| CHAPTER TWO —
FOOLISH |
FOR NEARLY THREE YEARS, Rasseth was able to keep her a secret from the other Knights.
Ivykar Tiepro was her name, just thinking her name had his heart pounding with a severity that he wasn't accustomed to. It didn't take long for the man to fall for those green eyes and love soon followed, strong and powerful, growing more prevailing with each passing moment. She was stunning, not just in appearance, but with each movement she made, was fluid and graceful and within her head was the most captivating mind he had ever met.
Every day, Rasseth would think about how much he relished spending his time with her. Even though they never left that hut, for the safety of Ivykar, they would sit there and just get to know each other.
At this point, the man considered himself an expert on all things Ivykar. When she was just a young girl, her parents had been killed by scavengers that shot down their ship and ripped it apart, looking for scraps. Ivykar had just barely escaped from their grasps and ran off to where she could find her extended family. It was then that she began to feel the Force, bending and willing to her and she realized that within every living thing, she could see the Force and it was only growing stronger within her. Once she knew what this entailed, she ran off to the Resistance where she knew that there were fellow Jedi's that could help had accepted her into their ranks and she had trained with Jedi masers throughout her time, even meeting Luke Skywalker and doing a stint of traveling with the world known smuggler, Han Solo. She told these stories to Rasseth with such passion, with a spark in those eyes that the man couldn't look away in the middle of his tale, as he was engrossed with the way she spoke.
Rasseth Argent was utterly and irretrievably spellbound by Ivykar Tiepro.
Each of their secret meetings would end with Ivykar begging Rasseth to leave the Knights of Ren, to join the Resistance with her, but he had always declined. He would wrap his large arms around her petite frame and promise that everything was going to be alright, as long as they were vigilant with their choices.
While he couldn't deny the love they shared, he knew what he had signed himself up for when he had sought out and joined the merciless faction. Even if he had decided to leave them, he knew they would never let him live. He had seen more powerful men try to leave the Knights of Ren and end in such a ruthless fate that Rasseth needed to ensure his own self-preservation. They would travel the galaxy and search for him until his demise, something that he was praying to avoid.
Despite how wary they were, he would still have to consider the fate of his love. If Rasseth reminded in the Knights of Ren, but they found out about Ivykar, they would sooner let him go than take pity on a Jedi. If the knowledge of her existence ever came to light, they would kill her on sight with no hesitation and he made it his life's mission to ensure that they were never the wiser.
He had taken the extra precaution of turning off the tracker on his personal ship before he headed to her planet and he would only stay for a couple days, telling Ren that he had personal business to attend to. Each visit had to be separated by long weeks, possibly even months to make sure that the suspicion was never provoked.
This was especially hard for Rasseth as each time he visited her, the light within him would only grow more inside him and he wanted to turn back, go to her and run away together, but at the end of the day, he would just climb on board of his shpi and take off, observing as she grew smaller and smaller in his window.
Rasseth was gnawing on the inside of his cheek, a bad habit that he had picked up during his time with the Knights. Usually, it was hidden by his helmet, as it was a sign of his own weakness. The way he let his thoughts consume him and drown in his worry.
He shook his head, halting his inner monologue that he had found himself in. He neatly placed a stone statue in his knapsack, a gift that he had gotten for Ivykar on his latest mission and zipped up his bag, his body shivering in excitement. He had just been granted permission to leave the ship once more and the time from between the last time he saw Ivykar was almost a year. This was the longest they had spent apart and it was driving him insane not being able to see her. He was practically trembling at the prospect of seeing that wide smile that filled him up with warmth.
He slung the bag over his shoulder and pressed a palm against the entrance to his small quarters, it opening with a swoosh and he stepped out into the narrow hallway, letting the door slide shut behind him. He sucked in a deep breath, sliding his helmet back over his head. Once it was snug, it let out a low hiss, capturing his head. Rasseth squared his shoulders, making sure that his emotions were behind that wall he built and began to saunter towards where the Knights kept their personal ships.
He had to refrain from skipping, that's how happy he was.
Behind that wall, he thought about all the stories he was going to tell Ivykar, of all the planets he was exploded, keeping all the gruesome details at bay, and he would tell her how he longed to bring her to these planets, to show her what he saw, in spite of how far gone that dream was.
He was reaching to press the button that would open the airlock between him and his ship when a dark sleuth stepped into his vision and waited. Rasseth hesitated, his heart picking up slightly, his gloved fingers teetering over the tip.
"Going somewhere?" It was Brindel and he pursed closer to where Rasseth was standing. His more imposing frame stood over Rasseth and even behind the mask, Rasseth had to swallow the fear he had of him, his skin crawling at his cool words.
He opened his mouth and responded, "Ren gave me some time off." His voice only cracked slightly and his face reddened.
Brindel calculated him for a minute, letting the time pass them slowly, it was excruciating. There was an emotion wavering off of the Knight that Rasseth was unsure of, but it suffocated him in expectation of what he could want. Brindel's arms were crossed over in front of him, but his hands were clenched. "It's time."
Rasseth sucked in a breath, looking away. It only took a minute to realize the severity of his words. It's time.
The Knight motioned for Rasseth to follow him and he did, blindly and without another question. The sounds of their boots echoed throughout the ship, loud and with purpose. Rasseth continued to gnaw on the inside of his mouth, causing the flesh to tear between his canine and blood filled his mouth. His eyes watered from the pain, but he couldn't help himself.
Rasseth began to wonder where the other Knights were when they hadn't passed one for a while when the door to the control room opened and revealed all of them waiting for him patiently, standing in the back of the room. The only one that was in the middle of the room was Ren, his arms loose at his side. His sloped sliver mask was facing Rasseth, but the man could tell that he wasn't looking at him, only at Brindel.
At this sight, Rasseth let the bag slip off of his shoulder and land on the ground with a muted thud. It was time, he thought again. He was going to become a Knight of Ren and all thoughts of Ivykar had all, but disappeared from his mind.
Brindel joined his fellow warriors once he entered, standing in between two of them, his feet spread apart. Rassseth took a careful step forward and the door shut behind him. He swallowed the worry that was creeping up his throat, the words that were said when he first found them, the price is steep. What is it that they have in store for him?
It didn't matter, Rasseth scolded himself internally. Rasseth was self-assured in his ability to accomplish anything they threw at him without a doubt in his mind, nary a second thought of reluctance or guilt He would be brutal and crafty, be the Knight that he knew he could be and he would ensure that it would be finalized, it would be such a gory tale that he could almost hear himself telling recruits about them, them flinching at his words, about how -.
Ren walked towards him, swinging his weapon in his hand, causing Rasseth's thoughts to come to a screeching thought. THe leader approached him, his head cocking to the side and he pointed the tip of his dagger towards the shaking man.
"You weren't as careful as you may have wished you were." Ren was saying, his voice thick with anger. "We know about Ivykar Tiepro, the Jedi. To join the Knights you must kill her, rid yourself of the last piece of light that is in you or perish from your foolishness."