Chapter Four – The burden of the past
Christine screamed and fell to her knees, dropping the lightsaber and holding her arm. It had been sliced deeply by the weapon – showing bone. Blood poured from the deep gash. Kylo Ren was at the young witch's side within seconds, his mind racing into a panic. Christine in her suspended state of pain tried to calm her mind, knowing that it can prove fatal to witches to act on pure emotion. However the agony proved too great. The weapon had not just cut through her flesh, but burned it also. Kylo cast one arm around Christine, supporting her. The wound was bad – even he could see that. However Kylo Ren was trained greatly in the force. "Give me your arm", he commanded, taking it roughly. He hovered his own hand over the wound taking deep breathes and closed his eyes as Christine wailed. I will relax. I command myself relax. I feel the force. It shall flow through me to her. Mend bone, knit the flesh as one. Her wound shall heal. There will be no more. Christine fell silent and Kylo opened his eyes. She trembled beneath him, her arm completely healed. Christine was stunned. The wound had been so severe … so much pain … so much blood, and yet Kylo healed it as if it were but a mere scratch. "How did you ..."
"You may be a witch as you say, but I am skilled in using the force. I used it to heal you", he replied, as it meant nothing. He released her, standing once more he stretched out his arm, calling his lightsaber to him. "What is that thing?" she stuttered, her voice shaking.
Kylo shrugged, "What we came for. This is my lightsaber, I thought I might have lost it in the crash, no matter now that it is in my possession again all is well".
Christine felt the anger swell within her as she clambered to her feet. "All is well? That thing almost lost me my arm and all is well? Did you not think to tell me what you were looking for, or at least warned me what it could do!" she shouted. Kylo Ren grunted, seeing no wrong in his actions, "You are fine now, no harm has been done", he snapped. Against her better judgement, Christine backed down, knowing to yield when the fight was lost. Kylo had a shroud of ignorance around him, and she doubted that he would see the error in his ways. She scoffed, cursing under her breath. Christine practically marched forward, determined to finish what she had started. Once more she commanded the power within her, still furious that it had failed her before. She raised both arms in front of her, now commanding nature to yield to her. Feeding the earth her power, she had trees grow fast to replace those that were lost, and new grass envelop that what was charred black. Her focus turned to the space craft itself. Christine knew that it will still be needed of Kylo, so opted to simply hide it. She commanded vines rise up. Twisting, turning and growing until the full craft was camouflaged completely. Christine sighed, admiring her work. Widow's Creek looked as good as new, and was one less worry on her mind. Her anger had faded towards her strange alien friend, who unbeknownst to her, had stood back and admired her as she went about fixing the Creek. Kylo Ren knew that his own powers were a force to be reckon with, but Christine could do things that he had never seen before. He would not admit it openly, but he did respect her.
Christine cleared her throat; "I think we have no business left in this place. Let's go".
The walk back to the car was silent, as was the journey home. Christine could not help but every so often to glance at her arm. It had been healed with not so much as a faint scar. It was as if she had never been injured. She was both impressed and fearful. Today she now knew that Kylo Ren himself was what he called 'A force sensitive', and wielding a very dangerous weapon called a lightsaber. Christine had quickly began to believe that her good sir may not be as helpless she first thought. Kylo Ren himself was lost in thought. It had troubled him deeply how quickly he had responded to Christine's incident. The moment he had seen her with the lightsaber in her hands he sensed a great danger coming. When she had cut herself with it, a great sense of urgency struck him in his heart. It should not have worried him as much as it had to see her hurt in such a way, something that he needed to get under control. Kylo Ren had to remind himself that Christine the little native girl was expendable to him, she had equal worth to that of a singular Stormtrooper.
As they pulled up to the Manor, Christine finally spoke; "Thank you for what you did earlier. I'm sorry that I reacted so harshly".
Kylo Ren was stunned to say the least, this girl could so easily forgive, and was annoyingly nice. Kylo grunted, shrugging his shoulders, "Simple force healing. There is no need to thank me".
Inside, Christine removed her coat, casting it aside and kicking off her shoes. Kylo following example, removed his shoes, however stowed them neatly on the mahogany shoe rack. "So, we have a lot of hours of sunlight left, how about we start brainstorming about how to get you home?" she suggested. Spinning to face him. Kylo knew that it was not an option to even consider returning yet, so instead attempted to steer Christine away from the matter.
"Home sounds good about now, although I must admit your planet, intrigues me. I would like to learn more about Earth".
Christine laughed. Kylo could not help but observe how prone she was to that – and that her laughing was irritatingly light and almost infectious, much to his chagrin. "Well you're in luck because I know the perfect thing that'll help sum up Earth". She took his hand beckoning him to follow as she lead him to one of the more personal living rooms (there being many in the manor). This one in particular being a tad more modern. She flopped onto a couch, gesturing him to do the same. Kylo took the space next to her. They sat directly in front of a large black screen.
"Kylo Ren, it's time I introduce you to the joys of television".
Christine found herself in the same position as before, buried under a mountain of books in the La Vedette library. Only this time, she had a newfound determination as she scanned over the content of the books. She had left Kylo in the comfort of the manor, watching as much TV to his hearts' content. She had yet to receive any word from father. And so Christine assumed that it was going to be a while until she saw him again. With both brothers in University, Christine had grown accustomed to being on her own. She had been in the library for quite some time before she decided to call it an evening. She had left Kylo and herself after preparing him some lunch – that had been several hours ago, and now she was rather hungry. Closing a book, she got up from her chair, not being particularly bothered, Christine *sped to the manor, reaching the front door.
Just as she was about to enter, her ears began to ring fiercely, as she saw nothing but white.
"What do you mean he is gone?"
Christine found herself once more absorbed into a premonition. This time she found herself in some kind of board room. It was an interaction held between the two people from before; Leia and Luke.
"You are the one who requested I keep tabs on the boy, and I am telling you he is gone. I have searched through the force, I cannot find a trace of his force signature".
"So what are you telling me; that my son is dead?" Leia seethed. She appeared furiously, whilst Luke appeared completely calm.
"No, I do not think your son is dead. If he were, I would have been able to sense his spirit within the force. I mean that he must have traveled to another galaxy, or dimension. I assumed that this is something that you would have wanted to know of"
"What the hell do you mean, another galaxy? This is my son we are talking about".
"Your son who murdered Han", Luke glared. Leia stopped, fists clenched and a menacing snarl etched upon her lips. Luke sighed heavily, furrowing his brow. "Don't act like none of us have noticed. Ever since …. His passing, you have become obsessed with bring Ben back to the light. But I do not think that he is Ben anymore. I understand how you are feeling Leia, at the end of the day you have always been a solider, but I think that you have lost your great love, and you are scared to death of losing the man who is no longer your son".
"I won't give up on Ben".
Christine felt her body jolt as she was pulled from the premonition. She sucked in breath as she struggled to steady herself. Premonitions were never easy on her, and took a great toll on her body. She groaned, allowing herself to lean against the door. "Ben", she murmured. She clung to the name, forcing herself to remember it. She clasped the walls, depending on them for balance and support. Christine stumbled inside, still clinging to the walls. She followed the sound of voices, into the fourth living room. Memories flooded back, of the crash, of Kylo. He glanced over his shoulder, "Christine are you alright? You look ill".
Christine blinked rapidly, still lost between her vision and reality. "Ben?"
Kylo Ren froze. She looked exhausted and drained, a muffled voice that wavered greatly, but he still heard the name clear as day. He knew that he had to react, he attempted to fake a laugh, scratching the nape of his neck. "Have you forgotten my name already? I am Kylo – not Ben". Speaking helped none; he sounded robotic, and you could feel the discomfort and panic radiate from his body. Christine stumbled forward, rubbing her aching forehead; "Not you … her son … Leia's son … Ben", she groaned, almost throwing herself onto the couch. Kylo Ren was lost in a whirlwind. Had he been discovered? How could she know such things? He became extremely cautious as he took three steps closer. "Christine how do you know those names –
"You were watching the Kardashians?" she interrupted, sitting upright. Christine did not lie; the insufferable reality show was in full swing on the screen, only becoming aware as the aftermath of the premonition faded away. Kylo would have normal relished in the change of topic, but he feared greatly that Christine had somehow discovered his true identity, he had to press forward. "What were you talking about?" he demanded.
Christine clutched a throw pillow, burying her face into its soft surface. "Ignore me, I was babbling", she muttered, "It's just a thing that I have sometimes".
"And what would be?" Kylo mentally urged her to speak more. So far she had not made the connection of him and Ben being one in the same. He was determined to throw her off of his scent.
"It is a part of the powers I have, I have visions of future events, the past and present. Annoyingly, having them makes me feel ill".
Visions were not unknown to Kylo Ren, force users were prone to receiving them, many going as far to mediate to retrieve them. However, the fact that Christine could also have visions was not a comforting one. It gave her a clear advantage, and considering that she was able to receive visions of his galaxy, meant a new opening to which Christine could discover his true intentions on Earth. "Do you receive these visions often?" he questioned further.
Christine was not as naïve as Kylo had hoped, she saw his worry and fear and sensed the great unease within him. "Why do you want to know so badly?" she pried, feeling her strength return to her.
Kylo halted himself, pausing briefly. "They seem to cause you a lot of pain, I was merely asking", he replied harshly. Kylo's infamous temper stirred within him as he battled for control, with his lightsaber now in hand, he found it much more difficult to do so. He loathed it when situations were not in his favour, and when others questioned him. Christine had proved incredibly useful to him, however this did not soothe the distain that Kylo felt for the native witch.
"Okay", she said plainly, picking lint from the pillow, "anyway I came back to see if you were hungry yet, I was thinking of ordering in". Christine knew had grown slightly suspicious of her guest's behaviour, but knew better than to act on a whim.
"Order in?" he questioned, looking puzzled.
His child-like ignorance of Earth reminded Christine of why she was a tad fond of him, and couldn't help but chuckle; "Never mind, I'll order for you". She settled on pizza, and was off of her phone within moments, taking the space next to him on the large leather couch. "Shouldn't be too long, the guy said a half an hour".
"Must it take so long, I'm ravished" Kylo complained.
"Good things come to those who wait", she remarked, flicking absentmindedly through channels.
"And better things comes to those who pursue them", he taunted in return. His mother, many a time in his childhood would use the old saying on him, it hadn't been long before his father had taught him a response. Christine rolled her eyes, her mind still thinking of the vision. She knew that these people needed her, and she began to wonder that Kylo may have been placed onto her path for that exact reason. "Tell me about your home", she said.
Kylo had been expecting the question, but still did not have an answer. What could he possibly tell her? He was the leader of the knights of Ren that lived on the military base of the First Order. Or should he draw on his experiences from his Uncle's short-lived Jedi academy. Kylo was most certainly not up for discussing his brief years spent in the company of his parents. Those memories; he would much rather forget. "I … never knew my parents, or my home world", he said at last, a lie of course, however he hoped it would be enough to satisfy the native girl. "They abandoned me when I was very young". Christine's face dropped, a newfound sense of sorrow and pity for Kylo blossomed within her. "Do you know why they did – if that's too personal to ask", she stammered.
Kylo looked up to see that the girl's eyes had glazed over, a look of sadness expressed on her face, and decided to continue on. "My galaxy was ruled by my grandfather – a great man who sought to unite all the worlds. My parents, they were part of a rebellion who wished to destroy everything that he had created. My Uncle killed him, and a few years after my birth, they sent me to him to be trained as a mindless soldier, casting me off as if I were nothing. I eventually escaped from him, I never saw them again". To Kylo's warped view, this was mostly the truth, and this delusion led Christine to believe it to be pure honesty. She inched herself closer to him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "If it's any consolation", she confided, "I think I know how you feel". Kylo searched her face, finding her simple gesture strange. Christine sighed deeply before continuing; "My mother, was a dark witch. One of many who believe that witches hold supremacy over humans. She deceived my father so that he would give her a daughter, me. When I was only fifteen, she used magic to poison my mind; made me evil like her, Christine's voice began to waver as she thought of her mother. The past burdened her terribly, and haunted her mind. "I did such horribly things", she choked, "I almost destroyed everything … until my father saved me, he helped bring me back to the light". Tears brimmed her eyes as she was forced to think back on her dark times, but commanded them gone. Kylo himself was stunned by her confession, knowing genuinely that hers was actually truth, her face told it all. She fell into silence before producing a forced but quiet laugh, "I don't know why I am telling you all of this, I hardly know you".
"I believe you were trying to relate", he responded, "Perhaps you needed to vent, the burden of the past can weigh heavily on a person".
"Perhaps", she trailed off, "Let's put a movie on, I made the vibe depressing". Christine flicked a few times more before a wryly smile spread across her pale lips.
"Perfect".