Chapter 11

Kylo and Ana's residence on the planet Bakkah

The next day I awoke to see that Kylo's bed was unoccupied and he had suspiciously disappeared. After the long conversation the night before, I had finally passed out on the stiff mattress. From my position I could see that the Sun was already high in the sky, so it was likely midday by now. I was still dressed in my desert robes, which meant that I only had to quickly make myself presentable before exiting the house to attempt to find Kylo.

Outside in the direct sunlight, the heat was more prominent than ever. It was stronger than it had ever been on Jakku, and gave me an overwhelming burning sensation on my skin. I gritted my teeth and desperately scanned the horizon for any signs of Kylo. He was nowhere to be seen, causing me to sigh in defeat.

I turned around and headed back towards the shaded house. Almost suddenly, I felt a strong hand cover my mouth and another grip my body. I jerked in panic and writhed against the threatening figure. As I looked at my captor, I noticed the familiar black curls of none other than Kylo Ren. My body relaxed and I stopped putting up a fight against him.

He let his hand remain over my mouth knowing that he had angered me, so that I wouldn't be able to scream all of the obscenities that were in my head at him. The way he had purposely terrified me caused me to fill with resentment. Kylo silently walked with me in his hold until we reached a large stone clearing. I could make out the remains of an old temple; whether it was Jedi or Sith was unknown to me.

He came to a halt in the midst of the ruins and finally let his grip on me drop. I tried my best to calm my frustration, but my heart was still beating rapidly from the shock. In an effort to distract myself, I scanned our surroundings. The place looked ancient, but was still beautiful in its own right. The intricate carvings on the walls that still stood were incredibly elegant. I was snapped from my daze by the infuriating voice of Kylo.

"Today I'm going to teach you the art of mind manipulation. You will need to be as strong mentally as you are physically."

"Was kidnapping me part of your mind training as well?!" I interrupted.

"No. But I must admit that I enjoyed it."

I scoffed at his arrogant statement. Kylo thought that he could easily overpower me and treat me as he wished. If I kept at my training, one day I would stand equal with him, and only then would I be able to put up a decent fight. There was no gain of going into a war with him when I was still no match for his power.

"Before you can learn how to penetrate a mind, you must first learn how to defend your own," Kylo continued.

I felt an abrupt force unexpectedly attack my brain. I fought it off as best as I could and used everything I had against it. I glared at Kylo whilst he stood in concentration, trying his hardest to enter my mind. The strain of defending myself eventually became too much, causing my thoughts to finally be exposed to Kylo. I could feel him sifting through my mind, leaving me with no privacy whatsoever.

"Get out of my head!" I screamed at him.

It was a few seconds before he did as I asked and withdrew himself from my brain. His delayed reaction was likely to spite me and prove how weak I really was. I pushed those lurking thoughts from my mind, knowing they would only make me paranoid. Instead I focused on the task at hand, making my mental defences against Kylo stronger.

"You're still weak Ana. You may have the force, but you don't know how to use it to your advantage. This time, focus on only the area I am attacking. Don't force your energy towards it, instead let it flow and protect you itself," Kylo instructed.

I nodded at his command. As I felt him begin his attack again, I closed my eyes and let my body relax. I guided the force within me to protect the area of weakness which he was chipping away at. I forgot about everything whilst I let the force do all the work for me. It was extremely difficult at first, but eventually his power felt weaker against my resistance. Slowly, Kylo's presence began to fade from my thoughts, causing me to open my eyes and see a look of approval spread across his face.

I couldn't stop a grin my reaching my lips from the pride I felt. I knew that I wasn't perfect at it yet, but I would keep practising until I could completely master it. Just the idea of finally being able to keep my thoughts private from others brought tears of joy to my eyes. It had been a while since I had allowed myself to think freely, out of fear of someone searching my mind. Internally I was grateful to Kylo for teaching me something so important.

I didn't let myself get too carried away though, Kylo wasn't nearly as powerful as Snoke. I was aware that I would still stand as no match against the supreme leader reading my thoughts. He was the real enemy in all of this, but Kylo's training could only go so far; after all Snoke had purposely made sure Kylo wasn't as powerful.

"Thank you," I finally stated.

"Don't let yourself think that you are an expert yet, Ana. Let's go over this a few more times before we call it a day. You only woke up early this afternoon, so it won't be long until sunset."

By the end of our training session, I had successfully managed to hold off Kylo every time, despite him being much tougher in his attempts as we progressed. I must admit that there were a few close calls. At some points I had wondered whether to trust my force and take a step back, knowing that the assault against me was brutal. I was thriving under Kylo's command, but would not let that tempt me towards the dark side.

I was starting to wish that I had awoken much earlier in the day as the sun started to lower until it was almost non-existent. As darkness neared, I escaped to our commode, not wanting to have to face the same freezing temperature drop as yesterday. Kylo had somehow found another way to disappear from my sight, leaving me alone on my short journey back. I kept a look out now, not wanting him to shock me like he had last time.

The four walls of our home were no comfort to me. A small blanket that was laid out on my bed was my only source of warmth. I snuggled up to it on one of the wooden chairs which we owned. The night was rapidly closing in, and Kylo was still nowhere to be seen. I didn't know who to worry about more; him or myself.

My stomach began to ache as I realized that I had not eaten all day. Presuming that Kylo would not be back for a while, I started to scavenge through the cupboards for anything which could be eaten straight from the shelf. It didn't take long for me to find some fresh bread and a few other appetisers paired with it. The smell of the food had my stomach churning even more. I didn't delay in quickly consuming all of my meal.

As I finished licking the remnants of food from my lips, Kylo made his entrance. Despite his best efforts to conceal it, I could clearly see the look of distress on his face. I glanced over at his stance, noticing a metallic object in his hand; Ben's lightsaber. His expression instantly made sense. The memories that the item held were those he desperately tried to block.

Unlike his new saber, the old one was a pure blue. It was the colour of a Jedi, something which had made me incredibly proud the first time he had wielded it. I couldn't believe that he had kept it all these years, after all he had done. I was shocked that Snoke hadn't had it destroyed, but Kylo had likely hidden it from him.

"This is yours now," Kylo announced as he handed over the saber to me. He thrust it into my hand, completely disgusted by the sight of the object. I gripped the saber with confidence, enjoying the touch of the powerful hilt. It was a mystery to me why he had given me such a potent weapon.

"How come you kept it Kylo?" I inquisitively asked.

"The saber is powerful. It would have been a waste to eradicate it. I had it delivered to me when you received your first batch of supplies. But now it will be yours, and you will learn how to use it as I train you with it."

I nodded my head and returned my attention to the item in my palms. Now I understood why the metal box in Kylo's room had been locked and hidden away. It truly was as stunning as I remembered, and now it was my own. It surprised me that I had been given something so personal to him, but didn't want to think too hard on it. I sensed the light which was trapped inside the saber, knowing that it would protect me from the dark side.