Ʀey sat down at the table next to Ben in the council room. She refused to speak to him, and she would barely even look at him, at least not without glaring.

Ben felt like running away. Everyone was given him angry hateful looks, including his bride. His parents were the only exceptions.

"Snoke is becoming unstoppable, he continues to gather more and more supporters to his rebellion against the king and queen," said Lando.

Instantly all eyes fell on Kylo and he shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

His mother seemed to know that the situation was making him feel uncomfortable. Ben was grateful when she spoke and all eyes shifted to her. "Do we know his next plan of attack?"

The council members all shook their heads.

"Perhaps the prince would know your majesty," said one of the council members.

"Yes, surely Snoke's second in command would know his next move," another added.

"He told me nothing of his plan. He only used me to lead his army into battle, not to plan his attacks," he answered.

"I don't trust him," said King Edgar.

"He's lying," another added.

"I promise, I'm telling you the truth," he said.

"I believe him," said Queen Leia. She looked at Han.

"So do I," he said quickly.

"Pardon me your majesties... but I do not believe this murderous snake." Edward stood and pointed a finger at him. "Know this Prince Ben... Kylo Ren, if you were not the son of King Han and Queen Leia, I would run you through."

"I would like to see you try," Ben replied.

"Silence!" Leia exclaimed. Her voice carried an authority that no one wanted to challenge and the room immediately fell silent. She looked over at Edward, her eyes held both anger and compassion. "Edward, I know that you have more cause than most to hate any member of Snoke's army after your son was killed in battle. But no one is going to run Ben through. He has been judged by your king and queen. We have chosen to give him a second chance to prove himself to the people of Alderaan, and we ask that you do the same. With the information that Ben has, we may be able to stop Snoke's army once and for all."

"Your majesty, I warn you that he is still loyal to Snoke and his rebellion. We cannot trust any of the information he gives us. He is most likely lying to protect Snoke's cause," said Edward.

Edward was the King and Queen's advisor and it was his job to warn them of anything that he thought could be a danger to them. Ben could tell that he was trying to pressure him into giving up any information he had. And he could speak to him in any way he chose. He wasn't a prince anymore, just a prisoner who had been allowed to live for the purpose of giving information. But Ben had no intention of keeping anything that he did know to himself.

"If I were still loyal to Snoke, then I wouldn't give you his location," he said.

Everyone looked at him.

"He's in the ruins of Mustafar," he said.

"Mustafar... that city was abandoned long ago!" Edward said, in clear disbelief.

"Exactly, he knew that no one would look for him there," Ben replied.

"But it was destroyed by the twin volcanoes long ago... it's nothing but a volcanic wasteland. No one can survive there," said another council member, Holdo.

"He's lying!" several other council members said.

"I have been there, it's not an easy place to live but it's livable. And Snoke... there's something unnatural about him," he said.

"What's unnatural is that we should trust a traitor. He could be lying or leading us into a trap, your majesties," Edward warned.

"I'm telling the truth! Surely some of you must believe me," he said.

All of the council members were silent.

"We believe you," said Queen Leia.

King Han nodded.

"If King Han and Queen Leia were not your parents they would not believe you," said King Edgar.

"Rey... what do you say?" Holdo asked. "You're his wife, you probably know him a little more than the rest of us, save his parents of course."

Rey looked around at all of the council members, then at Ben. His eyes begged her to defend him.

"Do you think that he is telling the truth?" Queen Natalia asked in a gentle voice.

"I... I don't know," she answered. What cause did she have to believe him? He had no proof...well he did say that he'd found the crystal that he'd tried to give her in Mustafar. And she knew that crystals were usually formed in volcanoes, but she didn't want to defend him. She wouldn't defend him if her own life depended on it.

"Would you leave the fate of Alderaan to this..." King Edgar pointed to Ben. "... this monster."

Rey looked down. What sign did she have that he could change...that he would? "You're right," she said, then her voice lowered to a whisper. "He is a monster."

She looked at him and could see the deep pain in his eyes. Finally, she turned away from him, unable to bear looking at him, at the pain that she had caused him. She wanted him to feel the pain that she had felt. Yet now that she had given him a small piece of it, it hurt her too. The look of pain that he gave her hurt her more than she had ever imagined. If she wanted revenge, shouldn't his pain make her feel better, not worse? She was just too weak, she was too kind at heart to not feel guilty for treating him the way she felt that he deserved to be treated.

"See even his wife doesn't trust him," said one of the council members.

"Why does this servant girl even get to be present at this meeting, let alone speak?" King Edgar asked, it was clear that he didn't agree with the betrothal, he'd been invited to the wedding but he didn't attend. He was very traditional and in his kingdom there were laws against royalty marrying commoners.

Ben glared at him, giving him a dangerous look.

King Edgar's second nodded. "Why should a filthy girl of the street be in the presence of nobles?"

Rey took a breath to defend herself but was interrupted as Ben stood up, slamming his fists on the table. "You call yourself noble... yet you would speak to her in such a way," he said. "You may have noble blood, but you have a heart of coal. She may be from the streets, but she has a heart of gold."

Ben knew that his words were dangerous, that they already wanted him dead. He was wanted in their kingdom as well for siding with Snoke in the war. He knew they'd only pardoned him for the sake of his parents, he knew that making them angry wasn't wise. They could remove the pardon they'd given him, and kill or imprison him. He could even break the alliance between Hoth and Alderaan. But he couldn't allow them to speak to his wife that way, he wouldn't allow it.

"You would defend her after she betrayed you... after she called you a monster?" King Edgar asked, surprised.

"Yes, I will defend her. She is my wife. I... I love her," he said. Normally he might be nervous about expressing such deep feelings in front of so many. But he was too angry to care. He wanted all of them, including Rey to know that he loved her no matter who she was or where she'd come from. "And anyone who says anything bad about her, or tries to hurt her in any way will have to answer to me."

Rey gasped softly in surprise at his words, she couldn't stop the tears from coming from her eyes. Why would he defend her after she called him a monster in front of everyone? More than that he said that he loved her, even after she had been so cruel to him that day.

It was only an hour ago that she'd told him that she hated him. Instead of returning the hate as she had almost hoped that he would, he offered her his love, expecting nothing in return. In truth, his words "I love her," stung her even more than it would have if he had told her that he hated her, because she hated him. His love made her feel guilty for the hate for him that she carried.

Ben looked down at her and saw a tear slide down her cheek. He sat back down and grabbed her hand. He gently rubbed the top of her hand, trying to comfort her. He put his arm around her shoulders in a gentle embrace. To his surprise, she wrapped her arms around him and began spilling her tears onto his shoulder.

Ben realized that she might feel embarrassed about crying in front of the royal council. He turned towards his mother, without looking at any of the so-called "nobles" whose hearts were anything but noble. "Please excuse us?" he said.

Queen Leia nodded.

Ben stood and gently pulled her to her feet. He took her hand and led her out of the council room. He brought her out onto a balcony, where they could be alone. Then he gently pulled her into his arms. He was surprised when she leaned her head against his chest. He heard her sigh and he began rubbing her back gently to comfort her.

"Don't listen to them, Rey. I don't care where you came from, I only care about you."

"Why?" she mumbled.

"Why what?" he asked a bit confused.

She lifted her head to look up into his dark eyes. "Why do you care about me?" she asked. "I'm just a girl from the streets...a servant."

"Rey... it doesn't matter what they think or what they say about you. It doesn't change how I see you." He reached up to gently wipe her tears away. "A rose that grows in a garden isn't any more beautiful than a rose that grows in the wild. But the rose that grows on its own is stronger and it makes the dreary world around it more beautiful."

Rey blushed slightly. That had to be the most romantic thing he'd ever said. "I didn't know that you could be so poetic."

Ben smiled sadly. He could hear the tears in her voice. "I like writing poems and stories."

"I didn't know that," she said, tears twinkling in her eyes.

"There are a lot of things that we don't know about each other. That's all I want, to get to know you." He gently rubbed his thumb over her cheekbone, wiping away the freshly fallen tears. "Don't listen to them, Rey."

"That's not what's troubling me," she whispered.

"What is it?... please tell me," he said, sounding concerned.

"I called you a monster... I didn't defend you when everyone was against you. You could have done the same thing. You could have agreed with them ...called me a filthy child of the streets...but you didn't. Why did you defend me?"

"Because you're my wife. Because...I love you," he whispered.

Tears filled her eyes again, his kind words stung her heart like a healing ointment on an open wound. The words she'd spoken before, that she hated him and would never love him, that he was a monster made her feel indescribable guilt. She shouldn't have said those things. They were cruel and even though it was true that she hated him, that she didn't love him... he wasn't a monster. If he was he wouldn't be so kind to her even when she hated him.

He wrapped his arms around her again, trying to comfort her though it had been so long since anyone had comforted him. He had almost forgotten what it felt like, he hoped he was making her feel better.

She looked at the castle walls over his shoulder. A small gasp escaped her lips as his words began to sink in. Did he really love her? He seemed to. She didn't know how to reply... she didn't love him. She couldn't... not after everything he had done. Yet at the same time, how could she not love him? He was the only one who had ever really defended her. He loved her as she was, even after she had been cruel to him.

Her heart felt was torn apart between love and hate for the man who held her now. Part of her wanted to push him away, but it seemed like a cruel response to the way he was trying to comfort her. And there was another part of her that wanted to return his embrace and lose herself in his arms. It would feel wonderful to snuggle into his embrace and just let her pain melt away.

"Will you love me?" he whispered.

She let out a shuttering sigh. She felt like her mind and her heart was pulling her in two different directions. Her heart wanted to love him, but in her mind, she felt that she shouldn't...that she would be betraying her father if she did. Why did it have to be so complicated? How could she forgive him, let alone love him after the pain and grief he had caused her?

She wished that she knew nothing about him, then maybe they could be happy together. But now there was so much between them. So many things that she couldn't even tell him.