Tell Me A Story, Daddy!
"Daddy, daddy! Tell me a bedtime story please!"
Bail Organa contemplated his daughter's young, earnest face as the shadows danced in the confines of her dimly-lit bedroom. Leia's brown eyes widened a bit more as she pleaded with him. Those eyes conveyed so much feeling – hope, determination and charm. Incredible...she grew more and more like dear Padmé each passing day, thought Bail.
"It's way past your bedtime sweetness," he said softly.
"Just one, Daddy, please. I've tidied up my toys, brushed my teeth and braided my hair." And what hair, breathtaking, long, glossy and gloriously thick. Amazing how such little hands could handle it with such finesse. "I've been good all day long. One story, and then I'll go straight to sleep, I promise!"
A born negotiator, Bail couldn't help but think. Despite trying to be a firm parent, he found himself smiling. She would make a fine arbiter one day, if she wanted to take on that kind of responsibility. At such a young age she was already a force to be reckoned with.
Bail relented. "Okay, but just a short story. Which would you like - the one about the little lost Loth-cat, or the one about the tamed Nexu, that was trained to dance like a Twi'lek, or the one..."
Leia rolled her eyes. "Those are so old. Please tell me one of your true stories. With a princess...and a knight."
Bail scratched his head, frowning. The only knights he knew of were the Jedi Knights. And the only story he knew concerning a Jedi Knight and a princess involved Padmé Amidala and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Would it be all right to tell her something of her real mother's life? Probably, provided he left out the wealth of tragic details surrounding the narration. Bail tried to recall the specifics pertaining to the Trade Federation blockade that had transpired so many moons ago.
"Once upon a time, on a planet far far away, lived the Princess of Theed. Although so young and naive in certain aspects, she became the Queen of Naboo; her people, one and all, adored her. She was gracious, brave and just."
"And was she beautiful?"
"Oh, yes. Yes, yes. Very much so."
Leia grinned, nodding. "Excellent!" This was shaping up to be a thrilling bedtime story already.
Bail continued, his voice carrying the weight of his emotions.
"But, she was sad because one day tragedy befell her beloved Naboo. Her home-world came under attack, invaded by greedy Neiomoidians, wanting to claim the planet for their own. The Nubians, a peaceful people, would be no match against the formidable droid army, which the Neiomoidians controlled. So the Neiomoidians enslaved the Nubians and tried to force the Queen to sign a treaty handing over her power to them."
Leia's eyebrows furrowed as she thought. "What about the knight? You said there's a knight."
"I'm just getting to that part. The Knight…actually, he was an apprentice at the time. As I recall, he was knighted by the Jedi Council after these exploits."
Perplexed, little Leia inquired, "Jedi?"
Bail considered carefully before handling this sensitive subject. It was mandatory that he word his explanation very carefully. 'Jedi' was a loaded word, not to be bandied about these days.
"Yes, sweetness...the Jedi. Once a group of Force wielders, endowed with unique and powerful abilities. They were guardians of peace, serving the Republic before the Empire rose to power. I was privileged to know some. Wise sages, all. Brave warriors, devoted to helping people in trouble. Tragically, unforgivably, the Empire wiped out most of them."
"Oh, Daddy, that's terrible!" Leia looked positively distraught for one being raised in such a genteel home. She nodded gently, letting her head droop. Bail pondered...if Padmé had lived and the Empire hadn't risen, would Leia be a Jedi initiate now? He could picture her in a simple sand colored tunic brandishing a lightsaber. Composed and stoic, able to do fantastic things. His heart ached as it sank to think that she wouldn't have been his daughter in that life. Not knowing the love of his wife and him. She wouldn't have been living in such fearful times, hidden from the sinister Sith, pariahs, that marauded the galaxy.
Leia's voice roused him from his introspection. "Was this Jedi Knight handsome?"
"Was he...?" Bail colored a bit, and faltered. He was obliged to clear his throat. "Sweetness, that's not something I've ever really considered. Men aren't generally judges of other men's comeliness. He carried himself like royalty. Always the gentleman. Charming, with a rapier wit. He was refinement in a robe. Yes, my child. He was." Considering Bail was a skilled orator, he certainly wasn't being eloquent at this moment. His audience, however, was captivated, easily evidenced by Leia's wide, shining eyes, trained raptly on him.
Was he inarticulate at the moment? Not in Leia's youthful estimation.
"Thankfully, two Jedi came to rescue the Queen, Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi. They fled Naboo, flying into the unknown reaches of the galaxy."
"Wow! Did space pirates get them?" his ward eagerly asked.
"No, oh, no. Nothing of the kind. They were forced to crash land on a desert planet called Tatooine. Such a barren, ghastly hot place, ruled by these villainous gangsters called Hutts."
Bail sighed prodigiously. "Those Hutts are frightfully notorious! The stuff of the worst nightmares."
"I know what they look like. I've seen holos of them," said Leia, gripping her bed covers and hiding under them to a degree. "They're big and ugly!"
Chuckling, Bail soldiered on...
"Thankfully, Jinn managed to outwit one Hutt in particular, this Jabba, with the help of a local slave boy. The Nubian ship needed repair. The boy was instrumental in bringing that about. Jinn won the slave boy's freedom and they took him with them to train as a Jedi. They traveled to Coruscant, the great city-planet, where Queen Amidala stood before the entire Senate, pleading with them to help her people."
It escaped Bail before he realized he'd said it. "She was magnificent."
He recalled her impassioned speech. Back then, he'd been a mere senatorial aide. Yet, he remembered how much presence she'd had despite her tender years. Her speech was legendary in Senate history. Its analysis in the higher seats of learning relentlessly carried out with each succeeding generation.
"But the decision rendered regarding Naboo led to conflict…"
"Is that why you spend lots of time away, Daddy?" Leia queried, looking every bit letdown.
"Yes, my precious," Bail replied, thinking about Breha.
She tried not letting it show, but her husband's frequent, lengthy absences distressed her. Leia was no stranger to her foster mother's frequent bouts of depression. She did her best for her adopted little girl, but from time to time, her true feelings leaked, bathing the home in bleakness.
The precocious little girl remembered how one day, her mother had cried practically all day long, despite Leia's doing what she could, trying to cheer her up. In the end, Leia had told Breha that if she cried so much, her eyes would run out of tears.
And Breha had replied, "Not likely..."
Bail smiled grimly. "Ah, my princess. So much work; so little time..." he muttered with a heavy heart. "The fighting goes on to this day."
He could see the cogs turn in Leia's head as she absorbed all these little details despite her building sleepiness.
Bail forged on:
"Therefore, the Queen made a very brave decision. She would return to Naboo, and fight the Neomoidians on her own terms, with what she had. The Jedi Council approved having Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan protect her. She sued for peace with the Gungans, a race cohabiting with the Nubians on Naboo. Together, they formed an army to battle the Neomoidian's droids. The battle was epic! One for the holos! Queen Amidala, the Jedi, the Gungans and the Nubians won at the end of the day. Obi-Wan was knighted and the celebratory reception was grand! The rejoicing throughout Naboo was tremendous."
Not a word about Qui-Gon Jinn's being cut down by Maul. Not one breath about the somber funeral.
Little Leia was almost asleep. "And the knight and queen got married?" she murmured sleepily.
"Dear child, Jedi were forbidden to marry. Amidala married the slave boy, who became the knight's Jedi apprentice. The two married much later of course. You see, in light of what I just said, the former slave boy..." Bail's memory hitched. So did his voice. "Anakin Skywalker broke the rules."
Leia's eyes sprang open, repelling sleep. They widened in dismay as she popped up in bed and actually shouted, "NO! She should have married the Jedi Knight! I want them to live happily ever after!"
Bail gawked at his little princess defiantly crossing her arms, giving him sulky eyes, which melted his heart. So stern a look for such a little face. So much her resemblance of her winsome mother, Padme Amidala-Skywalker. He'd given her a bedtime story, after all, not a faithful account of all that had gone on during those turbulent times. They still were.
Certainly, what he'd related hadn't been a lesson in Nubian history. Gently, he sat on the edge of her bed and stroked her silky tresses. Patiently, he sought to tuck her in again.
"There, there, sweetness. You're right. I always get it mixed-up. Padme and Obi-Wan did fall in love. The Jedi Council permitted him to marry his queen when she turned eighteenth. And, well, you know the rest. They lived happily ever after. The end."
Now quite satisfied, Leia resettled herself beneath the covers. It wasn't long before she was very drowsy. Through a little yawn, she said, "That was an excellent story, Daddy. Tomorrow, tell me all about the Queen and the Knight's exciting, romantic adventures together."
Bail was dumbfounded. Even if he were a gifted storyteller, never could he concoct something as fanciful as what she was requesting.
"Perhaps, Princess. Goodnight, sweetness." Tenderly he kissed her forehead, and then dutifully dimmed the light to nightlight intensity. The little girl wasn't fond of sleeping in a completely dark room.
Leia dreamed...of twin suns dancing across blue, windswept skies, twirling flashing blue lights coupled with the soft, gentle voice of a man. His voice vaguely familiar with a wondrous quality to it. Hearing it soothed her, sparked visions of a beautiful, ethereal woman so kind and yet distant. Leia's hyper subconscious was overshadowed by an indefinable yearning, as if a small part of it lacked something vital to round out her reality. But, the voice susurrating in her mind tonight, comforted her like a lullaby while she slumbered.
Back in his own bed with Breha snoring lightly alongside him, Bail pulled absently on his chin, lost in thought. This had been the first time he'd dared to suggest that some hazy romance had existed between her biological mother and the most Code-bound Jedi there could ever have been in the galaxy. Purely for Leia's sleepy-time enjoyment.
If, by some freakish chance, Obi-Wan might learn of it...what would he say about the matter?
Bail smiled to himself, imagining Obi-Wan's semi-dazed expression as a cool look of shock at such a notion gripped him. Yet a love-match between the Queen of Naboo and the Jedi wasn't as far-fetched as Bail had once thought. He often couldn't help wondering whether Padmé and Obi-Wan were in love. How had she described their relationship?
"It's complicated..." she had once said, having sounded deeply confused, lost. But, lovesick, at the same time. And that had been when Anakin was still a cocky, little kid.
Padme and Obi-Wan...hmm... They had certainly been close; had trusted each other implicitly. She would call and he'd come running. Even though she'd married Anakin, what had gone on between them before those nuptials? Padme never had been great at keeping her true feelings camouflaged. If calamity befell Obi-Wan, Padme was there, ready to fly to his defense. Remember that whole Geonosian rescue, which Obi-Wan himself had once told Bail all about.
"Well, I'm going to help Obi-Wan," so Padme had vowed, nostrils flaring, her mind having been staunchly made up.
Yep, she'd been the instigator and a reluctant Anakin, who'd been told to stay put by his no-nonsense mentor, had knuckled under, conceding to fly off to save his Master's keister.
Yeah, complicated to a tee.
If only Padmé had married Obi-Wan, not the firebrand Anakin, thought Bail. Obi-Wan would never have allowed his attachment to her ruin him, turning him to the Dark Side. Bail got some perverse pleasure toying with the idea of ribbing Obi-Wan about this new twist of entertaining Anakin's inquisitive daughter. The reality was, communication with the old Jedi Master was strictly on an emergency only level protocol. Inane chit chat did not qualify. Bail chuckled softly, mindful of his sleeping mate. Alas, he would have to content himself with Leia's unending amusement, delighting her with these fanciful, innocent anecdotes.
He stole back to Leia's alcove of a bedroom to behold her breathing evenly. The daughter of Anakin Skywalker was the apple of his eye. He relished these sweet moments, standing over her as she slept without a care in Alderaan. The galaxy stood still as new stars were born and Leia Organa dreamt.
"Watch over her, little friend," he whispered to the blue and white droid sentinel before Bail left Leia's room. Artoo beeped in response, ever vigilant, painstakingly alert as he safeguarded the daughter of Padme and Anakin all through the night, every night. As he'd done ever since Leia Skywalker-Organa, as an infant, had been brought home, here to Alderaan.