The Pull to the Light

Chapter XX

Kylo did end up heading to the droid's advice and allowed Chiara a few days of rest. Although she appreciated the time to recover from the intense work she had been put through, she was once again plunged into extreme boredom during the day as she was left without anything to do.

She almost cried with happiness when Kylo came in to tell her to get ready to train one morning. She did so enthusiastically, shoving down a quick breakfast and practically running to the training room.

Kylo was waiting for her when she entered, facing the wall opposite. As she walked in, he informed her, "We shall be working on hand to hand combat today as it is not always guaranteed that you will have a weapon on you during a fight."

Without any warning, Kylo lunged at her and attempted to pin her to the ground. Chiara reacted quickly, lunging out of the way but was unable to attack him in the process due to her rustiness after being cooped up in her room for a while. Kylo attacked again, and she barely deflected it but managed to land a punch in him in the process.

After fighting for a few more minutes, Chiara found herself pinned to the wall, both she and Kylo panting heavily. She looked straight into his dark eyes and melted a little, wanting nothing than to touch her lips to his.

"Not bad for having had a break from training, but not good enough," he commented, holding her there. Part of her was begging for him to release her, the close proximity driving her insane.

"It is impossible to win against you, you are too highly trained and nothing distracts you from winning," she replied with a hopeless look in her eyes.

"If I were immune to distractions as you say I am, I would not be thinking what I am right now," Kylo argued, his eyes searching hers as he attempted to see if she felt the same way he did.

"And what is it that you are thinking?" Chiara asked, not expecting what he did next.

Kylo slowly moved in towards her until their lips were touching. Chiara reacted slowly as she recovered from her initial shock but soon opened her mouth slightly, allowing him full access. Her hands became entangled in his gorgeous black hair as a wave of passion she had never experienced before flooded her veins. Their tongues danced around each other, the tastes of mint and peppermint mingling. Chiara closed her eyes, enjoying the the feel of Kylo's hand on her lower back as he kept her against the wall.

As the kiss deepened, Kylo abruptly pulled away and without explanation, stormed out of the room. Chiara gave a heavy sigh and leaned against the wall, trying to catch her breath. She could still feel his slightly chapped lips on hers and her heart threatening to break free of her rib cage, enjoying the memory of what had just happened.

Does he actually love me back? She wondered, getting back into an erect position, without the support of the wall. At this thought, she shook her head. If he truly loved me, he wouldn't have left me in here alone.

After a few moments, Chiara determined that he wasn't going to return and further train her so she left the room and was once again condemned to the confines of her room. She gazed out at the star filled galaxy that surrounded the ship and tried to clear her mind of the passion that he had aroused in her, knowing that it would only cloud her judgement and let her fall further into the looming darkness.

•

Meanwhile, Kylo made his way to summon Supreme Leader Snoke. He needed guidance through this confusing time as he had never felt such love towards another person before. After denying it for weeks he finally admitted that that was what he was feeling, whether he accepted the fact or not.

"I sense a strong confliction inside you," the wise leader spoke as he came into view.

Kylo shook his head, "It is not confliction necessarily, it is more knowing that I have felt something I shouldn't."

"The girl, you have compassion for her," he noted, looking down upon his troubled apprentice. "She is distracting you from your goals, attempting to bring you back into the light."

"No, Chiara has given into the darkness, I can feel her hatred within her when we fight. But I know that I shouldn't feel this way, this connection that has been created is something forbidden by the Sith code."

"Whether she is on the dark side or not, this love is tempting you back towards a path that, if you follow, will cause you to lose all of the power and skill that you accumulated. Besides, your apprentice has not fully turned, I know you too sense the overwhelming light that still resides within her, no matter how far she strays into the dark."

"I have taken care of that, she wouldn't dare try to return to the lightside, not now that she knows the true power of the dark."

"But you have allowed yourself to fall in love in the process. Kylo Ren, you must understand that love is a weakness, you must make yourself immune to such an emotion otherwise you will come to your downfall as Darth Vadar had," the Supreme Leader paused but Kylo knew better than to interrupt. "I have a task that will truly prove how devoted you are to the dark side. The time is approaching when you must face your father. General Hux has tracked the reconnaissance ship to the planet of D'Qar. I will have you and your apprentice move into Starkiller Base by the end of the week to wait for their impending attack as they will soon realize our plans to blow their base. There, I sense you will be forced to not only find Han Solo but destroy him in order to save all that the First Order has worked to establish. If you fail, your fate will be the same as every one of these soldiers and officers."

"I understand, my master, I will not fail," Kylo spoke, bowing to Snoke before his hologram disappeared, leaving him in an empty room.

...

Finally things have heated up! But of course Kylo had to ruin the moment! At least they have kissed!