Chapter Text
“I’ll come back sweetheart, I promise.”
Rey’s eyes fluttered open, only to see a familiar face staring at her.
“I thought I just woke from my nightmare,” she muttered, shutting her eyes firmly.
With any luck, she could just go back to sleep until he was gone.
“I didn’t want to wake you,” he said icily, “Was that a mistake?”
She rolled to her other side so that her back was to him. Her heart was in her throat as she contemplated his question. Would she rather he wake her next time, or that he watch her sleep? Even if he weren’t technically watching her, he would still have to be mindful of what noise he made. He would still have to be mindful of her.
“Leave,” she commanded pointlessly, knowing full well that neither of them could disconnect the bond.
She heard him sigh from where he was sitting, back against the wall, across from her cot. Briefly, she wondered what he had been doing before the Force bond had interrupted him. She chose not to ask. She hadn’t expected to see him so soon after escaping Crait, and she didn’t know what to say to him. If only she could go back to sleep and deal with this later, after she had a decent rest and could clear her head.
“I’ll wake you next time, then,” he decided, his voice still cold.
A spark ignited in her chest, incensed by the fact that he seemed angry with her. How could he be putting this on her? Blaming her? He’d led her right to Snoke. He’d refused to stray from the First Order. And then, he had killed Luke.
She shoved herself upright, the beating of her blood harsh against her veins as she turned to glare at him.
But he was already gone.
---
Rey strode out of the Falcon moments later to what seemed to be the remaining Resistance members setting up a camp. There were twenty or so that she could see. Was this really everyone who was left? In her pause, she noticed Finn headed towards her.
“Rey! You’re finally awake!” he exclaimed, reaching out to hug her.
“How long was I sleeping? What’s going on?” she asked.
Obviously they had landed, and they weren’t being attacked. The immediate surroundings were dense with plants and trees. Under her feet, the earth was damp and soft.
“After we left Crait, we were contacted by Resistance sympathizers on Zar En, which is where we are now. You slept through morning, but General Leia advised us to let you rest after all that Force wrangling you did,” he explained, “We’re just setting up base and trying to gather some resources now. The plan is to lie low while we regroup. It’s not ideal, but with our numbers, we don’t have much of a choice but to stay off the radar for a while.”
Rey didn’t miss the animation of his voice, or the way he had referred to the Resistance as ‘we,’ but she made no comment on it. If he was right, she would have plenty of time to learn of the reason behind his newfound willingness to be a part of the Resistance.
She inhaled the strangely humid air, thick with the scent of moss, and squared her shoulders. “How can I help?”
---
A meeting was called. Ren was doing well to look attentive, despite not paying much attention to the conversation happening around him. He was rather absorbed in his earlier encounter with Rey.
She slept much more soundly than he ever had, and he had no reason to disturb that. She looked so peaceful and untethered. Light pooled around her, ebbing and flowing with each of her breaths. Then she caught him staring at her, and she saw something written all over his face that caused her to turn away. How he wished she had turned away in disgust.
“Right, Supreme Leader?” Hux’s shrill voice pulled Ren back to the meeting.
“I disagree,” Ren deadpanned, secretly enjoying the pained expression his response elicited from Hux.
“On what grounds?” Hux asked, trying to imbue sweetness in his frustrated tone.
“The Resistance had been severely wounded in terms of numbers, but so has the First Order. We must crush them now while they are at their weakest, but we do not have the resources to find them and launch a full scale attack without putting ourselves at risk.”
Hux leered at Ren as though he has just repeated what everyone had been discussing for the last hour. “And what do you suggest?” he spat.
“I will comb the Force to find them, and then I will go with a small guard--”
“With all due respect, the Resistance may be few in numbers, but they are great in strength. We must not underestimate the combined powers of Leia Organa and the girl that killed former Supreme Leader Snoke,” Hux interrupted pompously.
Ren’s chair squeaked as he rose and threw Hux across the room.
---
On the third day after landing, Rey had scoped out a large area of the forest in which they were settled. The land under the Falcon sloped down facing south, which lead to a vast basin of reddish water with massive crimson colored aquatic plants that loitered along the surface. To the north and east were forest, and the west was a steep rocky hill that seemed to suggest they were in a ravine. She stopped by the lake in the morning to wash her face with the cold water before setting out to look for good, dry wood in the forest. As she approached the lake, she saw Rose filling her canteen.
“Good morning, Rey!” Rose greeted, waving to her.
Finn had introduced them days before, and it had dawned on Rey that perhaps this girl had something to do with Finn’s newfound loyalty for the Resistance. Still, she hadn’t had the chance to tease him about it yet, since they had been so busy setting up camp and establishing communication protocol with their allies of Zar En. All of their communications had to be handwritten and delivered in person, as the Resistance was not about to risk broadcasting their messages into space.
“Good morning, Rose,” Rey responded, crouching beside her and staring into the murky red.
She dipped one cupped hand into the water, then bent closer to the surface and splashed her face with it. Despite its coolness, she didn’t feel very refreshed.
“The Zar En people are coming to help us fish and identify plants today, will you be around?” Rose asked.
Rey shook her head. “I’m going out into the forest again today. We need more dry wood,” she replied.
Even though the Resistance was low in numbers, Rey wasn’t used to being surrounded by so many others all the time. She found it necessary to go exploring on her own so she could have a break from everyone. Especially as the ‘Last Jedi,’ she was ever popular around camp. Additionally, being alone meant that she didn’t have to worry about seeming crazy if Ben appeared to her. Luckily, he hadn’t since their arrival, but she knew it was only a matter of time.
Rose nodded, maybe understanding that Rey needed some space. “Alright. Hey, let me know if you see any cool caves! I’m no geologist, but I can tell calcite from halite.”
Rey smiled. “Sure thing. Maybe if we’re lucky, there will be some Kyber crystals too.”
Rose beamed at the suggestion, making Rey feel a little more at ease and ready to face the day.
---
Ren tossed and turned, unable to sleep once again. The old fools of the First Order didn’t respect him as much as Hux, and Hux was just waiting his turn to stab him in the back. His head felt hollow ever since Snoke’s death. He was beginning to wonder if his ascension to Supreme Leader was a pyrrhic victory. He’d gotten what he’d wanted, but at what cost?
And then there was Rey. She was so naïve and stubborn. And so self-righteous. Why must the Force insist on connecting them?
He reached out to the Force in search of answers, but only received the same lackluster silence as always.
“I’ll come back sweetheart, I promise.”