Reflection of Fire

Part I Chapter 7

The carriage pulled away from the inn at last and Rey glanced out her window once before settling in to face Finn. He was rubbing his jaw with a heavy frown, enough to make her reconsider questioning him about all this. Still... She deserved to know what she was getting into.

"Who was that?"

"Kylo Ren."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Yes. And who is he?"

"Did you get anything for the road?" he asked evasively.

Gesturing toward the bundle the landlady had given her, Rey waited impatiently while he looked through it and took a swig from the wine bottle. "That's good stuff."

"I'm glad to hear it."

He glanced up at her and smiled slightly. "He's... not on the best terms with Master Dameron."

That was hardly any less evasive than avoiding the subject entirely. She frowned. "Obviously."

"It's not really my story to tell. If it becomes important, you can probably get some of it out of Poe – Master Dameron. Or even B.B., I suppose. She tends to exaggerate, though." He paused, deliberating. "All you need to know is that B.B. lost her mother in a fire at the Solo house. And that man is the cause."

Chilled, Rey stared at him. Did he mean that Ren had started the fire? Had he been the reason the woman had not escaped it? Or something else? "Need I worry about seeing him again?"

"No, I don't think so. He's not welcome at the estate and doesn't travel much. I can't imagine what brought him this far out today."

"Out of where?"

He shook his head. "I'd better not say. I'm sorry, Rey."

After studying his face for a moment, she determined he was in earnest. Letting that line of thinking go was easy enough when there were others of greater import to her immediate future. "Where are we going?"

"Master Dameron's house in the country." Perhaps she looked impressed because he shook his head while smiling. "It's no grand estate. But it's large enough to be comfortable, and not a long walk to the nearest town."

"That's good," she said, feeling that he expected her to say something. She had little doubt that the house would be enormous to her, probably at least as large as the school where she had grown up. Wealthy people had an inaccurate scale for the size of things.

"It is."

"Have you lived there long?"

He offered her one of the puddings, which she took, and settled back in his chair to eat another one. "A few years. We used to live full time at his house in Town, but Poe felt that children should grow up in the country."

Ravenous after her adventurous day, Rey struggled to eat daintily, as was certainly expected of her. Focusing on Finn's story helped. "Do they?" she wondered, more to herself than because she thought he would answer.

With a shrug, he looked out the window. "I don't know. I'm not sure the physical location matters so much."

"No?"

He shook his head, turning back toward her. "I mean, Master Dameron grew up in Town and turned out alright. And I can name others who grew up in the country who did not," he added, frowning.

Perhaps he was talking about Ren – Kylo? – though how Finn would know of the man's upbringing was questionable. "I'm sure," she agreed demurely. "How long will it take to get there?"

"Oh, about three hours, depending on the roads. So not long. If it weren't for the fog, we would have been there for lunch," he said wistfully.

"I see."

He shook his head slightly, then focused on her. "Did you have a good morning, Rey? Keep yourself busy?"

"Yes, I did," she answered without thinking. Then was struck with a sudden anxiety. Should she tell him? Was she in some kind of danger? Finn had assured her that seeing that man again was unlikely. But, still...

"Glad to hear it."

From his tone, Finn clearly thought that travel by carriage was best spent while asleep, so she did not pick up the conversation again. It didn't take long before he was out. She looked out the window, not expecting to be able to sleep again. Her belly was full and the rocking of the carriage had a somnolent effect, but her mind was too busy to allow for rest. It was still hardly believable that she was doing all this. There was a lot to process about how drastically her life had changed in so few hours.

The roads must have been good, as they pulled up to a house after what seemed like no time at all. It was a pretty building, with enough land around it to keep a child busy, particularly if that child was permitted to ride about. Finn awoke quickly, and was alert immediately, as though he hadn't slept at all. Not that she thought he had been faking – it was probably a skill picked up when he was in the military.

The coachman opened the door and helped her down. She looked around, intrigued, by the well-manicured lawns and the pleasant façade of the place that was to be her new home. Swallowing heavily, she followed Finn toward the house, leaving the coachman to deal with their luggage.

"Rey!" a high voice called and she smiled, greatly relieved, to see Beatrice running toward her.

"Good afternoon," she said politely to the child, who immediately wrapped her in a hug.

"You took so long! Papa was saying he'd better send out a rescue party."

Finn laughed at that. "That does sound like your papa, B.B. Where is he?"

"In his study," Beatrice said solemnly, taking Rey's hand and leading her toward the house.

"We'd better go let him know we survived the arduous journey, then."

Beatrice looked up at him, then at Rey, then back at him. "Was it dangerous?"

"Terribly. There were evil knights along the road and we had to fight them off," Finn explained dramatically.

"Did you win?"

"Of course. We knew you would be waiting for us, Lady Beatrice, and we couldn't risk losing your favor."

The girl giggled happily. "Don't tease, Mr. Finn."

He smiled down at her. "I would never tease you, madam. I am always in deadly earnest."

His expression belied his statement, and he laughed. Rey couldn't resist joining in, amused and intrigued by their exchange. It had been a long time, if ever, that someone had joked with her like that. Her friends had, of course, but she couldn't remember her father doing so. And certainly not Plutt or any of the teachers. It looked like living here would be very pleasant, indeed.

They entered the house and B.B. led them down a few hallways in what seemed a circuitous route. Rey had a sinking feeling about being able to find her way on her own in this place. The room where they stopped was open and brightly lit, and she couldn't help but think how much it contrasted with the office at her school. Hopefully her new master would contrast just as much.

He was standing at the window, where he had a good view of the lawn and where their carriage was still parked. But he turned as soon as they entered. "Good work, B.B.," the man who was clearly Poe Dameron said.

He was younger than she had expected – older than herself, and older than Finn, but not so old that his dark hair had any grey. A little surprised, she paused in the doorway as Finn strode forward and they shook hands heartily.

"Any trouble? You took your sweet time getting here," Master Dameron asked, a grin on his face.

"A bit. We can talk later," Finn replied quietly, glancing back at Rey and motioning for her to step forward.

Master Dameron met her halfway and held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Poe."

"I'm Rey," she replied, holding out her own.

"I know," he answered with a grin. She smiled back.