The night seemed so long, she thought it might never end. Sleep didn't exactly come as she hoped it would. Kylo Ren made it sound so easy, yet all Xia could worry about was her paranoia of the pirates that had tried to abduct her.

Or were they trying to kill her?

That didn't help ease her mind any. She inhaled, then sighed. In the corner, BB-3 was fast asleep, completely unaware that she was awake. She was quiet as she headed to the bathroom to splash some water onto her face.

Then, she heard something.

She shut off the faucet, water droplets dripping from her eyelashes as she tried to focus on the silence.

Then, it started again, like faint whispers with no words that could really be made out.

She thought at first that she was probably just very tired, but as she came back to her bedroom, the whispers became slightly louder. Both confused and terrified, she looked towards the exit door. Somehow, as she became more alert, she knew where they were coming from.

As if drawn like a moth to the flame, she followed it into the hallway. As she went into her master's quarters, the whispers became even louder. It was as though they were leading her there.

The door on the far side of the room opposite from his bedroom and washroom opened to her. She didn't even ponder the possible consequences.

The room she was forbidden to go into was a bright white compared to the rest of Kylo Ren's quarters, that she thought she must have crossed into another universe entirely.

She saw a table lined with different artifacts, none of which made any sense to her. There was a melted, onyx helmet, and as she went to touch it, one of the whispers raised above the others.

"Be careful not to choke on your aspirations..."

Quickly, she pulled her hand away. Her eyes cast to what appeared to be the hilt of a lightsaber. She hadn't even known that the door open behind her until Kylo Ren's stern voice filled the room.

"I thought I made myself clear when I told you this chamber was forbidden."

Yet, his angry expression changed to disbelief when Xia turned around with the lightsaber in her right hand, glowing red and fully extended.

Just as quickly as it happened, she dropped the weapon, letting the hilt fall to the floor with a loud clang.

"I... I'm sorry, master," she stuttered, "I heard voices, and... I just followed..."

He looked at her for a moment, and once he straightened, he walked towards her, holding his hand palm-down. "Put out your hand like this."

"What?"

"Do it."

Reluctantly, she did as she was told. Her hand hovered high above the fallen lightsaber, but it did not respond to the gesture. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do.

"Focus on it. Will it to your hand."

Still somewhat dazed, she looked at the hilt. She inhaled, then exhaled. By now, the voices seemed to fade altogether. Her blue eyes stared at his brown eyes, and then, suddenly, he grabbed her wrist.

Immediately after, something came into contact with her fingers. She gasped as the cool metal touched her palm, and a sensation of vibrations and chills seemed to stir inside of her.

A distant voice, somewhat like a memory, echoed in her mind:

"I have good news for you, My Lord. The war has begun."

Kylo Ren took the lightsaber from her slowly, their eyes still locked as he set it back to its home on the table.

"We have something very important to discuss."

"Yes, sir."

As they returned to the main room, Xia tried everything to wrap her head around what had just happened. how was she able to use the Force. She had no recollection of knowing her family, having been stolen at such a young age, but something told her that this man had a pretty solid lead.

"Stay here," he said. "I will return shortly."

Xia watched in confusion as he left, and once the door was shut, she looked at her hands. I don't understand... How is this possible?

How long was he going to be before she got answers? He said shortly. Did that mean five minutes? An hour? She was anxious, and before she knew it, she was pacing back and forth. Just as the thought of returning to the private room for an explanation crossed her mind, Kylo Ren returned with what appeared to be a full decanter in one hand, and two glasses in the other.

"I don't normally drink so late at night," he said. Then, she thought she almost saw a smile for the first time in these two years she knew him. "I don't normally drink as it is." He set them down on the black table, then poured the muted, gold liquid.

"What's the occasion?" she asked, not yet taking the filled glass.

He drank down half of his before he finally spoke.

"When I touched your arm, I saw your father. An individual of great importance, but not a user of the Force. His father's uncle, however, was a Sith."

Xia paused, repeating this in her head and trying to calculate a chart with branches that might help her make sense of this.

"So...my great-great uncle..."

"Indeed," he confirmed. "You heard his voice when I took your wrist. I heard it, too. I've heard it before. My grandfather killed him before he fully succumbed to the Dark Side."

There wasn't a soul in the galaxies that didn't know of Darth Vader and his ruthlessness, but Xia was not one good with history. It wasn't exactly something the Feeorins taught her.

"Xiamara. You are the great-great niece of the Sith known as Count Dooku."

For a few moments, she stared at him. Had she not known that Kylo Ren was not one with a sense of humor, she might have thought he was pulling her leg. Even still, this was quite a serious topic - one that escalated quite quickly.

"I think I'm ready for that drink now."