For allbingo
Sep. 21st, 2020 02:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladyofleithianTitle: and that the sun will rise
Summary: How Rey took on the last name of “Skywalker”.
Prompt: Family of choice
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author’s Notes: Title from “Endless Night” from the musical version of The Lion King.
When Rey died the first time — temporarily — she didn’t expect to awake in Niima Outpost, to see her parents again.
“Mum?” she said. “Dad?”
“Rey,” Nerys said softly, and they both ran towards her. Even as they hugged her (you couldn’t sense things in the afterlife, but Rey could feel the emotions, warmer than they had a right to be), Rey said, “I didn’t want you to leave. I didn’t want you to die for me...”
Nerys and Trias both (just Nerys and Trias, as Rey remembered them) looked at her solemnly. Nerys spoke. “We didn’t want to die either,” she said. “The only solace we took was the knowledge you were...if not safe from him, away from him.”
“I thought for fourteen years that I was a mistake..."
“You never were,” Nerys said. “Did Plutt...”
“He did.”
Nerys tensed, seemed to bristle. Trias seemed just...sad.
“Rey,” Nerys said. “We thought that he would protect you. Knowing he, too, hurt you...I’m sorry.”
Rey nodded. “You promised you’d come back.”
“We were intending to,” Trias said. “Before Ochi intercepted us both. He found ways to torture us, before getting bored and finally killing us. I can imagine my father was furious with him.”
“I’m sorry.” Despite herself, Rey couldn’t help but feel compassion for them. Despite herself. “I didn’t — this is my fault — ”
“We chose this fate,” Nerys said firmly. “We would die a thousand deaths to protect you from him. As any parent would for their child.”
A shift.
“You’re not meant to be dead,” Trias said. “And I think Ben Solo knows it too.”
“Ben?”
Trias smiled faintly. "Go, little heroine. And may the Dark and Light both protect you in your endeavors...”
“May Ri’ia protect you,” Nerys said.
“Mum, Dad...” Rey began.
“You don’t have to tell us,” Trias said as her surroundings began to fade. “We know.”
***
It should have been an easy victory afterwards, but instead, Rey doubted that she had ever felt more alone. After the exhilaration had worn off, the exhilaration of being with her friends again, she wouldn’t deny that she was worn out. She remembered feeling thwarted at the Mirror Cave, feeling like what she was looking for (a clue as to who she was) was out of reach, and...
She remembered how Kylo had told her she came from nothing, was nothing, but not to him. The truth was, now she didn’t know if her parents being “nobodies" or one of them being related to a monster was worse.
Had he known? Had he hid it from her on purpose? She didn’t know what to think of that. How would she have reacted if she learned about her heritage earlier. Her, on the Supremacy, devastated that trying to help Ben, save him from himself, had failed.
(She had accepted the truth to a degree on the Falcon. Realizing that Ben had to save himself, that she couldn’t fix his problems for him)
And her parents...
“Is everything all right, Rey?”
Her father’s voice.
Rey turned to look at him, at the shimmering ghost in the corner. Then, “Just tired.”
“I can imagine.” Trias Palpatine looked thoughtful just then. “We were intending to come back for you, Rey. Even though your mother lived on Jakku, I wondered, and she wondered, if it was the right thing to do. We both did. We both knew we were making mistakes. I didn’t scream or hit or anything like that, but in my own way...I good as hurt you.”
“You did.” Rey said softly. A beat. “What was I like, before...everything?”
Trias smiled faintly. “You were a little girl. Exemplary in every way, fearless...still a little girl. You were a blessing to both of us. I was initially afraid, of course...I didn’t know how to be a father. Your grandfather was not a good man.”
“He abused you.” Rey said. Now she was starting to understand. She didn’t like what her parents did, but her father was far from a monster. A flawed man, but not a monster.
“The Sith have...ways of training their apprentices. I didn’t realize he was abusive until I saw that look of horror on your mother’s face. To me, it just seemed normal. It was one of many reasons I couldn’t let him have you, because he would have put you through so many horrors. He would have broken your spirit, your body...you would have been like me, or worse."
Rey bit her lip. Even the idea of becoming the Sith creature she’d seen in the ruins of the second Death Star... “He made me watch,” he said. “My friends were getting massacred and he said that he could save them — and there was a moment where I almost...I almost gave in...if Ben — ”
“You are not weak, my little heroine,” Trias said. “You experienced horrors that no twenty-year-old should witness, that no one in general should witness, that were inexcusable. Your grandfather abused you. He didn’t scream or hit, but he terrorized you — saw you as more of a means to an end than someone who should be cherished. What he did to me is one thing. What he did to you, my daughter...I can’t forgive him for that. I can speculate, wonder if he went through similar abuse, but what he did...you’re stronger than he’ll ever be.”
“So are you,” Rey said. Then, “There’s something else. Thanks to Palpatine’s...manipulations, I’m technically related to Anakin Skywalker.” And even telling Trias the truth, she watched his dawning comprehension.
"Poor Shmi,” Trias said. “Poor, dear Shmi. Used as an incubator against her will, made a slave...she deserved more than what my father did to her. But...”
“You could have taken on the name ‘Trias Skywalker.’” Rey said.
“Then...you could do it in my stead.”
“That could work.” Rey beamed. “It’s what you and Mum should have had.”
"Yes. And little heroine...have a good life for me. Keep being extraordinary, exemplary, as you are and always have been.”
***
When Rey took on the name of “Rey Skywalker” then, it wasn’t just a tribute to a troubled but brilliant mentor (two of them. Leia was a Skywalker, after all), but a memorial to her parents. Both of them, imperfect but brave nonetheless. It felt fitting then, and from there...from there she could find a place to begin.
Summary: How Rey took on the last name of “Skywalker”.
Prompt: Family of choice
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author’s Notes: Title from “Endless Night” from the musical version of The Lion King.
When Rey died the first time — temporarily — she didn’t expect to awake in Niima Outpost, to see her parents again.
“Mum?” she said. “Dad?”
“Rey,” Nerys said softly, and they both ran towards her. Even as they hugged her (you couldn’t sense things in the afterlife, but Rey could feel the emotions, warmer than they had a right to be), Rey said, “I didn’t want you to leave. I didn’t want you to die for me...”
Nerys and Trias both (just Nerys and Trias, as Rey remembered them) looked at her solemnly. Nerys spoke. “We didn’t want to die either,” she said. “The only solace we took was the knowledge you were...if not safe from him, away from him.”
“I thought for fourteen years that I was a mistake..."
“You never were,” Nerys said. “Did Plutt...”
“He did.”
Nerys tensed, seemed to bristle. Trias seemed just...sad.
“Rey,” Nerys said. “We thought that he would protect you. Knowing he, too, hurt you...I’m sorry.”
Rey nodded. “You promised you’d come back.”
“We were intending to,” Trias said. “Before Ochi intercepted us both. He found ways to torture us, before getting bored and finally killing us. I can imagine my father was furious with him.”
“I’m sorry.” Despite herself, Rey couldn’t help but feel compassion for them. Despite herself. “I didn’t — this is my fault — ”
“We chose this fate,” Nerys said firmly. “We would die a thousand deaths to protect you from him. As any parent would for their child.”
A shift.
“You’re not meant to be dead,” Trias said. “And I think Ben Solo knows it too.”
“Ben?”
Trias smiled faintly. "Go, little heroine. And may the Dark and Light both protect you in your endeavors...”
“May Ri’ia protect you,” Nerys said.
“Mum, Dad...” Rey began.
“You don’t have to tell us,” Trias said as her surroundings began to fade. “We know.”
***
It should have been an easy victory afterwards, but instead, Rey doubted that she had ever felt more alone. After the exhilaration had worn off, the exhilaration of being with her friends again, she wouldn’t deny that she was worn out. She remembered feeling thwarted at the Mirror Cave, feeling like what she was looking for (a clue as to who she was) was out of reach, and...
She remembered how Kylo had told her she came from nothing, was nothing, but not to him. The truth was, now she didn’t know if her parents being “nobodies" or one of them being related to a monster was worse.
Had he known? Had he hid it from her on purpose? She didn’t know what to think of that. How would she have reacted if she learned about her heritage earlier. Her, on the Supremacy, devastated that trying to help Ben, save him from himself, had failed.
(She had accepted the truth to a degree on the Falcon. Realizing that Ben had to save himself, that she couldn’t fix his problems for him)
And her parents...
“Is everything all right, Rey?”
Her father’s voice.
Rey turned to look at him, at the shimmering ghost in the corner. Then, “Just tired.”
“I can imagine.” Trias Palpatine looked thoughtful just then. “We were intending to come back for you, Rey. Even though your mother lived on Jakku, I wondered, and she wondered, if it was the right thing to do. We both did. We both knew we were making mistakes. I didn’t scream or hit or anything like that, but in my own way...I good as hurt you.”
“You did.” Rey said softly. A beat. “What was I like, before...everything?”
Trias smiled faintly. “You were a little girl. Exemplary in every way, fearless...still a little girl. You were a blessing to both of us. I was initially afraid, of course...I didn’t know how to be a father. Your grandfather was not a good man.”
“He abused you.” Rey said. Now she was starting to understand. She didn’t like what her parents did, but her father was far from a monster. A flawed man, but not a monster.
“The Sith have...ways of training their apprentices. I didn’t realize he was abusive until I saw that look of horror on your mother’s face. To me, it just seemed normal. It was one of many reasons I couldn’t let him have you, because he would have put you through so many horrors. He would have broken your spirit, your body...you would have been like me, or worse."
Rey bit her lip. Even the idea of becoming the Sith creature she’d seen in the ruins of the second Death Star... “He made me watch,” he said. “My friends were getting massacred and he said that he could save them — and there was a moment where I almost...I almost gave in...if Ben — ”
“You are not weak, my little heroine,” Trias said. “You experienced horrors that no twenty-year-old should witness, that no one in general should witness, that were inexcusable. Your grandfather abused you. He didn’t scream or hit, but he terrorized you — saw you as more of a means to an end than someone who should be cherished. What he did to me is one thing. What he did to you, my daughter...I can’t forgive him for that. I can speculate, wonder if he went through similar abuse, but what he did...you’re stronger than he’ll ever be.”
“So are you,” Rey said. Then, “There’s something else. Thanks to Palpatine’s...manipulations, I’m technically related to Anakin Skywalker.” And even telling Trias the truth, she watched his dawning comprehension.
"Poor Shmi,” Trias said. “Poor, dear Shmi. Used as an incubator against her will, made a slave...she deserved more than what my father did to her. But...”
“You could have taken on the name ‘Trias Skywalker.’” Rey said.
“Then...you could do it in my stead.”
“That could work.” Rey beamed. “It’s what you and Mum should have had.”
"Yes. And little heroine...have a good life for me. Keep being extraordinary, exemplary, as you are and always have been.”
***
When Rey took on the name of “Rey Skywalker” then, it wasn’t just a tribute to a troubled but brilliant mentor (two of them. Leia was a Skywalker, after all), but a memorial to her parents. Both of them, imperfect but brave nonetheless. It felt fitting then, and from there...from there she could find a place to begin.
