I can feel you're there (from where you are, with all your light)
"I want to tell them, but it is not our will, not the will of the Force. I know that. I can feel it."
"We see and feel the world and its happenings in ways they cannot understand."
"If tell them, we do, act too hastily, they will. Lose, they will."
"She is the key. The girl. They need her."
"Hmm, yes. Vital, the girl is. But ready, she is not. Wait, we must."
"We must only show them what they need to know."
Leia dreams of a young girl, alone in the desert. The girl cannot be more than five years old. Leia's heart breaks as she watches her trudge across desolate sand-covered plains by herself, tears streaming down her sunburnt cheeks. The image feels real, so real, like the young girl is reaching out to her desperately from across the galaxy, for help, for hope, for love, for protection, like there is an imaginary thread connecting the two of them, and the young girl is tugging on it, sending a ripple through space...
Through the Force.
The dream ends, but the image of the girl replays in Leia's mind over and over, and her quiet sobs ring overwhelmingly in Leia's ears. It troubles her, more than she is willing to admit aloud.
"I had the strangest dream last night," she confesses to Han the next morning as they sit at the breakfast table. "It was of a little girl walking through the desert, all by herself."
"Doesn't sound that strange," Han says nonchalantly, before taking another sip of his caf.
Leia shakes her head. "No, you don't understand. It felt so real. I think... I think this girl might be real."
Han's casual expression quickly morphs into one of wary intrigue. "Who is she?"
Leia sighs. "I don't know," she says quietly. But I am going to find out, she thinks, and she knows. Either through her own unstoppable stubbornness and wishful determination, or by some fated act of the Force, she will meet the girl.
Luke dreams of a young girl, alone in the desert. She is small, and full of sadness and fear, yet she soldiers on through the harsh and arid terrain that seems to have no end. She sifts through the sand at her feet, and peers longingly into the vast blue sky above her, searching for something, a small glimmer of hope shining in her eyes.
There is a light about her, Luke realises, a light that burns strong and bright and shines like a beacon. A light that perseveres despite her loneliness, sorrow, fear, and exhaustion. A light that is somehow reaching across the galaxy to him.
But there is something else, something distant from her, yet somehow close. A looming darkness hides somewhere, its cold hands reaching out, but not far enough to touch her.
Luke wakes shivering, chills coursing through his body, but his heart is filled with an unexplainable warm feeling of hope.
"I had a strange dream the other night," Leia tells Luke as they sit together on a carved wooden bench inside his Jedi temple, where Ben trains. Han lingers somewhere outside with Ben, the two of them engaged in a lighthearted conversation, enjoying each other's company. The temple has a strange, numinous feeling about it that sets her on edge slightly and causes the hairs to stand up on the back of her neck, but Leia knows it is what Ben needs. Right now, it is what she needs too. The Force. Luke. Answers.
"There was this young girl –" she begins to explain.
"In the desert."
Leia's eyes widen in surprise. "How did you know?"
"I've seen her too," admits Luke. He smiles, but the look of bewilderment in his eyes does not escape his twin sister's notice.
"Who is she?" Leia asks.
Luke shrugs. "I don't know."
"The dream... it felt so real. She seemed so real."
"I know."
"I don't know how to explain it," she says, images and feelings from the dream floating to the surface of her mind, "but when I saw her I felt... hope, and pain."
Luke nods. "There is a bright light within her, but there is also –"
"A darkness."
"Yes," Luke agrees, "but not within her. Surrounding her."
Leia sighs. "She's so young, and she's all alone," she says sorrowfully, wringing her hands. "It makes my heart ache." A lump rises in her throat. "We need to do something, Luke," she insists, emotion rising in her voice. "We need to find her."
Luke places his hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "It is the Force that has given us these dreams," he tells her gently, and with such conviction and sincerity that Leia cannot deny it must be the truth. "The Force will guide us to her," he assures her. "Or, maybe, it will guide her to us."
"Show her the island."
The girl dreams of an ocean, vast, deep, and rippling. It spreads far, beyond what she can see, encompassing the world in a watery embrace. Waves crash upon the shore of a rocky island that stands tall above the water, present and prominent like a beacon, a safe haven. She finds herself standing upon the island, hard stones and soft green grass beneath her feet. The salty spray of the ocean catches on the wind and kisses her cheeks, and there is a pleasant and welcoming coolness in the air. This place, it calls to her. It beckons. It whispers to her that there is a world out there, waiting for you. Though starkly different from her home on Jakku, something about the place feels like belonging.
Leia continues to dream of the girl. She does not see her every night. Sometimes, she goes months without seeing her. But just as Leia begins to believe the dreams may be over, they return, more vivid than ever before.
She sees the girl grow older, stronger, and wiser. With her skills, strength, and wit, she continues to survive in the harsh conditions of the desert, and Leia cannot help but feel an overwhelming sense of pride for this girl she has never met. Still, however, the girl remains alone. No family, no friends. No one to watch over her. No one to keep her company. No one to help her, comfort her, care for her, love her. No one.
But somehow, the girl holds on to hope. It shines in her eyes, pulses through her veins, energises her every step.
Don't lose that hope, Leia whispers silently in her mind, praying that, somehow, the words reach the girl's ears. And please, please know that you're not alone. We know you're there. We see you.
At night, desperate for sleep, the girl imagines the ocean. The waves crash in her mind, washing away her discomfort, her loneliness, her tears, her frustration. She imagines the island, a strong, sturdy presence that doesn't leave, that doesn't just fly off into the sky one day, that doesn't leave anyone waiting and waiting and waiting for its return. No, the island is always there. Whenever she closes her eyes and reaches for it in the depths of her mind, it is there, waiting, waiting for her.
Sleep soon comes for her, comforting and peaceful. She falls into it gratefully. It cradles her and carries her off to the distant watery world. Wherever this place is, whatever waits there, it embraces her with open arms.
Luke continues to dream of the girl. After every dream, he racks his brain, trying to make sense of it all.
He tries reaching out to the Force, to the Jedi of the past. Time and time again, he questions them, begs them for answers, and every time he is met with nothing but silence.
"Why does it have to be dreams? Why can't you just tell me?" he calls out in frustration. "You know, some clues would be nice. A name, a location. Something. Anything!"
He thinks of the girl. He can see her. He can feel she is there. He just needs to know where, and who she is, and why the Force is connecting them to each other.
Whoever you are, wherever you are, we'll find you, he thinks, with more hope than certainty. Or maybe, you will find us.
"They must be shown the truth about the girl. It is time for them to know who she is."
As the rain pours down over the small island on Ahch-To, Luke dreams again. This time, however, the dream is different. A dark, sinister throne stands before him in a place that reeks of evil. Seated upon the throne is the girl, now a young woman. Darkness surrounds her, and lightning crackles at her fingertips.
And the shocking thought needles into his mind. It whispers to him a secret, a dark secret, one hidden from even the girl herself, and in an instant he knows. He knows it as sure as he knows his own name.
At last, the Force has answered his question, but the answer is more dreadful than he could ever have imagined.
Palpatine's granddaughter. Heir to the throne of the Sith.
Luke jolts awake, his limbs trembling and his mind in a panic. He buries his head in his hands. "No, no, no..."
Palpatine's granddaughter? How could that even be possible? And how could someone so full of light be descended from such a monstrous darkness?
"What am I supposed to do?" he cries out, with little faith that the Force will actually give him an answer. "What am I supposed to do with her?"
"Guide her."
The voices come carried on the stormy winds.
"Help her. Support her."
"Train her."
Luke's eyes widen and he shakes his head fervently. "No, no, no!" he shouts back at them. "I can't. I won't!" Memories of his nephew fill his mind. Memories of a growing darkness he had been powerless to stop. Memories of the night his own careless decision sealed his nephew's fate and gave him the final push towards the dark, bringing about destruction and death.
Luke feels his heart grow heavy in his chest.
"Please, please don't make me do this," he begs solemnly, hanging his head. "You saw what happened with Ben, what I did. Don't make me risk failing her too." He sighs, and swallows hard to force down the lump rising in his throat. "No good can come from this," he says sorrowfully. "Why bring us together?"
"Because she needs you," the voices whisper, intertwined in a unified chorus. The sound of it echoes clear and sure, above the symphony of pounding rain and tempestuous winds wreaking havoc outside. "And you need her."
Darkness.
Lightning.
Palpatine's granddaughter.
Heir to the throne of the Sith.
Leia bolts upright in bed, breathing hard, her heart hammering inside her chest. For a moment, it is as if someone has flicked a switch off in her brain and she cannot form a coherent thought. Her mind is frozen in shock.
When at last her thoughts return, and the happenings of her dream (no, not dream; nightmare) come flooding back to her, Leia swears she feels her heart break. She holds her hand to her heart and cries, cries for the young woman she has never met.
The young woman who is so full of light and hope yet bears the blood of the worst darkness of all.
The young woman who will someday have to face the shocking truth of her heinous ancestry.
The young woman who, no matter how firmly she holds on to the light, will always have a place reserved for her upon an evil throne.
The young woman who will no doubt be Snoke's next target if she ever dares to leave her wretched desert homeworld.
Leia bows her head and lets the tears stream freely down her cheeks. Oh, you poor child, she thinks as she sobs. You poor, poor child.
"Now, it is time. Time to reach out. To her."
It is the heart-wrenching sound of a child's cries that makes Rey turn her head abruptly. She glances around the room frantically in search of the source, wondering why no one else appears to be alarmed by it. She sees nothing, but feels... something.
Something tugs at her, a feeling, strange yet familiar. She allows the invisible force to lead her through the crowd to a descending stairway of ancient stonework. Her instincts tell her to be cautious, but the feeling pulls at her eagerly, desperately, and she cannot ignore it. She lets it guide her down the stairs. The further she ventures into the unknown, the stronger and more powerful the feeling grows, filling her mind, tingling in her limbs, pulling at something deep inside of her. She is only vaguely aware of BB-8 rolling a few paces beside her, beeping expressions of concern.
The stairs lead her down to a dimly lit corridor. Despite the inefficient lighting, Rey's eyes are immediately drawn to a door. Without even pondering the decision to do so, she finds herself walking towards it. The closer she gets to the door, the louder the childlike cries become, echoing in her ears and tugging at her heart. Something behind the door is calling out to her, and she must find out what it is.
When Rey reaches the door, it is locked, and her eyes widen in shock as the small red light suddenly blinks green and the door opens, beckoning her to enter.
She is greeted by a dark room, with light breaking in only from a singular opening in the ceiling of a stone alcove. Aged paraphernalia fills the room in a rather disorderly manner. Crates are piled high haphazardly, packages are caked with dust, and tattered cloths lay resting over some objects as feeble coverings. But Rey's attention is drawn to only one thing: a single wooden box. Carefully, she undoes the latch and lifts the lid. Inside rests a silver cylinder, the hilt of a weapon. The feeling burns inside of her, the desire to reach for the object and grasp it in her hands. The instant her fingers brush the metallic surface, a startling sound hisses into her mind, and the world around her suddenly transforms.
A heavy, slow, mechanical breathing fills the room. As her surroundings gradually illuminate, Rey realises she is standing in an impressive, triangular hallway.
"It's energy..."
A pained cry echoes in the distance and she rushes towards it, but an ear-piercing crack erupts and suddenly the world around her tilts sideways, causing her to stumble and fall. She lands heavily against the wall, which has somehow morphed into the ground. She raises her head to see a dark landscape bathed in the burning glow of firelight.
"...surrounds us, and binds us."
In front of her, a cloaked figure falls to his knees beside a blue and white R-2 unit and reaches out to it with a mechanical hand. Rain begins to pour down, washing the image away. She turns, and a glowing red blade is thrust before her eyes, and thrust violently through the torso of a screaming victim. Rey clambers to her feet, frightened and shivering. A swarm of cloaked figures looms before her, dark and foreboding. One of them catches sight of her, his face hidden behind a mask. He charges towards her, his weapon hissing in his hand, but before he can reach her, Rey is thrust into the sunlight, a desperate cry ringing in her ears. She gasps as she recognises the small child before her, screaming and sobbing for her parents to come back as she is led away by Unkar Plutt. Rey whirls around to face the sky, already knowing what she will see: the heartbreaking image of a ship disappearing into the atmosphere, carrying her parents away. As she watches them go, a painful ache seizing her heart, an angry red glow engulfs the sky.
"Rey."
She is in the snow, surrounded by trees. Panicking, she turns and runs, but the dark, menacing figure materialises before her again with his hissing, angry blade.
"These are your first steps."
She falls backwards onto the ground, her heart pounding in her chest. It takes her a moment to realise that she has emerged from the chaotic, nightmarish vision and is back in the darkened corridor in the depths of Maz's castle.
Aware that someone is near, she turns to see the small figure of Maz, watching her.
"What was that?" Rey stammers, struggling to catch her breath. She rises shakily to her feet. "I shouldn't have gone in there."
"That lightsaber was Luke's," Maz explains as she comes closer, "and his father's before him, and now, it calls to you."
"I have to get back to Jakku," Rey says breathlessly, her limbs still trembling. Whatever the thing is, she wants no part of it.
Maz reaches out her opened palm to Rey, an invitation to take her hand, which Rey hesitantly accepts. She kneels down to Maz's height and looks her in the eyes, eyes full of wisdom, a warm kindness, and a wishful sparkle of hope.
"Dear child," Maz says to her in a gentle tone, "I see your eyes. You already know the truth. Whoever you are waiting for on Jakku, they're never coming back."
The honest words, though spoken gently, feel like a stab to the heart. Tears begin to well up in Rey's eyes and trickle down her face.
"But," Maz adds, "there is someone who still could."
Rey knows. She knows who Maz means without her having to speak the name. "Luke?"
"The belonging you seek is not behind you, it is ahead," says Maz. "I am no Jedi, but I know the Force. It moves through and surrounds every living thing." She pauses for a moment and closes her eyes. "Close your eyes," she says. "Feel it. The light, it's always been there. It will guide you." She opens her eyes, now narrowed and serious. "The saber, take it."
Images of her vision flash into Rey's mind, and she pulls herself to her feet, frowning and shaking her head. "I'm never touching that thing again," she vows. "I don't want any part of this."
She pushes past Maz and runs back the way she had come, back towards the light.
Leia senses the girl before she even steps foot off of the Millennium Falcon. The second Leia catches a glimpse of her standing out on the landing pad, she feels a tug at her heart stronger than ever. Instinctively, she heads towards the girl, towards Rey. To her surprise, Rey slowly wanders towards her too, her eyes locked in a lost gaze, as if her mind is struggling to process everything that has happened.
When at last they stand face to face, Leia welcomes the young woman into her arms and embraces her warmly. Rey cries softly into her shoulder, and Leia cannot help but shed a few tears herself. She has waited for this, waited to embrace that young girl living all alone in the desert ever since the first night she dreamed of her. Now, here she is, with all her light, offering a small glimmer of hope at a time when Leia's grieving heart needs it more than ever.
Leia knows the Rey is grieving too; she can feel it. Though the young woman had not known Han for very long, she had grown close to him in their short time together. So Leia holds her close in comfort, comfort for Han's death, comfort for any cruelty she faced at the hands of Kylo Ren, comfort for all those years of hardship Leia knows she has endured.
But even with that grief, that pain, that suffering, somehow, beneath all of that, this girl still beams with light and hope. It radiates from her so strongly that it envelopes them both, in a way that reminds Leia fondly of her brother in their younger days.
Above all of that, though, Leia just loves her. As strange as it may seem, she loves this girl she has never met with her whole heart, like she is her own daughter. It is as if each dream lay a new invisible thread that connected the two of them across the galaxy and intertwined over time to create a bond stronger than blood. Leia doesn't pretend to understand why the Force has brought them together. Truthfully, in this moment, she doesn't care. She is simply overjoyed and relieved that the young girl in the desert found her way to where she belongs.
And Leia knows, she knows with every fibre of her being, that despite whatever blood runs through this girl's veins, this is no child of darkness. This is a child of the light, and she is their hope.
Luke senses the girl even before she lands the Millennium Falcon on the wide, flat area at the base of the island. He feels her drawing nearer as she trudges up the steep, craggy incline of ancient stone steps, hopeful determination spurring her on despite her overwhelming exhaustion.
He stands at the rocky edge of green clearing. He stares out over the ocean and towards the horizon, his view blanketed by a thick mist. Endless worries fill his mind, worries about what the Force has in store for him and the girl. He worries he will fail her, worries he will not be able to play his role in whatever the Force is guiding them towards. What could he possibly have to offer her? How could he possibly be what she needs him to be? A master? A parental figure? He has already failed as a master and an uncle once before.
Eventually, the girl reaches the small clearing where he stands, and Luke feels her presence stronger than ever. At last, he turns around to face her.
And there she is, the young woman he has only ever seen in dreams.
Rey.
She carries a light so bright and a hope so strong it leaves him speechless. For a moment, it is almost enough to banish his fears and sorrows. She stares at him, and her eyes tell a story of hardship, loss, and pain, yet still hold a gaze of hope and determination.
Without saying a word, she reaches into her bag and pulls out a familiar object that Luke long thought lost: his old lightsaber, his father's lightsaber. She holds it out to him in a way that seems less like an offer and more like a desperate plea for him to take it.
She doesn't realise the truth, Luke thinks with pity. She doesn't realise that she is blinded by a myth just like everyone else who puts their faith in me.
Because he knows, he knows he is not the hope the Resistance is so desperately searching for.
It's her.
It's Rey.
With all her strength, and power, and light.
And now, he must help her see that.