Vex Valorum had been at the mercy of Snoke and the First Order since she was five years old. It had started when she'd shown signs of being Force-Sensitive - she'd levitated a trinket instead of getting up and grabbing it. Her mother and father saw her do it - and two days later, Stormtroopers took Vex from her home and brought her before Snoke.
Her parents hadn't fought for her. Didn't say a word. Didn't move as the Stormtroopers carried her out of the apartment as Vex screamed. In fact, Vex now knew that her parents had called them there.
They'd never wanted her. Her name was Vex, after all.
Her father, Vane, was the last scion of the Valorum House - famous for its politicians and wealth. Vane had been meant to follow the footsteps of his ancestors, but that had quickly changed when his father and grandfather - one a senator and the other a former Supreme Chancellor of the former Republic - were assassinated when Vane was just a child. He'd instead taken control of the family's lucrative starship business.
Her mother, Venesia, was the daughter of a commander of the Galactic Empire. She'd lived a privileged life under the Empire's rule - one she was not willing to give up. Not long after the Empire fell in 5 ABY, Venesia married Vane in order to maintain her lifestyle. There was no love or romance in their life - Venesia married him for the money, Vane married her because he was expected to. Then in 10 ABY, Vex came along, unwanted and unloved. The first girl child to be born of the Valorum line in centuries - a blight on the family name.
So she'd grown up, ignored her by her parents. They simply went on with their life as if Vex didn't exist. She'd been cared for by a Twi'lek woman named Ayla'Lyn - the only person in Vex's life that had loved her. She was the one who'd screamed and fought when Vex had been taken away by the Stormtroopers. She was the one Vex had cried for.
And she'd cried for hours as the Stormtroopers took her from Coruscant onto the Supremacy, Snoke's flagship. They hadn't hurt her. In fact, they'd tried to comfort her. Vex would always remember that. But she'd been just a child, consumed by fear and grief - fear of what would happen to her and grief that her parents hadn't tried to save her from what she'd perceived to be bad men.
And when their commander, a ginger-haired middle-aged man had brought her before Snoke, she had clung to his leg instead of coming forward as Snoke had commanded. Vex was terrified of the old man with a misshapen face and booming voice. The ginger-haired man had pried her off his leg and sent her towards Snoke with a light push.
"Come here, my child," Snoke said softly, holding out a liver-spotted hand. Vex had shuffled forward, sniffling and clutching the fabric of her torn and dirtied dress until she stood before him and his throne. "Closer, young one," he'd cooed.
Fearfully, Vex had inched forward until she was within reach of his wrinkled, but strong hands. He took hold of one of her tiny, pale hands and held it gently in his. "What is your name, child?" Snoke asked.
"Vex," she'd said in a trembling voice. She dared not look him in his eyes. She remained still, consumed with fear.
"Vex," Snoke tasted the word on his tongue. He smiled, leaning forward and tilting her chin up to catch her gaze. "A ferocious name for what will be a ferocious warrior," Her hazel eyes looked into his milky-blue ones. "There is fear inside you, my child. And power..."
"I want to go home," Vex said weakly, lower lip trembling.
Snoke only smiled again, an ugly thing that promised pain if she ever asked again. Vex sensed it, lowering her gaze to the floor again as Snoke withdrew his hand. "My child, this is your home, now,"
And with that, Vex had become the adopted child of Snoke. His first apprentice, before Kylo Ren and his Knights. Fools that they were, they had volunteered for the cause. Vex had been given no choice in the matter.
From the moment that Vex had been taken onto Snoke's ship, no-one had asked her what she wanted. Instead, they'd just given it to her. They fed her what Snoke said. Took her where Snoke said. Replaced her old dress with dark clothing Snoke had picked for her. Instead of Ayla'Lyn, Vex now had a droid that watched her every move.
Snoke had given her a week to settle in before her training began. His gentle voice from their first meeting was gone now, instead replaced with a harsh tone that only frightened her. When she did not succeed in completing a task Snoke set her, her droid caretaker shocked her. Vex cried herself to sleep every night.
Over the years of her training and what some would call captivity, Vex tried to escape many times. Each time she was caught within an hour, before she could get close to getting off the ship. Snoke made sure Vex knew exactly how much he disapproved, exactly how angry he was. By the time she reached ten, Vex knew it was useless to try.
Her childhood and training served to condition into Vex the belief that it was simply easier to do as Snoke told her. When she refused an order, it was not only her who suffered.
The first time he'd asked her to kill, Vex had refused. Every fiber of her being told her it was wrong. She didn't want to. But then she found her body, her limbs, moving without her permission. "You will do this, Vex, whether you want to or not," Snoke had said, voice taut with anger. His hand was outstretched, his control of the Force manipulating her.
Her hand reached for her lightsaber without permission, igniting the blade no matter how she strained against it. Those arms, her arms, sliced the man's head from his shoulders, never once pausing despite her struggle. Then her body had suddenly been hers again, and she collapsed to the floor, crying helplessly.
She did not know how much danger she was in until she heard the whisper of his robes dragging against the floor. Snoke had risen from his throne. Vex was lifted from the ground by her throat, facing his enraged expression. "You disappoint me, Vex," Her fingers clawed uselessly at her throat, letting out tiny gasping breaths. She wasn't getting enough air. "Disappoint me again, Vex, and it'll be isolation for you,"
With that, she was dropped back to the floor beside the lifeless man. "Rise, as the fearless warrior I trained," Snoke ordered. Vex carefully climbed to her feet, stuffing the sadness and anger down deep inside her. She faced her master with a blank expression, tears still making tracks down her face.
After a moment of his gaze combing over her, he let out a sigh. "Sometimes I forget how young you are, my child. Only twelve years old. I see you becoming more powerful every day, and I crave more. Forgive this old man, Vex. Next time will be easier, I promise," Snoke said, holding out his arms to her.
Nothing inside of Vex's being wanted to go to him. But if she didn't, it would be worse. She knew that. So she shuffled into the circle of his arms, allowing her to enfold her with his embrace. Perhaps he thought he was comforting her. Reinforcing their relationship of father and child. Vex knew better. She knew he only did this to remind her of the fealty she owed him.
