Chapter Text
The next week passed in a flurry of activity. Camera crews made several appearances at random intervals, taping every little thing for a segment on the upcoming Report. They filmed the communal planning, the organizing of menus and brainstorming sessions. They captured droves of shipments arriving, decorations being set up in the room, and tables and chairs organized. The dispersal of women to meet with their stylists.
Rey had to wave them off when she met with Poe, determined to keep her dress a secret. She didn’t even want a sketch of the dress to be revealed, to the camera crew or the public, before she had the chance to wear it. So she and Poe put their heads together, physically and metaphorically, to hide the designs from the peeping eyes of the videographers and worked on her outfit in relative silence.
By Wednesday, Rey was tired of their presence. She thought for sure they had gathered enough footage to have plenty of material for that Friday’s taping.
And then Luke Skywalker arrived.
He arrived without fanfare, insisting on carrying his own bag, trying to sneak in the front door and steal away up to the room that was always reserved for him.
But he had to pass the Ladies Room in order to get to the staircase, and unfortunately the door had been wide open and one of the camera men had caught a glimpse and immediately followed. They didn’t have a lot of success; the older man brushed them off and ascended the stairs without a backwards glance.
Rey wanted to meet the enigmatic man, curious to learn about the relative of Ben who wanted nothing to do with the royal family, despite being part of it. But he was as elusive in the palace as he was outside of it, and Rey only managed to catch glimpses of him at mealtimes the remainder of the week. On Thursday at dinner, she did make awkward eye contact with him, staring just too long before the older man rolled his eyes and turned back to Ben.
There was the usual swirl of activity on Friday, and with the added pressure of the gala the very next day, the women were working on their finishing touches. Rey was tired of triple checking menus, straightening chairs, and talking to people, so after lunch she stole away for some time to herself in the gardens, her favorite hideaway. She was confident there was not much more to be done from her team’s side of things, and they would be able to relax going into tomorrow. She avoided the other team, and was curious how their division of duties would pan out. Hopefully everyone would have a good time, and the event would go off without a hitch.
She secretly hoped for quite a few dances with a certain prince.
She rounded the corner to her favorite bench when she caught a glimpse of two figures and fell back behind the hedge, hoping she wasn’t seen. She peered her head around a corner to get a better look.
It was Luke Skywalker. And Ben.
They were pacing back and forth just in front of the bench Rey had made a home of many times, and she was just close enough that she could make out the majority of what they were saying. She knew she shouldn’t eavesdrop, but she couldn’t help herself.
“...call it all off,” she heard Luke say. Ben was facing away from her, and it was much harder to make out anything he was saying. She saw him shake his head and shrug his shoulders, and she was dying to know what they were talking about. Was Luke suggesting that Ben call off The Choice?
“You don’t have to do this,” was the next thing she heard come out of Luke’s mouth. The voices lowered in volume after that, and all she could really hear were the incoherent mumblings of two male voices in the distance. She turned away, scratching her head.
That was certainly not the helpful eavesdropping session she’d hoped it would be. The most she could glean was that Luke was not a fan of The Choice, but she couldn’t discern why.
It hung over her like a dark and stormy cloud the rest of the evening. She was skeptical of every smile Luke flashed and every complimentary word he spoke on The Report that night, turning over the only two phrases she heard him say in her mind.
Rey didn’t linger after The Report was done filming, and headed straight up to her rooms, retiring early for the night in anticipation of the next day.
***
A bright burst of sunshine shone red behind Rey’s eyelids the next morning.
“Rise and Shine, Rey!” Rose’s voice came from across the room by the windows, and all Rey could do was groan in response. She had been excited for all the planning, for everything to come to fruition, but in this moment, all she wanted was another couple hours of sleep.
She reluctantly sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes as Rose bustled around her, slipping a cup of coffee into her hands. The ball wasn’t set to start for several hours yet, but there would be many last minute duties to attend to. Making last minute checks with the chefs, double checking the guest list, one last meeting with Poe. She pushed the thoughts of Luke and of Ben aside, sipped her coffee, and was finally ready to take on the day.
Poe was mercifully her first task for the day, and she didn’t even have to really move from her bed when he came knocking, letting himself in with a big black garment bag slung over his arm.
“Morning, sunshine,” he called out as he placed the hanger on the back of the door, unzipping it slowly for dramatic effect. “You ready to try this bad boy on?”
Rey was most excited for her dress. She truly had never been one to care about clothes, or fashion; she always needed something functional and durable and that was about all the effort she’d ever spent on the clothes on her body.
But this. This was different. Thrust into this world, she had begun to develop an appreciation for why people cared about this. She still thought a lot of it was...excessive, unnecessary, but she appreciated these chances to dress up all the same, while she still had them.
Poe pulled it from the garment bag and her jaw dropped. It was the most exquisite pile of fabric she had ever seen before. He helped her slip it on over her head, tie it in the back, and placed her in front of the mirror to evaluate his handiwork. He made a couple pulls here and there, grabbing pins to secure the adjustment in place, but then placed his hands on Rey’s shoulders and looked at her reflection in the mirror.
“You’re going to steal his breath away.”
Rey blushed a little at that, swishing her skirts back and forth once to see how they shimmered in the sunlight. “I hope so,” she mumbled, more to herself than anyone else.
After a couple slow spins to check all the angles for imperfections, Poe helped her out of the dress and she threw on a pair of her precious jeans and a simple blouse in order to attend to the rest of her responsibilities.
She caught up with Gwen, Kaydel, and Jessika in the Ladies Room, who were all deep in discussion when she arrived. The three women looked up when Rey entered the room and all breathed a sigh of relief.
“Where have you been?” Gwen asked sharply, tapping the pad of paper she was holding with her pen.
“I had my final dress fitting with Poe. What did I miss?” Rey grabbed Gwen’s pad of paper and sat down next to her, scanning the sheet for any red flags.
“Well...nothing, not really,” Gwen replied, a little sheepishly. “We were just worried you were going to disappear or something. Or you were…” she didn’t finish her sentence.
She didn’t have to.
Ever since Natalya’s abrupt departure, everyone has been on edge, wondering who would be next, and when it would be. With each passing day the competition felt more real, and every woman was left wondering if they were making enough of an impression, making enough of a connection with the prince.
Would he ask people to leave in the middle of tonight’s gala? No one was sure.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at Rey’s presence, including a breath Rey herself didn’t realize she was holding. They were all safe, for the time being.
The moment passed, and everyone got back into discussing last minute details. A camera crew arrived and started filming material for a special edition of The Report covering the gala, and the girls ignored their presence as best they could. It was getting easier to act like they weren’t being filmed and Rey idly wondered when she got so comfortable with always being watched.
***
After several hours of rearranging chairs, checking lists, and arguing with chefs, Rey was back in her room, seated at her vanity while Rose was curling her hair.
“Anyone see the prince today?” Rose asked, tapping the curling iron to feel if the hair was heated through before dropping the strand to wrap the next around the rod. Rey started to shake her head, but winced as she pulled on the hair and stilled.
“No, we didn’t see a trace of him today. I expect he didn’t want to have anything to do with the preparations, probably had more important stuff to worry about.” Rey met Rose’s gaze in the mirror and bit her lip, fiddling with her hands.
“You’re nervous,” Rose remarked with a small, knowing smirk.
“Am not!” Rey blushed slightly, a pink tint coloring her cheeks under the makeup.
“You have nothing to be nervous about, you’re clearly Ben’s favorite. All of us can tell,” Rose said with a smile, but leaned in nonetheless. “But it’s okay to be nervous. You guys have been planning this nonstop for over a week, I’m sure you’re ready for it to be over and done with.”
At that, Rey released a sigh and nodded, careful not to move the curling iron too close to her scalp. “You can say that again.”
Moments later Poe came bustling back into the room, no knock required, with the finished dress. Hair complete, makeup perfected, Rey walked over to the small sitting area where Poe was waiting, standing with the delicate material hanging over his arms. He met her eyes with a coy smile as she approached, and he nodded down to the dress.
“Should be perfect after this morning’s adjustments. You ready?”
Silently, Rey nodded and Poe helped her step into the elaborate dress, shedding her robe as she changed. It fit like a glove, all the minute tailoring from earlier making it pure perfection on her body. Poe zipped her up, tying the bow in the back and gestured for Rey to look in the mirror.
She was a vision. Her curls tumbling around her shoulders, the subtle makeup that enhanced her eyes without looking too ostentatious, and the dress.
The dress .
Ethereal colors of lavender and baby pink effortlessly blended together to look like a cloud. The beadwork on her shoulders was so intricate, the beads scattered with deep purple hues in each gem, spanning all the way across to the other shoulder. A deep, keyhole back that extended all the way down to the small of her back, a delicate, loose bow situated at her waist. She turned slowly, admiring every little detail, the flowing skirts making her feel light as a feather. Once she finished her delicate turnaround, she met Poe’s eyes, her own shimmering with the threat of tears.
“It’s incredible. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Thank you, Poe.”
He waved her off, as if it was nothing, but he couldn’t hide the look of pride and adoration in his face. This was his most impressive look to date, and for the most well-deserving person he could think of. If Ben didn’t fall in love with her after this, Poe decided he was a lost cause.
“Okay, mental checklist,” he said sharply and clapped his hands together. “Dress? Check. Makeup? Check. Hair? Check. Shoes?” He looked down at Rey’s bare feet and made a tsk sound before going back to the garment bag, pulling out a pair of low silver slingback heels. “Shoes.”
Rey nodded and put them on silently, resting a hand on Poe’s shoulder for balance. Straightening up, she finished the checklist for him. “Food? Check. Decorations? Check. Sanity? Not sure, but I’m sure I’ll find it along the way.” Both Rose and Poe chuckled at that, and Rey made her way to the door of her room. She placed a hand on the doorknob, took a deep breath, and marched out into the unknown.
**
There were a few speed bumps and detours at the start of the gala, but by the time Luke arrived - a fashionable forty-five minutes late - everything was in full swing, and panicked whisperers about not enough chairs and where did the red wine go were settled. Rey walked the perimeter of the room, watching the other ladies of The Choice dance with various guests and soldiers. Ben was in spirited conversation with his father, his uncle listening half-heartedly while swirling a large goblet of wine in his hands.
Ben had entered after all the women, and had done his duty and walked down the line, kissing each girl’s hand in greeting and in thanks for all the hard work they’d put in on throwing this event with such short notice. He’d lingered only slightly at Rey, caressing her hand with his thumb for a brief moment before pulling away and moving onto the next.
She shouldn’t have been disappointed with that, but she was.
She shouldn’t have been disappointed with the fact that he had spoken to half the girls here so far this evening, but not her. But she pushed it out of her mind and walked up to Holdo, head held high and a glass of wine delicately placed in her hand.
“Well done, Miss. Kanata!” Holdo called out with pure joy as Rey approached, clasping her hands together and looking out through the room. “All you ladies have outdone yourselves. This is an absolutely marvelous party.” Rey sipped her wine, nodding politely as she surveyed the room with Holdo. Everyone really seemed to be enjoying themselves, and for that Rey felt she had done her part to pull it off.
She belatedly felt a small swell of pride deep within her at the compliment. Surely Holdo would pass along this praise and maybe she could prove to everyone that didn’t believe in her, that she deserved to be here. “It really was a team effort but I enjoyed working with all these other fine women. I’ve learned so much just this past week alone.” Holdo nodded at that, happy to gab about the details of how the banquet came together or how well the musicians were playing.
Rey was listening and participating in the conversation until she made eye contact with Ben. They held the gaze for several beats, long enough for Luke to look in their direction, but neither of them made the secret signal. Ben excused himself from his father and uncle, and made his way…to Dana.
He swept her onto the dance floor and held her in the traditional waltz stance, a respectable distance between them, but it still fully distracted Rey from her conversation.
She thought he was coming to her.
She shook her head, trying to refocus on Amilyn as the older woman prattled on about the grand parties of Leia’s early days. Soirees that would last well into early the next morning, nights full of dancing and imbibing. It sounded like a golden era of the monarchy. Back when it was shiny and new, the country blissful and happy for a new, peaceful rule.
The song ended, and Ben bowed in front of Dana. Rey’s heart rate picked up slightly, maybe he would finally come and speak with her, but instead he artfully maneuvered over to ask for Tiana’s hand to dance.
Rey quickly downed the rest of her glass of wine, and excused herself to get another.
Before she could wrap her hands around a new glass, however, there was a tap on her shoulder. With a rush of excitement she tried to contain, she turned around hoping Ben had finally decided to come say hi.
She tried not to be obvious about her disappointment when she came face to face with Finn, fully clad in his dress uniform. To his credit, he took any deflation in stride and held out his hand with a knowing smirk. “Care to dance?” She nodded and slipped her hand into his, and he led her onto the dance floor.
Their waltz was silent for a time, the song changing before either one of them spoke and Rey couldn’t miss the fact that Ben seemed to be dancing with every single other woman in this room while barely acknowledging Rey’s existence. Finally Finn piped up.
“How are you hanging in there?”
Rey let out a long breath she didn’t realize she was holding, a slight chuckle bubbling out of her at the end. “I don’t even know. Good days and bad days. I still can’t believe I’m here.” She shook her head slightly, and Finn matched her chuckle.
“You can say that again. On the one hand, I miss home. But on the other hand...for once I finally feel like I’m taking care of my family. We’re all the best fed we’ve been in years.”
Rey pulled back to look him in the eye, sincere happiness on her face. “Finn, that’s incredible. I’m so happy for you.” He squeezed her hips reassuringly, a smile plastered on his face. “And things seem to be going well for you in the romance department.”
Finn feigned ignorance, looking around behind him as if Rey surely was talking about someone else. “I absolutely have zero idea what you’re talking about.” Rey laughed again and playfully pushed at his shoulder at that.
“Don’t act like I haven’t seen you and Rose together, whispering in corners and spending hours together by my room.”
Finn pretended to look affronted, shock coloring his face. “I assure you, ma’am , no tomfoolery or impropriety is happening between me and your attendant.” A tiny wink, so fast you’d miss it crossed his face and Rey had to keep the giggles down again.
“I’m just happy for you there, too. Rose is incredible, I don’t know what I’d do without her.”
“That makes two of us.”
Just then, the music switched and Rey felt a tap on her shoulder. Her dances with Finn nearly cleared her mind of her irritation and self-consciousness about Ben, but her pulse quickened as she hoped it was him.
For the second time that night, she deflated when it wasn’t Ben. She mentally chastised herself, because standing in front of her was the man she’d been trying to meet for a week now.
Luke Skywalker was standing in front of her, asking her to dance.
She turned and nodded to Finn, who retreated back to some of his other soldier buddies. She curtsied to Luke and took his hand, smiling a polite smile as they started to move. The music was pleasant and upbeat, a nice change to the slow ballads before. They swayed through the room, and Luke wasted no time in striking up a conversation.
“So, where are you from, Miss…”
“Rey.”
“Ah, Rey. Yes, I’ve heard about you from my nephew. Wonderful to meet you.”
“You have?” She asked, surprised that he would recognize her name.
He nodded. “I have. All good things, don’t worry. So, where are you from again, Rey?”
She shook her head slightly. “Nowhere.”
“No one’s from nowhere.”
“Jakku.”
“Okay, that’s pretty much nowhere.” He shrugged and emitted a low laugh. She couldn’t help but giggle at that a little bit too, relaxing into the movement as she risked a question to him.
“What do you know about Snoke?”
His step faltered slightly, but he recovered gracefully and spun her around before answering.
“Why do you ask?” He countered.
She pulled her lip between her teeth and decided she needed to wade very carefully through these murky waters.
“He seems to have a big influence on Ben, but I don’t know much about him.”
Luke surveyed her for a moment, and she swore he saw right through her bullshit. And answered anyway.
“You want to stay away from that guy. He’s the reason I up and left this whole place.”
Rey tried to keep her jaw from dropping. “Oh really? He’s been around that long?”
“Oh yeah.” He twirled her again, dancing them off to the side of the room, speaking in low tones. “Little snake in the grass, somehow got himself wrapped up around Ben. I did what I could for the little guy, he was only a kid when Snoke started grooming him.” Rey kept her face even, emotionless as Luke continued. “I couldn’t get through to him. The older he got, the more he resisted any kind of help. He grew to hate me, and the more I failed. So I left.”
“You didn’t try to remove Snoke from the equation?” Rey asked, appalled.
“It’s harder than you think, Rey. Someone with that much influence you can’t just fire. We’ve all had to tread carefully for a long time. Leia keeps him in check most of the time, but I fear for Ben. He needs help seeing there are other paths. Other ways than Snoke’s way to rule.”
“Why don’t you stay and help him, then?” Rey asked, but Luke was shaking his head before she could even finish speaking.
“That opportunity has passed for me, unfortunately. The damage has been done. But I’m sure there is someone who could still help him. Help him see.” If Rey hadn’t known better, she would have thought Luke’s penetrating ice blue eyes were staring directly into her soul, speaking as if she were the one who had to help Ben.
He couldn’t have meant her. Could he?
The words tumbled around in her head as the song ended, and yet another finger tapped on her shoulder. She didn’t get her hopes up this time, instead taking her time curtseying to Luke and thanking him for the...illuminating discussion. When she finally turned, she saw him.
Ben.
She rolled her eyes and scoffed. “About time.” The words slipped out before she could stop them, and luckily he smirked and offered his hand wordlessly. She accepted, and they fell into a casual dance.
She was happy to be dancing with him, finally, but it still irked her that he had ignored her this entire night. What irked her more were the next words that came out of his mouth.
“I couldn’t keep my eyes off you all evening. You look stunning.”
She frowned at that.
”What? Is it something I said?” He asked, noticing her frown and lack of response. She pursed her lips.
“You haven’t said a word to me all night, I didn’t even think you’d noticed I was even here.” She couldn’t keep a hint of bitterness out of her tone, though she hated herself for being so petty. To his credit, he looked as if he had been reprimanded. He pulled her closer, closer than he had danced with the other women before leaning down to whisper in her ear.
“I wanted to fulfill all my other obligations first. Make appearances with the other ladies.” He gently kissed her temple and continued. “Now I have nowhere else to be, and I can spend the rest of the party with you and no one can say anything.”
All the irritation and jealousy and bitterness melted away instantly, replaced with her heart skipping three beats. She leaned in, resting her head on his shoulder and they quietly danced for a few minutes, a slow, barely-there movement back and forth in the middle of the dance floor. Suddenly, the other women weren’t there. She could barely notice the sound of the band. There was no one else around anymore in that moment. Just the two of them.
She finally spoke, murmuring quietly without moving her head even an inch. “You’re very smooth, you know that?”
Ben snorted. “Many words have been used to describe me. Smooth has never been one of them.” He rubbed her back and shrugged his shoulder, encouraging Rey to look up at him. When she obliged, he smiled and carried on, twirling her slowly around the room. “I just knew I’d have a hard time having to leave you to talk to someone else. So...save the best for last?”
She couldn’t stop the smile that bloomed across her face. She wanted to kiss him right then and there, but with everyone watching she knew better. She nodded, biting her lip. “The best for last indeed.”
Her smile was infectious, and a matching one appeared on Ben’s face as he spun her out, then back into himself, holding her even closer upon her return. “We should do something like this at the holidays. Imagine how beautiful the palace would be, all decorated and covered in snow.”
She nodded, mouth opening slightly. He was thinking about them, together , in the future. Before she could say something, he pushed on, the excitement evident in his voice. “I want to show you, maybe if there’s time I can show you tonight.”
“Show me what?”
“The princess’ quarters. They’re right next to mine.”
She stopped short. He wanted to show her the room his future wife would call her own?
“W-why?” She stammered out. His eyes softened, looking down at her and squeezing her hand.
“Sweetheart, I want you here. I really want you here. And I know it’s hard for you to see your future here, in this palace, in this family. I want to show you what it would look like, if you chose this life. If you chose me.”
In an instant she could picture it. A lifetime by his side flashed before her eyes, and for the first time she truly imagined she could do this. That not only was she falling for the man in front of her, but she could also live the life required of the future king’s spouse.
She could be the future queen.