The Chosen One: A Reylo Story

Chapter 15: Lost in Memories

"Girls! Quick! Come see this!"

Rey calls out excitedly from the cockpit of the Falcon. She can barely contain a smile as she hears Soya and Irenie clattering loudly through the ship. They race into the room so fast they barely stop themselves from crashing into the control panel. Irenie presses her palms onto it, leaning as far forward as possible to the window. Soya climbs to stand on top of the empty co-pilot's chair so she can see over her sister. Her mouth gapes as she gazes out in wonder.

The wide river winds through rolling mountains, sunlight glittering across its smooth surface. Miles and miles of lush green stretches out endlessly before them, sloping down and then curving high into the sky to form jagged cliffs and soft peaks.

Rey looks over to Soya for a moment. "Hold on." She nods her head towards the command chair. The girl leans back on it, still standing, and brings her arms behind her to grasp it and brace herself.

Rey dips smoothly down into the ravine. A large, crane-like bird flies gracefully just ahead of them. It looks back, then dives down towards the water. It stops just above the surface, expanding its large, white wings out and flying forward, skimming its talons across the blue sheen. They are closer to the sides of the mountains now. They can see the individual trees that together make the appearance of a carpet of green from far away. They are tall and thick with leaves, so thick that it's impossible to see through them to the ground.

"So much green." Irenie practically whispers the words as if in a trance, gaze fixed on the scene before her.

Rey's heart twists with that special kind of joy one gets when experiencing something for the first time again through another's eyes. She remembers that feeling years ago, sitting right were Soya is. After a lifetime wandering through uniformly brown sand dunes, this place seemed like a paradise.

Takodana.

The first planet she saw outside of Jakku. The place where she first felt her calling. The place where she first met Ben.

Coming here always feels a bit like coming home. She'd only spent a few hours here... but those hours changed the course of her life forever.

She continues to navigate her way through the landscape, the girls oohing and aahing next to her. She sees Maz's castle in the distance, still partially under construction after the First Order destroyed it. Suddenly, Rey frowns.

"Where's Ben?" she asks the girls.

"He's with Jian in the lounge," Irenie responds without looking at her.

"Hmm," Rey replies in acknowledgement, a tinge of concern in her voice.

"They're having a discussion," Soya says, drawing out the last word with emphasis.

"About what?"

"The Force," Soya says absently, crawling off the chair to stand next to her sister.

"Ahh, I see." Rey's eyebrows furrow.

Poor Jian. But he brought this on himself. If he'd only listened to her, Ben would have no idea what he's capable of. She's told him hundreds of times not to use his abilities on people without explaining to them exactly what he's doing and never to do it on a child without a parent's permission. But he gets excited... and impatient. She admires his passion, but he needs to learn restraint. Perhaps some time under an inquisition with Ben will impress upon him the importance of heeding her guidance.