Chapter Text
Jakku was a peaceful town, despite the current war raging in the main cities of the Kingdom. Located in a valley between two mountains and divided by a small river, the place was humid and bitten by the harsh winds. Only a few tiny naked trees and small prickly bushes managed to grow around the town, despite the dampness, because rain happened rarely. The area was wide and the sky was almost always clear of any clouds. Whilst the city was always wet, the higher a person climbed in the hills, the more arid it became. Mist clung to every surface and the air was dry and cold. The mountains were home to the witches.
The river, a small stream of crystal clear water taking its source upper in the mountains within the colder regions of the Takodana Lake could be crossed by a small stone bridge, and a train usually connected the isolated place with the rest of the Kingdom of The Rims. Otherwise, most locals used the tramways that littered the streets.
Jakku was also an old town, with old people and old buildings that had recently attracted new inhabitants due to its neutral stance on the conflict at stake. The town now flourished with artists, scientists, witches and new innovations. It hadn’t known such prosperity in decades. Hat shops, bakeries and apothecary shops lined the paved streets. Among these stores sat Scrap Glass.
The owner, an old man with a little too much white hair had died a few days ago, leaving the store without any proper supervision. Most fine ladies and gossipers already thought that the shop would be inherited by Rey, self-proclaimed ’’no one’’, and only true worker in the store. Rey herself was most inclined to take care of the shop, especially with her apartment on the second floor. Rey didn’t own much, but she hoped that her hard work would pay off, and that she could hold ownership of Scrap Glass. She already considered new names, the one already written on the front glass not really suiting her taste. She wasn’t picky, but sometimes, for business, she thought, she could be.
Rey had quite the luck, actually, working and doing fine at only 19. Most people her age were still at school, or didn’t have a job at all. She considered herself in a good situation…
Sighing, she looked down at the piece of paper in her hand. Well, that could have gone better. The tramway had stopped halfway to her destination, and she had had to run the last remaining miles. She had been late; she was dressed in her work uniform, beige and dirty. Pulling air into her lungs, she put a free strand of hair back into one of her buns. Now was not the time to step back. The ownership was a great opportunity, both for Rey and the old ladies that worked with her. She couldn’t risk losing the proprietary rights to someone like Plutt, her old caretaker. He already possessed a plethora of buildings in the area, and was quite the unpleasant man. No way was she going to work for him again. Rey climbed the stairs and knocked on the wooden door.
An old woman opened the door.
’’And you are?’’ She croaked.
The woman looked her up and down before huffing and stepping back to let Rey enter.
’’Miss Glasser I assume?’’
Rey nodded slowly. Following the maid, they went deeper into the building, before finally stopping in front of yet another door with a sign reading Master Kor’bo. Trying to find something to say to apologize for her lateness, she entered the room and came face to face with a very angry Unkar Plutt. He seemed to have gained several new pounds and some new wrinkles. Trying to stop herself from frowning, Rey looked at the second man, sitting on a black leathered chair, his back facing a tall fancy window. The armchair seemed more expensive than her whole apartment. She assumed the one sitting on it, with his back straight and his face severe was Master Kor’bo.
’’Please, Miss Glasser, take a seat.’’ He gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk. Rey obliged and waited for Plutt to do the same.
’’It seems that we are to begin now…’’ Kor’bo announced, sorting through a mountain of papers. Rey gulped.
***
The meeting went on for a few hours before the maid escorted her out. Breathing the fresh air, she looked at the sky, shuddering. Evening was falling. The paper she held until the start of the meeting was shredded, a little wet due to her sweaty hands and turning yellow on the corners. Rey smiled to herself. In your face, Plutt. The road home seemed shorter than usual, driven by the feeling of victory. She felt like a war hero when she got back to the shop, yelling ’’I’m back!’’. Two white heads peeked from the workshop, smiling.
’’Welcome home Rey!’’ the first woman chirped. ’’So, how did the meeting go?’’
’’Fine, sort of,’’ Rey snorted before giving the two women her brightest and biggest smile, ’’Actually, better than fine, the store is mine.’’
The elders had never seen the young woman so delighted, and they had no trouble sharing the joy that floated in the air. A few clients quickly congratulated Rey, asking her if she planned some big changes or if she would just sell the store, to which the new owner responded that yes, you should all expect some new stuff and that no, she would never sell the store. They opened a bottle of fine alcohol, and they all swallowed several glasses of the drink before Rey ended up walking like a newborn doe. She knew that she should not even touch the amber liquid, but it was too much of a good moment to pass. Of course, she thought, the headache would be terrible once the morning came, but she didn’t mind, her brain already working slower than normally and making her vision faded at the edges. It was only when the old ladies made a remark that her cheeks turned a little too red for her liking that she attempted to calm down.
Her blissful state, however, faded and left Rey exhausted, her eyelids heavy and her mind foggy. Her day had been stressful, and full of emotions, and she needed a few hours to get some well-deserved rest. Biding good night to the last customers and to her coworkers, she proceeded to lock the door and leap up the stairs. The moon was already high up in the night sky, plunging her room in an ethereal and relaxing blue haze. The town was quiet at that hour, and she hummed to herself while she undid her three buns. Her chocolate brown hair flowed back to her shoulders and she took a long look at her reflection. Her eyes were glassy and swollen, and indeed, her cheeks were a deeper shade of red than she had ever seen them.
’’I can do this. I can do this.’’
Rey rubbed her eyes and sooner than later, she was asleep.
***
A castle entered the town that night, silently making its way to the base of the mountains, unbeknownst to the inhabitants below. It would only be in the morning that the impressive sight of the castle and the knowledge of its occupants would spread like wildfire.