Somehow she had ended up in a cell. She groaned as her eyes slowly adjusted to the bright lights in her enclosure, her entire body stiff and aching with the memory of what had befallen her yesterday. She checked her boots, expecting to see scuff marks on them from being dragged to her quarters after she had fallen asleep, but did not see any. She shrugged it off, figuring that her captors had used a different method of prisoner transportation for her. That's what she was now. A prisoner.
A small window was situated in her cell, offering her a mere glimpse at the expanse of galaxy on the other side of the glass. Her reaction to the view was no different than usual. As many times as she may have seen the stars and the galaxy in her lifetime, she would never come to terms with its vast size. How could there be so much anger and war to rule part of a universe when there was so much more to explore?
A few weeks after her parents had died, Han Solo had taken it upon himself to cheer her up. In his eyes, she had become his responsibility, and he had figured that seeing the galaxy that she was a part of may make her forget about her troubles. Oh, how wrong he had been.
She had begged Ben to come along with her, but even at six years old, he was as stubborn as could be imagined. Han was taking her for a trip in the Millennium Falcon, just far enough into the skies that she could see what it was like to be away from her home planet. Ben had adamantly refused to come along, yelling something or other about having more exploring to do within the base. Han and even his mother Leia had tried to convince him to come along, but stood no chance. At that point, Cara knew there was only one thing that would trick him into joining them. She had stolen one of his most prized possessions; an old blaster that had fallen from a retired X-Wing, and he had chased her all the way through the base in an attempt to retrieve it from her until finally they both ended up on board of his father's ship. The doors had closed before he had the chance to escape. He finally retrieved his blaster from her, and proceeded to ignore her for as long as he could. Unfortunately for him, that didn't last long.
When it came to Cara, Ben would have done anything to protect her. All they had was each other. She had lost her parents after they had been killed on an exploratory mission to a new system. Even though Ben still had both his parents, he always felt that they did not understand him. Even at such a young age, he could tell that they were frightened by his tendency to throw temper tantrums. He had heard them whispering about it behind his back. He may not have understood everything they said, but their worried tone was enough to set him off.
As soon as the Falcon reached the outer atmosphere of the planet they all called home, Cara started to panic. General Organa had tried to explain to her what had happened to her parents – their ship had crossed paths with an unknown asteroid field on their way back home. They never stood a chance. The knowledge that her parents had died in space was enough to terrify her from exploring the galaxy forever – Han Solo had obviously not thought his plan through.
His son, on the other hand, noticed her shallow breathing, the tears slowly streaming down her face and the panicked look in her eyes. His friend needed him; and as annoyed as he was at her for stealing his blaster, he could not let her sit in her own misery.
He sat down next to her, and wrapped his small hand around her even smaller hand. He waited for her terror to subside a little, and proceeded to explain to her how the stars were beacons that could always guide her home. He told her stories he had heard from his father about the wonderful and exciting adventures he had had in space; and he told her about how big the universe was and that someday they could explore it together. He had calmed her down, as he always did – and that was the first of her many ventures out into the galaxy.
Cara snapped out of her reminiscence as she heard the loud thumping of footsteps right outside her cell. Her heart started to beat wildly as she remembered she needed to find a way out of this. She had no idea what kind of ship she was on. She had no idea where in the galaxy they were currently situated. She had no idea if the masked man was coming to interrogate her again. A chill went up her spine as she recalled what it felt like when he had lent in closer to her face to whisper menacing things in her ear. It had been a strange sensation – every bone in her body froze when he came in close proximity with her, and yet she was oddly aware of the immense heat that had radiated from his body as he tortured her mind and physicality using the ways of the Force. She could tell when he was watching her too; she could sense that his eyes examined every expression on her face and the tremor of her limbs whenever he inflicted some new type of pain.
The footsteps subsided - the Stormtroopers must not have been sent to fetch her. Her breathing slowed down to a normal pace. She was not sure that she would be able to fight her captor again if he decided to take another run at her mind. His meddling within the blocks she had placed upon the memories of her childhood friend had come crumbling down. Walls and barricades that she had put up around her heart had been destroyed after he had intruded on her innermost thoughts. The idea of fighting the masked man again brought her mind once more to the edge of exhaustion. Without realizing Cara closed her eyes again, her captors menacing yet familiar voice ringing in her ears as she dreamt of more memories from her younger days.
"It's interesting to see that you can still sleep, considering your current predicament."
She heard his voice somewhere in the far distance, calling her back to reality from the depths of her dreams. As she opened her eyes, she saw a black figure looming over her, scrutinizing her every move. She quickly registered who he was, jumping up from her bench and sprinting to the other side of the room. She pressed herself into a corner, anything to get as far away from him as possible. She sighed inwardly as she noticed that the door was closed. Her futile sliver of hope faded away quickly.
"How long have you been watching me?" She asked, rather tentatively.
"Long enough to know that you were being tormented by whatever dream it was you were having." He responded.
"I'm supposed to believe that you weren't probing my mind to see what it was I was dreaming about?"
"There's no need. I can always find out from you later."
"Then why are you here?"
"I came to see how you were faring."
"Why do you care?"
"I won't be able to torture you for more information if you slip into unconsciousness every five minutes." He said it with a rather threatening tone to his voice, but she could hear a faint quiver of something more. This was not the first time that she had felt a sense of recognition when it came to the masked man in front of her. Had she come across him before? Were they connected somehow?
"In that case, I'm doing terribly."
She could see his shoulders shake, indicating that beneath that helmet, he may even be chuckling at her response. She did not think he would be capable of having a sense of humor.
It was silent between the pair for a moment, both of them sizing each other up to try and predict what will happen next.
"How did I get in here?"
"Why do you ask?" He was taken aback by her sudden question.
"I can't see any scuff marks on my boots so it's obvious I wasn't dragged here. I want to know who brought me here so that I can make sure I wasn't violated somehow." She spat at him, sarcasm dripping from her question.
"I carried you here." He stated, as though the answer should not surprise her.
"You – you carried me here? Why would you do something like that?"
"Carrying you seemed to be the simplest solution."
"Sure, you really seem like the type that would concern themselves with not exerting too much energy."
"Perhaps I'm saving my strength for something else."
"And what would that be?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
His words cut through her like a vice – of course they were planning something. Maybe her present imprisonment could make her useful. She could try and find out information about The First Order's next attack. Her inevitable death could lead to something valuable. It was a small solace, but helped her put her thoughts straight. She just hoped that her mysterious captor was not looking inside her mind just now.
After a few moments of silence, he took a step towards her. He remembered what it had felt like to have her body rest against his as he carried her to his cell. Something in the back of his mind was telling him to get closer to her once more. He could sense her tensing up as he approached her, but he paid it no mind. Right now she was his victim, his prisoner. He could do what he pleased when it came to her. She would not be able to fight back anyway. A smirk formed under his mask, taking pleasure in the tension he could plainly see upon her memorable features. His steps were slow but meaningful, and she pressed herself further into the corner – terrified of what he was planning to do but also weirdly curious as to his intentions with her.
She took a few deep breaths to steady herself. He continued to approach her and only stopped when he could see that she had to tilt her head up to look at him. She knew that there was no use in regarding his mask – she would not be able to tell what he was feeling anyway – but she could not bear to tear herself away. The mask was covering something, and she was suddenly desperate to find out what. If he had wanted to kill her, she felt he would have done so already.
Without even thinking about it, she could feel her fingers reaching up to touch his helmet. He did not seem to realize at first, but as soon as her fingertips reached the cold metal of the mask he was snapped out of his stupor. He took a step back, and grabbed her wrist with enough force to leave a mark. Cara winced at the pain, but stood her ground. She did not want him to realize that he was hurting her. Her curiosity was not quelled either.
"What is it you hide behind the mask?" She asked, repeating her question from yesterday.
"You've asked me that already."
"You never gave me a proper answer."
"Have you ever considered I do not find you worthy of knowing the answer?" She could hear the disapproval in his voice, clearly he thought she was pathetic for even asking.
His hand still held her wrist, but his grip had loosened slightly, and this had not gone unnoticed by Cara. She continued to stare at him, stare at his mask, daring him to make the next move. She wanted him to know that she would stand up to him as long as she was here. She would get the answers she sought from him, and she would never give up the answers he sought from her.
"Excuse me sir, General Hux would like to speak with you." A tentative voice said from the doorway.
His hand gripped her wrist tighter once more. He hesitated for a moment before acknowledging the underling standing fearfully on the other side of the small room.
"No matter, I have what I needed." He pushed her away from him rather forcefully, his cloak billowing behind him as he purposefully strode out the room, the other man quickly following him.
His last statement worried her. What was it that he had needed from her today that he had received? Had he entered her mind without even realizing it? Was the effect he had on her that strong?
A/N: Quite a few followers in such a short amount of time, thank you! Reviews and feedback are much appreciated, and I will keep updating as soon as I can