Rey woke up to the two suns shinning into her room. She knew she would probably need to get up soon to attend her training. She starred at her ceiling for a few moments, wondering what today's training offered.
She was tired, but nonetheless threw the covers off herself and began her usual routine. She had been training and studying at Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy for about 10 years now. She could now barley remember her parents taking her here in their ship and leaving her here without much as a word to why. When Rey was younger she always knew she was different than other kids, however; Rey never realized why until she was brought here and taught the ways of the Jedi.
Her closest ally and friend was Jedi Maris Brood. While Maris had quite a confusing and tough background, surviving order 66, having not one, but two Jedi Masters that were training her killed, she struggled very much with the temptation of the dark side for a long time. Until Luke had found her and brought her back to the reality that the Jedi are good and they make and keep the peace in the many universes. That the balance needed to be restored and the only way to make things right again was to help train young force-sensitive users.
Rey took a particular liking to her because she thought of Maris as being more of a grey Jedi. She liked that Maris was somewhere in the middle of things. Rey thought it was more relatable. Plus, Maris is a very skilled Jedi and has taught Rey many things. Since Maris knew much about being on the dark side she knew how to suppress and control the temptation, thanks to a lot of time and patience. She knew warning signs before many did.
After Rey had finished showering, she grabbed a towel and quickly dried her hair. She put on a pair of lighter grey pants, a dark grey long-sleeved shirt, and threw on a light thin vest overtop. She slid on a pair of black boots and was out the door.
It was a beautiful day outside and the warmth from the two suns felt nice on her skin. It was warm outside, but not hot like Jakku had been. Rey walked along one of the several paths in the small-town Luke had created. It wasn't anything extravagant, it didn't need to be. It served one purpose and one purpose alone. To teach the ways of the Jedi to force-sensitive races. There was maybe about 50 people and creatures in this little town. Once a month most of the Jedi Knights would leave camp to go get supplies. Every so often they might make a trip to bring back younglings to train, however this was rather rare.
She wondered how her parents had heard of this place. Her thoughts plunged into the deep ocean that was her parents. The older she got the less she remembers about them. This not only made her sad, but it also angered her. She did not understand why they left her here with no explanations, why they never came to visit. She wondered if maybe her parents were Jedi. Was that how they knew about Luke's Academy?
Wham.
"Ooof." Rey grunted as she fell to the ground.
Rey had been so busy and distracted thinking about her parents she had not even been paying attention to where she was walking. She looked up to see Kylo Ren. He was one of the several Jedi Knights at Luke's Academy. Rey had never worked with or had even really been introduced to him. Kylo Ren pretty much kept to himself and even when surrounded by the other Jedi Knights, he spoke very little. He was tall and his longer hair cascaded around his face. His facial features were sharp and unforgettable. He had broad shoulders and thick arms. Rey thought he was actually quite stunning.
As he extended his hand he spoke to Rey for the first time since she had been at the academy. "Sorry about that." His voice was velvety and smooth. She reached up to take his hand. As she did she felt an odd sensation course through her body and mind. Her brow furrowed as Kylo helped her stand up. Judging by Kylo Ren's reaction, or lack thereof, he did not experience the same odd sensation she had. They let go hands and Ren walked right past her. She stared at his back as he walked away. She wondered what that strange feeling that had overcome her body was about. She had never felt anything like that. Honestly, Rey couldn't even really explain what exactly it was that she had felt.
Before she could ponder the subject anymore she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see Maris. Maris smiled at her. Her thin long black braids were in a low ponytail. Small red spikes protruded from her widow's peak and the middle part in her hair. She wore dark eyeshadow and a dark red lipstick. She was wearing a leather top with thick straps and a black rope necklace. She had matching leather pants and a leather belt with holsters in which her two lightsabers hung from. She had nicely polished black boots on to complete her look. Maris truly was one of a kind.
"Are you ready?" Maris asked Rey. Rey turned her head around to look for Kylo Ren, but she did not see him. Rey gave a small smile and nodded. Together they walked into their usual training room.
As they entered Rey saw several others sitting upon thick circular pillows in large circle on the floor. Maris had six students. Typically, this was very unusal for a Jedi Knight to have more than one padawan at a time. However, after Order 66, Jedi Knight's were far and few between. Luke believed that currently the most effective way to train younglings was to assign several students to one Jedi Knight.
As Rey sat on top of the only empty pillow left in the circle, Maris walked into the middle of the pillow surrounded circle.
"We are going to meditate today. I want you all to search your feelings and reach out." Maris took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she sat down on a pillow in the middle of the circle. "Clear your minds. Let go of anything you are holding onto that may have a negative impact on your feelings and actions."
Rey readjusted her position, crossing her legs. She placed a hand on each knee and sat up straight. She took a deep breath and focused on her breathing. She turned off any noises from other students readjusting their own positions and the animals making noises outside. Rey quieted her mind. She tried to clear the sadness and anger she had been feeling earlier when she was thinking about her parents. It took her a bit of time, but she felt relived once she had let go. Rey slowly drew in a deep breath. As she released it she reached out with her mind. It was almost as if something was calling to her. She turned her head to the side, eyes still closed shut. This had never happened to her while she was mediating or even when she wasn't for that matter. Her brows furrowed in confusion. She wanted to reach out further to investigate.
"What a calming thing meditation is." Maris's voice broke the mediation and the silence. Rey opened her eyes to see Maris staring directly at her. Maris stood up. You all may take a break. I'll see you all this afternoon for some physical training." All of Maris's students began to get up and leave the meditation room. Just before Rey was about to exit, Maris spoke again. "Except you, Rey. I would like a moment of your time please."
"Of course." Rey said as she turned around.
"How was your meditation today?" Maris asked. Rey still answered even though she knew that Maris already had the answer to her question.
"It was fine." Maris gave her an intriguing look. "It was difficult at first, trying to clear certain feelings I was having." Maris put a hand on shoulder. She gave a light smile.
"It's ok to be angry Rey." This was why Rey loved Maris as her trainer. "It is however, not okay to let your anger control you. Keep it in check." Rey nodded. Maris took her hand off of Rey's shoulder and she walked over to one of the tall windows in the room. Maris leaned a shoulder up against it and stared outside. "Is there anything you wish to talk to me about?" This caught Rey quite off guard. She stammered at first.
"Uh, no-no I do not believe so." Rey's face slightly flushed with color. A few moments went by before Maris said or did anything.
"Very well." Maris said as she uncrossed her arms. "You may go." She said, still looking out the window.
"Thank you." Rey replied as she bowed and exited the room. Rey walked into the large hallway where she glanced up at the high ceilings where the sunshine came pouring through. She looked at one of the large pillars and her eyes followed the pillar to its base. To her surprise she saw Kylo Ren leaning up against one talking to a padawan. Curiously, as she walked, she watched their interaction. He was talking to a young female Zabrak. Rey did not know her. She looked about 14 or 15. All the Jedi were training groups of padawans around the same age group. It was very rare that during training you would interact with other Jedi Masters or their students. Rey really only truly knew about 7 or 8 of those here in the academy. Nearly everyone kept to themselves.
Just as Rey was about to pass into Kylo's field of vision she looked at her feet as she began to exit the large building to get back to her room. As she began to push the door open she turned her head to look back. With the door pushed halfway open, she stopped moving. Surprised to see that Kylo was no longer leaning a shoulder against the pillar while talking to the Zabrak. The Zabrak was gone and Ren's back was leaned against the pillar with his arms crossed staring directly at Rey. They stood staring at each other for only fractions of a second before Ben uncrossed his arms and disappeared behind the pillar.
Confused, Rey pushed the rest of the door open and walked outside. Rey had come across Kylo many times during her years at the academy. They never talked or had exchanged looks, none that Rey could recall at least, until today.