I looked up after spotting a figure sitting in the field in front of me out of the corner of my eye. Instantly, I smiled when I recognized Rebel's familiar face. She was sitting on the grass with leaves of golden yellow, fiery orange and red, and caramel brown surrounding her, her jet-black hair streaking across the light blue sky as it blew freely in the gentle breeze. She had a contented, toothless smile frozen on her face with her legs bent at the knees and folded into her lap with them crossed over each other as her hands rested, palms down, on her knees. I assumed she was meditating, so I didn't wish to disturb her, but she looked so peaceful I wanted to join her. Maybe if I tiptoe over there quietly and gingerly enough, I won't disrupt her state of tranquility that she's strived so diligently to achieve. I looked down at the ground as I rose onto my toes, supporting all my weight on them and taking the pressure off my heels, realizing the task of discreetly making my way over there was more difficult than it seemed. Autumn leaves that crunched whenever so much as a feather landed on them littered the ground. I inhaled a deep whiff of crisp autumn air and exhaled, puffing out my cheeks as the oxygen escaped my mouth. A yellow leaf turned over at merely my breath and revealed its uglier side with brown splotches. Sneaking my way over there was going to take a while, I concluded and began creeping over to her with my arms up at my sides for balance as I avoided areas with large clusters of leaves by hopping over them and landing in spots that were mostly clear, flapping my arms whenever I lost balance and nearly tumbled over, which was often. I'll admit I don't have the best equilibrium. Eventually, though, I'd almost reached my destination, and she was only a few feet away. I huffed out a silent sigh of relief and wiped pretend perspiration off my forehead with the back of my forearm as I took one extensive step toward her without first looking at where I was placing my foot down. That was a mistake. My entire body tensed, and I froze as my eyes widened when the leaf below my foot crunched. Normally, that noise would be satisfying, but now it was only inconvenient. Rebel's smile steadily expanded to expose more and more teeth until it was a full-blown grin as she cracked her eyelids open and peered up at me. "I'm sorry," I whispered apologetically and cringed, my arms still suspended at my sides. "I was trying not to disturb you," I explained shamefully, gradually lowering my arms and tilting my chin to the ground remorsefully. She winced, sucking in a pitying breath through her clenched teeth as she shook her head. "I hate to break it to you, but I could sense you from a mile away." She giggled, clasping both palms over her mouth, attempting to hide her amusement. I felt my pupils enlarge at the fact that she was aware I was making a deliberate effort not to interfere with her serenity and hadn't told me it wasn't necessary to do so. She nearly collapsed on her side from laughter as I glanced behind myself and gestured at the obstacles I'd overcome, scoffing playfully, speechless over her inconsiderateness. "And you let me tiptoe over here the whole time anyway?" I asked, my voice a higher pitch than normal in disbelief. "I thought it would be funny," she said after she'd removed her hands from over her mouth and paused to shrug at me. "And it was." Uncontrollable giggles erupted from her as she nodded vigorously. I rolled my eyes teasingly as I crossed my arms and nodded, reluctantly accepting my fate as laughing stock. After a few more chuckles, she regained her composure and patted the ground to her left to invite me to sit beside her. I readily accepted her offer and sat on the grass beside her, crossing my ankles as I folded my legs into my lap, imitating her. I was curious about her meditation sessions. I wondered exactly how it worked, its mechanics, and if anyone could master it or only force sensitives. I had been a student in Kanan's classes but didn't retain much, mainly because I spent most of the course whispering to Rue about how bored I was or asking her when it would be over. I don't learn well in a class environment. My lack of a high school diploma should tell you that much. I learn well by example, though. Perhaps if I copied Rebel similarly enough, I could gain the information I desired from her. She chuckled softly and must've either been sensing my thoughts or noticed me studying her intently because the next thing she did was give me orders. "Sit up straight," she commanded as she fixed her posture, aligning her spine, and I mimicked her. "Shoulders back," she instructed, pushing her shoulders back, which I mirrored. "Chin up," she directed, tilting her chin upwards, and I did the same. "Close your eyes," she said, shutting her eyelids and facing forward again. I closed my eyes and turned to face the castle, too. Okay, this isn't as difficult as it seems. "Now," she inhaled and exhaled deeply. "Clear your mind," she said in a calming, soothing tone as if that were a simple task. "Oh, yeah," I said breezily and nodded even though I was certain she couldn't see me with her eyes closed, although who knows since she had been able to see me tiptoe through the field over to her somehow. "That's just as easy as the other steps you gave me," I said sarcastically. "Just…" She sighed in irritation as she struggled to explain how to perform what she'd requested of me. "Focus on your breathing," she ordered hastily. I took her demand under advisement, proceeding to fixate on my breaths, monitoring the fluctuations between my inhales and exhales, controlling the timing of each, and matching them. Hence, they flowed in and out of me in perfect unison. "Concentrate," Rebel murmured, a quiet reminder, and I centered even more heavily on my respiration rate, blocking every other thought out of my mind. "Well, not that hard." She giggled faintly. "Relax your face," she advised politely, and I only realized I had contracted every muscle in my face once she instructed me to soften my features. "Just…" I felt her hand on the back of mine as she inhaled deeply. "Breathe," she said through her exhale and lightly squeezed my hand as the next breath I drew in was deeper than before, in unison with hers, and was done without much thought, if any. Okay, this isn't so bad, I realized, taking another breath and allowing my muscles to unwind. Maybe I can do this. It wasn't long before my thoughts began to wander, however. This is alright… I wonder if Rue has ever meditated before… I suddenly began to picture her sitting crisscrossed in front of me with her eyes closed, hands on her knees, and a serene smile. Oh my force, she's so beautiful… Slowly, I felt a mischievous grin spread across my face as my imagination began to stray even farther from my breathing to Rue doing more relaxing activities, like stretching and yoga…in leggings. "Ash!" Rebel scolded me abruptly, prematurely severing my daydream by smacking my arm, leaving an unpleasant sting on my skin. I flashed her a confused and offended look with my mouth agape as I gripped my arm and attempted to make the tingling sensation abate, wondering what could've possibly possessed her to strike me, scoot away from me, and glare at me with a disgusted and disappointed expression as she was doing now. Unless…I felt heat rise to my cheeks as I inferred she'd been sensing my thoughts and saw how I'd visualized Rue. "I'm sorry!" I exclaimed, face planting into my open palms to hide my blushing cheeks as I pulled my knees up to my chest and leaned my forehead against them. "She's the first thing that occupies my thoughts." My excuse came out muffled because I had my mouth pressed against the base of my palms. "I miss her," I let slip subconsciously. "I know you do," Rebel said with a sigh as she patted my back and rubbed my shoulder. "I'm sorry," she apologized sympathetically, too sympathetically, almost as if she felt my pain within herself. As if she shared my emotions and missed Rue too. I slowly lifted my head off my knees and glanced over at her, wondering if this meant she and Rue had at least reconciled before the distance had separated them. "Are you and Rue okay?" I asked, intrigued. She sighed defeatedly and looked down at the ground with her hand still resting on my shoulder before she answered. "Did she tell you what happened?" She inquired, looking up at me repentantly as she cringed and nibbled on her lower lip nervously. "Not a word." I shook my head. "Then what prompted you to ask?" She queried as she scrunched up her face in confusion. "I can just tell when something's up." I shrugged, amused that Rebel and Rue reacted similarly to my question. "We both said some things to each other," she said vaguely, gazing down at her lap, accepting my response as adequate. "Things we both regret," she emphasized that the blame should be placed upon both of their shoulders. "And I need to apologize to her," she mumbled reluctantly, removing her hand from my shoulder to fidget with her fingers. "But yeah," she said slowly and nodded sluggishly as if her mind were too preoccupied with other matters to concentrate fully on bobbing her head up and down. "I think we'll be okay." She flashed me her most convincing smile as she looked up at me, and I returned her grin with one of my own, recalling the last time I'd seen Rebel and Rue interact, the last time we'd all been in a room together, and what we'd been discussing. "Where do you want to go for your honeymoon with Benji?" I asked, shifting subjects as I realized I still didn't know what would be done with Mom's money since they hadn't told us their desired destination back at the rebellion. "Well," she began excitedly and bit her tongue as she stuck the tip past her lips and lifted her shoulders slightly in anticipation of the big reveal. "If we can still go," she grumbled, rolling her eyes and suddenly letting her shoulders droop as they lost all their enthusiasm as she gestured at the palace that was her prison. "I'd like to visit Ord Mantell." She glanced at me expectantly, and my eyebrows shot up at the mention of my home planet. "Really?" I asked eagerly and felt my mouth curve upward into an appreciative grin. That's exactly what Mom would've wanted. "Yeah," she nodded affirmatively. "I mean, it's where Benji grew up too." She shrugged as she disclosed the reasoning behind her decision. "He has memories there. I'd like to see it," she said, beaming. "Well, you won't be disappointed," I assured her, shaking my head. "Take it from me." I placed my palm over my heart as I leaned toward her, pointing out my obvious bias toward my home planet, and she giggled. However, she suddenly appeared distraught as she hung her head and gulped down a lump climbing her airway. Tears threatened to spring from her eyes, perhaps theorizing terrifying outcomes in which she might never escape this place. Those speculations were wrong, though. I wouldn't allow her to spend the rest of her days trapped in this castle, in enemy territory, no way, not on my watch. It's my fault Sawyer is this obsessed with her anyway. I'm the one who encouraged him to go after her in the first place, so even if I have to fight to my dying breath to get her out of here, it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make because she deserves freedom after all she's been through. "Hey," I said softly and tilted her chin up with my forefinger, and she looked back at me, her eyes glassy as they glistened with tears, and her bottom lip trembled. "I'm getting you out of here, okay?" I carefully set my palm down on her shoulder. "I promise," I whispered as I bent my head down to her level and looked into her eyes trustworthily. "You're gonna see him again," I said encouragingly and nodded, still looking into her eyes so she'd follow my nodding motion, getting her to agree with my statement unintentionally. "And you are going on that trip," I said with far more confidence as I pointed at her with my hand that was not resting on her shoulder, pretending to care more about her putting my inheritance to good use than reuniting her with her husband, which made her chuckle. "Tell me about what Benji was like when you were teenagers," she requested as she leaned her head against my shoulder and cuddled against me. I looked down at her with a warm smile and stretched my legs out in front of me, reclining on the grass as I propped my upper half up with my palms on the ground behind me. I sighed deeply, looking back up at the grand castle in front of us and delving into my memory banks for my past perception of him. "Well, I didn't know him for very long, and I met him later in life, so he probably wasn't much different from how he is now," I explained that my knowledge of him was not as extensive as most. I probably wasn't the best person to ask since he was technically an adult when I met him. "And he was six years older than me and already graduated while I was still in school most of the time, so I wasn't around him very much," I continued, discrediting my opinion further as Rebel tilted her head off my shoulder to scowl at me as if she thought I were purposefully avoiding telling her something. "But I'll tell you what I do know," I said with a chuckle as I lifted one palm off the ground and held it up to her in surrender. She hummed condescendingly, and I rolled my eyes as she rested the side of her head against my shoulder again to listen. "He was kind and gentle," I said reminiscently, mentioning the most appealing qualities to her first. "Probably the most mellow guy I know," I admitted honestly, more flashbacks flooding my mind the longer I remained on the subject of him. "But he was always passionate when he sang. You could tell it was his passion," I said nostalgically and looked back down at her, feeling her cheek sink deeper against my shoulder and thinking perhaps she'd fallen asleep. However, I saw her mouth twitch upward into an affectionate smile, and I knew she was awake. She loves him so much. That much is clear. I'm happy for her, and if he doesn't love her as much, if not more than she loves him, then he's crazy. If she's not the most important thing in his life, just like music used to be to him, then he's clinically insane. "But I think he might have a new passion now." I brushed a strand of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear to see her expression better as she giggled. I felt a scar on her cheek as I accidentally stroked it when I swept the wisp of hair away and felt a pang of sympathy in my heart, sincerely hoping no one would ever hurt her again. "Does he treat you right?" I asked faintly, allowing her to be discreet in case the answer was no. "Substantially better than my previous husbands," she replied, scoffing. However, that wasn't satisfactory enough for me. I didn't want to know how he compared to Sawyer and Thrawn because, based on outward behavior alone, I already knew he was most likely better than them, but just because that was the case didn't mean he gave her everything she deserved. Anyone who gave her anything less didn't deserve her. "Not what I asked," I said sternly, shaking my head. She paused and genuinely mulled over what I asked for a few moments before finally responding. "Yes. Yes, he does," she said with a loving smile. I decided not to bug her by asking her if she was certain. However, I wanted to, but I could see by her involuntary grin that she was telling the truth. I wanted to ensure that if ever any problems occurred in the future, she'd tell me. "You'd tell me if he doesn't?" I asked tentatively, not wanting to annoy her with all my inquiries. "Yes," she answered with such conviction I couldn't help but believe her. I nodded in contentment and turned back to face the castle but felt something crawl over the back of my hand on the ground. I glanced at it over my shoulder and saw that a golden leaf had landed on the back of my hand. I picked it up, pinching the stem between my index finger and thumb as I lifted it in front of my face. I rolled the stem between my fingers, watching the yellow leaf twirl around and around as it gave off a gentle breeze. I smiled at the foliage scattered around on the ground, concealing the grass beneath, and it triggered a memory of five-year-old Sawyer and me leaping into freshly raked mounds of leaves. "Sawyer and I used to make leaf piles in the fall and jump in them," I said sentimentally, staring at the leaf I still spun in my fingers. "Wanna carry on the tradition with the kids?" I asked, glancing at Rebel, thinking the triplets might enjoy the experience. "Sure, sounds fun," she said as she tilted her head off my shoulder, and I stood up, brushing myself off and extending my arms down toward her to help pull her up. "Any idea where a rake would be?" I asked as soon as she was on her feet, and my eyes darted around, searching for the gardening tool. She pointed to a rickety, wooden shed at the edge of the forest, and I walked over to it, yanking on the handle attached to one of the doors as soon as I approached it, but it refused to budge. I looked down at the handle to examine it and discovered a lock that a four-digit code could unlatch by scrolling the locking mechanism on the bottom to the correct numbers. "Do you know the code?" I asked, turning to Rebel, who was on my left, as I held the padlock in one hand. "It's my CT number," she said through an exasperated huff as she planted one of her hands down on her hip and used the other to massage her temple. "That's not creepy at all," I muttered under my breath sarcastically at Sawyer's obsession with her as I input the code 9905. "You know my CT number," she remarked, sounding pleased as the lock snapped open. "Of course." I smiled at her as I pushed the door open, and it made a creaking sound. I made it a point to memorize important things about people who were important to me, and Rebel is definitely important to me. Why shouldn't I know Rebel's CT number if I know Rue's? I decided it was probably a good idea for me to quit staring at her once my gaze dropped to her soft lips, and I felt myself melting into her warm smile as I cleared my throat awkwardly and let the padlock slip out of my hand and fall to the grass, turning to face the entrance to the shed. "It's a little spooky in here," I observed as I peered inside the decomposing shack, pressing my palms against either side of the crumbling door frame and leaning inside. I saw chainsaws dangling precariously from the ceiling, screeching as they swung back and forth. I gulped down a scream of terror and realized this was one instance where the custom of 'ladies first' would not be appropriate. I held my breath as I stepped inside and noticed movement from the corner of my eye. I quickly glanced to my right and watched an ancient spiderweb, which presumably generations of spiders have contributed to, bounce up and down as what may have been an entire family of spiders crawled away from their home to, I assume, pounce on my face. I may not have mentioned this before, but I have a deathly fear of spiders. I felt my pupils expand, and a shiver ran down my spine as I flexed my fingers and squealed internally. "Boo!" Rebel shouted as she planted both of her palms down on my shoulders. That, however, caused me to fly up into the air and emit the most blood-curdling scream I've ever heard. "AAH!" I spun around as rapidly as possible, aware I'd shrieked like a girl. However, I was too frightened to be embarrassed. I was certain I was far too pale for my cheeks to flush with humiliation as I landed against a bag of mulch, looking up at Rebel's silhouette in the doorway while she cackled uncontrollably. I sighed, disappointed in her, as I blew a strand of my hair off my forehead and saw the pitchfork I'd fallen mere inches away from that could've stabbed me in the back. Though, she didn't seem concerned that she could've killed me. "Don't…" I panted as I strove to catch my breath, tilting my head back against a wheelbarrow behind me with my eyes closed. "Do that!" I completed my sentence as I opened my eyes, and with my head tilted back, I could see the chainsaws swaying overhead, reminding me that they could've decapitated me when I sprang into the air. "There are chainsaws in here!" I yelled, emphasizing the seriousness of the situation to her as I pointed up at them and lifted my head off the edge of the wheelbarrow to glare at her. "I'm sorry!" She exclaimed sincerely through her laughter and buckled over, clutching her stomach. "I didn't know you were gonna jump like that!" She held her arms up at her sides innocently, and I shook my head in mock disapproval. She chuckled at the back of her throat as she extended her arms toward me in an offer to pull me up, which I graciously accepted. Once I was back on my feet, I brushed myself off, and Rebel pulled the rake, leaning against the shed's back wall, toward her using the force. Relieving someone from the unpleasantness of tromping over piles of rusty tools and decaying bugs to retrieve the rake manually. I locked the shed back up and raked nearly all the leaves in sight into an enormous pile, only for the kids to leap into it and scatter them all over the grass once again, but it was worth seeing the smiles on their little faces. I think I finally understand how my dad felt when Sawyer and I used to demolish his leaf piles. After the kids had thoroughly enjoyed themselves by sprinting through the leaf mounds as quickly as their stout legs could carry them and hurling fist fulls of leaves at each other, I could tell they'd worn themselves out, so I scooped them up in my arms to transport them back upstairs for a bath and naptime. Once they'd all been put to bed and had fallen asleep, I decided to go on another stroll to stretch my legs since my knees were stiff and sore from kneeling beside the bathtub, only this time, I decided I'd stay inside the castle and within proximity to my room so I could hear the kids if they hollered for me. As I walked down the hallway, I thought I heard the sound of faint sniffing, and my head jolted up so I could view the corridor in its entirety, but the source of the tears was nowhere to be seen. As I neared the entrance of another hallway, I increased my pace, and the weeping sounds grew louder, so I leaned over the corner where the two walls met and peeked over the edge. Rebel sat there with her back against the wall, her knees pulled up to her chest, and her arms wound tightly around her legs as she sobbed into the cave she'd constructed, her shoulders heaving. I became imbued with rage and sympathy pain for her as I sensed my fists involuntarily ball up at my sides, and my jaw clenched. I felt prepared to fire questions at her. Who did this to you? Where are they? How do I make them pay? However, I had a feeling that wouldn't be helpful at the moment. I got the impression she was different from Rue. She wouldn't want bombarding questions. She wouldn't want consoling words. She wouldn't want my sympathy. She wouldn't want me to avenge her. She'd want to handle it herself. It's remarkable how two people can look so alike but be so different simultaneously, yet my feelings toward them when either one was crying remained the same. After a few moments of thoughtful consideration, I decided it would be preferable to Rebel if I were to sit beside her in silence, offering a shoulder to cry on merely by my presence, and that's what I did. Whatever she needed, I was here for her. It's important to me that she knows that, and I hope by my silence, I was able to convey that. Her sobs gradually slowed and grew fainter as I settled beside her as quietly as possible, but her shoulders still shivered with each hiccuping cry. I gingerly reached around her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders, and patted the one farthest away from me with my hand as I tucked her into my side. Her cries suddenly grew louder as she flung herself in front of me and rested her forehead against my chest with one of her hands still in front of her face, her palm pressed against her features as her other hand fisted my shirt. Without hesitation, I wrapped my arms around her shuddering body and held her as tightly as possible. I set my chin down on her head and combed through her hair with my fingers as she began to vent, although that didn't last long. "It's just that…" There was a break in her sentence as she paused long enough to sniffle and wipe her cheek with the hand clutching my shirt. "No one is on my side," she wailed as she gently slapped her palm against my solid chest. Her statement couldn't have been farther from the truth, though. Rather than accuse her of being a liar, however, since I didn't know what situation she was referencing, I decided to remind her that I was here tenderly. I'm supporting her. I'm fighting for her. "I am," I said, lifting my chin off the top of her head so my jaw wouldn't dig into her skull as I spoke. "I'm on your side," I continued, emphasizing my point as she slowly raised her head to look at me, her hazel eyes shimmering, dancing with pools of tears threatening to spill over her eyelids. I caught them as they fell and wiped them off with the pads of my thumbs as they slid down her cheeks while holding her small, round face in my hands. My actions or words made her smile, but I didn't care which it was so long as whatever I was doing right, I kept doing it because I loved seeing her smile and realized I was her biggest fan. "I'm rooting for you, Rebel," I said as I continued caressing her cheeks with my thumbs, although all her tears had dried. I hoped to keep that information a secret from her for as long as possible. "What are you doing with my wife?" Sawyer demanded. I saw him looming over us with an intolerant facial expression; his legs spread apart as his fists rested on his hips. Rebel squeezed my upper arms for comfort and pulled her legs up to rest her knees in my lap so she could shrink away from him. I wrapped my arms around her again and pressed my palms against her back to shield her from him as she gasped softly, glancing up at Sawyer timidly. This stance and tone weren't like him, challenging, possessive, and overbearing, but it wasn't the coma that had changed him. I'd heard of him acting this way before the coma even, but not before his father had influenced him after spending a year together before returning to our rebel base on Lira San to inform us about the very mission that had induced his coma. "You did this last time, too," I reminded him of how I'd heard he treated Rebel, though he probably didn't know I'd been aware of it because I hadn't gotten the opportunity to discuss it with him before faking his death. He was mistaken if he thought that meant he could get away with it. I could tell he didn't know what incident I was referring to because he tilted his head with curiosity and raised one eyebrow while maintaining his aggressive posture, leaning toward us. "You're completely ignoring her, just like you did when you came to Lira San to tell us about the mission to Ahch-To," I elaborated, gesturing to her by jerking the side of my head toward her. Suddenly, he raised his eyebrows in shock as he was slightly confused about how I knew about the event. He straightened up, assuming his standard posture. "Rue told me about it," I explained since he obviously wouldn't listen to a single word I said until he'd found out how I knew. He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, scoffing at me. He wasn't taking this seriously, so I decided to refresh his memory on the situation to show him just how similar it was to the current one and to show him just how stubborn he was. "You pretended like she wasn't even there and asked Rue if she knew about the mission instead of asking Rebel." He stared at a wall to his right disinterestedly as I spoke, struggling to suppress a yawn. Fine, since he's acting like a child, I'll treat him like a child who needs to learn the basic rules of human decency. "You can't treat her like that," I dictated sternly, gritting my teeth in annoyance as my frustration with his nonchalance rose. I carefully stood up to confront Sawyer, gently easing Rebel off of me to do so. "She's not an object." I stepped toward him with my fists balled up at my sides. "She's not your possession." I shook my head and pointed at her behind me as I took another step toward him without glancing at her over my shoulder and maintaining intense eye contact with Sawyer. "She's a human being," I ground out through clenched teeth, and by now, my face was only a few measly inches away from his. "Ash," he said calmly, stared at me, unfazed and unthreatened, and placed his palm against my chest. I looked down at it briefly in disgust and looked back up into his eyes with the same expression, though that didn't deter him either. "This doesn't concern you." He disregarded me, firmly pushing me to the side with the same hand against my chest. "Rebel, get up," he commanded, gesturing his chin at her as he set one of his hands back down on his hip and used the other previously on my chest to motion for her to stand and walk toward him. "You're coming with me," he growled, ordering her around as he impatiently tapped his toe against the floor. There was no way I was letting her leave this hallway with him. "Why don't we ask her?" I proposed, stepping back to where I had been originally standing. "Rebel, do you want to go with him?" I asked, looking at her over my shoulder. Her head didn't budge to indicate a yes or no answer, but I could tell by the pleading look in her eyes that the answer was no. The only reason she didn't respond audibly or visually was because she didn't want to experience what would happen if she distinctly refused to go with him, and, to be honest, I didn't want to either. "That's enough of an answer for me," I declared, turning around to face Sawyer and nodding conclusively. I spun back around and stooped down to Rebel's level, extending my empty palm toward her, which she took hold of and used to pull herself up. Once she was upright, I stood beside her and bent my arm at the elbow, offering it to her so she could nestle her arm around mine. She did slide her arm into the crook of my own, and I marched away from Sawyer, leading her in the opposite direction of him as I glared at him over my shoulder, pointing out that, while Palpatine raised him as a prince, I knew how to be a better gentleman. After we'd rounded the first corner and he could no longer see us, Rebel's composure crumbled, and she hugged my side tightly as her pace slowed, burrowing her head underneath my arm. "You're okay," I whispered, kissing the side of her head and patting her back with my arm. "You're safe," I reassured her and guided her to the dining room since it was the only comforting place I could think of inside the castle other than the library, but that may have only been a calming setting for me. Once we arrived, she sat at one of the tables, and I sat beside her, pulling my chair as close to hers as possible so that our knees were brushing. I cautiously rested my hand on one of hers, not wanting to startle her, and extracted my handkerchief from my pocket. I always carry one with me. What did you expect? I live with a bunch of girls. I offered it to her, and she giggled appreciatively, accepting it and delicately dabbing at her teary eyes with it. I contemplated what I could do to help, realizing Sawyer probably wouldn't want to have another sleepover tonight after our little disagreement. I didn't think he had given her a separate room, especially if he was trying to have another kid with her. Yuck, I don't want to think about that. Regardless of the reason why they might be sharing quarters, I didn't want her only option to be to sleep in the same room as someone who was bossing her around, that would just be uncomfortable, and the whole reason I'd led her here was so that she wouldn't have to be around him and spending the night with him would undo all of this. I couldn't allow that after seeing what being around him for only a few minutes had done to her. I couldn't imagine what an entire night would do to her. "Would you like to stay in my room?" I asked as I shivered, shaking off the unpleasant thoughts. When she looked up at me with a stunned expression, I immediately realized my invitation hadn't been clear. She'd sleep in the bed, and I'd sleep somewhere else. "I'll sleep in a chair," I blurted out instantly, and when she began to decline the offer, I assured her she shouldn't do so for my sake since I was well aware of how concerned she was with other people's comfort. "You have comfortable chairs here." I nodded vigorously, trying not to sound too eager. I don't know why I wanted her to share the room with me so badly. I think I was compensating too strongly for the awkwardness, and I'd convinced myself that if she said no now, it was my fault for making it uncomfortable, and she would feel obligated to share her room with Sawyer to avoid me. "No, thank you, Ash." She chuckled, looking down at her lap and folding the handkerchief. "I'm okay," she reassured me as she passed the cloth back to me. "Come on," I coaxed as I stuffed the fabric back into my pocket, remembering three little things that would make my offer less awkward and might persuade her to accept. "The kids sleep in the same room as me. They'd appreciate the company." She sighed in defeat as she glanced at me. "Are you sure?" She asked tentatively, raising one eyebrow. "Positive." I nodded enthusiastically and sat up straight. "Okay then." She shrugged and slapped her palms back down in her lap against the tops of her thighs. "Thank you." She smiled at me gratefully, and I helped her out of her chair as I stood up out of mine. We walked back up to the level we'd been on previously and to the hallway our rooms were in. "After you, Your Majesty," I said as I held open the door to my bedroom and bowed to her slightly. She giggled and curtsied at me as she entered. I followed her inside and watched her immediately stride to the bed, where the children had drawn her to it. I smiled as I observed her gently sit on the edge of the mattress, cautious not to cause too much movement, which would wake the triplets, and she stroked their foreheads tenderly. I received an idea as she touched their faces, remembering mine and Rue's nightly skincare routine. Since she has perfect clone skin, she never needed to do it, but I got her into the habit, and it was something we could do together every night before we went to bed. I had been missing doing it with her, and I don't have the motivation to when she's not with me, but I was going through the vanity drawer the other day and found at least two sheet masks Rebel and I could do together that I thought might be relaxing for her. "Why'd you invite me to stay in your room?" Rebel inquired as I started to make my way over to the refresher. "Because you, my dear," I said sillily, opening the vanity drawer and rummaging through it. "Have had an arduous week, and we're going to do a face mask together." I stepped out of the refresher, holding up both opened face masks, one in each hand, as my jaw dropped open, my facial expression matching that of the face masks, and I dangled them from my hands, making them wiggle. "You're such a dork." She rolled her eyes at me with an amused grin on her face. "Aww, thank you!" I touched my heart with two fingers instead of my entire palm to keep from slapping the slimy face mask against my chest and dampening my shirt or, worse, contaminating the mask. "I feel so loved!" I exclaimed sarcastically and turned back toward the refresher, not waiting to see if she would choose to join me or not. I stood in front of the mirror and leaned over the sink, beginning to plaster the mask to my face as I set Rebel's back down on the packaging. A few seconds later, I saw her appear in the doorway. I smirked at her reflection in the mirror as I handed her the mask. While they dried, Rebel crawled into bed with the kids, and I handed her the remote, telling her to select a movie for us to watch while I popped the popcorn for us downstairs. When I returned with our snacks, we watched probably one of the scariest movies I've ever seen in my entire life. It was a challenge not to scream since I didn't want to wake the kids. I watched most of the movie with Rebel's hand over my mouth. I had no idea she was into horror films since her sister is so far the opposite, and I hardly got any sleep that night. Still, seeing Rebel content and being thoroughly entertained was worth it. Once the movie was over, we both removed our masks, and I went into the refresher to change and brush my teeth. With my clothes changed and clean teeth, I walked into the bedroom to see Rebel sitting on the edge of the bed, fiddling with her prosthetic. She jerked her head up to look at me, startled by my footsteps, and I paused in the doorway, not progressing any further into the room until she was comfortable with it as I held my arms up in surrender, one palm facing her, the other holding a bundle of my day clothes. "Um, I sleep with my leg off," she informed me shamefully as she pointed at it. "Okay." I shrugged as I nodded, not comprehending the reason for her shame behind those words but accepting their meaning as I walked over to the dresser. "That doesn't bother you?" She asked, baffled by my indifference, but she must've forgotten I'd dealt with my fair share of limb disfigurement long before I met her. "Rebel, you're forgetting about my father," I reminded her as I pulled open one of the dresser drawers and plopped the clothes inside. "I'm not forgetting anything." She shook her head. "It's just, this is different." She gestured down at her false leg. "How is it different?" I asked, intrigued, and closed the dresser drawer, bending down to the bottom drawer and opening it up. "Because I'm completely missing a limb, at least your dad's hand is still intact," she said emphatically. "It doesn't bother me." I shook my head as I scoffed, giving her the answer she wanted to hear and the one I wanted to convey since the beginning. I lifted a blanket out of the bottom drawer, shutting it with my foot as I stood back up and unfolded it. I sat in a chair in the corner of the room and pulled the blanket up to my chin, tucking myself in. "Are you sure you're comfortable over there?" Rebel asked as she unlatched her prosthetic from her knee and leaned it against the nightstand. "Most definitely." I nodded to give her reassurance as I felt my eyes already beginning to close. "As long as you're certain." She shrugged and lifted her legs into bed, covering herself with the blankets as she tugged on the chain connected to the lamp to turn off the light. "Good night," she whispered through the darkness, and I smiled back involuntarily even though she couldn't see me. "Good night," I replied. I woke up long before Rebel since I didn't get much sleep last night after the first nightmare of many inspired by events I'd witnessed on the holoscreen, so I decided to make breakfast for her. I know she's like me; pancakes are her favorite, while Rue and Sawyer are our opposites, and they prefer waffles. After they'd finished cooking, I stacked them on top of each other on a plate and constructed a breakfast-in-bed tray for her, complete with a mug of caf, a bottle of syrup, silverware, and a note. I wanted to leave her a message to subtly inform her who the breakfast had come from and to be the first to greet her this morning since I wouldn't physically be in the room to do so, and I didn't want her to think I'd abandoned her. "Good morning!" I scribbled on the scrap of flimsi I'd found in the kitchen. "I remember pancakes are your favorite," I wrote, explaining to her why I'd chosen the specific breakfast food to make for her. "I hope you like them. I hope you slept well, too." I smirked as I suddenly began writing down a pun my mind had conjured up. "I know this bed is not exactly fit for a queen. Get it?" I jot down my question, trying to convey my enthusiasm through aurebesh. "Because queen-size bed and you were the Queen of Naboo!" I lamely explained my joke to her and smiled as I envisioned her eye roll. I paused momentarily, tapping the stylus against my chin as I contemplated my response to her if we'd been face-to-face. "I'll see myself out…" I wrote and folded the note over. I scribbled her name on the front and propped it up on the tray like a tent as I carried the entire thing back upstairs to deliver it to her. I placed the tray on the nightstand beside her as stealthily as possible and tiptoed out of the room. Since I had nothing left to do, I headed to my favorite room in the castle. The place I knew I could kill the most time while I waited for Rebel to wake up; the library. I selected a book from one of the shelves and sat down in an enormous, cozy chair by the fireplace as I flipped through the book's pages and began reading. I lost track of time as the stories unfolded, and I was unaware of how much time had passed when Rebel entered the room and interrupted my perusing. "Good morning." Her soft, timid voice broke the silence. "Good morn-" I started to say apathetically and began to raise my head to glance at her, but her appearance took me aback. Wow, she is stunning. She peeked inside the room, only half of her face visible as she leaned past the door frame. Sleep had adorably tousled her glossy, jet-black hair as a few wisps fell in front of her eyes, and it glistened in the dawning light illuminating the library from the two massive windows across from her. "Good morning!" I greeted her much more enthusiastically than I had previously, slamming the book shut and leaning forward in my chair to catch a better glimpse of her. She giggled at my sudden shift in attitude as she tucked her hair behind her ear and stepped inside the room before crossing her arms, her silky, pink nightgown swishing around her ankles. "What are you reading?" She asked as she strode toward me and pointed to the mahogany-colored leatherback book in my hand. I glanced at it, almost forgetting about it completely. "A collection of poetry from one of my favorite authors." I smiled as I observed the felty cover of the book and rubbed my thumb over the velvety texture. "This is from my favorite era of his writing," I continued, tapping on the cover with my pointer finger as I reflected on what I'd read. "It's really-" I felt Rebel's head sink into my forearm, and I looked down at her to see her sitting on the ground to my right and laying the side of her head on my arm on the chair's armrest. I realized I'd been rambling and decided it was best to stop now to spare her from listening to me drone on for hours. "I'm sorry," I apologized as I shook my head and sighed disappointedly. "You don't care about this kind of stuff," I inferred based on how she'd prepared to go back to sleep by resting her head against my arm after only listening to me speak a few words. I began to place the book on the other armrest, but she seized my wrist. "No, no, I do," she insisted sincerely and tugged my wrist back in her direction so the book was now in front of me again. "Read to me," she commanded as she nuzzled my arm with her head and dropped her hands back in her lap. "Really?" I asked incredulously and whipped my head toward her. "You-you want me to read it?" I stuttered as I asked hesitantly. I've always wanted to share what I read, but no one's ever asked me to. I always assumed they weren't interested. "Please," she answered, nodding. "Okay," I said eagerly and flipped to the page I'd been reading on last, settling deeper into the chair cushion. The hand she kept pinned down with her head held the book as I read aloud to her while I used the other to brush her hair. She fell asleep again after only a few words into the first page, but I didn't mind. I was grateful that she was able to use this time to rest. She deserves all the sleep she can get. She's a hard-working mother of three toddlers who she's probably missing, and she has to deal with her controlling ex-husband and his tyrannical father, who's kept her separated from her newlywed husband for the past three days. She needed this, so I decreased my volume and continued reading as I stroked her hair. Three hours later, my arm was numb from her laying on it, and I'd read through the book about ten times since I hadn't been able to get up and grab a different one out of fear of disturbing her. It allowed me plenty of time to analyze every poem, though. I'd be an expert on poetry by the time she woke up. Suddenly I felt her beginning to stir as she groaned and snuggled her head deeper into my arm. "Good morning again," I said quietly, in case she wasn't fully awake yet, as I leaned forward to see her twitching face clearer. "Oh, hey," she greeted me drowsily as she gave me a groggy smile and rubbed one of her eyes with her fist. "Good morning." She sat up and blinked the sleep from her eyes, squinting at the sunlight flooding the now fully lit room. "How long was I out?" She asked through a yawn as she stretched. "About three hours," I answered as I stood up, walked over to the bookshelf I'd taken the book from, and returned it to its slot. "Three hours?" She repeated in astonishment. "Wow," she remarked, and I chuckled at her as I glanced over my shoulder. "Sleep okay?" I asked. "Great," she responded. "Good," I commented as I turned back toward her. "Hey," she introduced tentatively and stared at her lap as she fidgeted with her fingers, refusing to look me in the eye. "I never got a chance to thank you for what you said to Sawyer." She lifted her chin enough to meet my eyes, but I tilted my head, uncertain about what she was referring to. I said a lot of things to Sawyer. Did my conversation with him on the hill, where I told him Ansa was his biological daughter, make him decide not to force Rebel to have more of his children? "About me being human," she elaborated upon seeing my confusion, making me realize she was referring to the discussion I'd had with Sawyer just last night where I'd reminded him Rebel didn't belong to him. "Oh," I glanced up at the ceiling and scrunched up my face trying to decipher why she would need to express appreciation for that when all I'd done was tell him the truth. "You don't need to thank me. I was stating a fact." I shrugged and shook my head. She looked back down at her lap embarrassedly and twiddled her thumbs. "Well, I know, but still, it meant a lot to me," she explained. "No one has ever really let me be human before," she said pitifully and shrugged. My heart urged me to kneel on the ground before her, but I controlled myself. "You know, because I'm a clone, supposedly, I'm not supposed to be considered an individual, just someone's property," she muttered irritatedly and looked up at me. "So thank you," she concluded gratefully, but I still wasn't willing to accept credit for giving her something she should've received all along. "Rebel, defending you is the bare minimum," I said fervently, placing my palm over my heart and stepping toward her. "I don't deserve praise for that." I shook my head. "Why are you being so nice to me?" She asked suspiciously as if accusing me of fraudulent motives and stood up from the ground, squinting at me. I chuckled at her skeptical facial expression and looked down at the ground, contemplating why I was thankful to have her as my friend. "Rebel, I adore you," I said affectionately and looked back up at her, deciding on a proper synonym for love since my feelings toward her encapsulated more than love. I respect her. I want to honor her. She's my hero. I want to be her even though I know no one else can. She gasped softly and shuffled backward slightly. I assume no one has ever told her that before and the person she least expected to hear it from was me. "I aspire to be you." I gestured at her. "You're selfless and strategic and passionate," I listed all of her most admirable qualities that I aimed to imitate. "I just look up to you so much…." I said figuratively, looking down at her in reality and feeling myself smirk as I sensed a taunt coming on, one that I couldn't hold back even if I wanted to. "Or down," I teased her significantly shorter stature as I leaned down to emphasize our height difference. "I hate you," she said with a smile. That's more like her. That's the Rebel I haven't seen since the ship. "There she is," I said softly with an affectionate smile. "You didn't feel that?" She asked, slightly concerned but mostly disappointed. "Feel what?" I asked as I cocked my head. "I punched you in the arm." She glanced down at my left arm as she gestured to it. "Oh, huh." I followed her line of sight. "I guess not." I looked up at her and tried to shrug but realized I had no feeling in my left arm, raising only my right arm instead. "Ash, what's wrong with your arm?" Rebel asked, disturbed, staring at it swinging limply beside me. "What?" I asked, oblivious that anything was wrong. I assumed it was still waking up. It's never happened before, but there's a first time for everything, right? "It's numb," she observed as she lifted it and allowed it to drop back at my side. "It's numb because I was laying my head on it," she deduced and looked up at me apologetically. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" She cupped her hands over her nose and mouth, and my instinct was to comfort her. "Rebel, it's not a big deal." I chuckled as I squeezed her upper arm with my right hand and realized it was all I needed since I still had my other hand, which was the stronger one anyway. "It's my left one. I don't even need it." I picked up my limp left wrist with my right hand and let it droop back down, demonstrating how useless it was. We were talking about it as if this weren't only a temporary impairment and as if I'd permanently lost mobility in my left arm when we knew that wasn't the case. "Besides, the blood will come back to it soon anyway," I said casually, and my disregard seemed to ease Rebel's worries since she rolled her eyes at me playfully. "Well, I guess I should go ahead and get my day started," she announced reluctantly, putting her hands down on her hips. "I've certainly slept long enough, and I've got a lot to learn," she grumbled, but the last part of her sentence sparked my curiosity. She's already quite possibly the smartest person I know. What more could she learn, and what would make her admit it? "Palpatine appointed me as a senator of Naboo," she informed me monotonously upon realizing my confusion and clicked her tongue against the side of her cheek apathetically. "A senator!" I repeated, generating enough enthusiasm for both of us since it was sorely lacking on her end. "Wow, impressive," I said proudly and mirrored her as best I could by placing my right hand on my right hip, slowly realizing there must've been a reason she wasn't sharing my excitement. As I contemplated the differences between the two positions, I wondered if the weight of responsibility was somehow heavier as a senator than as a queen. Perhaps she would be required to draft and present speeches in front of crowds now. That could, however, be a privilege. She'd get to speak out against the empire's atrocities, assuming Palpatine wouldn't punish her. "Do you know if that means you'll get to give speeches now?" I asked, furrowing my brow. "I don't." She shook her head. "I guess I'd better find out, huh?" She asked me rhetorically while chuckling, and hearing her infectious laughter, in turn, caused me to giggle. "Hey, quick question," she said intriguingly and pointed at me. "Do you know why it seems like every queen Naboo has becomes a senator?" She asked, sounding slightly irritated as she squinted at me. I recalled my minimal knowledge of Nabooian history, where I knew at least one past Naboo queen had become a senator. I wasn't sure why she was asking me, though. I was least likely to know the answer out of everyone. "Rule of thumb?" I speculated, raising one eyebrow. "Who knows?" She asked as she shrugged and spun around, beginning to walk toward the door. I felt a pang of regret as she walked away when I remembered she was so skeptical of my kindness toward her, and I wanted her to know I always tried to be nice to her and that I was sorry if I had failed to show it. "Hey, Rebel?" I called after her, and she turned to face me, hanging on to the doorframe. "You know I'm always here for you, right?" I asked, placing my moveable hand on my heart earnestly. "You can always count on me if you ever need help with anything at all," I promised, striking the air with the side of my hand. "I'll remember that." She winked and shot a finger gun at me. "Thank you, Ash," she paused, bowing her head. "For everything," she said sincerely and exited the room. I sighed, satisfied with the assurance I'd given her, and went back upstairs to check on the kids since I'd left them alone for longer than I would've liked to admit, but I couldn't disturb Rebel to check on them, and she didn't seem concerned, so I was certain they were alright. When I stepped back inside my room, I found Kali sitting up in bed between her two siblings since she was the smallest with the remote in her hand as she watched cartoons. I have no idea how she discovered how to work the holoscreen that easily. Kids… "Good morning, Kali," I whispered to her since her brother and sister were still lying on either side of her, evidently asleep, so I didn't want to wake them. She looked up at me and waved enthusiastically with an eager grin, which made me smile too. I looked at the holoscreen since she'd returned her eyes to it and saw she was watching a family of cartoon characters on the beach collecting shells. I realized we had the facilities to do that here on the lakeshore since I'd seen some shells on the sand yesterday when I'd taught the kids to swim. "You wanna collect sea shells together and take them home to Mama?" I proposed my idea to her, and she nodded vigorously, standing on the bed and stretching her arms toward me. I walked over to her and picked her up, carrying her downstairs to the lakeside. Once outside, we crouched down and examined the grains of sand for fossils, crabs, or their shells. Kali picked one up and squealed as she showed it to me. "Ooo, that one's so pretty!" I praised its beautiful appearance as I observed the iridescent purple fragment of a shell. "Good find, Ladybug!" I complimented her discovery as I held my palm up for her significantly tinier one to high-five it. "Do you want me to keep it safe for you in my pocket?" I offered as I extended my empty palm toward her as an invitation for her to place it in, and she did so, resuming her search immediately after. I started scouring the sand again and found a beige, spiral-shaped shell. "Look at this one," I said, holding it up to her. "Do you think Mama will like that?" I asked, and she nodded, quickly returning her eyes to the sand as if the waves would wash away all the shells if she didn't watch them closely. Once we'd collected nearly all of the shells the beach had to offer, and my pants were close to falling off with how weighed down my pockets were, we reclined on the sand and watched the waves crash against the shore as I thought about what other beach activities we hadn't done yet. "Do you want to help me make a sandcastle?" I asked as I glanced over at her, and she responded by bobbing her head up and down. We began to scoop up sand piles with our hands and build them into a loose structure until it was upright and shapeable. "I think I can safely say we have made the best sandcastle in all sandcastle construction history," I said, scooching away from the castle to observe our hard work as I lifted her and sat her in my lap. She leaned back against my chest, and I felt her nod drowsily. "We should enter a father/daughter competition, don't you think?" I asked, and she nodded again, even more groggily. "Are you tired?" I asked, leaning forward to see her face as she blinked sleepily, and I interpreted that as a yes. "Let's go back up to the room." I chuckled as I stood up and gently slung her over my shoulder, transporting her upstairs. I walked into our room just as Armani was sitting up and rubbing her eyes with her fists and yawning. "Good morning, Ari," I greeted her in a hushed tone as I shut the door behind me with the sole of my foot and laid Kali down on the side of the bed closer to the door. "Good morning, Daddy," she chirped, stretching her arms above her head. She seemed to be the most mature out of the triplets, so I decided to ask her for her opinion on whether or not she wanted to return home or if she was content with living here for now since my mind was on home after mentioning taking the shells I'd gathered with Kali back to Rue. "Do you wanna sit out on the balcony with me?" I asked, gesturing to the window on her side of the bed with my chin for us to talk privately, and she nodded as she hopped off the edge of the mattress. She reached up and took hold of my hand as we walked over to the window and pushed it open. "Do you miss your mom and sister?" I asked her as I propped my forearm up against the railing and overlooked the surroundings as she held onto one of the columns with her hand. "Yeah, I do," she nodded solemnly. "Me too," I confessed and devised a way to cheer her up by offering to do one of her favorite things with her. "You know what always helps distract me from feeling homesick?" I asked as I glanced at her. "What?" She looked up at me curiously. "Puzzles," I answered with a devious smirk, and she gasped excitedly. "You wanna go do one with me?" I asked, squeezing her hand. "Yeah!" She shrieked, and we raced each other to the library, where I knew there was a collection of games. I let her win, of course. She didn't win because she used the force to propel her feet faster, giving her an unfair advantage, absolutely not. After we'd selected a puzzle of her choosing and pieced it together on the floor as we lay on our stomachs by the fireplace, we climbed back upstairs, and I tucked her back into her original spot in bed, kissing her forehead. Kai was beginning to wake up as his youngest sister was drifting off to sleep. "Good morning, Champ," I said faintly, stroking his forehead. "How'd you sleep?" I asked. "Good," he answered me through a yawn as he blinked the sleep from his eyes. I thought of a classic father/son bonding activity that Kai and I could do, even though he technically wasn't my son, since the weather felt nice while I was standing outside on the balcony with Armani earlier. "You wanna toss the ball around, Sport?" I asked as I looked at the box of toys Sawyer had delivered to the room earlier and saw a blue rubber ball. I picked it up and tossed it between my hands, raising my eyebrows at him coaxingly. "Yeah!" He exclaimed, suddenly wide awake, as he sat up straight. I placed my pointer finger in front of my mouth as an indication for him to quiet down since his sisters were sleeping and set the ball back down in the box to fetch his shoes and put them on him so we could go outside because, as fun as it seemed, we weren't going to play catch indoors, no matter how badly I wanted to. I knew it could only end poorly. I knelt before Kai as he sat on the edge of the bed, his legs swinging off the side, and slid both his feet into his sneakers. "Can you teach me how to tie my shoes?" He asked as he put his palm up in front of my face to prevent me from doing it myself. "Sure thing, Chief," I complied instantly and looked up at him, but then remembered he'd requested that I teach him many things recently. "How come you've been wanting to learn so much lately?" I asked suspiciously. "I want to be a grown-up," he answered, shrugging while staring down at his shoes. "Like you." He looked up and pointed at me. An image of Kai as a full-grown man suddenly flashed before my eyes, and a pang of sadness struck my heart as I realized all of my pleas for him to stay this little would go ungranted. "Don't try to grow up too fast, Tiger," I said wistfully, pinching his cheek, and he groaned, shoving me away. I looked down at his laces to begin teaching him but discovered my fingers had already done it on instinct. I didn't want to admit that to Kai, however. "Look at that!" I pointed down at his tennis shoes, marveling at them. "You tied your shoes all by yourself with the force!" I proclaimed as I tickled him. "No, that's not how it works, Dad!" He squealed through a surge of laughter as he tried to kick me away and clutch his stomach. I whined and paused my tickle attack as I realized the last syllable of my title was missing. Don't tell me they've quit calling me daddy already. I'm not ready for that yet. "Ugh, please don't call me Dad," I begged. "Not yet." I shook my head. "That's one part of you growing up that I'm not ready for yet," I admitted as I stood up with him in my arms and carried him downstairs without untying his shoes and teaching him how to do it himself. I decided to avoid it for as long as possible and leave it until the next time he asked me to. Better to let him depend on me for a little longer for now. After playing catch for a few minutes, I started failing at the game's objective, which was to catch the ball since one individual occupied my thoughts, Rebel. Ever since this morning, I couldn't stop thinking about her for some reason. Maybe it was the force's way of telling me something bad would happen to her, which was likely since two of her most formidable opponents were here. Whatever the reason, I couldn't shake the overwhelming desire to check on her, so after a few more rounds with Kai, I took him back upstairs and left the triplets under Martha's care. I set out on my search for Rebel, exploring the castle for any trace of her, but she was nowhere to be seen, and none of the servants I asked had any inclination to her whereabouts whatsoever. That's when I decided to go downstairs to the one place I swore I'd never return, the dungeon level. I gulped as I crept down the stairs one by one as the elegant surroundings progressively darkened and became more ominous and foreboding. I tiptoed down the corridor once I'd reached the bottom of the staircase and whipped around whenever I heard even the faintest sounds; my senses dialed to eleven. I finally reached the wooden door at the end of the hallway with two black bands running across it horizontally with silver spikes protruding from it and exhaled a shaky breath as I pressed my ear up to it to listen. "Ash!" Rebel hollered between agonized, strangled cries of desperation, and I felt my every muscle tense as an uncontrollable urge to enter filled me. I reared my fist back and punched the thick, stable door, but it merely rattled in its frame at the contact. I yelped as the pain suddenly soaked through my numb, tingling skin and down to my very bones, but the blisters already forming on my knuckles weren't near enough to deter me. I jerked my fist back again and hammered against the seeming steel door repeatedly until my fist was bleeding and bruised so severely I couldn't tell what it had looked like before. I banged my forehead against the door and panted out of exhaustion, my pounding weakening as I slapped my palm up against the entryway. I heard Rebel's whimpers fading and imagined her strength draining from her body the longer I failed to break down the door, causing tears of frustration to sting the backs of my eyes. I began to drop to my knees when a sudden blind rage overtook me, and I decided I wasn't giving up. Come on, Ash. You've got at least one more hit in you, old man. For Rebel. I dried my blurry vision and ran backward as I glared at the door and flew at it, kicking it down with my foot. "Rebel!" I screamed as I busted through the fallen door.