Chapter 3

Once there, Rey stopped dreaming about the island and the ocean. Now, she dreamt of metal buildings larger than any structure she had ever seen. The citizens were so manifold and so colorful, her own human race seemed dull; an insult to the variety of that world.

Strong wind currents pounded against her body, thousands of flying ships cut the skyline. She stood in awe of it all.

"Reyata," a deep, soft voice called this strange form of her name. As she was about to turn, she felt a hard hit in the ribcage. Rey found herself on the floor of Luke's dwelling; once again pulled from these strange visions. The more dreams progressed, the more she hated waking up.

"Then what happened?" Master Luke asked as he poured her a cup of hot, syrupy liquid. The taste mellowed Rey's palate. She swallowed hungrily. She still wasn't used to food she didn't have to risk limbs for.

"Then I woke up…" she said pensively, ignoring beeping of BeeBee Eight in the corner. "It's always the same. I can see the city; I can taste the metallic flavor of that atmosphere. Once my name is called, I lose the vision. "

Luke smiled at her interpretation. "It's not a vision, Rey. It's a memory."

Rey shook her head and grabbed her staff. "I've never been in a city like that." She said in a tone that ended their discussion on the subject. The day simply beckoned them to train outside. Luke wouldn't let her go near the lightsaber again, even though she had bested an opponent before.

"No, we'll start with the reflexes – your staff will suffice for now," he smiled.

Just as well, she thought. The staff and she became inseparable on Jakku and that lightsaber didn't call to her as before. In fact, it was mute and dead now.

"You'll have to attune your fighting style to the rhythm of the Force. Listen to your body and tell me what you hear."

Rey's grip of the staff tightened. At first she heard nothing except the background noise of the island. The birds chirping in the distance, the ocean crashing down on the reef; then somewhere else, humming of her little droid friend came to her.

Her sweaty hand slid down. Rey broke her concentration. "I can't hear anything," she said grimly.

Luke sensed great distress in her. "You're still wondering, how it is possible that you defeated that man in the forest, aren't you?"

"I had nothing," she sighed," no training, no idea what I was doing. I felt something guiding me… "Rey stopped mid-sentence. No, she couldn't possibly tell her new Master the truth. She was too ashamed of it. Something volatile kept her going during that fight, a dark presence that she never felt before.

Luke meditated long and hard that day. He knew - naturally, he could read her emotions. All of a sudden, the temperature around him dropped. His breath came out as a tangible, opalescent mist. This could only mean one thing.

"Master, I don't know if I am worthy of this." Luke kept his eyes closed. Even now, he was afraid the Force was deceiving him.

The voice that spoke filled him with utter calm and happiness. "Luke, it is not about you and your worth. My friend, you have been given this opportunity for a reason. The Force guided this woman to you not once, but twice, and you must train her. "Obi-Wan Kenobi's Force ghost was more resplendent than Luke had ever witnessed. Maroon Jedi robes cloaked him in his former glory, his eyes twinkled and his face was young and smooth. Gone was the old Ben Kenobi, young Obi-Wan stood strong with the Force.

"You must tell her the truth of her birth," Obi-Wan answered the question in Luke's mind.

Luke's hands trembled. "It will poison her. The knowledge where she came from and who her family is will corrupt her, I know it." His voice was almost pleading.

"You're afraid that the history will repeat itself. She must know. Otherwise, the seed of doubt will grow stronger in the future. She will suffer for it."

Their time was up. Luke's joints started to ache; his breathing got more laborious. Maintaining such a strong connection to the Force was difficult when his mind was in turmoil.

Yet, days passed and he still didn't confront Rey. Her dreams varied more. Sometimes she saw sleeping Finn back on D'Qar – the base of Resistance – just as she left him. She had no news of Finn or General Organa, but she felt their presence in the Force. They were alive and well. But then, the other dream would come - the one and only. The city in the clouds enveloped her. The metallic smoke kept rising from the ashes of the skyscrapers. Her name, whispered from darkness, invited her to learn something, to see someone.

One of Ach-To's three moons cycled the planet. Rey realized that one month had passed since her arrival. She stopped scratching the markings on the wall as she did back on her desert planet. Both she and her Master fell into comfortable monotony. He trained her physically in the morning and taught her to meditate at dusk. She felt the Force flow more freely through her mind, so much that she wondered how she could ever live without it. She saw the smallest particles of every drop in ocean. When the wind chimed, it echoed in her mind as a lullaby. There wasn't one butterfly in the sky; one flower in the meadow she didn't feel connected to.

One evening, a ship glistened on the horizon. Rey recognized the black and red paint of an X-wing fighter and cheered, when a familiar face stepped out of the cockpit.

"I'm Poe Dameron. We haven't had a chance to properly meet at the base, but I know all about you. It's very good to see you," tanned, dark-haired young pilot grinned and shook Rey's hand politely. She went for an awkward hug, but when she saw his hand, Rey's cheeks caught aflame. Poe laughed and embraced her fully.

Luke, on the other hand, wasn't keen on seeing the ace-wing here. Everything was a distraction for his padawan. Luke remembered that fateful moment when he recklessly abandoned Yoda on Dagobah and went to save his friends. Would he do it again? Would he really risk everything to save three lives, no matter how much he loved them? No, the answer his consciousness gave him was negative – and that terrified him. The raw mastery of the Force might have been the reason he had failed with his nephew.

Luke sighed as he accompanied Poe and Rey back to their dwelling. He questioned himself a thousand times before. What could he have done differently, what he should and shouldn't have said to Ben. That's why he had to tighten his grip on Rey and never let go. The Force gave him one last chance with this girl. Luke recalled when he saw her for the first time, barely six months old. Tall, hooded figure rocked the portable crib. Rey's hazel eyes followed Luke's gray ones.

"No," Luke whispered," I can't take her. I won't."

The figure pushed the crib further to Luke. "You can change her fate. Think of her future. How do you think her father would raise her? I know you can sense that she's extremely strong with the Force; maybe more so than your own father."

Chill went up Luke's spine at the mention of Anakin Skywalker. He shuddered and pushed the small cot away. "No. I will not risk it. She's submerged in the dark side of the Force and there she'll remain. It's not something I can change. The Force decided her heritage long before I could do anything about it."

The stranger's hand unhinged a lightsaber so fast, Luke barely blinked. Red glow fell on baby's face, scaring her.

"As you wish, Luke Skywalker. Remember this day, though. You don't want to train her as a Jedi - so be it," stranger's voice bore a sharp edge to it," but I swear that she shall wield a lightsaber one day. Don't be surprised when you meet its fiery end."