Author: Because I only write fanfiction when I'm not writing my novel, here, have another chapter.

Disclaimer: I've been writing fanfiction for 16 years. I still own nothing.

Chapter 6

Leia pounced on Dipika when they reached the lunch period.

"Come teach me how to do your hand to hand stuff at my home," she said. "We have a space for it. And that way I can teach you how to use a lightsaber! Well, not me, but my dad. He's home today, so now's the best time to start!"

Dipika hesitated.

"I'll see you after school," Leia said, taking the lack of a "no" as a "yes." "I can take us both to my home."

"You—you can drive?"

"Well, not legally, but I can!"

"If you really want to learn, then we should have my sister teach us," Dipika said. "She's the one who has been teaching me and is the best there is."

"And my dad's the best at lightsaber combat!" Leia chirped. "It'll be great. We'll be so strong!"

Dipika nodded. "We will."

"So, we'll start today?"

"I have to talk to my mom and sister first."

Leia pouted. "Why? You said you'd teach me!"

"I…wasn't sure if you were serious," Dipika confessed.

"Of course I was serious," Leia said.

"It's just sometimes a little hard to tell."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Well, I am. Then, when can we start? Why don't I bring you back to my home and you can start learning lightsaber stuff and then tomorrow we can start learning your thing. Sound good?"

"I…sure."

"We'll go back to my home together and—"

"I need to tell my mom first. So, tomorrow will probably be better."

Leia sighed dramatically. "Fine, tomorrow. Dad should still be around, and if he isn't, I got a couple of new holorecords detailing the different fighting styles so we can try to figure out those together."

Dipika apparently wasn't ready for what it meant to be Leia's friend, but that was okay with Leia. She'd either adapt or just stop being her friend.

However, Dipika mentioning that she would have to consult with her mother about training made Leia think she ought to warn her dad about her plans.

So, when her dad was indeed home when she returned, she blurted:

"You'd be okay with me starting to train me and Dipika with lightsaber tomorrow, right?"

Her dad nodded. "You need a sparring partner and she should be able to meet your skill quickly enough, if she is like any other Solean I've met."

"And it's okay if we start tomorrow?"

"I'd like you to start as soon as possible."

Leia nodded. "That's what I was thinking!"

"Of course it was. You're a smart girl."

Leia shot him a grin.

"It's good that you've made another friend you feel comfortable inviting over," her dad said, sounding surprised more than anything else. "Although why do you want to learn to hand-to-hand combat?"

"Because that way if I don't have a lightsaber I can still fight and stuff," Leia told him.

"I doubt there will ever be a time when you will be without a lightsaber and the Force, but it's good you want to be as strong as possible in as many things as possible."

"And I was thinking that maybe I could use the Force with my punches and stuff," Leia said, badly shadow-boxing.

"Perhaps," her dad said, sounding intrigued.

Leia flashed him a grin.

"So who exactly will I be meeting?"

"Dipika and her mom and her older sister."

"And what station is her mom? They don't let just anyone into the school you attend."

"Well, according to Dee she's the ruler of the Solean people."

Her dad fell silent for a moment before chuckling, the sound wry and dark. "I see."

"What's funny about that?"

Her dad gently ran his hand over her hair. "Nothing you need to worry about right now. Come, we have to set up the studio for more than one person to train in—you can only use the Force to move everything. Tell me about your day while you do so."

"Okay!"

The studio was halfway set up when a thought dawned on Leia. "Dad, I call you Dad, but what should my friends and stuff call you?"

"I am Darth Vader to the rest of the galaxy. They can call me Lord Vader or Darth Vader."

"Ok. Just wanted to check."

"Your control over the Force is getting better every day," her dad observed.

Leia sent him love and pride, which he returned.

Cleaning up the studio went a lot easier with a steady undercurrent of his love and support.


"So, my home isn't big or anything," Leia told Dipika as she sat in the back of Dipika's mom's ship. "But it's just my dad and me, so we don't need a big place. Everything is set up for us to practice! Do you want to do hand to hand first or lightsaber?"

"From my understanding of lightsaber combat, it will be the less strenuous between the two martial arts," Dipika's mother said from the driver's seat. "You'll start training in ours first."

"Okay!"

Her dad was waiting for them on the platform outside their home, and Leia heard Dipika's sister, Saretti, swear.

Leia didn't care, and dragged Dipika out behind her and over to her dad.

"Dad, this is Dipika. Dipika, this is my dad."

"Darth Vader is your dad?" Dipika hissed softly.

"Yup," Leia proclaimed proudly. "Come on, let me show you the studio."

Leia pulled Dipika behind her, although was confused by the fear coming off her.

"What's wrong?" Leia asked as she opened the door to the studio with the Force. "You're my friend and he agreed to teach us both, you don't have to be afraid of him."

Dipika's hand squeezed hers, and Leia was pretty sure she was looking for comfort, so gave it a squeeze back.

"Here we are!" she proclaimed. "It's not huge or anything, but it's got everything we need. I think."

Dipika let go of her hand and began to poke around the room, spending a long moment gazing into the mirror.

But, her reflection wasn't of the girl standing not too far away. Before her was a Solean woman in her prime, her body all lithe, dangerous lines. She stood straight, tall, and proud, and Leia saw two hilts of what seemed to be modified lightsabers hanging at her waist, although a blaster was strapped to her thigh, probably as a fail-safe. Her armor and mask were clearly of the highest quality; however, instead of the bright jewel tones of her family, she wore a suit made of shades of grey, although the markings were gold and the fake hair was the bright red that marked her as female. Leia had never seen a Solean wearing grey before, so it made her both curious and uneasy. She kept quiet, however, as the image quickly vanished, replaced by the more familiar form of Dipika in the present.

Dipika's mother and cousin entered the studio, her father a step behind them. Saretti seemed tense, Dipika's mom annoyed, and her dad amused.

"So, where do we start?" Leia asked, transferring her attention to Saretti.

"The basics," she said.

It was as hard as Leia thought it would be, because it was a completely different way of using her body. Saretti pushed her until Leia's lower body gave out. Dipika was obviously ready and able to do more advanced exercises, but stopped once Leia plopped on the ground and stretched out her legs in an attempt to get them to stop cramping.

"Not bad for your first time," Saretti commented.

Leia didn't respond because she was breathing too hard and focusing on channeling some of the Force to help her legs recover.

"Are you still going to show me some basic lightsaber combat?" Dipika asked, barely winded.

Leia swallowed to work moisture back into her mouth, then nodded. She called two of the practice sticks to her, one hovering in front of Dipika at the height of her hand, the other resting on the ground beside Leia.

"Yeah," she panted and stood, using the Force to help steady her. "Dad?"

Her dad walked over to them, his cloak fluttering behind him as he stood behind Leia and handed her the practice sword. "I think we will do alternating martial practice," her dad said. "But, for now, we will focus on the basics as well."

The 'basics' turned out to be learning how to block using a training remote. Leia's was obviously harder, as she used as blaster helmet to keep herself from being able to see where the droid was going to fire, but based on the very few yelps of pain she heard, Dipika was either good at dodging or guessing.

"I think that's enough," Leia heard Saretti say, her voice cold.

Leia pushed the helmet back to see Dipika shaking slightly. There were barely any marks from where the droid hit, which made Leia proud.

"You okay?" she asked, tossing the helmet and practice stick aside. She plucked the stick out of Dipika's hand and supported her with the Force.

"Y-yeah," Dipika said, although Leia was unconvinced.

Leia picked her up off her feet with the Force, and almost immediately Dipika's body slumped in exhaustion now that she no longer had to focus on standing.

"How do you do it?" she asked Leia as Saretti, Dipika's mom, and her dad had a quiet argument/discussion.

"Same way you do your fighting thing," Leia said. "Practice. You dodged mostly, right?"

"I got the hang of it eventually, but not like you."

"I have the Force," Leia said. "I think Dad was testing you to see if you had any of the Force in you. I think you have a little bit."

"The bolts never hurt," she murmured. "I just had to focus so hard that I have a headache and the stick thing gets heavy after a while."

Leia gave her an encouraging smile, brought her to the living room, and placed her on the couch. "I got hit a lot when I was first learning," Leia said. "So you being able to avoid as much as you did says that you're already better than me when I started off."

Leia got a cautious feeling of gratitude from Dipika. "Thanks," she said aloud.

"How'd I do?" Leia asked.

"Not bad," Dipika said. "You're going to have to work on your lower body strength."

Leia nodded morosely. "I'll do it, though!"

"I know you will."

When the adults emerged from the studio, Leia sensed waves of amusement rolling off of her dad, while the Solean women were much more rigid, anger and anxiety coming from them.

"How about we have our practice at one of the studios at school? It used to be the Jedi Temple and I know a few places that are big enough and stuff," Leia offered.

"That would be preferred," Saretti said, her voice clipped.

"How often can I learn with you?" Leia pressed. "I want to get good and be a challenge for Dipika. I'll practice on the days I don't see you, too, but I want to learn."

Dipika's mom answered: "Twice a week. That is all the time that Saretti can allot."

"And then we'll do lightsaber combat twice a week, too!" Leia said, giving Saretti her best smile.

Saretti snapped something in Solean to Dipika's mother, who made a dismissive gesture. "That will be fine, as long as your schoolwork doesn't suffer," she said instead.

"It won't!" Leia promised, then looked to Dipika. "Right?"

Dipika nodded, the gestured exhausted.

"Thank you so much, Saretti," Leia said, looking to Dipika's sister. "I really look forward to learning from you!"

Leia's thanks seemed to throw Saretti off-balance emotionally, but she murmured something along the lines, "You're welcome."

"You will both be sore tomorrow morning," Dipika's mom said as she walked over to her younger daughter and Leia. "But at least we now know where we're starting."

"Yup," Leia said and stood, even though her legs protested. She lifted Dipika upright with the Force and held her until she was steady on her feet. "See you at school!"

"Yes," Dipika agreed, her voice stronger.

Leia saw them all off, but her dad hung back. It was only once they were gone and Leia returned inside that her dad laughed, the sound low and dark.

"Daddy?"

"Ah, Leia," he said and pulled her up into a hug. "I love you."

"And I love Daddy!" Leia proclaimed, giving him a tight hug in return. "How'd I do? And how'd Dipika do? She didn't seem too beat up. You weren't mean to her, were you?"

"I was not mean to her," her dad replied. "The droid was on the easiest setting."

"Good."

"She is Force-sensitive, although she cannot use it," her dad told her. "She is also more used to dodging than using a weapon. It will take some time to teach her to be comfortable with a weapon."

"That's okay! She'll practice on that and I'll practice on getting my legs stronger."

"You scared them, you know."

Leia frowned. "I did? I thought they were scared of you."

"Oh, the younger—Saretti?—was scared of me, as she should be. The Queen respects me for my power and for the fact that I put her on her throne."

"You helped her become Queen? By killing someone?"

"By killing many someones," her dad confirmed.

"So why were they scared of me? I was so bad at the kicks and got tired real fast!"

"Most of the people at your school don't know you as a Sith apprentice," her dad said. "You are…fiercer, more focused, and much more dangerous than most people realize. Even that practice showed them but a glimpse of your real power, and as they know that you will only grow more powerful in time, they are wondering how safe it is for Dipika to be your friend."

"I'd never hurt her!" Leia protested.

"You and I know that," her dad said and set her down on a chair at the kitchen table. "But they don't."

"Well, I'll tell them and I'll tell Dipika and then they won't worry."

"I'm not sure it will work that way," her dad said. "You did very well in both exercises. Solean combat will test your strength, endurance, and flexibility, all of which will serve you well in lightsaber combat."

"I know! It'll be awesome."

"Maybe we'll have to make an entirely new form for you," Vader mused, "since you are already mixing forms."

"Really?! I have to think of a cool name for it."

"You have time."

Leia hummed in agreement. She pushed a few damp strands of hair out of her face and let out a gusty sigh. "Thank you, Daddy. For agreeing to train Dipika and me."

"I won't always be able to," he said. "I may be around less."

Leia startled and looked quickly to him. "What? Why?"

Waves of subdued irritation slowly rolled off her father as he said, "The Emperor believes that my spending time with you is making me…soft."

"Soft?" Leia repeated, incredulous.

Vader nodded.

"You're not soft! You're the strongest person in the entire galaxy! The entire universe!" Leia said.

"But because I will not be around as often, I am going to train you triply hard when I am around."

"You're just gonna let him boss you around?!"

"Leia, he technically is my boss," Vader said, although there was anger in his voice—anger that wasn't directed at Leia, but at the Emperor. "So I have to listen to him…for now."

"When I'm strong enough—" Leia started, but a quick, sharp gesture from her dad kept her from finishing her sentence.

"I know," Vader said. "He will get what is coming to him in time. You and I both need to get stronger."

"Is that why you have been eating with me lately?" Leia asked. "Without your mask on, I mean."

Vader hesitated at their stove and said, "Cooked food, real food, makes me stronger."

"And it's good to be stronger," Leia observed. "It's nice. I like eating food with you."

Vader's fingers touched his mask, and his muted sorrow made Leia send him all the love she could.

"I really don't care how you look," Leia told him, trying to put reassurance and truth into her words. "It's just because of the Jedi that you are that way. I'll kill them all eventually, if you don't do it first."

Vader looked at her, his posture and presence in the Force unreadable, which made Leia slowly grow anxious.

Abruptly, love and relief and happiness wrapped around her, and Leia gave her dad a relieved grin.

He knelt down and gave her a quick hug. "Leia…"

"Yeah?"

"I love you. I want you to see me, my face, without me having to worry about how long I can be without it before being hurt."

"I don't care! I love your mask. It's so cool and it makes your voice all deep and omi—onmi—scary."

"Still," Vader said. "There may be a time when I leave you for longer than I usually do. It probably won't be for a few years, though."

"Why? Why would you leave me?"

"Because I will be doing something to make me stronger, but it will be dangerous and I will need time to recover. I will only go once you are old enough to take care of yourself, though."

Leia looked at him intently, and his mask wavered and warped. A handsome, human face briefly appeared, but the mask returned quickly.

"You'll be fine," Leia said with certainty. "So whenever you need to go, I'll be fine."

"You're so strong, Leia," her dad told her, love in his voice.

"So, what's for dinner?"

Vader laughed. "Take a shower first, little Lady, and I'll figure something out."

Leia blinked. "Little Lady? Dee and Kay call me that, but why you?"

"Well, you wouldn't be a Sith Lord, would you? You'd be a Sith Lady."

"But Daddy's a Sith Lord and I want to be like Daddy," Leia said, frowning sharply.

"You might think differently in a few years."

"I don't think so," Leia replied. "But I am a little stinky. I'll go shower and then I'll help you!"

"Very well," Vader said, his voice following her into her bedroom.

Leia tossed her gross, sweaty clothes into her laundry basket, pulled on a robe, and gathered her pajamas. As far as Leia knew, they weren't going to be going anywhere, and from the pleasant ache and tiredness that was creeping up on her, Leia knew that she would be in bed early.

When Leia came out of her shower, her dad was halfway through making dinner, a holopad floating next to him, a recipe on its face as he chopped vegetables.

"Can I help?" Leia asked.

"No," Vader answered. "You look like you're going to fall asleep sitting up. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"Okay," Leia said, more relieved than she thought she should be. Sith should be able to work through exhaustion!

She still sat down on one of the chairs at the kitchen table.

"Some of the Sith holocrons are confusing," Leia said. "A lot of them expect you to already know Jedi stuff, so I'm just gonna hide the Sith ones so no one else can get them and work through the Jedi ones first." She hesitated. "Is that okay, Dad?"

"You have learned quickly, but I suppose I may have skipped over the basics," her dad admitted. "I have no doubt that you will learn everything without any problems. As long as you don't decide to start adhering to the Jedi Code."

Leia looked at her father, horrified. "Never!"
Her father laughed, and his reaction assuaged Leia's fears.

"Do you have homework you need to do?"

"I thought I looked like I was going to fall asleep sitting up?"

"Being tired from training your body is no excuse to not train your mind," her father replied.

Leia groaned theatrically, and said, "But, Dad."

"No, 'but's," her dad responded. "Why don't you practice speaking to me in Huttese?"

"But the language sounds gross," she grumbled.

"You chose to study it," Vader reminded her. "Now, practice."

"And you can understand it?"

"When I was a little younger than you, I lived on Tattooine, which is controlled by the Hutts," he said, his voice bland, an old hurt underlying his words. "I know Huttese."

"Well, I mean, if it makes you upset—"

"Practice. Now," her father said in flawless Huttese.

Leia's face heated and she responded in Hutttese: "Okay."

When she finally went to bed, she only had enough time to pull her Stormtrooper plushie to her before she fell deep asleep.