Chapter Text
It seems that the war won't end in an epic battle or an even more epic surrender, but in a mere conversation.
Rey thinks it's borderline insulting.
They've fought for so many years and have lost so much - how can the General just concede the moment Snoke asks for peace? She highly doubts that's even what he wants. In fact, she'd be willing to bet that he only wants the Resistance to stop attacking them long enough for him to train a new apprentice now that -
Rey squeezes her eyes shut at the thought she didn't allow herself to finish. Almost the entire base - pilots, soldiers, officers and anyone else that can call themselves a member of the Resistance - are camped outside of the General's office waiting to hear the verdict.
She happens to be the exception, though.
While they're all biting their nails in anticipation of a truce, she's sitting by the lake she found on the planet she can't seem to remember the name of after abruptly running from the battlefield once the ceasefire was called. Master Luke would be most disappointed in the way she's allowed herself to run ragged with emotions, not once bothering to even attempt to control them. She seems to be fine now. Well. About as fine as she can be, all things considered.
When she's had enough of staring aimlessly at the placid body of water, Rey crawls on her hands and knees over to where the soft brown dirt meets the edge of the water. She takes one last look at her hands. There's an absurd amount of dirt underneath her fingernails and her skin is stained with blood - his blood - which isn't surprising. There was a lot of it.
Rey furiously dips her hands into the water, scrubbing angrily until the backs of her hands feel raw and her palms burn. Her fingertips are still tinged with red.
"Rey," Poe's commanding voice is the only thing that stops her from going in again and possibly doing irreparable damage to the skin of her hands. "They're done."
She sniffs, eyes watering for some inexplicable reason.
"And?" Her voice is rough, probably from all the screaming she did.
"General wants to see you."
Rey turns to face him and immediately regrets it. They're having what could be considered a pointless conversation yet he's looking at her like some hero. He's standing tall, chest puffed out with an air of respect she does not deserve.
She wordlessly stands up, breezes by him and makes her way towards the General's office.
When she walks past the hoards of Resistance members, they all whisper. Rey doesn't need to listen hard to know what they're saying.
"She killed him." She hears someone she vaguely remembers to be technician of some sort say as she passes. "They outta erect a statue of that girl."
Rey ignores the comment, lest she completely lose it in front of all of these people.
The General doesn't look at her when she enters her office and it hurts worse than any injury she's currently nursing. The only thing that takes her mind off of it is the sudden uneasiness she feels under Snoke's gaze. It's something between admiration and hatred and she wishes he'd stop looking at her all together.
"I'll keep this short," General Organa says, still refusing to look at her. "A peace agreement has been reached but there's something that must take place to ensure both sides maintain this peace."
They're going to execute her. It makes sense. She's hurt both Snoke and the General with what she's done. Her death would seemingly make them both happy. Or at least content.
"We wish to marry our respective forces, in the most literal sense." Snoke says, hands folding over one another.
And Rey...has no idea what that means.
"Peace will not be easy to achieve given the bad blood between our two sides but if the people see someone they respect playing nice with the former enemy - "
It's then Rey catches on to what's being proposed.
"A literal marriage." She mutters before clearing her throat to speak again. "Someone the Resistance respects to someone the Order respects. So basically me and General Hux."
How General Hux managed to make it through the battle unscathed is a mystery to her. And now she almost wishes he hadn't since it means she has to marry him now.
Snoke laughs, deep and unsettling. "Absolutely not. My men fear Hux, not respect him. They respect a boy called FN-2187. A Stormtrooper. The best and brightest one we've got."
A Stormtrooper? They want her to marry a damn Stormtrooper? She'd rather take the execution.
"Ma'am," Rey steps in the General's direction. "I don't understand how me marrying a Stormtrooper will fix anything. They represent everything we've been fighting against. If I marry one there's a good chance everyone outside that door will turn on me."
The General laughs humorlessly. "There's no chance they would turn on you. In their eyes you single handedly ended this war with what you did. You can do no wrong to them. Not anymore."
Rey doesn't miss the way she seems to say the words with contempt. Everyone outside her office may respect Rey, but clearly she doesn't. Not fully, at least.
"Besides," Snoke drawls out. "It isn't really up for discussion. Either do this or the war continues. Swallow your immense amount of pride and do this one thing or many more men and women will die because of it."
While she really doesn't want to marry a Stormtrooper, she also can't fight anymore. She can't continue to wake up - if she even sleeps at all - and take part in what seems a futile battle. If this is the price she has to pay to finally stop fighting and to keep anyone else from dying, well. She guesses she'll have to do it.
-
Rey, for lack of a better word, storms into Master Luke's quarters. He's predictably meditating as if a major war hasn't just been ended and she hasn't been promised to a Stormtrooper.
"You're angry." He says and Rey wants to hit him. She's dangerously unbalanced right now. "You need to calm yourself - "
"Did you know about this?" She all but spits out at him. He nods, back still facing her. "Turn and face me, father."
She swore to herself she would never do that to him, never play that particular card, but she's sort of spiraling at the moment.
He sighs and glances over his shoulder."It's what's best for the galaxy, Rey. Peace will be achieved this way."
"By me marrying their little golden boy solider? You are aware he will kill me the first chance he gets, right?" Because she's thought about it a lot and she's certain that's Snoke's endgame here.
"He won't. There's more light in him than Snoke realizes." And, force, Rey really doesn't want to hear his light side/dark side spiel right now. "And a lot more dark in you right now than you realize."
Rey lets out a long breath because he's right. She's felt it, that pull to the dark side. She's been feeling it ever since she plunged her lightsaber into Kylo Ren's heart.
While everyone seems to want to throw flowers at her feet because of it, Rey's ashamed she did it. She's ashamed she gave in to the call of the dark side and killed her own cousin. Her family. She just wanted it all to be over so bad - no explanation would be able to justify what she did.
Luke stands up and finally faces her. Unlike his sister, he doesn't seem angry or disappointed with her. It's something more akin to sympathetic.
"No amount of self pity in this galaxy will change what you did. You made a choice and now you must live with it. In time, you'll make your peace with it. Leia will too." And Rey isn't sure just how accurate that prediction is. She killed the woman's son. Misguided or not he was still her child. Rey wouldn't blame her if she never forgave her. "As for the marriage, sometimes we must do the things we don't want in order to get the results we do."
She appreciates his words, really she does, but there's a small part of her that was hoping for Luke, her father and not Luke, her master. She'll take what she can get, though.
"Besides," he surprises her by enveloping her in a hug. "I wouldn't let them put you in a situation that I didn't feel was safe."
Rey relaxes into his hold, feeling the tiniest bit better about things. Yes, the situation is still unfavorable but knowing that Luke feels like she won't be in any danger makes her feel better. Plus he said the boy has some light in him so -
"Wait," she pulls back, eyebrows coming together in confusion. "You said there was light in this Stormtrooper guy. Is he - "
Luke smiles, small and knowing. "Force sensitive? Yes. I believe Snoke knows it as well, which is why I'm glad he'll be around you and not him. We don't need Snoke seducing anyone else to the Dark Side."
That's quite curious. Rey wouldn't think Snoke would just willingly hand over this boy given he's Force sensitive. He's allowing a possible potential apprentice to marry someone who's strong with the Light. This whole thing feels off to her.
"You should go." Luke says suddenly. "The longer you stay here the more time you'll have to dwell on your negative feelings toward the arrangement. Go and meet the boy with an open mind and you might find him tolerable."
Rey scoffs because, she highly doubts that.
Luke presses a kiss to the top of her head before letting her go. "Open mind, Rey."
"I will definitely try." She nods and turns to leave.
And she'll try to keep an open mind, but she doesn't know if she'll succeed.