Breeder ~ A Kylo Ren Fanfiction

66

No one spoke during the march back to the gestation suites, the mood dour as a funeral procession, which I suppose it was. Ariel walked next to me, attempted to catch my eye, but I kept my face forward; I couldn't bear to see her standing in Anika's usual spot.

With each step I took away from Ben, I felt my regret growing. I hated him for making me witness my best friend's death, and for faltering on our escape plans, but I loved the way he protected me, the way he cared for our unborn child, the way he held me and the warmth he provided. I hated his unbridled rage, but I loved the taste of his lips and his deep, rumbling voice. I hated his fealty to the First Order, but I loved his earnest, childlike heart, and his rare, beautiful smiles, and...

Him- I love Ben.

The thought startled me so much, I stopped walking, the woman behind me colliding into my back. An order barked from a trooper got us both back in line.

I'd said the words to Ben before, but only to appease him. When did I start believing it myself?

I love Ben.

I didn't need to qualify the statement with anything, didn't need to say that I loved Greyson more or that I still wanted to leave Starkiller Base or remind myself he was my captor. I loved him.

Now I really wish I hadn't left him.

No, no, this is good, I attempted to convince myself. If I spend too much time with the commander, I'll want to stay. The Order will rip my baby from me, Ben will spend his time raising it, and, eventually, I'll get old, and I'll be put down just like the blue-haired Breeder. This separation will help me get my priorities back in order.

The sight of the gestation suites pushed all thoughts of a certain pair of dark, brooding eyes from my mind. Since I was close to the front of the line alphabetically, I saw it before anyone else and heard the cascading gasps behind me as everyone filtered in through the metal doors. The walls encasing each of our individual rooms had been torn down, leaving all the beds in full view. The back walls were also gone, leaving the spigots and toilets out in the open. Changing clothes as well as cleaning ourselves would have to be done in front of all the guards. That would be bad enough with the harpies, but, instead of women in slicked-back buns, bulky men in black uniforms lined the walls, blasters strapped to their hips, arms folded across their chests.

"When did this happen?" I whispered to Ariel.

She shook her head, mouth hanging open, her light brown skin tinged green with horror. If she didn't know about the changes made to our suites, that meant all the alterations occurred during the executions. How was that possible? I suppose I should know better than to question to technological capabilities of the First Order, especially after they created another Death Star.

Four strides from Grandfather Bee's long legs were all it took to carry him across the room. He settled into a wide stance, surveying us with his one dark eyes.

"Things are going to be different from now on. The lax standards you lived by will no longer be tolerated. You are the property of the First Order, you carry our soldiers inside your wombs, and we won't indulge any..." His gaze settled on me, making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. "... disloyalty ever again."