Piecing Together the Truth

Chapter 7

Leia met her parents later that day when they shared their evening meal. One of the tasks her mother had occupied herself with was discerning the most loyal and secretive of the palace employees and letting them in on the secret of Leia's survival as well as the importance of discretion at the moment. As such, as long as she didn't leave the royal apartments she was in no danger of being identified by someone not in the know. And it had been nice to see a few more familiar faces bringing food up from the kitchens to the informal dining room, but Leia still waited for them to leave before she told her parents about what she and Ellis had discussed earlier that day.

"That is troubling news." Bail said thoughtfully.

"At least it is news." Breha reminded him. "If Ellis hadn't been able to confirm that Leia's memories were erased, we would have no clue what avenue to pursue next. At least this tells us something."

"It does lead to more questions than answers though." Leia pointed out. "Like who drugged me and why."

"'Why' might be easier to answer." Bail replied, and looked at Leia with an undecipherable emotion that resembled worry. "The Alliance had no clue what happened to you, and Vader at least seemed to have some idea, even if he was incorrect. I think it is safe to assume you were imprisoned as we were."

It was not an implausible explanation, Leia thought pensively as she mulled it over. In fact it was one of the few explanations that would make sense. If she had somehow managed to escape the empire's grasp in those four years, then logically she would have gone to Yavin to join the rebellion since Alderaan would likely already have been under the empire's thumb. The fact that Carlist had no idea of her survival proved that she had not ever re-joined the rebels. A niggling suspicion struck at her.

"I woke up on the planet Oberon." Leia revealed suddenly. "Isn't that near…?"

"Nux prison planet." Her father finished her thought, the expression on his face stony.

"There should be a record if that was where I was held." Before she could go on to suggest they request access to Nux's records, her father was already shaking his head.

"Unfortunately no." He told her. "Once it became clear the Alliance was winning the war, some of the imperials began erasing all the records. Almost everything was lost- all the prison records, all the orders for the various atrocities committed. We still have personnel records, but precious little else." He made a short gruff sound of annoyance. "We think they did it to try to eliminate as much evidence as possible to avoid prosecution. Without evidence of the orders, the New Republic will struggle to convict."

"The alliance tried to search for you in the prison records when they were rescuing us, to see if they could locate you at the same time." Breha added quietly. "But they had already been destroyed."

"I can't help but think-" Her father started but stopped suddenly.

"Think what?" Leia asked, pushing down a slight burst of irritation at his hesitance. If he had a theory about what had happened to her, he had no business trying to keep it from her.

"If we assume you were held on Nux," he began slowly, "we can probably assume you were held there the entire time. If you woke up on Oberon, as you said, how long ago was that?"

"Just over a week ago." Leia answered, wondering what point he was trying to get to. He nodded absently and continued his train of thought.

"We were rescued before then, so even before that as soon as the imperials had any inkling that they might not win the war they must have destroyed the records. But you were still being held then." He paused as he continued to construct his theory. "By the time it was clear that the Alliance was winning, the warden would have had significant reason to start panicking. He was holding you prisoner, and chances are that you were mistreated as your mother and I were. The alliance would eventually have to go to the prison planet to manually search for any political prisoners, so you would have been found. And if you were, the warden would have had to face charges for any maltreatment you had faced."

He paused then to allow Leia and Breha to process the information.

"The warden would have had to get rid of you." Breha spoke up, her words mimicking Leia's thoughts.

"He couldn't have you killed in case we were able to trace it back to him." Her father continued. "It would have only made matters worse for him. He also couldn't afford to hand you over to the alliance in case you told them about any abuse you had suffered on his orders."

"The best option was to dump me on another planet and drug me so I wouldn't remember anything that was done to me." Leia finished off the theory.

It all sounded perfectly reasonable, but there was still a huge hole in that theory and the evidence that destroyed those logically conclusions was a few corridors away and hidden in her desk and drawers. If someone had dumped her on another planet, it appeared that they had let her stay there for a few days before wiping her memories. Apart from that, the rest of it was sound. There might have been a reason she had been in Oberon for that time, but for now it was completely lost to her.

"The lengths some people will go to avoid the consequences of their actions." Breha shook her head in disgust. "At least many of the worst offenders are already dead. To think of them able to walk the streets because they escaped punishment, it makes me sick just considering it."

"But why would Vader think I was dead?" Leia interrupted her mother's near-vengeful musings. It was odd to hear her talk so venomously, completely going against the teachings of Alderaan. Prison had clearly jaded her.

"He might have issued an order for your execution." Bail suggested. "He could have done that shortly before the destruction of the second Death Star, and they might have hesitated to carry it out when the news reached them of the death of the Emperor. If he issued the order he would expect to be obeyed immediately, he might not think that they would have waited to see how the war turned out."

"That could explain why he was so convinced she was dead." Breha mused absently. "I can't help but wonder what he'll do when he finds out Leia is alive."

At that comment, Leia watched in confusion as she saw her father shoot a warning look over at his wife. Her mother started guiltily, and the way she suddenly glanced over at Leia made her think that perhaps that sentence had not been intended for her ears. Her mother had looked far away when she had said it, as though she had been remembering her interaction with Vader and for a moment had forgotten that Leia was present.

"Regardless," Bail firmly changed the subject, "this theory is probably the most likely. And we should start to think about releasing some information to the public, even if it is as little as that you have been found alive and well. The New Republic interim government have already been informed, as have a select few officials on Alderaan, and of course your aunts have been told."

Leia perked up slightly at the last point. She had always had her differences with her father's siblings, but that didn't mean she hadn't missed them terribly. Her father seemed to notice that upswing in her mood, and smiled fondly.

"They wanted to see you today, but I didn't want to overwhelm you since I knew you were having your scan today. If you want, you could see them tomorrow?"

"I'd love that." Leia agreed, and then wrinkled her nose slightly. "At least until they realise that my survival means another chance at trying to marry me off." She joked, and her father laughed. Her marital prospects had been a favourite pastime for the three women, and one they might be eager to get back to. Especially in the light of the still tentative hold the New Republic had over the galaxy. An arranged marriage could potentially lend some stability, even if it was the last thing Leia wanted at the moment.

Curled up in the familiar sheets of her own bed Leia stared up at the ceiling, wracked with insomnia. She knew the reason for it, it was her thoughts keeping her awake well into the early hours of the morning. Ever since her father had described his theory it had remained on her mind as she tried to reconcile what they had guessed with what she knew. Eventually her brain had managed to connect the dots and she had come to a horrifying realisation. And yet again, it was the shirt hidden in the secret compartment of her desk that was the source of her worries.

There was no denying that there was still that distinct hole in her father's theory, but she thought that she had managed to find a solution, horrible as it sounded. She wasn't stupid, she knew that among couples women would occasionally use their partner's clothes as sleepwear. Perhaps she had been rather naïve in her assumption that she would reject such romantic norms. Because the only reason why she could think that she had managed to escape a prison, only to end up on a different planet with her memories wiped possessing little other than a slew of disguises and a man's shirt was if she had managed to seduce a guard.

When the thought had first entered her mind she had dismissed it almost immediately for how insane it sounded. But late at night she found herself considering it again. Why was it so ridiculous? To her it might have seemed so, but only because she had never been put in such a difficult situation before. Once she tried to put herself in the shoes of the other Leia, one who had probably been imprisoned for years, and had likely endured unimaginable torment at the hands of the imperials, it did not seem as absurd. Desperation could push people beyond their limits, make them do things that they would ordinarily never even consider. Especially when under extreme pressure, like the pressure of knowing the empire would soon fall and knowing she was an inconvenient prisoner.

It was difficult to think it, but she knew that it was not impossible that the other Leia may have resorted to such measures if she thought it would grant her a reprieve from the torment. And she did not think seducing a guard would be beyond her skill set. While she may not have had any real romantic experience, she was still a politician and she knew how to read people. She didn't think it would have been too difficult to select a mark, probably one of the younger guards with a number of easily exploitable weaknesses. Pride, greed, thirst for power. She knew how to play those kinds of men, and with the empire on the brink of collapse her sweetly whispered promises may have seemed all too tangible and tempting.

She could have act the innocent naïve princess overwhelmed with infatuation, suggesting that all those offers of wealth and power would be worthless should she be killed, and subtly convince the mark to aid her escape. Once free from the prison with her unwitting companion, she would have had to maintain the charade until she returned home, and probably wear a number of disguises until then to ensure she was not recognised by any of the remaining imperial spies. The plan had likely been that once back on Alderaan, she would have dropped the pretence and had the guard arrested. But something had gone wrong. Most likely the guard had realised that her act was simply that. Unable to kill her in case it traced back to him, and fearful for his life should someone discover that he had been so easily deceived, it may have made sense to him to erase all those pesky memories.

If her elaborate and somewhat fantastical theory was true, then the guard had succeeded in his goal because she would never be able to identify him. Those memories, and whatever secrets they contained, were lost forever. And he, whoever he was if he was even real, would escape the consequences of his actions. That was not the thought that troubled her, it was the idea that she had been forced to take such measures for her own safety, and what might have happened to her that made her think that was the only option. The only consolation was that, if her theory was indeed true, he was likely too embarrassed at having been fooled to ever come forward with the truth.

If Leia's parents noticed the dark circles under her eyes the next day, they were careful not to say anything. Her aunts were not as polite, and within minutes of their reunion they had crowded around her, all concernedly clucking about how thin and tired she looked. There was nothing malicious about it, so she submitted to their attentions with what little patience she did possess. Eventually they did withdraw and their comments switched to the affectionate, all of them clearly overjoyed to see her alive and well.

"We are planning on releasing a public statement about your survival today." Her father said, bringing the conversation straight to business. "We aren't going to reveal much, just that you have been found alive and well and have returned to the palace."

"I have no objection to that." Leia replied. Her words were calm but her insides twisted uncomfortably at the thought. In the light of recent revelations, she still worried that someone might come forward with some devastating declarations that would threaten to rock the still fragile balance she had managed to find. The only thing that kept her from outright panicking was the knowledge that if anyone did know what had happened to her and had wanted to come forward, they could have just as easily done that when confirmation of her death had been made public.

Seeming to sense her conflict, her mother approached her quietly. Her aunts were busy speaking to Bail, possibly strategizing how best to release the information and did not notice the comforting hand Breha placed on Leia's shoulder.

"The sooner the public knows, the sooner life will return to normal." Leia smiled weakly at her, but inwardly she snorted at her mother's attempts at reassurance. She doubted life would ever be normal again.

Author's Note: Edited 17/11/2017 to remove any mention of the character Winter. Unfortunately, I can't find a way to fit her into the main story so I've decided for the sake of the story that she doesn't exist in this universe. Sorry if anyone is disappointed by this, but I decided it was better not to have her than to have her and not use her at all.