Force Dyad
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A/N-thank you very much to everyone who kindly read and reviewed the last chapter.
Chapter Forty-Two-Dark Alliance
When they walked into the study, they found Leia standing near the window looking out onto the garden at the back of the house. It had been raining. The garden was always a shade brighter in the rain. It was as if the gift of the skies wasn't water, but liquid magic, washing everything to show what was there all along, nature in all her humble brilliance.
Ben noticed his mother's gaze seemed to be focused on something just outside the window, she still hadn't turned to greet them yet. He moved nearer, peering out of the clear glass to see what had her so captivated. To his astonishment a blue butterfly danced by in a whirl of colour. It continued to swim around in the air in dizzying circles. He became so consumed in watching its delicate wings fluttering, the gentle eddy of the wind dictating the pattern of its flight, that it wasn't until he heard a quiet gasp from beside him that he realised Rey had come to stand next to him.
"Ben, do you see…?"
"Yeah." Ben felt the gentle brush of her shoulder against his arm as she leaned in closer to get a better look. Ben stared at the top of her head, noting the way the diffused light in the room brought out the red hues in Rey's glossy brunette hair. He didn't say anything—didn't know what to say. He was peculiarly conscious of Rey standing close to him, her arm near his.
"What do you think it means?" Rey whispered to him.
Ben felt a strange static, a crackling in the air that was becoming more frequent whenever the two of them got within a foot of each other. Or maybe it had always been there and he was only now becoming aware of it. It was enough to make the little baby hairs on the back of his neck stand up because he didn't understand it. He wondered if Rey was aware of it but was too afraid to ask without sounding like a fool.
"Ben." Leia's gentle cadence brought him out of his introspection. He felt the tips of his ears burning as if he had been caught thinking something he shouldn't. "I'm so glad you're here."
"Yeah." Ben was suddenly down to one syllable. He couldn't seem to form words or think clearly. He stepped away from Rey, ending up closer to his mother. He looked down at Leia awkwardly, uncomfortable at the softness showing in her warm brown eyes. He wasn't used to seeing such a clear sign of affection from his mother and it made him uncomfortable.
Leia seemed to sense his unease. She turned the spotlight away from him and turned her benevolent gaze onto Rey instead. "It brings my heart joy seeing you looking so well, my dear. We were all so worried." She said, before embracing Rey gently in welcome.
Rey stiffened slightly, not knowing Leia as well as she did Han, she felt slightly overwhelmed by it all. It took her a minute to collect herself before she properly returned the older woman's hug. "Thank you." She murmured.
Once Leia let go, she urged them all to sit down and make themselves comfortable. Ben pulled up one of the plush velvet lined chairs for Rey to sit on before finding one for himself. As he sat down, he watched Han move his chair closer to Leia's as if not wanting to be too far away from her. It was so odd seeing his parents so united, but also strangely comforting. Now he had a clearer view of his mother's face, he noticed how wan her complexion was, she looked as exhausted as Han.
"Dad said you went to confront Voe on your own." Ben began tentatively.
Leia's face was drawn as she looked his way. Han put his arm around the back of her chair and she shifted closer to him. "Yes, there was no convincing Luke that there was something not quite right with the girl. I sensed the darkness in her, I was surprised he couldn't. Or maybe he didn't want to. Or maybe she was just adept at hiding it from him, but wasn't bothering with me as she knew I had seen through her pitiful act. Either way, it was clear that Luke was heavily in denial about a lot of things. He had taken on too much. I don't think he wanted to admit he was failing…."
"Where is Skywalker?" Ben cut in abruptly.
"I'm getting to that." Leia touched her temple as if it pained her.
"Be patient will you, son." Han chided him gently. "Are you alright, sweetheart?" He asked Leia.
"Its just a tension headache." Leia reassured her husband with a tired smile before resuming speaking. "I walked into Voe's room, only to be confronted by several masked warriors. They were clearly devotees of the dark side of the Force, heavily armed and highly dangerous…."
Ben found that his hands were clenched into tight fists on his lap as he shuddered at the thought of the peril his mother had unwittingly placed herself in. Just by her brief description he knew who she was talking about-The Knights of Ren. The knights were an enclave of masked warriors, neither Jedi nor Sith, but members of a new generation of Force-sensitive adepts that emerged to fill the void left by the demise of the last Sith Lords. Adhering to the ways of the Ren, a philosophy epitomized by the unique lightsaber the leader wielded, the Knights roamed the galaxy causing wanton destruction as devotees of the dark side of the Force. Armed with distinctive weapons for ranged and close-quarter combat, his mother had been lucky to escape with her life.
"I can see by your face that you know who these darkside warriors are. Have you crossed paths with them before?" Leia asked him cautiously.
Ben's gaze slid to the side and met Rey's. She knew. She recognised who Leia was talking about, too. He found himself suddenly unable to speak. Sensing how disturbed he was, Rey was the first to break eye-contact and she ended up answering for him. "They call themselves the Knights of Ren. They are devotees of the dark side of the Force. They adhere to the ways of the Ren, a philosophy epitomized by the lightsaber the leader-who also goes by the name Ren-wields. The Knights have a fierce reputation. They roam the galaxy causing chaos and misery wherever they go."
"You seem to know a lot about them, kid." Han said gruffly.
"Only through Master Skywalker." Rey explained. She glanced uneasily at Ben before continuing. "If I'm remembering correctly, Master Skywalker encountered the knights when he was investigating the discovery of an ancient Jedi outpost on the planet Elphrona. He brought some of his apprentices with him- "
"Was Voe one of them?" Leia cut in sternly.
"She took my place at the last minute." Ben broke in bitterly. "Voe had played one of her usual tricks and painted me in a bad light. As a consequence, Skywalker punished me by taking her with him instead of me, along with Tai and Hennix."
"Its all beginning to make a horrible kind of sense." Leia rubbed her aching forehead again. "This girl has been wilfully manipulating my brother for a long time. I cannot believe he was so blind to it…."
"He was too busy focusing all his energy on suppressing the darkness within me." Ben answered sarcastically. "Unfortunately for him and for all of us he was looking in the wrong direction."
Leia flinched slightly at his harsh tone. "I am partly to blame for that."
"Leia…" Han interceded.
"No…its true!" Leia hushed him. "Its time I owned my mistakes, Han. I have never properly dealt with my issues regarding my familial connection to Darth Vader. You know I haven't. And in trying to suppress it all, Ben got caught in the crosshairs. I projected it all on to him, self righteously believing I was protecting him from the darkness by sending him to my brother, not realising I had barely dealt with my own, or that Luke had, either. We only spoke about it once and never brought it up again. We were both scarred by our experiences with our birth father and it affected us going forward. I see that now. The problem is Luke still refuses to see it."
Listening to his mother expressing her deep regret and taking ownership of her past actions was a sobering experience for Ben. Sadness came as a painful cleanse. It hurt like hell, but seeing his usually strong mother, so open and so vulnerable had come at a pivotal point in his life. It was a chance to reassess what was helping and what was hurting, a chance to make new choices and go forward with a clearer conscience. His gaze shifted to Rey again, only to find, somehow, she had gravitated toward him, or he to her. He didn't know, he couldn't remember shifting his chair closer to hers. Rey had tears in her eyes, her front teeth were imbedded in her bottom lip in an effort to prevent it trembling. His mother's confession was affecting him, it also seemed to be affecting Rey just as much.
"Phew!" Leia let out a shuddering sigh as she dabbed at her eyes with the corner of her sleeve. "This conversation went way off topic. I haven't cried like that since…I can't remember." Her glazed eyes met Ben's and she swallowed thickly. "There is still so much I have to say…. but…."
"Now is not the right time." Ben finished for her. "I know."
Leia nodded as she took a further minute to compose herself before continuing on with the rest of the story. "The 'knights' were shocked by my sudden appearance, which worked heavily in my favour, it gave me enough time to draw the blaster I had concealed- "
"There's my princess." Han interrupted her, grinning. "I knew you wouldn't have gone in there unarmed."
Leia rolled her eyes even as a slight smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Anyway, I managed to fire at least one shot at them, before backing out of the room and fleeing for my life. Some of them were quick to follow, but by this time I had alerted Tai and Hennix to my predicament. They left to face off against the ones pursuing me, while I continued on to warn Han and Luke."
"Where was Voe?" Ben asked.
"I'm getting to that." Leia tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and reached for the hand Han offered her. She closed her fingers around his, grateful for his silent support. "I found Han first, quickly explained what happened, then we continued on together, searching for Luke. We found him in the hospital basement of all places. He wasn't alone, Voe was there."
"And?" Ben prompted.
Leia's eyes moistened again as she cast her son a despairing glance. "Knowing that I was going to confront Voe again, your uncle decided to go and see her first. She wasn't in her room. Concerned that she was missing and she might be in some kind of jeopardy, he went to track her down, only to find her in the midst of planting a series of explosives in the basement."
A/N-thanks for reading! Please review.
