Happy New Year guys, thanks to those who are following my story, and the 2 people that reviewed. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Rey's compliance to his demands was the stuff Kylo Ren's dreams were made of. But it wasn't happening soon enough for the impatient knight of Ren. She was infuriating, refusing to submit. That stubborn bitch, he thought bitterly as he exited her quarters empty handed like he had done every day for the past month. He was losing his mind trying to understand her. To find her weakness, he added. He had soon realized intimidation was making her close like a clamp, so he'd redirected his efforts towards letting her come to him. But every day, he would be the one coming to her cell and she would rebuff him over and over again. At least, she'd stopped ignoring him about a week ago, choosing to just stare blankly back at him until he was shacking with frustration. Anger was now radiating from his skin, begging for release. She didn't seem to understand that his offer was a great one, that she should be honored to be as Force sensitive as she was, to be on his master's mind at all.
I've had enough! Tomorrow— tomorrow I will show her what real power is.
Rey was watching his silhouette disappear, relieved to get a break. Every day, he came to her cell. At first, he would only stay for a few minutes, asking her if she wanted to be taught by him. Every day she would say no. Then, she switched strategies. She started ignoring him altogether. He would come in and she wouldn't acknowledge his presence. She would continue whatever she was doing, unaffected. That infuriated him the most.
After a couple of weeks of lying around all day and eating a reasonable portion of food twice a day she felt her body soften. She forced herself to train physically, not to lose her muscle mass. He would stay longer, probably glaring at her from under his metal armor, knowing what she was doing and why she was doing it. She became increasingly aware of his stare on her as she trained, making her skin crawl. One morning she simply couldn't avoid resting her eyes on him for a second which quickly grew into stealing a glance from time to time and at last she decided to just glare back.
His sullen silence unnerved her but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of speaking first. She had exhausted her imagination trying to figure out what was under the mask. Horrible scars? Bad skin burns? Crossed eyes? Wrinkles?
She was almost sure he wasn't that old though. She could tell because of how unruly his temper was. Sometimes, she would be able to taste his emotions without even trying. They would roll off of him like strong waves, menacing to engulf him. If he was old, he would probably be better at keeping it in check. But hey, you never know with a psychopath, she reminded herself, not wanting to underestimate him in any way or assume anything about him.
Today, he'd come to see her later than usual, and she was tired. She didn't want to sleep though, not yet. She managed to keep the anguish and fear at bay during the day, but at night…
He was lying in bed later that night, thinking about her. She was a puzzle refusing to be solved, plaguing his thoughts, an obsession growing like wildfire; rooted deep in his soul.
He was making no progress. That had to change, and fast.
He'd purposely closed the connection between their minds when he'd realized it went both ways. I've been a coward not to exploit it, he growled inwardly. He was secretly terrified of what she could see if she invaded his head again. Self-loathing crushed his heart at his inadequacy. She's no match to me, I'm a descendant of a powerful Sith, she's just a girl, he repeated like a mantra. An obnoxious, self-righteous, infuriating girl. He could not start thinking of her as an equal. Never.
He sat on his bed, a new found resolve awakening his malice. His intrinsic need to cheat, to manipulate, to control and to kill was pulsating anew in his veins as he drew power from the darkness. He wouldn't allow himself to be weak anymore, to fear his connection to the girl. He would abuse it to serve his dark purpose, he vowed before closing his eyes, looking for the way into her thoughts. He was glad when he found the stream easily, like water flowing down a familiar rift.
From his quarters, he couldn't snoop around her mind as easily as if he was staring straight into her eyes, but he could read her present thoughts and feelings with ease since she wasn't fighting back. Besides, he didn't want her to know he was peeking around in her mind, not yet.
Her melodic inward voice filled his ears, an edge or boredom to it.
I wonder if he dreams? She considered. What could a monster dream of? Killing babies? She joked, trying to entertain herself to avoid plunging into the deep melancholy that would blanket her almost every night. She was tired of being in captivity, yearning for some air, some action, some change.
The tone of her thoughts distracted him from his true intent.
His eyes snapped opened and his pulse quickened. She was thinking of him. He felt oddly warm at the thought, trying to brush aside the part about him killing babies.
He wondered what she dreamed about, curious to know why she had these thoughts. Maybe there was some reason she was asking herself those questions. He decided to find out. He concentrated on her again, this time staying at the edges of her consciousness, focusing on her breathing, waiting for it to become slow and regular. He waited for a long time. For some reason, she fought the lull of sleep as long as she could, before ultimately dozing off. He attuned himself to her subconscious before entering her dreams.
She was in a dark corridor, being chased by a tall, imposing shadow. She ran and ran, but the shadow always caught up with her. It finally cornered her and a red lightsaber ignited, posed to strike her. She retaliated, stopping the blade with her own right before it was too late. She pushed the shadow away with all her might. The dark form retaliated, its edges becoming clearer and clearer.
It's me, he realized. He observed them, staying hidden in the shadows. They fought fiercely against one another. The fight was long, extenuating, but he quickly realize she wasn't meant to win it. When she simply couldn't go on anymore, she fell to her knees with a thud. The shadow plunged the blade deep into her, killing her without mercy and she was… glad. He could feel her relief that it was over at last.
He took a deep, deep breath to try and calm his heartbeat.
Kylo Ren basked in sick pleasure at the fact that she feared him. That every night in her dreams, he killed her. Despite all her defiance, she knew he was stronger than her. He tried to squash the elusive pang of shame, but as the hours went by, unable to tear himself away from all the scenarios in which he was killing her, over and over again, his unease grew. It dawned on him that it wasn't that good. That she would never open up to the Dark side if she feared it so much. Fear was good, but she needed to be fascinated by the power. She had to want to taste it. She had to desire it. He finally couldn't take it anymore and made up his mind to alter her dream. The next time the dream-Kylo was close to strike her down, he made it disappear, taking its place.
He'd figured he would offer her to join him in this form, that maybe it would plant a seed of doubt in her mind that it was what she wanted. Instead, he found himself staring silently into her eyes, her expression melting from resignation to confusion to something else entirely. Hey intent gaze felt immensely… baring. He frowned, disoriented. She had never looked at him this way.
"You're really here," she stated like it was an obvious fact.
"You're just a man," she exclaimed gleefully, a true, luminous smile erupting on her face.
She had never smiled at him. Never. Maybe that's why it took him a second to comprehend what was happening. Oh, shit.
He stormed out of her mind like a thief caught red-handed, howling loudly into the night enveloping him as he re-entered his body. How could he have been so stupid? So careless? He opened his saber and trashed his quarters in a fit of blind rage. He was trembling with hatred, simultaneously directed at himself and the girl. She had bested him again, that desert rat. She had gotten what she wanted. She had seen his face.
She woke up in a cold sweat, half terrified, half excited. Kylo Ren had found a way to enter her dreams, true, but he wasn't in control. She remembered vividly how he'd appeared without his mask. She'd known immediately this wasn't just a dream anymore. His face wasn't anything she had envisioned. It was young, a bit asymmetrical in a weirdly handsome way, painted by conflicting emotions. His eyes were dark but spirited; full of life, a raging fire burning deep within. Dark locks of hair were framing his features untidily, contrasting acutely with the pale skin of the face he hid behind the mask, never to be caressed by the sun. It made him human to her. He was just a man; a fierce one consumed by evil, but just a man all the same. She could beat him. She would beat him.
She waited for him the next day, eager to see him. No, not eager, she convinced herself, more like curious. But he never came. No one did.
That night she tried to focus acutely on the Force, to find a way inside his mind but she felt somehow he was out of reach. She continued to try anyway.
By the end of the week she could sense the storm troopers passing the hallway outside her cell with ease. She knew what they ate for dinner and what their fears were. She tried to enter their minds to control them but failed. She practised every day, knowing her moment was coming. She was going to be ready for it.
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Elmo13