Hey guys, as usual, thanks for the follows and favourites and comments! And for the one comment that said my story was more like a "twirpy twilight esque teen story than delicious darkness of the lucasfilm world", lol, the main genre is romance, what did you expect, Episode 8? And Twilight is way more creepy than my story, thank you very much! :D

And without further ado, here's chapter 4!

On a gloomy, chilly day, Kylo Ren started his training with Rey and Luke. When he appeared, two days after he made his request to the Jedi, he sported a black eye and a split lip, but no new bloody cuts on his chest and back.

Rey wasn't sure how she felt every time she had to look at his injuries. She still loathed him, but… how awful was it, that he had to spend his days being tortured, mentally or physically? When would his breaking point be? How long could a human being resist before turning insane?

She often wondered why Kylo chose to stay a prisoner, to bear the torture. Why wouldn't he use the Force to escape? When she had brought her questions to Luke – asking him was out of the question –, the Jedi had explained that it was very likely Snoke controlled and prevented him from using the Force to attack or to manipulate. "Or, maybe," he had added, "he doesn't have anywhere to go."

And now he would be training with them, on the island.

When Luke told her what Kylo had asked him, she was shocked. The thought that he had been doing everything in his power to resist Snoke's probing and to hide her from him left her speechless. And the thought that he had put his pride aside to ask Luke for help once it was clear that he wasn't strong enough… Rey looked at her master in utter disbelief. "Why? Why does he bother? I thought he'd be happy if Snoke killed me," she said, trying to mask her annoyance.

"I cannot answer this question Rey. But this is good. Very good," Luke smiled.

"Alright but… what does it mean? Is he choosing the Light? Master… have you looked into his mind?"

"I have, but with Ben things are never so simple. The pull to the Light in him is strong, and there's definitely something changing inside of him, but it's his loyalty to Snoke that's crumbling, not his loyalty to the Dark Side. His childhood wasn't unhappy, not exactly, but… Leia was often away on diplomatic duty, Han came and went all the time, and Ben… he was a lonely child with a huge potential, and I fear the absence of his parents was one of the reasons he found himself so vulnerable to Snoke's manipulation. The pain, the hate and self-loathing he developed in his youth, the feelings that led him away from the Light and allowed Snoke to influence and shape him…they made him thrive, and grow powerful, and feel like he belonged. It mustn't be easy to leave all that behind, even though now he probably knows he could, at least rationally. His mind is a very confused and painful jumble of emotions. I don't know if turning back to the Light will be possible at all."

Rey frowned. "But that's… that's a bit cynical. Weren't you the one who insisted there was still hope for him?" she asked.

"Of course there's still hope. He can learn to accept the Light again, but not if he's alone. You should help him, Rey. I know I'm asking a lot, but if you can… help him, guide him. Use your bond."

Easier said than done, Rey thought, watching Kylo nodding at Luke and completely ignoring her.

Training together to learn how to hide their connection left Rey extremely frustrated. Kylo mostly ignored her, focusing solely on Luke's instructions, but through their bond she could perceive a lingering annoyance towards her, the feeling he'd rather not have to be in her presence. And that angered her, a lot. She was in the same situation, but was willing to cooperate. Did he think she was happy to be forced to be civil to him? Even worse, Rey knew Jedi weren't supposed to feel anger. Anger led to hate, and hate led to suffering. And to the Dark Side. But she just couldn't control her emotions around him.

The only positive aspect of having to suffer through those vexing training sessions was that at night she was so mentally exhausted that the pull towards him was a lot less pressing, so she managed to stay in her head even though she had still not completely mastered Luke's teachings, Kylo's presence merely lingering at the confines of her mind.

There were times when Kylo showed up and he was beaten up so badly that Rey was tempted to ask him to lie down and sleep: his body might be resting, back in his room, but his mind was overworking itself, and that had to be bad for the healing process. But she never said anything, knowing that he'd only react with anger. She was getting good at reading him, at interpreting and predicting his actions: seeing him every day, meditating together, discussing with Luke the theoretical aspects of what they were learning… these were all occasions where Rey could learn things about him. She knew that if she had to sway him back to the Light she'd better learn what made him tick, his beliefs, his motives. Annoyingly, she was discovering that – leaving out his fascination with the Dark Side – Kylo Ren wasn't completely inhuman and cold. He was driven, focused, meticulous; he put all of his energies in the task at hand, not sparing himself one bit. He had an enormous, almost scary knowledge and mastery of the Force. Rey, all instinct and raw talent, felt inadequate, and reluctantly in awe of him.

One day, when Kylo appeared on the island, ready to begin training, he only found Rey waiting for him. Frowning, he opened his mouth to speak, but Rey didn't let him and said in a rush "Master Luke is on the other side of the island, meditating. He said he'd be away at least until sunset. If you want, we can still train."

Kylo watched her, slightly irritated. "We can't train without him. We need his guidance to learn how to hide the bond."

Rey arched an eyebrow, in mock exasperation. "Of course we can't do that, but that's not the only thing we can learn."

"What are you suggesting?" Despite his annoyance at her, Kylo was intrigued.

"Mind tricks."

He snorted. "Mind tricks? You want to practice mind tricks on me? Think again, scavenger girl."

Rey closed her eyes, counting to ten in her mind. Her patience with him was already wearing thin, and he had been on the island for less than five minutes. "I don't want to practice them on you. I want you to– " she stopped, biting her lower lip. Suddenly she wasn't so sure about what she was going to ask.

Kylo merely looked at her, waiting.

"I want you to teach me. Teach me how to properly manipulate someone's mind."

"And what made you think that I would be willing to help you?" Kylo asked, coldly.

Rey glared at him. "Well, considering I got the idea from your mind, I thought you'd want to give me some directions. Instinct can only take me so far."

Surprisingly, Kylo Ren started to chuckle. It wasn't a full-on laugh, but Rey quietly wished he wouldn't stop. For a moment she had managed to get a glimpse of someone who was different from Kylo Ren, who wasn't as full of anger and bitterness, and she instantly wanted more of that person. Rey wondered if Ben Solo as an adult would have been like that.

"I can't believe you managed to steal so much from my mind in such a short time. How long was it, a couple of seconds? I was right about you, you're more powerful than you know," he said, smirking.

Rey swallowed. "You... you think I'm powerful?"

"Why do you think I asked you to join me that day on Starkiller? As soon as you blocked me from your mind I knew you would be powerful beyond your wildest dreams, if properly trained."

Rey bit her lower lip, looking at him. "So… will you? Train me?"

Kylo Ren huffed. "Yes, little scavenger, I'll do it."

It turned out that, once past the coldness he reserved for her, Kylo Ren was a strict but very patient teacher. Without people to practice on, they had to settle for one of the many seagulls perched on the rocks nearby.

"Manipulating the mind of another human being comes easy, because you both have the same physiognomy. The mind of an animal is a very different matter. Their brain structure is simpler, yes, but it is also more unpredictable. It means that, while you'll take control of their mind very easily, it will be extremely difficult to maintain it. Begin."

Rey took control of a bird in less than a minute, but then, as predicted, her hold slipped away very soon. She wanted to make the seagull fly in low circles and land right before her, but as soon as she commanded it to soar in the air, the bird cawed loudly and remained rooted to the spot, shutting Rey out. She grunted in annoyance and tried again. And again. And again.

Kylo watched, sporadically giving her directions. He admired her tenacity, and felt oddly pleased whenever she managed to keep control of a seagull a bit longer.

Rey continued to practice, taking only a short break to eat and drink while Kylo showed off making five seagulls at once perform a very complicated flying pattern.

Finally, when the sun had already begun to turn from bright gold to burnt orange, Rey made a seagull fly slow, wide circles above her head. She turned to Kylo, a triumphant grin stretching her lips, and he answered with an indecipherable expression, so inexplicably intense that Rey lost her focus, and the seagull's treacherous mind shook off her influence. The bird screeched and dived straight towards her. Rey gasped and ducked, but in her haste she tripped and braced herself for a nasty fall on the rocky ground.

Except, she never fell. She found herself hovering a few inches from the ground, Kylo's hands outstretched towards her. He had cushioned her fall with the Force. Rey nodded, so he released her and she stood. He was very close to her, their chests almost touching, and he was looking straight into her eyes, with the same intensity as before. Rey felt her stomach clench, a sensation not entirely unpleasant. She swallowed, and she saw Kylo's eyes following the bob of her throat; Rey felt his stare on her skin almost like a physical caress. Then Kylo snapped out of it, frowned and stepped away from her. Rey exhaled, wondering why that moment had made her feel so weak and empowered at the same time.

"Come on, little scavenger. Back to the seagulls. I have an idea."

Kylo explained to Rey that, since they were linked by the force-bond, they might as well take advantage of it in mind tricks. They attuned their minds and both commanded the seagulls to obey their will: instantly the whole flock soared and started flying in circles in front of them.

"Whoa. This bond is really… something," Rey whispered.

They kept going well after sunset, when the breeze got chilly and gave Rey's skin goosebumps. Kylo stopped her then, and said "When Luke comes back, tell him about this. We should… explore the possibilities."

Rey nodded, and lifted her hand in goodbye, watching him disappear.

Back into his body, Kylo thought back to that afternoon. He recalled a moment when the pull to the Light, that he usually kept confined to the recesses of his mind, had suddenly spiked. He knew exactly what had caused it, and he felt utterly dumbfounded. Was it possible that the violent emotions the girl usually elicited in him were turning into something positive, pleasant even?

Kylo shook his head. He was beyond exhausted, so he settled on his bed and quickly drifted off to sleep. His dreams that night were filled with the sound of triumphant laughter and with the image of a blinding smile.