The Last Knight

Ch.1: Surviving

9/20/2020 : Author's Note: I don't know if anyone is actually ever going to read this story, but if you're seeing this- welcome! I'm glad you're here. I'm fairly new to Star Wars, but I used to write a ton of Hunger Games fanfics back in the day. I'm finishing school so I might not update super quickly, but I promise that I have the full story laid out and I very much intend to complete it. I hope you enjoy it. :) 

10/12/2022: Edited and reposted

Your heart skipped a beat as Luke Skywalker read your name off the small piece of paper he had pulled out of a worn cap. It was your first duel, and even though you didn't believe in anything, you prayed to the gods that you would have an evenly matched opponent. Or, at the very least, you wouldn't get knocked out within the first ten seconds.

You looked around the circle at your companions, padawans eagerly awaiting the other name to be drawn. Friday afternoons had become something to look forward to at the Jedi Temple. Luke's latest mission? Urging the students to feel the force run through their bodies during combat without relying on their lightsabers for everything.

At first, naturally, the very idea had been met with groans and sarcasm. Any youngling that thinks of a Jedi obviously pictures the swift accuracy of their blades. After the war, Jedi had become something of a myth. Most of the padawans in the group had heard the legends, had had parents who fought in the war. Once they made the journey to fetch their own Kyber Crystals, with Luke Skywalker of all people, they'd sooner give up an arm than a saber.

You had to admit, you were included in that group. Though you didn't grow up with the legends, you had come to be very jealous of those that did. Every new skill, new challenge, that had awaited you in this temple had been a complete surprise. On the very first day of your training, another girl around your age had asked about the lightsabers. You, on the other hand, had not known how to write in the common tongue.

It wasn't the legends that had you dreading the moment that Master Luke read your name from the scrap of parchment though. It was that you were afraid of falling behind. While you assumed you should have been growing into a woman by now, your short, scrawny stature remained stubbornly the same. Your best friend Iyra joked with you that your body didn't know how to survive in this humid environment. She said it only knew how to grow in the snow. You were doomed to remain a child forever.

So, in short, you were about to have your ass handed to you unless he paired you with one of the brand-new trainees. You studied Luke's face as he squinted in the afternoon sun, shamefully hoping that would pick a brand-new trainee.

"Ah," You noticed a flicker of something strange across his face as he looked at the next slip of paper. The expression only lasted for a split second before he called out the name with a warm smile, "Ben."

Well, shit.

You felt your stomach drop. You looked across the large circle at Ben Solo, undoubtedly the Jedi Temple's most talented student. The boy from the family of war heroes. The next chosen one. Every girl's heartthrob. Not to mention, Luke's favorite by a longshot. His circle of friends clapped him on the back and he laughed, cracking his knuckles jokingly. He was at least a foot taller than you, maybe more, and he had speed to rival even your master. If you survived this, it would be a miracle. And even if you did survive physically, the wounds to your pride would probably suck the remaining life out of you.

You snapped out of your daze when you heard your name called again. "Oh, uh, sorry." You stumbled into the middle of the circle and gulped. Could they tell you were shaking? Would Luke let you off the hook if you vomited all over Ben's boots?