THE MONSTER INSIDE - KYLO REN

vii - actuation

He looked me once up and down, and then he walked briskly in the opposite direction, towards a clearing with a pile of training equipment on the grass. 'Follow me.' he ordered, over his shoulder.

Reluctantly, I did.

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'Again.' Kylo Ren demanded coldly, as he watched me carry out the complicated manoeuvre he had demonstrated to me what felt like hours ago.

I performed the move grudgingly, every part of my body aching in protest.

We had been training since the morning at this point, and all I had learnt was that if you couldn't do a move the first time, Kylo Ren would always make you repeat it until you could. It was the evening now and I was exhausted.

So far we had run across the plains of the planet, climbed trees, lifted logs in 'strengthening exercises' and practiced combat as we were still doing now. Well, by 'we' I mean I did the drills alone, with Kylo Ren watching me from a distance and correcting my apparently endless list of mistakes.

'That isn't good enough. Do it again.' he barked.

I completed the sequence once more, starting to lose my grip on the fake lightsaber in my hands. I could feel Kylo Ren's condescension boring into me.

We were training in a clearing, surrounded by oddly coloured trees, like sentinels, guarding the little wooden hut I was in before. I assumed this area was chosen because of the dirt floor, allowing more space to move, but I would have much preferred a soft landing for my countless falls during training. I stood about ten metres away from the pile of weapons that he had apparently laid out while I was unconscious, and he stood just out of reach of whatever weapon I was using, occasionally stepping in to correct my form.

The move we had been working on at the time was one of his own creation, a sequential combination of the moves he had taught me earlier in the day. It didn't matter how many times he flawlessly executed the move, my body would not function in the same fluid way he wanted it to. I began to get frustrated.

'I can't do it', I groaned, stabbing the lightsaber into the ground and taking a defiant step backwards. I internally refused to practice his stupid move any longer. I turned to my captor, daring him to challenge me. Kylo Ren looked me up and down disapprovingly, and then walked leisurely along the edge of the circle until he was standing behind me.

Suddenly, I began to feel his hands on my upper arms. No, it was more like a presence, solid and ethereal. It wasn't an entirely unwelcome sensation, but when I turned my head to look at him with confusion I saw that he was still metres away. The weight was sturdy on my shoulders, yet there was no one there. I realised with horror that he was using the force.

I tried to throw off the hands, but they were firm. 'Let me help you', he commanded from under the mask. I saw that there was no way to evade this - I couldn't move even if I'd wanted to - and I wanted to end the training as soon as possible, so I allowed the projection of his power to remain where it was.

At first he pushed my shoulders until I was bent towards the floor. Another force moved my right hand until it reached the lightsaber decoy stuck perpendicular to the ground and picked it up again. Then it pulled me up again, my spine rigid. Show off. I thought. I could have easily done that myself. He moved the hands down to mine and brought the hand holding the lightsaber back until my wrist angled it backwards behind me. 

Then, in one fluid motion, the lightsaber whipped from behind me, tracing a deadly loop around my body. I felt myself forced to turn in the opposite direction, ducking smoothly underneath the blade as it passed treacherously close to my head and then standing up once it had passed behind me to launch a kick at my opponent. The lightsaber switched hands behind me and I brought it above the training dummy, where the head would be. I was poised to kill and disgusted by it.

'Good'. I heard the mechanical voice say from behind me. Of course he thought it was good, it wasn't me doing it! 'We will continue this tomorrow. You may finish by taking this equipment back inside the hut. It will help you to build muscle.' I turned to catch him once again glancing at my weaker frame, making me squirm instantly. I could feel the triumphant smirk on his face even through that hideous mask. 

Although the muscles in my shoulders were burning, I did as he said. It took many trips as there were so many tools, and the distance was so long for my aching legs. Once every weapon had been carried back inside the hut I jammed them all into a closet on the wall. I stripped off my clothes with fatigue and placed them on the chair I'd found them on in the morning. When everything was complete I crawled into the bed at last.

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hi all! i'm so sorry this chapter was so late but it was the bank holiday weekend and i just couldn't think of where I wanted this chapter to go! i'm quite happy with the outcome as although it was in the name of training, i think we can all agree Kylo's actions were a little too intimate to hide his true intentions. see you next time for some juicy tension between these two ;)