Chapter 3: Let's get down to business

Rey was still getting used to all of the accommodations of her new life. It was far more opulent that any other place she had ever lived in. Though that opinion was probably biased, since many places were far more luxurious than her home on Jakku or the Resistance's decaying bases. Droids would visit her every day in the morning to assist her with her personal grooming. The droids were the only ones allowed to be near her, as she would probably influence the minds of any human or Wookiee that came around and use them as a opportunity to scape.

Rey's quarter was usually cleaned during the time she spent outside, to maintain the room as immaculately white as possible. She could order some things to be delivered to her room, mostly meals and freshly clean clothes. Of course, her new wardrobe was full with mainly black pieces of clothing, some with a few grey or red details. Out of all things, she liked training clothes the most. They were lightweight, allowed a great range of movement and fitted her petite figure better. She couldn't bear to look at some of the other pieces though. Specially the long hooded coat, since it was dangerously similar to the one she had seen herself wearing in some of her visions. Besides, she imagined that it couldn't possible be a comfortable thing to wear during a fight.

In spite the fact that it was nice to have all of those privileges, her days lacked the sense of warmth she had felt during her time with the Resistance. She missed her friends really badly. She missed their company, hanging out on their free time, laughing with Finn and Poe during lunchtime, even watching them get frustrated -in a very childish way- whenever Chewie won a game of dejarik. She kinda wished they would come back for her, but she knew they would be in great danger the moment they came anywhere near the First Order's dominion. She didn't want them risking their lives for her.

Rey spent most of the day alone. She was grateful for the space Kylo Ren was giving her, but it also worried her. For someone who had pursued her for so long and put on much effort in getting her to stay with him, he didn't spend nearly as much time with her as she would have expected. Ren had visited her five times since she had been staying in the First Order's ship, mostly to check how she was doing and make sure she hadn't broken free. He told her that he needed to prepare some thing before they could begin their training. She had eavesdropped on some of the stormtroopers' conversations, enough to have an idea of what he had been doing. They said that the higher ranks of the First Order had been rearranged, some of them even had disappeared and were probably dead by now. Rey hoped she hadn't been the reason they had been killed. They may be the enemies, but she didn't want anybody killing in her name.

She was getting bored pretty quickly. Kylo Ren had given her a digital copy of a few volumes of Sith texts for her to study. Some of them were pretty simple explanations of the Sith code, while others were full of riddles and left her with more questions than answers. Besides, there was the issue with the fact that she needed a translator in order to understand many of them, the translations being rarely ever fully accurate. It was so frustrating, why did every Force sensitive author had to make it impossible to read their work? The Jedi texts had been every bit as challenging to decipher as this ones.

Rey was about to begin reading another random chapter of a book when the door opened. She turned off the proyection and turned around to face Kylo Ren.

—Good morning—he said.

—For someone who has had me isolated for two weeks, the least you could do is pay a visit.

—I'm sorry. I really needed to take care of some things, make a few calls…—he replied ever so nonchalantly—. Besides, you made me wait a long time as well.

—Being here was never on my plans.

—Details. Now, I wanted to show you the new installations myself—Rey nodded at that.

At least she would get some more time outside the quarter. He had already given her a small tour around the ship. Although it was a really big one, it was rather easy to explore. Everything was organized according to a certain function. For example, the lower floors were mainly designed for stock, weapons and chambers for the maintenance personal. The next ones up were made for the stormtroopers, there where training centers, chambers and a cafeteria. Rey wondered if Finn had ever gotten to use any of those things. Some of the middle floors had all sorts of ships. The upper levels were designed for the higher ranks. Her room was located there, as well as Kylo Ren's. She tried not to think about how close they were, physically speaking. Living under the same roof was quite surrealistic.

—Where are we going?—she asked.

—Your training begins today. We'll start with combat training.

—Okay—she frowned.

—It's a bit lighter than mind training, and doing physical activity in the morning goes better with our circadian cycles.

—And about the… force training?—she didn't want to say out loud dark side or Sith training.

—I hope we can do that latter in the afternoon. I cleared my schedule to join you.

—I never thought you had a work schedule—to be honest, she had no idea of what he did in the daily. Picturing him in an administrative role sat behind a desk was an absurd contrast, considering that she had only ever seen him fulfilling his duty on the battlefield. It almost brought a smile on her lips.

—Well, it's not like the Order will run itself.

—I know, it's just… odd.

—What? Did you expect me to just blow things around, combat mode 24/7?

—Kind of…

They continued walking in silence, both knowing very well how bad that particular matter could turn. Sworn enemies don't just talk about their lives so casually. Avoid talking about the activities they did for each side of the conflict was a must if they planned to keep the fragile truce they had agreed on. Rey found it hard to bring any random topic of conversation just to make some small talk, so she decided to remain silent. After a lifetime in isolation, one would think she was used to long periods of silence. But her time with the Resistance had changed that about her. She wasn't always the one that started the conversations, it had taken a while before she actually developed more decent social skills. Despite that, she loved to hear her friends talking about anything, stories being her favorites, and occasional dramas a close second to that.

Rey's train of thoughts deviated quickly when Ren stoped in front of a secured room. He typed some password to open the door. It was a massive dark grey area, illuminated by flat circular lamps in the ceiling. The design was minimalistic, made for practical purposes over aesthetic enjoyment. She noticed the floor was made of a coarser material, allowing more friction with the sole of her shoes. There were all sort of weapons on one of the wall's racks. Melee weapons, blasters, assorted guns… many gadgets she didn't know the names of, but had a feeling they could inflict tremendous damage. The quarterstaffs drew her attention the most, being her preferred tool and weapon on Jakku.

The training center had also some machines she had never seen before. According to the instructions shown by the projectors, some were designed for endurance training, while others were meant for developing strength. On one of the walls were rackets full of bars, weights and dumbbells. It even had a pool. Rey still couldn't get over the fact that people from other non-desert planets had enough water to submerge themselves into these artificial waterbodies and swim.

—You can use pretty much everything on the room, but please be sure to activate this shield before yielding anything that can cause major damage to the structure—Kylo Ren said, signaling to the center area of the room. There was a large circle in the floor that indicated the space that would be surrounded by the shield.

—There's a shield?—it was the smart thing to do, but it still surprised her. At least she wouldn't make a mess like she had in the forest when she accidentally dented BB8.

—Two actually. The other one surrounds the training center. Oh, and the blasters only work inside. The minute you drag them out, they deactivate.

—You still don't trust me.

—Would you trust me if it was the other way around?—they both knew the answer.

Rey ignored the question and walked towards the weaponry displayers. There was only one thing missing…

—Where is my lightsaber?—she asked.

—You mean the one you stole?

—It called me.

—That doesn't make it less of a theft. And you were also eager to destroy it.

—You helped with that last part.

—If you hadn't been so difficult, it wouldn't have happened—he was already tense, slightly gritting his teeth.

—You weren't letting me go—it was a painful memory for her as well.

—I'm still impressed you somehow managed to rebuilt it, considering that the kyber crystal cracked.

—If you had let it go sooner, it would haven easier to repair—Rey knew bringing that back wasn't exactly the best thing she could do at the moment, but she didn't care.

—It still had some flaws though. The fact that it didn't explode again while you yielded it is still beyond my comprehension.

—Wait… you helped fixing it?

—I'll allow you to continue using it for now. Eventually you'll have to build your own—he said, giving the lightsaber back to her. Rey suddenly realized that he had dragged her to the center of the circle while they were speaking.

Rey ignited the lightsaber, so did Kylo with his. She had already learnt some lightsaber forms. Shii Cho was the first one she had learned. Until now, her training had completely depended on Leia's knowledge. She had been a good teacher. Despite being quite challenging, she had been patient, calm and supportive. Even when Rey lost control, which happened often whenever anger overcame her. However, Rey's training was still incomplete. What she lacked in discipline, she often compensated with her raw strength in the Force. But there was only so much she could cover up with her natural talent.

They started sparing slower than the other times they had confronted each other. Kylo's attacks were careful, measured, not meant for any real harm. Rey quickly realized he was studying her movements. She tried her best to show what she had learned, but in a controlled ambience she wasn't as strong as when she was in real danger. Her blows were technically well executed, even perfect some times, but they lacked the intensity they had on a real battle.

Rey used the Force to amplify her efforts, as she always had when in disadvantage. She kept up pretty well for a while, until Kylo Ren began a real offensive attack. With no objects in between them, all of the blows were directly targeted at her. Her body was already covering in sweat, her each breath becoming more laborious by the minute. She allowed herself to take a quick look at him. Albeit he was keeping up better, he was also struggling. It comforted her, knowing that even in his own element it wasn't that easy for him to win. With no other distractions surrounding her, she couldn't help but focus on the way his muscles flexed with each movement, on his black luscious hair falling over his face whenever he turned. His face for once wasn't grimacing or frowning, he was just concentrated. Rey stared at his eyes for a moment. That's when she knew she had made a mistake. His flaming red blade almost hit her on the left shoulder.

From that point on, her whole attention focused on the fight, as it should. Rey would scowl at herself latter for what just happened. She decided to break the form and improvise. For a minute she seemed to have the upper hand, as she almost pierced his right hip. But Kylo Ren also decided to change his form. This one was more aggressive, less predictable. For someone his size, he was surprisingly agile. He was getting closer to her with every blow, his saber leaving a scorching sensation on her skin every time it almost grazed it. She answered his attacks with a desperate defense. She tried to perform an acrobatic move that ultimately destabilized her. Kylo Ren took advantage of that moment to grab her light saber and push Rey to the ground, crossing the blades merely centimeters away from her neck.

—You can do better than this—he said, staring down at her. She wanted to kick the annoying grin out of his face.

He turned off both lightsabers and began explaining the technical mistakes she had made, and the combination of factors that had ultimately led her to lose. Later, he asked her what her strengths were in her own opinion, and set goals for her training. According to that, they decided to practice Makashi form. Once she mastered it, they would move on to a more demanding one.

The last part of her training session consisted on consulting a stormtrooper trainer. His name -the one that the First Order had given him- was BI1134, one of the stormtroopers from the first generation raised since the Empire's fall, an excellent soldier and trainer for the newer generations. He gave Rey a full plan of exercises for her to follow every day. He limited himself to polite interactions, probably intimidated by Kylo Ren's presence. He explained how to use everything that she would need, corrected her form and gave her his contact in case she ever had a problem.

Rey was exhausted. Every single muscle on her limbs and back hurt. She felt like a rathtar had run all over her body. She obligated herself to get in the shower only because her sweat covered clothes and hair were uncomfortably sticking to her body. She would have fallen asleep on her bed with the towels on if it wasn't for the noise of the door opening. One of the droids had brought her lunch. She debated whether she was hungry enough to delay the nap she desperately needed, or if she was too tired even for eating. The earthy smell of a warm broth sealed the deal. Once her stomach was comfortably full, she put on some soft sleeping clothes and finally slept for what she perceived to be minutes, but actually were hours.

Rey woke up about four hours later. She had missed eight alarms, five calls to her communicator and Kylo Ren was once again staring down at her. If she wasn't so drowsy, she would have screamed.

—Give me a minute—she mumbled.

—I already gave you two hours. I was beginning to worry you were in a comatose state—he raised one eyebrow.

—Then you won't have any problems waiting just one more minute—she said, already walking towards the bathroom.

Her face was crossed by marks left by the folds of the sheets. Her cheeks were rosy and a disgraceful trace of drool ran down her chin. She was a mess. Tired or not, she didn't want to go anywhere like that. She quickly washed her face, hoping the blush would disappear. She also changed the night-suit for a simple black outfit. She shouldn't be so worried about her appearance, specially not around him. But it was already humiliating enough waking up with him present. She refused to entertain him any more, and tried to look as unbothered possible when she returned to the room.

—Let's go—Rey said.

—Had I known you would pass out, I would have gone easier on you.

—No, thank you. I'm perfectly capable of keeping up—yes, the session had been harder than she expected, but she wasn't that weak. She didn't need special treatment.

—I hope so, because what comes next is the hardest part of the training—Rey wanted to make a snaky remark, but she quickly turned down that idea.

Rey didn't have to probe his mind to sense that he was distressed. A quick look into what he was thinking showed her the memories from his own training. She gasped as she felt his pain and raging anger. His screams ringing so loud that she felt her own tympanums hurt. Snoke's voice resonated in him even after his death. Kylo Ren had endured endless hours of torture and misery in order to fall deeper into the darkness. He had also stored so many distorted memories from his childhood and teen years. All of them involved those atrocious whispers molding his mind into something wicked.

—It'll be nothing like that—Kylo Ren assured her.

—Then what do you plan on teaching me?—she was truly scared. She hadn't considered that training new abilities would cost her so much pain.

—What I already told you. Yes, you'll need to use the dark side, but I won't push you in the same way I was—he took her hand—. Remember, I want us to be equals. I'm just showing you the path, not subjugating you to it.

—Are you sure?

—How far we go depends mostly of you. You already displayed natural talent for it, I don't think it'll be that hard—it was meant to be a compliment, but she felt terrified nonetheless.

—What about the other part?

—You mean the dyad?

—Yes. How are we supposed to achieve anything? Or even control it?

—Well that's a good question.

—I've read some of the texts you gave me. I still don't understand it's purpose. Or any of the books for that matter.

—You won't really learn until you actually use the knowledge the books describe. You need to experience it. I suppose we'll discover it's purpose with time.

—So, do you actually have a plan?

—Sort of. I noticed the bond seems to grow stronger as your power increases. That's why I wanted to continue training you in the Force.

Once again Kylo Ren guided her to what she guessed was another training room. Although this one wasn't exactly remarkable, as opposed to the one they had used earlier. It was also dark colored, but much smaller and less decorated. Probably meant to maximize concentration during meditation exercises. Somehow the atmosphere of this place felt heavier. Or maybe it was just her nerves taking over.

—Don't be afraid—Kylo said—. The whole point of this type of training is gaining strength through passion. That strength will give you power, and through power you'll be able to achieve anything you want.

—I've never asked for that kind of power.

—But you already have manifested some of it. Lightning is an advanced ability even for a trained Force user, yet you summoned it without knowing you were capable of it. That kind of talent cannot be wasted.

—I just want to be able to control it.

—And you will, once you open yourself fully to what you truly feel—Kylo Ren said while he sat on the floor with his legs crossed—. Developing a good sense of insight is absolutely necessary in order to find what makes you passionate.

Rey sat in front of him, adopting the same meditative posture, closing her eyes. She felt him probe her mind, and it took a great effort from her not to immediately close the gap on her mental barriers. He looked into her last months of training, tensing when he found the brief moments she spent with Skywalker. He also struggled a great deal with the images of his mother. He hadn't seen her in years… he made himself focus on the aspects of the memories that he was actually looking for.

During her very first lesson with Luke, she had been effortlessly drawn to the darkness of the island. She hadn't even tried to stop herself. Of course, she didn't know how, but she didn't really make any effort to fight it back.

Ren deliberately skipped the part where his uncle had explained to Rey how he had failed Ben. It made his blood boil. He pushed through that, looking for any other sign of her inclinations towards the dark side. He tried searching into her emotions. Once again she remembered her training with his mother. Now, that was quite interesting. The light was still her main calling, bright and clear. However, there were moments when her anger rose, eclipsing that light inside of her, drawing her closer to the dark side. At first she had tried to deny that it was there. A Jedi shouldn't be so easily enraged. She was far too passionate for that life style. As was he.

—You have been avoiding these feelings, they frighten you—he said—. Hiding them won't make them disappear. You need to face them, embrace them.

Rey knew she should probably acknowledge that part of her, terrifying as it was. She had been so close to the dark side lately. But under a second look, she recognized that the dark side had never given her any answers on the cavern in Ahch-To, because what she looked for was already within her. Perhaps she could accept some of it without losing herself into it. Or maybe it was just another trick to seduce her, having her believe that she was strong enough to stop from turning.

—The truth of who you are will free you—that was the last thing Kylo Ren said before leaving her mind.

After that last session of training, Rey was beyond exhausted. Rey went directly to her room. Kylo Ren didn't follow her. She was grateful for that little bit of time alone, after having him searching through her memories like pages on a book. When she got back to her room, she changed her clothes and fell asleep after a quick dinner. Tomorrow would be another rough day, she had to rest as much as she possibly could.

Rey quickly fell into deep sleep again. However, at some point past midnight, her normal dreams began morphing into something different. She was back on The Supremacy, in the middle of a bridge. Red lights illuminating the path. Everything was blurry, except for the person standing in front of her. It was Han Solo. She knew very well what was about to happen next. His eyes were pleading, his face full of love even as the red blade of the light sabers pierced him. Chewbacca growled in pain, she heard her own screams in the background. She was experiencing everything in first person. This weren't her memories. She felt Leia's pain and despair as her husband passed away. She saw her face, the one Kylo had extracted from her memories, constricted in pain.

Rey suddenly woke up and saw Kylo's face for a brief moment, laying right next to her. A blink later he disappeared, and she was alone once again.

A/N: hello! thank you so much fo reading. I hope it can bring you a little bit of joy with all that has been happening lately.

Special thanks to the people that are currently following the story and the ones that write reviews!