A Reylo Romance: "Don't be Afraid, I Feel it Too"

The Dark Side - Part 5

LUKE
But how am I to know the good side from the dark?

YODA
You will know. When you are at peace... calm... passive.

-Star Wars, Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back

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The silence stretches on. 
I stare at the ceiling, my mind all but blank.
At some point the automatic lights shut off and I'm left in the dark, a darkness as bright to me as the noon-day sun on Jakku, the day I watched my parent's ship fly towards the blinding sphere in the sky. I couldn't see anything indoors for a while after staring at that sun. Now I can't see the metal ceiling above me anymore.

I breathe. I wait.
I close my eyes.
The silence stretches on. My wrists burn at my sides. My heart beats slowly.

Go to Coruscant. The thought is so potent I hear it as a voice in my head.
Coruscant? It's been destroyed...
The words continue.

Gather your strength Princess.

Time is now, to rise and fight
Prepare your sword for comes the night
Your heart make ready
Do not dwell on sorrow.
For no longer is it today,
But now, it is tomorrow.

Your mind is strong,
Your heart will know,
You will lose only that
of which your heart does let go.

A tear glides down my cheek. I don't want to let go. Give me strength not to let him go. And yet I have a feeling Kylo and I will not be allies in this fight. Not the way we planned. But I refuse to let him go that easily. I won't give him over to the Dark Side so quickly.

Go now, take Kylo Ren's light saber.

Within it lies the strength of more than men,
the strength of the Sith Lords, the Knights of Ren

But do not use its power
Do not use its strength
Do not by its might
Allow for it to you tempt

Then the voice is gone, yanked from my mind, and my head throbs. Then there is a moment of peace and calm. And I know I'm ready.

My ears wake to a beeping sound, my eyes to the bright overhead lights.

"Rey are you okay?" It's BB-8. I can't see her but she's near my feet.

"BB-8? Did I fall asleep? How long was I out?"

"No, you were just not moving for three and a half minutes. I thought you died," her beeps are high, piercing at my heart. "It was dark. I came out from hiding even though you told me to stay there. I wanted to see if you were okay. Then the lights turned back on and you didn't say anything when I talked to you. You didn't move at all."

I swallow hard. "I'm sorry BB-8. I'm okay."
The words return to me, you will lose only that, of which your heart does let go.
"I will never let go of you, Okay?" I say looking down at BB-8. "Ever."

She stops moving around, but doesn't respond. Then a moment later she says. "Will you carry me then?"

I stifle a tiny laugh. "I mean I will never let us be apart, okay?"

"Okay."

"Now help me out of these restraints."

BB-8 reaches out her tool extensions towards the arm clasps. "Are we going to run away?"

"Yes, but not yet."

"I can't undo the clasps." She withdraws her extensions then takes out a tiny screw driver.

"Brilliant!" I say. My heart beats faster. I can't shake the feeling that Hux or Kylo will walk in any minute. "Hurry BB-8."

BB-8 unscrews the hinges on my right arm restraint and the metal falls to the floor. She hurries to the other side so fast that she loses balance and scrapes the side of her head.

"It's okay, it's okay," I say. "I got this one." With my free hand I unlatch the other arm band and then bend down to free my feet too.

"Rey, are they going to hurt you?"

I climb down from the chair, my muscles stiff, my wrists burning.

"No BB-8," I wrap my arms around her small metal body. "We'll be just fine. I promise." I pull back to look at her. She's got skid marks on the side of her head in many places, and one of her doors is dented in. I run my fingers over the markings on her head. I know she doesn't have pain sensors but I blink back tears anyway. "How's your head? Can you move it around just fine?"

"Yes," BB-8 drops her head down slowly. "I thought Kylo liked me."

"He does," I pat her little body. "He's just dealing with a lot right now, being back here with Hux and Snoke."

"He was yelling at you."

I frown.

"If we leave him here," she continues, "will Hux kill him?"

"No. I don't think they'll kill Luke either. I think they need him alive, and that they need all of us who still have the power of the Force alive, to do whatever they're planning."

"What are they planning?"

"I don't know, but I know what we have to do. We have to go to Coruscant."

"But Coruscant was destroyed."

"I don't think it was. I think Hux is lying."

"So we won't see Kylo again?"

"Well, I have to get his light saber from him first, before we leave."

BB-8 lets out a high beep.

"I just need you to stay close to me okay?" I say. "And out of sight, and out of the way."

BB-8 nods.

"We need a plan and I need your help."

"I found a way to connect to console and the ship's computer while I was hiding under the control panel," BB-8 says. "Will that help?"

"Brilliant girl," I say. "That will definitely help."