Ƒinn, Rose, Poe and Ben's knights made their way towards the Eastern gate with Luke and his students following closely behind.

As they reached the Eastern gate they found the chaos that the unexpected attack had caused. Snoke's men were scurrying, trying to reach the gate as Alderaan's army attacked. They certainly wouldn't be expecting an attack from behind, but Finn hoped that an attack wouldn't be necessary. He hoped that once they learned that their leader was dead and they were now outnumbered, they would surrender without a fight. But he had to be ready for a fight in case one did break out.

Poe gestured for Finn and some of the others to move around the other side so that they could surround Snoke's men.

Finn nodded, then he, Rose and several of Luke's students moved quietly around to slip up behind Snoke's men.

Two of Snoke's men turned to look back at them as they seemed to realize that there was someone behind them.

"Don't move, we have you surrounded," Poe warned.

More of Snoke's men turned to face the new attackers. They exchanged glances as if they were trying to decide rather or not they should fight or surrender.

"Snoke is dead," Finn informed them. "You would be fighting for nothing."

The men turned to their leader, in question.

"If we surrender, can you guarantee that we will be given a fair trial?" the General asked.

"King Han and Queen Leia are just rulers, they always give a fair trial," Poe replied.

"And they are willing to give you a second chance to prove your loyalty to Alderaan," Finn added.

Snoke's men nodded, many of them knew that Finn had once been a part of Snoke's army. And Finn knew that there were very few of Snoke's servants who were truly loyal to him, most of them had either been forced into his army as boys or Snoke had threatened to harm their families if they didn't serve him, he controlled his army with fear, not loyalty and Finn could see that many of the men actually seemed relieved that Snoke was dead.

"Lay down your arms," the General ordered.

The men obeyed, throwing down their swords.

꧁❀꧂

Rey looked up at Ben as he held her while the doctor finished wrapping the long bandage around her to stop the bleeding. She smiled as Ben tried to make sure that she was comfortable. It didn't really hurt that badly and it was just a minor injury. She was sure that she could stand on her own if need be; but she didn't want to... right now she just wanted to enjoy being in his arms.

They had only been apart for a few days but she had missed him terribly. She never wanted to be parted from him for so long again. She promised herself that if there was anything that she could do about it she would never spend so much time away from him again. She hadn't realized how close they had become until he wasn't around, but when he wasn't there she had felt so strange walking around the castle without him walking at her side.

His dark eyes met hers and he couldn't help a small smile at the way she was looking at him; like he meant more than the world to her.

Rey placed her hand on his; she wished that they were alone so that she could cover him with kisses and tell him how much she had truly missed him.

As the doctor finished securing Rey's bandages, Ben looked away from her for the first time and turned to the doctor. "Thank you."

"Happy to help," the doctor replied; coming to his feet.

Ben looked back at Rey, gently moving her hair out of her face. He was about to tell her something; but before he got the chance the throne room doors swung open and Snoke's knights poured in.

Ben gently lift Rey from his lap and laid her on the floor. "Stay here," he whispered as he stood.

"Ben..." she began; but she was interrupted as the knights looked at their fallen master.

"Who killed him?" one of them demanded.

"It was me," Ben took the blame before Rey could speak, he knew that the knights would avenge their master. Of all of the men in Snoke's army, his knights were among the few who were truly loyal to him...loyal enough to avenge him.

"Ben...don't," Rey stood up, grabbing her sword. She was only mildly injured, but Ben was in no condition to fight all ten of Snoke's knights alone. The stab wound on his chest was bad enough, but Snoke and his knights had also beaten him until he could barely stand. His whole body was cover in bruises and he had a few cracked bones on top of it.

Ben saw Rey coming over to stand beside him, he grabbed her hand. "No Rey, I won't let you get hurt for my sake again."

He gave Rey's hand to Christopher. "Take care of her."

Christopher nodded, grabbing Rey's hand. "I will."

Ben raised his sword as he approached the knights.

Rey stepped forward, wanting to fight at his side not stand back as he fought alone. But she felt Christopher gripping her hand tighter, she knew that he would do anything Ben asked. Ben was like a brother to him and since Christopher didn't have a father, he also looked to Ben for guidance as well. But she needed his help; if Ben faced the knights alone in his current condition she knew that he would die.

"Christopher, please let me go. Ben can't fight them alone; he needs me and you," Rey pleaded. She could have pulled away from him forcefully, but she cared about him just as Ben did and she knew that she needed his help if they were going to stop the knights.

Christopher nodded, seeming to realize that she was right; that Ben needed all the help that he could get. He released her hand, drawing his own sword.

Rey offered him a smile in thanks. Then she looked over at Ben; he was already surrounded by Snoke's knights. He was strong but his injuries had weakened him and she could tell that he was quickly being overwhelmed. She hurried over to him, coming over to stand next to him.

"Christopher, I thought that you were taking care of Rey?" Ben asked as Christopher came up next to him.

"I am, she would have come no matter what."

Ben nodded, knowing that she would have. Then he turned his attention to the more pressing matter: the knight who was swinging his sword in an overhand strike at him. He raised his sword just in time to stop the blow; then he swung his sword in an underhand strike.

The knight parried his strike, but Ben swung his sword again in an underhand strike, the knight again parried his blow. Ben repeated the action twice more, intentionally using a predictable pattern. Then on the third strike, he broke the pattern and struck from the left. The knight had moved to parry another underhanded blow and as a result he wasn't quick enough to block the surprise blow from the new direction. It was something his uncle had taught him that if he was ever injured or outmatched the best strategy was to outsmart his opponent. And right now that was pretty much his only option. He could feel the stitches tearing his skin slightly every time he moved too quickly and his cracked rib screamed in pain at his every movement.

Ben swung his sword in a right handed blow and he felt his blade pierce the man's armor. The man fell dead, and Ben took the brief respite to glance over at Rey. She was busy fighting a knight, but Ben had to admit that she was doing very well, especially since she didn't have the training that he or the knights did. He knew that she was strong; that was one thing that he admired about her, but that wouldn't stop him from worrying about her or trying to protect her. It was only natural for him to want to protect the woman he loved and he knew that she understood his reasons for trying to stop her. No doubt if she had the opportunity she would have done the same.

Confident that his wife was safe for the moment, he turned to the knight who had approached to attack him. Their swords clashed in a series of strikes and parries; but again the knight was no match for Ben even with his injuries. None of Snoke's knights could beat Ben in a one on one fight, in fact when he was at full strength he could have faced them all. It was why Snoke had selected Ben out of his knights to be a leader.

The knights moved to surround the three of them. They moved to stand back to back in a circle so that they could protect each other from being attacked from behind.

The knights were closing in on them; but one by one they stopped the knights as they approached.

Rey stabbed one of the knights and he groaned in pain before he fell to the ground, but she didn't have time to react as a second knight lifted his sword over her head. She gasped in surprise as he seemed to appear out of nowhere. Before she even had time to move his sword began to come down on her.

The knight froze mid-swing and a puzzled look crossed Rey's face as the end of a sword protruded from the knights chest. The knight struggled to suck in a final breath before he collapsed to the floor. As the knight fell Rey saw King Han standing behind him with a sword in his hand.

Han gave her a warm smile. "I told Ben I wouldn't let anyone hurt my girl," he placed his hand on her cheek as father would to his daughter.

Rey smiled at him and pulled him into a hug. "Thank you."

Christopher defeated the last of the knights, then he and Ben went over to join them.

Christopher bowed slightly. "Are you okay, my lady?"

"I'm alright, and you can call me 'Rey,'" she looked over at Ben, offering him a sweet smile. "We're family after all."

Ben smiled back at her, nodding in agreement.

"Thank you, my lady that's more than I could ever ask for," Christopher replied.

Rey smiled at him and pulled him into a hug. Then she turned to Ben, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Are you hurt?"

He shook his head.

"You didn't rip your stitches, did you?" she asked concerned, the doctor had told her not to let him do anything too strenuous until the wound had healed enough for the stitches to be removed. Fighting was hardly the kind of thing that he should be doing right now, especially with a wound as deep as his. She lifted his shirt slightly to look at his wound. He hadn't torn them completely, but she could see a few places where they had ripped his skin slightly. She grimace in sympathy at the sight of them. "Ben I told you to be careful," she scolded him gently, before she gently brushed her thumb across his skin just above the now open wound. "Does it hurt?" her voice was filled with concern, it certainly looked like it hurt.

Ben smiled a little shyly, enjoying her gentle touch. "I'll be alright," he whispered.

"Are you sure?" his mother placed a hand on his shoulder.

Ben nodded, and Leia tiptoed to kiss his cheek.