AN: Thanks for reading and reviewing again!
"Dyad's Blessing, Dyad's Curse"
By EsmeAmelia
Chapter 44
". . . I regret to inform you that Rey was unable to be here, but she sends her regards to all of you," said Poe, nervously glancing around the crowded meeting table and trying to ignore the little fact that Rey hadn't actually sent her regards before leaving, but he was sure she would have if she hadn't felt a sudden Force urge to go to the prison. It was true from a certain point of view, right?
Right?
"What?" exclaimed the representative from Toydaria (what was his name? Darren?) flying up out of his seat, his wings nearly colliding with the heads of those sitting next to him as they flapped. "You said she would be here!"
"I know," said Poe, "and I apologize for that, but something came up for her."
"What?" The Toydarian was glaring at Poe as if it was his fault that Rey was a no-show. "What was more important than this meeting?"
Great, that question. The question Poe had hoped no one would ask. "She . . . got a sign from the Force that she was supposed to be somewhere."
"And where would that be?"
Poe could swear that his stomach was trying to sink out of his body. "I don't know if she wants me to tell you."
"Is she visiting Kylo Ren, by any chance?" snapped Oma Rane, the representative from Lothal, her green eyes flaring.
Poe gulped. "What makes you say that?"
"I know she was a frequent visitor when he was in the hospital," Oma said. "Rumor even has it that she's in league with him."
"That's ridiculous." Poe tried to ignore the bead of sweat dripping down his face.
"Then I guess the rumors about her parentage are also ridiculous?" Oma's eyes were narrowing in Poe's direction.
"What rumors?" asked Poe.
"The rumors that she is Emperor Palpatine's granddaughter and she is working with the grandson of Darth Vader to seize the galaxy."
How the hell did that get out? As an explosion of chatter erupted through the meeting room, Poe found himself wishing he could hide under the table and not come out until everybody was gone. Then he found himself wishing that Leia had picked someone else as her successor.
"Order!" Finn shouted from his seat next to Poe. "ORDER!"
As the chatter died down, Finn glared out at the crowd. "Look, we're not here to discuss Rey's heritage, are we? Could General Organa and Master Skywalker help that they were Darth Vader's offspring? No. One of the Resistance's strongest principals is that you aren't defined by your heritage or your upbringing." He nodded in Poe's direction. "I was brought up to kill for the First Order, but when I met Poe here, he never held that against me. It's because of him that I was able to turn my life around." He gave Poe's hand a reassuring squeeze with one hand while gesturing across the table with the other. "And look at Jannah over there. She too was raised to kill for the First Order and she too chose a different path."
Jannah twisted her mouth in an awkward manner, but next to her Rose was squeezing her hand in a similar manner to how Finn was squeezing Poe's.
"In the Resistance, we believe in second chances," Finn continued. "If Rey failing to show up for a meeting is really enough for you decide not to join us, then maybe you should take a look at yourselves. Do you believe in second chances too? When you make mistakes, do you want everyone to walk out on you, or do you want a chance to redeem yourself?"
None of the representatives looked happy, but at least they didn't protest, allowing Poe to continue the meeting. Though Finn kept squeezing his hand, it did little to calm his stomach, since he could still feel the representatives' disapproval.
. . .
Rey meant to get back to the meeting before it ended – she meant to – but the airbus had to pick up and drop off so many passengers that she wondered if the Force was trying to keep her from getting back to the Resistance on time. By the time she did get back, after running down the hall so fast that sweat exploded out of her pores, people were leaving the meeting room.
"So there you are!"
As soon as she entered the meeting room, Rey found herself face-to-face with Poe, bearing a frazzled expression as he picked up his datapad. "How did it go?" she asked, even though she could already sense the answer.
"Not well," said Poe. "Got a lotta maybes and we'll-sees. I think most of them were disappointed that the last Jedi wasn't there!"
Rey swallowed. "I had to . . ."
"See Ben, I know!" Poe interrupted. "Everything with you is about Ben these days!"
"Poe, I know it's hard to understand, but . . ."
"But what?" Poe looked at her like she'd betrayed the Resistance. "Did you know some people think you and he are joining forces to take over the galaxy and other crazy shit like that? Oh, and there's apparently a rumor about you being a certain someone's granddaughter."
Rey's heart jumped. "Did someone tell . . .?"
"No, of course not. Me, Finn, Rose, Jannah, Lando, Chewie – we've all kept quiet about that. That's everyone who knows, right? Well, besides Ben."
"He hasn't told anyone," Rey said automatically.
"Well the rumors got out somehow!" Poe let out a long sigh, running his hand through his hair. "Look, I'm sorry, I don't wanna yell at you, but we're all under a lot of stress right now and you always going off to see Ben doesn't exactly look good to the representatives."
"He gave us information, didn't he?"
Poe sighed again. "Yeah, information that could get more of our troops killed. If he's playing us, they'll be walking into a trap, but even if he's not playing us and the info's legit, they could still get killed by remnant First Order officers!"
Rey put her hand on Poe's shoulder, wishing she knew the right thing to say, wishing she had at least accomplished something by seeing Ben. "Poe, I'm sorry, I really am. I know it's hard to understand this thing I have with him – I don't understand it myself – but he needs me right now."
"Well we need you too," said Poe.
"I know that, and I'm trying!"
"Then maybe you could try a little harder?" By now Poe was panting between words and Rey noticed bags under his eyes. How long had those been there?
"Rey!" exclaimed a third voice.
Both Rey and Poe turned to find Finn standing in the doorway. "Finn," Rey breathed as he walked up to her and gathered her into a hug. "I'm sorry I couldn't get to the meeting in time."
Finn shrugged as they pulled out of the hug. "Well, it could have gone better, but there's one piece of good news."
"What?"
A nervous grin crept across Finn's face. "Even though most of the representatives were hesitant about joining us, they were willing to help us fund the stormtrooper reunion program."