Summary: Rey is on her first mission for the evil Darth Sidious. The goal is simple: kill Prince Ben Solo by any means necessary.
Parings: Rey + Ben Solo
Continuity: Sith!Rey and Grey Jedi!Senator!Prince!Ben
A/N: I love writing canonverse, but I decided to do an AU spin this time where Ben grew up with his parents and never went to Luke's temple and Rey grew up on Exegol with old pickle Palps.
No Body, No Crime
Part I
By: sushigirlali
Hanna City, Chandrila
Midnight
It was a quiet night at the Old Gather-House, almost too quiet, but Rey knew it was time to strike. Since arriving on the lush planet a few days ago, she'd been steadfastly surveilling the palatial structure in the heart of Hanna City from the shadows, noting every guard rotation and the comings and goings of household staff.
Stationed near Eleutherian Plaza, which contained the Chandrila Senate house, seat of the New Republic's galactic government, it was a tricky proposition to get close to the Old Gather-House during the day. In the dead of night, however, the movements of its occupants were exceptionally easy to track.
"There goes the last worker. His majesty's personal chef, from the looks of her," she observed. "And any minute now, the head of security will walk out the side door and… GO!"
Dropping down from the fruit tree she'd been perched in for several hours, Rey silently sprinted toward the slowly closing door. Catching it with her booted foot a moment before it shut, she slipped inside without raising alarm.
"Grandfather will be proud," she congratulated herself, peering left and right to make sure no one was in the long hallway. It was late, so the only people between her and the prince of Alderaan should be his escorts. "Better safe than sorry, though," she thought, carefully creeping forward.
She had considered coming in through the roof, but security always appeared tight up there. Instead, she'd discovered the existence of a spiral staircase near the kitchens that led to the penthouse on the top floor. Her research had revealed it was as direct a route as she could hope for and lightly guarded to boot.
Having snagged a lucky lead while eavesdropping the day prior, she'd been able to infiltrate a local repair shop and download schematics and shift change data from a broken serving droid with ease.
"Not too smart, your majesty, leaving sensitive information lying around like that," Rey smirked, advancing until she reached the archway leading upstairs.
Sticking close to the wall, she took two stairs at a time until she reached a landing about halfway up. She paused to listen, continuing when only silence met her ear.
It was a rush, being out on her own for the first time, on her first solo mission. All of the hard work and training she'd put in over the last 15 years would finally be worth it; her grandfather would finally see her as something more than a burden.
Heart pounding as she neared the final landing, Rey braced herself for a fight, but none came to her. "That's strange…"
The back entrance to the prince's rooms was completely unguarded, an oddity which she was both grateful for and concerned about. Lightly touching the jade hairpin pressed into the top of three identical buns, she breathed deeply to calm her sudden nerves. Her guardian rarely gave gifts, so she hoped the versatile ornament was a symbol of his trust in her. Or at the very least, an extra layer of protection should she find herself without her laser sword...
Knowing she was only delaying the inevitable, Rey gathered her courage and entered what she could only assume was her target's closet. Expensive looking robes and tailored evening wear billowed from every corner, reminding her exactly who Darth Sidious had sent her to eliminate.
"Skywalker scum," she hissed internally. "It's time to put an end to that family's oppressive bloodline."
Her resolve renewed, Rey put an ear to the door leading into the next room. Once again, her senses failed to pick up any sounds or movements. Placing one hand on the handle of the pocket door and one on her lightsaber, she slid it open.
"No one," she mused, dumbfounded. Closing the door behind her, she stayed low, crossing the pristine white marble bathroom to the open entryway. "Finally," she thought, spying a large four-poster bed surrounded by heavy cobalt curtains.
Listening hard, the only discernible noise she could pick up in the dim bedroom was a man's light breathing. Unable to believe her luck, Rey opened her senses to the dark side, allowing the Force to flow around her. "One person. Humanoid. Male. Big. And… something else… he's…"
Gasping as electricity coursed through her veins, she slapped a hand over her mouth. "Shit… what was that?!"
When the man didn't stir at her slight outburst, Rey resumed infiltrating his chamber. Reaching her destination after a few heart-pounding moments, she took another second to steady herself before gently lifting the hangings on the left side of the bed. Drawing her lightsaber, she peered inside, the warm purple light of her weapon revealing a stunning sight.
"What—but I thought he was an old sage? Who is this young man?" Her heart stuttered, caught off guard by the man's handsome face and wide expanse of bare chest. "This can't possibly be the cruel prince my grandfather warned me about… oh… oh, no… he's... a Jedi."
Holding out a commanding hand, Ben bade the fetching maiden—assassin?—to switch off her saber and sleep. Catching her before she fell, he pulled her into his arms, ignoring her weapon as it clattered to the floor with a metallic clash. Placing a hand under her knees, he lifted her slight form to lie next to him on the mattress.
"At last, my love," he murmured, pushing a few loose strands of sable hair behind the shell of her ear, "I've been waiting for you."
She was dressed simply in matching black trousers, pleated vest, and ankle boots. Inconspicuous, functional; nothing at all like the outrageous fashions the members of his house were known for.
Reaching for the zipper on her shoes, he removed them and slid off the bed. Stowing her belongings in the cubby beneath the nightstand, he studied the woman's lightly freckled face in the darkness, a face he'd seen in countless dreams and visions...
Ben pulled the covers over her and sighed, realizing it would be a battle to earn her trust, let alone her love. Attempted murder was a complication he hadn't seen coming, but when had the Force ever played fair?
Morning
Turning her face away from a persistent sliver of light, Rey moaned into her plush pillow. She was so comfortable, the thought of moving was unbearable. Still, she knew the punishment that would await her if she failed to get up and perform her daily duties in the citadel.
"Mmm…" she groaned, stretching widely. "That was the best sleep I've had in a long time, maybe ever."
"I'm glad to hear it," a deep voice rumbled to her left.
Scrambling up on all fours, Rey's hazel eyes snapped open, zeroing in on the source of the comment. "You!" she gasped, frantically looking around for her lightsaber. Spying it resting under the bedside table, she made a grab for it.
But the prince was faster.
"Now, now, sweetheart, I don't have time to play this morning," he said calmly, grasping her arm before she could reach her black quarterstaff.
Curling her free hand into a fist, Rey attempted to punch him in the face. "No? Well, why don't you make—oh!"
Stunned as he pulled her into an intimate embrace, she scarcely knew what to do before his soft lips were on hers. His spicy scent invading her nostrils, Rey struggled to remember to struggle. But he was on her and around her and kissing her so hotly she couldn't catch her breath .
"Mmm…" he said several minutes later, lifting his dark head with a smug smile. "Very nice."
"Am I?" she replied, nonplused.
His brows drew together, considering her. "You're a little rough around the edges, but considering your upbringing…"
"Don't pity me," she gritted out, assuming he was referring to her obvious lack of experience. He couldn't possibly know about her mission, her family.
"Never," he promised, tracing her cheek. "Let's begin again, shall we?"
Rey belatedly realized he was pinning her to the bedspread. "Let me up," she said briskly.
"Do you promise not to attack me again?"
She narrowed her eyes, but nodded.
"Yes?" he persisted.
"Yes."
He smiled at her, pulling back. "My name is Ben Solo."
"I know who you are," she responded impatiently. "I'm—"
"Rey," he supplied, saying her name like a caress.
Sitting up straighter, she surveyed the room for an escape route. Despite his ardor a moment ago, he was clearly playing some sort of sick game. It was morning, there must be guards covering every exit by now…
"We're quite alone," the prince broke in. "You needn't be worried that you'll be caught. I won't let anything happen to you."
Snapping back to face him, Rey was astounded by the earnest look on his face. "But… if you know my name, you must know why I'm here, what I am..."
"All I know is a beautiful woman crawled into my bed last night," he said cheekily.
Blushing at the compliment as much as the innuendo, she demanded, "What did you do to me?"
"Nothing."
"I don't believe you!" she charged. "You… you used some kind of Jedi mind trick on me!"
"Just a small one," he said irreverently. "Just to help you sleep."
"Help me—what did you do once I was unconscious?!"
"Nothing," he reiterated. "I graciously gave you the bed and sought rest elsewhere."
"You—what? Then where did you sleep?" she said suspiciously.
"I didn't. Sleep, that is. I meditated," he said, pointing to a pile of cushions by the window, "so that I could watch over you."
"But why?"
His lips thinned a little. There was obviously something he wanted to say, but all he did was shrug. "Another time."
"Why not now?"
"You'll just have to trust me when I say now is not the right time."
"But you're a Jedi!" she blustered, sliding off the bed. Annoyingly, he still towered over her from his spot on the edge of the mattress. Rey hated feeling small, but she needed to be on her feet, to be ready for battle. "How am I supposed to trust you?"
"I'm a Grey Jedi," he corrected, as if that explained everything.
"Is there a difference?" she demanded.
"Several," he chuckled.
"Well?" she stamped her bare foot. "Care to elaborate?"
"Not really," he said plainly. "Not right now, at least."
"And why not?"
"I have work to do," he informed her. Then, more seriously, "And so do you."
"What?" she snorted derisively. "How did you come to that conclusion?"
"I spared your life, so it belongs to me now," he replied simply, standing far more gracefully than she had. Rey backed up, trying to ignore their height difference, but the prince's presence seemed to fill up the room. "There's a change of clothes for you in the bathroom. Put them on and we'll go."
"Go where?" she glared, glancing past him at her saber once again. It was just out of reach and the prince was as solid as a fresher; if she tried to summon it, he would likely block her the same as before. "Damn."
"You'll see," he said enigmatically. Then, lightly, "You might even like it."
Ben tried not to show his appreciation for the way Rey moved in his grandmother's flowy, hand embroidered yellow dress, but it was hard going. Everything about her was magic, even when she was glaring daggers at him for making a simple request.
"I won't!"
"And why not?"
"I'm not one of your servants!" she huffed. "You can't just order me around and expect me to do your bidding!"
"I'm not ordering," he sighed, "I'm asking. As a favor."
"A favor?" she repeated, scrunching her nose. "What's that?"
"I—ah… it's like a promise. If you do something for me now, I'll reciprocate in kind later," he explained, careful to keep his sympathy hidden.
He'd seen into her mind when they touched last night and then again when they kissed this morning. "Poor girl, it must have been difficult growing up on Exogal with a spirit like hers."
"Oh," she said, looking puzzled. "And going to this healing temple with you is a favor? How could I possibly be of use there?"
"You'd be surprised."
Rey narrowed her eyes at him again. "I don't like secrets."
"On that we can agree," he replied. "You're not the only one with relatives who keep secrets," he said internally.
"Really?"
When he offered nothing more than an expectant look, she made an annoyed sound and said, "Lead the way, then, Prince Solo."
"You can just call me Ben, or Senator, if you'd prefer," he chuckled, adjusting the silver lightsaber clipped to his leather belt. The crossguard shape was a design she'd only seen in ancient scrolls, but it seemed to suit him.
"How many titles does this guy have?" she wondered. "Prince, Senator, Jedi… I mean… Grey Jedi." Pondering on the last, she tried to recall ever reading about one, but came up empty. "Grey implies some kind of impurity and those sanctimonious light users would never." She peaked up at the prince's striking side profile. "Or would they? He looks..."
"Is there something you'd like to ask?" he said nonchalantly, but she could tell he'd caught her staring.
"No!" she snapped, embarrassed. Picking up her long gold skirt in frustration, Rey stomped ahead of him. Why the hell had she even put the cumbersome garment on? Sure, she had never seen anything so beautiful before, but the corseted top and billowing skirts were a pain to walk in. "Not to mention fight in…"
"Are you sure?" he insisted, speeding up to catch her.
"Yes!"
"You don't sound sure," he said lightly.
Rey rounded on him, dropping her skirts and placing her hands on her hips. "I don't know why I'm even listening to you. I'm here to—"
"Sightsee?" he supplied, tensing up.
"No, I—"
"Rey, please," the prince said meaningfully, eyeing a couple Senate Guards who were drawing near.
"Fine," she relented, dropping her combative posture. "Let's just get this over with."
He gazed at her for an extended moment, his dark eyes sinking into hers, like he was trying to say something without speaking… but then he was hastily moving forward again and the spell was broken.
"What was that?" she thought dazedly.
Shaking off the feeling that he was trying to pass her an important message, Rey tried to focus on her surroundings. She hadn't sensed the guards before the prince pointed them out, which wouldn't do if she wanted to complete her task and live to tell the tale.
Falling into step behind him, she followed until he paused outside an imposing white brick building a few minutes later. A large sign over the doorway indicated that the structure was a hospital, its cracked and faded facade revealing the building's age. "I wonder how long this city has been here? I've seen so little of the galaxy and grandfather never answers my questions..."
"This way," her jailer said, pushing the door open and holding it for her.
Slipping inside, she was startled when an excited voice cried, "Oh! Senator Solo!" as soon as they entered the large, sunlit atrium. Sizing up the slim blonde running toward them, Rey instantly dismissed her as a threat.
"Good morning, lieutenant," the prince said warmly when the woman drew near.
Perturbed by his tone without understanding why, Rey decided it best to keep her tongue and just watch the scene unfold. "Maybe she's a weakness I can exploit..." Somehow the thought didn't sit well with her, though.
"Did General Organa send you?" he asked.
"Yes," the lieutenant responded. She looked curiously at Rey, but continued with a nod from the prince. "Leia is expecting more injured soldiers to arrive tomorrow and she wanted to make sure you had everything you needed to heal them."
"She wanted you to check up on me is what you're actually saying," he ribbed. The prince placed a hand on Rey's shoulder, making her jump slightly. "Nevertheless, please let her know that we have everything we need."
"We do?" she said slowly. Then, more brightly, "We do! Oh, how wonderful!" The woman smiled at Rey. "I thought I recognized that dress, you must be—"
"On duty," he cut her off with a meaningful look. "And we really must be going now, Kaydel."
"Sure," she responded with a conspiratorial nod, "see you!"
Shaking his head, the prince's hand slipped from Rey's shoulder to the small of her back. "No doubt she's off to report to my mother. Shall we?"
Reaching behind her, Rey captured his wandering hand, placing her index and forefinger over the inside of his wrist. "What was that? Who's dress am I wearing?"
His pulse lept. "Caught that did you?"
"I'm not an idiot, your highness. Despite what happened last night, I'm actually quite capable!"
"I know," he said, but this time his heartbeat remained steady.
"You don't know me," she denied, confused by his apparent honesty, "no one does."
"Rey, I can't explain how right now, but… I do," he said with conviction.
"You'll have to tell me later, then. As a return on your favor." She wasn't quite sure why she was letting him string her along, but her gut told her he didn't mean her harm. "I suddenly have the strangest feeling… like we've met before… like I know him too."
"You want words and not your weapon?" He seemed surprised, but pleased.
"I don't need my lightsaber to kill you, your majesty," she responded recklessly, thinking of the hairpin he'd neglected to take from her.
The prince looked around, making sure no one overheard the threat. "Not so loud, we don't need any trouble." His free hand slid over hers, capturing it. "Come along now, there's a lot to do before the next group arrives."
Allowing him to tug her toward a large red door embossed with the symbol of a snake coiling around a lightsaber, Rey ignored the jump of her own heart.
Smiling slightly as Rey juggled a few containers of bacta, Ben carefully took one from her and added it to the second of five medical stations in the infirmary. "Once we replenish the supplies here, I'll need to check up on a few patients."
"You're a doctor too?" she said in amazement.
"Force healer," he shrugged, pulling out clean gauze and medical tape before moving on.
"That's a thing?"
"Yeah," he laughed. "It's really rare, though."
"Oh."
Ben finished lining up equipment on the third station while he decided how much to tell her. "Have you ever… healed a creature before? Even something as small as an insect?"
"No, I—um…" she paused. "Actually… there was a mynock I found once. Do you know what that is?"
"I do."
"It was clinging to a ship and when the dock workers scraped it off, one of its wings was crushed..." she trailed off, looking confused.
"And?"
"And I put my hands on it and then it flew away," she finished, looking up at him intently. "Do you think I healed it?"
"Yeah, I think you did," he confirmed. "You're special, Rey."
"What?" she said in disbelief.
Feeling her mental walls rising in defense, Ben backed off. "Can you hand me another bottle of bacta?"
"Oh, yeah, sure."
Ben smiled as their fingers touched in passing.
"You're special, Rey."
The words kept ringing in her head, that deep voice praising her, encouraging her… Rey felt warm all over. Fanning her face, she tried to concentrate on what the prince was doing to no avail.
Last night, her mission seemed so clear. But now... she wasn't sure she wanted to complete it. It seemed unlikely that her grandfather didn't know Ben Solo was a Jedi. Which begged the question… why hadn't the old man told her?
Was her master setting her up? And if he was, why not just kill her himself? It was a rather bleak question to ask, but Rey knew Darth Sidious was capable of anything...
"How's this?" the prince asked a middle-aged Mon Calamari who appeared to be blind in one eye.
"Better! I can see tiny wisps of light!" he said excitedly.
"Progress!" The prince motioned for her to join him. "Rey, would you help me—"
"No!" she said loudly, roused from her dark thoughts. "Um… no. I'm not…"
"Hey," he said softly, "it's okay, sweetheart. Why don't you wait for me in the lobby. I'm almost done here, I'll come find you in a bit."
Rey turned tail and practically ran from the room, more confused than ever. Regardless of her master's intentions, how was she supposed to kill someone so kind?
Ben finished repairing his patient's eye, but it was hard to keep his mind off Rey. Her outburst had startled him because he hadn't felt it coming. He was used to sensing emotional reactions before they happened, it was one of his gifts, but Rey was… surprising, in more ways than one.
"She's more powerful than she knows," he thought. "And if I can sense it, I'm sure Palpatine did as well. Is that why he sent her after me? Because he was afraid to face her himself and wanted me to do his dirty work?"
It was an uncomfortable thought, but Ben knew from experience how corrupting the dark side could be. The only comfort he had was that the old Sith Lord would never have sent Rey in his direction if he was aware of their connection.
"Better luck next time, old man. You've made your last mistake."
A/N: Things are gonna get a little dramatic next chapter, stay tuned! Comments are appreciated and you'll get up an update quicker :P In the meantime, check out my many other fics :3