A Knight in White Armor // pt.2
Part One Part Two Part 3
Trigger Warnings: blood, violent depictions of death
In the middle of the second week, you were mingling amongst a crowd of senators- all from the Republic. Senator Amidala organized the gathering in a larger, lavish conference room to discuss what had happened so far. Everyone was still in formal and traditional dress, laughing over glasses of champagne. Rex had momentarily excused himself to speak to his men about standing watch at the entrances and checking windows.
Laughing at something a twiâlek lobbyist had said, you took a step back and covered your mouth. In that moment, you hadnât seen the person disguised as staff move themself behind you, and didnât even register until the click of a blaster rang beside your ear. You gasped as a strong arm barred itself across your chest and the cool metal pressed into your temple.
âIf you resist, Iâll make sure you die slowly.â The gruff voice growled as your champagne flute shattered on the floor. The gala comes to a halting silence, only being broken by a few other glasses shattering and other politics gasping.
âWhat do you thi-â Senator Amidala started to demand, but your captor shut her up by moving the barrel of the blaster under your chin. Fear raged up in your stomach, and you just barely registered the clicking of blasters belonging to the troopers and party guests slowly lowering to the floor.
âI wouldnât.â He stated, the metal digging into your flesh. You gritted your teeth in disgust as his hot breath fanned over your face. âNow, Iâm going to take the princess here, and not one of you is going to follow. Got it?â
No one answered, and for once you wished all the politicians would start bickering as usual⌠hell, even whispers would be better than fear stricken silence. Your captor chuckled before roughly tugging you backward. Stumbling over your skirts, you let out a cry as the assassin let you fall- but not before trying to regain control by grabbing your bicep. His fingernails raked your otherwise flawless skin (you hadnât bled since you were 9 and skinned your knee after falling off a horse). Nonetheless, he still dropped you and the moment your body hit the floor several blaster bolts from all angles screeched to hit their target- the assassinâs heart and his head.
From the ground you watched his body convulse as shots berated his body before his knees finally gave out. For two moments, he swayed before collapsing-directly on top of you. His last breaths escaped onto your neck and you could feel his eyelashes flutter shut on your cheek.
There was a dead body- a fresh corpse- on top of me⌠ForceâŚ. shit shit shit heâs dead⌠someone get him off me⌠help me⌠As your thoughts sped out, so did your breathing, and soon-though you didnât realize it- you began screaming. All you could really feel was the heat draining from the body atop you.
After what felt like hours (a minute at most) the weight finally left. Your eyes darted everywhere, but never actually registered anything until someone gently grabbed your chin. âYour Highness, (Y/N), can you hear me?â
Your eyes finally focused in on Rex, his jaig eyeâd helmet only inches from your face, but his voice was cottony and far away. No, my ears are ringing.
Finally, you began to feel things: the stinging in your bicep, the rawness of your throat, dull ache on your temple where the blaster had been pressed against you, the violent thumping of your heart as a part of your brain replayed the incident on a loop. But the other part was watching Rex come into focus and picking out all the details- the scar on his chin, his stubble, the length of his blonde buzz cut, the concern in those golden brown eyes.
âRex.â You breathed, and then everything hit you again as you sobbed, âRex!â You couldnât stop yourself; you threw yourself around him in an instant and just cried. He shushed your gibberish and tried to calm you by wiping hair out of your face and drying tears. In your peripheral, you could see troopers herding gaping politicians out of the room, but you shut them out- choosing instead to bury your face in the captainâs neck.
âOh my god⌠Rex⌠he was going to⌠was he going to kill me?â You choked out, somewhere between hyperventilating and not breathing at all. Once again, the captain shushed you as he gingerly started to pull you to your feet-never letting go of you in case you collapsed.
âItâs over now,â he assured you, sparing a glance at the corpse behind him before using his body to block it from your view. âLetâs get you somewhere better than this. Can you walk?â
He gave you a wary look when you nodded, but let go of you nonetheless- only to immediately catch you when your knees buckled. Cutting off your whispered apology, he easily scooped you into his arms. With an arm under your knees and another under you back (and billows of dress between you), he assured you with a quiet, âItâs ok, Iâve got you.â
The walk to your quarters was short, and multiple troopers lined the walls leading to your door. Setting you down on the loveseat, he watched as you eyed the maids warily-subconsciously scooting slightly behind his standing form. Discreetly giving you his hand behind his leg, he cleared his throat. âDue to the excitement of tonightâs events, her majesty would feel most comfortable if only her maid droid stayed. Thank you for understanding, you are dismissed.â
As the maids left the room, you tried to ignore their stares. You know you had to look just awful: covered in blood, makeup laced tear tracks from your eyes to the neckline of your dress, skin red and blotchy from crying, disheveled hair⌠Your childhood nanny droid would probably pop a circuit if it saw you like this.
Caught in your memories and thoughts, you didnât even hear Rex until he gently grabbed your chin. Your eyes focused in on him and finally registered that his lips were moving.
âWhat?â It was slow and drawled-like you had had too much wine. His eyebrows furrowed in concern, but he started over nonetheless.
âYouâre hurt, so Iâm going to bring in a medic-â he paused when your eyes widened in panic. âIf that man snuck in as a waiter, people could sneak in as anythingâ. You thought. Rex kneeled down in front of you, and took both of your hands in his. âOne of MY medics. His name is Kix and I trust him with my life, can you trust me and trust him?â
Slowly, you nodded- shaky breaths rattling your chest causing the dizzying throbbing in your head to increase. Rex nodded with a squeeze of your hands and stood back up, âHeâs right outside; Iâm going to go get him. You just stay here and breathe.â
Without him in eyesight, your heart rate picked back up and anxiety tried to squeeze you heart every time it pumped. With your anxiety heightened senses, you listened to his footsteps, the opening and closing swoosh of the door, and the quiet instructions.
âHelmet off, quiet voices, leave your blaster at the door, and try not to startle her. Pretty sure sheâs in shock.â Rex listed. A new, strikingly similar voice entered.
Shortly after, their footsteps approached you- swinging wide into your peripheral. Rex was in front, and came around to stand on your left. The new man, Kix, obviously looked almost identical to Rex. Though they shared features, your eyes easily picked the differences from your captain. He wore similar blue painted armor, but he lacked the Kama and shoulder piece- in place of the shoulder piece he had a red medical insignia painted on. Like Rex, his hair was buzzed, but it was much darker and had intricate designs cut in- you decided you preferred Rexâs blonde. He looked slightly younger, but wore a kind smile as he sat down on your right.
âHello, princess, Iâm Kix, the medic for the 501st. Can I take a look at your arm there?â He asked in a hushed, gentle tone, calmly gesturing for your arm. You looked at him for a moment before glancing at Rex. The captain nodded, so you turned back and copied the gesture while holding out your arm for him.
Another smile from him made it easier to relax as he took hold of you arm. Even though his hold on you was much gentler than the assassins, you had to restrain yourself from ripping away from him. Clenching your teeth, you left hand subconsciously reached out to Rex and without a word, he took it in his.
âHe scraped you up pretty good, didnât he? Okay, Iâm going to cut some of your sleeve away so I can get a better look and clean it out, is that alright?â He asked voice low as if speaking to a child, and once again you nodded- watching with wary eyes as he pulled out a pair of medical scissors. Once the red soaked fabric fell away, he dropped the scissors into a hazardous material bag. âThere we go, much better. Iâm going to start cleaning which is going to sting pretty bad, but I need you to be still.â
Another nod and you tried to steel yourself: closing your eyes and turning your head as the scent of antiseptic floated to your senses. He counted up to three before beginning, but that didnât prepare you for the burning sensation. Yelping, you squeezed and yanked on Rexâs hand while flinching away from Kix. Rex, surprised by your sudden strength, nearly fell over while Kix tried to hide his snickers with an apology. This time, Rex took a seat beside you and tried to not to blush at how you squished yourself as far as you could into his side. Kix positioned himself closer, now making it impossible for you to get away as he continued to clean the cuts. He apologized every time you flinched and yelped, and towards the end of it you were just short of being in the captainâs lap- and Rexâs face was just one shade short of tomato.
âThere the worst is over. Iâm just gonna wrap it up, and then Iâll do a general check-up.â He chirped as he started the wrap up your wound. Releasing all the tension, you slumped against Rex. The medic moved on to other things: shining a flashlight in your eyes, checking your heart rate, testing your reflexes, and when he was finished he dropped his supplies back in the bag he got them out of.
âIf you were in shock, youâve just about come out of it, you might have trouble sleeping, feel nauseous, dizzy, or dissociative. But that should only last a few days.â He explained, once again fishing something out of his bag. He rattled a large white bottle before explaining, âThese will help you get some sleep tonight, take it right before you get in bed- theyâre pretty strong.â
He pulled out a pill and split it in half before handing it over to you. You nodded, examining the chalky blue pill in your hand. âThank you, Kix.â
âNo problem, ma-your grace. Feel better.â With that, the trooper left you and Rex with only the company of your maid droid. Rexâs eyes passed over you again, worry still lacing his eyes.
âYou should probably get cleaned up and get some rest- plenty of excitement for today.â He suggested, helping you to your feet. He spared a glance at the currently inactive droid.
âHey, tinny, time to do your job.â His gruff orders to the pink painted nanny droid elicited the smallest giggle from you. The captain finally relaxed at this, glad you werenât as on edge. The little droid whirred to life as it assessed your damage, immediately spewing off how unacceptable you looked and ushering you into the bathroom.
It took two hours for the little, humanoid droid to deem you clean and presentable again. Once you were dressed with your hair brushed out, the maid droid- or as you called it M3- released you to your bedroom. Still shaken up, you were relieved to find Rex still lingering in your room. His back was to you as he explained the night events to holograms of Jedi Generals and the chancellor.
After he hung up, he turned to you and gave you a once over, âFeel any better?â
You only nodded as you moved towards the bed that M3 was undoing for you. Sitting on the edge, you took another look at the blue pill sitting on your nightstand before M3 offered you a glass of ice water. Quickly swallowing it, you readjusted yourself under the covers. Rex breezed around your room, doing final safety checks as your lazy eyes followed him. âWell, your highness-â
â(Y/N).â You corrected, lazily glaring at him. Holding his arms up in defense.
â(Y/N), everything has been checked, no oneâs getting in or out with you knowing about it.â He affirmed, nodding to you once more before turning towards the door as M3 flicked the lights off. Light panic welled up in your stomach as you watched the Captain leave. Shadows seemed to form assassins in the dark and the curtains shuffled ominously.
âRex! Wait!â You demanded, voice only slightly raised. Alarmed, the captain immediately turned around and a hand flew to his holster as his eyes checked the room for danger. Finding none, he turned expectantly to you. Bashfully, you picked at the hem of your sheets, âI know itâs not your job, but Iâd feel so much safer if you stayed. Even if only until I fall asleep.â
âItâs no trouble.â He answered, quietly dragging one of the overly plush chairs to your bedside. Now that you felt safe with him beside you, you could let the drugs to their job.
Finally snuggling into the pillows and blankets, you sighed, enjoying the fuzzy feeling that made the edges of the world seem soft. âThank you, Rex, Iâm sorry I was so dramatic.â
The captain looked at you funny before remembering the little pill Kix gave you. Waving you off, he replied, âItâs my job to keep you safe, and you have no reason to apologize for that. Youâve never gone through something like that, have you?â
âMy father took me hunting once, but I cried every time a gun was shot. Especially when they actually killed something.â You admitted with a yawn, even though it only slightly pertained to the conversation. Rex smiled softly at the image in his head. âHe said I was too soft.â
âWell, maybe in this day and age, we need something a little soft.â The soldier mused before shaking his head, âYou need to get some rest.â
âOk,â you conceded sleepily, âGood night, Rex.â
And like a light, you were out. Sleeping soundly as if you hadnât almost died today- something Rex would beat himself up over until the day he died. He watched you for a bit more, watching the reassuringly steady rise and fall of your chest and laughing quietly at your nose wrinkling as you dreamt. Gingerly, he pulled the covers more securely over your shoulder before placing the gentlest, barely-there, feather-light kiss to your forehead. After he pulled away, he mentally punched himself, he had no business kissing you- but, by the force, no one else would touch you.