Thanks for the reviews Guest and Love. Fiction. 2020! Answering your question...I left it purposefully vague because of the rating of the story. Feel free to read in whatever extra details you would like.
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
"She had the entire squadron of stormtroopers fighting amongst themselves in a matter of minutes. Her telepathic powers are beyond anything I've ever seen." Ben heard Luke say as he neared the antechamber to the holding cell where the Knight of Ren was allegedly being kept. He paused outside the door, listening to their conversation.
"I can think of at least two other people who could do what she does." Leia said seriously. "I think you know who I mean."
"She's not like them." Luke said quickly, and somewhat defensively.
"I'm not suggesting she is." Leia said. "I'm merely pointing out the similarities. Anyway, I think we have a visitor."
Ben silently cursed his mother's sensitivity to his presence in the Force and stepped back, embarrassed to have been caught eavesdropping. Leia Organa pushed open the door, giving him a knowing look before ushering him inside. Ben entered without a word, unable to resist peering into the transparent holding cell beyond. Ancai Morava was curled up on a stone platform, unconscious. Seeing him this close made his physical similarities to Amaya even more apparent. He was a male version of her in everything but character.
"You're certain he's still asleep?" Ben asked, walking up to the transparent barrier that separated them from the prisoner.
"Even if he's not, the glass is soundproof. We can speak freely here." Leia replied, taking a seat next to Luke at a small table set up in a corner of the room.
"Did you see Amaya?" Luke asked, rather impatiently. "Is she on her way?"
"She went back to her room to get something." Ben said. "She'll be here soon."
As if on cue, a knock sounded at the door and Leia rose to let in Amaya. Ben looked up, their eyes meeting briefly, before Amaya took a seat at the table next to Leia and Luke. Sliding into the chair next to Amaya, Ben couldn't help but glance sideways at her, noticing the way her face was paler than usual and her eyes flitted nervously between Leia and Luke.
It's okay. They like you. They'll understand. Ben reassured her silently.
Amaya gave him a small smile, before turning her attention back to Leia and Luke.
"So, what is it that was so urgent?" Leia asked Amaya.
Amaya bit her lip, exhaling. "Well there's two things...really." She said, playing with the ends of her sleeves. "I'll start with the first for now."
Amaya looked over at the sleeping figure of her brother, prompting the others to follow her gaze. "The Knight of Ren's name is Ancai Morava." Amaya said, her hands shaking slightly. "And he's my brother."
A shocked silence filled the room for a moment and Luke and Leia struggled to process what she had just said. "Why have you only just told us this?" Luke asked and at this, Ben felt annoyance at his uncle jolt him out of silence.
"Take a wild guess." He snapped irritably. "He's a Knight of Ren. She wanted to avoid reactions like this."
"There's more to it than that." Amaya said quickly before Luke could reply. "And it has to do with the second thing I need to tell you."
"We're listening." Leia said, nodding encouragingly.
"The second thing is that Snoke has been talking to me too." Amaya said.
Luke and Leia's faces paled, identical looks of horror forming on them. To Ben's great annoyance, however, Luke turned to him instead of Amaya.
"Did you know about this?" He asked, almost accusatorially.
"I would have told you before but Snoke threatened to kill my brother if I did and I...I just couldn't let him die." Amaya continued, saving Ben from having to respond to his uncle's question.
"But now that he's here, you think he's safe." Leia surmised and Amaya nodded.
"And," Amaya said quickly. "I can block him now." She said, a kind of frantic energy animating her. "I can block Snoke entirely and indefinitely. I have him blocked right now in fact."
"Are you certain?" Luke asked and Amaya nodded.
"Absolutely certain." She said, her voice reflecting the confidence she felt.
"How long has this been going on?" Leia asked and Amaya glanced over at Luke somewhat sheepishly.
"Since the day you admitted me to the Temple." Amaya admitted, and Ben felt her guilt through the Force. He felt guilt of his own surface as his conscience reminded him that at first, she had hidden Snoke's presence in her mind because he'd practically forced her to.
"I told her not to tell you." Ben admitted quietly, looking at his uncle. "I didn't want you to know he was still in my mind."
"But, as I said, my main motivation for not telling you sooner was my fear for my brother's safety." Amaya said quickly. "I would have told you, regardless of what Ben said, if it hadn't been for that."
"What has Snoke been saying to you?" Luke asked after a beat of silence.
"Not much recently, honestly." Amaya said. "He's told me about the Dark Side. He wants me to join him."
"And how have you responded?" Luke asked again, his face scrunched up with worry.
"I've resisted him, obviously." Amaya said. "Ben taught me how to block him. It's thanks to him I can block him completely now-"
"And yet he somehow can't manage to learn the same skill." Luke said, turning his attention back to Ben once more.
"Luke-" Leia began but Luke plowed on ahead.
"How many more secrets are you keeping from us?" Luke asked sharply. "How do you expect us to trust you after this?"
Ben recoiled like he'd been slapped in the face, the guilt he'd been feeling turning to anger. This was Amaya's secret, not his, why was he the one being blamed?
"It's not his fault-" Amaya began but Luke ignored her too, continuing on his rant.
"You knew how dangerous Snoke was and yet, instead of looking out for Amaya's best interests, you told her not to ask for help?" Luke cried, standing up now. "I put you in charge of her - you were supposed to take care of her, not leave her vulnerable to the Dark Side!"
"He tried!" Amaya protested, jumping to her feet as well. "He taught me how to block my mind-"
"He manipulated you into keeping his secrets for him even though he knew it would put you and everyone else in the Temple at risk." Luke said sharply, turning to look at Amaya.
Ben swallowed, knowing the accusation was true. Guilt and anger coursed through him in equal measure, so mixed up with one another they were almost impossible to separate. Even Amaya could not deny the accusation and Ben watched as she lowered her eyes, unable to defend him.
"Thank you, Amaya, for telling us this. I know it must have been hard." Leia said, standing up at last. "I think it would be best for all of us to just take some time apart to think this through."
Ben felt his mother's words cut through him like a knife, a voice that sounded oddly like Snoke's but definitely wasn't pointing out the difference between how he was treated as compared to Amaya. When he had told the truth, he'd been yelled at and almost expelled. When Amaya had told the truth she'd been thanked and he had somehow still been the one who was blamed.
Unable to take any more of the injustice, Ben stood up, vaguely noticing out of the corner of his eye that Ancai had woken up and was watching the scene with interest. Not giving the Knight a second thought, Ben pulled open the door to the hallway with so much force that it slammed into the wall, causing his mother to call out a reprimand which he promptly ignored.
What other proof do you want? Snoke spoke now, slipping into his mind. They don't love you, boy. I'm not saying this to hurt you-
Shut up! Ben screamed, increasing his pace. Shut up, shut up, shut up!
I'm telling you the hard truth. For your own good. Snoke continued.
You are the source of all my problems! Ben cried. If you weren't in my head none of this would have happened.
Yes, you're so right. Snoke purred. If I didn't exist you would live a blissful ignorant life mistakenly believing your family loved you. You'd learn to trust them blindly and they would shower you with all the admiration they now withhold. But that life would be a lie, Ben. Look at the truth I have shown you. You're a liar and a selfish coward. I've proven that. You're meant for the Dark Side. Without me you'd never know your true potential. You'd be limited by Luke's narrow thinking. Your family doesn't love you for who you are, they want to shape you into something entirely different - something better. If I didn't exist, you would never know that their love was conditional on your ability to play the role they wanted you to.
"Ben." Ben heard Amaya say faintly, as if from a great distance, his mind so caught up in what Snoke was saying.
People show their true colors when they're put to the test. Snoke continued. I put you all to the test.
"Ben!" Amaya called, her voice slightly louder. Ben shook his head, bringing his attention back to the world around him in time to notice Amaya before she put her hand on his shoulder.
"Are you okay?" She asked and Ben resisted the urge to snap back at her. In what universe was he anywhere close to being okay?
"Yes." He ground out, not even bothering to make it sound convincing. She hadn't even defended him against Luke's accusations. She'd agreed with them - it had been apparent on her face. She knew he was no good just like everyone else.
"Master Luke shouldn't have taken that out on you. It was my choice not to tell them. You're not responsible for my actions just because I'm new." Amaya said, shaking her head.
Ben made no reply, glaring at a chip in the tiles at his feet.
"He's just worried. I can feel it in the Force - he's scared that Snoke is going to take you away. But that's not going to happen. You won't let it happen." Amaya said, a definite note of fear in her own voice despite her attempt to sound confident.
"Amaya I said I'm fine." Ben snapped, finally looking up to glare at her.
Amaya recoiled, looking hurt for a moment before her eyes hardened. "Come with me." She said sharply, grabbing his hand and pulling him down the hall.
Ben resisted initially but after a death glare from Amaya, he relented, following her wherever she was leading. She pulled him down hallway after hallway, up winding stairs and into elevators until they reached a level of the Senate Ben didn't think he had ever seen before.
"Where are we going?" He asked as they came out on the 11th floor of the building and Amaya pulled him down a long hallway surrounded on all sides by glass that offered a stunning view of the city beyond.
"We're almost there." Amaya said, increasing the pace.
Finally, she stopped outside of a thick door with a circular window in the middle. Pulling open the door, Ben's eyes widened in surprise when he took in the sight in front of him. A garden the size of the entire Jedi Temple stretched out in front of them on all sides. Flowers and plants of all shapes and sizes were arranged between stone pathways and statues of famous Republic leaders of the past. Amaya let go of his hand, turning to look at him.
"How did you know this was up here?" Ben asked, baffled by her sudden knowledge of the secret parts of the building.
"The Force." Amaya said, looking around herself. "All of this plant life...it has a distinct Force Signature. Not exactly something you'd expect to feel in a building like this."
Ben stared at her in awe for a moment, once again taken aback by her sudden increase in Force sensitivity.
Amaya led the way down the winding garden path, not even bothering to look back to make sure that Ben was still following her because, Ben guessed, she could feel that he was. Ben watched her, noticing for the millionth time how beautiful her long, dark and curly hair was. It bounced as she walked, lightly touching her shoulders.
There was something different about her. Something had changed within her since they'd come to the Temple...or maybe it was since she'd had her Force breakthrough. A newfound confidence coursed through her and a feeling of smug triumph simmered just beneath the surface...but it was more complicated than that. She was agitated. It was like a fire had been lit inside her. She was angry and beneath that...fear.
Reaching a bench, Amaya stopped and took a seat. Ben sat down next to her and she slipped her hand into his, looking at him curiously.
"What?" Ben asked.
"I didn't say anything." Amaya replied.
"You're thinking something." Ben said. "I don't need the Force to know there's something on your mind. What is it?"
Amaya bit her tongue, seemingly hesitant to speak.
"Why do you think Ancai turned to the Dark side?" Amaya asked and Ben's eyes widened ever so slightly, taken aback by the question.
"Well...his mother abandoned him and then killed herself. It doesn't sound like his dad was any good either." Ben said.
"I told you I blamed him, didn't I?" Amaya asked, her voice catching in her throat. "I told him it was his fault she died, but it wasn't. You don't think that could have..."
"You can't blame yourself for that." Ben said quickly, tightening his grip on her hand. "You'd just lost your mother, the only person you'd ever known-"
"But do you think it could have been the reason he turned?" Amaya asked desperately, pulling her hand out of Ben's grip and turning to stare at him. "Be honest."
Ben opened his mouth and then closed it again, afraid to say something wrong. "It could have...contributed." He said at last.
Amaya's face fell and Ben immediately regretted his words. "But it could have happened anyway. It probably would have." He added quickly. "Besides you barely know him, he could have turned to the Dark side for some completely unrelated reason. It's possible that-"
"Ben, stop." Amaya said sharply.
Ben fell silent and Amaya's face softened, a look of guilt forming on her face. "I'm sorry." She said, slipping her hand back into his.
That night, Amaya couldn't sleep. She lay awake, tossing and turning, into the late hours of the night. Images and snippets of conversations blurred together despite her best attempts to shut them out. Snoke, Ben, Luke, Leia, Ancai...their faces swam before Amaya's eyes even as she lay in bed with them closed. It didn't help that she could still feel them.
Ancai had been interrogated that evening, or so she had been told, but he'd refused to divulge any information of any consequence. It was Amaya's understanding that the Senate intended to use stronger measures the next day. What those measures were, exactly, Amaya wasn't sure. However, her stomach tightened painfully at the thought of what they might do to him if he continued to refuse to cooperate.
Giving up on sleep at last, Amaya climbed out of bed and tiptoed to the closet. She quickly changed into her padawans robes before silently leaving her room. She reached out with the Force, feeling Luke and the other padawans sleeping in their rooms. Even Ben was asleep - a welcome surprise.
Reaching the holding cell, Amaya quickly used a Jedi mind trick on the guards before entering the code. The door to the room slid open silently, and Amaya entered, closing it behind her. Ancai sat on the stone platform that was meant to serve as a bed, his knees bent. He looked up when Amaya entered the room.
"You're awake." She remarked, taking a seat on the nearest interrogation chair.
"So is this how the Jedi do things?" Ancai asked, coming to take a seat on the chair opposite the glass. "They wait until the middle of the night to interrogate their prisoners?"
"Am I the reason you turned to the Dark Side?" Amaya asked.
Ancai raised an eyebrow, clearly trying desperately to appear unfazed by the question when Amaya could feel through the Force that it had shook him. "I'm sorry, is this part of the interrogation or-"
"Just answer the question, Ancai." Amaya snapped, letting out a sigh of exasperation.
"I turned to the Dark Side long before we ever met so how could you have been the reason?" Ancai asked. "Not everything revolves around you."
Amaya sighed, falling silent. She shouldn't have come. This was a stupid idea.
"I told you it was your fault." Amaya said, "It wasn't."
"What are you taking about?" Ancai asked, forcing a laugh that sounded far from genuine.
Amaya examined his face, "You know what I'm talking about." She said quietly, meeting his eyes.
Ancai immediately looked away but Amaya just continued anyways. "No one could have known how she would react to being found...I didn't even see it coming. In all honesty, I was too busy being happy you had found us. I wanted off that island, I wanted to see the world and meet other people. I was so relieved! You have no idea..."
Amaya hesitated, feeling the Darkness of the Force around her brother intensifying. "I shouldn't have blamed you." She said quietly. "It wasn't your fault she...she-"
"Killed herself." Ancai finished sharply, and Amaya swallowed.
"You're right though." Ancai agreed, a dangerous note to his voice. "No one could have known she would rather die than be forced to see her husband and son again."
"It wasn't you she didn't want to see, it was the life she'd ran away from that she didn't want to go back to." Amaya replied quickly and Ancai let out a cold laugh.
"I was her life." He snapped. "I was the child who trapped her in a marriage she didn't want to be in. She resented the fact that I'd been born because I took away her freedom."
"It wasn't you, it was the social norms on Alfazine that trapped her." Amaya retorted, but Ancai merely snorted.
"She could have taken me with her. She clearly had no problem raising you." He said.
"She didn't know she was pregnant with me until after she left. She probably thought it would be wrong to steal you away from your life in Tarsi City to go live on some deserted island." Amaya argued.
"I would have preferred it." Ancai snapped back, and Amaya fell silent for a moment before she remembered something she had meant to say.
"The 3rd of the 5th cycle." Amaya said, looking up at Ancai. "That's your birthday isn't it."
Ancai frowned ever so slightly, "How do you know that?"
"Because every year on that day, our mother used to bake a cake and we'd eat it together on the beach." Amaya said. "I didn't know what was so special about that day until after she died. I found some of her old diaries and read them."
Ancai made no reply, his face closed off and his eyes fixed on the table in front of him. After a moment, he looked up and shook his head. "I'm glad she's dead." He said, "She would hate me if she knew what I've become."
"But I don't hate you." Amaya said. Ancai met her gaze, a look of vulnerability passing across his face for a split second before it disappeared and he raised an eyebrow.
"But you're a Jedi. You're not allowed to hate me." Ancai said and Amaya snorted with laughter.
"If I was one to follow rules I wouldn't be here right now." Amaya replied. "I trust you won't rat me out to Master Luke or the Senate tomorrow?"
"Maybe we are related after all." Ancai said, smirking.
Amaya smiled, feeling some of the tension in the room dissipate. "We should get some sleep." Amaya said, after a moment. "Do you want a...pillow or something?"
Ancai snorted, "I've slept in worse places."
"You're not the prince I thought you were." Amaya said, causing Ancai to raise an eyebrow.
"You're not the self-righteous moralist I thought you were." Ancai replied.
"Goodnight, Ancai." Amaya said, giving him a withering look.
"Goodnight, 'Maya." Ancai said and Amaya frowned.
"Don't call me that." She said, causing Ancai to grin in a way that made her certain he was going to keep the nickname just to bug her.
Amaya narrowed her eyes at him to show her displeasure, before turning to leave. She left the room and walked back to her own room in silence, just the hint of a smile on her lips.