Hey everyone! I'm usually a oneshot person (if it wasn't obvious), but I've been wanting to do a multi-chapter story for a while. And this has been bouncing around in my head for a long time! Just a warning before you get it; from past experiences I am a very erratic updater. I am often pretty busy, so it may be a long period between updates, but I'll try my best!
She awoke to the sounds of shouting and blaster fire, the small girl jolting up from her night's rest in her bed. Her chest was heaving, sweat making her brown hair fall out of the long braids that had been so carefully woven the previous day. All Leia Organa, the Princess of Alderaan could think was that something terrible was happening, chills down her spine that the abnormally perceptive child often felt when there was something wrong. She trembled, pulling the covers of her bed closer to her chest, frozen in her place. In her six years of living she had never been this scared, flinching every time she heard blasters, and they sounded like they were getting closer.
She wanted to call out for her mother or father, or even any of the numerous handmaidens or servants that frequented the Alderaanian palace, but her voice didn't seem to want to work. She was so afraid, sleep and nightmares seeming to blend with reality, and for a moment, Leia wondered if this was still a dream. She always had bad nightmares, which often would lead her to scurry to her parents' quarters across the wide corridor, in tears and wanting their comfort. Even if it was slightly shameful that a princess would run through the hallways in her night clothes, her parents always took her into their bed with no questions. Decorum lessons were for her tutors after all, they would always say.
Leia knew that princesses were supposed to be fearless, a stunning example of leadership, grace, and stubbornness for her people. The Princess in the day, however, was different from the young child who was trying hard to overcome the fear that made her silent. She gasped, and it took all of her restraint and rational thought that diving under her bed's covers would not solve anything as heavy pairs of boots approached her door. Without any sort of knocking, the doors were thrown open, and the lighting from the hallway illuminated her dark room, and also the pair of Imperial Stormtroopers that had broken into her room. Leia cried out finally in alarm, both of the expressionless soldiers turning their blasters on her, before surveying the room. 'Papa! Help me!' she wanted to cry out, but the young girl was afraid they would shoot at her if she did. After a moment, one of them turned to her, while the other kept the blaster at the ready.
"Stand," he ordered, and Leia did so, swallowing as she slowly climbed out of her bed, hands raised and terrified. The one approached her and produced a pair of restraints, "You will be quiet. We aren't ordered to harm you." And oddly enough, the voice sounded as comforting as it could be in the situation, even as he grabbed her tiny wrists.
The other trooper pulled a communicator from his belt, and began, "Inform Lord Vader that we-"shots rang out, striking the stormtrooper dead, and Leia broke away from her attempted captor in a rush of bravery as more blaster fire erupted in the room, the remaining trooper attempting to return fire. He fell quickly as well. She darted behind her bed, and felt ill, horrified at the sight of their armor-clad bodies crumpled on the floor of her room. Tearful, she nearly screamed, before the welcome sight of her family's security team, with their blasters at the ready appeared beyond the door. She gave a shaky sigh of relief, shaking, as she stood once more. Leia tried to not glance at the dead bodies.
"Bucketheads clear, Your Highness," one said and Breha Organa rushed in behind the small team. Leia darted to meet her mother, Breha's hands immediately wrapping around her.
"Mother!" Leia cried out, burying her head into Breha's embrace. "I don't understand! W-What's happening?" Her mother checked her over, hands stroking at her tear-stained cheeks.
"Are you okay, my darling?" she asked, and Leia barely nodded her head. "We must go, love. Now. You're in… so much danger, Leia. So many secrets…" Even her ever-regal mother seemed so afraid and shaken-up which only affirmed Leia's own fear. "We've lied to you Leia, so many times." and the woman flinched as sounds of explosions and the rattling of the room interrupted her speech.
"Your Highness!" one of the guards shouted, "That was a thermal detonator in the courtyard! If we are to make it to the hangar, we must go now!"
"Mama…?" Leia questioned.
"Later, I promise you. Come now little one. Take my hand," And Leia did, grasping at her mother like she was her lifeline, taking only a stuffed doll on her way out, hugging it to her chest for any semblance of comfort as the small group ran through the darkened hallways of the palace, the security officers hypothesizing that the Imperials must have knocked out the power generators. It was terrifying and ominous, the walls and hallways Leia called home to be so empty, the only noises being the fighting in the other sector of the palace. The little girl nearly had to sprint to keep up with the fast pace of her mother, even in her heavy gown, along with the other adults.
"W-Where's Father?" She asked, breathing fast from the exertion as the group rounded into the large hangar bay, fewer ships remaining, far less than what Leia was used to seeing. Several people were already present in the bay; more servants of the Organas, but Bail Organa was nowhere in sight. The large doors slid shut behind them, as the head security officer frantically typed a code into the keypad to lock it down. Her mother did not immediately answer her, looking to the gathering of palace staff that had escaped the fighting for the time being.
"The Tantive IV is ready to go, whenever you are," a man she recognized as Captain Antilles spoke quickly. "I would have stayed with…" he trailed off, looking at Leia, who clutched at her mother's dress. He shut his eyes, "Darth Vader is here, and Bail ordered me to ensure both of you are safe. Your Highness, Bail Organa, last I was notified, was in sector 4."
Breha closed her eyes, and Leia recognized that she was trying to remain strong. For her. "Very well… Prepare the ship. Give me one moment, Raymus." The Captain nodded, and he hurried up to the ship. Captain Antilles was one of the best pilots in the galaxy, in Leia's opinion.
"Mother," she sniffled, rubbing at her eyes, "You're not telling me anything. Something bad happened to Father, didn't it?"
Breha, and Leia could clearly see tears forming in her eyes, knelt to Leia's level while the staff waited around anxiously for their queen and princess to board the ship. "Yes, Leia," she replied honestly, and Leia couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her face. Breha wiped them before looking at her daughter sadly. "He loves you Leia. And w-we'll see him again one day. The Empire is here. They've never trusted Bail, but… There's something else, something more dire. I can't tell you now, sweetheart. I'm so sorry. You'll understand soon. There's no time, but we must flee. I can't let them take you from me."
"I don't understand," the child insisted, frustration growing in her voice. Nothing her mother was telling her was making any sort of sense. She shook her head, "Father hasn't done anything wrong! I-I haven't done anything either!"
"You didn't, Leia. You… you can't help it. I really cannot say right now. Trust me, Leia. Just once more." Her mother was being honest, not wanting to lie to her. Leia had always been gifted in understanding people and their feelings, too good at it, her father would often joke. Strange things always seemed to happen around her; her dreams, feelings she would had, events she could not explain.
"Is this about…?"
"Yes," Breha answered, pulling her into another hug, which she accepted. "And much more." Leia did not ask, and allowed her mother to stand.
Leia…
But no one had spoken. And Leia had another very bad feeling about this, suddenly cold. The girl wrapped her arms around herself, stepping back. "Mother…" She whispered, feeling uneasy and frightened.
Her mother spoke, "One second, Leia." And the queen's expression grew sorrowfully cold as she addressed the group. "I apologize to you all… but you will not be coming with us." She stared at them all, "One of you, close to our family, betrayed us to the Empire. I do not know who, or how." Leia could not believe this. "One of you betrayed Alderaan and the galaxy. And for that… I cannot take the risk of bringing you along. I am so sorry. But I must protect my child. The only one to accompany us will be Captain Antilles."
"My Queen," a handmaiden spoke up, sobbing, "You cannot go alone!"
"Your Highness, what about a co-pilot?!"
"I will be," Breha insisted, "And I am sorry to abandon you all in this time. But I cannot trust anyone except the Captain."
Stop. My child. It is your destiny. Come.
Leia's head hurt, and it was a feeling so strange that she put a hand to her forehead, slightly whimpering. It felt as if there was someone there, as if someone was trying to take a look in her head. But that was surely impossible! But even so, the feeling grew until she felt sleepy and dizzy. There was such an overpowering feeling of wanting to return the way she had come from. The girl turned her attention to the doors, staring at them as something inside of her gave her a clear message.
"Someone's coming," her tiny voice suddenly interrupted the adults' discussion, and the entire room fell silent, her mother moving towards her. Fear raced in her heart.
"That's impossible. The stormtroopers are engaged on the other side of the palace." But even as one of the guards spoke, the security forces picked up their blaster pistols once again.
"Come on," Breha spoke, "The time is now, we must go." She uttered with urgency. Leia attempted to follow, but to her horror, her body was not moving. She knew how to walk, but yet, the small child could not lift her foot to move. She struggled, panic growing with every second she stayed motionless. It felt like… someone, or something was restraining her, keeping her in her place.
"Mama!" She cried out, with full-on tears now, "I can't move!" And at that moment, the blast doors slid open slowly when they should have been locked down tightly. There was a moment of tense silence before an audible breathing sounded throughout the quiet hangar, a deep robotic breathing that made her mother gasp in unrestrained fear. Leia could feel her fear. Out of the darkness, a monster stepped out, one that every youngling in the galaxy feared before going to sleep. Leia, previously to this moment had only seen Darth Vader on Imperial HoloNet broadcasts. He'd always interested her in a way she could not explain, and like other children, Leia wondered what he looked like underneath his mask. If he was really human, or droid, or some mix of the both. But seeing him in real life was different from what the broadcasts ever wanted her to see.
He was terrifying, imposing, a true creature of the night that couldn't possibly have been the same mysterious entity that carried out the orders of the Emperor and kept the galaxy safe. Although, based on her parents' reactions to the news that came through, Leia had always been told to not idolize the Empire, nor his second-in-command. She had suspected that her parents were not loyal to the Empire as they presented themselves to be, and this horrible night only confirmed Leia's thoughts. Darth Vader held out his hand, and a threatening hum filled the air as he pulled out his red lightsaber. Leia had read about it in readings assigned to her by her history tutor. But she had thought it was just a myth, a story! She had heard rumors of Lord Vader's fabled powers, but she never imagined to see them first-hand.
"OPEN FIRE!" One of the guards shouted in pure terror, and blaster fire converged on the dark lord. Leia screamed, and Breha desperately tried to tug her daughter away from the invisible force that held her down. The blaster shots reflected off his weapon like it was absolutely nothing, and Leia's eyes widened in horror as they struck the men who had shot at Vader in the first place.
"Close your eyes, darling! Close them!" Breha exclaimed, moving her hands over Leia's ears protectively, and she did. But it did not stop her odd senses from running wild, Leia still being able to hear the sounds of screaming and bodies slumping to the ground. The sounds of the saber hitting… the sounds of breaking bones and choking. This was it. The monster was here to kill her, wasn't he? Did Darth Vader eat children? Until she felt the pressure on her body suddenly shift away, and Leia gasped wildly.
The nearly animalistic sound of Vader being wounded was enough to make her open her eyes, as one of the guards had managed to clip in the shoulder from behind. "GO!" the man shouted, only to become choked as Darth Vader turned and lifted him… without touching him. He choked, hands going to his neck in a feeble attempt to remove the pressure from his throat. Breha, with no hesitation, finally lifted the small girl in her arms, and hurried onto the ship.
"Captain!" Breha called, in tears which startled Leia badly, "Get us out of here!"
"Give her to me!" The deep sound of his robotic voice boomed from outside the ship, and Breha hurried to the cockpit, desperately helping Captain Antilles, while Leia sat frozen and traumatized by one of the Tantive IV's windows, watching as Darth Vader… slaughtered everyone in his path. Even the handmaidens, who were unarmed. The starship's engines roared to life and the door closed firmly. Leia found herself staring at Vader, and it seemed as if he was staring back at her, even with his mask.
"Make the jump to hyper-space as quickly as you can!" Breha begged. Leia felt whispers in her mind, and she squeezed her eyes tightly.
I will find you, they will not hide you from me any longer.
Daughter…
She just wanted the presence in her head to disappear, and Leia hugged her toy to her chest, trembling terribly. Only when they escaped the atmosphere of Alderaan, barely missing being intercepted by a large star destroyer, did the whispering in her mind fade to a dull buzzing, and then… quiet. She sobbed quietly, not wanting to take her mother's attention away from their situation. Breha came back to where the girl was seated, sitting beside her and gently toying with her hair.
"H-He killed them all," Leia said, nose runny and so distraught she didn't know how she'd be better again. "With his… He didn't even touch any of them."
Breha nodded, "I'm so sorry you had to see that, Leia. He is… Most of it is true. Lord Vader, unlike Papa or me, has abilities. He has powers."
"Why?"
"He was a Jedi once," Breha admitted, "One of the lies we kept from you, Leia. But now… He is a pathetic shell of his former self," her mother said, venom so evident in her tone that it made Leia pause in her crying. She wiped her eyes and tried to be strong like her mother.
"The Jedi? You've… you've told me not to believe what the Empire says about them. That not everything is what the Emperor says it is." And then, a sudden stark realization occurred in the child's mind, and she said, "You know Darth Vader. And Papa does too."
"We used to," Breha corrected, "That's the biggest secret we've kept from you Leia. We never wanted… to tell you any of this but…" She laughed bitterly, pulling her child into her lap, fixing her hair, pulling her ruined braids. "Maker knows it will be all over the galaxy now that you have escaped him."
"Mother?"
"Leia. We love you more than life itself, and that will never change. You know how we told you that you were adopted a few months ago, love?"
The girl nodded, "Yes. And you said it didn't make a difference because I'm still your daughter. Daddy said I'm still your princess." What was her mother trying to explain?
"I can't tell you everything," her mother continued, "For your own safety, along with the safety of… others. But my dear, sweet, girl." She hesitated, as if she did not want to tell Leia the truth. "Darth Vader…"
Daughter… Search your feelings.
And Leia, based on what she had felt finished, looked at her mother, "... He's my father." And Breha hugged her closely, even tighter.
"Yes."