Chapter 1: A Well-Played Counter Attack
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Parenthood was every joy and sorrow that it had ever been rumored to be. Leia had never been a warrior, never been trained to explicate the power that no doubt existed in the bloodlines in her veins. Instead she'd been a leader.
And leadership, she'd quickly found, was remarkably like motherhood.
So, with all the love she had, and a lot of love she didn't know she was capable of, Leia had become a Mother.
"Mother...?"
She closed her eyes briefly to the outside world, examining the one that was held within herself instead. She'd absorbed motherhood with the same level-headed immovable dedication that she'd plunged into for most of her life. And now... was she letting it go?
"I'm sorry Ben..." The smile returned to her face in the perceived memory of how happy the boy would be at the news. She turned to him with this smile and a hand that stretched to the side of his face. His face, already like his father's... and probably like his grandfather's. But there was also hers.
She hoped it was enough.
She put a gentle hand to the same face that was reflected in her heart, attempting to sooth the anxious expression her son so often wore. This furthered her strength and her hand then went to his thick hair. His nightmares, his eating habits, his tantrums... He needed this.
"Do you remember talking about the Jedi Academy?"
His eyes, so deep and cautious, seemed to harden with a very un-childlike interest.
"Uncle Luke has made his decision to start it... and I am giving you the choice to join him."
It was then that she finally saw that naive glimmer enter Ben's eyes, his full mouth upturning in some weary wonder. Was his mother truly giving him this opportunity? What he'd begged for? What he'd read about? What he'd dreamed about? But no, something was missing...
"Where's Dad?"
The tell-tale sign of Leia's stubbornness was her lips folding into a compressed line. "Your father... has gone to see Luke. He wants to oversee preparations." The truth that both mother and son knew was that Han would be much more unwilling to let his son go. What only mother knew was the arguments and the set up cot outside in the Millennium Falcon.
"It's up to you, Ben..."
She'd half-expected him to jump at the chance, but instead, he'd turned inward as he so often did this past few months. Luke himself had been unsure of gathering up force fledglings for education. Without a larger threat of pressing darkness it seemed preemptive and unnecessary to take children from their homes. That was until he'd seen Ben almost strangle Loth-cat with only the Force that had come from his six-year-old body. That night the family had come over with a hush. Luke retreated to the guest bedroom and disappeared long before anyone else had woken up. The next they heard from him was the letter detailing updates of the new Jedi Academy. Ben had put the post up in his room, happily observing the process. Though she doubted that he understood it was launched partially for him, she would completely denounce the notion as crazy.
Ben seemed far too perceptive for her to denounce him for anything. At the moment, his eyes had drifted somewhere to her collarbone, unseeing and assessing whatever pro-con list that existed in his head.
"...Should I go?"
She smiled at him then, leaning down to face him in the opportunity for a hug. For once, he actually chose to oblige her. She easily fit her arms around him, rubbing his back with a reassuring kiss to his cheek. She suddenly wished he was small enough to enfold into her arms in a sweet bundle that was willing to be taken care of. Instead of this lengthy seven-year-old who had spoken of darkness in his dreams and carried it around in his eyes.
"I will miss you terribly."
...
AN: This began as a one-shot in my head that has now become a full-fledged story. Have it all planned out but only this part written so far. Let me know what you think if you have the time.
Like many people going into The Force Awakens I'm considered a new-generation fan. The amazing thing about the series is; though it relies strongly on a history and mythology that has been put into place—it's a universe that's governed by essential truths of human nature. This story is meant to show the consistent struggle of light and dark and how it bleeds into every choice and relationship we have while ultimately being a conscious choice.
