Taking the Throne

Slipping Away

"Ben, wake up." Rey stroked his forehead. "Wake up, my love."

Now that he could finally sleep, it was hard to wake him. Stretching and non verbally protesting, he began to lift his heavy eye lids.

"Rey, what is it? How long have I been asleep?" His arms were already reaching for her, attempting to pull her closer.

"Ben.....I need you to wake up."

"Noooo..." He whined playfully. For a moment she could see the boyish face before the pain and before the darkness.

"Yes! Ben Solo! Wake up and look at me!" She was shaking him.

Ben's eyes snapped open and he was fully alert.

"What? what is it?" He was trying to stay calm, reaching out to sense their surroundings to detect any danger.

"We have to leave. Get dressed and pack a bag." Rey spoke quietly. Whenever she spoke to him there was a different tone to her voice, a kindness and care that she never knew she had.

"Rey, what are you talking about? Are you confused? We are not leaving." He tried to roll over and pull the blankets over his head in protest.

"Yes we are. Now get up!" She was done coaxing and began shaking him.

Sitting up, he watched her quickly move around the room. She was dressed in the clothing he provided her, and as he expected she had already modified it to make it her own. He was baffled that she was commanding that he follow her, stunned actually. When she turned and shot him a deeply disapproving glance, he scrambled out of bed. Standing naked, he continued to stretch and moan from his aching body. Rey could hear his joints pop and snap.

"You sound like you are 100 years old." She said smiling, as she threw his black tunic into his chest. Noticing that he was fully awake in the masculine sense, she flushed .

"There is no time for that." After everything they had done, now that she was dressed and thinking of other things, his nakedness made her nervous and shy.

"Time for what?" He said feigning innocence and remaining motionless. He truly was a work of art, even with all of his scars, like he had been chiseled out of alabaster. She wanted to touch him, to climb right back into bed, but she was determined to get off of the ship.

"Ben...it won't work. We are leaving. I am taking you somewhere....special. I promise we will not be gone long. But this is something that I have to do...WE have to do."

"Alright. If this is what you really want. Are you going to tell me what this is about, where we are going?" He remained firmly planted in the same spot, not out of defiance, but from the need to be pragmatic.

"Yes, after you get moving....and pack for rain...and cold...and survival." She was short. Clearly her patience was wearing thin.

He raised his eyebrows as she continued to move around him. How she found his closet and was able to access it baffled him. A scavenger indeed.

"I can do that-"

"Get dressed. You can take over when you are ready." She replied, cutting him off.

"Rey," he said placing his hand on hers. "Slow down. There is no reason to rush. I am coming with you."

Exhaling a deep sigh, her shoulders relaxed. "I guess I wanted to move as fast as I could so you would not have time to say no."

"Why would I say no?"

"Because....because.....well, you are the Supreme Leader, Emperor of the Galaxy. Why would you listen to me...I am nobody."

"Here we go again....Rey, I love you. Tell me where we are going and how long we will be gone?" Placing his hands on her shoulders,he had that hypnotic intensity and calm voice that he had used in the throne room.

"We are going to the island. Alone. And we will stay until you want to come back." She replied pulling away from him.

"I see." He started to help her by neatly placing his belongings into a travel bag. Pulling the fresh tunic over his head, he decided not to shower. He liked that he could still smell her on his skin. Quickly pulling on his pants and boots, he smoothed his hair as much as he could.

He contemplated the consequences for leaving without notice and the amount of damage Hux could create in his absence. His position was precarious and a coup was highly probable. The sooner he was officially coronated and they were married in a grand spectacle, the sooner he could guarantee their safety. She was so adamant, he could feel the energy pulsing around her.

"We will have to take your ship....mine... I mean...," She stammered.

"Yours? You mean that hunk of junk?" He smiled wryly. The thought of the Falcon made his skin crawl.

"Ben....that is unfair. It is the only thing I have ever truly owned. It means so much to-"

"Enough. I am not ready to discuss that yet. Maybe soon, but not now." He was serious and stern, but not unkind. Owned? Had Han given her the keys? He bushed the thought away. It didn't matter. "We will have to be careful, I am sure that my shuttle has a hidden tracker. We need to move quickly. We will need to be escorted."

Opening the door to the front room, two ominous forms entered. Were these the Knights he had been speaking of?

"Take us to the hangar. And call ahead to have it prepared for a long journey. I will need every supply necessary. I want all tracking disabled and a full scan completed for anything installed without my permission. In my absence you and the others are to guard my door, as if I am still here. All communications will go through you. I want Hux surveilled and a report on him daily. I will not be gone long...a few days.. a week at the most." He spoke to them with a familiarity that she had not seen him share with anyone but her.

Grabbing their bags, she could sense the danger lurking around them, nothing imminent, but still there. Time was running out.

He was correct, the ship had been infected by Hux's disloyalty. Three tracking devices were quickly removed and a full wipe of the main computers was completed before they boarded.

"Do you trust them? Whomever they are."

"With my life."

Rey keyed in the coordinates as the menacing black winged ship eased out of the hanger and gracefully cleared the check point. There was only one as this was his private hangar, and the Knights had made it possible to slip away unnoticed. It was the first time she saw him pilot a ship and for some reason it made her hair stand up. He had never looked so natural and content.

He eased the ship into light speed launching them toward the island of Ahch-To.