The Chosen One: A Reylo Story

Chapter 13: Welcome to the New Age

Rey remembers Leia leaning in, eyes sparkling with that trademark look of resilience. That look that always meant one thing— Leia was ready to fight.

"You confront it, Rey" She punctuated the words, balling her right hand into a fist and shaking it in front of her face like a battle cry. "You stare it down. You stare at it long enough and you'll learn something about yourself, something you didn't know. Maybe something you need to change. Maybe something you need to accept. Maybe a truth you need to understand. The point is, Rey, don't let fear cripple you. Use it as an opportunity to self-reflect, to become better."

This was an important lesson for Rey to learn after Mustafar. She would be lying if she said never felt doubts about that day. The thought has occurred to her once or twice... that she should have taken his hand when he offered it to her in the volcano. But what if she had? What if she had helped him rid the galaxy of Force use? When she stops to examine it in the moment, she realizes the fear she's feeling isn't that she made the wrong choice that day. She feels confident in her destiny, in their destiny. It's that Ben will never come to accept it and what that would mean for the galaxy... and their relationship.

This is her worst fear of all. But it doesn't keep her up at night. Rey can never entertain these kinds of doubts for long. Not with the way the Force feels inside her after Mustafar. It's difficult to explain, but she's connected to the Force in a way she wasn't before. It's like being able to partially read someone's mind, but instead of thoughts she reads impressions and intentions... vaguely formed and not at all like language. Something deeper. More visceral. She can't always make meaning out of what she reads, but it helps her understand, to feel, how to live out her destiny. It reminds her that her story is still unfolding...

This heightened connection to the Force has also granted her new abilities through it, most notably a gift for detecting other Force-sensitives all around her. It's uncanny. It's not just that she can sense their exact location in her vicinity... sometimes she can feel them calling to her from far away. She's had dreams about Force-sensitives on other planets... beings she's never met. The dreams lead her to them.

This is no accident. She's certain this is the Force working through her to achieve balance. It guides her to where she needs to be... in the right place at the right time. Whenever fear of the future rises up and overwhelms her, Rey remembers what she feels through the Force— that it has a plan for her. And Ben. And it reveals that plan to her a little more every day.

If only she could get Ben to see this. If only he could feel what she feels through the Force— to know, a deep, instinctive knowledge, that they have a destiny to fulfill as two halves of a whole. Their different experiences with the Force— its awakening in her, its corruption in him— make them perfect complements as leaders in this New Age. Rey will always be naturally inclined to see Force use as an opportunity to improve people's lives... and Ben will always be forever aware of its potential to destroy them. He will be circumspect, help her see the pitfalls she can't see, the perfect companion for her, the trail-blazer, leading the galaxy to a new future, a new kind of peace.

They have been chosen for this.

Rey knows that. She just needs Ben to know that. She's thought about asking him to merge with her mind and come with her into the deep recesses of her consciousness... then he'd feel exactly what she feels through her enhanced connection to the Force. But the likelihood that he'd agree with such a thing is slim to none.

Rey's thoughts halt abruptly. She feels a coldness invade her body... it's foreign. Not her own.

She lets go of Ben's hand and scans the area around her, not sure exactly what she's looking for. Ben casts his eyes in her direction with concern.