The Prettiest Star - Star Wars - Kylo Ren

VI

Aya couldn't sleep. She could sense it; she could sense him. Every night a feeling would rise in her chest, it felt like a solid metal ball had been thrust in her ribs and was stifling her. It stopped her from sleeping. She knew it was nervousness yet she didn't feel nervous. It was Kylo Ren.

She would stare at the dark ceiling, below her she could hear the sound of Poe softly sleeping. The room felt cold even when she wrapped the quilt tighter around herself. Time seemed lost, she would lose track if she had been lying there for minutes or hours. Sometimes it felt like days before the call sounded.

Of course she would sleep occasionally. But the sleep was restless and shattered like an uneven heartbeat. It would be filled with visions of terror and darkness that never scared her but always woke her. When she awoke she was always drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. He was coming.

To pass the time she began constructing a new personality and life in preparation. She gave herself two parents and a home planet. She built memories and buildings in which she grew up in. She imagined herself at different ages, a troublesome child, a pain-filled youth. Every night she would focus on small details, the colour of her bedroom walls, the names of her tutors.

Due to her lack of memories in the first place, it was incredibly easy for her to remember what she made. Over time they began to feel real and she felt herself easily slipping into the character she constructed. She felt more human, more complete, as she did this. Emotions and pain began to make more sense.

She catered her character to Kylo Ren. She knew a lot about him and knew what type of person he would like and let in. It was well-known that he was the son of General Leia Organa herself and the famous smuggler Han Solo. The General had once commended Aya on her commitment to the cause via hologram, she seemed like a wonderful woman. She could not be more different to her son.

Aya felt herself changing as she built herself. She became more spiteful, she talked less. Whenever something went wrong she got angrier more quickly. She decided that her parents had abandoned her as a child only to get themselves killed in the Intergalactic War. Soon she began to feel wronged, she began to feel hatred towards them. Every now and then she had to remind herself that it never happened.

When she returned from a solo mission one day, she felt a familiar aching inside of her, a dull, headache-like pain. She knew as soon as she landed in the familiar docking bay that today was the day. Weeks of preparation and sleepless nights all led up to this day. She dreaded it.

As she climbed down the ladder and out of the cockpit various other people scrambled around it, reloading and refuelling her X-wing. BB-8 was lowered out of it gently as she stood by her beloved ship, staring up at it. She knew that the mission was the last time she had driven it. Distracted in thought, she didn't notice time pass and Poe walk up behind her.

Suddenly she was engulfed by a familiar hug. He buried his face into her shoulder, he smelt like oil, fuel, and gunpowder, the smell of an X-wing cockpit. Aya filled with guilt and sadness, she couldn't bear to betray him. She would have moved away from him however she was too tired to do so. The familiar feeling of BB-8 pressing into her legs joined him, Aya felt horrendous.

Eventually Poe pulled away and she turned to face him, he placed his hands gently on her shoulders. "Are you okay?" He asked warmly. "You haven't been acting yourself."

She shook her head, avoiding his gaze. "I'm just very tired."

Aya felt him gently rub his thumb across her right cheek. Every cell he touched shot comfort into her but it only added to the growing guilt that was eating at her. "I know." He said softly. "You haven't had a full night's sleep for weeks. I can hear you tossing and turning."

She looked up and into his eyes, their close proximity alarming her. They were filled with concern, he cared for her. She felt sick. Poe smirked, his lip curled upwards causing a crease to form on his face. He had smirked like that to her on many an occasion and she had seen many people swoon under it. "You know you can tell me anything right?" He said softly.

Aya could hardly breathe. What had she done? Dozens of emotions were radiating from him, but the most startling of all was love. He loved her. She felt herself begin to panic. Words formed in her mouth but failed to make it past her lips. She stood there, gaping, trying to speak. In a daze she noticed the slight stubble on his chin and how his hot breath fanned onto her like a warm summer wind.

It happened so quickly that even her, with the force in her blood, didn't have time to react. She felt his hand moving to cup her neck as his lips pressed onto hers. They were warm and soft, burning with a desire she didn't return.

For a few seconds, Aya was in shock, unable to respond.

Finally she got control of her own body and ripped herself away from him and his embrace. She stumbled backwards, almost tripping over BB-8 in the process. "I'm so sorry, Poe. I'm so sorry." She stammered, the world seemed to tip and turn, her vision blurred. She forgot she was standing in the now empty hangar.

"What is it? What's wrong?" He asked, concern lacing every word so thickly she could almost taste it.

"Poe, I'm so sorry. You need to run."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The First Order, they're coming. They're coming today." She said shakily before gripping the sides of his arms, he didn't say anything, only stared at her. "They're going to come and kill you."

Something changed in his voice, something she didn't understand. "I don't know what you're talking about."

She felt her insides shatter into a million pieces as she spoke. "I have a tracking device in my locker. Kylo Ren is on his way with his army."

Poe froze. A few stale seconds passed before he slowly backed away from her. "What- What have you done?" No emotion at all sat in his words.

Sobs wracked her body but tears didn't fall. "I have done something terrible. Something I'll never forgive myself for. You need to go now. And take BB-8 with you."

He stepped away even more, shaking his head. "No. I- I need to warn the others."

"There's no time." She walked towards him as she spoke.

He began to pick up his pace, jogging towards the exit. Aya did something she never thought she could do.

With a miserable expression, she checked the room for anyone else. No-one. So, with a shaky hand, she raised her left arm and flicked it. A barrel of strength surged though the force like the ripples of a lake. It spiralled towards Poe and she felt it as it encased him.

She ran over and caught him before he hit the ground, unconscious. As swiftly as possible, she carried him to his X-wing. "BB-8, get in." She commanded and the little bemused droid complied.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered to the motionless Poe as she carefully strapped him in to the pilot's seat.

"BB-8," She turned to the droid that was now sat in the X-wing. "I want you to take him as far away from here as possible. He'll wake up when it's over."

The little droid began to argue in a series of confused beeps. 'What about you?'

"No, forget about me. I'll be okay. Just do what I say." There was a commanding tone in her voice that BB-8 didn't recognise, it scared it. "Take Poe away to somewhere where you are both safe."

With that she jumped down from the X-wing and walked away without saying goodbye.