Womanhood
"Oh!" Rey cried, gripping her stomach and curling in on her side. She was alone in her bunk, the others having knowingly left her alone for the evening. It was sticky warm in the room, and wind filtered in through a natural window across from the girl.
The rebels were squatting in some ancient, abandoned caves which has been shaped many years ago by an unknown people. Her cot was not much more than a metal stand with a sheet on it. She pulled at the sheet, clenching her eyes as another searing cramp radiated out from her center.
The blessing of womanhood.
Rey was no stranger to it, but when the monthly bloods came they always wrecked her body with intense pain and even nausea. She had long ago demanded her own space during this time, not wanting to others to see her tear-stained eyes or hear the painful moans which often fell from her lips. She let one of these moans escape her now, curling in even tighter and pressing balled fists firmly into the base of her stomach.
It helped, if only a little.
A familiar sensation shot down her spine. Rey looked up, horrified, as Kylo Ren appeared before her. He was standing, holding a small metal device which he immediately pocketed when he saw her.
The girl grimaced, biting back a groan as her uterus shuddered again.
"Are you injured?" Ren asked, an expression of surprise on his face. He advanced slightly, crouching near her fetal body.
"Go away!" Rey demanded, but her voice was weak and strained. She closed her eyes tightly and buried her face into her chest as best she could. With any luck the psychic link would break quickly and she could be left alone with her humiliation.
Ren examined the girl stoically. His dark hair fell into his eyes. From his perspective she was curled up, floating in the air, in the middle of a large hall aboard his ship. Some staff shuffled by, but he paid them no mind, his curiosity prompting him to lean in even closer.
He could almost smell the sand.
Rey huffed and rolled away from him. From behind he could see a small stain of blood marking her woolen trousers. He stared without understanding for a moment, until the girl shuddered and tightened and a pained sound fell from her.
"I see," said Ren. He stood mechanically and averted his eyes. These small moments which the force seemed determined to make them share rarely lasted long. He thumbed the holo-disk in his pocket, wishing eagerly to return to his work. He had no particular desire to witness a woman in a moment like this. Especially not this woman. Her ragged breathing was distracting and even upsetting to him.
"Are you gone yet?" Rey asked, glancing at him from over her shoulder. Her eyes were burning with their usual fever.
"Not yet," Ren sighed.
Another few minutes crept by. Rey gasped again, squeezing her eyes shut.
"I am surprised that you have not had it removed," Ren said plainly. He was walking along the corridor now, thoroughly uninterested, but the vision of her followed him as he moved. Rey rolled over to glare at him.
"What?"
"All of my female soldiers do. It's a nuisance."
Rey gaped at the man, her mouth opening and closing several times before she shifted up into a seated position. "I would never do that," she said finally. He stopped walking and looked at her.
"Why? You can't possibly want to have children. Imagine if I were truly there in this moment and you needed to defend yourself? What would you even do, all curled up pathetically like that." He scoffed, "Surely the pain is not that intense."
An indignant sound came from her. "And what would you know about it? If you were here I'd destroy you, blood or not." He did not respond and so she added, "And the pain is more than you could imagine."
"Oh? And how many blasters have you been shot by?" His tone was clearly mocking.
She scoffed. "Just like a man to dismiss something because he has never experienced it."
Ren shook his head with a bitter chuckle. "If I had one I'd rip it out myself, as a warrior."
"You do not want children?"
They looked at each other for a long, heavy moment. When these links occurred, as they had been doing with increasing frequency, they were typically quite short. The two rarely spoke, and especially did not speak like this. Finally, after a few minutes and because nothing else was apparently going to happen, he answered. "Of course not. I could not be an effective leader." He said this as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"...your mother was."
Ren rolled his eyes. "Why has the link not broken yet?" He did little to hide the frustration in his voice.
Rey shook her head. "I don't know..." and then she grimaced and gripped her stomach, doubling over. Ren watched her impassively.
"Do you want to have children?" He asked, suddenly curious. Rey's face was bunched up and a small amount of water wet her cheeks. Her breathing was uneven.
"I don't know... not... while the world is like this." She took a deep breath and straightened. "Perhaps some day."
In all honesty, Ren have never considered having children before. He rarely focused on any woman for any length of time. Of course he had his needs, but they were met quickly and quietly and never in a manner which brought to his mind thoughts of reproducing. As a Sith, the closest he expected to get to a child would be in a protégée. Now as he stared at this sweaty, huffing girl, he imagined what a life with a child would be like. The entire image flashed before his eyes in a second - a blur of blues and greens and peaceful feelings. Laughter.
He shuddered away from the thoughts, looking at the black and steel walls which surrounded him. No, a child would never be. Not for him, and probably not for this girl. After all, some day he would kill her. Some day soon.
"Ah..!" Rey gasped. Ren startled, and out of annoyance came close to her.
"Perhaps I can ease your suffering," he said, reaching with a gloved hand toward her body. Rey shifted away from him on instinct. "I cannot hurt you," he reminded her.
She remained hesitant, but did not move away. The pain on her face was evident. Ren slowly placed his open palm flat against her lower stomach, closing his eyes and breathing deeply as he opened himself to the force. He could almost feel the heat radiating from her body.
When his eyes opened she was gone, leaving him once again alone.
Rey stared at the place he had stood for a long time. The pain had eased significantly, and instead a warm feeling radiated from that place. Curiously, the girl reached down and pressed probing fingers against herself.
The bleeding had stopped.
