DYAD

TWENTY THREE

"What?" The Queen's face tightens. "What did you say?" I step forward, pushing Vicrul away.

"My name is Luella. I trained underneath Luke Skywalker." She glares at me.

"Impossible, Luke Skywalker visited after his temple caught fire and said that you were killed."

"Luke Skywalker said a lot of things that weren't true." I shake my head. "He told me that my parents were dead. That they were farmers on some backwater planet." Her face pales. "He told me that love weakens you, that it's a liability." I turn around, taking Vic's wrist and pulling him forward to remove his helmet. "But this is my boyfriend, and he makes me stronger in more ways than one." He pulls me into him, kissing the top of my head, eyes still blazing and focused on my mother. "He told me that I could never become someone who would change the world, but here I am, at the side of the Supreme Leader. Luke Skywalker said a lot of things, and many of them are untrue."

"H-how old are you?"

"Twenty four. Twenty five on the second day of the fourth standard month." She raises a hand to her mouth.

"My little girl. You have your father's eyes." She whispers, stepping closer. Vic moves between us, glaring down at her. "Please-" I lay a hand on Vic's shoulder, and he turns aside. The Queen cups my face in her shaking hand. "You were so young when he took you. He said you were in danger and he would teach you to protect yourself."

"Luella!" Kylo's voice echoes through the hall as he runs toward me. He thrusts out a hand, pinning my mother to the wall and Force-choking her. The King, my father chases him, throwing himself between Ky and my mom.

"No!" I pull Kylo's arm down and he releases her. "Stop! Kylo, that's my mother." He whips his head towards me.

"What?" Both he and the King speak at the same time. I turn to my father, who's helping his wife to her feet.

"My name is Luella. I went to Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy." I say, hating how this is the only way that I can prove myself to them.

"Rone, it is her." My mother says. "Our little girl has come home."

--

"I apologize for our actions, Supreme Leader." My father says, sitting down at the head of the table. "We were under the impression that our daughter was dead by your hand." Kylo narrows his eyes beside me. He's confused, and he doesn't like it. Vic sits on my other side, arms crossed. Several serving droids enter, carrying trays of food. "We are eternally grateful that you have returned our daughter to us." Kylo leans forward, bracing his hands on the table.

"She's not staying." He hisses. "She will remain with us." My mother shakes her head.

"We appreciate everything you've done for her, but she needs to come home now. Her people need her."

"She has a home. With us, and that's where she's staying." Vicrul growls.

"She's a princess, I won't have her traveling across the Galaxy with a band of brutish warriors." My father gestures towards me. "In her time with you, look what's happened to her. Her face is ruined." I drop my head, heart sinking. It is ugly then. Why did Kylo lie?

"Do you know how hard that will be to cover up?" My mother asks. "Really, what were you thinking when you let the slavers get ahold of her?" Vicrul stands up, pushing his chair back. I snap my head up.

"Look, I get that you haven't had much experience in the parenting department, but-"

"Vic. Sit down." I tell him, raising a brow. He exhales, sitting back in his seat. "Mother, Father." The words are like acid in my mouth. "I wasn't raised to be a princess. I was raised to be a warrior." I take my lightsaber out and rest it on the table in front of me. "If you wanted me to be a princess, you wouldn't have given me to a warrior."

"He said he would protect you, but now you're home. You have your own guards. They can stay and protect you."

"They're not just my guards, mother." I stand up, clenching my fists. "They're not brutes. They're my friends, my family."

"No, we're you're family, Luella."

"You know, I've spent twenty four years thinking about what you'd be like." I say quietly, gaze focused on the ground. "I never thought that you'd be like this."

"You're a princess, Luella." My father says gently.

"If you wanted me to be a princess, you'd have told Luke to leave. What you really want is protection from the First Order." Kylo glances up at me curiously, wondering what I've discovered. "You were mad at Kylo, so you funded The Resistance." My father stands up, matching my gaze.

"Do you know what it's like to lose everything?" He hisses, not looking at Kylo. Vicrul grips his scythe.

"More than you'd think." I reply. "The life you sold me into was one where I never had enough to eat, every night was too cold. Being a princess didn't keep me alive." I gesture to Kylo. "He did." Straightening my shoulders, I take a breath. "I'm not a princess. I'm a Knight of Ren."