Ƭhe next day...

Rey was walking down the hallway towards the throne room to deliver wildflowers as she always did, but as she reached the door she stopped. She could see him, the creature who they called a prince. He was standing there talking to his parents. Rey clenched her firsts, he was a monster and he belonged in a cage; not roaming the castle.

She'd managed to avoid coming in contact with him for fear that she might let her venomous hate for him slip out. If she accidentally said or did the things that she wanted to him, she would be thrown into the dungeon for sure.

She had watched him with his parents from the shadows where he couldn't see her, filled with a mixture of emotions. She admired the King and Queen's forgiveness for him, but she also felt that he didn't deserve it. She tried to fight it, but she was beginning to feel more than just hate towards him; she was beginning to feel jealousy. He was here, happy with his parents when he'd taken hers away; and now he was taking her second parents away too. She knew it wasn't right because King Han and Queen Leia were his parents, not hers. But because of him, she couldn't sit with them at supper like she usually did, at least not without having to sit with him as well; and there was no way she was doing that.

She wondered if King Han and Queen Leia missed her or if they didn't care. Maybe now that they had their son back they wouldn't care if she was around or not.

Stop being so childish, she scolded herself.

Ben bowed to his parents before speaking. "You sent for me?"

"Yes, your father has something to tell you," Leia answered. She said it very pointedly as if to say: it was his idea, not mine.

Ben turned to look at his father, a mixture of fear and curiosity washing over him like a flood.

"A servant girl is working in the palace. Her name is Rey. She came from nowhere, from nothing...she is no one, but the kindness that she holds in her heart has no equal, and we've grown to love her as if she was our daughter."

Rey couldn't help but smile, she didn't know that they loved her like a daughter. She had always thought that the love she felt for them was one-sided. But why were they mentioning her to Kylo Ren?

Ben nodded, wondering why he was bringing this up. She sounded like a nice person, but what did she have to do with him? He hoped they would say that they had chosen her to replace him as their heir. He didn't know her, but by what his father had said she sounded like a far better choice than him.

"We want you to marry her," Han continued.

Upon hearing these words, Rey felt her heart begin to race; she felt as though someone had just stabbed her in the heart with a dagger. She recoiled and quickly left from the doorway where she had been standing. No one knew that she had been standing in the shadows listening and no one saw her leave. She didn't know how, but she had to escape this somehow.

"But..." Ben began, a mixture of emotions consuming him. He felt fear, nervousness, but most of all he felt unworthy. If she was even half as wonderful as his father made her sound, then he didn't deserve her. "I can't...I can't marry her. If she is as kind and wonderful as you say, then I am not deserving of her. Let her take my place as heir to the throne. I would gladly relinquish the throne for someone so kind and just."

"We have chosen her to be your wife, and to be the future queen of Alderaan. You asked how to earn our trust; part of it is by obeying us without question," Han replied a little sternly. "And trust goes both ways; for us to trust you, you must trust us."

Ben sighed, he had promised that he would try to earn their trust and be worthy of the mercy they'd shown him. He had to do as they asked. "Yes, Father. It will be done."

Leia offered her son an encouraging smile.

"Good," Han replied.

"Is the girl...Rey happy with our union?" Ben asked.

"We haven't told her yet, we wanted to ask you first because we didn't want her to be disappointed if you said no," Leia replied.

Ben looked at his mother for a long moment. "Do you really think that she would be disappointed if I said no?"

"She probably would be. She likes listening to stories about you when you were little."

Ben blushed slightly, he hoped that his mother hadn't told Rey anything too embarrassing about him. But he didn't believe that any girl would want to marry him. "If she doesn't want to marry me, can we call off the wedding?"

"Of course Ben," Han replied. "We're not going to force her into this."

Ben sighed in relief.

Han clapped his hands together. "Now let's get busy, we have a wedding to plan."

"When will the wedding be?" Ben asked.

"In three days," Han replied.

Ben sighed, he was already beginning to regret agreeing to this. He didn't want to marry a girl that he had never met, a girl he didn't know or love... but he found himself feeling bad for this girl... Rey, more than himself. She didn't deserve this, she deserved to be happy. He on the other hand deserved nothing but to be thrown in prison without even the slightest forgiveness from his parents.

He was afraid... afraid that she would never love him, and he was afraid because he was in no way ready for this. He wasn't ready to get married, he wasn't even ready for a romantic relationship. He had never been in one, let alone been in love; he wouldn't know what to say or what to do. He had spent the majority of his life, even as a child either fighting or learning to fight. War was something he was too familiar with, but love was something unfamiliar that he didn't understand. And it seemed that a small amount of fear could come from anything unfamiliar, even something as wonderful as falling in love.

꧁❀꧂

Rey fled through the halls as quickly as her legs would carry her. She could not believe this, she would have to marry the prince...that monster. She had to run away, it was her only chance to be free.

Her heart hammered in her chest and she felt as if she going to be sick. Yet at the same time, she felt lightheaded and as though she were going to faint, but she pushed on until at last, she could go no farther. She leaned back against the stone wall and slid down to sit on the floor. She buried her head in her hands and sobbed softly.

This was the worst day she'd endured since the death of her father... she would have to marry the very man who had killed him. She hated him, she despised every part of him with the innermost part of her being. She couldn't even bear the sight of him...the sound of his voice. How could she marry him when she didn't even want to look at him? How could she marry a man whom she had wanted to kill for so many years?

The thought of kissing him or even just hugging him or dancing with him made her feel nauseous. She could never be happy being married to him, and she could never make him happy either...she didn't want to make him happy.

She wanted to run away, but she had to think it through. She needed to make a plan not just to flee, and run until she couldn't take another step.

She'd been sitting there for several moments when she heard footsteps coming down the hall towards her. She stood quickly, not wanting to be caught sitting on the floor in the middle of the hallway. She dried her face quickly, trying to conceal the tears that had escaped, then she sighed in relief as she recognized Finn, her best friend.

Finn approached her and began speaking excitedly. "Rey, I just came from the throne room, have you heard the news? You're going to marry Prince Ben! You! You're just a servant, yet they chose you to be his bride... the princess of Alderaan! Princess Rey... I like the sound of that. And one day you shall be queen and rule Alderaan."

"I don't want to be queen, Finn. Not if I have to marry that monster to do it," she interrupted, in a whisper. She wouldn't have said that to anyone else, because it could be considered treason to speak about the prince that way even if it were true, but Finn was her best friend and she knew that he would never tell anyone what she'd said. "I'm running away."

"Please don't. I don't want you living on the streets again."

"I would rather live on the streets than with him as my husband," Rey replied.

"Look at the bright side, you'll be the queen one day. You can change things, make a difference as you've always wanted. I know you've always wanted to help the orphans of Alderaan, as the princess of Alderaan you would have the money to do that."

Rey nodded, she hadn't thought of that. She would have enough money to build orphanages in every town to keep children from growing up on the streets as she had. It was one thing that she wanted to do more than anything, but she had feared that she would never have enough money to do so.

"You're right, Finn. This is what I've been praying for, it's just not how I wanted to receive it. But I suppose God has a reason for it. If I don't do this, he will still become king one day, and then where will Alderaan be?"

Finn nodded in agreement. "Who knows, perhaps the marriage could even bring the was to an end. I've overheard Snoke say that Kylo Ren was like a son to him and you are like a daughter to the king and queen. Maybe this marriage could form some kind of alliance and bring peace back to the land.

Rey nodded, trying to seem brave. All her father had ever wanted was for this war to end, if there was a possibility this marriage could bring an end to the war then she had to take it. "I hope so Finn."

He nodded. "Me too."

"I'll talk to you later Finn."

He nodded.

Rey turned to go back down the hall from whence she had come. She walked slowly yet purposefully towards what felt like a death sentence.

After a few moments, she saw Rose coming towards her.

"King Han and Queen Leia have requested your presence in the throne room," Rose told her.

Rey nodded, she already knew why they had summoned her.

Rose seemed to notice how upset she was. "Don't worry, it's good news, " Rose said, it seemed that Rey was among the last to know about her betrothal, even though she had overheard it at the same time King Han and Queen Leia had told their son.

Rey nodded, but Rose could see the tears in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I will marry Kylo Ren... Prince Ben, for the sake of Alderaan. And to save you and Finn from his tyranny. Perhaps marrying the prince could even end the war. But..." she trailed off. This wasn't something she liked to think about, and she certainly didn't want to talk about it.

"But what?" Rose pressed.

"...how can I love a man who betrayed his parents, his kingdom, and killed my father in battle?" Rey whispered, her voice breaking. This was the first time she had told anyone the truth about what had happened to her father. She wanted to tell Finn but she couldn't because she knew that he would have probably done something foolish.

Rose looked at her surprised, she'd never told her exactly what happened to her father, only that he died in battle. It wasn't something that Rey liked to talk about. She always avoided the subject, she rarely spoke of her family.

Rose hugged her. "I'm sorry, Rey."

Rey nodded.

"I will understand if you choose to run away, " Rose said.

"I can't, Rose. I'm the only one who can save Alderaan from his rule," Rey replied. "Maybe I can't stop him from becoming king, but at least the people will have a voice if I am the queen. I can't let him hurt anyone else I love, if I become his wife maybe I could stop him from hurting anyone else."

"You would sacrifice your happiness for your kingdom? For your friends?" Rose asked.

"I have always been powerless to help those I love, and I have prayed for an opportunity to have the power to do so for a change. Now God has given me that opportunity, I may not like it but I must accept it," Rey replied, realizing that it was an opportunity to do some good, even though it wouldn't be easy, she realized that it had happened for a reason. "I've always wanted to help children in situations similar to my own, now I will have the means to do so."

"Maybe he also gave you this opportunity to help the prince... to change him," Rose answered.

"Change him? He's a monster and that's the only thing he will ever be," said Rey.

He will never change, she thought to herself. How can a man with no heart ever become anything more than a monster? She remembered that once, long ago, she had believed that he could change. That was before he killed her father and she saw him for the monster he truly was. She fought back the tears. If only she hadn't told her father that she thought that the prince was just lost and needed someone to show him the way. She stopped herself from thinking about that. She couldn't bear it and she didn't want anyone to see her cry.

"He... I'm sure he's not as bad as everyone says. I'm sure he is truly kind deep down, " Rose said.

"He is cruel and selfish, " Rey said.

"Perhaps, but if anyone can change him... it's you," Rose said walking away.

Rey watched her friend walk away. She sighed, she was the last person who could change him. She hated him, if he were to be changed it would be by someone who cared about him. His mother perhaps. A small part of her wished that she could help him for Queen Leia's sake. Rey knew that Leia loved her, but she could never seem to come close to replacing the son she had lost.

Her father would never come back, but if the prince could be changed at least one of their wounds would be healed.

Still, she couldn't bring herself to do anything to change that monster, she didn't even want to speak to him.

She gathered her courage, preparing to face the man she had longed for so many years to kill. Then she turned to walk to the throne room.

As she approached the throne room door, she took a deep breath. She already knew why she had been summoned, and she needed to regain her composure...put on the mask that she always wore. She couldn't let the king and queen see the hate that filled her, this was their son whom they loved. They cared about her too and it would break their hearts into a thousand pieces if they knew the truth of what he had done.

Rey entered the throne room slowly. She heaved a deep sigh of relief as she realized that the prince was not present. She was not ready to face him yet. She walked up to the thrones and offered a deep curtsy to the king and queen. "You summoned me, your majesties?"

Queen Leia nodded. "There's no need for formalities, Rey. This isn't necessarily an official matter, more of a personal matter."

Rey nodded. King Han and Queen Leia usually asked her to call them by their first names when they were in private. But normally being in the throne room meant that she should speak to them as everyone else did. However when Queen Leia said that there was no need for formalities it had always meant that she wanted to have a personal conversation. That included losing the formal titles and calling either "Queen Leia" or simply "Leia." Sometimes Rey would slip up and say "your majesty" or "your highness" out of habit.

"You know how fond Han and I are of you," the queen spoke.

"Yes," she whispered.

"That is why we have chosen you to be our son's bride," Queen Leia continued, she paused watching Rey carefully as if to see her reaction.

"Thank you," she replied, her voice empty of emotion. Inwardly she sighed in relief that she hadn't let her anger slip into her voice.

She forced a smile, trying to act happy that they had chosen her. How could she tell them that she didn't want to marry their son? For years she'd pretended to love listening to stories about him just so they would have someone to talk to. Everyone else always grew angry at the mention of the prince's name. Rey understood how it felt not to have anyone that she could talk to. What could she do, them that it had all been a lie?

She was sure that they would understand if she explained why she couldn't marry him, but what would be the cost? They finally had their son back, she'd never seen either of them so happy. If she told them the truth would she ever see them truly happy again? She had never seen such genuine smiles on their faces. It made her happy to see them like this, she couldn't bring herself to give them more grief.

The king and queen seemed relieved that she hadn't objected.

Rey tried not to think about this as a wedding, but instead that she was becoming a part of their family...something she had wanted for so many years.

Be strong, she told herself. She hoped her father would be proud of her, he had made many sacrifices for Alderaan now it was her turn.

"The wedding will be in two days," said King Han.

Rey nodded.

"We have a lot of preparations to attend to, so we must begin immediately," said Queen Leia. "You have a fitting for your wedding gown in the royal tailor's office."

"Yes, your majesty," Rey said, turning to leave.

"And Rey..." Leia added.

Rey turned back to face her.

"We know that this isn't easy for you, marrying a man you've never met. But know that we wouldn't do this if we didn't love you. You are the only one we trust with our kingdom... and with our son," she said.

Despite herself, Rey felt pride well up in her chest. She had never thought of it that way. The king and queen were trusting her not only with their kingdom but also with their only son. Even more than that she felt a wave of affection fill her, no one had told her that they loved her since her father died. She didn't realize how much she needed to hear it.

Suddenly she wanted to try...for them. They were the closest thing to family that she had and they were depending on her to look after their son. She didn't know their reasons for arranging this marriage, but whatever they were...they had chosen her to be their son's bride because they trusted her.

She decided to try to lay down her thirst for revenge, she would protect their son with all of her power. That didn't mean that she would love him, or that she would even forgive him, but she wouldn't let any harm come to him if there was any way she could stop it. They were trusting her with their son whom they loved dearly, the least she could do was protect him for their sake; even if she longed for his death.

"I will guard your kingdom, and I will protect your son with my life," she promised.

"Thank you, Rey," Queen Leia replied.

"Do you think this could end the war?" Rey asked.

"We hope so, Ben is a ranking member of Snoke's army. Perhaps he can be a bridge and reunite the kingdom," Leia replied.

Rey nodded.

"I know that it isn't easy, but he needs you, Rey. He needs your love," King Han told her gently.

Why would he need love? He doesn't even know what that is, he doesn't even have a heart, she thought.

"He has your love is that not enough?" she found herself asking. The words slipped out before she could stop herself. She would gladly guard him and keep him from getting into any more trouble, which was why she assumed they had arranged this marriage between them.