Taken by the First Order -A Kylo Ren fanfiction-

Chapter Fifty Two: Palpatine

Aerolynns pov
I ran a brush through my hair, setting my jaw as I stared into the mirror. I wished I would see the face of a warrior, with features hard as stone and a calm and cool expression, but instead I saw the eyes of a frightened young woman, who was scared out of her wits and unsure of what these next few hours would bring.

This was it. Today was the day we'd face Palpatine.

Nausea settled in the pit of my stomach and I clutched at the edge of the counter, I had already emptied my stomach twice today, in the middle of the night thanks to the anxiety that gripped at my heart in an iron-like hold. The last thing I wanted was to do it again. 

I put on a white shirt that flowed at the sleeves, leaving me easy mobility in my limbs, in case I needed to use my saber or powers, and then tan pants and boots. I chewed on my lip as I looked at myself one more time in the mirror.

It was easy to tell myself I was still that girl from Tatooine, the one without any past or any future ahead of her. Easy to even tell myself that I was still the girl who was taken by the First Order, weak and scared. But in all honesty, I'd be lying to myself.

I had grown up since then, evolved into someone who didn't cower at the sight of an enemy, knew her powers and how strong she was, someone who had fallen in love and even had a child. No, I'd never forget the girl I was, her heart is still my own, vulnerable and dependent, desperate for another to give it the love it's willing to spend. I wasn't the girl from Tatooine anymore, and I was okay with that.

Suddenly the door opened and Ben emerged, his face pale and dark circles under his eyes. No one had slept much last night considering the shared nerves we were all feeling. The ones that gnawed at us until we were left hollow and stinging.

"Hey." He said, touching my shoulder and pressing a heavy kiss to my temple. I let out a sigh, wanting nothing more than to lean into his touch and make all the pain go away. Just let myself forget it if only for a minute. But alas, it wasn't that easy, not when the fate of the galaxy was resting on my shoulders.

"Rey needs us. We're about to go." A wave of nausea made my knee's buckle and I gripped onto Ben's arm, my jaw clenched. This was real. This was happening. I was about to see my grandfather.

"Whatever happens in there." Ben said, grabbing my chin and tilting my face so that I was forced to look up at him, "I love you. No matter what. Always and forever." His words made tears spark at my eyes, and I closed them so that he couldn't seem them and then went up onto my toes and gave him a deep kiss, I used our bond to let a wave of compassion flow through it, just so he could get a glimpse of how I felt for him. A warmth crackled between us and he let out a sigh, savoring it.

His hands wound around my waist as he pulled away, pressing his forehead to mine as we both shared labored breaths.

"I'm scared. I'm so scared I almost feel numb." I admitted feebly. He nodded, his nose brushing mine as he swallowed, his hands wrapping around mine.

"You are the strongest person I know, Aerolynn Solo." He whispered, pressing our conjoined hands to his chest.

"I love you." I said, stifling a sob, "And we will win this fight." My eyes met his, and he gave me a weak smile. I wasn't sure who I was trying to convince, myself or him. Pressing one less somberfull kiss to my lips, we parted, keeping our hands laced together as we left our room and joined the others who were all sitting at the table, well, all but one, Rey paced in front of them, biting on her thumbnail anxiously.

"There's the couple of the hour." Poe said, although the joke was supposed to feel light hearted and fun it only seem to add more weight to the tension that seemed to be crushing us. But, I didn't let that show and gave him a tight lipped smile, squeezing his shoulder gently.