The clouded heavens above flashed with lightning. The storm had calmed. Luke's voice was the only thunder in their ears.
"Rey," Luke held his hand out for her, still pointing his saber at Kylo.
Kylo and Rey looked at each other one last time before Rey let her hand fall from his chest. Carefully, she slipped out of his arms and went to stand next to Luke. The green of his lightsaber hummed away, and he draped a dry cloak over Rey's shoulders.
"Are you alright?" he asked her. "Did he hurt you?"
"No," Rey shivered, shaking her head. "He... He saved me."
They both looked at Kylo standing tall before them, wet from head to toe and completely shirtless. Drops of rain fell from the ends of his black hair. From his trembling lips. His white skin glistened under the blue light of the moon, his muscles tightening with cold.
Rey wrapped her cloak around herself tighter and turned to Luke, ignoring the way her face grew hot. "The Knights of Ren?" she asked him, combing her fingers through her wet hair.
"Gone," Luke replied.
"You slaughtered my men?"Kylo barked.
"I gave them a choice," Luke frowned, his gray beard wet with rain. "Only two chose wisely. They didn't have time to wait for their master, I'm afraid. Yes," he answered Kylo's shocked expression. "They took the ship. You're stuck here."
Kylo's nostrils flared, his eyes dead set on Luke. "Go on then. Finish what you planned that night. Try. Unless you can't do it while I'm awake."
Rey's brows pulled together in confusion, but Luke seemed to know exactly what he meant. He cast his eyes down and hitched his saber back onto his belt. "There won't be any more blood spilled by my hands tonight. Besides, your mother would tear me to pieces."
"Not if I beat her to it," Kylo scowled. As much as he tried to keep his jaw set, Rey could hear his teeth chattering.
Luke only stepped forward, pulling out Kylo's saber from a pocket within his brown cloak, handing it to him. "You dropped this," Luke said.
Kylo snatched it from him without hesitation, pressing his thumb down on the activation stud. Nothing happened. No matter how many times he tried, his fiery red blade would not shoot out. He frowned at Luke as if to say, "What have you done?" and bared his teeth when he saw the Jedi hold out something small and shiny in his hand. A cracked, red kyber cystal. The heart of Kylo's saber.
Luke placed it back into another pocket. "You're to remain here. Until you remember who you are. Rey," he nodded at his apprentice to follow and turned on his heel, heading for the grassy stone steps beyond the dark beach.
"I know who I am!" Kylo shouted after him. "I do now after you and they kept it hidden from me all those years!"
"We kept that secret to protect ourselves. To protect you , Ben!" Luke shouted, walking back to him. "I'm not ashamed of my father. Anakin was a good man deep down. There was still light in him. As I know there is in you."
Kylo said nothing. Only stared at the Jedi with hate.
"Come now," Luke walked away. "You look frozen."
"I'd rather drown," Kylo muttered.
"Then start swimming," Luke replied, not even bothering to turn around that time.
Kylo's bare feet sunk in the wet sand when he stomped forward. His hands curled into fists ready to snap Luke's neck in two. He only stopped when Rey stepped in front of him, her hazel eyes looking up at him. She was determined to protect her master. Kylo stood rooted to the sand, the anger slowly fading from his face. Rey's eyes wandered over his naked torso. Without thinking, she slipped off the brown cloak Luke had given her. She offered it to Kylo.
The rain had lightened to a misty drizzle. She wouldn't need it. He's the one who looks two seconds away from death , she thought.
Hesitant at first, he took it, welcoming it around his wet shoulders. She didn't wait for a thank you – didn't really expect one – and turned to catch up to Luke. Halfway up the stone stairs, she looked back to see Kylo also climbing up behind them, still looking at her.
Rey looked away in an instant, a smile tugging at her lips.
Rey held out her hands, smoke wrapping around her fingers. The hot flames of her fire were small but they warmed her skin down to her bones in no time. The yellow glow flickered against the gray stones of her hut. After slipping on a dry change of clothes, she wrapped herself in a blanket and sat on a stone bench by the fire, a warm cup of tea in her hands. She listened to the crackling flames as she sipped. Warmth had always been the least of her worries. Fresh, cool water was what she usually thirsted for. Rey could only imagine the faces of those on Jakku if they could see how often it flowed here, flooding the grass and pouring down the stone steps like a waterfall.
Jakku…
What a turn her life had made. Only a week ago, she had been scavenging abandoned Empire ships, collecting enough junk to earn her dinner every night. Living in fear of thieves and the vile Unkar Plutt, whose small, ugly eyes ogled her every time she came to trade. Only a week ago, she had been sitting in the cold silence of her home. Scratching new marks on the wall that told how long she had been waiting for her family to return.
A dirty, penniless scavenger from Jakku turned Jedi knight. The excitement of it was always plagued with shame, as if her new title was undeserved. Jedi were the products of legend on Jakku. Great warriors from long lines of notable blood. As Luke Skywalker is. As Kylo Ren is. Master Luke had dismissed her insecurities, telling her Jedi came from all walks of life. Yet, the feeling remained, becoming an itch she could not scratch. Even here on Ach-To training under Luke and the support of her friends in the resistance, she felt as lonely as she had on Jakku. As if she still didn't belong.
"Rey?" Luke's voice croaked outside the hut, interrupting her thoughts.
"Come in," she said, and Luke pulled aside the tarp she substituted for a door. A small furry porg waddled in with him. It shook the rain from its feathers and plopped down near the fire. Rey smiled and scratched the top of its head. "Where is he?" she asked Luke.
"The caretakers were kind enough to clean out a hut for him," Luke sat on another stone bench opposite Rey. "Near mine. He won't bother you."
"He saved me," Rey said, still bewildered. "He could've let me drown and left to go find you. But he didn't. Why?"
Luke shrugged. "You told me he offered to be your teacher. He didn't want to lose his next apprentice, perhaps."
"I gave him my answer. That scar across his eye."
"Ben always was a stubborn boy," Luke chuckled, staring at the flames, losing himself in a memory.
Rey bit her lip at the name. "How did it happen, Master Luke? Why did he turn?"
Luke blinked, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. He swallowed. "There was always darkness in him. Since he was a boy. That mighty Skywalker blood ran through his veins more raw and powerful than anything I'd ever seen. Until now," he nodded at Rey. "I was foolish enough to think I could tame it. Leia... She trusted me with her son, and I took him. Him and twelve others and began a training temple. Still, even among other force-sensitive beings, Ben's power made him an outcast. His emotions always bled through no matter how hard he tried to contain them. And by the time I realized I was no match for the darkness rising in him... It was too late."
"What happened?" asked Rey.
Luke took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Rey studied his face as he recalled the memory. "I confronted him one night," he said. "And he turned on me. Left me for dead. Burned the whole temple down and murdered all my students. Save for the ones who followed him."
"The Knights of Ren."
Luke nodded. "Leia blames Snoke for turning him, but... I know it was me. I failed him. I failed them all."
Rey frowned, feeling more grateful for the distance between her and Luke's nephew. The look of grief on the old Jedi's face made her want to bury her staff in Kylo's gut.
"No. That's not true," she said to Luke. "You didn't fail Kylo. Kylo failed you. I won't."
Luke smiled, but traces of fear and doubt lingered on his face. He didn't know how much it stung her. "I know," he said, standing up with a grunt. "Get some rest. We'll start your next lesson tomorrow morning."
"Will he...?"
"No," he answered. "That's precisely what I came to say. It doesn't matter that he's here. He won't disrupt your training. I'll make sure of it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have two men to clean and bury."
"Goodnight, Master Luke." Rey watched the old man leave her hut into the darkness of outside. Chilly wind swept in and made the fire shiver. The porg, fast asleep against Rey's leg, kicked his webbed foot when she set him down on the other bench. She pressed her hand to her mouth when she gave a deep yawn and curled up on her own rock mattress. The blankets she had draped over it did little to help. She would have been more than happy to utilize the comfy sleeping quarters of the Falcon, but Master Luke insisted it was part of her training. If chronic back pain was a part of being a Jedi, she was starting to rethink her decision.
"Are you alright?"
Goosebumps spread down her back at his voice, whispering in her ear again. She cleared her throat, keeping her face composed. "Fine. But I'd rather not do this now."
"Sure," Kylo said. "I'm certain we'll have plenty of time to bump heads. Figure this connection out."
"Well... Luke would prefer it if you kept away from me. While you're here."
A small silence lingered in which she thought the bond must have severed. But his deep voice came through again. "Is that what you want?"
Her own silence followed his question. She couldn't believe she was even turning it around in her head. This was her enemy. A murderer. A monster. Of course she should want to keep away. It surprised her, however, how much resistance she felt at the decision. How dismal the thought of staying away from him was. Nonetheless, she could not let him distract her training and everything she was working for. She wouldn't fail Master Luke.
"Yes," she lied, swallowing. "Yes, it's what I want."
The hurt she felt coming from his end was unexpected, only lasting a second before he composed himself as well. "I understand. Goodbye then."
"Kylo," Rey heard herself call out for him. "Thank you. For saving my life."
She liked the feeling of him smiling. "Anytime," he said. "Goodnight, Rey."