Chapter 3

Rey leaned against the headboard as Benjamin crossed the room to start a fire, as he moved she admired the way he deftly lifted the heavy looking firewood with one hand. He glanced over his shoulder as he knelt by the hearth and quirked an eyebrow at her curiously. Rey looked away, only mildly embarrassed he had caught her staring. He had to understand that she would be dumbfounded by his mere existence. It didn't help that he looked like a price from a dark fairy tale either, she thought bemusedly. She ran her hands over her face, rubbing her eyes, she should have been tired but there was too much going on to even think about sleep. When she pulled her hands away from her face she was pleased to see the room alight in the orange glow of the fire.

"Are you hungry?" Benjamin asked, straightening up from the fire. Rey contemplated it, and decided she could eat, so she nodded and thought to herself how Finn made fun of her for always being hungry even thought that was bound to happen when you went half your life with little to no access to food. She rolled her eyes and sat up as Benjamin approached.

"I don't have much" He started, pulling a ceramic container from the shelf, "I'll figure out something else for you to eat tomorrow." he muttered as he passed her the jar. She looked inside slightly suspiciously.

"What is that?" she questioned, looking at the brown chunks.

"It's venison." He said, looking a little offended. "It's preserved, don't worry… look." he took a piece and popped it in his mouth. Rey watched as he struggled to chew and tentatively reached into the jar. She examined the bit of meat in her hand and decided it looked close enough to beef jerky that she could stomach it.

"It's like jerky…" She muttered through a mouthful of salty, chewy meat.

"Jerky?" He asked, having finally swallowed his portion. Rey chuckled and shrugged,

"Never mind…" She said, shaking her head.

"And you?" He asked, his voice deep and low, the rumble of it distracted Rey momentarily.

"What?" She looked at him blankly.

"What about your name?" he murmured.

"Oh! It's Rey." She explained and watched as the corner of his mouth turned up with the faintest hint of a smile.

"Rey." He repeated, the name falling off his tongue slowly.

He was still eyeing her with that half smile as he took the container from her hands. She felt his fingers graze over hers and she was surprised how warm they were, it reminded her of when she had collapsed on the side of the road, She had felt him stoop over her, a wave of his warmth protecting her from the man with the Grey face.

"Benjamin?" She asked quickly, her head snapping up, gaze meeting his. "Are you going to tell me what that thing… that man was in the woods?"

"You can call me Ben…" he sighed, shifting nervously on his feet before slowly lowering himself on the edge of the bed. Rey felt the mattress dip with his weight and she shifted over to make more room for his enormous frame. "And I suppose I should…"

Rey tucked her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around herself tightly. Whatever Ben was about to tell her, she had a feeling was not going to be pleasant. He swung his legs onto the bed and mirrored her position, leaning against the footboard. They looked at each other for a long time before he began.

"The King's Royal Regiment was one of the first loyalist armies and we were respected across the colony." Ben paused, searching Rey's face for understanding. She nodded and he continued.

"Because the continental army were declared traitors we were unable legally to hold them was war prisoners, instead they were to be rounded up and hanged for treason, and given a dignified death at the end of the noose." Rey flinched, imagining Ben's large body hanging from a rope, face pale and eyes white. It sent a shiver down her spine. She met Ben's gaze and swallowed roughly before he continued.

"My commander, Snoke, was a ruthless man who didn't agree with the law, he wanted to exact vengeance on the rebels and gain power any way he could. There was a rumor in the regiment that he killed the prisoners and sacrificed them in secret."

Rey paled, "Sacrificed?" She asked, images of pentagrams and candles flashing in her mind.

"Witchcraft…" Ben started, "Deals with the devil for influence and prestige." He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath through his mouth before continuing. "I didn't believe it, I fought alongside the man against the continental army. I was riding back from town one day and came across him in the woods… his arms and chest were covered in blood."

Rey took a deep breath and envisioned the scene, the preserved meat repeating on her as she thought of a man covered in that amount of blood.

"I confronted him and told him of the rumors I had heard." Ben murmured, sliding forward slightly on the bed towards Rey as he noticed her nauseated face. "He attacked me and I fled, it made me a deserter but I had to get away. I went to the first place I could think of, my uncle's home. There I found my uncle and my mother, they certainly were surprised to see me." He recalled with an indignant huff before explaining. "When I joined the loyalists they all but disowned me, claiming I was fighting for the wrong side and history would remember me as the villain. My mother who has always been...spiritual... said I had already been cursed and gave me my grandmother's talisman." His hand went to his chest and he pulled out a chain previously hidden by the fabric of his shirt. On the end of the chain was a silver cross embedded with a selection of blue-grey stones.

Rey instinctively reached forward and trailed her fingertips across the smooth stones, she looked up at Ben inquisitively.

"It's Bluestone." He whispered, "It was used by the druids to bring luck and protection. This particular cross was worn and blessed by the Archbishop Jinn and gifted to my grandmother, the stones were passed down through my family for a hundred years before my birth." Ben's finger brushed against Rey's momentarily before he pulled the cross out of her hand and tucked it back against his chest, she looked up and met his gaze, his eyes twinkled mysteriously in the firelight which both frightened her and piqued her curiosity.

"My uncle Luke was a colonel in the Continental Army and convinced me to join them and give up the Loyalist's secrets." He slid his hands through his hair nervously. "I should have just disappeared I shouldn't have taken sides." He muttered and Rey could tell he still harboured deep guilt over all of this, even after so many years. She braced herself and waited for Ben to continue. "I gave the rebels my information, the names of the leaders, the code names of spies in their ranks and even the location of the camp. Luke waited for new years eve, knowing the troops would be celebrating and the lookouts would not be at their posts.

"He used my information to ambush the Regiment and slaughter or capture nearly every one of the men, Snoke escaped into the forest and It fell on me to find the prisoners. So I went into the woods in search of where Snoke had them incarcerated." Ben swallowed heavily and Rey noticed his face had turned a slight green color. "I found them… they were shackled to the wall of a cliff, all of their throats had been slit."

Rey felt the bile in her throat threaten to gurgle up into her mouth, she swallowed against it and grasped the blanket below her until her knuckles were white.

"I turned to head back to the camp and was attacked by the Commander Snoke, we chased each other through the trees until we came up against a stone ridge and there was nowhere left to run." As he spoke, Ben gazed with unfocused eyes at the wall above Rey's head, obviously remembering the image of his former commander backed against a wall.

"He started chanting, his voice was… different. When he charged me he came with more force I would have thought possible for a man of his age and size. I swung my saber and it connected with his head." Rey noticed Ben's hands were shaking slightly and stopped herself from reaching out to put her hands over his. Ben took a slow breath and closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry… I haven't spoken of this to anyone…" He laughed humorloressly, "I haven't spoken to anyone in so long, I'm sorry if this is too much." His deep voice was full of self consciousness and it tugged on Rey's heartstrings in a way she hadn't expected. She lurched forward and rather ungracefully put her hand on Ben's forearm.

"It's okay." She murmured, "It's not too much, I need to know." She reassured him, hoping she hadn't been to forward, especially for this man's eighteenth century sensibilities. She was consoled when he slipped his large hand over hers before continuing.

"Snoke's body crumpled and I thought maybe I had passed out, or I was hallucinating because he turned to ash as soon as he hit the ground. There was a flash his voice echoed through the trees." Ben took a deep breath and his head dropped, Rey felt his fingers twitch against hers and she gave his hand a squeeze.

"The last thing I heard was him calling me a traitor and I went unconscious."

"Ben…" Rey breathed feeling overwhelmed. She imagined he felt the same and she didn't want to pressure him further, but she had to say something.

"You're mother said you were already cursed when you went to her." She whispered, "You couldn't have done differently, you killed an evil man, that doesn't make you a traitor."

Ben shuddered and pulled his hand away, moving to grip the bedspread angrily. Rey sensed his mood shifting and she backed up against the headboard again to give him space.

"I could have done so many things differently." He whispered harshly. "My sworn duty was to the King and I betrayed that because I was afraid."

"There's no use berating yourself now." She muttered and he remained silent. It scared her to see him so tense, he was like a live wire, frayed and charged with energy. Rey had seen enough angry men in her life to know when to leave well enough alone so she kept silent and curled in on herself. There was a long moment of fraught silence, the only sound came from the crackling fire which dwindled down to embers now. Suddenly Ben shoved himself off the bed and to his feet.

"I need a breath of air." He growled before stalking off towards the door. He threw a glance over his shoulder at Rey before he slammed the door behind him and ventured into the dark.

Rey closed her eyes and pulled a blanket up to her face as she felt hot tears prick at the corner of her eyes. She was still trying to wrap her head around the situation and now she had to deal with not only her own emotions but the emotions of this strange man? She couldn't deny that she felt something for him, he was beautifully tragic but there was a darkness to him. He was so defeated by his circumstances that he had turned all his negativity inwards. She felt a wave of exhaustion roll over her and she yawned into the blankets. The fire was nearly out so she stood and crossed the room to add another log.

After she stoked the flames for a couple moments she meandered back to the bed. Her eyes trailed along the items on the desk as she made her way. There was a stack of handmade paper, and a calligraphy set. Her eyes skimmed some of the beautifully written words but the flickering firelight made it hard to read the scrawling script. She made sure the curtains were pulled tightly shut, not allowing a single crack of window to be unobscured and then crossed the room back to the bed.

As she sunk into the mattress she hoped Ben would return soon, but she was too exhausted to wait for him. The single feather pillow smelled like pine and smoke and with one final yawn, sleep overwhelmed her.

Authors note: Hey! So, I'm so grateful for the response this story has gotten so far! I have most of the story mapped out so uploads should be coming quick! Let me know what you think so far and where you want this story to go!