A Lesson to Learn

Chapter 1

As he peered over her shoulder, Kylo Ren could see that the woman seemed rather enveloped in her task as she rummaged through the rings, occasionally grabbing one or two that interested her and trying them on. He watched as she looked at each ring in earnest as she tried them on and then, finding them not to her liking, she would throw them back into the jewelry box and continue her search.

Kylo Ren wondered what would compel this girl, with her mousy brown hair and generally gentle appearance, to come to a thrift store for something like jewelry. In his mind, the only people who went to thrift stores in the first place were foolish young hipsters attempting to reinvent themselves or shed the "chains of modern times" and equally as foolish old ladies who were holding on to the past. The woman in front of him did not seem to fit either description, and instead looked rather average. In fact, he probably wouldn't have been able to pick her out of a line up if asked to in a few hours time. Given this, Kylo Ren found himself confused when he realized that he wanted this strange, unassuming woman to pick up his ring and take it home. It was as if he were drawn to her in some way that he couldn't explain.

Kylo Ren had to stop himself from loudly taking in a breath when the woman finally picked up his ring. It wouldn't have mattered anyway since he had concealed himself and knew the sound could be excused by the whirring of the air conditioning unit above them, but he was afraid to add sound to what he considered to be a rather tense moment. It was as if he knew that this moment would decide his very future and destiny. Would he be able to finally leave this boring forgotten place or would he be condemned to spend another decade wanting to bang his head into a wall?

The woman held the ring in her hand as if weighing it, and then put it on her right ring finger. Kylo Ren knew that it would fit her, as the ring changed shape to fit whoever tried it on. The band was silver, engraved with ivy all around, and a small black opal as the main focus. The opal changed colors as she admired her hand, even in the bad lighting of the old thrift store, alluding to its power, beauty, and worth. Kylo Ren felt a weird surge of excitement and pride to see the ring on her small and delicate hand. He hoped that she would feel it too.

When the woman didn't take off the band, Kylo silently exhaled the breath he didn't even realize he had been holding. The girl, apparently satisfied and having made up her mind to purchase his ring, set off towards the front of the thrift store towards the check out area with it still on her hand. He trotted after her as she went over to the cash register to purchase the item from the wizened old man that stood behind the desk. The man at the check out looked at the woman as she gently pried the ring off of her hand and handed it to him across the counter with a quick, "I'd like to purchase this ring, please."

Kylo Ren looked on from beside her and quietly savored her voice, sweet like honey and light as a feather. I could get used to that, he thought. He became more and more thrilled at the prospect of leaving this godforsaken place, especially with her. After years of not being able to stretch his legs beyond the confines of the cramped thrift store and years of not being able to wield magic without someone donning the ring (except for simple concealment charms and other "emergency" spells), Kylo Ren was itching to stir up some trouble and have it his way too. He was ready to see what they could cook up, together.

"Sure, let me just ring you up. Will that be all, Ms. ...?" the man behind the counter questioned.

"Rey Dameron. And thank you, yes, that's it. I've had kind of a bad day and found this store as I was trying to walk it off on my way home. I'd like to think of it as my little treat to myself." she found herself babbling. The old man hmm-ed in response with a light nod, as if to show that he himself had had similar days.

Still beside his new... master? Owner? He was never sure what to call them - Kylo Ren quietly whispered her name, Rey Dameron, as if attempting to savor the taste of it on his tongue. He then blanched as Rey glanced to her side wearily and then slightly shook her head, almost as if she had heard the disembodied voice but was choosing to ignore it. Kylo Ren cursed in his mind for being so dumb as to speak outloud while concealed and watched as Rey paid the old man, thanked him again, and then took the ring from him. She instantly put it back on her dainty hand and Kylo Ren almost purred with satisfaction. This is going to be a lot of fun, Rey. Just wait until you realize what you hold in your hands, Little One. The things we could do together are unimaginable.

He knew from that point on that he would have a lot of fun with this Rey Dameron, but first he would have to do a bit of snooping and reconnaissance on her. He felt weary at his instant taking - attraction? attachment? possessiveness? - to Rey. Never before had he felt the urge to please someone before or to listen to what others desired, much less someone who looked as unassuming as his Rey. He had never even considered willingly revealing himself to any of his masters before until now. But for some reason she had intrigued him, and in a sense, his ring - tied to his very being as his prison until he was released - had intrigued her, too. Maybe it was because he had been lonely in this damn thrift store for so long (which was already a shocking enough realization to him as he had always lived under the pretense that he didn't need anybody or their company). Maybe it was because he felt there was something different about her. Either way, Kylo Ren knew he had to make sure she was ready and wanted him, because he could already feel just how much he wanted her.