As Rey had swiftly exited the planet a lone figure crouched in the dark. He wrapped his long arms around his lean frame and eventually rested his dark head on his knees. He unconsciously mimicked her previous pose as she had awaited discovery. He felt her Force imprinted in the very ground and forest around him. He closed his eyes as he felt her reaching for him. Using every ounce of will power, he shielded himself from her desperate pleas. It was better this way, it had to be. Otherwise, why would he have done what he had done? It only made sense if she was now safe and finally on the path she should have taken so many moons ago. Her life had been stolen and now he hoped that he had fixed it. She would become the Jedi that he could never be. Her heart was strong and overflowed with the Light.
He turned his face upwards to the sky. He fixed his mind on the departing ship and imagined that her Light shone down on him still. He had seen all of her suffering and yet she remained undiminished. His was a Darkness which led only to corruption. He had to let her go. He could not risk discovery by The First Order, so he had taken matters into his own hands. It was absolutely the right thing to do he told himself, over and over again. He yearned for her, why did he let her go? Rocking on his heels slightly he tangled his long fingers through his hair. A ragged sigh of desperation betrayed the intensity of his loss. Watching the scout ship leave, he felt as if she were taking with her what little good had remained within him. He knew that he would never feel joy or love again. He had given her all that he had left and now he was empty. A hollowness gaped within his chest and he found that not even his customary rage was enough to fill the void.
Silently he stood for a moment before hastily making his way to their makeshift camp. Her essence saturated everywhere and everything, the shadow of her energy rippled around him. Yet his heart was closed. A locked box without a key. Icey bands of determination clamped it shut, after all, he had no need of it now. He collected only his black clothes from the battered freighter. Once dressed all in black he stood and looked out at the lake. He knew it would not take long. Without Rey's Light Force blinding him, he once again felt the whispers of the Dark Side. He reached out into the Darkness, and knew that Snoke would send a ship. He knew that the Supreme Leader would require full disclosure and he would be forced to comply. It was the only way for him. The interrogation would be brutal and there was a good chance that he would eventually be executed. But did it really matter, now that she had gone?
When The First Order shuttle arrived, he allowed himself to be bound as a prisoner. Without his mask and red lightsabre the stormtroopers had no idea of his identity. He surrendered to their custody without a fight. He knew he could have violently wrestled control of the vessel at any time during the journey… but he did not. Passively he awaited his fate, the fire that had scorched his soul for so long was now extinguished, he felt only coldness. He now cared nothing for himself, and he suspected that he cared even less than that for everyone else. He knew that she was going to be safe and that he had sent her to the safest place he could think of. It was a risk for him to contact his former master through the Force, but Rey was so powerful that it had been easy for him to channel through her Light Force to seek out his uncle. After all that he had done, he felt that he at least owed her that much. She needed to be trained properly and become a great leader. This was her destiny and now he felt that she was where she belonged at last. She would have a chance to be part of a family again. The slate now wiped clean he could begin again himself. He decided to step back from those emotions that had so clouded his judgement. He was ready to let go of all those attachments which had weakened him. Without his unpredictable emotions getting in the way, he knew that he could be the greatest ruler this galaxy had ever known.
Author's Note:
Apologies for the shortness and delay of an update, I have lots going on at the moment! I thought it was best to get a short chapter uploaded before I completely lose momentum.