paper prison ➝ star wars

viii

"There's someone out there."

Rey looked up from the maps of the galaxy Luke had given her to study, and stared at the latter in surprise. He was stood in the doorway of her stone hut, turned so she could see his profile, his eyes unfocused. He had felt something change in the force.

"How? We're in the middle of nowhere - how could anyone have found us here?" she asked, a furrow forming between her brows.

Luke closed his eyes, his lips parting, not answering her. He, too, was frowning - but all Luke did was frown. "She's on the shore. She has the powers of one from the dark side."

Rey was on her feet in moments. "I'll go down, Master Skywalker."

Luke nodded, turning away from her. "Bring her to me. Unharmed."

He hadn't even made it down the corridor before Rey had snatched up her lightsaber, hoisted the strap that held her staff over her shoulders, and raced out of the temple.

In moments, she was flying down the many, many stairs leading down to the beach, where the force was telling her the girl was. Wind whistled in her ears, whipping the stray hair that had escaped from her buns across her face. Her lightsaber was ready on her belt, and her face was set like a warrior's.

Any other Jedi would have been filled with hatred for the unknown dark sider. But she wasn't going after her of her own accord. It was Luke who wanted her - she was just fetching her. Even so, Rey wasn't afraid to come to blows with the girl. If she fought back, Rey would fight back harder. 

Plus, if she could take Kylo Ren on, she could take on some girl.

She was ready. This would all be over in minutes. 

When her feet finally hit the sand of the beach and her eyes clamped onto the girl, however, she doubted that would be true.

At a glance, she was young, she was lost, and she was sopping wet. Her eyes were desperate as she stumbled across the beach, and Rey could see that she was growing more panicked by the minute. At a glance, she might have passed the girl off as weak and vulnerable, deciding her master had made a mistake, and would lower her blade with pity and help her.

But the darkness pulsing through the girl's force signature told Rey to do the opposite.

So, slowly at first, she began to run. There was a lot of beach to cover. Her brisk jog gradually built to a run as the waves crashed onto the shore, and then to a sprint. Her arms started to pump at her sides, sand kicking up at her feet and biting at her ankles, her hard stare all the while fixed on the girl.

The girl stumbled about the beach, her arms folded across her chest, appearing to be trying to keep herself warm. She hadn't seemed to have noticed Rey yet. As the apprentice drew closer to the girl, her footsteps light and quick despite her pace, she saw that her lips were parted, and her brown eyes glinted with tears. Her grey tunic and pants clung slickly to her pale skin, her short white hair was plastered to her face, and she was visibly shivering. Rey had to give her credit - she put up a good facade. 

She had drawn close enough to the girl to see the whites of her eyes by the time she spotted her. Letting out a deep sigh of relief, the girl's arms fell to her sides, her eyes locked on Rey. There was no alarm in her eyes as she watched the girl draw closer and closer.

"Thank the Force! My - my ship crashed i - in the sea." She threw a hand towards the wide stretch of blue, her pale throat bobbing. "I had to swim to shore... can you help m -"