Three years later

"My lady, you cannot. Allow me to go in your place, it is far too dangerous." Dormé pleaded.

"Dormé, Winter needs her mother. I will not allow you to risk your life," Padmé answered.

"Leia needs her mother too."

"Leia has a mother. I am not her mother any longer. Dormé, please understand, I worked too hard to preserve the Republic. I need to go to this meeting."

"What if it is a trick? Something that the Emperor and Lord Vader had a hand in? Please do not go, m'lady."

"Dormé, I have a duty and I will do it. You have a duty as well. You have a child to raise and tomorrow you are to be introduced as the princess' governess. I need you to look out for my daughter in my stead. Please do not argue with me further on this."

Dormé bowed her head. "Yes, my lady."

The gray-suited officer walked nervously toward the suite door to which he had been summoned. He steeled himself then opened the door.

He snapped to attention and when the occupant of the room nodded, he reported his news. "Lord Vader, we poisoned the meeting room of the Loyalists with gas as you ordered. I am to inform you that all are dead."

"Was former Senator Amidala among them?" Vader asked.

"Yes, my lord."

"Very good. You are dismissed Captain."

The captain saluted and left the room. As he started down the hallway, he could hear an anguished moan, something not quite human and a scream, a shouted name that sounded like "Padmé." But he did not return to the suite to find out what the trouble was; he knew of too many others who had made such a mistake and did not live to pass on the warnings.

Bail Organa led his squirming daughter toward the nursery. "Now, Leia, there's someone important I would like you to met. I need you to calm down for a minute."

Leia stared at her father for a moment, but did indeed calm down. She had bonded tightly with this man. But try as she might, Milla just didn't have the connection. But Milla's health was poor as it was. It was a shadow on all of the court. But today was not the time to think about this.

"Leia, I would like to introduce you to Dormé Malisa and her daughter Winter. Dormé will be your governess and we hope that Winter will be your playmate. Dormé, this is the Princess Leia."

"Pleased to meet you, your highness." Dormé dropped a curtsey, but Leia had already run off with Winter in tow to show the other girl her playthings.

"She is quite the handful, much like her mother," Bail said quietly, giving a hand up to the woman before him. Padmé Amidala's beautiful face looked back at him.

"Thank you for this chance, Bail," she whispered.

"I am truly sorry about Dormé."

"I am as well. She would not listen to me. I owe it to her to raise Winter the way she would have."

"And now you can look after Leia as well."

"I will always be watching over her."

Bail only smiled and squeezed her hand then left the nursery. Padmé went over to play with her two daughters.

The End

Author's Note: Winter is a character from the Expanded Universe. She was introduced as Leia's aide and a playmate from her childhood. It was said that people often mistook the serious Winter for the real princess as opposed to the tomboyish Leia. At the time I wrote this, they had not established a parenthood for Winter, so I just made up a connection to Padmé. I also made up a name for Bail's wife as I am uncertain what it was if it was ever revealed. I always got the impression that Leia's adopted mother died when Leia was young, thus I mention her illness.

Thank you for reading!