Glitter and Gold
Chapter 11
31 ABY – Anoat System
Every time Vex thought her life couldn't get any worse, she was wrong. You'd think, after a certain point, whoever, whatever, was pulling the strings of fate would think – that's enough, that's beyond what one person can endure. But they didn't.
Vex had begun to wish she could die when she was twelve. At twenty-one, those feelings had only intensified.
Two more babies had come and gone. Each time, Snoke had waited until she was three months along before calling her to the throne room and examining the baby inside her. And killing it when he judged it powerless.
Kylo Ren was only around for part of the time. He was kept at Vex's side until she was pregnant again, and then sent away. Snoke made sure he was always away at the three-month mark. Perhaps Snoke didn't want to test what Kylo would do if he was there at the same time that Snoke murdered their child.
In a year and a half, Vex and Kylo had lost three babies to Snoke. Their relationship had bloomed and consequently began to wither. After all, how much loss could one couple take? They had no freedom, no autonomy over their own lives.
All that held them together was the loss and pain they'd shared. With every baby she lost, Vex felt herself turn from Kylo more and more. He blindly followed Snoke's every directive, even when Vex knew he shared the same pain and reservations she did.
Vex had no choice but to follow the orders Snoke gave. She was a prisoner in her own quarters. She was nothing more than a broodmare now, and the thought of becoming pregnant again made her ill.
It'd been a week since her last baby had been murdered. She'd refused to let Kylo touch her since. Against all odds, he wanted to do his duty. He wasn't unkind to her – he still thought himself in love with her. Vex was the one that had turned.
She wanted to leave, she wanted it to all be over. Vex was backed into a corner – and her instinct was to flee. One way or another.
The only reason she hadn't completely gone mad was her droid project. It was almost complete. The droid was a BB unit customized with caretaking protocols and parts. Vex had given it female programming, naming it EV-9. She'd begun to master binary with EV's head chirping at her as she put the finishing touches on its body.
"Is that so?" Vex said in response to the droid. "What colors were you thinking? I'm open to suggestion,"
EV replied with a series of tweets and chirps.
"Blue and silver? Sounds good to me," Vex said. The droid responded with joyous chirps. "I'll have to send you to an engineer for that part. I doubt I'd do very well painting you myself,"
EV-9 chirped. Vex spun to look at the droid, letting out a scoff.
"That was downright rude, EV!" Vex scolded. "I'll remember that," she warned.
EV let out a long tweet as Kylo Ren's heavy footsteps entered the room. Vex glanced back, smile falling from her lips. "Take a break, Vex. Lunch just came," he said.
Vex sighed, setting her tool down. Without a word, she followed him into the other room. "EV-9 seems nearly complete. You've done well," Kylo said.
"Thanks," Vex said curtly, sitting down on one of the couches in front of the food. She plucked a fruit from the tray, biting into the juicy skin.
Kylo sat beside her, hesitance in every movement. He knew what they needed to do. Vex was refusing – and all he could do was hide this from Snoke. He understood her pain, her depression.
It was different for her. It was her body that grew the child, expelled it after Snoke had killed them. Then she had to recover from that blinding pain only to do it again.
Kylo didn't know what to do. If Vex continued to refuse to do what Snoke had ordered, he'd kill her. He couldn't let that happen. He gnawed on a fruit, determinedly eyeing Vex beside him as she ate.
After a while, she sighed, shoulders slumping. "Just say it, Kylo, I know you want to," she said, putting down the half-eaten fruit.
Kylo sighed, doing the same. "We have to try again, Vex. I know why you're so against it, and I get it, I'm sorry, but we have to,"
Vex simply stared ahead of her for a few minutes before abruptly bursting into tears. Kylo immediately moved to put an arm around her even as she bowed forward as if to fend him off.
"I'm sorry," he said again, leaning forward to press his nose into her fragrant hair.
"He'll only kill the next baby," Vex said between sobs, allowing Kylo to pull her closer.
"I'm sorry," Kylo repeated again. "But he'll kill us both if we don't,"
"I'd rather be dead then," she cried, body going limp in his arms.
This didn't surprise Kylo. But it did make him feel sick to his stomach at the thought. He pulled her closer, pressing desperate kisses to her hair. "No, Vex. No,"
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