Chapter Text
The girl was breathless and, still, continued to run. She didn’t know where to go, but something was after her and it wasn't good news. Her feet made their way through the leaves, deeper into the dark forest. Besides her unsteady breath and running sounds, the place was dead quiet.
Maybe… Maybe she outran whatever was hunting her? It seemed too good to be true, but when a large tree trunk lying on the floor caught her eye, she ducked behind it. It was risky, but she wasn't going to last much longer without a rest.
One of her hands covered her mouth as the other braced her knees. The girl was beyond disheveled: the tree buns that once were tying her hair, now were a messy lump of sweat, leaves and dirt. Actually, she was entirely a complete mess: knees and hands were scratched and a few bleedings spots spread through her body and face. She trembled as she listened, expecting something, anything .
Nothing.
After a few minutes - that seemed like an eternity - her breath started to ease as the feeling of safety creeped in. She closed her eyes and let out a relieved sigh. When she opened them, a figure covered in black was standing right in front of her.
She raised her head and gasped. The dark silhouette was just a few steps away and she felt his gaze burning on her skin. Even though the moonlight didn’t help that much, she was positive it was a man. He was tall and visibly strong - a thought that made her shudder.
He walked slowly towards her and kneeled, until they were apart by only inches. His face was covered by a hood. When he stretched his hand to her temple, pain came and, before she realized, tears were streaming down her face. It was like an iron hand was squishing her brain, searching and reviving every memory, every feeling, everything .
She didn’t know exactly how it happened. One minute, he was kneeled before her, torturing her in the most painful way she could ever imagine. The next, he was a few feet distant, lying on the floor, and she was standing up and running away again. As her heart pounded painfully against her chest from the adrenaline, a loud growl resonated through the trees.
Rey woke up gasping for air, her hair damp with sweat. A few sunbeams made its way through the curtains, illuminating the small bedroom. Books, such as Herbs and Potions , Rules of Witchcraft and The Most Powerful Wizards of All Time and What You Can Learn from Them , were all around: filling every surface of her writing table and drawer, pilling over the floor and even the latest one ( Reaching the Force: The Beginners Guide ) was open on top of her.
She looked at the clock in the writing table - 7:50 a.m. - and immediately forgot the reason of waking up so late. Holy shit ! Her classes started in 10 minutes and she was positive she would miss at least the first period. If only Master Luke would taught her the basics of the magic force, she wouldn’t be so late.
“Stop being so impatient! You need first find the balance and learn how to control your emotions”, she mumbled to herself, mimicking her master’s voice. Yeah, apparently it would never be a good time.
Resigned (ok, not so resigned), she showered, got her bag and headed to the kitchen to grab some food and run to Coruscant University. Rey rolled her eyes: even thought she had great friends there, it felt like a total waste of time. After all, all she wanted was to be a great witch (and period), but living in a world ruled by mortals meant she had to adapt and find a way of paying the bills.
She only stopped mentally complaining when she got sight of the bottle of orange juice and a sandwich, both wrapped with a note:
Hey, Rey, I guess you won’t come to first class (won’t miss much haha), but just in case you’re late, here’s a little breakfast for you! See ya, xoxo, Rose.
Oh, she absolutely didn’t deserve Rose! Feeling a little lighter (and loved), Rey grabbed the breakfast and ran to class.
——
Generally speaking, the morning was a bit of a rush. Rey managed to attend her second class - Modern Ethic and Politics, with the (wonderful) Professor Organa -, and as soon as the bell rang, she ran to her part time job.
So far it had been quite an ordinary day at Bewitchtea. The rush of the afternoon passed and now, without those numerous orders to attend, Rey could breath. She sighed and looked around to the place she’s been working on and helping out since she was a little kid. Even though it wasn’t a Starbucks, it was quite a lovely coffee shop.
Two small wooden tables were positioned outside and other three inside, right behind the glass showcase, where the name of the establishment was written in the same font as the Bewitched series, including the little star on the letter “i”. Rey was positive someday they would be sued for that, but Maz, her foster mother and owner of the Bewitchtea, was a huge fan of the show and rolled her eyes at the argument. The walls inside the coffee shop were painted in a sky blue, with little stars all around and frames of delicate illustrations related to the witch world, like cauldrons, brooms and witch hats. Besides that, there were the wooden counter where Rey prepared the orders with a glass display with some pastries that varied according the day (and Maz’s mood).
It was indeed quite a lovely place, and even though Rey had no intentions to spend her life working there, she knew Maz had expectations… She sighed. How ironical was it that she was a witch working in a coffee shop themed with witch stuff? Worse: that her witchcraft-enthusiastic-foster-mom knew nothing about the real existence of a magical world? Well, it could be worse. She could be like Harry Potter, trapped with terrible uncles and having no choice but fulfill the destiny of saving the world. Uh, great, but no thanks.
If In a silly nightmare where she was chased she already lost it, she was positive that facing someone as powerful as Voldemort would freak the hell out of her. At the same time, Harry Potter was fiction (as far as she knew) and that man chasing her felt pretty much real.
Oh, great… she was doing great avoiding the nightmare. Of course her treacherous mind would bring it up. Thanks, brain.
Rey puffed as she leaned on the counter. That damn nightmare always haunted her, but she had to admit, though, that the last one was more vivid than ever and... a little more detailed? As if it was a prophecy or something. She shivered. The last thing she needed was a future where she was hunted by an evil mind reader warlock.
"Hey, can I get a tea?", asked a small voice, pulling Rey out of her thoughts. It was a blond girl with curly hair, probably around sixteen years old. She always came by with her friend, another girl around the same age, dark skinned and short haired. Rey called them mentally the sunflower girls. Don't ask why.
"Sure, which one do you want?”, Rey asked, straightening her three buns and smiling, pleased to be out of her reverie.
"Hm... the usual", the blond sighed, looking around and appearing really upset and a bit anxious.
"Okay, I'll bring it to you in a minute!", said the barista. While she was preparing the order - earl grey with a little bit of milk and no sugar - she heard the door opening and the other girl arriving. She greeted the blond awkwardly and sat with her. Apparently a little fight happened over there, and neither of them knew where to start - but they obviously wanted to make up.
A little help couldn't hurt, right? Rey smiled mischievously, finished preparing both teas (she knew the other sunflower girl needed one too), got two special make up cookies and went over their table.
"Hey, girls! Here are the teas: earl grey with a little bit of milk, no sugar and lemon ginger with a teaspoon of honey, right?", they smiled weakly. "I also brought two cookies as a little treat and don’t worry: they're on the house!"
"Oh, there's no need", they said, surprised and a little embarrassed. Before they could argue any longer, Rey insisted and they gave up. She smiled and winked at the girls, turning to clean the table next to them and returning to wash the dishes behind the counter.
Even though the sunflower girls were a little distant, she heard their muffled voices and, right after that, giggles that soon turned to laughs. When she peaked, both cookies were already finished. Rey smiled triumphant, not realizing someone had sat on the counter behind and was staring jokingly at her.
"What this time? Make up cookies?”, a deep and unnervingly ironic voice asked. "You know that's unethical, right? I mean, it could even be considered black magic.”
Benjamin Solo . Urgh, of course the day wasn’t going to end so smoothly.
“What?!”, she turned to face the man. He was holding a judging expression and his arms were crossed on top of the counter, evidencing the many muscles of his forearms - he worked out, so what? The messy black hair framed his strong features: deep eyes, pointed nose and full lips that worked strangely good together. The scar that cut through the right side of his face and his black t-shirt gave him a look of bad news - like great bad news. She shook her head. Definitely not great news... Even though his expression was serious, Rey could tell he was kidding by the playful look in his dark brown eyes.
Wow, it was suddenly hot in here, right?
"Sorry, Solo, but this is anything but black magic!”, Rey whispered angry, approaching the counter, feeling her cheeks burn. "I just help people by giving them a little nudge to do what they want to. Never making them do what I want them to.”
“Yeah, sure! That doesn’t interfere in your business at all, am I right?”, the edges of his mouth turned up and one of his eyebrows raised. His voice was pure sarcasm. “People love it here just because of the wonderful artesanal tea, the pastries and amazing cookies.”
The burning feeling on her face made her absolutely positive she was bright red. But if it was because of anger or embarrassment she didn’t know.
“Well, thank you for the many compliments”, she deviated from his gaze and started cleaning the counter furiously - how did it get so dirty?!
“Ben, stop tormenting my girl!”, said a black little woman that showed up from the back store. She was little in all senses: thin and measuring five foot at most, she used giant glasses that made her look even smaller. Her fierce personality and imposing voice made up for her lack of size, though. Rey smiled ironically at him.
Ben wasn't intimidated by the woman, and returned the smile to the girl in front of him. “Sorry, Maz, I was just giving Rey here a few advices on how to run the business”, the wide glare Rey gave made him chuckle.
“Really? Maybe you should start minding your own business, boy”, Maz said in a fake angry voice. It was the closest to anger she could be at Ben… She just wasn't capable at being entirely mad with the man: it was just too cute how he was obviously into Rey. Even though both moron kids never seemed to get things done.
“And you, Rey”, the girl stopped giggling. "I’ll assume you’re not handing free food for the customers, otherwise I’m going to discount it from your salary!”. Rey opened and closed her mouth, speechless at the sassiness of her foster mom.
Before she could even defend herself, though, the woman headed to the exit of the shop and just before closing the door behind her, said: "Oh, and both of you: stop flirting and do something useful. The pantry is small, but big enough for you two”.
If Rey knew a disappearing spell, she would definitely use it right now. Instead, she felt her eyes grow bigger than ever and her face and neck burn like hell. Some of the clients that heard the absurd nonsense Maz said chuckled discreetly. She didn’t know what to do and stood there, with her mouth opened and getting redder by the second.
Ben hold his laugh and looked at Rey. There was something addicting in seeing those red cheeks and bewildered eyes on her face. Of course he knew Maz was just teasing, the age gap between them was considerable and, well, he was positive he wasn’t Rey’s type. Maybe that cocky Dameron boy, but anyway… He couldn’t care less about her love life.
He thought it was safer to just ignore the awkward situation and cleared his throat. “Hey, could you get me an espresso?”. Rey looked at him as if she couldn't understand it. “An espresso”, he repeated. No answer… “Coffee?”.
"Oh, yeah”, she answered and started to make it, robotically. What the hell was Maz thinking? It was pure humiliation and above all in front of the customers! She wasn’t flirting with Solo!! He was too - desirable, sexy, funny, clever? - STUPID!
With the thought, the coffee slipped from her hand and she cursed, waiting for disaster. But it just stood there, hanging in the air as if her hand was still holding it. She gasped and soon took it, giving Ben a reprimand look and putting it in front of him. “Are you crazy?”, she whispered nervous, checking her surroundings.
"You’re welcome”, he said, giving her a side smile. “Is this one free from your black magic?"
She rolled her eyes and couldn’t help smile a bit in relief. She was much better at bickering with Ben than at being awkward.
“If you’re insinuating I only have faithful customers because of my ridiculous little help, then why do you keep coming back?”, she smiled defiantly at him. “After all, even if I put some spell in your coffee you’d notice that, right? You’re a wizard and a powerful one, I suppose by your long and exhaustive experience…”
He snorted and rolled his eyes. “Are you calling me old?”, Rey giggled and turned her back to him, returning to the sink where the dish was half cleaned. He stood up, leaving his coffee untouched and entered the staff area, leaning his back on the sink beside her. "I may be ten years older than you, but I guarantee that doesn’t mean much if you’re a skilled and hard working witch”, Ben looked down at her. She wasn’t that red anymore, but a shade of pink still remained on her cheeks.
The doorbell rang again. The man that entered held a motorcycle helmet wearing a brown and orange leather jacket. His wavy brown hair was disheveled, with a single lock standing out charmingly on his forehead. Along with these, he carried a confident smile and rebel attitude. Yeah, there was no doubt that Poe Dameron was the cause of many broken hearts.
His arrival by itself already provoked quite different reactions on the coffee shop at the same time: the sunflowers girls giggled, Rey lit up a big smile and Ben crossed his arms, frowning.
“Hey, Poe!”, greeted Rey, ignoring Ben’s suddenly tense posture and turning back to the counter.
“Rey-rey, how you doin’? What’s up, Ben?”, Poe smiled broadly and sat where Ben was before, putting his helmet on top of the counter. Ben mumbled a hello and remained leaning on the sink. “Wow, glad I’ve found you two here!”
“Why? Something happened? Besides, do you want something? Coffee, tea, cookies…?”, the girl offered, but already knew the answer. Poe was one of those people always in a mission, running up and down and never having time for a coffee. Okay, never is extreme, but it was hard.
“Nah, thanks! Actually, I’m here to ask some things”, he lowered his tone. “Have you felt something different lately? Like an uneven balance on the magic force or something?”
Dameron wasn’t a wizard, but he knew everything about the magical world, as well as fought constantly against the dark forces. Even though the existence of witches was a secret, it was rather common that mortals knew about it and participated somehow, some by choice, some because were caught up in the middle of it. Rey didn’t exactly knew which one was Poe’s case, but she knew he embraced the light side as a life mission.
“Hm… No, actually”, Rey said hesitantly, looking at Ben. At some point during her reverie he moved, now standing by her side and staring warily at Dameron.
“Why do you ask that, Dameron?”, Ben’s voice was deep and suspicious. Poe sighed, looking Ben with worried eyes.
“A Blood Moon is coming, as you two probably already know, and apparently today they confirmed it’s due to Halloween”, he got a newspaper from inside his jacket and opened in the counter. The headline Spooky: Blood Moon is going to haunt this year's Halloween! stood out.
Rey looked at Ben, that returned her gaze with a wary stare. This wasn’t just bad news. This was absolutely horrible news.
She was right after all: things always could get worse.