He guys! Here we are with chapter 5! Thanks for everyone's patience, as you know it takes time to write. Enjoy:)

One more day. In one more day Kejia Ren's master would arrive with the First Order. And Kejia still hadn't extracted information from Aurora. She was much more of a challenge than he had anticipated. It angered him horribly, and he acted off of that anger continuity.

Kejia knew she was trying to heal. Even so, she was week. The interrogations kept her at a standstill, preventing progress in her natural healing process.

Kejia knew he could break her. Because despite her persistence, she was a child; a small child in comparison with his high strength. The dark side made him strong, powerful. He would have her in his grasp. But Kejia knew his current tactics had proven unfruitful. He needed another way...

oOo

Aurora sat facing the window. The evening sun shone in lovingly, bathing Aurora in its precious glow. It was the only affection she received nowadays. She couldn't help but think, the sun glowed like her hair. Aurora sat with her legs pulled up. Upon her knees, her chin rested lazily.

With the evening sun, her achy mind wandered. Aurora lightly fingered her hair. Why did it glow? What had changed? Aurora's memories of the past few days were blurry. She couldn't remember what had happened right now. If only she knew. This was one of Aurora's biggest questions.

The second was, who was Kejia, and why did he want her? What did he have to gain from keeping her hostage and trying to extract her personal information? Aurora knew he wanted to take something from her, something important. Even in her horrible state, Aurora knew Kejia was that kind of a person. The kind that would only do something for their own benefit.

Aurora shook her head ever so slightly. She felt lost, helpless, and exposed with no hope.

Aurora's restless thoughts were broken when the door to her cell began to open with a long creak. The girl looked up to see Kejia walk in, carrying two trays of food. Aurora flinched back when the man crouched down to place a tray before her. Aurora watched skeptically, and with fear, as he proceeded to sit across from her, setting down a tray before himself.

Aurora shifted uncomfortably, staring at Kejia as he casually began to prep his tray. "W-what's this?" Aurora muttered.

"I'm joining you for a meal," he stated matter of factly.

Aurora continued to gape, stupidly. After a moment, Kejia looked between Aurora and her tray. "Are you not hungry?" He asked, a trace of confusion in his voice.

Aurora blinked a few times. "Oh, uh yeah. Yeah," she muttered awkwardly. She then began to eat.

A short spell of silence lingered before Kejia spoke. "Your stubbornness is quite impressive. I suppose it's the Mandalorian in you?"

Aurora hummed. "Got that right. And thank you." Aurora barely glanced up and continued to eat hungrily.

"Oh, it wasn't meant to be a compliment. It was meant to bring out an annoying aspect of your character." Kejia tilted his head in a gestural manner.

Aurora shrugged, "I'll take the compliment." A small smile graced Aurora's lips, and stayed in place. Aurora didn't know why, it just felt right.

A moment of silence followed, but it wasn't like any other silence that had passed between them. This silence was less threatening. Suddenly, the corners of Kejia's lips tilted upwards in a ghost of a smile as he hummed.

Aurora looked up curiously, even a bit timidly. Aurora was shocked, she had never seen him smile like that. It was almost as if he was enjoying himself. As if he was enjoying her presence.

The two finished eating in silence, both holding light smiles. When they finished, Kejia picked up both trays and left without a word.

Aurora watched him go, curiosity was practically smothering her. She couldn't help but find this entire situation extremely perplexing. Only a few days before, she had been beaten senseless by this stranger. And here they were today, eating together. Aurora was tired, and she couldn't entirely focus like she wanted, so she let the subject go. She didn't know what tomorrow would bring, but she had a good feeling. Perhaps things would get better. Aurora curled up and shut her tired eyes. Hope welled in her chest as she slowly drifted to sleep.

oOo

Aurora slept soundly. The rest was much needed and welcomed. Birds chirped softly from a distance, singing their morning love songs. It was just beginning to get light out, and a cool morning chill hung in the air.

Suddenly, a loud blast shook Aurora from her calm sleep. The girl jumped up on her side, stretching to see out from where she lay. Her body was still sore and tired. Blaster fire and blood-curdling screams began to replace the light chirping of the birds. What was happening?

As the black splotches began to fade, Aurora decided to stand. She had to know what was happening. Strands of greasy hair teased around her eyes at her moving.

But before Aurora could stand, the cell door flew open, and footsteps echoed behind her. Aurora had become accustomed to the way Kejia walked. The rhythm of his steps sent chills through her body as she turned towards him.

Kejia looked troubled, and in a rush. Whatever he had come in here for, good or bad, it was urgent. Aurora felt her stomach drop as the man ducked down to her level. He leaned close and grabbed her hands roughly. Aurora screeched and tried to pull away, but the man tightened his grip. "Stop," he snapped grabbing the girls attention. They stared into each other's eyes for no more than a moment, when Kejia proceeded to reach under his cloak. He quickly pulled out a key and undid Aurora's handcuffs, then pulled her to her feet. Aurora gaped at him as he held her upper arm, ushering her out. "Come," underneath his lifeless facade, his voice was urgent, even nervous.

Aurora was dragged down the halls of the ancient prison. She could only assume they were being attached. But why was Kejia pulling her along like this? Why would they be evacuating if he had squads of stormtroopers on hand? Unless he didn't...

As they ran, Kejia's hand slowly slipped from Aurora's upper arm down to her wrist. If felt a bit strange to be touched by another living thing. She hadn't been touched for many days. And she didn't realize how much she had longed for affection, just as a baby longs for physical contact from its mother. Aurora realized one never really grew out of it. But Aurora didn't like the way Kejia's touch made her skin crawl. It was as if the dark side was draining from his skin, and trying to soak into Aurora's soul. Instinct told Aurora to pull away, but she couldn't.

Kejia's face was set with an emotion Aurora couldn't quite read. His brows were knitted, and it was almost as if he was biting the inside of his lip.

The two force users ran down various twists and turns. Only a few of the first halls were familiar to Aurora. She remembered them from her attempt at escape. But as they entered the uncharted depths of the structure, Aurora realized how much she had to rely on Kejia. It scared her.

Suddenly, a group of what looked to be pirates jumped out from a corridor right in Aurora and Kejia's path. Kejia stopped abruptly, nearly causing Aurora to crash into him. The girl blinked a few times due to the extremity of the black spots that enslaved her vision. In front of them was a human, and two rodians. Their clothes were worn and messy, and the human's hair was shoulder length and absolutely filthy. The pirates aimed their blasters straight at her and Kejia. "Put 'em up, kids!" Snapped one of the rodians.

Kejia's face twisted into a dark glare, one that made Aurora physically shudder. He suddenly let go of Aurora's wrist and pulled out a blood red lightsaber from beneath his cloak. The pirates tried desperately to overrun the man, but failed.

Aurora stared on, her mouth agape. He was a skilled dark sider, she knew that for sure now. Aurora suddenly shook her head, trying to compose herself. She realized she had her chance, and if she wanted to take it, it had to be now. Turning on her heal, Aurora nearly fell as she dashed down the halls, leaving the dark sider with the pirates. Aurora mustered the force as she ran. It aided her injury, but even so, it stung as if it was being stabbed again and again. Aurora was panting, her chest was heaving, and sweat-laced her face as she ran through endless halls and corridors. But after a few moments, she built up normal speed. Just maybe her luck was changing. Just maybe she had lost him...

Suddenly, Aurora tripped. Falling hard to the ground, she cried out as her arm twisted oddly beneath her body as she fell. As soon as she had come to a stop on her side, she rolled onto her back. The pain was excruciating. Aurora whimpered when a sharp spike of pain shot through her shoulder as she moved, fading into a dull ache. To make it worse, her head was pounding, and her leg was throbbing. Aurora knew, though, that despite her body's immense pain she had to keep moving. The girl half-heartedly tried to get up. But before she could, a stiff boot pressed against her chest, forcing her back down.

"Where are you going," Kejia snapped.

Aurora blinked her eyes open. The man was towering over her, a stern look graced his face. His boot was pressed firmly to Aurora's chest, preventing her from moving. He must have finished with the pirates only a few moments after she ran.

Aurora didn't even notice Kejia pull out his saber until it ignited next to her head. Aurora gasped and tried to pull away, but to no avail. Kejia held a terribly determined and angry look as he dug the saber into the floor, and drew it closer to Aurora's neck. Aurora grunted in a mix of fear and frustration. There was nothing she could do, but struggle. As the saber inched closer to her neck, the heat grew along with her fear. Aurora shut her eyes tight. Flashbacks flooded her mind, of the time she had dropped her lightsaber at ten years old. Lucky for her, it hadn't lopped off her foot, it only left a scar. Nevertheless, the incident scared her so bad, that she had refused to touch a lightsaber for months. Aurora's chest became tight at the memory. All the air escaped her lungs, and she heaved in a panic. When the saber was only a few inches from her neck, it hissed off. Aurora inhaled sharply, nearly choking.

"I recommend you don't try running again. I will not turn it off next time." Kejia bent down on one knee, leaning close to Aurora. She felt his breath on her cheek as he spoke in a seductive murmur. "It would be a shame if I had to ruin your pretty neck."

Aurora let out a shaky breath, she was too traumatized to move. She watched helplessly as Kejia stood, grabbing her collar and pulling her up with him.

Aurora struggled against Kejia's grip on her upper arm, but the man started Aurora by pulling her close to his face. "Remember what I said."

Aurora nodded lightly, staring at Kejia with startled blue eyes.

A rumble in the building broke the momentary silence. Kejia tightened his grip on Aurora and ran. Aurora felt the familiar feeling of fear sink in the depths of her stomach once again, as rubble fell around them and as bombers dropped detonators from above.

At long last, after making their way down three different halls at least, the two humans ran through a large two door entrance into the open air. Aurora blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the light. She saw the morning sun rising in the distance, adorned with pink and pale blue colored clouds. Green misty fields were scattered far and wide. A chilled breath of morning air nibbled Aurora's face and neck. Wherever they were, they were deep within the countryside. Aurora's mind nearly wandered far within the depths of the force that inhabited this lush planet. It was so alive.

Aurora had felt nothing but darkness when in the prison. It was almost as if the light and been killed, drained, and discarded from the ancient building.

A hard tug on her wrist pulled Aurora to the present. She realized that they were headed towards a massive hanger bay. It looked to be just as old as the rest of the prison, but operable. Did Kejia have a ship? He must. Why else would they be headed there? Not to hide, surely. Aurora gasped when a blaster bolt shot past her head. Some of the attackers were focused on her and Kejia, shooting with excellent precision. Aurora nearly fell backwards when Kejia whipped out his saber. His firm hold on her wrist was the only thing keeping her on her feet. Kejia whipped the lightsaber in front of them skillfully. He deflected blaster bolts, sending them back at the shooters and in every other direction. He worked diligently to keep Aurora and himself unharmed. Then suddenly Kejia started running, his hold on Aurora's wrist firm. Aurora didn't realize he had started until her neck jerked back at the sudden movement of her body. Letting out a whimper, she stumbled to keep up.

Aurora took a glance at the battle. Various pirates were fighting off dozens of old battle droids. Battle droids! Aurora had never seen one before. They were ancient, only useful for museums really. Yet there they were, weekly fighting off harsh pirates. The droids didn't stand a chance. But with all this, Aurora concluded for sure that Kejia didn't have any stormtroopers. Only these relics he had most likely scavenged. This gave Aurora courage. He couldn't be working with the First Order. If he were, he would have stormtroopers. Even so, the battle droids would be destroyed before long, giving the Pirates a new target. Them.

When they entered the hanger, Aurora's mouth dropped open. Was that his ship? It was horrible! It looked as if it hadn't been used in decades. Didn't he have a better means of transportation? Apparently not. Kejia leads Aurora up the ramp. It was an old and unkept ship, but Aurora didn't have time to dwell on that. Every step sent a gaping amount of pain through her body, as she grew weaker. When they arrived in the cockpit, Kejia let go of Aurora's wrist, making his way quickly to the console. Aurora didn't have much independent strength left, so she slumped to the floor, exhausted. Aurora hated feeling so week, so vulnerable. But what could she do? Aurora could hear the shuttle hum to life as the dark sider prepped it for flight.

After a moment, the shuttle jolted, letting her know they had taken off. Aurora let out a breath of relief. But her relief was in vain, for the shuttle jolted yet again, rumbling and creaking loudly. They were being shot at! Aurora heard Kejia grunt in frustration as he swerved the ship about in the air. The old ship rocked roughly, tilting back and forth. Aurora had to hold onto the floor grates to prevent rolling with the movement. It took all of her strength to hold on. But then, Aurora realized her lousy arm was under to much pressure when a shooting pain sparked through it. The girl's breath caught when her hands slipped, causing her to roll freely into an old piece of bulkhead. The rough edges caught at her wounded leg. The shooting pain that seized Aurora's leg let her know her wound had been torn. She felt the cold floor begin to warm from the wet blood of her leg. Panic overtook her and made her headache. Her brows creased together tightly and her teeth were bore in pain. Tears began to roll down her cheeks, wetting her neck. But she didn't have enough energy to do anything about it. She was dreary and in a daze. She could barely pay attention to anything but the sound of her own headbanging.

oOo

Pirates. Those low life scum had destroyed his mission. Kejia didn't even want to think about how his master would react. But he pushed that thought aside for later, he would deal with it when the time came. For now, he was flying an old and broken shuttle across the planes of Naboo. What next? Kejia thought about it for a moment and decided he would head to the capital, contact his master privately when they arrived, and go from there. This was definitely not apart of the plan, and he needed instruction on how to continue. But now Kejia had to deal with the task at hand. The man set the old shuttle on autopilot, and turned around in his chair, taking note of the woozy girl who lay on the floor at his feet. The poor helpless creature. It would be easy to break her when they got in touch with his master. Looking the girl over, Kejia's eyes narrowed when he saw her leg. It was bleeding far too much. Kejia realized he hadn't cared for it since he had won her in that gamble. It was far overdo by now. The man shook his head, standing in search for a med kit. He knew he had seen one here somewhere, but where? As he searched, he heard Aurora moaning ever so lightly behind him. He needed to strengthen her up. The time for interrogations was over, and now came the next step. Ah, finally a med kit.

Kejia knelt down beside Aurora, taking a moment to glance at her leg as he readied the kit. From his first treatment of the leg, he knew it was a knife wound. Who had caused it? What had happened? Only Aurora could tell him now, and force knew she refused to do that. As Kejia removed the bandages, Aurora began to squirm.

oOo

Everything was woozy... everything was a blur, and Aurora's ears were ringing. She blinked a few times, trying to see her surrounding a bit better. Suddenly, Aurora became aware of cold hands on her bare leg. Panic seized her chest, and she kicked and squirmed.

"Whoa, calm down, chicky, your leg needs to be tended to," Kejia's voice was relaxed.

Aurora felt his knees pressed against her thigh as he tended to her lower leg. Aurora hated being so close to him. Every instinct told her to pull away, but she knew she couldn't tend to her own leg right now: she was to week. So instead, she swallowed her instincts and accepted the help without contradiction. Suddenly, it felt as though a volt of lightning went sprawling through her raw wound. Aurora cried out in agony, her entire body tensing.

"It's alright," assured Kejia. "it'll be tender for a while."

Aurora felt tears roll down her cheeks as they leaked from her tightly closed eyes. Her fists were balled together, and she bit her bottom lip. She felt her leg throbbing in response. It hurt so bad.

No more than a moment later, Aurora's agony was replaced by relief when she felt the fresh bandage on her skin. And with the relief came wooziness. Aurora hummed softly as Kejia wrapped the bandage. She couldn't see it, but the man held an amused smile as he finished wrapping her up.

When Kejia moved to stand, his knee jabbed Aurora's upper leg, startling her. The girl's breath caught, and she lifted her head much to fast. Kejia lifted his hands up in a defenseless manner, and looked into the girl's groggy eyes.

"It's alright. I'm just standing," he assured.

Aurora nodded slowly and lay her head down on the cold floor, while Kejia stood.

A few quiet moments passed. Aurora barely opened her eyes when she felt Kejia's hand under her head. He lifted her head up gently, and placed a soft cloak beneath her neck. She barely registered the gesture as she drifted off into a quiet sleep.

oOo

A jolt and a swear shook Aurora to consciousness. Keeping still to listen, Aurora fingered the fabric beneath her. It was Kejia's cloak. The girl hummed lightly and lifted her head. But she regretted it when it began to pound. She moaned in response.

"Keep still, or your gonna get a concussion," said Kejia from across the room. He was rewiring a large chunk of the console. "I'm surprised you haven't already," he muttered with a raised brow.

Aurora blinked her eyes clear and watched Kejia work. He looked so different without his cloak. But Aurora's attention didn't linger on Kejia's form. Instead, she noted how her head was banging hard again. "My head..." she moaned quietly to herself.

She didn't expect Kejia to answer. "It's mostly from loss of blood," the man stated as he continued to work on the controls.

Aurora lifted her head, slightly dumbfounded. "What?"

Kejia turned around in his chair. His legs were crossed at the ankles, stretched out across the floor. His arms were folded, and he wore a devilish grin. "Loss of blood, chicky. That's why your head hurts," he repeated.

"Oh," Aurora replied daftly. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Stop losing blood," replied the dark sider smugly.

Aurora just put her head down. She was so dizzy.

"Alright, take it easy," warned the man as he turned back to the console. "You need to rest."

After a silent moment, Aurora lifted her head. "Where are we going?"

"We're coming up on the capital." Kejia's words were nearly broken by the sudden whine and jerk of the shuttle. Aurora gripped the floor, and Kejia jumped to action. He took the ship out of autopilot, taking the yoke and steadying the ship.

Aurora's eyes widened. "What's wrong with the ship?"

"Nothing's wrong with my ship-it's low on fuel," stated Kejia casually, and ever so slightly defensive.

The shuttle jolted hard once again. Aurora had a death grip on the floor. "It doesn't sound like low fuel!" She exclaimed in agony.

"Well, it is low fuel. I know my ship," hissed Kejia through gritted teeth.

For five more minutes the ship continued to shake and jolt, making unpleasant noises until Kejia landed her in a small hanger bay. With a hard thunk, the ship settled. Aurora finally attempted to stand. They had been flying for two hours, and in all that time Aurora hadn't even tried to sit up. And although her headache was disappearing, she was still in pain. Kejia stood also, setting a few controls to his liking, and shutting down the ship. After he had finished, he turned around to face Aurora. Before she even had a moment to think, Kejia grabbed ahold of Aurora's wrist and pulled her to sit down on the seat. The girl screeched in response. "What are you doing?" She demanded as Kejia pulled her hands behind her head, locking them in place with restraints.

"I'm making sure you're secure. Wouldn't want you getting lost, now would we?", He replied. He then ducked down and grabbed ahold of his cloak, pulling the large garment over his form, obscuring his face from view. "Now, wait here. I'm going to see a contact," Kejia smiled smugly. Then he went to leave.

"Wait!" Exclaimed Aurora in agony. "You can't leave me here!"

"Yes I can," his answer was simple, but Aurora could sense the smugness. The man then exited the shuttle, closing the door behind him, and leaving an angry Aurora in his wake.

So the story has taken a new turn! Aurora and Kejia are on the move at last. Can't wait to give you more!

Summers finally drawing to a close. It's so bittersweet to me, because summer is great! And so is fall. Autumn is my favorite season, but it means winter is on its way, which makes me sad. What's your favorite season?

Until next time, friends, may the force be with you!