"I have several things to tend to and I will be back in a few days. You will continue your training with my attendant and when I get back we will resume."
With those final words, Kylo Ren left the room.
_____
****
Kylo Ren's attendant was certainly one of the most terrifying creatures I'd ever met in my entire life.
His name was Lescapus. He woke me up the morning after Kylo Ren left at nine 'o' clock sharp by banging loudly on my cell door and barging in. I shot out of my slumber, fully alert, and screamed at the sight of him.
He was easily eight feet tall and maybe much more. Lescapus had silvery-gray skin, tiny black pupils for eyes, and light, thin pink lips. He had bulging muscles and wore a black tight jumpsuit that defined those intimidating muscles. His hands were as big as my head and he carried a large gun that was strapped to his back.
"What are you screaming for? Shut up!" His voice was a low-pitched raspy growl. I ceased my involuntary noise immediately. "Be ready in five minutes!" He barked at me.
I got out of bed faster than I ever had before and zoomed to get ready while he watched me. At that point in time, I still had no clue who he was; whoever he was, I did not feel like arguing with him.
I was ready in three minutes and he then chose to introduce himself. "I'm Master Kylo Ren's attendant. I'm your temporary trainer. My name is Lescapus."
That would've been nice to know when you broke in on me sleeping, I thought.
I followed him to the arena and he spoke a bit more about himself in his natural growl. "I was adopted into The First Order six months ago as a guard and an attendant. I used to live in a system far from here but I left because The First Order blew it up."
Then . . . Why are you working here? I thought, raising an eyebrow, but I didn't let him know I thought he was idiotic.
We reached the arena and he immediately began hardly working me. I weight trained the entire morning, but my least favorite type of training with Lescapus was combat.
"For your combat, Kylo Ren would like you to actually fight me." Lescapus grinned after my twenty minute break. My eyes widened. "What?" I exclaimed in disbelief. Lescapus merely grinned in a sinster fashion.
So . . . To summarize that part of my training for the next three days, I got my ass kicked.
All of the days were equally horrible. Every single time we attempted to 'fight', he would knock me out on the first punch; if I got lucky enough to evade the punch, he would knock me out harder because he was mad I evaded it. That was basically how it went for three days.
On the third day after training with him, I was lying in Kylo Ren's quarters on the bed. Lescapus was sitting on the ground, staring sulkily at the wall.
My head was throbbing and I was so dizzy I saw two, three Lescapus'. I was urging Lescapus to leave. After putting me through hell and back in three days I wanted him gone. To my luck, he gruffly asked, "Can I go now?" I placed my palm on my forehead and moaned, "Yes. Please, just leave."
Oh, the pain was tremendous and agonizing. It was almost hard for me to fall back to sleep after Lescapus had left. I couldn't rid myself of the dreadful headache that consumed my every thought. It seemed to only intensify.
I fell asleep again thirty minutes after, salty because in the past three days I had increased my skill in combat by zero percent thanks to Lescapus.
***
"Nira! Wake up!"
It was his low and metal voice, but he didn't sound monotonous as usual -- Kylo Ren sounded slightly anxious. I then realized his hands were on my shoulders and he was shaking me. "Nira!" He nearly shouted.
Ouch, I thought as I saw stars and pain shot through my head like a bullet. "Stop shaking meeeee." I groaned. "Nira, you need to wake up now!" Kylo Ren said, gripping onto my shoulders like his life depended on it.
"I'm up, I'm up." I reassured, swatting him away.
"Nira, we have to go now! The Resistance is coming!" Kylo Ren's voice revealed more anxiety each time he talked. My eyes shot open at his words. "What?" I asked.
"They're coming! We have to hide you!" He grabbed my hand and pulled me out of bed. I stumbled and held my head with both hands.
"I think I have a concussion." I mildly announced. Kylo Ren scoffed and scooped me into his arms. He slid through the threshold and began walking, but I didn't pay attention to where. I was looking up at his mask and how sleek it was. I admired the silver parts of it that were consistently lined above and below the black grated area which deprived me from the wonderful view of his sharp brown eyes.
Kylo Ren moved into a different hallway and set me down. He pulled up part of the floor to reveal a hidden ladder. "Climb in." He ordered.
I obeyed him. As I grabbed the rungs, I asked him, "Why are they coming?"
Kylo Ren didn't answer. I frowned and continued my descent down the ladder. He followed me and covered up the secret hole in the floor once again. "Where are we going?" I questioned. I wanted to know something, anything about what was going on, and it frustrated me further when he didn't answer again. I rolled my eyes.
We were in a room, but it was pitch black. "Kylo Ren!" I exclaimed. At this point I didn't even know where he was. The lights flipped on, and I saw him standing next to a wall with his hand on the panel.
The floors were grey and the walls were white. The room was small but completely bare except for us. I could see no trace of the hallway that was above us.
"We need to be quiet. This bunker isn't soundproof, although it should be." He said with regret. "Why are we here?" I asked again, losing my patience with him. Why's he still ignoring me?!
"The Resistance is coming." Kylo Ren stated simply.
"Yes, I know that. But why?" I spoke to him as if he were younger and less intellectual than I.
"Don't ever use that tone with me again." Kylo Ren's altered voice boomed with authority. I also sensed a hint of anger in his voice, but I elected to ignore it.
I glared at him, my frustration reaching the limit because he still ignored my questions! I was growing worried; why did he not want me to know why I was being hidden? I glared at him and he stared at me through the mask for a few long moments before he spoke.
"Councilwoman Wahiri has betrayed us. She went to The Resistance and told them of you, your powers, and how I'm training you to become a powerful fighter. The First Order lost trust in the rest of the councilmen after Wahiri committed treason and began testing the rest of us to make sure our loyalties lie in the right place. That's where I've been the past few days." He explained rather quickly.
I was surprised at the news. I frowned. "But, why did she do that?" I asked. Kylo Ren replied, "No one knows her motive. We just know that she's done it."
"So . . . Why is The Resistance coming?" I asked, even though I had an idea and my suspicion grew with every passing second that Kylo Ren stared at me from behind the mask across the room. I was scared -- I didn't want my suspicion to be correct, but I knew deep down that it was. I was so incredibly, impossibly, uncontrollably, tremendously scared.
"They're coming to take you."
My stomach dropped. Yes, my assumption had been correct, and yes, I felt as if my life were being threatened, and did I feel safe with Kylo Ren? I didn't know. So I asked him in a small whisper (my voice was nearly inaudible because of the immense bubble of fear rising in my chest), "How much of them?"
"Nearly their entire fleet." He answered. Kylo Ren talked as if the dangerous phrase meant nothing but his words caused my heart to pound relentlessly against my rib cage, caused me feel every drop of blood trickling through my veins, and I sensed panic rising up in me that I knew I had to contain. I didn't want Kylo Ren thinking I was weak. He couldn't. I gave myself a few seconds to let the terror wash over me -- it was as powerful and mighty as a hurricane.
I then put on a courageous expression, clenched my fists gently, and stood with greater posture. "How long do we need to stay here?" I asked with a strong and still voice.
A giant crashing sounded in my ears and I didn't feel myself fall to the ground but when I opened my closed eyelids I was parallel with the floor and there was a ringing sound in my ears that wouldn't go away. Confusion and terror swept through me and I tried to sit up but fell back down with dizziness.
"Kylo Ren?" My voice sounded far off and the world was spinning in circles. Then he was above me, mask and all, swirling along with the world. I felt his hands clasp my biceps and the spinning stopped. "Nira?" He asked, and his voice echoed in my head.
"Nira, are you alright?"
Everything came back into focus. I was still on the ground. I shut my mouth that I realized was agape and looked him in the mask. "I'm okay." I stuttered out.
He picked up and set me on my feet. "They're here." He announced, looking around as if the ceiling was about to come falling down on us.
He took off his helmet and it was relieving for me to see his actual face. The Kylo Ren behind the mask made me feel so much more safe and comforted than the villain that hid behind metal.
"I need to be quieter. Without this on I can whisper." Kylo Ren gently set the mask on the ground so it set with a tiny, clink.
His sharp, masculine, and authoritative eyes searched my face gently and with curiosity. They greedily honed in on my lips which I felt like retracting. I felt more self-conscious under his intense and immobilizing gaze.
Suddenly we heard footsteps echoing above us. Kylo Ren grabbed my hands, yanked me over to the panel, and shut the lights.
I no longer had to be brave. He couldn't see me. I let my mouth droop downwards and let the ears flood into my eyes, threatening to spill.
The footsteps trampled over the ground above us. "Where would he be?" "This way, this way!" I heard voices of all gender and textures calling to each other above us and the only thing I could feel was Kylo Ren's hand intertwined with mine.
I heard several guns cock into loaded position above me and my breath speed increased. The tears came closer to brimming over but I didn't allow them to. Kylo Ren heard my panicked breaths and suddenly his hand wasn't the only thing I felt.
I felt his strong and thick arms wrap around me and I felt his sturdy chest pressed against me. I paused for a moment, debating my next move, and then pressed my head into his clothed collarbone. I then let my breath's volume increase a little bit so I wouldn't feel as panicked.
One of his arms raised a little and his palm pressed gently into the back of my head.
One tear was all it took for me to collapse with fear. One tear fell out of my eyes and rolled slowly down the cheek as if it were mocking me, knowing that it had caused a domino effect.
I was silent as I cried but I knew Kylo Ren could feel my chest shaking and I knew some tears dropped out of my eyes and dampened his shirt through to his skin.
The footsteps and voices and gun sounds faded into the distance but Kylo Ren continued to hold me in the dark long after they departed.
_____
Author's Note
Wow. I'm so happy I got this update out before I fell asleep. I had school today but I'm praying for another snow day tomorrow, lmao, wish me luck!
I usually try to relate the picture/gif at the top with the chapter but I'm so anxious to update I didn't this time!
Vote if you enjoyed the intensity of this chapter and comment if you think The Resistance will succeed with their plan to take Nira or not!
Thank you so much for 2k reads! You guys have no idea how much this means to me! It makes me so damn happy and increases my confidence by three hundred percent!
Okay, until next time :)