Pre-reading Musings

1) I'm not a Star Wars expert. I will get things wrong and I apologize.

2) Check out Seven Brides for Seven Brothers if you haven't seen it. You haven't seen dancing until you've seen a man dance with an axe.

3) This is written his and her style - both POVs will be shown.

Rey lifted her hand, summoning the fallen lightsaber from its place in the downy white snow to her outstretched palm. Still shaken and sore from her collision with the tree, she knew the only way she would escape was to best Kylo Ren in a fight. And with Finn inert on the ground, it looked like she would be fighting him solo.

As the cool metal made contact with her hand after nearly grazing the father-murderer in front of her, she felt a chill that had nothing to do with the frigid temperature of the wintery forest surrounding her. As she powered the lightsaber, two blazing, brown eyes and one red, sparking lightsaber turned their full attention towards her. Not allowing herself time to think and weigh whether this was a smart decision or not, she ran at the man who'd just killed the man who'd been like a mentor to her.

Thirty seconds into the fight, Rey realized how foolish she'd been. She should have ran she chided herself. That would have been the most likely means of her making it out alive. How on earth was she ever going to defeat this giant luggabeast of a man? She was no match for him. It was through sheer will alone that she hadn't collapsed. Her anger spurred her on, but as time went on she began to realize how futile this fight was. She was going to die by this man's lightsaber.

Backed to the edge of a cliff, heaving and struggling with all her might not to fall, she felt a little give against the lightsaber in her hand. Kylo Ren wasn't putting his full might into staving off the saber she was wielding against him. Maybe his injuries were getting to him, she thought, but then a look of reflection passed on his face.

"You need a teacher. I can show you the ways of the Force."

Was this man deranged? What would make him think she'd want a murderous lunatic as her teacher? That she would want to learn what he knows…methods of torture and misery. No, he had nothing of value to teach her.

He was right about one thing though, the Force. It could help her. If she focused all her energy on it, then maybe, just maybe, she could defeat this maniac. Body shaking with exertion, she used the temporary slack he'd given her to advantage and forced him backwards away from the cliff. Instead of being the attackee, she became the attacker, dealing blow after blow. She hit with more precision and more force than she had previously. Rey felt a bit of glee in her success. She would avenge Han Solo, the only fatherlike figure she'd ever known.

But her luck did not last long. He was stronger than her and as evidenced by his skill, better trained than her. After the initial shock of her applying a more deft hand at battle, Kylo began to adapt to her new style of fighting. And as she swung the saber high to hit him with a forceful blow, his block sent her stumbling to the ground. Then, as happened on Takodana, she felt a spinning sensation before she felt nothing at all.

Kylo whipped his body back to avoid the crash of metal into his skull. The lightsaber he'd been reaching for had been rudely stolen from his grasp and his eyes followed to discover who the thief had been.

Her. Rey, he thought her name was. Rey, he knew that her name was.

He was in pain. He'd just finished fighting that traitor of a former stormtrooper and now it looked like Rey wanted a go as well. He didn't want this. He was tired. His body and his soul ached from all that had happened today. Han Solo's face flickered before his eyes. Grunting and hitting his side, he refused to focus on that particular pain. Luke. Skywalker. The map. The droid. This…girl. She was the one standing between him and what he wanted. If she wanted to fight, well, then, he'd fight.

Kylo could have laughed at her fighting technique because she had none. It was all rage and trying not to die. She needn't worry about that. He didn't think he had it in him to seriously injure her. He just needed to scare her enough so that she'd give him the answers he wanted.

Yet he couldn't deny, as untrained as she was she had the courage and persistence, that if probably trained, could make her into someone great, someone worthy of ruling by his side especially since like himself she was strong in the Force.

As she trembled at the edge of the cliff, he felt pity for her. He didn't want her harmed. He just wanted her on his side.

"You need a teacher. I can show you the ways of the Force," he found himself blurting. Why did he want to spare this girl's life so much? He knew Snoke wouldn't like it.

Rey stared at him as if a third eyeball had sprouted on his forehead. Her look of incredulity did not last long as her face became one of focus and peace. He didn't know what was going on in her mind, but he wanted her to do something, say something.

His wish was soon granted as she forcefully wielded the lightsaber against him. Caught off guard, she got a few good blows against him, but then he learned the rhythm of her attacks and parried accordingly. With a strong swing, her lightsaber came for him again, but he successfully blocked it, sending her crashing to the ground. His body aching and his general desire for this nonsense to stop, he used the Force to knock her unconscious. He winced as he picked her up and began his trek back to the ship. She was light and underfed but he was injured so carrying her was taking more of a toll on him that it had on Takodana.

As he walked, his thoughts strayed to his father and a surge of emotions - anger, betrayal, regret, sorrow - filled him. He looked down at the motionless face of the scrappy girl in his arms. He remembered what he'd found in her mind - loneliness, despair, anger (mainly targeted at him), but also hope. He wanted hope. He wanted someone who understood him. He wanted Rey and he wasn't planning on letting her go any time soon.