Chapter 14.

That night, Rey struggled to sleep, hot and feeling out of sorts.

Her mind did not cease it's torment, a terrible battle of good versus evil. She couldn't make sense of it, and it frustrated her to no end. She was able to get one hour of sleep after tossing and turning, the torment continuing, but now as she tuned into the force, she was able to quiet it down, only just a little.

Laying on her back, she stared up at the ceiling, sleep begging to be met, but her mind refusing it.

Rey closed her eyes, trying to focus on her breathing. She cast aside Sano, and the crystal, which she could swear still hummed to her hungrily. She cast away Poe, and the Resistance, and along with it went her parents, and the Falcon.

All that remained was Kylo.

her heart whispered, and as it did, so did her mouth.

"I told you, stop calling me that."

Eyes flying open, Rey quickly sat up to see Ben sitting on the edge of her bed, facing her. Gasping, she quickly tried to cover herself with her sheet, feeling self conscience that she was only wearing a small, beige tank top and loose undergarments.

She blushed as his eyes scanned her from the tips of her toes to the hair atop her head, as if he was able to see through the sheet itself. Rey felt her heart skip a beat and was sure he could pick up on that with the way she was breathing.

"What are you... Well, nevermind. Were you able to control this connection?" Rey asked, breathless.

Watching her, his face blank, Kylo said "No. Not this one."

They both stayed quiet, studying one another.

She noticed he seemed more relaxed, dressed down into a long sleeve tunic and baggy pants, sticking to his color of all black. She had never thought about him wearing anything other than his usual garb, always dressed to command, always dressed to rule.

His hair was the normal wavy mess, his skin pale. Rey's eyes followed the scar from his brow, and slowly down to his neck, disappearing beneath the tunic.

She had given that to him. She was the one that marked him.

Her stomach clenched, pooling with warmth.

She remembered feeling this way before, about this same scar... She shifted at the unexpected feeling as her cheeks warmed, kicking up the heat she felt under Kylo's gaze.

He watched her squirm, finding a delight that she responded to the mark she branded him with in their first battle. , was not what Kylo expected tonight as he prepared for bed, the first time in days.

General Hux was continuing his secretive plan, and Kylo was extremely eager to catch him in the middle of this trap he was attempting to lay, however the general knew exactly what Kylo was trying to do, and in turn, blocked himself even further. Hux stuck to his troops side at all times, not chancing Kylo to catch him off guard and force the truth out.

Hux knew what he was up to , and Kylo couldn't wait for the challenge term to be over, so that he would finally be able to kill Hux himself without any warrant from the fleet.

Trying to catch him, however, exhausted Kylo, who barely ate and rarely took any time to catch up on sleep. He was absolutely depleted, and when he felt the bond connect, it was the easiest and quiet it had ever been, not having to push through any clutter from his mind to Rey's.

He could only guess that she was clearing her mind as well, or at least, attempting to, because when he arrived, he felt that she was not in tune with the bond, not even noticing he was there. And when she whispered the name he rid himself of...

Inhaling, Kylo shifted on his bed. The mixture of the sound of her voice whispering his name, and the fact that he could feel her want, was utterly distracting...

Clearing his throat, he spoke.

"We might as well use this time and not let it waste. Do you have the texts?" he asked, avoiding her gaze. Though he did indeed like her reaction, he did not like being studied, especially when he was dressed down.

Rey nodded, clutching the sheet to her, and bent down to the side of her bed, picking up the book and opening it to the first page.

Kylo admired it for a moment as it lay in her lap. It had been so long since he had seen this book in particular. Glancing to her, he timidly reached for the book, and she froze before handing it over to him, reminding herself that he was here to help.

"This one is solely to teach the Jedi of the power of light and dark. Get the brown one, with the jewels along the binding. We'll start there." He said, and she did as she was told.

...

An hour and a half later, Rey was very satisfied with what she had learned so far. He taught her just a few words of the book, and she wrote them down so that she could study when he wasn't around. She had also learned a better way of meditation, to focus entirely on your being instead of what it is you want, or simply the object of your desire.

Earlier on, she requested that he turn his back to her so that she may dress in something more comfortable, and thankfully, he did. Now wearing her capris and a baggy training shirt, they both sit on the floor across one another, having just finished meditating.

The air seemed lifted, and her mind was nearly silenced now, her raging headache gone.

Bringing her knees to her chest, she studied him again as he watched her, his eyes and expression blank, hers simply curious.

"How...old are you?" she asked.

The question caught him off guard.

"Nearly thirty." He said, his eyes flickering to the ground and back to hers.

Rey took a moment to think. She truly had no idea when her birthdate was, or how old she is, and only able to guess, she assumed she nearly the same age.

"No. You're about twenty." He said.

She squinted her eyes at him, the calm over powering any frustration that would normally come about, thanks to meditating. "Stay out of my head, Ben."

Sighing, he softly countered. "Enough with that name. If you would just keep your thoughts quiet, then no one would be listening." He watched as Rey rolled her eyes at him.

He almost caught himself...feeling... compassion? Sorrow? He couldn't decide. Whatever it was, he felt bad that she was not able to tell her own age, having been abandoned by the Jakku drunks.

Trying to distract her, and himself, he thought of a question. "How is the training going with the new member?"

For a moment, Rey froze. She had forgotten that she revealed that detail, but thankful that she did not say more about it. "It's ...going." she said simply.

His brown eyes bore into her. "You're lying. It was your own rule to be honest."

Sighing, Rey knew she lost this one, cursing herself as she stood, stretching. "It's not going. I thought I'd teach him, and he would teach me, but it's not working out."

Kylo listened, and felt that she was now being honest. He sighed, not enjoying the feeling that she had another teacher. For a moment, he wondered if it was the treacherous pilot.

Rey rolled her eyes, sitting on her bed now. "It's not Poe."

His eyes flew to hers, turning cold as he glared at her. "Now who's the one prying?"

Rey returned his glare, saying nothing. For a moment they sat like this, until she pulled the calm back, and relaxed into, noticing that Ben slowly did the same.

Sighing, she massaged her hands, glancing from them to Kylo's face who was back to studying her.

"Any new challengers lately?" she asked, avoiding his eyes completely. He scoffed.

"No, not any willing to show their face at least." He said, thinking about Hux.

She looked at him curiously, but he did not give in.

"What's going to happen if you lose a challenge?" she asked, and this time, Kylo allowed her to skip his turn, feeling rather calm now. Meditation with Rey was quite the experience, he thought.

"I most likely die, and someone else rules. They have a challenge term as well, however theirs is only for one day instead of a year, since this person will usually not be the apprentice to the prior leader." He explained.

Her brow furrowed as she lowered herself back to the floor across from him, watching Ben's movement as his hand ran through his hair.

Rey wasn't sure what it was, but the motion brought back the warm feeling in her belly.

Clearing her throat, she asked another question. "But, no one will challenge you will they? And win?" her voice was softer now, so quiet for that a moment Kylo wondered if she had just thought it.

At this, he was silence, thinking of the term.

"At the end of the challenge term, there's a celebration. The Knights of Ren gather one day prior to the expiration, and they either pledge their allegiance to me, or they challenge me themselves. I've told you of this already." He replied, his own tone quiet.

Another silence.

"Who are the Knights of Ren?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"Higher members of the First order. We were a designated group reporting to Snoke, we trained together under...... some force-sensitive, some not. Snoke favored me, given who my grandfather is... So, I was appointed master of the knights. " Kylo explained. He hadn't thought about the way they came together in a very long time, and he absolutely hated thinking of his life before Snoke took him under his wing.

Before he fell to the dark side...

"But... If they report to you, why would they challenge you?" Rey asked, genuine curiosity dripping off of her face.

"Rey... When a leader is dethroned or dies, the thone is free reign, but in order to gain the position to rule, you must prove yourself. I have proven myself thus far, being Snoke's apprentice, but the Knights of Ren would be the only ones around that could pose a threat to me taking full control." He said, eyeing Rey.

Slowly, Rey nodded, soaking in the information as she stared at the floor. If Luke had trained them, they must have a great deal of skill, and that worried Rey. If somehow Ben was able to be overthrown, the First Order's vengeance would come down harder than ever against the Rebellion.

Rey realized, that Ben was holding the war at bay, for whatever reason that may be. She could only guess that he still held out hope that she would join his side, but shaking her head, she promised herself that would not happen.

"You'll beat them, though, whoever challenges you?" she asked, and looking up, discovered he was gone as the force bond ended for the night...

...

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