S H I F T

Chapter 7: New Beginnings

Magdalene and Kylo land on a pad connected to the palace, a very large and beautiful structure that shadowed over the gorgeous city below it. Mags couldn't even take in how pretty the area was, taking note of the group of people that waited for them outside their ship. Kylo puts his helmet back over his head, standing next to Mags as she opens the doors to the outside. The group steps forward as they walk out into Naboo's bright, nearly evening sun. "Greetings!" An older man says to them both, "I am Gregor, the relations director. I trust your journey here was well?" "Very well," Kylo answers. "Very good!" Gregor says happily, "General Hux informed me of your arrival. I'll lead you to where you will stay."

Gregor and the group lead Mags and Kylo into a large hall, the ceilings impossibly high and leaving Mags in complete state of wonderment. The amount of detail in the decoration of this palace was bewildering to Mags and she couldn't even imagine what the other parts of the palace looked like. Eventually they are lead to a set of doors, two guards opening them for the group. Gregor brings Kylo and Mags into the room. The walls are covered with a light blue wallpaper designed with intricate golden swirls, the gold becoming a big accenting feature in the rest of the room. The bed is round and large, from where it sat at the end of the room it still took up a majority of it. A brisk fire was already lit in the fireplace, the beautiful, plush gold couch beckoning Magdalene to sit there. She had never seen a room like this one before, let alone a planet like this. "I hope this room is to your liking," Gregor comments. "It will do nicely," Kylo tells the man. "Very good," Gregor says, "I will leave you both to relax and prepare for the event tonight." Gregor leaves right after, the guards closing the doors after him.

Mags looks around the room, inspecting every detail that was put into it. She walks through the two doors in the room, one being a private restroom and the other a walk in closet. A handful of garments were inside for both her and Kylo but two white garment bags hung at each side, one with her name and one with "Commander Ren" written on it had caught her eye. That must've been what Hux had meant by everything being provided for tonight. She walks back out to the main room, Kylo sitting on the gold couch resting by the fire with his helmet sitting on the table nearby. She goes and sits by him, gaining his attention. "I've never stayed on a planet so beautiful before," Mags comments. "Nothing can ever compare to Naboo," Kylo says, "It's where my grandparents fell in love and got married." Mags smiles lightly at what he said. "Do you believe in love?" Mags asks him. Kylo is slightly taken aback by the sudden question, especially coming from her. He holds back his surprise however and answers, "Only with the right person." Mags nods at his reply. "What about you?" Kylo inquires with a slight nervousness. Magdalene adverts her gaze from him. "I've been in love once," she confides, "It was a long time ago, long before I left for the Academy. It's not really something I want to get into." Kylo softens a bit. "I'm sorry," he apologizes, "I didn't mean to hit a nerve." "It's alright," Mags returns her gaze to him, "You don't have to apologize."

Kylo looks into the fire, wondering who else had wronged Magdalene in her past. "I do want to thank you though," Mags says. Kylo turns to her with a raised brow. "Why?" He asks. "Even in our... 'situation', you've been really respectful and patient with me and my past," Mags explains, "You've really helped me accept a lot of things about myself and I really appreciate it." Mags looks at him sincerely, finding herself feeling warm and fuzzy with him again. Kylo can't help but shed a small smile. "It's the least I can do," he replies. "When you told me that you hadn't racked my brain when we were first put into this, it really changed how I thought about you," she states, "I'm really happy to be getting to know the real Kylo Ren." Kylo blinks a couple times and sighs, looking down at her hands. "Ben," he says. "I'm sorry?" She asks in confusion. "My name," he confirms, "It's Ben." "Ben," she tries out, "I like it." "You must only use it in private," he warns. "I promise, I'll only say it when it's the two of us," Mags vows.