Kylo stared at Rey, waiting for her to say something, waiting for her to move. She simply returned his gaze, the anxiety leaving her eyes as she fell into a comfortable silence.
Glancing to the floor when she realized she was staring for a bit too long, she sighed. "I have so many questions. I have no idea where to start." She said, and when her eyes met his again, they seemed lost.
'Whatever was on her mind was truly haunting her.', he thought. "Go on." He ordered.
Clearing her throat, Rey began. "You know I was there the night you had that awful nightmare." She declared, slightly wincing at the memory.
Kylo blinked, his jaw tight. "That's not a question."
Nodding, she took that as a confirmation. "You felt it then, when I transferred the light, if that's what we shall call it..."
Rey stood now, clasping her hands together, she began to pace her room. Kylo watched as she tried to slow her thoughts, taking care to watch what she was going to say.
"Can you do that?" she asked, and then quickly turned to him, one slim finger raised. "No! I take that back. Is that something any Jedi or force-user can do?"
She stood only a foot away from him now, watching his reaction, waiting for his response.
It took him only a second to reply, his eyes on hers. The intensity of his gaze made her face warm.
"I would assume it's something any force-user would be able to learn, if said user had enough practice and skill."
Now, gearing up with his question, he stood, looking anywhere but at Rey. She could feel the atmosphere change, knowing that whatever he was thinking about was making his emotions shift to something dark.
"Is that something Skywalkertaught you?" he asked, venom dripping as he muttered his uncles name.
Rey felt a jolt of protectiveness burst from within her, but she took care to not let it show, not wanting to disturb the moment they were sharing, now that she had Ben here, willing to answer some questions.
"No. I don't know what it was, I just felt a push to lay my hand on your arm, and I felt..." She quieted for a moment, trying to think of how to explain it. "I felt...like something was telling me to do it, and all of a sudden, there was just so much power, so much warmth. I didn't realize what was happening until I felt your thoughts change. And then...." She glanced down again, her hands gripping one another.
"And then?" he asked, trying to process what she was saying.
"Then I felt a thrill. It felt like I could escape any battle unscathed, like I could fall from the highest cloud and simply walk away from it-"
"You felt invincible? Untouchable?" Kylo finished. He knew the feeling she described all too well.
The thrill of the dark side, the taste of the power.
Rey nodded, feeling ashamed. For a moment, she thought back to her reflection in the mirror and how she thought she saw a yellow glint in her eyes. She shook the memory away, looking up to him to gauge his reaction.
"You channeled the dark side of the force. It showed itself to you, and you took the bait." He said. Part of Kylo was swirling with excitement at the thought of her finally joining him, how well they fit together, and the things they could do for the galaxy... to the galaxy.
His mind quickly shuffled to the vision he had of the small, young girl that was completely consumed by the dark.
He promised himself not to let that become of Rey, not to let it get that far. Yet, for the briefest second, Kylo questioned if he was capable of that.
Focusing back on Rey, he saw she was distraught with this. "It's not a bad thing, this is part of the vision I saw. You will stand with me." He said, so sure of it that Rey considered that this may be the only possibility.
Rey sighed, growing frustrated. "Why do you want this? Why is i-"
Kylo interrupted. "It's not your turn."
Rey held her tongue, glaring at him momentarily before she moved to sit on her bed, her back against the wall. She crossed her arms and refused to look at him.
He almost wanted to laugh at the scavengers tantrum.
Surpressing that urge, he sat back down in his chair.
He thought for a moment.
"Why did you refuse me?" he asked quietly, averting his gaze from her.
Her head shot towards him, surprised by his question as her frustration quickly melted away.
"Because..." she started, her tone high as if gearing up for a fight. As her answer came to her, her tone softened. "Because I couldn't turn around to kill the people I love. They aren't a weakness to me."
This response made Kylo angry. "They are! This is exactly what I was talking about, you are still holding on!"
Rey watched as he stood form his chair again and he scowled at her. She was frightened for a moment before her own anger matched his.
"Why would I agree to rule with you and go about the galaxy murdering absolutely everybody? You can rule and not be such a monster, you don't have to make every place turn into a body dump! You can use your power to create good, you can turn it into something even better! Just as you can hold on to someone andlove them!" She yelled, her words shocking her as they tumbled out of her mouth in such furry.
He seemed surprised for a moment. His tone much more calmer than before, and much more quieter than Rey's, he said, "I don't want to turn the galaxy into a body pile. I want the First Order to be something great, something respected by everyone. You do not achieve that by being disobeyed without consequence. Once the challenge term is over and I am granted full rule, I will achieve that. And I will not forget the disobedience and treachery committed by your little rebellion."
Rey's wide stare turned cold. "And what of me? What of your mother? You will kill us?" she asked, tears threatening an escape.
The sight tore at him, but he did not let that show. As for her response, he didn't know what to say.
So, in regular Kylo Ren fashion, he stood tall as his chin pointed upwards, his hard glare cascading down towards her as she peered up at him from her bed.
Rey nodded, hating the fact that she could not convince him otherwise. She rubbed at her eyes, hoping he didn't see the wetness stain the bandages on her arm and wrist. Clearing her throat, she asked, "What's a challenge term anyway?"
He exhaled heavily, as he tried to guide the bond to end, but it didn't budge.
Accepting he was stuck here until the force decided otherwise, he raked his hand through his hair.
"For the first year after the a prior Supreme Leader's death, anyone can challenge the next in line. Since I was Snoke's apprentice, the throne belongs to me, unless a challenger is able to best me before the year is up. Once the term ends, the Knights of Ren will either pledge their allegiance or challenge me themselves." He explained, growing bored.
Rey pondered this. "Does this count as...giving away information?" she asked hesitantly.
Kylo shook his head. "This is common knowledge. It's purposely spread so that the weak can be dealt with, or the greater challenger will reveal himself."
"I see... Has anyone challenged you?" Rey questioned, fascinated by this tradition. She had never heard of such a tale, but again, all she ever heard were whispers of tales on Jakku, and majority of it, she chalked up to being pure gossip.
He studied her face, her cheeks were a soft pink now, her eyes clear and big, the threat of tears washed away as she eagerly awaited his answer.
"Yes. Twelve to be exact."
Kylo wanted to be proud of the number, satisfied with defeating anyone that dared to stand up to his rule. But deep down, he was sick of keeping count of those fallen to his hand over the title. He wished to rule and forget all else, tired of this game. Looking to her, he watched as her eyes gazed into the distance, taking in his reply.
Softly he peered into her mind.
She knew that she did not like that. Although she wasn't sure if she liked people challenging him for the throne. Even with his threats to deal with the rebellion's 'disloyalty', a part of her felt safe that he was Supreme Leader, afraid of what possibly lay out there. She wondered who the challengers were, and for a very brief moment, part of her felt a sharp stab of pride that he bested them.
'That is cruel! He is a monster!' her mind screamed. She had to shake her head free of all thoughts and focus on Ben again. Glancing to him, she saw he was watching her, and as she became aware of it, she felt the presence of him in her mind. She looked away quickly as she built a stronger block.
His brow raised as he smirked. "You really are locked in a battle with yourself." He said, feeling concerned for the depth of it. He chose to keep his response light. "You need to keep your guard up, your thoughts are too loud. I barely had to push at all."
"Stay out of my head!" she roared, louder and more venomously than she intended. Rey groaned, rolling her eyes, and again refused to look at him, feeling bad. "I try. I try literally all the time. I'm growing sick of it. Luke only taught me so much, and these cursed books are so hard to translate." She said, extremely exasperated.
Curiosity striking him, Kylo leaned forward to catch her gaze. "Books?"
Her eyes widened, wondering if she had given too much away, and when she felt him in her mind again, she scowled. He had already found the answer. "Stay out of my head, Ben Solo!" she said again, this time through clenched teeth, standing up and shoving a flat palm into his chest. He barely budged from it.
"Do not call me that!" He sneered. Shaking his head, he added, "I can't believe the old fool kept them."
At this, Rey's grimace fell, fully distracted. "You've read them? I've tried so many times, but the ink is smudged and I can't understand the language it's written in." She said, excited. Rey felt as though she was actually getting somewhere now, if maybe he knew any way to translate what was there, maybe she could continue learning...
"I have, yes." Kylo replied, hesitant. He thought for a moment.
If she had the books, all she had to do was translate what was in them and she would be able to teach herself the remaining lessons Luke Skywalker was unable to. And, if she did that, her own bond with the force would strengthen.
However, if that happened, she could delve into the dark side unknowingly, just as she did when she was able to transfer light to him with no training at all.
'But,' he thought, 'I could train her. I can control what she learns, for now at least...'
Kylo considered for a moment longer, weighing the options and realizing there weren't many.
He could either allow her to become a self-taught master Jedi and kill her or be killed byher.
He could allow her to become a full force user of the dark side and rule with her or again, be killed by her.
Or, he could assist in teaching her the ways of the force and help her channel the dark side just enough to let go of all she held on to, and together they could achieve their destiny, just as the vision showed him the night they touched hands, when their souls claimed one another's partnership.
"Ben?" Rey asked, dragging him from his thoughts. His eyes flickered to hers wide and hopeful eyes. He wanted to tell her to stop calling him that, but he something within him didn't let him.
"I'll help you. I can teach you. We'll use the same terms that you did, we will not reveal any intel of our allegiances, and only do this through our bond of course."
She looked grateful, but wary.
"Why are you agreeing to help me?" she asked, a light smile tugging at her lips.
He hesitated. "It should help...Maybe once you learn what is needed, the bond will stop." He said, and smugly realized a part of him truly hoping it didn't.
Swallowing, she nodded. She didn't want the bond to end, having gone months without it made her feel more alone than ever before. But, she knew it had to be done eventually.
They looked at one another, silence stinging the air around them. They stood so near one another now. Kylo's gaze softened as she filled his view, entrapped by her soft,innocent beauty. He remembered the similar way he felt when they rode in the elevator to Snoke's throne room months ago.
Rey could feel a tugging in her bruised and aching chest, a natural pull to him, all senses tingling. Her eyes begged to scan his face, to admire every imperfection, but her mind refused it, but his eyes ached for it.
Looking away from his heated gaze, she turned on her heel towards the desk that sat in the corner.
Clearing her throat, she picked up one of the beaten books. "I have all of them here, but this one seems to call to m-" Rey stopped speaking when she turned back to him, book in hand.
The bond swiftly and gently disconnected, and Rey was left alone in her room.