I do not own most of the characters or situations in this story.

CHAPTER 1:

"Get up."

Princess Leia lay upon her back staring up at the bright lights. Her arms and legs splayed out to her sides haphazardly as if she was a discarded ragdoll. The black boot prodded her side, and she flopped like a deflated soholy fish.

"Enough of this, Your Highness," Darth Vader kicked her again. "Get up now."

Leia winced in pain but failed to respond to Vader's command.

"Self-pity, Your Highness, is unbecoming of you."

She closed her eyes and turned her head away from the menacing figure.

"Did you truly expect Captain Solo to choose you over his cherished ship?" Vader folded his hands behind his back and paced, careful to stay out of her vision. "All love is conditional. But I sense that is not what distresses you."

Leia rotated her head and glared up at the Sith Lord. Vader stopped pacing, "Yes, I felt it too. Captain Solo feared you just as you once feared me. You don't fear me anymore." He tilted his head, "No, you hate me more than anything else in the galaxy, even more than the Emperor. But you don't fear me. That's good."

The princess looked away from him again. "Captain Solo fears you, what you're becoming, what you can do. He's sees your potential just as I have."

"Just like my mother feared you?" she snapped. "Tell me, what potential did she see in you that caused her to fear you?"

Darth Vader squeezed his fists and clenched his teeth together. "Obi Wan turned her against me."

"You keep telling yourself that," she muttered. As the last word fell out of her mouth, her throat constricted. She gasped and futilely sucked at the air, but she refused to move her hands to her throat. Let the bastard choke her to death. She didn't have anything left for which to live.

The Dark Lord sighed and released his hold on the girl. He waved a hand at the lights, and they zapped off, leaving the two enemies in complete dark. Vader turned on his heel and exited the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Princess Leia hadn't moved from the spot on which she lay when Darth Vader last visited. She had no idea when that was, hours, days, it wasn't like it mattered. She had finally lost the last thing she had left in this cruel life, the one person she feared losing so much that she denied herself of his love until there was no time left to appreciate what she had.

Han made the right choice; he had to leave. His suffering only made her miserable. And guilty. It was better he was gone.

Leia sucked in a breath and curled her small body into a ball. Han left her, left her to that monster, Vader. He said he loved her, but he loved that pathetic excuse for a cargo ship more than her. How could he do that to her? She was completely alone now. Leia wasn't so much bothered about being alone. She felt alone most of her life until…She grabbed one of her braided tails, one of the plaits created by Han's hands, and pulled it until her physical pain blotted out her emotional pain.

So she was alone again just as she had been in her cell on the Death Star after her home planet was blown into smithereens. The Princess of Alderaan needed no one. Princess of Alderaan… Who was she now? She was Leia Skywalker, the offspring of a Sith Lord, the daughter of the monster of her dreams who once happened to be Anakin Skywalker. Luke's sister. How would Luke have handled the truth about their heritage? Would that beautiful soul survive such a blow? Her stifled, mirthless laugh bounced off of the walls. Death now seemed more merciful than knowing the truth.

Leia pressed the heels of her hands into her eye sockets. Luke was no longer with her, and neither was Han. Han… Han feared her; that's why he left her. The minute contents of her stomach gurgled up her esophagus. Leia swallowed it down and coughed. If Han truly loved her, why would he fear her? He knew her better than anyone. She bit her lip. She spent the three years hiding herself away from everyone, even Han. But he pushed her until he got under her outer shell and tenderly acquainted himself with her insecurities, her treasures, her fears. Han had to know who she truly was.

A tear slid from the corner of the princess' eye and dropped to the ground without a sound as her heart screamed against her ribcage. Maybe Han did know her, and that was why he feared her. Was her heart as black and iron cold as Darth Vader's? Han did call her the Ice Princess, even before they set foot on Hoth. The smuggler must have seen something in her, something darker, which inspired that sobriquet.

Leia rolled onto her back and hugged her arms to her chest. Han had every reason to fear her. She scared herself. No matter how many times her mind replayed that nightmare in front of the Falcon when everyone but she and Vader fell to the ground she couldn't deny that she was the one who caused it. A power boiled in her, fused with her anger and frustration, and emanated out of her. She never felt such a rush quite like that moment. She had strength and control. Leia felt as if she could control everything in the universe.

Leia stared into the darkness. What exactly would she do with all that power? Could she have used it to keep Han by her side?

The girl shivered. That was what Darth Vader wanted from her. The Sith Lord finally broke her but not in a way she expected. He just pushed her closer to becoming everything she loathed: him. And Han had tried to prevent it. All his tender kisses, those soft words whispered in her ear, his soothing hands upon her body, it was not enough to save her.

Three years ago, Luke, Chewie, and Han came to her rescue against all odds and saved her life. Over those three years her friends, Han in particular, acted as her guardian angels and did their best to keep her out of harm's way. And when they failed, they always managed to rescue her in the nick of time. Then Han saved her from her self-imposed isolation.

It was now time for Leia Organa—Skywalker—. It was time for Leia to save herself.