In Battle With Time (Reylo Fanfiction) Sequel To Trust The Stars #TheWattys2016

The red flower

Ben's POV:

I am running as fast as my feet can move my body. Running down the hill at night takes forever, literary. Normally, I only need like fifteen minute walk to get to the Jedi Academy, but right now I feel like I am running a whole hour. My heart beat rings promptly in my veins. I felt the blood pressure rise above the normal levels and my body temperature fell rapidly. I feel sick, worried sick, for her, for my only child.

Just as I passed the curved hill, Rey caught me. She looks just like me, pale and disquieted. She too doesn't know what to expect, what to believe. Her breathing is as fast as a leopard run, her heart as jumpy as a wild rabbit, her face clouded with misty tears. She didn't say a word, just sped her already fierce sprinting.

My heart fell even deeper when I saw the red flower, eating the whole place. The building is already surrounded with thousands of red flames, turning black. People crying, screaming and yelling towards the castle. Children getting away from it, as fast as they can. Some of the elders use the force to lift the water and spill it on the construction. 

"Dorothylla! Luke!" Rey was the one to call this time. Her eyes as red as the devilish flames, her face surrounded with yellow light, she is crying. 

We went down, into the mass of people, all of them unrecognizable because of the dark ash across their faces. 

"Can someone tell me what is happening, where is Luke, where is my daughter?" I said furiously, looking at the people's sad eyes, waiting for an answer. The silence is too hard to bare, the unknown is too hard to understand.

"Luke never came out, Ben, he never did." Said one tall elder man. His blue eyes in contrast of the dark skin. I heard Rey's sob instantly. I felt our bond fading again, it is never a good sign. I tried to contain myself, and not burst into bits, but the tears already spilled out.

"And my daughter?" I asked him, closing my eyes for a moment, afraid to hear the answer.

"The young Dorothylla, too. She never came out." I didn't wait any other second and went inside, in the remainings of the building. Loud screams followed my steps, high pitched voices calling my name. No, I am willing to do everything for my child, even sacrifice my own life. 

The fire swallowed nearly the whole place. I barely found a path to walk around and search. My whole body is burning parallely. The hot air is heavy on my respiratory system, making me barely able to breath. My trachea feels like a balloon filled with fire. No, nothing will stop me. I repeated the sentence into my head. Nothing will stop me...

"Dorothylla, Luke!" I called in hoarse voice. I tried to hold my breath, and save it for later, but I couldn't. No one is in sight, not a single padawan, not a single...body... "Dorothylla!!!" I cried the last time, sudden pain increasing in my lungs.

Just then the roof began to fall apart. Giant stone blocks fell on the pavement, if I had any chance to find her, I lost it now. "NOOOOOOO!" I screamed, at everyone, at everything, at my cursed life, at my hurt. The universe should punish me for my crimes, not my daughter, ME! I turned to leave, scarcely even walking. 

I pulled myself out of the academy and fell instantly on the cold grass. Rey screamed my name and ran to hug me. She nearly crushed my bones.

"I am sorry I failed you, again. I failed my family, Luke...and...our daughter. I FAILED US!" The words are too damn hard to spill out, too hard.

"Shhh! Don't say that, there is still hope." She said, her expression more confident than before.

"What?... What do you mean?" I looked at her bright eyes, her face, and I was instantly reminded of Dorothylla. It is hard to even think of her name.

"While you were there, looking for them, the boy that befriended our child came to me. He said that they took her and Luke, before they set this place on fire. She is kidnapped, but at least your uncle is by her side, she is safer. We got to find her Ben, we must...the only problem is that no one knows how this happened, who is involved."

"We must call the Resistance, together we will find them, and bring them home." Strength formed inside of me. "I promise." I said certainly.