Chapter Three~ Whispers in the Dark

The several nights later, Norra found herself tossing and turning in her bed. Her father's words echoed in her mind, taunting her as they had nights before. Finally, she got tired of not being tired and kicked her blankets off. She slipped her feet into some comfortable slippers, shoved her arms into a robe, and left the room. Seeing as it was such a large ship, there were always personnel in the halls, and most of them continued on with their duties without even sparing her a glance. A few caught her in their line of sight and stared at her strangely. She just ignored them. Retracing her steps from the day before and found what she was looking for. Just like that day, there were no lights on in the observation deck. The only light came from the stars and the ship.

She sighed, moving to sit in the window's padded sill and stare out into the inky blackness, dotted with little points of light. Drawing her knees up to her chest, she let a few tears fall. She had long since learned to not cry in front of people, least of all her father. Her mother had been adamant about not showing weakness. To anyone. She always told Norra, 'Let the tears fall, but never let the bastards see them.' Sniffling, she leaned her head back against the wall, lolling it so her forehead lay against the window. She had been stuck in her room for the better part of a week, with almost no contact with anyone but her attendants. It was just like back home, just without her mother or younger siblings to keep her company. Even as a daughter of one of the highest officials, she was still isolated. Partially by choice. If she kept to herself, she couldn't hear the nasty things people said about her, her mother, and younger sister.

The door beeped and opened so suddenly she nearly fell off her perch. She spun around, then turned her head back away to hide her face and wipe it when she saw who it was. "What are you doing here?"

Kylo stared at her for a moment, letting his eyes adjust, before entering the room and letting the door close behind him. "I like to come here when I can't sleep." He lowered himself onto the sill across from her. "What about you?" She didn't answer him, but continued to look away. That's when he noticed the shine on her cheeks. "Are you ok?"

Standing abruptly, she turned to leave. "I'm fine. I'm sorry. I'll leave you." Norra stopped suddenly when a warm hand gently grasped hers. He wasn't wearing gloves tonight.

"You can stay, if you like. I wouldn't mind the company." He pulled her back, turning her to face him. He caught sight of a single glistening tear hanging on her chin. He was barely shorter than her sitting down, so he didn't have to reach much when he caught it before it fell. She looked at him in disbelief that he had suddenly touched her face. "Will you stay?" he asked softly.

In that second, Norra didn't see the hardened warrior that destroyed equipment or killed men when he was angry. She didn't see the scheming man who was eager to take down an enemy. She saw a young boy, someone who had been alone for a very long time. His eyes were large, and dark, and open. He looked at her as if he were afraid she would pull away and tell him off. He seemed to be holding his breath as he waited for her to make a decision. Instead of solidifying his fears, she allowed him to guide her back to her seat, as she had the first night she had been there. He leaned forward, still holding her hand.

"What happened?" he asked her, eyes boring into her.

She shook her head. "It's nothing." Swiping at her face with her free hand, she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

"No, it's not." He stated simply. She could feel that strange sensation again.

"Get out of my head!" she spat suddenly, shaking his hand off and shooting up, striding away in quick steps. Norra wrapped her arms around herself, shoulders hunched.

"I'm sorry!" he said quickly. "I...I don't know how to do this."

There was a pain in his voice that made her turn back around. "Do what?"

Hanging his head, he raised his steepled hands to his face, thumbs pressing into his eyes. "Trusting someone. It's not something I've learned how to do. I'm so used to taking whatever I want from someone's mind, because there's always the chance that they're lying. Just like you're doing, right now." He raised his head to look at her. "But I don't have to be inside your head to see that you're hurting. I just want to know why."

"What does it matter to you?" turning her back to him, she gasped quietly, attempting to keep her tears under control. Damn, why was she so emotional? Back home she hardly ever cried, having been taught well by her mother to be strong at all times.

"It matters," he responded softly, "because we are, unfortunately, stuck in this together. I thought, as such, we could try to trust one another. Maybe even become friends."

Friends, she thought. She hadn't ever really had friends. "I don't know how."

He let out a small laugh. The sound made her turn. He had a rueful smile on his face. When he saw her staring at him, he opened his hands, shrugging. "Neither do I. I've been training since I was a boy, and for the last five years, I've been with the First Order. Not exactly great circumstances for making friends." His eyes followed her as she sat back down. "What's your excuse?"

It took her a moment to answer. "I wasn't well liked. When you're the daughter of a high ranking official, other girls tend to hate you. Take into account that I have always been...heavier than my classmates, and, well..." she shook her head. "Children are cruel."

"But you're not heavy at all."

Rolling her eyes, Norra told him, "Tell that to my hips."

She wasn't looking at him, or she would have seen the way he bit back what he wanted to say. He wanted to tell her that she was lovely, that the shape of her hips was much preferable to the flat, angular women he saw all over the galaxy. Instead he said nothing. Instead he stood up. Her head raised to see what he was doing. There was a bit of apprehension there, he could see it. She thought he was going to leave.

"Children are stupid." She didn't answer him. "Stand up."

Her eyes widened. "Excuse me."

"You heard me," he reached for her hand again, "Stand up." Hauling her up, she was confused. Even more so when he smiled wickedly at her, right before leaning down and quite literally sweeping her legs out from under her. Norra squealed as she began to fall backwards, only to feel another strong arm under her back. Scrambling to not fall, she grabbed onto his shoulders. "See?" he started walking around the room. "You're not heavy at all."

Her chest was heaving as she responded, "Maybe not to you. You have to Force to help you."

The laugh that came out of him was just as unexpected as the one that she echoed with. "Don't need it. Like I said," he shifted her in his arms, wrapping her a bit tighter as he spun in a circle. "Children are stupid. You aren't heavy at all." She could feel the pull of his muscles under his shirt where her hands held tight. He wasn't lying. "I wouldn't lie to you," he whispered, his voice so deep that it seemed barely there. His fingers tightened against her ribs and thigh. Norra's breath caught in her throat, as she was unable to look away from him. It seemed very much that he was in the same predicament, not even blinking as he examined her face.

Coming back to herself rather suddenly, Norra blinked, realizing the situation they were in and how much trouble she would be in if they were found like this. She started squirming. "Um, do you mind to put me down, please?"

His face fell, and he began to stutter. He lowered her feet to the ground, then straightened back up. "Sorry. That was out of line."

"No, no, it's ok. Thank you." He nodded awkwardly. "You have a beautiful smile." His head shot up, eyes wide. "I haven't heard you laugh before."

"To be honest...I think that's the first time I've laughed in years."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Really?"

He shrugged, "Haven't had a reason to. So, I guess, thank you for that."

"Well," rubbing her neck, she made her way to the door, "I should probably go to bed. Goodnight, Kylo."

"Ben."

She stopped, hand outstretched for the panel. Turning back to him, she asked, "Ben?"

"Kylo Ren hasn't always been my name. I was born Ben Solo."

"Solo? As in Han Solo? The Rebelion general?" she stopped when she saw the face he was making. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize...why?" her head tilted in question.

"Because, I feel like you should at least know who I really am. Where I come from. I want to be honest with you."

"Again, why?"

"Because you're the first person who hasn't been afraid of me."

The weight of that statement cut deep. Her breath became shallow as she processed what he had said. This was someone who had no one. He may have thought he had his master, but it had become abundantly clear to her that he still felt alone. Returning to stand before him, she reached up with one hand. He shied away at first, not knowing what she was doing, and it broke her heart for him. How long had it been since he had known a gentle hand? Norra continued her path, and laid her hand on his cheek, softly, barely there. His eyes slid shut at the sensation, and he pressed his face into her hand with a wavering sigh.

She gently pulled him down closer to her while standing on her toes. She put her cheek to his and held him there for a moment. He returned the gesture by haltingly placing his arms around her, hands shaking against her shoulder blades. "Goodnight...Ben." She placed a quick peck on his cheekbone, then extracted herself and left the room.

He stood motionless for a while, reveling in the memory of her touch. Everywhere she had touched tingled with warmth. Was this what it was to be considered a friend? Or more? Kylo briefly considered going to Snoke to ask, but balked at the thought as soon as he did. Snoke had already made it clear that to connect yourself to someone was to create a distraction and to give the enemy fodder against you. Oddly enough, this was one of the tenants of the original Jedi order that Snoke had adopted for himself and his apprentice.

God, she had smelled so good. Her hair had been so soft where it had touched his face. And he hadn't been lying at all when he told her she wasn't heavy. Maybe it was because of just how completely tiny she was compared to him, but it was as if she weighed almost nothing in his arms. He felt like, if he wanted to, he probably could have encircled her waist with both his hands, she was so slight. He looked back on the thoughts he had been bombarded with just before he had opened the door to the observation deck. She may not have thought so, but she really was an open book. There was no hiding how she was feeling. Her thoughts were too loud for that.

He went to sit back in his spot at the window, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his clasped hands against his lips.

She had been tormented, not only by the cruel people of high society, but by her own father. He had been the leader in all of her self-image issues over the years. And the thought of a father speaking to his child in such a way, especially one who had done nothing but play the good daughter, made his blood boil. He treated her as if she were a disgrace to the family, even though she had done absolutely nothing to deserve it. How could anyone have ever been cruel to someone like her?

Maybe there were things his hadn't seen, things she kept hidden away, that might have told him why she was treated like this.

No, he decided. The girl has no guile. She wears her emotions on her sleeve for the world to see. There was only one way he would get to know the real Telnorra Okenda.

He had an idea of what he had to do.

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Norra had taken up sewing.

Well, not really taken it up. Her mother had been teaching her how to sew since she was little, along with knitting. So, she knew how to, but this was the first time she'd decided to sew anything in at least a year.

Her favorite gown was ripped at the hem. As such, she decided it was time to embellish it a little. Instead of just taking regular thread of the same or similar color to just close up the rip, she was using gold thread to create the effect of falling autumn leaves across the bottom of the skirt, starting with the area that was ruined. As she worked, she fell into a bit of a trance. There was nothing but her work. For once, her thoughts were not a whirlwind of emotion and pain. Instead they were like the lake behind her home on a beautiful sunny day. There was just the barest breeze that lifted the stray hairs, and rippled the water. She imagined the leaves that had turned yellow falling from the trees into the water as she sat beneath them. She could smell the water, felt the bark beneath her back and the mud between her toes. It was like she was back home, where she wanted to be. Not on the ship of hateful people that were bent on destroying everything that stood in their way.

But did she really want to be home? Yes, it was a comfortable life, but there were all the people who talked about her behind her back. There were ladies that whispered to her mother about how she was so much bigger than their daughters. There were the men that crowed to her father about their girls already being married off. There were her peers that had thrown things at her as a child, and threw insults at her as an adult. The only person that never said one sideways word to her had been her mother.

She was broken out of her reverie by the whoosh of her door opening. She heard the stomping of boots, and before she even saw who it was that had come in, she was backhanded across the face, causing her be knocked sideways into the table that she was sitting at. A cry left her lips as she hit the table with her ribs, steadying herself with a hand on it, and one on her face. She was bleeding from a cut on her cheek where his ring had sliced it. Through the tears, she saw her father standing there, red-faced and fuming.

"Treacherous little bitch!" spittle flew from his mouth.

"Father, wha-"

Another slap across her mouth. This time, she felt her bottom lip split open. "No, you do not speak. You speak poison through those fat little lips of yours." He grabbed her hair, forcing her to look at him. "What the hell did you say to him?"

"Who?!" she struggled to release herself from his grip, but he had his fingers tight around her tresses.

"Lord Ren!" he shook her. "He's sending me away. What did you say to him? Hm? I have given you everything your entire useless life! And what has it gotten me?! Not a damn thing, you little brat." Hauling her up by her hair, Forlo used his larger size to toss her to the floor. Her head bounced against the metal, causing her vision to go fuzzy for a moment. She felt her father grabbing her arm, but didn't hear what he was saying.

Suddenly, he was gone. All she heard was gurgling. Focusing her eyes, she saw her father standing there, gasping, grabbing at his throat like he was choking.

"Get away from her." A familiar voice came from the doorway.

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Kylo generally didn't have much to do on the ship besides prowl around and watch the men do their job. So, when he suddenly felt something as he walked through the halls, he stopped. There were always feelings all around him, as there were so many people on the Finalizer. But this was different. This was the same energy he had felt while waiting for Snoke. This time, he managed to focus in on it. And what he felt made his eyes fly open and sent him running. His feet pounded against the tiles as he flew past confused personnel. He was following the energy, but in order to do so, he had to get into a lift. The seemingly snail's pace the contraption went at made him fidget. It was only a few floors up, so what seemed like forever was probably only a minute or so. But he could feel the energy getting more and more painful. He was out the door before it had even completely opened, sliding through the doors as soon as the opening was large enough for him to. Then he was off again down the hall.

He skidded to a stop outside an open chamber door. His blood boiled at what he saw. Throwing a hand up, he made Forlo Okenda drop his daughter's arm and begin clawing at his throat.

"Get away from her." He growled. Using his power, he dragged the man towards him, placing his physical hand right on the man's neck. He made sure he was getting enough oxygen to understand what he was saying. "You are a snake. Lowly and fit for nothing more than being crushed under my boot. That is why I am sending you away. The fact that you have physically attacked your own daughter without provocation has just solidified my decision. You will leave, today and you will never see her again. If you even attempt to contact her, I will have my guards find you and throw you down the deepest snarlacc pit there is. Now," he pulled the man closer to his own face and hissed in his face, "go."

With that, he threw the man out the door and down the hall. He didn't wait to see if the man recovered from his lack of oxygen before he shut the door and turned back to the girl on the floor. She was attempting to pull herself up by a chair. Kylo stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do, before he finally threw himself to his knees beside her, taking hold of her arms to hoist her up. She started fighting him, trying to get away.

"Stop, stop, it's just me." He managed to force her hands away from his face as she thrashed. Upon hearing his voice, she stopped moving. For a second, the only sound was their ragged breathing. Norra turned to him, seeing who it was that held her. When she saw his face, hers contorted, tears started leaking from the corners of her eyes, and she launched herself forward and buried her face in his chest. Kylo's heart jumped to his throat. He could feel her holding back sobs as he tried to figure out what to do. What did one do with a crying girl whose father had just assaulted her? Swallowing thickly, he settled to wrap his arms around her, bringing her closer. "Shh. It's alright. He's gone. He won't be bothering you anymore, I promise." Her head was situated just under his chin, so he turned his face slightly to put his cheek against her hair. "You're alright," he told her as she hiccupped.

Suddenly, she pushed away from him, turning herself so that he could only see her back. "I'm sorry."

Confused, he leaned forward, putting one gloved hand on her shoulder to try to turn her back around. "For what?"

"That you had to intervein. He's never been that bad before."

"That bad? So, he's done something like this before?"

She shook her head, still not looking at him. "No, usually he just yells." She covered her eyes, "I'm so stupid. If I wasn't the way I am, he wouldn't be like that."

That sentence made him angry. That man had so broken her that she believed it was her own fault for something she couldn't control. "Telorra?" she didn't respond. "Norra, look at me," he tried again. She took a deep breath, finally turning her whole body to face him. He cursed under his breath. He took her face in his hands and her eyes closed, sending a new wave of tears down her cheeks. She was bleeding from a cut on her cheek and a spot on her lip that looked like she may have bitten it. With a sigh, he grabbed the com from his belt and called for a med bot to bring a container of bacta salve. Once he had finished that he returned his hand to her face, using his thumb to wipe the salty liquid away. "Are you alright?"

Norra gulped, then nodded. "I'm fine, just a little shaken up."

Kylo narrowed his eyes at her, examining hers. He noticed that her eyes were slightly unfocused. He shifted, running his fingers through her hair. Her eyes closed, reveling in the feeling. At least, until he hit the spot where she had hit the floor, then she hissed. "That's what I thought. Come on," he shifted to stand, helping her up as well. Leading her to the chair she had been sitting in, he lowered her into the seat, then dragging the other chair closer to her. "The droid will be here soon, try not to move so much."

"Me? You're the one dragging me around," she rubbed the spot he had pressed on. "I'm fine."

"I know." Kylo stated simply.

She snorted. "What do you know?"

His mouth turned up in a small smile. "You'd be surprised."

"Not really. Considering you can read minds it wouldn't surprise me at all that you know everything."

"I don't know everything. And I don't read your mind. Your mind screams at me."

Scrunching her eyebrows, she asked, "What do you mean?"

"You have very loud thoughts. Some people do. It seems you're one of them." The door beeped behind him. "Come in," he called. In came the med droid he had called for, carrying a small tin of what she assumed was the bacta.

"You called, sir." It said.

He didn't even look, just reached behind him for the jar. "I'll take that. You can go." The droid did as it was told, and left without arguing.

"Wow," Norra said, "It must be nice to have someone who doesn't question every order."

"They do, sometimes. If they think a human is in critical condition, they won't allow anyone else to touch them. Now, hold still." Shucking his gloves, he turned her face back to him. He examined the cuts for a moment, then looked away to unscrew the lid. He dipped two fingers into the slimy substance, making a face as he did. "I hate this stuff." His hand was gentle as he held her chin to keep her still as he administered the medicine. She grimaced at the feel of it on her face, at the stinging sensation that said it was working. "It's horrible, but it helps. You won't even have a scar." Once he was done with her cheek, he scooped up another small amount, and moved on to her lip. "Give it an hour or so, then it should be done," he told her as he dabbed the bacta on her lip.

Norra didn't say anything, just watched his face as he worked. Was it her, or did he seem to be taking longer than needed? Why was her heart pounding? Surely, he could hear it. His brown eyes met hers, holding them for a second, before he pulled his hands away and began to wipe them on the edge of his robe. "Oh, no, hold on." She shot up out of her chair, stumbling as she did. Kylo caught her with his clean hand. Once she felt she was steady enough, she hurried over to the bathroom and retrieved a cloth. She came back and sat down, took his hand and began to wipe it clean of the bacta.

He watched her closely, taking in the way her eyes flicked over her task, the way her breath fanned over his skin, the way she held his hand softly. She was making sure to get as much of the bacta off him as possible, even going so far as to try to get under his nails. As he watched, he saw tears welling up in her eyes. He stopped her with his other hand over hers. "What's wrong?"

She sniffled. "It's nothing. Just...I'm grateful to you. For being here," she clarified. "And...I'm ashamed that you had to be."

Surprised, he lifted her head by the chin. She didn't look at him. "Why would you be ashamed? It's not your fault that your father is a piece of shit."

"Maybe not. But still, you had to save me. So, thank you." Her eyes raised to meet his, and he knew she was being sincere.

He leaned forward a bit farther. "Any time." And he graced her with a real smile, one that she returned.

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A/N: Yay! Protective, fluffy Kylo. Tell me what you think. I'm getting to the actual movie part, so we'll be seeing Rey soon enough. I haven't quite decided what I'm doing with that yet.

AcaciaDawn