Unmasked Love | The Mandalorian

|16|

"Let go of me!" I shout, trying to kick and pull my limbs out of their cinching grips. "Kes!" I scream, looking over my shoulders as they drag me out. 

"It's gonna be okay, Mae!" he shouts, giving me a hopeful look. My eyes droop slightly as they pull me out of the house and the last thing that I saw was my brother's tearful, scared eyes. 

Before we get to the large Imperial ship, I manage to tug my limbs out of the stormtrooper's grasps. I fall straight to the ground, but just as I hit the floor, I fall right through the rough ground as if it weren't even there. I flip upside down and when everything comes out clear, my feet are planted on a glossy black floor in a comfortable-looking room. 

"You will address me as you would your father and you will respect me all the same!" Gideon spits at me, immediately catching my attention. I take a deep breath and scoff, shaking my head.

"Like hell I will," I retort, narrowing my eyes at him as he continued to glare at me.

We've had this conversation a countless number of times, so I couldn't even pinpoint how old I was or the reason that this whole argument had flared up again. Not that the origin of it really mattered. I already knew that I was in some sort of dream (or maybe I would consider this to be a nightmare) and that I was just going to have to ride it out until I woke up. 

"I don't understand what happened to you. One minute you were the sweet little girl that I saved and then the next minute, you're some sarcastic teenager with a horrible attitude that won't even acknowledge me!" he shouts, stepping closer to me. 

"That's because I'm old enough now actually to understand what really happened to me!" I shout at him, narrowing my eyes while taking a step back. 

"Please, you're only thirteen. You're still a mere child. You can't even think for yourself," he scoffs, shaking his head while rolling his eyes. 

"Say whatever you like about me, but I will not be addressing you as my father," I snap, plopping down on my bed before turning away from him. I face the wall, hoping that this conversation would just end. 

Even though I was conscious about everything I was saying and doing, my body still felt like it was on autopilot. Even though I knew what I was saying and doing, it was like someone else was doing everything for me. I didn't even have to think of the words for them to come out. 

"Look at you. You still even act like a child-" he tries, but I quickly intervene. 

"I mean, you did just call me one, didn't you?" I mutter. He scoffs at me, sounding annoyed and hurt as he stomped his way over to the door. The thick soles of his boots thump against the glossy floor of my room before they disappear into the hallway, the door of my room sliding shut behind him. "Who's acting like a child now?"

I close my eyes and my body slips through the comfortable mattress, but instead of having a pleasant upright landing like I did last time, I free-fall and hit the hard cold floor of an almost pristine training room. I land on my side with a rough thud, letting a small groan trail from my lips. I feel like I shouldn't be able to feel pain through a memory- dream- or whatever the fuck this is supposed to be.

"I find your lack of faith disturbing."

"I find your lack of humanity disturbing," I mutter as I slowly stand up, hoping that he hadn't heard my comment. I glare at the man in the mask, but I stay silent, knowing that if I spoke out of line, it would just make my training for the day a lot worse than it already is. If he had actually heard me, there's no doubt that he wouldn't hesitate to beat my ass.

He couldn't have always been like this, right? There had to be a time when he was kind and caring, maybe even in love. There had to be a time where he didn't think succumbing to the darkness was the best option. He had to have experienced love-