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

Revelation

Ryelle sat quietly on the bench in her cell that served as a bed, wondering if the First Order would bother with a prisoner swap. As far as she knew, it wasn't done, but maybe for Kylo an exception would be made, and perhaps that would extend to her, but she doubted it. She'd been trying to tap out a message to Kylo in the next cell, stupid as they were to leave them next to each other, but she was unable to tell if he'd heard it.

Suddenly, she could feel him there with her - his presence, his voice - in her mind.

Keep quiet, I have a plan, the words came to her.

Ryelle knew this had to be his Force powers.

She stayed still, waiting to see what his next move would be.

Some time later, she heard movement outside her door, and it opened to reveal a short woman with an elaborate hairdo wearing a drab officer's uniform. She had pleasant but sad eyes, and the years had not been kind to her.

"Sergeant Pryde?" the woman inquired as she stepped inside, flanked by the two guards who had brought in Ryelle.

She said nothing, not even acknowledging her own name.

"I'm General Organa," the small woman introduced herself. "As a member of the Security Bureau, I'm sure you know who I am."

Ryelle still stayed silent.

Reveal nothing to her, came the voice again. Kylo could sense the presence of his mother nearby.

"We're trying to arrange a prisoner exchange, and we've reached out to your father, Enric," Leia said. "Are there any Resistance personnel being held by the Order you can tell us about so we can negotiate for a transfer?"

Ryelle sneered at her, laughing to herself and shaking her head.

"Ben said you'd be tough, but I've got lots of time," Leia said, cocking her hip and crossing her arms, ready to stand there for hours if necessary.

But the mention of Kylo as 'Ben' raised the hackles on Ryelle's neck, and she thought back with sadness and anger at the withdrawal he'd suffered that had nearly cost him his life and the way he'd called out for this woman who had left him to rot. As much as Kylo had been protective of Ryelle recently, she felt protective of him as well, and she remembered his cries in his sleep against this woman who called himself her mother. Ryelle couldn't keep quiet.

Don't let her bait you, Kylo's voice came to Ryelle, but it was too late. The wound Ryelle was enduring, the illness, the lack of sleep and nutrition were all getting to her and she lost her composure.

"Aren't you the mother who abandoned her child into the hands of a murderer?" Ryelle asked the general accusingly, her eyes full of righteous anger. "Maybe you could honor the pain he endured due to your inactions by addressing him properly, using the name for which he fought and sacrificed - Kylo Ren."

Leia was taken aback, her face dropping in bewilderment, and it confirmed for her what she suspected between Ryelle and her son.

"You love him, don't you?" Leia asked.

The general's statement was like a bolt of lightning to Ryelle's gut, and Kylo could feel it through her.

Don't let her in! Kylo impressed upon Ryelle.

"And you don't," Ryelle accused her.

Leia turned to her guards. "Leave us," she stated calmly. They looked back at her in doubt, but shrugged and stepped outside.

"I love him more than life itself, and if you love him, you need to help me to help him," Leia pleaded. "If we can't get him back to the Order, there are people here who will call for his execution."