The Legion Renewed
Chapter Twenty-Two
It was time, Luke decided. It could not be put off any longer, and it had to be done. He'd done everything else he could to train her, everything Yoda prescribed for her Force-gifts in his book, except this. He hoped Briande was ready.
He found her at the edge of the lake, recuperating from a long swim. She opened her eyes to look at him, sensing his presence even though he had not made a sound.
"Let's go." he said.
She picked up her jacket and put it on over her wet t-shirt. "Where are we going?"
Luke didn't answer. Briande let the question rest for the time being and increased her pace to keep up with him.
Luke led the way down a strange trail, one that was thickly overgrown with moist vegetation. Even without memory, he would have been able to find the place with his eyes closed. Briande did not seem to feel it yet. Luke's knowledge of what was at the end of their journey gave him the awareness to feel the delicate ripples that moved through the Force. Briande had no such knowledge.
Yet.
Briande followed him. Despite the overgrowth, it was not a particularly difficult course. She assumed it was a distance exercise.
Eventually, they broke into a clearing. Briande was so surprised when Luke stopped that she nearly ran into him. "We'll rest here." Luke said.
"Fine," Briande shrugged. She seated herself on a log and looked up at him.
Luke said nothing. There were no words he could say.
Briande looked away suddenly and shivered. "Luke, do you feel that?"
"What?" he asked.
"Cold...Darkness..." She scanned the trees and foilage that lined the clearing, her gaze settling finally on a large tree whose above-ground roots formed an entrance to a cave below. "It's coming from there..."
"That...cave...is strong with the Dark Side of the Force. That's why I brought you here. It's time for you to go inside."
"What's in there?"
"Nothing." It was true. There was no thing in there.
Briande stood up and took a hesitant step towards the cave entrance. "Cake, then."
Luke shook his head. "Don't lie to me, Briande. More importantly, don't lie to yourself. What do you really feel?"
She stopped and drew a long breath, never taking her eyes from the dark opening. "All right, then," she said shakily. "What I really feel is that if I go in there, I'll never come out again. There's death in there. Something evil..."
"And it scares you?"
"Yes."
Luke closed his eyes and nodded. "This will probably be the most difficult test you face here. It was for me. Moreso for you, because you'll have to keep your shield lowered."
"Do I have to go in alone?"
"If you want to complete the training, yes."
Briande stared at the cave for another long moment, then walked slowly toward it, her hand moving to the lightsaber at her belt.
"You won't need that," Luke told her.
"Do I have a choice?"
"You always have a choice."
Briande hesitated, then tightened her grip on the hilt of the weapon, drawing some measure of support and courage from an external source rather than an internal one. Luke said nothing. He himself had made the very same mistake, and had learned from it.
She paused at the entrance, turned, and looked at Luke for help. He looked away, knowing that if she chose not to enter, she would never be fully trained. When he turned back, she was gone.
Luke forced himself to wait. He wondered if Yoda had felt the same way every time he had sent one of his students into that Hell-hole of visions.
He wished he had Yoda's patience. He wished he were able to sit quietly on a log and do nothing while he waited. As it was, it was all he could do just to pace back and forth anxiously near the mouth of the cave, and not follow Briande in or call her back.
After a while, he heard a shout, followed by a scream. Luke automatically started to dash inside, but he caught himself. Briande had to finish it alone.
A long time later, Briande finally emerged from the cave, shaken and trembling.
Luke was immediately at her side, finally able to give her the comfort and consolation he had wanted to give, though knowing, in a way, that she didn't need it anymore. He was aware of how affecting the vision could be, but Briande had made it through.
"What did you see?" he asked gently.
Briande met his eyes with difficulty. It was hard for her to talk. "I saw...Brenna‑‑‑my sister-and...then it was you. I fought her...killed her...but it was you I killed. I'm‑‑‑" She couldn't finish.
Luke held her close. "It's okay," he whispered, feeling her fight to control a sob. "You can let go."
"Oh, Luke, it's not over yet. The vision...it was you I killed..." Then she buried herself against him and let him hold her while she cried.