Us Against the World

16

Our handcuffs fell to the floor, Snoke smiling at us.
"Lowla. I know so much about you." Snoke gloated, and I knew what he was referring to. Ben would be able to feel my anguish. I had spent my childhood making up stories about my parents, where they were, what they were doing, and Ben used to join in. He knew I wanted to find out, but I didn't want to find out like this. Not here. Not in a war. Not from Snoke. Trying to pull myself together enough to face the enemy, enough to make it through the next few minutes.
"Come closer, Rey." Snoke beckoned and I held onto Rey's arms, stopping her from moving closer even if she wanted to. "So much strength. Darkness rises," Snoke was referring to Ben, "and light to meet it." He continued, gesturing his hands to either side, showing the balance. The man looked between me and Ben and I felt like my outfit was his idea of humour, mocking the light that had always risen within me. "And above it all, a being more powerful than the both combined." That was Rey.

"I warned my young apprentice that as he grew stronger, his equal in the light would also rise." Snoke looked at me, catching me looking back at Ben who kept his gaze solely on the floor, making no attempt at meeting the eyes of his new master. When I turned back, his face read amusement, as if I had done as he wanted, confirmed what he needed to know. "If the two gained power, then Rey would improve at a quicker pace." Snoke finished, using the force to bring Luke's lightsaber to him. I felt him pull another, and I knew it was mine as he made it hit me as it flew into his hand.

To a Jedi, their saber was an extension of them. Seeing your weapon in the hands of someone else made you hold your breath. I contemplated trying to pull it back to me, risk fighting Snoke to have what was mine back in my hand and not his wrinkled fingertips. The moment he placed it on the arm of his throne, I relaxed allowing him to keep it by his side.
"I assumed it to be Skywalker and his mother. How wrong I was." Snoke had thought that Ben's equal in the light had been his mother. Anyone strong with the force would sense Ben's force bond with someone, and if Snoke hadn't seen it, then Ben had hidden me. I turned to face him, seeing his eyes flick up to me for a moment. It was a moment where he proved my theory: Ben had spent the past few years hiding me from Snoke, hiding our bond to keep me safe. He had made Snoke believe that the bond connected him to his mother. That was when all my fear had gone. Ben had risked his life during the dark times of the First Order rising to power to protect me, to stop me facing the same fate as him or worse.

"Closer, I said." Snoke whispered in a kind of whisper that filled the room more like a shout. A noise that filled your ears. Rey was then pulled forward, and my grip stayed tight to her. In a moment of tension, my grip on Rey had overcome the force pulling her closer to the man in the chair, making Snoke's glare on me deepen.
"Lowla," Ben warned, using our bond to speak to me. It felt like we were back in class trying to secretly talk while Luke was teaching, sitting us on opposite sides of the circle to try and stop us talking. I listened to him, looking at Snoke before slowly letting go and allowing Rey to float towards him. I knew Ben hadn't moved from his spot, hadn't moved his head to look up, but I knew he was looking at me.

"You underestimate Skywalker, Lowla, and Ben Solo and me." Rey said, her voice firm. Snoke may believe that Rey was just a girl with a power that needed controlling, but I knew Rey was far stronger than she realised. It seemed that Snoke was weaker than he realised. "It will be your downfall." She said, stopping right in front of the man. His skin looked like it was sinking against his skull, decaying, falling inwards to show the shape of his face.
"Have you seen something? A weakness in my apprentice, is that why you came?" Snoke asked, mockingly. He had shown Rey what she had wanted to see, but I hoped that somehow, what he had meant to be a lie would come to pass. If it didn't, there was no way we were getting out of this. It wasn't long before Snoke began to laugh. "Young fool."
"Snoke used the force bond Ben and I share to connect you and him," I began, talking directly to Rey but looking straight at Snoke. "He showed you what he wanted you to see."

The man was impressed. Some girl that he had only recently heard about had worked out how he had managed to fake a similar connection between Rey and Ben that Ben and I had. Snoke had underestimated my intelligence and mental strength, although he probably knew how physically strong I was.
"Smart girl. I stoked Ren's conflicted soul. I knew he was not strong enough to hide it from you." I felt Ben look up, looking directly at Snoke as he admitted to using his apprentice to lure Rey and bring me. He didn't care about Ben, he only wanted power. The best way for him to gain power was to collect the most powerful assets.

"And now, you will give me Skywalker." Snoke said, putting his hand on the side of her face, holding her face close to his as he glared and hissed at her. Even from where I stood, Rey was standing firm, not moving away and trying not to show her fear. "And then I will use Lowla as a trophy for the dark side as we taint her soul. Then I shall kill you with the cruelest stroke." At his threat I tensed, readying myself for a fight. It seemed that Snoke didn't have plans to kill me, but plans to destroy me, obliterate any bit of light I had left until death was better than living. I felt Ben tense, clenching his jaw at the mention of a plan he was unaware of.
"Hand's off, old man." I said in a low, threatening tone, itching to call my weapon and try my luck against him. Snoke dropped his hand from Rey turning to me.

What happened next was fast. Snoke nodded to Ben who quickly stood, restraining me and putting his hand to my head. While I battled to get Ben out of my mind, Rey was forced into the air, high above us as Snoke scoured her mind, looking for the location of Luke Skywalker. If I was fighting Ben, I wouldn't have the strength to stop Snoke. When I focused on Ben, I saw he was barely even trying to enter my mind, as if he didn't want to hurt me. Usually when someone tried to enter the mind, they would be smashing through the mental walls, trying to find any weak points. Ben felt like he was just knocking at a door, waiting for someone to answer.

I heard Rey begin to scream, Snoke ripping away her memories and demanding the information. Pushing Ben back, I felt his arms fall away as I ran forward, standing in between Snoke and a suspended Rey. "Stop!" I cried, raising my hand to Snoke. In an instant, I had pulled every bit of the force that was being directed to Rey towards me. Somehow, in some way, I manipulated Snoke's force energy to me, the pain of him ripping into my mind hitting me full force. I stood firm as I tried to fight him out, push back just like I had told Rey to do. This wasn't like anyone else trying to enter my mind. He was shattering the walls as easy as breaking glass, scanning through every memory, looking for one. He wasn't looking for Luke. He was looking for Ben. Ben was lying next to me, his arm was holding my body close to his. We had been silent for a while, and I thought he had fallen asleep. Of course, I was used to him fighting sleep until long after I had drifted off, him claiming he was 'watching over me'. I knew he was just afraid of what he would see if he fell asleep. Before, when I used my cabin for more than just a changing room, when I used it to sleep in, if Ben was awake, then I'd be struggling to sleep. We had found that like this, that wasn't the case. "What do you think happens after all this is done." Ben asked, breaking the silence. I turned my head from his chest to look up at him. This conversation had come out of nowhere. We were still young, and I didn't know what where we would be after all this. Would Leia and Han still let me stay with them now things with Ben had changed? If they didn't where would I go?"I don't know. We wait for a war where the Jedi are needed and-""No." Ben cut me off, making me raise an eyebrow. Luke was training us so we understood the ways of the Jedi. If anything rose that would cause an upset to the balance of the force, then surely we would be called upon. "I meant with us?" Ben asked. I was silent for a while. Thinking over what he had said. I had no idea. I wanted to be with Ben, have what his parents had found. I told him I didn't know, before asking what he wanted. It was clear Ben valued his Jedi training, loved what he was learning and the skills he was gaining. If we pursued this after our training was finished, would we be cast away? I didn't know if Ben wanted to risk everything, even going against his family for me, for a girl with no parents and no last name. "I want a house. One for just us." He admitted, looking up to the roof above. His face told me he was picturing the house, imagining what it would look like, considering what planets we could live on."With a garden for us to practise in." I added, watching him nod before lying back on his chest, looking where he was. I could see the image he was painting in his mind, trying different features only to change them if they didn't suit what he wanted. I could see flowers and trees and green. That meant he wasn't fond of sandy planets, but neither was I. "And plenty of rooms for us to play hide and seek in." Each new addition to the house seemed to make the picture clearer. We both wanted the same thing. He saw me in his future, us living in a house, with a table so his parents could visit, and an extra bedroom incase Han had drank a little too much to fly home. With a living area big enough to have parties with all the friends we'd make. And a fire that was warm enough to keep away the chill, but still let Ben hold me tight. It would be away from danger but close enough to everything so we could help if we needed to. And an area for Ben's very own X-Wing, and any other ships he collected. Our quiet laughter died down, us both running out of things to mention, features to add. I had expected us to just fall asleep straight away. "And I'll get a job to support us." Ben stated, as if it was his responsibility to provide this life for me. I chuckled slightly, grateful for the offer. Even Ben himself knew that I wouldn't let him do all the work. "I want to work with your mother, help her." I had said that since I was a child. Leia had always agreed, saying she dreamed of the day I became her assistant so she could work with someone who actually knew what they were doing. There was a part of me that worried she was just saying it because I was young. Leia wasn't like that though. Ben then turned to me, leaning his body over mine and smiling down at me. He brushed a piece of hair out of my face, looking at me as if I was the only star in the galaxy. When he met my eyes, I was speechless, my voice running away from the intensity and passion in his gaze. "And when I have enough money," his voice was low, quiet, as if he were telling me a secret, "when we have found your parents and know your name," I reached my hand up and held his hair, finding comfort in the soft blackness, "and when I have proved I can be the man you deserve..." He trailed off, looking down. I had thought he was going to stop, suddenly deciding against talking to me and wanting to hide this moment of vulnerability. Then he pressed a kiss to my forehead, as if it was giving his confidence, restoring his hope and his resolve. "I'll marry you, Lowla." The largest smile filled my features, matching the one he held. It was as if Ben had just proposed. My happiness was pure and my love true. Ben lowered himself, bringing me into a deep kiss. I knew what happened next. I knew how gentle Ben had been, how he had kept me close to him, not wanting to hurt me as I gave myself to him. It was as he was pulling off his shirt, revealing his toned chest, only to return to kissing me that I heard him. Snoke's laughter.