Let us continue our story of the dragon and the maiden, dear reader. Remember that everything is never as it seems.
In an abandoned castle, the dragon descended into the courtyard and let Rey down. She scrambled to her feet and backed away, pressing herself against the wall. She didn't wish to become food for a dragon when she hadn't even discovered where she came from. She looked around for weapons when the dragon flew off.
She frowned, but decided that she should be ready for when the dragon came back for her. She turned and pushed open the wooden doors. The hallway was dark, but she slowly ventured into the dark. Dirtied stain-glass windows that used to be of images of the greatest sorties of all time provided enough light for her not to trip on things as she made her way to what she supposed was the throne room once. Stuffing was ripped out of the chairs, and the floor was scratched from shards of glass from lamps and other things being destroyed on the surface.
Rey could almost see the people that might've lined up in there long ago. Sephora could almost see the old kings and queens sitting in the thrones, awaiting their subjects. But this was never the main castle and she knew it. This was something else.
Perhaps a retreat in times of peace, she thought as her fingers traced over the dusty, fading fabric. She shook her head, reminding herself of her mission. She wanted to find weapons, supplies, perhaps trousers to fight the dragon in if she could find a good pair, even if it was not sensible for maidens like her. She turned and jogged out of the throne room without a second through to the curtains covering a painting that might've captured her interest.
She jogged down the floors until she came to a double-stairwell in front of a cracked marble fountain that had run dry. Her fingers trailed along the dusty brass of the railings as she walked up the right side of the stairs. She walked down the lonely hallways that seemed to echo with ghosts of the past.
She picked up a rusty sword from one of the dented and rusted suits of armor and prayed that it would still be sharp enough to parry with a dragon's scales and claws. She then pushed open a random door. She could tell by the lack of certain materials and the trousers in the wardrobe that it was a bedchamber that belonged to a male servant.
She shut the door and pulled on trousers that made her feel more powerful and a shirt that felt good. She stuffed her dress in her satchel and then walked back into the hallway. She slid down the stair rail, clinging to the brass with a vengeance, the sword clinking in the sheath.
She hopped off and began to gather food.
When the twilight began to paint the sky pink and orange with the clouds, Rey crept to the doors of the courtyard. Already she could pick out the midnight-black creature soaring across the clouds. Her sweaty hands clutched the heavy sword with care. As the sun sunk further into the trees, the great creature landed in the courtyard. Rey steeled herself and charged.
Before she could land one strike on the dragon however, the last ray of the sun was gone and by magic the torches lit up instantly. In the place of the dragon was a dark-haired young man with all the airs of a prince. There was something twisted and dragonly about the man that stood in front of her.
She stopped in her tracks and held her shaking sword up for self-defense. She did not trust what she saw, for she'd heard stories of shape-shifting dragons.
"Wh-Who are you?" she asked.
"They call me in Coruscant Kylo Ren," he said. "I take this form only in the night. It's the price I must pay for my gift."
"Your gift? That's what you call turning into a dragon?" she demanded.
"Among other things," he said vaguely. "You didn't tell me your name, fair lady."
She resisted the urge to blush. "I'm Rey, but I am merely a nobody."
"A nobody?" Kylo Ren strode closer to Rey. "Surely not with looks like yours! You must be a somebody."
"Not really," Rey said, keeping her blade aloft. She'd heard the countless warning stories of the seductive voices of dragons that had lured many a foolish youth to their deaths. "I have no past, no memories. I came to Coruscant in attempt to find them."
His expression softened in a way that showed perhaps that there was still light in his dragon heart. "Come inside, put the blade down. You can tell me your story. I can tell you have many-those with the most light have the most stories, for stories are light."
Rey shook her head, not trusting her eyes. "You speak very convincingly, Kylo Ren, but I have heard of wicked dragons like you and what they do with unsuspecting maidens. Well, that will not happen to me! I refuse to let it happen!"
He frowned. "You still want to kill me? Even after I have revealed that at least in heart, I am partly human? Let me assure you, Lady Rey, you are my guest in this castle and nothing shall harm you, not even me."
While she knew in her mind that all he would most likely break his promises, she took a chance. For Rey, as strong and bright as she was, held loneliness inside her. Some days, it threatened to seize her in a fit of tears. Ever since she'd awoken with no memories in Jakku, she felt abandoned and feared that she would never discover her origins. Watching the other children with their parents, she wanted that for herself. She wanted love, unconditional love and roots. Her heart was leaping at the chance to be with this man or dragon, whichever he was, and she knew he could bring her companionship and fill the hole in her heart.
Dear reader, holes in hearts are very grievous things. Very grievous indeed. They might start up small at first, but it spreads, tearing at every other part of the heart until the hole is quite large. It cracks the edges until a heart is broken. And two things happen to broken hearts. They stay broken, maybe healed by time but never completely repaired. Or a broken heart mends itself, but it mends twisted.
Rey's heart, reader, had a gaping hole in it on the verge of breaking. To save herself and her heart, she lowered her blade and allowed Kylo Ren, whatever he may be, to escort her into the castle.
Now perhaps another time, I shall continue this tale, but for now, ponder upon broken hearts and wicked hearts and how they may relate to one another.
