There was something that pulled at Ben. Something that came from the wall of the small mountain. And he knew too well that it had something to do with the force.

   He left the tents and the small fire they have made and left for the darkness. Taking up a torch, he paced away in silence. Rey was there, safe with the others. And he wanted to know so.

    His paces followed his instinct, at first full of doubt. But as he walked farther in the forest, the Force was pulling at him more and more, making him more sure on himself than he ever remembered he had been.
   The flames of his torch swirled and gusted, revealing the hard and irregular surface of the mountain wall, and, as he walked along it and his hand traced the rough stone, he found the entrance to a cave.

  His mind acted first this time, commanding him to stop at the mouth. It was dark, and he had no idea what he was going to find there. He was fearing the worst and his first thought was that he was not ready to leave Rey alone yet. Still, it was not an omen of death. But the opposite.

   He walked inside carefully, his paces not even the faintest sounds. And as he was well into the place, the fire lightening the wall, he noticed there were some kind of inscriptions. No, not inscriptions at all, but strange ancient drawings.

   He peered at them. And for a moment, it was just the fire that swayed and swirled, and the coldness of the cave it was fighting off over the live presence in the middle. His mind was somewhere off, thinking of what could those new things mean.

   They seemed to be made millions of years ago, by the First Men, or who knows what nation.
   And he stopped there and studied them. He felt something strange, as he was now connected to the force more than ever. And his thought flew directly to Rey. He knew that she would feel it too. And she needed to see it. He wanted to share everything with her, it was the will of the force.

   He walked back to the entrance, only to find Rey standing there, looking at the walls. As if she were afraid of what she may find inside.

   "Ben!" she gasped, surprised. She had brought no torch to light her way. And he marveled at how sure she had been, unlike him. But in the depth of his being, he had always known it. Always known she was far stronger than him. Always known she trusted The Force more than him.

   As he neared her, he could feel the relief draped on her face lit by the torch. Her eyes had a sweet gleam in that hazel, like two drops of honey. He lifted a hand to caress her cheek.

   "Don't be afraid, I feel it too. Rey, I found something. And I think it has to do with the force!" he gently took her hand in his as she followed him. And he handed her the lit torch. Even though she was not the one who needed it.

   As they neared the wall where he had seen the signs, he gently wrapped an arm across her waist, guiding her paces to that place, her free hand clasped with his.

   " See? " he whispered in her hair as he lifted her arm that held the torch up to the drawings.

   And she gasped at the sight of the ancient signs. "They're wonderful."

   "The First Men did it." Ben said.

   "It is the Force. It pulled me to come here." She said as she turned around in his arms to look at him.

   " It happened to me too. At first I was afraid, but then I became more and more sure. " he said as he gently rubbed her back and shoulders. " The force is strong with you Rey, that's why you never doubted it. While I did."

   And she looked back up at the drawn wall and reached up as if to touch a scheme. Her fingers almost brushed the rough surface, as if she was afraid she might spoil it.

   "Force users." she whispered. "Look, here." She pointed at a man and a woman drawn there, that had a strange line scattered like dust between them. And the same dust scattered between everything. Between seas and mountains, between lakes and rivers and forests. Between families and villages and kingdoms. "That's what I felt when you first told me about it. The force that generates new life. And that holds everything together. And that brings peace, and balance."

   Her eyes wandered across the wall as she walked farther, Ben holding her from behind as she leaned in his arms. He now seemed to be more connected to her than thay have ever been. And she felt the urge to tell him to remain there forever. Without anyone finding them. Just them and the force.

   But the next thing she saw were men using it against each other. 

   "Now the force is making them do the opposite." She noticed, as a frown crept up on her forehead. "They're using it to gain power." and she shook her head in disbelief, her voice filled with a sadness mingled with disgust.

   "People have seen its good side for many years. Yet when they needed to develop, and to defend their territories, and to defend their realms, when their kingdoms flourished and they needed better protection, they resorted to the force, as they discovered that it could not only keep a balance, but be used. " Ben told her as he guided her arm down the wall, revealing new runes. "They have used the Force as their instrument. While they were the instruments of the Force. And that's how the kingdoms have been born, and all that desire to rule. The force had been a balance until that point. Then it had created chaos. "

   " How can you know so much? " Rey wondered.

   "Those were stories master Luke told me and some of my sworn brothers." Ben smiled sadly. "Sometimes I just wish I had listened to more of them. He was telling us these to keep us away from that side of the force."

   And Rey placed a hand on his cheek and cupped his face. "You couldn't know what was going to happen. And even if you could, you could not have stopped it. It was the will of the Force. And it brought you where you are now. If you were a good man from the beginning, maybe you would have never realized the impact the bad actions of the rulers have on their people. You would have never met me. And if I had stayed I my village, I would never have met you. And you would never have shown me the force. Now I am glad that I have you, that we can do a good to those people, together. "

~*~
   Later they sat cross-legged, across from each other so only their knees touched. The torch was placed near them on the floor, lightening their faces. It was so much to talk about the force. Yet a pang of sorrow surrounded Rey.

   "We could stay a thousand years. No one would find us." She said sadly. And he bent his head and kissed her forehead. She knew that what she'd just said was selfish. And she hated herself for that. Yet she had never known a true happy life. Could never see herself living a quiet one, never see herself having a family. Not in the world that was in the present.

   But she could see sadness drawn over his face as he took her hand in his and brought it to his face, placing kisses on it and inside it. She closed her eyes. As if he never wanted those moments to end.

   " I want to stay somewhere with you forever. If only the life could be perfect like that... Yet the kingdom needs us. All the people out there need our help... " he said as his eyes met hers.

   And Rey could see a tear slid across his cheek.

   "I only want you, and the force. I want to live a peaceful life, I want to have no more to do with conflicts. Yet we can't hide." he continued. And then he gulped down. "I'd learnt it the hard way."

   And she reached up to wipe his tears away. "As long as I'm with you, I don't care where I am. At the heart of the battle, or sitting by the fire in warm furs."

   "I want to make things right. For you, for everyone. And when everything is over, we'll find a peaceful place, and live the rest of our lives there as a happy family. You'll see." he smiled at her, and she smiled in return.

   She went to sit next to him, and he greeted her with his open arms. He pulled her closer to him, and kissed her hair, lingering in it as he met her scent.

   " We do it together. We do everything together. And it will be over, I promise. "

   " And I want us to be safe. Both of us." She couldn't keep her sobs to herself anymore.

   Ben touched her face, caressing her cheek and tilting her head up against his chest so her eyes could meet his.

   " We will. I can't promise, but I'll do my best. That, I can promise. " and he placed a series of kisses on her forehead, one hand on her head, hugging her close, the other caressing her face.

   It surprised him when she tilted her head up to brush her nose against his. And the gesture made him open his eyes and jerked him from his reverie. "I want to stay here tonight." She said. "I want to feel connected with the force. And with you. At least for some good hours."

   "That's what I wanted to tell you too." he said, utterly confused.

   And he leaned down, his cloak beneath them, with Rey on his chest.
 
   "You are my home, Rey." Ben ruffled her hair with his nose and chin.

   "My family." She said as she hugged him tighter and buried her face in his neck. Despite being just the two of them, she felt safe. For the first time in her life she had found that belonging she craved. And wanted nothing more.

   She kept her eyes open long before sleep began to wander at her eyelids, her hand absently stroking Ben's tunic. Until she finally dozed off.
  

~Thanks for reading! ~

A/N: Not a long chapter, but I hope it seems complete ^^. As for me I do believe so.
   Which part drew your attention? Do you think it helped Ben see his mistakes?