Chapter One
Coruscant Prime began to set, casting a soft glow on the surface of Coruscant. The lights on the buildings were slowly lighting up for the night time hours; it was a planet that never slept. Hundreds and thousands of species were walking around the Republic City, capital of Coruscant. It was actually the only city on the planet, covering the entire surface. Trying to get through the throng was young Leia Skywalker, a Padawan, daughter to Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and Senator of Naboo, Padmé Amidala, and sister to fellow Padawans, Luke and Chase Skywalker. She was a tiny thing for her age of nineteen, but she was very mature. Most Jedi and those in training were; they had to fight for peace and freedom, which forced them to grow up quickly. Her brother, however, could still be immature. But wasn't every teenage boy?
She was also a senator, strangely enough. Well, not a senator; not yet, anyway. She was one of the first Jedi politicians, one of the first female ones, and the youngest one. She held many titles that she was proud of, and more often than not, ended up bragging about them. She sometimes did on purpose, but that was just to annoy Luke. Chase didn't mind since he didn't have a twin to compete with. It was a constant competition between Luke and Leia; who got the best grades, who was a better Padawan, who was better at sports, and just about anything else you could think of.
But right now, she didn't even want to think of annoying brothers. Her mood was bad enough as it is. She walked briskly, occasionally bumping into the locals. She didn't care; she just looked straight ahead and tried to get home as soon as possible. Someone tripped her, making her papers fly everywhere. The passerby quickly ran off when he noticed the lightsaber attached to her belt, shouting out multiple apologies. Leia hated when people did that; she was just a normal girl. She wouldn't bite. Well, probably not.
She made her way to the Amidala-Skywalker apartment quickly, happily avoiding any other trouble. The apartment was huge, with five bedrooms, three 'freshers, and a balcony with a spectacular view. The kitchen was beautiful, although none of the Skywalkers did much cooking; they had some servants. Leia always thought that her friends at the Temple judged her for that. She heard some people whispering that she was a spoiled brat. Which wasn't true. Not at all, in Leia's opinion. She worked hard in everything that she did; she even had a summer job since she was fourteen. Life was hard being the daughter of the Chosen One; everyone expected so much.
"Hi, honey!" Padmé greeted her daughter with a warm smile and a hug. She had a soft spot for Leia, probably since she was the only other girl in the house. She also looked quite like her; big brown eyes, long dark hair…overall stunning.
"Hi mom," Her daughter mumbled back, dropping her bag onto the floor. She wasn't in the mood to talk, not even to her mother; she told her anything and everything. Leia trusted her mom more than anyone in the galaxy. She pulled off her cloak and hung it on the wall. Her bad mood made her want to retreat to her room, but she knew her mother would ask her some questions.
"How was your day?" Padmé asked, taking her daughter's hand and leading her to the couch.
"Suckish," Leia grumbled, hunching her shoulders forward. Amidala always scolded her for using such bad posture, but she didn't really care. She didn't care much about anything her mom told her about, actually; posture, dressing nicely, makeup, all the other girly stuff. She was a tomboy, and she was fine with it.
"What happened?" The older woman asked softly, stroking her daughter's hair.
"Just got assigned the worst mission possible," Leia groaned, hiding her head in her hands.
"What is it?"
"I have to be Prince Solo's escort on a diplomatic mission to Bespin," She gave her mom an exasperated look.
"I'm sure it can't be that bad," Padmé offered Leia a small smile, hoping to cheer her up a bit.
"Mom, this is Han Solo we're talking about!" Leia cried, falling back onto the couch. She rested her head on her mom's lap, slightly relaxing as Padmé stroked her hair.
"I know you don't like him, sweetie, but you're just gonna have to deal with it."
"Deal with what?" The voice of Anakin Skywalker boomed as he walked into the room. He was tall, lean and muscular, with blonde-brown hair and blue eyes. He was very tall; another reason Leia was disappointed. She wanted to be taller than a mere 5'1". His Jedi robes covered his body, the black glove slipped on his right hand. He didn't go anywhere without it; he didn't favour his prosthetic hand, so he covered it all the time. How he lost it was a sore subject; he hated to look weak. Leia thought losing the hand somehow made him seem stronger.
"With the mission you and the Council just gave me!" Leia pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Now, Leia, it's really not so bad," Anakin raised an eyebrow at her, putting his hands on his hips.
"Daddy, why can't you get Luke to do it, or Chase-"
"Because you're the only one experienced in politics!" Skywalker said firmly, sitting down on the seat across from his wife and daughter. His expression softened, and he let out a chuckle. "Plus, it would be weird having Han and one of your brothers posing as a married couple,"
That got Leia's attention. "What?" She screamed, bolting upright. "Dad, you're…you're joking!" Anakin replied with a shake of his head, pursing his lips. "But I can't pretend with him! We hate each other!" They had met a few times before, during Senate meetings and such. He was prince of Corellia, a fellow senator, and a complete pain in the butt. They didn't agree on anything, and it would often result in name-calling, bickering and, in one case, throwing things at each other. Her father wasn't pleased when he heard about that incident. But her mother thought it was 'cute', and she thought that Han and Leia actually liked each other. And not just like as friends, no, she thought that they had crushes on each other. Leia almost gagged, just at the thought. There was no how, no way that was ever going to happen. "Why do we have to pretend to be married?"
"Because you two have to go into Separatist territory," The Jedi Knight explained patiently. "You'll have to go undercover," The Separatists weren't as powerful since Obi-Wan Kenobi defeated General Grievous, but Count Dooku was still in power; Anakin had the chance to kill him, but Dooku was unarmed. It was not the Jedi way.
"Heard about your mission!" Luke snorted with laughter as he walked in with his younger brother. He made a kissy face and sang in an annoying tone; "Leia and Han, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-"
"Shut up, loser!" His sister growled, throwing a couch cushion at his head. She snarled when he dodged; he had really been getting on her nerves lately.
"When you have kids," Chase choked in between laughter, "Make sure to name one after me 'n Luke!" His hazel eyes were brimmed with tears from laughing so hard. Leia found nothing funny about the matter; she wanted to rip his shaggy, light brown hair right from his roots.
"Luke, Chase, that is enough!" Anakin yelled, his patience finally wearing off. He glared accusingly at the two of them, clenching and unclenching his fists. He always felt the need to protect his little girl; she reminded him of Padmé, and he had already almost lost her once. "Go to your rooms!" He turned to Leia, his eyes losing the hint of anger. She would always be his little girl, he knew. "Honey, this mission is important. I'll need you to be on your best behaviour tomorrow, okay?" He bent down and rested on his thighs in front of Leia. "You just do your best, okay? And remember that your mother and I love you," Almost as an afterthought, he added, "So do your brothers."
