The Balance Between Us - A Reylo

Chapter 25

Rey

Three quiet days had passed. Almost quiet. I spent more time throwing up than I did breathing and each time Ben was there to hols my hair up, rub my back and give me water. 

We were all in the kitchen: Kerra cooking up a homely meal, Ben sulking reading over something on the holopad and I was sat at the table with Venus on my lap drawing. Drawing was a bit of a stretch considering I had pictured Achc-To in my mind and was now using the Force to draw it. Venus was bewildered and giggled every so often as I smoothed down her platinum hair.

"Any ideas when you will marry?" Kerra asked into the room.

Before I could answer, Ben said in a clipped tone, "Soon." I just nodded in agreement. Later on, I would question Ben to find out what is stressing him.

"When will Baby come?" Venus asked me turning around in my lap.

I smoothed down her hair and tried to work this out, "A few more months as yet."

"Can I see the names?"

Ben huffed and got up walking out of the room. He walked back in moments later with the parchment. He placed them down on top of the drawing so that they were visible. It was the first time I had seen them since the night before we left Dantooine.

Venus brought the parchment closer to her. Kerra stopped kneading the dough that would make fresh bread for a minute to listen. "What do they say?" Venus asked timidly.

I stared at her wide eyed and the question seemed to draw Ben out of his self imposed misery. "What?" Ben enquired.

I felt Venus shrink into me as if I could protect her. "I don't know how to read... or write."

Ben stood up, I could feel his energy. This revelation angered him to the core. "Venus, come with me."

She hopped off my lap. "Yes, Papa."

They exited the room together and Kerra moved around to me. "What is he gonna do?"

"I have no idea."

Ben

My mood deepened the moment Venus told us she couldn't read. I should have suspected that a child in slavery would never have been given the luxury to read or write. It angered me to my core and I knew that I had to remedy the situation - no child of mine would ever not be able to read or write.

I took Venus to the library, it was a large one with hundreds of books. Perhaps the only books in the entire galaxy since everything was on a holopad nowadays. The library had grand winding staircases that led up to the higher shelves with wooden walkways to allow for one's perusal. In the centre was a round table with five or six chairs. The table itself was of ornate design, it had patterns of star systems, circles of gold lines interweaving with the planets of the galaxy and tiny gold stars dotted here and there. I always admired the table as a young boy and to see it from the grand height I currently stood at, well, I could see all its grandeur from here.

"Wow." Venus gasped as she took in the magnitude of the stately library. "There's so many books, Papa."

I turned to look at her and knelt down to meet her eyes. Rey had taken her time to remove the buns from Venus' platinum hair and it hung around her shoulders masterfully. Her clothes had been changed for more better and accommodating ones befitting a child of her age. Her bright green eyes although awed contained much sadness.

"Venus, I will teach you to read and write so that when we reappear to your mother, you can tell her the names you like best for Baby. How does that sound?" My voice was stern. I didn't intend for it to come off that way. I was still very much new to the whole loving family business, since mine never really were around to do a half decent job.

Venus nodded her head whilst keeping her eyes low full of shame. "Do not be ashamed of this, Venus. No child of mine will not be able to read."

Her eyes lit up then and she raised her head in the blink of an eye. "Do you really mean that, Papa, do you?"

"I do." Venus jumped into me squeezing her petite arms around my neck and hugging me. At first I just knelt there stiffly, unsure of what to do. But then I felt myself ease into the hug letting my anxieties wither away.

Upon clearing my throat, Venus released me. "Let's find a suitable book and get started shall we?"

"Oh yes, Papa. Thank you."

Rey

I was too exhausted to wait a moment longer so I excused myself from the meditation lesson I was currently giving to Kerra in search of Ben and Venus. What I really wanted was to hurl the contents of my dinner into the toilet but the water Kerra gave me seemed to help.

I looked in almost every room but turned up nothing. My mind was irritated and I was sure something was bothering Kerra but she wouldn't say. I hadn't been my jovial self in what felt like forever and I wanted nothing more than to feel carefree and laugh again. But that had never been my life - it had been a hoax, set up to keep my true belonging deep in the crevices of my mind. Scavenging wasn't freedom, it was a form of slavery in itself and I never had any friends to laugh with. Finn and BB-8 brought me a new lease of life, one where I could be who I was meant to be, who I was today.

Fatigued beyond repair, I entered mine and Ben's room and headed straight for the refresher. The cool water was a relief on my tense muscles and eased up all the knots their.

Moments later, I felt callused hands slide over my hips and up my waist. "You should have told me you'd be here." Ben's voice was low and seductive, hot breath tickling my ear.

"I had no idea where you were." I said nonplussed.

A low chuckle erupted from Ben's throat. "You could have mentioned it across the bridge."

"But where would the fun be in that." I moved my hands to rinse out my hair with my back still facing Ben. "Anyway, where did you take Venus earlier?"

"To the library." Ben moved his hands to my shoulders and started massaging there. I felt my head roll back in compliance as a new wave of exhilarating pleasure formed in my achey muscles. "You have something else on your mind."

"N... n... no." My voice shook as Ben reached a hand round my waist and down to my womanhood. He started rubbing me and no sweeter relief took me. "Mmmm" He was hard as I leaned my body into his warmth. "I think... y... you... have... s... something... else... in... mind." How the words formed on my lips I'll never know.

"Clever scavenger!"