Chapter 16
Eighteen hours later, the ship dropped out of hyperspace beside the oceanic planet of Cressic. On the outer rim of the galaxy, Cressic was a quiet place without a reputation and without any political preferences. It was the perfect place for Rey's passenger to hide, rest up, and heal. She could hitch hike her way back to the Resistance easily from here. A ship's captain was always on the look out of a good mechanic and pilot. Ben Solo could keep the troop transport. It was relatively useless, but it would get him wherever he needed to go.
He hadn't stirred in hours.
Glancing back at him, Rey sighed. It was better this way. If she could get away without a confrontation, perhaps she could push the situation to the back of her mind and forget it. So many strict rules had been bent and broken in the past forty-eight hours. Roles had been changed. The unthinkable had been considered, and enemies had become allies. The world was spinning out of control. She had to get away.
After docking in a hanger, Rey searched the ship for clothing and food. She found both. Slipping on a jacket, she stashed several packets of rations in her pockets. Standing in the hallway near the hatch controls, she clipped her lightsaber to her belt and drew her hair into a tight bun. This was the way it was always meant to be, it seemed. The universe kept moving, and she would always disappear into the night. Always.
She glanced one last time over her shoulder toward the man sleeping on the floor behind her. Slowly, she reached into her pocket and opened a rations pack. He would be hungry when he woke up. Would he have the strength to find the food himself? Silently, she knelt and placed the opened rations beside him. There. She had done all she could. Now she could walk away with a clean conscience.
Perhaps it was her closeness that drew him out of his sleep.
Just before she was going to get up, he opened his brown eyes slowly and stared up at her. He focused completely on her, and it made her freeze in place.
Ben Solo opened his mouth, his chapped lips moving painfully, "You're leaving," he muttered, his deep voice startling the complete silence of the room.
Rey nodded, "I have to get back to the Resistance."
His eyes flickered toward the cockpit, "Where are we?"
"Cressic," Rey answered flatly, rocking back on her heels.
He frowned, bringing his attention back to her, "Why?"
"It's safe here," Rey glanced out the cockpit windows, "You can rest here. Heal."
He started to sit up.
"You shouldn't move," Rey whispered, "I brought you food. Eat."
He relaxed, glancing down at the meager yet life-saving rations. "Why?"
The question remained heavy in the air. Rey glanced at the rations, knowing full well he asked multiple queries in one. "No questions," she answered quietly, "Let it be. It is what it is." Rey stood, feeling stronger as she was further away from him. He weakened her somehow. Perhaps it was his eyes? His voice? The fact that she had nearly become the opposite of herself in his presence? She didn't know the answers. She didn't want to even consider the questions. "This is where I leave you," she whispered, turning on her heel and facing the exit.
She meant to leave him then, but she didn't. Instead, she looked over her shoulder and met his gaze. One. Last. Time.
He didn't move, and he didn't try to stop her.
Rey took in a deep breath and slid her hood over her head. "Goodbye," she whispered, her voice quieter than she expected. This was it. For now at least. Perhaps the man she just saved would eventually rejoin the First Order and hunt her once more. Perhaps the next time they met, she would be at his mercy.
Nothing was certain anymore.
Two years later, Rey strolled down a terrace beside an iridescent lake on the planet Naboo. The New Republic had decided to make Naboo its new Capital World, bringing the newest senators and representatives from every corner of the galaxy to the shimmering planet. Tonight, Rey stood outside a New Republic gala, wearing a sparkling silver evening gown with diamonds dripping down it like a thousand glittering tears. Silently, she gazed up into the twinkling night sky as the stars gleamed above. She was alone with her thoughts for the moment. These days it felt as if she was hardly ever alone.
After Snoke's death, General Organa had come to her and asked if Rey would be the symbol for the Alliance. Rey had agreed, thinking that it would mean more dangerous missions and flights to the furthest reaches of space. Instead, it had turned her into a pretty doll for the galaxy to admire. She was a hero among the Alliance, and a symbol of beauty and justice to the inner planets. However, Rey quickly learned that being a symbol left her feeling empty. It was as if every time she came to a party, or stood in a procession, a little part of her died. She was withering and drifting away in the wind, leaving behind the outer shell of herself.
She stared up at the heavens, thinking of the man who used to search her out every night from one corner of the galaxy to another. After she left him on Cressic, he hadn't looked for her since. It had been two years now, and she hadn't felt him search her out. Many times she had come to look up into the eternities and wonder where Ben Solo had wandered. Sometimes she even wondered if she should seek him out among the heavens. But pride had always stopped her. Undoubtedly, he would feel her searching for him. What did that say about her?
Perhaps it said that she was lonely. That in some strange way, she missed his quiet soul. Somehow, even though she didn't truly know him, she missed Ben Solo. Rey shook herself. No. That was nonsense. Perhaps she was just exhausted. She and Solo had an undeniable connection. But whatever it was, they had made their choices. He had chosen the dark, while she the light. Nothing would ever come of it.
Rey heard Finn's footsteps on the cool stone of the terrace, and didn't bother turning around, "You found me," she muttered, not taking her eyes away from the night sky, "Does General Organa need me?"
Finn came up to her, wearing impressively regal garb. "Whoa there, Hero. I just came looking for you is all. You okay?"
Rey glanced at her old friend in the moonlight, and let out a small sigh. "No. Not really."
Coming up to the bannister beside her, Finn leaned his hands against the railing and gazed out at the moonlit lake and stars. "I hear ya, it's not easy playing the perfect icon. Why don't you tell the General you want out?"
Rey shook her head, her diamond earrings swaying with the motion, "I don't know if I'll be happy even then," she whispered, her voice dipping low, "I guess I don't know what I am anymore."
"So now you don't know what to do with your life?" Finn's voice was soft, "Why don't you go get yourself a boyfriend? I know for a fact you could have any man in the Alliance. They all worship you."
Rey was used to Finn's flattery, but didn't respond to the compliment. He was trying to cheer her up; but it just wasn't working this time. "I never told you about what really happened," she muttered, "When Snoke died?"
"You never went into it," Finn answered, "I didn't want to press you. It was over, that's all that mattered. Kylo and Snoke are dead."
Rey turned to Finn, not saying a word.
Finn met her gaze, instantly understanding her silence. "What haven't you told me?"
Rey swallowed, her chest beginning to ache. "I didn't defeat Snoke. Not single handedly, at least. He beat me."
His mouth dropping open, Finn stared at Rey, "But you're here! Snoke is dead. What are you saying?"
"I'm saying I had help," Rey answered, "Kylo Ren. He saved me," she swallowed again, glancing away, feeling her voice catch, "I thought I was strong. I thought I could never go dark, and I almost did. I hurt him…I nearly killed him." She turned to look at Finn, and saw him look at her with wide eyes. Seeing Finn's shock, she looked away, "Snoke. He was too strong for me. I didn't have a chance." Her voice drifted off into nothingness, once again feeling completely alone. Finn was her dearest friend, but sometimes she knew that he couldn't understand every aspect of her life.
Slowly, Finn moved to place his warm hand over hers. "Go on," he whispered, "I get that I'm not a Jedi, Rey. I get that. But I am your friend." he squeezed her hand gently, "Tell me."
Rey looked at him for a moment, wondering if she should tell him the secret she had buried so deep for two years. "He saved me," she whispered, her voice low so that only Finn could hear her, "He saved me and I dragged him away from the base and brought him to the edge of the galaxy. I saved him from the fire."
He watched her for a moment, his eyes still wide. "He saved you," Finn squinted at her in the darkness, "Who saved you?"
"Kylo Ren," Rey answered, "Snoke had beat me, and he saved me from Snoke. Without his help, I could have never defeated Snoke."
Finn's lips turned into a deep frown, "Kylo Ren? That guy? He saved you?"
Rey touched her forehead, the pain of memory forever embedded in her mind. "I thought I had beaten him. But after two years I realized that he let me."
"He what?"
"He let me hurt him, Finn," She gazed up at her friend, "Kylo Ren let me beat him. I remember it like it was yesterday. He fell back and I moved to strike. He could have killed me instantly, but instead he tried to roll away. I nearly killed him."
"And he helped you?" Finn gazed at her in confusion.
"Yes. After Snoke beat me, Kylo didn't let him kill me," Rey sighed and turned away, "I couldn't just let him die."
"You saved Kylo Ren," Finn muttered, "What did you do, where did you take him?"
"I took him to Cressic," Rey answered, "I patched him up the best I could and I left him there. I haven't seen him or felt him search me out since."
Finn let out a short burst of air from behind his teeth. "Wow."
Rey nodded, "I know."
"Who else knows about this?" Finn asked, glancing over his shoulder to the glowing lights of the New Republic party.
"No one," Rey answered quietly, "You're the first I've ever told."
Nodding, Finn swallowed. "So he's still out there."
"Yes."
"What are you going to do now?" Finn's voice softened a bit. He was obviously trying to be sensitive to Rey's feelings, regardless of his own.
Rey glanced over her shoulder to gaze at warm glow of the party once more. "I think you're right," she muttered, "I think I will talk to General Organa. I think it's time I do some traveling."
"I am requesting a short leave," Rey said quietly, tugging at the sleeve to her jumpsuit. Standing in front of General Organa always made her feel nervous. "And I am also requesting the use of a ship. Something small, but preferably capable of long distance travel." She adored Leia, but the woman also intimidated her. Not that Rey was afraid of her, but only that Rey looked up to her so much that she was afraid of acting like an idiot infront of her.
Leia Organa, now standing in her relaxed nightgown of flowing satin, took two steps toward Rey. "I see," she said quietly, "May I ask where you're going?"
Rey looked down at the plush carpeting of the General's apartments, "I would rather not say, General."
"And you will be going alone?" Leia asked.
"Yes."
General Organa stared at Rey for a long moment, barely moving. Finally, she closed the distance between them and took Rey's hands in her own. "Take the Falcon," she whispered.
Rey blinked. "If you insist."
"I do." Leia answered quietly, "And I want you to tell my son that I love him."
Rey felt her mouth drop open, "General?"
Leia raised her chin ever so slightly, "The Force is strong in my family, Rey. I have felt your connection to him for some time."
Taking in a deep breath, Rey nodded slowly. "Of course."
"But I will warn you," Leia whispered, her voice soft but firm, "He is a Solo. He won't sit still for long. I learned that from his father. Solos are always meant to wander. It's just who they are."
Nodding slowly, Rey swallowed. "I don't know if I will even be able to find him."
A small smile pulled at the side of Leia's mouth. "I think you will."
TBC!
(plz review. The next few chapters are gonna be really fun. ;)
