Luke turned the lightsaber over in his hands. Its sleek hilt glistened in the crackling firelight. He had been studying his old weapon for over an hour as Rey ate her meal. He had barely said more than a few words to Rey since she had arrived.
"I never thought I'd see this again," He mumbled, still studying every detail. His eyebrows furrowed as he held it close, then far as if there was some chance this really wasn't the lightsaber he lost so many years ago. "Do you know how I lost it?" He finally looked up at Rey.
Rey shook her head, "no," she said quietly. Just like Luke was studying the lightsaber,she studied the worn and beaten man before her. She had heard stories of Luke Skywalker, but the stories had been passed down several times through the years and had become more and more diluted as they passed from mouth to ear, each time becoming more and more fantastic to the point they seemed as if they were pure imagination.
Luke shifted as the story of how he lost his lightsaber stirred in his mind, "It happened in Cloud City. Have you ever heard of Cloud City?" He looked up at Rey. Rey promptly shook her head. The corners of Luke's mouth turned up as he returned to studying his lightsaber, "No? It was a mining colony that floated in the skies of Bespin. Wondrously beautiful place, but so much darkness." He again shifted, sighing heavily and Rey had to wonder if this story made the Legendary Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master, uneasy, "I had sensed my friends were in trouble." He continued, "I had gone to Dagabah to train with Master Yoda. I had been separated from Leia and Han during the Battle of Hoth and I was well into my training. And then I felt something. That there was danger. I was warned not to go, but I refused to listen," He gave a brief chuckle, "I was a bit hard headed in my youth. I arrived to find the Empire had taken Cloud City. And then I found him. Vader." Rey shifted uncomfortably at the name. She had heard it. In HIS mind. She refused to think of the man who had taken her, then killed Han Solo. The creature in the mask. She then realized Luke was staring at her, "the name beings fear to you, too?" He said quizzically. "Yes, he made sure that his name would forever elicit such a reaction. The stories told of him only graze the surface of what kind of sinister, disturbed man he was, and yet he is still feared, even thirty years after his death. I thought I was ready to face him, but I was facing so much more than a wrecked man in a mask. I fought him with this lightsaber. My father's lightsaber. Through the center of Cloud City. I fought as hard as I could, with all my strength, but he was stronger. But I kept fighting, and then..."
Luke's voice trailed off. Rey could see how much this story bothered him. His eyebrows furrowed even deeper and his eyes stared were distant, lost in the memory. "And then?" Rey prompted.
Luke thought for a moment how to continue, "and then Vader swung his lightsaber and I felt nothing but pain and when I looked at my hand, it and the saber were gone. The pain was excruciating, but it was nothing compared to what followed."
Luke paused for s moment, gazing into the burning embers of his father, his pale eyes glistening. Rey thought for a moment that she saw tears as Luke pondered his he would continue his story.
"You do know that this was my lightsaber, passed down to me from Obi-Wan Kenobi, who kept it for many years. He obtained it from Darth Vader, who created the saber."
Rey was confused. "But, I thought this was the saber Anakin Skywalker created?" Did she hear the story correctly? She could have sworn that's what she heard. Then she realized "oh no." She raised her eyebrows and whispered "that's impossible"
Luke smirked, "That's exactly what I said when I found out. Well, one of the things I said, or rather, screamed." Rey could sense a sadness in the old man "Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker were two different people, and yet the same person. However you look at it, he is my father."
Rey thought for a moment, "but, if he was so...evil, wouldn't you be, too? Wouldn't you also be on the Dark Side?"
"It's a bit more complicated than that," Luke chuckled, "Anakin Skywalker was a Jedi, but he was seduced and became a Sith. He had fear. Anger. Hatred. All built inside him. It was always there. I, too, felt the call to the Dark when I was young, but I resisted. It was in me, it's still in me."
Rey shifted in her spot. It was a bit unsettling for the young scavenger to hear this from someone she firmly saw in the light.
Luke smiled, "Don't worry, Rey. It's common to feel the call to the other side in all Jedi and Sith. My father had it. I have it. Ben Solo had it. Kylo Ren has it. You have it, too."
"No I don't." Rey said, looking away.
"Don't deny it," Luke gazed at her, "you know you feel it. I feel it in you in a way I haven't felt in anybody else in many years. You lean toward the Light, but you have a desire, deep down inside, for Darkness. A strong one. And I see much struggle for you in the coming years. What I don't see is the path you'll ultimately take."
"Light. I will take the Light." Rey insisted
Luke chuckled, then his eyes went dark "you say that now, but just wait." He sat back and began eating on his meal.
Rey furrowed her eyebrows, "you don't know a thing about me," she snapped, "I came here to find you. For Leia. And to ask that I begin my training and all you can tell me is that I have darkness in me?"
"Patience, Rey," He said, taking a bite of his food, "It has been a long time since I have taken a Padawan. Much has happened. I'll admit, I am afraid to take another. As you see, I haven't been able to face my sister yet for my failures. For failing Ben. I do not want to repeat what happened. To create another Kylo Ren."
Rey flinched at the name, "But, it wasn't your fault." She insisted, "He made his choice to be defiant and arrogant. Snoke did this. He manipulated him and created that...that monster!"
"You hate him," Luke said.
"Of course I hate him! He kidnapped me, fought me, and...and..." Rey stopped. She couldn't bring herself to say it. The memory of Han Solo's death at the hands of his own son was still fresh in her mind. She tucked her chin into her chest to hide her tears.
"I understand, Rey," Luke reach over and put a hand on her shoulder, "Fear. Anger. Hate. Suffering. They are all normal human emotions. But you must learn to control them all. Even I struggle with them at times. But I don't let them consume me and you must keep them for consuming you. If you let that happen, you will fall to the Dark Side. Just like Ben Solo."
"Will you teach me?" Rey whispered through her tears. She had been nervous about asking. Luke moved away from her and lowered his eyes to the fire, furrowing his eyebrows in thought.
"I can't let what happened to Ben happen to you," He whispered.
"So you won't teach me?" Rey felt a wave of disappointment hit her. "I'll just go, then." She rose to her knees awsynfnd began gathering her belongings when she felt his hand on her shoulder again.
"No," Luke said hesitantly, "I'll teach you. If I allow you to leave without training, Ben will find you and perhaps convince you to become his Padawan. I suppose he already offered you his instruction?" Rey nodded. She felt the excitement flutter inside her and a smile spread across her face. "I will teach you, Rey, but on one condition."
"Anything," Rey said through her smile, fighting the urge to hug Luke Skywalker right then and there.
"Do not become Kylo Ren."
