Chapter 3


It wasn't until Rey could feel Luke's hands grip her arms tightly that she stopped screaming. He shook her gently, worry clear in his eyes and Rey found herself weeping in her master's arms.

'A nightmare?' he questioned solemnly.

Rey left only a brief gap of silence before nodding, lying to herself and her master.

'Are you not able to achieve some semblance of peace before you sleep?' Luke questioned. The look in Rey's eyes was enough of an answer for him, however. She was scared. That fact did not surprise him. Rey had told him over the last 3 weeks what had brought her to find him, how close she was to greeting death and she guessed she would have met him with anger. Her mind was too clouded and it hindered her greatly.

Rey's breathing grew steadier and eventually she pulled herself from Luke's arms. 'Sleep is difficult. Though it has always been difficult.'

Luke nodded. He imagined growing up alone and on the edges of a space junk yard left one constantly fearful of sleep. However, he knew there was something more, though his own connection to the force would not allow him to know.

'I will mix you a tonic if you wish, though nightmares are better overcome than chased away by potions.'

Rey nodded. 'I will overcome it Master, is that not the Jedi way?'

He smiled briefly and nodded. 'One must work through their issues to find a solution.'

'I think I will be fine now. Please go back to bed.' Rey bowed her head slightly and Luke nodded, getting up from her cot and making his way out of her quarters and back to his own.

Rey looked about her and felt the hard rocky ground beneath her feet. The dream had felt so real. Even her throat ached from where Kylo had tried to squeeze the life from her. She couldn't be sure whether it was her own imagination creating that pain, or whether there was some horrifying connection between them. One that went beyond simply sharing emotions.

The flames however. Or what she had felt of the flames, had disappeared. All she felt against her arms and chest now, was a slight tingle, though it did not disturb her. Then her mind went back to what Kylo had said and her fists tightened in anger.

You should take this as a sign from the Force. It knows your allegiance; it beckons you towards it. Even if you mask your desire for the darkness here, I felt it yesterday. I saw it in your eyes and the darkness will take you, one way or another; through your body first or your mind.

Rey was stronger than Kylo believed, she knew it. She knew the implication behind his words. That lust and desire would have her first and then the poison would further grip her, tainting the light inside her heart.

'I am stronger than that. The dark cannot compel me towards corruption.'

She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, centring herself through the cold earth against the soles of her feet and feeling the light draft flow around her. Her shoulders relaxed and she let out a long exhalation.

Rey lay back down on the cot, just looking up at the dark ceiling above her and thinking of the friends she had left to come here. She often tried to feel through the Force how they were. Whether Finn was recovered yet and back to worrying incessantly over her, even when she was so far away. Rey wanted to go back. She wanted to be with them. Master Luke was company enough, but the bond she had formed with Finn was what she expected it felt like to have a best friend.

Her skill with the Force was not good enough to even reach where he was, let alone check on how he was. Though her gut told her he was well.

Eventually a dream-less sleep descended on Rey and she was thankful for that.

When Rey awoke she felt much better than she had the previous morning and her concentration was back in her training. Not even a glimpse of anger made itself known, though Rey would be a fool to think that the connection to Kylo had disappeared overnight. What worried her, was despite her gladness that she could not feel his anger and spite at this moment, its disappearance filled her with wariness. A bubble of discomfort rose from her stomach to her throat and her mind strayed when she thought too much on it.

Rey couldn't tell whether it was worry for the man himself, or worry that his emotions had become a stabilising part of her. That having the burden of his own emotions alongside hers, had made her far more balanced or filled with relief that their burdens were shared?

It was no surprise to Rey why she suddenly felt so torn. Her mind had always constantly craved companionship and even when she was a child, she had fallen into faux-friendship, unwittingly falling into the lies of others based on a promise of friendship.

There was a part of Rey that would always seek that out. Would always seek out someone who was as alone as she had always been and that they could share their burdens with each other. Despite her hatred of the connection between herself and Kylo, it had become a companion to her. One she did not want, but one she was made to deal with.

'Without struggle there is no progress.' She whispered to herself as she climbed, a heavy pack on her back.

Rey couldn't be sure where she had heard the saying from, but whenever she had held in Kylo's displaced anger, the words had become a sort of mantra to her. That even to achieve her goals as a warrior of the light, she must struggle with darkness first. Her own darkness and the darkness of others.

Kylo was a test, just like Luke telling her to climb a cliff face with 10kg of rocks on her back, it was all a test.

Once she had reached the top of the cliff, she pulled herself over the edge and caught her breath as she knelt down.

Luke had been meditating at the precipice and he opened his eyes then, nodding to her success. He stood and then held a hand out to her.

'You've worked incredibly hard today. Your skill at fighting with a sparring sword has improved immensely and though these aren't normal circumstances, I think it is time we move onto training with the real thing.'

Rey couldn't hide the smile that appeared on her face. Training with the wooden stick had been nothing like what it had felt to actually wield a Lightsaber, or even a training saber. Up till now, it had felt like she was training to fight like a knight of days of old, with a metal sword, needing brute strength behind it.

'We will start with Shii-Cho blast-deflect training and when I think you are good enough, we will move onto Form II. Though be aware that we will continue the sequence training we have been doing these three weeks, as even though I know we have little time, I want to train you to the best of my ability.'

Rey nodded. 'I understand Master.'

When will I get my own Lightsaber? The question was on the tip of her tongue. It had been since she had reached this planet. Rey decided not to say it out loud, however, not wanting to hear Luke's obvious rejection.

Luke took the bag from her back and then started to walk back to their camp, Rey following after him.

'We will also see what type of weapon suits you best.'

She couldn't hide her smile and memories of her staff immediately came back to her. The weapon had been useful to her for many years and she had grown accustomed to it.

XxX

The two sat down for their evening meal and Rey ate happily with the knowledge that she was progressing. Despite her improving skills meaning she was one step closer to having to go back out and fight, she felt the pull towards becoming stronger and becoming a Jedi, outweighing her fears. Even if she still wasn't quite sure what being a Jedi would mean.

Luke watched her over his bowl as he chewed on the tough grain. Even if he couldn't read her mind, he still couldn't help feeling out for the Force around her. It was bright. It worried him, still. Luke knew his previous catastrophic failings had led to pain and death, so he wanted to be cautious this time. He wanted to make sure Rey was okay, that she wouldn't stray.

She finished her food as quickly as usual and took to looking into the fire, waiting for her master to finish.

'These days you seem to have a fascination with the fire.' Luke commented.

Rey looked at him and her mouth tightened into a pout. She thought before she answered.

'I suppose I've been thinking about darkness and light. Pain and joy.' She glanced back at the fire again. 'Fire can represent light and warmth in the darkness, yet it's such a destructive force. It gives and takes and so I keep thinking about its allegiance.'

Her mind was thinking on the pain of the fire that seemed to represent the darkness in her shared dreams with Kylo. It had appeared as both ice and fire in its pain, yet it didn't seem right to align fire in that manner.

On Jakku, fires weren't often lit. Electric lights lit the nights and there was no meat to cook. But Rey had always had dreams of sitting beside a fire, taking in its warmth, whilst a slight chill caught on the wind. She imagined waiting for her family by the fireside, at the hearth.

Maybe that was why she was so unwilling to stray away from it? Perhaps she was mistaken and the fire itself was harmless. Or it was all a trick; the darkness taking advantage of her own mind.

Luke seemed to nod. 'First you make a distinction. Fire is much like a domesticated wild animal. It can be nurtured and allowed to grow safely and gradually. But just like any wild animal, it needs to have a figure of authority, the fire cannot be allowed to be alone, for it can be extinguished or potentially grow dangerous and wild. But most importantly, it is treated as something precious, a gift. The gift of warmth and light.

'If fire is taught to destroy, created with destruction in mind, then it will be just that and become a messenger of darkness, of evil. The fire itself has no choice with what we do with it, the fire itself is nothing but an object for us to exploit, and that's the most important thing. Because fire can be exploited for darkness it doesn't mean it can't be controlled again, pulled back into the light.'

Rey nodded, looking carefully at Luke. 'Would you teach me?'

'Pyrokinesis?' he questioned. The art wasn't exactly complex. He had taught his sister in the space of a few afternoons.

Rey nodded, leaning forward. 'I find myself fearing fire more every day as I look into it. If I could control it, keep it safe, I'd feel differently.'

Luke raised an eyebrow and nodded. 'I will teach you, though you must take control over that growing fear. It is unwise to fear objects rather than people.'

'Even the darkness?'

He nodded. 'The darkness shouldn't be feared. It should be understood and overcome. Much like the light isn't something to be feared, for Jedi, Sith and Ren alike, it must be understood and taken in and accepted, or rejected and fought against.'

Rey nodded. Her eyes went back to the fire. She knew to put her hand in the flames would hurt, but that wasn't the darkness. The compulsion, perhaps, but not the fire itself.

Luke put his bowl down beside him and held out his hands in front of him.

'I've taught you how to channel the Force and sense it in everything around you. Feel the Force flow through every molecule in everything. Pyrokinesis is taking those molecules floating amongst us, the air we breathe in and joining them together as if you were creating a fire with a spindle stick and fire board. That friction between the molecules, if given enough attention can bloom into a flame and then grow. Then it's all up to your connection to the Force; your power, which controls how big it can go, how much you can control.'

Rey held out her hands, copying Luke's actions.

In a moment of seconds, he had conjured a small flame in the palm of his hands and it grew. It resembled a small hatchling, warily peeking out from his hands.

'Does it not burn?'

He shook his head. 'That's part of the control. You can make the fire harmless but it can just as easily be made to cause pain.'

Luke closed his hand and the small fire bird disappeared.

'The hardest part is making it grow from a single flame and keeping control over it. This is something even force sensitive individuals can learn to do.'

Rey nodded and focused her concentration into her palms. She willed the air around her to comply and dance within her hands. She could feel a slight tingle along the tips of her fingers, though it did not carry the warmth she wanted.

Luke watched her as she concentrated. The process was very much like meditation, in that it was all within the mind. There was no specific technique, nor level of learning necessary. It was merely having a connection with the Force and speaking to it.

'Maybe you should rest for the day,' Luke started after Rey had been in her position for 30 minutes. 'Your body must be tired.'

She looked to her hands one last time before nodding and she stood, bowing gently to Luke. 'Goodnight Master,' she said before leaving and going to her quarters.

As she walked, she still tried to call the fire to her. The action was far more calming than she expected it to be, so the thoughts came with ease. Even as she sat on her cot, ready to sleep, she looked at the candles within her quarter, seeing if she could affect them somehow.

After another twenty minutes of concentration, the candles flickered and Rey smiled to herself. It was something. The confidence that it brought on distracted her from the reality of the night and she quickly fell asleep, not worrying over what would find her in her dreams.

Rey opened her eyes to be met with the tall canopy of trees above her. Her mind immediately flashed back to Takodana and at the forest she had tried to navigate before she met Kylo. Thinking of him caused her an immediate ache in her chest and she sighed as she sat up from her position laying on the ground.

She looked around her and she was dressed in her training clothing, her sparing sword in the tight grip of her hand. Once she stood, she decided to explore her immediate surroundings. The weather was mild and there was a smell of rain in the air. As she walked, she twisted the wooden weapon in front of her, practicing the Shii-cho sequences Luke had taught her and trying to channel the Force around her.

The sword is an extension of you. And you are an extension of the Force. Feel it flow through you and out from the tips of your fingers and toes.

Luke's words repeated in her mind as she moved from step to step, keeping the sword always moving, like wind or waves.

Then she heard the scrunch of leaves and she turned, a dark figure walking through the trees and towards her. Rey's sword was already held out in front of her, though she knew very well who it was.

'Still learning Form I?' There was disappointment in his tone, though his mouth was set in a hard line as he approached Rey.

She kept a distant, backing up as he got closer and holding the weapon firmly in front of her.

'If you wish to kill me, you'll need to learn faster than that. That Form is only useful against the weak, much like you, Youngling.'

'I have no wish to kill you,' Rey responded easily. She almost thought it was a lie by how quickly she responded and without a second thought. But she knew it was true. Even looking at Kylo now, his overbearing presence and the hateful expression he wore, she didn't want to kill him.

Kylo smirked. 'What will you do then? Heal me? Save me?' he laughed.

Rey lowered her arm and tucked the sword into her belt. 'Only you can do that Ben.'

She watched as he grit his teeth together but she could only sigh as she looked at him. Her mind went to General Organa and she pitied her immensely. The son she had tirelessly fought for was an image of foolish darkness and immaturity. He had killed so many, done so much harm, yet he was still so weak. Even as she stared at him, she could see the fire in his eyes, wanting to burst out and strike at her, like some vicious Nexu that had been trapped in a cage for its whole life, yearning for its enslavers blood.

'If you die you won't have any time to feel guilty or to regret what you have done.' Rey said simply. 'You have no control over your own actions, probably even the simplest Shii-cho forms are beyond you.'

As Rey turned to walk away, she could hear the angered and harried breathing of Kylo behind her and she suddenly did not care. What seemed to be the most dangerous of things within her dreams, was the anger and the darkness that came with it. He could hurt her, perhaps, more psychologically than anything, but he could do nothing else.

'You're lying to yourself if you think you are in the light.' He shouted to her. 'You're lying to yourself if you think you are pure of heart and pure of mind, or that you can become that way.'

Rey turned to him again, her eyes narrowing.

Kylo was smirking again. 'You're foolish to think the darkness won't take you with ease. That it can't compel you towards it, that it doesn't know what you want. Have you learnt nothing of the Force yet?'

'I know that the Force has no allegiance and even if I am not of the light, the Force will be my guide. My guide to goodness and justice above all.'

He laughed then, and as Rey's brows furrowed, his mirth only heightened until he was bent over, hand against his stomach. 'You live in a dream world. The Force has its allegiance, and that is power. Pure and unadulterated power. Whoever holds the universe within their hands is who the Force follows. The Force doesn't care if we rip this world to shreds, it will only rebuild and feed again.'

Rey shook her head. 'The Force is not some parasite.'

'Oh yes it is. Though you are new to this Youngling, I wouldn't expect you to know, especially learning the drivel of Luke Skywalker.'

'I am no youngling,' she hissed at him.

He looked almost smug and he began to walk towards her and Rey only watched him, her hands at fists to her sides.

'You will come to see it soon enough. That what you want is power and freedom to use it and that I'm the one who can give it to you.'

Rey huffed and raised her chin. 'So you think I'll suddenly be compelled towards genocide?'

He smiled then and continued forward. Rey found herself frozen in the spot and she wasn't sure if it was he who was doing it, or her. 'You think far too simply.'

His hands reached out to hers, gripping her forearms tightly. Rey tried to pull from his grip, but without being able to use the Force or to reach the wooden weapon in her belt, she was against his strength alone.

'The darkness…the Force, it knows what you desire, what you truly desire.'

Rey shook her head and pulled at her arms. His hands were hot, painfully so and she could feel her skin burn beneath his. The flames did not come from him however, they stood between them, licking at both of their shoes, wanting attention. It was not his darkness, it was the raw darkness that sought her out to claim her.

'It's not this, it will never be this,' she said, shaking her head continuously.

Kylo clucked his tongue. 'You've made a simple mistake Youngling. Forgetting that you are human.'

Her eyes narrowed in confusion, but he was silent as he stared into her eyes, his hands like hot metal, left out in the searing sun of Jakku all afternoon.

'The Force has given me this gift. The chance to bring you to me when you are defenceless, to show you what you really want, where you can't protect your own thoughts.' He smiled then, releasing her arms and stepping back. 'It's fate.'

Rey stepped back, falling on a loose tree root and feeling the welts across her arms. A glance at Kylo's hands and she could see they were the same. The fire between them had dissipated, but she could still feel the distant heat around her, turning rain drops into steam. Their eyes still met and Rey felt sick as her stomach churned. She swore she could hear the whispers again, from that first dream. The darkness whispering and giggling in her ear, compelling her to not look away.


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