Ƭhe knights took Rey and Ben into the dungeon and aggressively pushed them into an empty cell.

Ben staggered and Rey steadied him, realizing how weak the torture had made him. She knew that he was in pain and all she wanted to do was comfort him.

The knights slammed the cell door closed, there was a small click as the door locked followed by the heavy footsteps of the knights as they left. Rey looked around, the cell was made of sturdy stone on all four walls with a strong wooden door, the only exit. On the door was a small barred opening that allowed the jail keeper to speak to the prisoners, and keep an eye on them. So much for privacy, she thought. The cell was dim, the one source of light was a small barred window. One thing was for certain, this cell was designed to prevent anyone from escaping.

This was her worst nightmares being trapped with no hope of escaping, but she had discovered a fate far worse than that... losing Ben or having to watch him be tortured. Suddenly the dim cell didn't seem so dark, especially since she was still holding him tightly in her arms.

She turned to look at him, gently placing her hand on his cheek. He leaned against her palm. "Ben, I'm sorry, I couldn't stop it. I promised that I wouldn't let him hurt you again. I wanted to save you...."

"... I couldn't watch you get hurt," Ben interrupted, stroking her long brown hair.

"Ben..." she whispered. "... I love you, I would die for you."

"So would I," he whispered.

Rey pulled him down closer to her, then she began covering his face with passionate kisses.

Ben sighed closing his eyes as he felt her lips moving across his face. She kissed his forehead, then his cheeks and his lips, before she moved to kiss him along his jaw and across his chin. Then she began kissing along his neck and he felt his heart flutter in his chest. She wrapped her arms around him as she kissed along his collarbone and his shoulders. He wished that it would never end, but finally she stopped and looked up him.

"Let me see," she whispered moving to stand behind him. She clenched her hands into fists as she saw the bloody streaks all across his back.

"It's not your fault, Rey," he said gently, knowing what she would feel when she saw his wounds. "I would rather endure this pain than the pain of watching you get hurt."

"So would I. He did this to you, he's hurt you so many times. I hate him..." she whispered.

"Rey... no..." he said softly, knowing that it was wrong to hate someone, no matter what they had done. Jesus forgave those who had done far worse to him, and they could do no less. That was what she had taught him, and now he held it in his own heart. He knew how hatred could weigh on someone, and he didn't want her to bear the weight of hatred all over again. Hatred was a far worse prison than the cell they were in.

She touched his arms gently, realizing that he was right. "It needs to be cleaned and bandaged," she said. Then she pulled him over to the small narrow bed along the wall of the cell. "Lay down... I'll take care of you."

Ben nodded and laid down on his belly.

Rey spotted a pitcher of water and a basin sitting on a small table on the other side of the cell. She filled the basin with water and came over to sit next to him on the bed. She began tearing the hem of her simple tan dress, carefully tearing it all the way around so that it would be long enough to wrap around him and use for a bandage. Then she tore off one corner to use to clean his wounds. She dipped it into the basin, soaking it with water. Then she began to clean one of the long wounds left by the whip.

His back was covered with blood and it was hard to see where the wounds were, so she had to clean his whole back. He inhaled sharply the water stung his open wounds. As she cleaned the worst of his wounds, he whimpered softly. "Shh... shh," she said gently. She slipped her left hand into his, as she continued cleaning his wounds with her right. She began softly singing the lullaby her father had sung to her as a child, trying to soothe the pain away. "Hush now my baby, hush now my darling, you'll be safe in my arms 'til morning's light. And even if I am not by your side, you will be in my heart forevermore. If you feel alone ... look at the stars and remember you're in my heart and you always will be."

"That's pretty, I've never heard it before," Ben whispered.

"My father wrote it for me when I was a baby. He sung it to me every night before I went to sleep," she answered.

"He sounds like a good man. You must miss him ..." Ben answered with a heavy hearted.

"He was, and I do," she replied as she continued to clean his wounds. She was trying to make him feel better, not worse. "He would have loved you. He always talked about the kind of man I should marry. A man who loved me with his whole heart, who would put my needs above his, who would give up everything for me. A man who loved God and would care for his family. He said that if I ever found someone like that I should be willing to give up everything for him too, and I am." She leaned down, trailing kisses along his back.

"Are you sure that he would have approved of me?" Ben asked.

"Yes. My father believed in second chances, he wasn't much different than you. He was forced to serve Snoke as a boy, but he said that God would always bring beauty from darkness. It was because he served Snoke that he met my mother, she was living in his castle at the time."

"That's strange, Snoke never allowed women into his ranks. Phasma only got in because she was disguised as a boy when she was taken by Snoke."

"Then what was my mother doing here?"

Ben didn't want to reply. "Snoke's men would sometimes take women captive from villages they had raided."

Rey shook her head. "She wasn't a prisoner. My father said that all of Snoke's men referred to her as 'the princess' and weren't allowed to even speak to her."

"Maybe she was an ally from another kingdom?" Ben suggested.

"That's possible, I wish I knew her."

"I understand, sometimes I feel like I don't really know my parents either. I've spent very little time with them since I was six, I don't really know what they're like beyond being the ones who hold me when I'm crying and tuck me in. I don't know what they like to do or many stories about their lives," he answered.

"I have been your mother's handmaiden for a few years, we would have long talks and she would tell me stories. All of the stories were about you, Ben. You're her life, for the years I've known her she has only spoken of you and how much she missed you. Honestly listening to her talk about you made me question what I thought about you."

He nodded, thinking of his mother.

As she cleaned each of the wounds, she felt him squeeze her hand as he attempted not to cry out in pain. She brushed her thumb across the top of his hand, trying to offer him some comfort.

When she had finished cleaning his wounds, the tan fabric was stained crimson with blood.

"Can you sit up?" she said gently.

He nodded and moved to sit on the bed in front of her.

Rey carefully wrapped the long strip of cloth around him, wounding it around his torso. She leaned over his shoulder, putting her lips close to his ear, "this might hurt," she whispered.

He nodded, preparing himself for the pain that was to come. She tied the bandages in a knot to keep them secure and he felt the strip of cloth tighten around him. He inhaled as his wounds burned slightly, but she kissed his cheek, distracting him from the pain. She moved to sit in front of him, so that she could look into his eyes once again.

His hair was in a mess both from the fight and torture he had received. She began tenderly combining through his wavy hair with her fingers, straightening it out. "I wish I had something for the pain," she whispered, as she saw how his eyes twinkled with tears.

"You do," he whispered, gently brushing his fingers across her lips.

She felt her heart skip a beat, both because of his touch and his words. He leaned closer to her until their lips met and he kissed her passionately. She moved her hands through his hair, returning the kiss affectionately.

He pulled away lifting her hand to his lips and kissing her bloody palm. "You shouldn't have done this," he whispered looking at it.

"It was worth it," she smiled.

"It's my turn to take care of you," he said, brushing his thumb across her cheek.

She nodded and tore more strips from the end of the skirt of her dress. Then she gave him the pieces of cloth. She watched as he dipped a clean square of tan cloth into the water, then he carefully cleaned the cut on the palm of her hand with it. His touch was so soft, and full of affection that she almost didn't even feel the pain. He took a small strip of cloth and tenderly wrapped it around her hand.

When he had finished bandaging her hand, she turned around facing her back to him. He gently gathered her long flowing hair, running his fingers through it as he draped it over her shoulder. He looked at the way the whip had torn her dress, the way her blood had stained the light fabric and anger rose within him. He reached up, timidly unlacing the back of her dress so that he could clean and bandage her wounds. He looked at the three bloody strikes across her back, the sight of them caused a stab in his chest. The thought of his wife...his Rey being hurt brought him more pain than the lashes on his own back. Tears stung his eyes, it was his fault that this happened to her.

He brushed his fingers across her soft skin. "This is all my fault," he whispered.

His touch sent a tingling feeling through her whole body. "No Ben... I love you, I would rather be tortured than watch Snoke abuse you like that."

He carefully cleaned each of her wounds before he wrapped the bandages around her and tied them in place. He gently rubbed her upper back where the whip had not harmed her. "This is to thank you," he whispered, then he leaned down and placed a soft kiss between her shoulder blades. She inhaled quietly at the feeling of his soft warm lips pressed against her skin.

He laced the back of her dress up again and she turned to face him. "Thank me for what?" she breathed.

"For giving up your own wellbeing to keep me from getting hurt," he answered gently, as he began to stroke her hair with his fingertips.

She smiled softly. "Then I suppose I should thank you too..." she whispered, kissing his cheek. "...for saving me."

Ben smiled at her, then he looked down at the bed. It was very narrow, even narrower than a twin sized bed. There was no way they would both be able to fit. "I'll sleep on the floor, you can have the bed," he said.

"No... Ben you're hurt worse than me, you should sleep in the bed."

"Rey, I'm not going to sleep in a bed while my wife sleeps in the floor."

"And I'm not sleeping in a bed while my injured husband sleeps in the floor," she replied stubbornly.

Ben looked at her, trying to think of way to convince her to take the bed and let him sleep in the floor. "I'm used to sleeping on the ground."

"So am I," she retorted.

"You've spent enough time sleeping on the ground because of me. Just take the bed, for me."

"You can sleep on top of me," she offered.

He liked that compromise. "No Rey, you should sleep on top of me," he disagreed, wanting her to be comfortable.

"Ben you don't need to lay on your back, it's covered in open wounds."

"Rey, I don't want to hurt you." He could feel the piece of metal through the thin mattress.

"You won't hurt me," she answered, laying down and pulling him on top of her.

He looked down at her, affection filling his eyes. He leaned down and kissed her lovingly.

She returned the kiss passionately, gently brushing her hands across his back and his chest.

"I want to hold you, Ben," she whispered when he broke the kiss. He had his arms on either side of her, supporting his weight, so that he wouldn't crush her. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled down on top of her.

He made no argument, after everything he had been through he needed the comfort of being in her arms and she knew it. But she also needed to hold him, she wouldn't be able to sleep that night if she didn't have the comfort of knowing that he was safe in her arms.

Ben laid down, resting his chin on her shoulder. She wrapped her arms around him, gently stroking his wavy black hair until he fell asleep.