Chapter Six – Mother
Sunlight streamed into her room, and so when she awoke, it was with a light smile adorning her pale lips. Christine's hazel eyes fluttered opened as she stretched her limbs and yawned. For once she had a pleasant and relatively normal dream, no visions whatsoever. With great reluctance of leaving her warm bed; she made her way into her on suite. Christine discarded her sleep wear, shivering as her exposed body was met with a cold chill. Quickly, she stepped into the shower. The hot water soaked her delicate skin and caused a feeling of warmth to flow through her body, all pain from the previous evening melted away. Leaving the relaxation of the shower, she felt clean and reenergised and could not have been in a better mood. But in the La Vedette household such moments are fleeting. Just as she was wrapping a fresh white towel around her body, Christine heard a loud crash from the ground level of the manor. She groaned and without a second thought she*sped to the kitchen. (A/N *Sped is my term for Christine's power of super speed). The entire place had become too quiet for her liking and she silently cursed herself for not checking on Kylo first, as she had a bit of an inkling that he was the cause of the noise. Her bare feet left little wet footprints behind her as she investigated further.
Another thud, this time it had emanated from the second dining room.
"Give that back you wretched creature!"
Christine groaned loudly, her suspicions confirmed. She sped once more, her laziness reflected in the excessive use of her powers. "What the hell is going on in here?" she snapped, standing by the doorframe. However she was met with the most comical sight. Kylo Ren, dressed in nothing but a pair of light denim jeans chasing her cat, who appeared to have his lightsaber hilt firmly in her mouth. Any annoyance or anger that had taken root in Christine quickly faded. The cat, seeing her mistress, frantically ran and leaped into her arms, still with the lightsaber secured in her grip. Kylo halted in his tracks, his notorious anger scratching the surface. "I'll kill the damn thing", he snarled, fists clenched and knuckles gone white.
"You most certainly will not", Christine replied sternly, "Isn't that right Adorlee? Were you trying to get away from the big bad man?" Christine baby-talked the small feline, stroking it's white and black fur lovingly.
Kylo Ren was far from amused, angrily crossing his arms over his chest. His black hair still in tumbles from sleep, and had only time to dress quickly upon realizing his lightsaber was missing from the nightstand that had been next to his bed, however which now lay in scattered pieces across his temporary living quarters. He held out his hand sharply, "Lightsaber. Now", he ordered, brow furrowing.
Christine tutted, "Ask nicely", she replied, whirling Adorlee in her arms.
A low growl emanated from deep within his throat as Kylo gritted his teeth. On base, when he requested something, it was given. The silent stand-off with Christine proved futile as she would not back down. Kylo feeling defeated narrowed his dark eyes, "please, give me my lightsaber". The word tasted foul in his mouth, and it infuriated him to see the native girl smirk in victory before tossing him his sword. "Now was that so hard?"
"Yes", he sneered, holding his weapon protectively to his side.
Christine gasped as the feline suddenly jumped from her arms, almost taking her towel with her "Adorlee!" she squealed, grasping at the towel and hugging it into her body as she blushed furiously. Kylo's own anger faded as he smiled slyly, an eyebrow raised. Christine tucked a lock of damp hair behind her ear, ignoring the 'almost slip'. "She's just a little cat, there was no need to get worked up". She felt a shiver run up her spine, it hitting her once more that she was still soaking wet and her body had almost been exposed. She shrugged her shoulders awkwardly, "If you will excuse me, I need to finish getting dressed", she said, and swiftly turned to retreat back to her room," and I suggest you do the same", she mused.
Kylo remained in the kitchen a few minutes more, for the one hundredth time since he woke Kylo contemplated his situation. He needed to find a way to manipulate the native girl and fast. The longer it took him to find this elusive power source, the thinner the Supreme Leader's patience would wear. He would not keep his master waiting a second longer than necessary. He needed to sharpen himself, Christine was disposable. In fact, it would be wise to dispose of her once her usefulness ran dry, why bother leaving a loose end? He considered his training, making the decision that once the power was found he would kill the native girl to cover his presence on the planet. Kylo knew that he had a new objective: he could not get attached, which, he admitted secretly to himself, might prove more difficult than he realised.
Christine finished drying her hair, slipping into more laid back clothing; a pair of black jeans and a white blouse, as well as fastening her crystal securely around her neck. She allowed her hair to fall freely, sighing she left to find Kylo.
He was not hard to find, once more in the kitchen, however this time fully clothed in another of her brother's outfits. As if he'd need them, she thought, I'm sure he has mountains of clothes in Paris. She smiled, taking the seat next to him. However Kylo appeared a lot colder towards her, and sat rigid as if he were made of stone. "So, anything in particular that you would like to do today?" she questioned. Kylo shrugged his shoulders, his silence answering for him. Christine suddenly felt very awkward, and almost embarrassed. She twirled at the little piece of crystal, seeking reassurance.
"Because I was thinking", she began, "perhaps we should go back to the wreckage, see if we can fix your ship – so you can go home".
Kylo jumped, and almost panicked. He could not go home yet, his mission was far from complete. "Uh, actually I, uh, was hoping to see more of your planet today", he answered, hoping to deter Christine away from the subject of him leaving. Besides, he doubted that the power source that he sought was here – it must have resided in a different location.
Relief swarmed Christine as she smiled, "Well sure, there is a lot that you can see". Christine rose to her feet, fetching her purse from the far side of the counter, as well as her keys. "We can take a drive into town – it'll be fun".
Kylo Ren nodded, bring himself to his feet, his lightsaber safely tucked away out of sight in his Jacket. He followed Christine outside, the planet's only sun shone brightly in the sky, and a warm breeze was carried by the wind. In the car, Christine backed out of the driveway, and the two set off.
Christine always had a habit of driving fast, she liked watching as the scenery zoomed behind her, and the subtle thrill of human-like danger. She always drove with the windows rolled down, and would often find herself racing other teenagers. But with Kylo, she drove within the right speed limits, she checked her rear-view mirrors and used her turn lights. Usually she found it tedious, but for some reason that she could not explain, she felt right in doing it.
Christine knew the drive would seem far longer than it was if they didn't start talking soon. She tapped her fingertips on the wheel, trying to think of something 'non boring' to talk about. She gave up, and turned to him. "Want the radio on?" she questioned absentmindedly.
Kylo gave her a puzzled look, and the witch could not help to roll her eyes. "It basically plays different music stations", she answered before he could ask his question.
"Alright", he muttered.
Christine browsed a few stations, she rarely listened to recent music, a trait she had been given by her father. She finally decided on The Smiths How Soon is Now? A very cliché song choice (especially for a witch) but she had to admit it was good. The two listened to the music playing, occasionally making small talk before they finally reached their destination.
Christine, baring a wide grin announced, "We're here!"
Christine practically dragged Kylo into the mall, "Come on scaredy cat", she laughed, "It's just a mall".
Inside was booming with people, considering it was a Saturday morning. Christine found Kylo's facial expressions hilarious, it was evident that he wasn't a 'people person'. It was comforting to her to see him behave so awkwardly, it made Kylo appear a lot less intimidating to Christine. She nudged his shoulder reassuringly, "Hey, there are loads of great stores here. If you're staying a while you're going to need to blend in". Christine dragged Kylo upstairs to American apparel, determined to have some degree of fun. Armed with her father's credit cards, she began shopping.
Kylo turned his nose up at the majority of the clothes that Christine picked out, but finally settled upon some shirts and jeans that barely scraped his approval. "For someone who dresses in all black you sure are damn picky", she mumbled as the two made their way to the changing rooms. Every few moments Christine found herself glancing behind her shoulder. She could not explain it, but she had the recurring feeling of being watched. She blamed it on her paranoia, but with each shiver that trailed the length of her spine, she became a little uneasy.
Christine tried her best to put it to the side, at least for a few hours. The attendant, a woman in her late fifties with light grey hair scraped back into a tight bun; gave the pair an odd look as Kylo and Christine brushed past her, but remained silent. All of the stalls in the room were vacant, leaving Kylo to choose the middle one, as he pulled back the red curtain Christine thrust the mountain of clothing into his arms, "have fun", she smirked, pushing him inside and closing the curtain shut. Kylo Ren was unfamiliar with purchasing clothes in his own galaxy, and the process on Earth confused him. Still, Kylo knew that he had to blend in, wearing the proper attire was necessity. And so, he obediently stripped from the clothing borrowed from Christine's absent brother and began changing.
Outfit after outfit Christine called him out, helping decide which to keep and which to 'burn it before it breeds' (as she put it). The process was tedious to Kylo, and he found himself moaning and groaning at every comment she made. "You're worse than a mother", he complained, discarding a red button-up. Christine giggled, tucking her feet beneath her on the small couch. "I know. That's what makes it so fun".
Finally Kylo came to a simple grey shirt. He pulled it over his head and reached to put his arms through, finding the material very constricting. He ignored this however and fought his way inside the shirt. Once fully clothed, Kylo realised his mistake. The shirt was much, much too small for him, and clung to his body. He gulped, and made an attempted to remove the shirt. To no avail. He made another three attempts, but it would not budge without making a slight 'rip noise'. "Come on Kylo what's taking so long?" Christine whined and suddenly Kylo Ren felt very panicked.
"Uh Christine", he said, voice lowered, "Could you help me with something quickly?"
"Huh?" was her reply and Kylo felt his anger rise, "now please" he hissed. Kylo heard Christine groan and curse under her breath before slipping into the cramped changing room stall. "What could you possibly need my help with?" she snapped (however it was all said in whisper). It took her less than a second to recognize his predicament, and she could not help but face-palm for effect. "You're an idiot", she said, still whispering. The two were not oblivious, if the attendant caught the two together in there it would not have looked good. "Just shut up and help me", he snarled, "It was you who picked the stupid thing out".
"Couldn't you judge by yourself that it was too bloody small!" she seethed, "come on just get this off. Lift your arms up".
"What?" he retorted (whispering the same as she).
"I said lift up your stupid-ass arms", she hissed once more, "Before the old lady out there hears us". Kylo complied and raised his arms hastily. Christine clutched the thin material of the shirt, trying to push it up his chest, which proved a lot more difficult than she expected. "Damn, damn, damn", she snapped as it snagged.
"You aren't pulling hard enough", Kylo
"Oh really, coming from the person who couldn't get the stupid thing off on their own".
The two bickered in the tiny space as Christine pulled and pulled, being careful to keep her strength within human range. Finally in the heat of their fighting, the shirt gave way, and shot up into the air as it was removed from Kylo's body. He stumbled, taken aback in the cramped space, and took Christine with him. They fell with an 'oof' as Kylo landed outside the small stall with Christine landing squarely on top of him. She groaned, trying to move herself off of his chest. "Sometimes Kylo", she breathed sharply, "I kinda really hate you".
"I kinda really hate you too", he repeated, feeling pain beginning to swell in the back of his head.
The two lay there momentarily feeling defeated before a loud cough launched the pair back into reality. Looking up, they saw the old attended leering over them, arms crossed and a very dissatisfied look etched into her face.
"Uh, we can explain?" Christine tried to laugh off, smiling sweetly. The attendant saw through her pointing a crimson talon at the exit; "Both of you. Out". The two scrambled to their feet, Christine's cheeks reddening in anger, "Sorry ma'am I was just helping –
"You were just helping him leave", the attended interrupted. Christine felt her blush worsen, now in embarrassment. Kylo had stood back in silent, but found the woman irritating. He stood forward, in front of Christine. "You will turn around. Walk away and quit your job in this place", he stated calmly. Christine's jaw dropped, expecting the woman to roar at him, but to her bewilderment, the attended started blankly at them before repeating Kylo's words; "I will turn around. Walk away and quit my job in this place". She then abruptly turned, leaving the pair in peace. Christine stood silent, confused was not the word. Her memory shot back to her first conversation with Kylo Ren. You will take me to my ship, and will not question me. He had tried the same thing on her, only this time it succeeded. "How the hell did you do that?" she asked.
Kylo smirked, for once he had the upper hand with her, "Simple mind trick", he yawned, "child's play".
"Child's play huh?" a smile playing on her lips, "then how come it didn't work when you tried it on me?"
"It only works on the weak minded", he replied gruffly, "but I am sure that it is your power that protects you from it".
"Gee thanks", Christine said, her tone laced with sarcasm. She turned to the stall, bundling the clothes in her arms, "Now that that fiasco is over with, I think we should go pay for these", she glared at the crumpled mess of fabric in the corner", "and we're leaving that". Kylo nodded in agreement, pulling on his own shirt once more.
"Come on don't be such a baby, its good I promise!" After visiting another twelve shops, Kylo and Christine were both worn out and ravenous. They'd settled themselves in the food court, ordering two trays worth of food. The past ten minutes had been spent by Christine attempting to persuade Kylo to try ice cream – and to no avail. "Well it doesn't look good" he retorted, brow furrowing.
"Appearances can be deceiving", she smiled lightly, "for example the first time I saw you I thought you were a cyborg".
Kylo looked alarmed as Christine giggled, her head dipping. "You thought I was part droid?" he questioned.
"Well you were wearing a mask".
Kylo contemplated this, and gave in to the native witch, trying the earth desert. He hated the fact that he liked it, and he hated the fact that Christine had been right. Kylo Ren preferred to live his life black and white with no grey in between, a view that was harder to hold with the Earth girl around. He sighed, relaxing back into the plastic chair that supported him. He took in his surroundings, a swarm of humans buzzed around him, but he could not help himself but focus on the witch facing him. She was working on the device she called an iPhone, sometimes smiling as she tapped at the screen, light laughs escaping her lips and tendrils of chocolate brown locks fell on her face. He took in everything about her that he had grown to know; how her eyes were always alight and questioning, how her lips would creep into small smiles even if she did not intend it, how despite the trouble he had caused her, she would always be warm and kind with him. It infuriated the young man, as each of these things made it increasingly difficult to even contemplate her fate. Perhaps, he thought, he could kill her as quickly as possible to save her any pain. Kylo wished he could discuss it with the Supreme Leader, ask for his audience and his counsel, or to perhaps even ask for reassurance and to give him strength. However his orders had been clear; he was not to contact the First Order until his mission was complete. Contact between galaxies was extremely difficult to accomplished, the device Captain Phasma had presented to him would only work once; he had to save it.
He was snapped from his train of thought by Christine, who waved her hand sheepishly over his face. "Earth to Kylo, anybody in there?" she joked. "At the present moment, no", he mused, biting into another large spoonful of ice cream. Kylo's head ached suddenly, and his face contorted in pain as he held his head. "Damn", he seethed. Christine giggled, "You have a brain freeze". She reached forward across the table, gently laying her hand against his forehead, muttering something quietly to herself. Instantly, Kylo was cured of the annoying pain, however it wasn't the spell he noticed, it was her touch; soft and warm against his skin. She moved back, smirking; "You aren't the only one with a few tricks".
"I see", he smiled genuinely, and the two for once felt completely at ease in each other's company. Something so innocent never lasts long, as Christine was quickly reminded. It was such a fleeting glance, just over Kylo Ren's shoulder, but she knew she saw her. Standing just beside the Costa stand. Christine could never mistake her. Their twin hazel eyes contacted, just for a second, but that was more than enough for her to realize that it was really her. No hallucination, no nightmare of the day. But her in the living flesh. Christine's face dropped. Life drained from her eyes and was replaced with dread and fear. Kylo immediately recognized the change, familiar worry building in his chest as he searched her face for clues. "Christine … are you alright?" he asked warily. Christine did not answer him, instead her whole body froze, and all at once she was forced to relieve each painful emotion that she had buried away. Her lower lip trembled as air caught in her throat. "Kylo, do, do you see her?" she choked. Kylo gave her a strange look, but complied. He glanced over his shoulder. He saw many women pass by, but he doubted that she was referring to any of them. Kylo turned back to face her, but was shocked to find an empty chair. He stood up immediately, eyes scanning the crowd, trying to find her face. "Christine?" he called, "Christine?" He searched the force, it's presence on this planet was lacking greatly, but it still existed in the galaxy. Christine's signature was unique to him, and radiated a pure white, it was not long before he sensed her.
He walked briskly, moving through the crowds with ease. Christine's strange behaviour worried him, and the fact that it did made him feel uncomfortable. Once outside, it took minutes to find her, leaning against her car, strange smoke coming from her nose and mouth. She brought a strange object to her lips, inhaling deeply and exhaling more white smoke. Her hazel eyes shifted from the ground to look at him, and she laughed weakly, "I quit smoking a year ago. I guess old habits die hard".
"What is smoking?" he questioned, taking the spot next to her.
"It's a really stupid thing humans do", she shrugged, flinging the finished bud to the ground, "It's seriously bad for you".
"And yet you do it anyway", he replied softly, juxtaposed to his usual stern and formal tone.
"Well, sometimes you get addicted to the things that you know are bad for you. I personally have a knack for it", she muttered eyes lowering to the ground once more. Kylo sensed the sadness within her, the fact that he had such a connection made him certain that she was strong in the force. "Christine … what happened to you back there?" he questioned at last. He watched the colour quickly fade from her face and her head drop. Christine tucked a stray curl behind her ear and cleared her throat, "Uh, I, um. Saw my mother". Her answer felt so detached, so cold, and yet Kylo could see that she was on the verge of breaking as her lip quivered gently. "I know, it, it sounds crazy. But … I saw her. Just for a second … I know it was her and…" Christine stopped herself and Kylo shuffled awkwardly on his feet. He had no experience comforting in general, let alone with a young woman. He could not help but sympathise with her situation, once, long ago there had been a part of him like her – in his twisted mind Christine's and his own mother where one in the same. Brainwashing their children for their own cause. He nervously edged himself closer to her, and with the courage he could muster – wrapped an arm around her shoulder. There was nothing hinted at it, he simply didn't want her to feel alone. Fighting rebels, going on long missions, training in depth with his master – none made him feel fear. But even Kylo could not hide to himself his lacking social skills; it was safe to say that the situation he found himself in was very out of his comfort zone. To his utter surprise, she did not reject the gesture, instead Christine allowed her head to rest against him as she suppressed her tears. "It will be alright", Kylo muttered quietly to her. Christine had been surprised by his thoughtful act, but welcomed it openly. It felt nice to be so close to a person. Christine's brothers were gone, and she rarely saw her father, or her friends for that matter. Just to be touched by another human being made her feel calm in a time that she was filled with such uncertainty. Kylo squeezed her shoulder gently and the two slowly broke apart. "Thank you Kylo", she sniffed, drying her eyes on her jacket, "You've been a really good friend to me".
A small smile adorned his lips, "You may not believe me, but I know how you feel".
"I do Kylo", "I do" she said.
The two knew subconsciously that it had been time to leave, and thankfully Kylo had lifted the bags of his new clothing. They finally got inside the car, Christine turning up the heat as she drove. The same chill refused to leave her, and had settled into her bones. She shuddered in her seat, starting to wish for her cosy bed. Her head was whirling with a million questions, how could that have been her mother? Christine, her father and her uncle had bound her to the very pit of the Shadow plane. No witch, no matter how powerful, could ever come back from that. She thought back to the previous evening, the werewolves … how did they thwart her father's powerful charm? Christine had a nagging feeling that the events were somehow connected. She wished her father back, someone she could confide in about her fears. She could not burden Kylo more than she already had, he would not have the insight that she needed anyway.
Christine brought herself out of her thoughts, she knew better than to dwell so fiercely. What point was there to worry yourself further when there was nothing you could do at that time? She glanced at Kylo; they had fallen into a silence. Christine thought for a moment before switching the dial of the Radio, she flicked a lot of channels until she found what she was looking for. She smiled as the familiar opening chords of Here comes the Sun began to play. Here comes the sun, do do do do. Here comes the sun, and I say. It's alright. Christine sang along, the song calming her scattered mind.
Kylo looked up from his hands and watched the peculiar girl. Without warning she began to sing along with the 'radio'. The song was … oddly uplifting. He relaxed back into his seat, watching as the colour and glow returned to the witch's face.
Little darling. It's been a long cold lonely winter. Little darling. It feels like years since it's been here. Here comes the sun, do do do do. Here comes the sun, and I say. It's all right. Christine continued to sing along, feeling like she was a little kid, listening to The Beatles with her father. The memories worked wonders to relax, uplift and cheer her up. She looked to Kylo who was lightly chuckling and she grinned, laughing herself. Sun, sun, sun, here it comes. Sun, sun, sun, here it comes. Sun, sun, sun, here it comes. Sun, sun, sun, here it comes. Sun, sun, sun, here it comes.
By the songs end the two were laughing and the trouble at the mall seemed a distant memory and the pair could just enjoy each other's company. It was not long before Christine pulled up into the courtyard. The sun's light beginning to fade, she had not realised they had been gone so long. They left the car, Christine nagging Kylo for almost leaving the bags. They walked slowly, but as they reached the door, Christine knew something was wrong. Very wrong.
They had been followed.
A/N I'm sorry for the crappy quality of this chapter. I had a major case of writer's block trying to type it, so the end result feels really rushed to me. Hopefully writing chapter seven won't be so tasking, and if I can I hope to rewrite this chapter later on. Sorry again for the really long wait.