The day's began to pass on Ahch-To like pages in a story book. Finn checked in often, always beginning the conversation by asking if Rey was ok and then proceeding to tell her about the recent happenings of the resistance.

Now, they were no longer the resistance as there was quite literally no enemy to resist, no threat against freedom in the galaxy that needed to be fought for. They were working on rebuilding and bringing peace and order to the galaxy led by democracy and freedom.

Rey learned that her friends had moved on to Chandrila, making the planet their pseudo-capital during this time of rebuild. Upon sharing this news with Ben, she also learned that Chandrila was where Leia had given birth to him, and where he had spent a significant amount of his childhood before the news of Leia's true father became a scandal across the republic.

Rey was hopeful that the new galaxy her friends were creating wouldn't be so close minded. Afterall, she was the granddaughter of the most evil man in the universe.

Rey enjoyed her time talking with Finn. It grounded and comforted her. She knew he was worried about her and she struggled how to convey that she really was ok. Not just ok, but safe and happy. Because of Ben.

She could have been on the fiery shores of Mustafar or the freezing tundra of Hoth, and she would still be happy as long as she was with him. The thought of not being near him didn't seem like an option anymore, just like she couldn't survive with one part of her body on one planet and the rest of her light years away.

Ben and Rey spent their days mostly training, fishing, and trying to decipher the ancient Jedi texts. She was thankful 3-PO was there to help translate the ancient words. The droid was slowly warming up to Ben, quickly learning that he was not a threat to her or anyone on the island.

This made Rey happy. But the challenge was not convincing a droid to trust Ben Solo, but sentient beings with emotions and a consciousness that wasn't programmed.

They talked about the force a lot and shared what they felt were the strengths and weaknesses of both the Jedi and the Sith. They agreed that the Jedi were too rigid and stuck in their ways, banishing emotions and most importantly love, which were a key part of humanity. The Sith were consumed with themselves and self-advancement, rarely thinking of others.

When Rey trained with Ben, they helped each other to view the force as a whole, and not two sides. Rey still struggled with controlling herself when she tapped into the darkside, but Ben was patient and a good teacher with her.

Rey helped him too, teaching him all she had learned from his mother. She loved the way his face lit up when she talked about Leia.

Rey enjoyed the slow pace of their evolving relationship. It had been nearly two weeks since the Battle of Exegol and their first kiss, but Rey found herself still shy in that regard, unsure of how to express her feelings. She felt the boiling heat that built inside of Ben when she looked into his eyes or when she pushed her hair behind her ears or removed the leather band around her waist for the night.

But still, Rey enjoyed their pace and she was an expert at waiting. The past year of her life had been go-go-go, but on Ahch-To, she felt like they had all the time in the world, and she basked in the slowness of their life here. They had time to get to know each other, without the veil of being on opposite sides of a war. She loved getting to know the man with whom she shared strange, deep, and intense feelings for.

However, she was, like Ben, growing increasingly restless at the fire that built low inside her gut at the simplest things that Ben would do. The way his large, muscular body moved while they trained, the way his smile lit up his dark brown eyes, and the way his long dark hair moved, all sent shivers through her whole body. His presence was intoxicating, a feeling she had never experienced until knowing him.

Rey's feelings for him were more than that, though. She had listened to tales of "love", especially when Leia would talk about her days with Han. But was that what this was? Rey couldn't help but feel the word "love" wasn't strong enough to convey what she felt for Ben. What she felt for him was deeper, seared into her soul, something that couldn't be expressed by any known language in the galaxy.

She had spent her whole life searching for identity and purpose, and she finally found that in Ben.

Rey felt lucky. The nearly 20 years of loneliness, of waiting for nothing on Jakku were insignificant if this was her reward. She would have waited a thousand more years on that desert wasteland if she knew at the end of her exile she would have a connection like this.

One night, after a full day of training, they returned to the village as the suns were just beginning to set behind the ocean horizon.

They dined outside together, as they usually did, scarfing down a mixture of rations from Ajan Kloss and some left over fish from the previous day's catch.

Rey set her plate on the ground, wiping her mouth with the back of her sleeve. They faced the sunset, which had sunk below the horizon and colored the darkening sky a golden red hue. The air was clear as the night sky came alive above them.

Ben rested his hands on his knees and sighed up at the stars, smiling. Rey looked over at him as she admired the way the side of his cheeks wrinkled upwards as he smiled.

I will never get used to seeing him smile like that...

Ben felt her eyes on him and he looked at her through his peripheral. She snapped her head away and stifled a smile.

"Something funny, Rey?" Ben leaned back into the grass, holding his body up with his hands. He raised an eyebrow and looked at her, smiling. A loose strand of black hair fell into his face as he gazed at her.

"Mmmmm." She bit her lip to stifle a grin and looked down, shaking her head. She noticed Ben's hand curl into a tight fist in the grass and his neck moved as he swallowed, hard.

Rey inhaled and sat up, abruptly. "Well, I don't know about you, but I need a bath." Rey motioned down to her body. "There's a cave nearby here with an inlet of freshwater inside." She grabbed her plate and walked back towards the hut. She turned her head over her shoulder, "And don't try to contact me through the force while I'm gone. Be back in a bit!"

Rey didn't wait for him to answer as she laughed to herself and ran off towards the hut.

She popped inside the hut to grab some soap she had brought from the base, a fresh change of clothes, her hair brush, and a towel.

She walked the short distance to the cave, towards the bottom of the island. The night was dark, but her eyes adjusted quickly and the stars helped to light her way. The evening was peaceful and warm.

As she approached the bottom of the island, she could feel the cool sea mist as the water crashed against the sharp rocks. The ocean was rough, a sharp contrast to the still night.

Rey spotted the dark void in the side of the island that indicated the caves entrance. She ignited her lightsaber to guide her way as she stepped into the rocky cave.

Her footsteps echoed off the narrow walls as she entered. A few yards in, she spotted the small pool of water as it reflected the blue of her saber. Rey propped the weapon up between two nearby rocks and grinned up at the light that filled the cave, pleased with her resourcefulness.

Rey unstrapped the leather belt around her waist and removed the white wrappings around her body. She kicked off her boots and slipped off the tunic and pants she wore. She subconsciously covered her bare chest and peered behind her towards the cave opening, nervous someone - or something - may enter while she was totally vulnerable and naked.

Luckily, she could sense everything on the island, so she was not easy to surprise.

The air was still and silent inside the cave. She dipped her toes into the motionless water and watched as tiny waves rippled out from where her foot disurbed the surface. She smiled as she watched the water dance under her touch.

The water was cool, but not freezing. Once both her feet were in the water, she took a deep breath and gritted her teeth, then submerged her entire body into the water. Thousands of tiny needles pricked her skin as the cool water surrounded her. Under the surface, she lifted her hands to her hair and shook out the braid she wore. She turned her head from side to side as her long locks danced across her face and shoulders in slow motion.

Rey's body quickly adjusted to the water's temperature. She popped up for air and ran her hands over her wet face and hair. The water was refreshing and the cave was peaceful, everything lit a beautiful pale blue from her saber. The water stirred gently around her and glittered in the dim light as it caressed the curves of her body.

She grabbed the bar of soap resting on the rock next to her and began to work, rubbing every inch of her body. She cleaned her hair, pulling through the unruly tangles that spun up under the water.

Eventually, when she was clean, she floated in the water and ran her fingertips across the surface. Rey leaned her head back and smiled to herself, enjoying the peace of the moment. The only sounds were the small splashes of water from her hands and the hum of her saber igniting the small space.

Suddenly, she felt something poking at her brain. It started as a small, persistent, whisper but then grew louder and louder. Her eyes flew open and she flung her head upright out of the water. She sat up straight, splashing water around her as she looked around the cave, looking for the source of the disturbance.

She knew immediately it wasn't Ben trying to contact her. This felt different. It was cold, hectic, and dark. Something was calling out to her, something close by. It came in whispers and muffled screams, like the time she had been called to the dark place beneath the island.

Fear suddenly struck her like a hot iron. She couldn't identify what it was that was stalking her. She felt incredibly vulnerable in her naked, wet form so she hopped out of the water, feet scraping on the cool stone as she snatched the towel and gathered it around her. Her sopping hair stuck to her neck and shoulders and dripped ribbons of water down her back as she breathed heavily, head swiveling on her shoulders.

She was aware of two things: she was not alone in that cave and whatever it was had ill intent. It was clouded by the darkside and overwhelmed everything around her.

She gripped the towel above her breasts in one hand and she dashed for her saber with the other, lifting it up and flinging it around, looking in every dark corner of the cave.

Rey noticed a movement out of the corner of her eye. She looked down at the pool of water, still sloshing violently from her sudden departure. Then, the water somehow, impossibly, began to still as if manipulated by some force. There was a deep grumble as the pool stilled to a sudden halt, now a motionless void before her.

Rey stood there gripping the towel covering her and holding her saber out in front. She was gaping at the pool of water, trying to make sense of what was happening.

The voices in her ear grew louder, beckoning her to step closer to the still pool. She obeyed and stepped slowly towards it.

As she approached, she saw the reflection of her face in the still pool. It was now a mirror, like the one she had encountered on this island before and on Kef Bir. Fear gripped her, knowing that this mirror, this thing, was trying to shower her something.

She found herself suddenly wishing, screaming in her head for Ben to be there.

She knelt down to the rocky ground, saber still in hand. She saw her face in the pool, full of fear and confusion. Her wet hair hung in long, damp cords around her face.

Rey blinked down at her reflection, expecting something to happen, to materialize before her. Then, just as the voices reached peak volume, they stopped and everything around her went silent. All she heard was her heavy, shaky breath and the ignited saber beside her.

Rey gazed upon her reflection as it suddenly began to morph in the mirror. She began to fade away, like mist, and a figure began to form in her place. It was small, just the shape of something or someone she could not identify, but small and child-like. Rey's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as the shape took on the form of a youngling, small and innocent. She couldn't make out any features of the figure, or even it's species, but she knew it was a child, no more than 13 years of age.

Rey blinked rapidly at the figure. She was completely frozen, unsure of what to do or how to react. The figure reminded her of the small children during the festival on Pasaana, laughing joyfully at some fable being told by their elders. Happiness and warmth filled her at the memory that this vision gave her, and Rey's face softened as a smile began to slowly emerge.

Then, just as quickly, her happiness was snatched away by darkness that consumed her again. Something was wrong, something terribly wrong. Dark mist began to surround the silhouette of the child before her, and Rey stared down helplessly, eyes and hands flitting about in a hectic frenzy.

"No. No!" She whispered.

What's happening?

Rey felt the unbelievable urge to save the child - a being that didn't even exist.

Rey shut her eyes and tried to focus, to come back to reality. It's not real, it's not real.

Her eyes snapped open and she saw another figure begin to form behind the child, slender and menacing. It was also a silhouette, like the child, but with a dark hood drawn to conceal it's face.

No...no, no, no...what...

The figure stalked closer to the unsuspecting youngling, moving like a serpent.

"Stop!" Rey heard herself shout.

Then, like the crack of lightning, a vicious, red saber ignited behind the child and pierced through it's heart. The child's silhouette froze sickeningly as the glowing red blade stuck through it's chest. The child crumbled to the ground as the figure behind it stood victorious.

Rey had never seen a sight so disturbing.

"NOOOO!" Rey shrieked. She frantically thrust her hand forward towards the mirror, dropping the saber.

Her hand was met with sloshing water as she broke through the surface, dissolving the hideous scene into mist. She leaned forward, ready to jump back into the pool after the child, but she suddenly felt a pair of impossibly strong arms snake around her torso and pull her back from the pool.

"Rey, don't! It's not real!" Ben pulled her back from the water, her heels scraping against the rocky ground.

"No, you don't understand, the child! It was trying to show me something - let go!" Rey struggled against him, trying to free herself from his grip. The towel threatened to completely fall from her naked body as she wriggled. Ben squeezed tighter, trying to get a hold of her.

He grabbed her face with one hand and forced her face towards the water, leaning her forward.

"Look, Rey! Look at the water!" Rey's eyes searched the sloshing pool. She blinked rapidly as she slowly came to her senses. She realized the wish she had made earlier had come true. Ben was here, she was safe.

But the child...

"Whatever you saw, it's gone, it was just a vision." Ben's chest heaved against her back, clearly out of breath from running to the cave.

Rey shook her head, trying to rid her mind of the horrible image she just witnessed. She surrendered and fell back against Ben behind her. He cradled her head to his chest as he wrapped his arms around her in a reassuring hold. She crumbled between his long legs as he held her there.

Rey squeezed her eyes shut against him, focusing on her breath as she took in the scent of him. He was breathing hard, rocking her back and forth and holding her head to his chest. She couldn't get away from him even if she wanted to. Her arms wrapped tightly around his waist and the cold began to pierce her wet body as she shivered. Ben rubbed a frantic hand across her naked arm to warm her.

She was completely vulnerable and exposed under the towel, but she didn't care. She was not vulnerable with Ben, she was safe and secure. She didn't want to talk or think about what she just saw. All she wanted was to stay there pressed against him, warm and safe, forever.