Across The Stars // Star Wars (Sequels)

✰Chapter 41✰

Even though the sun has been under for hours, I am still in the Temple, reading the night away. My eyes are burning but I keep reading, determined to find the answer to the question that has been occupying my mind for days, ever since I meditated by the lake with Rey. I have lost count how many books I have sifted through the past couple of days.

Every few minutes, I doze off and my head drops to the side, waking me right up again. My adopted Porg, which I named Jazzy, is asleep on my shoulder. I rub my hand down my face after falling asleep for the third time in the last five minutes and force myself to stay awake for a little while longer. I brush a loose strand of hair behind my ear before turning the page.

"Rave? What are you doing up?" Poe's voice asks and I look up, seeing him approach me. He wipes his hands on a rag before stuffing it in his pocket. BB-8 follows closely behind, excitedly greeting me with a few beeps.

"Oh, hey. I thought you guys wouldn't be back until tomorrow?" I say, suppressing a yawn. Two days ago, Poe and his unit went to a system in the Mid Rim to gather supplies.

"It is tomorrow," he says and I look over my shoulder, seeing the sun rising in the distance. "Please don't tell me you've read through the night."

"I think I'm getting close to finding an answer. I just have to keep looking," I reply. 

"Rave..." Poe sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "What's going on? Why won't you give yourself a break?" 

"It's nothing. I just-" 

"It's not nothing," he says, kneeling in front of me, placing a gentle hand on my leg. "Hey, talk to me. What's wrong?" 

"It's just..." I start. "Doing all this stuff for the Resistance, training Rey, and now I'm a general too. It's all just a bit much. And I really want to find an answer to this stupid question." 

Poe smiles softly, tucking the strand of hair behind my ear that fell back down. "Come on, I have an idea." He takes my hand and I'm too exhausted to resist him, so I get up. 

"What? Poe, no, I've got work to do," I try.

"Not in this state, you're not. Come on." He doesn't let go of my hand as he drags me to his hut. He leaves me outside as he rushes inside, emerging seconds later with a book in hand. He then wraps an arm around my shoulders, bringing me to a tree behind the hut. He sits down and pats the ground. I sigh, smiling softly before sitting down between his legs, resting my back against his chest. He opens the book and dramatically clears his throat, making me giggle. 

"There once was a tribe of nomadic people on the distant, dusty planet of Tatooine who, for many months, had been terrorised by a fearsome dragon," he begins to read. I nestle my head into him and close my eyes, listening to the soothing tone of his voice. 

"What story is this?" I mumble softly.

"The Knight and the Dragon," he replies. 

"I didn't know you read books," I remark jokingly. 

"I don't. Finn gave it to me," he answers. "Now shush." I giggle and he presses a kiss to my head before continuing, "These were a simple people, with simple needs, who had for generations eked out an uncomplicated existence in the harsh desert sands, trading with the other tribes for water and sustenance, salvaging the wreckage left behind by those careless few who shared their world." 

The story continues, but I miss the remainder of it as I drift off to sleep. 

***

"What do you think, BB-8?" I ask the droid sitting next to me. He beeps a couple of times and I chuckle softly, patting his head. "Yeah, I agree."

We watch in anticipation as Rey leaps over the canyon, landing into a somersault. Dirt stains her white attire, but she keeps going. The small, round training droid follows her to the next canyon. She stops halfway on the rope that is strung over the canyon and she flips down the cover of the helmet, blinding herself in the process. She raises Anakin's Lightsaber and prepares herself as the droid opens fire on her.