Chapter 14

Kylo and Isla stared at each other for several agonizing moments before Isla simply turned her head away from him and shut her eyes. He could see the tears streaming down her face. His eyes searched her face for any signs of continued violence before he slowly reached down and waved his hand across her face sending her into a deep sleep. Her body relaxed beneath him. He knew he needed to stop putting her to sleep whenever she was in his presence but he had a sneaking suspicion the storm troopers wouldn't enter the room if she were conscious. He stared down at her face. Her expression was relaxed and for the first time since...that time..he saw no fear or pain. She looked like the ghost of the girl he had met only days before. But she looked like herself at least, like the strong girl who had taken on the supreme leader in a mental battle and won, the brave girl who attacked him when they first met and beat the tar out of him with a tray...like the little girl who had once loved him and thought of him as her hero...He hesitated before lowering his gloved hand allowing his fingertips to graze the skin of her cheek. He began to lean down towards her bringing his face close to hers...Then he nearly jumped when her head moved in her sleep causing him to shrink away.

He closed his eyes and climbed off of her small form. He braced himself pulling up on one foot and reached down beneath her neck and knees to lift her from the ground. His fears were instantly confirmed that she had not been eating or drinking. She was probably at least ten pounds lighter if not more. He stood there staring down at her broken body. He was the reason, and for some reason that felt more like a lightsaber to the heart than it should have. He should have been proud he had broken an enemy of the first order….and yet…Kylo shook his head and stepped forward then paused. Instead of taking her back to her bed he took her over to the interrogation chair and gently laid her down on it. He secured the straps on her arms and feet before standing again to look at her. If she wouldn't care for herself then he would need to ensure she lived not to harm herself or anyone else...at least until he got the information he needed. He took one final look at her before he picked up his mask and turned to leave. Outside the guards looked at him with concern. The stormtrooper whom Isla had attacked was still there without his helmet. Kylo looked him over before cutting his eyes away and sweeping a hand through his hair.

"The prisoner is secured.." He said plainly. "She has not been eating?"

The stormtrooper took a deep breath before standing straight and looking at his commander.

"No sir.."

"Then I blame you for her condition." Kylo spat.

The soldier winced beneath his glare. He knew this moment was coming. He had done all he could to convince the girl to eat even threatened her. But nothing had worked. He knew those excuses would not work on his commander, so he wouldn't even try to defend himself.

"Of course sir..," he said quietly before lifting his chin up. "I submit myself for disciplinary action."

Kylo Ren sucked in a deep breath that caused the stormtrooper to instantly flinch and close his eyes waiting for his imminent death. But it did not come.

"That will not be necessary." Kylo said quietly.

The stormtrooper cracked one eye.

"Get the medical team down here to hook her up to nutrience pods. If she won't eat then we will have to ensure she lives long enough to give us the information we need, whether she wants to or not." Kylo said before stepping forward.

The storm trooper opened both eyes and released his breath in relief. He had very nearly soiled himself….again.

"Yes sir...right away sir." He replied looking at the other guards who also dropped their shoulders showing their relief that he hadn't been brutally murdered right before their eyes.

Kylo walked a few more steps before pausing again.

"And soldier…" He said barely turning his head to look over his shoulder.

All three stormtroopers tensed again. The one stormtrooper held his breath as he looked at Kylo's back.

"Sir?"

"When the medical team gets down here..get yourself checked as well…" He said before moving on down the corridor.

The three stormtroopers just stared after him before looking at each other in shock.

Kylo sat in his chambers staring off into the vast blackness of space. It had been three days since the attack and he had only returned once to check on the prisoner. The medical team had put her into an induced coma so they could care for her without her waking up. They washed her and dressed her wounds which he was told would unfortunately leave scars but would probably heal over time. They had also given her new clothing before hooking her up to the nutrition pods that would supply her hydration and nutrients. She already looked much better even in that short time. So he had left her alone. It was better that way. She was at peace in her dreamless slumber, and he was at least at some peace not hearing her thoughts. He knew it wouldn't last forever. Sooner or later his master would demand an update and sooner or later he would have to face her.

The lightspeed of his ship had finally been fixed and had taken them to their destination the planet of Ahch-to. Unfortunately as he feared scans of the planet showed no signs of Luke or Rey. They were already gone. He had taken his anger out in his normal fashion with his lightsaber. Then he had escaped to his room where he now sat fuming. His mother would have told him to suck it up and to stop pouting had she seen his behavior...if she could only see him now. Kylo shook his head. He had to figure out his next move. Even though Snoke had been able to glean other possible locations of Skywalker's wearabouts, if he weren't careful Kylo knew he could end up spending all of his time searching the galaxy looking for Skywalker and Rey..and time was of the essence.

Kylo leaned forward in his seat and placed his head in his hands rubbing his temples. He knew what he had to do, but that didn't make it any easier. He was angry because this shouldn't be an issue! He should easily be able to extort whatever he wanted from her. She was a traitor..and beneath him..and the enemy..AND HIS SLAVE! Kylo winced thinking of that word moving to pinch the bridge of his nose. He really hated that word. No, she was not a slave. She couldn't be owned by anyone, not like him… Suddenly a transmission came over the communicator in his room.

"Sir?" the voice asked.

"What is it?" Kylo demanded not wanting to be bothered.

"We wanted to inform you that we are waking the prisoner up. The medic bot has cleared her she had no more need for the nutri-pods and if she continues to use them she will only be wasting valuable resources needed for the storm troopers in case of battle."

Kylo was quiet for a moment trying to determine if his sanity and peace were worth the resources being used to keep her asleep. But then he thought better of it the sooner awake she was the sooner he could get the information.

"Very well," He said gruffly and turned back to the window as the communicator beeped signaling it was off.

Kylo immediately started thinking through his day and all of the things he needed to do. He didn't have time to go and see Isl-the prisoner, he corrected his thought. He was the commander of this ship. He had to listen to the first officer give an update on the ship. He needed to make contact with his master and the fleet. He needed to go down to the island where Luke had lived to see if there were anything to give clues as to where he had taken the girl. He needed to practice to maintain his fighting abilities. By his grandfather, he needed to eat his breakfast. There was no way he had time to waste on a simple prisoner that was of no account to him.

Suddenly he sensed her consciousness coming back and without another thought he immediately turned around and grabbed his helmet from its place before walking out the door. A second later a black gloved hand appeared in the room again causing his lightsaber to fly from its pedestal across the room into his outstretched hand. The door closed just behind his hand as he pulled back and turned with a huff. He clipped the lightsaber into his belt before storming down the hall putting his mask on as he went.

—-

Isla's eyes opened to the blinding light of her prison cell. She blinked allowing her eyes to adjust to the light. She looked around realizing she was strapped to the interrogation chair again. Well that would explain the stiffness. But overall she had to say that she wasn't feeling that bad, much better than the last time she had been awake. Her mind replayed the events of what had taken place the last time she was awake and she couldn't help but feel bad for the storm trooper she had attacked. They were simpletons to be sure. But he hadn't deserved that. He was only taking orders.

Her mind played through the rest of the events and she inwardly winced at her behavior. She could honestly say that she had never gone to as dark of a place as that. She hoped never to go to that place again if she could help it. Then her thoughts fell on him. She pictured him standing in the doorway. Her body reacted instantly beginning to tremble. She began to feel dirty and disgusting again. She wished she had used that broken glass to stab him in the neck.

But then….she remembered his face without the mask….she knew that face. She would know that face anywhere. It was him. She had begun to wonder if maybe it wasn't. Yes, it was older and his hair longer, and he was paler and his face was covered with a scar. But…it was him...Ben...her Ben. Her heart began to race in her chest. It was his eyes. Those beautiful dark eyes that were the same as the boy she had loved so long ago. A small smile played at the edges of her mouth as images of him as a child played through her mind. He would get annoyed with her following him around and push her down. She would cry as he stormed off only to come back moments later to pick her up and give her a hug apologizing over and over. She had always loved Ben hugs.

Isla's expression darkened. Too bad he wouldn't do that again. He was now Kylo Ren...a monster. She never wanted him to touch her again. Tears welled in her eyes as her anger grew. They had been right. She had just thrown her life away for a monster who didn't remember her and who would do such atrocities. She should have known. Isla began to struggle at her bonds as a new resoluteness grew within her. She would not die like this, she refused. Her mother and grandmother had taught her to be strong. She felt ashamed for how close she had come to throwing away her life. She had gone through this exact same terror before as a child. She would not give that monster or that bastard Snoke the satisfaction of taking her own life, or keeping her as a slave or using her to betray the people she loved. She thought of all the people who had taken care of her and trained her. She would not dishonor them by giving up. She had to find a way out.

Suddenly and Isla's eyes snapped up her expression becoming one of fury as a figure stepped through the door.