She had found him.
On a lush and distant planet she had found him.
She had trudged up the seemingly endless stairs, she had travelled to the cliffside and now he was in her view. It was him and she knew it. Luke Skywalker.
Rey held the lightsaber with trembling anticipation as the man turned to face her. Luke's eyes became glassy, his breathing hitched. Their eyes were locked, Rey's knees trembling.
This was the moment she had been waiting for, she realized. To meet the mysterious, phantom-like Luke Skywalker.
She felt the breeze brush her hair across her face, tickling her chin. She could hear the birds that deftly flew around them and the crash of the ocean. It was as if she could feel everything at once. It overwhelmed and excited her.
He stepped towards her, tentatively searching her face. After a moment Rey felt the slight tickle in her brain, as if someone were filing through papers. When the monster had done it, she had resisted. It had hurt brutally and felt so invasive. But Luke's rummaging was gentle, kind. She stood still, her eyes closed, letting him have access to anything he found useful.
"It's you," he uttered softly.
Rey's eyes flew open, her brow furrowing at his first words. She was breathless from the steep upward climb and the suddenly feeling of comfort that his voice brought to her. It was the voice of someone who recognized her. It was a kind, soft voice. Unexpected. Was it possible? How on earth would Luke Skywalker of all people know her?
She stepped forward tentatively.
"You know me?"
The man's eyes fell to the ground, his ashen face looking dejectedly into nothingness before him.
"I do."
Rey felt her stomach churn at this admission. She was known. She had a past. She wasn't just a nameless scavenger. She felt a giddy thrill course through her body. She lowered the saber momentarily, groping blindly in front of her for balance. Luke Skywalker knew her. Her eyes searched his desperately.
"How? How do you know me?"
"That mind," Luke offered gently. Fatherly. "One of a kind."
At this, Rey felt the world spin slightly off its axis. If Luke Skywalker remembered her, then perhaps he remembered her parents? Perhaps he could explain the confusion that surrounded her when she picked up his lightsaber? When she heard the urgent whisper of it calling to her?
She thrust the saber at Luke, eager to be away from its overwhelming power. Luke's shook his head, waving the weapon away from him.
Wordlessly, he turned, walking back towards the cliff face, looking into the beautiful blue water. Rey felt the need to crouch down, to catch her breath and take in their exchange.
"But how is it possible that you should know me?" Rey exploded, her heart racing. "I grew up on Jakku. Why would you ever know someone like me? I am a scavenger. I am the child left behind. I was unwanted."
At this her voice broke off, the tears falling freely from her face. She suddenly had no idea who she was. She felt a stranger in her own skin and this thought both repulsed and frightened her. Who was she? The sort of child so horrid to be left alone on a monstrous planet.
A sense of overwhelming despair washed over her and the last days events suddenly caught up with her. She fell to her knees, her body racking with sobs.
Luke turned suddenly, crouching beside her and drawing her into a gentle embrace. She wept openly, not ashamed as she did so. She allowed herself to weep for Han and for Finn. She wept for the parents she never knew and how her world was suddenly turned upside down.
And in the darkest part of her, the part she would not readily admit, she wept for him. The haunted eyes of someone tormented. A man torn between dark and light. The eyes of a man who wanted to teach her. She felt momentary pity for him and she hated herself for it.
Her mind flickered to him then. Kylo Ren. She willed it not to, but if felt as if those enigmatic eyes searched her very soul. She could still feel the rush of his hot breath on her face. Willing her to open her eyes to him on that hillside. Wordlessly insisting on dominating her.
You need a teacher.
She shook her head, clearing his face from her mind. She broke from Luke's kind embrace, rubbing the tears from her eyes and offering a grim smile at the man who held her life's secrets. At a loss all she could offer was a small:
"What now?"
AN: Hey everyone! I'm new here but short prologues are my thing - the remaining chapters will be much longer. I just like to set the stage before we begin so you sort of know where we're starting off. This takes places directly after the movie THE FORCE AWAKENS ends and I hope to clear up some of the lingering questions we have! What is Rey's origin? Why did Ben Solo turn dark? I am hoping to update on a fairly regular basis and I look forward to taking all of you along for the ride!
*Obviously I do not own Star Wars its affiliates etc because if I did I would have forced them to make me Rey in the films just so I could enjoy the sexual tension up close and personal.