When Light Meets Dark - Kylo's Sister

Forget

"The bad news is nothing lasts forever,

The good news is nothing lasts forever."

~J. Cole 

Rey

I climbed, slowly, making sure that I didn't miss a single step. When I got to the top I stopped and gripped the handle of the rusty metal hatch. I hesitated. Then I tucked my hair behind my ears, opened it up and clambered out onto the rooftop.

The sky was still dim, filled with sleepy swirls of pale grey. I felt the weight of my rucksack as it hung from my shoulders. I'd packed it with enough clothes and supplies for a long trip, maybe longer than I planned to stay. The ship stood there, only a shadow against the horizon. It hadn't been used since we'd arrived there months ago, and in my palm lay the keys. It was very early in the morning, and I wanted to escape before the day caught up with me. Touching the lightsaber beneath my cloak for reassurance, I walked towards it.

It was warm inside and so I took my cloak off and laid it over the back of a seat. Then I sat down heavily in the co-pilot seat and rubbed my eyes. That morning I'd woken up with a start, like how you wake up from a bad dream, except that I hadn't dreamt at all. Kylo had been asleep on the sofa to my relief, although the fact that he was sleeping on the sofa exasperated me slightly. Making sure I didn't wake him, I had packed my things and collected the keys for the ship and the box. I knew that if I didn't leave then, I wouldn't at all.

The ship powered on with a symphony of clicks and beeps that made me think fondly of C-4PO. But that fondness was soon replaced with a longing to see him again, to see Finn again. I pushed the images deep down in my mind and opened my bag to look for the memory card with the coordinates to the new base.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

I turned around, startled, and saw Kylo standing in the entrance way. He was wearing only a pair of grey shorts and a curious look on his face. Sometimes it took a second for me to recognise him in such regular clothes.

"I think I can figure it out," I said stiffly. I reminded myself to close the doors of the ship next time.

He was quiet and then I asked with my back to him, "You followed me up here?"

"I did," he agreed. "I knew when you were packing but, I didn't think you were actually going to leave right away."

"I didn't want to wake you," I said, staring at the panel and adjusting a few random knobs.

I sensed him come closer and stand a couple of feet away from my seat.

"Really?" he asked in a low, cutting voice. "Is that the best excuse you could come up with?"

"You couldn't even sleep in the same bed as me," My voice was strained and I couldn't look at him.

"Well, I'm here now," he replied defensively, "And I'm still convinced that you don't know what you're doing."

Then he came round and plunked himself in the pilot's seat as if nothing was wrong. The air in the ship had cooled and I thought of offering him my cloak since he had almost nothing on, but I didn't.

"I've flown ships before," I said, finally looking at him.

"Yes, but you haven't flown my ship," he said. He turned and looked back at me with a calm, almost amused expression like everything that had happened the previous day had vanished from his memory. I wasn't sure if I wanted to join him in his pretence.

"How hard can it be?" I asked in a serious voice. "You switch on the navigation system here, power up the engines here and then set the ship to autopilot here," I said, gesturing to different knobs and switches on the panel. When I faced Kylo again the corners of his mouth were twitching like he was trying to hold back a grin.