A/N - Welcome back! Enjoy the chapter!
Rey hated the cuffs, but accepted the fact that she had to wear them or she wouldn't be allowed to step foot outside. She wanted to be outdoors so badly she could almost taste it, wanted it so badly that she was shaking with the need to breathe fresh air and feel it upon her skin again.
It was also the only chance she had of maybe finding Finn. Thankfully, she didn't have to argue with Ben as much as she'd thought she would in order to get him to take her into the town; she suspected that he meant for people to see her bound to him like any other prisoner and dispel some of the rumors floating around.
Rey ignored the questioning stares as Ben led her through the streets. Though she knew a Resistance attack on the palace would be futile, she still tried to absorb as much detail as possible about the town within the palace confines.
The cobblestone streets were clean and lined with sweeping, beautiful buildings, which it took her awhile to realize were actually homes.
First Order officers moved about the streets, and many had Resistance captives meekly following behind. Rey tried hard not to stare at them, tried not to notice the melancholy they radiated, but by the time they'd made it a few hundred feet down the road she had tears forming in her eyes.
These captives were thin, beaten, and marred with bruises. There were some that looked healthier than others, but there was still a bleak look in their eyes that left Rey shaken.
These were her people, and they were being cruelly used to serve the First Order. Ben had saved her from such a fate, but she had come very close to sharing their same end.
That thought didn't ease the anguish clawing at her, but only increased it. She was no better than any of these people; she didn't deserve to be spared when they hadn't been.
Ben grabbed hold of her elbow, pulling her close against him.
"Do not cry, do not show sympathy. If you do, then we must go back," he hissed in her ear, voice distorted by the mask. "You are not permitted to show such emotions, do you understand me?"
Rey swallowed heavily, her head bowed as she tried to blink away the hot sting of tears that burned in her eyes. How could she not show sympathy for these poor, broken people who were suffering unfairly?
Ben released her arm and took an abrupt step away from her as they neared the busier market section of the town.
Officers and citizens mingled about the shops and stores, and merchants selling their wares shouted to be heard above the hustle and bustle of activity. Rey's eyes darted over everything; there was no way she could take it all in.
She had never seen anything like it in her life, never even imagined that such a place existed.
They had so much here, while so many had so little. The greed and selfishness was overwhelming. Rage trickled through her, and her feelings of helplessness swelled to the point of nearly choking her.
"Amazing," she muttered, trying not to reveal the antipathy rising within her.
She felt Ben's eyes on her, but she didn't look at him again. She stopped abruptly as they rounded the top of a hill. Her breath froze in her lungs as a feeling of longing tore through her with such intensity that her legs nearly gave out.
Over the top of the walls, beyond the town nestled in the valley below the palace, were the woods.
Freedom was so close, yet so far away.
She was shaking, her fingers curled as she took a step forward. For a moment, she could almost feel the cool shade of the leafy trees, touch their roughened bark, and smell the earthy scent of leaves and dirt.
For a moment, she was there. For a moment, she was free.
Then reality slapped her harshly in the face, and she was back in the crowded market of the palace town. She wasn't free; she hadn't been free in awhile and may never be free again. She was far from the peace of the forest and her friends at the Resistance.
She felt broken, hollow, and even the solid presence of Ben by her side did little to ease the sorrow festering within her chest.
The crowd parted easily as he led her through it. Everyone scurried to get out of his way. Rey trailed silently behind, acting like the docile prisoner she was supposed to be, though now she didn't have to work too hard to act the part.
She was too upset to keep up with his brisk, purposeful strides.
Her eyes darted over everyone, rapidly searching for Finn, or the woman that had claimed him somewhere among the crush of bodies.
Rey stopped short as they broke free of the crowd, immediately revolted and somewhat nauseated as she came face to face with the stage she had been paraded upon.
"Move!" A sharp shove pushed her forward, knocking her momentarily off balance. She barely caught a glance of the woman that had shoved her out of the way. Rey managed to get her feet to move again.
She stumbled forward, suddenly finding it difficult to breathe in the packed street.
She turned back to Ben, freezing instantly as her eyes latched onto the woman that had claimed Finn. She was a few feet away from Ben and had honed in on him.
"Kylo Ren," the woman greeted, but Rey wasn't interested in what the officer had to say. Turning sharply away, her gaze scanned over the crowd as she eagerly sought Finn.
She spotted him almost instantly, standing among the crush of bodies, his cuffs chaining him to a wooden post.
Rey's stomach dropped and her heart leapt as she gazed at her friend. A surge of relief and hope erupted in her chest. The sight of him was one of the most amazing things she'd ever encountered. The moment that her eyes found him, his also found her.
Relief was evident in his bright brown eyes as he took a step toward her, only to be brought up short by the cuffs holding him in place. Tears filled her eyes; he still looked healthy, but there was a brokenness about him that robbed her of her breath. Cuts and bruises were visible on every part of his body.
Without thinking, she moved toward him, needing to touch and speak with a man that meant so much to her. Finn's eyes were bright with excitement, his mouth parted as delight radiated from him.
Rey couldn't help but smile back as her heart soared with happiness.
For one brief, shining moment, everything was right and she didn't know despair. She only knew that she had to get to her friend.
Rey was pulled back a few inches as her cuffs were tugged at sharply. She turned, about to vent her frustration when she realized that Ben was right behind her, his shoulders squared as he loomed over her. He turned his attention to Finn and she could feel the anger that coursed through him as he recognized the former stormtrooper.
Ben gripped the cuffs tightly, drawing her closer to him, forcing her against his body.
Rey couldn't stop her gaze from going back to Finn. She just wanted to speak with him, to know if he was okay, to have one moment where she could talk with her friend and reconnect with something familiar, something she missed so badly.
She realized instantly that she had made a mistake. Ben was infuriated, his knuckles white as he gripped the cuffs even tighter. Not even a slip of paper could separate them anymore.
Though no one around them seemed to have noticed her encounter with Finn, it was obvious that Ben had not missed it.
"Ben…"
"Ren," he corrected sharply.
Rey shrank back as hurt bloomed in her chest. She wanted to explain, wanted to tell him something, anything that would make that look of betrayal leave his face. That would make the wrath simmering just below the surface abate a little.
She didn't think he was in the mood to listen to her though, and she didn't know how to start explaining anything in and among this crowd.
She wasn't even sure what she had to explain to him, or the extent of his anger. She hadn't done anything wrong.
Rey stared helplessly up at him. The woman appeared at his side again, drawing his attention away from her. They spoke briefly, but Rey didn't hear a word they said. Despite her best efforts not to, her gaze slid back to Finn.
Her heart sank and tears of hopelessness swam in her eyes. In his gaze she could see the awful despair of their situation, the complete realization that they were trapped.
And yet, she could also see a burgeoning fury within him as his attention turned back to Ben. True hatred simmered in Finn's eyes.
For the first time she was completely frightened of this whole mess. She had tried to convince herself that it would all work out in the end, that somehow they would escape. She realized now that they probably never would.
They would be stuck here, they would die here, and there was nothing that either of them could do to stop it.
A gloved hand wrapped around her arm, and she knew instantly that it was Ben, She lifted her gaze, but he was not looking at her. In fact, he looked as if he aspired to forget her existence as he released her arm in favor of grabbing her by the cuffs and moved quickly through the parting crowd.
Rey had to hurry to keep up with him as he strode purposefully forward, nearly dragging her behind him.
She looked back at Finn, struggling against the tears that burned her eyes. She was terrified that this may be the last chance she would ever have to see him. He was watching her closely, his face dark with fury.
Rey was nearly breathless by the time Ben hauled her into his apartment. He radiated fury, but somehow managed to silently shut the door.
"Ben…"
"Ren," he grated.
Rey recoiled, and she felt as if she had just been slapped. She could understand why she couldn't call him Ben in public, but they were alone now and there was no one near to question them.
"What?" she managed to sputter out.
"I told you to call me Ren."
Rey gaped after him as he released her and strode across the room, removing his mask and placing it on the table. She was well aware of the fact that he hadn't removed the cuffs from her wrists.
She stared dejectedly at them, wondering if they would ever come off again. She was afraid that they might not, and as long as they were on her she could never break free of this awful place.
She knew now that she had been completely wrong about him; he was just as cruel as everyone else in this hideous place. She doubted her ability to free herself of the cuffs, but at the moment she didn't care.
Terror drove at her as she strained against the cuffs, trying to yank her hands free of them. She didn't care that her wrists were being rubbed raw by the metal, didn't notice when she started to bleed.
She just required freedom, she simply aspired to be out of these restraints, and to have her life back.
She didn't want to be someone's captive anymore, someone's thing to use and order about as they saw fit.
Ben's hands seized her. A strangled cry escaped her lips as she tried to rip her hands free of his grasp, but he clung to her. She jerked wildly, resentment and frustration boiling in her veins.
She was tired of living in this place and playing by his rules. Tired of being ordered about and having her life dictated over.
"Let go of me!"
"Stop it," He snarled, pulling her towards him. With a light touch the cuffs fell from her wrists, hitting the ground with a thud. He seized her hands in his. "You're hurting yourself, Rey."
"You're hurting me!" She snapped back, trying to escape his hold even as she was relieved that the cuffs were gone. "I'd rather be dead than trapped like this! Why don't you just kill me and get it over with?"
"Enough!" He barked. "You would prefer to die than be separated from your lover?"
Outrage froze her as she gaped at him.
"How dare you!" She spat. He released her hands, tossing them away in abhorrence as he took a step back. "You know nothing of me! Nothing of my life! Nothing of who I am! You have no right to judge me!"
His dark eyebrows lifted sharply, and his jaw clenched and unclenched as a vein began to throb in his forehead. She could feel his revulsion as his lip curled in a sneer.
"There isn't much of you to judge."
Acting on pure instinct and with the reckless abandonment that had landed her here in the first place, Rey's hand snaked up his side with the agility and speed that had kept her alive for the past nineteen years.
That same recklessness would probably be what brought about the end of her life now as her hand connected with his face.
The slap echoed in the deathly silence that followed. Rey panted, trying to catch her breath as she glared furiously at him.
The mark of her bloody handprint was clearly evident against the hard curve of his cheek.
His head, which had been knocked slightly aside by her violent blow, slowly came back to her. His mouth parted and his eyebrows rose sharply as he stared at her for a long moment.
Beneath his astonishment though, she could sense the growing wrath building within him.
She knew she should be scared, but she wasn't. She knew that she should probably be begging for his forgiveness, but she wouldn't. She didn't give a damn what he said or did to her anymore.
She almost welcomed this, because at least one way or another there would finally be an end to all of this unknowing.
He stepped into her, forcing her against the wall, his face mere inches from hers. Rey found it hard to breathe, and her hands were shaking as she awaited her inevitable fate.
Even with what she had learned from the Jedi texts, she hadn't practiced enough to stand a chance at defeating him.
He pressed closer to her, his hands resting on either side of her head as he bent low, his nose nearly touching hers.
"It won't be you I kill, Rey," he snarled. Her knees buckled as the implications of his words sank in. "I'll keep you alive, and I'll make you watch as I relish in his slow death. I've been kind to you so far, but I won't be anymore. I'll show you what kind of monster I can be."
"No," she managed to whisper.
"Oh yes," he purred. "And I'm going to enjoy it."
Horror tore through her, she was rapidly shaking her head as he shoved away from her, moving toward the door. She knew where he was going and who he was after. She had to stop him.
Finn was going to be punished because of her, because she was an idiot. She couldn't allow that to happen, not again.
"Wait! No, stop! Ren, please don't do this! Please!" She scurried after him, seizing hold of his hand, but he shook her off like a bug. "Don't do this! Ben, I'm begging you, please! He's my friend!"
Despair threatened to choke her as tears clogged her throat.
"I have never begged for anything from anyone in my life, but I am begging you, please don't kill him! He did nothing wrong! I'm sorry, I'll do whatever you ask, whenever you ask it of me!" She pleaded. "Punish me instead! Punish me!"
The force of her sobs shook her, making it almost impossible for her to breathe with her still healing rib. She couldn't move; her entire body was wracked with agony.
Blood continued to spill from her wounds, forming a puddle beneath her, soaking into her clothes, but she didn't care.
She didn't care about anything anymore. She had ruined everything, she had destroyed Finn's life. She hadn't freed him; instead she'd given him a death sentence and from the look on Ben's face it would be a long and tortured process.
There was a long moment of silence in which she felt she couldn't look at him. She felt as if she were dying, felt as if her misery was going to kill her.
Then, to her surprise, she felt the gentlest, most tender touch she had ever felt. His hands were upon her face, cradling her cheeks as he lifted her gaze to meet his.
His lips were on her, brushing against her cheeks, her forehead, whispering against her ear as he tried to soothe her.
Rey was stunned; her mind spun as his hands and mouth caressed her with a tenderness that nearly undid the horror of the past half hour.
"Don't," he whispered. The word slid over her skin making her body tingle with electricity at the same time that it completely undid her. "Rey, stop. You'll only injure yourself more. You can stop, Rey. It's okay."
His hands were in her hair, pulling her toward him, drawing her against him as he wrapped his arms around her and soothingly rocked her against his chest.
A/N - Wow, that chapter was intense! What did you guys think?
As always, leave a review with your thoughts, suggestions, and predictions, and I'll see you in the next chapter!
~ Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavour)