You will be the one to turn
Rey had resisted the Dark when Luke and Leia fell, and later Poe. She had fought to keep her calm, cling to her hope when the fighter pilot lost his life. He had died as he had lived, she kept telling herself over and over again. But when the news about Finn reached her ears, she felt the pull so strongly inside her. Even stronger than back then on the island. The island's pull had been teasing, a mere tickle, in comparison to this. "They will pay," she said, through her clenched jaw; the Resistance now looking towards her. "This time, they will pay." A cheer – violent, without cheer – filled the ship. So few had survived, but they'd fight 'till the end. They made their plans: tomorrow they would attack. There was no time to lose; every day lost was time not well-spent.
That night Rey hardly slept. For the first time in her life, she let the rage flow through her without stopping it. Without trying anything to suppress it. Was this how Kylo Ren felt all the time? It was much better than she'd imagined. She felt so strong, so fierce and powerful. The longing for vengeance fueled her; she let it wash over her, envelop her entire being. "You'll pay," she whispered into the dark. "I come from nothing, but I won't be nothing any longer when I'm done with you."
A name bubbled up inside her. Rey Regina. It had a nice ring to it. She would show him; the stuck-up pretend boy. She was the real deal; he was no knight, never mind a leader of them.
Rey's Resistance didn't notice the change in their new-found leader. They adored her fierceness, her quick thinking skills. They all longed for some revenge; it was long overdue. And so when Hux fell – after she had toyed around with him – they didn't speak up. He deserved it. Ship after ship was destroyed or captured as the Force within Rey rose. They changed from a hopeless cause to a real opponent and the First Order was losing its cool. Its arrogance, and so was their leader.
After weeks of fighting, Kylo Ren only had his loyal Knights left. The First Order had crumbled into factions. Each and every one for themselves. But he would not yield. Die, but never yield. He swore it by the Force. Yet lately it felt that he lost some of that old fire. Some of his strength. Kylo didn't understand why or how. He was still angry, raging inside, yet the Force was seeping away from him. Slowly but surely.
For every fight that he won, he lost two and was forced to call retreat again and again. Even his men began to lose hope. And then she spoke to him: the Force connected them for the first time in days. "Give it up," Rey's lovely voice pleaded with him. "You'll stand at my side after you've acknowledged my victory. A chance for you to step into the Light at last, Ben." Kylo felt the sweat drip of his head. It was tempting. She was tempting. He longed for a place beside her – more than he knew. It took some persuading but, finally, his knights went along with it. They'd have peace and hopefully prosperity as a reward. If it took this bitter pill of defeat, then so be it. His pride would survive, barely.
The lightsaber in her hand was cackling, powerful as never before, but she lowered it for him. "You will kneel before me," she ordered, narrowing her eyes. She sat on a throne, regal, in white. No longer a nobody, not to anyone. Still a little reluctant, he knelt. Her voice inside him gave him the strength to do it. His knights knelt behind him. As he had his head bowed down, he noticed that she rose. Rey stepped towards him. Kylo felt a lump in his throat. Her lightsaber now dangled loosely on her belt.
Rey stood before him, reaching for his hand, bidding him to rise. Kylo stoop up and – such a wonderful surprise – she embraced him. Kylo let out a gasp of relief, briefly closed his eyes, taking in her scent, but then his eyes widened. "You taught me well," she whispered as Luke's lightsaber pierced him, burned him through and through. "Every apprentice has to defy their master," Rey said. The very last he heard, was her soft chuckle and her final message to him: "You did offer to teach me; I was paying closer attention than you thought."
Thus started the Reign of Rey, supported by her loyal knights: the Knights of Rey.