Temptation Of Grey

Chapter 21 - Fate and oath

In close embrace, both sat quietly together and realized, astonished, that they had actually managed to save each other instead of destroying themselves. And they knew it was the way to go, the path that would finally bring them both to their fate. Whatever this fate would look like in the end.

Ben's hand stroked gently over Rey's neck and hairline. Then, leaning back with a slightly ironical smile, he said with a raised eyebrow, "You have not explained one thing to me yet, perhaps the most important secret you still have, little Scavenger." He paused dramatically and Rey frowned half smiling, her forehead: "What so you mean?" she asked impatiently. "How did you manage to fix my grandfather's lightsaber again?"

Rey blinked in astonishment and then opened his eyes: "Right! This is THE most important thing I have not told you yet!" She jumped up, ran to her bag, came back with it and sat back next to Ben. "The lightsaber was extremely damaged after our dispute on the supremacy." she began to report:

"After the Resistance found a new hiding place, your mother helped me to repair the lightsaber, but at first she was against reactivating it because it had already caused a lot of mischief for historical reasons. But I was able to convince her that my instincts had advised to bring the lightsaber back to life, that it has to perform an important function in the future, whether for better or for worse, I could not say, only that it had to be so. We had to replace the defective energy cell and restore the grip. The crystal was fortunately not destroyed. "

Rey paused and smiled wistfully, "I promised your mother that you will receive the lightsaber if you prove yourself worthy ..." Ben gasped in astonishment as Rey's words entered his mind and Rey reached into her bag and pulled out the lightsaber.

Ben looked fearfully at the heritage of his grandfather, who had been both: a hero and a tyrant. He had already reached out his hand for the weapon, but then he remembered and pulled her back. "Rey, I think this gun should be led by someone more stable than I am. Besides, you need a lightsaber and I already have one."

She smiled in amusement and replied in mock seriousness: "Ben Solo, do you think I would face you and your second mind, Kylo Ren, without a weapon of my own?" With that, she reached into her pocket again and pulled out another lightsaber with a strange long handle to Ben's surprise. "I constructed my own lightsaber and think it fits to my talents and preferences in the best way."

She gazed lovingly at the gleaming chrome-strangely long weapon with an unexpected deep notch in the middle, then stood up with a lithe motion. The next moment Ben realized why Rey's lightsaber was so different from the usual weapons. She activated the blade and the lightsaber turned out to be a double cant sword, with two green energy beams at each end.

She began to guide the weapon in elegant, incredibly fast and precise movements and Ben remembered that she had been just as adept with her fight rod at the beginning of her acquaintance. Then Rey activated another slider and the double blade sword split into two separate weapons.

Ben could not help himself, he smiled approvingly and Rey grinned proudly at him. "All right, little Scavenger, I'm impressed," he replied with his hands raised and a devoted smile, "but I think my fighting style is tuned to my two additional parry blades." regretfully he looked at the sword of his grandfather.

Rey could not resist an excited grin as she grabbed Anakin's sword and placed it in Ben's open right palm: "Then you should just take a closer look at this weapon, Supremeleader!"

Ben stared in confusion, first into Rey's glazed eyes and then down to the heirloom of his family. He activated the blade and the blue energy beam shot out of the elegant weapon. Then he discovered another regulator and activated it as well. With a soft mechanical clack, two smaller openings emerged from which a moment later two parry blades shot out.

He could only gaze fixedly on the beauty of the blade, which now exactly matched the shape of his own lightsaber but was absolutely stable and precise. He swung the weapon through the air in a few blows and punctures, barely comprehending the lightness and elegance of this weapon.

He lacked the words. He deactivated the lightsaber again and had to gather for a moment, had to deal with the fact that he had to owe this weapon from his mother and Rey. Had to understand what trust his mother must have had in him, if she had allowed the restoration of this weapon in perfect match to him.

Rey had also deactivated and put together her lightsabers again and stood next to him with a slightly worried smile. "Is everything alright?"

"If everything is alright?" he answered, "Rey, you just gave me the most valuable gift I could ever have dreamed of beside my mother's letter ..." He looked at her, but there was no lightness in his eyes, more doubt and pain. "I'm just not sure if I'll ever earn my mother's trust and your generosity ..."

He bowed his head and continued to share his dark thoughts with Rey, as if it were the most natural thing of the world. "I'm not sure if I've ever earned happiness and peace after all that I've done in the past, I know I did it because I thought it was right and legitimate, but I was wrong and after my eyes have been opened, I can not undo anything. " He ruffled his hair in despair, looking despondently into the flames of the fire.

Rey left him with his thoughts for a while and waited to see if he wanted to say anything else. Than she said softly, "No, you can not undo what you did." She sensed his desperation in her confirmation and continued quickly. "But you've got a second chance and you've seized it, you can now take control of your fate and turn it to goodness from now on, you can now do whatever it takes to keep your parent's inheritance going helping to bring peace and balance to the galaxy, we can not change the past, but we can shape the future. "

Suddenly, with his usual intense burning gaze, he turned to her and answered: "Yes, you are right, I swear I will not rest until my parents' desire for peace, freedom and democracy has been fulfilled." He gently touched her cheek, a stark contrast to his wild determination. "We both will do that ...together."

She looked at him seriously and replied calmly: Yes, together!" They were silent for a moment, then Ben said: "We should sleep now and tomorrow necessarily train with the lightsabers and above all study what we have to do to complete of the next stage of development."

Rey nodded and they both laid themselves down.

For some time it was quiet, the fire burned down slowly and the cave was lit only dimly. Rey lay facing the dwindling flames, nervously aware of the heat in her back that radiated from Ben's body. Several times they had come closer in the last days and hours, and yet she was a little embarrassed in this intimate situation.

Her body, however, believed that such restraint would be a waste, as her stomach fluttered and she had to suppress the urge compulsively to turn around.

"Rey?" she froze as he whispered her name with his deep voice almost beside his ear. "Mmm?" she answered, trying to calm her pulse. "Rey, you know that I can not read your thoughts but still capture your feelings?" She blushed and narrowed her eyes.

He laughed softly: "You do not have to be embarrassed ... besides, I feel the same way." A blink of an eye later, he wrapped one of his long arms around her waist and pulled her close, as if she were not weighing anything. "That's better," he sighed, "much better."

After a few seconds, she relaxed in his arms. His breath tickled lightly in her hair, but it was a good feeling. She also smiled and leaned against him contentedly.

Then they fall asleep with a light smile on their faces and in the knowledge never to be alone anymore.