The Dark Side

~24~

Her chance was gone. It had flown away with Poe Dameron and FN-2187.

She was trapped once again.

Loud noises and fuzzy images filled Neri'el's vision as she felt desperation scamper through her. It tore like a raging monster through her very core, slashing her will to pieces.

Everything was falling apart.

None of this was supposed to happen.

A bubble of panic rose within Neri'el threatening to pop. Her breaths became rapid and she fought to keep herself steady.

Her father and mother always promised to come home.

But they were gone.

Jempa, her apprentice strove to be as powerful a Jedi as Luminara Unduli.

But she had died right in front of Neri'el.

Tekka said she would be a hero.

But he had perished.

Poe had tried to rescue her.

But he had left.

All she had done was fail.

These thoughts all swirled within Neri'el's mind, nearly sending her to her knees. If it hadn't been for Kylo Ren, who was holding her upright, she would have fallen into a sagging pile of despair upon the floor.

The room tilted before Neri'el's eyes. Her vision blurred from tears of anguish and exhaustion. The horrible detrimental thoughts flew into her thoughts like woodpeckers, chipping at her will. A deep mechanical voice echoed in her ears, but she couldn't understand what it was saying. The words floated into her head then vanished like a puff of smoke before she could comprehend them.

The next thing Neri'el knew, she was back in the interrogation room. Chained to that infernal bench, with her hands carefully fastened, she waited.

All those thoughts from before, recirculated in her mind but she forced herself to let them go. It would do her no good to dwell on the past. The future was what was important. She could not let her history define her.

The door slid open with a hiss and the familiar thud of black boots resonated within the small room.

Standing directly opposite her, his hands held stiffly by his sides, watching her closely, was the black cloaked figure she had become all too familiar with.

The door slid shut.

Silence ensued as both individuals studied each other. Kylo Ren; feverishly, as if to make sure she wasn't about to pass out again and Neri'el; tiredly.

"Can you take off the mask?"

She was sick of the mask. She wanted to see her friend. Something or rather someone that could remind her of a happier time.

Kylo Ren merely looked at her and she sighed.

"Please Ben," she said quietly.

In that moment, she looked so weak; so fragile. Like at the slightest touch, she would shatter into a million pieces. Her hair was scraggly and fell limply around her gaunt face. Her eyes were hollow and held much less of the blazing fire that Kylo had gotten so used to seeing on her time aboard the ship. Dark circles painted beneath her eyes, revealed her exhaustion clearly, along with her sagging posture and overall weak form.

All this was processed in the Sith Lord's mind as he pondered her request.

'Please Ben,' echoed in his head over and over.