A/N: Hello, my lovely Reylo shippers! I want you to have an adventure with me in the Galaxy Far Far Away. So, firstly, I would like to mention, that it is my first fic ever, but I'll try to do my best. Second, I am not a native English speaker and my language is sooo different from English, that sometimes I want to hug a dictionary and cry :'( Due to this fact I would like to introduce my beloved beta, without whom this fic would never be written – Pangolin Pirate! Praise her, she is a goddess of fanfiction and she really does a huge amount of work =))
Guys, I know that I began to post more rarely than I used to. If you knew how I wait for the chaps to come back to me after the beta-reading... So, let me give you something to make the waiting more bearable. I had a birthday on 7th of September and got a new graphical tablet ;) So now you can find some of my artworks on Tumblr (ronrines) and DeviantArt (ronrinesu). Of course they are on Star Wars (actually, I've drawn only one full artwork during this week, so saying 'they' is a little bit incorrect). I'm looking forward to drawing some illustrations for The Star Nightingale, so, if you enjoyed my story so far - you'll find them both on Tumblr and DeviantArt.
Chapter 1. Into The Beast's Lair
The planet Ahch-To orbited its dim star in an eternal autumn, indifferent to the problems of the Galaxy and its tiny people with their dollish wars. Its day was shorter than night. The latter brought with it a chill that reached the bones of the planet's inhabitants. Gelid ocean waves bit at the shores and blue-green grasses cleaved to the ancient muted rocks.
Rey sat on a cliff and listened to the rhythmic crash of waves against the rock below, while throwing small stones into the churning water. Thoughts drifted, lazy and slow. How many days had passed since she arrived on the island of her dreams? She hadn't counted; her time on Jakku, while scratching the passing of each day into her walls, had passed. Rey listened to the whisper of the ocean and thought of Jakku. She thought of the scratches on the walls of her AT-AT, half-buried in the burning sands of the desert planet. She thought that perhaps a part of her, the real her, lingered in those hot dunes, while someone new and unfamiliar sat on this cliff inside the stolen shell of a girl named Rey, from Jakku. That girl from Jakku seemed so far away and such a long time ago.
A figure emerged from the outcropping of rocks to her back.
Her voice, rough and hoarse, disrupted her tranquility. "Master Luke."
"My child, I've taught you nothing, and may never do so; why then do you call me Master?" His voice sounded calm and peaceful as it always was.
"I don't know."
Rey returned her unfixed gaze to the sky and heard the last Jedi in the Galaxy sighing softly.
She arrived on the planet a month ago, passionate and hopeful to become his apprentice. She stood with a plea in her hazel eyes, as she looked so young and full of hope, and holding Anakin's old saber in her shaking hand. "Will you teach me?" she asked, and he sensed the fear of rejection in her voice, but also the Force. It sang its perfect song inside the girl. Stars, what should he do? Reject her and watch the flame of hope die in her eyes, or accept her and see if he would fail again? He had no answer. And so, he answered nothing.
Rey was disappointed and confused by the silence that followed her question. She stood with the saber outstretched and waited for his answer, counting the beats of her heart. One. Would he reject her? Two. Even her parents had abandoned her on Jakku. Three. Would she obtain a teacher and father in him, the strange old bearded man with young blue eyes? Four…
"I have no answer for you, child. Come with me."
And she followed, as she had nowhere else to go.
When the sun dipped below the horizon, Luke made her a bed in the small hut where he lived. He was a calm man, unwilling to talk, and buried within his own thoughts. He was similar to his silent windy island, Rey thought. After the perpetual buzz of the Resistance base, the silence here was disturbing. She sat on her new bed and curled her bare feet under herself, looking almost peaceful.
"Luke." He turned towards her and his brow shifted in a mute question.
"Will you teach me?" she asked for the second time.
He sighed and a shadow of pain flashed through his bright eyes. "The Force remains silent. I have yet to decide, young one."
"It's Rey."
She gave him her name in an easy and ordinary manner. He looked in her eyes but his face remained unreadable. Names made things more complex: behind a name, there was a personality, and hers sounded foreign inside his head. Now he saw not a simple young girl, but a person, and that left him vulnerable.
"I have no answers for you… Rey."
He expected her to become angry or at least frown, but her face stayed still. Oh, my little padawan, you are already learning from me… Although hiding your true self is not the thing I wanted to teach you first.
"Then I'll ask you again tomorrow."
He nodded. The fire in the fireplace slowly died and they stayed in the darkness. He began to fall into his usual deep sleep without dreams, until he heard Rey's whisper.
"Goodnight, Master Luke."
He felt a sparkle of hope within the background of the dull ache, filling his soul after the deaths of his young padawans.
"Goodnight, Rey."
-x-
A comfortable routine was established on the windy island. They shared meals, while Luke told Rey of the days of the Old Republic. He would leave each day only to return in the evening, bringing new rations and water. They were two people staying together, but they remained lonely. Two days passed in boredom for Rey. Her stomach was full, and her mind felt unoccupied due to the fact that she didn't need to scavenge every day from dawn till dusk simply to survive. On the third day, she discovered a holoreader about the days of Old Republic and the Empire, and it made her stay on the island bearable. After the sun sank beyond the horizon on the seventh night and she had eaten in the usual silence with Luke, Rey lay awake gazing at the stars. The familiar face of Han Solo came into her mind and she tried to brush the thought away. However, the memory of the old man didn't fade. What would he say if he saw her now, stuck on this forgotten planet while somewhere her friends fought for their lives, or were maybe already dead? "Hey, kid," he would say. "Old man is as mute as a fish? C'mon, don't let him knock you out of the saddle. He's just building himself up. Give him some time, will you? He'll teach you all those girlish dances with those glowing sticks you like so much. Just remember, that hokey religion and those antique weapons are no replacement for a good blaster at your side." Thinking about Han hurt, but she couldn't hold back a chuckle. He seemed so alive in her head. Rey then thought about Finn and wondered if he was alright. She had left D'Qar without saying a proper goodbye to her dear friend, while he was lying inside the bacta reservoir, unconscious and unmoving.
Kylo Ren. All thoughts lead to him.
When she thought of Han Solo, her memories of him were marred with an image of Kylo Ren murdering him on Starkiller Base. When she thought of Finn, the feeling of friendly attachment was marred with a picture of Kylo Ren as he slashed her friend's back with his lightsaber. She thought of Leia and saw the pain inflicted by Kylo Ren inside of her sad eyes. She thought of Luke and saw Kylo Ren's betrayal behind his reservedness.
Rey felt a wave of hatred passing through her body. She tossed and turned, trying to dislodge Ren from her thoughts, but he stood there, tall and menacing in his black attire and mask, holding a cracking saber, desecrating everything she loved. It took some time before the image of the monster faded, until she fell into a troubled slumber exhausted by the agonizing thoughts of her enemy.
-x-
She stood inside a room made of steel and glass. It was as sterile and dull as a medical bay. But, instead of bacta reservoirs and medical droids, the room held a simple double bed, a table with some holoreaders stacked neatly on its surface, a simple chair and a chest of drawers. She looked out of the window that ran the length of the wall. She didn't recognize the stars in the night sky. Confusion and a small amount of fear began to rise in her stomach. She was on some sort of station drifting in space.
Where am I?
She looked around the room, hoping to find any clue to her location. It seemed like a room belonging to a soldier, but not a common soldier, an officer. However, the lack of luxury made the guessing of the rank impossible. She investigated the table first – no photos or personal effects adorned its surface to enlighten her. It was strange. During her short stay with the Resistance, she had learned that every soldier kept a picture of their loved ones with them. It was a sort of superstitious tradition, as if the smiling men, women and children on the pictures could soften the cruelty of war. This room seemed unlived in. Rey tried to open a drawer next, but was shocked when her hand fazed straight through it.
What the…?
She examined her hand. It appeared normal and fleshy. What strange technology. Rey turned and surveyed the table once more. She shook her head in surprise, and recoiled in shock. She knew whose quarters she was in. On the side on the table, not visible at first sight, was a long angry burn that marred its surface.
Before she could begin to panic, the doors hissed open and a familiar tall cloaked figure appeared at the entrance. She immediately jumped backwards, searching for something sharp to defend herself. The man entered the room as if she wasn't there.
What… the… hell?
The doors hissed again and closed behind his back. He lifted his gloved hands and Rey heard a click as the mask was released and lifted from his face, revealing the familiar dark eyes of her mortal enemy which looked through her devoid of expression.
Ren.
He sighed and put the mask on the drawer near the bed. He seemed… tired? She already knew that there was no beast behind the mask, but again his youth distracted her. How could he be so young and handsome and yet be a cold-blooded murderer? She stood near the table, mesmerized.
He went back towards the door and called for a droid.
"I will have my meal in my quarters. You're dismissed." The droid beeped and answered in a robotic voice. "As you wish, Lord Ren", and disappeared behind the doors.
"You…" Rey tried to put as much venom as she could into her phrase. "Am I "your guest" again? Where am I? How did you find me?" Her voice trembled from suppressed rage. She stood defensively, tense as loaded spring, clenching her fists and ready to fight for her life with bare hands, if it came to that. If it was possible, Rey would kill him with her gaze full of hatred. But he walked past her towards the wall with another pair of doors and pressed a button. The doors parted and revealed a small wardrobe with clothing hanging on tabs. He stood before the opened doors within arm's reach from Rey and she could observe his profile. His pose seemed relaxed and face calm.
"Hey! I am talking to you!" Rey added in a louder voice, perplexed by his lack of reaction. Ren ignored all her calls and movements, as if she did not exist.
He took some clothes from the wardrobe, threw them onto the bed and began to undress. It startled Rey, but she had nowhere to go, so she stayed and watched the infamous Kylo Ren getting ready for the night. Ray watched with morbid curiosity as he pulled off his gloves, revealing long slender hands, unwrapped his arms and kicked off his boots. He began to shrug off his black tunic and her face suddenly felt hot. What am I doing? She turned away from him, giving him privacy.
The doors hissed again, the droid had returned with a tray. She shyly followed the droid with her eyes and found Kylo Ren had changed into a black short sleeved tunic and long trousers. He dismissed the droid and sat at the table.
He ate slowly and looked to be deep in thought as she watched him. She was surprised by how normal he seemed. Kylo Ren, the Dark Prince of the First Order simply sat at the table and ate food in the comfortable silence of his room. Of course she knew that he was a living human being and had the need to sustain his body, but watching him in the simple act of eating was something ridiculous. Rey caught herself thinking that he seemed so… human. Gone were the black gloved hands of the bloody monster: there remained only a young man's palms and long fingers. She saw how pink his nails were and how the skin of his palms were calloused and rough. She noted the healing burn on his wrist and examined his face: he hadn't shaved in some days, and there was a slight bristle on his jaw. She looked at the dark circles under his eyes and thought that he was probably very, very tired.
And then she saw it. The scar on the left side of his face.
Ray felt disappointment with how thin and white it was. She intended to mark him as the monster he truly was, but the scar hadn't made him less human. A strange feeling developed inside her head. Without thought, she stretched out her hand and tried to touch the scar.
…Her fingers met his face, and he recoiled, looked directly into her eyes in utter shock, as if he was seeing her as clearly as she could see him. His lips parted as if he wanted to say something, but no sound escaped them.
She broke into thousands of sparkling pieces and fell into the darkness.
A/N: Phew… the beginning is always pretty challenging! Please, let me know, what you think of the work (Master Yoda whispers into your ear: Click the review button, you must… And to write a short review you need…)