Oh hellooooo! I'm a few hours late, I know, but when you do 2 back-to-back 12 hour shifts, you tend you just want to pass out on the closest comfortable surface after driving 1hr home from said shifts. BUT, I have an update ready! So here we go!FINALLY, Rey gets his letter (and the story begins to deviate canon).

Rey,

There is so much I want to say to you Rey. So much I could say and should have said, but we ran out of time. But I want to tell you a story Rey. A story about a girl.

She was a small-town girl, living with her parents and a big extended family. She ruled the house on the hill, like a princess would because she was her parents' miracle child. She was the only girl child born to an extensive family of boys. So, she had a lot of protectors growing up. One day, she really wanted chocolate ice cream after dinner but there was none at home. So, her parents, who could never say no to her, decided to drive out to town and get some for her. It was late at night, and the driver had already retired to his quarters.

They never came back, Rey. The little girl kept waiting for her ice cream, looking out of the window every few minutes, until sleep overtook her tired eyes. Morning arrived, but her parents never did. Scared, she called her uncle, who rushed to the house only to find her hysterical and scared. They sent out search parties. The entire town searched for the princess's parents. And they were found, but they were never to return to the princess. Their car had swerved dangerously in the night to avoid a large tree that had collapsed on the road. But in avoiding the fallen tree, their car had gone right off the ledge of the hill they lived on.

Her uncle took her home, invited her into his family with open arms, gave her a real brother, and the love of the family she had lost not even a sunset ago.

She grew up, encased in a cocoon of love, family, and friendship. She gained a brother, who would protect her from the worst. She gained a father in the form of her uncle, who would always support her, lift her up and ground her. She let a new family into a heart. She created a chosen family with a group of ragtag outcasts through high school into community college. Her brother left to study in the big city, with promises to keep in touch, promises to visit during breaks. But he never came back either. And his calls home gradually dwindled too. He had gotten swept up by the fast life of the city. When he did call, he told her stories of a wondrous world, where he had the best of friends, who were all amazing at the art of dance and he told her that he'd found a family in them. When the calls tapered off, fear gripped her heart. A fear that said that she'd lost her brother to his new family and he'd never return to the sister he promised the world to.

He'd told her stories of his best friend. A friend who was his brother. A friend who he looked to for advice and to learn from. A friend who always had his back. And as he described this friend, sent home letters, pictures and medals over the years, she fell for the man he described. She fell for his passion for dance, his passion for life, and his passion for his friends. And she thought to herself, maybe. Just maybe. So she set out into the big open world, where her brother resided. He'd created an identity for himself and maybe, it was time she stepped out from the warm embrace and protection of her safe box into the real world.

So, she left her life, her friends, her chosen family and came to the city. She reunited with her protector and she met the man she considered her prince charming. But she'd never learned that life was rarely like a fairytale. Her brother had forgotten how to be her protector and the man she loved was never hers, to begin with. And yet, she persisted. She carved a small space for herself in their vast world, where she was happy to live. She was happy to share their victories and cry with them in their loss. She lost herself along the way. But in doing that, she and her prince charming grew closer. He gave her an identity again and lit a fire in her to assert herself. So she did. She spoke out, asserted herself, and tried to help them in her own way. But all she got back was scorn and ridicule. That was alright with her, as long as her prince charming was by her side, supporting her. And then, her world came to a screeching halt. All in one week. They parted ways. She would have understood his real reasons for parting had he talked to her. But she'd been insulted because he'd brought in council from individuals who had no right to interfere. Where once she'd had at least the scorn of others, all of a sudden, she was alone, in a tar-black abyss with nowhere to turn. Her friends, adrift, with no idea who to support because they were his friends first, drew away. Her brother, too involved in the princess he was in love with, her prince charming drifting away from her and the corner that she had carved for herself suddenly began suffocating her, causing pain to rise from deep within her soul where the ugly scars of betrayal and heartbreak festered.

She had to leave, Rey. She had to leave it all behind because the longer she stayed, the more those scars kept ripping open. The princess kept stitching the pieces of her heart and soul back together but the thread kept getting pulled apart by this new world she had entered. She'd lost everybody who she once considered hers in this new cut-throat world. She had to leave to put herself back together. So she packed up and left. She left the shattered rose-colored glasses behind. But, she left with new ambitions, new rules, and a new perspective of this life. To get herself to the top of that mountain. Because she was safe there. Nobody could hurt her there. Nobody could break her heart again. And nobody could see the scars that bound the pieces of her heart together.

Do you understand why the princess left? Maybe they weren't right for each other or maybe it wasn't their time yet. You understand, don't you Rey? They both had a lot to learn from the world yet and the world perhaps wasn't done with them either.

Take care, Rey. Take care of yourself, take care of my brother, and please make sure that what happened between the princess and her prince charming doesn't happen with my brother and Sharon. Someday, maybe in another life, the prince and princess will meet again.

Yours,

Taani.