Hi! I am new in the Fan Fiction business, but work as an author, so I hope the story will hold some measure of enjoyment for you. There is a lot of great fics out here, so I can only hope to live up to at least half of them. A tiny warning: There will be very graphical sex scenes in this story, quite early on and there will be fifty shades of Ren at times. I hope you will enjoy it.
May the force be with you. Always.

Rey had just returned to the rebel base at D'Qar when the dreams began.
At first it had been common nightmares and she paid them no attention. It was only natural, due to the recent events and the loss they had all suffered. The monster, the one who had fashioned himself a dark lord, was surely haunting many dreams these nights.
Instead, the strange new path her life had taken kept her thoughts busy.

The path had led all the way from Jakku to the hiding place of Luke Skywalker. She would have been awestruck by this legendary Jedi's presence, was it not for the seriousness of the moment. Han Solo's death had weighed on her every step up the ancient stone stairs and it was with a heavy but determined heart that she had offered Luke his old lightsaber.
No, not offered. Demanding that he would take it.

No words had been uttered between them then, but Luke knew. He had known all about her and her mission as soon as he laid eyes on her.
Solo's death had not been news to Luke. Indeed, nothing of what had taken place seemed to come as a surprise to him. Instead, Luke was the one bringing her earth shattering news.
He had agreed to follow her back to the rebel base, to reunite with his twin sister Leia and to once again become involved in the affairs of the galaxy. That much Rey had hoped for, or maybe even taken for granted.

Then on their way back to the Resistance, Luke had carefully revealed her own obscured past to her.
Rey, who were used to keeping a steely surface and who always depended on her thick and battered skin, had been distraught. The tears kept running for days and the pain in her stomach was unbearable. She had spent a lot of time curled up in spaces out of sight from the others. Every now and then Luke had come to sit with her. He was mostly silent at those moments and if he spoke it was only about finding serenity through the force. It was a new experience, having somebody around in her moment of grief. She appreciated it more that she would have imagined.

By the time they had returned to the rebel base, she was empty and exhausted. She had gone straight to the medical apartment to visit Finn, finding that he was still in his comatose state.
Then, grabbing his hand, she had told him because she had to tell someone.
"I know who I am now." She had whispered. "As a child I trained under Luke Skywalker, can you imagine?"
The words had come tumbling out.

"I was in his Jedi academy. There were others like me, other children strong in the force, and there was…him, he who did this to you, to us. He slayed the others, Finn. I got away, I don't know why I got to live but I did. I can't remember a thing. I was hidden on Jakku. I was surely only meant to be there for a little while, only until the danger had past, until the perpetrators had been captured, but…"
The words had caught in her throat.
"…those who hid me must have… died or… disappeared, for no one knew I survived. Not until now, that is. And Luke must know about my family, but I didn't ask and I think he could sense that I wasn't ready to hear it. You'll have to wake up soon, or I'll go mad."

Rey had been sitting with Finn in silence for a long time, finding the soft buzz from the medical droid comforting. Then she had returned to the sleeping quarters. The room was small but luxurious compared to what she was used to and the bed was ten times more comfortable than anything she had ever slept in.
She lay tightly wrapped in her blanket, reveling in how soft and warm the pillow was.

She was part of the rebel alliance now. Leia had assured her that she and Finn could stay. It was too good to be true. Yet it was exhausting being around so many people. It was what she had always dreamt of, a family of sorts. The base overflowed with friendly greetings and kind concerns and she had to fight hard not to give in to her usual cold resentment. It was hard to believe that they would care only from kindness. Still, that was what flowed from all of them.
Her whirling mind finally gave way to much needed sleep, as she decided her way was clear.
I am meant to be a Jedi. It is my destiny.

She was back in the forest at Starkiller Base. He, the monster, was chasing her through the snow, the skeleton branches of the trees scratching her face as she ran. She stopped in her tracks suddenly and swung around, the lightsaber steady in her grip, ready to strike.
There he was; his black eyes fixed on hers, his dark curls and robes torn. But his hands were empty. There was no lightsaber, no weapon of any kind.
"I have come to talk." He said.
"About what?" she asked, refusing to lower the lightsaber.

He took a step towards her and she instinctively took a step back.
"My training will soon be complete." He informed her. "I will become a master in my own right."
"I don't care for your childish ambitions!" she spat.
Rey noted the scar on his face; the scar she had given him.
"I am dreaming, aren't I?" Rey asked.
"And yet, here we are."

He took another step towards her. Rey shifted her foot, ready to take another step back, but the foot treaded on nothing. She struggled to regain balance and cast a quick look behind her shoulder. An abyss was gaping by the edge of her heels.
She stumbled a short step forward through the deep snow and lifted the lightsaber slowly.
"Why are you here?" She said.
"You know why. You felt it too, when you were my prisoner."
The wind spattered her cheeks with icy nails of snow and her face was still burning.
She shook her head.
"Oh yes, you know." He continued. "You just don't wish to remember. But you will."

He came closer, reaching his hand out as if he was making a solemn offer. She clutched the saber harder and shifted to an attack position.
"If you come any closer I'll take your arm off!" she roared.
"There is a plan for us, scavenger. I have seen it. The force is calling us to fulfill it."
"I'll make no plans with you!"
"Your weapon. It is gone."

Rey stared at her right hand. The lightsaber was nowhere to be seen and as she turned her head to him, a malicious smirk flashed across his face.
"I'll take you down without it." she hissed, clenching her hands into fists.
"You do not control this dream." he answered.
"And you do?"
"I'm not here to hurt you."

A short laugh escaped her lips.
"Maybe I am here to hurt you. Like the last time we met, remember?"
He kept staring at her, unnervingly intense. He was no longer smiling. Good.
"Turn to the force then." He said. "It will show you the truth. That is, if you dare to see it."
"The truth is you're a beast that ought to be put down!"

But she closed her eyes and allowed the anger to settle, feeling the waves of serenity wash over her as she reached for the core of her being. The force always seemed to be resting there, like an open gate waiting for her to enter. As soon as the threshold was crossed, the force revealed itself to be everywhere. It was flooding her, every particle of her and all particles that was the sky, the snow, the forest and even him.

Her body was below her suddenly, sprawled out beneath the blanket at the rebel base. There were other places below her, a thousand open windows. She saw him, sitting with his legs crossed in a meditating position. Eyes closed and back straight, a new lightsaber before him. He was deep into trance. Darkness was pulsating from him, like the beams of a black star. It was alluring, this black mass. She was pulled towards it and it moved to meet her. There they were; the white star and the black one, revolving around each other as twin suns, drawing closer with every turn; a necessary order of the galaxy.
The sight shook her very core.
His gravity was nearly consuming her and she pulled back, harder than she thought possible.

Rey went past her dream self and shot into her real body fast enough to cause a strong spasm through her limbs.
Stumbling out of bed, she turned on the light and scanned the room. Nobody was there. Her heart threatened to hammer through her ribs. She wiped her damp brow with the back of her hand and sank down against the wall.

Which was worse?
That he might have been in her mind while she slept? The strange pull she had felt towards him while being his prisoner, which he so quaintly had reminded her about? The vision of the two stars revolving around each other?

Rey took a deep breath. He was not going to get to her with his tricks. She was not in any way connected to this monster. She refused to be.
Next matter of importance: Did anyone need to know?
What if he tried this again and got hold of important information from her?

No. She could block him out. She had done it before and she could do it again. But if what he said was true, that he was finishing his training; then she was in need of improvement fast. She could ask Luke for help of course, but so far the old Jedi master had not mentioned anything about continuing a training she could not even remember and she did not wish to push him.

Rey sighed and rose from the floor. Her few garments were quickly peeled off and she entered the small shower cabin that came with the room. It was a new sensation, being able to cleanse oneself so often. She closed her eyes and winced from the pleasure of feeling the warm water running down her skin, washing the damp anxiety away.

There had been truth in what he said.
Since the moment they had met, that fatal day when he caught her unawares in the forest on Takodana, she had felt the connection. Later, something had stirred in her stomach as he took the helmet off and revealed his eyes.
Now, when there was new information on the table, this should be nothing but vague recollections of a repressed past. After all, she had glimpsed a dark haired boy in her vision when she first touched Luke's lightsaber and she was certain it had been him.

But what did the two stars mean?
There was a twist in Rey's stomach as Han Solo's face flashed before her, then another as she remembered Finn lying lifeless in the snow.
She pinched her lips together and crossed her arms over her chest, squeezing her upper arms tightly.
Nothing. As far as she was concerned, the two stars meant nothing.

The heat from the water was soothing, trickling down the nape of her neck like tender fingers, caressing arms and hips with reassuring hands. Fingers drew slowly through her hair, touching the scalp just lightly enough to send shivers down her spine.
Come to me.
She let her breath out slowly, leaning her head back to a waiting shoulder.
Then she screamed aloud and spun around so fast she almost fell.

There was no one there, but his imprint hung in the air like the smoke from a recently distinguished fire.
Rey smacked her hand against the wall where the buttons to the shower was. The water stopped running. She rushed out and threw her pants and tunic on, not bothering with a towel and finishing by pulling a cloak around her tightly.

The rage was searing through her, so hot it made her limbs ache. The hand that gripped her staff shook uncontrollably. She had knocked men half dead for much less and now he was obviously asking for it.
Luke would need to know.
Absolutely not about the shower thing, but definitely about the rest.

She stormed out, half running through the corridor. Dawn was still hours away and she had no idea where Luke resided, but she was prepared to wait him out in the assembly room for as long as it took.
Once there, Rey jumped up on a table and sat down with legs crossed, back straight and the staff resting across her lap. It was the way a Jedi would wait, she imagined. Meditating with eyes closed, focusing inwards on the force.
Concentrating on anything turned out to be really hard, being this angry. She nearly missed the presence in the corridor outside, only sensing it as the doors slid aside with a silent swoosh.

Rey quickly jumped off the table and lowered her head in respect as one of her favorites in the rebel alliance entered.
"General." She said.
The General gave her a gentle smile despite the tired expression on her face.
"You can call me Leia."
Rey shifted her feet.
"I should go." She suggested. "I did not know anyone would be using this room…"
"Please stay. I don't mind."

Rey watched as General Leia walked towards the holo-table and touched its buttons lightly. A few colors blinked and a hologram of the galaxy emerged. Leia had aged significantly in a short period of time. It was impossible to understand how she still held up. But Leia stood as straight as ever, her calm dignity and authority dominating the room as she scanned the map with thoughtful eyes.
Rey could sense her suffering as clearly as if it had been her own. The anger dissolved and gave way to something else. After all, he had dealt the real blow to his mother, not to Rey.

The room was quiet for a long time, Leia watching the map and Rey watching Leia. The clothes beneath Rey's robe were becoming really uncomfortable. She wanted to kick herself for letting him upset her enough to skip the towel.
"Forgive me, child" Leia said finally, "but I could sense your thoughts were on my son as I came in. You must be wondering how we raised him."
Rey had a small start. Neither Leia nor anyone else had uttered a word about the lost son since the day Han Solo was murdered.
Rey shook her head.
"I do not." She whispered.
"It must be hard to imagine, seeing him the way you have, what he was like before."

Leia's gaze was on her now and the general moved gracefully towards her and took her hand.
The warmth radiating from the older woman's touch made Rey long for her own parents more than anything. She had sensed it already from Luke as he had carefully avoided speaking about them. They were gone from this world. Soon enough she would ask him what had happened.

"Luke and I are very pleased to have you here." Leia said. "You are truly a gift to us."
Rey swallowed.
"I only wish I could have done more." She muttered.
Leia smiled, her dark, compassionate eyes meeting Rey's.
"You have done more than anyone ever expected from you. For what it is worth, I am very sorry for the pain my son has caused you."
"It's not your fault."
Leia shook her head slowly.
"My head tells me that." She said. "But the rest of me… I do not expect you to understand. From the first breath your child draws you know you will always put them first. And you will never, never give up on them, for good or for worse."
Rey only nodded.

"You must think me a crazy old woman," Leia continued, "but after all that has happened I can sense he is not entirely lost to the dark. Not yet. But how to reach him now is beyond me. Though, if not for my own selfish reasons but for the best of the galaxy, I must try. And if he cannot be turned…"
Silent seconds passed.
"I'll stand by your side no matter what." Rey promised and meant it.
Leia stroked Rey's cheek gently and then turned, heading back to the map.
"Go to sleep, child. You need your rest."
"I will." Rey said. "May the force be with you." She added as she walked out from the room.

Once outside, Rey leaned against the wall and frowned.
Leia might not have a way to her son at the present, but Rey did.
For some reason he was giving her unwanted attention and she had a hunch it would not be too hard contacting him through the force.

Should she tell anyone about this? This plan could prove dangerous and Luke's guidance could come in handy. Then again, what if Luke said no? This opening might be the only shot they got. And worse, what if her enemy sensed that Luke and Leia were behind her attempts to contact him? He was a skilled mind reader and she was uncertain how much she could actually withhold from him. But if he could sense only her own intentions, maybe he would underestimate her enough to let his guard down just a tiny bit.

Leia was right. Personal or not, this had to be for the best of the galaxy.
Rey strode back to her room, changed into dry clothes and made sure she was comfortably seated on the floor. Hopefully he was still meditating, ready to give her undivided attention.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before tapping into the force, searching for him there.