Rey relished the feeling of hot water running down her back, this base wherever it was located, was freezing. Maybe it was just her intolerance to cold, she had spent all of her life being hot or overheated. Being cool was a luxury she could never afford.
Thoroughly Rey scrubbed off a week's worth of grime and sweat. Her hands were still restricted by the restraints, but she did her best to wash off. Kylo had some generic looking shampoo and soap, which apparently smelled like Ryoos. Rey had heard of the beautiful blue and yellow flowers that grew only on Naboo. The smell was surprisingly manly for such a gorgeous flower.
She finished her shower, dried off and she started slipping on her new clothes. Rey had gotten her pants on when she hit a very bad altercation. Her hands were still bound in front of her, and Rey wasn't certain how to pull the undershirt over her head.
There was nothing Rey could do but blush, she didn't want to ask for help. She didn't want to be indebted to him, and there was no way Kylo was going to see her shirtless. Rey tried desperately for ten minutes to get her shirt on, but her efforts were in vain. Finally, she broke down, Rey was already feeling slightly embarrassed and she hadn't even asked for help yet. She was internally kicking herself for not foreseeing this dilemma.
Timidly, Rey opened the bathroom door, and peeked around the corner. Kylo had moved his desk to the center of his room to create a makeshift dinner table. He had two chairs placed at the table, with plates and actual silverware. Rey had never used silverware before, most of her life she had been eating packets of dried food and self-cooked rolls.
Kylo himself was sitting on his bed reading a book, he seemed to be very absorbed in whatever he was reading.
"Kylo." Rey whispered softly to him.
He turned around to face her, his expression was one of mild concern and light annoyance. "What?"
"There is a problem, you see, my hands are bound and I can't get my shirt on," Rey said with trepidation, never before had anyone seen her shirtless and she refused to let him – of all people, see her so exposed.
"Oh," he said nervously. "I can take off the cuffs, but I'm going to need to see them... Your cuffs, I mean." He seemed slightly flustered, and Rey found it a little amusing. Slowly, Kylo got up and walked over to the bathroom door. "Just extend your wrists."
She obediently stuck out her wrists, while her body hid behind the safety of the bathroom door. There was a moment of hesitation before he totally unlocked her restrains.
"You're not going to try and kill me, are you?" Kylo Ren asked, his tone was stern but there hid a note of playfulness she hadn't expected. She was glad Kylo was trying to defuse the awkwardness.
"No," Rey replied carefully. "I think I've had enough bad luck trying to kill you." She looked up to see a ghostly smirk appear on Kylo's face, it was very lopsided almost a secretive type of smirk. Rey witnessed it fade almost instantly and for a moment she almost wished it would come back. He unlocked her cuffs and tucked the key back in one of his pockets.
"Thank you." she said gratefully. Truly, Rey was so pleased to not feel like a slave or prisoner. She was also happy that Ren had been so civil, not every man in his position might have been as gentle as he had been.
Kylo nodded, and turned back to sit on in a chair at his desk. He grabbed his book and continued his research while Rey slipped back into the bathroom. Her heart was pounding out of her chest. Things could have gone very different if Kylo Ren had decided to take advantage of her vulnerable state. But he hadn't and for that she was truly thankful for, and for a moment Rey thought he was being a gentleman, but she expelled the ridiculous thought from her mind.
Rey finished slipping on the clothes she had been given. They fit her snugly, Kylo must have been a teenager when he last wore these robes if they fit her. Her new training getup was a darker shade of sandstone than her previous clothing, but color wasn't a concern of hers.
Rey used the towel to dry her hair as fast as humanly possible, and quickly she tied her hair back into her signature three small buns. The noises her stomach were making seemed unnatural, and Rey felt her stomach would collapse on itself if she didn't eat soon.
Nervously, Rey poked her head out of the bathroom, and instantly her eyes met Kylo's as she moved to his desk. His black hair fell in front of his face which cast a dark shadow over his features, but his endless brown eyes were still fixated on her. With leeriness Rey approached the table.
Kylo stood up and pulled out a chair for Rey. "You're my guest, and I do know how ladies should be treated. I grew up with a mother who taught me manners," Rey ignored the hypocrisy in his comment, he had just tortured her before, and she was certain that's not how ladies were to be treated. Timidly, Rey sat in the chair, and Ren pushed it in for her. While Kylo was taking a seat, Rey examined the plates. They were full to the brim of what looked like red meat and some odd vegetable; Rey had never seen food look so fresh and delicious.
Rey dug her hands straight into the red meat and started spooning it into her mouth. Kylo looked up at her with an expression of confusion.
"Does everyone on Jakku eat like a savage?" He inquired.
"I never had silverware so I never learned how to use it," Rey said between mouthfuls of food.
"Watch me," he instructed. Rey stopped what she was doing and wiped her hands off. Patiently, she observed the way Kylo used his silverware before she tried to mimic his motions. She was getting better with the fork as she used it to impale her food.
For the rest of the meal they ate in silence, in a silence so thick Rey could have cut it with a knife. Kylo was focused on his plate, refusing to even look at her. She considered making conversation, but Rey didn't know anything about him, except that he was strong with the Force and he was afraid he would never be as strong as Dark Vader.
She found it odd that he was so fixated on a particular Sith Lord, there had to be a reason behind his idolization of Vader.
"So, why do you like Darth Vader so much," Rey inquired. Kylo looked up at her, his eyes were like daggers digging into her flesh. Maybe that had been the wrong question to ask, but she was curious.
"Darth Vader was my grandfather," he admitted. He sounded too honest and proud to be bluffing.
"You sound very proud of that," Rey replied. What an inane thing to be bragging about. Vader had been considered the most vicious and hated killer to exist in the Empire. The man had been more robot than man from what she had heard.
"Why shouldn't I be proud? He was the most powerful Jedi of his time," Kylo shot back, his eyes were like chips of ice.
"Maybe because he was the embodiment of evil, but that's just my opinion." Rey had enjoyed taking a nice stab at his ego. "If Vader is your grandfather, who are your parents?" There had been rumors that Luke Skywalker was really Darth Vader's son, but she had never heard it confirmed. Maybe that was why Luke and Kylo had the Force.
"Are you Luke's son?" She could hardly keep the excited curiosity out of her own voice.
"No, Luke is my uncle. My mother is General Leia Organa and my father is... Han Solo." The way he said Han Solo made Rey shudder.
That's when everything clicked, it explained why Kylo had been so upset by her memories of Han Solo. It also explained why Luke was in hiding. Han had told Rey one of the apprentices had lost it and turned to the Dark Side. There had been a massacre of all Luke's students and Luke blamed himself. Kylo must have been that student, she was certain of it now. He was the only one that was connected to the Dark Side – but how had he ended up here was still a mystery. His mother lead the Resistance, so why would he turned his back on her?
"Han Solo is your father? What happened that you ended up with the First Order?" She couldn't keep her curiosity at bay.
"Do you always ask so many questions?" Ren replied, his tone was inhospitable.
"I'm just trying to make conversation, and learn a little about you. You're forgetting the fact that you know more about me, you forced yourself into my mind," Rey retorted dryly.
"A fair point," Kylo said, he didn't seem to take kindly to her using that against him. "I think you've learned enough about me for one day. I must retire soon, and you will need to be given a prisoner's cell."
Rey listened as Kylo used the comlink to call her an escort to the prisoner's cell. How unfair, she thought. He was allowed unrestricted access to her thoughts and feelings, but he was too scared to answer some basic questions.
"I need to put the cuffs back on you," Ren commanded. Rey understood, she nodded and offered him her wrists. Hastily, he put the cuffs on her – right as her Stormtrooper entourage arrived.
"We will start tomorrow," Kylo said, his voice was soft. Rey narrowed her eyes at him as cold gloves gripped her arms and the troopers dragged her from Ren's quarters.
They forced her down a group of tight hallways, before they brought her to a cell block. Rey shuddered as she heard screams of agony echo down the hall. The soldiers forced her half way down the hall before they shoved her in cell labeled 110. The door shut behind her with a distinct bang as Rey was left in solitary. The room was cramped, and very uniformly colored – the only appliances available to her were a toilet, sink, and a metal bar for a bed. This was truly maddening, there was no way anyone could sit in here for more than a few days without going insane.
Rey decided to do what was best for her, which was get some sleep. It had been at least a few days since she had really slept, the last time she remembered sleeping was back on Jakku. Without hesitation, Rey tried her best to get cozy on her metal bar bed. They at least had left a pillow and blanket to easy her extreme discomfort. Rey closed her eyes and hoped sleep would come to her.
She had barely gotten a wink of sleep all night. She had been consumed of thoughts about Kylo Ren, and everything she had learned about him. He was the son of the famous ex-princess and smuggler – he had the one thing she has always dreamed of, family. Yet, Kylo chose to throw it all away, to what, follow the legacy of a man he never even knew.
Han Solo had been kind to her, he'd even offered her a job. The man didn't seem to be evil, but then again, Rey hadn't known him long. Maybe Han hadn't been a good father to Kylo; she couldn't be certain.
She wondered what had turned him to the Dark Side. It couldn't be as simple as his relation to Darth Vader. Anger and hate were generally breed from events, no one was born inherently angry or hateful. Something had happened to spawn such strong resentment, and Rey wanted to know the truth.
Before now, Rey had thought of Kylo as just a monster, but after he had removed her restraints, she thought of him a little different. A true monster would have taken advantage of her naked vulnerability, but he hadn't. Maybe he wasn't as monstrous as she had thought, that deep down there was good in him. Good that he chose to hide from the world. If that was the case, Rey would find it, and she would try her best to nurture it.
Rey was jolted from her thoughts as she heard her cell door open, and the man consuming her thoughts appeared.
[A/N]: Thank you so much for taking the time to read my fifth installment. I just wanted to thank everyone who has reviewed, your feedback is really helping me forge through new chapters. The next chapter will start Rey's training; chapters will become a little longer and much more intense after this, I promise. Again, thank you for all the support.