After arriving at his palace, Kylo showed Rey to his quarters telling her she would be safest there. He then promptly left with Finn and Poe, leaving Rey alone again.
Besides the large, intricately designed rug stretching across the floor, the prince's room was simpler than she expected but very spacious. The ceilings were high and the walls spread apart so far from each other, she was sure his room was as big as her entire house.
The bed was also huge with a large white canopy cascading from above. Large windows were carved in arches all along the wall, mere openings with enough space to sit on; apparently there was no need for glass this high up and in this climate. There were cushions lining the walls and windows, as well as a few wooden chests and a tall wardrobe.
Everything besides the rug and wood was white or cream, which was strange because the prince himself seemed to enjoy dressing in black and red. Rey quite liked the feel of this room; its openness and brightness seemed to reflect something within her.
She stood up and grabbed a few cushions and a sheet. She propped the cushions up into one of the curves of a window, wrapped the sheet around herself and hopped up, pulling her knees to her chest.
The view from his window was breathtaking, the moon full and brightly lighting the town- no, a full city, she realizes. This place was significantly larger than her town, and much more densely packed, an array of stone steps, pathways, and arches.
Rey heard someone approaching and she snapped to attention, wary of who it could be. She was quickly on her feet and grabbing a nearby candlestick, taking lithe, silent steps towards the door, ready for whatever was approaching. A child with very ivory skin and ebony hair poked his head through the door with a hesitant smile.
"Hello, I'm Aiden. Prince Kylo asked me to attend to you and keep you company. I've brought you some refreshments." The boy fully entered the room carrying a tray with a pitcher, two cups, and a bowl of olives and dates. "Prince Kylo rarely has guests stay over, especially a lady, I must say this makes me so happy to have someone to visit with, thank you Rey for being here, would you like some wine? Prince Kylo had me pull this from his cellar which I've never gotten to do before, it's very old, he says it's supposed to be delicious and that I may have some as well! He is quite nice, the prince is, I am so very lucky to serve him…"
Aiden kept chattering as he moved about the room getting himself comfortable, placing pillows at the window as well, kicking off his sandals, grinning at Rey, serving them both wine, getting distracted with the drooping fern in a corner of the room, pulling out a watering can to feed said fern, laughing a little to himself, going to a trunk and pulling out a red knit blanket, wrapping it around himself, returning to the window, hopping up, and plopping an olive in his mouth, all the while telling Rey about his day or about his work for Prince Kylo.
He was so much like Rey's little sister Reeve, completely content and friendly, always talking and smiling. Rey was thankful for his presence, a great comfort of familiarity in this otherwise strange world. She grabbed an olive too and tossed it up into the air before catching it in her mouth causing Aiden to laugh. Rey laughed with him, feeling a little more at home.
Ventress was fuming. Once again that pest of a prince had intervened with her affairs. That pathetic girl was far more valuable to her than she was willing to admit, it had taken an exorbitant amount of her power to locate the perfect girl through time and space whose blood would ensure the ascendency of her beloved son, Jova. Bringing her here had drained even more of Ventress's power and resources. Now that the girl was here, there was no turning back, she would not be able to summon another worthy sacrifice for a long time.
"It is unfortunate that that womanizer of a prince reached the girl and sullied her, my queen." One of Ventress's lackies was trying to comfort her and gain some favor. The fool, Ventress thinks.
"You imbecile, I care not whether the girl was sullied or not, that never mattered to me, I just need her pure blood. The girl is special, and we need to get her back emimmediately/em." When he did nothing but look at her she said, "so get out there and find her!"
She gave the man the sternest sneer she could muster so that he would flee quickly in a hopeless attempt to solve her problem. Of course, she knew he would not even come close to the girl, since Ventress herself could not. The damned prince had been near her since the failed sacrifice at the East temple, making her invulnerable to Ventress's assaults.
The queen went to the large crystal basin in the corner of her lair and looked into it expecting to find the girl was hidden away from her reach, but instead she was surprised to find the Prince had left the girl's side and she had been left alone with a young serving boy. The queen saw them talking and laughing with each other, sipping from cups.
Perfect, she thought.
She waited only a little longer before the girl was left alone again, though the queen did not follow her actions. Instead, she observed the boy walking to his quarters, first stopping by the bathroom to relieve himself and, to the queen's delight, acquire a cup of water.
The queen was quick to send some of her cursed water through her many channels, and into the young boy's cup. It would normally take the queen little effort to accomplish such a feat but after pulling that wretched girl from whatever godforsaken place she came from, the queen's power had been left drained and waned, needing to recover before reaching a fully functioning capacity once again.
She then watched as he clambered to his room, climbed into his modest bed and closed his eyes to sleep. She allowed him five minutes before she deftly and delicately maneuvered her fingers, gazing into her crystal basin, watching the cursed water quiver in his cup before it swirled into the air in a lovely pattern and then forced itself in the boy's mouth, down the boy's throat and into his core, taking complete control of him.
Rey was drifting off into sleep while curled up on the window sill, completely drained from the events of today and lulled into sleepiness by the wine that Aiden brought. The door creaked open and she glanced warily at the door, relieved to see it was Aiden who walked through the door.
He looked a little off, but Rey figured that like her, he was unused to wine. Still, she found it odd that while the wine seemed to make her more tired, it seemed to have had the opposite effect on Aiden, whose eyes were wide open with dilated pupils.
In fact, Rey remembered Aiden appearing very tired with droopy eyes before he said it was time for him to get some rest. Rey could tell something was off. She was immediately on alert, ready for whatever was to come.
"Aiden, are you okay?" Rey asked, concern etched in her tone. She took a few cautious steps in a wide arc to the left. Aiden immediately countered. She noticed he held one arm behind his back, concealing something. This is not good... she thought to herself. His silence was jarring, and the stone coldness in Aiden's eyes seemed to grow. Rey steeled her nerves.
Rey took a few more steps in an arc to left. Instead of countering, this time Aiden lunged for her, revealing the dagger behind his back. He slashed at Rey but she was quick and ready to dodge him. She quickly side stepped him, still getting skimmed on the arm by the blade, and threw herself at the door, thrusting it open and sprinting down the way the prince had taken her to get to his quarters.
Rey called for help but there didn't seem to be many lights or people in the prince's palace. A quick glance over her shoulder showed that Aiden was rapidly gaining on her.
She came to an open garden with two exit points to choose from. Rey was unsure which way to go but quickly darted to the right at the sound of the footsteps pounding closer from where she had come . Much to her dismay, she had chosen a dead end and turned to see Aiden cornering her, stalking forward slowly with the knife raised in his outstretched arm. His dead eyes called for her and Rey backed up onto the wall before she turned around and tried climbing up the meager vines and stones as quickly as she could. There was no use she knew, he was too close, but she must try.
Suddenly, Aiden cried out as an arrow struck his knife wielding hand, causing him to drop the dagger; He swirled around in the direction of the assailant, clutching his wrist. Rey kept scrambling up the wall for dear life. Kylo's voice calling her name caused her to freeze- he was quickly approaching with a bow in hand and Finn in tow.
Kylo reached Aiden and grabbed hold of him, Finn going straight for the dagger on the floor and kicking it away from Aiden's reach. Aiden lunged at Kylo's throat, wrapping his hands and squeezing desperately but Kylo easily struck him in the gut before Aiden could get a good hold on Kylo. Aiden immediately doubled over and coughed up some water that instantaneously evaporated.
"Kylo, it's the queen's cursed water, there's no doubt about it." Finn said solemnly. He kneeled over Aiden, patting the boy's back in a steady beat to help him get the water fully out of his system.
Rey was on top of the wall before she allowed herself a chance to look down, but she managed to catch the water disappearing and poor Aiden as he fell to his knees hacking violently, tears streaming down his face. She heard a chorus of footsteps approaching rapidly.
Kylo strode to the wall, arms outstretched, offering to help Rey down and she accepted, trusting that he would catch her if she leapt the short way into his arms. Though Rey would not consider herself very graceful, the manner in which Kylo caught her had made her feel so. He set her lightly on the ground and she rushed to help Aiden.
The world seemed to spin for Rey, the ground rushing quickly up to meet her face when just before that could happen, the prince caught her by the waist and pulled her to him. "Rey, you're bleeding!" She looked at her arm. Blood was pouring out in an alarming amount. . Aiden had cut much deeper than Rey's now finished adrenaline rush had allowed her to feel.
She slumped against Kylo as a few of his guards rushed onto the scene with Poe leading them. Rey was fading out rapidly, her consciousness flickering like the candles lighting the garden.
"Rey?! Rey?!"
She faded out, Kylo's piercing brown eyes being the last thing she sees.
Rey woke with a start, regretting it instantly when a sharp pain lanced up her arm which caused her to yelp and wince at once. That's when she noticed that she was in the prince's bed, draped across his bare chest, wearing nothing but the bandage on her arm… What the hell, she thought to herself and quickly pulled up the nearest sheet up her chest to cover up.
She had started to lift herself up off of him when the slumbering prince stirred and murmured something unintelligible. He wrapped his muscled arm over her belly and held her to him. She huffed and began lifting his arm when he said, "Relax, Rey, you need to take it easy to heal up. I stitched you up and made a poultice which should cure the wound rapidly, but it's still very fresh and requires rest. Aiden was under the queen's control when he attacked you. She must be plotting something."
She shifted her arm to get a better look and groaned slightly at the pain. "Does it hurt?" He looked concerned as he gently used his fingers to unwrap the bandage on her arm and examine the wound which, Rey had to admit, looked very good considering how gruesome it had looked last night .
"It's not too bad, I've certainly had worse… Thank you, Kylo. For stitching me up and for saving me." The look he gave her in that moment brought a blush to her cheeks and she pulled the sheet tighter around her. He was slowly leaning in and she sat still, eyes transfixed by his, feeling caught under the spell of his gaze.
Suddenly a startling chime rang throughout the city. Rey looked outside to see birds taking to the sky in response to the loud clang. She turned to Kylo, a quizzical look on her face. "What was that?"
"That sound marks the beginning of Aiden's punishment. There will be a second ring just like it when the act is finished."
"Wait, but he's innocent! It wasn't Aiden who attacked me, not truly. It was the queen who did this! There is no reason for him to suffer anymore than he already has!" Rey was visibly distraught as she dragged herself off the bed with her good arm, willing the pain away. Nothing mattered to her more than getting to Aiden.
"Rey, I'm sorry but there is nothing we can do. We can't prove the queen is responsible for the attack when the evidence has evaporated into thin air. We have no proof and what Aiden did is a grave offense; there were far too many witnesses.
"Rey, I've taken you into my home, under my care. You must know that your position as my concubine keeps you safe and elevates you to the level of a princess, my one and only. The eyes of the law cannot turn away now that my princess has been injured, no matter how much I wish it could be so. He won't suffer long."
Kylo had given her so much information that Rey had to take a moment to process. She was under his protection and that made her royalty, like him. She was his concubine in the eyes of this world. And that fact is the reason Aiden is being executed?
He said it all so carefully, calmly like it was meant to be comforting to Rey. That his assurances that she was safe and that Aiden wouldn't suffer long would bring her some form of relief?
Rey rarely felt fury. Even during her sporting events she didn't result to rage, but instead felt a wave of calmness and clarity overcome her when she centered herself and focused. She was an overall bright person, something she desired to share with others - but in that very moment Rey fumed. Her blood boiled and she felt her cheeks heat.
She walked to a window, grabbed a cushion, and flung it right at the prince who caught it with a shocked expression, his eyebrows almost up to his hairline. Never had anyone dared to do something as bold as throw a pillow at him. He tried to hide the upward twitch at the corners of his mouth, amused that she had chosen a pillow of all things to hurl at him.
Rey's mouth was set in a hard line, her chin tilted up, as she crossed her arms and said, "There is always another option! Take me to the execution grounds, now!
Silent tears streamed down Aiden's face and dropped onto the sandy ground. He was kneeled on the ground with his chin tucked into his chest and head bowed. Both of his hands were tied behind his back as a member of the city guard put the noose around his neck, the rope leading up to the gallow and down to where it was tied to a pair of horses.
He prayed to the gods, thanking them for his life, for the love of his family and for the prince. Aiden did not regret a moment of his time spent serving Prince Kylo who had always treated him with respect, making sure he was well cared for, educated, and never hungry.
Aiden only felt shame that he had attacked Rey. The memory of her bleeding out in the garden, so faint from blood loss that she had to be carried away flashed into his head again. He was so scared for her it was hard to worry about himself, and he only regretted that he couldn't see her when she awoke again.
"Aiden!"
Suddenly, Rey's voice cried out to him, halting his train of thought, and Aiden snapped his head up. He spotted her running forward with a boy's tunic on- one of his own tunics, he realized- and a belt tied around her small waist. She was barefoot, kicking up sand behind her as she rushed toward him. Before she could reach him, two city guards stepped in her path with spears crossed on the sand, blocking her path. She demanded that they move aside.
"We are sorry princess, but the law requires that we execute this boy. It would be different if you were a commoner but you are royalty, my lady."
"Kylo! Do something!" The prince was gliding towards the scene with his long graceful steps, Poe and Finn on either side of him. They went where the prince went.
"Rey… It's the law. The punishment for a commoner attacking a noble is death."
"So this is about my rank? I am a nobody so the punishment does not fit the crime! I'll give him the regular punishment! I'll work Aiden hard! Please, he doesn't deserve to die!" Rey's eyes had begun welling with tears. Everyone just stared at her with a concerned and apologetic look. "Fine! If I'm so important then I demand you release Aiden!"
"Rey, it would be against the law to release him. You cannot use your power as a noble for your own personal affairs." Kylo said it quietly.
Rey was anything but quiet when she said, "Are you serious? Doesn't your caste system exist so the nobles protect the common people?!" The tears were spilling freely but Rey couldn't care less. Aiden's life was at stake and it was her fault. "Then tell me, when is the right time to use my power?"
Everyone was shocked by what Rey had said, the prince especially was taken aback. She's right he thought to himself. Finn and Poe, still behind Kylo, broke into a grin each and shared a knowing glance between the two of them. Kylo composed himself, a deep warmth spreading in his heart which reached and softened his eyes as they held Rey's.
"Poe, release Aiden. We are taking him home." He closed the gap between himself and Rey and took her in his arms.
The guards were aghast. "But… Prince Kylo… you can't," the guard sputtered but Poe was already cutting Aiden's robe binds off. The boy was crying so heavily and began thanking Rey and Kylo profusely through the hiccups.
"It's fine. I will assume full responsibility for Aiden's release. He will be under my custody and you can tell that to anyone who raises questions." He turned his attention from the guard back to Rey. "Let's go home."
She gave him a dazzling smile and embraced him back before releasing Kylo and going to Aiden, grabbing the little boy and spinning him in the air. She set Aiden down and grabbed his hand as they started to walk back to Kylo's palace.
Rey's smile felt like a triumph to Kylo, as well as the newfound swing in her step. He looked down and smiled to himself before following her.
