All characters as well as setting is (C) George Lucas and Disney

All original characters (including Larulai Hynn, Darvic and Lord Hynn) and story is (C) BlackLaceLamb

Chapter IV: Acts of Trust

Six Months Later

Larulai's back hit the mat and she groaned loudly with pain, she rolled out of the way as her opponent's foot came down where her face once was.

"Get up!" Shouted Captain Phasma. Larulai leapt to her feet, keeping her eyes on her opponent as she moved around him on the tips of her toes. Sweat dripped from her nose and chin as she narrowly avoided his punches, but she still wasn't fast enough. His knuckles clipped her chin and sent her head spinning, his fist suddenly smashed up into her abdomen. Larulai hit the ground hard and convulsed in pain, she gagged on air and clenched her eyes closed as her belly began to grow fresh bruises. Her partner moved closer, and she started to push herself up. "Finish this!"

Larulai exhaled slowly and listened to her heartbeat, a trickle of blood ran down her chin. She opened her eyes. With a single, graceful twist of her body she rose to her feet and faced her attacker with her hand outstretched. He froze in his tracks and began to lift off the floor.

'Concentrate… concentrate…' She could feel Captain Phasma watching her closely, as well as another set of eyes, but she stayed focussed. Larulai flung her opponent high against a padded wall and tried to hold him in place. She suspended him for a few moments, before carefully setting him down. Slowly she exhaled, and couldn't hide the hint of a pleased smile on her lips. Her sparring partner made his way over to shake her hand, and they nodded respectfully at one another. Quickly she turned and looked at Captain Phasma, keeping her shoulders straight and her eyes forward.

"You're dismissed. Next time, try not to be so meagre," Phasma said. Larulai nodded and silently left the room, it was the closest to a compliment she'd ever received from her. Two stormtroopers were waiting by the door to escort Larulai back to her chambers.

General Hux left the observation room and headed back towards the main control core. He had expected far superior results from Lady Hynn because of her refined background, and still remembered watching her first day of training with bitter resentment. She had been so physically weak that one glancing punch from an opponent had broken two of her ribs and fractured her hip when she landed, and for weeks she was confined to her bed. An utter embarrassment. Not to mention the weeks of detoxing the drugs out of her system, seeing her curled up in the medical bay, crying, vomiting and convulsing like the spoilt little junkie she was. But despite how far she'd fallen, Supreme Leader Snoke had given his orders, so she was pumped full of meds and sent back to training the moment she was out of rehabilitation.

Of course Kylo Ren was frustrated that his pupil was so physically frail, but he seemed to see value in her, and was clearly trying to be patient. Despite their frustrations, they had the common sense to leave her recovery to the medical staff. Who added more to their concoction of supplements to help her quickly gain muscle mass. Finally, she was starting to show signs of competence.

Ren had told him nothing of her Force training, and while a part of Hux was curious as to what he was teaching her, he knew it was one of the few aspects of the First Order he had little business with.

Larulai sensed a familiar presence, she instantly straightened her posture and lifted her head as General Hux turned a corner and headed in her direction. She gave him a blank look and a curt nod, before continuing on her way. All he gave was a slight sneer. He must be having a good day.

She swiped the key card and unlocked her room. Carefully she undressed and went to her bathroom, letting the water warm up for her shower as she dropped her clothes down the laundry chute. The cut on her lip had clotted, and she wiped away the dried blood. Quickly she combed her fingers through her hair to twist it into a bun, over the past few months it had grown to her waist and she'd thought about cutting it short. But her beautiful hair was one of the few things left that spoke of her former glory.

Gingerly she stepped into the shower and let the hot water pour over her bruises, closing her eyes and letting out a groan of relief. She was looking forward to her monthly sports massage. The quickly changing muscles in her body still felt alien, as though her mind had been placed in a foreign skin, but she was no longer opposed to these changes.

Even though it had only been six months, she could barely remember what life used to be like back on Lothal. True she was still an elegant waif, but she finally had some physical strength that allowed her to stand on her own two feet. Larulai tried to remember what it felt like to be so helpless, barely able to last the day without her father or brother beside her. Her stomach clenched painfully as she pushed down her sorrow, she hadn't heard anything from them since that fateful day on Lothal. But they were alive, she knew that much. Though she didn't know where they were, if she concentrated hard enough, she felt it through the Force. Larulai only prayed that her father was content with what he'd sold her for, and that her brother was safe somewhere far away.

She showered quickly, knowing she only had an hour to herself before Kylo Ren arrived. Larulai got changed into a clean tank top, long pants and undergarments, letting her hair fall loosely around her face. She sat back on her bed and picked up the tablet beside her, opening it back to the tome she was reading about the ancient Nightsisters. Straight from the recovered Empire archives, and far superior to the abridged version she had read as a girl. As she read, she lifted her hand and used the Force to turn the sink on in her bathroom. She kept her eyes on her book, and made a nearby glass fill with water, the faucet turned off as the glass floated over to her outstretched hand. Larulai's fingertips touched the cool glass, and her face broke out into a proud, wide smile as she settled deeper into her pillow.

Right on time, Larulai lifted her head and sensed her tutor drawing close. She quickly set her tablet down and got to her feet. Kylo Ren stepped into the room and turned to address her

'Good evening, Sir…'

"Let's get started." He said. They took their usual positions, her sitting cross-legged on a small stool, and him slowly starting to walk around her. Larulai rested her hands in her lap, her thumbs pressed together and her fingertips interlaced. Her shoulders were back, her spine straight, as she tensed her abdominals the muscles started to throb. But she didn't wince, not with Ren watching.

For nearly an hour she meditated under his observation, occasionally Ren would almost touch her head, just for a moment, to be sure her mind was clear of distraction. But it always was. Meditation was one of the few techniques that she had mastered. Ren would monitor her sense of control and the calmness of her mind, and she had learnt how to listen and reach out to the Force both a million light years away and deep within her.

Larulai's mind returned to the dark forest. The snow (or ash) fell across her pale skin, the scent of blood and smoke heavy on the air. Silvery knives lashed in and out of the corner of her eye, but she tried to keep her mind free of fear. Gold embellishments seemed to grow from the wood of the trees, and glimmered in the moonlight. The scar across her chest seemed to tighten. She glanced down, and saw the trail of spattered blood. Once more, it led to the far-off shadows. Twisting, beckoning…

Every time she had been to this place… she always stayed in one spot. A silent, trembling observer. She could feel something wet running down her face, but couldn't tell what it was. For the first time, very carefully… she took a step forward-

Suddenly Larulai was back, and she opened her eyes to see Ren stop circling her.

"Very good," Ren said, and it was her cue to relax. She could almost detect a note of pride in his voice. Larulai eased forward and sighed with relief. He reached into a pouch on his belt, and drew out a thin glass sphere. "Lift your hand, and use the Force to suspend the sphere." Larulai did as he instructed, and Ren did the same. "I will try to break it, you must prevent this by counteracting my influence with yours. Understood?"

'Yes, Sir...' Larulai felt the weight of his energy press against hers. She kept her eyes on the sphere, finding a balance against their conflicting ripples of the Force. For a few minutes they kept the sphere peacefully balanced, but there was something different about the flow between them. Ren seemed distracted, his mind was distant and unfocussed. She tried her best to meet his rising, unsteady strength with her own.

The orb cracked, and Ren growled irritably. Larulai gritted her teeth and tried to regain control, but Ren released a sudden surge of energy and the sphere shattered. She flinched back, a piece of glass nicked her cheek. Kylo Ren said nothing, but she could sense the frustration radiating from him. Larulai rose from her seat and looked at his helmet fiercely, a trickle of blood rolled down her cheek.

'That wasn't my fault…'

"Of course it was. I was a fool to think you were starting to control your power," he said coldly.

'Don't you start that again…' she thought bitterly, 'you know damn well I'm far superior to my former self… and I also know you're especially arrogant when things haven't gone your way…'

"You have some nerve... speaking to your superior in such a way," he said.

'But I'm not speaking, am I?' She didn't hide the half smile that spread across her face. Ren took a step forward, towering over her.

"Be careful. You're starting to think yourself my equal…" he said. Ren's voice was dangerously deep, challenging her; Larulai's smirk vanished. "Never forget you are little more than an acquisition of the First Order. And a disappointing one at that."

'And you're not?' The thought crept into her head before she could stop herself. Ren's hand lashed out. The colour drained from her face as Larulai's throat began to tighten.

"Take. That. Back." Kylo Ren's Force grip around her neck tautened, she didn't need to speak, so she didn't need to breath to apologise. Larulai's frightened eyes locked with his, her lips parted as she struggled for air. Her mind reached out desperately, the glass beside her bed cracked, and she tried to control her fear.

'I-I'm sorry… I w-was out of line. Please forgive me, Sir…' He let her inhale, then his grip tightened once more.

"Unlike you… I have power, influence, and value. I matter to the First Order… to the Knights of Ren." A fresh drop of blood ran from her cheek and down her neck. Larulai could feel his eyes following it as the scarlet bead rested in the deep hollow of her collarbone. She glared at him, and the Force constricting her breathing began to ease as Larulai fought back.

'You're preaching to the choir. I already know how powerful you are, the respect you command from the troopers and officers… and I especially know how everyone is afraid of you …the shadowed murderer, the monster of the First Order, the slaughterer of innocents...'

"That sound an awful lot like disgusting, Resistance propaganda..." he snarled, and flexed his hand to tighten his grip. Larulai's face turned white and her eyes began to water, but her will was stronger than it had ever been before.

'My brother told me about you… all those months ago… before you ripped me away from everyone I know and love…' Larulai let her thoughts flow free, each word another twist of the knife as she tried to hurt him. 'Father painted you as our saving grace, but didn't deny those legends about your bloody conquests…' She narrowed her gaze at him, and bared her teeth menacingly. The Force in the room seemed to tremble uncontrollably, as she forced back his energy from around her throat. Ren staggered his stance as she tried to regain control, her hand was practically shaking. 'Go on… tell me I'm wrong! Look me in the eye and tell me that all those accolades the galaxy has given you are nothing but lies!'

Ren broke his hold on her and lowered his hand. The wrathful energy faded. Larulai rubbed at her sore throat and tried to steady her ragged breathing. For a moment, she thought he was going to answer her. But she lowered her gaze and shook her head, moving past him. 'Of course he won't… he must love all those glorious, ghastly accolades. Proves just how damn powerful and valuable he is-'

An unfamiliar sound caught her attention, the shifting of metal and fabric, and she looked back over her shoulder at Ren. Larulai froze, her lips parted and her eyes widened. In Kylo Ren's hand was his helmet, and he turned to face her fully. Never had he shown his true face to her… and for once in her life, she had no idea what to think.

What struck her most was the intensity in his features, his thick black hair and piercing eyes. They were dark pools that held tempestuous conflict in their depths, an unfathomable pain that threatened to drown all who got too close. While not classically handsome, there was something stunning and haunting about him. The lean, smooth lines of his nose and cheekbones lead perfectly to the fullness of his lips. For a moment he was silent, and took a step closer to his awestruck pupil. Larulai's lips moved unconsciously.

"What that you have heard is true, and I pride myself on all I have accomplished, no matter how gruesome… but all you should concern yourself with is what you call me, Lady Hynn," he said softly. "Out of all those titles, all those rumours… who am I to you?" Larulai carefully collected her thoughts, thinking back over all that had passed in the time they'd been together; and looked him straight in the eye.

'I call you Kylo Ren. You are the man who took me from my father and attacked my brother, who tore me away from my home. And now… I call you my mentor … the only other person I know in this galaxy who feels the Force as I do, and understands its burden and blessing,' she thought, 'I don't trust you… but you are trying to teach me all that you know about the Force, and for that you have my respect and gratitude… but you know as well as I that you still frighten me…' Ren seemed satisfied with the answer, but his dark eyes still bored into hers. Larulai had grown accustomed to his observant gaze, but with him unmasked, it felt dangerously intimate.

"I still remember the night we met, how you cowered at my feet… the way you looked at me…" he muttered "and now… how you've changed…" his voice drifted off. Larulai looked at him curiously, unsure of what she heard.

'Sir? Are you alright?' Ren composed himself and rose to his full height.

"Of course I am," he said quickly. "I felt you fighting back against me, and even though this evening's…. discussion… was unexpected, it proved to me that you are now almost fully in control of your abilities," Larulai nodded in agreement, "I have read Captain Phasma's reports concerning your training, and while you've overcome your physical shortcomings, you have yet to start maturing as a proper Force user and learn power, not just control. If you were to fight anyone properly, you would die," Larulai hushed the thoughts that threatened to surface. "I will inform Captain Phasma that you will be undergoing the next stage of your education, and will organise scenarios for you to test your abilities."

'Thank you, Sir…' she thought.

"I shall be departing for another system tomorrow, and you will accompany me. I will be away for a few days, and I don't want to waste any time that could be spent on training you."

'Yes, Sir…' His dark eyes fell to the cut on her cheek, Ren's fingertips unconsciously rubbed against each other.

"Clean up, your training is done for today."

'Yes Sir, goodnight…' he put his helmet back on and left the room. Larulai carefully cleaned up the pieces of glass and threw them away, and went to the bathroom to treat the cut. She couldn't get Ren's true face out of her mind, he was far from the brutal, scarred beast she had imagined. But so suddenly seeing the man behind the mask had only made her all the more curious about her mysterious tutor. Despite all their time together, they still knew next to nothing about each other. She had been very careful to keep any personal thoughts locked away when he was around, and they'd not once conversed as casual acquaintances. It as always him the teacher, and her the student. Nothing more or less.

But as Larulai looked at the dried blood on her neck and collarbone, she remembered the way his eyes had burned fiercely into hers when he choked her. And an icy shiver swept up her spine.