Alright, so far I am sticking to my schedule pretty good, and here is the next chapter. I am still making everything pretty much up in my head, but hopefully it will all make sense in the end. ENJOY!
Luke hurried after Leia, following her into the Dining Hall, where he saw his mother and father already seated and being served. He sat down across from Leia in their regular seats and began to eat his soup.
Anakin smiled at them. "Good to finally see you two show up, we were getting worried that perhaps you had been kidnaped or shot, since missing 3PO's blue soup."
Leia smiled. "Of course we would never miss it, Father, I just had to hunt down Luke in the gardens, where he was reading."
Luke feigned insult. "And what is wrong with reading? I believe in filling my brain with knowledge, not legislature, like someone I know."
"If your head got any bigger it would burst," Leia mumbled as she ate.
Before Luke could offer a clever retort, Padme interrupted. "Enough you two, your father and I have some important news to tell you both." The twins looked up expectantly, and Padme nodded at Anakin.
Anakin cleared his throat. "Your mother and I have received some interesting news from our commanders on the Outer Rim. Apparently the Rebellion has been hiding their, for all this time, and they wish to form peace agreements with us. They have lost a lot of people in their small battles against the Empire and they want peace. So, one of their representatives will be coming to Coruscant tomorrow to discuss the terms of a peace treaty. Your mother is anxious to end this conflict, and I am anxious to see what the Rebellion can add to the Empire."
"That is wonderful," Leia explained, "It will be wonderful to settle this conflict finally. We will we meet them tomorrow?"
Anakin frowned at her. "Your mother and I will meet them in the morning, along with Luke, but you will not be joining us."
"But why?" Leia asked.
"Because, my dear, we have somewhere we need you to be," Padme answered. "There has been some disagreements on Naboo, and I need you to be there to represent the Empire directly, and to get some experience in dealing with people on your own. You should be done on Naboo soon enough to come back and see the negotiations here," Padme clasped her hand, "Please Leia, I need you to go. I would do it personally, but I must be here."
Leia sighed, but nodded. "I will do it. Obviously I must tend to my duties first."
Padme smiled. "Thank you, Leia, this means a lot to me."
Anakin nodded at the pair, then turned to Luke. "Now, Luke, I have a specific job for you. The representative of the Rebellion is bringing someone with him, someone that he says is incredibly important to the treaty. I asked my sources about her and they were able to tell me that her name is Mara Jade and that she used to work as an assassin before finding better jobs helping the Rebellion. She is about your age, so I need you to entertain her and make certain that she is happy while staying here. Just try and become friends with her, if you can."
Luke nodded. "Alright, I can do that. But how can you be certain that the Rebellion is still not using her as an assassin to kill you?"
Anakin shrugged. "I don't, but I have to give the Rebellion the benefit of a doubt if we are to work anything out. Alright, now enough talk of politics. Let's enjoy what 3PO spent hours making before he comes out and complains that we are letting it get cold."
Later that evening, Luke knocked on Leia's door, and then went in.
Leia stopped putting clothes into her bag and frowned. "What is wrong, Luke? You look worried."
Luke shrugged, sitting down on the edge of her bed. "I have no idea. At dinner, when Father was telling us all about the treaty with the rebellion, I had this feeling that he was not completely telling me the whole truth. It was almost like he had an idea that the Rebels want something big out of the treaty, but was afraid to say anything."
Leia tucked a shirt into her bag then sat down next to him. "Do you think that has anything to do with them sending me to Naboo while the Rebels are here? I felt that Mother seemed a little to eager that I left, knowing that this would be an incredibly learning opportunity for me in the politics of making peace with the Rebels."
Luke shrugged again and stood up. "I have no idea, which is frustrating. Oh well, I guess we will learn soon what the Rebels want. Good night, Leia, see you in the morning."
Leia gave him a hug. "Good night, let us just hope that whatever the Rebels want will not be too bad for the Empire, or for us."
Luke nodded in agreement and left.
Alright, now we have a bit of drama in the mix! What did you all think? Good? Bad? Ugly? TELL ME, in a review please! Until next chapter, Li Li
