Kylo received a call from Ap'lek and was holed up in the study when I got out of my second shower. I dressed in a dawn pink charmeuse gown, leaving my hair unbound in its frizzy waves, and stopped in front of the study door, looking in at him.

I found Ushar leaning against the far wall, cloaked in shadow, the images of Ap'lek and Vicrul floating nearby.

"What's going on?" I asked, and all heads turned to look at me.

Vicrul beamed. "Hey, Rey!"

Ushar bowed his head in greeting, and Kylo came to me, putting a hand on my waist.

"Just trying to rule and lead from another planet catching up with me." He insisted. "Nothing to worry about." But his face was more drawn than usual, tight lines bracketing his mouth.

I leveled a look at him. "You're a shitty liar."

Ushar coughed to cover a laugh and Kylo shot him a glare.

"He's actually a fantastic liar." The holographic image of Ap'lek chimed in. "You just see right through him."

Kylo set his jaw, sucking a deep breath in through his nose. "Ok, that's-"

"And that fact makes him very grumpy." I heard Vicrul say.

"Enough." Kylo growled.

"And, apparently, us stating the obvious makes him even grumpier." Vicrul added, dryly.

My husband pursed his lips, looking down at me. "Apparently, I need to fly back to Mustafar and teach my war chief how to properly speak about his King."

Vicrul scoffed. "Bring it, Ky, it's been a while since I beat your ass into the dirt."

Ushar coughed again, less convincingly.

Whatever it was, his Knights were obviously unfazed.

"I'm going to breakfast with Ovadia." I told Kylo.

He nodded his understanding. "I'll see you tonight."

I rose up on my toes, and he kissed me, earning mocking whoops from all three men in attendance. I giggled, seeing that even Ushar joined in, the shadows coiling around him as he smiled crookedly at us.

The door swung closed behind me as soon as I walked out. "Shut up." I heard Kylo snap, then a roar of laughter from his Knights. I smiled because it was genuine. Kylo knew his Knights from years of blood and pain and death, their bond rooted in necessity, in survival. But, now? Now they were brothers, not by blood, but by choice. They were the family they'd made.

And I was lucky enough to be a part of it.

Ovadia was seated at a small table in the corner of the dining hall, and stood when she saw me approach.

"Please, don't." I said, holding a hand up to stop her when she went to curtsey.

"Thank you for accepting my invitation." She said, "I know that our previous meetings haven't gone so well."

"It's fine." I assured her, taking my seat. She sat down as well.

"I wanted to apologize about Kateria." She said, adjusting the fork next to her plate. "What she said was out of line."

"Yes, it was." I agreed. "But I understand why she would be jealous." A blush heated my cheeks at the memory, my stomach instantly tightening.

"Yes, well, your husband is…" She thought for a moment and then sighed. "Terrifying."

I huffed out a laugh, fidgeting with the corner of my folded napkin.

"Honestly, he's so intense, it's like the air gets thicker when he walks into a room."

"It's not him, it's his power." I said. "He has it reigned in most of the time because he knows how intimidating it is." I rolled the edge of the napkin between my thumb and pointer finger. "Sometimes, his hold on it will slip, like it did in the throne room, and I can literally feel it, in my bones, in my blood. Like I have that same power in me, just below the surface, waiting. Like he and I are connected by it and the contract is just this stupid, meaningless thing between us."

"He certainly looks at you like the contract is just a stupid, meaningless thing." Ovadia commented. "The second I saw it, I knew the rumors weren't true."

"That he is this vicious dark lord who has me locked away against my will?"

She nodded.

"Kylo wasn't the one who locked me up." I glanced up at her. "He was the one who let me out."

"But, he bought you."

I shook my head. "No, he didn't. I was bought for him by his officials."

"That's semantics." She argued.

"I can't change the circumstances of our marriage." I rolled the napkin the opposite way. "But I wouldn't change being married to him."

She was quiet for a moment. "I thought I'd be sold as well. I was locked up at thirteen when I had my first bleeding. But, Ardion and I had known each other for three years by then, and continued to write. It took him another five years to convince his father and my father to end their feud and let us marry." She smiled. "It's funny. We are the only wives that I know who actually like our husbands."

I nodded. "My marriage was always something that I dreaded, especially after what my ladies told me my wedding night would be."

She groaned. "Same here. I would be terrified if I didn't know better."

I straightened. "Know better?" My voice lowered. "You mean that you and Ardion-"

She shook her head. "I have to be examined tomorrow night before the bedding ceremony, same as you were, so obviously I'm still a virgin." She smiled, knowingly. "In the way that matters."

I blinked, and made a mental note to ask Kylo about that later.

Ovadia sighed. "But, I am nervous. The ceremony has to be so awkward. Doing it with the priest right outside."

The memories played in my head, and I smiled. "It was...unexpected." I admitted, laughing to myself about just how unexpected it was.

A servant brought a teapot.

"We didn't order tea." I said, remembering the herb and bark concoction from the other day and my stomach churned.

The servant, an elderly gentleman with a mustache, bowed his head. "I'm sorry, your majesty, but your husband insisted."

I swallowed, and nodded my permission for him to fill my cup, the smell of lemon, orange, and bergamot hitting my nose as soon as he began to pour.

I added sugar and cream, stirring before taking a sip. I had to suppress a sigh. It was Nabooian tea. It was my favorite Nabooian tea. How had he gotten it here?

"I suppose we should order brunch?" Ovadia said, opening a menu.

I sipped my tea, doing the same. There was nothing I recognized, even the ingredients sounding foreign.

She sighed. "I truly detest the food here."

I laughed. "Here as in the palace or here as in the planet?"

"Both." She admitted, putting the menu down. "There's a taco shack just off palace grounds that should be open by the time it takes us to walk there. Are you up for it?"

"Absolutely." I said, and gulped my tea down. "Let me just tell Kylo that we're going."

Ovadia's teal eyes narrowed. "Do you need his permission?"

I scoffed at the lunacy of such a question. "No."

"Then why tell him?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Because being off palace grounds when he thinks I'm in the dining hall seems like information he'd appreciate knowing."

She shrugged. "He's probably with Ardion, anyway, so I'll go with you."

We both stood.

"Why would Kylo be with Ardion?" I asked, as we climbed the stairs.

"You know his bachelor party is tonight." She said, "It wouldn't surprise me if they've started early."

I had no idea what a bachelor party was, but I didn't let on. "You think they'd start this early?"

"Kings do love their women and brandy." She drawled, then laughed. "Except mine isn't King just yet and yours, by all accounts, has put his Casanova days behind him. Tell me," She stopped, and turned to face me. "How did you do it?"

My brow furrowed. "Do what?"

She laughed again. "Make your husband completely blind to every other woman but you."

I smiled. "I didn't do anything." And continued walking.

We stepped into a game room that reeked of cigar smoke and expensive cologne, and found Ardion, seated in a low backed chair next to a card table. His face lit up when he saw Ovadia, and she easily slipped into his arms.

"I thought you were having brunch." He said.

"We were, but we want to go to the taco place in the city." Ovadia explained, her arms around his neck as she sat in his lap.

His forehead crinkled. "Then, why are you here? Why didn't you go?"

"Rey wanted to tell Kylo where we were going." She said, her gaze coming to me.

Ardion looked at me as well. "I'm expecting him any moment now." He shrugged. "I'll tell him that you two went into the city to get tacos."

Unease settled in my stomach. Kylo had told me to see whomever I wanted, go wherever I wanted, spend whatever I wanted, but just to have a Knight with me if I went off palace grounds.

"I need his Knight to accompany me." I told them, and watched Ovadia's face fall.

Ardion turned toward her, dismissing my statement entirely. "You don't need an escort in my city. Go, have fun, and I'll tell Kylo when he gets here."

She smiled and kissed him deeply. "We'll be back in a few hours." And got up, skipping to my side.

I wanted to argue. I wanted to insist on calling Kuruk, on telling Kylo myself, but I let her take my hand and tug me into step with her.

We exchanged pleasantries on the walk through the palace grounds, discussing her home world, and mine. The taco shack was open when we arrived, and the food was unlike anything I'd ever tasted. I ate too much, nearly to the point of nausea, and we linked arms, walking down the streets as we talked about her relationship, and her excitement for tomorrow.

We realized that we'd taken a wrong turn, and went back, taking the right turn, only to realize that it was the wrong turn as well.

Ovadia was certain that she could find her way back, but as the minutes turned to hours, as the sun lowered, then sank, panic crept into her teal eyes, and was written on her pale, heart-shaped face. She started to hyperventilate, then broke into hysterics.

I gripped her by the shoulders, shaking her a bit. "We just need to get to a high point in the city where we can see the palace, and then walk toward it."

She nodded, pulling herself together, and we set out. My feet were blistered from my shoes, my legs aching from walking. The air turned cold, goosebumps rising on my arms. That was when I noticed someone following us.

I didn't alert Ovadia to their presence, just gripped her tighter to me as we walked. But soon, there were two men following us, then three. I turned down an alleyway, Ovadia shaking at my side as silent tears slid down her face. She knew they were behind us, and she was just as scared as I was.

We quickened our pace, only to run into the brick wall of a dead end, and when we turned, three men were blocking the alleyway.

Breathe, I told myself, as Vicrul had told me. Breathe, find a way out. My eyes scanned our surroundings, finding our only exit blocked by the approaching men. Find a weapon. Loose bricks littered the streets from the buildings on either side, if I could get to them in time. But, I'd have to abandon Ovadia, who was a crying mess beside me. Then, it dawned on me: Vicrul's training wouldn't help me. But, Vicrul wasn't the only Knight who trained me.

I lowered my mental shield, gathering up all the power I could muster, and screamed 'KYLO!' into the Force around us.

His answering power was a battering ram in my head, a thousand, a million times stronger than Ushar. I was sick to my stomach with panic and desperation. Not mine, his, as he frantically searched for me. He was already in the city.

Where are you where are you where are you

I didn't know where we were, couldn't remember how we'd gotten here. I thought back, trying to throw any detail at him, the buildings, the signs, the three men cornering us.

I have to find you i have to find you i have to find you

He was close. Close and getting closer.

One man lunged, and I easily ducked, keeping my feet under me as I stepped, then stepped again, staying out of his reach.

Vicrul's training may help me, after all.

The two other men closed in on Ovadia, as she begged and sobbed, backing away from them.

"Stay away from her." I said, surprised at the growl in my voice. They laughed, their voices echoing down the alley.

The man lunged again, and I dodged, balancing my weight perfectly to keep me upright. Ovadia's back hit the brick wall, and she screamed as one reached for her, his hand a breath away from her golden hair.

Bone crunched, and the man let out a blood curdling scream as the arm he had outstretched went limp, bending at a wrong angle. He fell to the pavement. The other men tried to turn, to flee, but they were suspended, straining against the invisible binds holding them.

Trembling fingers brushed against my face, my arms, in my hair as I stared at the hysterical girl against the wall, at the man writhing in pain at her feet. Ardion ran to her, hauling her up and moving her hair out of her face as he looked her over for injuries.

"Look at me."

That was Kylo's voice. I recognized it over the thunder of my heart in my ears. I lifted my eyes up, to his arm, his heaving shoulders, his sweat-dampened face, then finally, his eyes. They were the darkest I'd ever seen, without the slightest glimmer in them amongst the trepidation and wrath.

Water blurred my vision.

His shaking hand cupped my cheek. "Are you hurt?" He asked.

A tear streaked down my face as I shook my head. I couldn't form the words.

His thumb stroked my cheek. "Did he touch you?"

I looked to the men behind him, their faces white as death as they stared at my husband's back. The man who'd lunged for me had pissed himself, a dark streak down the right leg of his pants.

I shook my head again, and Kylo pulled off his jacket, draping it over my shoulders.

"I've already notified the authorities." Ardion said.

Kylo slowly turned to look at him and I saw the younger man blanch. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"I'm sorry." Ardion told him, his voice was heavy with regret. "I thought they'd be safe."

"Safe?" Kylo echoed, and pointed at Ovadia. "You think there is a person in this city or on this planet who doesn't know her as your bride? You're aware that she's been locked up and kept away from any real life experiences, right?"

Ardion nodded.

"Are you honestly so dense that you can't recognize what that makes her?"

Ardion paled. "What does it make her?"

"It makes her fucking bait." Kylo yelled. "Bait dangling at the end of a hook. But you, you are such a fucking child that you didn't stop to think about that. Which is fine when your stupidity only endangers your wife, but you fucking endangered mine, too!"

His lip curled away from his teeth. "You are gods damned lucky that I found her when I did because if anything, and I mean anything had happened to her, there isn't a name for what I'd do to you." He put his hand in the small of my back and gently pulled me to his side as we walked down the alley.

Policemen ran past us, and Kylo waved his hand, releasing the men.

A speeder was idling in the street, Kuruk in the driver's seat, his face grim.

Kylo helped me inside. "Get her back to the palace."

"Where are you going?" I rasped.

His jaw turned white as he ground his teeth together, and he looked away. "I need...time." he said. "To calm down."

Ardion and Ovadia slid in next to me, and I watched Kylo turn and walk away as Kuruk flew us back to the palace.

No one spoke. Not on the ride, not when we docked, not when they departed, his arm around her as they faded from view.

I could feel Kuruk's cold gaze upon me as I walked toward the room I shared with Kylo.

"I'm sorry we haven't spoken before now." I offered. "I never see you in the sparring ring."

He didn't respond.

I pulled Kylo's jacket tighter around myself, my heels the only sound as my footsteps hit the tiled floor. After an eternity of tense silence, we reached the door, and I put my hand on the knob to turn it.

"Rey?"

I froze. I'd never heard Kuruk's voice, but it was like a caress of cool velvet. I swallowed, and turned to look at him. "Yes?"

"You are my Queen." He said.

I nodded. "Yes-"

"I've been charged with your protection and safety when you are away from him."

I sighed. "I know, I-"

"Do you have any idea what it was like to have to tell him that I didn't know where you were?"

His question hit me like a slap, and my heart dropped. "Ardion said that he would tell him-"

"Tell him that you'd left this morning to go off palace grounds." His lips pressed into a thin line. "He did tell him, after you'd been missing for hours because Kylo didn't actually go to the game room until he noticed that you hadn't returned from brunch. And I had to look at my Supreme Leader, at my brother, and my King, and I had to watch him completely fall apart."

My stomach twisted at the pain in his voice. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head, his dark hair swaying with the movement. "Just….I know that you don't know me. I wasn't raised by Leia like Ap'lek and Vicrul were, I didn't know her at all before she was murdered, and I met Kylo a few months after he became Supreme Leader. But, that broken shell of a man that I pledged my fealty to, that man that watched the only light and love he had in this world be slaughtered in front of him, I've watched him slowly come back to life since marrying you. And, I'm begging you, from one person who loves him to another, please, please don't make me watch him go through that again." He shook his head a second time. "Because, Rey, he would not survive. Not if something like what happened to Leia happened to you."

Which could have easily happened tonight.

"I won't." I promised.

He bowed his head in respect or acknowledgement or gratitude, I wasn't sure, and I walked into my room.

The shock and adrenaline had worn off and I realized how exhausted I was. I took off my shoes and gasped. A few of my blisters had broken open and were bleeding, and I looked around, unsure of what to do. I went to the sink in the bathroom to wash them, but couldn't reach the counter in my gown. I undressed, putting Kylo's t-shirt on, and filled the tub with enough water to cover my feet, sitting on the lip as I let them soak. I stared at the blistered skin on my toes, the red tinges in the water from my heels, and I pulled the stopper, deciding to take a bath. I filled the tub, pulling the t-shirt off and stepped in, turning off the water when it was full. It was a bit too hot, but I washed, and when I was done, I pulled my knees to my chest, wrapped my arms around my legs, and stared at the drip of the faucet, the ripple of each drop.

I heard the door open and close, then a silent moment before, "Rey?" Kylo's voice was sharp with panic.

I looked up, hearing him call my name again, and the door flew open. His eyes were wild when they found me.

"Where are you bleeding?" He demanded, closing the distance between us in three strides. He knelt down next to me, looking me over.

"How did you know-"

"There's blood on the floor in our bedroom." He explained, exasperatedly. "Where are you hurt?"

Shit, I'd bled on the floor? I lifted my right foot out of the water and he visibly relaxed, sighing as he brought a hand up to cover his face.

I lowered my foot.

"No, let me see." He insisted, and put a hand under my calf, his knuckles breaking the surface of my bath water. He dipped his other hand in and made a face. "It's cold."

I blinked. Cold?

"How long have you been sitting here?" He asked, rolling his sleeves up to his elbows.

I couldn't answer. Because I didn't know. Long enough for my too hot water to chill way past room temperature.

He reached in and pulled the stopper, and I shivered as the water drained. A towel was laid across me, Kylo's arms went under me, then I was being lifted up, and carried to our bed. He set me down without a word, and began to dry me with the towel, leaving once to retrieve his shirt, and an armful of bandages.

He pulled the shirt over my head, and I pushed my arms through, watching as he knelt on the floor, his hand going to my ankle to lift my foot up.

"I'm sorry." I said, and he stilled. "I should have insisted on bringing Kuruk. I shouldn't have gone without him. I should have just come back to the room and told you." My throat ached with unshed tears as my bottom lip quivered.

He smeared ointment on my broken and blistered skin, but said nothing.

"I don't mean to scare you." I told him.

"I know." He said as he soothed a bandage over my heel, his voice thick.

"But I did." It wasn't a question.

He finally looked up and there was so much in his eyes, so much swirling there, that he didn't have to answer.

A small sob broke out of my chest and I brought my hands up to cover my face as I began to cry. "You must be so angry with me."

His hands gently pulled mine away and took my face between them, wiping my tears with his thumbs. "No." He said, firmly. "I'm not angry with you."

"If I had just taken Kuruk, those guys wouldn't have followed us." I blubbered. "And the only thing you've ever asked of me is just to take a Knight and I didn't."

He folded me into his arms, holding me against his chest as I sobbed. His fingers stroked my hair, his other hand rubbing soothing circles on my back.

"I'm not angry." He said again. "I had to admit a few things to myself tonight that I've been battling for a while."

I pulled away to look at him.

"And, those admissions, those things that I can't run from anymore, those things that I can't ignore any longer... I'm terrified of something happening to you, I'm terrified of losing you. But, mostly, I'm terrified of the fact that I'm terrified."

He rubbed the moisture in his eyes with his thumb and pointer finger.

"I've been so stupid trying to fight this. I've been in denial, thinking that if I just ignored what I feel, it would go away. But when Ardion told me that you were in the city, and that he told you that you didn't need an escort….when I thought that something could happen to you, when I thought that I could lose you…" he let out a shaky breath. "I never wanted someone in my life that I couldn't stand losing. Not again. But-" he shook his head. "I can't lose you, Rey, I can't."

I reached up and put my hands on either side of his face, holding his head between them. "You won't." I said, through my tears.

His eyes were unguarded, and in that swirl of conflict clouding them, I saw what he'd been battling, what he'd had to admit. I felt it in my soul just as plainly as I saw it written on his. I could almost hear the words echo through my head, the truth that he couldn't, wouldn't say.

He loved me.

My eyes widened. "Kylo-" Fresh tears slid down my face, and he blinked, looking away.

I could feel when he put his guard back up, the ghost of whatever connection we had in the Force snapping shut.

My heart fractured.

"I...have to do some damage control with Dravic." He said, his voice vacant. "He won't appreciate the way that I spoke to Ardion." He leaned in and kissed the top of my head. "Call the servant if you need anything. Stay off your feet."

'Please don't.' I wanted to beg. 'Please don't run away. Please don't shut me out.' But I nodded, saying nothing.

"I-" He stopped, as if he choked on the words. "I'll be back later."

The click of the door breaking the tense silence as it closed behind him made me flinch.