Chapter 5.

(Edited 04/04/2021)

Her hands were shaking... No, Rey thought, her entire body was shaking as she struggled to not scream from rage. The last thing she wanted to do was alarm the base, but she genuinely could not believe what had happened only moments ago.

Rey shook her head, wetting her face from the faucet in her washroom and attempted to cool herself down. Glancing at herself in the mirror, she noticed the necklace she was wearing was no longer there.

She turned quickly, looking around the room from the bed to her floor, but it was nowhere to be found. She considered the possibility that Kylo could have taken it, having noticed his eyes on it a few times...

Her sudden rush of anger returned, causing her to forget the necklace all together.

Rey cursed herself out loud. How could she be so stupid, letting her defenses down! Letting him get close to her? Foolish! She continued to punish herself for it all, teeth hurting from the tight clench she had to do in order to cease her madness.

How could she possibly have the courage to being training new recruits tomorrow, if she so easily could be mind tricked by...him.

Rey couldn't bare to think his name right now, not without seething.

"Stars... It felt so real." Rey muttered to herself as she sat on the edge of her bed, feeling extremely defeated as she recalled every word and motion that led up to her realization of his games.

It was difficult to not be angry with herself. He was still her enemy, Rey thought. At the end of the day, that's always what he would be while he chose the dark side... So, why was it that she still felt such compassion towards him?

Rey could have sworn those feelings were long gone the day he chose to continue his attack on Crait, yet still, they kept returning.

Her mind was quick to recall those moments with crystal clear detail; The day she fought for him on Snoke's ship, the way she still begged him to join her on the Falcon even after his attack, the nightmare she saved him from, and today, only moments ago when the bond connected him here...

She fooled herself into thinking that it would be easy to forget what happened... at least for now... But she simply couldn't.

In that moment, she had thought of kissing him...And it nearly happened. But, why? Rey demanded of herself.

He had scolded her for not believing in herself, for thinking herself too weak to complete something that she already had – the exchange of light and dark force. Why was it that he believed in her in such a fierce way? Rey hated the way it made her instantly feel, as though she could believe him, as if she, too, had it in her to be something greater.

Rey's chin trembled, and it was only then that she realized she was about to cry from the anger and confusion that she was sorting through.

Had any of it been real to him? Did he feel any compassion towards her, or was it all for another game of power and deceit? She loathed the constant questioning, absolutely hated the fact that she was so easily manipulated, despised the way she admired him in that moment they shared together...

The force began circling her with intense rhythm, pulling and shoving Rey, confused by everything she was feeling, good and bad. Her blood was beginning to boil as she blinked the oncoming tears away. Reaching up, she began to rub the back of her neck to relieve tension.

It didn't work.

Sighing heavily, Rey stood from her bed and hiked her dress up to her waist, moving to sit cross legged on the floor. Rey decided meditation may help, and if not, at least she could lay on the cold, hard ground to cool her off.

Closing her eyes, Rey cleared her mind until she was able to focus on the grey. It was a place neither light or dark existed, the place where she found comfort and balance. She could feel the force take over, guiding her being as she and that power calmed, making her as light as a feather and as steady as a stream.

'Yes' she thought. 'This is peace.'.

Throughout the force she felt the colors of life spring to action, the beautifully aching hum of decay surrounding it.

She focused only on the colors, on life itself. The dark greens of trees, and their browning stumps. The orange and pink flowers that bloomed beneath the suns gaze. The blue and white of the surrounding sky. And the red... The red...

Red.

The color itself brought a flurry of visions to Rey's mind; Red salt from Crait, the roses from the reception hall... and a red lightsaber clashing against her own, and behind those weapons, Snoke's throne room.

The sudden rush of it all made Rey inhale deeply, trying to steady her breathing as she allowed the force to show her the vision. She was so close to thinking it was a nightmare, similar to Kylo's, but something stood out.

In the middle of it all stood a boy with innocent hazel eyes, shaggy black hair and pink cheeks. He turned to look directly up at Rey, his eyes widening.

He did not look at Rey as if she was a stranger, but a friend.

This boy trusted her.

Instinctively, Rey's guard went up, and she found that she was unable to leave this vision, trapped between time and space where only the force thrived – Though this side of the force was new to her.

Immediately, she moved to protect the boy, to shield him from whatever this energy was. As if it knew the power she held and the lengths she would go to defend the child, the darkness withdrew the red memories, taking away with it the constant reminders of the war she had known.

Now, Rey and the boy stood together in the middle of the forest she trained at, but the clear and bright skies were replaced with a dark grey one, the wind thrashing every tree around, breaking branches that held on for dear life.

In the distance, she could see an oncoming bout of tall waves, no doubt that a single one of those would be able to take out the base that the Resistance resided at.

Panic shot through Rey's veins, and she turned to the child, her instincts kicking in, telling her to grab him and warn the base, if she even had enough time to do that.

However, when she turned to him, she was shocked to see that the boy was not frightened in the slightest, but instead looked at her knowingly, as if he knew she would keep him safe no matter what.

His ease and calmness soothed her, and though she was still eager to get to safety, she no longer felt the anxiety. Looking at him now, Rey guessed he must have been about seven or eight years old. He offered a shy smile, and the corner of her own mouth began to lift, as if deep down she knew who this was, even with her mind not recognizing.

When she was about to ask his name, the boy said: "You will be the one to turn. You'll stand with me... Rey, I saw who your parents are."

Rey's smile slowly vanished, and her own eyes widened with horror as she realized that these were the words Ben Solo spoke to her before in the elevator on Snoke's ship.

Her heartbeat quickened, and she internally begged the force to let her out of this vision, or nightmare, she couldn't determine anymore.

"You'll save me from this place, Rey," He said with such a genuine, soft smile that Rey nearly teared up. "You will."