A/N: Next chapter! Time for a little date! Enjoy!

Marrying the Monster

Chapter 12: Moonlit Magic

They'd arrived at Amilyn's booth and Rey quickly hugged her with a small smile. "Good to see you again!"

Amilyn smiled wide and nodded. "It's a pleasure, my lady. Everything you asked for is ready," she said as she flicked her eyes over to Kylo. "Shall I carry it to your carriage?" she asked. Kylo nodded in response as she went to get the boxes of clothes. She piled them up one at a time in front of her booth, amounting to seven boxes. Rey quirked her brow at that. Why were there seven? "Your special orders were finished as well, your grace," she said with a small curtsy.

Rey turned to look at Kylo then. When their eyes met, she could tell he was hiding something. "What else did you order?"

Kylo shrugged quietly. "You ordered some things and I did, too. You'll have to wait until we get back to see." Rey went to open her mouth to protest, but he turned his attention back to Amilyn. "I trust you'll take care of everything?" Amilyn nodded with a smile. "Shall we?" he asked, slightly pulling her away.

Rey looked over at Amilyn, mouth open just a hair, and saw the woman laughing at them. "Have a good night, my lady," she said with a small wave.

It was then that Rey looked up at Kylo and saw him making his way through the crowd. It was busier than last time they were here, she noted. And it seemed more festive, too. She saw way more merchants than before. "Is there something special happening?" she asked, her eyes wandering to all the different booths and people.

"It's a full moon festival. Don't you have these in the south?"

Rey shook her head. "What is it celebrating?"

Kylo made it to a clearing so they could talk as he turned his attention to her. He turned her around to face the crowd, a hand on her shoulder as he pointed at one booth. "That booth is selling charms. Others are selling jewelry and other things. We haven't had one in years, but the full moon festival is celebrating peace for the country."

She turned to look at him then. "But why are they celebrating when we aren't married yet?"

"They start one day before the wedding and continue to three days after." She raised a brow at him. "It's a tradition the people came up with. I had nothing to do with it. I learned of it early when I first came here. The last festival was around seven years ago."

"What were they celebrating seven years ago?"

His eyes stared into hers for longer than necessary before he turned his attention to the citizens. "Seven years ago was when I became Kylo Ren."

Her brows pulled together in curiosity. "'Became' Kylo Ren? Is that not your name?"

He gave her a small smirk. "You've a lot to learn, Rey," he said with a shake of the head. He went to lead her off into the crowd, but she stopped him by grabbing his hand. He looked back at her curiously. What he was met with was determination.

"I know I don't know much about you or the north... but I'd like to learn. But I can't do that if you keep dodging questions."

"You have time to learn. Why are you in such a rush to learn it all now?" he asked, making her flinch. It was then that he realized she was hiding something from him. He turned his body to face her then, scanning her for any clues as to what she could possibly be withholding from him. "What are you hiding?"

Rey sighed softly. "I don't want to go back to the south. I've come to like it here."

Kylo could tell there was more to it, but decided that when she was ready, she'd tell him. But that didn't stop him from telling her his suspicions. "Whatever Luke is having you do, don't. Nothing good will come of whatever scheme he has cooked up." He reached out and delicately moved the hair from her face to behind her ear. "I know there's more you're not telling me, but just as you'd like to learn... I do, too." Her cheeks heated up as she noticed his hand lingering on her face. She'd come to enjoy these small advances, she realized. And that's why this whole situation pained her so much. She heard music and her eyes darted to the crowd. "When it gets darker, people dance around a campfire. They seem to enjoy themselves."

She smiled up at him as she laced their fingers together. "Show me around?"

Time slipped away as Kylo led her through the crowd, pointing at different booths and explaining their significance. The full moon festival was a much celebrated festival in the north. While the south celebrated the sun, the north celebrated the moon. There was dancing, games, fireworks, fires... All of it seemed very romantic. Apparently, the first full moon festival was held to celebrate the moon for the harvest and to wish for prosperity and peace among the nations. That was before the Knights of Ren came along and united the north through a series of battles. They conquered the lands, bringing all of them together and eliminating any animosities through political alliances.

The more she learned about Kylo and what he did, the more she felt admiration for him. The rumors had been twisted so wrongly against him. She understood why they were though. To anyone that didn't understand his motives, he did seem like a bloodthirsty monster that only sought to command and conquer. But it wasn't that way at all. Well, not entirely. Kylo revealed that he'd amassed such a large country in hopes of crippling Luke. He didn't care about the south as a whole, but he wanted to make sure Luke had nowhere to go. He'd quickly climbed the ranks in the north, having started from nothing.

And then he mentioned a woman. Her name was Maz. She was a friend of the family. His father knew her very well, as did his uncle Chewie. When Kylo had first started out, he sought her out and relied heavily on her advice. But then a different influence came along: Snoke. She didn't like the description of that man at all. He was very manipulative and unkind. She could see how is reputation got twisted around when he started associating with Snoke. But she also understood that it was Snoke that led him to the Knights. There was definitely so much she didn't know about him prior to tonight. But it was really nice to know that he opened up to her and told her about his life.

Before they knew it, the sun slipped from the sky and the festivities ramped up. The music grew louder, the people more boisterous. Rey silently became curious as to what was going on, but she wasn't left to wonder for too long because Kylo drew her attention to the crowd by the fire. She smiled as she watched the people dance carelessly, smiles on their faces to the rhythm of the music. She wondered if she'd ever be that happy. Was it possible? Sure, she could grow to love him, but would he grow to love her? Were they really right for each other? Even if they weren't, they'd both have to grin and bear it for the sake of peace, so why bother worrying about it?

"Are you familiar with this dance?" he asked close to her ear so she could hear him.

Their closeness caused a small blush to form on her cheeks before she shook her head. "I've never really learned how to dance," she admitted with a small laugh.

He grinned at her then, one of mischief and mirth. "It's simple," he said as he extended his hand, waiting for her to take it. When she did, he pulled her closer, taking her other hand and placing it on his bicep. He wrapped his other hand around her waist, coming to rest at the small of her back. "Follow my lead." She nodded and before she knew it, they were stepping to the beats. At first, she struggled to keep up, but then she found her rhythm. Right foot, left foot, turn, back, back, side, side, turn. It was a quicker version of a waltz, she surmised. "You learn quick," he commented.

"I have a good teacher," she shot back with a grin of her own. She allowed herself to be twirled toward the crowd and before she knew it, they were dancing with the people. She came to realize she didn't mind his hand on her back, or the warmth of his hand holding hers. She liked the feel of his muscle under her hand, twitching just slightly before he twirled her. But the part she liked the most... was how the moonlight danced against his hair and lit up the darker part of his eyes. She allowed herself to get lost in the dark depths as the song came to a close and slowed down, signaling a slow dance. He pulled her hand to rest on his shoulder, the other hand coming up to mirror it, as his now unoccupied hand came to rest on the opposite side of her waist with the other one.

She had to fight a frown as the warmth of his hand disappeared from the small of her back, but she was still grateful for the warmth against her waist. "When did you learn to dance?" she asked softly, their eyes locked in an intense gaze.

"When I was a child, my mother had me take lessons. Who knew they'd be useful?" he teased. She smiled warmly at him. "What's more curious is that you never learned being in high society."

Rey shrugged. "I was always more of a free spirit." Kylo raised a brow as he twirled her slowly. They returned to their position and Rey sighed softly. "I didn't think I'd ever need it so I always skipped the lessons. Poe didn't push it, and I didn't bother."

"You speak of Poe a lot," he stated as they continued to synchronize their steps.

"He's a close friend of mine." Kylo mindfully nodded. There was more to it, but he wouldn't push it if she wasn't ready to be openly honest with him. "Truth be told, and I'm sure I've said this before... but it's a one-sided affection. I see him as a friend, but he..." she trailed off and shook her head. "We've agreed to stay friends and not cross any lines."

"That sounds... tiresome..."

"What do you mean?" she asked, her brows pulling together in confusion.

"Men are simple. If there's an interest, it's pursued. If told there's no hope, there's still always going to be a way around it, and it will be found." Her hand twitched on his shoulder at his words. Surely, Poe wouldn't cross the line, right? "All I'm saying is don't listen to his words; observe his actions."

"And... what actions should I be looking for?" she asked as she allowed herself to relax into his hold.

Kylo shrugged. "Standing too close... looking for a reason to touch you... sidelong glances... overly protective... to name a few," he replied nonchalantly.

Rey leaned closer to him then, taking him a bit by surprise as his steps faltered. "It seems I should be observing your actions," she teased.

He only grinned in return. "Who's to say?" The song ended and the women curtsied in front of the men, so Rey followed suit with a soft laugh at how ridiculous she may have looked doing so in pants. He kept his grin and bowed. "Do you want to keep dancing, or do you want to explore more?"

"Let's explore more." She grabbed his hand and yanked him off in the direction away from the crowd. They darted off into the forest a little ways, but it wasn't a dense forest. She could tell that people walked this way from the worn trail in the grass. Up ahead, she saw a hill and wondered what was on the other side of it. It was a decent sized hill! She walked up the hill and gasped when she reached the top. He came to stand before her and glanced out at the moonlit lake in front of them. "It's... beautiful," she breathed.

He only hummed in response. He pointed off in the distance and drew a line as he said, "That mountain range marks the border between north and south. When the war is over, there won't be anymore borders."

She hesitantly tore her sight away from the lake to gaze at his face. "Is peace difficult for you?"

His eyes met hers then. What a question to ask. "Peace with Luke is difficult for me, Rey." He looked out over the border and frowned. "The north rose from virtually nothing. With the war ending and borders being abolished... it appears to have all been for nothing."

"That's not true, Ren," she said as she frowned at him. "I'm sure the north will always remember what you did for them. How you protected them and made sure they were able to live their lives freely. The south will eventually accept the north's people and sometime after that, no one will be able to tell the difference between north and south."

He scoffed then. "If only it were that easy."

"I'm not sure I understand..."

He shook his head as he sat down on the grass and stared up at the sky, wrists resting on his knees. She followed suit, sitting next to him with her legs curled to the side, almost as if a true lady would sit in a dress. "Just because we're doing this marriage alliance doesn't mean that the people will automatically accept it. There's a lot of prejudice, from north and south. That won't disappear anytime soon. The north was barren when I came here. Provisions were low, trade routes were nonexistent..."

"But you fixed all of that to help the people."

"I'm not the bleeding heart type you think I am, Rey. I did what I did to further my plans to defeat Luke." His self-criticism was harsh, sure, but there was a ring of truth to it.

"Regardless of your intentions, look at how much happier the north is now."

Kylo shrugged at her words. "All a means to justify the end."

She frowned at him. "You're so critical of yourself."

"And you're not critical enough of others."

She huffed at him and stared off at the lake, growing frustrated with this conversation. They allowed silence to overtake them for a brief moment before Rey decided to try again. "Whatever your intentions were, or are, the people are happy with what you've done and are doing. The south is too restrictive. Everything has to be a certain way or you're cast out like a blemish on society. In the north, sure, you allow them to do what they want, probably because you don't really care so long as it doesn't interfere with your plans, but they have more freedom here. You're a good leader, Kylo. That may be an unpopular opinion, but from my observations... it's true."

He looked over at her then and felt the corners of his mouth twitch into a semi-smile. He let out a quick breath of air through his nose and shook his head, drawing her attention to his face. "You're truly something, Rey."

She grinned at him then, her eyes finding his once more. "You are, too, Kylo."

"Ben."

Her brows pulled together again. "What?"

He gave her a classic Solo smirk. She realized she'd seen it before, etched into the face of the fountain at the castle. "My name is Ben." Her mouth opened as her brain flooded with questions. "Kylo Ren is the name I chose for the Knights. Ben is my real name."

She gave him a genuine smile then, realizing that he'd opened up to her then. "Does this mean we can be friends?" she said with a tease in her voice.

"Only if you don't regret it later," he teased back.

She laughed then and then she saw the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen: his smile. A genuine, open smile. Her heart skipped a beat in her chest, her breath hitching only slightly as she felt a strong attraction to that smile. She decided right then that she wanted so desperately to see more of it. She gently cupped his cheek, running her thumb over it with an affectionate smile of her own. "You should smile more."

He chuckled then as he held her hand against his face. "We'll see." It was then that he noticed she had started to lean in. He half-wondered if she realized she was doing it. He hesitantly allowed himself to lean in, too, his eyes flicking down briefly to her lips and then back up to her eyes. Their hearts pounded in their chests the closer they got. They both paused when they felt each other's breath on their lips, mere inches away from touching. But they hesitated a moment too long.

Fireworks shot off behind them, causing Rey to flinch and shoot her head over at the colorful display. She made no move to pull away though as her eyes became fixated on the fleeting beauty. She leaned her head against his shoulder with a content sigh. He only grinned in response, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She scooted closer to him, taking in the warmth his body offered her. "This is nice," she said softly.

He only hummed in response. He was more focused on how they fell into a sort of rhythm with each other. Nothing was awkward anymore. They'd nearly kissed and here she was curled up next to him, his arm around her shoulders as they watched the fireworks together. He wasn't one for romantics, but apparently he was when she was concerned. All of it was accidental, that was for sure. He watched the different colors paint the sky in silence. Everything would be all right, he supposed. He'd never really considered liking the woman he was arranged to marry. He heard her mumbled voice and he blinked from his thoughts. "What?" he asked, looking down at her.

She looked up at him under her lashes with a small smile. "I said thank you for today."

He smirked in return. He felt her yawn under him and he couldn't help but chuckle. "We should get back."

Her brows pulled together, a frown pulling her lips down. "Do we have to?" she mumbled.

"Are you... pouting?" he teased.

She rolled her eyes and sat up as the last firework went off in the sky. "You must need your eyes checked." She sighed in irritation. "Do you think... they're there?"

He stood up and offered his hand to help her up, too. "It would be shocking if they weren't, unfortunately." She took his hand, getting to her feet effortlessly with his help. "Just remember that this is your home. If you want them to leave, at any time, you can make them. You're not under their power anymore."

"Thanks," she said with a smile. He nodded and offered his arm to escort her back to the carriage again.