of the entryway. "What a rubbage day, wouldn't you say? What with all this rain."
The man stopped briefly with a sideways glance, adjusted a satchel bag, and then tugged the girl to follow. "Aye, been better, but not with this wench making a mess of the dress I got 'er."
Armitage followed down the railing. "Indeed, it is a pain when you put effort into something for nothing to come of it." He added a knowing smile to further draw the man closer.
The man stopped once more and looked up at Hux, his eyes narrowed, before he leaned in, "Aye, tend ta make one unhappy."
As Hux began to "sweet talk" the blob of a human, Ben carefully looked over the hood covered woman. It wasn't quite Autumn in Naboo, but with the rain it was cooler weather than the late Summer months normally held. She was small, it seemed, much shorter than him for sure, but hard to tell if she was malnourished or just slender built. Her face was obscured by both the hood and the mud from her earlier fall. Suddenly, two brown feminine eyes, surrounded by white stared right into his soul. So startled was Ben he took a step back, but never broke contact. And yet, as soon as her eyes had connected they dropped back down, hidden once more.
"Does she cook?" Hux and the man, Plutt, now introduced, both turned at Ben's interruption.
Later he would wonder what prompted him to ask that of all the things he could have wanted to know about her. Did she have all her teeth? Was she sane? Was she concealing a pregnancy? But instead he went for food. Hux had lifted his head slightly, but said nothing.
Plutt however stepped forward, "She does. And wash. Can even sew basics if you require it."
A moment passed as Ben looked over the girl once more.
Then, Hux saw a quick nod from Ben and reacquired Plutt's attention, with a sly toothy grin on his face. "Sir, I think I may have a proposition that will benefit us both!"
The two began discussing a fair price for the girl, as was often the fate of wards in this part of the world. A few more moments passed, money exchanged, then Plutt roughly shoved the muddy girl towards Ben, who had already stepped down from the entry steps to catch her. But before he could do so she sidestepped him and spat at his feet, her bold eyes catching his once more.
Plutt let out a disgusting cackle, "Best of luck to ya, she's a biter!"
Ben swallowed, he wasn't afraid of this girl, but he did begin to wonder if he too was sane. "What is your name?"
"Whatever you decide, monster." The short sharp voice had come from her small mouth and she never lost eye contact. Oh Lord preserve him, she was a fiesty one.
The small crowd that had been waiting on the wooden platform for friends or mail had begun to disperse, while some had finished loading up wagons with lamp oil and other supplies. A few greeted Ben as they walked by, and others tipped their hats to him, but all had taken a long look at the muddy women. It would take less than a day for this picture of Ben Solo, heir, allegedly buying a woman to reach his mother. And less than two days for a rider to arrive with a well written and scathing letter in return.
Putt never even said goodbye to her before he had dropped the satchel which fell to the muddy ground in a splurt and rattle. As Hux was leaning down to get the bag, the cloaked woman growled at him before yanking it to herself. "I'm more than able to carry my own weight."
The pale coated man had looked up to Ben, who made an amused nose wrinkling gesture before nodding his head to behind him. The stablehand looked back at the girl and stood up once more. "Of course you can, my dear, but sometimes it's alright to let others help you."
"You mean buy you." It had been a quieter, but no less abrasive comment. One that Ben and Hux were not able to respond to in this public setting. Instead the two men opted to head towards the main road of the small town where they had some business to run.
Every now and again, as they walked closer to where Hux had tied their horse and wagon the bright-haired stable master would look back to see if the woman was still with them. To his amazement she was, everytime. Thinking back to when he was a kid, he would have made the dash to freedom at least three times by now. And yet, she followed, her shoes slurping in protest to the water and mud soaking their leather.
"You can leave your stuff here with the wagon and Falcon," Ben was already moving ahead after his directions to the shorter woman. But when the sound of squishing stopped, Ben turned around.
"I'm not leaving my bag for someone to steal in this hovel of a town," she argued.
Ben frowned, "No one here will steal it. You have my word."
She scoffed, "The word of a man who just bought another person with money?"
Oh boy, thought Hux to himself.
"No, the word of the man who owns this hovel of a town." Ben didn't even wait for her reply before turning around and continuing down the wooden walkway, Hux stretching his long legs to catch up and say something to him.
Whatever it was the woman didn't catch. She huffed, before looking around and carefully placing her stachel in a corner of the farm wagon next to two large wooden steamer chests. The rain had mostly stopped, but she didn't want to risk her only dress in case the rain started back up so she left the muddy cloak on.
After giving Falcon a gentle touch on her shoulder, the woman followed the two men into what would end up being a general store.
- - -
"...and two more loaves of bread please. Also include some lye soap and a hair brush." Hux had been at the counter talking to the shop-keeper. Meanwhile Ben was reading a newspaper from the capital and by the way he clutched the edges it was not something he was overjoyed to read.
As the young woman looked around her cloak left a trail of water and mud. The shopkeeper who had been helping Hux anxiously cried out, "Uh, Miss, could you perhaps wait outside and I'll come get your order in a moment?"
Ben had closed the paper and sat it down before calling out to the keep, "She is with us, Wado, and I'd prefer she stayed inside."
"Oh, I see sir." The graying gentleman returned to his list and collected the items requested.
Armitage Hux turned and leaned back on the counter and watched the newest member of their small group. "So, what does one call you?"
She looked over from under her hood and softly sighed. "Rey."
"Rey what," Ben asked.
"Just Rey."
Ben rolled his eyes, but let it go. He opted instead to mimic Hux's position at the counter. "So, Just Rey, where on this rock did that, and I use this loosely, man, steal you from?"
"Buyer's regret already," she monotonously joked, "and here I thought it would take all day."
A chuckle came from Hux, "Oh don't worry about Captain Solo, he and buyer's regret are as old of friends as the Empire."
"I still regret bringing you along," Ben looked at Hux, a half smile on his face. Hux pretended to be cut by the remark.
Rey's eyes shot over to Ben, anger rising, as she stepped forward, "Exactly how many people have you bought? There are people dying where I come from trying to prevent this exact thing. And you two are making a joke of this?"
Hux held up his hands in defense, "Now listen here, young lady, you misunderstand our banter."
"Oh do I?"
It wasn't the stable hand who replied, but the owner of the town, who had stepped away from the counter, one hand low and to his side, as a gesture for Hux to stay. "Yes, in fact, you do."
His tone left no room for any further discussion. Rey snarled before turning and stalking out of the store, her cloak slopping over the floor to Wado's complaints. It wasn't her fault they were publicly discussing treating people like cattle.
--
After the goods from the store had been covered by the wagon's oilskin cover the two men had gone next to another store and returned with several bottles of liquids. Rey naturally assumed they were alcohol, but from her vantage point under the roof of the Sheriff's building she couldn't be sure. While she had waited, stewing in anger, the Sheriff had come out to introduce himself, a Ben Kenobi, and she made a comment about the town being no different than where she was from - buying and selling people like head of beef - but the older man just smiled with a soft gaze and listened.
When Ben and Hux had come back from their last shop they had a few small boxes that were wrapped in a blue ribbon. Rey assumed for a wife or mother. As Hux finished up securing the items from the day, Ben calmly strode over towards Rey and the sheriff.
Tipping his hat, "Sheriff Kenobi, doing well today?"
The older gentleman with arms crossed, leaned forward and smiled, "Oh, I'm well enough Captain, but severely ready for my replacement to return back from the capital. I am getting too old for all this."
As Ben smiled, Rey tried hard to stay angry about the mess of the day and this monster of a human being, and yet something in that smile soothed open wounds and ruffled feathers.
"Well I'm sure Poe will be back soon," Ben offered, then addressed Rey as his smile faded. "You are welcome to either stay here and make a formal report to Sheriff Kenobi about today's events, or you are welcome in my home until you decide what you want to do."
Rey shook her head, "I don't understand."
Ben looked down and smiled softly; this time it made something inside Rey give a small cry of longing. "I didn't buy you." Then he looked at her directly. "Or Hux, nor have I bought anyone else for that matter. We gave Plutt money we produce here in town made of an alloy that is worthless outside this town." Rey's stomach contracted in surprise. "It feels and weighs the same as silver, but it's utterly worthless. We don't support buying or selling anyone here. My great grand-parents and their friends planned this town as an act of defiance against the corrupt Capital politicians for this very task. You are free to go wherever you want. But you are welcome to come join my home until you have decided what that is. You will be safe, warm, fed, and no one will bother you."
Rey never could have imagined this in her wildest dreams. This was not how these things went. Ever since her childhood the penalty for running away was pain, the penalty for trying to hide was more pain, and the consequences for even considering counterfeiting money where she came from was akin to death.
Where had she been sent to on that train today?
"I... That's unexpected." Her eyes were wide in stunned surprise.
Ben nodded, "We didn't say anything at the station for obvious reasons with uh, Plutt, and we couldn't inside the shop because Wado isn't the best at discretion. I apologize, our jest seemed to be in earnest, that was unfair to you."
Rey wound her fingers together under her cloak and looked over to the older Sheriff who nodded at her and gently added, "Go with the boys, lass, you'll be safe and warm there. This is the safest land you could have ever been brought."
When it seemed like she wasn't going to go, Ben tipped his hat and turned back towards the wagon where Hux and Falcon were waiting.
"Wait, please," Rey couldn't believe she was doing this. It was reckless. It was absurd. It was, -- "I'd like to come, just for at least till morning," -- the first decision she had made in the last twelve years of her life that was entirely her own.
Ben smiled again, "Come along then, Just Rey, we'll eat dinner on the way there."
--
Sunsets on the wide open grasslands was something Rey had never dreamed of seeing before. The clouds from the rain storm had left behind verdant grasses, a crisp almost salty smell to the air, and round fluffy clouds that were halo'd by the golden rays of the sun. The places she had lived before were surrounded by mountains or impossibly tall structures that hid the sun from you. Rey loved the sun. She had grown up going outdoors everyday with her mother and father. She never questioned why they both were home all the time or why they never went too far from her. Not until the day they were taken and words like "rebels and traitors'' were spewed at them. It had been night when it happened. But seeing this sunset; the purples oranges, yellows and dark red; she felt like she was seeing the sun for the first time since that terrible day. Twelve years since her nightmare had begun, she was finally free once more.
As the wagon jostled back and forth on its springs she found she didn't care if the two men noticed her crying. Watching that sunset was the most incredible moment of her life. She never knew the world could have such beauty and freedom.
When they arrived at their destination, Ben and Hux unloaded most of the goods from the wagon before they gently woke her. She had fallen asleep long before they were even halfway to their destination. She didn't know, but Ben had watched her for a long time, considering, while she slept. Hux never commented, but he too took a few glances down at the exhausted woman, and had to wonder what she thought was happening.
Once awake, Rey slowly climbed down from the wagon, her right leg asleep, she dragged her rucksack down to the end and looked about in the darkened landscape of the prairie. The moon had been obscured by clouds, but she could see lights flickering into life in windows as her eyes adjusted to the dark. Ben called to her and she turned but didn't see him until he was nearly in front of her. She must have made a jerk of surprise because he apologized before adding, "We have plenty of beds inside, Hux will show you to the one for you. You may wash up in the morning if you wish or tonight, but I will say the water will be quite chilly."
Rey nodded, her eyes heavy, "I understand, I can just wash my face and hands. The cloak took the brunt of the mud," she shifted and her shoes squished, "and apparently my shoes."
"We'll get you sorted tomorrow. Hux is here now."
Rey turned and followed the tall ginger-haired man's lead in the dark, the sound of the wagon wheels and clopping of the horse fading behind her. When she entered the house it was too dim to see everything, but the main thing she had noticed was how large it was. She didn't know homes on the prairie could get so large. But then again, apparently the Captain owned a town, and made counterfeit money. It only made sense he would have such a home for his wife and family, who likely were sleeping.
Hux led Rey up the stairs and down a hall to a room that was lit by a frosted oil lamp. "Rey, may I ask you something?"
"What is it," she replied, setting down her bag carefully on the wooden chair near a bed stand.
The waist length duster clothed man weaved his hands behind his back, "Why didn't you run, in town? You had so many chances to just go. We wouldn't have even chased you."
Rey sighed and partly turned away, taking a moment, truthfully embarrassed to admit her answer, "Because you don't run away on an empty stomach."
At first it seemed like that answer only confused the stablemaster, but then he replied, an eyebrow arched, "You get a lot further when you don't have to stop to find food." He understood. She wondered how likely it was from experience, just like her.
Rey tiredly smiled and nodded softly, "Thank you, and to the Captain, for what you did for me today. I know I was terribly rude to you," Hux waved it off. "And I can never repay either of you for this kindness, but thank you."
Hux smiled, but hidden behind it seemed like something akin to regret, "It's what we do." Without taking any more sleep from her, he bowed slightly and bid Rey goodnight, closing the door on the way out.
After carefully undressing down to her under blouse, and avoiding getting the mostly dried mud everywhere she noticed a fresh bar of soap and a brand new hair brush on the small washing dresser. Likely the ones Hux had gotten from the store today. Once finished up with the bowl and pitcher she pulled back the covers in the dim room, lowered carefully the oil lamp's wick until it went out and climbed into the softest bed she had ever experienced. So amazed, she let out a soft moan of enjoyment as she wiggled deeper under the covers. Rey fell asleep that night thinking about those last words from the older man. It's what we do. She dreamed of rolling waves and salty air, the soft sounds of a beach in the distance, and a smile that made her feel like she had reached somewhere safe to rest.
The plan is to update at least once a month, but who knows, maybe it'll be twice. You can watch for updates and sneak peaks including chapter art on Twitter @CohoshThe
~ See you there!
