Rey woke up with a sore back, and found herself out of her bed. And more, she was sitting on the floor and leaning her head on his couch, their hands clasped together. It took her a moment to realize what had actually happened, and she remembered everything. It was the most beautiful thing that could happen.

   And suddenly she realized how well she had slept after that. She tilted her head so her eyes would meet his closed ones, and smiled affectionately.

   She realized he had put his own sheet over her, to keep her warm. She reached out, in an attempt to touch his face. She had always wondered how his hair felt under her touch. Yet she retreated it almost immediately. She has never been this close to him, and a part of the thought still made her feel uncomfortable as she felt her heart rush.

   And then he opened his eyes. "Rey?" and he made the same attempt to touch her, but gave up. "I'm sorry if you didn't sleep well."

   "It's all right. I have never slept better."
  

   After the breakfast with the king and the queen, Ben led Rey in the gardens of the Red Keep. Rey had never been up here before. Those gardens were forbidden for the ordinary people of King's Landing. From up there, she could see the entire city bathed in the sunlight, the sea. She noticed the old gardens where she used to train before. They were not far, maybe they could make it to there. She missed those places, she missed her friends and her apprentice... Her apprentice... When she thought about the child, it made her heart break. But now she had Ben. And somehow, in a very unexpected way, he filled the place for all of them.

   She had never seen such splendor of flowers before either. Her fingers lingered across the roses that bordered the paved alley as she walked. But suddenly Ben's hand touched hers, as if to tell her to stop.
  
   As they walked under a tree, he stopped and ripped a flower from a branch and tucked it in Rey's hair, right above her ear.
   Her eyes dropped to the ground as she blushed. He wanted to bring down his hand, to touch her face, but at the same time was afraid she will get angry, that she did not want him to.

   As his hand fell, she rose her eyes to him.

   "We're almost at the place we first met." She said, gesturing at the garden.

   He sighed.

   "What?" she asked, concerned.
   "No, nothing..." he said as he turned to face her. "Rey, I know how this is going to sound, but..." he trailed off. "I never loved you because I was supposed to, I loved you since then, when I had no idea you were the Rey they were planning to wed me to."

  And Rey had always wondered whether his feelings really were true, or just forced. But somehow she had always known it, for she had felt the pure love coming from him. And what frightened her the most was, that her feelings had begun to grow.

  She looked up at him as he held both her hands, and his eyes were full of hope. She knew what he needed to hear, what he hoped to. Yet those new feelings were strange to her, and she couldn't bring herself to voice them.

  "You are my friend." was all she managed to say.

  "Only your friend?" and she could see the disappointment in his eyes, even though he tried his best to hide it.

  "My best friend." She said as she hugged him. And her gesture took him by surprise as he returned it.

   "Rey," he began. "I hope this time you will accept." and she saw that he was fumbling nervously at his pocket and drew the same tiny necklace he had shown her one day ago. "I want to give it to you as a sign of my true love."

   And she made eye contact with him. "I will accept your love, Ben, always. Thank you." She said as he clasped it carefully at the back of her neck.

   Then she let him take her hand as they walked, even though it made her shy. She realized her hand was trembling slightly again. But this time it was not fear. It was something she had never felt before, a different kind of happiness.

   They walked onto a large terrace with sea view, so now they could see the apprentices fighting with their masters. She remembered being down there, in that place, with her staff or her sword in her hands, her face and hair sweated. The only time she ever held a real sword...

   Now the soft breeze was keeping the warmth off, as did the long silk dress she wore. Still, this life was strange to her. She was used to take care of herself alone, to look after herself alone. She was used to fight and run. Her tough life had developed her a wonderful sense of survival.

   "Sometimes... I miss fighting so, so much! " Rey said, her heart aching with longing. "I miss the feel of a sword in my hand, I miss fending off my opponent, I miss my trainings. Now I can't be a knight, but what would I not give to have just a bit of that back!"
   

   Hearing that saddened Ben. He wanted her to be happy. And he had always known how much she loved fighting.

   " Maybe I'll never get to hold a sword in my hands again. "

   " No, don't say that." he searched her eyes and she turned her head from them to him. "You can't know what the future holds for you. "

   And saying that gave him a great idea.

   "Ben? Do you know where my staff could be? I've never seen it since coming here."

   He smiled. It still surprised him how she got attached to such small things. It was like they have been her friends all along, have defended her. And he tried to remember if he ever had such thing.

   "I don't know what they've done with it. But I promise I will find it for you."

   "It has a great meaning to me." She said and smiled. "It had saved my life."

   He frowned. "Would you mind to tell me how? Or how you came across it?"

   She smiled. "I'll tell you, be sure about that. But after you get it for me!" she smirked.

   "Of course, my lady!"

   "Please, I'm not used to be called like that!"

   "As you wish!" he chuckled.

   "Hmm... Would you like to know my friends?" she asked, and her voice was full of hope.

   "Oh..." he began but trailed off, his eyes on the ground. "I don't think how much they'll like to see me... I mean I want to meet them but..."

   "But? It's alright, you're with me. As long as I'm with you they won't say anything." She said confidently as she took his hand. "I promise."

   And he believed her. "All right. I'll go find your staff, and you can wait for me at the gates. I'll come as quickly as I can." he said as he squeezed her hands.

   She took her time to walk and admire the gardens. After all, he couldn't be so quick. And she hoped her friends would not cause any problems. She knew just how much they hated Ben. Just like she had until  that past night.
  

   When he was done, he went for the gates and found Rey there, waiting. He smiled as she waved at him.

   "Are you ready to meet them?"

   "I guess so? I know they are very kind people, especially with the ones who deserve." Rey frowned and placed her hands on his chest. And that surprised him.

   "But you deserve, Ben. You do!" Rey said insistently, gazing into his eyes as he shook his head.

   "No, I don't."

   But then Rose and Finn appeared in their way. 

   "Rey!" they ran towards her but stopped when they noticed she was not alone.

   Rey turned to face them, and noticed their puzzled faces. Finn had put on a snarl on his, and his fists were clenched. Rose was stiff, too, even though she had only taught Rey to show understanding towards Ben.

   "I'm glad to see you both." She did not know what else to say, for they were both glaring at the man near her.
  
   Ben did not expect that to be easy. He never had. Yet he knew that was the first step to gain people their trust. And he could do it, for Rey stood by his side. He forced himself to look into their eyes.

   "Everything I did, proves how bad of a person I am. I've wronged you, I've wronged my parents, I've wronged every single man in the realm. Yet I don't want to be that person anymore. I want to change. I promise. And with Rey's help, I will. And maybe with yours. "

    Finn continued to glare at him, while Rose's eyes softened a bit.

   "He's telling the truth." Rey said. "I know it."

   "I'm sorry about everything. And I know excuses mean nothing after all of this."

   "You're right." Rose said harshly. "You did terrible things. And your excuses do not help." and then her eyes softened. "But you can change. If Rey believes so, then so do I." and she looked at her friend. "I trust my friend's judgment."

   And Ben looked back at her, surprised. He was glad she did not use any courtesy. It only made him feel odd. But Finn still had an unflinching look.

   "I'm not asking you to forgive me. I know it's too much. I just want to make things as right as I can."

   "We can go to one of my old training places and speak there." Rey tried to intervene.

   "No! As long as this man makes our Rey suffer, I will not stand him!" Finn spat. He glared at Ben with such hatred, as if for both him and Rey. 

   "Finn, I'm fine! He never hurt me! He never would." She said as she looked up at Ben.  

   "Sure, Your Grace." he said mockingly as his eyes snapped back to Ben.

   But what Ben saw next broke his heart. There was a little child running towards them and crying in his tiny voice "Master Rey!" with all the happiness in the world.

   And Rey turned and ran toward him. She knelt down on her dress in the muddy road, as she caught him in her arms. He nearly knocked her down, little as he was, if she wasn't strong enough to stop them both from falling.

   He wrapped his arms around her neck and buried his head in her hair. His cries of joy soon became ones muffled from her hair and his tears.

   "Master Rey, you're back! My master Rey!"

   "I missed you so much!" She said as she nuzzled her head against his.

   They stood hugged like that for long moments and, when they finally broke apart, Rey placed a kiss on his forehead. "I told you we'll meet again."

   And then she brushed the tears that were coming down in streams from his eyes.

   "I want you back. I need you."

   "I know." She said. She knew she couldn't go back to the life she had had before, and she knew she could promise him nothing. "You are going to be a great knight, I know it. Like I had wanted to be."

   And he nodded through tears.

   "Would you like to come with us?" she asked as she stood up and took his hand.

   He nodded as he looked her up and down. "You look so different. I prefer the old you." he said honestly.

   Rey smiled. "Somehow, I do, too. But on the other hand now I feel relieved." She added the last line as she looked at Ben.

   "Who is he?" the child asked as he hid behind Rey's long skirts, gripping her leg through the satin gown, the way he did every time someone new showed up.

   "He is... Ben, my best friend."

   "Oh." Rob sighed when he realized who the man was and he made to hide back.

   "Hey, Robb, he is a good man, believe me." She said as she crouched back near him.

   And Ben came closer. "Hi." he said as he squatted down beside Rey and held out a hand for the child. "I know you've heard bad things about me."

   "I won't let you harm my Rey!" he said as he stepped between them.

   "I never would. I would never let anyone harm her." and he looked in her eyes with all his love.

   "He never would." Rey assured her former apprentice.

   "Is it true that you did all the things they say you did?" he asked, trying to keep his hard stare. "Is it true? Is it?"

   And Ben let his eyes down. "Yes, it is. And you can't imagine how I regret it."

   "No one has only bad or good in them. We can make bad choices, it is normal. But what matters is what we do to change them." Rey said and she looked understanding at Ben. "And that's one's real strength. For it can be really hard. Maybe there was some reason for one's actions. Listen to me, my young apprentice, it is not easy to live with what you did. More, to find a strength to make right what you can." And she understood it, she was what kept Ben going on.

   And the child looked up to meet Ben's eyes. And he realized that Rey's words had a lot of effect. He looked at him with big, innocent eyes.

   " What's your name, little one? " Ben asked.

   "Robb." he asked.

   "Robb, I'm trying so hard to make things right how I can. And I know it's hard to try to offer me a chance after all you heard about me, but you need to know, I want to be a good man."

   The glare faded, and Robb nodded.
  
~~~~
   "Rose, I need to talk to you." Rey said as she followed her friend. She needed to talk about this with Rose, between four eyes. She had left Ben with Finn, and she hoped nothing would happen just for a few moments.

   "I wanted to talk with you too. Rey, have you told him? What happened between you two?"

   And Rey sighed. It was very hard to tell everything that happened, but she carried on. She told Rose about their dreams, how wrong she had been about Ben all the time.

  " And I decided I want to help him. For the rest of my life. I found in him the one company I have always been looking for. Yet we had the same dream at the same time and I think it's not a coincidence."

   "It may not be." Rose smiled. "Yet there is a reason all that happened." and as they headed back, she added "And don't forget, love comes from the eye."

   Ben and Finn still kept a cold look at each other, even though things seemed to have cooled down.

   "Finn, Rose." he began. "Tomorrow night there'll be a party. And I thought that you would like to come, and Rey would want you to be there. And Rey's friends are my friends, too."

   Rose and Finn glanced furtively at each other. "Thanks, Rose said. I think we'll come."

   "I'm doing this only for not leaving Rey alone." Finn replied.

   It was true, he needed time to adjust to those sudden changes. Ben did not expect it to be easy. Yet he was just glad they had accepted at least.

~~~~
   Leia walked alone on the long corridor. Han was waiting for her at its end. He seemed troubled, there was something on his mind. She could feel how his sorrow reflected hers.

   "I thought I made the right decision." she said.

   "Me too."

   "I didn't expect that. Yet there's something she's not telling us."

   "She's going to pay for dishonoring us." his head turned slightly in his wife's direction, so he would only catch a glance of her.

   "It is not her fault. You're going to leave her alone. And I can feel things are changing. I can feel it. And I can feel something more, something that had been asleep until now."
  
  
   Thanks for reading!