Chapter Text
He isn't by any means a lost child like the many orphans she lovingly takes care of, but to Lady Rey, this young man by the name of Ben verily feels like one of them.
Sparkless dark eyes like the most bottomless of pits, face long and sunken under the heavy weight of sorrow, skin as pale as the snow she had found him lying among, and a heart fortified just like the towering walls of the castle now giving shelter to him at his weakest.
Few words escape him, at first.
A "thank you" here, a "please" there, his hoarse voice devoid of life. Sometimes a little exchange of words with the kids.
He's the same as them whenever they first arrive at the castle.
And just like them he'll get better, though, with time. That, Rey knows. She did, too, in the end.
It's enough for Rey to see him simply live—simply survive—for now, despite the predicament her heart finds itself in when Ben's aches hurt like her own, despite when in their silent stares she can sometimes swear his eyes carry the same longing she feels in her bones.
The thriving will come later, or so Rey hopes.
In the meantime, she and her little family take care of Ben, and Ben learns to take care of them, his reluctance and fears slowly eroding.
And as winter begins to melt, so does he.
Warmth fills anew their days at the mountains and so does life and, as if on cue, as if a spell has begun to fade, life begins to fill him again.
His physical wounds heal entirely, his skin regains color, more words fall from his full lips, a spark rekindles in his eyes.
The day Ben's first smile blooms, gentle and wide and overjoyed, it's for the little girl they'd rescued from the wilderness days ago as she finally breaks her silence to ask "up, up", with her eager little hands and her sparkling eyes.
In the end, as winter fades into spring and snow melts, so does his heart—warming up with the tender affection and care given and received, the icey walls that caged it now breaking and thawing, fading into the tears in his eyes.
Tears of joy this time, instead of anguish, as the apple of his eye, that little girl that has grown as attached to him as he has to her, calls Ben "brother".
At the endearing scene, Rey can't help the smile tugging at her lips, at her heartstrings.
Rey is even less prepared for Ben's soft chuckling, then laughing, open and sincere and warm, than she could've ever been for his smile—neither is her heart.