Betrayal: A Reylo FanFic

Pain and Love

Rey screamed in agony, the simultaneous Force invasions into her psyche tearing through her with unimaginable malice. Each of them independently would have been a relatively simple matter to resist, but the combined effort of six at once rendered the protection of a solitary name a matter of intense torture. She couldn't tell where she was or how long she'd been held captive there, but she knew she had to hold back the name of the planet where the remainder of the Resistance sheltered as long as she could. Of course, if Leia hadn't received or understood Rey's message, there was little point to resisting the Knights' interrogation since they were doomed anyway, but Rey couldn't chance that. She had done quite enough to put her friends' lives in danger, and she would do absolutely everything within her power to give them as much time to flee as possible, even if that required the last of her energy. She owed them at least that much.

Rey screamed anew, not having realized the assault on her consciousness had ceased until it resumed once again. Her body constricted, pulling mindlessly and fruitlessly at the unseen bonds that suspended her in mid-air despite that her exhaustion and pain would have had her curled in a fetal position on the floor long ago. With a final cry, the psychic intrusion abruptly subsided, leaving Rey a heaving and throbbing mass of residual pain. Her head lolled back, straining her throat and impeding her ability to breathe, but she lacked the strength to lift it again. She whimpered weakly as she wished for death or at least unconsciousness, but instead was vaguely aware of the zinging energies that sped around her. They were too fast and numerous for her to catch, but she knew this was how the six Knights of Ren were communicating with one other, leaving only her pathetic mewling to fill the sonic void of the chamber. When a fresh scream ripped from her throat, she knew they had concluded they weren't yet ready to give up their torturous interrogation.

Rey sagged heavily against the bonds that restrained her, her weight pulling relentlessly at her wrists and ankles. The Force messages zipped around her once more as she attempted to regain her breath, but then a shout of frustration rose up. One of the Knights strode forward, waving a hand that released her instantly, and she went crashing to the floor.

"This isn't working!" he shouted in frustration and annoyance.

"Well, what do you suggest?" another demanded, the decision clearly having been made to abandon their silent messaging system.

"Let me try."

And Rey whimpered in heartache and fear as she recognized Ben — no, Kylo's voice. She attempted to squirm away from him as he approached, but he seized her hair in a relentless grip and pulled her face close to his.

"We need one name, Rey," he murmured, his voice low and menacing as he sneered at her weak defiance. "One word, and this all stops."

She gazed in misery into his eyes, their deep intensity that she had somehow come to care so much for now causing her heart to shatter. Her head rocked listlessly back and forth in his grip as tears leaked from the corners of her eyes, and she croaked more than said, "No."

"This can get worse, Rey," he warned, his face so near hers that she could feel his breath against her ear. "I know you don't believe that, but it can."

Rey closed her eyes and actually managed to smile a little. She knew the only way this could get worse was if she gave up the name she had until now protected so thoroughly that the Knights were forced to resort to idle threats to acquire. Anything else would just be more pain. This defiance of withholding the information they wanted, this last, small victory against Kylo, was all that was left to her. There was nothing, absolutely nothing that would convince her to give that up.

Kylo, evidently realizing this fact through some combination of her expression and her consciousness, released her abruptly. She curled into a ball, tucking both her arms and her legs in as close as she could and burying her face in her hands. She lay there sheltering in herself to whatever extent she could for as long as she may, and felt Kylo standing above her, looking down on her in frustration and disgust.