Tethered

13: Genesis

The mattress was too soft. It was a sea of clouds and you were sinking, suffocating in it.

The pillows were too plush. There was no substance to them. You could feel your head falling right through and hitting the mattress through the feathers and fluff. Or, at least that's what you imagined was happening. You couldn't really tell.

You sat up with a huff, pivoting on your elbow to hit the pillow. The silk on your skin turned with you, far too smooth for your liking. What had happened to your ragged clothes? They'd been taken, you reminded yourself.

They'd been taken when you were brought to the room. Kylo had brought you here, led you in, and left. He wasn't at liberty to stay long, he'd said as he took his leave. Something about needing to attend to his own room. He bade you good night, squeezed your hand softly to reassure you, and walked out.

The room had been rapidly prepared for you in advance. The second the words that you'd be staying here fell from the Supreme Leader's lips, staff on the ship were dispatched to throw it together for you. There were standard issue First Order jumpsuits in the closet, lounge clothes in the dresser, and so much more. A set of silken pajamas was laid out on the bed for you. You were left to your own devices.

It was... strange to say the least.

You were used to being on your own, but this was something else entirely. There were other people on your floor. You could feel them all bustling around. You didn't even know how you felt it, but you did. The Force revealed them to you. The Force connected you to them.

They carried about their days, completely unbothered by your presence, as if they didn't even know you were there; which you figured they didn't.

You wandered the room at first, unsure of what to do. What was there to even do? You explored, pulling open every drawer, going through every aspect of the room. You cataloged everything, all the clothes and sparse decorations. But there wasn't much for you. You pushed open the doors along the sides of the room. One led to a walk-in closet where you found the jumpsuits and formal clothes waiting. The other led to a large bathroom. It was so much nicer than anything you'd ever seen. The bathroom you'd been allowed to use held only a toilet, sink, and a small shower. This had its own large tub and a shower with a rainfall showerhead and more settings than you could count.

You decided to shower. It'd been almost a week since your last allowed bath and you were due for one. The setting was foreign and trying to work the shower was a nightmare, but after pausing, taking a deep breath, and trying again, you figured it out. The water cascaded down your body, washing away all the grime that had accumulated over the week and the little bit of blood that seeped from the few wounds dealt by your training session. You washed it all away, letting the water take your strife down the drain.

And when you finished, you found yourself dressing in the silken pajamas and climbing into bed, no other option left for you but to sleep.

The mattress was too soft. It was a sea of clouds and you were sinking, suffocating in it.

The pillows were too plush. There was no substance to them. You could feel your head falling right through and hitting the mattress through the feathers and fluff. Or, at least that's what you imagined was happening. You couldn't really tell.

You stared up at the ceiling, eyes tracing the darkness, trying to find shapes-trying to do anything at all to bring sleep. You lay on your back for five minutes before huffing to yourself and turning over onto your side. You pulled your knees to your chest, seeking the comfort of your own embrace, but you still found nothing.

There was no comfort in this bed, nothing that could even begin to lull you to sleep. Not even Kylo's presence was in the room. You could feel him still through the Force, but he wasn't beside you like he was in the cell. No, he was in the next room over and you couldn't get him closer to you.