A Demon's Light

"I found love where it wasn't supposed to be

Right in front of me.

Talk some sense to me."

-Auburn Run 'I Found'

Chapter Two: Aboard the Finalizer

VB-23 beeped at her as she stared fixedly at the fruit bowl, absent-mindedly taking bites into a geruhin apple. The dream consumed her mind that morning that she didn't even pick up her saber beside her cot.

The dream, she knew, came from the Force, telling her something explicitly. She knew exactly the message that it was trying to get across, but she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with it or when or who or anything of the sort. She was left more confused after waking than she was before the dream. As if she didn't have enough mystery in her life with all the unknowns out there because she was stuck living in that cottage, and where she came from was also unknown because she didn't have Luke there to explain anything to her. Now she had the weight of something forthcoming that she couldn't see quite clearly.

It was haunting.

The droid rolled under the table and hit his head to her feet, trying to break her train of thought. She didn't budge.

The droid wooed sadly and wheeled to the other side of the cottage, opening up his paneling and pulling out a small duster to clean the dirt covered floor while he waited for her to finish her thoughts. Really there were so many cracks in the walls and floors that dusting wouldn't do any good. It would only get dirty once again that very day. But what was a droid to do in a one room cottage with a master who is often out of body and mind?

VB beeped every once in awhile, mostly talking to himself. Josie glanced at him once, recognizing that he was the only friend she really had. Maz was her guardian, yes, but the only one who was there for her every single day was VB-23.

He wasn't even alive.

Josie frowned, ignoring the thought. She shoved the rest of the fruit in her mouth and called for VB to follow her outside. She decided it would be good practice to swing the saber around until Maz got there to learn the feel of it in her hands.

There was enough room in the clearing in front of her cottage without nicking anything. Taking a few swings, she listened intently on the low whooshing sounds it made.

"I see you are already practicing, hmm?" Maz said, standing behind her.

Josie turned. "Yes, I thought I would do something productive while I waited for you."

"Anxious to see the castle after all these years?"

"I'm anxious to meet people."

Maz almost looked sad, but it was subtle enough to go fairly unnoticed. "Well, you will mostly see creatures. Not too many humans come by here. But assure you that you will be seeing some of your own kind in the near future. For now, let's go meet some trainers. They don't know the ways of the saber as well as a fully trained Jedi would, but they know enough."

Josie nodded and followed Maz through the woods with VB-23 beeping behind them excitedly.

Maz stopped right at the edge of the woods, shooting an arm out in front of Josie to stop her. The little creature looked out curiously at the ships that landed in front of the castle. Her brows furrowed.

Josie was amazed at the large contraptions, but it was the people walking out of them that shocked her most.

They had the same armor on as the ones in her dream. They wore helmets and held guns and walked up towards the castle. Their walk was almost the exact same as in her dream. How could she dream of something or someone that she had never seen before until now?

"Josie, go back to the cottage with VB-23. Don't make yourself seen. I'll deal with them."

Maz stepped out of the edge of the woods while Josie shrunk back into the shadows, too curious to head back quite yet.

"What is the meaning of this?" Maz asked one of the armored troops.

"First Order business that doesn't concern you, creature," one of them sneered.

The young woman was taken aback. She wasn't expecting such a harsh tone; not when her dream led her to believe differently.

"It very well is my business considering you have decided to plant your ships on my grass and storm my castle bar. I demand that you tell me what your orders are exactly before I will allow you any further."

Before another word was said, a figure in a black cloak and scarf walked off the black ship. His helmet covered with a hood was different than all the others, and his voice was much more distorted and menacing, almost too low for her to hear him at such a distance.

Josie felt shivers run down her spine as she felt a strange pull in the Force luring her to him. Yet she stood still in the shadows, not finding the will to disobey Maz entirely.

"We need the map to Luke Skywalker," the man in the black said. "I have little doubt you know the missing piece's whereabouts are."

Maz shrugged casually. Her smile was blatantly fake and her gestures had a hint of irritation to them, but she managed to keep the peace for now. "Can't say I've seen it. Sorry. Now go on, I don't want my customers to leave because the First Order is on a delusional mission to find a single missing person."

The man walked closer to Maz, peering down at her, his head almost perfectly parallel to the ground in order to meet her gaze.

Josie suddenly turned around, feeling something strange in the Force.

There were three white armored creatures grabbing at her arms, tugging her out of the woods and into the sunlight. She didn't struggle, but she was certainly scared and uncomfortable, unsure of what they were doing.

"Sir, we found a spy. No doubt she is with the Resistance," one of them said.

The man in the black helmet looked up from Maz and to her.

The white armored creatures led her all the way up to him, gripping her hard. Never had she felt such pressure. She didn't think someone would do such a thing or was even capable of causing such pain. Her eyes began to water.

"Let her go," the figure said evenly.

The pressure released.

Josie looked down at Maz for a moment, seeing that she was shaking her head slowly in disappointment. Her heart sank to her feet feeling the weight of her guardian's reaction to her disobedience.

"Can I help you with something?" Josie asked looking back at the hooded figure.

He was quiet for a moment, examining her. She felt her cheeks burn, feeling suddenly self-conscious. Her long brown hair was pinned back in a mess of tangles with loose strands all over; her feet were almost pure black from being barefooted all the time and dirt covered her legs right up to the leggings that stopped above her knee. Despite wearing her best dress that she carefully crafted herself, she felt dirty compared to how sleek and clean they all looked.

"Put her on board and guard her, but don't tie her up."

"Yes, sir!"

"Stop!" Maz yelled out. The soldiers did as she asked. "She is my daughter. Please, she is nothing to you. She is just a child who knows nothing of the Resistance or Jedi. She is not part of any of that. You have no right to take her."

The man stepped closer to Maz, nearly bending over to the little one's height. "Knows nothing at all? I feel the strength of the Force in her and you mean to tell me she knows nothing of the Jedi." He straightened up, turning back to his troops. "Bring on board. We won't be needing the map any longer."

"Yes, sir." This time, their eagerness to obedience wasn't as enthusiastic as before.

As she was being led onto the ship, she turned to look back at Maz with fear flooding her eyes. Was she not coming with her? Why was she only standing there?

"Maz!" Josie said. "Hey, let me go. You don't have a right to lead me to somewhere I don't wish to be. VB! VB come here!"

The droid beeped with anxiety, rolling as fast as it could forward.

"Take the droid, too," he demanded with a snarl. He then walked up to her so swiftly that she barely saw him coming. With a wave of his hand, she began to see nothing but black.

And strangely, the last voice she heard was in her head whispering in a gentle female voice: You must remember.

xxx

Kylo Ren had cleared his head after setting the unconscious girl in the chambers beside his. He felt a surge of fury surge through him when he realized how much he had failed and how weak he was just by laying his eyes on her.

The purpose of that visit to Takodana was to get the map to Luke Skywalker, not bring back a girl. But those visions he had all these years, he simply could not leave her behind in fear of never seeing her again. He had to have her here by him.

She was a part of him.

Kylo Ren clenched his jaw at that thought. She would end up being his weakness. Already that has been shown as true. He completely abandoned his mission for this girl.

He only hoped he could rationalize an excuse to Snoke before the Supreme Leader decided to execute him.

The Knight of Ren walked quickly down the corridors of the Finalizer. Keeping Snoke waiting would only make his mood worse. There was no doubt in his mind that Snoke was ready to unleash his wrath on him for forsaking the map.

Ren entered the large chamber. Snoke's hologram was already projected on a raised platform. The leader peered down menacingly as he entered, not even waiting for Ren to walk the rest of the catwalk before speaking.

"You have lost sight of your mission, Master of the Knights of Ren," he sneered. His low voice echoed through the chambers, piercing ever corner.

"I found something better, Supreme. There is a Force-user who has little idea about us and the Jedi. We could manipulate her to our side and use her power against the Resistance. I had a vision about her and I truly believe she is pure Force; no parents or connections but to the Force alone. I can feel her Force from even in here, my Lord. She has amazing potential and is unsullied. I could be her teacher and show her the ways of the Force."

"You yourself have not finished your training, Ren. However, if what you say is true, we won't need the map to Skywalker. Go, Kylo Ren, and train her. You have escaped my wrath this time and have done well in bringing this girl here. I will arrive in three month's time to see how much potential she truly has on our side."

"Of course, Supreme."

The hologram faded and Kylo Ren felt much relief. This time around, his impulsive actions had actually benefited the First Order.

xxx

Her eyes fluttered open.

The room was dark and dreary. The window brought in not an inkling of light. There were only stars and darkness.

She sat up, feeling something very soft beneath her. Looking down, she saw silky sheets and a fuzzy black blanket covering her. It was warm. She rubbed the blanket against her cheek, never having felt something so soft.

VB chirped at seeing her eyes open and alert. He came rolling to her feet, bumping her in a gesture of affection.

"Yes. Yes, I'm alright," Josie answered him. "Are you okay?"

The droid beeped soundly. He was alright, but concerned that they were now under the care of the First Order.

"What's wrong with the First Order? Who are they?"

Maz doesn't like them. That wasn't much of a reason to dislike them, Josie thought. She stood up, walking past VB and looking at everything in the room. The bed alone was giant. It could fit five of her and then some. The window was just as large if not larger. It scaled from the ceiling to the floor. She touched the glass cautiously, afraid it might not be there at all. It was solid just like the windows of her cottage, but it was much cleaner.

In a short moment of bravery, she leaned her body against it, peering out into space. She had never been in space before. That thought brought a smile to her face. Now she could say she had been to space! Surely not many could say as much.

Across from the window on the other side of the room were two doors.

Walking over to the panel, she pressed the button, watching one of the doors slide open. Amazing.

The room was smaller than the one with the bed, but it was very different. It was all a light grey and much bright with sconces on either side of another large piece of glass; however, this glass was different. There was another person on the other side and Josie was astonished and startled to find someone there. She walked up to the glass as did the person on the other side.

Every move she made, so did the other person. Josie's brows twitched with confusion noticing that the person on the other side was wearing the same dress and leggings she was wearing. Tugging her dress strap up, the other person did the same.

Eerie.

Josie ran out and shut the door, not wanting to be so copied and followed as that person in there who didn't even say hello to her.

She opened the other door this time. The room in there was shockingly much bigger than the one with the bed. It had a couches and a screen and a large table between them. On the others side were counters and tables with chairs and strange appliances she had never seen before. In fact, not a single thing in that room she had seen in anything other than a drawing in a book. It was beautiful, sleek and dark. It was so pristine that Josie felt very dirty again, wishing she had bathed in the lake that day before coming here.

Maz wasn't here. She was back in takodana. This made Josie uncomfortable, wondering why they took her here without Maz.

She decided to leave it alone and ask Maz when she saw her again.

Walking over to all the appliances, she pulled one of them open, seeing a small container of sungrapes. She grabbed a stem and began biting some off the stem and relishing the sweet water inside as she chewed it.

Going further down, there was a large grey steely machine. She twisted a few knobs and unexpectedly there was a fire blazing on top. She shrieked, dropping her sungrapes on the floor.

A door she had yet to open, did and in came in the man who had brought her here. He moved quickly over to the machine and turned it off, the fire disappearing.

Josie's eyes were still wide. "What in the world is that?"

"You mean a stove?" he asked her harshly, his voice still strange to her with all the distortion to it.

She picked up her grapes and began eating them again. She set the rest of the stem on the table and took the man's hand. "I want to know who this is."

Kylo Ren was confused and felt odd at how she so boldly took his hand without a second thought. She led him to the bathroom, sliding the door open and staying right outside while she pushed him in front of the glass.

"Who is that?" Josie asked curiously. "She keeps copying me. It's weird. And she didn't even say anything either."

A strange noise came from the hooded man; something she was sure was a laugh.

"This is a mirror. You can see your reflection," he stated evenly.

Josie walked cautiously to the mirror once more, shocked to see that now the girl was standing next to another Kylo Ren. "That's you! Is - is that me?"

"Yes."

She looked at his reflection and then her own. Leaning in closer, Josie started to feel her face and examine what she looked like. She didn't know that this was what she looked like. Her face was still a little dirty, but looking closely she saw a few freckles on her nose, her eyes were a bright green with tints of brown, and her face was slightly square with high cheekbones.

"You've never seen your own reflection?" he asked, looking down at her small frame.

"No. All the waters were too clear to see your own reflection in. All I could see was a vague outline of myself. I think I could use a bit of brushing, that's for sure," she said, laughing at her tangled hair.

Kylo Ren wasn't going to tell her that she looked beautifully wild as she was. In fact, the thought made him twitch himself.

"You can clean up in the shower, if you wish."

"Shower?"

He gestured her to walk to a clear glass door. He slid it open and casually turned it on. A stream of water trickled from above. "That there is shampoo for your hair, and this bar is soap to wash everywhere else with."

Josie picked up the bottle and that bar, sniffing both. She smiled. "They smell like varillian flowers."

"Yes, that would be the scent they were aiming for. I'll leave you to it then. There are fresh clothes in the wardrobe next to your bed. If you need anything, I'll be next door."

He stepped out while she continued to admire the rainfall of water coming out of a metal circle. It was such an interesting contraption. In a sudden mad rush, she took off her leggings and dress, hopping in and feeling the cool droplets on her dark skin. She closed her eyes, feeling the dirt fall away.

She wanted to truly be fresh and clean, wondering what exactly it felt like to be so. She used almost the entire bottle of shampoo to rid her hair of the dirt and grim. The bar was nothing but a small pebble when she was done cleaning herself. When she stepped out, she stood naked for a moment, looking into the large mirror at herself. Of course she had seen her body before, but never in a third person point of view. It was strange to be able to look at her sunkissed skin and her round breasts and her long hair that was slicked back and nearly black from being wet.

Turning one-eighty degrees, she looked at her back watching the droplets from her hair run down her spine. Her skin was now clean and smooth with a few freckles here and there. She had never seen her body so clean, and it felt so refreshing.

Not bothering with a towel, she walked out to the wardrobe and pulled open the two doors. She saw nothing but black and grey clothing. Frowning, she shut the doors again. She was finally clean and wanted to wear something beautiful and colorful.

Josie rummaged through every drawer and dresser in that room. Finding a white and red patterned sheet, she took it out of the drawer, laying it flat on the floor. She went into the room with all the appliances and searched until she found scissors and something small enough to act as a needle.

The woman began to cut away at the fabric, pulling threads, adjusting her cuts, and when she was done with that, she began to sew together the pieces. Once finished, she held it up, looking down at the length. It was perfect. She put it on and then ran into the bathroom to look at herself in the mirror. Her hair was now dry and curling nicely, giving her a bit more volume back from it being weighed down by water.

She twirled once, getting the feel of the dress. It was tempting to put her leggings on for more coverage, but they were dirty. Picking up the pile of her old clothes, she decided to see Kylo again and ask if she could somehow wash them.

But once she was out in the corridor in front of the his door, she wasn't sure what button to push or how to go about getting his attention when there was a barrier between them.

Finally making a decision, she knocked.

The door opened after a few moments and he stood there still with his helmet on tight, but his hood down.

"Do you have a face under that helmet?" she asked.

"Of course."

"How do I wash my clothes?"

Kylo Ren was perplexed by this girl. She had no fear, but her strength and bravery wasn't that she held her head high with fierceness, but she was humble and open and friendly. Not even his mask had intimidated her. She spoke to him like he was a normal human. He couldn't remember the last time someone had treated him the way she had in less than twenty-four hours.

Even stranger, she left things alone and began a new subject. She was like a rabbit hopping from one pebble to another.

"There is a shoot in your bathroom where you can drop your clothes in and droids will wash them."

"I can wash them myself. I just need water and a cleaning powder."

"It's alright, it's the droids' job. Follow me." Kylo Ren led her to his bathroom which was nearly the exact same as her own. He showed her where the shoot was, placing her clothes down it and closing the lid again.

"Can you take your helmet off? I want to see your face. I've never met a human in person before."

Kylo felt a small fire of anger rise in him. He didn't like how lonely her life sounded.

At first he was hesitant, but he pushed the button and removed his helmet, watching her expression go from a calm smile to brightened, sparkling eyes. She reached up and touched his face, but he pulled back immediately.

"Oh, sorry," she apologized. "I just wanted to get a closer look. I have never met anyone taller than me, you know. You feel strangely familiar."

She wasn't talking about his physical flesh.

His jaw moved, clenching. He wanted to show her his dream...his vision, but he wasn't about to scare here away. Instead, he said, "Tomorrow we start your training. You are very powerful in the Force and I will make sure you know how to use and control it. If you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to on the ship. There are books and videos you can use for entertainment in your room. They should be in the living room drawer if you haven't found them yet. I will fetch you in the morning."

Kylo Ren put his helmet on and escorted her out of the room then left her at her door on her own.