"You did well today." He said, surprising Cara. She was sitting on the floor, small droplets of sweat running down her forehead as she fought to catch her breath. Today had been an especially exhaustive day of training – she had taken many hits, her body feeling battered and fatigued after the countless spins, swings, kicks, punches and blocks she had tried to lash out at him with. She felt no progress in her skills though, nothing that made her feel as though this training was working. She wondered why he still bothered – what was she going to be able to use these skills for anyway?
"It didn't feel as though I did well today." She said, in between breaths. It bothered her how long it was taking for her heart rate to lower. She had never felt this out of shape before. She realized that it had now been at least a few months since Kylo Ren had taken her captive. Back on Jakku, she ran between settlements all day, trying to help the sick gain an impression of comfort and health with what little remedies they had at their disposal. Sitting in a cell all day had done nothing for her condition or her stamina. It made her feel weak – perhaps that was what he was trying to give her, some semblance of control, of power. Strength.
"This is not something I would lie about, Cara."
She looked up at him, once more recognizing the sincerity in his voice. His eyes had become somewhat softer since they had started training together, not so full of resentment and disgust. It was not the same way Ben had used to look at her, though. It was more confusion and indecision. He still did not understand what to feel around her.
"Thank you." She said, more to herself than to him. He still heard her, of course.
"What exactly are you thankful for?" He asked, turning towards her to look at her fatigued form sitting on the floor in front of him.
"Making me feel as though I have some kind of purpose. I do not mean in life, or in direct relation to you, I just mean that I am thankful that I am doing something – and it's because of you. So, thank you."
He did not respond to her gratefulness, nor had she expected him too. It was also not the only thing she was grateful for. She was grateful that he had stopped being so tense around her, stopped frightening her to no end, and that he had stopped gripping his lightsaber with incredible fierceness whenever he was around her. It made her feel more at peace with her situation and where she was now. She may not be all that close to finding Ben inside of him, but she was at least getting somewhere with the man in front of her. For now, that was more than enough.
"Do you think you could spar another round?" He asked. She looked up at him with wide and tired eyes, hoping that the flush of her cheeks and the sweat on her forehead were enough to indicate that no, she was not up for another round of fighting. It was a shame, though. She was enjoying their sessions, enjoying being this close to him without a constant feeling of anxiety threatening to overwhelm her. Whenever they stopped fighting however, he would almost immediately bring her back to her room and leave her there until the next time he saw fit to train her. That had been their routine, ever since that day she had tried to convince him that his anger was not the only thing he could rely on for strength. She hoped that his distancing himself from her meant that she had struck a chord within him, that he had contemplated what she had said; but she could never be sure. Not unless he told her.
"I will let you rest, only because you fought with more vigour today." He nodded, showing that he understood. He was seemingly unaffected by their relentless physical exercise, and it made her wonder just how strong he truly was. How much power did he have within his lithe form, and what would it take to stop him, if Cara could not succeed in trying to bring him back to the Light?
"I have noticed you have been relying on your instinct more." He said, breaking the silence. She had half-expected him to pull her up by her arm only to march her down the hallways back to her cell. It was a pleasant surprise that he did not seem to be in any rush to get rid of her. She smiled at him, trying to show him how pleased she was to hear him say so.
"You are a good teacher, as unpredictable as you may be."
"You find me unpredictable?" He asked, wondering where it was she was taking this line of conversation.
"Yes, Kylo Ren. You still puzzle me, even after all that has happened."
"And here I thought you were convinced you knew exactly what you were doing when it came to uncovering your little friend from the depths of this man you now deem so unworthy."
"Ben Solo once told me that he believed you can never know someone well enough. I also happen to believe that is true."
A swell of hope formed within her as she saw a look of recognition cross his face. As soon as she saw it however, it was gone, replaced by his stoic features once more.
"I believe the same thing." He said, causing her to snap her gaze towards his in order to understand what he was feeling.
"You do?" She asked, looking for any kind of confirmation that he was tapping into Ben's emotions, Ben's thoughts.
"Yes. I believe you can never know someone well enough to trust them." He said, with a slight sneer. She released a breath, trying to hide her disappointment at his comment. She wondered if he was directing his answer towards her, or if he meant it in general. If it was meant for her, it would mean that everything she was doing to get him to trust her – using his new name, allowing him to train her, confiding in him – was in vain. It would mean that Ben was further out of her reach than she thought.
"That is no way to live."
"Can you honestly tell me that you trusted Ben Solo with every fibre of your being? Even after all the anger he showed you, the ferocity, the distrust in his own family – could you truly still depend on a man who seemed so volatile?"
"He never gave me any reason to doubt him."
"Until he abandoned you, of course."
He was fishing for an answer, hoping to catch her in some twisted lie, hoping that she would relinquish the desperate quest she had been on since she had found out who had taken her captive. He wanted her to stop, he wanted her to stop believing in Ben Solo so that she could believe in someone else; so that she could believe in who he was now.
"This is exactly why you puzzle me, Kylo Ren. How can you be so powerful, and yet care so much for what I think of you?"
"I do not care about what it is you think of me."" He said, a slight shadow returning to his eyes.
"Then why try and cast doubt over the only memories I have left of someone I used to love? What does it matter to you?"
She awaited his answer with baited breath, supposing that he would move his hands towards his lightsaber once more, to try and frighten her into submission again. Instead, she was surprised by the sound of the door opening – no one had dared to interrupt them during these training sessions as of yet.
"I am quite interested in knowing the same thing." It was the emotionless voice of General Hux, his heavy boots slapping against the floor as he entered their personal space. She stood up, not wanting to appear vulnerable and weak in front of him.
"General Hux, I was not expecting to see you here." Kylo spoke, distaste evident in his tone of voice.
"I was not expecting to see the two of you here either. Yet, here we are." Hux said.
"Was there something you needed, General?" Kylo asked, obviously trying to get rid of him.
"I just came here to remind your prisoner of a little conversation we had while you were otherwise engaged, Kylo Ren."
Kylo turned his gaze towards her then, his brows furrowed as he tried to understand what the red-haired man meant. She lowered her gaze, unable to reveal to him what had happened. She had nearly forgotten her previous encounter with General Hux; the soldier in front of her did not frighten her nearly as much as the idea of losing Ben forever. Her captor would never understand her reasoning, however. She feared he would lose whatever semblance of trust he had in her forever.
"I see she has not confided in you,' Hux mocked, 'how disappointing."
Ren had not averted his gaze from her, and she finally looked up to meet his eyes. He was searching her face for an answer – anything that would tell her wat the General was referring to. She could not tell him that she had been blackmailed into forcing him over to the Dark side. If Kylo ever found out, she feared he would only use it to push her further into a corner she would not be able to get out of. It would give him a reason not to listen to her anymore, not to heed her advice. She would lose whatever grip she had on him and Ben forever.
Suddenly, Kylo tore his eyes away from her, carefully yet menacingly striding towards the General in order to make it clear who had the power here. Hux may have been the General of the First Order, but Kylo Ren held all the supremacy – a thing Hux would do well to remember.
"She has, in fact, confessed to me of your exploits with her. After my return I could sense something was wrong and forced her to tell me what it was you had burdened her with. I assure you, General, that your pathetic attempts at trying to gain control over my prisoner have been doing you more harm than good. I suggest you stay out of my way, where she is concerned."
Cara supressed a gasp; if there was one thing she had not been expecting it was Ren standing up to protect her. She knew what was coming next, though. If General Hux was not her problem now, it would be Kylo rooting his way into her thoughts to discover what had actually happened while he had been away.
General Hux was obviously astounded as well – it was likely that he had thought his plan to come and interrupt them here had been fool proof. It was satisfying to see that the smug General could be taken down a notch. Now there was just the matter of the repercussion.
"Leave us." Kylo directed towards his fellow member of the First Order. Hux looked taken aback, and snarled at Cara for good measure before stomping out of the room.
It took a minute before she was able to find her voice again.
"Are you sure that was a good idea?" She asked, afraid to look at him.
"That would depend on what it is he asked you to do."
"It was nothing, Kylo. He already knew I would not comply."
"Then why are you avoiding my gaze right now?" He asked, noticing the aversion of her eyes.
She backed away from him, slowly moving towards the door. She was worried what he would do if he found out. There was no way to predict his next move.
"Tell me what happened."
"I promise you, it was nothing."
"Tell me what happened or I will force it out of you." He said, his words reminding her of the Kylo that prompted fear within her.
"You can take me back to my cell now. Please." She added, trying to get him to understand how badly she did not want to talk about this. How much it worried her.
"Tell me what happened with General Hux and I will tell you the truth of my three week absence." He said, allowing a minute for her curiosity to settle in.
"I already know what happened. You captured the pilot who – who tried to help me escape."
He stepped towards her, but she had stopped backing away, her inquisitive nature getting the best of her.
"There is much more to that story than you know, Cara. Confide in me and I will confide in you."
A/N: Just another thank you for all the support for this story, as always. It means a lot.