Across the Stars

injured

Rey thought she was dead when she awoke the next morning.  No, as a matter of fact, death would feel better.  So much better.  It would be peaceful and light and serene and pain free.  Rey was definitely not pain free this morning.  

Her whole body ached as she rolled to the side in bed, every muscle, every ligament screaming at her to stop and lie still for a moment.  She glanced at the clock next to her bed and sadly her body would not be able to rest anytime soon.  It was almost eight a.m. and training would begin soon. 

Rey thought Kylo was mad for making her train seven hours a day for several days straight.  She wouldn't last that long, and hopefully he knew that too. Rey doubted she make it to the end of the day. Although, she would be happy to stick it to Kylo in training today.  He had dominated her yesterday, and not in a good way.

Every motion, every strike, every step he took was calculated and strong; he knew his opponent well, almost better than he knew himself.  He was poised and alert, his eyes always watching her next move, which he would inevitably defend. 

Yes, sticking it to Kylo Ren was the only thing that made Rey throw back the covers and shuffle slowly to the bathroom, her back screaming all the while.

The sight in the mirror was horrendous to say the least.  Rey was pale, very pale, in the bright light. She examined her body in the mirror, staring at the large bruises that were scattered over her thin frame.  Large patches of black and green and purple grew on her like warts, spreading over her skin.  She winced as she turned, catching sight of the biggest bruise she had ever seen on her back.

She had suffered injuries and bruises before on Jakku, but never this severe and painful. Yesterday, Kylo had swept her legs out from under her with his staff, sending her tumbling to the ground. She had slammed on the small of her back.  A few minutes later, Kylo had struck her, hard, in the same place with the staff.  

Rey's back had not had a good day yesterday. It hurt so badly to move, to walk, to do anything.  But she knew she had to show up for training.  Kylo would come looking for her and drag her to the mats.  Or worse, if Snoke found out, she could only imagine his rage if she missed a day. he may see that as her disloyalty to the First Order, or that she had too much of the Force in her.  The thought of that torture, that pain, made Rey suck in a huge breath and power through changing.  

Changing out out of her night clothes was difficult, but she managed.  She riffled through the many drawers in the bathroom, which came fully stocked with toiletries of every kind, until she found some pain meds.  She popped six of them like candy.  Hopefully that would take effect quickly so she could fight Kylo. 

A knock at the door signaled that training was about to begin.  Rey sighed.  It was going to be a very long day.  She followed a different Trooper down the hallways, trying to conceal her limp.  If Kylo noticed it, he would take advantage of her injury and use it against her.  

Kylo was in the training room before her today, again.  This time, his hands were stuck inside gloves as he danced around the mat, jabbing the air. 

If he punched her in the wrong spot, Rey would go down for sure.  There was no way she could handle that amount of pain.  Sure, staffs were one thing and she was good at wielding staffs.  She knew nothing of hand-to-hand combat. She found it odd that they would be sparing since she was supposed to be trained in the Force.  But she guessed it was a stepping stone on the way to learning the ways of the Force. 

Kylo wore another black tank top today and grey pants.  His eyes looked tired, like he hadn't slept well.

"Good morning," he said, his voice smooth and silky.  "Today we are going to focus on sparing and hand-to-hand.  It will help you in short distance fighting, or when you are unable to get to your Lightsaber." He tossed her a pair of gloves.