Let the Light In

Chapter 35: Median

Chapter 35: Median

Rey gulped uncomfortably, following Maz when she beckoned.

The little woman was laughing delightedly.

"Oh, my dear Ben!" she tittered more to herself, than Rey, "You really did it now didn't you? You scruffy little tach..."

When they reached on of the hanging gardens, Maz turned sharply on her heel, and shoved Rey onto one of the benches, then promptly stood with her hands on her hips and studied the slightly alarmed woman before her with twinkling, magnified eyes.

"Tell me everything!"

Rey could only gape at her.

"Come on girl, don't be shy. I can feel a difference in you, so there's really now use hiding it."

Rey shook her head slightly, trying to clear her fuzzed thoughts that were shaken so by the insistent little woman.

Maz rolled her eyes, "I understand if you want to keep this from Leia and Luke, and I somewhat agree with you...But do you really think it's clever to keep it all bottled up?" Her face softened when she cupped Rey's face and lifted her head so their gazes met.

After a drawn moment, Rey sighed and shook her head again.

Maz nodded, a vaguely triumphant smile on her face, and waited patiently.

"I don't know what you want me to say, Maz..." Rey's voice was shaky.

The woman reached down and plucked Rey's saber from her belt, then turned it over and over in her hands. Maz stared at it as if it was telling her all Rey's dirty secrets, explaining in fine detail just how the battle on Hoth went...And how it ended.

For all Rey knew, it most likely was.

"These are exceptional components... You built this on Yavin Four?"

"Yes."

"You got all these pieces from the temple?" Maz didn't even look surprised.

"Yes," Rey mumbled, quieter than she had last time, losing her brazenness.

"You got them from Ben's room, didn't you?"

Rey had to hand it to the woman, she pulled no punches.

"Yes." It was a whisper.

"And he was guiding you the whole way, wasn't he?"

Rey pinned the woman with her own challenging look once more, "You obviously know the answers, so why even ask?"

Maz laughed, completely unfazed, "Because I enjoy hearing you admit to it! And the way you answer me is rather telling on the whole."

Rey chose to ignore that for the time being, "How did you know I got them from his room?"

Maz shrugged, "If a person spends long enough with an item, they begin to imprint upon it. I can sense his mark in this saber, and I highly doubt that whatever you two actually got up to on Cato Neimoidia was enough to warrant this level of residual energy."

Rey didn't even know why she tried to defy this whirlwind of a woman in the first place. It was hopeless, as it had been before.

"Yes, he helped me on Yavin Four, and before you even ask, yes he helped me on Dromund as well. And yes," Rey's voice was low just in case the trees and vines had ears, "he helped me off Hoth."

Maz hooted a gleeful laugh, handing the hilt back to Rey.

"I knew it! You are a mediocre liar at best, Rey. I suggest you brush up on that if you wish to keep this whole affair secret-"