To Tend Our Wounds: PART II OF 'TO CURSE THE DARKNESS' (Kylo/OC)

Information

Ryelle awakened after what felt like a long time. She glanced at her commlink to see that it was almost mid-morning and the meeting with her first informant was after mid-day. Frankly, she was surprised Ren hadn't come and woken her up, dictator that he was. Maybe he felt guilty about what he'd done to her and was too ashamed to face her. She could only hope...

She took another shower to clean up, but she feared she couldn't ever wash herself enough to feel clean from the way he'd touched her. She dressed in preparation for her meeting and considered sneaking out to handle the meeting on her own without Ren until she heard him in the common area. She waited in her room until the last possible moment and then snuck out to find him sitting on a sofa and facing the fireplace.

She kept her gaze low, unable to look him straight in the eye.

"Well, good morning, Pryde," Kylo greeted her brazenly as he rose from the couch, smirking at her. "I feel much better today after a good fuck and a decent night's sleep. How about you?"

"I wouldn't know," she sneered at him, feeling like she'd been run over by a troop transport and aghast that he had the gall to address her with such bravado.

Kylo came around to stand behind Ryelle and wrap his arms around her. "It's alright," he whispered in her ear, "you'll become accustomed to it eventually."

Ryelle cringed, nearly breaking down in tears at the thought of Ren manhandling her again. Don't cry, don't cry, she repeated to herself while she felt she was in the middle of a nightmare that she couldn't wake from. How had she found herself in this position? She wondered if the other troopers had survived, would she still have been subjected to this kind of mistreatment by Ren, or would he have been afraid to do such things in proximity to his men? Was it always going to be like this on missions, whether it was Ren or someone else? She began to regret her choice of career path if this was what awaited her in her future.

After Ren let her go, she packed up her things and prepared for her meeting with the informant, hoping something would start going right on this mission from hell.

~~~~~~

Ryelle had set the meeting with the informant at a small teahouse, the interior dark and exotic as steaming pots of water with all manner of plants and other organic matter steeped in them, created a mélange of scents in the small, low rooms. Kylo had to duck his head as he followed behind Ryelle, covering her back.

The teahouse was heated by a multitude of fires over which teapots hung, and the warmth was welcome. Ryelle cupped her hands around a large mug of Tarine tea full of milk and honey, while Ren drank a cup of caf, the beverage in his mug unadulterated by sweeteners and such. Neither of them spoke as they sipped their beverages, waiting for the contact to arrive.

Finally, the informant appeared and sat across from Ryelle, seemingly disturbed by the presence of another individual.

"Who is this," the Pamarthean asked suspiciously as he indicated Ren, the cowl of his greatcoat pulled down so low over his face, Ryelle could hardly recognize him from his profile photo.

"He's my bodyguard," Ryelle replied, not skipping a beat. Ren, however, was taken aback, but didn't respond. "A lady like myself must take precautions on a planet such as this," she replied evenly.

"Heh, heh," he laughed in agreement, "especially such a pretty lady as you," he smiled as he put the cup of tea Ryelle had poured for him to his lips and drained the contents.

"Thank you for meeting me," she said softly, changing the subject. "I take it you had no trouble obtaining what we discussed?"

"None whatsoever," he reassured her as he leaned on the table, his large fur-trimmed sleeves taking up a good deal of the space as he drank deeply of the rich brew. "You realize that this information cannot be traced back to me?" he asked, looking for her reassurance as he surreptitiously slid a datachip out of his sleeve and palmed it against the table.