The Chosen One: A Reylo Story

Chapter 14: The Uncomfortable Truth

"You're lying!"

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are!"

"No, seriously, I'm not." The corner of Jian's lips turn up slightly as he shakes his head, a few locks of brown hair falling over his eyes. He brings a palm to his heart. "I'm telling you the honest truth."

Irenie's head jerks back as she eyes the boy in front of her suspiciously. They're both sitting cross-legged on a white, carpeted floor. She doesn't break her gaze as she sits up straight and tosses her dark, shoulder-length hair back from her face.

Soya's laying on her belly not far away, watching them both with wide, curious eyes. Sunlight streams in from a wide window behind her, the city of Coruscant alive with activity just outside.

"You think that just because you're older than us, we'll believe anything you say, and you're wrong," she cocks her head as she emphasizes the last words.

"I believe you," Soya chimes in suddenly. The younger girl swings her legs around to sit up and scoots over towards her sister, who shoots her a look of disgust.

Jian's chin juts up with a self-satisfied smile, clearly pleased to have earned a convert.

"Do it again," Irenie shakes her head with annoyance while crossing her arms. "Go on." She raises her eyebrows and nods her head towards him.

Jian takes a deep breath and sits up, bringing his shoulders back and down. He closes his eyes and continues to breathe deeply. Each hand rests lightly on a knee on either side. His tanned face looks serene, almost as if he were sleeping.

Soya's chin rests on her knee, arms wrapped around her shin, leaning forward with eyes intently trained on Jian. Irenie watches him as well, but also frequently looks around the room expectantly.

For a few seconds, all is silent and still.

Then, suddenly, several objects around the room lift up into the air, floating gently a few feet above the ground—a doll, some other toys scattered about, a blanket, a small table, and two chairs.

Both Irenie and Soya get up and start waving their hands under and over the objects, feeling for strings or anything else that could be holding the them up. Jian still sits calmly on the floor with his eyes closed. As the girls manically search for any evidence of trickery, a few more objects lift from the ground—the bed, the dresser drawer, the couch. Irenie continues examining the room but Soya stops, looking around with her mouth gaping.

Slowly and deliberately, the objects descend to settle back on the floor. Jian opens his eyes. He turns his head up towards Soya who looks over at him with a huge grin.

"WOW," she says with wonder. "And you can do all of this through the Force?"

"There is no Force," Irenie declares before Jian can answer. "I've figured it out. It has to be magnets somehow. This room is rigged."

Jian sighs, exasperated. "I got here two days ago, just like you. This isn't even where I live. Why would I go through the trouble to rig a room so I can trick two girls I just met? It doesn't make any sense."

"It has to be the Force," Soya says at a near whisper.

"There is no Force," Irenie repeats at a near shout.

Jian shakes his head, looking down. "Yes, there is." He looks over at Irenie, who's pulling the couch out from the wall to search behind it. "And honestly, it's weird you two don't know about it considering who your dad is."