The Pull to the Light

Chapter XXII

Ben woke up before Chiara, a smile forming on his face as he saw her resting there. Those happy thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud and demanding knock at his door, which caused him to let out a sigh and wriggle out of bed. His attempts to not stir Chiara were futile and she sat up as she woke, gazing at him with quizzical eyes.

Ben put his finger to his lips, motioning for her not to question what he was doing and remain silent, then began to walk over to the door to the room in order to see who was calling for him so early in the morning. He opened it and was not particularly pleased to see an agitated looking General Hux waiting for him.

"It was about time you answered the door, I was beginning to think that you were not in the room," Hux immediately spoke, sounding just as annoyed as he looked.

"I was preoccupied, you should not expect me to drop everything I'm doing in order to accommodate your needs, Hux," Ben replied coldly, putting on his facade of Kylo Ren.

Even with Ben's intimidating presence, Hux did not back down, "It isn't me you have succeeded to keep waiting, the Supreme Leader wishes to speak with you."

"What about?" Ben replied, praying that his nervousness was not clearly visible to his rival.

"He didn't tell me, as is normal for him," Hux responded curtly, turning on his heel and leaving Ben's room.

Knowing better than to keep Supreme Leader Snoke waiting, Ben quickly went back inside his room to prepare for this impromptu meeting. Chiara looked up as he walked in and he began to explain as he got ready.

"The Supreme Leader wishes to see me," he informed her, answering her unasked question. "You may go back to your room to get breakfast and then meet me in the training room in an hour. I promise not to take too long."

Before Chiara had a chance to formulate a reply, Ben kissed her tenderly on the lips and left the room, hurrying down to speak with his master via hologram. As he opened the doors to the room he found the Supreme Leader already waiting for him, looking upon him in disappointment.

"You have failed me, Kylo Ren," he spoke simply as Ben bowed before him. "You have not severed the ties of your love but have instead strengthened it, I can feel the passion running through your veins."

"Supreme Leader, I mean you no disrespect, but this love is no longer a weakness. Yes, the pull to the light is strong, but the bonds to the dark side are stronger. The love I feel for Chiara has become instead a strength; it has given me something to fight for!"

Unimpressed by his apprentice's response, Snoke informed him, "I will be sending you to Starkiller Base later today and I expect you to dedicate every moment to bring down the loathsome Resistance. If you fail me there, you will wish yourself dead rather than have to face the consequences."

"Of course, Supreme Leader," Ben replied, bowing deeply before his master. "I will do exactly as you ask; the Resistance will be no more."

The holographic figure then vanished and Ben returned to a standing position, pausing a moment to collect his thoughts before leaving the room in order to find Chiara. The meeting was not as long as he had anticipated so he knew better than to expect her to be waiting for him in the training room but he went there anyway, deciding to wait for her to come to him.

Chiara had finished her breakfast quickly, devouring it completely in only minutes after having received the tray. Unable to wait in her room for an hour to pass before seeing Ben, she dismissed the fact that he would not be waiting for her yet and made her way down to the training room.

The room was completely empty save the weapons and equipment that constantly filled the space. Knowing that waiting around would simply drive her mad, she picked up a nearby dagger and threw it at the wall, aiming for the center of a target that was hanging up. She continued this simple task until she heard the door creek open, causing her to jump in surprise.

She was relieved, however, when Ben came in, looking upon her proudly having watched her throw the knife directly into the center of the target. She ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing his lips briefly. Sensing something troubling him, she pulled away and looked at him with curiosity.

"What is the matter, Ben?" Chiara asked, gently tracing his jawline with her finger. "Did Supreme Leader Snoke deliver unfortunate news?"

He shook his head in response, pulling her closer to him, "It is nothing, just normal work stuff."

She pulled away a little once again, her eyebrow raised, "Well, considering that you work for the First Order and slaughter innocent people as part of your job description, I would say that classifies as unfortunate news. Who is the target this time?"

For a moment, Ben considered telling her the truth, but he knew that she had gotten close to his father during the day she had spent with him. He would only succeed in enraging her if he told her that his job was to kill the man that she had begun to admire.

"It is none of your concern, I would not want you to have to worry about such things," he replied a little uncomfortably, afraid that she would find out the truth and leave him because of it.

"What is bothering you, Ben?" Chiara asked again, staring into his dark eyes. "This facade does not fool me, I can sense there is something troubling you. I wish there to be no secrets between us, please trust me."

"The only thing that is of any concern is that we must pack, we are being sent to Starkiller Base, the official space station of the First Order."

"Why are we being sent there? Is there something important going on that you have not informed me of? You are not blowing up another whole system again, are you?"

"No, the Supreme Leader has merely decided that it was long past time that Hux and I returned. We are commanding officers and are usually on the base but, after capturing you on Takodana, we have been stationed on this starship for a while," Ben lied, praying that she would not realize that he was not giving her the truth. It hurt him to lie to her but he knew that it had to be done.

...

Is Kylo right, is his love a strength? I just had a concert and now I have rehearsal and I'm so exhausted 😂 But the concert was fun so I guess that that's all that matters! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

But guys did you hear the news? So Mark Hamill is apparently going to Dubrovnik to film and because of where the panels are located and the scene with Rey running down the streets as though she's being chased, it's believed that the set is for a planet controlled by the First Order, so that means Luke and Rey might end up together on a planet controlled by the First Order in the next episode! I don't know why but that made me really excited!