Chapter 6

Amongst the ruins of planet Ahch-To

"Ana, you must listen to me."

I'm surprised to see none other than Luke Skywalker stood opposite me on the lush planet. I look around the area. How did I get here? His voice is both soothing and commanding to my ears, but I know I'm in no danger from the Jedi who is confronting me. Seeing him this close reminds me of the betrayal I felt when I learnt of my power. If Luke had purposely hidden it away from me, I wanted to know why.

"You cannot let Snoke take advantage of your power. I shielded your force sensitivity from everyone; including yourself. By the time I sensed the force in you, Ben had begun to rebel."

Hearing Ben's name again felt like being stabbed in the heart. Kylo had killed off the person I once loved; I was sure of it. I couldn't bear to think back to when Ben was only early into his jedi training, before his quest for more power consumed him.

"Ben doesn't exist anymore! Why did you not tell me of my power? I would have never joined the dark side!"

"Ana, there are some things that you cannot know. As you unlock the force within yourself, the temptation to join Kylo Ren will overpower you. You must fight against it."

"But I feel no force!"

"Now you know of your power, you will slowly find it and learn to use it to its full potential."

"How was Snoke able to find it?"

"Even I couldn't hide it from such a powerful force user. But you must remember one thing Ana; stay with the light!"

Slowly, I felt myself fading away from the scene in front of me. Luke's voice became lost as I was pulled away from him. I shot up in Kylo's bed, realizing that I had been sleeping. However, I knew that what I had experienced was real, not a dream. Luke had connected to me and sent me a powerful warning. I would not turn into my own worst enemy.

I looked over to my right and saw a droid scanning my body. I didn't interrupt it as it checked me over for any injuries I may have sustained. Once it noticed I was awake, the droid quickly finished its examination and greeted me in a friendly fashion.

"Mistress Ana, you are awake!"

"Who are you?"

"I am medical droid 2R61, assigned by master Kylo. He expects you to join him in the training room in 10 minutes sharp."

"I do not wish to see him again!"

"I am sorry miss, but these are strict orders!"

I huffed in defeat as I stared at the chirpy robot. Luckily, I found that I was still dressed in my new leather uniform from the night before. With little time to make myself presentable, I hurriedly redid my hair into a braid trailing down my back. I gave the droid a grateful nod as it handed me a simple breakfast of oatmeal. My body still felt exhausted from last night's ordeal, so I wolfed down every last crumb. After seeing that my plate was empty, the kind droid beckoned me.

"We must go Ana. Master Kylo wouldn't want you to be late!"

I half – heartedly followed the droid out of Kylo's room. I dreaded confronting him, unaware of if he planned to search through me again today. 2R61 attempted to hold some simple small talk throughout the two minute walk, but I completely ignored it in my anxious state. The droid made an abrupt stop in front of a pair of tall doors.

"Please enter the room Ana, master Kylo is waiting in there for you."

I took a deep breath and slowly opened both of the menacing doors. I stepped into the training area and noticed Kylo dressed in his full suit and mask, standing at the opposite end of the room. He faced away from me, staring out of the large window which revealed the large expanse of the galaxy. Behind me, the loud sound of 2R61 closing the doors startled me, but left Kylo seemingly unphased. A deafening silence consumed the four walls for a short moment.

"I'm surprised you showed up." Kylo announced, still standing with his back to me.

"You would have forced me to anyway. Don't pretend I had a choice."

My words caused Kylo to turn around. I could tell that he was glaring at me underneath his mask. It irritated me that he acted as if the last day had never happened. The calm façade he was hiding behind only made me feel more frustrated at him.

"You're wrong. Nothing was stopping you from staying there. That measly droid would have put up no fight against you."

"Don't try and make this about me! I can't bear to look at you after what you did to me last night. I felt like my body was being torn apart by your force! Don't think that just because you've apologized I will forgive you."

Trapped in such close quarters with Kylo, I saw red. He was capable of no remorse now that he had joined the dark side. The only thing which allowed me to keep my anger in control was to not give Kylo the satisfaction of seeing himself affect me. I stood rigid as I tried to calm myself down, before another argument could spark between us.

Kylo lifted me up into the air and pulled me across the room towards him. He dropped me by his feet and I landed with a crash on the ground in front of him. I pulled my body up from the ground and stood up in a strong stance; proving I was not afraid.

"Your training begins today."

"I will not be trained as a weapon for the first order! I will never fight for your cause." I confidently reply.

"We will see about that once I'm finished with you."

Yet again I found myself having to calm down before I would get into a fight that I would surely regret. Kylo was actively trying to tip me over the edge, but I would not give in to his constant attempts to unnerve me. I didn't respond to his statement and let the silence once again overpower us.

For a moment, I stared at his threatening black mask which was only a couple of feet away from me. The inhuman design began to make me feel uneasy, but the fear was quickly replaced with annoyance. He used it to block his emotions from me; to make me believe that there was no light remaining in him. His actions over the past week had mostly proved that to me, but I still knew something was holding him back from fully turning dark.

"You cannot feel your force." He once again begins. "It has been locked away all this time. If there is any hope for you to regain your power, it will be done through meditation and isolation. You must find it in order to harness it. Only then are you worthy of being trained by me."

"What are you implying? Am I just a burden to you?"

"Sit down and do as I say!"

His sharp reply caused me to instantly go quiet. I gently sat on the floor, knowing that in his current mood I should follow his orders. A few seconds later he joined me and sat down opposite with crossed legs. He removed his mask but kept his eyes closed. I copied him and did the same. The blindness took me away from the first order battle ship I was currently trapped on and into a state of peace.

"Ana, you must find it within yourself. Only you can do that."

I was unsure as to whether he was referring to his attempt to locate it. Instead of feeling the pain of remembering the event, I completely shut off that part of my mind. I let my limbs slowly relax and became one with myself. The room suddenly felt empty and I could no longer sense the presence of Kylo anymore. I had fully connected to my body and carefully started to search through it. It wasn't long until I became numb to the world around me as my brain called for the force within me to show itself.

It felt like I had been meditating for an endless amount of time before a small flicker of power sparked within me. I was immediately shocked out of my trance, causing my eyes to shoot open and meet the gaze of Kylo. The disturbance overwhelmed me, despite only being exposed to a tiny amount of what was held inside of me.

"Don't worry Ana, I feel it too." Kylo murmured to me.

I had been so close to locating the force that was locked away. A mixture of disappointment and relief filled me. I was aware that as soon as I had connected to the force, Kylo would begin to exploit my power. What he didn't know was that I had my own plan; escape. The resistance would need a force user like myself to help fight against the empire. It would only be selfish to continue to run away from them now I had knowledge of my power.

"I'm not afraid Kylo. The only thing I fear is you."

I wasn't bothered that what I was telling him would make me vulnerable. I knew that he had likely already searched through my mind and knew this information anyway. It also showed how I had no intention of joining him; something which I needed to make sure he knew if this training would ever commence.

"Then you are sensible Ana. But don't think that the small ounce of force you just felt will be all that you will find. When you truly connect with the force within you, the power will be immense."

"But I won't let it consume me like you did Kylo. I am stronger than that."