Assist with her training...? He thought she was afraid because of his Knights...

At the realization that Kylo hadn't caught the condemning memory Rey had accidentally allowed to slip through her mind, relief surged through her. She had no idea how he would react if he found out that she'd invaded his privacy, and while he was in such a vulnerable state of undress and... action.

She never bathed in the nude. On Jakku, if you were lucky, being caught so vulnerable could be the difference between life or death. The less fortunate outcome could mean things even worse for the young or weak. To the slave traders the species and sex of their captives made little difference. They only saw the monetary value, not the lives they'd be trading for the credits that filled their coffers. Unfortunately for Rey, humans tended to be higher in value. Since they could be outfitted to survive in most environments and required little more then scraps and water for sustenance. Not to mention they could be used and bred with by most any species.

Rey shivered at the idea. The threat of slave traders always out weighed the threat of starvation, at least, to her it did.

She chanced a quick glance at Kylo as a whole. From head to toe and everything in between, all however many feet of him was completely covered in thick black layers. For a man who was always as concealed as he, Rey imagined he wouldn't take lightly to a nosey, however accidental, set of wide brown eyes intruding in on his privacy.

Especially while... Rey gulped. Kriff, she couldn't keep from thinking about it and even with the pressing weight of his knights near by Rey couldn't stop her cheeks from flushing in response.

...Wait... his Knights, assist with her training?!? Rey's eyes narrowed in confusion, then widened in understanding and ignited with protest.

Kylo noticed the slight flare of her nostrils the second she registered what he'd just proposed. She clearly wasn't fond of the idea that his Knights assist her with anything. But with a mischievous smirk playing coyly on his hidden lips he easily ignored her reaction from behind the comfort of his helmet. It was comforting; to see the familiar signs of her inner defiance finally flare to life after witnessing the lack of anything but passive behavior from her all morning.

"Rise." Kylo spoke authoritatively and by command of their Master the Knights each rose without hesitation. All responding at once, bowing their heads, and taking tentative steps closer to their leader.

Rey was nearly stunned by the eerie sight. Moving like ghosts and silent as the dead they fixated on Ren as though possessed. Rey decided then and there that this was enough! Finally she'd had her personal boundaries crossed one to many times for one morning and she snapped at him. Her discomfort over the Knights had effectively pushed her past her own submissive threshold. Whether her apparent obedience towards Ren was an act or not, she didn't want even one of these dark followers tampering with her head especially not like their Master did so often, an act which he repeated more frequently since that first night he arrived on that island.

"Absolutely not," and she stepped forward in her determination. "I agreed to train with you. Not with..." She side glanced for only an instant, her skin already crawling as his masked warriors gathered to their feet to approach him. "Them." She shakily finished, her breathless voice nearly a whisper.

There was just something about them. Something that sent her nerves in a frenzy, like a beam ricocheting off of holo shields in close quarters.

Kylo turned in the direction of her outburst, flicking his cloak to one side with his right arm as he twisted. "Yes, Master," he mocked her conviction with a childlike tone. "To— Absolutely not..." Following Rey's passion, Kylo stepped closer too, his head tilting down so she knew he was staring directly into her eyes when he next spoke. "You know I prefer it though." He accused, his tone level, his words clear and concise even through the distortion of his mask.

As composed as he appeared, Rey could feel his frustration with her, his anger, bubbling just under the surface, hidden below the outer layer of his very false display of indifference.

A leather clad hand unexpectedly shot upward startling her as Kylo captured a loose strand of her hair between his fingers; something he'd wanted to do since the flight here on his shuttle. "—Your defiance." His words lowered until it was he who spoke in a near whisper, his voice barely catching on the vocoder.

Rey's hand came up to shoo his away. She wasn't trying to put on a show in front of his knights and guarding herself from the breech of her space was just a natural reaction. A habit that had been groomed into her over a lifetime on Jakku.

Force locking her hand just before she reached his own, Kylo quickly countered her silent protest. As though having all of the time in the universe and no curious onlookers to worry over, he lazily twisted the smooth lock of her hair between his fingers, his head tilting as he eyed the chestnut strand against the black leather of his own glove. For just a moment he was reminded of when his shuttle had transported them here, only days ago. More precisely, when she slept so peacefully under his watch.

"Contrary to what I should and shouldn't accept... your defiance stirs something in me." He confessed as he carefully tucked the strand behind her ear. The semi-innocent yet borderline inappropriate motion, had drawn a nervous swallow from deep within her throat. "But your protests, nor your stubborn will, are strong enough to keep your mind from him..." Kylo silenced himself there. He could say no more on the matter anyway. He'd already said too much. Instead he chose to focus on the sight of black leather chasing the color that filled her cheek as the tip of his index finger leisurely dragged across her skin.

Now his intentions were teetering and he found himself barely balancing on the edge of his need to prepare her and his desire to have her.

The trail of his gloved finger stopped just before it reached her lips and for a lightning struck moment he saw her as he had imagined her last night, her face flush and her lips swollen from joining with his and partaking in —other, more lewd, ventures.

Reluctance clear in his posture, Kylo quickly pulled away, his temper now boiling from what was so close but so unattainable, rose up to take the place of his fascination with her. "But since you so stubbornly refuse my presence in your head..."

As well as other places— His Darkness internally fueled his frustration.

The acid running through his veins this morning wasn't entirely her fault either. The denial of a proper release that he'd suffered last night, beginning his day with Hux at his door first thing this morning, then having to fight the instinctual urge to tear the medical examiner limb from limb for so much as looking over what was his, so intently he might add, though it was unfair being that was the techs job... Maker, he'd had to watch while he put his hands on her. The tech was clearly very aware of Kylo's presence too. They'd made sure to touch as small a spans on the girl as possible and had made as little of contact as they physically could during the exam. He doubted even a palms length of a hand had touched her, rather they relied on whatever tech they could to achieve the results needed to complete the exam that his Master apparently demanded be done.

But none of this was the worst of what was destroying him from within. That toxic rage that was rising in him like the creeping tide. It was there because he was going to have to allow her mind to be assaulted by his Knights. There were many reasons for this, but non more important then to prove to her just how vulnerable she was without his training and because this needed to be corrected immediately. She needed to understand that it was not just their bond that made her susceptible to a mental invasion. Because if his Master was granted the chance, that's exactly what he'd do. He'd invade her mind in the worst kind of way. Then he'd either use her for her power, or he'd destroy her like he had to many others who came before her.

Ren made a serious effort not to ball his fist. He did make an effort, but as the leather coating his hands groaned once more under his suffocating grip, there was no doubt that he failed considerably. He couldn't think about how intimate the bond made the act of his mind joining hers because he couldn't stomach the thought of knowing any of his Knights would be taking his place during this part of her training. It was never so personal when he spoke with his Knights through their connections, certainly not with his own Master. It was invasive and often traumatic when his Master delved into the recesses of ones mind. Nothing like what he experienced with Rey.

To bolster her defenses he just had to let this happen. He had to ensure that her mental capabilities increased before they could join minds again, at least, before they melded like they'd done in the interrogation chamber or later, in the forest and then on the Starkiller at what felt like the edge of the world. Sine everything changed there for him, he supposed it was the edge of the world for him. The edge of his world.

"My knights will oblige." He gruffly conceded.

Once he'd stepped clear from her reach, Kylo released her hand from the Force he'd held around it and she let out some sort of grunt that he was certain was one of disapproval.

"You have no choice in how I decide to train you." He didn't care how challenging this came out. In fact, he strolled casually around her, baiting her. Delivering his words in a reprimanding fashion. "You remorselessly expect me to honor the terms we both agreed to, so you'd better keep up on your end Scavenger. Do not challenge me over something so simple or there will be consequences."

Kylo was hyper aware that there was nothing simple about what he was proposing but he maintained hope that if she believed he thought it was no big deal, then maybe she would too. Like the exam she'd endured before this, maybe if he went in unresponsive to the circumstances it would bother her less to have her mental boundaries breeched by his warriors.

Something in him also hoped to rouse the currently dormant temper he knew she possessed. He found her behavior this morning disconcerting. Yes, she did need to follow through with her role as his apprentice but he didn't want to lose the girl she was under this bantha shit of an act either.

This morning in the medical room... all of the poking and prodding with out protest, and the fact that she'd accepted the invasion of that exam just because, to her knowledge, he'd been the one who issued it... Then there was the shy manner in which she was tip toeing around him today. How skittish she was every time he approached and how guarded she was keeping her mind and normally loud thoughts from him.

He wanted to scoff at his conflicting feelings over this, over her. On one hand he should be pleased that she was at least attempting to secure her thoughts from the invasion of his ever seeking Force, but on the other... it bothered him. He found himself more concerned with why she was working so hard at shielding her mind from him now more then ever, and particularly whenever they were alone together. In the darkness of his deprived mind the accomplishment of the progress she'd made in such a short time paled in comparison to how it felt to be denied access where he thought he should always be allowed.

To make matters worse, Kylo had an inkling that there was something specific she was purposely trying to conceal from him and while he really wanted to know what it was, pushing his mind into hers would most likely result the same as it had months ago in the interrogation room; with her mind simultaneously entering his. Gods, he couldn't have that right now, which in turn forced him into using his Knights to hone her mental defenses. He hated having his hand forced into anything, especially this.

Regardless of their terms Kylo needed to be her Master without loosing any progress they'd somehow made since the events of the island and now. He couldn't bully the information from her mind with out destroying the foundation of trust, no matter how thin or frail that structure seemed, it was still important that he maintain this layer between them. There was, in some twisted way, an added intimacy between them which had also taken root. One that even she couldn't deny and to Hoth if he was going to let that slip away. Every moment they were alone together left more and more charge between them. Every time their Force came into direct contact or their Bond opened between them, a tiny universe of endless possibilities erupted to life, filling the cold, restless, emptiness that lingered from before he found her.

And Rey was blatantly reacting to him more everyday. Leaning into his touch or seeking out his Force with her own. She was holding back out of her guilt, out of her misguided loyalties, but her reluctance was fading. He could feel it and she was getting sloppy at hiding it. Becoming exhausted from fighting it.

However, now she was guarding herself from him out of something besides how she presumed the Light should respond to the advancing Dark.

Some kind of fear his Knights inflicted in her... maybe? Something more convicting; was she afraid he'd discover an escape plan waiting to be hatched... knowing her this was a much larger possibility. Either way and whatever it was, he didn't like it. He didn't like the potential of that mystery box or what could be in it.

At least there was one thing he could be certain of; most the fear she was experiencing over his Knights was likely just the effect his second was causing. The interference he was pushing through the Force around her. Still, Kylo couldn't shake the feeling that it was his wrath or his blade that caused the fear he picked up on in Rey just moments ago.

He despised allowing her the privacy of her secrets. That he allowed her to worry alone over something that eluded him. He could tell by the angle of her stance that she was putting him on the other side of her line. The one in her mind that dictated 'me' from 'them' and he so badly wanted to be placed on the side that she stood on.

Besides the disappointment from being pushed from her mind whenever she caught him there, was Kylo's personal need to make sure the fighter in her was still in there. Under the show of what she though he wanted to see. He needed to know that the trauma of the last few days, her injury, the loss of Luke and the segregation from her "friends", only to be replaced by Hux and chains and what was sure to have been a traumatic if not memorable meeting with his Master, hadn't left her regressing into the same shell she'd been forced to survive in since she'd been taken from him as a child. He was hoping he was right to think she could handle everything, that she was strong enough to further endure. And when he doubted it, when he second guessed what she could possibly be expected to handle, he reminded himself of just who she was. This spitfire of a young woman was once the same little girl who taught him what strength was. She not only survived all this time, but she thrived. She grew in ways he couldn't imagine.

Just a quick look at her and he knew she could handle it all. His scavenger, she was so much stronger then he could ever be. She was always fighting. Always resisting, even when she wanted to accept...

"I'm more then willing..." He paused just behind her, leaving Rey twisting on her heals to follow him with her eyes. "To revisit the negotiation of our terms of course..." He leaned closer, distracting her with his hight so his right hand could move to skim her left with the tips of his fingers. "...or your surrender?" He whispered darkly, his fingers gently grasping at her wrist. He supposed even the worst kind of man could still hold out for hope and he was absolutely the worst kind of man.

Rey shifted from foot to foot, clearing her throat anxiously but otherwise she managed to remain still and silent. Her lack of any kind of response caused Ren's heart to doubled in pace. His mind was already beginning to wonder if her silence was the best omission he was going to get. Maybe, just maybe, she was feeling the effects of her self inflicted segregation from him. Maybe their bond was beginning to weigh just as heavily on her as it was on him.

Yeah right, and maybe somehow he was going figure out how to outplay his Master, too. Kylo silently mused. Supreme Leader Kylo Ren... ha! Just the thought alone would get him skinned alive if he wasn't careful.

Whatever Snoke was up to it obviously had to do with the untrained Force giant he was now supposed to be in control of. Rey had no concept of just how powerful she was but Kylo had a good idea of the extent of her Force capabilities. He'd walked head first into her power and literally come out on the flat of his back barely conscious and bloody... again! He hadn't even known that he could pull his own power around him in the mass that he had until her power had challenged him to do it. If anything he was sure that given the right circumstances they could both learn from each other; only, the island had been a much safer environment to experiment on... his Starship... not so much.

And if his Master ever discovered just how bound together he surmised she and he truly were... well, he'd absolutely take the islands severe Force storms over the mystery of how his master would respond to such a dangerous discovery any day. The storms, even with all of their compiled rage, would be nothing compared to Snoke's retribution because he was sure to see this bond as a betrayal.

First things first, the girl would have to learn how to control her own power before they could start testing out the benefits and limitations of what their bond offered. Gods he couldn't wait!

Kylo moved his thumb across the sensitive flesh of her inner wrist before releasing the back of her hand from his. He straightened and to his own embarrassment, only just then remembered the Knights at his back. He stepped past her slightly stunned form, making his way deeper into the room in which they would likely be spending the most of their time together in. It wasn't the room he'd personally like to spend their time in, but he supposed it was a close second.

After a brief moment spent gathering her nerve and resolve back up, Rey turned to follow the infuriatingly tempting man who seemed to love throwing her off balance. Her wrist tingled where his thumb had brushed past and she wanted to run her own fingers over the surface as though she could collect the remnants of his Force from her buzzing skin but she supposed the notion was ridiculous so she fought the urge. Instead she eyed the darkly clad warriors who were silently moving to follow their leader. Not even a single one paid her any mind and after only a few seconds spent in hesitation Rey chose to join the flow of movement, following the path Kylo Ren had cut through the doorway to finally enter the training room behind two of his knights.

The room was impressively large. Much larger then she had expected to find from the outside. The ceilings were high and lined with everything from inactive holo shields to turret blasters and droid dispensers. For a moment, while allowing her eyes to wonder further around the room, taking in everything she could without seeming to obvious, Rey forgot when and where she was. Though this room was much larger then she remembered in the dream she'd connected with him in on the island, she found herself there again. She remembered standing across from him in the darkness. His scare ridden torso bared and glistening with the aftermath of what she had imagined must have been him privately training, that is, before she interrupted him.

Besides the seconds spent bowed before him in her vision of Kylo rampaging through Nima outpost, this was the closest they'd been since their fight on the Starkiller. Of course at the time she thought it no more then a vivid nightmare inflicted by his command. Only now she realized how surprised he must have initially been to find her there with him. She recalled daydreaming on one of the island's many cliffside ledges, her hands running over the thick blades of grass as they blew in the salty wind. Then she remembered his voice in her head, something witty to taunt her, and her eyes opening to not the cliffside but a dark, mostly open room. Wires and flickering lights were the only illumination she found until he appeared behind her with his blade drawn and ignited. She'd instantly feared for her life. She should have feared for her soul.

Kylo watched from behind the darkness of his mask as Rey's wide hazel orbs roamed over multiple control consoles and racks of weapons of all different kinds. There was a look that turned from curiosity to recognition and then her eyes blurred out to stare at what appeared to be nothing. His skin tightened beneath his armor as he too recalled the last time he'd stood in an actual training facility with this girl. It was the first time he'd relished how desperately he wanted his skin on hers. They'd been phantoms in one another's minds then, but still, across lightyears worth of space, he'd been able to feel her near him. To touch her and actually feel the press of her mouth against his when he'd unexpectedly stolen the air from her lungs with his mouth. Of course it had been nothing near what he'd later experience on his uncle's Jedi island, when she'd kissed the memory of the boy Ben goodbye. Or later in the Force tree when he'd just been unable to stop himself from connecting his mouth to hers for a more primal purpose. All quick unexpected moments that would always haunt him if he never got to taste her again, but he'd never forget the intimacy of that first quiet moment between them either.

Even through only the connection of their minds and the power of the Force between them, he'd never forget the feel of her fingers traveling down his scar as she trembled beneath the blanket of his shadowing hight. He'd never forget the press of his hand as it flattened against hers while he took advantage of the shock his actions had left her in. Or the way her eyes had glossed over in hurt. An emotion she felt for him because it had been her that had marred his face giving him the scare he now so proudly adorned. It was for what she thought he suffered, even before she was aware of him as the boy Ben. She felt regret for her actions against Kylo Ren, the man who murdered his father and nearly succeeded in killing her only other friend —Rey felt for him. Not the shadow of his past, not Ben, him. It was the first time since he'd become Kylo Ren that any one felt anything but disgust for the man he'd become. How could any other moment compare to that?

Was she there now? He wondered. Had she gone back in her mind to the same moment that he just had? —To that moment when they stood inches apart in his personal training room.

"You and I... we're undeniably connected, apprentice."

Rey's head instantly jolted up in Kylo's direction but already he was turning away from her. As she watched him move further into the large training room, she was almost thankful to have been given his back. It meant not having to face that mask— especially while he spoke to her through their bond.

"As Kylo and Rey... Ben and Kira..." Kylo paused, his left fist scrunching tightly closed and then his head ticked to the left and he turned to face her. "—Maybe even before that." His voice was more suggestive now. Uncertain but filled with a kind of enlightened wonderment. As though the last of his words were more of an instantaneous discovery that had only just dawned on him.

Rey stared intently at the expressionless cage that he inhabited so well. From an outsider's look it almost appeared like he had chosen to wear that mask. Like he had any kind of choice in donning the persona he'd been forced to cocoon himself within but Rey remembered witnessing the way his Master had forced Ben's hand that night at the temple. If Kylo found solace in that helmet Rey knew it was only for the ability to hide who he really was... once was.

She found herself lightly swaying, her head quickly dizzying. She could feel an external influence but for the life of her she couldn't break any kind of contact with him. Her focus was completely devoted. She honed in on Kylo even while surrounded by his knights. And he just stood there, several feet ahead of her but her doing nothing at all. If one wasn't privy to the words passed through their bond he might appear as a sentry on watch— still even against his breathing. His fists even refrained from squeezing. He just stood a stationary statue. Watching as though waiting for something she didn't yet know of and it was quickly beginning to make her nervous.

Just as suddenly as Rey felt the urge to step closer to him, his knights closed in around her. Hazel eyes narrowed in confusion and her temples already showed the signs of physical stress as she began to lightly perspire under the bright lights lining the room.

"Ren..." Rey's voice sounded different to her own ears. Breathy and weak with confusion and uncertainty.

Kylo gave Rey no response. He made no movements even while one of his chosen four stepped closer to her.

"We are all Ren."

Rey's eyes snapped in the direction of a new voice. Another vocoder but clearly not set at the same frequency as that of Kylo's, masked the voice of this new speaker. It was him, the knight that Rey had first felt distorting the Force around her.

"Before our minds may bridge again, we need to see what you're capable of on your own. Where Luke left you in your training." Kylo calmly anounced, still not moving a single muscle past speaking to her.

Rey's heart sunk in her chest. This is what she had been fearful over from the moment it was just the two of them. Without Luke to support her mental defenses she would fail inexorably. Kylo would realize how weak she was and all of this would come to an abrupt end before it even began.

"When we trained together on the island, Luke was not present, and yet, I recall you doing very well." Kylo's soft words infiltrated her mind once again and a fresh rush of adrenaline and heat shot through her veins. "Show me the same passion and determination you showed me then, Scavenger. Or do you really think you amount to nothing with out Luke Skywalker holding your hand... holding you back?" He knowingly challenged her competitive, independent nature, as well as the memory of her former instructor but he also hid more encouragement into those words then she knew what to do with. she wasn't use to having anyone in her corner and while she was embarrassed that he'd heard what she'd been thinking she was also grateful for what little inspiration he could give her.

Rey's face grew stern, her features hardening in determination. "What would you have me do, Master?"

"It's simple. Resist his influence. Silence your thoughts and seal the doors to your mind."

Kylo's second, the Knight who's mask reminded Rey of death, stepped between she and Kylo and instantly she knew what was expected of her. She was somehow expected to get through him before she could train with her real instructor.

"Right... simple." Rey mumbled sardonically.

And she was certain of more then one thing; the first being, nothing about whatever this training entailed would be simple. And the second, after everything she'd been through to get here, all of the specific circumstances that had aligned in just the right way to put her here —standing as the semi-Jedi apprentice of Kylo Ren, a man she wanted nothing more then to kill less then a ten month cycle ago, whom she now wasn't sure what she wanted from past their current arrangement, but was becoming more certain that she wanted something far more intimate then could be deemed appropriate... Here and now, she was going to allow nothing and no one to stand in between them.

* ⭐️Vote⭐️ if you liked it and Happy Reading my lovelies!*

  -DarkGuardian-