Xiamara had never been on a ship as vast and clean as this one, but her awe was dampened by the fact that she was still a prisoner. You chose this, Xia, she told herself. She had to tell herself this multiple times while she sat in that cell. She had to have been there for at least three days. They fed her, at least.

Stormtroopers came to the bars, but instead of bringing her dinner, she was surprised to see that this time, BB-3 was rolling behind them.

Instantly, her heart leapt with relief.

"Boop, vrrruuu!"

She smiled, crawling towards the bars. "It's good to see you, too. I'm glad you're okay, BB-3."

The door to the cell was opened, but before she could be permitted to come out, Kylo Ren stepped into the opened doorway. He entered the cell, forcing her to scoot backwards across the floor.

"Your Droid happens to be stolen from someone else," he said. "It does not belong to the First Order." Xia was momentarily surprised, but said nothing. Was it possible that they had been that lucky?

"We will return you and your BB unit to Odryn, but only when it is convenient for our schedule."

"Wait," she blurted, pulling herself together before she slowly stood up. She didn't want to return to Ivan's cruel clutches. She glanced at her arm, where a bruise remained from her master's grip. Anything was better than that, even if it meant being discarded at the next stop this ship made. "Please, don't make me go back there. Those pirates barely treated me like a human being."

"Then, what do you propose I should do with you?"

"Anything, please. Whatever is convenient for you."

For a moment, he merely stood there, and Xia hated not being able to see his expression.He turned to the Stormtroopers, excusing them with a mere nod and what sounded like a "leave us".

After they turned the corner, and the sounds of their heavy steps faded into silence, Kylo Ren turned back to face her. "In that case, you will serve me personally," he said bluntly. "You will be protected, but you will not leave the ship unless I give you instruction to."

Xiamara sighed through her nose. It could have been worse, she supposed. "Okay."

"You will address me as either sir or master. Am I clear?"

"Crystal, sir."

"Follow me." Xia did as she was told, silently led down the bright, white corridor. Behind her, BB-3 rolled energetically along, as if nothing had ever happened.

"As long as you do everything I request, you may keep your BB unit. It is of no use to me, but perhaps it will be of better use to you." A door opened ahead of them, and as they stepped inside, she noticed it was much darker here than the rest of what she is seen of the ship. Was this his personal chambers?

"You will not go into that room, under any circumstances," he said firmly, pointing to a foot on the far right side of the room Then, a short his was heard, and finally, he removed his mask. "Do you understand?"

For a brief moment, Xia paused. He was nothing like she expected. Younger in appearance than his voice portrayed, and a pale face framed with black, wavy hair.

"Yes, sir.

"Very well." His voice was slightly different now, unaffected by the helmet he was now setting on the glossy table nearby. He gestured to a door on the other end of the room. "Draw a bath for me. Hot water, and two towels. I will return shortly.

Many of the following days were similar to this. Xia did precisely what she was told, and she never did what she was told not to do. Though The forbidden room sparked her curiosity, she stayed away from it, and at most times, she didn't even think about it.

She was primarily a maid, but almost every night that Kylo Ren was there, he requested a hot bath to be prepared. She would excuse herself to her own room when he was ready to get in, and she wouldn't see him until the next day. Sometimes, she had to deliver food and drinks, but that was less often than one would expect. She was always just next to his quarters if she was needed, and when she wasn't, she had BB-3 keep her company.

She almost never knew what her master was doing when it came to missions, but there were times too when he would come with a small injury for her to patch up. She already knew some basi, medical skills from being Ivan's slave, so this was fairly simple.

Eighteen months, and Xia had no new scars to add to her old ones, which was a sure sign that she had made the right choice.

Well, the only injuries she endured was through patching up BB-3, adding white panels to its design to make it lighter. It seemed to match its new surroundings more, once she disposed of the gray

"White and red looks handsome on you," she said with a smile, setting the screwdriver back into her toolbox, which Kylo Ren allowed her to have. BB-3 gave a whirr of approval, its polished body spinning.

After putting a bandage on her finger, she proceeded out of the room to see if Kylo Ren had returned for the evening. He seemed to be running a little late, so she went into the quarters to make sure there was nothing she had missed. Everything was pristine. she'd even dusted each and every book that sat on the shelf. It looked as though no one had touched them in decades.

As she stood in the room, however, she thought she had heard a voice. It didn't seem to be coming from within the room, nor from any particular direction at all. She tried to tune her focus, breathing very quietly so as not to miss it. However, only silence reached her ears.

After a couple minutes more of waiting, the doors slid open. Her master stepped inside, his mask beneath his arm. Xia snapped out of her musings and gave a bow. "Good evening, master."

He merely gave her a look of slight concern. "You look perplexed, Xia."

"I..." He would have thought her ridiculous if she told him she was hearing voices in her head. "Thought I heard a noise, so I came in to investigate. It looks clear."

"Indeed," he agreed. "You look tired. Draw a bath for me and get some rest once you're done."

"Yes, master."

She did as instructed, BB-3 following close in tow.

"Vrrrriick vwooo?" the Droid splurted asthey returned to her bedroom. Xia closed the door.

"I don't know," she answered, equally lost. "Maybe he's right. I'm probably just tired."