Chapter 3.

(Edited 04/01/2021)

It had been such a long time.

Rey shook her head. No, it was weeks. Months? Yes, that's what Finn taught her. Months. Seven to be exact. Briefly, she wondered how many tallies that'd be, reflecting back on her days living on Jakku.

Yes indeed, seven long months since she had last seen Ben, the night of his nightmare having been their most recent connection through their force bond.

At times, she wondered if it was supposed to be that way, only glimpses of one another at the most unexpected times. By now, she had long accepted that the vision she experienced on Ahch-To was simply a mind trick of the force, but why, she wasn't sure.

This man that now testified to be the new Supreme Leader was not the partner she had envisioned. He was truly her enemy, on a mission to hunt her and her friends. Even if she felt some sort of compassion towards him, for who he used to be, she had to remind herself of who he was now.

It had been going alright, she thought, giving herself those mental notes. Seven months now, and the ghost that is both her bond mate and enemy, was only present in her mind when she pondered on their connection for far too long.

With a huff, Rey wiped at a bead of sweat from her forehead and bent to pick up her staff that lay on the ground.

Today was a hot and muggy day and she was in a nearby forest training by herself, her staff giving a helpless tree the beating of its poor life.

These days, it was all she could do to help the tension that covered her mind and body. Train, train, train. Practice, and practice some more.

Glancing down to the trusty staff in her palm, she rubbed her thumb along the side of her weapon, imaging that her lightsaber took its place.

The desire caused her teeth to clench out of frustration that she couldn't figure out how to repair quite yet. The casing never gave any issue, however the crystal that lie inside was still lifeless and shattered to bits, some that she was not yet able to recover.

Having asked General Organa already, and coming up with no answers, Rey was still left with no hint of what to do next with the saber, or how to repair it. All Leia could advise was to ask C-3PO, or even R2-D2, though after hours of scanning, neither droid had any data on such a thing.

In the end, Rey knew the only person that could be of any help at this point, would be none other than Kylo Ren, the name so tasteless to her mind and tongue that she nearly cringed as her mind whispered it.

He was the Supreme Leader now, the galaxy's own devil, the bringer of death, the cause of destruction, the prince of darkness... Rey knew he would never help her with something like this, let alone accept another connection between their bond.

Though the bond still left so many unanswered questions itself, over the past seven months, Rey was able to reach out to his mental shield, briefly, and a barely-there touch from her mind to his, but she knew it was his nonetheless; Dark, heavy, and on the run.

It wasn't quite a bond connection...But it was something.

She was never able to settle on his mind long enough to explore any other ability, never able to fully relax the stretch of her senses to his. No, his powers in the force were far too great, and he felt the attempt right away, throwing up a mental block so thick that Rey's powers were useless.

Though she had only attempted it twice in the past months, she decided she wouldn't try it again, and instead focused all of her energy into helping the Resistance grow and rebuild from the ground up.

At that, Rey smiled.

When they had left Crait, the remainder of the Resistance was able to fit on the Millennium Falcon, sitting at only thirty-three people after the battle, a number so low that for a very long time, they feared the entire group would be diminished.

But proven time and time again, hope was a strong thing, and now, they had grown to nearly five hundred.

Rey had never been around so many hopeful and positive people, all wanting to achieve something great and help one another to do so, to benefit the galaxy. It was beautiful, and poetic.

'Leia has built something truly wonderful.' Rey thought, smiling again. The general had grown to become a dear friend, a confidant. Though she was often busy, Leia always took the time out to check in with Rey. After Han and Luke's passing, Rey needed it, and she sensed that the princess did as well.

Rey felt the familiar sadness touch her heart. She ached to speak to them both again, even if only a few words, appreciative of the memories she had of Han's free spirit and Luke's stubborn attitude.

Deep down, she knew she had to keep fighting and training to make them proud, and to win this battle, not only for her friends and the Resistance, but for the galaxy, too. They had spent their lives doing it, protecting the stars and the people. She figured it was her destiny, too.

Gathering her things, Rey made her way back to the base, keeping to herself as she passed a few of the new Resistance recruits, all talking excitedly about the event that night.

'Ah, yes,' Rey thought, 'the wedding!'.

She smiled to herself, and the reminder put a kick in her step as she entered the main doorway, trying to make her way to her bunk.

That night, the entire resistance base will be celebrating the wedding of Finn and Rose, her best friends. Rey had to admit, she was quite excited with this being her first big celebration in her life. She had never attended such a thing, and the idea of a grand party was new to her.

She admitted, shyly, that part of the excitement was the distraction from her constant thoughts and worries, and was swiftly reminded of them all; Her saber, this war, her unanswered questions regarding the force and her powers. Not to mention, her secret force bond with...him.

Looking up from the ground, Rey made a turn down the busy hall, catching a glimpse of the large auditorium they used for meetings, surprised to see majority of it had been cleared out for the reception tonight and decorated from floor to ceiling with flowers, lanterns and vines across the walls.

Distracted, Rey hadn't noticed General Organa and Poe Dameron join the stroll at her side.

"Quite a renovation, isn't it?" Leia asked Rey, nudging her arm as she smiled at her. "Everyone really came together to create something amazing."

Rey returned her greeting with a grin of her own. "Yes, quite." She turned to Poe, who was watching her with a smile, and nodded a hello to him, causing him to grin.

Over the past few months, Poe had grown close with Rey, so he thought. They were able to teach each other a bit, him trading information about flying and her trading knowledge about the force.

He had noted how she took time out of every single day to train with her staff, and admired how she attempted to read passages from the Jedi texts she had taken from Luke Skywalker. Poe had tried to help her read the old books, but it was very smudged and the writing was foreign to him. He didn't give up though, being around her was thrilling to him, as she challenged him and was not afraid to say how she felt, and for that, he was grateful.