Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light;
I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night."
― Sarah Williams, Twilight Hours: A Legacy of Verse

:Six Standard Months Later:

The constant din of too many beings living too close together, was beginning to overwhelm her. She had been alone for so long on Jakku. So used to the silence of the desert. So used to the solace of her lone palette in the rusting AT-AT she had claimed as her own. Even her time on Ahch-To with Luke had lent to her solitary existence. The island had been a balm to her soul after so many years in the desert. The crash of the ocean, and the patter of the rain had soothed her like nothing she had experienced before. But here… here she was hard pressed to find a moment to be alone.

She had escaped today, into the dark cool of the forest surrounding the base they were hiding in. After years under the relentless sun of Jakku, she found the shade of the forest calming. And the silence was a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of the base. She had grabbed her staff and left in the early dawn. Fog had swirled around her legs as she hiked up the mountain, that backed the secret base, to the lake that fed the valley below.

She worked through her forms, her harsh breathing the only disturbance in the deep woods. As she moved, swirling her staff from one side to the other, jabbing and blocking an imaginary foe, steam began to rise from her exposed skin. She normally would meditate during this time, her body innately knowing how to move while her mind was able to find peace. But today, she could not find that balance. Her movements were slow and jerky, and her feet seemed to belong to someone else. When she caught her foot on a thick tree root and ended up on her hands and knees in the damp loam of the forest floor, she decided to call a halt to her work out.

Moving to the clear water, that reflected the scene around it like a crystal, she knelt at the edge and dipped her hands into clean them. A chill ran through her as she rubbed them together, and quickly wiped them on her pants to dry and warm them again. She didn't move though. Studying her reflection in the icy depths, as the ripples faded away. What was wrong with her? Why had she progressively become more and more out of tune with herself? She was surrounded by friends. Surrounded by people who loved her. She was exactly where she had always wanted to be.

Wasn't she?

The thought came unbidden, and yet, it felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders to have admitted it, even to herself. Her thoughts drifted as they had many times in the past months to Snoke's throne room upon the Supremacy. To the man who had stood before her offering her everything. To his soft, almost frightened plea, for her to stay with him. His hand held out to her, his eyes begging her not to reject him. And what had she done. She had tricked him into believing she was going to accept, only to try and steal the lightsaber from his hand.

No. She could not have accepted. It was not what she wanted. She had no desire to rule the galaxy. What she wanted was much simpler than that. And yet, she wondered, if she had said yes… if she had taken his hand… could she have been the catalyst that turned him away from that path? They were somehow connected through the Force, even after the death of Snoke, their bond was still powerful. But in the last months, she had learned to cut herself off from it in order to protect herself and her friends. She would not be the reason the First Order found their ragtag band of Resistance fighters.

Yet, as the days moved along she found herself feeling more alone amongst all of these people than she ever did on Jakku. She realized that as much as she loved these people who had become her friends… her family, there was something she was searching for. Something that no matter how much they had given her, she could not find with them. And everytime that crossed her mind, the thought of him came unbidden.

She knelt at the water's edge, the knees of her pants becoming damp, focusing on the crystal reflection before her. Taking a deep breath, she relaxes her body and reaches out across the stars. The rushing sound she hears is a physical manifestation of the Force she is using. And then suddenly it's gone, as if she had been sucked into a vacuum, devoid of anything but the two of them. She can feel his presence, he emanates the Force like a vibration, that moves through her. It is she that called him, yet she waits.

"I've been waiting for you," his deep voice scrapes across her.

She still does not turn to look at him although she feels him step closer.

"I should have made you wait longer," she growls, though her anger is more at herself than at him.

Anger at herself for her desperate need to connect with someone who understands her. For her failure to stay away from him, even though she could not stay with him.

"I can feel your anger. Don't think you're the only one who is loathing themselves right now. It seems I cannot deny you either."

She stands and turns to him finally. Stealing herself to come face to face with him once again. And when she finally met his gaze she was glad she took a moment to prepare herself. He was thinner than she remembered. And the bruises beneath his dark eyes spoke of sleepless nights. He had always had fair skin, but it almost seemed to have a translucent quality to it now. But it was his eyes that had her heart cleaving in two. Their darkness was haunted. A battle went on beyond them that was tearing him apart. She ached to move to him, to help him fight his demons, but she knew that was no longer an option.

"I don't need your pity," he nearly spit at her. "I am Supreme Leader of the First Order. I can destroy you if I choose."

Her brow furrowed. "Yet you won't."

She saw the split second of anger cross his face before he buried it and advanced on her. He was so close, her body thrummed with the power of the Force he commanded. She could see the stark white line of the scar she had given him. And even more, she still saw the man she had begun to care for.

"Ben." The word came out on barely a whisper, but she knew he had heard it.

His hand was suddenly clutching her slender throat. Squeezing ever so slightly as to make her breath catch. But not enough to hurt her. Not enough to cause her pain. Her lips parted slightly as if to get more air.

"Do not presume to know me," he growled softly close to her ear. His heated breath sending a shiver down her spine.

"If you were going to kill me you would have done it already," she challenged him with a gasp.

He pulled back and finally look at her. She hadn't changed at all. She was still more than a head shorter than him, and slight of build. Her sweet face still rounded to a pointed chin and her jaw was as stubborn as ever. Her skin has lost some of it vibrance, and her eyes held shadows that had never been there before. He could remember those eyes so clearly. Staring up into his, begging him to come with her. Soft and pleading for his trust.

He let her go suddenly as if the mere touch of her skin had burned him. She took a deep breath and two quick steps back. He could feel the fear pulsing off her body, her show of bravado at an end.

"What do you want from me?"

"I…" she began, unsure of what to say.

"I don't have time for your games, Rey."

Her her eyes widened at her name on his lips. "I'm not playing games. I needed-" she stumbled over her answer again.

"You needed what?" his voice sounded thick all of a sudden.

"I needed you," she answered ever so softly.

As she watched the play of emotions cross his face, the ground she was standing on suddenly rolled, sending her tumbling to the dirt, and breaking their connection. She cursed, and braced herself while the ground undulated beneath her. The unstable tectonic plates of the Outer Rim planet, Arisaig, caused numerous quakes to happen daily. They were generally small and lasted only a short duration but it was one of the reasons there were no large cities on the planet. It was also one of the reasons it made it safe for the small band of Resistance fighters and their allies to use the planet as a safe haven.

As the ground came to rest, Rey let out a stream of language even a scavenger on Jakku would have been shocked to hear. She had finally said it, finally admitted to herself that she needed him. And the moment it had come out of her mouth, their bond was severed. She was frustrated and the urge to scream nearly choked her. Kicking at a nearby root, she gasped at the pain that emanated up her foot. Now limping and cursing, she headed back to the makeshift base they had constructed deep in the dense forest.

It took her long to return, limping, as she was, on her hurt foot. And while she walked she came to a decision. A decision, she realized, that had been a long time in the making. She needed to find General Organa. And the General wasn't going to like what she had to say. She didn't even make it back to her room before she was bombarded by BB-8 and Finn.

"Rey! Rey, where the hell have you been? Leia has been asking for you for the half the morning." Finn call, running across the bustling landing area, at her.

BB-8 whirred and beeped next to her, as she moved from a walk to a jog in order to get to the General faster.

"Yes, BB-ATE. I'm sorry. I know, I know. I said I was sorry. I needed to be alone. Okay, okay. I'll let you know next time," she tried to sooth the anxious droid as she snaked her way through the makeshift buildings.

"Where were you? Poe and I have been looking for you all morning. We even sent Rose into the women's 'fresher to see if you were in there."

"I was meditating," she responded quickly, unwilling to give him the whole story.

The last thing she wanted to do was hurt anyone's feelings. It was easier to keep her fears and doubts to herself. And she certainly didn't want anyone to know she had contacted him. That was something that wouldn't only slam a wedge in between any of her relationships, but also have people questioning her loyalties.

Coming to the command bunker, she entered and scanned the room, searching for the diminutive woman who everyone would be scurrying from. She found Leia standing behind a holotable, throwing orders around like thermal detonators. And scurry, everyone was. When her warm brown eyes fell on Rey, a small smile lifted her thin lips.

She looks so very tired, thought Rey, moving across the room and coming to stand before Leia. Leia studied Rey for a long moment and then glanced at Finn. Her thank you to him was a dismissal. Turning back to Rey, she gestured for her to follow.

"Walk with me," she said softly.

Rey nodded, and followed her out of the room and into a narrow hallway. They exited through another door and paused as Leia took a cleansing breath.

"I'm getting too old for this," she confided with a sad smile.

Rey smiled back. "And yet I can't imagine you doing anything else."

Leia gave a gravely chuckle. "I've been doing it for so long, that neither can I."

They walked in companionable silence for a while, skirting the buildings and meandering into the edge of the forest. Rey followed her lead, and remained silent. She knew there was something Leia wanted to say, but it would be, as always, in her own time.

They came to a clearing after a distance, and Rey found herself staring at a small pool fed by a small waterfall. It was a lovely place, and she could imagine Leia had come here often since they had settled on Arisaig. She stopped and waited as Leia walked closer to the water.

"What you did this morning wasn't easy, I imagine." Leia began, turning to Rey.

Rey couldn't help the look of surprise that crossed her face for a split second before she was able to control her emotions. She opened her mouth to explain, but Leia beat her too it.

"It's so easy to forget that I am force sensitive. I'm surprised that you were able to keep your distance for as long as you did," she went on.

"You're not angry?" Rey look miserable.

Leia laughed. "It takes a better woman than me to be able to resist that Solo charm. If Ben got nothing else from his father, he got his looks and his charm."

"He got your eyes," Rey mused softly.

Leia smiled at that.

"And on top of all of that, you are drawn together by something so much greater. Something you are still trying to understand. Of course you would reach out to the only person who would be able to help you.

"Ben has been aware of his ability from a very young age. He was so powerful, so very young that he needed to learn how to live with it. You are just learning about your abilities and crave answers. I can't fault you for trying to find them. But-"

"I need to go," Rey rushed out.

Leia's smile fell then.

"I can't stay here and put all of you, everything we have accomplished, in jeopardy. And I also need to return to Jakku and Ahch-To. I need to find some closure and some answers. And they are not here."

Leia nodded. "I think you are right. I think it would be the best for everyone. But I do not want to see you go. I never had a daughter, and having you by my side for this time has done my heart some good. There has been so much loss in my life, but in you I gained something I would have never had otherwise."

"I never knew my mother, but I hope she would have been something like you, Leia." Rey reached out to her.

Leia took her hand and pulled the girl in for a hug. She stood taller than the General, but Rey still felt enveloped by her. Leia had such a capacity for love, that she wondered how Ben had been able to turn away from her. Stepping back, Leia look up at the beautiful young girl.

"He needs you more than either of you can ever imagine. And you need him just as much. Don't be afraid, Rey. You are so much stronger than you know."

Rey nodded, unable to speak around the knot in her throat.

Leia smiled sadly, as if she knew something Rey did not. "When will you leave?"

"Tomorrow, I think. I don't have many belongings. I'll say my goodbyes tonight and leave at dawn."

Another nod. "It's for the best. But I'm going to miss you, my girl."

Rey couldn't speak. Her throat closed around a lump that had tears pricking at the back of her eyes. Stepping in, she embraced Leia again, and this time was hard pressed to let go. The older woman held on just as tightly, a weight pressed on her heart.