VENDETTA [ kylo ren ]

five

05. wine

IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE MEETING Vada made her way back to her chambers. She was done chatting with First Order men for the day and frankly she wasn't feeling like talking to her brother either.

She decided she had to practice. If she was to fight tomorrow, she had to be a little prepared. Not that she wasn't, she trained almost every day, and she was ready to fight. But a little more training never hurts.

She put on comfortable workout clothes without the help of Lene and made her way to the training area. It was on the outer side of the Castle, where the Silver Forces always gathered.

She took it upon herself to train in one-on-one combat, the basics so she would not strain herself.

After a while of fighting with a sack, her guard Eroc walked up to her.

"Need a hand?" he asked her, noticing how bored she got not fighting with something living.

She nodded. "Sure." Then she grinned. "If you can keep up."

He laughed while he took off his armor and was left in just his shirt and trousers. "Worry about yourself, Princess."

"I told you not to call me that," she said while they got inside the ring, "it annoys me."

"I know." He was the first to attack. She dodged his blow easily, moving to the side and then quickly under his arm so she was on the other side.

She attacked him, launching her arm forward, he dodged her punch as well, but then gave her another in return. Again, she dodged it and she took the opportunity to take hold of his arm and she kicked him in the groin.

He groaned, "you got quite the kick there, Princess." She knew he was doing it on purpose, to make her lose focus. But it wasn't working.

Once he had regained his composure he stormed towards her and took her by the waist, throwing her on the ground. She was stuck for a while but managed to turn around so that her legs were wrapped around his neck. There was no way he could escape now. She managed to hold him in her grasp and she put some pressure on it, forcing him to surrender. He did.

"I win," she said once they were up on their feet again.

He laughed, "yeah, because I let you."

This went on for two more hours, until evening had fallen and she went straight to her bath. She'd bribed another maid to keep Lene busy so she had some time to herself. She bathed and got dressed for dinner.

Her father and brother were already there. Her father sat at the head of the table and she sat across of her brother in the middle. At the rear end sat no one.

"What are all these chairs for?" Vada asked when she noticed four other chairs at the table, usually it was just the three of them.

"I have invited the General and his assistants and the Commander to join us for dinner this evening," her father spoke, taking a sip of his expensive wine.

She rolled her eyes, "wonderful." She knew this was necessary, but she didn't like it one bit.

Not a moment later the doors to the dining room opened again and the General and his assistants walked in. The Commander was nowhere to be seen. The emissaries took their seats. The only remaining chairs were the one at the rear end, which was always empty and a chair besides Astin. General Hux sat on Astin's other side and the two assistants sat beside Vada.

Soon the maids brought many plates filled with delicious meals and they poured wine for whomever wanted some. Vada had been drinking some herself, but she noticed her father had been drinking a lot. She knew why. He did not like being around the First Order, and he had to take his mind off of it.

While dinner was still served the doors opened again and the Commander walked in, late as usual. He sat down besides Astin, who noticeably tensed up. The Commander had his mask on so there was no way he was going to eat, unless he took it off. But Vada doubted he would. The General seemed annoyed at the Commanders choice to join them and Vada agreed with him.

"So, you're not very punctual, are you, Lord Ren?" her father laughed loudly. Vada cursed silently, she knew this was the wine talking.

Everybody at the table looked at him, including Commander Ren. But he seemed unfazed. "My apologies, King Torin. I'm not one for dinners."

The King laughed again, "I can see. How are ya going to eat with that mask, huh?" Vada could cry at her father's words.

"I'm not hungry," his metallic voice spoke, "thank you." Vada found him surprisingly kind and formal. He spoke to her father with more respect than General Hux had.

The King managed to keep it at bay for the rest of the evening, and Vada blessed the gods for it. It was an awkward dinner. There were close to no conversations and when there was one they were short. Besides, Vada was unbelievably annoyed by how she could feel Commander Ren's eyes on her the entire time through his mask. It was starting to freak her out but she had to remain composed.

Once dinner had ended Vada wasted no time in finding her way back to her chambers, where she fell into an uneasy sleep.