One-Shot: The Bedtime Story
The night was still on the island planet of Ahch-To. Out through one of the naturally carved windows in a stone hut, a young Jedi Padawan Initiate named Francesca gazed out at the lapping waters of the ocean below. Behind her, through the Force, she sensed the door to her bedroom creak before she heard it, as her Jedi Master, Rey Skywalker, entered, carrying a load of dirty robes to be hung out on the line overnight.
"Francesca? Temiri?" She called into the adjacent stone hut through the one connecting door, hearing water running in the bathroom beyond. "Time for bed." Glancing to Francesca, Rey asked, "Did you brush your teeth...?"
"I already did," Francesca sighed, not even bothering to turn her head.
Rey nodded, and the young girl - no more than twelve - padded over to flop down onto her bed. Rey lowered herself to the foot of the mattress. "So: was your training OK with Masters Finn and Jannah?"
"Yeah," Francesca bobbed her head. "It was good."
Rey pursed her lips to hide a smile at the clipped response. "OK. Lights out."
"Bedtime story first," Francesca pleaded, following her across the bed with a hopeful light in her eyes, an ever-so-slight pout to her lips.
Rey bit back a remark about how her Padawan was a little old for a bedtime story and chuckled, retaking her perch at the end of the bed. "What story do you want to hear?"
Francesca's smile was impish. "The Jedi and Sith Who Fell in Love."
"Hmm... gonna have to remember that one..." Rey made a show of recollecting. Glancing back to the ajar door leading into his room, she called, "Temiri, you wanna hear a story?"
"I'm listening," the handsome youth of 19 called absently, already sounding bored.
Rey turned back to Francesca, smiling almost... nostalgically. "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there was a Jedi who lived in the desert..."
"... and a handsome dark prince who lived on a spaceship," Francesca finished by heart.
"Right," Rey chuckled. "The Jedi lived alone in the desert, not knowing that her powers in the Force lay dormant. She was waiting for something that would never come... only to be met with the arrival of something else - a mission."
"He was her mission," Francesca's eyes gleamed.
"No, not quite yet. A droid was her mission, to return him to the Resistance so that they could track down a great Jedi Master, who was living in hiding. A brave and defected Stormtrooper helped them get off-planet in one of the galaxy's fastest ships. En route to the Resistance base, on a planet covered with a dense, enchanted forest, the Jedi's bravery was shaken and she ran from the task before her... only to run right into her destiny."
"The dark prince," Francesca seemed on the edge of bouncing in her seat.
"Yes," Rey nodded. "He was intrigued by her. And he knew that she carried in her mind the secret of the map to where the great Jedi Master was hiding. So, with all his charm, he swept the young Jedi girl off her feet and carried her off to his large fleet. Well, being a fiercely independent woman, the Jedi tried to make it seem as though his advances meant nothing to her. But... he was different than she expected."
Rey suddenly paused as a memory surfaced, and she shook her head, frowning. "I shouldn't be telling you this."
"No, go on!" Francesca pleaded.
"Ok, but you have to understand: these were dark and confusing times. The prospect of developing a connection, feelings, with the enemy perturbed her, and she began to realize that years of isolation on a backwater planet had taken its toll." Rey smiled ruefully. "So, she escaped from the dark prince's ship. Well, the dark prince was deeply hurt and upset over this, so he chased her with a laser sword until she faced him in a lightsaber duel. She left a mark on his face, branding him as hers, and went to find and train with the hiding Jedi Master."
"Some time later, the Jedi and the dark prince discovered that they could see, speak to and touch each other from across lightyears. It was a Force Bond - a profound and rare phenomenon. Old wounds caused them to argue at first, their differing beliefs on opposite ends of a war even more so. But as time went on, the Jedi began to see the man behind the dark powers in the Force... and they fell in love. One night, after a romantic evening by candlelight in her hut, the Jedi experienced a vision of her dark prince returning to the Light, and resolved to go to him aboard his ship to turn him. The Jedi's Master begged her not to go, but she was overcome with and blinded by love."
"She knew her dark prince loved her too, but his position entrapped him in a situation in which he had no choice but to take her prisoner, and bring her before his own Master. All he could do to reassure the Jedi was whisper sweet nothings when they were alone together in an elevator. The dark prince's evil Sith Master tortured the Jedi, until the dark prince flew into a love-induced rage and murdered his cruel master for the woman he loved."
"Here it was that the Jedi thought her beautiful dream would be fulfilled. But when she asked her beloved dark prince to come away with her..." Rey had to fight to hide the tears. "... he couldn't do it."
Francesca moaned melodramatically, letting out a pining sigh.
"The Jedi had to flee from her love once again. And the Jedi was heartbroken. Yet still, their Bond remained and blossomed. So, they kept contact, seeing each other in secret even as war raged around them. Of course, being on opposite sides, they needed to be discreet, and occasionally do battle to keep up appearances, as they could never be seen together."
"Well, the dark prince's evil Sith Master surprisingly returned and ordered the dark prince to kill the Jedi with whom he had fallen in love. The dark prince agonized over the decision. But, seeing how his Jedi wept for him granted him the courage to redeem himself. So that, when the Sith Master tempted the Jedi to turn to the dark side, the dark prince charged in to rescue her. Enraged, the Sith Master cast him down a pit, while the Jedi summoned all the spirits of Jedi past to duel her fierce adversary." Rey paused dramatically. "Tragically, the effort killed her."
Francesca sat frozen on the bed, spellbound. Behind them, Temiri was leaning against the wall, smirking in amusement.
"And the dark prince, sensing his beloved's fall, was heartsick. Hauling himself out of the pit, he cradled his love in his arms. And do you know what happened? He used the Force to will the Jedi back to life. Awakening in his embrace, the Jedi smiled and kissed her dark prince."
Francesca tamped down another sigh.
"But the first kiss of the lovers was all too brief. For in bringing her back to life, the dark prince had exchanged all his life force to heal her. He languished and died in his Jedi's arms. The Jedi mourned her lost love, taking his name and burying his lightsaber to honor him."
Francesca wiped a tear from her eye.
Rey sighed heavily. "So... the Jedi faded from view. Built herself a new home, began training a new generation of Force sensitives. In a way, she traded one love for another - the passion of a partner for the reward of passing on knowledge to her own students, a faithful undertaking in its own right. And... she used the Force to guide her as she healed. The End."
Francesca blinked. "Didn't she live happily ever after?"
Rey shrugged, though her eyes were askance. "I did say she was able to heal," rising off the bed.
Francesca's eyes followed her. "Nice story, Master, but it needs a new ending."
"It needs action. Rancors and acklays and stuff," Temiri laughed.
"Does it now?" Rey chuckled. Her first apprentice nodded. "All right, stable boy - good night." She tousled Temiri's hair, and just like that, he was seven years old again, wide-eyed and eager.
Rey headed out of the ring of stone huts where her students lay sleeping, retreating to where a familiar YT Coreillian freighter was parked at the base of the island mountain. Retreating into Han Solo's former quarters, she stripped off her Jedi robes and lovingly, carefully dressed in a black nightgown.
The nightgown itself was three-piece: black cowl. Black threadbare sweater with a single hole in it. Black pants cinched in around her bony hips. Seating herself at her vanity, Rey brushed her hair with long, soft strokes, though she left the three buns in place. Rising, she crossed to sink down onto the edge of her double bed.
All at once, she felt a pair of cool lips dip a soft kiss into her neck. Sighing in contentment, her eyes rolling into the back of her head, Rey leaned into the touch.
"What story did you tell our daughter tonight?" a soothing baritone voice rumbled.
Turning her head, Rey reached up to cup the back of Ben Solo's neck and pull him down into a deep, long, passionate kiss on the lips. "Ours," she murmured with a smile against his mouth.
"You're going to have to tell her the truth, eventually, Rey," Ben reminded his wife, the blue and translucent form of his Force Ghost shimmering. "About her parents." She could sense him about to draw a parallel between herself and her own parents, so she plowed on before he got the chance.
"Not until she's 18, Ben, we've discussed this." Letting out a breath, she shifted a little on the edge of the bed so that her back was fully to him. Over her shoulder, Rey crooned:
"Help me with my hair?"
Ben nodded. Reverently, carefully, he undid the ties that held up the buns in Rey's chestnut hair. With each pluck of his talented fingers, more strands of dark brown tresses cascaded in waves down Rey's back, until her hair hung well past her shoulders. Just like how she had worn it when she had first discovered her love for him. Just how he liked it.
It was the most intimate ritual that a husband could do for his wife, steeped in the tradition of Ben's Alderaanian lineage, and Rey moaned at the tenderness of it. Tilting her head to gaze into Ben's face, which now appeared quite close at her side, Rey beamed adoringly.
"Thank you," she murmured gently. Beaming, she and Ben touched lips lightly in a chaste kiss and she giggled like a schoolgirl. Clambering fully onto the bed, rustling the covers, she reached to turn out the lamplight. "Time for bed, love."
The couple lay in the bed side by side, holding each other softly in the darkness that was only broken by the ethereal of Ben's spirit. Pecking his lips lightly, Rey cooed:
"Goodnight, my handsome, dark prince. I love you."
"I know. Sleep well, my beloved Jedi."