Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Special thanks to my beta-reader Chridder for helping me out with this.

Special thanks to Darkangel4066 for making this moodboard for me.

Ken Palpatine was known among his family and circle of friends as a good strategist, a hopeful person, with an upbeat personality and a good fighter. But right now all he feels is complete and utter despair, no light of hope on the horizon.

A few weeks ago the planet Shumari, the one he promised his uncle to protect, fell at the hands of the First Order.

The memories of that day will be forever imprinted like a frightening nightmare that refuses to go away. Even now, the images play in his mind...

He's surrounded by a sea of bodies belonging to both parties, standing proud, even as his body aches in protest, even though he can barely hold his lightsaber.

Even facing this herald of death, clad from head to toe in black with a terrifiant mask concealing his face, wasn't enough to make Ken lose composure. Even if this herald of death, that he was facing, was known throughout the galaxy as the Jedi Killer or Kylo Ren.

Standing eye to eye with the enemy, Ken realized two things.

First, he won't leave this battlefield alive, if he even leaves it at all. He knows his opponent likes to burn his enemies to ash, so his family won't have a body to bury, if he dies today.

The second thing he realizes is he won't see his family ever again, and his heart aches at the thought. He won't be able to tease his cousin, Rey, or train with her or watch the stars from the swing on their balcony. He won't be able to hug his wife or to tell her how much he loves her. Or to see his daughter grow into a fine lady.

He won't see his family ever again, because his opponent isn't the type to spare anyone, not even people who have family waiting for them.

The proof of Ren's cruelty lies at his feet.

Even if his heart longed to see his family one last time, strangely enough, he's at peace with himself... something he know his opponent doesn't have.

Ken knows his death today is the will of the Force, so he calls upon all his strength and waits for his adversary to make a move.

His wait doesn't last, because in a few long strides, Kylo Ren is upon him, forcing him into a defensive stance.

No matter how Ken parries the hits, hoping to tire Ren and take him out at the cost of his own life... his tactic doesn't work.

In a matter of seconds, his lightsaber flies from his hands, leaving Ken defenseless.

As Kylo Ren goes for the killing blow, Ken closes his eyes behind his own mask, waiting to become one with the Force.

But the killing blow never comes. When Ken dares to open his eyes and look at his soon-to-be-killer, he sees him in a crouched position, like he was just being Force pushed. His hunch is confirmed, when someone tucks his sleeve pulling him away, and he doesn’t have to look to know... that someone is Rey, his younger cousin, known to the galaxy as Kira, just like Ken is known as Fulcrum.

Together, they scramble to a Starfighter and escape the planet.

As the memory fades, Ken is left with nothing but uncertainty. He doesn’t know what to do. He knows it won’t be long before Kylo Ren comes to demand accountability. By now, he’s surely discovered some soldiers from the Shumari's army were sent by him.

The only ones Ken can go to for help is Leia Organa and the woman who raised him since he was twelve years old, Ederlathh Pallopides.

Author's notes: finally after a few months of procrastination, I decided to go through with this... so well, this will be my multi-chapters reylo fic story. Hopefully I will be able to finish this (the others stories looking in suspicion ) 😅. As for Ken's mask, I always imagined he wears a mask similar to the one Kanan Jarrus had while fighting against Darth Maul at the end of the second season from Star Wars: Rebels.

Also in regards to the title: I choose Hiraeth as the title because... hiraeth = a longing to be where your spirit lives . 

Rey's POV in the next chapter. And maybe Kylo's, too.

I'm planning for this story to be something new and unique. Also some of the EU characters's age will be changed to provide more coherence to the story.

Chapter Text

Special thanks to my beta-reader Chridder for helping me out with this. Also check out her fic Bonded.

Special thanks to Darkangel4066 for making this moodboard for me.

Yavin 4, known as a rebel base during the Galactic Civil War, was once a remote planet full of wildlife, but now few traces of it can be found. Even on a planet such as this, the thunderstorms can come out of nowhere when you least expect it.

Rey is playing with a five-year-old girl named Mallie in one of the rooms in her family's residence on Yavin 4. She tries to focus on the activity with her force-sensitive niece in hopes of putting Mallie at ease, so that both of them could forget what happened a few days ago.That's easier said than done. Even now, Rey's is haunted by those moments... the moments when she discovered why Kylo Ren is considered the creature in the mask.

Rey is waiting patiently by the door leading to the communication room where her half-cousin Ken and her second half-cousin Ederlathh are engaged in a holo meeting with Leia Organa. After hours of an excruciating wait, Ken and Ederlathh exit the room, exhaustion etched in their faces.

"Bad news?", Rey asks, a knot forming in her stomach. She doesn't need a reply from them; their eyes offer the answer she seeks.

"We need to gather the rest of the family", Ken looks in her direction, offering a reassuring half-smile.

After Rey and the rest of her family gather in the main living room, Ken tells them about the solution Leia Organa has come up with: stall the First Order… through whatever means necessary.

Rey knew what that meant, of course, and the delicate position Ken was in. Her family needed to give one of their own as a bargaining chip, so if the First Order ever suspected them to be in the cahoots with the Resistance they could torture that poor soul or worse, turn him or her against the family.

This threat over their heads and the fact that Ken's project "Neutral Zone" will likely be controlled on some levels by the First Order helped Rey realize that when push came to shove, she would do anything to protect her family and Ken's dream.

Unfortunately the chain of bad news didn't end with just this. Ederlathh received a message, informing her of an upcoming visit from a representative of the First Order later in the evening.

The weather that night wasn't kind either, full of thunder, bolts of lightining, and rain that soaked to the bone. Rey noted grimly that the planet seemed to know what dark cloud would soon be upon the poor family.

A cold shiver ran down her spine as the doors to the living room pushed open and a dark shadow entered. It was the dark side warrior, Kylo Ren.

Rey didn't expect to see him again so soon. She knows first hand what he it's capable of. She saw him six months ago when she was barely nineteen, killing his own father in cold blood and then hurting her friend, Finn, on Starkiller Base. Fortunately, she had a disguise back then, so Ren doesn't know she was the one who kicked his ass. As far as most are concerned, she’s just a non-sensitive scavenger found 4 years ago by a privileged family.

"Lord Ren, to what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?", Ken's confident voice snapped Rey from her musings.

"Spare me the theatrics, Ken Kenobi", Ren replied with mechanical coldness."You know very well what you did. "

"Oh? Can you enlighten me about what exactly I did?" , Ken's tone feigned ignorance.

”You sent some of your troops to help people from Shumari hide the Lost Prince and the Hidden Princess, the ones you know as Fulcrum and Kira Palpatine.”

"Still hunting for the seed of Palpatine, I see. Hasn't your master grown tired of this chase?", Ken added with a sigh.

Rey tensed and she knew that her cousin was also worried, even if he feigned ignorance and boredom. She knew Snoke wanted them so that he could turn them to the dark side. Even so, she tried to stay focused on the conversation.

"What I do or not isn’t the matter here. You allied yourself with the wrong side and now you will witness the consequences of your actions." , his voice was oddly calm with a subtle tint of anger palpable underneath.

"Lord Ren, I'm afraid you're mistaken about the situation. Those people went on their own, trying to fight a battle they knew they couldn't win. I never gave them the order to go to Shumari.”

Ken had played his last card hoping that Kylo Ren will relent and stop asking more questions.

Rey knew this wasn't enough to fool him. He wasn't known as a cunning warrior for nothing.

Her fears were confirmed when Ren's masked visor fixed on her uncle, Tao Kenobi.

"You're originally from Shumari, are you not? How do I know you weren't the one who ordered those people to do what they did?"

"Lord Ren, I'm not a fool. I almost died in a war, I lost my family when I was a teenager at the hands of Darth Vader, and I wouldn't risk losing another family, even at the cost of planet Shumari", his words being calm and gentle.

That's what Rey loved about her uncle. In each desperate situation he always saw the bright side of everything, even in people. She always thought this trait was due to his unwilling apprenticeship under Darth Vader where he learned about patience and finding peace in darkness.This was the only thing her uncle, Tao, and the father of her cousin's wife, Galen Marek, had in common.

Unfortunately, even her uncle's calm and gentle demeanor wasn’t enough to smother the maelstrom of Ren's wrath.

"I see...", he started to say, but his words were halted by the sudden arrival of Mallie, who at the sight of Kylo Ren, stopped dead in her tracks.

Every member of Rey’s family became rigid, eyes on the girl quivering in fear.

All except Ederlathh and her aunt ,Cera Kenobi, were force sensitive, but unlike them, Mallie had barely started using her powers and she didn't know how to hide her prowess in the direct presence of another force user. Had she remained hidden, her family would have cloaked her force sensitivity, but right now this wasn't possible.

Before any member of the family could react, their uninvited guest waved his hand in Mallie's direction. Her slumping form would’ve made contact with cold floor if Rey hadn’t raced forward and caught her in her arms.

"How dare you use your powers on a non-sensitive five years old child? Her brain could be all mushed up, right now!", Rey shouted, her words laced with poison, gripping her niece tight in her arms.

"Give me the child" , Ren demanded.

"No!" , was Rey's only answer, her eyes searching for an exit.

"Leave them out..." , Ken started to say before Kylo Ren froze all of them, including Rey.

"I won't leave empty handed. Maybe, the incident from Shumari wasn't the doing of any of you, but even so..." Kylo's booming voice echoed in the room. In a few long strides he was next to Rey still holding Mallie in her arms.

"Allow me to relieve you of this burden", his tone was cold as he towered over Rey.

She watched in desperation as Ren removed Mallie from her arms and exited the room.

Only when Rey heard the door of the house close was she and her family released from their frozen state.

With no moment to waste, Rey ran from the room, snatched a blaster on her way out, and shot out a window in the hallway. She leaped through the opening, a shortcut to the courtyard, racing to the only place Ren’s shuttle could be.

She didn't care about the heavy rain pouring over her face making her hair look wild and in disarray. The only thing she could think about was getting her niece back. She didn't even notice when she dropped her blaster.

After running like her life depended on it, out of breath and soaked to the bone, Rey finally saw the shuttle, Ren climbing the ramp. 

"Kylo, wait!"

At the sound of her voice, he turned to face her.

""Please, don't take her away! You don't know how it feels like to feel abandoned by your parents, to feel thrown aside by them and I don't want Mallie to grow up believing her parents abandoned her for the sake of a project or to save their own skin!", Rey pours all of her loneliness and childhood into her words.

After speaking, Rey felt the Force hum between them, exuding uncertainty and pain.

She realized the pain she’s feeling was not just her own but Ren’s as well.

Slowly Ren starts down the ramp while Rey climbed it, both meeting in the middle. Rey stood under Ren's careful scrutiny, waiting for him to make a move.

After moments that seemed like eternity, Ren dipped down his head like he was trying to get eye to eye with her.

“Are you willing to sacrifice your freedom for the sake of your niece, so that she could grow up with her parents?", he asked through the distortion of his mask.

"Yes!" she replied without hesitation.

Then to her utter and complete shock, Kylo outstretched his arms to her to give Mallie. Rey mirrors his action, but the moment she takes back her niece, one of her hands touched one of Kylo's gloved one, a spark of electricity passing between them. Rey broke contact while Ren started climbing the ramp, stopping at the edge.

"Consider it done. The next time we make contact it will be to let you know what will entitle your stay in the First Order."

With these last words, Rey raced down the ramp of the shuttle, hurrying to the house, the engines roaring in the distance.

Rey is brought back to present by the incessant voice of her niece.

"Aunt Rey, are you alright?"

"Yes, Mallie, I am", Rey assures her niece.

But in reality, her insides are churning with anguish and disgust. Earlier that morning a message arrived from the First Order with one single line: "Lady Rey Kenobi will marry the Supreme Leader's apprentice, Kylo Ren."

Author notes:

As you can see I introduced some new characters.

Now for the ones that are EU characters I will leave the links below.

The other characters are my OC.

So: 

Tao Kenobi ; Ken Palpatine ; Ederlathh Pallopides .

Ken's wife, Kenta (now I realized I never mentioned her name until now), it's Galen Marek (from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed game) and Juno Eclipse's daughter (OC created by me); I choose the name Kenta for her because of this reason: Kento Marek .

Mallie it's Ken and Kenta's daughter (OC created by me) ;

Cera Kenobi it's the youngest daughter of Obi-Wan Kenobi (also an OC character), while her older sister was Rey's mother (headcanon based on the theories that Rey was related to Obi-Wan Kenobi; though I still believe she it's half Kenobi, half Palpatine and no one will change my mind about it);

I hope you all liked this first chapter and looking forward to your reviews.

Chapter Text

Special thanks to my beta-reader Chridder for helping me out with this chapter.

Special thanks to Darkangel4066 for making this moodboard for me.

Kylo Ren slashed through battle droids in the training room, pieces flying in all directions. Darkness swirled around him as he lunged and hacked, a single word simmering in his mind.

”Marriage”. It’s a simple, innocent word, but the command from his master rattled him more than any battle ever had. He wouldn't admit this to anyone, but the idea of marrying a complete stranger made him churn with apprehension and dread.

If his own uncle tried to kill him in his sleep, how he was supposed to marry a complete stranger? Someone who could be as vile as his uncle or worse?

The only relief of the meeting with Snoke was when he chastised Hux, telling him he should have a force sensitive bodyguard. Kylo chuckled at that behind his mask. There was no way in hell, Hux would ever accept a force sensitive as a bodyguard or anything else. He was too afraid of force sensitives even if he kept his fear well hidden.

But this small commiseration didn't make him forget about the marriage part. When he proposed his master to force the compliance of Ken Kenobi by taking his distant cousin, Rey, away, he thought it would be better if the galaxy believed she wanted to work for the First Order of her own volition.

But of course, his master, went behind his back and ordered Kylo to obey, right after he send a message to Kenobi family about the marriage proposal.

His master’s reason for the hastened marriage was the need to recover control over the galaxy by whatever means necessary after the disaster known as Starkiller Base.

Kylo Ren knew, though, that this was also a punishment. If he was shackled to Rey Kenobi, his pursuit of Kira Palpatine will have to cease.

But he couldn't... he couldn't let her go. Ever since confronting her on Starkiller Base, she was the center of his mind. She was the poison that stoked his weakness. His light. She was his equal in the Force. Together they would be unstoppable and he would never be alone again.

Then again, who was he kidding? He knew that everyone left him behind. First his family, then Kira. He truly didn't have a place anywhere…

A few days later, Kylo Ren was, once again, holed up in his shuttle. This time, his destination was Coruscant where he was supposed to meet Ken, Rey and Tao to discuss further details regarding the contract of his and Rey's marriage.

He was eager for the whole affair to be over with, so he could hunt down Resistance fighters or people who acted against the First Order.

Also, his thoughts wandered towards Rey Kenobi. For a non-sensitive girl, she was steadfast and brave. She had done what few people had done before her. She confronted him head on even if she knew how dangerous he was. Another thing he noticed was the way her hair fell down her shoulders when she confronted him in the rain on Yavin 4.

She’d looked like a goddess of war ready to face any obstacle in her way. That was the only thing good to come out of this shamble of a marriage, the fact that Rey was a force to be reckoned with.

As soon as he got to the apartment complex on Coruscant, he was greeted at the entrance by Rey, who only motioned him to follow, regarding him with sharp eyes and feelings as cold as ice.

This was no surprise for him. He was used to people feeling like that when it came to him.

Even on their short trip in the elevator, Rey wouldn't even look at him, making that trip one of the longest of his life.

Once they reached the conference room, Rey took a seat to Ken's left with Tao to his right. Kylo took a seat in front of them.

Then Ken gave him a document with the conditions and obligations stipulated regarding the marriage.

"Lord Ren, do you wish to add anything else?" Ken asked curtly.

He moved his head in sign of no and got up from his chair, turned around and started going towards the exit when a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Rey, Ken, could you leave me alone with Lord Ren? " Tao asked calmly.

They nodded in response before making themselves scarce.

As soon as they were alone, Tao withdrew hand from Kylo’s shoulder and motioned for him to sit.

"Good riddance " Kylo thought to himself. If Tao wouldn't have taken his hand from his shoulder, he would've severed it with his lightsaber.

"Lord Ren ”, Tao started sagely. “I know this marriage came to be in, one could say, unpleasant circumstances..."

Kylo didn't reply. He already knew that. "What’s the point of this old man? " .

"Alas, I think something good can come out of it. As you know, Rey grew up alone on Jakku doing labor work to survive until we found her when she was 15. Even though we offered her a home, she still retained that harshness, recklessness and a don't-trust-anyone mentality from the desert. In short, what I'm trying to say is that she won't open up about her feelings to anybody, at least not completely. That's why I'm asking you to have patience with her and maybe, in the future, you both will have a relationship that involves mutual respect. I don't ask you to love her since rumor has it that you are interested in someone else but be patient and honest with her."

After Tao finished speaking, Kylo tilted his visor towards him.

"What do you mean I'm interested in someone else?" he asked, anger boiling in his veins.

"Well, the first would be the rumors that everyone else knows about, about you chasing down Kira and the interpretations people made out because of it. Secondly, it was your behavior, during this meeting that gave you away. You didn't act like a person interested in his betrothed. You were clearly bored and annoyed", Tao finished with a low chuckle.

Now, I'm afraid, I must take my leave", Tao added as he exited the conference room, leaving Kylo Ren alone.

Was he not trying hard enough to hide it?

Apparently not, since even a non-sensitive man could determine, based on his behavior, that he was interested in Kira and not Rey. But he wasn't interested in Kira romantically. That's where that old man got it wrong. He was interested in her as a possible apprentice, not a lover, let alone as a wife.

"He wasn't in love with Kira, was he? ". Those were his last thoughts as he left the conference room.

Author note:

So our boy, Kylo, is confronted about his disinterest in Rey by an unexpected person. 🤣

So what you all thought about this chapter ?

Feel free to leave a review.

Until next time!

Chapter Text

Special thanks to my beta-reader Chridder for helping me out with this.

Special thanks to Darkangel4066 for making this moodboard for me.

Trigger warning: indirect (mildly) mention of rape and prostitution ( nothing too serious, though )

Jakku. Once known as a verdant world with forests and water. Now a parched planet with marching dunes and golden sand.

The people who live here are impoverished with scanty ways of making ends meet, either as a scavenger or a mercenary/ thug.

But even on this nowhere planet, people still have dreams and hope for a better future despite their harsh life.

On the sun-blasted surface of Jakku, a lonely figure exits a Star Destroyer, hauling salvaged parts to her speeder. Her form is dainty, a clear sign she is still a child. A mask and googles cover her face, protecting her from the scorching heat.

Even though she is 15 years old, she’s dangerous and aggressive when it comes to protecting her own.

A few days ago, she beat the shit out of some thugs who work for her employer, Unkar Plutt, when they tried to have their way with her. Some ended up with a broken nose, others with broken ribs.

Oddly enough, Unkar Plutt didn't do anything to retaliate to this affront. Maybe he’s scared of her. Or maybe he's plotting something else...

Whatever it is, the young girl will get out of the situation the only way she knows how: with her quarterstaff.

Later, when she gets to Niima outpost to trade the salvaged parts for food, the sly smile Unkar Plutt offers her sends a shiver down her spine.

She takes only a few steps from his stall before being subdued by Unkar's thugs who push her down, immobilizing her arms and legs.

Out of nowhere, the form of Unkar Plutt appears in her peripheral vision. She spits at him.

"Rey... Rey...” , he scolds mockingly. "Did you really think you could get away after your little stunt?"

"Damn you, Plutt!" , Rey screams, enraged, struggling to get free.

"Hm, since you seem to be more of a hassle than it's worth, I’ll sell you to the First Order. Word on the back routes say that the First Order acquired a warrior who’s doing all their dirty work. Maybe he’ll teach respect since you will become his property ”, Unkar adds, lifting Rey's chin to mock her. She bites hard into his hand.

"Why you...!", Unkar screeches, preparing to hit Rey , in the head, with a thick baton.

Rey closes her eyes in anticipation of the hit, but it never comes. When she dares to open her eyes, she sees a hooded figure who stopped Unkar's arm midair.

"Enough! I don't want my merchandise to be damaged!", a deep voice growl from under the hood.

"Your merchandise?", Unkar asks in disbelief.

"Yes, my merchandise. I'm pretty sure she does have some special talents that could be useful to me later on", the hooded figure adds slyly, peeking in Rey's direction.

She starts to struggle more than before, knowing full well what "special talents" imply.

"So how much do you want for her?" the hooded figure asks with emphasis.

"Two hundreds credits and she is yours", Unkar adds with a sense of finality.

And so the deal is made and Rey's life is thrust into the unknown at the hands of a cruel master.

After the mysterious hooded figure pays the required amount of credits, a set of binders adorns Rey's wrists, then the mysterious figure pushes her forward with his hand on her shoulder.

When they enter the stranger's shuttle, Rey sees in passing that her speeder is in the cargo bay. They walk to the cockpit where she's seated in the copilot chair.

"If I remove those binders, will you stay calm?" the stranger asks gently.

"So eager to see my ”special talents” put to good use, aren't you?", Rey snarls at him , defiantly.

"What are you talking about?" the stranger asks dumbfounded.

"Oh, you mean, what I said back at Niima outpost? That was a charade, an act to make Unkar Plutt let his down his guard so I could free you".

Rey still watches him with suspicion.

"You still don't trust me?!", he asks, clearly exasperated.

"Why should I trust someone who won’t show his face or whose name I don't even know", Rey throws back at him acidly.

The stranger stares at her in disbelief with an open mouth, Rey assumes, then he starts laughing.

After he’s had a good chunk of laugh, he takes off his hood and Rey can see a mop of brown hair and grey, gentle eyes.

A little voice inside Rey makes her wish she could trust him.

"I should have revealed myself as soon as we got back to my shuttle, but in my eagerness of having finally met you, I forgot my manners," he adds sheepishly.

Now her interest was piqued. Who would be so enthusiastic to meet a girl from nowhere?

The young man noticed the glint of her eyes because he added:

"My name is Ken Palpatine and you're my cousin. You're a Palpatine, Rey."

After the shock of the revelation subsided, Ken asked her if there were things she wanted to collect from her home and how to get there.

En route to her home, he told her how his father kept track of hers, passing down the information that lead to her. Well, that and some digging, of course. Then, he revealed something else regarding her lineage. Her mother was the daughter of Obi-Wan Kenobi, thus making her half Kenobi, half Palpatine.

After the both of them retrieved her meager possessions, they left and the surface of Jakku, soon fell astern, giving way to the cold yet comforting blackness of space.

After a few days of travelling, the both of them got to Yavin 4.

The first thing Rey saw after exiting the shuttle was the greenery of the planet. She never imagined that any planet could have so much green. Then she noticed the big villa.

Her cousin noticed the awe on her face because he added jokingly:

"This will be your home from now on, so you better get used to it. I promise you that starting from today, you will never lack anything and you will never go to sleep with an empty stomach. Now come, I want you to meet the other members of the family."

As soon as they got inside, Rey hid behind Ken. There were too many people and she was the object of their scrutiny.

"Come on, Rey, don't be shy now. They won't bite you", Ken added in a tender voice.

But his voice didn't soothe her nerves and anxiety.

Then a young girl, that seemed to be around her age, got up from a couch, leaving behind a woman with a stern look on her face, and got closer to Ken and Rey, outstretching her right hand towards her.

"Hi! I’m Betl Pallopides. You're Rey, right? Ken spoke a lot about you before he went to Jakku. How old are you? What are your hobbies?", Betl asked with curiosity.

One stern look from Ken's eyes made Betl back off and stop asking anymore questions.

"Sorry, I didn't want to overwhelm you. Maybe, after you make yourself at home, we can get to know each other better?", she asked hopefully.

Rey would've liked that, of course. But her mentality made it hard to trust people easily.

Then the other people from the room introduced themselves.The first one to do so was Kenta, Ken's wife, and then her one year old daughter, Mallie. They were soon followed by the stern looking woman from the couch who was Betl's mother, Ederlathh Pallopides. As for her father, he died before Ederlathh found out she was pregnant so she never knew her father.The last relatives who introduced themselves were from her mother's side: Tao, Cera and their daughter, Kallie Kenobi. Cera was the younger sister of her mother and for a split moment, Rey had a flashback of her mother's face.

Later that night, after dinner and after Rey got a bath and new clothes, Kallie and Betl insisted that the three of them to have a sleepover so that they could get to know Rey better.

Rey was reluctant at first, but she decided in the end to listen to Ken's earlier advice.

After the both of them showed Rey some cool gadgets and pieces of equipment, Ken came by to see how Rey adjusted and tuck them into bed. After he did so, he kissed them goodnight on their forehead and left the room.

After his departure, Rey's emotions got the best of her, tears pricking in her eyes, soon escalating to quiet sobs in the silence.

Maybe her roommates heard her or maybe they felt her feelings in the Force because the next thing Rey saw were both of them getting up from their beds and slipping under the covers with her, hugging her tightly.

And so a new life started for Rey.

Just like Ken promised, she lacked nothing. She even started working for him, repairing pieces of equipment, speeders, etc. so that she could pay him back the credits with which he bought her from Jakku, even if Ken insisted it was alright and she didn't need to. He also kept looking for her parents. Ederlathh made sure to take care of her education by hiring good tutors for her. But her favourite past time was to sneak with Betl and Kallie to Tao's meditation room and listen up to his stories from his youth.

Tao also allowed her to stay during the Jedi training of himself, Ken, Kenta, Betl and Kallie.

All of them had the Force and sometimes, Rey wished she had it, too.

Her life was pretty good, though the “accidents” still happened.

When Rey was sixteen, she almost hit Ken's father, Triclops, with her quarterstaff, if it hadn't been for him using the Force to freeze her in her tracks.

Ken had tried to stop her before her launch, but his plea fell on deaf ears. After Triclops froze her, Ken put his face in his hands, mumbling while her uncle remarked how she reminded him of Ken's mother, Kendalina. He stayed over for his son's birthday, then he went on his way. From what Rey understood, Triclops never stayed too much in the same place and was always moving so that the First Order wouldn’t find him. Hence the reason he visited his family rarely.

She always kept close to her heart his parting words: "Never sell yourself for another's happiness. Fight for your own" and his gift: a collar incorporated with a voice disguiser.

Another incident was her showdown against Ederlathh, all because Betl wanted to serve the Resistance.

It was the scream contest of the galactic year between her and Betl versus Ederlathh. At some point, Ederlathh screamed at Rey to get out of the room. She didn't know what happened between mother and daughter, but Ederlathh agreed to her daughter's request to serve the Resistance when she turns 17 years old on the condition that Rey promise to look out for her . And so a relationship of begrudging respect between Rey and Ederlathh began.

These were Rey's fondest memories.

Her family wasn't perfect, but then again, did the perfect family even exist?

Even for all their flaws, it was still hers.

And now... what did she do? She sold herself to protect Mallie and the rest of her family from the First Order. But she would do it all over again, gladly, so that she could repay them for giving her a better life.

Though, she still felt like puking, knowing that she will have to spend time with Kylo Ren before their wedding, to get to know each other.

All because his master demanded so. And he was the perfect lapdog of his master.

These were her thoughts as the rain starting pouring on her, while she stayed on the balcony watching the lights of Coruscant.

Then out of nowhere a shadow appeared next to her and a black cloak shielded her from the rain.

Author notes: reckless Rey is back.

Hope you all liked the small moments of comic relief. 

Also for when Ken started laughing. He laughed because Rey remarked how he forgot to take off his hood. He kinda laughed at himself.

Also I hope you weren't bothered by another round of flashbacks. I did this to show the contrast between Kylo Ren and Ken.

The last flashbacks that will appear (in such length anyway) , in one of the future chapters, will be how Rey got to Starkiller Base and how the fight between her and Kylo went there. There are some differences from TFA.

Betl and Kallie are OC characters;

Triclops ;  Kendalina .

Feel free to leave a review.

Until next time!

Chapter Text

Special thanks to my beta-reader Chridder for helping me out with this.

Special thanks to Darkangel4066 for making this moodboard for me.

Kylo Ren was livid. Worse than livid... he was down right murderous.

What was supposed to be a short trip to Coruscant regarding his marriage contract to Rey Kenobi went south pretty fast. War, interrogation, torture — these are challenges he can manage, challenges he lives for. But chit chat and sitting around? These things make his blood boil.

Two days after meeting with Tao, Rey and Ken, he was preparing to return to the Supremacy when he received a transmission from his master informing him he’d been relinquished of his duties until further notice so he could spend time with his betrothed. 

A gift, his master said, to get to know her better before their marriage. A gift could be turned down, but Kylo knew better than that. Long years serving Snoke have taught him that regardless of the form it comes in — suggestion, advice, gift — anything his master says is to be taken as a demand. In Snoke’s mind, a request is simply a delicately — worded order. Anything he asks, he expects to be done, no exceptions.

This supposed gift was just a thinly — veiled humiliation.

Kylo hated idleness and didn’t have a clue how to talk to a woman, let alone spend leisure time with her. Yet a few hours after receiving the transmission, here he was, seated at a fancy restaurant in a wing reserved only for couples, hidden from prying eyes.

This was where he asked Rey to meet him, to let her know about his master's gift.

To say she was unhappy would be an understatement. As soon as he shared the news, she froze in shock. She stood still a moment, then took a water glass and threw the contents in his face... well, his mask. He had no intention of ever showing her his face.

Then she got up from the table and went outside to the balcony where she watched the lights of Coruscant while Kylo stayed behind. He never took his eyes off her, watching as she gazed at the city, dark clouds gathering in the sky. The rain started suddenly, heavy drops trickling down on her, but she remained still.

Kylo mind tricked a passing waiter into taking his black cloak and giving it to Rey, so she wouldn’t get soaked to the bone.

He watched her reaction through the glass wall. She received the cloak graciously, exchanging a few short words with the waiter before he left in a daze. Then, she stood there, collecting herself. Based on her body language, Kylo could tell she wasn’t pleased with his trick with the waiter.

Well, he didn't care. He only cared about not looking worse than he already did with the people of the First Order. His master and Tao Kenobi would berate him if he allowed his betrothed to get sick standing in the rain, and he could already imagine the gossip among the lowers officers about him neglecting his future wife. That won’t do. He had a reputation to uphold.

Rey stood on the rainy balcony, jumping when a shadow appeared beside her, covering her with a black cloak. She relaxed when she realized it was only a waiter and not Kylo Ren.

As the cloak shielded her from the rain, the waiter blinked, collecting his bearings, then looking at her with knitted brows. "How did I get here?" he asked no one in particular.

"You don't remember how you got here?" Rey asked worried.

"No. The last thing I remember, I was passing by a black figure in the private wing, then I found myself here.” The waiter appeared dumfounded.

At this point, Rey realized what Kylo Ren did. He mind tricked the poor waiter.

Asshole. He was too lazy to bring the cloak himself, so he resorted to mind control.

Rey swore she never loathed anyone so much as she loathed Kylo Ren in that moment.

"It's alright.” She smiled assuringly. "He asked you to bring me his cloak. You probably just forgot in your hurry to serve everyone. It’s quite busy today."

She hated herself for the lame lie, but what else could she do? She couldn't mind trick him with Kylo so close, and she couldn't tell him the truth either because of volatility of her betrothed’s behavior.

"You're probably right. Thank you for your concern," the waiter replied sheepishly as he went back inside.

Rey resumed her positon before the sudden appearance of the waiter, her elbows supported by the railing, and began to repeat the Jedi mantra in her mind, calming herself so she wouldn’t strangle her future husband.

Once she felt her composure restored, she went back inside, feeling Kylo's gaze on her all the while, watching her every move.

As she took a seat at her table, she couldn't help shooting Kylo a cutting glare. "You are a pompous ass, you know that?! Instead of bringing the cloak yourself, you mind tricked a poor waiter and let me deal with the fallout!" Rey said through gritted teeth.

"Well, what did you expect? For me to act like a gentleman after you threw the contents of your water glass in my face?” He smirked. "You needed to be taught a lesson about respect, scavenger princess," Kylo mimicked caustically.

"My name is Rey, not scavenger princess," she added in a growl.

"I’ll call you by your name when you will learn to respect me," Kylo shot back.

"Respect is earned, not blindly given, and so far, you’ve earned nothing!"

Kylo darkened, and his temper snapped. Rey's water glass got cracks all over it, floating up with two candles and the flower vase from their table.

Rey thought fast, eager to calm him down before the rest of the restaurant fell victim to his emotional instability.

She leaned in, touching his right forearm gently and pleading with her eyes.

In an instant, the floating items settled back on the table. He covered her hand with his, seemingly on instinct, like he was trying to soothe her. He jerked back the moment he realized what he did, getting up from the table and leaving Rey alone, his cloak long forgotten.

Rey felt... Well, she didn't know what she felt in that moment.

Kylo Ren was an enigma, that was for sure. Most of the time he behaved like a brute with a heart cold as ice. But on rare occasions, like today, he proved he could be gentle.

Rey got up and went to pay for her drink only to find out that Kylo Ren had paid for everything beforehand.

As she was leaving, she gripped the cloak tighter around herself.

Unbeknownst to Rey or Kylo Ren, two cloaked figures spied on them during their interaction. Well, one of them, did anyway, through binoculars.

The two figures were on their stomachs, atop a rooftop, in a building opposite to the restaurant.

The first person lied idly, tufts of auburn gold hair peaking from under brown cloak, blue — green eyes sharp and watchful. The second gripped the binoculars, black hair falling over hazel eyes. Both figures were slim and clearly female.

The hazel-eyed one watched Kylo as he exited the restaurant, stopping briefly to look at the entrance before walking into the rain without any cover whatsoever.

After he vanished from her peripheral vision, she put the binoculars aside, got up, and started stretching her limbs.

"So you have all the information you need?" the other woman asked.

"Yes, Garma, I think I have all that I need. Now I must find a way to get close to Kylo Ren, so that I can kill him," the young woman added confidently.

"You're still on to this?!" Garma asked, clearly exasperated. "Revenge is not the way of a Jedi!"

"I don't care! He killed my father and the man I loved! And I never finished my training, so I’m no Jedi," the young woman replied bitterly.

"He was my father, too, you know?” Garma rose to her feet. "And I know he wouldn't want you to get consumed by revenge... to lose yourself, little sister," she pleaded.

"It's easy for you to talk. You have a family of your own, something to hold on to, while I have nothing left. I lost everything!" the young woman added angrily.

"You still have me, our two other siblings and our mother," Garma added with a sigh.

"No. You know very well what happened to our family. Plus, you know how I came to be...," she added, agony lacing her words. "I will do it. I will kill Kylo Ren," the young woman finished with finality as she began to walk away.

"Oh, little sister..." Garma shook her head sadly.

Author notes:

So what are your thoughts regarding Kylo and Rey's first date ?

Who is Garma and the mystery woman (these are OC characters) ?

The mystery woman will be important for the plot later on. Just wait until you'll find out more about her background. You'll be shocked.

Also @Hartmannclan I hope this chapter answered your question about who the shadow, from the last chapter, was.

Italics used in this chapter are to highlight some hints about spoilers that will appear in the future chapters (I'm talking about ending of this chapter).

Feel free to leave a review.

Until next time!

Chapter Text

Special thanks to my beta-reader Chridder for helping me out with this.

Special thanks to Darkangel4066 for making this moodboard for me.

Somewhere in the vast space of the Outer Rim, one ship was moving steadily. The Purge was once used to transport prisoners in the Galactic Empire era and this was its only purpose until a deadly virus killed the crew. It wandered unmanned through space until Han Solo stumbled upon it and acquiesced it to the New Republic, who in turn disinfected it and kept it for academic purposes. Their possession of the ship ended with the rise of the First Order, its long arms spreading through the galaxy to take what once belonged to the New Republic.

Now it served as a way of transport for the Knights of Ren... not the original ones that once served under Ren but a new faction that worked independently of the originals.

It was composed of 8 humans and was created by Kylo Ren sometime after he became the leader of the original Knights.

"Vitus Ren, your turn," a man in his early fifties said with a sly smile.

"My turn? No matter what move I make now, I’d still end up losing, Uthar Ren, so I yield," Vitus Ren replied, a little peeved.

"Good choice, son, good choice. It hasn't been born yet the one who could possibly defeat me at sabacc."

"Sabacc again?" a mechanical voice intruded.

"Instead of honing your fighting skills, you train your sabacc skills, fath... Uthar Ren?!"

"You should ease up, Thannor Ren and allow an old man to indulge in the small pleasures of life. Fighting it's not everything to it, you know?" Uthar Ren added with patience.

"Kylo Ren would probably kill you if he knew how you spend your free time," Thannor Ren added, annoyed.

"That boy needs to relax. He need to be..."

But he never finished the sentence, interrupted by the beep of his comlink.

Only one person could be at the other end, and Uthar felt a headache coming. He wasn't in the mood to deal with anymore children.

"Speak of the wolf and he shall appear," Uthar mumbled under his breath.

Then he got up from the couch and went into a more private room, away from the others. As soon as he got there, he opened his comlink, and the hologram of Kylo Ren came to life.

"Did you find any trace of the Resistance?!" the mechanical voice of Kylo asked without preamble.

"No, we went to Birren, but general Organa made no attempt of communication," Uthar replied with certainty.

"Right now, we are on our way to New Alderaan. Maybe the Resistance asked them for help."

"Good. I will leave everything in your capable hands," Kylo replied in a cold voice.

A few minutes passed by... or maybe seconds that seemed like minutes as Kylo lingered on the open transmission.

By this point, Uthar started to be concerned about Kylo's behavior. Right now he acted so odd... so unlike himself. Usually he went straight to the point, eager to finish the conversation as quick as possible, but right now he seemed to want something he couldn’t articulate.

After a few moments, in which Kylo hesitated and seemed to fight with himself, he asked: "Are you alone, right now?"

"Yes," Uthar replied even as he sensed the force signatures of the other knights at the doorway, eager to eavesdrop.

"You had a relationship, before, right? I mean you and Thannor Ren are..." Kylo hesitated.

"Kylo stop stalling and get to the point!" Uthar replied strictly, like scolding a child.

Everything froze in the room. Any force sensitive could feel the darkness leaking off from Kylo, even if he wasn’t really there, swirling around, creating a suffocating atmosphere.

"Uthar is in so much trouble right now for bossing Kylo around," a feminine voice, from the entrance added in a whisper, worry lacing her words.

"Shut up, Harth Ren!" Thannor Ren replied tensely.

But as soon as Kylo's temper flared to life, it ended just as fast.

"Use that tone again and I'll make sure you'll be in a world of pain before I kill you!" Kylo boomed in a threatening voice.

"Understood!" Uthar replied, not disturbed in the slightest by Kylo's almost-to-be temper tantrum.

"So how do you... um... how to you, treat a woman?" Kylo asked in a whisper.

"You mean, how do you court a woman, right?" Uthar asked dumbfounded.

His answer came in form of daggers coming from Kylo's eyes. Even if he had his mask on, Uthar could feel his gaze.

"Um, I thought you didn't need to do this. After all the both of you will get married at the end of the month, so why would you need to know this?"

Kylo growled in warning.

"Okay, maybe you can take her out to dinner?"

"I already tried that," came Kylo's annoyed telepathic reply.

"Then try to take her to a place she would be interested in? Maybe the Jedi temple from Coruscant? Her grandfather was Obi-Wan Kenobi, after all," Uthar added, hopeful.

"No. I will never set foot in a Jedi temple again!" Kylo spat, venom lacing his words.

"Then I don't know what else to suggest" Uthar sighed.

Kylo huffed under his breath and ended the transmission.

As soon as his hologram vanished from sight, laughter could be heard from just outside the entrance in the hallway.

"Rough day, Uthar Ren? You don't need to hone your sabacc skills, you need to hone your matchmaker skills!" Kaan Ren said between bouts of laughter.

The knights were so busy laughing at Kylo's expense that none of them felt that Uthar got to his boiling point.

"Enough!"

And then the laughter stopped.

"Kylo Ren, can be a pain in the ass, sometimes, but if it wasn't for him, we could have a lot worse life than our current predicament!" Uthar added with authority.

Then he went to his sleeping quarters without waiting for a reply. He was really worried about Kylo and felt that soon something bad will happen to him.

Colony Region: Aquilaean system, Ophuchi planet

"We have to strike now!" Poe said decisively.

"Hold your fathiers, Poe. We still don't have enough strength to launch an attack against the First Order. The New Republic is gone and Ken risks much every day to send us supplies, so no we definitely aren't ready, yet!" a brown haired young woman chastised firmly.

"Oh great, so we keep hiding like rats? Soon enough we will be running out of places to hide and then what?" Poe huffed with impatience.

"Stop it, both of you!" a brown haired man bellowed.

"Jaina, you need to not let Poe rile you up, anymore," the same man added tenderly.

"Sorry, uncle Jarik!" Jaina replied, apologetic.

Poe smirked in response.

"As for you, Dameron, you need to think before you open your mouth. The way the Resistance it is now, it doesn't have a chance against the First Order," Jarik scolded.

"The way it is now? We have Jedi among our ranks, don't we?" Poe shot back.

"May I remind you that we never finished our training?" a young brown haired man added with a hollow voice.

"You didn't? Oh, I forgot, your elder brothers decided to join the Dark Side. One destroyed Luke's Jedi temple and tortured me, while the other killed Luke's wife in cold blood! You, surely, have a great family, Anakin!"

Pang, was the only sound that could be heard in the room as Jaina slapped Poe.

"I won't allow you to speak about my family like this!" Jaina added darkly as she stomped out of the room, bumping shoulders with her mother, Leia, on her way out.

As soon as Leia entered the room, she saw her son Anakin with his head hung down, Poe holding one of his hands on his cheek and Jarik face palming.

Based on the mood of the room and Jaina's anger, Leia figured out immediately what happened. Her daughter slapped Poe.

She felt so tired these days. Two of her sons gripped by the Dark Side, her husband dead at the hands of her eldest son, her sister-in-law dead at the hands of her middle son. And now what was left of her family was falling apart.

Her daughter Jaina took out her anger on anyone who spoke askance about their family, her youngest son Anakin was suffering from depression, refusing to share any of his feelings to anyone, her nephew Ben wanted nothing more than to kill Jacen to avenge his mother, and Jarik, whom she considered part of the family though he wasn’t related by blood, was still trying to find his lost daughter.

And the bad news didn't end there... she received the news from Garma that she will be returning alone.

"Another soul lost in the cycle of hatred," Leia thought with sadness in regards to Garma's sister.

Author notes:

Hope you all liked the small moments of comic relief. 

So what did you all think about Kylo asking one of his knights for dating advices ?

So about my decision to introduce a new faction of the knights of Ren for this story. Well this is comes due to two reasons: 1) there is not enough info about the Knights of Ren from canon universe to be able to use them here; 2) I really liked the theory that surfaced after TLJ, that the Knights of Ren, were Luke's students that joined Ben Solo, so I decided to use that theory here.

So without no further ado I will leave tidbits of info about the new characters used here.

Vitus Ren it's an EU character;

Uthar Ren it's an EU character (when I will reveal more about his background, you'll notice how similar he is to Kylo Ren, in a way);

Thannor Ren it's an OC character (by now you all probably guessed he is Uthar's son);

Harth Ren it's an EU character (though I think I will make her semi OC in this story because on wookieepedia there aren't a lot of info about her);

Kaan Ren it's an EU character.

Okay so here it's all the info about the new knights of Ren presented in this chapter. All the titles that I used for them (Harth, Kaan and so on...) were the names used by Sith lords. I will leave link for every EU character used as a knight of Ren as soon as I will start to reveal their real names.

Now for the other characters:

Jaina Solo ; Anakin Solo ; Jacen Solo (the one who killed Luke's wife) - these are EU Solo kids; Jarik Solo ; Mara Jade Skywalker (Luke's wife) and Ben Skywalker .

Other elements used in this chapter:

Aquilaean system it's a system that appears in the first drafts of George Lucas for Star Wars. It was never used, though. So I decided to make a new system based on the planets that were never used by George Lucas.

Aquilae system ;

Planets that belongs in Aquilae system: Aquilae ;  Townowi ; Ogana Major (or Ogana); Ophuchi (all those planets belong to George Lucas's unused draft). 

Purge (prison barge) - the ship used by the new faction of Knights of Ren.

Feel free to leave a review.

Until next time!

Chapter Text

Special thanks to my beta-reader Chridder for helping me out with this.

Special thanks to Darkangel4066 for making this moodboard for me.

Hope you all brought your tissues because you might need those.

It was a bleak day on Coruscant. The rain poured heavily in the streets, forcing most citizens to hid into the comfort and warmth of their homes. But unbeknownst to them, there was someone whose mood was suited to the weather.

In a dark room, with all the windows blinds shut tight, a lone figure sat in a chair, staring aimlessly at nothing, his mask positioned on a nightstand nearby.

Kylo was restless and tense. His thoughts were plagued by one thing, or rather, one person.

Rey.

The moment when he engulfed her hand at the restaurant was playing in his mind over and over. He raised his left hand in front of his face, the same hand he used to show his weakness.

Almost immediately, he let his hand drop, hanging limply by his body.

He still didn't understand how or why Rey's simple touch could affect him so.

The truth was, and he was ashamed to admit it, that he wanted someone to let him be himself. To not feel censored.

And Rey did just that... she didn't even flinch or shout back when he had his outburst. She kept her cool, not aggravating the situation, and used the most unexpected method to calm him. 

Also, she stood up to him. Again. As brave and beautiful as she was, she was equally stubborn, wild, and unpredictable.

Kylo froze, realizing the direction his thoughts took.

Did he just think Rey was beautiful?. Clearly, he was starting to lose his mind.

And now, Uthar's suggestion about the Jedi temple.

Was it even worth to try at all? Couldn't he just stay a few more days on Coruscant and then try to find an excuse for his master in the hopes that maybe, just maybe he will be allowed to look for clues about Kira's whereabouts?

Rey sat in the window sill, watching the raindrops. Ever since Ken found her, the rain became one of her favorite landscapes, one she couldn't get enough of. As for the thunderstorms... well, that was another story. She was afraid of them. Fortunately, this was only a rain that had started two days prior during her and Kylo's date, and it didn’t stopped since.

Speaking of Kylo, she still had his cloak hanging on a chair in her room.

The sensible decision would have been to get rid of it after she got back home.

But for some odd reason, she couldn't let go of it. It was the only reminder that he was capable of kindness.

But she knew deep down that he only forgot to take his cloak in his haste to leave.

She wondered why he hid his face, though.

Were the knights of Ren under a vow to never show their faces? Or it only applied to the leader?

Even when she fought against him on Starkiller Base, she never saw his face. At least not entirely.

She saw little of his face, when her lightsaber tore through his mask, but she never saw his eyes or mouth.

Was he ugly? Was this the reason for which he never showed his face?

All of a sudden, the room got colder so Rey used the Force to levitate the cloak towards herself, covering with it.

The last thing Rey felt before she fell asleep on the window sill was the warmth the cloak provided.

The next day, the rain finally stopped, so Rey decided it would be a good day to explore Coruscant.

She really didn't have a chance to do so since she arrived because of...No, she won't think about him today.

Today she will go exploring and her first stop will be the Jedi Temple.

Her uncle, Tao, noticed her mood during breakfast.

"Why so happy today, Rey?" he asked curiously.

"Well, uncle, if you really want to know, today I plan to visit the old Jedi Temple. I want to see where grandfather spent most of his life. I really want to know him better. Do you want to come with me?" Rey smiled.

"No, thank you, Rey. I'm not ready yet... knowing that was the place where my parents grew up before the Jedi purge... but thank you for thinking about me," Tao replied, a little sadness in his eyes.

"Suit yourself. When Ken returns, let him know where I went, okay?" Rey added as she left the kitchen.

As Rey got closer to her destination, a sense of foreboding started to form in the pit of her stomach.

The living area that surrounded the temple was completely empty, void of life, like no one lived in the area for decades.

Another odd thing were the electrical fences or chargers that were put at the entrance in the living area surrounding the temple.

She needed to jump over some of them in order to advance, but right now she wondered if their purpose wasn't to keep away something from the populated areas.

She still kept going, no matter what she felt.

Soon she reached the inner yard of the temple and she realized why the area around the temple was vacated.

A few meters in front of her, five space wolves stood proud, ready to tear her apart.

Rey brought her hand to her hip, to grab her lightsaber only to realize she left it home. Her heart dropped to her stomach.

Just then, one of the wolves jumped, forcing Rey to slide left to the wall, hoping to find a crevice to hide in.

"Ken, please help me!" Rey beseech her cousin telepathically.

Kylo couldn't believe he was here. After spending time deliberating with himself, he decided to take Rey to the Jedi temple. Of course, he had no intention of stepping inside.He would rather wait in the yard and let Rey explore by herself. It wasn't like there was any danger for Rey to come by.

So here he was at the Kenobi residence willing to give it one last shot.

His knocking on the door were answered quickly enough by Tao.

"Lord Ren, what brings you here?!"

“Where is your niece?!”

The both men spoke at the same time. One in surprise, the other in demand.

Tao looked perplexed at Kylo, like trying to figure something out, while Tao's scrutiny didn't bode well with Kylo.

"Where is your niece?!" Kylo demanded once more.

Tao shook his head and added with a sigh.

"She went to the Jedi temple. Now if you'll excuse me, I want to finish reading a book..."

But he never finished the sentence. Kylo left him in the dust.

Just like Rey, Kylo had a foreboding feeling when he arrived in the living area near the temple. He noticed, almost immediately, the lack of human life and the electric fences and chargers. Something from one of the walls draw his attention. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was dried blood, a large quantity based on the immense spot.

"Whatever happened here, the attacker must've been very vicious. But what kind of creature could do something like this?" Kylo pondered.

Then it hit him, the feeling of fear floating in the air, suffocating him. It belonged to... and that's when he broke into a sprint towards the Jedi temple.

Rey was on the verge of crying. She didn't want to die, but it seemed fate had other plans. She was able to find a crevice in the wall to hide, but an iron bar scratched her arm and ripped the sleeve of her outer tunic.

And the smell of her blood drove the wolves crazy. Now they were trying to force their way in, shaking the already unstable wall from its foundation. Rey was worried that soon the wall will collapse and even her force abilities won't save her.

She wanted to find her parents, she wanted to spend more time with Mallie and she wanted to marry and have a family of her own.

Not with Kylo, but with someone who will cherish and accept her for what she was, a Kenobi and a Palpatine.

As if on cue, Rey heard a lightsaber springing to life and then she saw one of the wolves being thrown away, while the other two turned around and left the entrance of the crevice.

As soon as Kylo got into the yard, he saw three space wolves scratching and growling at some spot in the wall, trying to get inside it.

When he focused on that spot, he felt Rey inside, scared for her life and wounded.

"Damn!" he thought.

He tried to use his force powers to mind control the wolves, but his attempt ended in failure. These were no ordinary wolves. These were the types on which mind control didn't work.

So he ignited his lightsaber and force pushed one of the wolves away. Right away, the other two wolves noticed their comrade being thrown like a rag doll, their attention focusing on Kylo.

He took a fighting stance, swirled his cross lightsaber as if to mock the wolves and waited for their attack. He didn't need to wait long.

As soon as the wolves left the entrance of her hiding spot, Rey peeked out through the crevice and noticed how gracefully Kylo moved while fighting.

It wasn't like before, when he fought against her when she was disguised as Kira or when he fought against her on Starkiller base. On each of those occasions, Rey realized, he held back. He never came at her with full strength, and with this came a crushing conclusion. That no matter how hard she will train, Kylo Ren will be always stronger than her. And the only reason for being still alive in the aftermath of their confrontations was because he wished it so.

The strong roar of one of the wolves snapped her from her memory.

Rey watched as the wolf fell, encouraging her to get out and search for any weapon in the temple.

But, as she will soon learn, this is a decision she will come to regret.

After killing one of the wolves with his lightsaber, the one he threw earlier with the force, rose up, joining the one that was still standing. Kylo began walking back towards the stairs of the temple, hoping to bury the wolves at the entrance in the yard, under a pile of bricks and debris.The same trick he used years ago on the Elphrona planet against Luke's students, Tai and Voe. Unfortunately, his plan was thwarted by Rey's sudden appearance.

As soon as she got out from her hiding spot, two wolves emerged behind her, ones she was unaware of.

At that moment several things happened at once. One of the two wolves that were behind Rey roared and jumped towards her. At the same time she turned her head and dodged in order to avoid the attack. As soon as she was out of the peripheral vision of the first wolf, the other one hit her with his huge paw, in the stomach, sending her against the wall where she hit her head, leaving her unconscious and defenseless.

Kylo froze the two wolves that he was facing in their tracks and ran to Rey.

"Granddaughter, wake up!" a tender voice called out to Rey.

"Granddaughter, you have to help Ben!" the same voice insisted with urgency.

This was enough to rouse Rey from her slumber and the sight she witnessed before her shook her to the core.

Two wolves were buried under rubble while the other two were nowhere to be found.

Amidst all the destruction, a few feet in front of her, Kylo Ren was using his lightsaber for support, blood dripping from his black clothes.

As soon as she got up, his lightsaber deactivated on its own and Kylo fell to his knees, still looking in her direction. Then his body began to slump forward only for Rey to catch him in a tight embrace.

"Why did you do it?! Why did you protect me?!" Rey asked him as the rain started to pour on them, soon followed by thunder rumbling in the background.

The last sight Kylo saw through the visor of his mask, before the abyss took him was Rey's wet cheeks.

He wondered briefly if she was crying because she would miss him.

And then he knew no more.

On the planet Raisa, from the Alderaan system, a black masked figure, stopped dead in his tracks after receiving a telepathic message from his master.

"Yun, please protect Rey!"

A desperate plea. Uthar knew in that moment that something was wrong. Kylo hadn't called him by his real name since he became a Knight of Ren.

"Uthar Ren, it's something wrong?" a female voice asked him concerned.

"Harth Ren, we have to go to Coruscant. Something happened to Kylo Ren," Uthar added hastily.

On a large iron asteroid called The Home, which was the headquarters for the Dark Disciples, a gathered group of dark side users who forego the Sith rule of two and who served Snoke, a lone cloaked figure stood in a middle of a meadow, surveying the scene with cold eyes.

Suddenly, the cloaked figure hunched forward, putting a hand over his heart.

"Ben..." was all that that Darth Caedus, once known as Jacen Solo, whispered as his yellow eyes became brown for a brief moment.

Jaina and Anakin were dueling each other in a training session when both of them were overcome with pain.

"Ben..." they both whispered at each other with a lost gaze.

And for the first time in years, the four children of Han and Leia were connected again.

No matter how far away they were, no matter what paths each of them took, their bond still stood strong.

Author notes: 

I hope this chapter didn't make you cry. Too much, at least.

So what do you think about this chapter overall?

Characters and other elements used in this chapter:

Uthar Ren = Yun (hope you all agree that Yun it's pretty similar to Kylo Ren); Dark Disciple (s) (the title of this book was what inspired me to came up with another group of dark side force users); The Home ; Raisa ; Tai ; Voe ; Elphrona .

Now for the sources that inspired me in writing three scenes from this chapter:

Kylo Ren vs space wolves ;

The implied vow of the Knights of Ren to never show their faces ;

The connection between the Solo children (this picture can be found on wookieepedia if you look at Jaina, Jacen or Anakin Solo's bio/profile) and also this it's my homage to one of my favorite book : Rich Man, Poor Man by Irwin Shaw .

Feel free to leave a review.

Until next time!

Chapter Text

Special thanks to my beta-reader Chridder for helping me out with this.

Special thanks to Darkangel4066 for making this moodboard for me.

The amber rays of twilight passed through the window, flooding the somniferous room half cascaded in shadows, with light.

The only occupants were two old women.

One was lying sound asleep in a bed, but her sleep was troubled to say the least.

The other woman, time–worn and white-haired, was sitting in a chair next to the bed watching over the other.

Winter wondered how much pain her adoptive sister, Leia, could take.

She always respected Leia for her strength, which she proved over and over again. When their planet, Alderaan, was destroyed, Leia shed a few tears for their adoptive parents and all the people that died but kept fighting. Then Leia discovered her twin brother and found a new family. Yet, tragedy struck again. Members of her newfound family began to die. But the most painful losses were when two of her sons went to the dark side, her husband died, and her brother went missing. And now her eldest son was hurt and she couldn't be there for him.

Winter still remembered, in vivid detail, how Leia fainted in the control room the previous day and began whispering her eldest son's name. After Leia was checked by a doctor and placed in a bed, Anakin and Jaina explained what happened to her.

Winter never understood the Force, but she made a promise to always support her sister no matter what. And not just her. The other members of Leia's family were there for support, too.

Back at his residence on Coruscant, Ken was pacing in the room.

"Ken, stop walking around. You need to calm down," Tao chided in a supportive voice.

"Calm down?! Calm down?! Rey is suffering because of that monster and I don't know how to help her!" Ken screamed, enraged.

"Kylo Ren saved her life, you know?" Tao added with a sigh.

"I don't care! He’s a blight in this galaxy that should be eradicated. Rey should rejoice about his condition, not cry for him!" Ken replied heatedly.

"Oh, Ken, you need to learn more about the Force. Everything happens as the Force wills it and you must accept its will.”

Ken raised his hands in front of his face, rolling his eyes and walking out on Tao.

Rey was cuddled up in her bed, her eyes puffy from tears, so much that she seemed to have run dry.

What happened a few days ago still haunted her nightmares.

After Kylo's weight became too much for Rey, she laid down his prone body gently, and tried to ascertain his condition.

Soon she discovered three deep gashes on his chest.The blood could be noticed even through his black tunic.

At that moment, Rey wished she was capable of Force healing. Unfortunately, she only started to learn Force healing and she wasn't sure if she could heal such deep wounds.

"Grandfather, please don't let him die!" she pleaded through hiccups.

Then she took his right hand, holding it tight in her own. She couldn't let him die. She couldn't.

Even though she was distressed, Rey's guard was still up. So when she saw a flash in the corner of her eye at the yard's entrance, her head fully turned towards it. In the distance a blurry figure was approaching. Even if the figure was blurry, Rey recognized it as Ken. With shaky legs, she got up and ran towards him. Ken caught her into his arms, hugging her fiercely. Then he noticed her distress.

"Rey, are you alright?" Ken asked with concern.

"Ken, please, you have to help me!" Rey pleaded as she began to drag Ken by his arm towards the spot where Kylo was.

"Is that Kylo Ren?" Ken asked, exacerbated, as he got to the spot where Kylo lied motionless.

"Yes, it's him. He is badly wounded. We have to help him!" Rey implored desperately.

"HELP HIM?! Are you out of your mind, Rey?! Did you forget he almost killed me on Shumari?! That he almost killed you and that he killed Force knows how many people?!" Ken added incredulously.

"If we let him die here and now, we will be doing a favor to the galaxy."

"If we let him die here, we won't be better than the First Order. We won't be better than our grandfather, Palpatine!" Rey added with fury in her voice.

Her words hurt Ken more than any lightsaber could. He always tried to be the opposite of his grandfather.

So he made his decision halfheartedly, one that he knew he would come to regret later.

"I'll help you this time, Rey. But I'm doing this for you, not for him," Ken added with a sigh.

"Now remember your training. The both of us will need to levitate him towards the entrance of the yard where my speeder is."

And so the both of them levitated Kylo's prone body until they were able to put his body in the speeder.

"Now what?" Rey asked, sweat and raindrops running over her eyebrows.

"Now we will tie Kylo's wrists around your neck to offer him stability and support and you'll take him to Vader's castle," Ken added, annoyed, as he kept Kylo's body steady on the speeder using the Force.

"What about you?" Rey asked worried.

"The speeder is not big enough for two people, Let alone three. But since you're a small person, compared to me and Kylo, it should be enough space for you and him. Don't worry about me. I will find another way to get back" Ken added with exhaustion as Rey got on the speeder.

After Ken tied Kylo's wrists around her neck, Rey started the engine and drove with the speed of light to the Vader's castle.

There, two officers from the First Order, or at least that's what Rey assumed their rank was, approached her with caution, their blasters pointed at her.

Upon realizing who the people from the speeder were and that Kylo Ren was hurt, they started barking orders left and right. Then a stretcher was brought out while the youngest of the two officers, a woman, cut the ties around Kylo's wrists and then three stormtroopers laid him down on the stretcher, taking him inside.

Then the oldest of the two officers came with a bacta patch for Rey's wound from her arm.

"Don't worry; he is in good hands," the same officer said in a soothing voice while putting his hand on Rey's shoulder for reassurance.

That was three days ago.

Since then, Rey went there every day. The following day, after the attack, her request to see or to find out more about Kylo's condition was denied by a masked figure dressed all in black, who Rey found out later on was one of the knights of Ren.

Also, she had an ugly showdown with Ken. In her haste to find help for Kylo, she had forgotten to take his lightsaber. Well, is seems Ken retrieved it and she got into a scuffle with him over it. She got it back and returned it to the knight of Ren, the one who turned her away, when she went again to Vader’s castle.

Since her altercation with Ken, she’d taken all her meals in her room to avoid him.

All her thoughts, right now, were directed towards Kylo. Was he alright?

She wanted so badly to see him.

Strange how until a few days ago, she didn't want anything to do with him, but right now she was worried sick about his well being.

At Vader's castle, an old officer, whose sandy blond hair revealed some gray streaks, was drinking his Manellan Jasper tea quietly and alone while ruminating on the events of the last days.

He knew Lord Ren to be a imbattable opponent, so when Rey Kenobi brought him half dead, he was shocked. He never thought he would live to see the day when Kylo Ren fell.

Then it went downhill from there. The new faction of the Knights of Ren arrived and Uthar Ren sends Rey back home every time she came by, requesting to see Kylo.

Speaking of lady Rey, that young woman was an oddity, even for him. She clearly didn't want to marry Kylo Ren, if his temper regarding her was any indication. But she brought him back to a place where he could receive the necessary medical treatment instead of letting him die.

Jori knew the First Order weren't the good guys, but he promised his grandfather, Erv, he will look out for any descendants of Vader.

Also, he wondered if lady Rey, didn't have any feelings for Kylo Ren, buried deep beneath and she was in denial about them.

Because the look she gave Kylo as he was taken away was a look he saw many times before.It was the look his wife used to give him when he was sick or was about to do something dangerous.

Agony. That was all that Kylo Ren felt as he drifted in and out of consciousness in his bed. His body was in pain due to his wounds, and on fire due to his fever. Memories flashes before his eyes... him murdering his father, Kira scarring and defeating him on Starkiller base and finally Rey shedding tears for him.

He was alone with no one around who could make his agony go away.

On top of all that, he didn't even have the strength to get up from his bed and fetch a glass of water for himself, or call someone out to do it for him.

He only wanted someone to show him kindness and accept him for who he was, not to be alone, feared and used by others.

"Water," he projected the thought, knowing that no one was near to hear him anyway.

But a few moments later, to his utter bewilderment, he felt the brim of a glass touching his dried lips.

"Drink" a soft feminine voice steered him in his mind. So he did. He took big gulps of the water and soon his thirst was quelled.

He didn't know who he was in the room with him or how that woman entered it in the first place, or even if she was real and not a hallucination produced by his delirious state. Nevertheless, he appreciated the company. At least, she wasn't there to kill him in his sleep.

Soon afterwards he felt a cool touch on his forehead. Followed by a wet cloth placed on his forehead.

"Why are you doing this?" Kylo projected the thought towards the woman in his room.

But no reply came to his question. Is seemed the woman wasn't in the mood to any more chit chat.

Then the woman put the glass back from whatever place it was taken and sat down on his side of the bed.

Kylo waited, a little apprehensive but curious at the same time about what this she would do next.

He didn't have to wait long because he felt the calloused skin of the woman’s fingers touching his lips and start caressing them.

Kylo asked himself, as he melted under her touch, if she did have feelings for him. The gesture was too intimate. Too affectionate.

His last thought before he fell into a blissful sleep was why this woman seemed so familiar.

Author notes:

First of all I want to apologize for taking me so long to update.

I hope you all liked the direction the story have taken ( I struggled with the ending part of this chapter).

So what do you think about this chapter?

Characters and other elements used in this chapter:

Winter Celchu ( Leia's adoptive sister); Jori Lekauf ; Erv Lekauf and Manellan Jasper tea.

Feel free to leave a review.

Until next time!

Chapter Text

Special thanks to my beta-reader Chridder for helping me out with this.

Special thanks to Darkangel4066 for making this moodboard for me.

It was a warm and peaceful morning on Coruscant.

The city was slowly brimming with life, making the city, overall, a quiet place.

But at Vader's castle, a young woman wearing a plain green dress was making a ruckus at the entrance.

"I don't care about those stupid rules! I want to see him!" she said loudly.

"No!"

This was the only answer she received before a black figure closed the door on her.

Rey was furious. Ever since last night when the Force connected her to Kylo Ren and she saw the pain he was in, all she could think about was how to see him. She’ll have time later to figure out why the Force connected her and Kylo.

That's why this morning, she decided to go again to Vader's castle and not leave until she was able to see Kylo.

Unfortunately for her, Uthar Ren denied her request once again, closing the door on her.

But she wasn't worried in the slightest. If Jakku taught her anything, it was that those who wait will always get rewarded for their patience.

So that's what she was about to do. Wait at the entrance until she was allowed in.

Uthar, Harth and Vitus Ren were looking through the window at Rey who was pacing outside.

"Since when does she stay there?" Harth Ren asked with mild curiosity.

"Since this morning," Uthar answered, tone clipped.

"That long? But it's the middle of the afternoon. I wonder if she’s eaten anything at all?" Harth Ren said to no one in particular.

"She didn't. She only paced in front of the entrance the whole time," Uthar Ren replied stonily.

"Remind me again why she can't see Kylo Ren?" Vitus asked confused.

"Because Kylo Ren it’s vulnerable right now and she could easily kill him," Uthar Ren replied with coldness.

"But if she wanted to kill him, wouldn't she have done so when he was wounded in the first place?" Vitus asked quietly.

That was the question Uthar asked himself ever since he arrived at the castle and found out what happened.

Nevertheless, they’d created a set of rules in cases like these and they needed to uphold them, no matter what.

Night has fallen over Coruscant. The liveliness of the day began to die out slower and slower.

But despite the solitude of the night, one soul was still keeping watch. Vigil like an aurean vulture.

Rey was still waiting in front of the entrance, pacing. Earlier that evening, her uncle, Tao, brought her some Nerfsteak sandwiches and tried to convince her to come home without success. Unlike Ken, however, he respected her decision.

As for taking care of her other needs, Rey went to a dinner nearby and asked for permission to use the toilet. That was the only time she left her post.

"You're really persistent, aren't you, Kenobi girl?" a female voice asked.

Rey turned around and saw a young woman with long golden wavy curly hair and emerald green eyes, dressed all in black.

Another knight of Ren, Rey realized with a gasp.

"Who is asking?" she asked with confidence.

"My name is Harth Ren. I wanted to meet Kylo Ren's betrothed in person," she replied politely.

"Why are you still here?" she asked next.

"Because..." Rey started to say and then stopped.

She was at a loss for words. How could she tell her that she saw Kylo in pain through the Force? That she wanted to ease his pain because she owed him her life? Because she still believed there was good in him?

So she went with one simple answer instead.

"Because Kylo Ren saved my life!" Rey said with conviction.

"Fair enough," Harth replied. She turned to go back inside but stopped right at the door.

"Are you coming in or what?!" Harth asked in a harsh voice.

"Can I see Kylo?" Rey asked hopefully.

"No, you can"t. But you can remain here overnight since you're staying on the other side of the city. It would be too dangerous for a young lady like yourself to go all the way back, alone, wouldn't it?" Harth replied mockingly.

"I'm sure I could handle myself. I fought before. I'm not a damsel in distress as you assume me to be!" Rey replied with a smirk.

"Oh... at least Kylo won't marry a weakling," Harth replied stunned.

"If only you knew. If only you knew," Rey thought, quite pleased with herself as she followed the other woman inside.

Confusion. That's what Rey first felt as she woke up and noticed she was in an unfamilliar place.

Then it all came back to her. The wait in front of the entrance of Vader's castle, her first encounter with Harth Ren and the invitation. And finally her argument with Uthar in front of the other knights regarding her sleeping accommodations. He offered to let her sleep in one of the guest rooms, but she had other ideas.

When Harth Ren lead Rey to the dining room earlier, she’d let it slip that Kylo had an antechamber in front of his bedroom. Rey preferred to sleep on a sofa in the antechamber than in a guest room, so she could be closer to Kylo.

After what seemed like an eternity, Uthar conceded to her plea.

Yet, she still couldn't see him. The only way in his bedroom was through inserting a code on a panel next to his door. And the knights still didn't trust her, it seemed.

Even if she slept on a sofa, she was well rested. She slept in an AT-AT walker for most of her life. So, she didn't care too much about the place where she slept as long as she could lie down.

Kylo was sitting in his canopy king bed, propped against the pillows behind his back. All of the curtains of the canopy were shut tight. A bed tray table with an untouched cup of Massassi-blossom tea , Rokarian dirt-fish fillet sandwiches and a napkin sat on the nightstand next to his bed. But he wasn't in any mood for eating, but rather alert.

That morning, he woke up with the sun. With shaky legs, he got up from his bed and went to fetch a glass of water for himself.

Ever since the mysterious woman visited him, some of his strength had returned. He was able to stay awake more and was able to walk on his own, albeit less slowly than normal.

He never fetched the glass of water because the behind closed doors of his bedroom, he felt another presence. One that he had grown accustomed to. Rey.

Why she was here? In the antechamber in front of his bedroom? Why did Uthar allowed her to sleep here in the first place?

These were the questions that crossed Kylo's mind while he used the Force to check on Rey's state. All that he received was an eerie silence.

"He and Uthar will need to exchange a few words, later on," Kylo thought as he opened the door quietly. The sight before his eyes shook him up.

Rey was sleeping soundly on a sofa, serenity etched across her face.

How could she sleep so peacefully with him near by? Wasn't she worried in the slightest that he could kill her in her sleep?

But his line of thoughts was interrupted when he saw the fallen blanket in front of the sofa. He picked it up and covered Rey's sleeping form, but not before noticing her green dress, a color that suited her.

Then he froze in his tracks. What was he doing? That's not what Snoke's teachings consisted of. To care and worry for another person. No, Snoke's teachings taught him to instill fear in the lesser beings, to control them. And yet, he almost died while protecting Rey. He was confused and he knew he needed to take a decision regarding his odd relationship with Rey. He couldn't go on like this.

So quietly, he returned to his bedroom, away from his emotional turmoil. Away from Rey.

Since waking up, Rey took a look around the premises of the castle.

She was in awe when she saw how enormous the castle was. At least five families could live here, and that was only the grounds. The castle itself accommodated a lot of people, too: soldiers, workers and guests. But her last stop was the library. That's where Harth Ren found her to let her know that Kylo Ren wanted to see her.

The walk back to Kylo Ren's bedroom was one of the most anxious of her life.

She asked herself if Kylo realized that she visited him through the Force, or if he was enraged with her, or if the previous coldness between them would change. So when she got in front of his bedroom's door, Rey mustered all of her courage to be able to face on what ever came her way. And so she entered in the belly of the beast.

Ever since he felt Rey waking up and leaving the antechamber, Kylo pondered what should he do. He never reached a conclusion. So even if he was in a vulnerable state, he decided to see Rey and to have a little chat with her. He hoped that by talking to her, he’d decide what direction their odd relationship should go. So when Rey entered his bedroom the only feelings he felt through the Force were fear and curiosity.

Then Rey stopped in front of his door and lingered there quietly.

"Why are you standing there?" Kylo asked with a hoarse voice.

Then he felt her surprise at his inquiry, and noticed her moving, through the curtains of his canopy bed to take a seat at his bedside. Then her stomach decided to growl.

This made him wonder when was the last time the girl ate something.

"Didn't you eat this morning?" Kylo asked baffled.

"I'm sorry, my attention was focused on exploring the area of the castle that I forgot to eat something," Rey replied, a little embarrassed.

Kylo was at a loss for words. Rey was an oddity for him.

And then he found himself doing something he didn't do in a long time. He used the Force to levitate one of the Rokarian dirt-fish fillet sandwiches from the bed tray table towards her.

"Eat!" he found himself saying.

Based on Rey's brief irritation, he assumed his request sounded more like a command. Nonetheless, she started taking small bites from the sandwich.

"This is so good. I didn't have the chance to eat too often Rokarian dirt-fish fillet sandwiches. Only on special occasions. Ken always said that Rokarian dirt-fish are too expensive and not many could afford them so we should be a model to the people we're trying to help," Rey replied with a small voice among bites.

So Ken wasn't a conceited man, Kylo realized with a shock.

He always imagined Ken to spare no credits when it came to the welfare of his family.

But Rey's admission that Ken wouldn't buy something as expensive as Rokarian dirt-fish unless it was for a special occasion, so that he would be a model for the people and also teach his family how to be humble, made Kylo see Ken with different eyes.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that's when Rey started talking again, it startled him a little.

"Thank you for saving my life. And I'm sorry I was hard on you when we were at the restaurant. I will try, from now on, to keep my temper in check," Rey added softly.

He didn't know what to reply to her. Her gratitude for him for saving her life was unnerving in itself, but added to the fact that she would try to be more patient with him...?

No one thanked him for anything unless they wanted to obtain something in return. But Rey's words were sincere. At least that's what he felt in the Force.

Author notes:

First of all I want to apologize for taking me so long (a month and two days) to update.

Secondly, I wanted to post this chapter and the next one on 20th October (when it was my birthday) but I was unable to.

What do you think about this chapter?

Elements used in this chapter:

Darth Vader's castle (though in this story it does look a little bit different); Rokarian dirt fish ; Rokarian dirt-fish fillet sandwich ; Massassi blossom tea ; Aurean Vulture ; Nerfsteak sandwich .

Kylo's believe in controlling the lesser/weaker beings - canon fact; 

Rey's green dress from this chapter ;

Kylo Ren using the Force to offer Rey a sandwich (I hope you will like the parallel);

And I will explain here why Rey was irritated with Kylo Ren when she went to see him. In this story Rokarian dirth fish it's an expensive food that not many could afford. So when Rey saw that Kylo had Rokarian dirt-fish fillet sandwiches on his tray table she got irritated because she is against the richness of the upper class of the First Order while so many people are starving in the galaxy.

Also if there are enough eager people I could write one-shots for this fic with moments that didn't make it in the final version of the chapter (for example here I could write an one shot about how Uthar Ren agrees to let Rey sleep in the antechamber in front of Kylo's bedroom).

Feel free to leave a review.

Until next time!

Chapter Text

Special thanks to my beta-reader Chridder for helping me out with this.

Special thanks to Darkangel4066 for making this moodboard for me.

Kylo Ren was content. For once in Force knows how long, someone was happy being around him, namely Rey.

Ever since Rey visited him a week ago, when he offered her a sandwich, their relationship changed. Following their discussion, Kylo decided in what direction their relationship should go. It was clear to him that Snoke's teachings won't work with Rey.

She was brave and resilient, able to withstand the most difficult situations, possibly even torture. Then there was a small side of him that was appalled at ever using Snoke's teachings on Rey.

So both him and Rey silently agreed that whenever they spent time together, they would not talk about their different ideologies, to have a relationship of mutual respect.

Also, unbeknownst to Rey, she earned a little bit of trust from him after he found out that she brought him back and later returned his lightsaber.

Anyway, she has visited him every day since then. She would talk about small tidbits from her childhood, space ships or mechanical stuff.

Strange enough was the fact that he started to look forward to every time she came by.

He liked to listen to the sound of her voice. It had a calming effect on him. Two times he even fell asleep listening to her talk.

Then, out of the blue he asked her if she had ever gone to the opera.

"No," was her curtly answer.

Well, that won't do. He needed to rectify that. So he extended an invitation to her to came with him to the opera.

After some reluctance, she accepted the invitation. During their viewing of the Squid Lake ballet, Rey kept touching his forearm or his hand unconsciously when she got excited about a certain part of the ballet.

And her face...he never saw someone smiling so broadly with him around. He never paid attention to her face before. While Rey was watching the ballet intensely, he was studying her face through the visor of his mask. He wanted to imprint the details of her face in his memory, to remember her like this in one of the rare moments that she smiled with him by her side.

At the end of the ballet, Rey was reluctant to leave, and to be honest, he wasn't too eager to leave either.

So when Rey asked him if he would like to accompany her in a late night stroll, he nodded in acceptance. So Rey grabbed his hand and began to drag him to all of her favorite spots in Coruscant.

Then he asked her to come back with him to the castle. He wanted to show her his face.

As a sign of his trust. Not completely, yet, no. She and Ken were still under suspicion of being in cohorts with the Resistance. But he wanted to let her know that by saving his life and returning his lightsaber to him, she earned some of his trust, that those things meant something to him.

So here he was, back at his castle, waiting for Rey to return.

Rey was in the bathroom trying to make herself a little presentable before she returned so Kylo could show her the surprise he had for her.

She would never again wear a dress during late night stroll. She decided to wear a simple, yet elegant blue dress for the ballet.

But it was a poor decision. Not only her dress got wrinkled, but also it didn't offer her protection against the cool air of the night.

While walking with Kylo, she began to shiver due to the cool air of the night.

Then to her utter surprise, Kylo pulled her back against his chest and covered the both of them with his cloak in a tight embrace. She felt warm against his chest and her cheeks reddened like a tomato in embarassment.

They returned to the castle late in the night where Kylo told her that he had a surprise for her. Then she used the toilet excuse to get away from him.

Her heart was raging because of him and she needed to clear her head before facing him. She didn't know what she was feeling, but she knew that her feelings for Kylo started to change.

Did she saw him as an ally? As a confidante? As a friend? Could she ever hope to lo...

But she never finished her line of thought because a brown gloved hand covered her mouth.

"Don't scream!" a female voice whispered in her ear like an command.

"I only want to get to Kylo Ren," she added gravely.

Rey was terrified. The night that Kylo decided to give a free day to most of the stormtroopers and his knights, leaving only a skeleton guard to watch over the premises, an intruder decided to sneak into the castle.

Then she felt something cold being pressed to her throat — a knife.

"Be a good girl and lead me to Kylo Ren. And don't do anything stupid," the woman warned Rey.

Then the both of them started to move from the bathroom towards the hallway.

Rey realized what this woman intended to do if she got to Kylo Ren. She wanted to kill him. And she choose the perfect moment to do so. Kylo was still recovering from his wounds. Rey knew that she needed to slow the woman down before the both of them got to Kylo.

So she began to slow her pace.

"Walk faster!" the woman demanded.

"I can't... the dress..." Rey mumbled.

Then Rey saw a red light glowing at the end of the hallway. Kylo Ren was in front of them.

"I don't know who you are, but if I were I you I would let her go," the mechanical voice of Kylo Ren billowed through the hallway.

"You really don't recognize me, do you?" the woman asked with mock hurt while taking the hand that was on Rey's mouth and removing the hood from her head, revealing black hair and hazel eyes.

Recognition lit in Kylo Ren’s eyes, and animosity in his heart.

"So we meet again, Landa Solo," Kylo Ren added with venom in his voice.

Author notes:

This chapter is the other one that I wanted to post on 20th October.

So I suppose the rabbit it's out of the bag, now. 

The two women, Garma and the newly revealed, Landa, that appeared in the previous chapter, Rendezvous, are in fact Kylo Ren's half sisters and half sisters to each other (more about their background and who their mothers are in the following chapters).

Elements used in this chapter: Squid Lake ballet (I hope you all like the parallel);

The model for Rey's blue dress .

What do you think about this chapter?

Did you suspected that Landa and Garma were related to Kylo Ren?

Feel free to leave a review.

Until next time!

Chapter Text

Special thanks to my beta-reader Chridder for helping me out with this.

Special thanks to Darkangel4066 for making this moodboard for me.

”Landa Solo?" Rey asked herself dumbfounded.

Was she Kylo's sister?

Rey knew that Kylo had other siblings. She’d met Jaina and Anakin ,once, after Han died, but not Landa. She’d never even heard anything about her.

Rey didn't know what was about to happen, but she knew she’d do everything in her power to stop the two of them from killing each other.

While this was going on through Rey's mind, Landa considered her next move very carefully. She knew that in normal circumstances, she wouldn't stand a chance against her older half brother.

When it came to midi-chlorians, he had a higher count than her. Even when they were Luke's students, there were feats that he was able to do so easily while she struggled for months or was unable to. But right now she had an advantage.

Kylo was wounded and there was a slim chance she could survive this encounter. Or at least to take him down with her.

"Why are you doing this? You know you don't have a chance against me, so why would you want to throw your life away?" Kylo asked with coldness.

"Because you killed my father and Tai! The man I loved!" Landa replied with venom in her voice.

Her words cut him deep. Even now he was haunted by killing his father. As for Tai, he was his only friend he ever had. His death was the final straw that pushed him to the dark side. Had Tai lived, maybe he wouldn't have become a monster.

"You're right. I killed both of them and I enjoyed it!" Kylo added with glee.

If everyone thought he was a monster, he might as well play the part.

"And I will let you on another secret. After you ran away, Tai found solace pretty fast in Voe's arms. So I doubt that he loved you at all!"

Deflection and derision. To keep at bay and off balance. These were Kylo Ren's tactics.

And he didn't have to wait long for Landa to come straight at him.

In a fit of rage, Landa Force pushed Rey to the side and threw the knife that was at Rey's throat in Kylo's direction to distract him. And with a fierce cry, she activated her purple lightsaber and went straight for him.

Kylo Ren was thrilled at the prospect of a fight. It has been too long since he fought against someone, so anyone would do, even his half younger sister. Even if she wasn't Kira Palpatine.

Soon their fight, which up to that moment was block, pivot and slash attempts, became a game of brute strength,of who will be able to push their lightsabers against the throat of the opponent.

Landa was losing energy fast, so she made a split-second decision to fight dirty. She raised one of her hands from her light saber, seemingly to use a Force push against Kylo Ren with him mimicking her move to counterattack.

And that's when she pulled another knife from her sleeve and slashed him across the chest where the space wolves had wounded him. Then for good measure, she kicked him in the same area and jumped a few feet away.

Kylo staggered for a moment due to the shock of the attack and because some of his wounds reopened and he could feel the blood soaking his bandages.

He had enough of this fight, so he outstretched his hand and used Force choke on Landa. She brought her hands to her throat, clawing at the invisible hands choking her.

Her lightsaber dropped off, sliding across Force knows where.

Then he started taking small, menacing steps towards her until he got in front of her.

"You made a fool out of me long enough. Now you can join Han Solo on the other side!" Kylo added, venom lacing his words as he raised his light saber for the killing blow.

But raising his lightsaber was all he did. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a purple light next to his throat.

Then he turned his head slightly behind and saw Rey holding the purple lightsaber.

"Let her go or I'll chop your head off!" Rey commanded firmly.

To say he felt betrayed at that moment would be an understatement. For a moment, his mind went black with a blinding pain. The very first person in a very long time he thought had his back, the one he almost died for... wanted to kill him.

Rey was watching frozen in fear the fight between Kylo Ren and Landa, waiting for an opening so that she could put a stop to the fight.

When Landa's light saber slided closer to her, she seized the chance. She took the lightsaber and very slowly and silently went behind Kylo, hoping against all the odds that her next move will stop him from killing his sister in cold blood. She had no intention of hurting him.

Unfortunately, her plan didn't work so well.

The moment she used an empty threat against him, all the windows from the hallway shattered and in one swift move Kylo turned around and knocked out the purple lightsaber from her hands using his.

Then she started taking small steps away from him with him coming very slowly towards her.

Rey felt the anger and darkness that were leaking off Kylo in waves. She realized in that moment that he could kill her off for good this time, just like he almost killed Ken a while back.

She was so terrified of him that the moment Kylo got in front of her, only inches away separating their bodies, she passed out in fright.

The moment Rey's body began to slump forward, falling into his chest, his rage cooled and all that remained was shame and emptiness.

He looked back at his sister who was still in the Force choke and used the Force to put her to sleep.

After summoning two stormtroopers to put his sister in a cell, he retrieved the purple lightsaber and carried Rey in his arms in one of the guest rooms.

He knew one thing for sure.The fragile trust that was between him and Rey was now fractured.

Rey felt so warm and safe sitting in front of the fireplace with Ken while he was trying to teach her how to read. All was well until the black-clad figure of Kylo Ren came and impaled Ken from behind through the chest with his lightsaber.

Rey awoke with a gasp and noticed she was laying in a bed, a blanket drawn over her and her slippers missing from her feet.

Almost immediately she noticed the form of Kylo Ren slumped in a chair at the bottom of the bed, looking at her as she was asleep.

"Pleasant dreams?" he asked mockingly.

"Not really, no," Rey answered curtly while she pulled her knees to her chest, trying to put distance between herself and her betrothed.

"Why I'm still here?" Rey asked with hesitation, afraid that her question will set him off again.

"Isn't obvious? You passed out and I brought you here waiting for you to wake up, " Kylo replied with disdain, like she was an annoyance for him. Gone was his gentle side that she saw it in the last few days.

In the silence that followed, Rey stared at him, wondering if he understood what she meant by her question or if he was playing dumb, to lull her into a false sense of security and then...

He titled his head in her direction as if she had just spoken aloud. Panic flared in the pit of her stomach at Kylo reading more than just these thoughts.

"If I wanted you dead, I would have killed you already," Kylo added sharply.

"Unlike you, I'm no coward attacking people from behind."

Rey had it. She wasn't about to back down and let Kylo misunderstand her actions.

"I had no intention of harming you, Ben Solo ! I just wanted to stop you from making another mistake. One that could haunt you for life!" Rey shouted, enraged.

But that was the wrong thing to say because as soon as Rey finished her sentence, Kylo was upon her hitting the headboard with his fist strong enough that he left a dent right next to her head.

"I don't know nor care how you know that name but if you ever utter it in my presence again, I will make sure that you will suffer dearly, lady Kenobi!" Kylo bellowed menacingly. His mask only a few centimetres away from her face.

But his threat didn't deter Rey in the slightest. Maybe it was the adrenaline or something else that pushed her forward, but Rey kept her line of questioning while looking where she thought his eyes were.

"What happened to your sister? Did you kill her?" Rey asked in a whisper.

"You really don't know when to shut up, don’t you?" Kylo asked, shaking with anger.

Rey smirked as if to mock him.

"Kill me and be done with it," Rey replied calmly.

But instead of falling for her ruse Kylo replied to her.

"She's alive. For now."

Rey let out a breath in relief. Landa was still alive, but she then realized that most probably Landa will be tortured and executed later.

"What will happen to her?" Rey asked concerned.

"That depends on whether you will accept my proposal or not," Kylo added in barely contained anger.

"What proposal?" Rey asked with curiosity.

Author notes:

First of all I want to apologize for taking me so long to update. 

I hope you liked the little tidbits about Landa Solo.

So what do you think about this chapter?

Also I want to let you all know that the next chapter will be released somewhere in 2021.

And this being said I want to wish you all: Merry Christmas!

Feel free to leave a review.

Until next time!

Chapter Text

Special thanks to my beta-reader Everren for helping me out with this chapter.

Special thanks to Darkangel4066 for making this moodboard for me.

I know I said in the chapter, Past and Present, that the only flashbacks that would appear in such a long length will be how Rey got to Starkiller Base and how the fight between her and Kylo went there. 

Well, it was wrong of me to assume so. Because in order to understand the characters' motivations, another round of flashbacks was necessary.

So I hope you will not be upset about this whole chapter being flashbacks. 😅

7 ABY – Coruscant

A little time has passed since midnight. The fangs of the winds tear at the outside of the buildings, and only a few poor souls are brave enough to be out walking through such weather. The majority prefer to stay in, drinking their caf or tea while watching the holotelevision, relaxing in the peacefulness of their homes. But not everyone can enjoy the night.

In an apartment located on a top floor in Galactic City, Leia shifts on the couch, drifting in and out of a fitful sleep.

After putting her toddler son and her stepdaughter to sleep and feeding her newborn twins, she had lain down on the couch to wait for her husband to come home from one of his missions. She would have gladly gone with him if it weren't for the kids.

Soon, her restless sleep is interrupted by loud footsteps entering the living room.
She doesn't move from her spot on the couch immediately, her drowsy gaze taking in the disheartened form of her husband and the bundle that he holds against his chest.

At the sight of it, she jumps from the couch as if burned.
"Han, what's that?!"

"It's a long story," comes his weary reply.

Leia is shaking with anger by the time Han finishes telling the story.

How dare they do this?  Going so low in their attempt to discredit her as a politician?
It could result in her losing her political position. And to leave a child without her mother?

She won't let the Remnant of the Empire get away with this.
But the baby girl Han has brought back is an innocent victim, not a weapon.

Maybe her maternal instincts are heightened, or maybe she recalls the love she’d received from her own adoptive parents, but Leia knows, in that moment, she isn't going to abandon the baby.
She wants to give this child the same kind of loving family as Breha and Bail Organa had given her.

"What do we do now?" Han asks her in an apprehensive tone.
"Well, of course, we will keep her. She’s your daughter, after all. I could care less, that she was created in a laboratory using your DNA and Qi’ra's. She stays right here. So you better pick out a name for her, handsome!" Leia replies with a smile.

"Landa".

10 ABY - Coruscant

Ben holds on tight to the back of his older sister's tunic in a futile attempt to stop her from leaving.
"Don't go, Garma!" he pleads.

His sister removes his hands from her back, then turns around to face him, tucking her auburn hair behind her ear.
"Nothing would make me happier than to be able to stay, Ben. Unfortunately, our parents decided that it's better for me to go with our uncle to learn to control my powers," she replies with a sigh.

"But... but..." he splutters in desperation.
"Please, Ben. Don't make this harder than it already is. I need to go!" Garma says. Her voice is stern, but Ben sees tears start to fall down her cheeks as she turns to walk away through the door,  leaving him behind.

"Don't go! I don't want to face the voice alone!" he says in a broken, shaky voice to the spot where his sister had been a moment before.

28 ABY - Jedi Temple

Landa sits on a rock on the shore, her feet dipped in the water of the lake, enjoying the cold breeze that blows through her black locks. Next to her, a bald, blue-eyed young man looks out toward the horizon.
"It's so calm and peaceful here," she reflects quietly.

"It is,” he agrees.
“The galaxy is in turmoil, but here we have our own sanctuary. Devoid of war, devoid of violence."

"Tai, when we become full-fledged Jedi, would you like to travel with me? Helping other planets?" she asks, her face growing hot.

"Silly, you know that wherever you go, I will go," he says as he leans in for a kiss.

"You lied to me! You and my parents lied to me!"
"Ben, this wasn't my secret to tell. Your mother wanted to tell you so many times, but she thought you weren't mature enough to stand it," Luke says with a sigh.

"Not mature enough?! I'm twenty-three. When I was supposed to be mature enough to find out that my grandfather was Darth Vader?!
"At least I wasn't the only one kept in the dark,” he adds with coldness.
“It seems that your children and my siblings didn't know about this either."

"About that..." Luke says, massaging his temples.
"Can you call your siblings and cousins here?"

"What did you just say?" Landa asks with a grave voice, shock etched all over her face.

"You were adopted,” Luke repeats patiently.
“Your biological father is Han Solo and you were created in a laboratory, with genetic samples from him and an old flame of his, Qi’ra, in a bid to discredit Leia as a political figure."

"So all this time, all these years, I believed I was a human being, while in reality, all I’ve ever been was a discarded experiment? Does that mean that everything I’ve felt up until now wasn't real? That everything was a lie?"
Her voice shakes as tears roll down her cheeks.

Luke doesn't offer any word of comfort, just looks down. And how could he comfort her? He has never faced this kind of situation.

So when Landa runs out the door, the first one to react to her distress is her sister, Jaina.

Soon after Jaina has left the room, her brothers start after them, only for Garma's stern voice to stop them in their tracks.
"Don't! She needs comfort from someone her own age who’s close to her. And as far as I'm concerned, you boys aren't what she needs right now.

"As for you, uncle, I'm letting you know that I can't stay no more,” she adds with determination.
“It's true that I'm the only one who knew the truth about my origins. I know that my mother, Bria Tharen, died in the battle of Scarif. But I can't stand by a man who keeps his own relatives in the dark and acts so cold while revealing sensitive information."

Far away from the huts, in the green meadow, Tai sits alone on a rock wondering if he made the right decision.
A few days before, some of the students had left. Among them was Landa, the girl he has feelings for.

The day after she’d found out about her origins, she, together with Garma, Garma’s boyfriend, Kyp Durron, and Luke Skywalker's daughter, Beru, had packed up a ship and flown away from the Jedi temple.

Landa had asked him to go with her, but he’d refused. He wanted to become a full-fledged Jedi before leaving. To say she’d been disappointed was an understatement. She had shaken with anger, so much so that some of the things from her hut floated in the air. And they hadn't parted on a good note; Landa had slapped him.

He is so lost in his thoughts, that he doesn’t hear a pair of footsteps coming up from behind, so when another student sits on the rock next to him, he almost has a heart attack.
"Oh, it's only you, Voe".

"Are you still bummed about Landa's departure?" Voe asks, looking worried.

"Yes. I mean, I always imagined we would become Jedi knights together, and then help others," Tai says in a melancholic voice.

"I respect Master Skywalker. I always will. But he does have too many skeletons in the closet... too many secrets. Not only did he keep things from his own flesh and blood, he also kept stuff from his students. The twins are still trying to come to terms with the revelation that their father and grandfather were inquisitors," he continues with a sigh.

"Oh, Tai..." Voe replies softly as she hugs him.

From afar, an unseen witness watches the exchange with dismay.

28 ABY - The night of the destruction of the Jedi temple

A month has passed since Landa’s departure. Things had gone back to relative normalcy, or as close to normalcy as could be when tensions were running so high that they could be cut with a knife.
But everything must come to an end, one way or another.

Jaina is sleeping soundly in her room when suddenly she is overcome with pain, fear and a deep sadness, so strong that it wakes her up with a gasp.

The first thing she does is shake awake the other girls in the room, that on that night joined her for a sleepover. She tells them to take their lightsabers and get out as quickly as possible. Then she goes to check on Jacen and Anakin, but both rooms are empty. Seeing this, she joins the others, hoping that her relatives are alright.

No sooner than she and the other girls get outside, the Jedi temple and huts erupt into flame, set ablaze with an almighty crack that rings out like thunder.
The last thing she sees, before the force of the explosion knocks her and the others out, is thick, black smoke billowing up into the night.

"Jaina! Jaina... open your eyes!" a worried voice calls out to her.
Even though her gaze is still blurry, Jaina recognizes the person calling her name.

"Anakin... What happened? Where are Jacen and Ben? Where are the other students?" Jaina asks with a weak voice.

"Jacen is trying to keep the other students calm. We don't know where Ben is. We were hoping you would wake up so we could look for him. As for the others, beside the ones that were with you, me and Jacen, I don't think anyone survived," Anakin says with sadness.

Jaina’s heart breaks at hearing the fate of the other students, but right now isn’t the time for mourning. She still needs to make sure her older brother is alright, so despite her dizziness, she gets up, ready to look for him. She isn't worried for her uncle. She knows he can handle himself.

When Jaina and her group get to the place where Ben's Force signature glows like a beacon, they are relieved to see that they weren't the only students that survived. But Ben's reply, when they hear Tai ask about the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker, shakes them to their core.

"He attacked me, Tai. Tried to kill me in my sleep. And now he's dead," Ben says with cold indifference.
"That cannot be. Master Skywalker would never hurt any of us," Voe growls.
"And you, Ben Solo, could never..."

But Voe never finishes her sentence.
"Ben, tell me this isn’t true!” Jaina interrupts.
“Why would our uncle do such a thing?"

Tai, Voe, Hennix and Ben all turn their heads towards her. Tai and his teammates are ecstatic to see that there are survivors, beside themselves, but Ben keeps an aloof attitude.
"Our sister asked you a question!" Jacen yells, igniting his green lightsaber and taking a fighting stance.

"You want to pick up a fight with me, little brother? You think you're stronger than me?" Ben asks with irritation.
Voe, Tai and Hennix turn on their lightsabers, too. Anakin hesitates, looking torn.

"So this is the way it is?” Ben snaps.
“You three believe you could beat me, but you know what? Even if Skywalker made us act like we were equal, you all know the truth. Me, Jacen, Jaina, Anakin and Skywalker's children, we were this temple prize's students!

"I only want to leave. But if it’s a fight you’re looking for, I would be glad to give it to you.”
As Ben finishes talking, several things happen at once. Voe makes a jump, using the Force, in order to attack him from above, even if Tai screams at her to stop. And Jacen darts in for a frontal attack.

Ben stops Voe in midair and pushes her into Hennix. Then he parries Jacen's attack. Their lightsabers lock together, each of them pushing against one another. But neither of them gives way until they both use the Force to shove one another back, separating them for now.

"You are strong, Jacen. You should come with me. We would be unstoppable," Ben says in a pleading tone.
"He is not going anywhere with you!" Jaina replies angrily, pointing her purple lightsaber in Ben's direction.

"Jacen might not go with him, but I would," says a young man with black hair and green eyes named Zekk.
"And us, too!"

Jaina’s eyes widen. She can hardly believe what she’s hearing.
One after another, the students that want to follow Ben rally behind him. Arecelis, Deke, Rosh, Zekk, Harlan...

“Why are you doing this?" both Anakin and Jaina ask at the same time.

"We owe you no answer!" replies Harlan acidly.
"Jaina, just give up. We're all adults here. You should take care of your concussion, instead of trying to be the boss and telling us what to do," says Zekk with coldness.

"I'm not letting any of you get away," Jaina says, setting her jaw as she begins to walk towards them.
She only manages to take a few steps forward before her cousin-by-adoption, Druna, screams. Jaina turns her head towards her, only to see her collapsed unconscious on the ground.
Then she feels something hit the back of her head, before she, too, for a second time that night, loses her consciousness.

When Jaina comes about in a medical bay on one of the ships owned by the Jedi temple, her brother Anakin has puffy red eyes from crying. She asks him what happened. Anakin tells her that Ben used the Force to hit them with debris and that she was hit by a rock. Druna is awake but still weak. Anakin suspects she’s ill with something. 

Tai, Hennix and Voe went after Ben when he escaped. Jacen, Tahiri and Nelani are also gone. And their uncle, who seemingly survived, has left them on their own. 

Jaina is glad of Anakin’s company. They huddle together until their aunt, Mara, and their cousin return from their mission and take them to Coruscant.

Author notes:

First of all I want to apologize for taking me so long to update.

Also one of my ideas for this chapter was for Ben Skywalker and Ben Solo to have a showdown regarding Luke's death but I realized that it would be too confusing since the both of them are called Ben.

So what do you think about this chapter?

Elements and characters used in this chapter:

Holotelevision ; Galactic City ; Remnant of the Empire (based heavily on the attached article); Caf ; Battle of Scarif ;

Qi'ra ; Bria Tharen ; Rosh Penin ( Haazen Ren); Zekk ( Kaan Ren); Harlan ( Harth Ren); Tahiri Veila ; Nelani Dinn ; Kyp Durron ;

Beru Skywalker (OC character) it's Camie and Luke's daughter;

Deke (male) and Arecelis Astin - female (OC characters) aka Hu'al Ren and Dathka Ren are the twins siblings mentioned in this chapter.  Their parents are Fable Astin and Jaalib Brandl ;

Druna ( OC character) it's the female cousin-by-adoption of the Solo-Organa-Skywalker siblings. Her parents are Neena (who in EU was Leia's adopted sister like Winter) and Drun Cairnwick .

The destruction of the Jedi temple and the afterwards was heavily inspired from The Rise of Kylo Ren comic series.

Also, recently I discovered that Han Solo was quite the womanizer. He had around 12 love interests ( EU and canon universe combined.... Leia included). So who knows?

Maybe other children of Han Solo will spawn later on in this fic. 🤣 😂 

Feel free to leave a review.

Until next time!

Chapter Text

Special thanks to my beta-reader Everren for helping me out with this chapter.

Special thanks to Darkangel4066 for making this moodboard for me.

Straight back, shoulders high, stiff arms outstretched forward, legs slightly apart.
Followed by a swing of her lightsaber that cut the boulder in front of her in half.
That was how Rey started her morning yet again.
Ever since leaving Coruscant after her quarrel with Kylo Ren — one that had sent her running to Ahch-To, where she planned to stay until a week before her wedding—that was how she usually started her mornings.
It was Rey's way of letting off steam. She’d never taken Kylo Ren for a swine, but it seemed her expectations had been too high.
She didn't know with whom she was more disgusted: with Kylo for his proposition or with herself for accepting it.

But what other choice had she, anyway?
If she hadn’t accepted, Landa's life would have been forfeited.
Regardless, her opinion of her soon-to-be husband was at the lowest it had ever been. He’d only proved to her that he was no different from other men she’d encountered on Jakku.
How she wished her thoughts weren't consumed by him... to be able to simply forget about his existence. Easier said than done since she had a Force connection with him. One she couldn't explain.
With no other objects left to destroy in her attempts to get rid of her rage, Rey decided to practise lightsaber forms.
She was so focused on her forms that she lost track of time. But she was calmer, at least.

Unfortunately, the concentration had allowed her mental shields to slip, so when she turned around mid-exercise, she was forced to deflect a parry from none other than Kylo Ren.
They both froze in shock, their lightsabers locked together, looking at each other, Rey through her goggles and Kylo through the visor of his mask.
"Kira?"
That was all it took to snap Rey from her stupor. Defense turned to frenzied attack. She didn't care that her movements were sloppy. She only wanted to make Kylo Ren suffer— maybe hurt him again as she had on Starkiller Base.
Kylo Ren made no move to attack her in turn, only defended himself against her onslaught. It only made her madder.
Soon enough, though, Rey's fury offered Kylo an opening. One that he didn't let slip through his fingers.
And so, the tables were turned. Rey was the one who found a lightsaber pointed at her throat, this time around. The hand in which she held her own lightsaber was pushed to her side, her wrist held in place by her enemy in an iron grip.
She didn't struggle. She didn't beg. She only waited for Kylo Ren to act, to do something. Anything.
"How is this even possible?" Kylo asked with bewilderment as he deactivated his lightsaber and attached it to his belt, his other hand still holding her wrist in place.

Rey's eyes widened behind her goggles. She hadn't expected this.
She was his enemy, wasn't she? So then why...?
As if reading her thoughts, Kylo replied in a calm voice.
"I have no desire to kill you. I only want to understand why the Force connected us."
And with that he vanished out of existence. Right in front of her. The only proof to him being there was the imprint he’d left on Rey's wrist.

Landa sat on the floor with her back against the cold wall and her knees pressed against her chest.
She wondered if the Resistance was able to evacuate in time, if her family was alright. But her main worry was Rey. She didn't know what had happened to her after she fainted.
But her time dwelling on her thoughts was cut short by her cell door being unlocked.
"So, the Jedi killer decided to finally show his face!" Landa said as she spat at his feet.

Rey stretched out on her blanket, watching the starry sky above. Ahch-To was one of the few planets Rey knew about with such a clear sky, where stars could be seen every night.
Watching the stars in the sky was what relaxed her most on this planet. Luke... well... Luke... she wished she’d never met him. So much for a wise teacher. He was a relic of the past that she would rather avoid.
As for the other inhabitants... well they had been pissed off with her since she’d destroyed some of their huts during her training. And since then, they tended to avoid her. So stargazing had become the only activity that brought her any kind of joy. She didn’t feel so alone when she looked out at a galaxy teeming with life.
She closed her eyes for one moment, allowing the Force of the island to flow through her. And that was when she felt it—a disturbance in the Force.

In seconds, she was on her feet. A moment later, she sensed Kylo Ren standing behind her.
"What do you want, Ren? Don't you have lives to destroy?!"
Disdain spilled from Rey's voice.
Instead of answering her question, he pressed on with one of his own. "You were the one who gave me that glass of water that time, weren't you?" Kylo uttered, puzzled. "And then you...”
"Don't mistake my kindness for anything more than common decency!" Rey replied acidly as she turned around to face him.
"I didn't know that kindness included caressing the lips of your supposed enemy," Kylo snorted.
Rey's face flushed hot, no doubt turning as red as a tomato behind her mask. Back then, she had only been curious about what her soon-to-be husband looked like and had wanted to offer him comfort. But it seemed Kylo had mistaken her actions for something else.

Flustered, she remembered something she’d once seen in a holodrama.
"Did she just flirt with him? In her attempt to comfort him, did she just...?
She was so focused on her own embarrassing thoughts that she didn't notice Kylo moving closer, towering over her. Only when the light of the moon was shadowed by his hulking form did she realize how close he had come.
"Get away!" Rey shouted in a warning tone.
"Or what? You'll brand me with other scars?" Kylo replied with coldness.

His answer made Rey stop dead in her tracks.
Was this the reason he never removed his mask? Had she disfigured him on Starkiller base?
She felt a wave of shame wash over her.
Before she could come up with a reply, however, the Force cut their connection short, once again.

"You can't do this! Leave her out of this! Just kill me and be done with it!" Landa shouted angrily.
"I can and I will. She was the one to accept this bargain in the first place. Just to save your miserable and pathetic life," Kylo replied with disdain.
"If you go through with it, Rey will hate you forever. You'll have a wife, but she will never grow to love you," Landa reasoned in a beseeching tone, trying to appeal to his common sense.

"Love?! Love?! What need do I have for such a weakness?!" Kylo yelled, while the only chair in the cell hit the wall with a clatter.
Landa recoiled, terrified. When and how had her brother changed into such a heartless monster?
"I hope you die a painful death, oh almighty Kylo Ren, the destroyer of lives!" Landa yelled with hate.

"I care not about your wishes for me. You better prepare yourself. Like I mentioned earlier, you're to become the wife of the general of the First Order, Armitage Hux." Kylo’s voice was full of sick satisfaction.
With a last sneer, he slammed the door, leaving Landa alone in her cell with only her thoughts to keep her company.

She fell into a heap on the floor and started to scream and cry in anguish. For herself. For Rey.

"Why do you hide behind a mask? Is it because of the wounds I caused you?" Rey asked, remorse in her voice.
"So, I'm not the creature in the mask any longer?" Kylo Ren asked in an almost teasing tone.

Rey huffed at his reply and crossed her arms over her chest.
"You're so pretty when you get annoyed," Kylo added with a chuckle.
"Anyway, I could ask you the same thing. You should be proud about who you are, not hide away in shame."

Rey’s eyebrows rose as it finally clicked: the true reason he hid behind a mask.
"You're one to talk. That’s exactly what you’re doing, isn’t it? Hiding your true self!"

His answer was to put his hands to the sides of his mask, seemingly to take it off.
Rey's eyes widened behind her mask. Realizing what his intention was, she stopped him.
He had only managed to pull it off halfway, just his chin and mouth visible, before a pair of small hands stilled his movement.
"Please stop. Put it back on. I..." Rey said in a pleading tone.
She wanted ardently to see his face. But she wanted him to show it to her as Rey, her true self, not as Kira, an impostor.
Kylo silently complied with her request.

"Can you see my surroundings? I can't see yours."
Rey wasn't about to let him off the hook so easily. This was, maybe, the only opportunity she had to learn more about him.
So instead of replying to his question, she aksed:
"Why did you hate your father?"

No answer. Where, before, his Force signature had been calm, now it was slowly becoming erratic.
If Rey had learned anything about Kylo Ren in the short amount of time she’d spent with him, it was that he was prone to temper tantrums when he needed to face hard truths. So she pressed on.
"Why did you hate your father? Give me an honest answer!"

Instead of answering her, Kylo kept looking at her hands. They were still pressed against his right forearm, even though he’d lowered his arm.
"You had a father who loved you! Who gave a damn about you!"
"I didn't hate him," Kylo replied in a whisper.
"Then why?!” Rey asked, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

Before Kylo could provide an answer, a second male voice called out to Rey from one of the huts.
"You should really get inside. It’s cold tonight."
Rey and Kylo both turned their heads towards the source of the voice, one in shock, the other in pure anger and hate.
"I should have known you're with Luke Skywalker. Does he know you're a Palpatine?!"
"Of course he knows," Rey replied calmly.
"And you're still alive? How odd..." Kylo mused icily.
"What do you mean by that?"

"Did he tell you what happened the night his temple was destroyed?"
Rey blinked, a small frown creasing her brow.
"So he didn't. Well then, Kira Palpatine, let me share with you the answers you seek."
Kylo grabbed one of her hands and lifted it to the forehead of his mask.

"Read my mind and see for yourself. There are no lies in here."
Rey swallowed and did as asked.

Rey felt cold to the core. After what Kylo Ren revealed to her, she confronted Luke Skywalker about it and he admitted the ugly truth: he’d had a moment of weakness in which he’d been influenced by Snoke to do what he did.
She realized then that Ben Solo had been pushed to the dark side. And she understood why he’d come up with such an abhorrent proposition. He thought everyone had betrayed him, and he was capable of doing anything to ensure he wouldn't feel alone anymore. Even to...
Rey promised to herself that she would be kinder and gentler with him.

If she really wanted to bring Ben Solo back, she first needed to prove to Kylo Ren that he wasn't alone.

End of part I

Author notes: 

So for this chapter I didn't use any new elements or characters with the exception of holodrama .

As for changing Luke's motivation for thinking about killing his own nephew here it's a more suitable explanation than the crap offered in TLJ : better explanation ( I loved TLJ but when it came to the Luke's reason for doing what he did, I hated it...it sucked... so I will go with the explanation offered in the video..it does makes more sense/have more logic to me).

I hope you all liked the punishment Landa will soon face. 

Also I hope you liked the Force bonds between Kylo Ren and Kira.

So what do you think about this chapter?

Feel free to leave a review.

Until next time!

Chapter Text

Special thanks to my beta-readers Meauxwalk , Nixcomix, MotherKat and Seasonalstress for helping me out with this chapter.

Special thanks to Darkangel4066 for making this moodboard for me.

Part II

It was a somber day on Coruscant. Dark clouds adorned the sky, accompanied by a sweep of strong, cold winds.

Regardless of the weather though, today was a big day. Today was the day when the union between the Jedi killer and Lady Kenobi was about to take place. As well as the union between the general of the First Order and the traitor would-be assassin.

After hours of preparations, Rey was finally alone in her room. She still couldn't believe how quickly the time flew by. It seemed only like yesterday that she found out that she needed to marry Kylo Ren. Now here she was, about to finally do it. Her feelings regarding this were mixed. On one hand, she hoped against all odds that maybe she would be able to turn him from the dark side. On the other hand, she still dreaded the fact that she needed to uphold her promise to Kylo. A promise that made her recoil in disgust.

Funny how things turned out. After Ken found her, Rey always imagined her wedding day would be a happy one, not a sorrowful one. Even the weather reflected her mood.

The ceremonial room was small for a select number of guests, furnished only with the bare necessities for the occasion. 

Only a few officials of the First Order, the Knights of Ren and some members of the Dark Disciples were present so far. In a corner, Kylo Ren stood with his arms crossed, watching everyone present. Observing them in silence. Trying to gauge their feelings. It's the only thing that distracted him, that offered him somewhat of a comfort. Before his fate is sealed.

He still hopes against all odds that Rey made a run for it.

Harlan, better known by others as Harth Ren, was really irate. She hated to be out in public at open events full of strangers. Especially wearing formal clothing such as a dress and makeup.

She also hated the she needed to stay on civil terms with the Dark Disciples and the first six original knights of Ren.

And she wasn't the only one who felt that way. The other knights of Ren of her faction felt the same way in regards to original faction and the Dark Disciples.

But all of them swore an oath to Kylo to stay by his side and support him no matter what.Even if that included participating in formal events such as this.

Kylo was about to implode. The ceremony would start any minute now, and Rey hasn't shown up yet. Mitaka came by a little earlier and told him that she was on her way.
What was taking her so long? All that he wanted was for this farce to be over with.

But all his worries and doubts dissipated into thin air the moment he saw Rey.

The moment Rey entered the ceremony room, all the eyes turned in her direction, scrutinizing her.

She tried to avoid all distrustful, critical and cold stares as her uncle Tao led her down the aisle. She tried to think about anything else in order to appear full of confidence and sure of herself. To seem strong, when all that she wanted was to run away.

During her walk down the aisle, Rey noticed Landa and general Hux to Kylo’s left side. Hux was pouting while Landa, wearing a burgundy dress, heels, and Force suppressors, was emotionless, her face cold as stone. 

Rey felt sorry for the woman and wished she could have done more. She knew all too well the feeling of having to marry someone you didn’t love.

The moment Rey left her uncle's arm and got in front of Kylo, all thoughts flew from his mind. All he could do was admire Rey. Even if this was a sorrowful event, she still tried to look the best she could. She could have dressed in plain clothes in order to embarrass him, but instead she did the opposite.
She had a dark red inner tunic, a long light green scout-like outer tunic that reached to her knees, light grey Tabards, brown sash, beige pants and dark brown boots.

Her hair was arranged elegantly and yet simple in a pull-through braid hairstyle, adorned with a silver tiara and some kind of white pearl dangling in the middle of her forehead. In her hands, she held a bouquet of Zinthorn flowers, and she had makeup on this time around. She was dressed according to the occasion.

Maybe all hope wasn't lost after all.

The moment Rey got in front of Kylo Ren, her heart was about to burst out of her chest. That's how fast it was beating.

She took a good look at Kylo's outfit. He was wearing the same regalia as when they went to the opera together - including the mask. She wished that, at least for their wedding, he would have taken the blasted thing off. She was curious, though. What did he think about her attire?

But soon her thoughts came to a halt as she heard the voice of Natasi Daala, the general who was officiating  the wedding, calling out.

"May I proceed?" asked Natasi Daala, annoyed.

"You may proceed," was Kylo's cold reply.

"We are witnesses to a momentous event," Natasi began to recite from the Dark Book of Imperial Justice.
"The marriage of both the Knights of Ren's ruler, Kylo Ren, to the granddaughter of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Lady Rey, as well as the marriage of General Armitage Hux to Landa Solo.

"Now, I will ask for the pairs to come closer and exchange their vows, if they so wish, and then sign the papers. "

Kylo took a step forward towards the table where Natasi Daala was standing, only to notice that Rey was frozen in place with a lost look in her eyes.
Kylo used his Force abilities to gauge Rey's feelings, and what he felt left him in pure shock. She was afraid after all. Afraid to go through with the wedding. Afraid of marrying him.

Then, within a matter of seconds, Kylo made a decision. One that he knew would make him feel Snoke's wrath.

As soon as the officiant asked them to come forward in order to exchange vows, Rey's body froze. She couldn't do this. She should have ran when she had the chance. She didn't survive the hardships of Jakku only for her story to have such an ending. Her soon-to-be-husband didn't have any feelings for her whatsoever, or she for him, so could she go through it? He represented everything she stood against, so how could she reconcile her values with his?

As if he heard her thoughts, Kylo went to the officiant, whispering something in her ear, and when the look on Natasi’s face went from annoyance, to irritation, and then to anger, Rey could tell it was something she was against.

The moment the Supreme Leader ordered Natasi to be the officiant for the double wedding ceremony between Kylo Ren and Rey Kenobi and General Hux and a fucking traitor, she knew it wouldn't end well. After all, both Kylo Ren and the traitor were Force users, a blight upon the galaxy in Natasi's eyes.

Immediately after asking the couples to come forward to exchange the vows and sign the papers, she witnessed a most strange occurrence.

Kylo's soon-to-be-wife froze up to her spot, unwilling to move forward, and instead of Kylo Ren dragging Rey forcefully like Natasi expected him to do - she knew his temper only all too well when things didn't go his way - he only looked at his bride for a brief moment, as if trying to figure something out that others couldn't see, before opting to come to Natasi and whisper in her ear.

And what he asked shook her to the core with fear. Or was it perhaps anger?

She couldn't say for certain what she was feeling in that moment anymore, only that - if she abided by his request - she would get in trouble with the Supreme Leader later on. Her face must have betrayed her, or maybe Kylo heard her thoughts, because after making his request, he said to her:

"You can tell the Supreme Leader that I forced you into obeying my request, and I will take the full wrath of his punishment."

And then he returned to Lady Kenobi's side.

Kylo knew that what he asked could be considered as close to treason as he could come, but despite the sting of betrayal, even though Rey chose his sister over him, he couldn't allow her a life of sorrow and misery. If this gave Rey somewhat of a way out, then he would do the same thing all over again.

"So, ahem, I was made aware that there was a last-minute change of plans, due the wishes of the Supreme Leader. Instead of having two weddings today, we will only have one wedding and a handfasting ceremony," Natasi added with gritted teeth.

"Now, I will ask the pairs, once again, to come forward."

Even without looking, Kylo could feel the daggers in Hux's eyes. Not that he needed to, anyway. He had the Force after all.
And as Hux half dragged Kylo's half sister along in order to sign the marriage papers, Kylo could imagine how livid the ginger general was because of being unable to expose his lie. After all, the whole thing was transmitted across the galaxy for everyone to see.

He knew Snoke would punish him later for this small act of rebellion, but he didn't care as long as Rey still had a small sliver of freedom. And a furious Hux was a well-received bonus any time of the day.

As soon as Hux and Landa signed the papers and went to the side, Kylo grabbed Rey's right hand with his and gently led her forward.

" A handfasting ceremony? " was the only thought in Rey's mind as the red-haired general - that Kylo seemed to loathe, and vice versa - half dragged Landa forward to sign the marriage papers. Rey knew what that was, at least. After Ken rescued her from Jakku all those years ago, Rey was taught all kinds of ceremonies and traditions during her studies. Even the old ones, like the ones from the planet Urthha, the planet from where the first humans originated. 

Handfasting was an commitment ceremony where the couple made their intention to marry public, signaling to potential suitors that the woman was intended for her betrothed and not to be harassed. This was then followed by the couple spending an entire year with each other before they returned to the officiant and either declared their intent to be married or declared that they weren't a good match. Both would then be free to choose another suitor and bride.

What she didn't understand was why would Kylo do this? Why further mess up with her mind and heart? Why prolong the inevitable?
By forcing her to make that promise in order to save Landa's life, Kylo had Rey in a corner. Even if he didn't officially marry her, if she were to uphold her promise to him, she would be his forever, and no handfasting ceremony could stop it from happening.

But this was what it was in the end, wasn't it?
In order to further humiliate her and make her believe she could determine her own destiny, still, he would resort to such cruelty.

At that moment, Rey wished to return to when Kylo took her to the opera. Or when he protected her from the space wolves. But she realized that man was only a facade.

Still, no matter. She wouldn't give Kylo the satisfaction of falling apart. She would hold her head up high and face everything that came her way like she always did. Even if that meant exchanging vows with Kylo. A vow that didn't have her heart in it.

And so, with unshakeable resolve, she began reciting her vow from memory.

"Most of my life, all I did was fight to survive with no one to care for me. Then, when, I first laid my eyes upon you, I was scared. Because something inside me awoke. And I tried to fight it with all my might. But stubbornly you showed me that I wasn't alone, and with you by my side, there is nothing to fear. For all is as the Force wills it. Hereby, in the forces of darkness and the forces of light, wherever you may go and whatever you may face, I will pledge my fidelity to you and only you, my knight, my protector, my companion, and let nothing keep us apart. Not even the split of the earth. May the Force be with us."

"When I first met you, between thunder and lightning, all that I could see in your eyes was contempt and fear. But you kept your fear in check and stood up to me. You did the unthinkable. Hereby, I take your hand and accept your pledge. In times of despair, may my body be your shield. And may my spirit be your source of strength when you are in ail. I would follow you to the edge of any galaxy, because anywhere with you feels like a haven. May the Force be with us. "

After the vows were exchanged, some were clapping. Among those that were clapping were soldiers from the First Order that hoped that maybe they wouldn’t witness, or be at the receiving end of Kylo Ren's temper tantrums anymore.

At the Resistance base, Leia was locked in her room alone with express orders for no one to bother her in her solitude. Not even her children or other members of her family. Tears were falling down her cheeks. Tears of happiness. Despite every deed her eldest son made against everything she stood for - ending with the death of the love of her life at his hands - at least for now, she still found in her heart to forgive him and to hope that he would find his happiness. And she knew Rey was the key. Even if the girl, herself, didn't know it yet. Since first seeing her, Leia's gut told her that Rey was something special. Even more so after she discovered her Force sensitivity. Maybe, just maybe, her boy would come home after all. She only hoped she’d live it to see it.

Across the stars, the opinions were split. The people that knew who Kylo Ren was before, few as they were, were either hopeful for the turn of events or fuming because Kylo was about to get a chance at happiness, even though he took theirs away.

But none of them knew how far from the truth they were. They only made their assumptions on what was shown to them. And you know what they say... if the charade is well played, then everyone will believe it’s the truth.

Author notes: 

First of all I want to apologize for taking me so long to update. It passed more than a year since my last update 😥. Shame on me. Unfortunately a lot happened in my real life so I got stuck and was unable to get from writer block mode. Hopefully it won't take me another year to update the story.

Elements and characters used in this chapter:

Dopheld Mitaka ; Force suppressors's references ( 1 ; 2 ; 3 ; 4 ); Zinthorn flowers; Natasi Daala ; Dark Book of Imperial Justice ; Urthha ; 

Handfasting ceremony's references ( 1 ; 2 ; 3 ; 4 );

Rey's wedding attire's references ( 1 ; 2 ; 3 ; 4 ; 5 ; 6 ; 7 ; 8 ) ;

Landa's dress (in this chapter it's burgundy, though).

As for the vows, I was the one to came up with them. I hope they were emotional enough.

So what do you think about this chapter?

Feel free to leave a review.

Until next time!

Chapter Text

Hi everyone!
It's me, the author of Hiraeth. I know more than 3 years have passed since I posted the last chapter. Shame on me.
Anyway I wanted to let you now that this story will be discounted until further notice. It may be a week, a month (or a few) or a year (or a few).
The reasons for this are the following: - I noticed that this story is not very appeciated by the reylo community;
- I'm not in a good emotional place right now (I wasn't for the past 3 years due to real life issues);
- While working on the next chapter (whose part where Rey and Kylo are interacting is horrible) I tried to find other reylos in the community to help me with brainstorming ideas for my story but no one didn't wanted to.
I kindly ask you to not leave any comment to this notice and to not send me any messages on my contact info. Just leave me alone. When I needed help from the reylo community no one was willing to help me (the most that I received was a suggestion to write what my instinct tell me)