Chapter 45.

Over the next few days, Rey's training intensified.

Kylo pushed her in new ways, encouraged her to give the extra muscle, challenged her to rise, demanded that she not hold back. As each day passed, she was able to match his hits, strike for strike, able to block and counter.

She was regaining her strength, and then some.

Today, though, was different.

Early in the morning, on another cold and windy day, Rey made her way through the woods and to the training ground to join Kylo just as she did every morning, this time finding him at a large tree, so big she and Kylo would not have been able to fit around it.

Stopping to admire its height, Kylo spoke from behind her.

"Push it down."

Rey turned to meet his eyes, the dark and expecting expression on his face as it always was when she arrived.

"Push it down?" She asked, reaching towards her lightsaber.

His palm extended out, taking her weapon before her hand landed on it. Rey's head whipped to him, glaring at him now.

Rey stepped towards him, and his gaze hardened, jaw tensing as he held the lightsaber away from her fully out of her reach.

"Use the force. You can't be afraid of it. Push the root out from the ground," Kylo clipped her lightsaber to his belt, and Rey felt a surge of protection run through her, eager to have it returned. He pushed her shoulder to make her turn back to the tree. "Break apart the bark, and shred it to pieces."

"Shred it to-" Rey began to mutter, but abruptly stopped as Kylo grabbed her wrist and extended her palm out, leaving it mid-air as he stepped back again.

Rey gulped, looking from the ground and craning her neck to look to the top of the tree, though it was too far to see. The leaves clashed against one another in the wind, sending a small shiver down her back.

With a quick push, she tried to do as instructed...

The idea seemed like a waste of time, and it made Rey irritated that it was her first lesson for the day...Yet, why couldn't she do it?

Stretching her fingers, she tried again.

...And nothing happened.

Behind her, Kylo shifted from one foot to the other, adding to her annoyance.

Again, she tried.

Deep in the ground, she felt thin strands of root break, the dirt around it shuffling around from the tension.

Rey's jaw clenched, feeling frustrated and embarrassed that it wasn't happening. Lately, she had been using the force during training, but only when she absolutely needed to, when her and Kylo were dueling and he disarmed her, she would do the same.

It was the bare minimum, an instinct that kicked in when her body called for it.

And now, she was standing here, waiting for it to arrive, though she could feel her mind actively pushing it away.

Kylo approached her, standing directly behind as he placed his hand over hers one more, nudging the back of her leg to get into a fighting stance.

"Don't be afraid." he said, his breath tickling her ear. Goosebumps arose across her arms, her own breathing hitched. "You've done it before...You've allowed the force in... You became one with it. Control the power," their fingers extended once more towards the tree. "Control the energy."

Their bond opened, and as their fingers intertwined, Rey felt his own power course through her veins, both calming and exciting her, poking at the force inside her that she had laid to rest.

The core of their bond sang as it soothed her nerves, overtaking her senses so much that she didn't feel it when Kylo stepped away from Rey, his hand leaving hers.

A gentle hum filled Rey's senses as she felt the grass growing around her, the swift tickle of the branches waving in the air, the scent of death feeding life, and life feeding death.

As if it were the first time, Rey was in awe of the force mingling around her, enveloping her with wide, warm arms, and for the briefest second, her heartbeat sped up as her mind tried to turn on her, giving her the quickest taste of a memory when Kai was killed.

Just as quickly as the memory entered, it was escorted out of her brain, every trace of it erased. In the back of her mind, Rey could feel Kylo shifting her thoughts around, his presence subtle though firm.

He was protecting her...from herself...

With a shaky breath, Rey focused once more...Feeling the power rise within her, twirling itself seductively around the energy of the force. Determined not to be afraid of it, Rey allowed the power to do its work, and just as easily, the will to control came.

Turning her hand slightly, Rey's eyes slowly drifted open, watching the tree break free from the dirt, and floated into the air, dirt and debris falling back to the ground with a small hiss.

Refusing to let her shock take this moment, Rey gulped it down and stilled her hand, the tree in turn freezing mid-air.

And just like that, her fist clenched tight, and the large tree shattered, crumbling into small shards of itself, shredded and destroyed into pieces until it was ground into dirt, still floating in the space in front of both Kylo and Rey.

Ecstatic, Rey turned to Kylo with a big smile on her face, pleased with herself for being able to overcome her worries.

Kylo met her eyes, his eyebrow cocked as her smile slowly faded away.

"What...What is it? I did it. What now?" she asked, confusion plaguing her features.

For a moment, Kylo stood in his place as he admired the way her eyes grew bright with curiosity and frustration, her determined spirit rising to meet the frustrated side of her that was beginning to show now.

With his hands clasped behind his back, he slowly took a step towards her, standing at her side as he eyed the shredded bark in front of them as he spoke.

"Now, heal it."

Rey's head whipped up to him, the hold on the bark faltering before she regained her hold on it.

"Heal it? Are you ma-" Rey trailed off as she turned her eyes back to the pile of shards and dirt that was still floating in the air.

She felt his presence leave her mind, the pressure easing up he distanced himself entirely from her.

Knowing that he was beginning to shut her out, Rey dropped her hold on the bark, allowing it fall to the ground as she stepped in front of Kylo, facing him as she quickly shoved her way into his mind.

He growled at her, his block shoving her right out of his mind, of course, only after she caught a quick glimpse.

Stepping back, Rey tried her best not to feel defeated.

"You're showing me this, so that you'll never have to use it again? So that you'll never have to use the light to heal me?" she demanded.

Kylo glared at her, his chin rising in the air.