Fear
"She must find a job," came my fathers voice through the thick doors of the study.
"Our image can still be saved if she becomes a high ranking member of the first order."
"NoOoOo!" Came my mothers wailing.
"Control yourself, Anamar. We must do something. Every day that we allow to pass is just another day she gets older. At this rate, we will be lucky if I can get her a position as a planet ambassador. She has a pretty face, men seem to respond well to that. She can't be an officer, she has no military knowledge."
I could practically hear him pacing back and forth from my perch at the top of the stairs.
"OoOoOooooo," came more wailing from my mother, interrupted by the occasional soft sob.
"Really, Anamar, pull yourself together. General Hux was the last real prospect I had for her, and with his silence on the matter, we must move forward with Plan B."
It had been 2 weeks since the Allegiancy Ball. I had waited patiently the first few days to hear from Armitage. He was a high ranking General after all, perhaps he was quite busy with work. After the first week went by, I began to give up hope. At twelve days, my father started mentioning different positions I might find interesting within the first order. My mother was still expecting Armitage to storm through the door at any moment and confess his undying love to me. We would be married a week later and I'd be pregnant with her grandchild before the honeymoon.
The saddest part of the whole situation was that in those first few days, I started to considered what a life with Armitage would be like. And I rather liked the idea.
We had spent almost an hour together on the balcony that night, my back pressed up against the marble wall. His hands cupped my breasts through my dress while he trailed kisses from my chin to my throat. His dress shirt was pushed down over his shoulders, allowing me to leave small bite marks on his collarbone. He didn't seem too fond of it at first, but I ended up with a few marks on mine as well. The night only ended when a stormtrooper discovered us during his patrol, causing Armitage to turn the darkest shade of red I believe a person capable of turning.
He walked me to my transport, leaning in one last time to kiss me before whispering goodnight.
And then... nothing. Fourteen days, and no word. I allowed myself a few of those days to mourn the life we could have had before pulling myself up by the bootstraps.
If Armitage wasn't interested in more than a handful of my ample ass, then I wasn't interested in a handful of his either.
"Eladia, stop eavesdropping and come in here," my father shouted up the stairs.
Huffing, I pulled myself up by the bannister and made my way down to the study.
"Yes, Father," I asked, intertwining my hands behind my back.
"Your mother and I believe it is time for you to find your place within the Order," father began. "The previous ideals that you should marry and run a home are no longer valid in our new empire. Many woman are putting their talents to use to help serve the First Order as we embark on our new mission of instating a galactic Oligarchy."
I looked between him and my mother, who sat on her chaise lounge, eyes puffy and face solemn.
"Ok," I stated simply.
My father looked slightly taken aback.
"Ok?" He questioned.
"Yes. Ok. How do I go about finding the right position? Is there someone I can speak to? An Agency of some sort?" I asked, walking to his desk to grab a pen and paper. "Do you have the name of someone I can holograph? I'd like to get started right away."
"
OoOooOooOoO!" My mother wailed again, dropping her face in her hands.
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The First Order held it's Orientations within the cluster of government buildings in the middle of the capital. I sat in a small group of 20-somethings as an elderly scholar flipped through different slides highlighting how our choices would help to grow our new Empire.
"And that concludes the written portion of todays orientation. Next, we will be touring the three main buildings which compose the center of our new city; The Habicu Plaza, The Craldo, and The Vobur," he droned. "These three buildings house the offices and operations of every member of our blossoming government."
They either pay this man a large sum of credits, or he was completely brainwashed by the Order. Either way, I was immensely glad to get out of the dark room we had been housed in for the last 4 hours. Stretching my limbs out before attempting to stand, I glanced up to see the scholar waiting in front of me.
"Miss Pryde, your new position will put you working directly in the Vobur. I have been asked to escort you there before continuing on to the rest of the tour," he said, slightly bowing to me.
Not knowing the proper etiquette, or why in the Void he was bowing to begin with, I offered him a small curtsy before gathering my belongs and following the group out the door.
The city center was beautiful. The buildings were all made of white marble, causing them to almost blend into the snowy terrain. White brick had been used to pave the walkways between the 3 main buildings, which sat in a triangle. Several smaller builds were set up around the parameter of the center, Storm troopers standing guard at every entrance and exit.
The scholar approached the largest of the three buildings and beckoned me to the front of the group.
"Here you are Miss Pryde. General Brenko should be expecting you in his office. We will be back to gather you at the conclusion of our tour." With that he ushered the group on to the next building, leaving me alone staring up at the immense property.
The Vobur was the largest of the three buildings, standing about 20 stories high. Floor to ceiling windows striped all four sides, causing it to look even larger.
Walking towards the main entrance, I was stopped by a Storm Trooper.
"Please state your business, ma'am."
A shiver ran down my spine at the sound of his modified voice.
"My presence was requested by a General Brenko. I'm his new Planetary Ambassador."
The Trooper relayed the message into his comlink before nodding and stepping aside to allow me to enter.
The inside of the Vobur was very similar to the outside. The ceilings in the entry were vaulted, allowing for large First Order emblems to grace the walls. Two large stair cases led to a large oval platform where a desk sat in front of a row of elevators. A young woman sat at the desk, her light blonde hair pulled back in a tight bun.
"Hello," I greeted as I approached the desk. "I'm here to meet with General Brenko. I'm his—"
"Name." The woman cut me off, her eyes never leaving her computer screen.
"Eladia Pryde." I bit back, anger beginning to bubble inside of me.
Typing for a few more seconds she responded, "You aren't on General Brenko's visitor list."
My temper rose another degree.
"That's not surprising, seeing as I haven't met the General yet," I bit out. "I'm his new Planetary Ambassador. Our first meeting is today."
"I can't let you into General Brenko's office if you aren't on his visitor list. You're welcome to wait in the Third floor waiting room until walk-in hours are open."
I forced myself to offer her a tight smile. "And when do walk-in hours start?"
"1300 hours."
I looked up at the large clock hanging on the wall next to her desk. It was 1130.
"Perfect." I snipped, sounding more like my mother than I would care to admit.
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The Third floor waiting room was basically a glorified hallway. Twenty or so chairs sat in a row against the wall at the end of a corridor. A water cooler with no cups sat by the window.
Rolling my neck from side to side, I let out a long sigh. This was ridiculous. The clock on the wall read 1200. I couldn't just keep sitting here like this.
Lifting my bag onto my arm, I set off down the hallway in search of... something. Absolutely anything would be better than staying in that 'waiting room'.
Turning down different corridors, I somehow ended up back at the elevators.
"Urggh! Who made this building so confusing?" I said to myself, stomping my heel into the tile.
With a ding the door in front of me slid open, revealing no other than the Supreme Leader.
A look of shock immediately appeared on his face before he was able to swiftly mask it with disinterest.
"Going up?" He asked in a monotone voice.
"I... I didn't hit the button," I mumbled, confusingly looking down at the pad to the right of the elevators doors.
The Supreme Leader stared at me.
"It's motion sensing. If you stand in front of it, it will stop." He said, cocking his head to the side.
"Oh," I replied, looking up at him.
A few seconds passed as we stood and stared at each other.
It was different seeing him out of his formal wear. He was still clothed from head to toe in black, but it seemed almost more formal than the tuxedo had. Multiple layers of thick basketweave fabric covered his broad chest, including a long sleeved shirt and an under tunic, both held at his waist with a wide belt. His pants were a thick, glossy material neatly tucked into tall leather boots. His hands were coated with matching leather gloves, leaving his face as the only skin visible. Overall he seemed much more.... dangerous than he had at the ball.
His right eyelid slightly twitched.
"Are you going up?" he repeated slowly, his enunciation having an edge to it.
I swallowed the slight emotion that rose in my throat and nodded, stepping into the elevator to stand next to him.
As I stood there I could feel the energy radiating off of his body. It wasn't quite anger. Many people displayed anger on a daily basis within the First Order. It was primarily what we ran off of. This energy was deeper than anger. This energy was something I couldn't even name.
Suddenly, I became very aware of the warning Armitage had given me at the ball.
"... You can read my thoughts," I said into the space in front of us, staring straight ahead at the elevator door.
I could see his hair faintly move as he nodded in my periphery.
"Ok," I said simply, allowing the statement to hang in the air between us.
A few seconds passed as we just stood next to each other, both staring at the doors before us.
"You're afraid of me," he responding a few seconds later.
I quickly turned to look at his profile, a confused look on my face.
"I'm not afraid of you," I replied indigently, remembering after the fact who I was speaking to. "Supreme Leader," I added.
He tilted his chin in my direction. "I can feel your fear."
"... It's not fear of you." I responded, causing him to turn to fully face me.
His large frame took up most of the elevator, forcing me to turn towards him as well.
"What is it fear of, then?" He asked, eyes traveling over my face.
I tilted my head back slightly in order to make eye contact, the intimacy of the moment causing a chill to cover my body. I continued to stare into his eyes, appreciating the rich mahogany color. We stood there, simply staring at each other for the next several moments.
Movement at his side caused me to glance down.
He brought his hands together in front of him and began pulling his leather glove off finger by finger. I watched as he fully removed the glove and dropped it to the elevator floor.
I followed the movement of his hand as he slowly raised it towards my face before gently resting his bare fingers against my temple.
A sudden warmth moved from the position of his fingers on my skin to my core. My eyes fluttered closed as the sensation began to web it's way through my body.
Soft ribbons weaved through my head, wrapping around my thoughts as my body began to feel heavy.
"You're afraid of the force" the Supreme Leader said, his voice muffled as if he was speaking from under water.
The ribbons began moving again through my thoughts, twisting and turning before suddenly stopping.
My eyes flew open as I swayed on my feet, almost loosing balance before strong arms caught me. The Supreme Leader steadied me before dropping his hands back to his sides.
"I will refrain from using the Force on you from now on," he said stiffly, reaching down to retrieve his fallen glove.
I stood for a second in shock, not fully understanding what had just happened, before pulling myself together.
"Thank you, Supreme Leader," I replied, awkwardly not knowing what to do. I gave him a small curtsy, similar to the one I had given the scholar earlier.
He stared at me, analyzing the small movement.
"My name is Kylo," he said, pulling the glove back over his fingers.
"Thank you... Kylo."
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Thank you guys so much for the sweet comments and support!! I'm not the best at this yet, but I'm hoping to update a chapter every week. I have plans for where I'd like to take this story, but a lot is still up in the air!!!
And don't worry, our boy Hux will be back. ;)
-Jordyn