The Call to the Darkness

Mandalore

The idea of returning home sent shivers down my spine. The last time I was on Mandalore was when the bomb strikes began, and I saw my city for the first time in ruins. That was the day I was forced to run away, abandoning my people. I had hoped my running would buy time for me to save Mandalore, but I would be returning empty handed. I would be returning as a ruler who hid in fear while her people were murdered. Suddenly, returning home became the last thing I wanted to do.
Minutes later, I was dressed in an intricately laced, deep blue gown with a surplus of white and lilac flowers laced in my hair. I mustered up whatever strength I had and stepped out of the bathroom to face a mask-less Kylo with strands of black hair dangling in front of his eyes.
"Are you ready?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"As I'll ever be." I sighed, shifting on my heels uncomfortably.
"There's one thing left." He pulled out a very intricate necklace, laced with hundreds of glinting jewels. "It's to hide your bruises." I slowly nodded, and he stepped behind me, draping the necklace gently over my chest. His warm breath against my neck sent cold chills through my body, and I wasn't sure why. He clipped the necklace at the nape of my neck, but when he had finished his fingers continued to linger there, examining the purple marks. Suddenly, he moved away from me, and I turned to face him.
"They don't hurt that badly." I said, breaking the silence, though I wasn't sure why. Part of me argued that he should feel terribly for what he did to me, but the other part said he already did.
He cleared his throat, unsure of what to say I'm sure.
"I'm sorry."
"You shouldn't feel guilty. I mean, you should feel bad for nearly killing me. But, you're evil. That isn't your thing. You are supposed to enjoy inflicting pain." I paused. "Over the past few days we have had weird moments where you insinuate guilt and remorse for the pain you cause, and then we move on like it never happened." I pause to look into his eyes, but he refuses to meet mine, so I continue. "You have admitted you don't want to hurt me. I haven't forgotten that. And now, I demand to know why."
"We have almost landed, it's time to go." He started backing towards the door, and I instinctively reach for his hand to pull him back towards me.
"Just let me try to understand." I held his hand in my grip longer than I intended to, and quickly dropped it.
"Because you are like me. Because you are the one person I've ever met that knows what it feels like to be torn apart." He reached his hand up to my cheek and stroked it lightly.
"You're right. There is a constant battle inside me between the anger and pain and the light. I feel darkness in every fiber of my body, but I also feel the light. We are similar in that regard. The critical difference between us is you have lost your battle and succumbed to the darkness, and I continue to fight. I always will. We are not the same, Kylo Ren. I am stronger than you will ever be." I pushed his hand from my face and turned to walk away from him, a prideful smirk tugging on my lips. He said nothing as I walked from the dark room, my flowered hair flowing behind me.