Mirrorbright

by Crimson Eyed Sakura

An Anastasia AU set in the SW universe An evil Force-user curses the Solo family, giving rise to a coup that separates the Organa-Solo family - the young prince Ben disappearing in the mayhem. Years later, his mother has offered a reward for his return. Con artist and smuggler Rey and Chewbacca plan to pass off a phony as the prince... Full summary inside!

Written as a prompt fill for the More Than Love: RFFA Valentine's Exchange 2018 for juniorstarcatcher, who wanted an Anastasia AU.

Full summary because this site's word limit for summaries is dumb:

An Anastasia AU set in the SW universe.

An evil Force-user curses the Solo family, giving rise to a coup that separates the Organa-Solo family - the young prince Ben disappearing in the mayhem. Years later, his mother has offered a reward for his return. Con artist and smuggler Rey and Chewbacca plan to pass off a phony as the prince and collect the reward, never guessing that the orphan they've tricked into helping is truly the crown prince, Ben Organa Solo.

---

Mirrorbright, shines the moon, its glow as soft as an ember

When the moon is mirrorbright, take this time to remember

Those you have loved but are gone

Those who kept you so safe and warm

The mirrorbright moon lets you see

Those who have ceased to be

Mirrorbright shines the moon, as fires die to their embers

Those you loved are with you still—

The moon will help you remember

- Mirrorbright, an Alderaanian lullaby

---

"There was a time not very long ago, when we lived in an enchanted world of elegant palaces and grand parties. My husband and I were the rulers of the New Republic of Alderaan. We were celebrating the tenth anniversary of our family's rule. And that night, no star burned brighter than than of my sweet Ben, my only son. He begged me not to return to D'Qar, so I had a very special gift made for him to make the separation easier for both of us.

But we would never be together on D'Qar, for a dark shadow had descended upon the house of the Solos. His name was Snoke. We thought he was a holy man, but he was a fraud - power mad and dangerous. Consumed by his hatred for Han and our family, Snoke sold his soul for the power to destroy us.
From that moment on, the spark of unhappiness on our planet was fanned into a flame that would soon destroy our lives forever."

As Leia Organa-Solo readied herself for the anniversary ball, she felt a shiver of dread crawl up her spine. She froze as her hand touched on the present for Ben, something clamoring in the back of her mind.

The sensation passed after a moment, and Leia was able to shrug it off. Grasping the small metal box, she tucked it into her bag and exited her room. She made her way through the palace, nodding to distant family and friends. As she stepped into the ballroom, the sound of the music sent a thrill through her. She'd never thought to hear Alderaanian music again, but her husband had found a band who still remembered a few songs.

"Leia! There you are. I was worried you would miss the whole thing!" Han said as he swept her into his arms.

Leia smiled and let him twirl her around. "I could never!" she returned, kissing Han's cheek sweetly. Pulling away, she laid a hand on the opposite cheek and simply studied him.

"What?" he asked nervously. "Is there something on my face?"

"No, my dear," she replied, "simply wondering how such a handsome man like you ever came into my life."

"If I remember correctly, there was a Hutt involved."

"Don't bring such a terrible thing up on a happy day like today," Leia scolded.

Before he could respond, a small voice called out. "Mama! Mama!"

Leia turned and felt a weight hit her middle. Her arms wrapped around the young boy immediately. "Hello, Ben."

"Mama, do you really have to leave?" Ben asked sadly, peeking up from her midriff to look at her face.

"Yes, Ben. I'm so sorry, but treaties don't write themselves, and the representatives asked for me specifically. But," she added, "I have something for you."

Ben's eyes lit up even as Leia tugged him away from the spotlight. "Really? A present for me?"

Leia reached into her bag and pulled out the box, handing it to him and watching with amusement as he studied it.

"Is it...a jewelry box?"

"Not quite," she said. She reached into her bag once more and pulled out a lengthy chain with a small pendant attached. It was nearly a triangle, with whorls and curves at each point. "This is the emblem of the House Organa, Ben. Yours by birthright. And if you do this…" She gently turned the mechanism inside the metal box with the largest point of the emblem, winding it until it clicked.

The top of the box opened as a tune flowed out, bringing a smile to Ben's face. "It's our lullaby!" he said excitedly.

"Exactly. This way, you'll always have me close by - even if I'm on another world."

They sang along together as the music wove a serene spell around them -

Those you loved are with you still—

The moon will help you remember.

"Mom, I'll miss you! Please don't go."

Leia smiled. "Look on the back of the pendant," she advised softly.

Curious, Ben turned the emblem over and read aloud, "Together...again...on D'Qar?!"

Laughing, Leia nodded. "As soon as the school session has ended. Your father will bring you."

"Oh, Mom, this is the best!" Ben nearly bowled his mother over with an enthusiastic hug. When Han moved closer, Ben hugged him as well. "You'll really take me?" he asked.

"Of course, kiddo. After you get out of classes for the term. Maybe I'll even let you fly the Falcon."

Leia raised a brow at her husband's words but didn't refute them.

A sudden commotion drew their attention to the ballroom floor.

"Snoke," Han spit. "What are you doing here, Snoke?"

"I'm your most trusted advisor, your confidant," the newcomer said, his voice leaving trailing fingers of ice on the back of Ben's neck where he clung to Leia. A young red-haired lackey stood close behind, a smirk on his face.

"Confidant? You're a traitor. Get out!" Han barked.

Snoke laughed. "You cannot banish me. I have more power than you could ever imagine!" With the wave of a hand, a large chandelier broke from the ceiling and fell with a great crash. "With the unholy power I possess, I curse you and your family. Behold! Within a standard month, the House of Organa will be no more!"

He turned and exited the ballroom with dramatic flair, and everyone whispered amongst themselves until Han finally called for the band to begin playing once more, drawing Leia into his arms for a dance.

The rest of the nobles and guests followed their lead, leaving Ben to watch his parents worriedly.

Behind Ben, hidden in a small alcove, stood a waif of a girl from the kitchens. She took a bite out of a Gor apple, watching the Prince from afar. She had always been curious about how the other half lived, though she would have thought living and working in the palace would provide some sort of answer.

"Rey! There you are!" came a deep voice from behind her. Before Rey could scramble away, Unkar Plutt had grasped her and pulled her back toward the servant's area. "Your place is in the kitchen, girl," he admonished.

Though Rey fought, she was forced back to the kitchens, and back to work.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Though she worried for her family's safety, Leia prepared to leave for D'Qar. While the galactic summit wouldn't begin for another few weeks, Leia needed to be there beforehand to prepare. However, a few nights before she was set to leave, disaster struck.

The unrest that had been brewing among the peoples of New Alderaan - many angry that they were being ruled by a common thief, a smuggler - came to a terrible head.

Protesters and militiamen broke into the palace gates. Han hurried his family to an escape pod to take them off-world, but Ben suddenly gasped.

"My music box!" He turned abruptly and ran for his bedroom.

Leia saw him turn and followed, calling out his name as she ran after him. She closed the door behind her and locked it, glancing around wildly for Ben. He reached for the music box, dropping it when a fist pounded on the door. Voices yelled and Ben grew scared, but a small form suddenly appeared from the wall.

"Quick! Through here!" the young girl whispered. She pushed them with tiny hands into the small space. "Go through the servants' quarters!"

But still Ben hesitated. "My music box!" he said stubbornly.

Ignoring him, the girl pushed and shoved at him until she could close the hidden door, and not a moment too soon.

The door burst open a moment later, admitting three large men. Rey squared her shoulders and glared up at them, refusing to answer when they demanded to know where the queen and prince had gone. She threw a lamp at them, only to be knocked down by the butt of a blaster to the head.

As her vision swam and faded, she reached out and grasped the small box that glittered on the floor, tucking it into her clothes.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Leia led Ben through the backstairs and out the side doors, head whipping side to side to check for a safe path, hoping Han had gotten out.

She grasped her son's hand and all but dragged him across the expansive yard, heading for the public transports. Halfway there, Snoke appeared.

He flung a hand out and froze them both with his power, laughing as they struggled. "Did you really think you could escape that easily?" he asked. "You will both die here tonight, mark my words!" A bright flash of light shined as Snoke activated a lightsaber, its blade red.

Ben wasn't sure how he did it, only knew that suddenly his arm was free and he shoved it toward the evil man in front of him.

The ice beneath Snoke cracked, then burst, sending him into the icy water below. Behind him, his lackey stood with a disaffected expression on his face. "Hux!" the alien cried out. "Help me!"

Before Hux could step forward - though he made no moves to do so - Snoke had sunk below the surface, leaving only his lightsaber behind. As Leia and Ben turned and ran, Hux picked the thing up and disappeared.

Leia sighed with relief as the public transports came into sight. She grasped Ben's hand and tugged him forward, only letting go once she'd reached the transport and boarded. Turning, she reached for Ben, only to have her heart freeze in her chest when she realized he wasn't going to make it. "Ben!" she cried out, trying to reach just a bit farther.

Their fingers brushed, Leia's breath catching in hope…

Ben tripped on someone's foot, sending him sprawling to the ground and disappearing from view. His head landed painfully on the ground, and he knew no more.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

TEN YEARS LATER

Rey let out a squeal of excitement as she clung to Chewbacca's arm. "This is it, Chewie, I just know it! This is our way out of here!"

Chewbacca made a low tone of agreement, following as she led the way to the small room they'd shared for the last few years. As they packed their things and hurried to the palace, he felt a twinge of unease, but he ruthlessly shoved it aside. Who knew? Maybe they really would find Ben.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Kylo Ren followed mulishly as Master Luke led the way to the small ship he was giving the newly-minted Jedi. "Now remember, you just have to go to Coruscant, find the Jedi council there, and they'll find you a place to stay."

"Yes, Master Luke," Kylo replied sullenly. "Even though I don't want to be a Jedi," he mumbled to himself.

Luke, however, heard the low tone and raised a hard look to the taller young man. "Hey, I've fed you, clothed you, and taught you for all these years. The least you could do is give me a little of respect."

Kylo slouched and nodded. "I'm sorry, Master."

Luke's expression softened. "Are you sure you don't remember anything?"

"We've been through this. All I know is that I need to get to D'Qar so I can find my family."

"Kylo, there's nothing on D'Qar for you. You probably picked that necklace up by mistake back on Alderaan when you came here."

Scowling, Kylo refused to answer.

Luke sighed and opened the gate. "Just go to Coruscant, Kylo. You'll be a good Jedi. You might even find whatever it is you're looking for there."

Kylo strode through the gate, only offering the barest of goodbyes and no response to Luke's last words. As he powered up the X-wing, Kylo hesitated with the nav. He could go to Coruscant as Luke had advised…

Or he could go to Alderaan. He could try to find out more of his past.

Decision made, he typed the coordinates into the nav and said farewell to Yavin IV, the only home he could remember.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

When he landed, Kylo was astounded at how decrepit the crowning city of Alderaan appeared. He trudged through the streets and tried to find something - anything - that he remembered.

All he found was small, round droid that was determined to follow him everywhere after he'd fixed the thing's bent antenna. Finally, he called the mission a failure and tried to leave.

Getting into Alderaan was easy, Kylo found. It was getting out that was the problem. Having found no clues to his past, he had decided to travel to D'Qar for himself, despite Luke's words.

However, he had no exit visa to leave. The woman in line behind him - a frumpy-looking old Twi'lek - whispered about someone named Rey who could get him papers.

"You'll find her at the old palace, but you didn't hear it from me!"

Kylo watched in bemusement as she marched away to get into another line before shaking his head and following her advice.

As he asked for directions, a small woman bumped into him. The large hairy creature accompanying her tugged at his memory, but the moment passed without any new information coming to him.

He sighed as he made his way through the streets to the palace. Here and there, another memory would tease at him, but never anything with substance.

The palace was old and rundown, though still beautiful beneath the dust and neglect. As Kylo wandered, he felt a yearning he couldn't explain. A tune whispered through his head, one he'd been humming for as long as he could remember but could never remember the words for.

As he and the droid - whose designation was BB-8, the thing had beeped at him - wandered around, he found himself humming and twirling in a long-forgotten dance. BB-8 trilled at him, complimenting his form, when a soft voice called out.

"Hey! What are you doing here?"

Ben froze for a split second before panicking, running in the opposite direction with the droid hot on his heels.

One wrong turn later and he was cornered in front of a painting at the end of a long hallway.

"Well how was I supposed to know this was a dead end?" he snarled at the droid.

BB-8 continued to berate him in binary, but the beeps and trills ended when the two figures chasing them finally stepped closer.

Rey froze when she caught a good glimpse of the man, his features causing a warm fluttering in her belly. She gathered her wits a moment later. "What are you doing here?" she repeated. As the man fidgeted and stuttered, Rey's gaze was drawn to the painting.

The hazel eyes flickered back and forth for a moment before widening in excitement.

As the man continued his excuse, she nudged Chewie. "Chewie, do you see what I see?" she asked.

A negative answer came from the Wookiee, but Rey nudged him again and gestured to the painting.

"It's like a sign," she whispered.

For the painting behind the stuttering man showed a family portrait - a smiling man, a serene woman, and a sullen little boy.

The features of the boy could easily be stretched and molded by age into the visage of the strange man before her. When she caught the name D'Qar, Rey shook her head and came back to the conversation.

"You want to go to D'Qar?" she clarified.

When the man nodded, Rey hugged herself. She was going to be so rich. "It just so happens that we're going there as well. And we have three passes. However, one of those is for the Prince, Ben Solo." She gestured to the painting behind him. "Rumor has it that he's alive, and the Queen has been searching for him for a long time."

Kylo deflated a bit, nodding resignedly.

Rey hid a smug grin as she put a finger to her lips in thought. "You know… You look an awful lot like the prince," she mused. She stepped closer, circling the tall man and studying him. "Yes, yes, I think it's uncanny, really."

Chewie let out a sound of assent. While he agreed that Kylo did favor both former monarchs, he didn't really want to play an active part in deceiving the wife of someone he'd once held dear.

Kylo turned around to look up at the portrait behind him, studying it closely. While he could pick and choose certain features of either royal and arguably call them familiar to the face he saw in the mirror each day, he wasn't sure he could truly believe he was the long lost prince.

"I don't know. I've never...really thought about it before. I don't really remember anything from my childhood…"

Rey could have yelled her excitement. Carefully schooling her features, she stepped closer and laid a hand on Kylo's arm. "There, you see? It's not so crazy to think that you could be him."

Kylo bit his lip, worrying the flesh in thought. "I guess every kid at the temple wanted to believe they came from somewhere special," he agreed. "And I am from Alderaan, even if nobody seems to claim me."

After another few moments of consideration, Kylo sighed and shook his head. "It's just too crazy. I can't be him."

"Well, if you're sure," Rey drawled, dragging out the sentence as she stepped away. "I guess we'll have to continue our search for the prince elsewhere." She grasped Chewie's arm and led him away, shushing him when he voiced a question.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Rey grinned. "Oh, we have him!"

Chewie let out a disbelieving snort, shaking his head.

"Just you wait, Chewie." They reached the main floor, and the hallway leading to the front door of the palace. "Slow down, just a tad," she whispered. Counting down from five, she grinned when she hit zero and heard Kylo's voice shouting her name.

"Hook, line, and sinker," she crowed lightly before turning around.

Kylo came skidding around the corner and down the stairs, the BB droid close behind him. "Wait! Do you really think I could be him?" he asked breathlessly.

Rey shrugged. "You're as close physically as I've ever seen," she said. She was, at least, being honest about that. The interviews earlier had gone abysmally, featuring some of the worst "Ben Solo" impersonators she'd ever seen.

Kylo still hesitated. "And...even if I'm not him...it's all just an honest mistake. I'm just trying to find my place in all this."

Rey nodded. "Of course!" she assured him. With a genuine smile on her face, she looked at Chewie while gesturing at Kylo. "Introducing the Crown Prince, Ben Organa Solo."

The Wookiee called out in his native language, something Kylo didn't understand. He quickly took it to be positive when the impossibly tall creature patted him on the back hard enough to knock him forward a few steps.

Chattering excitedly, Rey led the trio outside, her mind running wild.

Inside, a darkness swirled to life in a secluded corner. A lightsaber suddenly flared to life, the energy all but rattling the housing apart. A redheaded man stepped closer to it, studying it with a thoughtful frown.

"After all this time lying dormant, this piece of junk comes to life with only the mention of that brat's name? There's no reason for such a thing. Unless…" Hux turned to stare toward the door the three (plus the droid) had exited from. "Unless he really is Ben Solo."

Hux reached out to grasp the lightsaber, hissing when it trembled and danced and nearly cut him. As soon as his flesh made contact with the hilt, grasping it in his hand, a light flared around him. This light was tinted with darkness, however, like black flames edged in white.

When the flames receded, Hux was hard pressed to keep his composure. "Supreme Leader?" he gasped.

His former master, the self-titled Supreme Leader Snoke, was a mangled and disfigured version of the man he'd once been. Any hair he'd boasted that day on the ice was gone, and the left side of his face and throat looked to be rotting away. He was gaunt and drawn, but his eyes were still an eerie, piercing blue.

Those eyes cast a disdainful glance at Hux, who quickly supplanted himself at his master's feet. "Ahhh, my favorite sycophant," he sneered. "The one who did nothing to save me when I fell to my watery and frozen death."

Hux froze for a split second before his mind began to whirl with possible excuses and reasons, but Snoke waved a hand to cut him off.

"It doesn't matter now. What has happened that's called me back here?" the disfigured alien asked as he straightened his robes.

"My lord, it seems that Prince Ben is alive."

Snoke paused his movements and turned slowly to stare at Hux. "Alive? Ben Solo is alive?"

"Yes, m'lord. I suppose that's why the lightsaber activated?"

"This is grand! I will finally have my full revenge on the House Organa!" Snoke cackled madly, his robe billowing as the dark power he coveted swirled around him.

Hux watched as madness clouded Snoke's perception, as he'd seen so many times in the past. Doubt began to fester in the redhead's gut.

"Come, Hux! We have things to do." Snoke waved an imperious hand, gesturing for his lackey to follow him.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"You're crushing me!" Rey complained as Kylo shifted around her.

"It's not my fault you chose such a small ship!" the man rejoined.

"No," Rey muttered, "just that you're so freakishly tall."

"I heard that," Kylo snarled.

Chewie thanked every god and Maker and deity he could think of that he'd been drafted to pilot the admittedly-small craft. The other two had been forced into the small hold behind the cockpit - previously a berth, but the bunks had been ripped out to make room for more cargo.

Kylo was trying to readjust to bring bloodflow back to his numb legs, partially leaning into Rey in the process. He tried to ignore how she felt so warm against him, how the scent of her hair seemed to surround him.

Finally finding a comfortable position that didn't jeopardize their respective personal spaces, Kylo settled in and sighed, trying not to steal glances at Rey.

Rey huffed and crossed her arms, hoping her irritation hid the blush on her cheeks.

Chewie sighed to himself and thought about young love and how the galaxy always seemed to draw two completely different personalities together.

Before he could think on it further, before Rey and Kylo could drum up another argument, a loud alarm began blaring from the engine room. Rey was on her feet a moment later, running for the noise and leaving a confused Kylo behind.

After telling BB-8 to stay with Chewie, Kylo hurried after Rey. He found her outside the engine room, coughing at the thick, black smoke that poured from inside. She forced herself to brave the smoke and heat to check the damage.

"How bad is it?" Kylo asked, yelling over the alarm.

"Not very, unless you like being blown to bits or suffocated by the vacuum of space!" she yelled back.

Just then, Kylo noticed a bright glow to Rey's right, glowing brighter by the moment. He flung out a hand and used the Force to drag her toward him and out the door, slamming it closed just as the machinery exploded.

"That could have been you," he breathed in belated worry.

Rey patted his shoulder. "I'm fine, princeling. But that was the main engine. The secondary won't get us much farther, if it lasts long enough to get us onto a planet at all." She hurried to cockpit to speak with Chewie.

Leaving Kylo to wheeze both from the smoke and from the sudden debilitating fear that something could have happened to Rey. Once he caught his breath, he headed to the front of the ship, watching the viewport as the Wookiee piloted them through realspace.

Kylo understood without asking that any attempt at a hyperjump would probably blow them to spacedust.

"We're heading to Takodana. It's an unfortunate side-trip, but obviously a necessary one," Rey said, patting Chewie's shoulder and returning to her former position in the small cargo hold.

Chewie made a sound that Kylo somehow understood as excitement.

Rey smirked. "Yes, you get to see your girlfriend," she teased.

"Girlfriend?" Kylo echoed.

"Yeah, Maz Kanata. She's got a place on Takodana, and she usually has ships or parts to spare. If you can pry them from her."

Chewie cried out a reply, which Kylo was astounded to find he somewhat understood. The rest he inferred with deduction skills.

"What do you mean, she's the only one with the coordinates?"

Rey turned to look at Kylo, shock and wariness battling for supremacy on her delicate features. Her hands raised in a calming gesture, she said slowly, "It's no big deal, we just have to...convince Maz that you're the real deal."

Kylo's expression turned thunderous. "I have to lie, you mean."

Rey winced but didn't deny it.

Kylo leapt up to pace as best he could in the tiny area. His hands raked through his hair a few times, frustration in his every movement. "I was okay with this because I thought it would be a simple meeting. I didn't realize you wanted me to pretend to be something I'm not!" he yelled.

Rey's face clouded with anger as she leapt to her feet, shoving her finger into Kylo's broad chest. "Hey, flyboy, you agreed to come, regardless of whatever I may have left out."

Whatever else Rey may have said was interrupted by Chewie, whose Shyriiwook jangled Kylo's already frazzled nerves.

Rey snarled and whirled around, fleeing to the unburnt section of the rear of the ship.

Kylo sighed heavily and sat abruptly on the floor, exhausted from the emotional gamut he'd been running for the last few days.

When the Wookiee's (relatively) soft words reached him, Kylo was shocked once more at how easily he understood - more and more with every bit of conversation he shared with the large creature.

"No, I don't think I'm okay," Kylo finally said, shaking his head and trying to figure out what to do now. "I have no credits, no ship, and now I have no way of finding out who I really am."

Chewie growled out a question as he entered them into Takodana's orbit.

Kylo snorted. "Of course it's important to me. I've wondered ever since I was ten years old and abandoned at the Jedi academy on Yavin IV."

A niggle of some revelation stirred in Chewie, but he pushed it away to ask another question. Would it be so bad to never know?

"You don't understand. I'm a nobody. All I've ever been is a nobody, one who happens to have Jedi powers. If I find my family, I can be more than just a pawn for the Jedi Council. I'll have a place where I truly belong."

Chewbacca thought on Kylo's words for a long minute before tilting his head and asking if the human wanted to know a secret.

"Sure, why not," Kylo agreed, not very enthusiastically.

For the first time in nearly a decade, Chewie confessed that he had once been considered part of the royal family.

Kylo's eyes widened and he studied the Wookiee more closely. "That's crazy. So you would have...seen me? Or, well, seen Ben?"

Chewie nodded, adding that he hadn't been back to Alderaan in years before the coup, so he couldn't say for certain if Kylo could truly be Ben. It had been too long, and the boy he'd known would have changed much over fifteen years.

"I don't want to lie to his mom, though," Kylo confessed quietly.

"It doesn't have to be a lie," Rey said softly from the doorway. "If you're not Ben, Maz will know. She's very protective of Leia and her family."

Kylo sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. "Fine. But no more secrets from me, okay?"

Rey nodded. "No more secrets."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

For the next few hours, while their hobbled ship gravitated around Takodana toward Maz' place, Chewie and Rey took turns coaching Kylo on royal information.

The man felt overwhelmed by the influx of names and planets and foods, but it soon began to click.

"Oh!" he said at one point, gesturing at a distant relative. "He had a droid named Vuffi Raa. Sarcastic thing."

Rey blinked in surprise and turned to Chewie, who shrugged and nodded. "How did…?" Rey worried her bottom lip with her teeth, wondering how in the world Kylo had known that. She hadn't known that.

Trying to push the oddness away, Rey shouldered on with teaching a Jedi about the Alderaanian royalty.

Finally, they reached a point in the orbit from which they could easily reach Maz' place. Chewie took them down carefully, endeavoring not to overwork the secondary engine.

They landed with a clank and screech, smoke pouring from the ship as they hurried from it. Chewie looked around expectantly, but Maz was nowhere in sight.

Rey smiled and patted his arm. "It's okay, big guy. She's probably gone on to D'Qar. Let's see if she's left us a message."

Kylo followed after the two, staring around in amazement at the variety of humans, humanoids, and aliens inside Maz' cantina. He trailed his companions to the bar, where Rey gestured to the barkeep and spoke to the vaguely-male-looking alien in a language Kylo didn't recognize.

After a few back-and-forths, Rey turned and grinned with a piece of flimsy in her hand. "What did I tell you?" she crowed. "Maz left us a ship with the coordinates on the nav."

Chewie echoes Rey's enthusiasm, cheering in Shyriiwook.

"Before we go, though," Rey said with her nose scrunched, "you need some new clothes." She stared hard at Kylo, as if daring him to refute her.

Kylo glanced down at himself, nearly having forgotten he was wearing the drab brown Jedi clothing he'd left the academy with. He sighed and nodded. "I think you're right."

For the next few minutes, he had to deal with Rey's smugness over with easy capitulation and agreement that she'd been right. And for the next forty minutes after that, had suffered through trying on various clothing without even being able to look at himself in them.

By the time they boarded the small family-sized transport Maz had left for them, Kylo was ready to kill Rey. He hadn't lit his lightsaber since he'd left his Master, but now seemed as good a time as any, he mused.

"Here you go, princeling," Rey said as she tossed a box at him.

Kylo caught the box with hands already loaded down with bags from their shopping trip. "What's this?" he asked, confused.

"Everything else was for everyday. If you're going to meet your mother, you need something nice," Rey said with a small smile.

Taken aback, Kylo felt a smile tugging at his lips as he stared down at the box. "Thank you," he said softly. Shaking his head in disbelief, he turned and headed for his berth.

Rey watched him go, a pensive look on her face. Chewie watched Rey watch Kylo and shook his head, seeing the attraction between them blooming even more.

The Wookiee hurried to get them into the air, eager to get this all over with. Thankfully, Maz had indeed programmed the nav with the coordinates directly to Leia's current home. Within minutes, the experienced pilot had them in the first of four hyperlanes to D'Qar.

When Kylo returned to the main area a while later, he was wearing one of the new outfits Rey had picked out. He felt uncomfortable in clothes other than the roughspun, drab outfits that Master Luke had provided on Yavin IV.

The soft fabric of the dark blue pants was tighter than he was used to, hugging and accentuating the length and musculature of his legs. The shirt wasn't quite white, and the fit was loose enough that Kylo had slung his saber-hilt belt across the lower part of it to keep it somewhat tucked, with a dark vest finishing the look.

Kylo had even gone far enough to tie his hair back, exposing ears that Rey had to physically clench her hands to keep from reaching out for.

Taking in the rest of him, Rey felt her breath catch at how well the new clothes fit him. She felt her cheeks warm as her gaze darted away, looking at the floor until she regained control of herself.

"You, uh… You look really nice," Rey finally said, her eyes finally rising to meet Kylo's.

Kylo smiled self-deprecatingly and rubbed the back of his neck. "You really think so? It's been so long since I've worn anything but Jedi garb."

Rey returned the smile, assuring him, "Of course. I wouldn't lie about that."

The reminder of what she had lied about wiped the smile from Kylo's face. He sighed and made a conscious effort not to grow angry.

From the cockpit, Chewie growled out a suggestion.

Kylo choked. "Dance? I don't dance," he said with horror in his tone.

Rey wasn't faring much better, though she understood the necessity. With a sigh, she acquiesced. "You'll need to know how to dance in the Alderaanian custom."

Before Kylo could fuss more, Rey stepped forward determinedly and grasped his hands, placing them where they needed to be and absolutely refusing to blush at the close contact.

Chewie activated the autopilot, stepping into the main area to observe and instruct. After a few steps, he huffed in a laugh and chided Rey for leading.

Rey froze and glanced up at Kylo, eyes narrowing at the smirk on the man's lips. "Fine, mister confident. You take over."

Kylo raised a brow in challenge and swept them into a faster version of the steps Rey had been leading them through. His steps were sure, his hands warm where they rested on Rey's back and in her own hand. There was no hesitation in him - he danced as if he'd been born to it.

Something in Rey suspected he might have been.

As Chewbacca looked on, watching them laugh as Kylo deliberately missed a step to trip Rey up and use the moment to twirl her around, he remembered the last time he'd watched two people dance like this.

Han and Leia's wedding. The spark in their eyes, the warmth in their smiles, even the very energy surrounding Kylo and Rey all reminded the Wookiee of the past.

He sighed to himself and returned to the cockpit, unable to watch any longer lest the pain and guilt break his tattered heart.

Rey and Kylo didn't even notice him leave, too focused on each other. Their steps slowed by increments until they were finally simply standing in the middle of the room, staring at each other breathlessly.

Just as Kylo began to lean down, his intent clear, Rey blinked and came back to herself. She couldn't do this! He was just a con, part of a bigger plan. She couldn't let her stupid emotions and wants jeopardize that.

Clearing her throat, Rey stepped back and forced a smile. "That was great! You took to it very quickly."

Kylo schooled his features and nodded. "Thanks," he said woodenly. "I'm going to go...find BB-8," he blurted, hurrying away.

Rey sighed as he all but fled, wishing she could do the same. Instead, she plopped into the co-pilot seat and stared resolutely at the controls, hissing, "Not a word," at Chewie when he glanced at her.

She stayed glued to her seat until a sudden crash and frantic binary drew her attention.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Kylo found BB-8 in Rey's room, seeming to be nosing through her things. "BB-8, stop that," he chided.

The droid jolted as if surprised. Kylo snorted and told the thing it had a guilty conscience. BB-8 responded by jolting Kylo with a sudden arc of electricity.

"Ouch!" Kylo yelped, jumping to the side and knocking over a bag that had been perched precariously on the end of the bunk.

A tinkling sound of metal on metal drew his attention, his gaze catching on a small golden box that had rolled from Rey's bag. Curious, he knelt and picked it up, his large hand dwarfing the small thing. "Never figured Rey for a jewelry box girl," he murmured.

Somehow, though, he didn't think this belonged to Rey. It was too...delicate for such a down-to-earth girl. And too expensive, came the unkind thought. The more he studied the thing, the more he got the feeling that he knew what this was.

Just on the edges of his mind, the tune he'd been humming since he could remember began to play.

Before he could get too lost in the song or the thoughts in his head, BB-8 beeped at him, nearly making him drop the box.

The droid's returned comment about a guilty conscience made Kylo almost regret bringing him along. Almost.

Shaking his head, Kylo returned the thing to Rey's bag and returned the bag to the bed. "C'mon, BB," he called, heading for his own berthing.

Deciding against changing clothes again, he simply removed his boots, vest, and belt before throwing back the covers and crawling into the too-small bunk. Within moments, he was asleep, BB-8's soft charging beeps a comforting background noise.

Eventually, the blackness of his sleep gave way to dreams.

Kylo dreamt he was back on New Alderaan, asleep in a field of tall grass and wind-blown flowers. A voice called out to him, wakening him. He sat up, blinking blearily. "What?" he muttered.

"Come on! What are you waiting for?" called the voice. It was deep, a man's voice.

In contrast, Kylo's was high as a child's. Looking down, he saw not the long limbs and large hands of his adulthood, but the scrawny and gangly limbs of his youth. "Dad?" he yelled, but the figure didn't turn around.

The man was heading across the field, and Kylo knew with sudden, all-consuming fear that, if he didn't catch up to the man, he would be left behind. Again.

Scrambling to his feet, Kylo followed, but his smaller form and shorter legs made it a difficult thing to catch up.

"Wait!" he cried, but the wind whipped his words away.

Finally, the man slowed and turned. "It's okay, Ben. They're waiting for us."

"Waiting? Who's waiting?" he asked in confusion.

"Everyone," the man said simply. He turned and pressed his hand to the door that had suddenly appeared. The door opened and exposed a handful of people that he knew. He just didn't know how he knew them.

"Come on, Ben. We're almost there."

Kylo took a step forward just as the man walked through the door, which closed once he'd cleared it. With a trembling hand, Kylo reached for the door.

Just before his flesh could make contact with the biometric scanner, something crashed into him and sent him rolling back down the hill. With a gasp and a jolt, Kylo woke up.

"You kriffing idiot! What were you trying to do, space us all?! You can't open the airlock without proper procedure, you absolute nerfherder!" Rey was livid, but most of that stemmed from the panic which had washed over her when she'd seen Kylo standing at the door to the airlock, hand poised to open the door without a kriffing flight suit .

"I don't… I don't know what happened," Kylo said slowly. His heart pounded in his chest, and he suddenly tugged Rey closer and wrapped his arms around her. "You saved me." It wasn't a question.

Still shaken but taking comfort in the sound of Kylo's heart beating beneath her ear, Rey nodded. For once, she found that she didn't have a witty comeback. Her fingers clutched at his clothing, and Kylo dragged her even closer. With his back against the wall and Rey nestled between his legs and resting against his chest, they simply held each other.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Leia Organa Solo sat stiffly in a chair, watching the latest in a long line of imposters tried to sell himself as her son.

Interrupting his recitation of the family history - something so easily traceable that it was laughable these fools kept thinking it would convince her - Leia slammed her hand down on the table.

"I have had enough," she said quietly with steel in her tone.

Maz, standing by the door, blinked and adjusted her glasses. "General?"

"I have been inundated for years with you good-for-nothing, greedy, leeches trying to con me into believing my son has miraculously survived and found his way back to me. I've had it. My son is dead, and I will have no more of this nonsense. You may see yourself out," she grated with finality.

As the now-angry man stalked from the room, Maz sighed and stepped closer. "I'm sorry, Leia. He seemed truthful."

Leia shook her head. "I can't take it anymore, Maz. My poor, old heart just can't take anymore disappointment."

Maz nodded sagely. "I understand, my dear. Come, let us have some tea."

The former queen followed meekly, her emotions too frazzled to mind being tended like a child.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Kylo stared at the imposingly large building in front of him with no small amount of trepidation. Was he really about to do this? Could he do this? Lie to a mother who had lost her son, someone who probably desperately wanted him back?

Filled with doubt, Kylo turned to look at Rey and Chewie, who were speaking quietly a few feet away. When she noticed his attention, Rey smiled shyly at him, a pretty blush coloring her cheeks.

Ever since she'd saved his life, things had been charged between the two of them. Every glance was emotionally loaded, every passing touch filled with intent. It was driving Kylo crazy.

As a Jedi, he'd forsworn all attachments. He couldn't get involved with Rey. At the same time, he couldn't not. He was drawn to her in a way he'd never felt before. He swore could almost feel what she was feeling.

Before he could turn tail and run from the conflicting emotions and thoughts, the front door to the building opened and a short humanoid alien stepped out and drew the attention of the three travelers.

She said nothing as Chewie stepped closer and knelt in front of her, though she accepted the hug he gave her as well as the litany of endearments he growled to her softly. Finally, she smiled and shook her head. "It's been too long, my dear. Come along, and bring your friends. We have a lot to talk about."

Chewie followed immediately, leaving Rey and Kylo to scurry after them.

Inside the main building, tucked away in a back room, they spoke with Maz. Rey introduced Kylo as Ben Solo, to which the diminutive humanoid simply tilted her head and studied the tall man.

"Well, you certainly look like a Solo. Disreputable, shaggy, and too handsome for your own good," she said sagely.

Kylo choked and blushed, decidedly looking away from Rey.

Maz hummed and circled Kylo, muttering softly. "But you have the Organa grace, and Leia's bearing. Tell me, child, why come forth now?"

Kylo cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. "I've just finished my Jedi training. My master sent me to Coruscant, to the Jedi Council, but I fled and went back to Alderaan." His gaze flickered to Rey, but his voice was steady as he continued to speak. "I lost my memory when I was ten, but I was hoping being back where I'd been found and taken from would jog that memory."

Maz' gaze was shrewd as she studied his face. "And did it?" she asked.

Kylo blushed, cursing his expressive face. "Somewhat. Not as much as I'd hoped," he admitted.

Rey feared that Maz, famous for her intuition and fierce protectiveness toward House Organa, would see straight through their ploy. To her utter surprise, Maz simply asked a few more questions that Kylo breezed through.

Finally, the alien adjusted her glasses and stared hard at Kylo. "One last question, boy. How did you escape the night of the coup?"

Rey froze, eyes widening in panic. They hadn't gone over this. She hadn't thought they would ever ask such a question. Before she could sink too deeply into her panic, Kylo spoke.

His words were hesitant and halting, but his voice was strong. "There was...a girl. And a door...built into the wall." He ran a hand over his face and tried not to blush. "That probably sounds so crazy."

Rey's eyes widened with absolute shock. There was no way - no way in the galaxy that this was actually Ben Solo. Her hand covered her mouth in shock as Maz studied Kylo.

Maz studied the tall man for a long moment before she tilted her head and nodded. "Correct. Nobody has ever been able to answer that before. Unfortunately, it's irrelevant. General Organa is no longer meeting with men who claim to be her son."

Kylo seemed to shrink in on himself, feeling despair at yet another dead end wash over him.

"But," Maz continued, "there's a benefit supper and ball coming up in a few days. General Organa is required to be there." She winked at Kylo and patted Rey's hand, then pressed a kiss to Chewie's furry cheek before leaving the room.

A few minutes later, a protocol droid bumbled into the room, introducing himself as C-3PO and announcing that he was to show them to their rooms. Once settled, Rey hurried to Chewie's room, brushing past him as soon as he opened the door.

She tugged her hair buns in frustration and paced frantically before stopping short and looking at Chewie helplessly. "I can't do this," she whispered. "I can't take advantage of them like this."

Chewie growled an agreement, as well as his thankfulness that she felt similarly to himself.

"You don't get it though. He is Ben. I was the girl who helped them escape that night," she confessed, wrapping her arms around herself.

They sat in silence for a bit, thoughts flying through Rey's head as she tried to figure out what to do. After a while, she finally reached a decision. "I'm leaving," she blurted, "after they meet. I'll...I'll go back to Alderaan. Or maybe Takodana. Always good work to be found for a disreputable wretch like me." Her tone was bitter, but Rey didn't know what else to do.

Even thinking about taking the money now felt wrong and made her gut churn.

Shaking her head, Rey stood and headed back to her room, hugging Chewie as she passed by him. Once safely ensconced in her room, she allowed herself to curl up under the nicest sheets she'd slept between in years and soaked her pillow with tears.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

For the next few days leading up to the benefit, Rey was a mess of nerves. She kept coaching Kylo - Ben, he was Ben now - on etiquette and manners, lessons in which he quickly surpassed her.

They walked the long hallway that housed their rooms, far removed from wherever General Organa may have been. Maz was nothing if not discreet. Rey showed Ben the different ways to escort a lady, what the different positionings of arms and hands meant in the Alderaanian culture.

Feeling cheeky, Ben slipped his hand down her arm and linked their fingers together. "And this?" he asked with a smile.

Rey blushed and tried to ignore the flutters that both his touch and his smile brought about in her. "Quite scandalous, princeling, unless you're set to wed the girl whose hand you hold so intimately."

Ben nodded but didn't let go, which caused Rey's heart to skip several beats. Finally he squeezed her hand gently and slowly trailed his hand back up her arm for a proper escorting hold.

Rey simply wanted the torture to be over with.

As for Kylo, he relished every moment spent with Rey. He enjoyed her wit and her sarcasm, the jaded but honest view she had on things. He was more than content to have the time crawl by.

Eventually, though, the night of the benefit arrived.

The three met in the hallway, taking each other in. Kylo - Ben - was wearing the nicer set of clothes Rey had surprised him with. The pants were looser, and a deep black. Instead of a simple shirt, Rey had picked out a textured formal tunic to match the pants.

The contrast between the dark of his clothes and hair with the paleness of his face was striking.

Even more striking, though, was Rey. For the first time in the entirety of their acquaintance, she was wearing a dress. It was ankle length and flowing, the gossamer material seeming to float around her as she walked. The pale blue color brought out the blue flecks in her hazel eyes, Kylo noticed.

Chewie, the lucky Wookiee, was able to get by with simply a cleaner sash than he usually wore.

Maz appeared shortly before the benefit to escort them to the dinner, guiding them to seats low down on the table away from Leia. The woman was still within sight, though, and Kylo took full advantage of this opportunity to study her with so much distance between them.

She was rather beautiful, though grief was evident on her face. He tried to find pieces of himself in her features, but it wasn't until she snapped at a smirking dignitary and threw her glass of water in his face that he caught the first glimpse of familiarity.

Anger, it seemed, ran in the family. If he were actually related to her, in any case.

Before long, it was time for the ball. Kylo quickly dragged Rey to the dance floor, wanting to hold her close one more time.

"I never want this to end," he confessed.

Rey pressed her lips together tightly, closing her eyes and resting her head against Ben's chest to avoid answering. She refused to hurt him anymore than she already was.

Maz came to them after an hour of mingling, showing them to a side room and winking at Ben as she gestured for them to enter the room after her.

Rey turned to Ben, her hands twisting together.

"Thank you," he said earnestly. "No matter what happens after this, I'll never forget what you've done for me."

Rey hid a wince, reaching out to grasp his hand. She hesitated for a moment on what to say before finally ducking her head and all but whispering, "Good luck."

She turned and hurried to the door, intending to introduce Ben before slinking away like the dog she was.

However, once inside, Leia barely spared her a glance. "I was wondering when you would come," she said without looking away from the window.

"I'm sorry?" Rey questioned.

"Rey of Alderaan, formerly of Jakku. I've heard of your exploits. Holding interviews to find someone who could pass as my son, all for the reward credits. Despicable!" Leia spat.

Rey shook her head, taking a step forward. "Ma'am, you don't understand-"

"No! You don't understand. I've had my heart broken too many times over the last ten years. I will not stand to have it done again. Take whatever actor or poor sod you've wrangled into this and leave."

From the corners of the room came guards, advancing on her quickly and grasping her arms. The taller man seemed resolute in his duty, but the shorter one grimaced at her and tried to hold her as loosely as he could.

"Please, General! Just give him a chance. It really is him!" Rey shouted as she was tossed bodily through the door. She picked herself up and straightened her dress, freezing when she came face to face with Ben.

The expression on his face wavered between disbelief and hurt, but both quickly gave way to anger. "No more lies, huh?" he growled. "I can't believe I trusted you."

Rey's eyes filled with tears at the abject hurt in Kylo's voice. "Kylo, no. Let me explain!"

"Why, so you can lie to me some more? Coach me on what to say so that poor, heartbroken woman will accept me as the son she lost?"

Rey shook her head, unable to think straight. "You don't understand."

"I understand well enough. Have a great life, Rey," Kylo said with bitter acid as he stalked past her.

Reaching out, Rey tried to grasp his sleeve.

Kylo snarled and flung out a hand, freezing her with the Force and trying very hard not to dip into the Darkness that Master Luke had warned him about. In his fragile emotional state, the seductive power was closer to the surface than ever before.

But at the fearful expression on Rey's face, Kylo felt his heart squeeze painfully in his chest. With a muttered curse, he let her go and fled.

Rey watched him leave, feeling her heart break at the pain she'd seen in his eyes. She trudged to her room slowly, giving him plenty of time to vacate the hallway.

As she slowly removed the bits of finery she'd worn for the evening, despair ate at her. Once more in her less reputable clothing but feeling more like herself, Rey sat heavily on the bed and pulled her bag closer.

Her hand automatically went to the music box that she'd carried for ten years. It had been instinct which had prompted her to grasp for and hide it. Instinct borne of her scavenger lifestyle on Jakku before a passing freighter had drafted her for work on New Alderaan.

At five years old, she'd been well-equipped for the small hallways and doors that had secreted away the palace servant corridors.

Now, though, she wondered why she'd kept it for so long.

Suddenly, Rey bolted upright and stared at the thing with renewed realization. If this were Ben's from so long ago, Leia would surely recognize it!

Rey scrambled to her feet and made her way quickly back to the wing of the building housing the benefit. She hovered in the shadows, looking around for the General.

Finally, she saw the woman exit the large ballroom. Creeping on the edges of the room, Rey tried to avoid being noticed. She reached the doorway Leia had entered, thankful that it was a simple door and not biometric.

Rey slipped inside quietly, eyes darting around. A hallway. A few yards ahead, Rey heard voices. She quietly stepped toward them, peeking into a darkened room where she saw the General sitting in a chair by a heater.

A droid tended to her but was soon dismissed. Rey stood quietly in an alcove, waiting for the mech to pass by. Once Leia was alone, Rey darted inside and closed the door.

"General, please hear me out," she said quietly.

Leia sighed and rested her forehead on her hand, rubbing slightly as though she had a headache. "You are a persistent thing, aren't you?"

Rey smirked. "I've been called worse."

The tongue-in-cheek reply startled a bark of laughter from Leia. "Very well, tell me about this Ben Solo."

Rey squared her shoulders and stepped closer, sinking into the chair across from the older woman. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the music box. "I'd rather tell you about this."

Leila's mouth dropped open in shock, hand trembling when she reached for the object. "This is…"

"Ben's, yes. I know." Rey swallowed tightly, hands clenching into fists on her knees. "General, I admit to you freely that I did not have pure intentions in bringing that man here. I am...not a good person. But with every piece of me, I swear to you that he is your son. Please, just...meet with him?"

Leia studied Rey closely, and for a long while. Finally, she nodded. Standing, she placed the music box in a pocket hidden in her dress and gestured to the door. "Show the way, then."

Rey leapt to her feet and hurried to do so, leading the General through the building and to the door that led to Kylo's room. When Leia knocked, she heard Kylo call out, denying entry.

Leia entered anyways, closing the door firmly behind her.

Her heart in her throat, Rey backed away and retreated to her own room, wondering why "the right thing" felt so awful.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Hearing the knock on the door, Kylo yelled, " Go away!"

To his consternation, he heard the door open anyways. He turned, ready to give Rey a piece of his mind. However, instead of the girl he thought to find, there stood Leia Organa Solo.

Kylo froze, still clutching the things he'd been tossing into his bag.

Leia stepped closer, glancing down. "Leaving?" she asked lightly.

"I… I thought it would be best," he said haltingly.

Leia tilted her head and murmured, "Perhaps."

Kylo sighed and turned back to his packing, haphazardly shoving everything he could fit inside the small bag.

"Why are you here?" Leia asked suddenly.

Kylo's movements slowed until he was finally still. He turned to face Leia and shrugged. "I wanted to know if I had a family. If I belonged somewhere. All I've ever known is the Jedi temple. My Master never approved of searching for answers about my past; he always told me to look to the future instead."

Leia smirked. "I would assume, then, that he doesn't know you're here?"

Kylo flushed with guilt. "No, ma'am. I was meant to travel to Coruscant, to the Jedi council there."

"The impetuousness of youth will never fail to astound me," she said with an indulgent laugh.

"This was rather important to me. I can't be free to have a future with the weight of an unknown past dragging me down."

Leia nodded, agreeing. "I understand that," she said, thinking of her own past - adopted by the Organa monarchs, finding out in her early twenties that her father had been the most dreadful villain all her life. Yes, she could understand needing to know where one came from in order to build from that. However…

"I'm getting old, young man. And I have been tricked and conned and duped by all manner of low-down, dirty scum over the past decade. As you could probably imagine, I've become quite used to the lines and sob stories over the years. I will admit, you're the best one yet."

Kylo winced, knowing he'd unwittingly played a part in those schemes. He turned away, kneeling to fiddle with BB-8's charging port. Suddenly, he froze. His head whipped to Leia, who was walking slowly to the door.

"The Force?" he whispered.

Leia heard the soft words, turning back to stare in surprise. "Yes, it runs in my family."

"I… I know that Force signature. Even in the middle of the night, it would wake me up when you got home. You always came straight to my room, knowing I'd be awake."

Leia's eyes widened and she sat heavily on the chair near the door, legs suddenly weak.

Kylo tugged his necklace from his tunic, worrying the pendant on the chain around his neck as he did when stressed. "I… I…" Kylo's mouth snapped closed, unable to speak. Where had that memory come from? He turned to look helplessly at Leia, who absently patted the seat of the chair next to her.

She stared at his necklace for a long moment before clearing her throat and asking, "What is that necklace?"

Kylo looked startled to be reminded of it, glancing down to find it in his hands. "I've had it since before I can remember. It's why I wanted to come to D'Qar in the first place."

"May I...see it?" Leia asked, trying to keep her composure. When Kylo readily handed it over, her breath caught at the familiar crest of her family, at the engraving on the back that she'd ordered herself. She pulled the music box from her pocket and held it up so Kylo could clearly see it.

"The music box!" he said breathlessly.

Leia used the necklace to wind the mechanism inside, smiling softly when the music began to play.

It was the song he had hummed for so long. The words that had always eluded Kylo suddenly came back to him, tumbling from his lips even as Leia began to sing as well. " Those you loved are with you still — The moon will help you remember."

Tears ran unchecked down Leia's cheeks as she embraced Kylo with deceptively strong arms. "My son," she cried. "My Ben."

Ben - as he was now convinced he truly was Ben Solo - returned the embrace and let the emotions from the last decade wash over him. The mother and son cried together, holding tightly to each other as the past was washed away.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Rey held her ear to the wall, listening to what bits of the conversation she could make out. She heard Leia's outcry, calling him Ben, and backed away from the wall. Feeling unaccountably dejected, she gathered her things and quietly left the room, heading to the shuttle they'd flown in on.

She couldn't be around him right now - either of them. She'd hurt them both so much with her greed and her self-serving plans.

Once inside the ship, she bedded down in the berth she'd slept in during their travel, comforted by its familiarity. As she drifted to sleep, she realized that her heart - though pained and aching - felt lighter than it had in years.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Deep in a meditative state, Snoke didn't notice Hux pacing. He was so lost to the the Force and to his nefarious plans that he never even twitched when the red-haired man nearly tripped over his own feet and cursed himself.

No, Snoke had much more important things to worry about. Like finding Ben Solo.

He had been searching the galaxy for days with the Force, trying to find the spark of light that was the boy.

Finally, he smiled maliciously. He had found the boy, on an Outer Rim planet days away from Alderaan.

No matter. Snoke was powerful in the Force that he could simply project himself to the far-flung planet and kill the boy there. As he relished this plan, Hux looked at his datapad and frowned.

"My lord," he called without looking up.

Snoke's smile faded into an expression of annoyance. "Yes, Hux?" he asked impatiently.

"It seems there is to be a fête in young Solo's honor in two days' time on D'Qar."

Hoarse laughter filled the room, sending a chill up Hux's spine.

"Finally, an opportunity to be rid of this once and for all." Bones creaked as Snoke stood, brushing out his robe and stalking forward to grip the lightsaber hilt that lay on the table a few feet away. "I've waited a long time to finish this. By killing the last of the Solo line, I can finally fulfil my Dark purpose."

Hux froze in his resumed pacing. "Sir?" he questioned.

"Yessss," Snoke said, drawing the word out into more of a hiss. "I will strike him down and become one with the Darkness!"

"Is it really necessary, my lord? You've shown so much more power than before; why even bother with the boy?"

Snoke's disfigured head whipped around to glare at Hux, who wilted slightly under the strength of his gaze. "You dare question me?!" he demanded.

Hux bowed his head, apologizing. "I'm terribly sorry, Supreme Leader. I only ask for your own sake," he lied. "It would not do to overtax yourself in your...weakened state."

Huffing, Snoke dismissed his words. "Worry about your own state of being Hux, lest you find it severely diminished," he warned.

Hux took the warning to heart, backing away from the crazed man he had once blindly followed. No more, he vowed to himself. He wouldn't be an active participant in this any longer.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Ben laughed with his mother, reminiscing about memories that were returning in a flood. It felt wonderful to sit here with her, to remember being part of a family when he'd always had just dreams of such a thing.

Leia still couldn't believe that Ben was back , that her son had returned to her. She'd waited for so long. But the more she spoke with him, the more she realized just how much she had missed - how much he had missed.

After a while, Leia stood and headed to a special case that rested on a table across the room. They had moved to Leia's suite of rooms once realizing Kylo truly was Ben. She gestured for Ben to come closer, lifting the lid of the large case.

"After the coup, Maz spent years trying to recover these. There's no telling how many credits she paid on phonies and reproductions."

Ben stared in awe at the sight of the three crowns in the box. The largest was one he recognized as having seen on his father's head for official ceremonies and such. The middle one was the same for his mother. But the last crown was one he didn't recognize.

Leia saw his gaze zero in on the last crown and smiled. "I had this made on your eighteenth birthday. The one you wore as a child was lost in the coup and the resulting mayhem, but it felt wrong to not have one ready in case you ever...ever came home."

Her hands shook as she lifted it out. It was smaller than Han's and her own, but no less beautiful. Silver, with engravings all the way around and small embellishments that looked like rivets, the crown boasted four raised points and smooth curves between the points. It was perfectly suited to him, and Ben's breath caught at the realization that he was truly a prince.

"M-Mom?" he whispered, stuttering over the still-unfamiliar term.

Leia's eyes filled with tears as she lifted the coronet. Ben dipped down, going down on one knee to make it easier for the much-shorter woman to place it on his head. She did so reverently, unabashedly allowing the tears to fall when Ben looked up at her with the crown perched on his head.

After a few moments, she removed the crown and placed it back into the case alongside hers and Han's.

"It's late; we should sleep. After all, it's a very big day tomorrow," she said with a smile. She hugged her son once more, clutching tightly to him for a long while before slowly letting him go and exiting his room.

Ben crawled into bed with a happy smile on his face, wondering how things could be any better. Just as he drifted off, he knew how.

Things would be perfect - absolutely perfect - if Rey were by his side.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"You wanted to see me, General?" Rey said timidly as she stepped into the older woman's office.

"Yes, young lady. I believe we have unfinished business," Leia said, standing from her chair and rounding the desk. She handed Rey a credit chip. "Twenty-thousand credits, as promised, for the safe return of my son, as well as my sincerest thanks."

Rey stared at the chip containing more money than she'd ever known, then turned her gaze to Leia's. "I accept the thanks, ma'am, but… I don't want the credits."

Leia blinked in surprise, but nodded and pocketed the chip. "And what do you want, Rey?"

Turning away, Rey bit her lip. "Nothing you can give me," she said sadly. A moment later, she squared her shoulders and bid the general goodbye.

Just as she reached the door, Leia called out, "How did you find the music box, Rey?"

Rey froze, unable to answer.

Leia stepped closer and studied Rey's face, an assumption solidifying into fact very quickly. "It was you, wasn't it? The servant girl who helped us escape that night."

Rey bit her lip and looked down, cursing the tears that pricked her eyes.

"You saved us, that night. And now you've brought my son home to me. You don't want any sort of reward for that?" Leia asked softly.

"Not anymore," Rey confirmed.

"Why the change of mind?"

Rey took in a deep breath, trying to ignore the ache in her chest at the thought of Ben's hurt face when he'd found out about the credits. Shaking her head, Rey murmured, "More a change of heart." As she felt the tears threaten to spill from her eyes, she choked out, "I have to go."

She rushed from the room without another word, hiding away in a storage closet a few doors down while she composed herself. Once composed, Rey exited the room and made for the outer doors to head back to her ship.

Almost there, she passed by Ben. She hoped he wouldn't see her, but that hope was dashed a moment later.

"Hello, Rey," he said cooly.

Steeling herself, Rey turned to look at him. "Hello," she replied.

Disdain crossed his face as he said, "I assume you've collected your reward."

Rey tried not to wince at his words, instead simply replying, "My business here is done."

"Hey!" a guard said suddenly, bringing Rey's attention to Ben's entourage. "You're supposed to bow to the prince, and refer to him as Your Highness."

Ben flushed and tried to wave him off. "No, that's not-"

Rey cut him off with a sharp hand movement. "It's fine, Your Highness, " she said as she bowed. She stood and looked at him softly. "I'm glad you found what you were looking for," she said sincerely.

Ben's reply cut her to the quick. A barely-disguised snort and a clipped, "I'm glad you did, too."

Rey refused to let herself cry in front of him. A self-deprecating smile crossed her face as she bowed again. "Goodbye, Your Highness." With that, Rey hurried off to collapse onto her bunk and wish to the stars that she'd never met Ben Solo.

As she hugged her pillow tightly, Rey resolved to get the shuttle into top shape before heading somewhere - anywhere - besides D'Qar.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

That night, everyone gathered in the ballroom and drank and ate and danced, all celebrating the fact that the General's son had been found, safe and healthy.

Ben stood in the anteroom, peeking through the door at all the people. As someone who had grown up in what amounted to an orphanage, this many people in such splendor was mind-blowing. At least he had a bit of experience from his crashing the benefit a few days beforehand.

Leia walked up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "She's not there, my dear."

Ben sighed. "I know she isn't." He cursed himself a moment later, plastering a smile on his face and turning to his mother. "I mean, who's not?"

"A very special young woman who found your music box," Leia said knowingly.

Ben snorted. "She's probably halfway across the galaxy by now, spending the reward credits."

Shaking her head, Leia opened the door wider to glance out at all the people. "Ben, you were born into this - the fancy clothes and jewels, uptight dinners and titles. But I'm beginning to wonder if it's what you really want."

"What? Of course it is!" Ben denied. "I finally found you, Mom. I found where I belong."

Leia smiled and took Ben's hands, clutching them tightly. "And you'll always have me, Ben, and a place here with me. But is that enough?" she asked, concern on her face. "Ben, she didn't take the money."

Ben's face went slack with his shock, hope burgeoning in his chest. "Sh-she didn't?"

"Oh, my son. Knowing that you're truly alive, that you've become such a wonderful man… It's enough for me. I can live happily with that knowledge." Releasing Ben's hands, she wiped her eyes and backed away. "Whatever you decide to do, just know that we will always have each other." Just before she passed through the doorway, Leia turned back with a knowing expression and a smile. "Just be sure to call home every once in a while."

Ben watched her enter the ballroom with dismay, unsure of what he should do. Before he could choose, BB-8 came rolling into the room with a distressed beeping, making a circle before heading back out.

"BB-8, wait!" Ben called, rushing after the little droid. He followed the mech through the building and out the back door, ending up in what appeared to be a jungle. Ben stopped short, marveling at the sight, before BB-8's frantic calls drew his attention once more. He followed the noise, stumbling slightly when his foot met stone instead of soil.

Looking up, Ben was shocked to see a dilapidated building just ahead. BB-8's shrill beeping echoed from inside. Ben hurried forward, only to be stopped short as a tall figure in a golden robe stepped into the doorway.

"Ahhhh, the young prince. How nice to see you again," the humanoid hissed.

Memories teased at Ben until he finally remembered the creature's name. "Snoke," he spat.

"How very touching to be remembered by you," Snoke mocked as he stalked forward. "Not that you'll be alive long enough to care."

Ben jolted as Snoke activated his lightsaber, the red blade casting a similar red haze onto his disfigured face. Steeling himself, Ben called forth his own saber, the hilt emitting a blue beam. Snoke threw out a hand, the Force whipping around Ben like a gale and tearing at his clothes.

Ben snarled and threw his own hand out, creating a bubble of Force around himself. "I'm not afraid of you!" he yelled.

Snoke simply laughed. "I can fix that," he said self-assuredly. With another gesture, the duracrete beneath Ben's feet began to crumble, giving way to the empty structure beneath the ground. He laughed as Ben stumbled and nearly fell in, grasping the ground at the edge of the crumbling hole. "No one can save you now," the alien gloated.

"That's what you think!" a feminine voice cried out just as a large tree limb smashed into Snoke's back, sending him to his knees.

Rey rushed to Ben's side, pulling him up and away from the hole. "Rey!"

"Make up later, fight now!" she said shortly, turning back to face Snoke.

"How adorable," he mocked. "The little lovebirds, together again. But not for long!" he said as he used the Force to throw Rey up and away, sending her thudding in one of the tall trees surrounding them.

"Rey!" Ben cried, trying to rush to her side. He was stopped short by Snoke appearing in front of him, saber held upright once more.

"I finally have the pleasure of killing the last Solo!" he crowed.

"Good luck with that," Ben snarled, twirling his saber and sinking low into a defensive stance.

They came together in a crash of sparks, both proficient at wielding their blades. They were evenly matched until BB-8 appeared suddenly, rolling up right behind Snoke and giving Ben the opening to shove harshly against the alien, causing him to trip over the droid.

Tussling on the ground like common street-rats, neither could gain the upper hand. Snoke sent Ben flying away with a sound of disgust. He stood and whirled around to face the young Solo, activating his saber once more.

Suddenly, the saber flew from his hand. It traveled through the air until it landed in Rey's outstretched grasp. For a shocked moment, nobody moved. Quickly returning to his senses, Ben hurried to Rey's side, quickly trading sabers with her and throwing Snoke's to the ground.

He stomped it harshly, crushing a bit of the mechanics inside.

Snoke gasped and clutched his chest, drawing Ben's gaze. His mind whirling at the implications, he stomped it again. "See you in hell, you monster," he said lowly, bringing his foot down once more.

The saber was crushed under his foot, and Snoke wailed as blackness began to swirl around him. When the black flames died down, there was nothing left of the alien who had brought so much misfortune to his family.

Ben turned to Rey, his arms going around her smaller form as he dragged her close. "Thank the stars you're okay," he whispered. He pulled away and grasped her face, turning it this way and that to look for any wounds.

"I'm fine, Ben," she assured him, her hands coming up to cover his. She sighed happily when he used the grasp to guide her forward until their lips touched gently.

"Come on," he said softly as he pulled away. "Let's get you checked out."

He wrapped his arm around her, calling for BB-8 as they headed for the medical bay.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Later that night, after the ball had ended and everyone had retired for the night, Leia headed for her suite with Maz close behind.

Once there, she saw a letter tucked under Ben's crown. Joy and sorrow warred within her as she read his words - he had chosen love, he wrote, and freedom to be with Rey. He promised to call, leaving the transponder codes for Rey's ship, and even to visit occasionally.

Maz watched Leia's face as she read the note, nodding her head. "He's much like his father," the humanoid said.

Leia smiled and put the crown away before tucking the letter into her desk. "Just wait until Han hears he's alive and didn't stay to say hello."

Laughter filled the room as the friends pictured Han's angry face when he heard the news.

"Well," the general said, "at least we have a way to contact him."

"He'll be back," Maz assured her.

"I know he will," she agreed softly, turning to look at the stars that littered the sky above her.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Ben sat beside Rey in the cockpit of the transport shuttle, smiling at her easy navigation of all the controls. "Are you ready to see the galaxy?" he asked her, laying his hand on the hyperspace lever.

"With you?" she asked. "Always." Laying her hand atop his, they activated the hyperdrive and watched the stars streak by.

They would return, one day. After all, they both had a family now. Or would, once Ben plucked up the courage to ask Rey to marry him. As he felt the weight of the ring in his pocket, he knew he wouldn't be able to wait too long.

Turning to look at Rey's smiling face, Ben felt the last of the weight he'd carried for the past decade slide from his shoulder. "I love you," he said softly.

Rey smirked and squeezed Ben's hand on the control panel. "I know."

---

Prologue: Hux watched Ben and Rey slip inside the medical wing from a balcony just off the ballroom, sipping his drink as he felt the weight from Snoke's thumb slowly lift the longer Hux realized the alien was dead.

He looked up to the sky and hoped that he would be free to make his own choices now. Suddenly, a rather tall, rather striking blonde woman sauntered onto the balcony with him. She neatly slid the glass from his hand and took a long sip before handing it back.

"Well," Hux said, flustered as his cheeks flushed, "I say."

Perhaps he could let someone else make a few choices, he thought as the woman grasped his hand and led him back inside.