Kylo Ren and Rey: The beginning of an Era

Disclaimer: I do not own the Star Wars Universe or its characters. All rights belong to Disney.

She was running through green woods. The pine needles underneath her feet swallowed every sound and made her tread very lightly. She heard birds and other creatures whistle and whoosh above her. They were like a reassuring presence that reminded her that she was not alone, that this forest was a place of light and peace. The sunlight was slightly dimmed through the branches of the high trees and dipped her surroundings into a dark and mossy green color. However, the further she ran, the further she had the feeling of running away from someone or something. The sunlight faded and the animals' sound abruptly stopped. Instead they were replaced with silence. The girl ran further and further until she reached a lake. Exhausted from her run, she decided to drink from the lake whose waves rippled calmly against the surrounding sand. The second the water had touched her lips, coldness spread through the girl's body.

With a gasp Rey opened her eyes. The back of the chair she was strapped to was hard and pressed uncomfortably and coolly into her back. In between her shoulder blades was a particularly sharp edge of the metal that started to spread a tingling sensation through her upper body. It was like her brain scanned the room in seconds and created an elaborate picture. The door was to her left and a constant beeping sound must have belonged to a computer above her. However, there was one thing that Rey could not fully comprehend and she had to stare at the person in front of her before she realized what had happened. The shape of the black mask that covered up the stranger's face brought it all back to Rey and it was like she had not only taken a sip from that lake water but had dived into the lake head first. Finn, Han Solo and Chewbacca. They were in danger. She remembered an attack had been going on and a breath-taking certainty spread through her that her friends were gone. She had only gotten to know them such a short time ago but she was not ready to loose them, not ready to be on her own again. These thoughts passed through Rey's head with such violent force that she was only able to press out: "Where am I?" "You're my guest.", answered a muffled voice that sounded hollow and static. Rey did not have time to think about her capturer, she had a question burning itself through her mouth "Where are the others?" She asked the question, readying herself for the expected outcome. "You mean the murderers, traitors and thieves you call friends? They are dead, my men killed them."

Alone. Those simple words spoken by someone whose face she could not even make out were all it took to send her back into the lonely world she had just escaped from. There was no one who would come and save her, comfort her and make her feel like someone actually cared whether she lived or died. She was on Jakku again. Only now, there was no hope of her family ever coming back. She accepted that they would never come for her, that they probably never even spared so much as a thought for her. The few words of a stranger were all it took to build up the walls that she had started to break down the instance BB-8 had rolled into her life. The walls of solitude and fear that had grown taller with every night she had spent eating the food portions by herself that had made her mouth dry and had left her stomach growling for more. Every line she scratched into her metal wall had marked an inch of that wall growing taller and her heart growing lonelier. She had no one, her entire life was reduced to this very moment where she was at the mercy of a creature in a mask who had threatened her in the woods and killed the people she had willingly opened her heart to. "You're a monster!", she exclaimed, loosing control over her voice that cracked while speaking. "I don't care, you're all alone and there is no one there to come for you." Rey flinched. His words had hit her deeply. He was right and she knew it. There was no sense in fighting. "That BB unit showed you the map to Skywalker and you are going to give it to me. You know I can take whatever I want." He reached out his hand and it felt like someone was carving through her brain with a burning hot knife. Not only that but she could feel his foreign presence in her head – like someone was trying to push into her skull, ultimately causing it to crack open. She could feel him carelessly flipping through her memories like someone turning the pages of a book that was not of much interest.

"Get out of my head!", she exclaimed through gritted teeth. Kylo Ren came closer, his masked face was only a few inches from her face and although Rey could not see his eyes, his presence was making every fibre in her body tense up. She could hear his breathing going at a slightly elevated pace and she could smell him. He smelled metalic, a scent that reminded Rey of blood – of the several times she had been injured whilst scaveging the abandoned ships. However, underneath that smell she detected fresh linnen and the pine neadles that had followed her into her dreams. She turned her head away from him, since that was the only way she could bring a bit of space between herself and her interrogater. Overwhelmed by the closeness of her opponent and the burning sensation in her head, Rey's body went limp. Her thoughts were consumed by her hopelessness. Kylo Ren was looking at her first encounter with Finn, he lingered on this moment for a while and through their connection, Rey felt something flash up in him. It was like a flash of anger mixed with the same loneliness Rey knew all to well. However, Kylo Ren shut his feelings off from her as quickly as he had let her in and he continued searching for the droid. Rey knew she should fight, she knew that somewhere out there, there was some group of strangers hoping that she would not let Kylo see this map but she couldn't. Seeing Finn's image inside her head had only reminded her that she had nothing to fight for. She had been foolish to open up her heart as quickly as she had. She should have known that making friends in this galaxy would only cause her pain and that she was better of on her own. Now she was just that, on her own – and she gave up. Again she could feel Kylo Ren's emotions seep through his well concealed blockade but this time it was not anger, it was triumph. She saw the map to Skywalker in her head as clearly as if someone was showing it to her in this instance.

Kylo Ren pulled away his hand and Rey's head was left empty and feeling like a rubber band that someone had pulled on to hard and left cracked. There were no tears rolling down her cheeks, she had given up. Her eyes were fixed on the wall to her left and she avoided looking at Kylo Ren who was still standing infront of her which made her jump even more when she suddendly heard a metallic screech and the sound of something depressurizing. Against her will, her eyes wandered to the person standing infront of her. Kylo Ren had taken off his mask. In front of her stood a young man. He must have been the same age as she was. His skin was white and contrasted his dark hair which seemed to form a black halo around his head. His eyes were a dark brown color, framed by long black lashes. They looked so full of emotion that Rey could not meet them. „Don't be afraid, I feel it too." rang his voice through the small room. It was no longer muffled but still had an odd shake to it. With a few strides he crossed the small distance between them and touched her cheek with his gloved fingers. After a few seconds though, he pulled away like something had burned his hand. He turned away, went back to his mask, put it back on and left the room. After the doors closed behind him, Rey was left wth nothing more than the constant beeping sound that originated from some computer inside her prison. She could still feel his touch on her cheek – like some presence was still there and Kylo Ren's fingers had left a permanent mark.

However, this silence did not last long. The door opened back up again and inside came a stormtrooper. He had his blaster at the ready and before Rey could fully comprehend the situation, he opened up her restraints and seized her by the arm. Her legs had gone numb during her time strapped to the chair and she was dragged away by the stormtrooper. It was like she stood beside herself the entire time the stormtrooper was pulling her down different hallways. They passed rooms and cross-sections, that all looked the same to Rey. After what seemed like an eternity of shining steel hallways and computers, they reached a hallway that was more secluded from the rest. The hallway led up to a massive door. The door was black but unlike the others Rey had seen, tgis one did not shine, it didn't refelct Rey but rather swallowed her presence. The stormtrooper did not hesitate to bring her up to the door but when he knocked on it there was a slight tremor in his hand. The sound of his glove-protected fist did not echo through the hallway, instead the sound was absorbed, just like their reflections. A droid opened up the door. It was tall and of the same shining metal that everything in this place seemed to be made up of. „What is your bidding?" asked the droid in several sharp beeps. Rey had heard this sort of droid language only once before, when a group of secretive fellows had passed through Jakku. Even Unkar Plutt had not wanted to go near their tent. The stormtrooper responded „Ren wants this prisoner to be delivered to his private chambers." „Very well," responded the droid „leave her with me. I will take care of her until Master Kylo Ren returns." And with that Rey was pushed through the grand door, into the private chambers of Kylo Ren.

I plan on further developing this storyline. Further chapters will follow, until then I would really appreciate reviews. Until next time, may the force be with you!