In Dark Places

(Y/N) opened her eyes sleepily and stretched out her arms. It was a late hour in the morning, she had slept for 14 hours straight and she felt like she had over-slept. After all, she had work to do.

“Oh…” She muttered sleepily, ruffling her hair as she recalled midnight’s unexpected visitor. She crawled out of bed and started getting ready. Duty was calling and she had to prove herself, she had to…impress…the master, even though she had already impressed him, if she could say so herself.

The huge metal double door opened and a not-so-tall figure entered the command room. She was all dressed in black, with a corset and a cape, she looked like a real Sith Lord. Kylo Ren turned around at the sound of the opening doors; he knew who was going to enter. The redhead looked ruthless – she was making fast steps, her look was confident, she looked like she would crush everything in her way. She was determined to prove everything that she was asked to prove. Ren watched her as she approached and he allowed himself a slight corner smile since no one could see it under the mask. However, he was paranoid that there is someone who could.

“What do we have?” (Y/N) turned to Ren.

“Who is the lady?” General Hux asked, unfamiliar with the girl.

“Lady?!” The girl’s jaw dropped in disappointment. She hated being called a “lady”.

“This is my new apprentice, General – (Y/N). And she, as the last living Sith Lord prefers the title “lord”. She’s also a future Knight of Ren.” He introduced her proudly.

“So the rumors are true. Welcome to the crew.” Hux turned to the girl.

“Thank you, General.”

“We have located the map to Skywalker. We have reasons to believe it’s in a droid.” Hux explained, looking at Ren, then to (Y/N) and back to Ren.

“Where is it currently located?” (Y/N) asked.

“Jakku.” The general answered.

“Jakku?! That junkyard?!”

“What move would you recommend?” Ren turned to (Y/N). She seemed puzzled, she didn’t expect that move, it seemed too easy.

“The stormtroopers. We need that droid, don’t we?” She said confidently. “I want to be a part of the team.”

“No, you’re no longer a trooper, besides there’s something else we’ve got to do.” Ren’s word was law for (Y/N) as she knew there was no place for errors. Her face darkened.

“Yes, sir.” She looked to the ground.

“Prepare the stormtroopers, general and bring me that droid. And you are coming with me.” Ren ordered and (Y/N) followed him.

“Where are we going?” The girl asked, trying to keep up with Ren’s pace who was walking towards the hologram room quickly.

“I’m going to introduce you to Supreme Leader Snoke.” The tall man said, making (Y/N) sigh in disappointment. She had built an opinion for him and it wasn’t really positive. They entered the room and bowed down to the Leader.
“I have brought you the girl, Supreme Leader.” Ren looked up.

“Welcome to the crew, Lord Edenia. It’s an honor having a Sith Lord from the old Empire on board. I heard about what you’ve done. It’s impressive, but…reckless.” (Y/N) let out a small chuckle at the last word.

“Thank you, Supreme Leader.”

“Tell me, how dedicated are you to your beliefs? How deep is your commitment to the Dark Side? Can you be trusted?”

“I have been on the Dark Side since I can remember. I owe the Dark Side everything, since it made me everything that I am. As Darth Vader’s apprentice it is my purpose to serve the Dark Side and make it the biggest power in the galaxy. As of the current circumstances, this must happen in the face of the First Order. I assure you that I have no interest in betraying the First Order.” She talked confidently, convincingly and with passion. Deadly passion.

“Yes, I feel your commitment. I expect you to become one of the Knights of Ren, but this must be decided by their master.”

“She will, without a doubt, win her place amongst them, am I right…Lord Edenia?” Ren said, as the master of the Knights himself.

“Yes, master.” The girl looked to the ground as a sign of respect and obedience.

“Good.” Snoke grunted. “Is there any progress?”

“We found that the map is in a droid, on Jakku. A team was sent to capture it.” Kylo explained.

“Good. Let me know when there is further progress.” Snoke ordered and leaned back on his throne.

“Yes, Supreme Leader.” Both (Y/N) and Ren bowed down and walked out of the room.

There was nothing to do and (Y/N) was bored. Kylo Ren should have let her go with the stormtroopers. *Maybe he is free to talk?* She thought to herself. She started looking around for him – the command room, the hologram room; he wasn’t even in his own room. Finally, she found him staring out the huge panorama window in a conversation room. When the doors opened, Ren didn’t turn around, he had felt her coming.

“Resting, master?” (Y/N) walked up to him and studied the view out the window.

“Enjoying the results of my hard work.” Kylo corrected her and she nodded. He walked away and proceeded to take off his mask, then he took his previous place beside her. She took her time to study the features of his face all over again and to think over how freely he decided to take off his mask for her, even though he wasn’t obligated to. She found him to be quite sympathetic. What she didn’t like was how emotionless and cold he was. “What do you think of Supreme Leader Snoke?” Ren asked, looking into her eyes.

“I don’t like him, master.” She looked to the ground guiltily.

“Why is that? The Leader is wise.”

“No doubt, he is, I just feel something’s not right around him.”

“You’ll get used to it.”

“No, not this. I’ve got a bad feeling. But I must obey, right?” She looked in his eyes again.

“Oh, yes.” They both looked through the window again. Ren thought how nice the word “obey” had rolled off her tongue. After a short silence (Y/N) sharply turned to him and studied his frame.

“You know, you can’t hide your past self behind the mask forever, master. Everyone knows a real person hides behind it.” She ruined the silence.

“No, Ben Solo is dead. It’s only me now.”

“Sure.” She pretended to believe him.

“You don’t believe me?” Ren looked at her again.

“No, master, I don’t. Not because I don’t actually believe you, but because I can see and I can feel through you without even reading your mind. The person with the mask is ruthless, cold, almost inhuman, confident, while the person under the mask is insecure and hurt…and maybe afraid…” She tried to study the features of his face, to find a trace of an emotion and to find words in his eyes. But nothing.

“Don’t analyze me.” His soft tone echoed as an order, remaining as emotionless as before.

“I feel your pain…but don’t worry, we’re all afraid. After all, that’s the path to the Dark Side.” She gave him a trustful look. “I’ll bother you no more.” The redhead patted him on the shoulder and headed for the door.

“You’re not bothering me.” His voice echoed in the wide room and this time there was some uncatchable emotion in it.

“Sure.” (Y/N) smirked and walked out. Ren was confused. He thought he could hide behind the mask, but she could see through it…beyond. Deep inside it warmed his heart that she could read him as easily, that meant someone could understand him. Yet he didn’t want to seem vulnerable, not even for a second.