The Last Knight

Ch. 10: Friends

04/09/2023: Edited & reposted

Please see my note at the end for character inspo!!

"Focus!" Kylo raised his voice at you, but you continued to squeeze your eyes shut. You could still see the orange hue of the bright training room lights behind your eyelids. You heard the rumble of footsteps outside the blast doors and the radio sound of voices speaking over communicators.

You could do anything but focus.

"I'm trying." You whined, squeezing your eyes shut tighter. Across the training room was a thick sheet of metal, and you were supposed to disfigure it. It was one thing to close doors or to summon objects, but bending metal was a whole new ballgame.

"Not hard enough." Kylo pressed. You heard him step closer to you. You could feel his breath on your cheek, the familiar scent of leather and faint mint filling your nostrils. You inhaled deeply before you could stop yourself. Instead of backing away, you felt him run a finger along the side of your neck. His calloused knuckles lightly grazed the healing bruises on your skin. It had been a few days since your night together in the library, but faint splotches were still visible. "I made a mess of you." He murmured, barely audible.

Your eyes fluttered open then, locking on his. For someone who didn't want you, he sure liked to get awfully close. He stared back at you for a moment before his deep brown eyes moved lower, fixing on your lips. You were sure that time was passing, but you felt frozen in that moment. You were starting to feel it again, whatever force was tying you to your master. Your chest ached.

Finally he broke away, grabbing his helmet off the wood floor. "Let's go."

"W-what?" It was hard to find your voice.

"You need to be able to focus. Follow me."

You trailed him across the base like some kind of pet, watching his black cape flowing behind him menacingly. When you finally stopped outside some familiar black double doors, your mouth became dry. You reminded yourself to stick to your resolve--you couldn't be with him again. If he tried anything, you'd force yourself to shove him away. It was for your own good.

You followed him through the doors and across the living area. You ended up in a small room you had never seen before. The walls were black and the space was vacant, save for a few steel chests in the corner. Some empty shelves were mounted on the walls. You watched as Kylo dragged one of the chests into the center of the dark room before backing away and looking at you expectantly. He motioned to the chest as if to say go ahead.

"Crush this chest like you did to that base." He said, as if it were as simple as crumbling a piece of paper.

"Kylo, I really don't think I can." He looked at you, his expression unreadable behind his mask. "Sorry, I mean 'Master Ren.'" You rolled your eyes.

"Crush the chest."

You knew he wouldn't let up, so you closed your eyes and let out a deep breath. You tried to imagine the force flowing through you. You pictured the chest bending to your will.

...Nothing.

"I told you. I can't just turn it on and off."

"The good thing about the dark side of the force is that you can rely on your emotions. You can let them influence you." He walked toward you, arms crossed. "Don't think about the bullshit you learned from Luke. Don't clear your mind—get angry. Get passionate about something." A leather hand reached out and brushed your hair off your shoulder.

You turned to look up at him, annoyed. You'd known him for years, and that was the first teacher-like instruction he'd ever given you. "You know, your mood swings are giving me whiplash. I thought you said we weren't doing this."