Blinded by the Dark | General Hux

VIII

"So, how are you feeling?" Ren asked when Amelia deactivated her blade after training. It was nothing too strenuous yet, just enough to keep her in practice and she nodded, slipping off the platform and standing before him as she glugged from her water bottle. "How is everything?" 

"I don't know...fine, I think but I keep getting headaches."

"Must be the stress," He placed a hand over her forehead to check her temperature. "Hopefully they'll pass. Perhaps you should give tonight a miss, the ball. An early night will do you good." 

"No, I want to go, I'm not that bad. Some company would be nice," she said as she pulled on her sweatshirt, looking down with a small smile as they made for the door. "Besides, I told the General I'd be there and I wouldn't want to let him down."

He frowned. "Did you now? Suddenly getting on well?" 

She shrugged. "In a way. He must not still completely hate me seeing as he invited me. But I want to go, I never get the chance to do anything fun." she mumbled, chewing on her bottle a little. 

"Even after what he did?" He stopped and she looked up at him. "To your planet?" 

"Wow, thanks for bringing that up..." She sighed, trying to push out the weighing pain in her heart. "No, he...he didn't know, it's not like he did it to spite me and anyway, I hardly knew it...It means nothing to me." 

He watched her, slightly concerned then nodded. "Alright, well, you talk to me if you need to..." He brushed aside a bit of hair from her face then rested a hand on her shoulder. "And not too late tonight, you have training tomorrow." 

"Who are you? My dad?" 

"Someone has to keep you on track, Force knows the General only distracts you." 

"How?" she laughed incredulously, hitting the button for the door. 

"If it was up to me I wouldn't have invited you. I don't think it's in your best interests. 

"Oh, really? I think you just don't want me to cramp your style," she said lightheartedly as they went their separate ways.

"Maybe, maybe not. After all, I'm not a chaperone." 

"Your idea to take me on!" she called down the hall after him with a laugh and he turned, walking backwards to talk.

"Not as a plus one, that's the General's job now apparently!"

"Whatever!"

"That means I'm right!" He turned back. "See you later!" 

***

Parties and social gatherings: not the General's scene. He had never quite mastered how to find his footing in casual conversation, much less actually enjoy himself. He didn't like people and their gossip on who was doing what, marrying who, saying what, it was dull and false and only made more uninteresting by the fact he didn't even know who any of these people were they talked about. 

People wanted to talk to him, of course. They wanted the opportunity to be noticed in the eyes of their General in a less formal context: appear welcoming and worthy of promotion. But again, it was all insincere, radiating false niceties and he hated knowing that they didn't like him and his conversation for the sake of him - in fact, he was sure everyone hated him given that's all he had been told all his life - but for his rank and where their pandering could get them.

So he stood on the outskirts of conversations to pretend like he was engaged in some discussion but tried not to participate if he could help it.