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scribomaniac · 7 years

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Scavenger and the Mask

Tale as old as a galaxy far, far away . . .

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything he ever asked for, the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. But then, on one clear, starry night, a charlatan came to the prince’s castle with an enchanted relic. An artifact from his grandfather, the great Lord Vader and whispered to the prince promises of power and glory. Enticed by the old man’s words, the prince allowed him entrance and as he entered the threshold, his hood fell away to reveal the pale, scarred face of the dark wizard Snoke. The prince tried to rescind the wizard’s invitation, but it was too late. He had let power, hatred, into his house and planted the first seed of the Dark Side into his soul. Ashamed of what he’d become, the prince hid himself away behind stone walls and a metal mask, finding his reflection too beastly to bare. The heirloom Snoke offered—a worn and burnt mask—truly was enchanted. As the Dark Side within the prince grew, so too would the mask’s reflection. With each passing year, it would repair and return itself to its former glory until his thirty-first year. If he could find someone who refuted the Dark Side, and taught him to refute it as well, the spell would be broken. If not, he’d be doomed to a life alone, with nothing but pain, hate and fear for company. As the years passed, he fell into despair, and lost all hope, for who could ever deny the powers of the Dark Side?

Rey held her head up high as she walked through the sandy streets of Niima, a small, provincial village that was so far away from metropolitan life they didn’t even know who their sovereign was. Her steps were even and sure, her jaw set with determination, and there was a fire in her eyes as she made her way towards Unkar Plutt’s salvage hut. She had a bag full of scrap metal and wouldn’t be trading for less than three whole portions. She could hear the muffled whispers of the town gossips as she hurried past.

Grinding her molars together, Rey forced her feet to walk even faster towards her destination. She’s pay their words no mind—not today. Perhaps on another day, and in a fouler mood, Rey would give them a good thwacking with her quarterstaff, but not today. Today was important. People she loved were counting on her and she wouldn’t let them down. Turning a sharp corner into the salvage hut, Rey walked straight up to the counter and displaying her goods to the Crolute. The Blobfish hummed as he looked through the items, determining their worth. Eventually he nodded and with a scratch under one of his many chins, he offered, “Two and a quarter portion.”

Shaking her head once, Rey countered, “Three.”

“Two and a quarter, girl. Unless you’ve got something else to sweeten the pot.” Unkar Plutt’s smile turned cunning, making Rey’s brow furrow and spine straighten. Not rising to his bait, Rey fingered her goggles for half a second before pulling them from around her neck and adding it to the hoard on the counter. “Ah,” his toothy grin widened. He knew how much those goggles meant to Rey. “Two and three quarter portion.”

“Unkar Plutt,” Rey was not in the mood to play any games. She wanted her three portions and then she wanted to leave.

“You know,” he started, leaning across the counter, “if you said yes you’d never have to barter for another portion for the rest of your life.”

Barely holding back a grimace, Rey felt her nose twitch with disgust. Unkar Plutt had been trying to persuade her to work for him again for over a year now. If working was even the proper term. Slave labor was more accurate. The scavengers in his company worked from sun up to past sun down attempting to forage something worth some form of value. Unkar Plutt would use promises of food, clothes, shelter, and safety to hook the unsuspecting into his servitude. Then, after falling into a false sense of security, he’s turn and demand repayment plus interest. It had taken Rey ages to climb her way out of the debt her family left her in when they’d abandoned her on the planet. She refused to return to that life.

Unkar Plutt put her in a tough position, though, and he knew it. Most the town—those who didn’t work directly with him—thought him to be a grumpy, but valuable cog in the machine that was their village. Without him, trade would come to a halt, the economy could possibly crumble, and many species would go hungry—including herself. So instead of hitting him with her quarterstaff like her fingers itched to do, she just said, “Three portions.”

His smile slowly slid from his face, but another costumer chose that moment to walk into the shop so he grabbed the portions and set them on the counter, “You’ll regret that, girl.” He whispered beneath his breath, “I know things,” Rey tried to take her portions, but he grabbed her wrist to stop her, “Things about your … friends.” Setting her jaw, she yanked her arm away and quickly gathered the three portions before turning tail out of the hut.

Rey ran back to her AT-AT home with a wide smile stretched upon her lips. She’d actually done it! She had the portions. Now everything was set. She made it home that she shared with the two most wonderful people she’d ever met. “Finn, Poe!” She yelled into the hollowed out machine. Panting slightly, she listened for a response, but when she heard none she looked around the back.

Poe laid beneath his latest project—a salvaged X-Wing—while Finn sat off to the side handing him parts and tools from the tool box. BB-8 rolled around lazily nearby but perked up and began beeping out greetings once it noticed Rey’s appearance. “Hello, BB-8!” She greeted.

Finn looked up from his spot on the ground and smiled broadly, “Rey! You’re just in time for the test run!”

“Test run or test crash?” Poe’s muffled voice came from beneath the ship. “I’m about ready to give up on this hunk of junk!”

“You always say that!” Finn responded affectionately, giving Rey a knowing look.

“I mean it this time! I’ll never get this thing to fly!” He slid out from his working place, grease smudged across the bridge of his nose.

“Yes you will,” Rey said seriously with a small nod of her head. “It’ll work and then tomorrow you’ll fly circles around your competition straight to first place.”

“And then everyone will know exactly who the galaxy’s best pilot is!” Finn added, a bright spark of excitement shining behind his eyes. He bent over to help Poe up to his feet.

Rubbing the back of his neck with a faint hint of embarrassment, Poe blushed at Finn’s remarks, but his chest puffed out with pride all the same, “Yeah, I will!”

“Yeah, you will,” Finn grabbed the lapels of Poe’s jacket and pulled him in for a quick kiss.

Rey’s mind immediately went on alert. She scoured the area, making sure there was no one around to see and ruin Finn and Poe’s moment. Biting her lip, she wished the two of them wouldn’t take such unnecessary risks. Once they were away from Niima and in a larger city they’d be safe to show however many displays of affection they wished, but for the moment they were still in the small, backwards town that considered their love an abomination—a disease that needed to be cured. The creatures of this town considered people like Poe and Finn nothing more than garbage and even had designated ‘garbage men’ that would come round up anyone suspected of liking the same sex. BB-8 beeped out a warning, voicing Rey’s thoughts. “Yes,” she agreed, “come on you two. Let’s see if this thing will even get off the ground before you start celebrating.”

Finn looked down to his feet, but even then he couldn’t hide the ear splitting smile on his face. Poe, taking everything in stride, kept his chin up high and motioned between BB-8 and the X-Wing, “All right, BB-8, saddle up. Let’s see what this thing can do.” Climbing up into the cockpit, Poe started up the ship, flipped a few switches, pressed a few buttons, and then looked out towards Rey and Finn. Rey nodded and began to move back, but Finn took a few more seconds to take everything in before following. Pulling up on the controls, the X-Wing hovered above the ground for a few moments. At first it seemed like it wasn’t going to go any further, but with a few more persuasive pushing from Poe, it took off into the sky.

Rey and Finn hooped and hollered as they watched the ship zip through the air several times. After one final loop de loop, Poe brought the ship back to the ground with a smooth landing. The cock pit opened up and Poe’s arms were shot straight into the air, “It worked! It really worked!” He climbed down and the three of them tackled one another with hugs and hand squeezes.

Pulling away, Rey began to usher them, “Well, what are you waiting for? You’ve got a race to get to. Get going!”

“You got the portions?” Finn asked, giving Rey’s hand an extra squeeze. “I don’t think you should scavenge while we’re gone. What if something happens, like you fall, or, or—I don’t know, but something and we’re not here to help you?”

Squeezing his hand back just as hard, she nodded to her bag, “Finn, don’t worry,” she’d been in the scavenging game longer than she’d known either of them, after all, but she also knew that Finn was just worried and looking out for her wellbeing. So for his sake, she’d stay out of the Graveyard for a few days. It’d be like a vacation. “Got them before I came home. We’re all set until you two get back.”

“And you’re sure you don’t want to come?” Poe asked after grabbing their supplied and throwing it into the small cargo holds on the ship. “I’m sure we can squeeze you in somewhere.”

Laughing, Rey shook her head, “No, it’ll be hard enough fitting both you and Finn into the cockpit! I’ll be fine staying here on my own for a few days.”

“You sure? You want us to bring you back anything?” Finn asked.

“Just the two of you back, safe and sound.” BB-8 whirled in an offended manner from the X-Wing, “You, too, BB-8!”

“Oh, come on, that’s cheesy!” Poe teased. “Pick something—anything—and we’ll bring it back for you!”

Humming, Rey thought it over for a second, then decided on, “Something bright. I don’t know what—just something to brighten up all this,” she motioned around vaguely.

“A flower, then,” Poe said before kissing her on the forehead, “We’ll get you some flowers. All right, then, come one, Finn. Time to go!” Sharing one last three person hug, Finn and Poe smooshed themselves into the cockpit and flew off while Rey watched from the ground. She’d miss them, while they were away, but they’d come back. She had to repeat the thought a few times to herself. They wouldn’t leave her here. They’d come back for her. Telling her heart to stop beating so wildly, she slowly turned around and made her way inside her home.

Two days later, after beating off two of Unkar Plutt’s lackeys who’d been tasked with bullying her into working for him, Rey sat outside her AT-AT with one of Poe’s old pilot helmets on her head. It was much too large for her, but she didn’t care. The helmet made her feel connected to her friends even when they were so far away. They were supposed to arrive back home today—tomorrow at the latest—but Rey had a bad feeling in the pit of her belly. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something. It was an X-Wing flying terribly low to the sand. Standing up in a rush, Rey grabbed her quarterstaff and ran off towards the ship.

When she was close enough to it, the ship landed wobbly onto the ground and Rey saw with utter confusion that the cockpit was empty. BB-8’s frantic beeps and whirls caught her attention and Rey moved closer to the droid, “BB-8? What are you doing here? Where’s Finn? Poe?”

BB-8’s answer was frenetic and barely understandable, so instead, Rey set her jaw and began to climb into the ship’s cockpit. “Show me their coordinates, BB-8! Take me to them.” A map showed up on the screen to Rey’s right and she followed it past Niima, past the sands and the dunes that she was used to and through a lifeless and decaying forest until she came upon the tallest building she’d ever set eyes upon. The largest structure she’d ever seen before was Unkar Plutt’s hut and this place was more than ten times that size.

“What is this place?” She asked herself, not knowing what to call it. BB-8 answered her, though, “A castle, huh?” She landed the ship in the garden and hopped out of the cockpit, “Come on, BB-8.” The two walked towards the large doors of the castle. One of them was ajar and so Rey and BB-8 slid through without knocking. Seeing something on the ground, Rey bent down and gasped when she saw it was a piece of torn fabric, fabric from Finn’s—once Poe’s—jacket. Hurrying down the hallway, Rey held her quarterstaff tightly in one hand and the piece of fabric even tighter in the other, as she furiously searched for her friends.

For a moment, Rey thought she saw movement out of the corner of her eye, but whenever she stopped to look there was nothing there. Assuming it was nothing more than a random droid, she continued her quest. “Poe?” She called out, “Finn?” This place was huge and even though Rey would search every inch of it without a seconds hesitation, she wouldn’t mind some hints where to start. A squeak caught her attention, turning around sharply, Rey saw that a door was now open. Furrowing her brow, she knew that door had been shut just a moment before.

Looking down to BB-8, who turned its big round eye up to look back, she rolled her shoulders back, took a deep breath and prepared herself for whatever was behind that door. It squeaked again as she pushed it further open and discovered a winding staircase. “Hello?” She called out curiously when she saw that no one was there. Hearing a metallic thunk from the top of the stairs, “Wait!” She called out, her fist scrunching up the piece of fabric with frustration and began to run up the stairs. “Wait—I’m—”

“Rey?” Poe’s voice called out. Rushing up the rest of the stairs, Rey caught sight of Poe locked behind a cell door. Skidding to her knees in front of the bars, she grasped hands with him. She wants to look him over, really see that he was all right, but it was so dark here. Wherever here was.

“Poe!”

“BB-8 got away,” Poe sighed, relief seeping into his shoulder. Then, as quickly as it left, the tension returned, “Rey, you have to get out of here—Finn—Finn, he’s in the next cell—he’s badly hurt and you need to take him, and Rey, you need to leave!”

“What? No, I’ll get you out, too!”

“No, Rey! There’s no time!”

“I’m not leaving—” suddenly Rey felt herself being pulled away from Poe by the scruff of her neck and thrown to the other side of the room. Hearing the clang of her quarterstaff hit the ground, Rey bit the inside of her cheek to keep from groaning aloud.

“What are you doing here?” A deep, muffled voice asked from somewhere above her.

“Run, Rey!” Poe pleaded, but Rey could no longer see him. All she saw before her were the black robes and boots that belonged to whoever was looming over her.

“What?” She asked while trying to get a good look at him. The black robes reached all the way up to his neck and then Rey saw the faint light reflecting off his mask. The mask itself looked old, damaged and bent in some places. Rey knew some people had to wear such masks for assisted breathing, but this man’s didn’t connect to the rest of his clothes, as those Rey had seen did. Nor did it make any noises to indicate it was pushing or pulling for any oxygen. “Who are you?” She asked, her mind completely blanking on what else she should be doing.

“The master of this castle,” he told her simply before beginning to circle her.

As he did, though, Rey caught sight of her quarterstaff lying not too far away. Once the man started his second turn around her, she lunged for it. Grabbing the metal firmly in her hand she stared into his masked face. “I’m here to take my friends home. Open their cages. Now.”

“If they didn’t want to be locked away,” the man responded, his posture screaming ease and security, “then they shouldn’t have trespassed here.”

A low groan sounded from behind her. Finn. Poe said he’d been hurt, but how badly. Rey’s eyes flickered between the man and back towards Poe. Clenching her jaw, she didn’t know if she’d be able to fight him off and help Finn to safety. Poe seemed weak himself. She didn’t know if he’d be able to help or if he’d end up hindering. Knowing she had to at least try, Rey lashed out and brought down her staff. Or at least, that was her intention, but the moment she began to swing down the man extended and arm and her body froze. She knew this wasn’t pre-battle jitters. She’d gotten over those back when she was young and first beginning her career as a scavenger. No, no matter how hard she tried, no matter how much strength she focused into her muscles, she couldn’t move her body a single inch. Her eyes, the only thing she could move, flitted around the room wildly as she tried to make sense of what was happening. He did this to her, she knew it. He was controlling her with a trick or with a spell of some sort.

The man began his circles once more, and Rey could feel something pulling and pushing against her, forcing her into immobilization. The man passed by her for a second time and Rey closed her eyes. She could feel the smugness radiating off him. She needed to break free from whatever magic spell he put on her. She needed to help her friends. She needed to fight.

Something sprung loose in her, she felt as if all that tension that’d been knotted inside her disappear and once again her body was her own. Grunting heavily, her swing fell down harder than it would have before and hit the masked man square in the chest. The man, not expecting the blow, stumbled back into the wall and Rey took his moment of weakness to quickly unlatch the locks on their cells doors and break them free. Luckily Poe was strong enough to half carry Finn towards the stairs as Rey kept guard over the man. He groaned and tilted his head at Rey, almost like he was trying to understand her.

Then, like a trap springing into motion, he extended his arms again, this time aiming his powers at Finn and Poe. “No!” Rey yelled, lashing out at him, but he dodged her blow this time.

“Who are you?” He asked, this time not even attempting at using his magic on her.

“What?” Rey asked, surprised. Why did he care? She was nobody. Looking back towards her friends who were frozen, she ordered, “Let them go!”

“No. They’re my prisoners.”

“But Finn’s hurt—can’t you see that?”

“Then they shouldn’t have come here.”

Rey was becoming desperate. Her chest tightened and her fingers twitched, wanting to claw the anxiety out of her chest. She could escape, the man’s powers didn’t work on her, but her friends couldn’t. She wouldn’t accept that. There had to be a way for her friends to escape. Then, in the back of her mind she felt it. His curiosity. She looked back into his masked eyes. He hadn’t looked away from her since she’d walked in. He wanted to know who she was. He was intrigued by her. She could use that.

“Take me!” She offered. She could see the shock ripple through his body. He hadn’t expected that from her. “Take me instead!”

“You?” He asked, and Rey knew he was trying to seem uninterested in the offer, but she could feel it. Feel his desire to keep her close. To study her. “You would take their place?”

“You’ll let them go if I do?”

“Yes,” he said slowly, “but only if you promise to stay here … forever.”

The tension in the air was thick. Rey could practically hear both Finn and Poe’s voices screaming in her head, telling her not to do this. Not to sacrifice herself for them. She shook those voices aside, though and told him, “You have my word.”

“Done!” He sealed the deal quickly, once again showing his hand, showing his eagerness. He waved his arm out again, though, and although he might not be able to take away her movement any longer, he still had a few tricks up his sleeve, namely throwing her across the room without even touching her and then magically towing her friends down the corridor and out of the castle.

“No!” Rey yelled after them. Her heart jumped to her throat and a familiar hollowness settled into her body. She thought she’d at least been able to say goodbye. The door slammed shut behind them and Rey frantically scrambled over to it and began to beat away at the wood separating her from her friends. The skin around her knuckles split open as she pounded and threw her fists at the door. Small slivers of wood embedded themselves into her hands but she didn’t care. The pain in her hands was nothing in comparison to the utter panic she felt crawling inside her chest. Not realizing how much time had passed, Rey almost fell head first into the chest of the masked man when he returned and opened the door. He walked back into the room almost tentatively once she backed away from him. “You didn’t let me say goodbye,” she told him, almost brokenly. Her face was red from exertion and her eyes puffy from holding back her tears.

The man remained silent for a moment longer—too long, really—before saying, “I’ll show you to your room.”

“What?”

“You want to stay in the tower forever?” He snapped, making Rey flinch back. His head twitched to the side, like he was listening to something whisper into his ear, and then said, “You don’t have to fear me.”

“Yeah,” Rey snorted, “well that’s usually what happens when you’re held captive by a monster hiding behind a mask.”

He seemed to contemplate something, then stepped forwards closer to Rey, reached up behind his head and began to pull of his mask. Black curly, untamed and matted hair tumbled out from the mask and covered his face as he looked down, then he took a shaky breath and brought his gaze up to look at Rey in the eyes. Not a monster, his eyes seemed to scream at her. The dark pools reached out for her, wanting her to understand something that they couldn’t quite express.

“If you wish to remain here, that is … fine, but if you’d like a room more … comfortable, follow me.” His speech, though no longer muffled by the mask, was so very stilted and awkward. Like he didn’t know how to speak or behave around another person. His eyes kept flickering between Rey’s face and her shoulder, as if he were afraid to look her straight on without the barrier of his mask. He looked behind his left shoulder at an astromech droid that stood behind him. He looked at it like the droid would offer advice. It remained silent, though, and then he turned and began the descent back down the winding stair case. Rey looked around the room. It wasn’t the worst—she’d lived in worse—but if she was being given a better offer … well, she’d at least consider it first.

Looking down briefly at her quarterstaff, she slowly began to follow the man back down the stairs and through a long hallway. The decoration around this place was distracting. Statues of battle droids stood at attention down one hallway leading to the south—all had a crest of some sort imprinted on their chest—and although Rey wasn’t surprised when their heads all turned to watch them walk, it was still off putting for some reason. Rey could have sworn she saw something human behind their robotic eyes. Turning her attention back to the man walking in front of her, she saw that his head was bowed and he was mumbling under his breath.

“Ahh …” he began, looking back over his shoulder at her, “I hope you like it here.” He turned back to the remote droid. “The castle is your … home now, so you can go anywhere you’d like—except the West Wing,” he finished abruptly.

Tilting her head curiously, Rey asked, “What’s in the West Wing?”

Turning sharply on his heel, he faced Rey and yelled, “It’s forbidden!” His face twisted with rage and Rey reared back, surprised by the wave of rage he’s just unleashed upon her. Gripping her quarterstaff harder, she prepared to defend herself against him—beat him back—but just as quickly as his rage came, it disappeared and he began to make his way down the hallway again.

Eventually the man stopped in front of a large, ornate door, and stepped to the side. The door opened on its own and Rey wondered if that was more of his magic at work, or if the door was rigged up to some sort of automatic system. She’d have to take a look at it later, she decided. “If there’s anything you need,” he began softly, a blotchy blush on his cheeks. Rey wondered if he was embarrassed from his earlier outburst, or if his face was just unused to being out of the mask for so long. Walking into the room, she looked up and around at the room he was presenting to her. There was a large, plush bed covered in silky sheets and pillows pushed against one wall, a wardrobe against the opposite wall and there was a vanity pushed into the corner. The peculiar thing about that, though, was that the section that was meant to hold a mirror was empty, as if someone had taken the mirror out. Rey found that odd, but not odd enough to verbalize her thoughts. “My servants will attend to you.”

“And—you will join me for dinner!” His words were rushed and blended together and so very sudden, like the thought was not originally his own, “That’s not a request!” Slamming the door loudly behind him, Rey stared after him with her brows drawn. Pulling her quarterstaff closer to her chest, her mind began to work. She knew she could escape from here. She looked out the window, and although this room was high up, she’d climbed down from even taller heights in the Graveyard. If he tried to stop her, she knew she could fight him off long enough to get away. It wouldn’t be hard. She knew that. But she also knew she gave her word to stay—forever. She didn’t have much growing up on her own, but the one thing she always did have was her word, and she’s be damned if this—this monster caused her to forfeit that one staple in her life.

On top of that, a niggling feeling in the back of her mind—something she’d been trying to stamp down since he’d first taken his mask off—made her feel pity for the man. He seemed … lonely, and Rey knew what it was like to feel like that. It felt like there was a hole in your chest, and no matter how hard you tried, nothing could fill that void. Shaking her head roughly, she pushed those thoughts further from her mind. His loneliness wasn’t an excuse for his behavior towards her or her friends. Looking back towards the door she scoffed at the idea of eating dinner with him. She’d stay here, fine, but that didn’t mean she’d bow down to him or his pathetically executed requests. She focused on this anger, on the pure indignation she felt towards him and let it grow and fester within her because she knew if she let the anger slip away, there’d be nothing left within her but pure sadness. A sadness that would consume her and leave her weeping away on the ornate bed for days and days. She couldn’t allow her to fall into such despair, though. She wouldn’t.

An hour passed, and Rey sat on her bed and tended to her hands. She spent the time alone to pull the splinters from her skin and treated her ripped up knuckles with fabric she’d torn from her clothes. It was so monotonous, the tending of her wounds, that she was half bored and half still shaking with left over adrenaline when three consecutive thumps beat against her door. Brows furrowing, she stood up, grabbed her quarterstaff, and called out, “Who is it?”

“Maz Kanata, dear,” a tired, raspy voice called out. “I’ve brought you some Kosh tea.” Curious, Rey opened the door to come face to face with a service droid. Except, it wasn’t really like any service droid Rey had ever seen before at all. It was smaller than standard, hunched over a bit, and sounded more like a living creature than a droid. All in all, it looked too customized—too personalized to be a droid.

“What?” Rey whispered under her breath and stepped backwards. A familiar beeping sounded from behind Maz Kanata and pushed passed the serving droid and into the room. “BB-8!” Rey said with surprise, then bent down to look over her friend. “What are you doing here? I thought you’d have gone with Finn and Poe!” BB-8 beeped and whirred lowly, conveying its sadness to Rey. “So you hid? Well, I’m glad for it.” She smiled softly and rubbed the top of BB-8’s domed head.

“Kylo Ren might not feel the same,” Maz warned as she hovered into the room and placed her tea tray down on the bed.

“Kylo Ren?” Rey repeated, confused.

Maz looked over at Rey and once more Rey was overcome with the feeling that there was something … alive twinkling behind those eyes. “He’s the master of this castle, child.”

“Child?” Rey repeated indignantly. Not even when she was an actual child was she called a child.

“Yes, child,” Maz repeated with a roll of her large, orb-like eyes, “When you get to be my age, everyone is a child.”

“How—how old are you?”

“Oh, I lost track after the thousand year mark,” she said and began to pour out a cup of tea.

“A thousand—but, but you’re a droid! That’s not poss—”

“Not possible?” Maz cut off, placing a cup into Rey’s hands. “Child, you’ll soon learn that within this castle, nothing is impossible.” Rey’s mind whirled. She thought back to all the droids she’d seen in the castle so far, and how they all seemed … different from the ones she was used to. Then she thought of the voice she thought she kept hearing. Maybe she wasn’t imagining it after all. “Now,” Maz continued, drawing Rey from her thoughts. BB-8 bumped into her back comfortingly. “While you drink that, I’ll find something for you to wear for dinner. I know I saw something suitable in here a while ago,” she sighed and began to riffle through the wardrobe. “I’ll bring something to soak your hands in as well, and maybe some cream to help with those cuts. Maybe we can get that nice and healed over before dinner—”

“I’m not going to dinner.” Rey interrupted sternly, standing up to her full height.

“Hmm?” Maz hummed, still looking through the wardrobe. “What was that?”

“I said, I’m not—” Knocking on the door cut Rey off.

The door opened and a shiny black etiquette droid walked in. It looked between Maz and Rey for a moment before clearing its throat and informing, “Dinner is served.”

Rey knew she wouldn’t have to wait long for the man—for Kylo Ren—to confront her about her absence at dinner. She just didn’t think it’d happen so soon after she’d told the droid— C-3PO, he asked to be called—that she wouldn’t be attending the dinner.

Several loud bangs rattled the doors. For a moment Rey worried that he’d actually break the door off its hinges. “I told you to come down for dinner!” His voice was muffled again, and Rey guessed he was hiding behind his mask again.

“I’m not your slave!” She called back, standing before the door with her quarterstaff at the ready and BB-8 at her back, “You can’t order me around!”

“Come out right now or I’ll—I’ll break down the door!”

He’d do it, she knew he could and from his tone she knew he would, “Try it!” She called back, “See what happens, I promise you won’t like what you find if you do!” Her grip on her staff was so tight now her knuckles had turned white.

That voice that she’d heard earlier, the feminine one, could barely be heard but Rey could detect the muffled sound well enough. The voice confirmed her earlier suspicions of its existence and persuaded her to believe there was something more going on here—perhaps something magical. Next she heard Maz Kanata’s and even C-3PO’s voices add to whatever conversation they were having on the other side of the door. They must’ve been whispering, though, because Rey could only make out their voices—not their words. Looking back at BB-8, she shared a worried glance with the droid.

There was a beat of silence, then Kylo Ren’s voice, now clipped and restrained, called out again, “It would be my honor if you would join me for dinner,” another beat, “please?”

“No.” Rey answered without hesitation. Just because he actually asked this time around—just barely, too—did not mean Rey was obligated to say yes. BB-8’s aggressive chirping behind her made her snort and she had to bite down a smile, “Shh,” she hissed behind her. She didn’t need Kylo Ren’s temper running away with him again just because of a mouthy droid.

“You can’t stay in there forever!”

“Yes I can!” She would, too. She could be as stubborn as any astromule if pushed enough.

“Fine!” He shouted again and Rey could feel the rage that reverberated throughout her room, “Then go ahead and starve! If she doesn’t eat with me,” he continued, and Rey figured he was talking to the droids, “then she doesn’t eat at all!”

Hearing him storm away, Rey allowed her muscles to relax and her grip on the quarterstaff to slacken. Kylo Ren knew nothing. Rey had been starving her entire life. Ever since she was left on this planet, left to scavenge to survive. If he thought she’d come begging for food within a day he’d be sorely mistaken—give her a week and then maybe Rey would willing to hash out an arrangement.

BB-8 whirred worriedly, but Rey shook her head trying to reassure the droid. “Don’t worry, BB-8. I don’t plan on letting that—that monster bully me.” She glared at the door and BB-8 beeped again. “Lonely? So what if he is lonely?” She walked over and bent down to BB-8’s level, noticing that its antenna was bent. “It’s not my problem, BB-8,” she talked as she plucked the antenna off and began twisting it back to its proper shape. “It’s not excuse for his behavior, and I for one want nothing to do with someone that holds someone against their will just because they wanted some company.”

After putting the antenna back onto the droid, Rey stood back up and walked towards the door, “Come on, BB-8.” BB-8 followed after her, but beeped its concerns. “He said I couldn’t eat without him. He never said I had to stay in my room, and he did say I could go anywhere in the castle.” Giving BB-8 a sly grin, Rey opened the door to her room and walked out into the hall.

She went seemingly unnoticed until she reached what she assumed where the kitchens. Looking around, she wondered if there was any food to be eaten. There was no one to stop her from eating any of it, and if she took some extra to hoard away in her room, well, what Kylo Ren didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. Walking through a doorway, deeper into the kitchen area, Rey came across Maz Kanata, C-3PO, and the silver remote droid from before huddled together in the middle of the room.

“Ah!” C-3PO‘s yellow eyes brightened once he noticed who walked in, “Mistress! Ah, well,” he bowed, “Once again, I am called C-3PO and am the head of the household.” He motioned to Maz Kanata, “Maz Kanata, I’m sure you remember, is in charge of kitchens and guest welfare, and this,” he motioned to the blue and white astromech droid next to him.

“Miss, this is R2-D2.” The astromech droid beeped cheerfully. “He’ is pleased to make your acquaintance,” C-3PO said. “If there’s anything that we can—” C-3PO tried to move so Rey could better see him, but R2-D2 kept moving similarly so that he was standing in front of the other droid and practically standing on C-3PO’s feet, “stop that—that we can—” he tried to move again, but R2-D2 wouldn’t let up, “please!” he hissed, pushing R2-D2 out of the way violently. He teetered off to the side, towards a cabinet, but stopped right before impact. R2-D2, in retaliation, shot C-3PO in the leg with an electrical arm, making him screech out and hop out of the way.

Watching all this with a cocked eyebrow, Rey looked down to BB-8. They definitely weren’t like normal droids, that was for sure, and she wondered if this unusual behavior would extend to how they followed orders. Deciding to test the waters, she mentioned in her best off handed voice, “Well I am a little hungry.” It wasn’t a lie. She was always hungry. Surviving on portions wasn’t easy, after all. Yes, she could hold off eating for long period of time because of it, but if she could get food, she wasn’t about to pass an opportunity up.

Maz’s eyes lit up, the black, computerized pupils dilated and her back straightened, “Oh? You hear that everyone?” She asked as the drawers and cabinets began to rattle. The stoves sparked to life, fire burning high and practically touching the ceilings. Rey’s brows raised and her jaw dropped. She looked back to BB-8 who, though couldn’t show it through normal expressions, looked just as shocked as she did.

“Remember what Master Ren said,” he reminded with a quiet nervousness.

“Oh, quiet, you,” Maz waved him away. “I’m not about to let the child go hungry.”

“Fine, fine,” he conceded, “A bit of water and some crusts of bread—”

R2-D2 cut him off harshly with a series of explicative beeps.

“Fine, fine!” C-3PO hissed back, and although his facial expression couldn’t change, Rey got the distinct feeling he was glaring daggers at R2-D2. “But make it fast, if Master Ren finds out—”

“Oh, R2! Telling me to relax is not helping!” By the time their argument had finished, Maz had returned with a tray of delicious, mouthwatering food. Rey had never seen so much food in one place before. Nor had she ever seen so many different types of food. She was so used to eating fake portion meat and stale bread that she didn’t even know where to start.

R2-D2 beeped at her, noticing her hesitance, “The gray stuff?” He beeped again, “Delicious? Is that so?” Mouth setting in a serious line, Rey’s eyes flickered between R2-D2 and the food she mentioned twice before she reached out and shoved the gray stuff into her mouth. Although she still didn’t know what it was, Rey couldn’t have cared less once her taste buds registered what they were tasting. Saliva pooled into her mouth and she wasted no time grabbing more of it and stuffing it all into her mouth. Barely stopping to breathe, Rey moved on to the next dish once all the gray stuff was gone. It was all so good. She didn’t know food could taste this good. It was incredible and she never wanted it to stop.

Eventually though, it did stop. There was no more food on the tray and Rey’s stomach, so unused to being so full, was bulging against her skin painfully. Rubbing her hand down her mouth, checking for crumbs, Rey looked up to see the wide and surprised—or what seemed to be surprised—eyes of the droids. They all stared at each other for a moment longer before Maz and R2-D2 jump started back to work, hounding her with questions—asking if she’d like anything else to eat or drink. Or maybe a warm towel to wipe her face. Perhaps she’d like some dessert?

“Whoa, whoa,” Rey threw her hands up in an attempt to stop the onslaught of questions. “What—?” She didn’t even know what to ask. What was wrong with them? What made them so excited?

Thankfully C-3PO intervened so she didn’t have to ask, “My apologies, mistress. It’s been almost twenty years now since we’ve really had anyone to serve.” R2-D2 nodded—or something close to it—and C-3PO continued, “It’s unnerving, to be a servant but unable to serve.”

There was a sad pause before C-3PO’s eyes brightened again and he said, “Oh, is that the time? I’m sure you’re quite tired, mistress. We’d be happy to escort you back—”

Rey, not feeling tired at all, nor wanting to return to her room, pressed her luck again, “Oh, I couldn’t go to sleep now. It’s my first time in an enchanted castle after all.”

“Enchanted?” C-3PO’s vocal box squeaked. “Who said anything about enchanted?” He looked over to R2-D2 and whispered, “It was you, wasn’t it?”

BB-8 whirred behind Rey. It’d been talking to the rest of the kitchen and had made the same educated guess as she. Cocking her brow, she told them, “I figured it out for myself.” C-3PO had been shaking R2-D2 and the astromech droid was about to fire another round of electricity but stilled in their movement once they registered what Rey said. “I’d love to have a look around the place,” she hinted.

R2-D2 chirped excitedly.

“Wait a second, wait a second!” C-3PO released R2-D2 to gesture with his arms. “I’m not sure if a tour is such a good idea. It’s quite late, after all, and—” he turned to whisper to R2-D2, “You know what would happen if she discovered … certain rooms.”

Rocking back and forth on his legs, R2 beeped almost angrily.

“Fine, fine!” C-3PO relented once more. Rey filed that information away for later. “I do, after all, know all there is to know about this castle. So if anyone is to lead this tour it might as well be me. Come along, mistress.”

They began their way westward, down another hallway full of battle droids. Rey wondered if these droids had also been people before whatever it was that happened, happened. She looked into the eyes of one and was overcome with the sensation that yes, yes that had been people once. “As you can see,” C-3PO spoke as if reading from a script, “the ceiling here has crown moldings that predate the Old Republic. It’s the only one of its kind, you know. No, multiples and copies didn’t become popular until the Clone Wars era!”

Rey, ignoring what she assumed was a jape, noticed a wide and imperial stair case. Curiosity pulled at her mind. Something was up there. She didn’t know what, but she knew she wanted to find out. She was three step up when she heard C-3PO’s shrill voice from behind her. “Mistress? Mistress!” Both he and R2-D2 jumped in front of her, blocking her way up the stairs.

“What’s up there?” She asked, curiosity burning in her veins.

“Where?” C-3PO asked squeakily, “Up there? Nothing, there’s nothing at all up in the West Wing! Very dull, very boring.”

“So that’s the West Wing,” Rey wondered what made it so special. Why that was the one place in the entire castle she’d been forbidden to go.

“Nice going,” R2-D2’S beeps seemed to say.

“Perhaps,” C-3PO attempted to grab her attention, “mistress would appreciate seeing some holograms dating back to—”

“Not now,” Rey told him, sliding past him and up a few more stairs.

“The library, or maybe the gardens?” C-3PO continued, almost desperate.

“Gardens?” Rey repeated, her interest peaked.

“Yes!” C-3PO exclaimed, seemingly relieved that Rey had turned back around to face the bottom of the stairs. “With rose bushes, water lilies—”

R2 joined in naming the plants like pink pampas grass and moon and rainbow irises. Rey walked back down two steps and C-3PO and R2-D2 once again took the lead, continuing to shout out the names of plants—half of which Rey was sure had been made up. She took another, slower step down but then bit down on her bottom lip and turned back to look up the stairs. The West Wing. She’d just take a peek, just see what made it so … forbidden. C-3PO and R2-D2wouldn’t even notice her absence.

BB-8 let out a few lowly beeps from the bottom of the steps and began to roll up the stairs, trying to follow Rey up. “I’ll be right back, BB-8. Just wait here!” She whispered. Once BB-8 acknowledged her request, she sprinted up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Once she reached the top landing, she followed a hallway that was cluttered with broken statues that looked like they once decorated the outside of the castle. Rey’s jaw dropped open as she took in all the junk that cluttered the hallway. She turned in circles as she slowly continued to walk, trying to take everything in. Her broken reflection caught her attention next. She stopped her spinning to look into the broken fragments of a once circular and ornate mirror.

Just to her right stood tall, intimidating double doors with a door handle that resembled some form of beast. Rey wasn’t exactly sure what type of beast it was, but at the moment she was more curious to find out what was on the other side of the door than what was literally on it. Reaching for the homes, Rey hesitated for just a second before throwing caution behind her and pulling the doors wide open.

It was a bedroom. Or what was left of a bedroom. There was more broken statuary, parts of broken droids, broken astromech, a giant bed that’s frame had been half destroyed so it half laid pathetically on the ground. The pillows and blankets had been ripped apart as well. Feathers and other such fluff had been pulled out and strewn about the bed and the floor around it. Directly across from the bed was a painting. Squinting her eyes, Rey treaded carefully over to it to get a better look. The canvas had been slashed and, when Rey rubbed the edges between her fingers, noticed that it had been burned as well as cut.

Rey had an idea what the image would show once she connected the bits of fabric. It was obviously a painting of a human face, and after pulling the fabric up, Rey’s assumption was confirmed. It was Kylo Ren—albeit a younger version of him. There was a small plaque on the bottom of the frame, and after rubbing away the dust, Rey read the name ‘Ben Solo’. Brows furrowing, Rey took another look at the painting. It was definitely Kylo Ren. So why did the plaque read a different name? Shaking her head and figuring it was just another mystery the castle housed, Rey moved on.

A red glow flashed in her eyes, made Rey wince and shift her eyes away from the source. Using her hand to shield her eyes from the light, she walked closer to a circular table that stood off to the side of the room. On the table was a mask, similar to the one Kylo Ren wore, but the triangular mouth piece was the telltale sign that this mask was not simply for aesthetics. This one would only be worn because one had no other choice. Parts of it were shiny, glossy, practically new looking, but other parts looked bent, broken and burned. The red light Rey had been blinded by earlier shined through the mask’s eye pieces. They glowed ominously red and it made Rey’s stomach twist and turn with unease. Yet for some reason Rey found herself placing her quarterstaff on the ground and reaching out and removing the glass bell jar that covered it. Her fingers itched to touch the mask, to put it on—it was like a compulsion.

Her fingertips were mere centimeters away from touching the mask’s metal dome when a shadow fell over her and dimmed the mask’s light, pulling Rey out from under its spell. Gasping, she looked up to find Kylo Ren—donning his own mask—standing before her. His tense body posture told Rey he was just as surprised to come across her as she was of him. Using his magic to forcefully shove Rey away from the mask, Kylo Ren quickly placed the bell jar back over the mask then turned his attention to her.

“What are you doing here?” He hissed, his muffled voice low and insidious.

Taking a few steps back, Rey didn’t know what to say. Her mind was still muddled from whatever happened with the mask, “I—I’m sorry!” She stuttered out. Her eyes widened as he took a menacing step towards her. Looks like she’d pushed her luck too far this time around.

“I warned you never to come here!” His voice reverberated off the walls, echoing within Rey’s ears. She knew he was about to erupt—she could feel it in her bones—but she didn’t know how to stop the impending explosion.

“I didn’t—I didn’t—“she looked around wildly, trying to find an escape.

“Do you realize what you could have done?” He roared. His voice shook the ground they stood on. Items around the room began to fly about, slamming into walls and tables and tearing into the fabrics of the furniture. The assault, both verbal and magical, only stopped when he began to physically throw the items that were within his reach as far as he could.

“Stop!” Rey tried to yell back, tears of fear and panic beginning to cloud her vision.

“Get out!” He yelled, his body curling over onto itself, his hands curling into fists and his head staring straight down to the ground. He put everything he had into his words, and Rey could feel the rush of emotion—the rush of hate and loathing and utter despair—crash over her. Feeling her instincts take over, she turned heel and ran out of the room, back through the hallway, and down the many stairs where BB-8 still waited patiently for her.

“Let’s go, BB-8!” She yelled as she passed the droid. It wasted no time catching up to her as she ran through the rest of the castle and back out the front doors. She thought she heard C-3PO asking what was wrong and Maz calling for her to come back, but she didn’t stop to talk. She didn’t even grace them with a second look back. Only looking back once to make sure BB-8 was still rolling along beside her, Rey pushed her body forward, faster than she had ever ran before into the black, deadened forest that surrounded the castle grounds.

She was a few hundred yards away from the castle, her entire body shaking from what just happened, and realized she needed to stop and think of a plan for what to do next when a tentacle shot out from the trees beside her and wrapped itself around one of Rey’s legs, pulling and then throwing her towards the ground. The descent happened quickly. Rey felt her head slam back against the hard forest floor one moment and then the next she was skidding up against the trunk of a tree. Groaning, Rey’s vision swam as she tried to stand back up and gain her bearings.

A high pitched screech made her try and focus harder. Blinking a few times, Rey looked up to see a Rathtar attacking a tangle of thick roots. BB-8 hid beneath them, beeping with a wildly nervous sort of rhythm as the creature beat against the wooden shield. Stumbling forward, Rey looked around the ground for her quarterstaff when she suddenly recalled leaving it back in Kylo Ren’s castle. Cursing herself, she grabbed a decent sized stick instead and began to beat away at one of the tentacles that blocked her from BB-8. The tentacle moved away, more out of annoyance than pain, but it gave Rey enough time to get BB-8 out of the thicket. Unfortunately, it did not give her enough time to get away.

Another of the Rathtar’s tentacles wrapped itself around Rey’s waist and lifted her high off the ground. Screaming out in pain as the tentacle clutched her torso tightly and crushed her ribs together, she held onto the stick with all her might even though she felt all the air being squeezed from her body. She knew the stick in her hands was her only hope—sad as that might be—of defeating the Rathtar. Grunting with every swing, she tried to beat the creature into dropping her—liking the chances of surviving the fall better than the chance of any other option—but no matter how hard she beat it, the thing wouldn’t let go.

A buzzing sound reached Rey’s ears from far across the clearing she’d crashed in. A red, static-y light glowed bright in the darkness. The Rathtar’s attention was pulled towards it as well. Focusing her sights on the light, Rey tried to see who was holding the laser like weapon. She couldn’t tell until the Rathtar lashed out with one of its many tentacles and the weapon rose into the air and then sliced down, cutting off the tentacle with ease. The Rathtar screamed out in pain and the tentacle holding Rey released her and she dropped to the ground.

Grunting, Rey shuffled her body until she was bending over on her knees. Black boots stepped into her line of sight and once again she could hear the loud hum of the laser sword. Following the boots upwards, she saw Kylo Ren standing in front of her. He held his weapon in both hands as he advanced on the creature. The Rathtar screeched again, angry now that it’d been injured, and whipped its tentacles towards him. Kylo Ren did a good enough job dodging or slicing whatever came his way, but in one last desperate move, the Rathtar lunged forward and clamped its several layers of teeth down into the side of his torso.

Roaring out in pain, Kylo Ren slashed at the center of the creature, making it scream out in turn. Releasing Kylo Ren, the Rathtar abandoned its pursuit at food and rolled away deeper into the decrepit wood. Kylo Ren took a wobbly step forward and for a second, Rey thought he was going to be okay. He straightened his spine, took a few deep breaths, and looked like he was going to be okay, but then he took another step and collapsed face first against the ground.

BB-8 whirled behind Rey, calling for her to come, telling her they should leave—now—but Rey didn’t move. She kept staring at Kylo Ren’s unconscious form and bit down on her lip. She could leave him—she should leave him. He kept her and her friends prisoner. He terrified Rey. Hehurt Finn. She should leave him to rot. But a small voice in the back of her mind niggled away at her conscious. He did just save her life, after all, and she was the one in the wrong, back in the West Wing. Taking a step forward, she decided that, if anything, he’d earned to be saved in return.

“Come on, BB-8!” She called behind her as she ripped off some extra fabric from her outfit to wrap around Kylo Ren’s torso and staunch the bleeding. “We’re heading back to the castle.” She hooked her arms underneath his arm pit and began to pull, internally wincing at how much pain he’d probably be in if he were conscious. He wasn’t, though, and so Rey continued to pull his body through the woods and back to his castle.

Maz Kanata handed Rey the bowl of piping hot water and half a dozen clean rags. Kylo Ren was lying on the floor in front of the large fire place. One of the first things Rey had done when she’d returned to the castle dragging Kylo Ren’s body was to start the fire so that when she took off his mask and shirt he wouldn’t be wracked with chills. Luckily for Rey, her personal experience with injuries she’d received during her time in the graveyard taught her how to clean out some of the nastiest wounds and also how to sew them up. Now, luckily for Kylo Ren, his castle was stocked full with some of the cleanest and best medical supplies which made Rey’s job much easier and would make his healing period pass much quicker.

Kylo Ren mumbled something incoherent as Rey began to wipe away the dried blood from his side with a hot towel. She accidentally pressed hard against one of the sutures, causing Kylo Ren to suck in a sharp breath and for his eyes to pop open. “That hurts!” He growled at her, his facial muscles twisting into an ugly scowl from the pain.

In no mood for his tantrums, Rey pressed down again, “It’s supposed to hurt!” She told him petulantly. It wasn’t, not really, but it wasn’t supposed to be pleasant, either.

He groaned and turned his head to look at the fire, “This is all your fault. It wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t run away.” His jaw jutted out, tensed in a toddler-like scowl.

“Well if you hadn’t yelled and scared me, I wouldn’t have ran away,” Rey countered. She didn’t look at his face. Instead she kept her gaze onto his wound. Her brows furrowed as she worked and she pursued her lips as she kept herself from lashing out at him even more.

He opened his mouth to respond, closed it for a second when a rebuke didn’t come immediately to mind, then said, “You shouldn’t have been in the West Wing.” His tone was terribly smug, like he’d won the argument.

“Yeah? Well you should learn to control your temper.” Rey barbed right away. The sharp grin that spread on her lips at the quip gave no apology for having been found in the forbidden West Wing. “Now brace yourself, this will sting,” she warned as before wiping away a stubborn glob of blood. Sighing, Rey looked over his face. His brow was furrowed and mouth taught, he was trying very hard not to lash out again in pain or frustration. Rey could feel him working at his self-control. Biting the inside of her cheek, she grabbed a fluffy pillow off the high winged chair in the middle of the room and gently lifted his head to rest the pillow beneath him. “Thank you,” she said abruptly, and even to Rey it felt a little forced. Continuing, she tried for a softer tone, “For saving my life.”

Kylo Ren’s eyes widened as he gazed up at Rey. The blush was back on his cheeks and he had to clear his throat before responding thickly, “You’re welcome.” Eyes softening, Rey gave him a small, tentative smile and returned to her job of cleaning his wounds.

Kylo Ren cleared his throat before entering the library where Rey was sitting up high on a bannister. The sound echoed off the many walls and easily caught Rey’s attention. Looking down at him from her perch, she waited for him to speak. He took a moment, his gloved hands at his sides clenched and unclenched, like he didn’t know what to do with them. “Rey, come dow—ah,” he paused and backtracked, rubbing the back of his masked head as he did so. “Rey, would you please come down here?”

Blinking down at him, Rey made him wait a full minute before nodding and making her way back down to the ground level. Ever since the night he’d save her—since they’d come to some sort of impasse—he’d been working on his patience and she’d been testing that patience almost relentlessly, seeing if it was real effort or if it was just for show. So far, he hadn’t slipped up. Not even once. Rey wasn’t sure if that’s why she was still here or if it was because the next morning he immediately put his mask back on. Rey was beginning to wonder if Kylo Ren really even knew who he was outside of the mask.

“What is it?” She asked once she was standing in front of him.

“I—I would like to show you … something.” The words were slow and seemed practiced, like he’d rehearsed what he’s wanted to say at least ten times before actually coming to find her. He raised his hand up a few inches, then let it drop, then raised it again a little higher and stared at it. Eventually, he steeled himself, set his shoulders back and held out his gloved hand for her to take and waited for Rey’s reaction. Narrowing her eyes, Rey half wished she hadn’t left her quarterstaff up in her room when she went down for this morning’s breakfast. Staring down at the hand, she wondered what it would feel like. The only person she was used to holding her hand was Finn, and that was always skin on skin contact. For some reason this—holding Kylo Ren’s gloved hand—seemed like it’d be a completely different experience. Tentatively, she raised her hand and slowly moved it over his own. It twitched and flinched away a few times before finally placing her hand on top of his own.

Kylo Ren led her down a series of hallways, with an extra bounce in his steps, until they reached a pair of ornate doors. They were almost as ornate as the ones leading to his room in the West Wing. He pulled one door open and inch and then quickly snapped it back shut. Spinning around to face Rey, he said, “Close your eyes.” His voice was less muffled this time, and Rey wondered why. It wasn’t any louder, in fact, he practically whispered the words. Perhaps he was enunciating more? There was a new layer in his normal tone of voice as he spoke as well. There was something there that wasn’t there before.

Scrunching up her nose at the order, Rey eyed him suspiciously before following suit. The only reason she didn’t deny him was because he seemed genuinely excited by whatever he was about to show her and Rey didn’t feel like rocking the boat over something so trivial, not when they’d just found calm waters. Rey felt air brush against her face and held back a smile when she realized he waved his hand in front of her face—almost like a child would—to test if her eyes were really closed all the way.

Kylo Ren grabbed both her hands this time—Rey’s hands twitched at the foreign contact but she didn’t pull away—and led her into the room. He pulled her further into the room, then, without warning, let go and disappeared into the surrounding area. “Can I open them?” She asked, a bright smile stretching her lips. His excitement was catching.

“One moment, please,” his voice sounded pretty far way. Then Rey felt a brush of fresh air hit her, making her body flinch away automatically. “All right,” he whispered, his voice much closer, “Now.”

Rey opened her eyes and gasped. She was in a room filled to the brim with plants. The ceiling rose high and it, and the walls, were made of glass. Several wall panels were pushed open, allowing for fresh air to flow through. The crest she had seen on the battle droids and elsewhere in the castle were carved into the pots, floor tiles, even in some of the windows. Now that Rey thought about it, the symbol reminded her of a flower’s silhouette.

The sun hit against parts of glass peculiarly, making multiple rainbows streak down from the ceiling into the room. Circling around and around, Rey didn’t think she’d ever be able to take it all in. “I can’t believe it,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. Then, louder, “I didn’t know there was this much green in all the galaxy!” But there wasn’t just green, either. There were red, pinks, yellows, oranges, blue—every color that was in those rainbows could also be found in one plant or another.

“You—you like it?” Kylo Ren asked, his nervousness apparent.

“It’s beautiful!”

“Then it’s yours.”

“What?” Rey asked, her attention now fully on Kylo Ren.

“It’s yours, if you want it.” Rey stared at him uncomprehendingly. He couldn’t be serious, giving her this entire garden. She felt all the tension that was in her body melt away and she had no idea what sort of look she was currently giving him. Was it one of awe? One of bewilderment? She didn’t know. What she did know, though, was that he’d found out she was interested in plants and wanted to make her happy. Her heart sped up, wishing she could return the favor and make him just as happy as he’d just made her. “Thank you, Kylo Ren. Thank you so much.”

A few days later, Kylo Ren walked into the library expecting to find Rey and was pleased to see her perched up high by one of the windows once again. The sun was had just dipped past the horizon and Rey had quickly discovered the best vantage to view the sunset was right where she sat. Hearing Kylo Ren’s entrance, Rey hopped off her railing and began her descent. “You never make it in time to watch the sunset,” she commented once she stood in front of him.

He tilted his head and made an observation of his own, “And you only ever come in here to look out the window. Why do you never look at the books? I’m sure you’d find at least one to your liking.”

Pursing her lips, Rey felt her cheeks heat up with embarrassment. “I—I never learned how to read.”

Kylo Ren stood straighter, not expecting that response. “I—” he stopped, trying to find the right words. “I could teach you, if you’d like.”

“Really?” Rey asked suspiciously. Kylo Ren nodded in confirmation and Rey shrugged, “All right then. When can we start?” Her body hummed with excitement now. She’d always wanted to learn to read, but there was never anyone to teach her growing up, nor were there any materials to practice on after Finn and Poe came along.

“How about now?” He used his magic to pull a skinny book towards him and then guided Rey over to a desk and sat beside her.

“What about dinner?” Rey asked.

“It’ll keep,” Kylo Ren assured her. He spent the next three hours reading almost every beginner book within the library, and slowly Rey began to try out a few words herself. Some words were easy, like ‘cat’, ‘dog’, and ‘rose’, but then some other words made her face crinkle with frustration. Why put a ‘g’ in front of a word like ‘gnat’, she’d asked. It didn’t make much sense to her, but Kylo Ren told her that some words were just like that. Rey had smiled smugly at him then because he didn’t understand why, either.

The room had turned dark, and Rey leaned across the table top drowsily. Kylo Ren was off scouring the bookshelves for another book. He backed up, looked upwards and extended his arm, using his magic to pull a book down from the second level. Biting her lip, Rey only hesitated for a moment before asking, “How do you do that?”

Kylo Ren froze. His muscles tensed and he continued looking down at the book in his hands. “Do what?” He asked, and Rey almost regretted asking anything in the first place. Almost.

“Use magic?”

“Magic?” He repeated, not understanding. Then his head tilted to the side and suddenly he understood. “It’s not magic, Rey … it’s—it’s called, well, it’s called the Force.”

“The Force?” She was the one repeating now. She’d heard stories of the Force, back in Niima, and about the Jedi who could wield it, but that’s all it was—just stories.

“Yes,” Kylo Ren said slowly. He didn’t seem to know how to proceed. Walking back over to the desk and sat down beside Rey again. “You’ve heard the stories?” Rey nodded and Kylo Ren let out a shaky breath. “It’s real, Rey, all of it—the Jedi, the Sith, everything.”

“So,” Rey thought back to the night he saved her from the Rathtar, to the weapon he used. “You’re a Jedi, then? And that weapon you have, it’s a lightsaber?”

“It’s … bit more complicated than that, Rey.” He hesitated.

Rey narrowed her eyes, “Then explain it, Kylo Ren.”

“My weapon … it’s similar to a lightsaber, but it’s not—it wasn’t made properly. The art of harnessing Kyber crystals has been lost for a long time, so I made due with what little knowledge I knew. That’s why my saber looks so … unstable.”

“And,” Rey started slowly, not sure if she wanted to know the answer to her next question, “Are you a Jedi … or a Sith?” The stories she knew always told the Jedi were good, that they were the heroes while the Sith were pure evil and caused nothing but destruction.

“Neither. I am neither Sith not Jedi. Both factions fell long ago and I am all that’s left. A Knight of Ren I was once called,” he spat out the title like a curse. “I was not,” he began slowly, “I was not always known as Kylo Ren, you see.”

“Ben Solo,” Rey whispered, thinking back to the painting in the West Wing.

“What?” Kylo Ren asked, his head turning to look at her. “What did you say?”

“When I was—when I was in the West Wing I saw your painting and—”

“And you saw the name on the plaque,” he sighed but nodded resignedly. “I was once Ben Solo, but I fear he is long dead and all that remains is the monster: Kylo Ren.”

Rey considered his words for a moment and thought over everything she had seen since she decided to stay here. She thought of the painting of a young boy up in the West Wing, how it was almost completely destroyed. Then she thought to the mirrors in the rooms. Every single mirror has either been taken out or broken, even the ones in the guest rooms like hers. She wondered if Kylo Ren hated his reflection. He seemed ashamed to admit that Ben Solo was dead. Perhaps he was also too ashamed to look at what he considered a dead boy’s reflection every day. With cautious fingers, Rey reached out and touched his mask, “Is that why you wear this?”

Kylo Ren didn’t respond to her question. Instead he enveloped Rey’s hand into his own and squeezed it. Rey squeezed back, once again feeling a pang of pity for him in her chest and found herself wishing she could take away his pain. Take away all that loneliness she knew he felt deep within his bones. Feeling brave, she moved leaned closer, “You’re not a monster, Ben,” she told him softly, purposefully using his real name, “and you’re not dead. I believe that.” He continued his silence, and Rey wished she could rip the mask away, just so she’d be have some sort of clue—a hint—as to what was going through his mind. Maybe one day, she thought, he’d be able to cast the mask and the darkness that surrounded it away and step out into the light.

“Rey,” he began abruptly, his muffled voice sounding thick and unsure, “Would you—would you dine with me?”

“Now? Sure, you said Maz will have kept everything warm for us, right?” Rey scrunched up her nose with confused amusement. Standing up, she looked down and waited for him to join her.

“No,” he jerked his head, “no, not—not now. I mean tomorrow—will you dine with me tomorrow? Properly, that is.”

“Properly?” Rey repeated, not really sure what he was getting at, but shrugging anyway. “All right, tomorrow then.”

Rey adjusted her middle bun while she sat on her bed. There still weren’t any mirrors in the castle, her room included, so she had no idea if they were evenly spaced. She didn’t really care though, she’d been trying the same hairstyle for practically her entire life. She had plenty of muscle memory to compensate for lack of mirror. Standing up, Rey was pulling on her right arm warmer when her door knocked and Maz Kanata floated in.

“Oh no, child,” she shook her head, “You can’t go down to dinner like that.”

“What? Why not?” Rey asked, looking down at her clothes. They were no different than her usual ones. In fact, they were nicer than the outfit she wore when she first arrived at the castle.

“This is a formal dinner,” Maz explained as she opened up the wardrobe doors. “Kylo Ren will be dressing up himself, and will be expecting you to do the same.”

Rey’s brows furrowed, “But this is the nicest thing I have.”

“That’s all right, we’ll find you something in here.”

“But—” Rey protested, seeing all the extravagant and beautiful dresses Maz was pulling out, “Those—those belong to someone, don’t they?” Rey had looked at them before—they were all so gorgeous. Most were made of fine, silky material and came in all sorts of colors—some even multiple colors. The others were thicker, meant for colder weather, and were darker shades of blues and grays. Every single item in the wardrobe was exquisite and Rey often opened the wardrobe just to stare at them, but she never imagined she’d be allowed to wear any of them.

“They did once,” Maz told her. “They belonged to Kylo Ren’s grandmother, but she’s long since passed. Might as well put them to use again, don’t you think?” Maz turned her head around to look at Rey with her large, black robotic eyes. “Hmm,” her dark eyes minimized into tiny dots as she surveyed Rey, “A bath would do you some good, too. Then we’ll start on your hair.”

“My hair?” Rey asked, wondering what was wrong with it, but it seemed like her hair style—along with her clothes—wouldn’t do for whatever Kylo Ren had in store for her tonight.

Two hours later, Rey began her descent down the flight of stairs onto the landing where she was supposed to wait for Kylo Ren. She’d worried that she’d been taking too long with her bath, her hair, and then finding the right dress—and then accessorizing for that dress—but it seemed Kylo Ren was taking just as much time as she had. Fidgeting slightly, Rey played with some of the light pink and green ribbons that crisscrossed over new gold arm warmers.

Noticing movement at the top of the opposite side of the stairs—the side Kylo Ren was due to arrive on—Rey straightened her spine and swallowed a large gulp of saliva. Her body felt overly alert and her heart sped up almost painfully as she watched him descend the stairs. “Ben,” she breathed out. Kylo Ren, mask and all, was nowhere to be seen. Ben Solo was the man standing before her and it was almost as if he’d risen from the grave. His skin looked healthier than the last time she’d seen it and rosier around the cheeks. He’d cut, combed, and styled his hair so it no longer looked like some messy weed on top of his head. The jacket he wore was a deep, royal blue with shimmering, golden buttons imprinted with the crest she’d seen throughout the castle.

Looking up to his face, Rey’s breath caught in her throat when she realized he was appreciating her just as much as she did him. Her appearance—so different from the norm—must’ve been shocking to him. She’d swapped her desert rags for a golden dress and sheer shawl. Rey had chosen this dress because of them small, purple flowers embroidered into the shawl and corset that were all connected by green thread. Maz had curled her hair into tight springs and replaced her three, smaller buns for one larger, messier one that held half her hair and let the other half cascade down her back.

Ben reached out with his bare hand and softly dragged his thumb up her cheek—making her gasp—to one of the decorative golden domes that covered her ears and some more hair. “You look,” Ben started, his deep voice becoming even deeper, “beautiful.”

Blushing, Rey glanced away and mumbled, “Thank you, Ben.” Looking back up, she saw that his cheeks had turned an even rosier shade and tried to stifle a triumphant smile.

Presenting his arm to her, Ben cleared his throat and suggested, “Shall we go to dinner, then?” Smiling softly, Rey nodded and wrapped her arm around his and allowed him to lead her down the steps and to the dining room. They sat across from one another at the table and enjoyed their way through a five course meal. It was the best Rey had ever eaten, and now, after having tasted many different sorts of fare, that was actually saying something.

After dinner, Ben led her into the ballroom—a room she’d never seen before—where Rey had to take a moment and appreciate its beauty. Cream colored marble columns curved almost completely around the room, only breaking for the doors that they entered through and a portion of glass windows that stretched high up to the domed ceiling and led out to a balcony. Looking up, Rey gasped when she saw how high the ceiling actually went, and that it was rigged up to display the dusky sky of another galaxy. The chandelier that hung down from the middle of the ceiling shimmered and sparkled with gold and crystals—Rey’s mind couldn’t help calculate how many portions just one of the branches would get her back in Niima.

A gentle tug on her arm drew her attention back to Ben. Snapping her mouth shut, Rey followed Ben into the middle of the room where R2-D2 played slow, instrumental music that sounded like it dated before the time of the Old Republic. They faced each other and that’s when Rey noticed Ben was trembling. He met her gaze, his eyes wide and uncertain, and Rey gave him an easy smile. Recalling back to the holograms she’d seen of couples dancing, she took one of his hands, placed it on her waist, and clasped his other tight in her hand, placing her left hand on his shoulder, she smiled proudly up at him and he tentatively smiled back.

They spun and twirled around the entirety of the room. Rey thought she saw C-3PO and Maz’s faces peeking out from behind a column, but she was having too much fun dancing to really pay them any attention. Ben’s eyes lit up halfway through R2-D2’S first song. A clever twinkle emerged from behind his eyes and his smile widened some—not much, but some. He quickly became more daring in his leading, adding more spins and pulling Rey’s body closer to his own. Rey wasn’t completely sure what to do, but whenever they broke apart, only keeping their hands clasped together, Rey would reach her arm out theatrically and when Ben spun her back towards him, her smile would widen even more after every time.

Feeling giddy and a little out of breath, Rey relaxed and let her cheek fall onto his shoulder. She felt him tense up for one half of a second, but then his shoulders dropped and the hand he had on the back of her waist pulled her tight against his chest. They swayed slowly towards the glass doors that led to the balcony and Rey vaguely registered the lighting in the room had dimmed. They walked out to the edge of the balcony and sat down on the stone ledge. At first Ben awkwardly sat a good distance away, leaving enough room for C-3PO ‘s skinny, robotic hips to fit in, but once Rey looked back up from smoothing out her skirts, he was much closer, their legs now pressing together.

“Rey,” he cleared his throat and gathered her hands into his own, “are you happy here? With me?”

Looking down at their entwined fingers, Rey’s heart swelled in her chest. She wanted to say yes, but images of Finn and Poe, of the home they’d made together back in Niima, flashed through her mind. Looking into Ben’s eyes, she wished he could understand just how much she meant it when she said, “Yes,” but then cut herself off and looked away.

“What is it?” He asked, dipping his head in an attempt to reconnect their gazes.

“I—I miss my friends,” and as she said it, she felt an overwhelming pang of loneliness, “Finn and Poe. Finn was—he was so hurt when he left here,” Ben looked away abruptly, knowing he was the cause for Finn’s injury. “I wish I knew if they were okay.”

“There … is a way,” Ben told her and reached up for her head with his hands. “Would you like me to show you?”

Starring straight into his eyes, Rey set her jaw and nodded. Ben placed his hands against the side of her temples and closed his eyes. Following his lead, Rey waited for whatever was about to happen. A sharp pain pricked at the back of Rey’s mind and she sucked in a sharp breath as visions flooded her mind. Images flashed before her—Finn, sweaty and in pain on a bed back in their AT-AT, still not recovered from his wounds. Poe sat beside him, tears in his eyes as he held Finn’s hand and whispered under his breath that everything would be okay. It had to be okay.

Rearing back, Rey almost shouted, “Finn’s sick—maybe dying! They need my help!” She said, standing up in a rush.

Ben stood with her and nodded grimly, “You—you must go to them,” he choked out.

Rey, who had been thinking the same thing, stopped once the meaning of his words seeped in. “What did you say?”

“Rey, you haven’t been my prisoner—not really, not to me—for a while now, but,” he paused, closing his eyes to gather up some strength, “I—I release you. You’re free.”

Rey watched him silently. She knew what this meant for him, knew that by saying those words he was practically condemning himself to loneliness once again. She could feel it now, the feeling of isolation engulfing his entire being. He looked so dark, so solemn now, with his facial expression twisted in concentration and eyes still closed. Closing the small gap between them, Rey stepped up and tenderly kissed his cheek, whispered, “Thank you,” and was off.

After quickly changing from her golden dress and back into her simpler clothes, grabbing her quarterstaff, and finding BB-8, the two charged out onto the front yard where Rey found a speedster ready and waiting for her. On closer inspection, Rey saw it was filled almost to the brim with all different sorts of medicine. Looking back up to the castle, Rey thought she saw Ben—no, Kylo Ren standing on the balcony of the West Wing, but it was dark and if he had donned the mask again it only helped camouflage him. Hoping that wasn’t the case, and she hadn’t seen the return of Kylo Ren, she loaded BB-8 into the speeder, hopped in herself and drove off into the barren forest.

“Poe! Finn!” Rey yelled, running into the AT-AT with a bag full of medicine over her shoulder and BB-8 rolling at her heels. “Finn!” She yelled again, “Poe!’

“Rey?” Poe asked, his head snapping up from where it was resting against his forearms. “Rey!” He shot up and pulled her in for a hug. Wrapping her arms around hum, Rey squeezed back just as hard. “How’d you get away?”

Opening her mouth and then quickly shutting it, Rey figured the answer to that question could wait. “Never mind that, I’m here now and look,” she dropped the sack she’d been carrying, “medicine. For Finn. I have more outside if we need it.” Poe and Rey quickly set off to work, slowing un-bandaging Finn’s back, cleaning it as best they could, and applying salves and oils to the burn on his back. Rey grimaced at the sight of the wound, knowing exactly what weapon created it. Squeezing her eyes shut for one full second, Rey tried to tell herself—over and over again—that the man who’d done this was different now, that Ben had changed and would never hurt someone like Finn ever again.

Hours passed into the night and Poe, Rey, and BB-8 stayed awake starring at Finn’s unconscious form. The burn mark had minimized and his fever had lessoned. Poe had found some cool compressors in the medical supplies and had been continuously placing and replacing the on the back of his neck and wrists. Rey wasn’t sure what time it was when Finn began to mumble in his sleep and blearily open his eyes.

“Finn?” Poe called out cautiously, reaching out to rub at his brow, “Finn, buddy? Can you hear me?”

“Mmm, Poe? Poe … Dameron?” He called out slowly, a slow smile spreading across his lips.

“Yeah. Yeah, Finn, it’s me,” Poe hiccupped around his tears as he pressed his forehead against Finn’s.

“Rey?” Finn called out, his fingers twitching as he tried to reach out for her hand making both Poe and Rey laugh.

Clasping Finn’s hand in both her own, she held on to him tightly and tried to smile for him even though tears began to cloud her vision. Rey and Poe exchanged looks of relief and enthusiasm. Finn was awake. Finn would be okay. Everything would be okay.

A loud, thunderous pounding came from the hatch door of the AT-AT. Exchanging a worried glance with Poe, Rey stood up and walked over to see who it was at their door—making sure to grab her quarterstaff along the way. Opening the hatch, Rey stared blankly at an elderly, decrepit man standing opposite her with a wide, toothy smile on his face.

“What do you want?” Rey asked, in no mood for courtesies. No one would be out in the middle of the desert at this time at night. Not unless they meant to cause trouble.

“I’ve come to collect a Finn and Poe Dameron,” the man’s smiled stretched even wider as he stepped aside to show the bulk of Niima behind him and a carrier ship with the words, “Garbage Compactor,” on its side.

“What?” Rey asked harshly, taking an intimidating step forward and raising her arms in preparation to strike at him.

“It was brought to my attention, miss, that Poe Dameron has been seen kissing a member of his own sex, namely Finn. So I’ve come to take out the trash.”

Growling at him, Rey lashed out and swatted her quarterstaff towards his head. He barely dodged but looked much more anxious now than he did a moment ago, his smile completely slipping from his face. “I won’t let you!” Rey yelled as she pursued him down a small sand dune. Another man—or maybe another species—tried to grab Rey from behind, but she smashed the back of her head against his face, causing him to cry out. Then she used all the strength she had to uproot him from the ground and throw him over her shoulder. Another man came, trying to subdue her, but she beat him away viciously with her staff.

��Rey?” Poe’s voice calling from behind caused her to turn around—distracted her from the people around her long enough for one of them to hit her in the back of the head and bring her to her knees. Air was pushed out of her lungs when, before she was able to regain her bearings, something heavy landed on her back, pinning her to the ground. “Rey!” Poe yelled, running towards her. He didn’t make it to her, though, before the villages wrangled him down to his knees.

“No!” Rey yelled out. Sand slid in to her mouth but she didn’t care. “You can’t do this!” The one saving grace, Rey realized as she felt grains of sand dig into the skin of her face, was that the villagers had been so distracted by her fighting, and so caught up in bringing Poe to the ground, that they’d completely forgotten to venture inside the AT-AT and drag Finn out as well. She doubted they’d forget for long, though.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” a low, familiar voice sounded in her ear. Rey’s body froze. She knew that voice. “How low you’ve fallen, Rey,” Unkar Plutt continued. “You know, girl, I might be able to clear up this … misunderstanding. If …”

“If what?” She growled.

“If you agree to work for me.”

Rey stilled, her body no longer squirming or trying to break free. That’s what this was all about? Unkar Plutt had brought all this because he wanted her back under his thumb? Practically screeching out, Rey yelled, “Why? There’s barely even anything left to scavenge in the Graveyard! What use could you possibly have of me?” What could have made Unkar Plutt so desperate?

“The Graveyard might be all but empty girl, but I’m setting my sights on something a lot … bigger. A castle, in the North. Rumor has it it’s filled to the brim with treasure waiting to be scavenged … if someone’s clever enough to find a way in, of course.” Ben’s castle. He had to be talking about Ben’s castle.

“The castle’s not an abandoned ship you can gut, Unkar!” She goaded, beginning to struggle again, “The items inside already have a master—they’ll never belong to you!”

Unkar Plutt didn’t respond right away and Rey could only imagine what was going through his mind. “Is that so, girl? Sounds like you’ve seen the treasure, like you’ve been inside the castle. Is that where you’ve been the past few days? Hmm? Did you find a way in?” He pulled tight on one of her hair buns, making her neck stretch backwards painfully. “Well?” He asked, “Tell me!” Rey wouldn’t though. She wouldn’t put any of her friends in danger, and that title now belonged to Ben Solo, too.

“Sir,” one of Unkar Plutt’s men—the one that tried to grab Rey from behind—called out. “We’ve found a speeder, sir. It has the emblem of Naboo on it—it’s gotta be from the castle!”

“Oh?” Unkar Plutt hissed with pleasure. “Check its navigational system—see if it has a memory log.”

A few beats of silence passed before a cheer rang out, “It does, sir! This’ll lead us right back to the castle!”

Laughing deeply, Unkar Plutt bent over to whisper into Rey’s ear, “Looks like I won’t need your services after all, Rey. Listen up!” He bellowed out to the crowd. “Rey here says the castle has a master. Think we’ll let him get in our way?” The crowd booed and cried shouts of no, “Think he’ll be able to stop us?” Again another round of hisses and boos, “Exactly! Tonight, that castles ours!” Cheers and shouts of excitement rang out, their volume increasing with excitement. “All right, boys,” Unkar said, much quieter to those standing close to Rey and Poe, “load ‘em up!” After he stood up, Rey didn’t have enough time to regain her strength before someone grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and throwing her into the garbage compactor ship. Poe and BB-8 followed closely behind before the door was shut on them. Rey could hear cheering from outside the ship’s metal walls. Unkar Plutt was rallying them all for the scavenge of their lives. The people Rey had seen outside were the desperate of the desperate. They’d do anything for something worth trading and it made Rey’s insides freeze over. She’d seen Ben fight off a Rathtar, yes, but he’d been prepared for that battle. She needed to get out of the trash compacter. She needed to warn him about the hoard that was coming.

She slammed against the doors, willing them to open. Poe and BB-8 soon joined in, but they weren’t getting anywhere. The voices on the outside were sounding further and further away and Rey wondered how long it would take for anyone to remember they were in there—if they were remembered at all. A low pitched groaning noise—like old gears gnashing together—sounded from the bottom of the ship. Rey and Poe exchanged worried glances, both hoping that noise didn’t mean what they thought it meant. BB-8’s domed head swiveled back and forth, its survival instincts kicking in as it tried to find a way to escape.

With a low, rusty groan, two of the walls began closing in on each other. “Rey, quick, your staff!” They propped her quarterstaff up between the walls, trying to stop—or at least slow down—the walls from crushing them.

“BB-8!” Rey shouted, her face turning red with the effort she was putting into keeping her staff straight. Her grip tightened when she felt the metal begin to bend under the pressure, “Find us a way out of here—quick!”

BB-8 frantically looked around for something to plug into, something it could tinker with to override the trash compactor, but it found nothing and beeped worriedly, telling them as much. “No, no, no, no, no!” Poe yelled and began kicking away at the doors, trying to force them open again.

“Help!” Rey yelled, too, though she didn’t move from holding up her now u-shaped staff. “Help!” The walls were so close now, BB-8 could no longer move and was beeping away wildly for fear of becoming dented.

A new sound—a blaster, maybe—shot off from outside several times and the low groaning of the walls turned silent and the walls stopped moving closer to them. The rattling noise of the doors unlocking made all of them look outwards, waiting to see who was on the other side. Opening the doors up wide, Finn stood on the other side, panting heavily and holding a blaster in his hands. He wobbled and stepped to the left to lean his weight on the door. Poe quickly slipped out of the trash compactor, “Finn!” He whooped, “What are you—how did you?”

“What?” He asked, a wry smile on his face, “Thought I’d just lie in bed while you two had all the fun?”

“Fun,” Rey snorted, pulling BB-8 out of the compactor with her. “Right.” She looked up and found the two of them locked in a tight embrace and although he’d been joking just a moment ago, Rey could feel the tension rolling off Finn in waves as he held Poe close and hid in his neck. Wanting to let them have their moment, but feeling impatient, Rey shouted, “Come on! We need to go after them!”

“What?” Finn asked tiredly, his head barely picking him from Poe’s shoulder so he could look at her, “Why?”

“Yeah, Rey,” Poe added, his brows drawn with confusion and concern, “We’re free now. What we need to get out of here before they come back!”

“No, no! I need to get back to the castle! I need to warn them—”

“What? Rey, warn who?” Poe asked, desperately trying to understand. Then, suddenly, realization dawned on him, “Ah—you don’t mean that—thatbeast that hurt Finn?”

Setting her jaw, Rey nodded, “Yes, I do. Look,” she said, cutting off whatever either of them were about to say—and she knew they were both about to say something, too—and plowed on, “I know what he did to Finn—to the both of you. He hurt you two and I’ll never forgive him for that, but he’s changed! I’ve seen it! He’s not the monster you think he is. I can’t just—no, I won’t leave him to Unkar and his men!”

It was a seven eyed stare off, with BB-8’s head swiveling left to right and whirring away anxiously. Poe’s jaw was clenched so hard it looked like he was in danger of crushing his teeth. He took a breath, about to disagree with Rey, argue with her and waste even more time, when Finn interjected with, “Then you’d better hurry, Rey.”

“What?” Both Rey and Poe asked with varying tones of incredulity.

“What, what? You both heard me.”

Sighing with defeat, Poe nodded his head, “Fine, Rey, go. If you really think he’s worth your protection then go, save him, but Finn has to stay—you both know that,” he said severely as Finn tried to protest, “And someone has to stay here with him.”

“I understand.” Extending her arm, she squeezed Poe’s shoulder, “Thank you.”

“Oh, don’t thank me yet!” He said with a sly grin. “I know you can get there.” Tilting her head to the side, Rey didn’t understand until Poe continued, “Take the X-Wing.”

Landing ungracefully in the courtyard, Rey quickly slid out of the cockpit and ran full steam for the castle’s front doors. It was a mess. There were scavengers everywhere, trying to loot everything they could touch, while the enchanted droids fought back with every fiber of their being. Maz Kanata was on one end of the great entry hall, using her torch capability—which was meant to light stoves and fireplaces—to light some scavenger’s pants on fire. R2-D2 shot electric volts into the legs of his victims. Even C-3PO was in the thrall of it, shooting a blaster gun at anyone who came close to him. There were also the battle droids. Dozens of them were defending their castle, shooting at all intruders. The droids were doing well, actually, they were slowly pushing the scavengers back out of the castle, but there was one scavenger that Rey couldn’t find—Unkar Plutt.

Following her gut instincts, Rey ran through the rabble with BB-8 right at her heels. They somehow dodged fire from all sides, and made it up the grand staircase towards the ballroom where, just earlier that night, Rey had been so happy dancing away with Ben Solo. Once in the ballroom, she could see two figures standing on the balcony outside. Stopping to regain her breath, Rey narrowed her eyes and corrected herself—only once man was standing: Kylo Ren. He had Unkar Plutt suspended mid-air. Two of the Crolute’s hands were clasped desperately around his neck as Kylo Ren used his magic—the Force—to hold him up by his throat. Rey quickly realized Kylo Ren was choking him.

“Ben!” She shouted, starting to run again in hopes of stopping him. She didn’t like Unkar Plutt—hated him, really—but somehow she knew that if Ben were to kill him, Unkar Plutt, he really would die and all that would remain would be Kylo Ren. “Ben, stop!” She was so close now.

Kylo Ren’s shoulder muscles melted at the sound of her voice. He glanced back over his shoulder at her for a moment, then back at Unkar Plutt. He looked conflicted, like he didn’t know who to turn to—Rey or Unkar Plutt. His muscles, still extended and using the Force, vibrated with some unseen effort. Stalking towards Unkar Plutt he said something too low for Rey to hear, and then dropped Unkar Plutt onto the balcony’s floor; safe and sound. Turning around, Kylo Ren’s fists continued to clench and unclench, like he was fighting a battle within himself not to turn around and end Unkar Plutt once and for all. Ripping off his mask and throwing it to the side, he walked slowly towards her. “Rey,” he called out, his voice no longer muffled, but relieved, hopeful, and exhausted instead.

“Ben!” She tried to shout a warning, but it was too late. Unkar Plutt had a small blaster in his hand aimed square at Ben’s back. She wasn’t close enough, she couldn’t push him out of the way or stop Unkar Plutt—she couldn’t do anything but watch as a ripple of pain overcame Ben’s face as three blasts hit direct center of Ben’s back—right on his spine and pushing through his body to the other side where his heart lay. Ben didn’t cry out. He didn’t scream. He sucked in sharply, like he was trying to hold in his last breath, staggered towards Rey a few more steps and then began to fall. “Ben!” She cried, catching him before he could hit the floor. His dead, unmoving weight caused her knees to buckle and she dropped down to the ground.

BB-8 beeped angrily, swearing at Unkar Plutt in its binary language, and rolled quickly towards him, trying to get him away from Rey. Unkar Plutt cursed and stepped on top of the balcony’s ledge, trying to escape the droid, and wobbled unsteadily as parts of the stone railing broke away.

“Damn meddling,” he muttered below his breath and took aim at Rey’s head.

BB-8 cried out more warning beeps and rolled away to gain momentum before rolling full steam ahead towards the railing, and knocked into it with enough force to cause the old and worn stone to crack and fall apart beneath Unkar Plutt’s very feet. Swaying back and forth, he tried to regain his balance, but his weight worked against him and pulled him back off the edge, and down the tall cliff side and into the dark abyss.

Ben’s breathing was shallow, but he was still alive. For now, at least. His eyes were bright with awareness as he looked up at Rey. He swallowed thickly and licked his lips before trying to speak. “Rey,” he whispered. “You came back.”

“Of course I came back,” Rey sniffed, trying to hold back her tears. “I—I couldn’t let them—oh, this is all my fault. If I hadn’t—if I hadn’t—” she stopped to hold back a sob that was trying to crawl its way out of her throat. “I should have gotten here sooner!”

“It’s—it’s better this way, Rey. All—all the things I’ve done to you—I deserve to—”

“Stop talking like that!” Rey hissed harshly. Then, so softly she wondered if Ben could even feel it, she brushed her thumb over his brow and tangled her fingers into his hair. “You’re going to be all right. You’ll see. C-3PO— C-3PO will be on his way up right now with some medicine and Maz, she’ll—she’ll know exactly what to—”

“At least,” his voice was barely audible now and Rey had to lean in close to hear him. His eye lids drooped tiredly, but he kept fighting to keep them open—to keep them on Rey. Smiling almost lazily, his hand slowly reached up to tuck a tendril of Rey’s hair behind her ear. He tried to keep his hand there, close to her cheek, but he quickly lost strength and his hand began to fall back down. Catching it, Rey raised it back up and pressed it hard against her cheek, wishing he could siphon some of her body heat into his now chilly hand. Licking his lips, he continued, “I got to see you one last time.” Eyelids fluttering closed, Ben’s eyes rolled up to the back of his head. He pressed out one final sigh—the most contented noise Rey had ever heard him make—and fell utterly and completely still.

“No—no!” Rey cried, tears streaming down her face as if a dam had broken open. Bending over so her head rested on his chest, her grip tightened on his curls. “Come back! Don’t leave me—please! Don’t go!” Sobs wracked her body and for a minute Rey couldn’t draw enough air into her body. “I love you,” she whispered, so quietly and so brokenly before giving into the despair that pulled at her entire frame.

A bright, blinding burst of white light pierced through Rey’s closed eyes. Propping her head up, she looked out with clouded vision to see the light was shining from the tower in the West Wing, but Rey had little time to wonder what was causing such a phenomena because something began to happen to Ben as well. His skin, already unnaturally white from hiding so long beneath a mask, turned luminescent and glowed as brightly as the moon. Rearing back, Rey watched as Ben’s chest swelled like a newly inflated balloon. A hissing noise sounded from his body and from his open mouth wafted a dark, wispy smoke. It uncurled from him like a tendril of smoke from a dying fire and kept rising higher and higher into the air until at last it seemed it all escaped his body.

Ben’s body once again turned slack once the smoke completely left his body. His chest fell back down slowly, like an invisible hand was pressing down against it, and Rey was left staring at his still form with wide eyes and a slacked jaw. Ben’s own eyes popped open not even a second later and his mouth widened as his lungs wheezed, trying to take in as much oxygen as possible. Heaving large breath after large breath, Ben gazed around the balcony wildly until he landed on Rey. His pupils dilated and his body relaxed as he blinked a few times. He slowly raised a hand to Rey’s cheek, his brows creasing with concern as she flinched away. “Rey? Rey, I’m all right. I’m all right now.” He emphasized this, trying to drive the point home by locking eyes with Rey. Rey’s gaze flickered down to his mouth. She heard the words, but he sounded different somehow. His voice sounded lighter somehow.

Looking into his eyes, Rey searched for something, she wasn’t exactly sure what but she knew exactly when she found it. Tilting her head to the side, a small, hopeful smile touched her lips, “Ben,” she whispered. It was the only thing she could say. “Ben Solo,” she felt her smile stretch wider, “You’re really all right, Ben Solo.”

Stretching up, Ben reached a hand around to the back of Rey’s neck and pulled her down some. Their breaths mingled, their lips were inches apart, but Ben stopped just short of a kiss to look into Rey’s eyes, asking a silent question. Knowing exactly what he was asking, Rey’s smile widened and she closed the distance between them and pressed her lips against his. Wind swirled around them, making Ben’s hair tickle against Rey’s face, and her body felt like a remote training droid went off somewhere inside her, shooting off warm stinging beams all the way from the bottom of her belly up to her fluttering heart.

Pulling back, Rey opened her eyes slowly and distantly realized they were both standing up now and were surrounded by all of the castle’s droids. After ridding the castle of the scavengers, they’d ventured up to discover the fate of their master. All Rey focused on, though, was Ben’s smile in front of her. It was broad and shined brighter than any star in the entire galaxy. It was different than all the rest—freer somehow, like it’d lost some hidden weight. Thinking back to that black smoke, Rey wondered if that had something to do with it. At this point, though, she found she couldn’t care less. She loved his new, brilliant smile and reached up on her tip toes to give him another, quicker, kiss.

More white light blinded Rey, making her wince and hide her face in Ben’s chest. When it’d diminished and she looked back up, she gasped. Instead of droids now stood dozens—if not hundreds—of real, living faces. Each one were strangers to Rey, and yet, looking into each one of their eyes she felt like she knew them

“R2!” Ben cheered, grabbing a short, round faced man with a very large smile stretching his chubby cheeks towards him with his right arm, “C-3PO!” He continued, pulling in a tall, skinny, bald headed man whose face looked pinched. “Ah!” He exclaimed, his smiling widening when a small, orange alien appeared from the crowd, “Maz Kanata!” He let go of C-3PO and R2-D2 to give Maz a hug of her very own. “Look at us!”

Putting down Maz, Ben stepped over to Rey, grabbed her by her hips and twirled her around like when they’d danced together. Rey giggled, her chest still so full of the pleasant sensation and held onto his shoulders as they spun again and again. Placing her gently back down on the ground, Ben leaned down and stole another kiss from her. Pulling back just a hair’s breath, he whispered, “Rey, beautiful, wonderful Rey. How can I ever thank you enough?”

“For what?” She asked breathlessly.

“For seeing the good in me, for never giving up on me,” he paused and leaned his forehead against hers, “for loving me.”

Blushing, Rey glanced away, “You heard that?”

“Yes,” he hummed happily. “You want to know something, Rey?” He leaned down so his lips brushed the shell of her ear, making her shiver, “I love you, too.” Turning her head sharply to look at him, Rey searched his eyes, desperate to check that his words were true. Smiling broadly at what she saw there, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him tight against her. “Come, Rey, see what you’ve done.” Ben whispered before pulling away and leading her over to the balcony. She looked out, expecting to see the vast, dead forest that had always been there and stopped in her tracks when she saw a lush and lively forest standing in its place. “You broke the curse,” Ben told her, pulling her snugly into his side, “We’re free, Rey. You freed us all from the power of the Dark Side. Snoke and the spell he cast here, it’s all gone because of you.”

Continuing to look out at the forest—the real, honest to god forest—and then turning to look at all the tear filled faces around her, faces that had only hours ago been made of metal and parts, Rey couldn’t believe it. Then, thinking back to Finn and Poe—Poe had something the same thing. They were free. Laughing, Rey wondered if they’d ever believe her when she brought them here—and she would bring them here—if they’d believe her when she said all these people were once droids. Or that she brought the forest back to life. Or if they’d believe that this man beside her—Ben Solo—was once the creature they feared known as Kylo Ren. She didn’t care though. She didn’t care if they ever believed her because there was one thing that was now, and would forever more, be true: they were free. They were all free.

#reylo #stormpilot #star wars #beauty and the beast #fanfic #very #long read #rey #kylo ren #ben solo #poe dameron #finn

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