AUTHOR'S NOTE: None!

DISCLAIM: I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS

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Chapter 13: Something Needs to Change

. . .

Kylo Ren had kept his promise. Each morning, Rey would wake in luxury, sweat through her work day, force herself through hours of training at night, and dine with Kylo Ren in the evening.

Mornings became her sanctuary. The brief, meditative alone time she treasured as she dressed, dined, and occasionally stretched before even thinking about the day before her.

She had thought her hands would soften from the constant bathing and find products to her ready, but they only callused from the constant, arduous handiwork she endured every day. Each day there was a new wiring issue, a wing malfunction, and sometimes the dreaded engine misfire. The machines, still hot from their endeavors, fumed violently when they were brought in. Her fingers became so accustomed to the constant singing on her tips, she wondered if she still had any fingerprints left at all.

After the long hours of sweating, pushing, twisting, and cursing under her breath far more than she ever had in her life, her day was still not over. In the beginning, a new officer would escort her to the training arena, young men and old men alike. Until recently, Kylo Ren gave her the privilege of escorting herself. She took this opportunity like it was a fresh drink of water to her parched lips. During the couple minutes she had from the mechanic shop to the arena, she took careful consideration of her surroundings. Exits, signs, corridors, all important markers for a possible escape.

Training marked the days end, but it was still so far from over. Kylo Ren had Rey physically and mentally force herself, a 'perfect combination,' he called it. Rey called it Hell under her breath. In the beginning, she could lift objects into the air, push things across the ground, and even listen to voices echoing on the outside of the door far from where they stood, all without breaking a single sweat. Although she never dared to listen to Kylo Ren's mind, she knew she wasn't strong enough yet, and she wasn't going to risk her new, independent privilege.

Then came lightsaber training, she felt lucky enough to have him switch to a wooden rod instead of his red saber, although she admitted he looked much less intimidating without it. He showed her how to defend herself, it was difficult because his swings were too powerful, they hammered down onto her own rod and shook her core.

Her hands ached from the constant battering, twisting, jamming, and swinging. She feared it would soon break upon another impact soon.

She expected his next swing, diagonally, aiming for her jugular. It wouldn't be the first time he'd wallop her, although on the times he did, he allowed her to catch her breath, His form of an apology, no doubt...

She brought the rod to her face, bracing it for impact and clenching her eyes tight. The swing was delayed at first, and then it hadn't come at all. Rey opened her eyes, half expecting that delayed swing to catch her off guard and smack her once again. Instead, Kylo Ren had turned away, marching towards the weapon rack.

"Eyes open, scavenger."

That had become her new nickname. Their banter was not unbearable in the slightest, Rey admittedly enjoyed it far more now than in the beginning. She'd thought of things to call him, Bucket-Brain, Hammer-Hands, Tin-Man. Though she knew he wouldn't approve of any of them, and she didn't want her solo walk taken away by something so trivial. Even though the occasional name calling came out when he made her run laps.

Her heart pumped through her core, desperate to secure oxygen into her body. Her lips could not suck air fast enough, the inertia and exhaustion finally made her cave. Rey wedged the tip of the wooden rod into the ground, resting upon it like an old woman who climbed a set of stairs.

"Can you stop hitting me so hard, you're exhausting me..."

He was doing something that she could not see, his back was to her as he adjusted some small trinket on a bench, "You think your opponent will go easy on you because you're weary?"

Rey heard his mockery, it'd come out more frequently and sometimes it made her smile, whether he saw or not she did not care. "I've fought off men before... None of them have ever hit as hard as you have... If you'd kindly hand me one of those staffs behind you, then I promise it'd be a fair fight."

"Maybe so," He spoke vaguely, returning back to her and approaching with a little device Rey did not recognize. She noticed how often he liked to speak of uncertainty, it made him appear more mysterious. "Nevertheless, it's part of your training, you agreed; whatever happens in the next few weeks is under my supervision. If I want to teach you how to use a saber, you'll use a saber. If I want to teach you how to play sabacc, then you'll learn to play sabacc." Kylo Ren tossed the little object on the ground, and a faceless, holographic figure suddenly emerged from the floor, it startled Rey for a moment.

"What's this?" She asked genuinely.

"Your opponent." He explained back, stepping away from them.

"Oh..." She faced down the silent, posing figure before her, unable to identify its exact gender.

She took a swing, but the figure blocked. The figure took a stab, Rey shifted to the side. These motions moved in a rhythm, Rey eventually got used to the beat, but each move was a different part of their flow. Rey was surprised of the backlash she received when the hologram struck her rod, in a moment she wondered what other contraptions the Empire had grandfathered to the First Order.

Their swings and blocks had become fluid, each one more calculated but unpredictable. The hologram was weaker and more easily feasible from its anticipated blows, but once in a few motions, the hologram managed to stump her with a preprogrammed attack.

Rey took another swing at her holographic attacker, only to swing blindly into the air, the hologram had been sucked back into its little device. In its place stood Kylo Ren, leaning before Rey's practice weapon to pick up the object. He rose, looking down from his stature, "I've seen faster movements in younglings," He remarked, then added insult to her injury, "Your swings are too stiff, you're attacking not swatting flies."

His words stung her quickly, sticking to her like sand on sweat; annoying and uncalled for. He meant to be sarcastic and witty, but Rey's patience had thinned to a strand. It was the final grain of sand, the last speck that flicked through the air and landed directly upon her eye. It was time to scrape it out.

She furrowed her brows, hoping her appearance would strike some serious nerve within him. Rey threw the rod down before his feet, it clattered on the ground and echoed against her backwards steps. "What is your problem?"

"What are you talking about?"

Rey's lips gaped in disbelief, hardly grasping the words that came out of his mouth. She shook her head and wanted to scoff, desperate to relieve her frustration, instead she felt a lump swell up inside her chest. The bitterness of it all merely inflated into something even more crippling, "I'm so tired..." If the rod had been in her hand, it would have slipped from her fingers. Each muscle in her body suddenly tensed, the bones in her body weakened from the dead weight, she slumped in defeat before him. "I thought I could do this but I can't... Every day I-..." She found her strength again, slapping the fingers on her hand with her other, "All I do is work, train, and sleep... I'm stuck on this ship... Most of the day I spend it with you and-... You just belittle me and use me for your sick little enjoyment!" Her tone became joyless and resentful as she loaded more ammunition, "I won't do it anymore, I don't care."

The air changed, as if someone had turned the conditioning up to its maximum output, but no one in the hall had moved an inch. "You never mentioned anything about this earlier." He tried to reason.

"Then something needs to change," She demanded through her gritted teeth.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed how puffy her face had been once he could finally look upon it, her eyes seemed to droop with small circles underneath of them, and the three tiered buns she wore so consistently had diminished into a single, lazily placed tail on the back of her head.

He knew there was only so much he could control of her, and it almost made him nervous to think of the uprising she could stir with the beginning of this protest. There was no doubt that Rey could potentially be as powerful as him one day, maybe even more than that if she trained hard enough.

Rey was a fledgling, a dormant blaster barrel anticipating combustion upon a single spark. The thought of Rey's potential made him question his own. You can limit the stimulation of a barrel, keep it cool, but ready. Kylo Ren knew it was the only way to truly keep her, not only at bay, but as his own.

"I've tried to make your settings to your liking as much as possible" He inquired, "What else do you desire?"

Rey began to feel uneasy, she had made her complaints known, allowed herself to be seen visibly frustrated and vulnerable in front of her captor, and this could be an open door for her, but for him as well. She only had a moment to answer, she knew.

In the moment she had to think, she could only think of one single thing to make her ordeal more bearable.

"I miss him."

He said nothing for a moment, but knew very well whom she was speaking of.

"He was everything to me..." She continued, the pressure from this smoldering conversation beginning to well in her eyes, "I haven't spoken to him in days but I saw him... I know he's out there wondering where I am..." Her lashes finally relinquished their grip on her tears, clear rivers began to stream down her cheeks.

Kylo Ren stood silent, his expression would have been shocked if his helmet hadn't shielded him. It became a heart-wrenching affair, as he felt her anguish, her frustration, and the constant pounding of labor every day, he understood. He heard her breath shake, and her voice strain as she tried to catch her breath. "You haven't spoken of him since-"

"I'm so afraid of even thinking about him because of you," That cold, sharp tone returned, but only for a moment until her tears returned, "You'd just take him from my thoughts and use him against me, I know it."

He had no refute against this, in this very moment, he was doing exactly that. "Maybe so," He implied, "But it would never be my intention to hurt you. How can I help?"

"I saw him," She sniffled, wiping her nose with her black sleeve, "I used the Force in the shop and I saw him, it was just from behind but I know it was him... I wasn't strong enough to get close but I know this is it..."

She saw me, he was afraid she'd hear, but he couldn't help the outburst, I didn't even realize...

"I've never asked you for anything..." She spoke honestly, encouraging her to close the distance between them, she stood before him an arm's length away. "When this is over... I want to go to him..."

Their courtship had grown the past few days, the occasional playful banter, sarcastic jokes, and even brief memories cleared the air between them of any suspicion or rigid conversation. Rey was certain there was a man underneath that helmet, somewhere there was reason, honesty, and a sense of humor.

Their dinners were reminiscent of Jakku and occasionally his childhood, the intense knowledge shared about ships and the latest technology often filled their conversations, there was no room for small talk anymore.

He'd become more than a man in a helmet, more than a captor. Rey worried she'd think too loudly upon her next choice of thoughts.

"If this is what you desire," He spoke softly, visibly surprising Rey as he saw a glistening spark in her eye, "Consider it a priority on my behalf..."

Rey's heart began to pound, she never expected to hear such kindness from him, the deal was completely fair, but she had expected him to turn her away on this topic. There was still opportunity for the higher advantage on his behalf, but Rey put it out of her mind, too thrilled from this new pact. She felt the tears again, she swiped them with her fingertips as they seeped into the creases of her smile.

For a moment, Rey thought of running to him, stretching her arms and briefly embracing him, a silent, warm gesture to thank him for this opportunity. Maybe she'd even say a few kind words or look upon his mask, finding the very human eyes that lurked behind the silver slits. She put that out of her mind as well.

"Thank you," She managed to say, swiping a tear that tried to seep into the crease of her smile, "Really..."

Kylo Ren felt the change in her heart, if it had been anything close to a physical encounter, she surely would have swept the floor from underneath him. Her smile was genuine and inviting, just as he imagined each night as they talked through their connection...

Our connection... His senses finally struck him, and the realization that he had been playing both sides of this board had come back into play. Rey would know the truth, she was smart and subjective, and she deserved to know, nonetheless. But she wasn't ready.

"You're welcome," He answered respectfully, even giving a small head bow to which he had no control, "Perhaps it is time for a small change... There's been something I've been meaning to ask you."

Rey sniffled again, wiping her nose with her black sleeve, "What is it?"

Please tell me your thoughts and review as honestly as possible. No Star Wars FanFiction is perfect, unless it's written, sealed, signed, and kissed by George Lucas himself, but I hope this makes at least 1 person happy.

Thanks for reading! Come back for 'Chapter 14: A Little Change.'