The Lady of Ren

Divine Right

Hours before

There's a glitch in the com as Lieutenant Mitaka sounds in your ear, "The commander is ready for you, ambassador."

You've been pacing around your quarters for an hour, desperation grasping at the insides of your most inner thoughts. Demons you thought had died have resurrected or, supposedly, had never perished at all. The tips of your fingers felt strange; like someone was placing them in a boiling pot and soon your entire body would be submerged.

"On my way, Mitaka."

The news of "Queen" Sabyr's execution must have reached all of the base by now. As you pass troopers in the hall, they cringe at the sight of you, bowing in fearful submission, and remaining still even after you've gone. The atmosphere of Starkiller II was more tense than usual - a kind of fog drifted in the air that felt destined after such an event.

After all, you'd violated treaties (and then some) by killing Sabyr without a proper trial. You could be imprisoned for this, had the Republic still been of existence. Fortunately for you, it was not. Either way, you have more power in your big toe than Baleine's representatives; imprisoning you for any crime would be an odyssey in itself.

As you arrive to the conference room, Mitaka is waiting patiently by the door, his chin lowered to his shoes, and his eyes casting up at you through his lashes like some sort of submissive creature.

"You're dismissed," you say to him flippantly and waving a hand.

Mitaka leaves without an utterance, the blast doors slamming you enclosed in a room without windows. The only source of light surrounding you was the hologram of Kylo as he stood on the Supremacy.

His hands are crossed in front of him, lips barely parted and waiting for an explanation. He doesn't look angry and why should he? Sabyr threatened to kill his children and, taking his character into account, anarchy was not something he may consider a threat. As he waits for you to speak, he allows himself to roll his weight on his left leg - an informality that would slip only by you.

"What happened?" he asks lowly.

You roll your shoulders in attempt to relieve some stress building its way through your body. Though stress was hardly the word for it - you felt like you were drowning alive.

Dying, maybe.

Something inside of you was dying, gasping for air, and forcing itself to keep existing.

"She was sent to kill me by the council of Baleine. They haven't been a monarchy since my father..." your words drift a little, wavering at the reality of your next words. "My mother is alive."

Kylo's brows raise, head tilting in confusion. The wisps of his hair barely avoid covering his eyes. You wish you could reach out and touch him. You desperately wanted to go home.

He was home.

"She was executed. You saw it yourself," he replies, tone firm.

"That's what I thought. But apparently she's still around...and working with Holdo." Your muscles clench. Force only knows what the two have been planning all these years. Whatever their preconceived idea of "liberty" was, you suppose.

Kylo thinks on this, chest barely rising only to fall with bated breath. "And Sabyr?"

"Without a neck," you say bluntly.

He looks taken aback by this. "She's dead?"

You shuffle in your stance. "She threatened our children, Kylo. Our children."