Glitter and Gold
Chapter 32
34 ABY – The Supremacy
After only a few hours, Creel had decided he wanted her clean and new again. Soft. Young. Vex's many scars only served to remind him of her apparently advanced age. He'd taken her back to the sick bay and questioned the doctors on how to rid her of them. They'd been reluctant to answer, after how they'd seen how Vex's eyes were wide with fear.
"After so many years, the scars won't simply go away with topical treatments. The only way to remove them would be to remove any layers of skin affected. It would weeks to heal," one said.
There was a terrible glint to Creel's eye as he leaned forward. "And with the aid of a bacta tank?" he inquired.
"No! Creel-" Vex tried to say, only to watch his hand stray towards the band around his wrist. Her mouth clapped shut, filled with a sudden fear of the device around her neck that not only rendered her defenseless but also delivered paralyzing electric shocks on demand.
"Days, maybe? It's hard to say without knowing for sure how deeply the scars run,"
"Start now," Creel ordered, getting to his feet and adjusting his robes.
"Lady Vex, come this way and we'll get you comfortable before giving you a sedative," a female doctor - new, by the looks of it, said as the others moved to ready their materials.
Slowly, Vex began to rise, a heaviness in her stomach. It was beginning – she felt it. Darkness – fear, welling up within her. Vex was filled with the urge to scream.
"No." Creel said suddenly.
"Sir?" the woman asked.
Creel glanced from Vex to the doctor, a smile quirking at the corner of her mouth. "There will be no sedative. Lady Vex will remain awake," he explained, quite matter-of-factly.
"That would be torture, sir," the doctor pointed out.
Creel turned his gaze back to Vex, as the blood drained from her face. "You're right. Vex, will you reconsider? Shall we go to the Supreme Leader and tell him what he wishes to know? Give him what he wants?" he asked, giving her a way out.
Vex glared at him, getting to her feet. "No." she refused, stepping past him to follow the doctor.
"As you wish," Creel said faintly, hands clasping before him. A smile played at his lips, as if he'd known her answer already.
The doctor guided her into another room to undress, her hands trembling all the while.
"Don't fight it," the woman whispered to Vex as she laid down on the surgery table. "Let the pain pull you under. If you fight it, it'll only be worse," the doctor said as she tied the restraints to Vex's limbs.
Vex said nothing, her cheek pressing against the padded table. She remained quiet through all the prep – the sharp looking instruments, the many bandages – the cold press of them cleaning her.
There was a window to the room. Creel stood on the other side, his pale eyes watchful. Vex resolved herself to endure this. She had no choice – betray Poe, betray her son, and this could stop.
But yet, there was no guarantee Creel wouldn't insist on this torture anyway. To make her more desirable to him, which was the worst part. Not only was this torture, but Creel also did it for his own benefit. To make Vex fit the perfect image he'd created of her.
A sex toy.
He'd already shorn her hair. Where before Vex's hair had been long and full of curls, now it only fell to her chin. The last time she'd had hair this short was when she was twelve. When Creel had last molested her.
He was trying to turn back the clock.
Make her into his little victim again. Turn her back into Snoke's mindless slave.
Vex would never be that again. Even if it meant this. Even if it meant never seeing her son, or Poe again.
Even if it meant her death.
She tensed as a scalpel was pressed to her shoulder. "Give in," the woman whispered again. Vex's teeth gritted together as the scalpel began to drag through her skin.
It was only seconds before Vex began to scream.
34 ABY – The Millennium Falcon
Han Solo hadn't known what to think when his beloved ship had come back into his grasp again. Even with two troublesome young people – and an odd droid – stowing away.
Finn and Rey. BB-8.
He was taking them to Takodana. To Maz, who'd surely know what to do. Han wasn't sure of either of Finn or Rey, both of them reminding him so strongly of people he'd once known.
Han could hear them whispering even now, his ears catching KYLO REN and VEX. Han swiveled in the chair, surprising the two. Chewbacca howled, keeping the controls.
"Alright, now what is so damn interesting?" Han questioned. "All this whispering – pst, pst – is driving me nuts!"
The braver of the two, Rey, piped up, eyes bright with intrigue. "Finn was telling me about Vex Valorum," she said.
"Who's that?" he questioned.
"The Reaper," Finn answered.
"Why would you want to talk about her?" Han said, leaning back in his chair as he pictured the villain.
"Well, it's fascinating!" Rey babbled. "She went missing three years ago – joined the Resistance, Finn says!"
"Really?"
"Yeah, Poe told me." Finn said sourly.
"But Kylo Ren just captured her, on Jakku! Finn said he took her to Snoke!"
A glimmer of guilt hit Han. His son. Forcing that poor woman back. "How do you know that?" Han questioned.
"I was undercover on the Finalizer. For the Resistance," Finn said, eyes darting back and forth uncertainly. "She stole something from Snoke. He wants it back – or otherwise they'd have just killed her,"
Han leaned forward. "What did she steal?" he asked.
Finn and Rey mirrored him, leaning in close. It was clear by the girl's expression that Finn hadn't gotten that far in his story yet.
"I don't know for sure, but they say Snoke wanted an heir, through Lady Vex. When she fell pregnant, they say she ran away and hid her child away in the furthest reaches of the galaxy, somewhere Snoke would never find it," Finn explained.
"Smart girl," Han said, a spark of sympathy in his chest for the woman. "Did Snoke father the child?"
"No," Finn says. "Lady Vex, Reaper, was Kylo Ren's partner. They say he fathered her child,"
34 ABY – The Finalizer
Kylo Ren was at a crossroads. Between his duty to the First Order and his worry for Vex. For his son.
He knew, without a doubt, in his very marrow, that Vex would never break. That she would never betray their son's location. Or, rather, where it would be found. That she would die first, enduring unspeakable pain.
Kylo Ren expected that even now, she must be suffering much. But with that Creel collar, she was kept completely cut off the Force.
He couldn't even sense her. Could not lend her strength to help her endure. Reassure himself that she still lived.
But now he couldn't. Now Kylo Ren didn't know if all they'd worked for was gone.
Review, Please.
Thanks to my reviewers last chapter - Mstngsali1! You're the best!
and Victoria Pontmercy - thank you so much! That means so much!
Thoughts?
Much love, Suz Singer.