Bisque

Paranormal investigator Poe Dameron takes on his strangest case yet.

Damerey Creations Week - Day Seven

Prompt: Porcelain Dolls

Poe Dameron walked toward the stairs that led to the front door of the old Victorian house, excitement flowing through him. It was always a thrill heading to a new case, and this one was extra intriguing as it involved a house he had been drooling over for years. The Ren House had been built back in the 1890’s, and a descendent of the original owner still lived in the house today. Ben Solo had just taken over ownership of the house from his mother, Leia Organa-Solo, only a few months ago; his parents had retired to Florida. Apparently, they had never noticed anything strange about the house, or maybe they had just chosen to ignore it. Ben, however, couldn’t, and he had called in the only local paranormal investigator he knew.

Poe wasn’t a full-time ‘ghost hunter,’ by any means; he actually taught history at the local state college. His fascination with genealogy and his expertise at finding even the most obscure historical facts made his ‘night job’ that much easier. The fact that he was by nature a skeptic didn’t hurt. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe in ghosts or other aspects of the paranormal, he just knew that 90% of the time most of what other people thought were hauntings actually had boring, mundane explanations.

But finding out the truth was why he did this.

He stepped up to the door and knocked on it. Within seconds, Ben was opening it. He gave Poe a nervous laugh and stepped back. “Come on in.”

“Always wanted to see the inside of this house,” Poe told the man. He knew Ben a bit, as they had gone to the same High School together, Poe a couple years ahead of Ben.

Ben grinned at him. “It is a cool house. You can’t imagine how many times I find out some woman who agreed to go out with me just said ‘yes’ because of this house.”

“And are you okay with that?” Poe asked, his eyebrows raised.

“For now,” Ben said slyly. “Eventually, I’m gonna want to settle down, but I’ve got time.”

Poe laughed. He had to admit that he had dated a couple of women in the past that were more than a little intrigued by his side-job, but he was at that point of wanting to settle down. He needed to find someone who found him more intriguing than his work.

“So,” he began. “What am I here to investigate?”

Ben’s face became serious. “Okay, so I grew up believing this house was haunted, but I’ve never really seen any evidence. Just feelings. Mom would laugh at me, but I always suspected she felt the same way. She used to tell me that we better hope it wasn’t haunted, because her great-grandfather, the one who built this house, was a mean, selfish bastard and we wouldn’t want his spirit still here with us.”

“How mean?” Poe asked. He had heard stories of Kylo Ren, of course, but hadn’t delved into the man’s history, yet.

“Well, he married five times,” Ben continued. “Only had one child out of all of those marriages, a girl, Breha, my great-grandmother. He almost disinherited her because she was female, but then she married a state senator and he decided they could have his money and house when he died.”

“He must have been quite the catch to have so many wives,” Poe said dryly.

“Well, he was very, very rich. I’m sure a lot of his wives were convinced they could put up with him for the money.”

“So, you think his spirit still resides here?” Poe asked.

“Well, I don’t know what to think,” Ben told him, then he sighed. “Follow me.”

Poe followed him up the beautiful staircase to the second floor, and then Ben led him down the hall to a small room with a large walk-in closet. Along the back wall of the closet sat a display of about two dozen porcelain dolls, their large painted eyes staring back at him eerily.

“Ooof,” he huffed. “Please don’t tell me you think the dolls are haunted.”

Ben gave him an apologetic glance. “Not all of them,” he said. “Just one.”

Poe gave him a worried look. “Seriously?”

Ben shrugged, then pointed to one of the dolls situated in the middle of the horde. “From what I understand, this is the first doll, the one that started the collection.” It was a figure of a woman, not a child or a baby as most porcelain dolls were. Her realistic bisque face was adorned with a pert little nose, full lips, and huge eyes that were painted an unusual hazel color. Her dark hair was pulled back, with curls artfully positioned around her face. She wore a wedding dress with a tight corseted bodice and a high-necked jacket. Her veil and the train of the dress draped down behind her.

Poe was enchanted. By a doll.

He stepped back, realizing how focused he had been in his perusal of the obviously antique figure, and gave Ben a slightly abashed look.

Ben smirked. “Yeah,” he said nodding. “She has that effect on people.”

Poe took a deep breath. “Whose collection?” he asked. Time to get back to business.

“Ren’s,” Ben said.

Poe stared at him. “Kylo Ren collected dolls?”

Ben nodded. “Yep. I have heard so many stories about him, from him donating thousands of dollars to the local poor shelters to him worshiping Satan. The only thing I know for sure is that he collected dolls.”

Poe nodded. To each their own. “Okay. Why?”

“Investment?” Ben shrugged. “Friends with other collectors? Weird kink? I don’t know.”

Poe huffed a soft laugh. “Investment?” he finally asked. “How much are they? Have you had them appraised?”

Ben nodded. “The whole collection is probably worth about a million. The bride is probably worth over half a mil on her own, just because she’s unique.”

“Unique how?”

“Apparently, she was custom made. There are no others like her.”

“Wow.” Poe licked his lips. “So, what else makes her special?” he asked. “Why am I here?”

Ben took a deep breath. “Because, sometimes… she disappears.”

******

Poe began his research that night. He learned that Kylo Ren had a fascination with the occult, despite his outwardly devout Catholicism. He was closely associated with a man that was simply known as Snoke, a hermit who lived in the surrounding forest and sold potions of unknown origin to locals. Some articles called him a warlock, others a wizard. Through old newspaper articles, Poe learned the name of the five women who married the man. All were much younger than him, and only the fourth bore him a child. Some hinted that he was sterile and that Breha wasn’t biologically his, but when Poe saw a picture of the man, and saw the resemblance between him and Ben, he knew that was probably not true. Odds were good some of the potions that he received from his friend Snoke for whatever reason made him temporarily sterile.

His last wife outlived him, and upon his death, when Breha inherited the house, she was allowed to continue living in it with her step-daughter and her husband. Like her mother, Breha only had one daughter, Padmè, who in turn had one daughter, Leia. Ben was the first male heir of the Ren line. Poe could find nothing in print about the doll collection.

Having grown up in the house, Ben had never really paid attention to the collection himself. He remembered his father telling stories of the doll’s positions changing without anyone moving them, and he told Ben that he had noticed the Bride was missing more than once in the past as well, but was sure it was just someone playing tricks on him. Han and Leia had visitors at the house often, and many of their friends were jokesters. But Ben hadn’t had hardly any visitors since he moved back into the house after his parents left, and none had visited the doll room.

When he first became aware that the Bride was missing, he had feared she had been stolen. He had actually made a report with the police department. However, after three days, she had reappeared. Ben apologized to the cops, telling them it must have been a prank, but less than a month later she disappeared again. Ben started paying attention. Whenever she would vanish, nothing else in the room was disturbed. She was never gone for less than three days, and always returned before a week had passed, and she never looked any different than before she left.

He set up a camera to record her, watching the feed for hours until he finally fell asleep. When he woke, she was gone. He rewound the recording, only to find the screen turn to static for almost a minute during the time she disappeared. He even tried locking her up in a glass case, but she still vanished, only to reappear back in her original spot. He almost convinced himself he was going insane. Poe was his last hope.

Of course, Poe also set up cameras, and not just on the doll. He also set them up in the hallway outside the doll room, the main staircase, and the rear servants staircase. He camped out in the kitchen, ready to watch the feed while he worked on his book. Almost every case he worked on would end up in this book, even if he never found proof of paranormal activity. The stories and history he learned about on every case were as fascinating to him as the possibility of ghosts.

For a week, he stayed up all night at the Ren House, then went home to sleep for several hours before his afternoon classes started; Tuesdays and Thursday he had one class at nine, so he was always a bit more sleep deprived those days. Finally, on the last night, he witnessed what Ben had been experiencing. The screen suddenly went to static. He jumped up and ran for the servant’s stairs, down the hall, and into the doll room.

She was gone.

Bringing out his EMF detector, he swept the room. He wasn’t surprised to find the lights flash on the handheld device as he passed over the area the doll should have been. After satisfying himself that there was nobody about (Ben had spent the last week in a hotel), he went back down to check the footage. Every camera had gone to static at the same time. There was no visual of anyone going up or down the stairs before or after the interruption, and the doors were still locked. Poe was baffled.

Ben came back the next day, and Poe promised him he hadn’t given up. “I’m gonna leave the cameras,” Poe told him. “Let me know when she comes back.”

She came back five days later. Upon examining her, the doll radiated EMF energy. Poe left the house feeling slightly beaten. But he would not give up! He began to do even more research. He really needed to find out who this Snoke was, but there was no full name given in any article that mentioned him, and there was no one left alive from that time that Poe could talk to. Even his call to Leia offered him no help, though he did find chatting with the older woman pleasant. She didn’t remember any stories from her grandmother about Snoke or the doll. In fact, her grandmother rarely mentioned Kylo Ren at all; she had no happy memories of the man, after all.

It was only two weeks later when Ben called to let him know the Bride was once more on the loose. Feeling obliged, Poe came to investigate once more, searching for anything that might clue him in on the doll’s whereabouts. He seriously could only come up with some kind of portal or vortex in the room. Not only had he never seriously believed in such things, but why only that doll? He left the house feeling defeated.

“I’m gonna go get a drink,” he told Ben, looking at his watch. It was just a little past midnight. The bars would still be open.

“I’m going back to bed,” Ben had responded. “At least I know I’m not going crazy.”

“Folie à deux,” Poe replied.

“What’s that mean?”

“Madness shared by two,” Poe responded with a smirk as he left.

A few minutes later he was at Oga’s Cantina, nursing a whiskey sour and trying to ignore the upbeat dance music coming from the jukebox in the corner. Not only was the music hard to ignore, but the person dancing to it drew his attention to the dance floor. She was the only one dancing, but to be fair there weren’t many people here on a Tuesday night. She was wearing a red long-sleeved shirt and a short black skirt, which showed off plenty of long, graceful leg. Her dark hair was pulled back into a tight bun and her lips were painted the same color as her shirt. Her feet were bare, but he could see a pair of black heeled sandals sitting askew next to the jukebox.

She was bouncing to the music, her eyes closed, her head thrown back in abandon. Poe found himself staring at her for a long time, entranced by her beauty, but then he caught himself and looked around the room. There was no way this woman was alone, and he wasn’t about to rile the ire of some young beefcake by ogling his girl. But no one was paying attention to her. Even the bartender seemed oblivious, as if her dancing out there by herself was a common thing. Poe turned to her again, propping his tired head on his hand as his elbow rested on the table. He let himself gaze at her.

Suddenly she stopped and turned toward him, her large eyes focused on him intently. He felt his face heat as she caught him staring. She tilted her head curiously at him, then a slight smile touched her red lips. She walked up to him. Out of habit, he stood, remembering the manners his father had drilled into him, old fashioned though they might be. Even in her bare feet, she was almost as tall as him.

Her lip curled even more. “You’re new here,” she said, her voice deep and a bit husky, her accent English.

“Uh, yeah,” he responded. “It was the closest bar,” he stuttered.

“Closest to where?” she asked.

“Where I was… uh… working.” It was technically true. While he didn’t ask for payment when he investigated, he still considered it a job.

“Really? What do you do?”

Okay, if this was turning into a conversation… He gestured to the other chair at his table, and as she moved to sit in it, he sat back down in his. “I’m actually a professor, but I investigate the paranormal in my spare time.”

Her eyebrows rose and she nodded, almost as if he had told her a correct answer. “You’re a ghost hunter?”

He nodded, taking a sip of his drink.

“And have you found any ghosts tonight?”

Poe licked his lips, shaking his head. “Can I buy you a drink?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I don’t drink.”

“You’re at a bar,” he felt obliged to remind her.

“I come for the music,” she said. “I love music.”

“And what do you do when you’re not looking for music?”

“I was a teacher once,” she said, and her smile turned sad. “Now I just… dance.”

Poe frowned, but said nothing. Was she a prostitute, he wondered? Embarrassed to say so because she knew he wouldn’t be interested in her then? “Are you here alone?”

She nodded, that sad smile still there. “No worries,” she told him. “Nothing can hurt me.”

Poe scoffed. “Please don’t tell me you’re that naïve,” he growled. He glanced around the room. “Let me take you home,” he said. “This town may be small, but it still has its demons.”

She laughed suddenly, but there was no humor in it. “Oh, don’t I know it.” She looked down at the table for a moment, then she stood and headed for the jukebox and her shoes.

Poe stood and followed her, watching as she slipped the heels on, then she turned to face him again. “Thank you for your offer. It’s very sweet. But I will be fine.” She nodded and started to move past him, heading for the door.

“Wait!” He reached out and grasped her arm gently. Her skin was cool to the touch, which surprised him; she had been dancing so vigorously just moments earlier. “What’s your name?” he asked, suddenly desperate to have something more than a memory from this woman.

She smiled softly. “Rey,” she whispered.

“Rey,” he repeated. “I’m Poe.”

Deliberately, she slid her arm out of his grasp. “Nice to meet you, Poe. Maybe I’ll see you again.” With that, she turned and strode quickly out the door.

Poe stood, feeling a bit awestruck, when the bartender spoke. “Best forget about her, man,” he said. “She never leaves with anybody.”

Poe glanced at the man, then rushed to follow her. He stepped out the door and looked around. The parking lot was well lit, as was the front of the bar. But there was no Rey.

She had disappeared.

******

Poe tried to move on. He really did. But both the case of the doll at the Ren House and the memory of the mysterious woman from the bar gnawed at him.

He continued communication with Ben, wanting to know when the doll disappeared, when she reappeared, and any other strange activity in the house. He also stopped by Oga’s more often, hoping to see the mysterious Rey one more time. It was a couple days after Ben notified him the doll was once more ‘on the loose’ that Poe finally saw Rey again.

It was a Saturday night and the bar was much busier than it was during the week, with a live band playing in the corner in front of the juke box. Rey wasn’t alone on the dance floor tonight. She was wearing all black this time, her silky halter top and black skirt sexy as hell. Her hair was in a tight French braid and she had kept her shoes on, the heels making her legs look extra long and provocative. As far as he could tell, she wasn’t dancing with any one guy or girl, instead just enjoying the company of several people as they all gyrated on the floor. However, while he watched, one man in particular seemed to be forcing his way into her bubble, and she didn’t look pleased about it.

When the man, who was younger and taller than Poe, tried to wrap his arms around Rey’s waist, she shoved him away, her expression annoyed. This appeared to make the man more than a little angry, and he tried to grab for her again. Poe was up in a heartbeat, heading their way.

“Hey, Rey!” he said loudly as he got close to them. They both turned to look at him. “Hey! I’m sorry I’m late!”

The man frowned, but Rey’s eyes immediately lit up and a smile appeared. “Poe!” she said, her voice excited. “I’m so happy you made it!”

Poe nodded to the man, then took a chance and brought his arm up around Rey’s waist. “Let’s dance!”

Rey moved willingly into his embrace, throwing her arms around his neck as Poe swung her away from the man. She tilted her head at him, still smiling. “Thank you, but I had it under control.”

“I’m sure you did,” Poe nodded. “But I’ve been wanting to see you again and I’m not willing to stand in line.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Oh, really?” She bit her lower lip, and the action made Poe’s breath catch. “I made that much of an impression on you?”

He looked up and around at the people dancing around them; more than a few of them were eyeing him curiously. “Rey, I think you make that much of an impression on everyone.”

The next two hours were a whirlwind of activity. Dancing, moving to the table to talk, more dancing. Poe expected her to leave him and go back to dancing with the crowd, but she showed no inclination to do so. She seemed quite content to spend the rest of the evening with him. She talked very little about herself, but she asked several questions about him and his work; she was actually more curious about his teaching than his investigations, and was very interested in the book he was writing.

It wasn’t until he mentioned the Ren House that she seemed to distance herself. “Why are you writing about that place?”

“Because it’s fascinating,” he answered honestly. “Kylo Ren was fascinating. Seemingly a town hero on the outside, but in reality, a horrible human being. No one wanted to call him out back then, because he was so powerful in this area, but finding out all he did during his lifetime, very little of it actually good…” He shrugged. “I want people to know the truth, bad or good.”

She stared at him for a moment, her expression more serious than he had ever seen it. “Did you do research on his wives as well?” she asked finally.

He nodded. “Yes. All younger than him, beautiful, from wealthy families.” He watched her closely. “One has to wonder how he was able to coax them into marriage. Money, I suppose.”

“Or it could have been something different,” she said softly. “Maybe he threatened them?”

“Threatened them with what?”

She frowned, her expression pensive. Then she shrugged and laughed. “I don’t know.” She rolled her eyes. “I don’t really know much about history. I will be excited to read your book when it’s done!” She smiled her brilliant smile at him.

She seemed guileless and innocent, but for some reason Poe felt she was deflecting him with her comment. What did he really know about this woman, he asked himself? “Where are you from?” he asked suddenly, his expression serious.

Her smile faded and her expression became contemplative. “I’ve lived here all my adult life,” she told him. “But I was born in Westminster, in London.”

“Do you miss it?” he pressed. “England?”

Her look became sad. “I miss a lot of things.”

A loud crash came from the kitchen area, making them both jump. Rey looked upset all of a sudden and she stood abruptly. “I should probably go,” she told him.

Poe stood up with her. “Will you let me walk you to your car this time?”

She giggled and shook her head. “No.”

“How you gonna stop me?”

She looked at him coyly, a small smirk on her face. “Let’s go, then.”

He walked her to the door and out into the warm summer evening. He stopped and looked around. “Where are you parked?” When she didn’t answer, he turned to look at her.

She was gone.

******

It took another two months and two more encounters with Rey for Poe to make the connection. The answer was staring him in the face, but it was so crazy, he found it hard to believe. Looking back at his notes, detailed as they were, made it impossible to ignore.

Every time he met Rey in the bar, every single time, the doll in Ren House was missing. When the doll was present, he never saw Rey.

It was absurd. It was far-fetched. It was the only thing that made sense.

The first time after this realization that Ben called him to tell him the doll was once more gone, Poe made sure to visit the bar that night. He was not at all surprised to see Rey, once more alone on the dance floor on this quiet evening.

She was wearing a slinky red halter dress and her hair was loose around her shoulders. Though the skirt was long, falling to just above her ankles, the dress clung to her body, making her look even more sexy than if she had been showing more skin. She was swaying to some slow song that he remembered from his childhood, her eyes closed, but as he neared her, they popped open. She smiled when she saw him, joy evident in her eyes.

“Poe,” she whispered as he stepped up to her.

Without saying anything, he gathered her close, wrapping his arms tight around her. She welcomed his embrace, throwing her arms around his neck and burrowing her face under his jaw. For a long moment, they just moved with the music. Even when the song ended and a more upbeat one began, they still moved slowly, swaying to their own tempo.

Finally, she pulled back. “Something’s wrong,” she said softly. “I can tell.”

“Who are you?” he answered. “I know nothing about you. Your last name. Where you live. Why you come here, alone, but only on certain nights. Nights that correspond to…” he paused. “To other nights that I know about.”

“Other nights?” she asked.

“Do you know about the doll collection in the Ren House?”

Rey gasped slightly, pulling away from him a bit. She seemed to collect herself quickly. “Doll collection?” Her voice cracked a bit. “Should I know about it?”

“There’s a doll there. A very old, very expensive doll,” Poe continued, not letting her go. “She’s wearing a wedding dress. Ben calls her the Bride.” He paused, watching her eyes grow large. “She looks like you.”

She swallowed, then shook her head and pushed herself away forcefully. He didn’t stop her, but he followed her as she turned and headed for the door. Once outside she turned to face him. Her whole body was shaking.

“All this time,” she whispered, almost to herself. “All these years. No one knew. No one.” She looked at him. “How do you know?”

“Know what, Rey?” he demanded. “What do I know?”

She stared at him for a long moment. Then she began to tell her story.

“I was nineteen,” she whispered. “He was in his thirties, ready to finally settle down after making his fortune. I was his first choice.” She turned and looked out into the night. “My parents had just come here from England the year before and my father was already making a killing with his investments in the mining equipment business. I was young, beautiful, fertile and had a large dowry. I was perfect wife material.” She scoffed. “But I wanted to marry for love. Silly me. I didn’t love him. I didn’t even like him. I had heard so many stories, horrible stories.”

She looked at him. “I refused him. I don’t think he had ever been refused in his life. He went to an old wizard in the woods, Snoke, who gave him some kind of potion that was supposed to make him irresistible to women.” She laughed. “It didn’t work on me, for some reason. I don’t know why.” Her expression darkened. “So, he went back to Snoke and asked for something else.”

A tear started trailing down her cheek, and Poe ached to wipe it away, but he didn’t want her to stop. She sniffled, wiped it away herself, and continued. “Snoke cursed me. I am that doll.”

Poe swallowed. It didn’t matter that she had just confirmed his suspicions. It was still hard to believe.

“How…” he stopped and cleared his throat. “How do you get out?”

“The curse isn’t solid,” she told him, meeting his eyes with her own. “I can free myself, but only for a limited time, then I’m sucked back to that house. To that doll. As time goes on, I find I can stay away longer, but I have also found no reason to do so. It’s not like I can have a life. Go back to teaching. Fall in love. Marry. Have babies.” She sighed. “I tried telling others in the past what happened, but no one believed me. You believe me. Don’t you?”

“I shouldn’t,” Poe whispered. “But yes, I do.”

Rey’s tears began to fall in earnest. She shook her head. “That feels wonderful,” she said with a smile. “But I’m sorry, too. It’s not like there’s anything you can do to help me.”

Poe shook his head, denying her words. “There must be a way to break this curse, especially if it's not solid like you say."

"Poe," she smiled at him sadly.

"Have you tried?” he demanded.

“Yes!” she answered. “I’ve read all I can on curses, talked with shamans, learned as much as I could. Nothing works!”

“How badly do you want it, Rey?”

“What?”

“How badly do you want to be free? Be honest.”

She stared at him. “In the beginning, I wanted it more than anything. But these last years…” She shook her head. “Where would I go? What would I do? I don’t belong in this world.” She wiped her face. “And I would be alone.”

“Not anymore,” Poe growled.

Rey looked at him, her eyes wide, her mouth open.

“How badly do you want to be free?” Poe repeated.

Rey looked him in the eye. “I want to be free,” she said firmly.

“Then let’s do this.” He reached for her hand.

Hope shining in her eyes, she took it.

******

Poe had studied ancient religions and cultures since he had been a small boy, and every book he had ever read he kept if it was at all possible. He found exactly the book he was looking for, an older book about Wicca, and began reading while Rey wandered through his little house. It sat just off campus and he had purchased it as soon as he knew he had the job. Like the Ren House, it was over one hundred years old, but it was much smaller and cozy. It had been renovated not long before Poe had found it, and while on the outside it still looked like the classic model it was, inside it was very modern. He loved it.

Rey seemed charmed by it as well. Every time he glanced up from his reading, he saw her looking about her with a soft smile on her face. Her blazing red dress seemed out of place here, but she herself did not. He moved around the single-story house, setting up what he needed for the ritual he was about to attempt, when she spoke.

“You live here alone?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“It’s very clean. For a bachelor pad.”

He laughed softly. “Thanks.” He paused. “If this doesn’t work, you’re more than welcome to come stay here when you’re free.”

She looked at him with a sad expression. “Thank you, but I don’t think so. I couldn’t stand watching you grow old. Die.” She shook her head. “You need to find a woman that will love this house as much as you do. Who will give you children. I would just keep that from happening.”

Poe swallowed nervously. “Well, then. Let’s hope this works.” He held out his hand. “Come with me.”

She took it and he led her into the bathroom, where his tub was already filled with warm water. “From everything I read about the man, this Snoke seems to do magic along the lines of witchcraft,” he said. “So, we’re going to try a Wiccan ritual. Are you Christian?”

She shrugged a bit. “I was raised Catholic, so yeah. I guess I still believe.”

Poe nodded, then glanced at the tub. “I’m… uh… You’re going to need to strip.”

She nodded, then began to remove her dress. Poe turned his back quickly, feeling his face heat. Good God, it wasn’t as if he was a virgin!

He heard her giggle. “You’re awful old-fashioned for a modern man,” she said.

He cleared his throat. “And how experienced are you with modern men?”

“Not experienced at all in the way you’re thinking,” she commented. “I’ve thought about it, and goodness knows I’ve had plenty of opportunities, but I just couldn’t.” She was silent for a while. “I guess I still believe love should be involved in that act.” He heard her step into the water of the bath.

He turned and glanced at her quickly. The water was clear and did nothing to hide her naked form, so he tried not to stare. He grabbed up the book and the carafe he had prepared.

“What’s that?” she asked, nodding toward the pitcher.

“Sea salt,” he told her. “Now, just lean back in relax. Clear your mind.”

She did as he asked while he held up the book and began reciting from it. “In the names of my ancestors, my God, and myself, I call upon thee, oh creatures of Earth and Water. Come forth, cleanse Rey of all evil and alien magicks, and restore her to balance and health. By our wills combined, so mote it be.” He then poured the salt into the water.

“Now just wash yourself with it,” he told Rey. “Submerge yourself at least once, to make sure every part of you is cleansed.” He handed her a washcloth, then moved to sit on the closed lid of the toilet. “Close your eyes tight and use this to wipe the salt water out after you’ve dunked.” She nodded and lay the cloth on the edge of the tub. “You have to stay in there at least ten minutes,” he told her.

She nodded again, then let herself slip under the surface of the water. She stayed under for so long, Poe began to get worried, but then she popped up, gasping for air. She grabbed the towel and wiped her face, taking most of her makeup off in the process. She leaned back and closed her eyes. After a moment, she said, “Ben looks like him, you know.”

Poe nodded. “I saw the resemblance.”

“But he’s not like Ren,” she added. “I never had much contact with the family, but enough to see him grow up. He takes after his mother, who was very much like her mother, who was very much like her father, which means none of them are like Ren.” She sighed. “Bail Organa was one of the people I approached to help me, way back when. He didn’t believe. He brought me to the hospital to see a doctor. While I was in the waiting room, the doll called me back.” She shrugged. “I didn’t try anyone from the family after that.”

“How about your own family?” he asked softly.

“My parents left town after I disappeared,” she said softly. “I think Ren may have threatened them. I’ve never been brave enough to try and find out where they went.”

“I can find out,” he told her. “If you want me to.”

She opened her eyes and looked at him. “Yes, I think I’d like that.”

Poe knew, as she did, that she may still have living relatives out there.

“Ten minutes,” Poe said when he looked at the clock. He took a deep breath and stood. “I need to rinse all the salt from you now,” he told her. He depressed the drain and then reached for the shower head. She stood carefully as he turned the water on. “Let me know if it’s too hot,” he told her, then began to rinse her. Obviously, he had to focus on her to do so, and he tried his best to be clinical about it, but she was so damn beautiful! Asking her to turn when needed, he slowly and deliberately ran the warm, fresh water all over her, telling her to tilt her head back so he could rinse her hair thoroughly. She used her hands to slick the water over herself, including her face. Finally, he was satisfied that she had no salt left on her body. He turned the water off and grabbed a towel, only then realizing that he had gotten himself wet in the process.

She giggled softly as he grabbed another towel and patted down his chest. She wrapped her towel around her, and then she took his proffered hand and stepped carefully out of the tub. He grabbed up the book again and cleared his throat.

“I thank thee, oh creatures of Earth and Water, in the name of myself, my God, and my ancestors. Be released to your homes, doing no harm on your way, and return to me with glad hearts when next you are summoned. By our wills combined, so mote it be.”

He closed the book and looked at her. “That’s that.”

“I guess we just wait now, huh?” she responded.

He nodded. “Yeah. Why don’t you at least sleep here tonight, huh?” he asked. “I’ve got a shirt you can wear.” He left the bathroom and moved to his dresser, Rey following, using the towel he had been using to rub at her hair. He found the oversized sweatshirt and handed it to her. She smiled thanks and moved back into the bathroom. When she came out, she was wearing the shirt.

“Are you hungry?” he asked her.

She shook her head. “No. Just tired.”

He moved over to his bed and pulled back the covers. “Sleep then.”

She padded over to the bed and climbed in gratefully, but as she settled on her left side, she looked at him. “Lay with me?” Her voice was soft, tentative.

Poe nodded. “Let me… let me get changed.” He grabbed an old t-shirt out of the dresser and moved into the bathroom. He got out of his clothes, leaving just his boxers on, then pulled on the shirt. Turning off lights, he moved back into the bedroom. Rey appeared to already be sleeping, so he slid into the bed as quietly as he could, moving up to curl behind her. Her soft voice startled him.

“Poe, if this didn’t work, thank you for trying.”

At her words, Poe began to pray.

******

The phone rang just before six in the morning. Rey had turned in her sleep and was nuzzled up against Poe’s throat, but they both jerked awake.

“Shit,” Poe grumbled as he pulled himself out of bed, looking for his phone. It was on the dresser, where he had left it last night. He grabbed it up, looking at the screen. It was Ben. Frowning, he looked at Rey, then he answered.

“Yeah?”

“Hey, just another update. The Bride returned last night.”

Still staring at Rey, who was staring back at him, Poe was speechless for a moment. “Really?” He heard the squeak in his voice.

“Yeah,” Ben said with a sigh.

“Uhm, what time?” Poe asked.

“The camera flared just after eleven.”

Eleven. That’s when he and Rey had started the ritual. “Hey, Ben,” he said, his heart starting to pound. “I have a feeling your Bride won’t be wandering anymore.”

“What?!” Ben’s voice was sharp. “Why do you say that?”

“A hunch,” Poe responded. “Let me know if I’m wrong,” he said with a smile, then hung up. He knew he wasn’t wrong.

Rey was smiling at him, her eyes glowing with happiness. Then she jumped out of the bed and into his open arms. “Yes!” she shouted.

“Yes, what?” Poe asked, grinning back.

“Yes, I’ll stay here when I’m free!”

“Sweetheart, you’re forever free now.”

“Then I guess I’m moving in permanently.”

THE END