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Chapter 12: Horizons
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Thank you so much for sticking with me through thick (plot) and thin (plot). It's all very intentional, though I still cringe a little when posting the less-eventful chapters. This one is medium-bodied, but it does have some legs. I would stick around for the next one though, if you know what I mean ;)
Oh, if you're into it, the album Beneath the Skin by Of Monsters and Men would be my pairing of background music for this chapter. You can get the full album on YouTube.
River Fox - Hugs, hugs, hugs. You're amazing. And I'm not really a tease, right? I'm just writing about a tease, like, the biggest ever. Yeah- I adore the Aing-Tii, such a cool "legends" creation. But I'm really hesitant to go too far describing them, maybe I'll build up the courage later.
T - Yes, this is where the magic happens!
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The one, white sun hung low in the beryl morning sky. Light drizzle filled the air with a vivid haze.
Lifting her head from her pillow of sand, Rey scanned around her; her eyes lingering briefly on Kylo's black ship, nestled into the in the distant beach like a sleeping bird with its head tucked under its long, strong wings. Beyond it were small, soft rises of earth littered with a pearly, low growing thicket of glistening bush. Swinging her head to the opposite direction, the tide lay quiet and still, glowing in the mild morning light of the sun peering over the ocean's horizon. She had spent most of yesterday evening wading through it, tracing her fingers along the small crests of its tiny hills and valleys.
She had no idea how long she had slept for, but exhaustion still clung to her. A still, quiet dawn, drenched and windswept after a night of hurricanes. Yet the beauty of the world around her was soothing.
Hunger brushed against the walls of her stomach. There had been flowing jade leaves of some plant rooted into the floor of the sea near the tide line. It might be edible. Standing she brushed the sand off of her face and arms and went towards the water, eager to feel the conundrum of cool and warm against her skin again.
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A pile of surprisingly delicious, briny seaweed lay in her sand-nest from the night, and another pile of sweet turquoise fruit rested her her arms as she drifted through the fruit-bearing bush beyond the shoreline.
"Rey."
The steady voice she could now connect to the sound of the ocean came from behind. Turning towards it, she saw Qui-Gon waiting for her. A glimmer of a smile tracing his peaceful lips. He reminded her of winter on Jakku; the coolest season and the one time of the year that it would rain and the flowers by the sinking fields would grow.
"How are you, Rey?"
She considered it for a moment. In the half-dozen or so waking hours she had spent here, wherever she was, she had allowed her mind to focus only on her surroundings, free to explore a new, gorgeous world. Kylo had excused himself and slipped back into the ship soon after the departure of the Aing-Tii monk, which she had been grateful for. She still wasn't ready to think about him or what he had done. Still, she felt strangely serene; like everything was going to be alright.
"I'm ok. It's nice to be free."
"You consider yourself free while you're here?" Qui-Gon's inquisitive eyes brimmed with light.
She allowed the neutral taste of the word to linger in her mouth for a moment before saying it, "Yes." She had a world at her finger tips that was temperate and welcoming. Every world had its trials, but here, for now, she was free to go and face them as she chose to.
Qui-Gin nodded silently, his smile held in his eyes. "We had contacted the Aing-Tii to alert them you were coming once we determined the trajectory of your travel from Mannassar. They are are glad to have you here for a long as is needed, but they will be watching Kylo Ren closely. If he does anything threatening to you or one of the Aing-Tii, they will force him to leave, but they won't let him take you with him."
"Are they capable of doing that?" she asked, remembering how effortlessly the monk had Force-moved Kylo's ship yesterday; it might have been a stone the size of her fist.
"Yes," Qui-Gon responded with firm certainty.
Rey nodded silently, then considered how she had twice laid her training staff on his neck in that melee training session with Kylo, while he had never touched his to her. Still, he had always seemed as indestructible as a storm.
"Rey, you continue to exceed all of our hopes. But you must be careful. All human beings seek a sense of belonging to each other. Kylo Ren has been seeking this more than most for a very long time, and now that he has cut himself away from Snoke, he will be unstable. And, he will look to you. Trust your instincts, but protect yourself."
Rey nodded, feeling her limbs fill with iridium at the thought of the responsibility to Kylo. But she would do what she could.
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Kylo turned the refined lightsaber in his hands like a slowly rolling stone. It gleamed like water, catching even the dim light entering the ship from the open hatch. It was his grandfather's, from when he was still a Jedi.
Had it felt right? Being a general in the Clone Wars; a member of the Council? Vader was twenty-three when he had left the Jedi. Much older than Kylo was when he left Luke's brittle band of Force sensitives. What had taken Vader so long?
His mind slipped to the convoluted, contradictory mess of accounts he had been given regarding Vader's death. Denying the various vehement accounts of Vader's devotees, some said Vader had sacrificed himself for Luke when returning to the Light. Luke had told Kylo of the event once, while they were walking back from the Academy's training grounds at sunset. Amber light had coated the Jedi's face as he supposedly repeated Vader's last words, "You were right about me. Tell your sister— you were right— " The caustic, lingering memory of Luke's sanguine smile remained so firmly visible in Kylo's mind he was sure he could draw a perfect representation today.
But Kylo had justified Vader's transformation for himself. The Empire had lost its purpose. The Emperor had grown bloated with directionless greed, and Vader saw the need to end the corrupted rule.
His mind slipped to Snoke and an acrid taste filled his mouth. Perhaps Snoke too had lost sight of what was needed. Kylo honestly couldn't even say what Snoke wanted now; peace has always been the promise, but no more peace had come with each passing day than what had been lost.
Kylo rose and deposited the lightsaber back into the seamless Mandalorian iron safe, concealed in the wall of the cabin. Inhaling deeply into shuddering lungs he turned and glanced at the shining seascape beyond. He couldn't see Rey but he had been feeling for her throughout the night; her presence was as reassuring as the nebula enveloping the system in a shroud of anonymity. It had filled his veins with smooth, soft calm.
As he strode down the ship's ramp she came suddenly into view; her dark, borrowed robes clinging to her limber frame as if proud to be part of her. She was sitting in the sand, a ring of fruit skins surrounding her like flower petals as she watched a flock of grey, four-winged birds skim the ocean's glassy face. Approaching her the sky-bright glow of her Force signature contracted and expanded in languid strokes, occasionally reaching out and brushing against him with exhilarating murmurs of power.
She had the force of the ocean.
Ten steps away she turned her head to look back at him. Her gaze carried an aura of clemency he had never seen before; gratifying as falling rain or snow.
But it wasn't right. She had no reason to look at him like that.
Swallowing a burning stone, he spoke, forming his voice into a calm and firm tone.
"Did you sleep?"
Something indistinguishable flickered in her eyes, then she nodded, turning her face back towards the ocean.
"What will you do today?" She asked evenly.
"I don't know. It's rare that I don't have anything to do."
"What do you normally do?" Genuine curiosity coated her voice, lifting the question up at the end.
He considered his answer carefully, moving through several terms before selecting one. "Research."
"For the Order or yourself?"
The question struck him in its sincere and inoffensive tone. It was very rare that he needed to explain his behavior or actions to anyone, and when those rare moments came, violence was usually a part of the exchange. But with Rey, friction or violence was the last thing he wanted.
"Both," he said, pliantly.
Rey nodded and looked back at him again, unbridled curiosity lining her eyes. He felt them cross over his body, and he realized he had not put his tunic or arm wrappings back on. The breeze brushed through his loose, dark under-shirt, pulling at it with gentle fingers.
Her posture seemed softer, as if she too had dropped a layer of armor.
He took a step forward to which she held steady, so he kept going until he eventually drew level with her. She held his gaze then looked down to the ground beneath him, assenting to his company.
Lowering himself into the sand, he tightened his lips in gaunt amusement. He was sitting on a sunlit beach. It was a scene for another person.
Noticing his smile, the ghost of one crossed Rey's own lips. She looked away again towards the water.
"Is it strange being so close to someone else?" he asked, suddenly remembering the crushing loneliness he had felt within her from his probe on Starkiller Base.
Her eyes flew back to him instantly, startled and disquieted, as if she had seen a threat.
"What do you mean?" she said each word slowly, her eyebrows raised.
"You've always lived alone."
Her face relaxed but her lips tightened, just barely. She left her gaze drift away from him, instead focusing on something past him for a moment before responding.
"Yes." Her voice was soft but settled, honest. Her eyes returned to him, clear and emphatic.
The gentle, stretching cry of a bird sounded from somewhere, calling for its companion.
She spoke again, her voice temperate and soft, "Were you lonely? On Mannassar or wherever you lived?"
A bitter smile came to his lips, but the response came out distinct and open. "I was." The truth of the words sank and swelled into the hollow of his torso, stirring images of a thousand drab, empty rooms; eyes and faces turned away when he approached; hours of silence so that when he finally opened his mouth to say something to someone, his lips had been pressed together so long they clung to each other. The Force had been his one friend, a constant, reassuring presence that rested upon his shoulders and breathed exquisite fire and life into him.
Yet, he was always busy doing something in his solitary detachment; if not training then scanning for clues of the Resistance's next strategy; analyzing records of the Senate's most recent hearing; sifting through ancient Imperial archives; or looking for her.
"What were you going to do— in the future?" he asked.
She looked to him, eyebrows raised.
"I'm not sure." Her voice was concise and final, the click of a door being shut. "You?"
He avoided her question for a moment, focusing his gaze on the sky. She had been waiting for someone, even she wasn't sure who; she had been left so young. He could see the faces; intelligent and solemn, though kind. But they were blurry; faces through a veil of smoke. Her talents were clear, though: the ability to fly ships on theory, the carnal knowledge of almost imaginary places with extraordinary salvage that no one else would consider or reach; the respect pooling in the eyes scattered around Niima that watched her.
That respect had pooled in him. She had humbled him— laying her staff against his neck, twice. Forcing him out of her mind and charging into his like a tidal wave. Escaping like a draft of air from the labyrinth of impenetrable security on Starkiller Base. And capturing the admiration of the crippled heart of his father in less than a day.
There was nothing she wouldn't be able to do.
But him. He lay pinned under his finally fallen stack of plutonium bricks; but they had not collapsed on their own— he had pulled them down on himself.
"I have no idea," he finally said. And he didn't. His current future didn't expand any father than the horizon in any direction.
Rey turned her head back; the slightest smile turning up the corner of her mouth, as faint as the first light of the sun, even before it rose. "I never thanked you," she said softly. "So, thank you."
"It was nothing." He said, tasting the absinth-potent realization that he never considered killing her as a possibility. Snoke had told him to it and he only thought of what he would have to do to save her.
"Wasn't it?" She asked firmly. Her eyes were full of wide open plains shining cumulous towers of light back at him."What did you give up for it?"
He actually laughed, imagining the universe he had cultivated for himself— the oceans of fury and patience he tapped to accomplish it. "You have no idea." She looked placidly at him, and he realized she had suddenly withdrawn. She was so open a moment before she might have let him reach out and touch her. Now, she had turned to stone. Because he reminded her who he was and what he wanted.
But, more than anything, he just wanted her and peace; a world where someone sat down, discussed the problems, agreed what's in the best interest of all people, and then did it.
A long silence drifted between them, thick and stale and aching in his joints. He needed to end it. He needed her.
"I told you I would teach you telekinesis."
She looked back to him, her eyes quick and carrying unbridled eagerness.
"Now?"
"If you want."
"Ok."
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They spent the next couple of hours practicing. First levitating grains of sand then the bright blue fruit. They danced at Rey's command with a willingness that should not have been possible for a first time performer.
He watched her without breathing, dying to touch her and feel the power that coursed through her body. But he didn't. Instead, he allowed himself to relax into the lightness and buoyant ease of the enterprise. Their conversation was as mild as the purling of sunbathing birds, and the acid that usually burned in his stomach was completely absent.
The days on this planet were apparently short.
When the sky reached the highest point in the sky, they both sensed a presence behind them. Simultaneously, a foreign aura of cool conviction gathered in Kylo's chest; the same sensation he had felt when meeting the Aing-Tii yesterday.
The monk was approaching them from the thicket behind them, unmistakable due to the hexagonal printings surrounding his or her eyes. But this time it was surrounded by another five Aing-Tii.
He and Rey stood to meet them as they drew near. Their expressionless eyes focused on her, yet he could feel calm their antipathy emanating towards him. The monk that had received them yesterday was carrying a white bundle of fabric. Stopping in front of Rey, who watched them with a face bright with fascination. After a moment of silence he offered the bundle to her. She accepted it with courteous, open hands.
Automatically, her eyes widened like opening doors and her posture loosened like she might slide to the ground. Feeling the Aing-Tii's eyes shift to him Kylo started for her, reaching out his hand to— what? steady her? reassure her? But before his finger tips touched Rey, her stance tightened and straightened again, determination closing over her clear, focused eyes.
She inhaled deeply, then raised her gaze back to the monk who offered her the bundle. She lowered her head into a slight, composed bow.
Each of the monks returned the gesture, and then, as abruptly as they arrived, they turned and walked back up the beach into the thicket beyond the small dunes.
When they disappeared, taking their communicative pheromones with them, Kylo turned back to Rey. She had unraveled the bundle but there was nothing in it. It was just a large, woven textile— a blanket.
She was watching him. Loose stands of her hair tracing around her thoughtful eyes, vivid and dense as the brylark groves he grew up in. They roamed over him for a minute, as if thirsty and soaking up a drink, then they finally settled on his face. She looked at him with a sudden, stark openness reflected in her the angles of her body. Something had changed, or had been changing. Somehow, now, he could see in her that she trusted some part of him.
In that moment he realized he would do anything for her. She embodied all of the peace, power and acceptance he had been searching for his entire life.
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When Rey had accepted the bundle from the monk, she was automatically transposed somewhere else. Instead of the beach, she was stood on a solid clay floor surrounded by towering, irregular stone pillars supporting an enormously high ceiling. Gently flapping white fabric hung in streaming banners, reaching dozens of yards to trail on the sunlit floor. Turning, her eyes landed on a single Aing-Tii, stooped gracefully with apparent age and watching her with cobalt-blue eyes. A rich multitude of rainbow-colored etchings scrawled across its gleaming ivory plates.
Hello. A tranquil voice entered her mind. It was not human at all, and she didn't hear the words in Basic. It simply expressed meaning without phonemes, placing the thoughts into her mind like heat or cold on her skin. It was from the Aing-Tii.
I apologize that I can not communicate with you in person. But you are welcome here. We have seen your future, we know what you are and what you will become, and it is our honor to have you. Please know that whatever I or my people can do for you, we will.
Rey opened her mouth to respond but before she could, the Aing-Tii slowly dipped into a graceful bow before her. Rey followed suit, closing her eyes as her brow lowered.
When she opened them again, she was standing in an empty expanse of sand-covered desert with Kylo beside her. He was wrapped from the throat down in dozens of tones of gray cloth, and his eyes were the color of earth.
But it only lasted for a moment because when she blinked, her eyes opened to grand domed room of glass. She stood on a polished stone floor with a circular crest of ferns ringed by twelve scarlet chairs. Outside the windows streamed lines of vehicles stretching into the pale atmosphere over an infinite landscape of city. Morning light flowed into the space, bathing the air around her in clean light.
Then, she was once more standing on the beach in front of the monk whose name she still hadn't learned. Kylo beside her.