Author's Note: OK…so I lied. I was intending to end this story after the last chapter, but there was one other unanswered plot thread from TROS that just wouldn't leave me alone. So here I am with a shiny new story arc that takes place a few months after the end of the last chapter, entitled "Written in the Stars." Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

The throne loomed before her, cold and imposing. She gazed up at it, a feeling of helplessness sweeping over her. She was once again that small, weak girl who could do nothing but watch as she was torn away from her parents.

Granddaughter. The voice wrapped around her like a vise. Come closer.

Her mind shouted at her to flee, but her feet refused to obey. She was drawn inexplicably toward the throne, like a bug to a flame.

Come…

"No." She gritted her teeth against the gravitational-like pull. "No, I won't!"

Come, it called again, more insistently. This is your destiny.

"No!" She struggled desperately, but she was close enough to touch the polished wood of the throne now. "Ben!" she cried, looking around frantically. "Ben, where are you?"

Sit, the voice commanded.

"Ben!" she sobbed as her body jerked to obey. "Please help me! Ben!"

"Rey! I'm here!"

She jolted awake with a sharp gasp, trembling and drenched in a cold sweat.

"Shh." Her husband pulled her into his arms. "I'm here, love."

"Ben…" She clung to him tightly as he rubbed her back in large, soothing circles.

"Was it the same dream again?" he asked quietly.

She could only nod into his chest, not trusting herself to speak. During the last war, when she had first seen a vision of herself sitting on the Sith throne, she had been terrified. But in the end, nothing had come of it, and she had all but forgotten about it—until the nightmares started.

They began about a month ago and were all basically the same. There was a throne, and Palpatine's voice coercing her to take it. She always woke up at the same part—right before she sat down.

"I'm scared," she whispered. "In my dream, Palpatine keeps saying it's my destiny. What if—?"

"Stop right there." He brushed a few stray hairs away from her face and kissed her forehead. "You're not like me, love. You're light, and you were never going to be anything but light, not even for a moment."

"But my bloodline—"

"Is just that," he cut in firmly, "a bloodline. It can't decide your life for you." He chuckled softly. "I would've thought that your experience with the Skywalker family would've taught you that by now."

This drew a small smile from her, and she tilted up her chin to kiss his jawline. "Skywalker, Solo, even Ren—it never mattered to me, you know. I always loved Ben, just Ben."

"I know." He returned her smile. "Just like I always loved just Rey."

"Thank you"—she rested her head on his chest—"for everything."

"Are you alright now?"

"Yes," she nodded, "but could you—?"

"Of course." He took her hand and squeezed it lightly. "Goodnight, love."

Her lips curved into a grateful smile. "Goodnight."

She lay there for a long time after Ben's breathing evened out, watching him sleep peacefully and enjoying the feeling of his hand wrapped around hers. Ben was so confident, so sure of her goodness. She wished that she herself was half as certain. Ben didn't know—couldn't possibly understand how she had felt when she lost him. She had been so consumed by grief, and anger, and hatred—yes, even hatred—that she felt as if she was someone else entirely.

Ben had come back to her by a miracle, but if he hadn't, she knew that she could have easily lost herself and fallen to the dark side. It terrified her, the thought that the life she had now—her family, her Skywalker name, even being a Jedi—existed because of a fluke.

Her vision gave her a glimpse of what her life should have been, a much darker destiny that she had only narrowly escaped. But now these nightmares were beginning to make her wonder if she truly had escaped it.

If the stars had written a different path for her, could she really run from something as indelible as fate forever? She feared that her nightmares were trying to tell her that the answer was 'no'—and that her time was almost out.

Author's Note: This is Part 1 of 6. I've already finished writing it, so I'll be updating daily. Thanks again for reading and please leave a review to let me know what you think!