Haunting Memories

Chapter XXXII

Four Years Later

Your POV:
"Momma, they're coming!" Amani cried out in excitement, running up to me. "Great Uncle Luke and Aunt Rey have returned!"

I smiled at our daughter, watching as her raven colored hair danced behind her. She looked just like her father, although he tried to deny it. He always claimed that she was far too beautiful to look just like him.

It had been four years since the Battle of Dantooine, four years since the First Order had been dismantled. Although everyone expected Leia to return to serve in the new democracy, she kept her promise to Ben and now lived with us in the house that Ben had grown up in.

Ben and I chose not to choose sides anymore, devoting ourselves to keeping a balance of the force within ourselves. Luke and Rey, on the other hand, remained on the light side and went on various missions as they tried to keep peace in the galaxy. Every now and then, they would spend a few days with us, much to our daughter's delight.

"Why don't you go get washed up and once Luke and Rey land, we can go have dinner?" I suggested to Amani, giving her a kiss on her forehead.

I followed my daughter inside, taking the meal that was cooking on the stove off of the heat and setting the table. Ben came down as he heard the clatter of plates as I took them out of the cupboard.

"You shouldn't be doing all of this yourself, my love," he cooed, taking the plates from my hands and placing a kiss on my cheek.

"Ben, you know how I feel about being treated as weak simply because I am pregnant," I groaned, upset that my husband would do such a thing after I explicitly expressed to him how much it annoyed me.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't help it," he replied as he placed the plates down on the table before coming to my side and wrapping his arms around my protruding stomach. "It is my job as your husband to treat you like the princess you are."

"Must I remind you that you are the one whose family is royalty?" I replied, noticing his expression change slightly.

Although he had grown to forgive his family for what he saw as wrongs they had done against him, he still had relapses now and again. I tried to assure him that we didn't need to have so much contact with people from his past, but he assured me that it was something that he needed to face and get over himself, no matter how much he had to suffer to find forgiveness.

The door of the house opened and Luke and Rey stepped inside, immediately being greated by Leia. She led them into the dining room, where Ben and I were just finishing setting up. Before we had the chance to greet one another, Amani came running into the room, calling out Luke and Rey's names and wrapping her arms around their legs.

"Woah, you almost knocked me over there," Luke joked, picking her up and placing a kiss on her cheek.

She giggled in response and argued, "Uncle Luke, you're a Jedi, surely you're more in tune than that."

"Aren't you a smart one? Well, it looks like your mother has finished preparing dinner, it would be a shame to let the food get cold," he replied, setting her back down on the ground before turning to me. "And how are you, (y/n), I see that you have another addition to the family coming along."

I gave him a large smile as I rubbed my protruding stomach, "yes, I'm about five months along. But please do come sit down and we can get caught up on what you and Rey have been up to these past few months."

"To be honest there isn't much to tell," Rey began as we each served ourself some food and began eating. "We mostly went from system to system settling disputes and making sure there wasn't any activity that suggests another attempt of a dictatorship. And has there been anything interesting to happen in your lives?"

"Momma and daddy have been teaching me the ways of the force!" Amani cried out, unable to retain her excitement any further. "I haven't been able to accomplish much, but watch-" Amani cut off and summoned a roll to her plate, letting it float delicately over the table to her.

"Amani, what have I told you about doing that during dinner? It's rude to just take food like that," I scolded her, but at the same time found myself proud of my daughter's achievements. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed another roll float up from the basket, this one landing on Ben's plate. I playfully smacked him and exclaimed, "Ben! You are supposed to be setting an example for our daughter, not teaching her to disobey me!"

He gave me a grin in response, lifting the roll to his mouth and taking a bite while Amani giggled at him. I rolled my eyes at him and return to my meal, suppressing a smile myself. Sometimes Ben acted just as old as our daughter, but seeing him be so free warmed my heart after his years of pain.

"(Y/N), I see that you and Ben have taught your daughter well and it is for that reason that I wish to propose something to you," Luke spoke up, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"What is it?" I questioned, shooting him a confused glance.

"We would like you and Ben to start an academy," he proposed, causing me to recoil in shock.

"We've already told you, we do not wish to align ourselves to the light side, we are to remain neutral in the eyes of the force," Ben responded before I had a chance to.

"And that is what we are counting on, we need you to train new force sensitives the ways of the grey Jedi, it is time for this viscous war between light and dark to end. The problem is that if we don't teach anyone, the dark side will sway the strongest and they will rise, but if we train the light side, then they will rise. Both options result in a battle between the two extremes and the only way to end that cycle is to reach them to find the balance, to embrace both sides and keep the galaxy in peace."

"And what if we fail the way that you did with your Jedi academy? What if we lose some to the dark side or some to the light? Balancing the force requires a true ambition to do so, it is not something that will be easy to teach," I replied, but to be honest I enjoyed the idea of passing on what Ben and I had learned.

"That is why I'm asking the two of you to do it. You have found that balance, you have taught it to your daughter and you can teach it to the next generation, you can help keep the peace in the galaxy."

It took a while before Ben and I agreed to what Luke had proposed, but it turned out to be highly rewarding. Every day, we were learning new things from our students the same way they were learning from us. We were still making a difference in the world, but did not need to fear a war getting in the way of our love. My life was something I could never even dream of back in my days as a stormtrooper, it was filled with too much happiness and I felt too much like I was actually making a difference.

...

The end. I hope you have enjoyed this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it! May the force be with you!