A New Beginning // reylo

20. A New Beginning

Rey moved the lessons with her students from the courtyard to the palace. It was the first steps in making the palace a school she and Ben wanted to build.

Months had gone by since that dreadful day, and yet it still hung over Rey's consciousness as if to make sure she could never truly be happy. She knew she was doing it to herself, and in someways, she did it on purpose because she found comfort in her sadness and pain. But nonetheless, that day always lingered in her mind.

As Rey wandered the hallways for some time alone with her thoughts, Amee skipped on up beside her.

"What you up to, Rey?" He said, looking up at her.

"Circling in my own head, I suppose." She responded dazed.

"About what, might I ask?"

"...so much."

The moment things really changed between Ben and her was when she trained on Ahch-To. Their minds were tethered to each other's, bringing them closer than any other being in the galaxy. There was always an energy there on that island. Sure, there's always a way to find energy when you're sensitive to the force, but Ahch-To's felt raw. It felt bare and naked; untouched for lifetimes. Luke wasn't even using the force while he was there.

Later that night, as all the children went to their rooms for the night, Nami and Rey sat in the kitchen and had a late dinner. Days became weeks, and weeks became months. Rey's life was stagnant and stuck in a cycle of routine. Everyday was the same.

"Rey?" Nami asked quietly.

Rey hummed in return.

"What are you gonna do?"

"What do you mean?" Rey asked.

"You know what I mean." Nami said, lowering her head to meet Rey's eyes as she avoids eye contact.

Ultimately, sighing in defeat, Rey lifted her head and closed her eyes. Several tears trickled down her cheeks. She had been avoiding the topic for a while now. Every time she thought back to that day, it brought her pain.

"Remember what you had told me you were going to do. You can't let this go any longer, the more you wait, the less faith you'll have in yourself to make this succeed."

Nami was right. She had let this go on for too long. The least Rey could do was to try. If what she felt that day was real, that she had really felt Ben, then she owes him the effort to bring him back.

"Yea. I remember. I need to try. I owe him that much." Rey sighed.

"And yourself. You owe yourself that sense of peace. He's your other half and whether you like it or not, you love him. Maybe the happiness you seek lies within the peace you must pursue."

With that, Rey began diving back into her books. She searched for anything that could explain the possibility of what she sensed. If there's barely a pulse of his soul, but nonetheless still there, Ben wasn't a lost cause.

On one late night, just as Rey was about to put up the book she was on for the night, she read a line that said it all.

"...connecting the World Between Worlds." She then gasped.

This was it. She knew deep down that this was it, it made all the sense. Just as she was about to jump in excitement, she felt something shift in the force.

"Long time no see." Rey said, not even turning around to greet the unexpected visitor.

"Hmm, quite. Seems you found where he's trapped." Her voice responded. Rey finally turned around to face her darker self. Her "reflection" was draped in dark clothing and her eyes reflected a dark amber.