Theodosia

Chapter 31

When she found him, he was sitting beside Leia's death bed, head in his hands as he hunched over just a few steps away from where Leia's body was resting mere moments before. She walked up to him, taking a seat beside him. He raised his head a bit to see who it was. She offered him a small smile, unsure what to say.

"So, you knew, huh?" he asked quietly.

She nodded. "I didn't know how to break it to you," she admitted quietly. Silence again. She reached over the cloth lying on the cot, hands placed on the thin fabric where Leia was once.

"The ghost you spoke of," Poe said suddenly, and she drew her hands back to look at him. "...back in the temple. They pass on to the Force?"

"They're part of the Living Force now, yes," she responded. "They die in peace, and they can come back as spirits. She did too."

"Was it...right after?" he asked, and he scrunched his eyebrows, still not quite able to accept her death. He wished for a few minutes with her. Just a few...She'd probably tell him to stop mourning and lead the Resistance. Pick himself up and focus. But still, the idea of her being gone was...something else.

This time Theo paused. She had felt it. On the way to the Resistance base, she had felt something strike across her wavering bond with Ren. A blast of the Force, you could say. A change of heart. Like a crescendo building up to this one revelation before it resolved just the same; peace flew through the bond and it had taken her a while to truly feel it. At the same time of his change, Leia had faded into the Force. Her mission was accomplished. Her son was no longer Kylo Ren.

He was Ben.

It had taken Theo a while to understand what had happened. She had meditated on it though while they were flying in the Falcon and when she finally opened her eyes, she had to release a deep breath, recovering from the intensity of what Ren was feeling.

"She was holding out for him," she said softly. She didn't need to say who for Poe to understand. He simply nodded, eyes landing on the cloth.

The death of the general brought a gloom over the base of the Resistance. People were worried; they were outnumbered. The dark side was even stronger, armed with an entire fleet of Star Destroyers capable of killing entire planets.

The Resistance- what was left of it- were a small group compared to the army Palpatine had. The death of Leia amplified the hopelessness they had all been feeling. And now it fell upon Poe's shoulders to make things right.

"For what it's worth," Theo said after a while. "If I had to follow anyone's lead here, it'd be you."

Something passed over his face. "You can't be so sure."

"Alright, fine, you got me. I'd rather follow Matt," she joked lightly, bumping his shoulder. He gave a small laugh despite himself.

"I don't know what to do," he started. "I don't even know where to begin. It's just- How did it all end up like this? I knew there was a war. I knew that we had to fight it. But I never thought...never imagined that we'd be fighting it without her..."

She grasped one of his hands, giving it a squeeze. "She passed knowing the Resistance was in capable hands," she said comfortingly. "We can do this, Poe. You're a leader-"

"You weren't there when we took down that Dreadnought." He shook his head. "So many lives lost because of what I did. My decision led to their deaths. And now, what, I'm supposed to lead all these people in a battle we're going to lose? Lead another group of innocent people to their deaths."

"But you learned from it, Poe," she said. "You're actually stopping to think things through. You actually care about the people fighting under you and that speaks volumes of the leader that you are. Yes, maybe you might not be the best leader of the galaxy, but you are here now. These people need a leader, Poe. But above all, they need someone with a good heart who knows what he's fighting for. What's at stake. Hope, Poe. Hope gets you a long way."