Chapter 7

"Ben… I…I don't know about this," Amara murmured.

"Trust me," Ben replied and wrapped his arm tighter around her waist. She was blindfolded; he could easily feel how tense her body was. "Please. You know I won't let you fall."

"I know, that's not what worries me."

He stopped and gently touched her neck with his lips.

"I don't want you to worry about anything. Not tonight."

"But…"

"Amara," he cut in firmly. "I know I'm asking a lot, but I want you to relax and trust me to take care of everything. I want this night to be perfect for my girl."

She swallowed, he could sense her nervousness. He knew how difficult this was for her; she wasn't comfortable of putting herself in someone else's hands, not even his. She hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"Alright… I do trust you, Ben."

She was still nervous, but he could tell that she meant what she said. She really trusted him. The thought was humbling, it made him smile and kiss her forehead.

"Thank you."

She smiled too.

"You're welcome."

"May I carry you?" he asked. "I think that would be faster."

"Is that so? Are you saying that I'm slowing you down?"

"No, no," he replied smiling. "I just want us to have time before we have to go back. And…maybe I like to carry you."

She was blushing when he caressed her cheek and he couldn't deny that he loved that. He loved being able to cause her to blush, see her soft pale cheeks turning a very attractive shade of red. To him that proved that she belonged to him and only to him. After having her consent, he lifted her up into his arms. He really did like to carry her, although he didn't have a chance to do that very often.

"Are you sure I'm not too heavy?" she murmured and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I think I can manage," he replied smiling and inhaled the scent of her hair. She felt so warm and soft, he never wanted to let her go. She was actually his. His girl. Sometimes he could hardly believe it, that he had really won the heart of a girl like her. He wanted to make her happy, to give her everything. She deserved only the best.

Neither of them spoke when he carried her towards the lake, her body was slowly relaxing in his arms. Everything was just like he had left it. There were lanterns hanging in the trees and a blanket on the ground. He had stolen some fruits and pastries from the kitchen and asked his father to bring him a bottle of very rare sparkling wine from Naboo when he had dropped by couple of months ago.

Of course Han had agreed, Ben had just turned 18. Not that his father had remembered his birthday or asked any questions about the wine. He had however joked about Ben's love life, asking if he ever got anywhere with the girl he had been interested in couple of years ago. No doubt Han thought that Ben could never have any girl, he was nothing like his father. Not the kind of son a father could be proud of. Not that it mattered, Ben was here with the girl of his dreams, what more could he need.

"Alright," he said and placed Amara carefully on the ground. "Here we are."

She blinked her eyes when he took the blindfold off. She looked stunned when she saw the lanterns and the plates and glasses on the blanket.

"Ben…"

"Happy 16th birthday," he said smiling and kissed her cheek.

"It's not my birthday yet," she replied.

"I know, but this was the only night I managed to sneak out, so I thought…"

She looked at him and smiled warmly before touching his cheek.

"Thank you. I've never celebrated a birthday."

"Well, we have a lot of catching up to do then."

He took her hand and led her to the blanket.

"You did all this?" she asked.

"Yes and I would appreciate if you wouldn't sound so incredulous."

"I'm sorry," she giggled. "This is…amazing."

She took his hand and leaned her head on his shoulder when they both sat down.

"You have to try this," he said and poured her a glass of sparkling wine. "It's from Naboo, my grandmother's home planet."

Amara raised her head and looked at the light gold liquid in the glass.

"It's delicious," she said after taking a sip. "I've heard that Naboo is a beautiful planet."

He nodded.

"It is. My mother took me there when I was a child. We met some of my grandmother's relatives."

"That's nice," Amara said. "To have a family. Have you met them after that?"

He tensed and shook his head.

"No. I don't think that they liked me much."

"Why would you think that?"

"Because of my grandfather," he muttered gloomily. "They didn't particularly like him."

Of course Amara knew who Ben's grandfather was; he had told her everything about his family.

"Hey," she said and touched his shoulder. "You're not responsible of anyone else's actions. We can't choose our family."

Her words made him angry, he couldn't help it. He had always felt somehow connected to his grandfather and he wasn't going to listen to anyone saying bad things about him.

"I'm not ashamed of him!" he snapped more harshly than he intended. The startled look in her eyes made him to immediately regret his outburst. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

"No, no, I'm sorry," Amara cut in and touched his cheek. "He was your grandfather."

Ben sighed and calmed down when she put her arms around him.

"I can understand how important family is," she muttered and rubbed his back in a calming gesture.

"Yes, it is," he replied and pulled away. "You're my family too. I'm planning to marry you."

Her eyes widened.

"Really? Are you planning to ask what I think?"

He shrugged.

"Not really, I think I can make important decisions for both of us."

Her eyes narrowed, he laughed when she pushed him on his back, jumped astride his body and pinned him to the ground.

"You want to reconsider your answer?" she asked.

"Never."

"Alright, you asked for this."

He laughed harder when she started to tickle him.

"Mercy, please, I surrender!"

She grinned triumphantly and was just about to get off of him when he turned them around, trapping her under him.

"Hey!" she protested.

He smiled and touched her cheek. They were both quiet for a while and simply looked at each other.

"I wasn't joking," he finally murmured. "I want to marry you."

She bit her bottom lip.

"Ben…"

"You don't have to say anything now, but one day you'll say yes."

He kissed her cheek and got up before she managed to say anything.

"I almost forgot, I have a gift for you," he said and picked up a box he had brought here earlier.

"You shouldn't have," she murmured and got into a sitting position.

"I wanted to. I hope you like it."

She took the box from him and carefully opened it. Her first reaction was a gasp. He had given her a silver moon lily, one of the rarest flowers in the galaxy. She loved flowers and she had talked about this one after reading about it in the library. The flower made sort of a humming sound in the moonlight and its silver petals glowed. She stared at the flower in wonder; he had never seen her so excited. The look on her face certainly made up all the trouble of getting the flower.

"This is… How did you…"

"I know some people who are specialized in finding rare objects," he replied.

Very carefully she placed the flower back in the box before pouncing on him.

"Thank you. Thank you so much, I…"

"You're welcome," he hummed and leaned his cheek on the top on her head. She snuggled against his chest and settled there. He knew that they would have to return to the school soon, but he didn't want to think about that. He would have wanted to stay like this forever.

Kylo Ren was nothing but grateful for his mask when he stared at the giant hologram of the Supreme Leader Snoke. Han Solo. He had the droid.

"He means nothing to me," Kylo stated. "I will get the droid, no matter what it takes."

"Good," Snoke replied. "Let us hope you mean that."

"I do."

Snoke observed him for a moment before continuing.

"Tell me, are you enjoying your gift?"

Kylo was certainly happy that Hux had left the room already.

"Yes, master."

"Hmm. She seemed quite stubborn when she was brought to me, but I didn't want to ruin your fun by taming her. I assume you have bent her to your will already?"

"She is under my control, master," Kylo replied, choosing his words carefully. Of course he wouldn't lie to Snoke.

"Very good. Perhaps you have wondered why I gave her to you."

"I appreciate your gift, master."

"I know you do, but she is not just for your amusement. No, I have another purpose for her. A very important purpose."

Kylo forced himself to stay perfectly calm, although he had a bad feeling about this.

"Another purpose?"

Snoke smiled, but there was nothing friendly about his smile.

"Yes, but we shall talk about that after you have found the map and returned here. I am looking forward to see your accomplishment with the young lady; I expect the change to be remarkable."

Kylo didn't move when Snoke's hologram disappeared. His father… No, Han Solo. He didn't mean anything to Kylo. Neither did Amara. Snoke expected to see her will broken. Somehow Kylo needed to deliver that. How? Well, it was obvious; he needed to force her to obey. He could do that, he had to. What choice did he have?