"Only in the darkness can you see stars."
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It has been six years since Ben Solo succumbed to his fate and betrayed the Jedi Order after being seduced by the Dark Side. With the aid of his immense power, the First Order has cast a shadow over the g...
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I hesitantly rise, deciding that any type of refusal would be pointless. I must face my fate with grace.
Kylo Ren obviously sensed my Force-sensitivity while we passed, and he surely intends to interrogate me because of it.
Nikana grabs my hand, stopping me.
"Be careful, L. We'll be here waiting when you come back." She smiles reassuringly, despite the fact that her eyes betray the way she really feels. I know she can't promise this, but I still appreciate the sentiment.
I pull my fingers away and let the trooper bound my wrists, then I follow him through the pristine twists and turns, suddenly wishing I was able to change before meeting one of the most feared men in the galaxy.
That hardly matters... I tell myself, which still doesn't seem to convince me.
The trooper stops at a random door and punches in a code. He shoves me inside with his blaster, and the door shuts immediately behind me.
The room is empty, save for one chair bolted to the floor in the center. I decide to ease into it, awaiting my host.
I sense him before he arrives.
The door slides open with a whoosh, and the domineering man dressed head-to-toe in black strides in, raising his hand to signal for the guards accompanying him to wait outside. The door clicks shut, and Kylo Ren only stares at me for a very long time.
I'm breathless, heart beating unnaturally fast. Why does he intimidate me so?
After several minutes of intense silence, I speak.
"Aren't you supposed to interrogate me?" I smirk, projecting an air of confidence. He edges closer, and does something completely unexpected.
He raises both of his arms, his gloved fingers softly pressing the buttons near the back of his head, and with squeak and release, his mask is no longer attached to his neckpiece. I furrow my eyebrows, frowning, curiosity eating at me as I intently watch him remove his mask. Black curls fall over his shoulders.
The world stops.
My heart does too.
"N-No." I whisper, my vision waning.
He pulls his glove off and takes my hand, the warmth of his skin the only anchor to reality.
I stare disbelieving into the once-soft brown eyes that I have adored for a majority of my life.
His black curls are as smooth and endearing as they've always been, albeit slightly longer. His face is paler, but flushed. There are fewer, but freckles still litter his cheekbones and cross the bridge of his nose, as prominent as the stars in the night sky. His jaw has grown stronger with age. He is beautiful, even more so, just as I had imagined he would be if he had survived that night.
"You've changed your hair." His deep, eloquent voice says softly. Still, I cannot get a grip at the fact that I am truly hearing it.
"You were dead, Ben." My bottom lip wobbles, and I flinch when he reaches to touch me again.
"I thought you were dead, I-" His incredulous eyes pause at an area just under my arm, and I realize right away what he had caught sight of.
"Y-you thought I was dead, because you left me in that fire to die with all of our friends... who y-you murdered." I hiss, forcing myself not to cry, to appear strong and angry, and not devastatingly stricken.
"I look like this because I survived, but at what cost?" I reveal more of my permanently discolored, twisted and scarred skin, even showing the hand where I had a finger removed due to damage inflicted by the fire. The fire he caused.
He listens to everything I say, and I can only tell my words are effective from the way his breathing has become audibly shallow, his broad chest rising and falling quickly.
"You killed all of our closest friends, our family. You left me to die! You destroyed the Jedi order, all for power! It was you, all this time!" I accuse, and my fists clench hard enough to break the skin of my palm with my fingernails, bloodying the tips of my fingers. I try to say more, but the words don't come out, the shock at learning his true fate knocking the wind out of me as if I'd been hit by a speeder. His familiar scent thickens the air, and I almost choke at how toxic it feels to breathe it in. He searches my eyes.
He has the face of the love of my life, but now I know better.
"Lya-"
"Don't you dare call me that." I warn. The restraints on my wrists are the only thing keeping me from hitting him right here and now.
"You tore me apart, Ben. I've mourned for you for years. I've mourned for you." I finally let the tears cascade down my cheeks as I slump down in the chair once again. His gaze softens, strong emotion clouding his features.
"Thinking I had lost you was the greatest pain I've ever felt." He mumbles, tucking a curl behind his ear. He steps closer. I recoil.
"You left me to die." I repeat, growing furious that he somehow didn't seem to get it.
"I tried to go back for you." He corrects. He picks up a lock of my hair and twists it in between his fingers, and an involuntary shiver runs down my spine.
"And then what? Did you plan to tell me you had slaughtered everyone I cared for and expect me to be okay with it? You're pathetic, Ben." I spit, well aware that I've made a sound argument. I can tell this angers him. Because I've known him since we were just children, I knew every button to push to result in infuriating him.
"Stop saying that wretched name. I killed Ben Solo. I am Kylo Ren and you will address me as such." He threatens, his face coming dangerously close to my own. I feel his hot breath on my lips and I swallow.
"You're right. You did kill Ben Solo, the man that I loved with all of my being." I can't look at him anymore. I can't see those brown eyes without feeling a piercing, white-hot pain in my chest.
"Get. Out." His deep voice is clipped then, and he takes a step back.
"Like hell I will."
"GET OUT!" He roars, his hand resting on the handle of the lightsaber attached to his belt. I scramble to my feet, fearing for my life, and hurry to the room's entrance.
"Get her a room with a shower and a bed to sleep in." He orders of the troopers outside, his voice still raised which causes them to jump.
"No! I want to stay in the cell, with the people who truly care about me." I argue, finally glaring into his eyes.
Within minutes I am hustled back into the holding cell. The door has barely shut behind me when, to the dismay of Nikana and Sheva, I collapse, tears wetting my cheeks and sobs wracking my small form.
-
they've finally reunited!
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