CRIMSON STREAM [KYLO REN X READER] BOOK I

4

Goosebumps covered your entire body. You turned around, skin cold, eyes wide, and hands shaking. 

You were scared. When had you ever been scared before?

But the fear suddenly vanished when you saw him standing in front of you. He was dressed in dark robes, the cloak absent from his shoulders. 

"Ben-"

"Why do you keep calling me Ben?" he asked. 

You glanced down at the floor, where he had originally been laying. Your hand gestured to the space. "I thought..."

"Ben is dead," he said, cold, but not harsh. "You can use your memories to contact me for the time being, but that is not me. Not anymore. Realizing that now will help you."

You shook your head. "So... this isn't a dream given to me by the Force. It's real? You're really here, speaking to me in this moment somehow." 

"I am."

"How?" You couldn't understand.

"We have a Force bond," he said. "I was severed, several years ago. I doubt you can even remember that."

"No, but I remember you," you said. "You're the boy from my memories." 

"I am," he said again.

You nodded, lips parting with a sharp intake of breath. "My mother knows you then?"

"No," he said. He shook his head. "She never saw me before today."

"Oh. I was going to say... I feel inside of me that if she knew who you truly were, she wouldn't allow you to marry me."

"You are right. She would not."

You just stared at him.

He took a step forward. "I never thought I would see you again. When I heard of a possible arranged marriage, I was ready to refuse. But when I heard it was you being given away, I stepped forward."

You furrowed your eyebrows. "Why?" you asked, teeth gritting.

"To protect you," he said.

"I need no protection."

"No, but that was my job. On that island those few years ago. I was given the job by my-" He sounded pained as he spat out, "uncle. Training and protecting the princess was what I was given. To follow in my grandfather's footsteps as a Jedi Knight. However, I took a different path in order to follow my grandfather's footsteps."

"Lord Vader," you whispered in awe. You sat down on the ground, feet tucked up under you. "If course - how did I not know it was you?"

"How could you? I am positive the past was beat out of you."

You would have flinched if you had not been trained to hide your emotions on the surface. Composed and collected, you asked, "Commander, could you tell me about my past? There is so little I remember."

Kylo took two steps forward and then wordlessly sat himself down in front of you. His feet were planted flat on the ground, knees perked up with his hands on top of them.

You stared at him patiently.

"You were my friend," he said simply. "And the only person in the galaxy I had ever let in, that I ever trusted. And then they took you away from me."

"How did they take me away from you?" you whispered.

"You know how," he said. "I know you see it when you sleep. It scares you."

You nodded. "It scares me because I see beyond the flood of light coming in - I see a blurred glimpse of your reaction. You were horrified. You grabbed me tighter, didn't you?"

His eyes were cast to the floor. "It was wrong, what we did. You were a princess trained to be a weapon. I was a Jedi Knight. Jedi aren't meant to..." He fell silent. You raised your eyebrows in questioning, but he changed what he was saying. "And they did make you a weapon, didn't they?"

"They did," you said.

He lifted his chin. "Yes, I see it. I feel it. You burn with power. Your presence in the Force is incredible. What did they do to you?"

You swallowed hard. "That is what I have recently begun to want to find out. All I know is that I can kill men with only my thoughts. I can torment the strongest Force user. I could probably bring you to your knees in agony. That is why I need to know everything that you know about me, Commander." Your eyebrows furrowed. "What could they have done to me?"

He stared at you emotionlessly. Then, behind him, there was a noise. He turned away from you, fingers moving to the ground.

Then he vanished, and you were suddenly back in your room, in your bed, under the covers. You flipped over on your back and wiped a thin layer of sweat from your forehead.

You were exhausted. Whatever you were in when you spoke to Kylo, it was not sleep. You were drained completely.

Even though you were exhausted, it took you forever to fall asleep.

/ / /

The next day, you rose early. Continuous yawns took up most of your opportunity to speak with your handmaidens (not like you spoke to them much anyway). They brushed your hair for you, placed more thick, bright white makeup on your face, and then braided your hair. It did not sit on top of your head today, but instead twisted at both sides of your head. 

"Your mother has requested you try on wedding dresses tonight, your majesty," one of the handmaidens said.

"Already?" you asked, not really caring about this news. 

"Your mother seems to believe that the sooner you wed the Commander, the better," she said. 

"Perhaps she's right," you said, staring blankly at your reflection in the mirror. "The sooner I marry him, the sooner she'll have a new army at her disposal, hm?"

"Is that any way to talk about our mother?" 

"I have heard you say far worse about her, Lucille," you said, undisturbed by her sudden presence. "Why is it that every time I am in here getting ready, you sneak on in here to make comments?"

She crossed her arms. "I'm just waiting for the perfect opportunity for you to screw up."

"Not going to happen," you said. "What do you want out of it, anyway?" You waved your handmaiden away from your face and turned, dragging your long black skirt with you. 

"Your place."

Your eyebrows raised and you laughed. "My place?"

"You honestly believe you can do a good job at being queen? Or commanding the First Order at his side?"

"Yes," you said simply. "It is what I was trained to do. I will be your future Queen, sister. And I will not hesitate to make arrangements for you after I am officially crowned."

You took steps towards her, face hardening all the more. She did not move, but her lips twitched. She frowned at you. 

"I'll kill you one day," she said through clenched teeth. 

"One day, that threat is going to get you in a lot of trouble." You stepped away from her. 

She laughed. "Look at you. You are so blinded by your own image that you don't even take me seriously."

"How could I take you seriously? You are a child. You are simply envious of my marriage and my being crowned. Ever since we were children, you have acted this way. Your threats are empty."

She shook her head at you. "How wrong you are."

You chuckled. "Get out of my room. I have meetings to prepare for."

She did, without another word. 

Your handmaidens placed jewelry on your wrists, your hands, and around your neck. You did not worry about your sister or the words she said.