MaraJade@rebelspy.net
This takes place when the Skywalker twins are born and explains why Leia would remember her mother, but Luke wouldn't. Not all that believeable, but I still like it!!
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Disclaimer: I am fully aware that these characters are the property of George Lucas I am not making ANY money from this (I doubt people would pay for my work). So do don't get your pants in a rut, I'm not claiming any part of these characters. Please feel free to email me with any feedback so I can continue to write with any improvement necessary. Send nice or bad reports, I'll respond as I see fit. This was one of the first stories I wrote, so please, be kind on the feedback...I think I wrote it last year...
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Pain Made for the Better
The room was filled with beings of all power. The tension mounted as the great Queen Amidala, ruler of the Naboo sat hunched in a bed, pain reflected on her small form as she prepared for the birth of her tiny heirs. The noble Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan Kenobi, watched from a corner of the small room, quietly going over what he would have to do once the children were here.
His friend, Anakin Skywalker, had turned into a monster. Obi-Wan didn't know him anymore, but was willing to bring him back. It was his fault that his wife was here without the father of the children she was about to bear. She needed him here; they needed him here. Anakin had turned to what Obi-Wan had feared he would become--into what the Council had feared he would become.
It had seemed so right when Qui-Gon Jinn, his former master, had pleaded with him to train the boy. If he was to be the one to bring balance to the Force, then where was that balance? He was turning against his closest friends and family. He had done it slowly, and subtly. Never once thinking that any one of them would catch on. But Obi-Wan knew what he was turning to . . . as did Amidala.
For fear of the safety of her children and of herself, Obi- Wan had taken it upon himself to hide her on Alderaan. Anakin no longer seemed to care about his family, and if that was what he was now like, then Obi-Wan wouldn't have him here to hurt those he had learned to care for over the years.
With a shout of pain, and the wail of a baby crying, Amidala's first child was born. Relief and love filled the young mother's face. Around the bed the nurse went, taking the small one to her mother's awaiting arms. There they both lay, gazing into one another's eyes and face. The Queen's filled with a distant pain at the knowledge that she might never see her baby again. The child, gazing at it's mother with wonder and innocence. Amidala smiled bravely at her child . . . her little girl.
"Leia," she whispered to the little one. Amidala bent low to kiss her daughter's forehead, the strain of it letting itself known on her tired body. A tall man put an arm on the Queen's hunched shoulder.
"Your Highness?" Bail Organa, Viceroy of Alderaan asked quietly. The mother nodded her head, and with a saddened heart gave up her oldest to be cared for by her friend. She was giving one of her last ties to Anakin away, and no matter how horrible and cold- hearted he had become, Amidala remembered him as the sweet boy she'd known for so long, as the loving husband he had so recently grown to be, and would miss him dearly.
Her baby cried out for her mother, but Amidala would not look back, for the fear of changing her mind. It was for the best, even if it ripped her heart out. It would save her and her sibling in the long run. They would find each other and help one another to stop the hated Empire their father was beginning to build.
More pain came as her second and last child came into the world. A harsh universe it was that they were both being born into. Amidala knew they deserved better, but couldn't provide it. Anger would never flare for the man who had caused her to be here without him. The vengeance that most would feel would never reach Amidala's serene and gentle mind. Amidala was not one to hate, but she was one to take action. And by giving up her children she was doing just that.
Her mind was filled with the bleak future she knew she would now face. Her heart wanted to stay longer and hold her small one, but her body would not permit it. Too tired to continue on, she slowly fell back against the bed. Her friend and ally, Obi-Wan Kenobi, came to her side and held her face.
"Your Highness," his concern filled voice pleaded with her. "Your last child is here, you must get up if you are to hold him." But Amidala was too weak, her body drained of every energy that it had ever held. She shook her head and fought against the small pain that it caused.
"Luke," her voice said, but it was nothing more than a whisper. "Name him Luke . . ." Her head sank into Obi-Wan's powerful hands, and the strong and beautiful leader was gone. Her remaining child cried out and waited for the love of a mother that would never come. Saddened by the loss, Obi-Wan stood up and turned his head to the boy. Wrapped in so much cloth, he still looked so small. Obi-Wan took the tiny infant in his arms and held him until he stopped his cries. He soothed him as best as he could. When all in the room was quiet, Obi-Wan spoke gently to Amidala's youngest child.
"Son of Skywalker," he whispered. "Your mother was a magnificent woman. Those who knew her loved and revered her. Though you may not know her love or her presence, you will carry it with you forever. Through you, others will know the love she once reflected, and the bright flame she carried for life. Be brave little one; little Luke." Fighting through the sorrow that filled the young Jedi's heart and soul, he took the littlest Skywalker far from his sister to a planet he had been to so long ago.
Perhaps when they were both ready, Leia and Luke Skywalker would be known throughout the galaxy, and it would be a galaxy of peace and justice . . . not of what it had become with their father at its peak.