A/N - Welcome back! Hope you enjoy this chapter of Captive!

"It's a shower."

Rey jumped in surprise, spinning at the sound of the purred words. Kylo was leaning casually in the doorway of the bathroom, his arms folded over his broad chest. He looked her up and down, and she took a small step back, her bare heel coming into contact with the cool bottom of the contraption that he had just labeled a shower. It was different than the massive tub in his room as it was a small stall with a distorted glass door making it impossible to see through it clearly.

He strode unhurriedly toward her, his large body powerful and graceful as he moved with the eerie agility she'd come to know him for. Rey tilted her head back as she gazed at him in silent awe. She hadn't seen him since last night, but she realized now that she hadn't imagined his handsome features, made only more prominent by the scar she had left him with, or the gentleness with which he regarded her despite their status as enemies.

He stopped before her, placing his hand against the wall beside her head as he reached around her with the other. Despite herself, a strange tingling took hold of her body, and she found herself having to fight the urge to move closer.

He killed Han Solo, she reminded herself, even as her traitorous fingers twitched with the sudden need to feel him. He almost killed Finn.

Rey jumped in surprise, moving away from the strange contraption as water suddenly sprayed out of the faucet, wetting the back of her bare legs. She turned, and incredulity filled her as she stared at the water shooting from the nozzle above her. Kylo turned the two handles below it, gradually adjusting the flow and heat of the water.

"Amazing," she whispered. So many ways to bathe.

"I suppose it is."

She jolted when she felt his hand within her hair, tenderly undoing her three bun hairstyle, running his fingers through to untangle it. She turned toward him, unable to speak as he wrapped it leisurely around his finger. She couldn't move away from him, couldn't reach up to tug her hair back. She could only stand in silent surprise as he coiled it halfway around his finger before lifting his gaze to her again.

"You'll enjoy it."

For a moment she had no idea if he meant it was him she would enjoy, or if it was the shower. And at the moment, she didn't care.

Captivity was doing strange things to her.

Then, his finger unraveled from her hair and he took a small step back.

"I have sent for some more clothes."

"That's not necessary," She told him, greatly preferring her own clothes to whatever monstrosities were delivered this time.

"You're my guest, and as such, you will be afforded the luxuries of a guest."

"I'm a guest now, am I?" She quirked an eyebrow as she studied him.

"You are whatever I choose for you to be," He growled back. Despite the fact that the heat of the water was rapidly warming the room, Rey felt a chill race down her spine. Every warm feeling she had been experiencing washed out of her as she was slapped in the face with the cold reality of her life. "For however long I choose for you to be."

Her clothes were beginning to cling to her body from the steam that was filling the room. Her heel connected with the bottom of the shower again as he leaned closer to her.

"Being a guest isn't really such a bad thing, is it, Rey?" He murmured.

She was finally able to breathe again as he took a small step back. He was playing with her, she knew it, but to her utter disgrace she was ashamed to realize that she couldn't help but feel some strange, horrific form of attraction to the monster before her.

She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the tangled coil of emotions wrapping around her, but she found that she could only stare wordlessly up at him as he continued to lean over her, his hand resting just centimeters from her head.

She was almost certain that his gaze was fixed upon her mouth.

The distinctive beeping of a droid brought their attention to the door, where it deposited a pile of clothes as well as some bottles of soap.

Kylo walked over to the droid, examining the clothes. He nodded with satisfaction, before eyeing the heels warily.

"No heels," He ordered, and Rey breathed a sigh of relief as the droid beeped in understanding and rolled away. Then he was gone, leaving her alone in the bathroom.

Rey cleaned herself thoroughly before examining the articles of clothing she would no doubt be expected to wear this time.

She was pleased to find a set of comfortable leggings and a loose green tunic, which she donned happily. Her feet remained blessedly bare.

Rey silently slipped through the luxurious room she had spent last night in, then the small sitting room before it, and finally back into the main room. Kylo was standing before one of the bay windows, looking down at the gardens. His hands were folded behind his back as he rocked leisurely on his heels.

"I had some food brought up for you."

Rey had already noticed the heaping mounds of food piled upon the tray in the middle of the room. Her mouth watered as her stomach rumbled eagerly, and loudly. She'd never seen so many fantastic looking things in her life. She remained frozen for a moment, uncertain of what to do as she gazed upon the cheese, fruits, breads, and meats piled upon the tray. It was enough to feed her on Jakku for at least a few weeks, as she had learned how to eat scarcely and survive on very little. In fact, Rey couldn't remember a day when she hadn't gone to sleep at least a little hungry.

This might very well be her first.

"Rey?" She turned toward Kylo, blinking rapidly as her stomach continued to rumble loudly. So loudly in fact, that she was embarrassingly certain he could hear it. He stared at her for a prolonged moment. "You're hungry. You need to eat."

She nodded mutely, but she couldn't bring herself to step up to that heaping tray, not when so many others would be going hungry today. For the first time she allowed her thoughts to turn to her friends. It had hurt too much to think about them before, and exhaustion had blessedly dragged her rapidly under last night before she'd had the chance to dwell on their loss.

Poe would be worried sick about her, half crazed with the loss of her and Finn. Leia was probably devastated, though she would continue to move stoically onward, burying her misery. They would immerse themselves in plans, future attacks, and their resentment and hatred for the First Order would fester until it consumed them, as it had consumed so many others.

Rey shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself as she fought against the tears of despair that threatened to spill. She was staring at Kylo, but she couldn't see him through the waves of loss that swamped her.

And then there was Finn. Poor Finn, trapped somewhere within this town, with some officer that Rey highly doubted was being as kind to him as Kylo was being to her.

The faint touch upon her arm caused her to jump slightly. Her hands fisted as she instinctively sought to fight off her offender, but she managed to catch herself before she launched a punch at him. She expected his kindness would vanish if such a thing happened and though she'd never expected to live long she most certainly didn't have a death wish.

She blinked the man before her into focus, struggling not to let him see just how lost and alone she felt right now.

"I wasn't thinking last night," He admitted. "I'm not used to having anyone around for more than an hour or two. You have to eat. I know you're hungry."

Her traitorous stomach rumbled again in eager response to his words. She almost refused the food, but refusing something that might aid her in the end was simply frown deepened, and his concern became apparent.

He led her to one of the sofas and settled her upon it before turning to the tray. Rey watched in awe as he heaped a plate high with food. She was certain that he had never done this for anyone; she couldn't understand why he was doing it for her, or why he had even rescued her from the First Order officer yesterday.

She speculated if he'd ever reveal his reason for claiming her, but she doubted it.

He turned back to her and handed her the overflowing plate. There were foods on it that she didn't even recognize.

She stared at it for a moment before he handed her a napkin and a fork. She twisted the fork in her hand as she inspected it. She'd seen them before, had even used them a few times, but she wasn't well versed in the art of using a utensil. She much preferred her fingers, but she had a feeling that the use of her fingers wouldn't be overly accepted here.

He placed a smaller tray over her lap, and then lightly placed the plate on top of it. Rey's hands were trembling as she moved the fork awkwardly in her grasp. She stabbed at some of the fruit before successfully spearing it with the strange utensil. She itched to dive into the heaping plate of goodies, but forced herself to at least try to appear civilized in this grand place.

Kylo placed a glass of some orange colored liquid beside her.

"What is that?" She inquired, heat coloring her face as she realized she had forgotten to swallow her food before she spoke.

He didn't acknowledge her breach in manners though, but instead sat on the sofa beside her.

"Orange juice. We grow the trees within the gardens and greenhouses." He explained. Rey lifted it, sniffed suspiciously at it, and then cautiously took a sip. The liquid was cool, sweet, and refreshing. She downed the rest of the glass in one swallow. "You approve?"

She smiled tremulously at him in thanks as he leaned over to refill her glass. She studied him questioningly; she was unable to understand why he was doing this for her, why he was being so kind to his enemy, a member of the Resistance. Maybe some sort of convoluted plot to turn her to his side?

She didn't dare ask him though - she didn't think he would appreciate her mentioning it. Instead, she decided to simply enjoy the delicious meal she had been handed.

She dug in with renewed gusto, and somewhere along the way she even forgot that he was watching her as she repeatedly helped herself to more of the delicious concoctions upon the large tray. Her stomach was bloated, but delightfully full for the first time ever, when she finally pushed her plate aside, wiped her mouth on her napkin, and sighed contentedly.

"Are you full now?" His voice was tinged with amusement. A half smile curled his upper lip as he watched her.

Rey refused to feel any embarrassment for eating almost half of the copious amounts of food on the tray. It was more than she normally would have consumed in three days.

If there was one thing she learned as a scavenger, it was to take what you can get when you can get it, because you never know when you'd have another opportunity.

"Yes."

"Good. I have to go out for a bit. If you need anything just ring for one of the women servants. They will get anything you need," He paused. "There are also multiple troopers stationed outside your door. Do not consider escape."

Rey recoiled; she struggled to keep her face impassive and her outrage hidden as she was starkly reminded of the fact that she was a prisoner in this place. That she would never be free again, unless she did something to try and change her awful circumstances. He had been kind to her so far, but how long could she truly expect that to last?

Rey swallowed nervously, her hands folded rigidly in her lap. Though she tried to keep her terror hidden from him, she knew that he could sense it.

"I won't be gone long."

Rey managed a small nod. It was all she could do to make that gesture; she didn't trust herself to speak right now without getting herself killed.

Kylo rose slowly, adjusting his cape around his shoulders and reaching for his mask. He hadn't been wearing it yesterday. Whatever he had to do today it appeared that it was relatively important.

Rey just hoped slaughtering her friends wasn't on his agenda.

She remained sitting even after the sound of the lock slid closed with a note of finality that frightened her.

It took her a moment to gather her thoughts, but once she did, she launched to her feet and moved rapidly through the apartment. He'd left her alone, left her to search through things, left her to try and uncover a weapon. Bad move, Rey thought as she scoured through the rooms.

But the more she searched, the more she realized that perhaps it had been more of a calculated move than she initially thought. There was nothing that she could use to defend herself with.

She moved through the library, and then another small sitting room that was obviously his. Hesitating, she stopped at the edge of his bedroom. She knew it was his by the dark, wood framed bed with a deep red blanket and a mound of pillows. The furniture was masculine, and though she didn't know what a lot of it was, she discovered that it held his clothes. His scent hung heavily in the room and on the clothing. She instinctively inhaled, savoring the scent even as she looked for something to destroy him with.

Yep, she'd officially lost it, and she didn't think she'd get it back until she was free of this place.

Turning away from the clothes her gaze lingered on the massive bed. A strange tingling sensation, one she was unfamiliar with, began to creep through her body.

Instead of continuing her search, she found herself retreating from the room, and the unfamiliar wave of heat that was spreading through her.

She'd never fled from anything in her life, and now she was retreating from a smell and feelings?

She hadn't been too afraid to risk becoming a First Order slave, but the sight of his room was enough to turn her into a total coward. It was complete insanity, and yet she couldn't stop her feet from insistently moving away.

Her head spun, and she couldn't get to her own room fast enough. Fingers shaking, she forced herself back to the task that had sent her into his room in the first place. She had briefly searched the room she'd been given last night, but even so, she went through it again. She'd been exhausted, barely able to stay awake when she'd been brought in here. It was entirely possible she had missed something.

Her attention focused on the antique looking nightstand beside the bed she'd slept on last night. It was far different than what she was used to, and Rey had decided that the bed was almost as good as the shower, but not quite.

She tried not to think about the Resistance and their conditions as she grabbed the wooden stand and tipped it over. Tried not to think about Kylo slaughtering her friends as her gaze fell to the legs of the stand.

She knelt before it, and sat back on her heels as she studied the spindly pieces of wood. It wouldn't be the best weapon, that much was obvious, but it was better than nothing, and nothing was all that the other rooms had to offer. Leaning forward, she grabbed a hold of one of the legs and snapped it free. The wood was ragged, thin; she'd only get one chance to use it before it broke.

She'd only get one chance before he skewered her with a lightsaber in retaliation anyway.

Although she knew the possibility of escaping was slim, she would have to make sure it was a damn good chance if she had any shot of surviving and making a break for it. It would be a major boost to the Resistance if she somehow, miraculously, managed to kill Kylo Ren.

She ignored the twisting guilt in her stomach at the thought of destroying the man who was once Ben Solo, Leia's son. It had no place here.

Rising to her feet, Rey hurried from the room. She grabbed the knife she had been given to cut her meat with, and four books from the library. She made sure to pull the books from different shelves and carefully rearranged the other ones to hide the holes. Retreating back to her room, she used the books to prop the stand back up and made sure that nothing of the books showed from every angle of the room.

Retreating to the bathroom, she leaned over the toilet as she hastily began to sharpen the slender piece of wood with the knife. A sense of urgency began to fill her; she needed to get the knife back before he returned. She didn't think he would notice the missing books - there were so many of them after all - but the knife would most certainly be missed.

Shavings fell into the toilet as she carved the end of the wood into a deadly tip. It took several flushes before all the shavings completely disappeared. Raising it, she examined her handiwork with an appreciative eye. It wasn't much, and she definitely would have preferred her lightsaber, but if she was given the right opportunity it would work.

She didn't know what she would do if somehow, miraculously, she managed to take down Kylo Ren, but that was a problem she would face when it occurred. Until then, she was simply happy to have some sort of weapon. It strengthened her, emboldened her, and gave her a sense of security and confidence she had been lacking since entering the palace.

She stood before the mirror, carefully positioning the weapon on the inside of her arm, underneath her wraps.

Her heart was racing, her eyes wild as she studied her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She had to regain control of herself, but she was terrified of being discovered, terrified of what he would do to her if he somehow found her weapon. He'd kill her, she was certain of it, but she was also certain that if she didn't make any attempt to escape she'd die anyway. At least if she were successful she might be able to help the Resistance by taking down a powerful asset of the First Order.

She was unsettled by the realization that she was not as pleased by that notion as she felt she should be.

A/N - I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

As always, please leave a review with your thoughts, suggestions, and predictions, and I'll see you in the next chapter!