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Rey Palpatine stood at the stern of the ship, staring up at the black velvet sky above her. The stars were amazing tonight, and she found it fascinating that she could see the entire moon, even though it was only a quarter full. She sighed, then let her gaze drift down to the dark water beneath her. She could barely see it moving as the ship slid along, but she could imagine her tears falling into the depths below, the salt from her body merging with the salt from the sea.
The captain of the ship, an uncouth man called Hux, had informed her just before sunset that they would reach their destination in the morning. The town of Biloxi, currently under English control, was to be her new home, or at least close to her new home. From what she understood, Kyle Ren’s plantation was a half-day’s carriage ride from Biloxi. If Hux was to be trusted, the plantation was a city unto itself, with over 1000 acres of land and over 70 slaves. He told her this as if she would find it admirable. She didn’t. Slavery was an abomination. Of course, when it came down to it, she was essentially going to be one of those slaves. It wasn’t her decision to be on this ship. It wasn’t her decision to come to this wild, untamed land. And it certainly wasn’t her decision to marry a man she had never met.
This was all her grandfather’s fault.
Her father and mother had died when she was sixteen, both from smallpox, leaving her in the care of her father’s estranged father, a wealthy but cruel and unhappy man in London. Gone were the days of walking and riding horseback around the countryside of Warwickshire. Gone were the evenings spent reading and playing games with her parents and their close friends. Gone was the security in knowing she was loved and protected. As soon as she turned eighteen, her grandfather had set out to find her a wealthy husband. Kyle Ren was the son of one of his business partners who had traveled to the Americas ten years previously and had established himself within the French colony on the gulf coast, first in trade and now in growing cotton and sugar cane. After a year of correspondence with the man, her grandfather was more than happy to send her away to be his bride.
Rey was less than thrilled. Her life, as she knew it, was over.
So, why not end it all now?
The dark water called to her. It was still deep here. Though she knew the coastline wasn’t too far away, she was far enough out no one would find her body for a very long time. She saw no other way out.
Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the wooden railing of the ship and leaned her body forward, ready to pull herself over it. Suddenly, shouts and the sound of musket fire caught her attention. Her feet dropped back to the deck, her heart racing. More yelling and more gunfire sounded. Panicked, she raced along the deck, trying to see what was going on toward the front of the ship. At least a dozen men were on the deck, fighting hand to hand with Hux’s crew. Leaning over the rail, she could see two skiffs alongside the ship, and when she looked further out, she realized a much larger ship was making its way closer to them.
Pirates!
She had only heard stories and had been assured more than once that she had no need to fear them on this journey, but she was sure that’s who these men were. Rey knew her dowry was in the hold, and that it was impressive. There were also hundreds of pounds worth of supplies and food for the residents of Biloxi.
Two of the invading men turned her way and headed for her. She turned and ran, not sure where she could go on a ship in the middle of the ocean. She should have jumped sooner, she thought. Well, maybe now was as good a time as any. Better to drown than to be raped and murdered by these scoundrels. She pulled herself up on the railing again, but the sound of booted feet became louder behind her. She had one leg up on the rail, but her skirts made it difficult, and before she could hook her heel to help pull the rest of her body up, rough hands grabbed her and pulled her down.
“No!” she shouted, instinctively struggling against the hold of two strong men. “Let me go!”
“Easy, princess,” one of the men drawled. “You settle down and we won’t hurt you.”
She turned her head to look at the man who had spoken. He was tall and wore a beard. As they began to force her along with them back to the main deck, she looked at the other man. He was smaller, not much taller than she was, and had dark skin. His body was compact and muscled, and she had a feeling that even if he had been the only one holding her, she could not get away. She stopped struggling. Best save her energy and wait for her moment.
They arrived on the main deck which was now lit with several torches. All of Hux’s men were lined up on their knees, arms tied behind their back. Hux kneeled with them, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his glare intense and focused on one of the dozen or so pirates on board. Rey also focused on that man, sure he was the leader.
Like the dark skinned man holding her, he wasn’t tall, but his presence made him seem large. His shoulder-length hair was dark and thick and it was pulled back into a pigtail. His features appeared to show an Iberian heritage, his patrician nose and dark eyebrows indicating Spanish blood, and maybe something more exotic. He wore what appeared to be a mockup of a Royal Navy uniform and she wondered if he had once been an officer. He was looking at Hux with a smirk on his face, then he turned to the other men, who like him looked less like criminals and more like legitimate sailors, and nodded at them. As one, they moved toward the hold, and Rey knew they were going to ransack the ship.
Suddenly, the pirate captain faced her. His dark eyes flashed as he stepped toward her, the corner of his mouth curling up once more. Rey tried to make contact with his eyes, determined to show defiance, but she had to look away after a moment; his gaze was too intense, too... something. It made her skin tingle.
“This must be our special guest,” he said, his voice pleasant. He had a strange accent, but his speech sounded educated and refined. “I am Captain Poe Dameron of the Virginia-based Resistance. And you are?”
At first, Rey wasn’t going to answer. She didn’t owe this man, however civilized he appeared to be, any answers. But then Hux opened his mouth.
“Don’t answer him!” he shouted at Rey. She looked over at the red-haired captain. “He’ll use that knowledge against us.”
With eyebrows raised, Dameron looked over at Hux, then back to Rey. “Are you that important?”
Rey bit her lip. “I’m nobody,” she said. “If I’m important to anybody, it’s only as something to barter with. I’m essentially being sold so my grandfather can get free goods from America.”
“Sold to whom?” The captain’s voice had darkened.
“Kyle Ren,” a voice said from the door to the hold. One of the younger pirates stood there, a parchment in his hand. “She and her dowry are to be safely delivered to Kyle Ren in Biloxi.”
Rey held her breath, watching as the man in front of her changed. His expression went from pleasant to wrathful in a heartbeat. He glared at her. “You’re to be wed to Ren?”
“Not by choice,” she hissed.
“When is a rich woman ever married off by choice?” said the dark skinned man, who was still standing at her right, keeping a loose grip on her arm.
Dameron’s expression became contemplative as his men began loading trunks and parcels from the hold and taking them across the gangplanks that had been laid down between the two ships now that they were close enough. He tilted his head. “If you are Ren’s intended, then I bet he would pay a pretty penny for you,” he said softly. He looked at the black man. “Take her onboard, Finn,” he said. “See that she’s made comfortable for her stay.”
Shocked, Rey could only shake her head as Hux began to yell and scream behind her. “Don’t you do this, Dameron!” he shouted. “He’ll kill you! She’s a Palpatine! Her grandfather will kill you!”
“A Palpatine?” Dameron scoffed. “Well, that explains things. No wonder you’re so important.” His eyes raked her up and down insolently. “You’ll definitely bring a good price.”
Still shaking her head in denial, she let the man called Finn take her to the gangplank and carefully maneuver her across. Almost in a daze, she was led below and toward the stern, where she knew the captain’s quarters were usually situated. Sure enough, she was taken to a small room with just enough space for a bed and a table. It was bare of any personal effects, so she knew it wasn’t where Dameron stayed, but it was better than the hammocks the crew slept in below deck.
Rey turned just as her escort set down the lamp he was carrying and left the room. She made eye contact with him before he could close the door. “Please?” she whispered, not sure what she was asking.
Finn’s look was compassionate. “I wouldn’t worry, miss,” he told her. “I daresay you’re in better hands with Captain Dameron than with Ren.” He nodded, then closed the door. Rey heard a key turn in the lock.
Sitting heavily on the bed, she sniffled, praying he was right.
******
Food and water were brought to her a short time later by the same young man who had discovered where she was going. She had felt the ship move and knew they were leaving the HMS Executor behind. A part of her was glad, but the other part was still fearful. Daylight appeared in the small window above the bed and she wondered where they were taking her. For the next several hours, she saw no one but the sailor who brought her food and water. His name was Beaumont, she finally gleaned, but that was all he would tell her.
Sometime during the afternoon, she lay down and slept.
When she woke, it was dark again, and she could hear the sound of the key in the lock. She sat up and reached for the lantern, which she had doused when it had become light, but before she could find the matches to relight it, the door opened.
Poe Dameron entered, carrying his own lantern. She watched him carefully as he stopped to look at her, then he moved further in, closing the door behind him and placing the lantern on the table.
He folded his arms in front of him. “Your fiancé replied quickly,” he told her. “He’s trying to lower your asking price, but I think he’ll give in eventually. He can’t stand the thought of me having you.”
Rey swallowed. “How much are you asking for?” she said, her voice raspy.
“Why do you care?”
Taking a deep breath, she continued. “Because I don’t want to go to him. I never wanted this. If I could pay you what you’re asking or more, would you let me go?”
“And how would you be able to do that? We already have your dowry.”
She bit her lip. “I have a necklace. One my father gave me. I have it hidden. It’s worth a lot. Diamonds.”
His eyes narrowed as he scanned her. “Hidden where?”
Taking another breath, she reached under her skirt to the pouch she had wrapped around her upper thigh, right below her garter. She untied it and pulled it out from under her skirts. “I’ve been trying to find a chance to escape for a while now,” she whispered as she glanced up at him. His expression was priceless, his mouth open and eyes wide in astonishment. "But they never let me out of their sight before we left port.” She opened the pouch and let the diamond necklace her father gave her for her fifteenth birthday fall into her hand.
“You’re serious?” he gasped. “Where would you go?”
“I’m not above menial work,” she told him. “My mother was a simple seamstress when my father met her, and he lived a modest life after he left his father’s house. He hated being a Palpatine.” She cleared her throat. “I know how to cook, sew, and I’m a fair hand when it comes to doctoring animals. I’m good with horses and cattle and I’m not afraid of hard work. I’ll get by.”
Dameron shook his head, still stunned.
“Please?” she begged him, offering him the necklace. “Find port somewhere away from Biloxi and let me go!”
Frowning, Dameron took the necklace and looked at it closely. “It’s lovely, but not enough,” he told her gruffly.
She wondered if he was lying. She stood. “Then I offer myself as well,” she told him. She was trying to be brave, but her whole body was trembling.
“Yourself?” he asked, his brow furrowing.
“Yes,” she confirmed. “Am I not attractive enough? I’ve been told I’m… pretty.”
He stood staring at her silently for a long moment. Then he shook his head. “You would really go that far to get away from Ren?”
Taking in a deep breath through her nose, she raised her chin. “Captain, I was about to jump overboard when you and your men showed up. That is how badly I want away from Ren.”
Dameron looked down at the necklace in his hand, then back up at her, his brow still furrowed. “I can take you to New Orleans. I have friends that can put you up, help you find work. You’ll have to give a different last name, but you should be able to hide well enough there.”
“Oh!” Rey gasped. “I… thank you!” She smiled, but then remembered the bargain she had been in the process of making. “I… we…” She licked her lips. “If you’ll allow me to clean up, we could…”
He shook his head. “Not necessary,” he told her, his voice rough. He turned toward the door. “Beau will bring you your dinner, soon.” He stopped and looked back, his eyes drifting down to rake her body. His gaze met hers and she shivered at his look. “I must be crazy,” he told her, then he turned and left. He did not lock the door behind him.
******
The next afternoon, they were docking in New Orleans.
Dameron escorted Rey down the gangplank onto the long wooden dock and then walked with her into the city. He told her the shop his friends owned was not far, so they continued walking through the bustling French port town. Rey looked about her with fascination. It was very different from London, and the variety of people was astounding. People of every race and size and culture swarmed the streets. The crowd consisted mostly of men, but Rey did see several women, and all of them appeared to be hard-working and modestly dressed. They seemed comfortable in their environment.
She walked on Dameron’s arm and no one looked askance at either of them. He had ensured she had fresh water this morning so she could give herself a sponge bath, and allowed her the use of his personal mirror to rearrange her disheveled hair. She had been very curious about his private quarters, and though she had looked around, she had refrained from snooping. Now, however, she let her curiosity take over.
“How long have you been a pirate, Mr. Dameron?”
“Captain,” he corrected her. “And I’m not a pirate. I’m a privateer.”
“What’s the difference?”
“I don’t do what I do for my own benefit,” he told her. “I work for my country.”
“You said you were from Virginia,” she argued. “That’s a part of the same country as the HMS Executor.”
“Most Virginians would argue that,” he told her wryly.
Rey frowned, more confused than she’d like to admit, but then she asked the other question that had been burning inside her since the night before. “Why didn’t you… take my offer?”
He glanced at her, but stayed silent.
“Am I not… attractive?” She truly didn’t know. Before her father died, she had often been complemented for her beauty, but since she had been living with her grandfather, she rarely saw anyone other than his servants, and they never spoke to her out of fear of Sheev. Personally, she felt she was too skinny, too pale. That her eyes were too big for her face.
He sighed. “Rey, you are a beautiful woman, and any man would be thrilled to take you to his bed, but…”
“But?”
“I have never made a habit of defiling innocent virgins and I don’t plan on starting now.”
Rey felt relief at his words, but she also felt a strange disappointment.
She glanced behind them as they continued walking and saw both Finn and Beaumont following them. Guarding them. She looked at Dameron. “Is Finn your slave?”
He snorted a laugh. “No. Finn is a free man.” He continued looking ahead. “He gets paid the same as my other officers.”
“Do you own slaves?”
He looked at her this time. “No. My father employs several people on his farm. Black, white, red. They are all free and they are all paid a fair wage. I plan to do the same when I take over.” He looked ahead once more. “Here we are.”
Rey looked up at a large building with a sign that read Antilles Room and Board. Dameron held open the door and followed her inside. A tall woman with graying hair met them.
“Poe!” she said with a smile, moving forward to kiss him on the cheek. “I wasn’t expecting you!”
“Just taking a little side trip,” Dameron told her with a smile. “Making a delivery, of sorts.” He looked at Rey and the woman also looked at her, curiosity dominating her face. “Norra, I’d like to introduce you to Rey…” He raised his eyebrows at her.
Remembering what he said about not using the Palpatine name, she thought fast. “Organa," she said, using the last name of one of the families her parents had been friends with back in London. “Rey Organa.”
Norra frowned and looked back and forth between her and Dameron. “Okay. And what can I do for Miss Organa?”
“She needs a job, Norra. And a place to hide from a certain somebody from Biloxi.”
“The same certain somebody you had a run in with last year?”
“The same,” Dameron nodded.
The older woman looked back at Rey. “Can you cook and clean?”
“Yes,” Rey nodded. “And I’m a quick learner if I don’t know how to do something.”
Norra nodded. “Five francs per week including your own room and board.”
Rey nodded, a bit overwhelmed. She was actually getting a job! “Agreed.”
Dameron reached out and squeezed Norra’s arm. “Thank you. You know how to reach me if you need me.” He turned to Rey, pulling a small pouch out of his pocket. He handed it to Rey. “The currency here changes more frequently than the controlling country, so you better take this.”
Rey took it, opening it and looking inside as Dameron turned to leave. At least five pounds sterling was inside, as well as the necklace her father had given her. Shocked, she looked up.
“Poe!” she cried, using his given name for the first time.
He turned.
“Thank you.”
His enigmatic eyes dark and his expression serious, his stared at her for a long time, then he nodded slowly. With that, he turned and left.
******
The first week was the hardest, but Norra and her husband Wedge were both extremely patient with her, and soon she was more than comfortable doing the laundry and helping with the cooking. Norra had decided it would be best she stay out of the public eye for the time being, but Rey was convinced she was in the clear. There was no way this Kyle Ren could find her here.
It was about four weeks after Poe had left her with the Antilles that she found out how wrong she was. Wedge came rushing in one afternoon while Rey was wiping down tables in the dining area. “Ren is in New Orleans,” he said without preamble.
Norra looked at Rey in panic, then back at Wedge. “Did you..?”
“Yes,” Wedge nodded. “I sent a message to Poe, but who knows how far away he is now? He’s been talking about going back home for months!”
“Virginia?” Rey squeaked. She didn’t know the geography of the Colonies that well, but she did know Virginia was a long way from New Orleans.
“Don’t worry,” Norra told her, trying to stay calm herself. “Not many people even know about you, and Ren has never met you, has he?”
Rey shook her head. “No.” But the captain and crew from the Executor had. If Hux was helping him search for her…
“Why don’t you take the rest of the day off and stay in your room, Rey?” Wedge told her. “We’ll let you know when it’s safe.”
Rey nodded, removing her apron and heading up the stairs to the cozy little bedroom on the third floor. She paced for a while, constantly looking out the window, then she tried to read the book Norra had given her. As darkness began to fall, she heard Norra tap on the door.
“Poe is also in town,” she told Rey when she opened the door. “He got wind Ren was heading this way.”
Rey nodded, feeling relief, but then wondering why. “But what can he do? Legally, I already belong to Ren.”
Norra worried her lower lip with her teeth. “He’ll think of something.”
Not even an hour later, Rey was ready to run. Her nerves were shot and her patience gone. She should never have believed she could escape her grandfather or his associates.
Suddenly, there was a commotion in the streets below her window. She watched in horror as a man she assumed was Kyle Ren stood, at least ten men at his back, pointing a pistol at Wedge, who was holding a musket. “No!” she gasped, leaving her room and running down the stairs. She would not let anyone die for her!
She rushed out the door. “Stop!” she cried.
“Rey, get back in the building,” Wedge growled.
All the men with Ren were armed, and they were all pointing their weapons at Wedge and the two cooks he had standing with him. They were outnumbered.
“Please Wedge,” Rey said. “I’m not worth it.”
Ren was staring at her. “My darling Rey,” he exclaimed sarcastically. He was tall, lean, and strong. His ink black hair was pulled back and his brown eyes flashed. A long scar ran down the side of his face, making his angry expression almost evil. “I finally found you! You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for you.”
“You don’t want me,” she told him. “My dowry is lost.”
“Oh, I’m sure your grandfather will make it up to me,” he snarled, looking her up and down. Unlike when Poe had done the same thing, this man’s perusal made her feel dirty. “You’re coming with me.” He raised his pistol again, aiming not at Wedge, but at Norra. The crowd that had started gathering around gasped.
Rey stepped forward. “As long as no one gets hurt.”
“Oh, I’ll make sure of that,” said a cool voice from behind her.
Rey spun around to find Poe standing calmly in the road, his men gathered around behind him. None of them had weapons drawn, but they were all visible.
“Dameron!” Ren said. “I thought you’d gone back home to Virginia. Ready to retire from the sea, I thought someone had said.”
“That’s the plan,” Poe nodded. “But I left something here that I feel like I need to bring back home with me.” He looked at Rey and winked.
Ren snorted. “I’m sorry, that’s my wife you’re looking at.”
“She’s not your wife!”
“As good as!”
“You can’t marry me!” Rey interrupted. “I already told you that you don’t want me, and it has nothing to do with my dowry!”
Ren’s eyes flashed to her. “What do you mean?”
Rey turned to Poe. “I haven’t had my courses since you brought me here,” she said softly, but loud enough for Ren to hear.
At first, Poe’s expression was confused, then his eyes flared with understanding. “Then you must marry me,” he said loudly. He looked at Ren. “Unless you want an heir with Indian blood?”
Ren looked at Rey, disgust on his face. “Was he even the first?” he asked.
Feeling heat rise in her cheeks, Rey raised her chin. “That’s no concern of yours, is it?”
Ren glared at Poe, then looked back at Rey. “You can have her, Dameron. I’m not taking another man’s leavings.”
Embarrassment and anger filled Rey at the man’s words, but she said nothing. As long as there was no blood shed, she didn’t care about her reputation.
Ren spun on his heel and pushed through the crowd, his men following.
Shuddering, Rey felt her body droop and tears formed in her eyes. After this, she wondered if the Antilles would even want to keep her on.
She felt gentle hands on her shoulders. “Rey?” Poe said softly as he turned her to face him.
“I’m sorry,” she told him. “I said the first thing I could think of to keep him from shooting. I knew it would keep him away from me.” She laughed softly. “It will keep everyone away from me.”
“That’s not true,” Norra said as she and Wedge stepped close. “You’ll find people around here aren’t as judgmental as those where you came from.”
Rey gave her a grateful look, noticing as she did so that the crowd was dispersing, more upset that no one had gotten shot than they were about the supposed virtue of an unknown woman who worked at a boarding house.
“Well,” Poe said as he let one of his hands slide down her arm so he could take her hand in his. “It looks like you have two options now that Ren is out of your life.”
Rey looked at him in surprise, trying not to show him how much she liked holding his hand. “Two options?” she asked.
Poe nodded. “You can either stay here with Norra and Wedge, working an honest job and waiting for some lucky sod to earn your approval and marry you, or…”
“Or?”
“You can come back to Virginia with me, help me raise the best horses and cattle in the county, and make what you told Ren about being late with your courses the truth.”
Rey’s mouth dropped open in shock. “Are you serious?” she whispered.
His eyes large and sincere, he nodded. “Yes. I’m very serious.” He brought up the hand not holding hers and cupped her cheek. “Marry me, Rey.”
Nodding, Rey gave him a soft smile. “Yes,” she whispered. “I think I’d like that.”
Rey Palpatine may have been forced to come to this new land and marry a man she had never met, but in doing so she found a man she felt she could not only be friends with, but be true partners with. A man who respected her choices and believed in her capabilities.
A man she knew she could love.
THE END