AN: Thank you all so much for the favourites, follows and of course the reviews! I greatly appreciate them and I can finally look at them again as the site seems to have fixed the bug. But I will not keep you long for here is the new chapter, enjoy!

Chapter 2: The Grain

Ylva - 19 years

I could hear their screams coming from above. Mingled with the cheers of the spectators, it created a gruesome sound that had settled in my heart long ago to echo there forever. I walked on, ignoring it as I had done my whole life. My boots made the dust on the floor sweep up and I could see it whirl in the streaks of light that came through little cracks in the walls. The screaming continued. I almost did not hear it anymore after years of being surrounded by it. It had become a part of me and I knew I could not live without it. Not that I minded.

I turned the corner and the hallway made way for a larger, open area. The smell of piss and fear was mingled with that of bleach. The red and brown stains on the walls reminding those who passed by of the ones who had died, even before entering the Grain. They had been lucky. I strode by it, not paying attention since I knew exactly which stain belonged to what victim. It did not matter; only the living mattered.

Soon enough I came to a dead end. A metal door blocked my way. I came through it everyday, not fearing it anymore as I used to do. But now, as I was standing still, I noticed that the screaming had stopped and laughter, cheers and applause remained. I waited patiently as I had done many times before. It would not take him more than five minutes to round of his performance.

As I had predicted the door opened after a few minutes and bathed the room and myself in harsh, unnatural white light. I could see a figure walking towards me, his hands outstretched; waving to people I could not see. He had become cocky.

The minute the door closed behind him I was able to see his face. His blond, almost white hair, had streaks of blood in it, making me wonder what he had done this time. His light blue eyes had a frenzied look in them, but as soon as they focused on me they calmed a bit. I was remembered once more of his length by looking at him as he was quite small for a man his age and it always made a small, satisfying smile appear on my face.

"Did you hear them just now? They love me." His voice sounded delighted and he held one hand against his rather large left ear as if to point the cheering of the crowd out to me.

"Yes, I hear it. It's not hard to miss you know," I pointed out, rolling my eyes, wanting to change the subject from stroking his ego to something more serious.

"Exactly, they are going mad for me." He grinned, making a foolish sound come out of his mouth. The contrast between his big smile and the blood on his face would be horrific to most, but I had gotten used to it.

"I would tone your attitude down a bit, Oph. You might fall into bad graces."

Oph's smile shrunk, but did not disappear; he was in too good a mood to let me ruin it for him by mentioning his always-present threat.

"It doesn't matter how much you would want me to go back to my slave quarter, Ylva, it is not happening and you know it. Hux likes me too much."

I scoffed as we started walking back in the direction I came from earlier. He was right of course, but I still liked pointing out to him that he was formerly know as SB-0032 and that that name could as easily be given back to him as he had gotten his new name from Hux.

Commander Hux. The name only made me want to grimace, but emotions were something I liked to keep to myself. It was true that Oph was greatly favoured by him. Not only because of the way Oph could suck up to him, but also because of the way Oph literally sucked him. Commander Hux had never held a slave as a bed partner as long as he had Oph, so he was most likely to stay there even longer. Not that Oph minded. He did not have to scrub floors anymore or die for his misbehaviours in the Grain. He was the predator now instead of the prey. The only thing he had to do was please Hux, or let Hux do to him whatever the Commander wanted to do. It was not a bad trade; sex for a more free life. Besides, if something did not please Oph he would just let his anger out in the fighting pit, as it seemed he did today.

"What did you kill this time?" I asked, mildly curious due to the many blood spatters on his face and in his hair.

"A slave girl who had stolen a blaster from a stormtrooper. She had a bit of a nasty ending; they wanted me to make it as painful as I could. So, of course, I did. I wouldn't want to let down my fans." He started to grin again, and the glimmer of a maniac appeared in his eyes once more. I smiled mildly.

"You must be hungry then," I remarked as we turned another corner, walking into a rectangular room filled with weapons and armour, befitting for a First Order soldier. Two slaves stood with their heads bowed next to the nearest wall. In their hands they held plates with food and wine.

"You know me so well, Ylva," Oph declared and grabbed a cup, not even paying attention to the girl who almost flinched when he snatched it from her, "Who are you fighting today?"

"I asked them to keep it a surprise," I answered while walking to the back wall and grabbing the black suit that was hanging there. It reeked of sweat and a mixture of blood and other odours that could only come out of a human body. It had not been washed in three years, just as I wanted.

"You don't like surprises Ylva, why ask for them?" Oph questioned, pulling up his nose and almost gagging as I came walking back to him with my suit in hand. "And could you please, for the Supreme Leader's sake, wash that hideous thing?"

"To see if they got something better in store than crying slaves," I replied as I started to undress, "and the whole point to this suit is to not wash it, makes them even more scared."

"Makes them beg for mercy you mean. You smell worse than the garbage compacter in section C13, and that says something."

Oph took no regard when I pulled the last piece of clothing over my head. I was used to the smell of my fighting suit, just like I was used to all the other appalling things that happened in the Grain. The suit worked as a reminder of all the people I had already killed in it. The fabric of it was rough and showed signs of wearing down, but I kept wearing it, mending any holes in it after each fight. It was the only thing that I had ever gotten from someone as a present and I planned on keeping it with me as long as I could.

A red light on the wall suddenly started to blink and Oph chucked down his wine in one gulp.

"I hope for the sake of your victim that he is wearing a mask, otherwise he will be dead long before you will stab him," he mocked and flashed me a crooked grin. I returned it with a feigned smile.

"I hope I win as well."

The red light began to flicker faster. I pulled my boots back on and took my double bladed spear down from the weapon wall. It reflected the red light at the ends and I whirled it around for a bit until I heard footsteps coming down from the hall. Two guards entered the room and gestured for me to come with them.

I did not turn around to look at Oph since I knew he would never wish me good luck. I did not mind, considering we were not friends. We were merely two hunters, killing the same prey.

One guard let the way back again to where I had waited for Oph, the other one closed in behind me. Their footsteps sounded harsh on the metal floor and I could sense that they were irritated to be stuck with the job of escorting me to the tunnel. If only I could make them change their minds, then I would happily walk into the Grain on my own.

But you can't, you are too weak.

I shook my head. Annoyance bubbled up inside of me due to the voice in my head telling me what I could not do. I was a fighter, a killer, someone people feared when they had to face me. Nevertheless I would never be the strongest. Not many people knew of my other abilities and I liked to keep it that way. I did not want to raise expectations when I would not be able to fulfil them. I might be a child of the Force, but it was not strong with me.

I was no Lord or Master.

The guard in front of me stopped, his face blank of expression. Most Force sensitive people could get inside someone's head, read their thoughts, know their darkest dreams. Not me. The farthest I got was to knowing how someone felt. I could not let things float in the air. I could not make people do what I wanted them to do. I could only feel the Force, not use it.

But, I could fight.

The guard stretched out his hand not even saying what he wanted anymore. I placed my arm in his palm as I had done so many times before and he pulled out a scanner from behind him. In a swift move he brought it up and down my arm, over my burned skin until it reached my fingers. It made a beeping noise and an electronic voice said: "Approved."

"May the strength of the Supreme Leader guide you," the guard grunted, not sounding very sincere. I said nothing back, did not even acknowledge the saying that all First Order soldiers used. I pulled my sleeve back down and turned towards the metal door. It opened.

It was a feeling I experienced every time, but it was the one thing I never got used to. It was as if I drowned in the cheering of the crowd. There were hundreds of people. They had come to see blood and it was my job to deliver. The bright light that came from the ceiling blinded me for a few seconds, but soon enough I saw the arena before me. The Grain it was called due to its rather strange shape. Metal walls surrounded the whole place, making sure that the spectators would be safe, and sometimes the other way around. The crowd had gathered on the iron benches that were placed on the sides. I could see all kinds of people. Slaves were seated the furthest away from the actual arena, then came the normal stormtroopers, followed by commanding stormtroopers and closest to the fighting pit were the actual important people in the First Order.

Their cheering intensified as I walked towards the centre of the Grain. I kept my eyes on the doors opposite of the one I came out of. As Oph had said I hated surprises, but it had been a long time since I had been in a decent fight. The last couple of months it had only been slaves who had committed such an unforgivable crime that they were sentenced to die. But even death was not wasted here in the First Order. They made sure they got the most out of everything, so they made a spectacle of it. It was the only entertainment available. You could bet on anything, from the amount of time it would take the executioner – me in this case – to kill the offender, to how he or she would beg for their lives. There had even once been a stormtrooper who had placed a bet on how many times a slave would ask for forgiveness and had gotten it right. Everything was allowed.

I stopped when I reached the middle line. My fingers drummed against the handle of my spear. Being impatient never worked in my favour but it was an oddity that I had to live with. Suddenly the cheering of the crowd stopped completely and my head jerked up as soon as I heard how everybody got down on one knee. That could only mean one thing and I immediately dropped down on both my knees, lowered my weapon and bowed my head in fear of losing it if I did not.

A long silence followed until a soft buzzing sound filled the arena and I could hear him scraping his voice.

"You may rise," he mumbled, but his voice was intensified by the hologram making it echo throughout the Grain.

No one rose. He was talking to me. I could literally feel the tension in the Force and I slowly got up from my position, keeping my eyes focused on the ground. I kept my arms stiff at my side because I knew what was coming and I learned from past experience that I was never ready for it. I had to brace myself.

"They told me you did not want to know who your opponent would be, why is that?" His voice was like that of a snake. It slithered in my head and whispered words into the deepest core of my body. I felt the blood drain from my head and turn my body cold. The strength that I had felt just mere seconds ago seemed to slip through my fingers and I could not grasp at it. Courage failed me.

"I wanted a challenge, Supreme Leader," I said out loud, in view of the fact that I was too weak with the Force to communicate with him through my thoughts.

"A challenge, hmmm? Is the First Order not challenging enough for you?"

"It is, Supreme Leader, but-"

"I don't care for your excuses. I have already arranged for you to fight someone who will hopefully meet your requirements and if not, then I am afraid we will not see each other again."

I felt him pulling back, but his words stayed in my head. Not see each other again – did he mean that he would never come again to watch me execute his orders, or did he mean something I feared much more: death.

I did not have time to think about it. The metal door across from me opened with a scraping sound and everybody around the Grain rose from their position. The cheering from the spectators rose up like a phoenix from his ashes. I had almost forgotten that they had been here as well. My eyes fixed on the door, now a black tunnel where I could not see anything or anyone move. I grabbed my weapon.

It was silent in my head. I had cast out the words of Supreme Leader Snoke; I could deal with them later. My only focus was on the door in front of me now. I calmed my breathing and spread my feet a bit, making sure I would hold my ground. To my left I could see the hologram of Snoke, just as big as it was in his normal chamber, towering over everybody.

Suddenly a banging noise erupted from the tunnel. It sounded as if someone was slamming his weapon into the iron walls on purpose. The beating of my heart matched the low, but intimidating sound of it. It felt as if the whole arena trembled. A figure became visible. I could see that the banging came from the three-headed chain mace in his hand. His dark cloak hid his face from the light, making his appearance even more alien. I could see that his other hand was grasping a long dagger, pointing it directly towards me.

I closed my eyes. I would not let fear settle into my heart, I was stronger than that. I was a killer, a warrior, a fighter. I would survive this and would kill the unknown stranger in the process of it. If this was Snoke's way of punishing me for not just executing my orders without question then he would not succeed. I would survive.

When I opened my eyes the person had stepped into the full light, closing the distance between us. An iron shoulder plate covered his right shoulder, making me question if it was just an attribution to his armour or if he had been fatally wounded there before. If it was the latter then that meant I could easily take him out with a swift, but hard blow there. I tried to concentrate on his feelings, but I sensed nothing. It was as if he had blocked them off. I searched for his eyes, but the only thing I could see was a dark hooded figure.

"Soldiers of the First Order, welcome to the seventh execution round of today!" A voice, boomed by electronics, echoed through the Grain making the spectators yell even harder.

"You have all placed your bets, now see who will win. Execution is possible on both sides!"

I swallowed as I waited for the buzzer to sound. Execution on both sides – normally it was only one side, and that was not mine. I had always been a faithful servant; from the day Phasma brought me here till now. Why did Snoke want me dead?

I looked at the officers' benches and searched for the familiar chrome suit. It didn't take me long to find her. Phasma was staring directly back at me, but I could not see her eyes for her helmet obscured them. I didn't know if my face showed emotion, but I knew that she wanted me to shut my feelings out and concentrate on the job. She would want me to win. That was how she had trained me.

The buzzer sounded. My opponent ran forward, his chained mace outstretched and swinging in a deadly manner by his side. I duck down, dodging his weapon as it came flying towards me. My spear connected with his booth, cutting it open in the process, but not slowing him down. I could hear our already ragged breaths trying to keep up with our movements. I rolled out of the way, avoiding his mace once again as it struck the ground where I had crouched down just a second ago. My legs worked fast. I crawled to my feet, trying my best to stab him with my spear as he gathered his strength to swing his weapon at me.

He blocked me with his arm plate, pushing my spear to the side and lashing out at me. I sidestepped it once more, but his dagger connected with my hand. I grunted, trying to ignore the pain as he cut my skin open. We were close now and I could look into the hood of the cloaked warrior.

Blue, almost white eyes starred back at me. The soft features of the face and full lips made me realise I was fighting a woman. I saw she was confused for a second and I took advantage of it by pushing her arm out of the way and slamming my fist against her temple. She stumbled, her hood falling from her face exposing her red hair, which was bundled up in a tight knot. I could hear the audience shouting.

Her eyes seemed dazed, but she grabbed her mace again and tried to focus on me. I span around, lashing the front blade of my spear at her in the progress. She tried to step back, but due to my earlier blow she was too slow. I felt my spear connect with her cheek and I cut her open from ear to her chin. Blood gushed out and I heard her scream. The people on the benches went crazy, but I did not wait. I charged forward, spear in hand and pointing it towards her protected shoulder. She deflected me, trying again to recede back, but I did not stop. I could not stop. All I wanted to do was finish this fight and with that also her.

She cried out when my blade pierced her leather breastplate near her shoulder. I twisted my weapon, making her fall to her knees in pain. She flung her chain mace at me in a last attempt to stop me from killing her. The iron-spiked balls connect with my spear in the middle and with a hard cracking sound, broke the weapon in two. I lost my balance, falling sideways and seeing how she yanked the other half of the spear out of her shoulder. Her blood dripped on the floor, making red stains that would stay there forever. I tried to get up, but she dived forward driving her dagger into my left calf.

I screamed, seeing stars appear before my eyes, unable to get up and fight back. I could hear her stumble, struggling to keep her balance as she heaved her chained mace into the air for the last time.

Is this it? I thought as the urge to close my eyes before the last blow overpowered me. I heard the iron chains whiz in the air; everything went dead silent. I didn't listen to the crowd going crazy. I only heard my heart beating, but non-the less a beating that would not stop until I let it.

My eyes flung open. Everything seemed to slow down. I heard the woman laugh. I rolled over, ignoring the stabbing pain in my leg and saw her fling her mace at my. I shrunk away, grabbing the dagger with my hands and pulling it out of my leg as I felt the mace plunging into the floor. I did not think; I only acted.

I grabbed her leg with my free hand and pulled myself upwards. The dagger in my hand was coloured bright red with my blood and it dripped off it as I jabbed it into her liver. I saw her face stiffen. Her eyes glazed over as if a curtain was pulled down. A gargling noise escaped her mouth and I twisted the blade inside of her.

Almost in slow motion she fell sideways, her mace dropping to the ground.

I breathed. The Grain was completely silent. No one was screaming anymore as the blood dripped out of the woman's wounds, making puddles around her dead body. I tried to stand up, almost losing my balance as a shooting pain went through my leg. I tried to ignore it as I looked up, right into the face of Supreme Leader Snoke.

An applause erupted from the crowd and people stood up to yell my name. I could not smile. I felt as if the danger was still not over. I limped back to the middle of the arena almost not hearing the commentator declare me victor.

When I reached the black dot that marked the spot I had to stand on, I bowed. It almost felt sarcastic, as if I wanted to show Snoke that I could not be defeated in the Grain. As if I felt better than him. I dared to look up and saw him starring back at me. His eyes were ablaze and I feared his voice in my head, but the pain did not come. The only thing that happened was his hologram disappearing. He was gone.

I blinked a few times. The crowd kept on cheering, but I would not be some low victor who would bask in the glory of his triumph and start waving. I would not be Oph. My head was empty as I turned around to face the metal door I had come from. Would a squadron of stormtroopers be waiting for me there and shoot me as soon as the door would close behind me? Would I die there even if I won here?

There was only one way to find out. I limped towards the door. It opened slowly as I approached it, but I could not see inside. I wanted to close my eyes again and just be done with it.

The coolness of the darkness overwhelmed me as I stepped inside. I expected the sound of guns being aimed at my head, but it never came. I only heard someone breathe. I faced the direction where the breathing came from as the metal door closed. Phasma was standing a few feet away from me; she had taken her helmet of. A rarity.

"The Supreme Leader wants to talk to you." Her aged voice sounded emotionless as it had always done, but I could see in her face that she worried about me. It was a subtle look, only detectable by me, "Let's not keep him waiting," She mumbled.

She turned around, her chromic armour showing me my distorted reflection. Would this be the last time I would see myself? Dirty, bleeding and sweating? I limped behind her, trying my best to ignore the pain in my body. Trying my best not to be afraid.

But how could I not be?

AN: A longer chapter this time than the last one! I had great fun writing this all down, as I very much liked the idea of the First Order entertaining their soldiers by way of gladiator-like combat. It would not only make the execution process a lot easier (and more fun for them), but it would also keep reminding their soldiers of the fate they would have to face if they would ever step out of line. My great friend LeviAntonius came up with this idea and I am forever thankful for it.
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter just as much as I liked writing it! Please do leave a review, even if it is just one sentence, because it really motivates me to see that so many people like this story! I was so surprised by the amount of followers and favourites I got since my other FanFictions (which are written in Dutch) have far less feedback. So please keep them coming and I promise you that I will update the next chapter soon! I am curious as to what you think of Oph and his relation with Hux, who you think the woman might have been, and what you think of Ylva's weak Force powers but her strong combat skills! I also like to hear your opinion on how you think this story will develop. Because it is a story with eventual KyloxOc, I am curious to read what your expectations are with this. Kylo Ren is not yet introduced in the story, because I find it important to first lay down a character basis for Ylva, before throwing her into the story with Kylo.
Have a lovely day (or night) and I look forward to your reactions!

P.s. If you see any grammar or spelling mistakes, do let me know since I want to improve my English.