Chapter 8 already. I think there are 4-5 more chapters left.
Thank you for the comment ToughSpirit. I wish I could say this Kylo will come through and redeem himself, but he's just too unhinged. I don't want to say too much :)
Also - I edited heavily on ao3 again so I'm not sure how well this chapter will upload. I need to break that habit x.x
Rey thinks this ordeal will either pass as a terrible blip in the course of her life or it will be the final trauma that breaks her.
She does not know where Kylo's aggressive obsession comes from. She does not know where the obsession with impregnating her comes from. She surmises it is another way for him to subjugate her - to control her mind and body - but she feels his motivation runs deeper.
In his mind he truly wants a family. Does he even know the meaning of the word? He wants to be a father. Rey thinks he views it as another domain to dominate. To create a legacy that will outlast his grandfathers.
She shuffles on the cot in the medic ward. It is only a matter of time before he snaps and forces himself on her - the scene in the bedroom is a reminder of his volatile nature. Men like him never maintain a calm facade for long.
The bedroom.
Rey cringes.
A plan doomed to fail from the start. His lust for her is overwhelming and she fails to harness it to use as a weapon against him.
She simply lacks the experience.
"He has a temper, doesn't he?" The medic angles her face from side to side to examine her lip. After the bacta tank it is merely a formality to check that her lip and wrist heal completely.
The initiation of conversation startles Rey and she does not answer.
She feels the presence of the officers and Knights outside the door that Kylo assigns to her.
"The Supreme Leader will be happy with how you have healed," the medic declares. She tenses when the medic reaches for a syringe. The response does not go unnoticed.
"This will help your anxiety. Help you relax."
Rey does not know why she bothers to jerk back - there is nowhere to run.
"I don't need it."
"You do," the medic slams it into her shoulder. Her body's response is immediate and Rey feels woozy. She hardly registers the officers guiding her to the dark cell. They inform her that she will stay here until the Supreme Leader comes for her.
Time passes slowly. Days and weeks bleed from one to the next.
Rey stays hidden within the darkness of the cell, feeling every beat of her heart pounding on the cold stone she lies on. It is as quiet as it is dark, with only one sound to be heard; the sound of her own pulse throbbing in her ears.
For the first time the silence breaks as the door slowly opens. A narrow stream of light meanders through the room. A shadow follows.
She is scared.
She holds her breath, daring not to make a sound. Each second seems to last an eternity as she lies perfectly still listening to the footsteps of the intruder - of him.
"Rey."
Her eyes widen, breaths ragged and harsh. Her hands tremble at her sides and she can't stop herself - the impulse to flee is too strong. Without thinking Rey wields as much of the force as she can.
She curses the injections that dull her reflexes.
But in her fear and anger she wills Kylo to move, the force whisking him to the side as she rushes for the door.
She does not think of how to get past the Knights - she only thinks of getting away from him and his greedy hands.
It is a feeble attempt.
Rey senses his exertion and he moves fast, full of purpose, in complete silence.
She feels his hot breath on the back of her neck as he takes her down, using his strength and the bulk of his body to wrestle her to the ground.
"Still so feisty," he pulls her up from the floor to face him. "So defiant. If you wanted back into my quarters you only had to say."
"I'd rather stay here than be anywhere near you."
A low growl in his throat.
"Don't try to fight. I don't want you injured again."
Rey feels the tears welling in her eyes. She wishes her emotions did not rise so easily to the surface around him.
"Stop pretending you care about me."
"I do care, Rey," his hands cup her face the way he did in the forest. When she thought he was Ben.
The memory is painful.
"We will be taking smaller ship and embarking to the planet below." Kylo turns her around and lightly pushes her against the cool prison wall. He snaps binders around her wrists.
"Promise me you'll be good." He presses against her gently, his mouth close to her ear.
Rey steels her nerves.
"Promise me, Rey."
She says what he wants to hear.
"I'll be good."
Kylo is logic and cold detachment until he touches her skin. Something not only stirs in him, but takes over his thinking. The rest of the world becomes an unimportant blur that he pushes far into the recesses of his mind.
It is his hope that the stark and lonely prison cell makes her relieved to see him, to spend time with him again.
He moves in close enough for her to feel his body through her clothes as he secures the binders.
All he senses is her fear and alarm.
Tonight she is going to spend the night in his bed whether she wants to or not. Kylo will not push her into anything. He just needs her close now.
But first, their planet excursion.
They are in the Quelli sector of the outer rim descending onto Dathomir. The rumors of Dathomir being strong with the dark side are true. The pulse of the planet spreads through his body like icy liquid metal. He knows Rey feels it too. It coaxes the darkness present in both of them.
Kylo was raised hearing stories of the strange inhabitants on Dathomir. The Kwa, rancors, the Nightsisters.
He knows it is Darth Maul's planet of origin.
Dathomir is a planet decimated by too many years of war and conflict. Kylo is not sure what remains but he intends to raid the ancient dwellings of the Nightsisters. The Witches.
Kylo imagines this is how Hux felt about the Force. Hux considered the force nothing more than trickery and the ability to create illusions. Dark magic and the exact opposite of rational facts and reason.
It is how Kylo feels about the Nightsisters and their so-called powers. It cannot be true witchcraft. All the same, he will confiscate the Shadow Book and find in it something to make Rey permanently his. He does not care if it is the force, magic, a drug - he will bend her to his will.
The hatch opens and the smell of decaying plant matter mingles with the cool and gentle breeze. His troopers feel uneasy and the Knights are intoxicated by the darkness.
The forest they march through is ancient. The trees thick and old, roots twisted. It might once have been filled with bird-song and animals that roamed. But now it is ages past its former glory.
Rey shoots him a worried look.
Kylo prefers it to the scowls she reserves for him.
The occasional streak of sunlight touches the forest floor through the thick canopy. They finally come upon a temple taken over by thick vines.
There is no mistaking it for anything other than the temple of the Nightsisters.
She is going to spend days under him when he finishes with this planet.
"Kylo," the light tilt of Rey's voice turns his head, "Do you feel it? Something isn't right."
She is right to worry. What little freedom he allows her ends here.
"I need to be armed. Just in case. Please."
She dares to ask for a weapon. She is...impossibly demanding.
The Knights and troopers observe their interaction carefully.
"Come here, Rey."
He does feel the strange energy she speaks of. Kylo breathes in sharply before he orders the Knight Blaze to give her one of his two lightsabers. He unlocks her binders.
He feels the unspoken protest of outrage roll through the force from his Knights.
Rey's lips part in shock when the saber is placed in her hand.
"You know that saber comes with a price," Kylo shows her images of what he has in mind. Rey's eyes flicker from the saber to his face.
He bridges the space between them, his hand on the back of her neck.
"Don't be afraid. Think of the forest. Remember how you felt. It will be that way again." He feels Rey quiver under the trace of his fingers on her face. She looks as if he asks her to recall a painful memory. Kylo glares down at her, eyes alight as he gestures for her to walk by his side.
The saber, the grain of trust he gives her has to soften her towards him. She has no choice but to view it as a peace offering.
Kylo is desperate for her to stop grieving her future with him.
He wants this excursion to Dathomir executed quickly.
As they enter the temple Kylo hears an uproar among his troops. He activates his saber and steps in front of Rey to prepare for the onslaught of whatever darkness lurks here.
Instead his eyes drift up to see a ship haul out of hyperspace and into orbit above them.
A resistance ship. There is no reason for them to be here. None at all.
It is impossible.
There is a traitor in his midst.
Kylo senses Rey's equal shock and he barks orders to the stormtroopers.
He is reminded of how utterly foolish his judgement is around Rey. How stupid her pretty face makes him, how his feelings for her make him weak.
He is reminded of all of this as he turns to find her pointing the ignited lightsaber at his chest.