* 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐄𝐍 .

            it’s unsettling  ,    to have gone her entire life unaware that she has a sibling  ,  let alone a twin  ,  and know nothing about her  .  surely a connection formed in the womb would’ve carried through into the galaxy  ,  a thread that tied them together even if the force hadn’t  .  rey knows nothing of her sister  ,  and yet she seems to know more than rey can possibly expect her to  .  how long had she been in the shadows  ,  watching her and waiting for the moment to reveal herself  ?  rey suppresses a shudder at the thought  ,  a perverse sensation of being exposed climbs her spine  ,  settles at the base of her neck  .

            but clearly  ,  milcah doesn’t know everything  .  because if she did  ,  she would know that rey had expected to die here  ,  even before she’d reached planetfall  .  her duty was to defeat palpatine  ,  finish what luke had started and bring order back to the galaxy  .  it had been a desire for such a short period of time  ,  and yet it had consumed her from the moment she’d met that droid  .  for so long  ,  her every breath  ,  every thought  ,  every action had been designed to further the resistance’s cause  .  

            rey expected to die here  .  ben had given her something she could never repay him for and to think that her sister was accusing her of holding her own life in higher regard than ben’s was an insult  .  her mind is exhausted from the raging emotions tearing through her mind  ,  jumping from each one to the next before rey has the chance to fully comprehend each one  .  and at her words  ,  anger sets in  .  ❝  i didn’t  , ❞  she hisses  ,  because she can’t bring herself to explain what had happened  .  not with his loss so fresh in her mind  .  

            and with each word  ,  rey resigns herself to the fact that she and her twin are opposite sides of a spectrum  ,  polar opposites    ––––––    no matter how milcah tried to spin it  ,  manipulate her thoughts and her words  ,  rey will not fall victim to it  .  but as her sister steps closer to her  ,  there’s a juvenile flicker of hope within her abdomen  ,  a burst of relief at the thought that she had convinced her  .  again  ,  she is confronted with how wrong she is  .  it’s such a shame to be so eternally optimistic  ,  even when the galaxy has proven you wrong time and time again  .  

            her words are a bucket of iced water and it draws a sharp gasp from rey  .  the thought of everyone she’s lost sears her brain and elicits another wounded tear from her eyes  .   it’s devastating  ,  and rey wonders if her desperation for a family was that obvious  ,  that someone she’d never met could identify it and throw it in her face  .  what did the others think of her  ,  following around anyone and everyone who dared to show her any sort of kindness  ?  it truly is pathetic  .  her head raises submissively at milcah’s guidance  ,  meeting her gaze with tear-filled eyes  .  but she doesn’t see her own in them   ,   not when they’re vandalized by that horrid yellow glow  .  ❝  you knew i who i was  ,  ❞  and perhaps now isn’t the time  ,  but after years of rejecting the idea of having been abandoned  ,  rey is a small child again begging for her family to come back  ,  voice breaking as she adds  ,  ❝  you never came for me  .  ❞ 

         𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙨  𝙩𝙝𝙚  𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨  𝙤𝙣  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛'𝚜  𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎  𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍'𝚟𝚎  𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝙵𝙴𝙴𝙻  𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐  ,  𝚋𝚞𝚝  𝚊𝚕𝚕  𝚒𝚝  𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜  𝚒𝚜  𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚜𝚎𝚎  𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝  𝚑𝚘𝚠  𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚔  𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐  𝚊  𝚂𝙾𝙵𝚃  𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝  𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍  𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎  𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎.  𝚜𝚑𝚎'𝚜  𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚗  𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑  𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛  𝚊𝚗𝚍  𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛  𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗  ,  𝚝𝚘  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚝  𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝  𝚜𝚑𝚎'𝚜  𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎  𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚍  ,  𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝  𝚒𝚝  𝚗𝚘  𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛  𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚜  𝙼𝙴𝙰𝙽𝙸𝙽𝙶  𝚝𝚘  𝚑𝚎𝚛  —  𝚊  𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑  𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚜  𝚝𝚘  𝚟𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢  ,  𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝  𝚘𝚏  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎.

           𝚋𝚞𝚝  𝚛𝚎𝚢  𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚜  𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗  ,  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗  𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝  𝚘𝚏  𝙰𝙶𝙾𝙽𝚈.  '  𝚢𝚘𝚞  𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛  𝚌𝚊𝚖𝚎  𝚏𝚘𝚛  𝚖𝚎.  '   𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜  𝙴𝙲𝙷𝙾  𝚒𝚗  𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚌𝚊𝚑'𝚜  𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍  𝚊𝚗𝚍  𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚜  𝚏𝚘𝚛  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝  𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎  𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚠𝚊𝚜  𝚊  𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍  ,  𝚊  𝙲𝚁𝙰𝙲𝙺  𝚒𝚗  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚊𝚛𝚖𝚘𝚛.  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚜  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐  𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝  𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚜  𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚝  ,  𝚊  𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚎  𝚘𝚏  𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚠  𝚜𝚑𝚎'𝚜  𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛  𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚍  𝚏𝚘𝚛  ,  𝚊  𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜𝚗'𝚝  𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝  𝚊𝚗𝚍  𝚢𝚎𝚝  𝚒𝚝  𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚖𝚜  𝚝𝚘  𝙷𝙰𝚄𝙽𝚃  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎  𝚊  𝚐𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚝  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚍  𝚝𝚘  𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎  𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐  𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍.

             𝚜𝚑𝚎'𝚜  𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗  𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐  𝚏𝚘𝚛  𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜  𝚖𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚠𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚎  𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎  ,  𝚙𝚊𝚕𝚙𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚎  𝚑𝚊𝚍  𝚁𝙰𝙸𝚂𝙴𝙳  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚏𝚘𝚛  𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜  𝚎𝚡𝚊𝚌𝚝  𝚙𝚞𝚛𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚎.  𝚝𝚘  𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛  𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎  𝚌𝚊𝚖𝚎  ,  𝚝𝚘  𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚎  𝚊𝚜  𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜  𝚒𝚏  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛  𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍.  𝚒𝚝  𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢  𝚗𝚘𝚠  𝚘𝚌𝚌𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚍  𝚝𝚘  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝  ,  𝚒𝚏  𝚛𝚎𝚢  𝚑𝚊𝚍  𝚒𝚗  𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚝  𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍  ,  𝚒𝚝'𝚍  𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝙳𝙸𝚂𝙿𝙾𝚂𝙰𝙱𝙻𝙴.

              𝚒𝚝  𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜𝚗'𝚝  𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚗  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚟𝚎.  𝚛𝚎𝚢  𝙷𝙰𝚂𝙽'𝚃  𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍  ,  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚋𝚒𝚊𝚕  𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚎  𝚒𝚜  𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜  𝚏𝚘𝚛  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐.  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚌𝚊𝚗  𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕  𝚠𝚒𝚗  𝚒𝚗  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎  𝚘𝚏  𝚊𝚕𝚕  𝚜𝚑𝚎'𝚜  𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗  𝚝𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝  𝚝𝚘  𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎  𝚒𝚗  𝚊𝚗𝚍  ,  𝚢𝚎𝚝  ,  𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎  𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜  (  𝚘𝚛  ,  𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛  ,  𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚜  )  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚝𝚠𝚒𝚗  𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛  ,  𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜  𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚝𝚎  𝚊𝚕𝚕  𝚜𝚑𝚎'𝚜  𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚎  ,  𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚝𝚎  𝚊𝚕𝚕  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚒𝚜.

            her mind is reeling  ,     comprehension impossible even as the other speaks  .  vaguely  ,  rey is aware of the amusement in her twin’s features  ,  aware that this revelation and it’s impact on the light-sided counterpart is entertaining to her  .  the irrational part of her wants to rejoice  ,  celebrate the fact that she has a sister  ,  and that she is alive  .  but the rational part of her is more prominent  ,  forcing her to see the other for what she was  .

            and this woman   –––––   milcah  ,  she’d said  ––––  wears the palpatine title like it’s a gift and not a curse  .  rey pities her that she believes it to be anything else  .  milcah steps forward and  ,  acting as her reflection  ,  rey steps back  .  her grip on the hilt of the saber tightens  .  the darkness radiating from her sister through the force is astringent  ,  tantalizing in a way rey will never indulge in  .  

            she’s curious as to how long she’d known the truth  ,  and hurt by the fact that she’d never sought her out  .  perhaps she’d been the only one to cherish the idea of a family  ,  confident that if their roles had been reversed  ,  rey would sweep the galaxy to find her  .  but rey supposes she’s lucky that this isn’t the case   ;   not when she can see how much of their grandfather’s disposition she possesses  .  ben’s loss is a fresh wound and her words are the salt that burns it  .  despite herself  ,  a tear slips down her cheek and tangles with the drying blood until all that’s left is a pink streak  .  

            ❝  he saved me  ,  ❞  she whispers  ,  finally lifting her attention back to her sister  .  ❝  milcah  ,   ❞  she tests the name  ,  imagines saying it under better circumstances  .  rey wants to smile  ,  but she only manages a grimace  .  ❝  you don’t have to go this way ,  ❞  she’d helped ben to see it  –––––   she would do the same for her sister  .  ❝  come with me  .  let me take you home  .  ❞

         𝙨𝙝𝙚  𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣'𝙩  𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣  𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚛𝚞𝚒𝚗  𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍  𝚑𝚎𝚛  ,  𝙳𝙸𝚂𝙰𝚂𝚃𝙴𝚁  𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐  𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚑  𝚊  𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚝  𝚒𝚗  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎  𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚖𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚠𝚊𝚜  𝚋𝚘𝚛𝚗  𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗'𝚝  𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠  𝚑𝚘𝚠  𝚝𝚘  𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚐𝚗𝚒𝚣𝚎  𝙷𝙰𝙿𝙿𝙸𝙽𝙴𝚂𝚂  𝚒𝚏  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚜𝚊𝚠  𝚒𝚝  𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝  𝚒𝚗  𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚝  𝚘𝚏  𝚑𝚎𝚛.  𝚒𝚗  𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚝  ,  𝚜𝚑𝚎'𝚍  𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚢  𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕  𝚘𝚞𝚝  𝚘𝚏  𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚎. 

            𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚔  𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎  𝚒𝚜  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎  ,  𝚒𝚝'𝚜  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢  𝚘𝚗𝚎  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚜  𝚊𝚗𝚍  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢  𝚘𝚗𝚎  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚜.  𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎'𝚜  𝙿𝙰𝙸𝙽  ,  𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎'𝚜  𝚂𝙾𝚁𝚁𝙾𝚆  ,  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚝  𝚒𝚗  𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚝  𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎  𝚋𝚞𝚝  𝚒𝚝'𝚜  𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝  𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛  ,  𝚒𝚝'𝚜  𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝  𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚊𝚜  𝙿𝙾𝚆𝙴𝚁𝙵𝚄𝙻  𝚊𝚜  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚜  𝚝𝚘  𝚋𝚎. 

             "  𝚂𝙰𝚅𝙴𝙳  𝚢𝚘𝚞  ??  "  𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚝𝚎  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚎  ,  𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚌𝚊𝚑  𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜  𝚋𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎  𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜  ,  𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛'𝚜  𝙳𝙸𝚂𝚃𝚁𝙴𝚂𝚂  𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎  𝚒𝚝'𝚜  𝚊  𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜  ,  𝚊  𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛  𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚜  𝚏𝚘𝚛  𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏.  "  𝚢𝚘𝚞  𝚕𝚎𝚝  𝚑𝚒𝚖  𝙳𝙸𝙴  𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎  𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛  𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎  𝚠𝚊𝚜  𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚑  𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎  𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗  𝚑𝚒𝚜.  𝚒𝚏  𝚢𝚘𝚞  𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝  𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚠  𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝  𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜  𝚢𝚘𝚞  𝚊𝚗𝚍  𝚒  𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎  𝙰𝙻𝙸𝙺𝙴  𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗  𝚢𝚘𝚞  𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔  ,  𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗  𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎  𝚍𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕.  "

            rey is rendered speechless    when the other’s face becomes visible to her in the dim lighting exegol provided  .  if it had not been for her eyes  ,  rey would convince herself that this was akin to her vision on ahch-to  ,  the vast expanse of her reflections being far more tolerable than this truth  .  she wears rey’s face  ,  but she is not her  .  and now rey has a thousand questions  , none of which she is confident she wants to know the answers to  .  

            the jedi apprentice stumbles back half a step  ,  barely catching herself from falling to her knees before the woman with her face  .   she’d seen versions of herself like this  ,  had worked desperately to block them out  .  but this one  ––––––    she’s tangible  ,  not a deception courtesy of the force  .  her mouth is dry  ,  throat raw as she tries to speak  .  ❝  this is impossible  .  who  –––––   who are you ?  ❞  

        𝙩𝙝𝙚  𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣  𝙤𝙣  𝚛𝚎𝚢'𝚜  𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎  𝚒𝚜  𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝  𝚁𝙴𝚆𝙰𝚁𝙳𝙸𝙽𝙶  ,  𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛  𝚊𝚕𝚕  𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜  𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎  𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐  𝚑𝚒𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚗  𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢  ,  𝚞𝚗𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎  𝚝𝚘  𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚠  𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏  ,  𝚞𝚗𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎  𝚝𝚘  𝚕𝚎𝚝  𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜  𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚠𝚊𝚜  𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁𝙴.  𝚋𝚞𝚝  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚑𝚊𝚍  𝙰𝙻𝚆𝙰𝚈𝚂  𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗  𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎  ,  𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢  𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝  𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝  𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠  𝚒𝚝.

            𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚠𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜  𝚒𝚏  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚕  𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚠  ,  𝚒𝚏  𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎  𝚋𝚞𝚝  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚏𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚍𝚒𝚍  ,  𝚋𝚞𝚝  𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎  𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜  𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝  𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛.  𝚗𝚘𝚝  𝚗𝚘𝚠  ,  𝚗𝚘𝚠  𝚒𝚜  𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢  𝙷𝙴𝚁  𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎.  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚜  𝚘𝚏  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚜  𝚌𝚞𝚛𝚟𝚎  𝚞𝚙  𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛  𝚜𝚘  𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚕𝚢  ,  𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢  𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑  𝚝𝚘  𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚊𝚕  𝚊  𝙶𝙻𝙸𝙼𝙿𝚂𝙴  𝚘𝚏  𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚙  𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚝𝚑  𝚊𝚗𝚍  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜  𝚊  𝚜𝚕𝚘𝚠  𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚙  𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚛.   "  𝚒'𝚖  𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎  𝚒𝚝'𝚍  𝚋𝚎  𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚎𝚛  𝚒𝚏  𝚒  𝚝𝚘𝚕𝚍  𝚢𝚘𝚞  𝚒'𝚖  𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝  𝚊  𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚂𝙸𝙾𝙽  𝚘𝚏  𝚢𝚘𝚞  ,  𝚋𝚞𝚝  𝚒'𝚖  𝚗𝚘𝚝.  𝚒𝚏  𝚒  𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎  ,  𝚒'𝚍  𝚋𝚎  𝚊  𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛  𝚢𝚘𝚞.  "

            it should have felt liberating  ,      but instead she is numb .  she wonders how much of her spirit lingers within the force  ,  how much of it hasn’t been restored to her corporeal form . the monoliths collapse, sending waves of dust and debris that burns her lungs and coats her skin  .  she needs to go  ,  now  ,  so that ben’s gift isn’t in vain  . 

            rey has only just pushed herself to her feet when she hears the shuffling  ,  feels the disturbance in her imagined peace  .  the shadowed figure approaches and the legacy saber ignites in a shaky hand    ––––––––     rey doesn’t imagine she’ll bode well in a fight with the weakness and weariness varnishing every fiber of her being  .  and then she speaks and rey cannot comprehend what is happening  ,  or who this is  .  the voice  ,  so familiar yet just as foreign  ,  has her halting before she can even raise her weapon to strike  .  it should be over  ,  but it’s unsettlingly clear to her now that it isn’t  ,  and she’d been foolish to believe it could ever truly end  .  ❝  no , ❞ she whispers  ,  brows furrowing together in a display of her confusion  , her disbelief and  ,  above all  ,  her devastation  .  childishly  ,  she refuses to accept it  ,  as if words alone could change reality  .   ❝  it’s over  .  we won  .  the emperor is dead  ––––  ❞

          𝙞𝙩'𝙨  𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚  𝙩𝙤  𝙗𝙚  𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨  𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚  𝚝𝚘  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚏𝚘𝚛  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝  𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎  ,  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛  𝚜𝚑𝚎'𝚜  𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛  𝚖𝚎𝚝  𝚊𝚗𝚍  𝚢𝚎𝚝  𝚑𝚊𝚜  𝚗𝚘  𝙰𝙵𝙵𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽  𝚏𝚘𝚛.  𝚑𝚘𝚠  𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚠𝚊𝚜  𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢  𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛  𝚝𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝  𝚝𝚘  𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎  𝚊𝚗𝚍  𝙳𝙴𝚂𝚃𝚁𝙾𝚈    ??

          𝙧𝙚𝙮  𝙝𝙖𝙨  𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩  𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙩  𝙠𝙮𝙡𝙤'𝙨  𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙮  ,   𝚗𝚘𝚠  𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐  𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝  𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚍  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚖𝚊𝚗  𝚜𝚑𝚎'𝚜  𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗  𝚜𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐  𝚏𝚘𝚛.   "  𝚊𝚍𝚊𝚗  𝚟𝚊𝚛𝚗  ??  "   𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚜  𝚑𝚒𝚜  𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎  ,  𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜  𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚎𝚍  𝙱𝙴𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙳  𝚑𝚎𝚛  𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔  𝚊𝚜  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚠𝚊𝚒𝚝𝚜  𝚏𝚘𝚛  𝚑𝚒𝚜  𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗  𝚝𝚘  𝚋𝚎  𝚘𝚗  𝙷𝙴𝚁.   "  𝚒'𝚟𝚎  𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚍  𝚢𝚘𝚞  𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎  𝙾𝙿𝙸𝙽𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂  𝚘𝚗  𝚖𝚢  𝚌𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝  𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗.  𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎  𝚝𝚘  𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚎  𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖  𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑  𝚖𝚎  ??  "

          "  𝙢𝙖𝙮  𝙞  𝙖𝙨𝙠  𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩  𝙞𝙩  𝙞𝙨  𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚  𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜?  "  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚜  𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖  𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚍  𝚋𝚎𝚗  ,  𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍  𝚜𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚕𝚢  𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐  𝚝𝚘  𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎  𝚊𝚜  𝚜𝚑𝚎  𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚜  𝚊𝚝  𝚑𝚒𝚖  ,  𝚆𝙰𝙸𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙶  𝚏𝚘𝚛  𝚊  𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚎.