Author's Note: I haven't written anything in a while, so please bear with me through grammar errors. I have been dying to write a Swan Lake AU, and reylo seems like the perfect fit, so without further ado, enjoy!

Chapter 1

Dusk was approaching, and while Rey understood that the town's shops and markets would be reasonably closed at this hour, she failed to understand why there wasn't a single lantern lit. It was too early to be so eerily quiet, but she was determined. Again, she knocked on the door in front of her, waiting for somebody to respond. At last, she could hear feet shuffling behind the door and locks clicking out of place. The young man who opened the door had looked at her bewilderedly.

"Do you realize what time it is? What's going on?" he exclaimed and looked at her as if she were the crazy one.

"I'm sorry, but it didn't seem that late to me", Rey couldn't help but snap back, meeting the man's gaze with stern eyes. As a newcomer to this town, it was already failing at giving her a good first impression.

Perhaps realizing he was a little too rough, the man sighed. His expression softened just a bit, but his tone remained urgent, "Okay, what can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if you had any spare portions available?"

The man raised a brow at her odd choice of words. "You mean bread? I'm sorry, miss, but we're closed—"

"I know, but I'll take anything, even burnt scraps", she hastily interrupted. She didn't want to relent her desperation, but her hunger exceeded her manners. The man with smooth dark skin considered her for a moment. Her face was covered in dirt and grime, and while it was spring, it was still too early in the year to be wearing thin clothes, and she couldn't help but shift every time a gust of air flew by. Even for her decent stature, she looked small. One look at her and anybody could tell she was an outsider far from this town.

"Wait here," the man then ran back inside, and in a few moments he returned with a small piece of bread wrapped in a cloth and held it out to Rey. "I know it's not much, but this is all I have right now."

She took the bread, and through the cloth she could tell that the bread wasn't warm. Nonetheless, she was beginning to reach her hand into her bag, but the man shook his hand. "No need, it's my treat."

Rey nodded and gave the man a quick grin. It was asking too much of her to verbally thank him; the scrap of bread would hardly sedate her hunger, but she was grateful nonetheless. She turned to leave, but the man's voice halted her step. "It's not safe to be out in the streets alone. Do you have someplace to stay?"

For a second, Rey wondered if the man doubted her ability to take care of herself, but she perished the thought when she stared into his worry-filled eyes. There was something deeper that troubled him, but Rey couldn't even guess what it might be. Resigned, she shook her head.

"I don't have any spare beds, but there's a woman at the edge of town who does. She's in a stone hut with a huge garden—it's hard to miss. You just gotta keep going down the main road", the man said. Rey was at a loss for words, but the man didn't seem to notice as he continued, "Her name is Maz Kanata. She'll help you with anything you need. But you have to go there now!" His voice brooked no descent.

Rey nodded and gestured at the bread in her hand, "Thank you. I didn't catch your name…"

"Finn. What's yours?"

"I'm Rey", and she finally smiled.

"Rey, I know I didn't help much, but I promise I'll make it up to you."

Finn owed her nothing, but his courtesy, however urgent, was a welcome feeling. "I'll remember that", she smiled once more, then she trotted down the road as Finn instructed. As she went, she noted how there wasn't a single passerby on her way to Maz's.

The sky was orange and decorated by pink clouds by the time Rey arrived. Finn was right: Maz's house was hard to miss. It was a modest stone hut near the edge of a thick forest, and the garden at the front was an entanglement of vines and strange looking vegetables Rey had never seen before. She paid it no further mind as she made her way up the small, uneven steps and knocked on the door. A few moments passed, and nothing happened. She tried again and was met with the same result. She ground her teeth. Had Finn given her false information? No, Finn seemed a little finicky, but he didn't strike her as malicious. Perhaps Maz wasn't home, Rey thought. She considered her options, but her stomach only gave her one choice as it grumbled violently. The bread Finn gave her was long gone and her body demanded more.

The minutes passed, and it became increasingly more likely that Maz wasn't coming back home any time soon. Though Rey was desperate, she didn't want to intrude, so with staff in hand, she treaded back down towards the garden and plucked a few berries. If Maz were truly a helpful person, then maybe she wouldn't mind Rey taking a few things from her garden if it prevented her from starving to death, or least that's what Rey hoped to convince herself that she wasn't stealing.

At first Rey skirted the edge of the forest, popping one berry at a time into her mouth and taking her time with each one. She didn't know when her next meal would come, so she had to at least make the berries last for a little while.

But soon they were gone too.

Rey thought about running back to Finn's, asking him for more bread, but she had already bothered him enough, and she couldn't bear stealing more from a woman she hadn't even met yet. Then the faint sound of birds caught her attention and she looked up to see a flock of geese flying overheard and disappearing into the forest.

Without reasoning her next step, Rey followed them.

Rey knew she was no skilled hunter, but she was a good scavenger. If she couldn't catch anything, she hoped she could find something to eat. She had long lost sight of the flock she spotted earlier, but the orange glow under the lush canopy of trees was breathtaking. She was cold and hungry, but even so she couldn't help but marvel at the beauty around her. Yet despite the sunlight slowly seeping away, to her surprise, the forest was coming alive. The birds never stopped chirping and the squirrels didn't stop their barking. It probably meant nothing, but Rey was now more alert than ever. If the animals weren't settling in for the night, then neither should she.

Eventually she settled against a comfortable looking tree and hugged her arms. It was going to be a rough night all alone, but loneliness was nothing new to her. And still, she felt like the whole forest was watching her. Even the forest critters looked at her like an outsider. It shouldn't have bothered her, but they had an attentiveness that was unlike anything she'd ever seen before. She heard shuffling to her right and quickly reached for her staff. A fox then jumped out of a bush and scurried in front of her. It had a rabbit in its mouth, but Rey was focused on its eyes. Its gaze was unwavering, alert…and tender. Before Rey could consider how that was possible, the fox took a few small tentative steps toward her, then it gently set the dead rabbit on the ground. Rey stood still and watched in silence as the fox considered her once more and darted out of sight.

Immediately she pounced on the rabbit. If she could start a fire, she could cook the rabbit and finally satisfy her stomach. She smiled and tugged the rabbit under her belt and set herself to work before it got completely dark.

Perhaps, she thought, her luck was turning for the better.

Morning was approaching, the first warm rays of sunlight felt good on Rey's skin. She made it through the night, and the dying embers of the fire she had made had kept her warm enough through it. It had been a long, arduous journey to get here, so she felt a little more inclined to snooze. Regardless, she had never been a heavy sleeper; years of having no one to rely on seemed to have a permanent effect on her. So when she heard the shuffling of grass and fallen leaves beside her, her eyes instantly shot open. Slowly, she turned her head to look at the intruder.

The first thing she saw was a mound of thick, black fur. She froze as her face turned white. A large wolf was sniffing the ground beside the dead campfire. It was no ordinary wolf: its size seemed to rival that of a horse. The wolf seemed keen on the campfire since its back was turned on Rey, and it didn't notice that she was fully awake. Its sniffing turned into crunching, and Rey knew then exactly what it was doing. She hadn't finished eating her rabbit last night, figuring she should save some of it for breakfast. Now anger replaced fear.

Carefully, she reached for the staff next to her, but her body was still adjusting to the waking world, so she shifted awkwardly, causing the slightest crunch of a leaf beneath her. She held her breath, but it was too late. Her mistake had been noticed.

The wolf studied her every move with his unfaltering brown eyes.

Author's Note: Don't mess with Rey's food! I don't know when I'll update this next because I'm busy with work and soon I'll be traveling. On another note, we're less than two weeks away from The Last Jedi!

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