•LEGACY - A Reylo Story•

EPISODE XLI - HOLDING BACK

His sister scowls at the dark silhouettes of X-wings and other starfighters. "What?"

"I'd need to leave."

She laughs. "You're asking me now?" And, in the undercurrents, Luke hears her unspoken meaning: always when I need you most.

The night air bristles against his the back of his neck, ruffling through his Jedi robes. "Only for a week. Maybe less. Leia, I want to find Maz Kanata."

"Maz Kanata," she repeats. "Why?"

"I know she makes you think of Han—"

"Oh, for pity's sake, why does every man in the galaxy seem to think I want to forget the people that I miss? I don't hate being reminded of Han, Luke. I see Han every day when I see my son. He may not realize it—he may not even entirely look like him—but I see it in his voice, in his words, in his heart."

"He does tend to be snarky," Luke concurs.

Leia looks up at the sky. Clouds swarm it, jostling with each other and blocking out any hint of the moon and stars. "Why Maz?"

"Because she's also a Force user. And she has connections—more than we have. She might be able to help lead us to Rey." Luke swallows. Considering what lengths Snoke went to in his quest to manipulate Ben, he can't bear to think about what he's doing to Rey. "She's not my daughter, Leia, but she's the closest thing I have to one. I feel responsible for her. I'm surprised Obi-Wan's ghost hasn't appeared in all these months to threaten me."

Leia nods. "Have you seen Maz at all the past twenty years?"

"No. Not since I started the Jedi academy."

"And gave up your wild ways." Leia winks. "I still remember that girl—what was her name?"

Luke doesn't want to speak about her, but his brain travels back years, to the night when Maz introduced him to Nishi at her cantina. Nishi had been dancing, and the lights glowed against her dark skin.

And then she was gone, claiming that she didn't want to hold him back from his destiny as a Jedi.

And then, as Luke heard, she was dead. And when the padawans lay dead around him years later and Luke realized he'd failed his nephew in a way he hadn't even failed his father, he left.

He isn't going to abandon Rey.

"Please," Luke says, haunted. "Please trust me. We need Maz. This—this new awakening in the Force—I feel it's increased. I've been feeling it since before we even arrived on King Prana's planet. Maz might feel it too—she's more trained than you—and she might have some wisdom to offer."

"Is it connected to Rey?"

"Possibly. I don't know."

Leia wraps her arm around him and leans her head against his shoulder. "I trust you."

"He's still holding something back from us, Leia," Luke says. A fat droplet of rain splats against Luke's forehead.

"I know. I may not be trained, but I can sense it too." Leia pulls away as more rain begins to pitter-patter against the wings of the starfighters. "Was I a terrible mother?"

"What? Leia, no! Of course not! Why would you—"

"Why did he feel like he couldn't tell me these things?"

"It was Snoke. Not you. It was always Snoke."

"I'd like to think that." Leia bites her lip as Luke motions for them to head inside. "But it wasn't just Snoke. It was Snoke, and Ben himself, and me and Han also."