1934

It was Rey's eighteenth birthday. After her parents had died two years ago, she was glad that she was finally old enough to leave. She'd been made to live with her grandfather, and he was a cold cruel man.

She had come from a wealthy family, but their wealth had been failing for sometime. So to secure their future an arrangement had been made with the Solos, a wealthy family who lived in a small town a days drive away, that when she was old enough she would marry their son. But that would never come to be... not because her parents had died of influenza, not because Mr. and Mrs. Solo had mysteriously died some years ago, not because of her abusive grandfather... not even because of her. Ben Solo whom she was meant to be wed had been murdered not long after her parents had died.

Rey had only met him once, when she was very young and she barely remembered it. Still she had been sad to learn of his death. She had spent much of her youth imagining her life with him, imaging what he would be like. It was much to her misfortune. If he had lived she would have married him right after her parents died so that she wouldn't have to live with her cruel grandfather. But even in his death he had looked after her, now that she had turned eighteen she had inherited everything he owned. Even though he had died young after his parents untimely death he had willed everything to her. If he had not she would still have no choice but to live with her grandfather, or else live on the streets.

For his part her grandfather had thrown her a lovely party the evening before. But, she just couldn't bare to stay any longer.

She began to carry the heavy suitcase down the stairs when Finn, her grandfather's new butler took it from her. He had always been nice to her, she was really going to miss him when she left.

"I can carry it, I'm not helpless you know," she told him.

"I know but today is your birthday, Miss Rey, and besides I am being paid good money. It would make me feel better if I actually did something to earn it," he said.

"Thank you," she smiled at him. "I'm going to miss you."

"No you aren't," he replied.

"Why wouldn't I? You're my best friend."

"You're not going to miss me because I am coming with you," he said. "You realize that you have inherited the Skywalker estate, you'll never manage it on your own. You'll need a staff, and you're the only reason I've stayed and worked for that grumpy old man for as long as I have," Finn said.

"That's great Finn, it'll be nice to have someone I know in a new place. And living in such large house alone sounds lonely," she replied.

Finn nodded. Then he carried her bags downstairs and put them in her car.

He opened the passenger door for her, sitting down in the driver's seat.

"So how did you inherit the Skywalker estate?" Finn asked her after they had been driving down the road for a while.

"It's a long, sad story," she replied. "When I was a young girl my parents promised that I would marry the son of Mr. and Mrs. Solo... Ben. But they died mysteriously several years ago. No one really knows what happened to them. And just after my parents died of influenza I planned to drop out of school and marry Ben so that I wouldn't have to live with my grandfather, but he died unexpectedly. They say he was murdered."

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you had been engaged once, that you had lost your fiancé," Finn replied.

Rey nodded sadly. "At least he made sure that I would be looked after once he was gone. He willed everything to me. If he hadn't I would still have to live with my grandfather."

꧁❀꧂

After driving all day, they finally reached the little town of Yavin. It was dinner time when they arrived.

"I'm starving, lets get something to eat," Rey said.

"There's a diner over there. It looks like it's still open," Finn pointed to a diner on street corner.

"That would be great," said Rey.

"My treat... it is your birthday after all," he smiled at her.

"Finn, you don't have to," Rey answered, smiling at him.

"No, I want to," he replied.

He pulled up to the diner and parked the car. He got out and opened the door for her, offering her his hand to help her out of the car. He was always such a gentleman.

They stepped into the diner and sat down at an empty booth.

An older man turned to look at them. "Are you new in town? I've never seen you around."

Rey nodded. "I just moved here."

"Well then welcome to Yavin, miss," he replied.

"Thank you," she replied.

"Which house did you buy? There are a lot of beautiful houses for sale around here," an old woman joined in on the conversation.

"Actually, I inherited the Skywalker estate," she replied.

Everyone in the diner became eerily quite all of a sudden.

Rey looked around wondering what was going on.

"The Skywalker estate?" the old man asked. "They say that Ben Solo was murdered in that house."

"I know, he was... he was my fiancé," she replied sadly.

"Your fiancé? I'm so sorry dear," the old lady replied.

"They say that place is haunted," a man at the counter joined in the conversation suddenly.

Finn almost chocked on his drink. "Haunted?"

"It's been deserted for the past few years since Ben Solo died, but sometimes people have seen lights coming from inside, some people swore they saw someone watching them walk past from the window," the man explained.

Rey felt a chill go up her spine. "Is there a hotel in town... in case things get a little too spooky?"

"There's a nice one up town," the waitress said. "But I am sure that there's nothing to the stories. People are always wary of old, abandoned houses. Especially ones where someone was murdered."

"Yeah," Rey mumbled. But that was part of the problem, her fiancé had been murdered there. Maybe she hadn't known him very well, but still she would have to face what could have been... a dream that had never come true.