The Blood Queen

Pretty Please

It was all business the next day when you began researching your new target. Someday you would force Vicrul to tell you the whole story, but you needed to stay focused. This was a big payout, and you wanted to get it done quickly so that you could take a break, maybe focus more on finding triggers to your hidden memories. You had a feeling that Kylo Ren was the key to everything. As if on cue, the collar tightened, and you instinctively moved your fingers to it, gasping softly. Vicrul glanced over at you from the computer he was searching on, brows raised. You faked a cough, darting your eyes back to the screen and pretending that you'd been focused the whole time.

"Find anything?" You questioned, leaning forward to look over his shoulder, your arm brushing his. He sighed at the contact, then scrolled upward on the screen to reveal a photo of a man, dark hair speckled with gray, a neatly trimmed beard over his chin and cheeks.

"He's a bit out there." He scooted back, allowing you to scan your eyes over the file he'd hacked into.

"The Church of the Force?" You scoffed, your gaze flicking to Vicrul, then back to the screen. "So, what? He's a Jedi?"

"No," Vicrul leaned closer to you, your shoulders touching as he read. "Says he's not Force-sensitive."

"So he just buys into the religious lunacy." You didn't pull back, and neither did Vicrul. You had been worried that he might be angry with you after last night, but maybe he wasn't. "That's almost worse."

"Last known location was Ovanis with the Crèche." Vicrul said, closing out the file and sighing again, this time more of a finality. "But that was many years ago. He's gone dark since then."

"Then that's where we start." He didn't respond, didn't look back at you, standing from his chair and striding over to the window, his back turned. "Cheer up, you're the one who wanted to take this job in the first place." He shot you a look over his shoulder.

"We need to be careful. The First Order does not treat those who help the Resistance with kindness." You watched him, a lump forming in your throat at the pain in his voice. It wasn't often that he was vulnerable with you. "If they catch us, they'll take you. No question." You shivered.

"I won't let that happen." You stood, your knees embarrassingly wobbly as you crossed the office to stand slightly behind him. Neither of you made a move to touch each other, though you desperately wanted to, desperately wished he would. "You won't let that happen." The silence between you turned familiar, comfortable as you both stared out at the shadowy streets of the Underworld. "I deserve to know the whole story." You whispered after a few minutes, despite your better judgment to leave it alone, and Vicrul pursed his lips, finally looking over at you. His gaze was scrutinizing; it made you want to simultaneously shrink away and move closer all at once. It seemed impossible that you'd never crossed the line of partners, of friendship, of something beyond a Queen and her Knight.

Or so he'd said.

"I'll tell you everything." He expression darkened, impossibly sad. "Let's get through this mission, and I'll tell you the moment we get back."

"Promise?" Your skin itched with impatience, but you understood. Getting this close to your killer armed with the truth would make you prone to stupid things. Stupid, dangerous things that would get you captured, or worse, killed. He nodded, straightening and stepping away from you.

"Let's pack and go. The faster we get through this, the sooner I'll be able to breathe again." You shot him a tight-lipped smile, brushing his forearm with your fingers as you passed.

You were hurtling through hyperspace before you knew it, rotating around in anxious circles in your chair. The metal squeaked every time you spun, and Vicrul's frown grew deeper.