A Grey Place • Kylo Ren

Part Five

The next morning, Alwyn awoke surprisingly well rested. The bed was the most comfortable thing she had ever slept in. She sat up and something fluttered against her face. She shrieked and started swiping her hands across her face thinking there was some sort of spider there. She hated spiders. All that came off was a piece of paper that had been taped to her forehead.

Be in the training room at 9 sharp. KR

The clock on her desktop read 8:50. Crap. Alwyn dove into her closet to find training clothes and rushed through the bathroom throwing clothes on and brushing her wild hair back. She all but ran towards where she thought the training rooms where. Wrong. She came to a dead end hall. Double crap. Turning around on her heel, Alwyn sprinted back down the hall only to end up in the cafeteria. Why was this vase such a maze?! Alwyn let out a very frustrated yell and stomped her foot.

"My, someone's grumpy." A calm voice said. Alwyn turned and glared at the man.

"Well Huxy, if this place wasn't so hard to navigate then maybe I'd be a bit happier. But now I'm late for training with Ren and he's going to be peeved." The general tilted his head at the new nickname.

"If you would get out of your room more often then maybe you would learn." He started walking down the hall and turned when Alwyn didn't follow.

"Well. Are you coming or not?" He continued.

" The last time I left my room I was manhandled and I punched a guy in the face. Not real sure I want to try again." Hux rolled his eyes at her sass. She was definitely different than other girls he had met. He felt an odd brotherly protectiveness over her and hoped Ren wouldn't be too mad that she was late. Hux feared he was starting to form an attachment to this strange but quirky girl. Meanwhile Alwyn was very grateful that Hux decided to show her the way. She was beginning to like hanging around him. They finally arrived in front of an open door that lead to a large room. Training equipment and racks of weapons filled one side of the room. The other side was covered in mats, one of which held Kylo Ren.

"Thanks Hux! I owe you one!" She gave him a quick hug and he tensed up. He awkwardly patted her on the back and left the room.

Alwyn quickly moved toward Ren.

"Did you get my note?"

"Of course I got it. You tapped it to my forehead while I was sleeping, which is kinda creepy to be honest. But I'm sorry I'm late. Everything looks the same here and I got turned around." Her sass dwindles into sheepishness. Ren was dressed in what seemed to be training clothes but he still had his helmet on. Does he ever take that thing off?

"Do not let it happen again."

"Aye aye captain!" She mock saluted him while giggling slightly. He continued to stare at her.

"Question. Do you train in your helmet because that might freak me out a tad. Plus, it's got to be uncomfortable for you." Again her statement was met with a stare. Until he slowly reached up and unclipped the side of his helmet. Alwyn held her breath, not really sure what to expect as he lifted it off his head. What she did not expect was wavy brown hair that framed a rather young face with big brown eyes. He couldn't have been more than a few years older than her.

"Not what you expected?" He raised an eyebrow at her with a slight smirk. Her cheeks turned pink.

"Well, not exactly. I figured you had to be disfigured or really old or something. You're actually decently attractive." She said matter of factly. It was Ren's turn to flush slightly pink around the edges. He cleared his throat and turned toward the mat.

"Let's work on some basic techniques." Alwyn moved to stand in front of him and lifted her hands in a fighting stance. He adjusted her hands and stance as needed. Alwyn was surprised at how tiny her hands seemed encased in his. Ren showed her different ways to block hits, how to throw punches and evasive maneuvers. After what seemed like hours, Alwyn collapsed onto the mat completely out of breath. Ren's training was rough.

"Wouldn't this be a whole lot easier if you just forced all this information into my head? It would save a whole lot of time." Alwyn gasps as she tries to collect her breath.

"No." Ren gritted his teeth, suddenly angry.

"You sure? You mentioned something about mind stuff before-" Ren slammed his hands down on a nearby table.

"I cannot get into your mind to do anything!" He roared. Alwyn blinked in surprise. Say what now? Ren sighed.

"For some strange reason your mind is completely blocked off. This is common with force users but you are not one." This shocked Alwyn to the core. And also ticked her off a bit.

"How long have you known?! Is this why you took me in the first place? To study me?" She was on her feet at this point and crossed her arms.

"I attempted to look into your mind after you mentioned your memory loss thinking maybe I could find the block. Upon trying, I found that your entire mind was blocked off." Her anger dissipated. It sounded like he might have actually been trying to help, in his own way. Ren snapped out of his daze and placed his helmet back on his head.

"We will train again in the morning." He quickly left the room leaving Alwyn alone with her thoughts.