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"He would come back for his daughter."
The words echoed in her mind.
over and over again.
But she didn't seem to comprehend them.
The brunette girl suddenly stilled, the grip on her lightsaber slowly faded. With a loud thud, the saber landed on the snow. The blue light disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. The forest was no longer illuminated by blue and red light, no, what was left was the saber in Kylo Ren's hand. The trees, the snow, Eliora's face was covered in red light. The blue color no longer shone.
And Kylo Ren was more than satisfied with that.
She stood still, not moving a centimeter. It looked like she wasn't thinking, but Kylo Ren just knew by the way her mouth was slightly agape, that the wheels in Eliora's head moved faster than they ever had. She tried to comprehend his words, but the more she thought about them, the less sense they made. What in the force did Kylo Ren mean by that?
Deep down, the pilot knew what they meant. Of course she knew, but she didn't want to admit to that. In her mind she only searched for solutions and theories what his words meant. She hoped that it meant everything but the thing she thought they meant. But switching her eyes to his dark brown ones, her breath hitched. He stood there with a satisfied smirk playing on his lips and watched Eliora carefully. She knew what the words meant. But she didn't want to know. But she needed to ask, she needed confirmation, because as stupid as it sounded, she feared it was the truth.
Eliora carefully swallowed the lump forming in her throat and began to speak. "What?", her voice was horse, almost not audible, but she knew Kylo Ren had heard her. The only thing that was heard was the humming of his lightsaber. He must have heard her.
Kylo Ren's lips twitched up the slightest bit, he had heard her just perfectly. Secretly wanting to keep watching her in the state of shock she was, he kept standing still for a few more seconds. They were merely a few, a blink of an eye, but they dragged on like days.
Finally, Kylo opened his mouth, and he began to speak. "You've heard me right." Eliora's breath hitched. Kylo Ren made a short break, watching Eliora's face grimace at this. "..Cousin."
This one word made Eliora want to throw up. She couldn't believe it. She didn't want to believe it. And the more she thought about it, the less it made sense.
The years of not knowing her parents crashed down just in a few seconds. In the beginning it was more than hard for her, the thought of not having parents. She had not accepted it, had never accepted it on Tatooine. The nights were sometimes long, spent with crying and suffering. Since she had joined the resistance she had thought it would be better, but the dreams of her parents suddenly appeared out of nothing. She had always been plagued by her parents and when she wanted to accept the truth that they were truly gone, this happened. Everything dragged to this very moment when she found out.
But she still did not want to believe it, even tho she had heard the sincerity behind Kylo's words. They didn't sound fake. And that was the part that Eliora hated the most. She didn't want to be a part of all of this. She didn't want to be the daughter of a war hero. She didn't want to be involved in their family, Eliora just wanted to be a normal pilot with a normal family. The words sounded ridiculous in her head, why would she even have to care about this, she was so sincere that something like that would never happen.
Kylo Ren stepped forward, only one step, but it was enough for Eliora to stumble back. She almost slipped on the white snow, but the girl caught herself in the last moment. "I can sense your doubt.", Kylo Ren continued speaking. She didn't want to hear it, but she could not escape it. "But it is the truth. Your parents abandoned you on Tatooine when you were young. They left you with Sola, or am I wrong?" Her eyes widened at that. How did he know? "She was a good friend of my parents too, you know? I liked her a lot." Eliora felt anger built inside of her. "She was gone for a few days, said she went to the market, right?", Kylo asked further. Eliora swallowed. It was the truth.
"She didn't. She abandoned you, too. They are afraid of what you would be able to do." Kylo Ren laughed. "No one ever cared for you, Delilah." She still wanted to believe Kylo Ren was wrong, but hearing the name fall from his lips made Eliora's body shiver. She had heard the name before. And by that, she knew Kylo wasn't lying. He couldn't have known.
From the moment Eliora walked into her office, Leia's eyes were widened. Eliora wondered why. She looked at the middle aged women. She was beautiful, beyond that. Her hair was still brown, put into a beautiful hairstyle. Leia's eyes were big brown ones, looking almost exactly like Eliora's. And the General just stared at Eliora. "Delilah?", she whispered, which made Eliora's eyebrows furrow. She bit her lip, watching as Leia was still staring at her. "Oh no, my name's Eliora.", she smiled, offering the General her hand. "Leia Organa.", Leia answered smiling softly at the girl.
Kylo could feel her thoughts, it was so easy. They were too loud. He could hear them perfectly and he didn't even have to try. "Yes, Delilah. That's your name.", he smirked. "Leia knew. She didn't tell you either. She didn't care for you either." Eliora gritted her teeth at that. It made sense. Leia knew. "Han did, too, Maz also knew. They all lied to you." Her brown eyes were wide from shock. She couldn't talk, she couldn't think properly. Kylo took a step forward again, his lightsaber still tight in his hand. Eliora couldn't defend herself if he would strike her down. She couldn't think of defense in that moment. Her mind was too focused.
"Let anger consume you, yes.", Kylo spoke. She didn't want to, but the more the man talked, the harder it was for her to avoid the anger. It was boiling inside of her, waiting to be set free into her veins, into her mind. But it didn't yet. She fought too hard for it to happen. "They lied to you! They all did! You were the reason Poe was tortured.", he continued pressing. He thought he was succeeding. "No one ever loved you, but guess what, I did. We were close when we were younger. I loved you dearly." At the term love, Eliora's hands balled into fists.
It was clear as water what Kylo Ren wanted to reach by making Eliora angry. Angry at the resistance, angry at everyone. He wanted her to think of the people she loved to be the villains. He wanted her to join him. She was the only way left to Luke Skywalker and he wouldn't let this opportunity slip though his fingers like sand. He would fight for getting him back and then killing him. He did not want to take the risk of fighting Eliora, because he knew that she was already strong with the force. He needed her alive and well, needed to capture her. Get her willingly captured.
"You were my cousin. Like a sister to me. We used to play outside on Yavin 4 together.", he continued. She shook her head in disbelief. This couldn't be the truth. "We used to go swimming together in the lakes of Naboo.", he continued, a smirk playing on his lips. "You were someone really important to me and when I found out that your parents abandoned you, I wanted to find you. I couldn't, I was just a child." He bit his lip. "But then I continued my search for you. And now, here I am, standing in front of my dear cousin. Come with me, have someone who truly loves you."
Her mind was too occupied to think about everything that he had just said, but one thing was clear: as betrayed as she felt, as broken as she was, she would never join him in her whole life. He was the monster she saw on Jakku, he was one of the persons responsible for the destruction of the New Republic. He was a part of the First Order. She thought that there was still maybe a bit light left in him, but when he tried to kill his father, every fiber of hope died out in a matter of seconds. Eliora thought there was nothing good in him left and even tho he was supposedly her cousin, she would never join him.
Her place was with the resistance and as mad as she was at Leia and the others for not telling her, she was a billion times more mad at what the First Order did.
So the brunette girl shut off her thoughts and smiled at the man standing in front of her. Not Ben Solo, at Kylo Ren. And Kylo had almost believed it, smiling back and almost shutting off his lightsaber. In the last moment tho, Eliora outstretched her hand and Luke's lightsaber flew to her hand in a fluid motion. It activated just as quickly and in a matter of no time, she struck forward and the blue lightsaber clashed with the red one again. It was no longer the red light that filled her face, it was the blue one. Her jaw was clenched and her eyes hid something unexpected. There was no anger, no doubt, only sincerity. Sincerity that Kylo Ren was the bad one in her story.
Kylo Ren was taken aback, clearly surprised by her actions. He had thought she would be angry, would cry, but she stood there in front of him, her brown hair flying with the wind and nothing like rage hidden in her face. "I will never join you. You're a monster!"
These words made Kylo Ren angry, he would not leave without her. So, he pushed her back with his dark red lightsaber and began to fight her.
Eliora clearly hadn't expected his moves, but as unexpected as it seemed, she deflected his attempt easily. But Kylo Ren wouldn't stop, the moment she had deflected his move, he already charged for her again, slowly pushing her back. Eliora wouldn't let this intimidate him, but she knew that she didn't have a chance against Kylo Ren. She had barley ever hold a lightsaber, let alone fought a force user with it. She was thinking she could handle this, but Kylo Ren's movements were caused by anger, his lightsaber pushing Luke's with much more force than it needed.
Kylo Ren pushed her further back, chasing her through the forest. Eliora grew weaker and he knew that. "You don't want to do this.", he advised her, mid- way his attack. She quickly turned around, the lightsaber deflecting Kylo Ren's. But she saw how difficult it was and if she had to fight more, she couldn't do this anymore. She didn't have enough strength left. "I could do this all day.", she lied. He seemed impossible stronger than she was for most of the time, but Eliora didn't give up. When she looked into his dark eyes, she remembered something. The things that the old man had told her.
Kylo Ren took a step forward again, his lightsaber crashing the one Eliora had in her hand. There was nothing left to do for Eliora, their lightsabers were connected and neither of them would move. Kylo just looked at her, the blue of the lightsaber seen in her eyes. It almost looked like they were blue, as blue as the eyes of his uncle. "You need a teacher.", Kylo Ren began, breathing deeply. "I could show you the ways of the force!", he continued with rage. "I could show you everything! I could give you everything your parents couldn't give you. I could love you.", he said more calmly. But at the word force, Eliora's mind had shut off. The force. The force. Right now, she was fighting with instincts, with what she had learned at the resistance. The strikes she was deflecting was because of luck, because of her good eye. But she knew there was another way how she might actually have had a chance.
The words the old man had told her echoed through her mind.
This is your legacy. You need to wake up and fight. You need to trust in the force.
The brunette closed her eyes for only a second, but she concentrated on the words.
Trust
In
The
Force
She had felt it before, on Tokodana, but never had she felt it that strong. For her, she perceived it as an invisible flow. It felt like the flow of water, of the wind blowing in her hair, of the light on Tatooine that shone onto her, of the warmth she had felt so many times.
Of the warmth in his arms.
It was something that was flowing through her. Something she could not stop but most importantly did not want to stop. It was a good feeling which consumed her body more than it had ever. It was the force. And she wouldn't shut it down, she would use it. Even tho she was afraid, Eliora would use the force.
When she opened her eyes again, it was like a flow. She charged Kylo Ren again, a hiss echoing through the forest as Luke's lightsaber met Kylo's. She was centered, fortified and she single handed swiped, hitting Kylo's lightsaber again. But this time, with incredible force. It had taken Kylo Ren aback, the Knight of Ren stumbled back and fell down on the ground. It was because of the pain his wound caused him. He had lost his strength to someone who was new to the force. Embarrassment shone in his face as Eliora took in a sharp breath. She knew she could strike him down any second, but she just stood there, not moving.
"You won't kill me.", his voice interrupted the short silence. "I'm your cousin, you wouldn't kill me." Eliora hated to hear these words again. She had pushed the thoughts back when she was fighting, but the more Kylo Ren spoke, the more difficult it was. He grinned at her hesitation, slowly standing up again. He moved to stand in front of her, only a few inches were left in between them. But they did not fight, they both just looked at each other and did nothing else. Eliora still tried to puzzle together the pieces in her head, Kylo still tried to puzzle together how he would get Eliora to join him.
The noise of a branch being broken brought Eliora's attention back. She only turned around for a second, wanting to see who was behind them, but she didn't expect Kylo Ren to charge at her, too concentrated on finding the source of the noise, she couldn't deflect Kylo's attempt, and only when she felt the sharp pain on her leg, she turned to him, fear written on her face.
The lightsaber only touched her skin lightly, but the burn hurt more than words could describe. When the lightsaber touched her skin, the part of it was set on fire, letting it completely burn away before fire could spread. It felt like a single blast of contained heat shot through your skin. It hurt a lot, so it was no surprise that she hissed out and fell down on the snow.
Kylo Rem aimed for her leg, because he didn't want to hurt her, he needed her alive.
Suddenly, the second Kylo wanted to shut his lightsaber off, a figure appeared from behind the trees. Eliora laid on the ground, desperately clutching her leg, her wound still throbbing. She looked up to the figure.
There stood Rey, conscious, in front of them. She watched them in confusion for a second, before her eyes fell on Eliora laying on the ground. "Shit.", she mumbled under her breath, quickly sprinting to them. Kylo didn't move, only watched Rey with amazement. She quickly kneeled down to Eliora. Kylo stood a few feet away, watching the whole scene with a smirk on his lips. He could get them both.
"Are you okay? Where's Finn?" Eliora didn't want to scare Rey, so she slowly sat up, and tried to give her a small reassuring smile. Poe would have not bought it. Definitely not. But Rey, she bought the smile. "I'm fine", Eliora answered, but she knew she couldn't stand up that quickly. The brunette girl needed to make decisions. Fast decisions. So, she gestured for Luke's lightsaber laying in the snow. "Use it.", she whispered to Rey. Rey squinted her eyebrows, not wanting to leave her friend. "I'll look for Finn." And that took it for Rey. Eliora still seemed like she would be able to handle herself, but the fact that there was no sign of Finn terrified Eliora.
So Rey grasped for the lightsaber and stood up. "The fight's not over yet.", she spoke confidently and began to fight Kylo Ren. She had seen what he had done to Eliora and she hated Kylo Ren for hurting her friends. So she took a step forward and began a duel. It was not like the one Eliora had had with Kylo, Rey was more defensive than her, not attacking Kylo, but deflecting his lunges. She wanted to get her friends out of the mess.
Eliora tried to ignore the fighting in the background. As much as she wanted to help, the reality of the situation shook her when she looked up at the sky. The sun was long gone, but the fight not won. She still heard the distant shots of the X- wings fighting. So, with much pain, Eliora stood up. Her leg hurt, the wound Kylo had caused on her upper leg was unbearable pain, but she needed to get to Finn. So with all the strength she could get, Eliora stood up and dragged herself to where Finn was.
Kylo Ren was still fighting Rey, the battle overtaking the whole forest. Amid the bare white forest there were again only two lightsabers illuminating the flurries of snow. Kylo Ren didn't have any strength left. "You better give up.", Rey told him. Her eyes wandered to his belt, where the lightsaber Eliora had used earlier hung. Obi Wan's lightsaber. She lunged forward, catching Kylo off- guard and took the lightsaber from his belt. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on one thing. The force. Just like she did when she was taken prisoner.
And it worked, her defensive strikes turned into offensive ones.
Eliora's heart almost stopped when she saw Finn laying there, in the snow, not moving. He was still breathing, but the wound Kylo had caused him was enormous compared to the one Eliora had. She stumbled down, dropping to the ground next to him. She shook him lightly. "Hey, hey, it's me. Can you hear me?", she asked carefully. She wanted to help Rey, but she knew she couldn't. So she tried to at least help Finn. The brunette kept her tears at bay. There were so many reasons why she could let them fall, but Eliora would wait. She didn't want to cry in the middle of this all. This time, more forcefully, she tried to shake Finn. "Finn! Come on, pal. Wake up. Please.", she tried again, but there was no reaction. Eliora grew desperate. Her voice broke at the end of the sentence.
Out of nothing, the earth under Rey's feet began to shake. She firstly thought nothing of it, still fighting the man opposite from her, but after another strong shake, the earth between them both split in two. Rey was taken aback, her breath caught in her throat and she quickly took a step back. There was one last look she spared to Kylo's eyes, before they were being separated. Reality quickly caught on Rey, the base was being destroyed. Which meant that they had won.
Rey had never sprinted so fast before, but when she saw Eliora and Finn laying on the ground, her feet automatically went faster. There was relief in her eyes when she saw Eliora's head shooting up, somehow feeling Rey's presence. But the tears were beginning to leave her eyes as she saw Finn on the ground. Rey fell to her knees and began sobbing into Finn's clothes. It had been to much for her.
Eliora knew that feeling. She was overwhelmed with emotions that she had been avoiding and ignoring as best as possible. The tears did not leave her eyes yet. She had to make sure. "Rey, what happened?", Eliora asked carefully. Rey looked up at her with puffy eyes and a sad smile. "We won.", she whispered. Eliora's eyebrows furrowed. "We won?", she asked. "We won this fights yes, the earth between me and Kylo split in two. The base is about to get destroyed." Eliora could almost not believe her ears- the resistance had done it. Poe was hopefully safe. The base would be destroyed in a matter of minutes.
But that also meant that they had only merely minutes left. Eliora could tell that there was not a chance left for them. They were in a forest in the middle of nothing. The base would be destroyed soon. No one knew about them being there. They couldn't survive this. Eliora took a deep breath, trying to get her mind thing rationally. There was no way they could get out of this planet unless-
Her breath hitched when lights rose from something. Her eyes were blinded by it- she almost could not see what it was. But when she looked closer, when she squinted her eyes, she saw that the light came from a ship. But not a normal ship, it was a ship she knew just too good- the Millennium Falcon. And she smiled proudly when she saw Chewie in the cockpit, he had done it. She just hoped that Han was alright.
Gently tapping Rey on the shoulder, she gestured to the ship. A smile split on Rey's face and she quickly carried Finn to the cockpit.
The last thing Eliora saw was the planet behind her slowly crumbling.
Poe had never been so anxious before. They had done it, the base would be destroyed in a matter of seconds. The battle was won. But there was still the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Afraid something might have happened to Eliora. The X- wings were now on the search for the most important ship. The Millennium Falcon. And when Poe saw the familiar ship fly into the sky, the biggest grin appeared on his face. The ship was there. And hopefully Eliora was safe, too. "All teams, I hot eyes on them!", he cheered happily. "Yes!", Snap answered cheerfully. Another big smile spread on Jess' face. Aayla was more than reliefed and also Yolo let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
And as Eliora stumbled into the cockpit, she dared to look back one more time. Not at the base that exploded right behind them, but at the X- wings following them close behind.
And her sad expression changed for a second when she saw the familiar X- wing just behind them.
Poe's black- orange X- wing.
Hey, hey,
I'm back with a new chapter!
This one is slightly shorter than my last one I'm sorry. But by putting in Eliora's thoughts the chapter would have been way too long. But the next chapter will be full of Eliora thinking of her past and trying to connect the dots on the flight back to base.
Oh and well, arriving at the resistance again and meeting HIM again <3
And I think Leia has a lot of explaining to do. Eliora may be a bit mad at her. But I'll not spoil too much hahah!
I hope you had fun reading this chapter and let me know if you liked it!!
Love you all!