Salvation

Chapter 5

Rey swallowed all the food that was in front of her. A small part of a loaf of bread and some fruit pieces. She ate like she hasn't eaten months. She didn't care that the others stared at her. She reached for the mug and swallowed the ale they gave her. It wasn't very strong so she didn't mind chugging it down. A drop falling from the corner of her mouth. She wiped her face with her arm and took a deep breath. She felt much better than she has in a few days. 

"Thanks." She said to them with food still in her mouth. 

"Your welcome." A man in the same guard attire said, watching her eat in shock. 

A woman cleared took her plate and mug, smiling kindly at her. Rey returned the smile to her and looked down. 

She was in a tavern like hut. It was small and warm with yellow and orange decor. The tables where long with benches attached to them and each one had a small bundle of different sized red candles on the middle. At the bar an older man was poring a drink. The woman who took Reys plate took the drink to another table that had another guard. 

"For such a small island you have a lot of guards. Is there danger often?" She asked the guard before her.

"We get travelers alot. It's very rare that they're friendly or have innocent intentions." He replied. 

"But this place is practically off the map. Why would people come so much?" 

"The soil. It has some form of metal inside. Apparently it's rare. Also the trees have a thick liquid underneath the bark we use sometimes for special events. It's rich and sweet. But taking too much can kill the land. And our children are born strong. They make good soldiers. Some people ask for them, some people don't understand no means no."

Rey felt pity for them. She saw some children in the village before they arrived in the tavern and thought nothing of it when they stopped playing and ran away as soon as they saw her. Now she understood why. It pained her to think of vicious strangers dragging the children away from their families. 

At least they knew where they belonged. 

She looked up to see the older man return to her with the same men she fought. 

"Tell me Rey," he said having a seat on the table in front of her. "Why come to this part of the galaxy?" He asked. The woman placed a mug of ale in front of him.

"To be honest I wasn't thinking clearly. I had meant to go as far as I could from where I was. But I didn't have a step 2 thought."

"I don't mean to pry but what were you running from?" He asked. She almost sensed a feeling of concern from him.

"What makes you think I was running?" She asked.

"Well I assumed so if you wanted to go as far as you could from where you were. Something had to push you to that option."

"I...well I just...I was having a hard day. It was just a really hard day. And I was pushed to a breaking point." She wasn't ready to relive those memories. She didn't need to open up. "I needed to start over."

"How did you learn to fight that way?" He was going to leave her be about her past and she was thankful for it. 

"I kind of taught myself I guess." She shrugged. In a way it was true. She had been defending herself for years against brute men who tried to steal from her and who tried other things. She picked up what she saw others do but would pretty much practiced on her own. 

"You are very handy with the staff. Would you be interested in joining the guard here? In exchange you will get food and board. Help my men keep us all safe. Train hard with them. And you will be at peace here."

"At peace?" 

"With the occasional knocking sense into these terrible people that think they can just take what they want. But something tells me you can use a little physical venting every now and then." He chuckled. 

Maybe she can find peace in herself. 

"Alright."

So she stayed. After several weeks, every day she trained in the morning. She would be with several guard members and one older instructor. He was hard on Rey but she didn't mind. At times he would lighten up and she would sense he didn't want to over stress her and each time she would assure him she was fine. She would spar with a guard member and the sparring was very real. They didn't hold back and it was once again as it was when she first met the guard. She liked it. She felt it made her stronger. 

After training was done they would be given sections of the island to watch and wait for hours. Usually nothing happened. But Rey was never bored. She would stand in silence but her memories would fly all over her head reminding her how she got here. It would replay the sounds of the man who promised to return, men calling her name when she hid from their attacks, Putt calling her useless and giving her nothing, her screaming for Han when he died...at his hand...Kylo. He sensed her pain in that moment and looked at her face. Did he feel guilty? 

No. He's a monster. A true monster.

What kind of monster kills their own father? Why Han? A man who was kind to her. Who didn't judge her. Kylo said he would disappoint her in the end. What could he possibly mean? It still didn't justify his actions. 

Her thoughts were cut when she heard a child screaming. She looked up to see a man tugging at a little boy and girl, holding both their wrists in one hand and a sword in another. 

"I told you to stay back or I'm slicing something off you!" He shouted a woman who Rey guessed was the mother. 

"You can't do this! Please!" She shouted at him practically falling on the ground reaching for her children. 

The children cried and reached back for her. They were so young, just toddlers! Rey marched over to the man who didn't seem to notice her approaching. 

"I gave you money for them, now take it and count your blessings." He shouted. 

As he turned he was met with a strong kick in his throat. Rey spun back from her kick and as he released the children and dropped his weapon, gasping for air, she used the staff yo sweep his feet off the ground. She held the end of the staff hard on his chest. 

"I suggest you crawl back to your ship and fly back to whatever pile of garbage you come from." She snarled at him. 

He was still gasping as he nodded his head quickly and turned over to try and rise up. Rey kicked him back down and was ready to cause way more harm to him. She wanted him to really suffer. Trying to take children away from their mother? How sick can you be? Her blood was boiling and something twisted was struggling to come out if her. But the glimpse of the children look at her as they held their mother calmed her down. She bent over and whispered to the man "Every breath you take is a gift from me. Leave." With that, he rushed away as quick as he can. 

She calmed herself and turned to the mother and children. "Are you alright?" She asked as softly as she could. 

The mother stood up, holding her children tightly to her. "Yes, thank you! I can't even begin to think what would happen if he had taken them away from me..." tears pouring from her eyes. Rey frown and looked down. The little girl reached for Reys hand and lightly squeezed her finger. Rey looked at her little round face and saw the big green eyes lookong back at her. She would grow into them Rey thought. She smiled at hehe child and her mother chuckled lifting her up. "Thank you!" Tears still falling she took her children back home. 

Rey looked on "You're welcome." She said softly, fighting her own tears from welling up.