Hunted

XXII. The Imprisonment

Learning to adjust to life on board the Finalizer could only be but so difficult, for the first 2 months Serela was rarely let out of her chambers to adjust to anywhere else on the ship at all.

Used to running freely through the forest and the fields, Serela felt herself going stir crazy, left alone in a glorified cell with nothing but Phasma's silent, intimidating presence and her own thoughts to keep her company.

Of course, almost all of her thoughts were of Kylo.

Now that she had nothing else to distract her, she turned over every interaction they had shared, from the first time he had seen her and chased her through the woods to the morning he'd pulled her out of bed and carried her to the front yard where she had watched her only home burn to the ground with her mother inside.

Her mother, the woman who had given birth to her, who had raised her alone on a remote planet far away from the galaxy's corruption. Dead. Gone. Burned alive in the house she had made a home for 20 years with only her daughter for company. Every time Serela thought of Reha she felt a sick, tearing feeling in her stomach that had nothing to do with the baby, and everything to do with guilt. Reha had warned her, pleaded with her, tried in every way to persuade her against trusting Kylo, and Serela had ignored her every time, defending him and encouraging him to keep coming back. She had lost herself in the sensations of being wanted and adored, even if, she now thought, those had all been a farce from him.

Everyday a ship physician came to take her vitals, withdraw a small blood sample and listen to her chest. After the first month of this the physician confirmed that she had entered her 2nd trimester, and a piece of her heart twinged at the realisation that her mother had been right with the timing, Serela had gotten pregnant the night of the festival.

The day her physician confirmed she was out of the 1st trimester and left her alone with Phasma again, Serela finally spoke to her for the first time since that day in the interrogation room.

"Can we go somewhere?" she asked, hoping the unassuming way she posed the question would lend to the likelihood Phasma would answer in the affirmative.

Staring straight ahead at the same wall she looked at most of the time when she was in the room with Serela, Phasma gave no notice that she had even heard her until Serela heard, "And where would you like to go?"

"Oh, you know... around."

"Not possible."

"Why?"

Heaving a sigh, Phasma answered more specifically, "When Supreme Leader Snoke authorizes it, you may travel wherever you wish on board the ship."

Silence ensued as Serela tried to figure out what to say next.

"So he hasn't authorised it?" she asked lamely, and Phasma's helmet turned slowly towards her as if stunned by her stupidity.

"Could you ask him?" Serela continued, figuring if she was going to say something dumb she might as well go with it a bit more, "We're in the middle of space and I have no idea how to fly any kind of aircraft even if I wanted to try and escape. I just need to be able to stretch my legs, get some exercise for the baby." Possibly see Kylo.

Phasma had resumed her traditional stance of sitting down and staring at the wall with her blaster sitting on her lap. She did not acknowledge Serela's last query.

"You would come with me anyway, so there's no chance of me getting away."

Still not answering, Phasma was staring at the wall, but Serela could feel, or almost sense that the wheels of her mind were turning over what she had said and considering it, so she decided to press her luck a bit further to seal the deal.