Purpose: A Kylo Ren Tale

Four

I nod my head in agreement, and open the door.

Yes, training starts today.

I'm years behind. Decades. I've never had a formal guiding hand. I have pieced together what I know of The Force from dusty books and word of mouth. Everyone knows the Jedi are gone. Most think they were myth, at this point. But the power flowing through my bloodstream tells me that The Force is real. It has always been real.

But the Jedi are dead. The Sith are dead.

So I've spent my entire adult life drifting through space, screaming into the void, begging for a mentor. Demanding that the stars hear me. I always knew there must be other Force users out there. I just couldn't be the very last of a dying breed.

"There aren't many. But you aren't alone," says the tall dark mysterious Kylo Ren, sitting at my small kitchen table.

He seems so out of place - I'd chuckle if it were absolutely anyone else in the galaxy.

The sight of him pulls me out of my head, and back into reality. He's sitting at the round table, and he's comically too large for the proportions of my home. He's in all black, head to toe, and it's a stark contrast to his surroundings. Everything in my home is natural.

Wood. Leaves. Stone. Fur. Brown. Green. Floral.

When I fixed up the cabin, I cleared out a majority of the plants that had taken up residence inside. But I liked the blurred line between indoor and outdoor, so some of them stayed. Spice grows in the kitchen window. Delicate vines trail patterns across the ceiling. A really ambitious fruit tree is half in the living room, half in the yard behind the structure.

My woodland sanctuary.

My lush secret garden.

And yet here sits the alleged Prince of Darkness himself, at my table. Leather bound hands gracefully placed on the surface before him. His eyes are trailing around the room, and from the hearth I watch him take in the scene. I'm kneeling by the fireplace, preparing water for tea. Not that I need it for my nerves. I still feel no fear, no trepidation.

I enjoy the tea process.

I strike flint until a spark appears. With a small wave of my hand, I use The Force to gently puff wind until flames grow under the kindling. Warmth begins to flood the room as fire builds under the kettle. I turn my attention to the shelf across the room that holds herb bunches and jars of preserved food. I wordlessly call some dried plants to me, they gently rise and drift across the room to my open hand. I pluck a few leaves, watch them fall neatly into the pot, and send the rest back to hang. My mind remembers that mushrooms would make a nice addition, and before I form a conscious thought, they're already floating in front of me. I add them to the steeping tea. A twitch of my finger and the contents swirl on their own.

Kylo Ren watches all of this, silently.

He says nothing, so neither do I.

I finish the brew and pour myself a mug. I look over to him, and he doesn't seem like the tea type, but I pour him some anyway. Placing both cups down, I sit across from him at the table.

A thought occurs to me - this is a man who spends more days in space than not. Living amongst droids and holograms, walking sterile halogen hallways, with a monochromatic lack of color at every turn. I could understand how from his perspective, a Force Witch recluse in the woods might seem like the type to poison with mushroom tea.

I sip first, to show him no ill will.

"Now what," I ask plainly, my hands wrapping around and warming against the pottery.

"I had intentions of testing your powers, seeing what basic skills you have. But I've been here for less than an hour and I've already sensed you meditate, levitate, slow time, read emotions, control your own, and manipulate physical objects around you," he replies.

I told you I was strong.

"You are. But you can be stronger. I can teach you."

"Under what conditions?" I inquire. I have been jaded too many times in life. I need to know exactly what price I'll have to pay for training like this. Not money, no. But a price. There is always a price in life.

"Swear your allegiance to me. To The First Order. To Supreme Leader Snoke. He is wise, and he has foreseen your future."

The words sit heavy in the air.

I have done my best to avoid this war, Order vs Resistance. I have never felt tempted to join one side or the other. My morals have always tended to fall in the middle of the scales. Have I done good deeds? Yes. Have I killed without mercy? Also yes. But I have always found a balance.

I contemplate my choices. Gazing into his eyes, I try to read his thoughts, but his guard never wavers. I weigh my options. The man at my table is offering me a path towards understanding my abilities. But he is also asking me to become a pawn on a chess board. I do not know what Snoke has foreseen, do not know how he intends to use me.

But even he does not scare me.

I fear nothing.

And I crave power.

"Okay. But I swear my allegiance only to you."

I can't read his emotions anymore, but I can read his body. I watch as his jaw slightly unclenches, his shoulders relax just a fraction of an inch, and he lets out an almost imperceptible sigh. It's subtle but it's there.

Relief.

"Were you afraid I'd refuse?"

"Afraid?" He scoffs. "I also fear nothing. Let's be very clear about that. But it would have been a shame to snuff out such a promising flame like you. It's best that you've joined our side."

I swear I saw a flicker in his eyes at the word flame.

"You said we would train here, where I am strongest. Correct?" I don't want to leave my lush forest for the cold emptiness of space.

He looks around the cottage and his face softens ever so slightly. He looks back at me with dark, but somehow also bright, eyes. "We will begin your training here, yes. I sense that the nature around you helps concentrate your powers. We will explore your potential on planet. And in time I will teach you how to harness that strength and wield it no matter where you go. Even in the cold emptiness of space."

I am satisfied with this answer.

Anything to become more powerful.

And while letting my eyes wander along his jaw, I also think it will be nice to occasionally see this handsome face in my corner of the woods. Yes, he will teach me the ways of The Force. But what else could we learn along the way?

Slowly, a mischievous smirk appears on the face across the table. "First lesson: guarding your thoughts. They speak so loudly in my mind."