Darkness At Dawn • Kylo Ren [1]

ⅩⅤⅡ

"Be wary of everything you do, dark times are coming."

∫

An invisible hand clasped over Elara's mouth as an equally ghostly rush of adrenaline and shock impaled her heart. A wool blanket was pulled up to her shoulders as she stared absentmindedly in a foul smelling room in the middle of nowhere. All her life she feared death, never wanting to depart but as she sat there, slumped over and vomiting, she wanted nothing more than the fate of death but destiny said otherwise.

Some people simply stood there and shook their heads in disbelief, unable to comprehend what had just happened. It's weird how death takes away everything from you, not just a life but the light that made certain aspects possible. When Leia finally was able to get a grip and ready herself to speak, Han was nowhere to be seen. "Is everyone here?"

"Everyone that's left." Captain Knox looked around.

"Alright." Leia looked over at Elara, unable to reach out to the girl at this time. "It appears the First Order has been created right under our noses without anyone even noticing. We know very little but we've sent a squadron to gather as much information as we can in this short and dangerous period."

Elara placed her head in between her hands and shook furiously, holding back any words she'd like to say. When Leia finished, the newborn Resistance members walked away, fearing to say anything to the girl whose lover killed many. Leia walked up to her, a pale and unsteady hand was placed on the poor girl's cheek.

"Elara." The grief in her voice caused Elara to tremble even more. "Say something."

Elara looked up, tears welling up in her eyes. When she opened her mouth to speak, a terrible squeak escaped her lips and she began to cry.

Leia pulled the girl into her arms, beginning to cry as well. The grief came in waves and threatened to consume them entirely. They were at the mercy of its whims and at times it bit at them with such ferocity they feared it would leave them with an empty shell of hopelessness and cruelty.

"I loved him." Elara told Leia, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.

"I know." Leia muttered. "You'd think that with this outrage, my love for him would die but I'm still holding onto the memories of my son."

"I want them out of my head." Elara shook her head. "I don't want to remember him, I'll suffer even more."

Desperate to calm Elara down, Leia tightened her hold and changed the subject of speech. "The two younglings you saved are being cleaned and fed. They are getting lots of rest and you should be doing the same."

"I couldn't save anyone else..." Her eyes dropped to the floor. "I couldn't save them."

"Don't do that to yourself." Leia demanded.

"Hundreds." Elara whimpered. "There were hundreds of us and he killed them all."

"Captain Knox said that he will haunt the remainder of the Jedi survivors down so we've made the decision to hide Kali and Rey away from him." Leia concluded. "We can't risk it."

Tiredly, Elara agreed. "I agree."

"You should sleep." Leia suggested. "Regain your strength."

"That's impossible." Elara retorted. "Look at me, I'm broken."

"Cracked." Leia corrected, helping the shocked girl stand. "You are far too brave to be broken."

The emptiness in her heart, the numbness pounding her brain, the salty tears that flowed unchecked from her eyes, the sheer nothingness that now took hold of her soul threatened to engulf her entirely. She watched as Leia left her in the foreign room, waiting for the door to close. When the door shut with a quiet click, Elara looked upon the ceiling and prayed that her friends' souls may be at rest. Her eyes began to close slowly, night seeping into her veins like a drug. She was about to fall into a bottomless sleep until her Master's voice echoed in her head, lively and real.

"Leave now and don't return until the time is right."

∫

She left without a goodbye, stealing a ship without looking back. She couldn't, she couldn't say goodbye to the very few people she had left in her life. The insanity in her mind was driving her over the edge and she had to find a way to escape it.

"I can't stay."

Her heart was broken. She had her heart broken by a Jedi Knight who became something he said he'd never become. A boy, not much younger than she was, died in her arms because he wanted to protect her.

Kentaro. Her mind kept replaying how it should have went, how she should of never stayed back at the hotel. Her foolishness began to blind her and she felt very dark inside. As she drove the very ship she became attached to, the beams of lightspeed blurred her vision and she was at her destination before she knew it. The Stella Interfectorem began to land in a few short seconds and she was home.

As she hurried to the dusty and deserted swamp, she began to feel alive again. Elara ran so fast that she ran right past her own grief and suffering, straight into the arms of her parents.

It was quick. Everything was happening too quick and Elara was sure that she was eventually going to break once more but for now, she had this.

"Figlia." Sabellius Jane held the back of his daughter's head with his hand while she buried her face into his chest. "We heard this morning."

"When the people in town told us that almost a hundred Jedi had been killed, I became so worried." Gail confessed. "I'm so grateful to see you alive."

"I'm here." Elara uttered out, repeating herself. "I'm here."

"Your friends?" Gail questioned. "The boyfriend and the purple haired girl, did they make it?"

Elara bit her lip so hard it began to bleed. Sabellius noticed her emotions and took a step back. He pressed his head against hers and placed a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Another time, ask we will."

The invisible voice she grew to respect appeared in front of her. Amar Gemini, ugly looking but wise all around looked at her with both pity and sympathy. "Dear child, did you not listen to my warning?"

Elara shook her head, glaring up at him with glossy eyes. "This is the future you predicted?"

"Come to me at the right time you did." Gemini took her hands in his. "This is what I predicted Master Jane. Ah, clear they see and true they say. That one shall weep, and one shall stray. In your mind, I see it all to be true. The darkness you feel in your heart as you run away." Gemini looked past her feelings. "Let go of everything you must or the anger you will build up can lead to the path you were meant to take but he did instead."

"How?" Her voice cracked as she felt her mind explode.

"Running away is exactly what you are doing." Gemini looked upon the sky. "And hide you, I will but come the time in which you are needed, you must return."

Her eyes widened. "Luke?"

Gemini nodded slightly. "Mysterious the force is."

The emotions she felt were a river sweeping her away to a reality he could never give her. At the beginning, he tried to get into her mind. It was impossible to stop and she thought she'd go crazy but as her wounds healed, she slowly began to stop him. He was her past and had no place in her new life. Her destiny was on pause and she had to put herself first. Her past with him was exactly that, the past and she accepted it...even though it left too many shards and she was no longer just cracked, she was broken.

END OF PART ONE