Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in this story. Star Wars is owned by Lucasarts and Disney. Thank you.
MOTHER?
1
"Leia! Go. To. Sleep!"
The light in the young princess's room flicked off in an instant. Leia then rummaged around in her large oak vanity for her comb to brush her hair. She was a lonely child, never making any friends outside of the palace and rarely allowed to speak at the dinner table. It's not that her parents didn't love her… They loved her to the moon and back. The girl was often called their "New Hope" for reasons beyond her comprehension. As Leia pondered her thoughts while staring in the mirror, she noticed that a tear was trickling down her soft cheek. Wiping it away furiously, Leia suddenly became a basket case of anger and distress.
The girl flopped into her satin bed and almost immediately drifted off into a deep slumber.
Within Leia's dream, she found herself in a dark room filled with the cries of a woman. After an attempt to squint to focus on the cream colored blob in front of her, she realized her efforts were futile. The wails remained persistent as all Leia could do was listen in the dark.
"Leia!" The woman cried.
"Leia! Leia! Leia!"
The young girl began to move forward toward the cries. The fuzzy apparition became more and more apparent with every stride Leia took. Just as she reached the woman, Leia jolted up in her bed, screaming for her mother.
Breha Organa bolted through the polished ivory doors and threw herself onto the bed next to her daughter. "Hush, child," she whispered, coddling Leia in her arms, "did you have another night terror?"
Leia silently shook her head. Her hands were clenching Breha's nightgown so hard it seemed as though Leia were holding on for her life.
"Tell me what you dreamed. It helps comfort you." Breha murmured, running her fingers through the child's hair.
"It…It was that dream with the lady…" Leia whimpered, "She kept yelling my name…I think it was you…I don't know…"
Breha rested her chin on her daughter's head and stared out the window into the night sky. The woman was deep in concentration on what this reoccuring dream meant. She took a deep breath and squeezed her daughter tightly. Leia began to buck in an attempt to catch her breath as Breha rubbed her hand on the girl's back.
"Go back to sleep, darling. It was just a dream. Nothing more."
"I'm scared, mommy."
Breha grabbed both of Leia's shoulders and turned her body to face hers. "Darling, you are a princess. A princess never shows fear. You never show your emotions to the world. You put on a brave face and only cry in your dreams. Now, go back to sleep and I will see you when the sun rises."
"I love you."
"I love you, Leia."
Breha quietly shut the bedroom door behind her. As she walked down the hallway, she pondered her thoughts. Suddenly, her husband came up from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist. He kissed her neck and whispered, "Is she okay?"
Breha coiled her body away from his arms, "Yes… Another nightmare."
"Of?" Bail's face became stern and his eyes gloomy, "Please don't say the woman again."
Breha nodded, her eyes hanging low.
"Why does she keep dreaming of her? Can the Force leave her alone for at least a week?! The poor child is haunted by that woman."
"I don't think it's the Force that is pestering her. I think it's the woman."
"No, I knew that woman. You knew that woman. She would never want any emotional harm done to her own daughter." Bail began to pace back and forth in agitation.
"But… Padmé should be able to talk to her daughter."
"Breha, you know how I feel when you say that name. Don't say her name." Bail stopped pacing and faced his wife, a single tear welling in his eye.
"Padmé is her mother, Bail!" Breha cried, salty tears beginning to roll down her cheeks and onto the floor with a soft patter.
Bail took his wife in his arms once again, embracing her tightly and rubbing her back. He shook his head in despair as he thought of Padmé, Leia, and his wife. He never thought that Padmé would want to speak to her daughter this way. Maybe it was just the Force? Maybe its just a childhood nightmare that everyone had?
"You are Leia's mother, Breha. Remember that."
"I will."