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Awakened

Summary:

A hardened knight.
A doomed prince.
Only a kiss can wake him from his deadly sleep — a special kind of kiss…

Rey had only one task: get the witch to the prince. She didn’t expect to be his savior. Now the man is smitten with her. If only he wasn’t so charming, handsome, sweet, intelligent, and downright vicious in battle, she wouldn’t find herself foolishly falling in love. But his world is one she could never live in, nor would it—or his mother—ever accept someone with a past like hers.

Prince Ben is besotted with his dream woman and will stop at nothing to gain her hand. But while he fights to court the reluctant warrior, evil has seeded itself in his castle with deadly consequences. Will Ben root out the culprit and win the hand of knight-errant Rey? Or will his mother’s stubbornness and judgments doom them all?



Notes:

So this wild little tale is a Reverse Sleeping Beauty with a twist, but that's just the beginning! For there is much more afoot in the land of Alderaan, and it will take a team of Ben, Rey, and all their allies to set it right. This story is a Medieval Fantasy with more realistic elements despite the dragons, giants, witches, and rancors. Basically, more herbs and animals, less zap and poof. Also, while I try to keep the major characters close to their canonical behavior, we're definitely leaning toward original concepts and OOC behaviors in some of the side characters.

I've chosen to list this as "Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings" as the non-con somnophilia in the tags is falls in a category of non-malicious intent. Since it only happens in this chapter, if you need to know specifically what happens during it before reading, I will post a brief summary in the chapter end notes. PLEASE READ THE TAGS as Rey's past is painful and references will be made to it throughout the story, including some bad takes from unsavory characters.

I especially want to thank Aviendha69 for helping me sort through this tangled little tale for the past four months and listen to me go on and on about it LOL and Nixcomix for beta reading this monster and saving me from my own chaos. Any oops is my own.

Finally, this story was inspired by this incredible image by Artcraawl (posted with permission) that formed an entire novel in one viewing. Please visit Artcraawl on Twitter for more gorgeous art!



(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: The Sleeping Beauty

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Rey roared beneath her helm as she jammed her sword into yet another adversary. After bracing a foot on the dying man’s stomach, she pulled her sword free just to swing into the neck of another. The kingdom was under siege, and she was protecting its only hope.

“Bit of a mess here, eh?” Maz called behind her, clutching a stuffed leather bag in her arms. The old witch was rather calm for being in the center of a war zone.

Rey cut through another enemy. “I’ll get you through.” She didn’t care how many she had to kill or who was in her way. She had a mission, and that was to get the witch and her precious cargo into the castle.

Blood and steel, the tang of metal layered over the stench of death all around them as they made their way through soldier after soldier. Rey couldn’t wait to get back onto the battlefield once this mission was done. Her brethren needed her against the massive army of the neighboring kingdom. As a knight-errant, she served no lord, only the good of all, be they merchant, farmer, or prince. That was her way.

Let the witch do what she had to do and hopefully succeed. Rey’s path always led back onto the bloodstained road.

Finally at the gate, Rey called to the castle guard, Finn, and the rest of the crew. Poe, Snap, and Hux shored up the entry and allowed Rey and Maz to pass. That required at least one more stab as an enemy soldier slipped through and almost infiltrated the castle grounds. ‘Almost’ being the operative word, because Rey didn’t let mistakes like that happen.

Once the gate held again, Finn waved them onward. “This way!”

“Go!” Rey said to the witch and followed close behind. Someone in the castle betrayed the royal family, someone who was still at large, and Rey was going to make sure Maz got to the prince’s chamber.

She wished she had time to admire the aqua-streaked marble walls with deep forest green bases or the intricate copper ornamentation along the borders and inlaid designs. Life hadn’t afforded her the opportunity to see such opulence in person, and it didn’t now. Still, it was amazing to look up at the paintings and tapestries and marvel at what human hands could create. Hers only caused death, albeit necessary in times of war.

Up through the stairs of the north wing they charged. Servants were frozen in place, terrified of what would happen next. If the guard faltered, the castle would be overrun by their mortal enemy. If the prince died, leaving no heir, they might as well let their adversary take over the kingdom. Everything, absolutely everything, hinged on Maz being successful.

Finally, at a set of ornately carved doors, Finn pounded on the wood, echoing in the stone hall. “Your Highness, it’s Finn of the Guard. The witch and her escort are here.”

“Send them in at once!” the queen commanded from within. The doors swung open, one heaved by a blond girl with covered braids, the other by a young man with hair slicked tightly to his head.

“This is Kaydel and Mitaka,” Finn said. “The queen’s handmaiden and the prince’s personal servant. They’ll get you everything you need.”

Rey nodded once and clacked her forearm against his armor in acknowledgment of the bond of their secret crew. Then she ushered Maz inside, taking one last look around for anything suspicious.

Once within the prince’s chambers, Mitaka swung a heavy bar over the door, keeping anyone else out. Rey watched the entrance for a few more moments before turning to the source of all this chaos.

To be honest, she never looked too closely at the prince before. She was not of any high standing and never would be. Seemed no point to even bother observing her sovereign. Vaguely, in passing, she knew he was tall with dark hair, that was it.

So, when she finally saw the Prince of Alderaan himself, she was taken aback. He was far more handsome than she’d ever expected, his jet-black hair incredibly thick and shiny as it spread out in waves around his head. A short mustache and beard strengthened his long, pale face, and he had a mouth that reminded her of lush rose petals.

His giant hands rested over his sword, as if already preparing for the tomb. And maybe that’s exactly where he was in this stage of poisoning.

Maz slipped a tiny spoon into his mouth and scooped. Whatever she pulled out, she stuck into a vial and stirred. An unnerving shade of green filled the thin glass, and the witch nodded. “White Snakewood, as I suspected from what Rey told me. A particularly dangerous formulation at that.” She pressed her ancient fingers along the man’s neck. “Heartbeat is very slow. Even with the antidote, if it can’t pump through his body fast enough, this may be for naught.”

“Try,” Queen Leia said, wringing her hands. What little Rey ever saw of her in the past, she was something otherworldly, a statue or myth in emerald silk. Now, not even the copper and gold embroidery on her hem could brighten the diminished state of the graying woman trying to hide her dismay. “I prefer to err on the side of hope, especially when it comes to my only child.”

Maz nodded. “As you wish.” Bottles rattled as the elder woman pulled them from the leather straps that held them tightly and safely in her bag. As she prepared her concoctions, Rey kept one keen eye on the door but occasionally glanced over to see what the witch was doing. There were few antidotes out there, especially against White Snakewood poisoning. Rey had been through hell finding the only person who had the recipe. But that was her duty as a knight-errant: to step beyond the role of soldier and do what was necessary, even if it meant trudging through a swamp and a briar thicket, then riding her horse hard through a war to arrive at the castle gate.

And she needed to get back out there, give the damn bastards of Exegol a taste of her power.

They say she fought as if chosen by God, wearing his protection and bearing his sword. That’s how good she was. Kira Solana is what they called her in the old Alderaanian tongue: the Sword of God. Rey didn’t put much regard into it. Her senses were sharp, intuition serving her just as much as strategy, and there were a few skirmishes even she was surprised to have survived. But there was no benevolent god on the battlefield, only the bloodthirsty ones dancing in the sacrificial red.

Once the witch did her job, and Rey was no longer needed, she would get back out there. Be the pinnacle of light in the darkest of times, with the Ancient Ones of life and death guiding her hand.

“Mitaka?” Maz said. “Is that your name, dear? Come, help me with him.”

Rey turned as the witch withdrew a finger from the prince’s mouth. A tinge of purple still lay upon it and decorated his plump lips. Damn, he was so incredibly pale, such a contrast to the ebony halo. She hoped he survived for the sake of the kingdom, of course, but to lose someone so pretty would be a tragedy on its own. A full-on cataclysm. Few men really caught her eye. It would be a crime if the only one that had ever struck her so deeply was lost to the world.

“Remove his clothing,” Maz said. “We have to rub this one all along his skin.”

Rey sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. This was a turn of events she hadn’t expected. She couldn’t help but peek as the team of Mitaka, the witch, and his mother went to work, the servant girl Kaydel averting her eyes. The indigo doublet, rich with gold embroidery, came first, nimble fingers working buttons out of the looping frogs. After that was removed, they pulled the ties of his deep blue shirt of shining silk. She was sure those two articles of clothing alone could purchase an entire tavern.

What was revealed next made Rey’s knees weaken. That body that lay beneath all that fabric was not that of a spoiled prince but of a trained warrior, fit and built to lead his army in battle. Tight muscles, sinuous and thick, left mountainous curves from top to bottom.

Rey wasn’t much for prayer, but she dipped into it now, pleading for his life. Not that she’d ever get to touch him, but dreaming of a beautiful man was much more pleasurable when he was alive.

After working off pants and boots that could buy row of houses, the trio rubbed a thin cream onto him, working it deep into his skin. Rey wanted to ask if she could help, actually get to touch that beauty, but it wouldn’t be appropriate. If it was required of her, she would have been asked.

The three took to cleaning their hands in a stream of water Kaydel poured from a pitcher. “What now?” Queen Leia asked.

Maz sighed. “Now we wait. Hope. Though without it pumping through his system, I’m not sure how well it will take.”

“Isn’t there anything we can do to get his blood pumping faster?” Kaydel asked.

“Would be easier if he was at least conscious, if he could swallow. But this is the best we can do for him now.”

“What if we moved his legs as if he was running? Would his body think it so and make his heart beat faster?”

Rey rolled her eyes out of their line of sight. That would not work. The only thing she’d known to get a man’s blood pumping was…

Oh…

No, they’d never go for that.

“Ben, please!” Queen Leia cried, stroking his hair. She broke into tears, and that struck Rey hard. The royal family was supposed to maintain their stoic decorum at all times. If the queen was crying in the open, even amongst two servants, a witch, and an unknown knight-errant, the situation was desperate.

Maybe they needed a desperate solution.

Rey removed her helm and turned from her guard post at the door. She shook her hair out and stomped over, her armor rattling with every bounce. “I can get his heart pumping. It may be the only way.” She stopped at his body and looked from Mitaka to Maz. “The queen should step out.”

The incredulous, tear-stained face looked up at her. “I won’t leave my son!”

Rey sighed, locked eyes with Maz, and tried to communicate exactly why she needed the queen to step out. Thankfully, Maz understood and nodded.

“My dear queen,” the witch said, “there are some methods a mother shouldn’t be privy to.”

Leia’s eyes widened, and she gasped. “Do you mean—at a time like this?!”

“It may very well be the only thing that saves him.”

“You’re talking about touching his most sacred—while he’s unconscious—without his knowledge! This is wrong on all levels!”

“I’m certainly open to trying any other method if you can think of one, Your Highness.”

Leia rose to her feet in anger, then turned her back. Moments passed, a few very precious moments, and Rey wished the woman would just accept this solution so she could do what was necessary. Then, “Mitaka, Kaydel, keep watch. Inform me if a problem arises.” With that, she stormed off to the side chamber.

Kaydel’s huge, innocent eyes looked back and forth from Rey to the witch. “What are you going to do?”

“Turn around and mind yourself,” Rey said with enough authority the young woman obliged immediately. Mitaka merely swallowed and nodded. Rey glanced up at Maz. The old woman gave her a knowing smile and stepped back.

Rey didn’t do this often. Usually, her partners weren’t terribly deserving. But this beautiful creature needed her, and it was a worthy task. She unlatched the plate armor on her chest and set it and her helm aside on a table, giving her a little more mobility. Her gauntlets joined that, and with her bare hand, she pulled aside the cloth covering his most private region.

Well now. That was just as impressive as the rest of him. She wondered if giants roamed his bloodline.

No time to ponder—to do anything really—just get to work. She grasped the soft, malleable appendage, attempting first to work it awake. But time was not on their side, and she decided the direct approach was best.

After wetting her lips, she took him into her mouth. Her tongue explored his every region, her heat and wetness calling to him to join her. Deep suckles and teasing licks, she had to get him to respond. His life literally depended on it.

Too much time was passing, and he remained as limp as—wait! Thicker, Rey was sure he was thicker now. Firmer—yes! She suckled him even stronger, deeper, her tongue racing over every ridge.

“It’s working!” Maz whispered. “His pulse is increasing. Keep at it, girl!”

That was getting a little more difficult as his length and girth grew to full, stony hardness. Prince indeed. Erratic gasps made his chest rise and fall, and blooms of pink scattered across his pale skin.

It was working! By the gods, it was working!

Rey popped off but kept her hand moving. “Do you think that’s enough?”

Maz shrugged. “Eh, why cut him off now? Might as well take him all the way. Though I’d spit out his royal milk if I were you. The poison could be lingering in it.”

Rey had already swallowed enough early juices to make her concerned, but that was the way of the warrior. One’s life was laid before one’s charge, even if her sword was sheathed and her lifesaving tool was her mouth.

She latched onto him again, delighting in the hefty rise of his chest. Moans and vague words left his lips, muttering from a dreamscape, and she wondered just what images danced behind his eyes.

Deeper and deeper his chest heaved until a shuddering cry left his lips and his mark skated across her tongue. She kept him going for just a few moments more, concerned about the potentially toxic load she now held in her mouth. Taking Maz’s advice, she quickly pulled off and spit into the proffered cloth in the witch’s hand.

A bottle with a purple tinged liquid was pressed into her palm. “Have a sip,” Maz said while covering the prince up once again. “This will counteract anything that slipped into you. Save the rest in case you fall ill later.”

The door to the side room swung open as Rey took to sampling the liquid, the queen demanding to know what was happening, concerned after hearing her son cry out. Worry turned to joy as an incredibly deep voice responded to his mother. Rey didn’t look back as the miraculous scene unfolded behind her. She had done her job, saved the prince’s life, and after corking her bottle, she would return to the battlefield.

He would live, and that’s all that mattered. There was nothing left for her to do there.

Rey gathered her helm and armor from the table and headed toward the door.

“Wait!” Leia called.

Rey turned, but instead of paying attention to the queen, her eyes latched onto the incredible set of brown eyes staring at her from the bed. Adoration, wonder, and longing sparkled in the sweetest gaze she had ever seen on a full grown, massive man.

Oh, she did not need that. She did not need the feelings that arose, especially regarding someone who could never be hers. She cleared her throat. “Your Highness?”

“Thank you,” Leia said with a short, grateful, graceful bow.

Rey nodded. “Glad to help.” Her eyes returned once more to Prince Ben and found the most beautiful smile laced with dimples upon his face. It sparked such a feeling in her she could not begin to describe, but it made her smile back in return. Broadly.

Oh no. She had to go. She had to go now.

~*~

“He’s looking for you,” Finn said in the crew’s private dining room just off the main floor of the tavern. He threaded his brown hands behind his head. “Royal decree. The female warrior who served the prince is to return at once to the castle. Information on her whereabouts is welcomed and encouraged.”

Rey rested her feet on the hewn-oak table and drank from her ale. “And?”

Poe hoisted his own wooden tankard. “Well, you know we won’t say anything.”

“Hardly anyone else knows who you are, anyway,” Hux said, his flame-red hair always standing out in a group. “Far as we know.”

“But the captain says he’s keeping an eye out for you.” Finn buffed a spot on his armor. “Snoke can be a bit of a bastard. Ruthless. You’d do well to stay clear of him if you’re avoiding his Royal Highness.”

Rey sighed. “I plan to avoid all of them.”

A dark-haired woman barged in with another pitcher and a basket of bread. “Plan to avoid what?” Rose set down both items with no delicate effort and blew an errant strand out of her face.

“The prince, the royal family, the castle. Anyone with a drop of blue blood. You know, the usual.” Rey spun the handle of a knife, its point gnawing at an already worked hole in the wooden table. 

Rose picked up a roll and flung it at Rey, who instantly caught it. “You’re an idiot! You saved his life. There’s a reward in that!”

“She’s got a point,” Poe said, slipping a tan hand through his thick, black curls. “Maybe that’s what the decree is about. A hefty thanks and a chest full of gold. Not a bad haul.”

“Or a seat in the castle,” Finn said.

Rose added, “Or a marriage proposal.” Only silence and a fierce glare from Rey greeted that answer. “What? I’d take it.”

Rey snorted. “You don’t even know him. He could be some kind of pervert and you’d marry him without knowing a thing about him?”

“Beats serving you idiots.”

Stocky Snap picked up his tankard of ale. “Exactly how did you save his life anyway—” Rey’s dagger flew out of her hand and stuck into the side of his cup. Snap blinked and raised his brow. “Or perhaps that’s a story best kept to yourself.”

Rose growled. “Would you stop throwing knives into all my dishes?!”

Rey bared her teeth in a wicked smile. “When people stop being stupid, sure.”

Rose sat on the table and took a drink from Finn’s tankard. “The only one being stupid here is you. You saved a prince’s life. Cash in on that!”

How did she make them understand? It was one thing to help other common folk, and truthfully, she survived off their gratitude. But the nobility? The royals? They were strange creatures who knew nothing of real life, made things more complicated for people like her, and were best left alone.

Get in, do the job, get out. That was her way. Whatever the prince could possibly want from her, it wasn’t worth the complications that came with it. Especially that little spark that kept relighting every time she thought of him.

“The reward is in knowing he lives.” Rey sighed, her vision plagued with those deep brown eyes yet again. “That’s all I’ll ever take from him.”

~*~

“You’re saying you have no idea.” Prince Ben forced himself to stand tall and commanding as he gave his captain of the Royal Guard an incredulous smile. His near death still had him feeling weak. The nerves in his feet were slowly returning, but numbness often left him stumbling, and some days it was a struggle to stay upright. Still, he had to hide his reliance on a walking stick outside his personal quarters. “A woman warrior, and you have no clue who she is.”

David Snoke always seemed impossibly large despite being the same height as Ben and withering in his advancing age. The man wore ornamented armor that once gleamed with his high status but now bore decades-worth of battle scars. Yet that was the epitome of Snoke—proud of his noble status just as much as his combat-prowess and experience on the battlefield. Which made it even more surprising he wouldn’t know who this soldier was that fought on their side.

Irritation was clear in David Snoke’s reddened ears, but he always kept his composure. “She is a knight-errant, not of any lord or of my ranks. She shows up in battle as if some sort of savior, slashing her way through, then disappears before the bodies are counted. I doubt it’s a woman at all. Probably a teen boy. What woman could bear such power?”

“I assure you; this was a woman. Mitaka said he saw her lead the witch onto the grounds, fight off attackers, and when she removed her helm and armor, it was obvious she was a woman. We are looking for a female knight-errant or soldier, and someone must know who she is. Where she is. I must find her.” Ben rubbed his brow and leaned against a wall for support. When were the damn effects of this poison going to end? He’d never been this weak for so long.

“Are you alright?” Snoke asked, blue eyes tracing the prince from head to toe. Concern was evident on his severely scarred face, a wound he received in battle before Ben was born.

“Just fatigue. I didn’t sleep well.” No one could know how weak he really was, not even the man who taught him everything he knew about battle, was even like a second father. Rumor spread too fast in the castle, and there was still a poisoner at large. Best not to tempt the perpetrator any further. “Do me a favor. Just ask around. Someone must know.”

“As you wish, sire.”

Ben departed the captain’s quarters, flanked by his personal guard on all sides and holding his head high despite the trembling in his muscles. He had to get to his bedchamber as fast as possible so he could lie down.

The marble hallways were a blur, the voices of servants a scattered hum. He forced smiles and nods without hearing a word and tried not to catch his dragging feet on the forest-green carpet.

With all the strength he had left, he managed to make it without faltering. Once the doors shut, he took two steps and collapsed, just barely reaching the bed. As Mitaka helped drag him onto the inviting mattress, he recalled Maz telling him this was all temporary. He just had to keep taking the medicine, and he’d get better soon. If only it didn’t feel like forever.

If he had his strength back, he could ride out himself and find his mystery savior. But right now, he could only think of pillows, blankets, and rest. Damn. The more time that passed, the less likely he was to retrieve her. What if she left Alderaan? Was she even of his kingdom? Was she a visitor? Where did she go? Did his decree not reach her?

Perhaps he needed something else, something more enticing, something to make her come to him if he couldn’t go to her.

A temptation guaranteed to work.

~*~

“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!” Queen Leia screeched, mere days later.

Ben sighed in his red, velvet chair and rubbed his head. “Do you mind? Loud sounds still make my head ache.”

She unraveled the scroll. “By decree of his Royal Highness, Prince Benjamin Skywalker Solo of Alderaan does so declare that upon bearing proof of identity, he will marry the woman knight-errant that saved his life.” Leia whacked the scroll with her hand. “Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?!”

“Got her to come to me?”

Leia shook it as she spoke. “If Coruscant gets a hold of this, it will infuriate the king! I had you promised to Bazine!”

“You suggested it, and I never agreed.”

“You didn’t say no either!”

“That was then! That was before her…my savior…” He smiled.

His mother’s face turned a furious shade of red. “You offer the kingdom to a woman whose sole interaction with you was mouthing your unmentionables while you were UNCONSCIOUS?!”

Ben stuck his finger up. “Not true. I smiled at her, and she smiled at me.”

“THAT DOES NOT MAKE FOR A MARRIAGE!”

“Neither does forcing me to marry some woman I don’t even know!”

Leia threw the decree onto the table and leaned in toward him. Tiny as she was, somehow she loomed above all with her presence alone, including her six-foot-three son. “It is a good match with Bazine. Uniting with Coruscant will give us the power we need to put Exegol down for good.” She sat and flung her hand toward the window. “Heaven knows Chandrila and Dathomir will never help anyone but themselves.”

Ben gestured toward himself. “And I am supposed to throw away whatever desires I have for some political gain? Really, Mother. I nearly died, and it took that to make me realize no life was worth living that wasn’t my own.”

“You are a prince soon to come of age and be crowned king. You have got to stop these selfish pursuits—”

“And you have to stop treating every damn thing in a political manner!” He hated raising his voice toward his mother, but her obsession with duty put a long-time strain on him since his father’s untimely death. They had done nothing but argue since losing the man that centered them both, leaving them flailing.

He pressed his finger against the carved, ebony wood of the armrest. “I will not enter into a marriage with someone I don’t even like, let alone love, simply to fight a war against Exegol!”

“We don’t have the luxury to serve some whim of yours!” To his chagrin, no matter how he dished it, she could come back just as hard. “They were at our doors! If not for our guards holding them back, we would have been overrun!”

“And if not for that knight, I would be dead, and this castle would be hoisting the Exegol flag!” He turned aside in a huff, but swung back just as quickly, his finger pointed. “I owe her my life! And both you and this entire kingdom owe her a debt!”

“Then give her whatever she wants as a reward and come back to your senses, would you?”

“My senses…” He sighed and tipped his head against the backrest. “My senses are consumed with her.”

Leia sat with little grace in her frustration. “You know nothing of her. What is there to be consumed by?”

A hint of a smile graced his lips. “I saw her in my dream before I saw her in reality. The poison filled my head with scattered images, nightmares and madness. Then clarity, and in that space, pleasure like no other.”

Leia yanked a goblet of wine up hard enough to spill some over the edge, to be promptly cleaned by Mitaka. “It was merely to save your life.”

Ben ignored her. “And in the midst of that pleasure, warm flowing hair, bright eyes, and a dazzling smile. I didn’t know who she was, but I knew I wanted her for an eternity.”

“You were poisoned.” His mother took a hefty swig of her drink, as if to swallow the entire conversation.

“And I would have given her anything. Everything. My heart was set aflame and hasn’t stopped since.”

“The antidote does have side effects.”

“And when I woke? To see that she was real and not just a mad dream?” He smiled and sighed. “I knew then that I loved her.”

“Ben, that’s not love. That’s just some wild obsession.”

His mirth snapped back into a scowl. “Well it’s more than I’ll ever have with Bazine! What is it with you, anyway? Father wasn’t exactly a prince himself. In fact—”

“Let’s not tread those waters. It’s only now that we’re nearly at war I realize that sometimes you have to put duty above—”

“Happiness? And live some barren existence yearning for what you can never have while playing a game with people’s lives?”

Leia huffed. “You do have too much of your father’s heart in you.” She paused, eyes distant. Ben could see the lingering pain still cutting a path through her features. That was also swallowed down with another swig. “So, your fool plan is to search the entire kingdom for the woman whose lips fit your spindle?”

Ben raised his eyebrows. “I suppose that would be the more fun way to go about it, but thankfully I know her face.”

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.” Leia stood and stomped over to the terrace. “Know what? This mess is of your own making. You deal with the consequences.”

“You mean finding the woman I’d very much like to get to know?”

The queen flung her arm toward the landscape below. “I mean THAT!”

Ben frowned, grasped his walking stick, and forced himself to the open doorway. The sight below made him realize just how impulsive he had been. A line of women in ill-fitting armor stretched beyond the gates of the castle grounds.

Leia gave him one of her infamous smug smiles. “Good luck finding your queen in that pile of so-called knights.”

~*~

Rey laughed so hard she couldn’t breathe. “You must be kidding!”

Finn laughed along with her. “It was an absolute mess. And to his credit, he sat there and examined each one. Most he cast aside on first glance. The ones wearing helms, he made them take it off, then sent them on their way. He knew what he was looking for.”

Poe leaned back in his chair. “Only you weren’t there. Don’t you even feel bad for what you put him through?”

Rey gasped. “Me?! That was his own idiot choice to put out such a stupid decree. ‘I will marry the knight-errant who saved me.’ What in the world is that?!”

“Romantic,” Rose said as she shoved through the door, carrying a giant pot. She hoisted it onto the table and removed the lid. The elk stew smelled divine. Rose was one hell of a cook, besides being a tavern owner. Too bad her ideas about romance were stupid.

Rey growled in tandem with her stomach as she grabbed a wooden bowl. “The man received nothing more than a…service, and now wants to spend the rest of his life with me? Have me bear his children? Could you even imagine?”

“Are you kidding?” Rose said. “I almost showed up in armor myself to get the chance!”

Finn’s mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?”

“What? Opportunity is opportunity!”

“I thought you were my girl?”

“Oh, are you finally willing to commit?”

Finn shut up. 

Snap snickered. “Don’t even worry about it, Finn, my friend. I don’t think they make armor that fits over that giant bosom of hers—ow!” He reeled from the whack of Rose’s giant serving spoon across his shoulder.

“Shut up!” Rose snapped before turning back to her longtime friend. “Rey, I don’t know why you’re so resistant. Just talk to the man. No one’s forcing you to marry him—”

“I think he is!” Rey blew on her bowl.

“He’s simply offering, but I don’t get why you’re fighting this so bad. You said yourself he’s good looking.”

“So?”

“So a good looking prince wants your hand and you resist? Why?!”

Rey sat back with her hands on her stomach while her bowl steamed. “Why? You mean why should I? Give myself over to be his silent partner? Look pretty and do nothing? Spend most of my time pregnant and bearing so he can have his heirs, all while my soul rots away, trapped in a cage?” She pointed to her bowl. “You think I get this anymore? Spend time with you assholes? Ride my horse out wherever I so choose, eat where and whenever, service who I choose, fight who I choose, and wake up where I damn well please? I was made for battle, and he would just turn me into a toy. No thank you.” She took a bite and moaned. “Delicious as always.”

“Well thank you, but I think you’re selling him short. Why not just talk to him? Tell him how you feel. Maybe it doesn’t have to be like you say.”

Rey shook her head. “It’s always that way. Women are property unless they secure their own freedom. You don’t have to be sold more than once to know.”

“Well, you’re right on that. Here’s to securing our own freedom.” She swiped Finn’s tankard again and took a hefty drink. “I gotta go. Think some idiots are starting a fight. But think about what I said, Rey. See him. Give him a chance. You can always say no.” She turned and opened the door. “HEY! CUT THE SHIT!”

Rey huffed and took another bite of her stew. Rose was the best, but she had no clue about certain workings of the world.

You didn’t get to say no to a prince.

Notes:

CONTENT WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER:

Non-con Somnophilia - Rey performs oral sex on an unconscious Ben to save his life. He awakens at the end of it but is not upset.
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END NOTES:

Oh Rey, you know you can only resist that hot body, those enthralling eyes, and those lush rose petal lips for so long! Next time, Ben gets to meet his savior in person, and many things are revealed. Stay tuned!