Chapter 5: More Snake than Bird

"And where exactly do you plan to go?"

Korellia asked, breaking the bubble of Avin's frenetic ideas of escape. Avin stopped her whirlwind packing of a travel bag and sat down. Her friend sat opposite to her, her image made extra-large by the holo-screen projector in Avin's room. Korellia's calm appraisal of her friend stopped Avin's frantic action in a way nothing else would. "Naboo, of course." Avin said curtly. The first thing she did when she had seen Armitage's message was call her friend. She needed her advice now more than ever. She had told her everything that had happened since she left Naboo space as she packed and her long-time friend didn't even have the decency to be shocked. Korellia had always been the calm one in their friendship and while Avin was always fond of her droll comments and common sense she felt like this was a moment when she needed a dramatic reaction. Korellia's projection shifted in its seat.

"And what exactly do you plan to live on in Naboo while hiding from your own parents, a Colonel and a Commandant of the old Empire?" she questioned. It was Avin's turn to shift in her seat. She had not thought this through at all. Her meagre plan had been to take some credits, wrap a scarf over her hair and sneak on board the next transport ship to Naboo. "I can get a job." She launched back. Korellia nodded sarcastically. They both knew everyone needed a citizen's identification card for any legal job on Naboo now that the New Republic had taken control of the employment system. "And when you get your mythical job cut off from any family, friends or associates what do you plan to do?" Avin's face fell and they looked at each other.

"I don't know what else to do." she admitted. Avin's life had been built around a liberal sense of agency, her parents had always taught her to get what she wanted by using knowledge, intelligence and a strong personality. Now all of this was crashing down like the person she had been trained to become meant nothing. She tried to smile. "Whenever I ran up against stubborn bureaucracy before I asked him for his opinion."

Korellia flicked her long white hair back from her face and leaned forward in the viewer. "This guy, from what you have told me, lives and breathes the First Order. Yes?" Avin nodded. Her friend continued, "And he said he chose you. It still baffles me that no one told you about it unless they knew that you would never agree to it. Is it traditional to not inform one member of the marriage until a formal announcement?" Avin shook her head miserably and picked up a holofile on the edge of the viewer, pushing it in Korellia's direction so the file would appear on her home screen. It was a detailed historical document on the tradition of arranged marriage on Coruscant during the reign of the Galactic Empire. Avin had searched for it while she waited for Korellia to accept the interplanetary call. Even a brief glance over it gave her very little hope. She had considered sending the document to her Intergalactic Law professor for her opinion, but she didn't have the actual marriage contract and pulling the professor into her personal life would have been mortifying and dangerous. Only Korellia knew the extent to which Avin was interlinked with the old Empire and First Order resurgence. There was nothing the professor could do at any rate. Phelarion was a relic of the Empire and had not amended any laws in decades, an idea which blew Avin's mind, so the working practice of arranged marriage was unchallenged.

"I presume there will be a marriage contract which legally implies your consent to the marriage. I wonder which law statutes they will work under?"

"Phelarion's." Avin said miserably. "There have been no precedents in the law against signing legal documents under duress. Even if there were I can't bring one of the houses to court. They would destroy my family."

"I hate to bring this up but does Hux know?"

"Know what?"

"Does he know you definitely don't want to marry him?"

"What, do you think I need to write 'NO' in ten-foot letters on the side of his house?"

Korellia rolled her eyes.

"Think about it. You've been friends for years; you consistently contact each other. And-"

"And what?"

"And when it was officially announced you pulled him into a corridor, was it? And then you stuck your hand down his pants. Am I correct?"

"He pulled me into the corridor. And it wasn't like that."

"It certainly sounds exactly like that to me. I can't find any common sense in what you did, whatsoever. Denial is extremely human Avin. What you say to him and what you do with him may be very different things in his mind and yours. Everything is-"

"Subjective," Avin finished, "thank you counsellor Korellia for your amazing insight into the human mind."

"Listen. Have you clearly stated your exact situation to him?"

"Yes. I thought I made it very clear last night." She sighed. "Maybe I can make it clearer, state my case to him. Thank you for the insight."

"You're welcome, Lady Avin Hux."

"That sounds horrible. I sound like an old woman that shouts at cats and smokes pipes." They both broke into fits of giggles.

"You are an old woman that shouts at cats and smokes pipes."

"Shut up Korellia." Korellia smiled and raised her eyebrows at Avin.

"So?"

"So, what?"

"Was it… was it big?" Their laughter rang through the house and was heard by Mayfant and Caoihin who had returned to the villa from an aggravating engagement celebration. They looked at each other, slightly relieved.

Before laying down to sleep Avin replied to Armitage's message, as Korellia instructed.

We need to talk.

He replied almost instantly.

My family are coming over for a tea ceremony tomorrow morning before we read through the contract. I will speak to you then. H

Avin woke up early the next morning, a stray beam of sunlight shining on her face through the net curtains. For a moment she lay back and ran over yesterday in her mind. The tying ceremony and their conversation afterwards were on constant replay. The beam of pride on Armitage's face as he became Colonel Hux. That strange joy she had felt when everyone punched their arm in the air as a salute to him. The lacklustre wedding ceremony. Reaching down into his trousers and touching him when she was so angry. Looking back on it now it had been a stupid and impulsive reaction to the news. It wasn't her first sexual experience but his reaction to her was entirely new. She had never seen a man react so viscerally to being touched before. He had been at her mercy, and she had to admit how sexy that made her feel. She enjoyed the power of it. She could make him feel as powerless as she was that night. Briefly, she wondered how he would have reacted if she had kneeled down and put it in her mouth. She imagined him moaning and thrusting, whispering dirty things to her as she sucked on the tip of his cock. His voice begging as she slowly licked down his length, still in his military uniform. She briefly considered touching herself to relieve some pressure but there wasn't enough time. These sorts of thoughts wouldn't do, they weren't going to help her manoeuvre out of the situation she was in. She rolled out of bed and quickly showered off her arousal. Tea ceremonies were always ultra-formal in Port Tarkin and this was sure to be even worse. She ran her fingers through her curls gently and slid on a silk ocean-blue dress before heading down to the parlour where her family inevitably waited.

It was an awkward affair. Her parents sat on the long velvet chaise longue on the right side of the room. His parents sat in two straight-backed carved wooden chairs facing them. As a couple Armitage and Avin sat diagonally to them on a pastel loveseat, like a couple triangle. Commandant Hux and his son were still wearing their full military regalia for the formal occasion and Avin could see beads of sweat rolling down Armitage's face. A servant had brought in tea, fresh fruit and warm scones but the food remained untouched. Avin was balancing a glass of hot tea in her left hand, unlike her usual lazy sprawl on furniture she sat legs together with her back perfectly straight. She hated etiquette but in these occasions it helped her perform confidence she did not have. Her right knee grazed his left leg as both parents engaged in polite small talk. The conversation was painful. The horrible rictus spread over her parent's faces showed how uncomfortable they were sitting with the Hux family. Although her mother's maiden name was famous throughout the galaxy Caoihin had never been much of a social climber. Usually, the only people who visited their house were well-loved friends, talented artists and charismatic business men. Wine would flow and laughter would ring out throughout her home since Avin was a young child. This polite spectacle was only a box to be ticked before marriage negotiations began. Finally, the Commandant suggested they leave the two alone to discuss private matters that would influence the tying ceremony. Her father's flush of delight was short-lived.

"Lady Hux shall remain as chaperone."

"Chaperone?" Avin said in disbelief. Lady Hux moved to a distant chair that faced one of the large bay windows. Her father looked back at her and shrugged imperceptibly but his eyes told her what she already knew she had to do. Work on him. Change his mind.

From the window you could see the ocean and Avin peered out past Lady Hux with regret. It was perfect swimming weather and she was stuck inside with this imperial nonsense. As usual, when she looked over Armitage was staring at her intensely. Only a very slight frown traced across his brow. This was normally a positive sign when dealing with the intense ball of energy that was Armitage Hux. Sitting there in his huge black coat on the pastel pink love seat he looked so young. She would always remember him as the skinny red-headed nerd on the beach who glared at the other boys as he read from his class notes underneath a parasol. They needed to put an end to this. She opened her mouth.

"Inthce tray wa oscept?" she said, hoping he knew which language she was speaking.

"Out of respect for Lady Hux I'd prefer to speak in standard Avin." He said, his frown deepening. She quickly glanced over at Lady Hux, but she had not reacted to the exchange between them. He continued on:

"As I've asked before will you take a First Order post once we are married? I had thought to be more settled after the tying ceremony, but it seems military action is necessary over the quadrant so staying on-world is impossible especially in my new position as Colonel. You will accompany me on board the ship, yes?" he asked casually, like they were picking up from an earlier conversation. His glove encased hand lightly brushed her hand at her side, and she felt his fingers grip her own. Ludicrous to be wearing gloves in the summer heat, she thought. She leaned forward to whisper, but he misunderstood. He glanced quickly at Lady Hux who was staring out the window before darting in to kiss her. It was a soft perfunctory kiss and made Avin feel very strange. He darted in again and kissed the corner of her mouth before pulling up her hand to kiss her fingers. Of all things under the sun she had never ever thought he would be the affectionate type. The last time he had held her hand was when he had been drunk as a lord on that ale. In all the time that she had known him he had never attempted to touch her or shown any display of feeling. He was a serious and reserved boy and acted like an old man before he was fifteen. This level of feeling from him wasn't just odd, it made her feel like she had never known him at all. She held up her hand between them to stop him trying it again.

"Why are you doing this?" she whispered to him. He looked dismayed and whispered back his words sharp and clipped. "Why do you keep asking me this? I chose you and our parents agreed. We have had three years to think this through and now it is formally announced you suddenly don't want to-"

"Wait," she interrupted him loudly, "three years? I've known about this for less than a day."

He stared at her and out of the corner of her eye Lady Hux had turned to stare at her too. He abruptly stood up and Maratelle Hux stood up as well and held up her hands to him, almost in supplication.

"Your father thought it best-"

"This is unacceptable." He bit out and strode by her out the door, throwing it open with barely restrained anger which left Avin and Lady Hux staring at each other instead. This family could win awards for intense stares, Avin thought. Maratelle broke the silence. "My husband thought you… flighty. He had wanted his… son to marry Vaya. She is such a beauty." Lady Hux said wistfully picking out a piece of fluff on the arm of her chair. There was no malice in her voice but it hurt Avin's pride just the same. She continued, "but Armitage is stubborn, like his father. He has been looking forward to this announcement for years. I knew my husband had warned your parents not to tell you until you had matured but to never tell you? Oh dear."

As she spoke she slowly turned towards the bay window where two black shadows could be seen arguing on the veranda. She had clasped her hands around one of her lace gloves and wrung it gently. Avin couldn't help but feel that some of this must be a performance. It was clear to her that this misunderstanding had been engineered to sabotage the engagement. The anxiety of Lady Hux's gestures never reached her eyes which contained the same neutral blankness she had seen in the garden yesterday.

"I don't want to be married now. I have worked too hard to disappear into the First Order ranks. I plan to work for the glory of the order in a different way" Avin said, trying to put authority in her voice. She decided to take a leap of faith. "And… and Armitage is too young to make such career defining decisions. Vaya's mother owns most of the trade ports in Coruscant. He should marry her in order to invest properly in the shipbuilding world of Anaxes."

Lady Hux's bird-like neck snapped in her direction, the line of her body in her long elegant white dress was suddenly sharp as a knife. Very slowly, she looked Avin up and down as if seeing her for the first time. Her eyes were like quartz as she slowly smiled in her direction. The glove wringing abruptly stopped and she spoke: "The one they used for the Clone wars? What an interesting suggestion." Slowly she glided over to where Avin still sat, trailing her lace glove over the back of the love seat. Avin turned her head to face her again. Lady Hux's glare was laced with a malice so stark it bordered on madness.

"We have been training my husband's bastard all our lives for the role he will play in the new era. Every single thing I have ever done was to make him ready for the huge responsibility he will undertake. Did you know the Supreme Leader has personally chosen him to lead operations on several occasions?"

Avin shook her head. She was enthralled by the absolute pride ringing through Lady Hux's brittle voice.

"And then this supposed infatuation. The only time he has ever rejected our advice. Avin this, Avin that. I will only take Avin." The jealousy and distaste in her voice now struck Avin cold. Lady Hux's eyes narrowed. "His one weakness."

"You're wrong." She said, finally finding her voice, her breath beginning to speed up as she felt the confrontation between them building up. She could feel the words rising up inside her.

"Am I?" Lady Hux hissed back.

"He has many weaknesses." She snapped. "He is so close-minded that he thought openly discussing this marriage proposal with me, his fiancée, unnecessary. He is dreadful with people who are not in a position lower than him. His skills of diplomacy and negotiation are appalling. His inability to accept failure weakens his military strategies." Lady Hux stood stock still. Avin decided to put the last nail in the coffin. "And he seeks approval so desperately that it will ruin him."

Lady Hux stared at her in silence and suddenly threw back her head in genuine laughter. She laughed and laughed and laughed. Finally, she leaned over the chair and put a finger under Avin's chin, tilting her face up to the light. "I finally understand what he sees in you." Avin was appalled and terribly curious. She had never met this woman before, like Lady Hux had ripped off her own face to reveal a completely different person underneath. "What does he think he sees in me?" she stammered out. Lady Hux leaned forward, looking more like a snake than a bird, as if indulging Avin in some fantastic secret.

"Ambition." She whispered.

The doors opened again revealing Commandant Hux trailed by her parents. Lady Hux straightened up and moved back to the chair beside the window, head held down. Through the door she could see the shadow of her fiancé standing in the hallway. She could tell nothing by his stance.

"I don't have time for this." Commandant Hux snapped and stood directly in front of Avin. "You have disturbed my son. He thinks the conditions for this marriage are unsatisfactory and would like to dissolve the arrangement." Avin's father made to speak but Commandant Hux abruptly cut him off. "I have no time for this frivolous sentiment. It is done. Come, Maratelle. We are finished here." Lady Hux had transformed again and held her frail hands together in a show of passive maternal concern. She simpered sweetly at Avin's parents as she politely followed her husband out of the room with her head bowed. Avin would need a good solid chunk of time to churn over Lady Hux's mercurial transformation. As they left, she could see Hux's long shadow was still in the hallway. She should talk to him, she thought. Before her parents could speak she darted out of the room and took hold of his arm, literally dragging him into her bedroom across the hallway. He weighed almost nothing. He quickly surveyed the room. Gem coloured scarfs hung off everything. The holo projector was placed in the middle of the room with a bed swamped with rumpled bed clothes in the corner. She had been allowed to paint a mural and so an abstract image of a particularly beautiful Naboo sunset was splashed across one of the bedroom walls. A blue bra hung off a post of her bed frame and books on politics, domestic law, historical accounts of the Galactic Empire, poetry and trashy romance were scattered on the floor. Framed recordings hung on the opposite wall, including a smiling Armitage and Avin being hit by a wave, a younger Avin being presented an academic award in between her parents, her cat Bubbles as a kitten pawing at a piece of string and three of her friends dancing like idiots at a street party.

"Your room is a mess."

"Hux, this is not the time to be commenting on my neatness."

Silence stretched out between them again and he took a minute to step closer to the recording of them being trammelled by a wave. He stood very still with hands clasped behind his back like he was surveying a military parade. She had no idea what to say to him. The look of bitter disappointment on his face was clear to see. He turned his head to look at the kitten.

"What is that thing?"

"It's a cat, a member of the feline species. She was a great house pet on Naboo."

"You kept a wild animal in your living areas?"

"They are domesticated. They make excellent company if you enjoy living alone."

"I do not wish to live alone." He murmured, staring at the younger Avin's beaming face as the award was handed to her. He turned towards her again.

"Our conversation yesterday deeply confused me." He said quietly, watching for her reaction. Her body, like the traitor it was, responded instantly by blushing furiously. "At first, I thought you were referring to my inability to discuss personal matters such as our marriage over the comm device. Then perhaps how I had not alerted you to the tying ceremony which I naturally assumed your parents would do. Then perhaps that you had cold feet but when I took you into the corridor to talk…"

"Wait, you couldn't discuss anything personal over comms?" Avin desperately tried to change the conversation.

"Everything is monitored. Everything is seen."

"First Order personnel are privy to our conversations? People who work with you saw me in bed with a horrible cold, saw me in my underwear?"

"Why do you think I was so careful during communications?"

"So, you have been speaking to me as a fiancée without my knowledge?"

He stared at her. She shook her head.

"This is even messier than my room." His look of bitter disappointment was back, and he stared down at an emerald, green scarf between them so fiercely Avin thought it would burst into flames. A strange sense of disappointment rose up in her and it compelled her to ask the question that had been echoing in her head for hours. "Why did you want us to marry?"

There was another deep pause in the conversation. A droid whirled by the open window, an additional safety precaution to the Stormtroopers. Armitage faced her fully with legs slightly apart. Avin knew what was coming, he was getting himself ready to make a speech. "The First Order needs strength. Strength and ambition. I have huge plans for the directions the First Order will take. One day, soon, we will rule the galaxy. No more useless senate. No more warring governments. No more inefficiency and waste. We will have peace and prosperity. A new dawn for a new order. I need someone that will help me reach every ambition I envisage. Someone with ambitions of their own. Someone who sees past protocol, who sees past the ordinary, who thinks in new ways. Consider the doors our association could open for you. I would give you first choice in any project you wanted to do. Our new education system. Our legislative policies on arts and culture. Our networks of diplomacy." He reached out and took her hand. Slowly he kissed her sensitive flesh of her palm. It sent shivers down her spine. He gripped her hand tightly. "I am a man that gets what I want. I want you to marry me. What is your answer?"