I'd already slept through breakfast, and my headache, coupled with the fact that the thought of food made my stomach churn, had me staying in bed the rest of the day.

I felt weight on the mattress and looked up, the blinding sun stinging my eyes, and found Kylo sitting next to me, dressed in his immaculate black jacket and pants. I blinked, rubbing my face with my hands as I sat up. It was morning again.

Kylo leaned forward, retrieving something off of a tray on the nightstand, and offered it to me. A mug of tea. I took it from him. "Thank you." And took a sip. Camomile and peppermint.

I looked at the tray, finding a silver cloche, silverware, and a glass of juice. I glanced back up at Kylo. He'd brought me breakfast. In bed, no less.

He must have seen my confusion because he said "You didn't eat at all yesterday, and what you did eat the night before, you threw up."

"Don't you have more important things you could be doing than bringing me breakfast?" I asked, and took another sip of tea.

"Yes." He answered. "But, there's nothing else I'd rather be doing."

I smiled against the mug. "I'm surprised you even want to see me."

He made a face. "Because of the scotch?"

I nodded.

He scoffed. "If you had been able to hold three shots down, then I'd be worried. But a little throw up never hurt anyone." He stood, and grabbed the tray, and set it on the bed, across my lap. I removed the cloche, my stomach already twisting with hunger, to find cheese and chive scones and three strips of bacon. I began to eat.

"There is another reason I came this morning." He said, watching me. "I'm leaving."

I wasn't expecting the lurch of my heart at his words. "Where are you going?" I brought my tea up, to drink, to hide behind, I wasn't sure.

"Off-world, to an allied planet on the outer rim." He answered, watching me thoughtfully. "Trugden is staying, and acting Supreme Leader in my absence as my Third." He took a breath. "Relations with the planet's ruler are….strained. Vicrul is staying as well, just because his presence as my war-leader may be perceived as a threat. You may go where you wish, but if you go off of palace grounds, I just ask that you have one of them with you."

I thought back to the night we'd gone off palace grounds, to the shops I'd seen. "There are book shops I saw that I may go to." I offered.

"You've been added to my personal bank accounts." He said, and my eyebrows shot up, my breath catching.

I'd been added to what?

"You also have a line of credit with all of the shops in the surrounding city, in case you don't have enough." He was so blasé about it, as if me blowing his personal wealth on whatever the hell i could possibly find in those shops to spend it on was old news.

I hadn't recovered from the shock of being given access to his accounts when he looked up at me, the weight of his intense stare pinning me down. "If you want to stay, the palace, the land, the money, it's yours."

My pulse quickened. "If I want to stay?"

He nodded. "Because I want you to come with me."

I hadn't heard him right. I couldn't have. He hadn't said he wanted me to go off-world with him to a diplomatic meeting. Though, I was so versed in the details of my role here, as his wife, that I was sure I couldn't have imagined it.

I blinked. "You want...what?"

"I want you to come with me." He repeated, his voice taut. He looked away. "For two reasons."

I waited, sipping my tea.

"One," he said. "Is because King Gavriel could be a powerful ally, or a considerable threat. He has three kingdoms under his rule." His eyes came to meet mine again. "But, he's young, and he's not a fan of Kings, or Lords, and I'm afraid he'd kill me in my sleep if my Knights weren't with me. I need his fealty, I cannot risk having him as an enemy."

"What does that have to do with me?" I asked in a small voice.

His gaze shot to me. "I need you to find out where he stands."

Where he stands as in his opinion of Kylo as King and Supreme Leader? Whether or not he would go to war with Kylo, or against him. Or just if he thought he was a swell guy? "Why don't you just ask him?"

His dark eyes clouded. "Because he knows who I am, what I've done, what I could do, and I don't trust him to be honest with me."

I wondered, and not for the first time since marrying him, exactly what he'd done to earn such a reputation. "You think he'd lie about being on your side to save himself."

He nodded grimly. "But, if you gained his trust, if he confided in you-"

"You want me to be your spy." I cut in, flatly.

"I'm giving you the option. If you say no, then the answer is no, and I won't ask again. You can stay here, and I have every confidence that Trugden and Vicrul will keep you safe until I return. But, if you say yes, the same rules apply. If you're uncomfortable, if you change your mind, say the word, and we'll leave."

I chewed on my lip as I weighed both options. I'd been guarded and protected my entire life, waiting to be married so that I could be released from one prison, and locked in another. But, Kylo wasn't my captor. He'd given me the keys, he'd given me the choice. I could stay here, bedecked in jewels, and plan parties and wear dresses. Or, I could go with him, and live a life I only ever dreamed about, a life I thought was out of my reach.

And the choice was clear.

I put my mug of tea on my tray, and went back to my breakfast. "How long will we be on Bespin?"

His eyes brightened, though his face remained a cool mask of indifference. "A week at the most."

I nodded my understanding. "I'll be ready in an hour."

He stood. "I'll send Sara to help you pack."

I let him go, let him slip out of the door, and I finished my breakfast.

True to my word, I was ready an hour later, in a flowing gown of blue so pale it was almost white, silver flowers embroidered along the hem to climb up the skirt to my thighs. It swished and sighed with every movement as I made my way to the hanger, and Kylo turned when he heard me approach, his gaze sweeping over me from my matching silver shoes, to my half up hair. Sara had pulled half of it up, and curled the strands that she'd left down.

He was in a black suit, a black shirt and tie, and black knee high boots. He let me take a step in front of him before he followed, his hand in the small of my back as we boarded his ship.

Kuruk and Cardo were in the cockpit, and I took the seat across from Ap'lek, who seemed not to notice me. Kylo took the seat next to him, propping his elbow on the arm rest, and put his chin in his hand as he looked out the window, or toward Ushar as he sat next to me, or down the aisle to the front. But, his gaze kept coming to me, even when Ap'lek began a light conversation about an upcoming holiday.

When we docked, it was on a platform so high up, I could not see the planet's surface, nothing but a sea of clouds below us. I squinted, trying to reorder my body around the suffocating humid air. I should have worn a different gown, sweat was beading on my back and my hair was already starting to frizz. Kylo seemed to have the same thought, he took off his jacket and folded it over his seat on the ship.

Ap'lek and Usgar accompaned us on a speeder, and we were taken to a palace perched above a massive floating city. The air was breathable, but had a chemical smell that had me resisting the urge to wrinkle my nose, and the city clattered below and around us, interrupted by the hum of speeders as they whirled by. Kylo exited first, then offered his hand to help me out, and did not let go as we walked through the glass doors, and into the palace, the two Knights several steps behind.

Half a dozen people stood in the middle of a massive foyer, and the man in the middle smiled when he saw us walking toward him. "Welcome to Ugnorgrad." He said, his voice smooth and deep.

The others turned their attention to us, each frowning with varying severity, their eyes shifting between me and Kylo.

"Always a pleasure, Gavriel." My husband said.

Gavriel, a dark skinned man with crushing blue eyes, turned to me, his gaze drifting to the bare skin of my chest not covered by the fabric of my gown.

Kylo motioned behind him. "Ap'lek and Ushar you know." He said smoothly, though his grip tightened on my hand as he looked at me. "This is Rey. My wife."

Surprise lit Gavriel's eyes, though the people behind him balked. He motioned toward a door to his left, and we followed, along with the others.

We walked into a round dining room, its walls made up of windows overlooking the city below. Dazzling chandeliers hung over a large white table heaping with fruits and cheeses and wine. Kylo pulled a chair out for me and I sat, watching him as he took the seat to my right. A woman with thin blonde hair and pale green eyes sat on the other side, between him and Gavriel.

Ap'lek took the seat on my left, as the other guests seated themselves.

"Rey, this is my wife, Mayea." Gavriel introduced. His wife, though her attention seemed to be wholly on my husband, instead of her own.

Indeed, she leaned toward him, a little too close for my liking and said, "I can't believe you're married."

"Yes." Gavriel agreed, holding up his glass so that a servant could fill it. "I hadn't even known you were courting anyone, let alone engaged or married."

Kylo looked at me, uncertainty written clearly in his eyes, and I lifted my chin, saying to them, "We didn't court, my Lord. We have an arranged contract."

Gavriel blinked, taken aback. "A Royal Marriage Contract, Kylo." He laughed once. "I knew you were vicious, but buying a virgin to warm your bed and give you heirs, that's…" He laughed again, and sipped his wine.

Kylo's shoulders flexed under the fabric of his shirt, as the other people around the table outright glared at him.

The servant offered to fill my glass and I shook my head, instead asking for hot tea.

Mayea's eyebrows lifted. "Are congratulations already in order?' Her eyes going to my abdomen.

"Just for our marriage." Kylo ground out.

Gavriel snickered. "Though I'm sure that's not for lack of trying."

"This isn't funny." A man in attendance hissed. "He bought her, most likely because no decent woman in the galaxy would be married to him, and raped her in front of a priest in their perverted ceremony."

"Kylo has never raped me." I shot back, with more venom than I knew I had. All eyes flew to me. "Yes, we participated in a bedding ceremony at a priests insistence, but Kylo has never taken me by force."

The man rose from his seat, his gaze darkened with disgust. Ap'lek moved to also stand, but Kylo held his hand up, stopping him.

"Hearing your victim defend you is not something I can stomach." The man turned to Gavriel. "Your majesty, I won't be staying under the same roof where he is permitted to defile and manipulate this woman."

There were vocalized words of agreement around the table.

Gavriel's gaze was focused on me, then went to Kylo, who looked gloriously uninterested. "Would you be opposed to me giving your wife a separate room?"

Kylo's eyes went to the man standing across the table from him. "Whatever will make your other guests comfortable, Gavriel."

"Ah, then it's settled." He said, smiling broadly, and motioned for the man to have a seat.

"Looks like you'll have to find somewhere else to stick your cock." He seethed, obeying.

"You will mind your tongue, sir." Ap'lek said in warning. The man sneered at him.

Kylo's demeanor shifted, though he remained seated, like he'd sensed a threat nearby, his hands fisting in his lap. "Know this." He said, an icy tone in his voice that sent chills prickling down my spine. "Rey is my wife, and here by her own free will, and if anyone tries to take her from me or return her to the bastard who sold her in the first place, their lives will be forfeit."

The leash that he had on his power released, and dark tinges of it leaked off of him like ink in water.

The man across from him, as well as most of the people in attendance, paled, remebering that he was not only a king, but the most powerful Supreme Leader in history. Only Gavriel's face colored. "Careful, Kylo. Do not threaten me in my own home."

"That wasn't a threat." Kylo countered, looking at him. "The two guests at the end of the table were planning on going into my wife's room and rescuing her."

The table turned their attention to the guests he had mentioned.

"The one on the left believes that I am controlling her mind, or abusing her in such a way, she believes she wants to stay with me, despite her obvious mistreatment, and they were going to take her to the furthest dot in this galaxy, where my power and influence could not reach. The one on the right was planning on taking her back to Palpatine." His eyes slid to them. "And I would strongly, strongly, caution against both of these plans, because if either of you touch my wife, I will kill you."

The two guests shrank down in their seats.

"And if she wants to leave?" Another man spat.

Kylo looked at him for a long, tense moment, then leaned back in his seat, throwing an arm over the back of it. "Ushar." He called, and the Knight stepped out of the shadows, earning gasps of shock from the other guests and Gavriel alike. "Have an unmarked, untraced vessel docked and on the ready for the duration of our stay." He looked back at the man who'd asked. "If Rey asks to leave, have an unaffiliated pilot take her anywhere she would like to go. She does not need my permission."

Ushar bowed. "Yes, Supreme Leader."

Everyone's attentions turned to me, waiting for my reaction.

I leaned forward and picked up my wine glass. "On second thought." I said, holding it up. "I would like some wine."

The servants hands shook at they filled my glass.