Chapter Seventeen

The chilled wind was starting to burn Kylo's cheeks as he flew over the fields of Dantooine. He had been extending the Force for any signs of life or whereabouts to where his wife was but with no luck. He could have killed Henne for this, but it wasn't just the handmaiden he was furious with. He was also livid with Falynn. Why had she made the choice to keep this from him? Why had she suddenly decided to go out on her own? What did his wife know on navigations and military tactics, and tactics that dealt with the enemy?

Absolutely nothing.

Unless there were more secrets she had kept from him, other than her martial arts skills.

Despite Falynn's foolishness, Kylo found himself almost driven mad with the fact that he could not find her. He hadn't been aware he had set their location this far, the only thing he had seen for miles was the golden and brown fields with sporadic trees here and there. There was hardly any sign of life. Where the hell would Falynn had even gone to? If she stayed out in this terrain for too long she would most likely starve to death, as the water seemed to be the only true resource. The thought of her body laying still and starved out, had Kylo kicking into the side of the speeder as if it could make him go faster. This was supposed to be their first mission together, if she had ended somehow dead, Kylo wasn't sure he would know what to do with himself. What would he tell the press, generals, and officers, what would he do with the troops on Naboo? If he truly did lose her...would he be able to find anyone else like her? Falynn's bright eyes flashed in his mind, along with her sometimes uneven smile or the way she sucked in her lips whenever she was upset. The song he had only heard a couple of nights ago strung this head like a haunting melody as if Falynn was already a ghost.

Gripping onto the handles of the speeder bike Kylo kicked the sides of it once again this time a bit harder. Thrumming out his power like a song beckoning Falynn to him, Kylo's chest tightened beneath his black cloak in fear. Fearing that he might never find her, or if he did there was nothing left of her. Fearing that he had made a terrible mistake of letting her go that night and that he should have said at least one word to her that morning. Most of all, he feared that he might even given a damn about her. With a roaring in his mind, Kylo sent one final blast of the force out into the field and yelled out when the only answer was silence. Slowing down the bike, Kylo looked at the earth below him. He paused when he saw a piece of the golden grass pressed down. Abruptly bringing the speeder bike to a halt Kylo, jumped out, careful not to land where the grass was flattened. Kneeling down Kylo brushed some of the grass back squinting his eyes at the dirt underneath it. Fingers shaking Kylo brushed against the imprinted footprint than pushed back the rest of the tall grass discovering more footprints.

The footprints were small but not the size of a child.

There was only one set of footprints which meant whoever they belonged to had been traveling alone. Closing his eyes Kylo's hands pressed his hand into the footprint, dirt filling up between his fingers. Taking in a deep breath through his nose Kylo concentrated on the cool dirt that pressed into his hand. He pleaded for a vision to come to him, any fragmented source that would lead him closer. His brows furrowed as his thoughts shuddered, and a blurred image of feet came into his thoughts. Feet that were walking, before the person in them staggered than picked themselves back up. Whoever they were, were moving forward making their steps straight. Strings of copper came into his mind breaking the vision as Kylo's eyes snapped open. Quickly retracting his hand back from the dirt sweat clung to the nape of his neck. Slowly standing up Kylo narrowed his eyes at the field straight ahead of them. He still couldn't see anything, but that was clearly the direction that they had been walking in. Positioning himself back on the bike Kylo pushed it back into gear and directed the speeder bike to fly straight.


Kylo grimaced towards the smaller Rebel base as he sat motionless on the speeder bike. The surroundings seemed quieter than the rest of Dantooine which was unnerving to Kylo. Slowly moving the speeder bike down the hill he stopped when he reached the edge of the base. Noting the broken down structure of the base Kylo turned off the speeder before removing himself from it and cautiously making his way towards the base. Kylo stopped when he reached a window that seemed to in worse shape than the rest. It was had been broken shattering its glass all over the ground just beneath it. A giant stone laid on the ground, which made Kylo a bit curious about how the glass had been shattered. Making sure not to step on the shards of glass Kylo placed his hand on the side of the base's rough exterior closing his eyes. He took in a shattering breath when another blurry vision came into the view of his mind. The figure was a dark outline and wasn't detailed as the last vision. His brows furrowed together as he watched in his mind, the silhouetted figure lifting the rock and bashing it into the window, before lifting themselves up into the building.

Opening his eyes Kylo stepped over the glass and peered into the broken entrance to see that glass covered the floor on the inside as well. Walking over to the front entrance he pulled on the handles to the two doors and yanked back. It came as no surprise that it was locked. Whoever had broken in obviously didn't have the strength of the access to get inside. However, for Kylo, it only took him a matter of seconds to pull out his lightsaber and to easily cut off the locks, before kicking open the steel doors. Stepping inside the base was completely dark the only light given was from the windows and now open doorway. Holding his red lightsaber up higher Kylo began to head towards the dark corridors. Red illuminated off of the buzzing lightsaber onto the dust-coated walls as Kylo slowly moved his way through the darkness. Coughing Kylo held up his cape towards his mouth with his free hand. The air was thick with dust and who knew what other chemicals. The base looked like it had been abandoned for at least a few decades. He couldn't say for sure. The base he had stationed his troops was much more intact and still functioning. This base, however, seemed no more than a broken-down ruin, perhaps only due to its smaller size.

Kylo stopped in his steps when he took a whiff and smelled something sweet and metallic in the air. Holding his lightsaber up higher Kylo noticed a small bit of light coming through a crack. Removing his hand from his cape Kylo used both hands to grip onto his lightsaber as he headed toward the source of light. The light was coming from a room, with its metal door only partially opened. Placing his hand on the touchpad, it briefly lit up, before it sizzled out of life. Aiming the light of his lightsaber towards the door frame Kylo's eyes widened. Lifting a hand Kylo brushed his fingers down the jagged marks that had been scraped into the metal doorframe. Peering inside of the cracked opening, Kylo narrowed his eyes at the shattered monitors that were against the back wall. Lifting his hand Kylo pressed his lips tightly together as he shoved his power towards the door before it clattered onto the ground. Stepping into the room he bent down to study the small flecks of red that were splattered onto the floor and trailed up to the broken computer screens. Noticing a shard that was stained in red Kylo picked it up and examined it before setting it back down to examine the rest of the room. Moving his eyes towards the door he noticed the crimson drops gradually grew in size until there were large splatters between the doorframe and the wall. Walking over to it Kylo placed his hands on the door and closed his eyes.

Pressing his eyelids together Kylo called for another vision to help him, but none came. With an irritated grumble, Kylo gripped onto his lightsaber before exiting the room the smell of blood still clinging to his senses. The blood had been fresh, fresh enough where it had only been like that for a couple of hours if even that. The thought unnerved him and sent Kylo's nerves on edge. Lowering the red light Kylo swallowed down a painful lump that formed in his throat. Red droplets were trailing their way down the entire corridor. Someone had been injured enough where the blood kept going, but not so that it made them immobile. Stopping where the trail of red droplets seemed to end Kylo moved the light towards the next corridor and sucked in a breath. Red was smeared onto the floor and a bit onto the wall. Each droplet and smear was newer than the last. Fearing whose it belonged to Kylo quickened his footsteps until he was nearly running as he followed the trail.

Two dark images came into view caused Kylo to abruptly stop in his movements.

Two dark figures laid motionless in the narrow hallway.

Shaking in his footsteps Kylo slowly approached the two forms in the darkness both hands holding tightly onto the handle of his lightsaber. He aimed the glowing light to the first form, a disgusted noise coming out of his throat. A laigrek laid on the ground, lifeless and stiff with a hole blasted through its skull. Kylo bent down studying the fatal wound. The shot was obviously made by a small blaster. Whoever had shot the weapon had been lucky they had caught the creature in the head. He wasn't sure if the blaster would have been good if they had marked any other area on the creature.

Taking in a steady intake of air Kylo slowly lifted his head to the other dark form that was across from him. Lifting the lightsaber Kylo immediately dropped it allowing his weapon to clank loudly on the ground as his blood ran cold.

No. No. No.

He must have been seeing things. He had to be seeing things.

Picking his lightsaber up and clicking it back to life Kylo stepped over the dead laigrek and moved to the other still form. A choked noise came out of him the as body that was limped over had bloodied copper hair sprawling over the dusted metallic ground. Setting the lightsaber down Kylo bent down gently grabbing onto the body and placing them on their back before moving the copper hair away from their face. A roar ripped through Kylo's throat as his wife's pale face came into view. Falynn's skin was cold, but Kylo could feel that there was still life clinging to her even if there wasn't much. A pool of blood was beneath her body, leading him to do a quick study over her body. Her foot was injured, skin obviously was torn from it, her shoulder had a gash in it, along with her elbow.

The computer screens...the droplets of blood.

That had all been from Falynn. She must have shattered the screens in an attempt of defense against the laigrek. Kylo noted the small blaster that was laying on the ground beside her. Falynn had been the one to blast the laigrek through its head. How long did she have to fight them off for her to receive this much damage? Quickly remembering to his horror that laigreks usually swarmed in nest that was probably not the only creature that she had to face... Meaning that there was probably still some lingering in the old base and if they lingered long enough that they would probably run into some more.

As gently as he could Kylo scooped his arms beneath Falynn then paused. Warmth seeped into his arms through his sleeves. Lifting her up, Kylo's mind almost flashed out a source of his power to see the wounds that were now puncturing his wife's back. She would had attained too many injuries. If he was not quick, he could possibly lose her to the amount of blood loss she already had. It was a miracle that she was still alive as it was. Finishing gathering her into his arms Kylo slowly lifted her up as he grabbed his lightsaber.

Her cold body moved slightly from the small amount of life that was still in her. Against his bare skin on his hands and fingers, he could feel the grime of dirt, blood, dust, and sweat that clung to Falynn's body. The smell of it clung to every part of him leaving him wondering what the hell his wife had gone through in the day and a half they had been apart.

Retracing his steps back to the entrance Kylo was able to quickly bring them back to his speeder bike. Kylo settled himself into the seat scooting himself far enough back where Falynn's body could cradle against his own. Making sure his arms were secure on either side of her, Kylo kicked the bike into gear before blasting away as quickly as he could away from the Rebel base.

Without looking at her he spoke over the wind "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you away the other night. I just don't know what to do with you." Looking down at his blood-covered wife, a cold bitter laugh escaped. "I guess you are not sure what to do with me either. I don't know if that makes us perfect for each other, or makes us more star-crossed than anything else."

Moving his body forward where his chest was against her body Kylo kept their aim straight back towards the farmhouse.


Eyes shuttering open, Falynn shot up letting out a loud gasp of air.

Mind numb and foggy Falynn placed a hand on her head as she attempted to level her breathing before taking in her surroundings. Cream-colored walls encircled her and a soft glow of light was over her head. Stomach feeling nauseous and sweat dampening her skin Falynn pushed down the thick covers that were on top of her. Blinking a few times Falynn noticed that she was no longer in her traveling clothes, but instead a soft gray nightgown. Wincing Falynn curled her injured leg in, revealing her now bandaged foot than moved her hand to her shoulder to see she had been bandaged there too. Her back felt a tightness wrapping itself around her confirming that all of her injuries had been tended to. By who she didn't know for sure.

Trying to remember what had happened to her last before she had blacked out Falynn closed her eyes then shut the image down of those bug-like creatures. Curling her knees Falynn wrapped her arms around her legs before burying her head between her knees. She could not hold back the sobs that caused her body to further ache. She was going to die, she had shot that last blast knowing that she was going to die, however by some miracle she didn't. She had found her and brought back to safety. Falynn wanted to know who it was. She needed to face her rescuers and find out exactly where she was now. For all she knew, she was still unsafe, only temporary tended to. That or she had been rescued but she needed to know for sure.

With much effort, Falynn finished removing herself from the covers and stumbled out of the bed. She tried to walk but realized that she wasn't going to get much of anywhere without any support. Hobbling herself over Falynn made contact with the wall, before using its surface as leverage to support herself as she made her way to the door. As Falynn's hand lifted to push the door she paused when she heard voices coming from the other side.

"It looks like she will need to be off her feet in the next week or two," the voice was unfamiliar but undoubtedly a woman. "We should just leave her to rest for a while. We are unsure how her condition will be when she wakes up."

"Were you able to get out the poison," another voice, this one she knew she recognized.

Falynn's fingers shook as the lowered them.

"Fortunately the laigrek didn't have much of a chance of injecting too much of its poison inside of her. We were able to pull most of it out, but it still left her unwell. The recovery will take a couple of weeks at the least. You were lucky to find her, when you did."

"Thank you."

"Sir, I wouldn't go in there just yet...she could be resting."

Falynn backed away from the door wincing nervous about the face that she was about to see.

"My lord, wait!"

Not a moment later the heavy door swung open revealing Kylo's face, which seemed paler than usual. Falynn's sea-colored eyes widened as did his hazel browns. Kylo's ink colored hair was disheveled as some of it hung in his face. His face was lined with hard lines of stress and his shoulders seemed rigid and tense. He was dressed without his cape, which made his usual attire seem more casual. Falynn opened her mouth to speak, but Kylo's face snapped into anger his brows furrowing as he pointed to the bed.

"Bed!"

"Ren…"

"I said bed! Now!"

Falynn didn't have time to even blink as her husband easily scooped her up in his arms then carried her back to the bed. Gently but firmly placing her back on the bed, Kylo slammed his hands down on her either side of her as he glared down at her. His eyes were sharp and bearing into her like knives.

He was angry with her and had every right to be.

She had run off on her own, mostly out of foolish pride.

She had nearly gotten herself killed and would have been dead if Kylo had not found her. He had found her...he had brought her back and he made sure she had been taken care of. Sucking in on her lips Falynn looked up into her husband's eyes.

"I'm sorry," her voice cracked. "I'm...I'm so sorry."

Kylo was silent for a long moment as his body remained over hers, not moving his gaze. He was silent as he moved a hand to brush over her bandaged shoulder and elbow. He was silent as he moved his hand down to her stomach and down to her leg until he placed it over her injured foot. He studied the bandages before he turned his glare back towards her.

"You should be sorry," stiffly standing up Kylo folded his arms. "What the hell were you thinking? Have you lost your damn mind? What if I haven't gotten there in time, Falynn?"

"I know," she began quietly. "I-,"

Kylo wasn't going to allow her any explanation as he threw his arm to the side and shouted. "You could have died, Falynn! You could have fucking died!"

Falynn flinched and the young woman stepped in who Falynn assumed was the one who had dressed her wounds. The young woman had blond hair that was braided on the back of her head, as she wore a cream-colored coat over black pants, and shirt.

"My lord please," the young woman stepped in timidly.

"You stay the fuck out of this!" he barked at her. "You may leave now. I will call for you if we need any further assistance."

The young woman only bowed her head before slowly exiting the room casting Falynn a nervous glance before shutting the door behind her. Falynn eyes, however, weren't on the young medic but stuck on Kylo who was fuming.

Falynn slowly began to sit up until Kylo snapped. "Lay back down! You aren't going fucking anywhere."

"I-I wasn't planning to," Falynn assured him her voice rasped.

"You lied!" Kylo started to pace at the side of her bed. "You lied to Henne and told her to lie to me! You told her to lie to me! Did you think I wouldn't have figured it out eventually! Do you think I am stupid, Falynn?"

Kylo was shaking his fist tightly clenched as his arms stayed across his chest.

Falynn didn't say anything, she remained silent waiting for her husband to finish allowing his words to bellow out of her. Falynn felt like she was sinking deep inside of the mattress her body laid on, heavy with guilt in shame. She had put Henne's life in danger for selfish reasons. Her handmaiden could have possibly been killed. The only reason she knew wasn't dead yet, was because Kylo would have said something. She would have known somehow. He had let Henne live for some reason unknown to her.

"What made you think that you could go off your own!" Kylo continued his dark eyes seething over her. "Have you become so arrogant as my Empress you think you can just go wherever you please. That you somehow hold this incredible ability to be left so defenseless?!"

"I was planning on coming back," Falynn weakly tried to explain. "I...I know what I did was wrong. I am sorry. I thought I needed the space. I didn't mean to inconvenience you, or put Henne in danger…"

"YOU COULD HAVE FUCKING DIED!" Kylo's voice roared as he spun his body blasting a large wooden dresser that had been against the wall.

Falynn watched wide-eyed as shards of shattered wood exploded into the air. Back now turned to her Falynn watched as Kylo took in steady breaths the muscles in his back moving with him.

"It is not about the inconvenience," Kylo's whispered harshly. "I told you to stay by my side while we were on Dantooine. And you didn't listen, therefore putting your life in danger, and setting back out plans. This time you will listen and you will stay where I tell you to stay and do what I tell you to do. That way…" his shoulders dropped. "I know you are safe."

Without another word, Kylo left the room slamming the door behind him. She could hear his footsteps down the hall. Sitting up now that Kylo was gone, Falynn took another look around the room. Her eyes stopped when they landed on his helmet that was on a small table by the bed, and his black cape that was draped over a small desk.

This was Kylo's room.

The room he had planned for them to stay in.

Laying back down on her back Falynn covered her face with both of her hands, as more tears began to fall.

She had messed up.

Falynn had possibly damaged any trust in her and Kylo's relationship and she wasn't sure if there was a way to fix it.


Kylo stood in the glass-encased garden staring up at the tree that stretched up beyond the glass. He had lost his temper without tending to. His plan was to apologize to her, it had taken him aback when Falynn had apologized first. He hadn't been expecting her to, he hadn't been expecting her to look at him with such a pleading and grateful look in her eyes. He hadn't wanted her to look at him that way, no he wanted her to look at him with distaste and distrust. That would have been easier, that way he could have least known why she had decided to lie and go off on her own. There was no explanation on it unless it was just Falynn being ignorant. Seeing her body bandaged up, the color gone from her skin made something inside of him snap. He was used to seeing Falynn with that fire, that strong will. He wasn't used to seeing her look so defeated. So fragile. It made him realize that perhaps that he was putting her in more dangerous places than he should be. At the same time, he realized that keeping her with him was still the best option for her safety. He had been training her to become stronger and more polished in her fighting skills, so she could fare well against these situations, but now he was even hesitant to do that. After seeing the bruises he had inflicted on her himself…Kylo wasn't sure what he needed to do anymore. What he had to do, or how to even handle the feelings that began growing inside of him. Feelings that he was trying to push down.

Feeling a presence Kylo turned his head to see General Jase's grim face looking at him through the glass. With a sigh Kylo turned away from the tree, grateful for a sudden distraction. Closing the glass door behind him General Jase bowed his head towards Kylo.

"I heard the news, my lord," the general spoke solemnly. "How is our Empress?"

"They said it will be a couple of weeks at least," Kylo replied. "She is resting now. No fatal damage. What is the news on the Resistance?"

The general's soft expression hardened as he answered. "There is no sign of the Resistance on Dantooine, my lord. I fear that we missed them."

Shit.

They were further behind than Kylo had believed. How long ago had they missed them? He hadn't expected them to leave so quickly. Apparently whatever had been on that ship hadn't been important enough for them to stay. They would have to move quickly to their next location. Meaning Kylo would have to leave Falynn behind...or they would have to go without him.

He hated himself for what he was about to say.

Pushing down the frustration, and keeping a calm face Kylo nodded. "Call for some light cruisers. My command shuttle will stay stationed on Dantooine until my wife is fully recovered. You and most of the troops will fly to Geonosis. We will meet with you there. I trust that you can keep everyone in line in my absence."

General Jase bowed his head again. "Of course, my lord. I will send out a message right away." Giving a deeper bow the general quickly straightened up as he headed down the hall.

Dantooine had ended up being a complete failure in more ways than one. The Resistance was proving to be a step further than he had given them credit for.

He couldn't allow the next course of action to be a mistake.

This time everything would be on a tight least.