The Last Knight

Ch. 15: Waiting

Warnings: blood, violence, descriptions of wounds

It was hard to believe that you were special enough to earn continuous visits from the leader of the Resistance, but it kept happening regardless. Leia was foolish to think that Kylo would actually come here looking for you, as if he truly cared about you enough that he would risk a visit to enemy territory. Sure, you had shared a few tender moments, but deep in your core you knew that he was only looking for a distraction from whatever it was that burned inside of him. You had made peace with that. You had made peace with the fact that while you were his distraction, he was also yours. Underneath the black armor was someone who, despite being surrounded by people, was very, very lonely. And there was no one that understood that better than you. 

But being his distraction wasn't enough to summon him to his mother, his enemy. And rightfully so. 

You groaned and blinked open your eyes, momentarily blinded by the tropical sun. Your cheek was pressed into the same dry dirt in front of the trailer that you had been anchored to for days. You didn't bother lifting your head as you focused on the woman in front of you. Loose, gray-brown strands of hair fell out of her braid, and she looked as if she had been up for hours worrying. 

"I'm not special enough for you to be visiting me every day." You groaned, closing your eyes again to block out the bright light. 

"You are." She said, as she usually did. Nothing was ever up for debate with her, as you had learned. 

You slowly pushed yourself up to a seated position, wincing at the chains that had begun to rub your wrists raw. Though it had only been four days since you'd arrived on D'Qar, your body had begun to feel strange and foreign. You supposed it was the heat. 

You were quite familiar with the aching sensation in your stomach that was starving, but there had always been enough water. On Hoth, you would fill your belly with snow every day until you were able to score your next successful hunt. On D'Qar, it seemed that every inch of moisture in your body was immediately sucked straight into the thick, jungle air. The little tin cups of water they gave you throughout the day did nothing to stop your dry lips from cracking every time you moved your mouth. Whatever injury you had sustained from being hit in the back of the head the other night didn't seem to be healing. You were still lightheaded every time you tried to move. You'd never admit this to your captors, but the heat and sun were too much for you. 

During your first hours here, you had tried relentlessly to summon the force to your aid, but it was absolutely futile. You could barely even sense it running through your veins. It was as if Leia had put a shield on you somehow, blunting even your most natural instincts. You couldn't remember a time when you felt so empty and hollow.

"If I'm so important, then why don't I get more water?" You raised your eyebrows at her. "Or some new clothes?" You looked down at your bare legs, almost fully exposed by your short, velvet dress. Your boots had been taken from you at some point, along with all of your weapons. The only thing you had to cover yourself was the maroon scrap of fabric that had clearly seen better days. I guess the mysterious First Order designer didn't see fit to design dresses that served a purpose in the event of a kidnapping. 

She sighed. "Our resources are limited right now. I told you, we're leaving this planet as soon as possible. We know you told the First Order where our base was."

You rubbed the tender, crusted cut on the back of your head. It seemed to be even more swollen today. "I don't understand this grand plan of yours. If you want Kylo to come get me, then why would it matter that the First Order knows where this base is?" She winced when you said his name.