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Kylo let the surprise show on his face as Awreyja Ciara Palpatine, crown princess of Exegol, entered his chambers late at night. Quietly, so as not to attract the attention of the staff patrolling the castle corridors.
Of course, it wasn't as if he hadn't expected her at all, just not necessarily on this day.
Awreyja - or Rey, as she called herself - softly closed the door behind her and secured the latch before she turned around and looked in his direction with grim determination. Kylo liked the way her eyes moved quickly over him, her lips pressed into a thin line while surveying him sitting at his desk. Then she seemed to remember herself and relaxed her features until she looked almost sensual. She fluttered her eyelashes far too slowly for it to be real.
Interesting.
His guest stayed near the door and tilted her head, which was probably meant to look alluring. Dear God, she really needed a teacher.
Kylo pulled the chair he was sitting in all the way around and towards her, because she truly deserved all the attention. He wondered what she had planned this time.
Meanwhile, Rey swallowed and took a step forward, her expression alternating between furrowed brows and parted lips, as if she couldn't make up her mind how she felt about her visit. Which was probably true.
Leaning back, he decided to end the silence, to find out a little more about her. One truth every time they met, as he had promised himself a few months ago.
"Good evening, my lady. What an unexpected surprise it is to see you here, at this time of the day. Or... rather, of the night."
Rey raised her chin in defiance before she remembered herself and lowered her head again, a sweet smile plastered on her lips.
"Yesterday at the banquet, you seemed lonely, and it tugged at my heartstrings."
At this precise moment, Rey was not fiddling with her heartstrings, but with the strings that criss-crossed over the top of her gown. She managed to loosen them enough to get her fingers underneath, and now it was Kylo who cocked his head in rapt attention, his eyes focused on her hand reaching under the garment to pull something out.
Well, it was a nice try. Much nicer than the poisoned wine, he had to admit. Rey struggled to carry on with her murderous project, licking her lips in an attempt to draw his attention away from her bosom. She almost succeeded.
Kylo hummed encouragingly, he'd rather watch her next assassination attempt than attend to his boring correspondence.
Though he was starting to get a little stressed on her behalf. If she was going to fiddle with the dagger under her clothes any longer, he feared that she might hurt herself.
With a sigh, Kylo got up and walked over to her, tutting softly. Rey faltered in her feeble attempts, her hand still clutching her bodice and her face growing pale.
"Sweetheart, what did I tell you?"
"That I should make it more personal?"
"Well, that too. And you did, much more so than that time you scared my poor horse into bucking me off. But always think of a way to distract your opponent."
"But I did..."
"Ah, yes. That. As lovely as it is to watch you bare your breasts for me, all it has achieved is to draw my attention to the dagger you are hiding there."
"There is no dagger!"
Kylo gave her a look. "You lied better when you set that trap in the woods with all those spears. Come on, don't get lazy."
Rey gulped, her hand maintaining a death grip on the weapon near her heart.
Kylo placed his hand carefully over hers, his forefinger lightly tracing the seam of her dress, almost brushing against the skin of her cleavage. He didn't stop looking into her wide eyes as he slid his fingers under the fabric and took hold of the dagger. Rey's breath came in nervous little puffs and he entertained the idea of kissing it away from her lips.
The small accompanying brush across smooth skin was his well-deserved reward for the, what, eleventh attempt to take his life?
"Next time, strap it to your calf and pretend you want to pleasure my cock with your mouth."
Heat rose to her cheeks and Kylo smiled at his little dove. Oh, what he would give to have her come to him of her own free will. She would, he thought. Eventually. Maybe 3, 4 more attempts on his life. Not more than five. He hoped.
"If you really put your heart into it, don't just pretend to kneel, but really do it. Once you put those beautiful lips to good work, no one would pay attention to your hand. And then - where would you plunge the dagger?"
"Through your rude tongue?"
"No, my dear. Right here."
With his free hand, he took hers and placed it just above his thigh, just where his leg joined his pelvis.
"It would make a very, very big mess, but your target will bleed out faster than you can imagine."
Rey gasped, and it pleased Kylo to no end to have her so close, to have her hands on his body. She tried to pull her hand away, but he held on, only letting go after another lingering look into her angry eyes. She glanced nervously at the door, obviously considering her options.
"See, and you did not give yourself an escape route in case things went sideways. Really, Rey, you need to protect yourself better, I can't be here every time you get in trouble.”
"As if you were not the sole reason for my troubles."
Kylo decided to ignore the barb. It wasn't as if he had imprisoned her. Well, technically he had, but he knew she was using the secret tunnels to meet with those traitors and rebel scum she called friends. He had decided to let it slide. Better to know where the danger came from.
"And this..." he lifted the weapon he had taken from her to have a closer look at it. It was, in fact, a poniard, a narrow dagger with a pointed tip and a gross guard, usually carried by noblemen. Emblazoned with the crest of Alderaan.
"Please give my coldest regards to my mother."
He twirled the blade between his fingers, studying his little assassin as she tried to hide her nervousness. Surprising enough, she showed just that, but no fear, it seemed. Well, they had grown close in a morbid sort of way over the past seven months, since he had usurped her grandfather's castle and the land with it.
What began as a nuisance to him and as furious resistance on her part turned into a cherished, albeit a bit murderous, pastime of sorts. Anyway, he was by now bored enough to write stilted letters to the lords of the surrounding lands, and if nothing else, that should really give him pause.
At first, he was just too busy trying to figure out what to do with Rey after he'd stuck his sword through her grandfather's chest and taken his place.
Then one of his knights suggested that marrying the former ruler's heir might help his subjects get used to the sudden change in leadership. It was a nice idea, if it weren't for the fact that his future wife tried to kill him at every opportunity. Though her assassination attempts in these past two months had lacked dedication. The sword that fell from the main beam in the great hall as he walked under it barely nicked his ear.
Kylo sighed. Oh, what to do with the little devil.
"Will you call the guards?" Rey spoke as she stealthily inched her way closer to the window, and Kylo could barely keep a frown from his face. They were at least ten meters above the ground, she couldn't really entertain the thought of jumping out.
"Why would I do that? I wouldn’t want to imagine the stir it would cause, if you were to be found in my chambers at night." Kylo shook his head and took a step to the side, positioning himself between her and a certain fall to the death. Rey's shoulders slumped.
"Now what?"
"Now you hurry out the door and don't let anyone see you. And next time, think a little more about how you can ensure your own protection when push comes to shove.”
Kylo walked Rey back to his door with his hand around her arm, and he couldn't help but notice that she didn't shy away from him like she would have seven months ago. He unlocked the door and tucked the dagger under his belt as a small souvenir.
"And Princess, if you would grant me one wish, please work on improving this 'version' of how I might kick the bucket. Because, in truth, I liked it quite a bit. Please no more poisoned food, my dear. After Kuruk tried the roasted mutton, he couldn't leave the privy for two days, the poor fellow.”
Rey had the decency to look sheepishly at the ground while muttering that she had nothing to do with it. Then she was gone, her form disappearing into the darkened hallway, her footsteps hurrying back toward her own chambers.
Just a little while longer, Kylo thought, and she would stop looking at him with disgust. She had already changed her behavior around him, and so had he. Maybe she didn't miss the cruel old king too terribly, and maybe, contrary to what he had thought at first, some things didn't need to be changed.
Kylo smiled to himself as he closed the door. He couldn't wait to see what Rey would come up with next.