What She's Worth (Reylo)

Chapter 35

He sits across the old man, his nerves causing his hands to shake. He hid them from view within his cloak and tried to return the same beatific smile that Lor San Tekka is beaming to him now.

"What brings you here, Young Solo?" Tekka asks while pouring him a cup of water. He doesn't really want to take it, but does so to be polite.

"I'm here to ask about a student in the academy," Ben says, hesitating for a moment. "Rey. You know her well I think. I believe you once referred to her as...a necessary acquisition."

His voice has taken on an edge, and it is not lost on Tekka, though it takes a while for the old man to formulate a response. "My, my...you are not one to forget. Or mince words."

"Rey," he repeats, as though saying her name again would jog Tekka's memory. "I need to know what happened to her as a child. How she came into my uncle's...tutelage." Possession is the more appropriate term, he thinks.

Tekka's brows rise to his wrinkled forehead. "Why do you need to know? Has something happened to the child?"

"Nothing's happened," Ben says quickly. Far too quickly, he berates himself, but if Tekka noticed, he doesn't let on. He tries to think up of a story. "But she has...remembered her past. Remembered her parents—"

"Impossible." Tekka waves his hand, dismissing the claim. "Master Skywalker has expunged her of every shred of her memory to seal off her powers."

"Seal off her powers?" Ben repeats. "I'm not sure I understand."

"My boy, a Dark Side ritual was performed on that child by none other than her own parents," Tekka says, and Ben has to feign mild shock from information he has since been privy to. "A ritual that imbued her with a horrific power, one that Master Skywalker only managed to seal off by making her forget how to use the Force in the first place. So what you said about her remembering her past is impossible. Unless..." Tekka narrows his eyes. "Something has happened hasn't it?"

Ben tries to find a reply, but is interrupted by the frantic entry of a villager into the tent.

"Sir Tekka! Master Luke's academy," the villager says hysterically, "There's been a massacre at Master Luke's academy. All the padawans are dead."

Ben freezes from where he sits, and watches the small spark of understanding in Tekka's eyes burst into flames until the old man says in a low voice, "That child..."

Ben rises to his feet.

"It was me," he says so convincingly that he has himself believing every word. "I was the one who killed everyone in the academy."

Tekka stares at him for one long moment and before Ben could take his next breath, the old man is already up on his feet, a blaster aiming at his heart.

And Ben knows then that for better or for worse, he has sealed his fate.

***

Rey continued to assist Ben in assessing and repairing the blaster bolt damage to the ship. They had flown a few miles away from Tuanul before the ship broke down, and they had had to stop to make repairs.

In silence, she continued to hand him one tool after the next while he remained perched on the ladder, his attention towards the blackened hole on the shuttle's side. She had so many questions about his encounter with Tekka, but she could still feel his anger brimming at the surface. And if she had to be completely honest, she was a bit fearful especially in light of what he had done to the Tuanul villagers. Not that he would do anything to harm her, she knew that. But perhaps it would be best to ask at a later time, she thought.