Disclaimer : Don't own Star Wars

Notes : Finished at last ! This chapter may be considered AU, it depends on which cannon you prefer to refer. A last huge thank you to everyone who read me, and a special thank you to all of you who reviewed, followed or favorited. Remember, feedback is appreciated ! I hope you'll enjoy.

X- Legacy

The Millenium Falcon, slightly illuminated by the dawning light of Dantooine,slowly landed on top of a grass-covered hill. The ramp lowered ; Chewie walked down the ship first, then was quickly followed by Han, his right hand on his blaster, and Luke, still wearing his black Jedi robes, his lightsaber hanging at his side. Finally, Leia descended the ship too and looked around her. She was wearing her old uniform of General Leader of the Alliance, even though it had nearly been two years since she had last put it on.

Han was the first one to break the silence. ''Well, here we are, Sweetheart. Dantooine.''

She nodded. Han went on. ''I still think at least one of us should go with you.''

Leia rolled her eyes. ''We've already been over this, Han,'' she sighed. ''I must do this alone.''

''Yeah, well I reckon it's a stupid thing to do. There could be danger.''

Luke tried to intervene. ''I don't think there will be any sort of danger, Han. I can't sense nor feel anything.''

''That's a real comfort, kid, thanks,'' Han grumbled.

Leia opened her mouth to retort firmly, but was cut short by Chewie : [If she must do this alone, then let her go, Cub.]

His tone was so firm and final that Han opened his mouth, then closed it again. After a moment, he shrugged.

''Fine. You go then, we'll wait here. And don't do anything stupid.''

Leia grinned wickedly. ''I never do that,'' she said innocently, giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

''Sure you don't, Princess,'' Han retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.

Leia's grin widened. ''See you, then.''

As she begun to walk down the hill, Luke called her softly. ''Leia ?''

She turned around and looked back at her brother.

''May the Force be with you,'' he told her solemnly.

She nodded, then turned back and resumed her walking down the hill and soon through the forest below.

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After a few hours of walking, Leia neared the bottom of the cliff she was looking for. She looked up at the hard rock, then back at the forest from which she came. Her gaze then landed on the clear water of the lake on her left.

Dantooine was peaceful. Its nature was wilder than Alderaan's ; whereas on Alderaan, you could usually hear little but the sound of the sea and the wind, here on Dantooine, you could hear the nature bustling. Life and warmth were everywhere.

'It's a different kind of peace,' Leia thought as she closed her eyes and listened to the sounds, relishing in them.

She felt strangely connected to this planet. She had long felt connected to it, deep down in her heart and soul, but she hadn't expected to feel any sort of physical contact as well.

She opened her eyes again and moved on. Slowly, carefully, she climbed up the cliff, enjoying the feeling of the wind on her face as she progressively reached the top of the rocks. She heaved herself on top of it, then got up and looked around her.

Dantooine was beautiful. It was a world of lakes and forests, of plains and hills, with a few sparse rocky and very small mountains, such as the one she was now standing on.

Very far in the East, she could see the outlines of the Imperial base in which she had stolen data on her very first mission for the Alliance.

Her throat closed tightly. It seemed like a hundred lifetimes ago, when Alderaan was still whole and alive. When her father was still alive. When her two best friends Janson and Winter, who had been a part of her for so long, were still there with her. When Bail and Breha were the only two parents she had ever had and loved, and she didn't care at all about who her biological parents might have been...

She took a deep breath and progressively managed to slow down the flow of memories threatening to overwhelm her, and searched for the soothing feeling of the Force at peace, just as Luke had taught her over a year ago.

'Now has come the time,' she thought.

She sat cross-legged on the rocky ground and unclasped the pouch she had tied at her utility belt in the morning. She rummaged trough it and laid down the parts she and Luke had retrieved on Tatooine in order to build her own lightsaber.

Luke had taught her how to build one some time ago, when she had asked out of curiosity, a short while before they went and rescued Han on Tatooine. After Endor, he had offered to train her in the Force. She had refused.

He had insisted, many times, and each time she had refused. Told him she didn't want to have anything to do with the Force. That she didn't even want to feel it anymore. That it was his choice, and that it was not hers.

Truth was, she had been wounded, deeply wounded, and she needed time to heal. She was so scared, and so angry, and there had been so much hate in her then...

That day in the Jedi Temple, she had found a balance that had been a sheer relief for some time. Unfortunetaly, it hadn't lasted long, and all her doubts had slammed back against her.

Then Luke's researches had paid off, and she had learned about Padme Naberrie Amidala, her biological mother, and the both of them had set off for Naboo and met the Naberrie family.

She smiled faintly as she remembered the visit. It had helped her so much, and Naboo could be such a soothing place...

And of course, through all of her wanderings, Han had been her constant anchor. She couldn't thank him enough.

Now, she still wasn't at peace, but she had accepted her history, and it made her feel better. She suspected that she would never be at peace ; there were scars that never healed completely.

And so, she had made her choice. Definitively made her choice this time. She was a Force-sensitive, and she would become a Force-user. No Jedi nor Sith. She was a politician, a soldier, even a pilot, and mainly a leader, and she would not become a Jedi. Thanks to Luke's teachings , she now was a Force-user, and she would stay a Force-user. She had been adamant to make Luke understand why.

And after a year and a half of Luke's teachings, she now was very high-skilled in the Force on a more physical level. Luke had joked once that she made him think of the anciant Guardians. When he had explained who they were, she had smiled. She liked the comparison. She too wanted to fight and protect. She wanted to be a shield.

But for this, for her training to be complete, she needed to build her own lightsaber.

Leia thought back of when Luke and she had visited Obi-Wan Kenobi's old house for the second time.

''Here is the chest,'' Luke told her, handing her the heavy wooden chest. ''There were enough spare parts to build three or four lightsabers last time. You'll find what you need.''

She rummaged through the chest and chose the parts carefully. When she made no movement to take any of the crystals, however, Luke frowned.

''And the crystals ?'' he asked.

She turned to look at him. ''Remember what you told me about it being an important part of one's life ?''

He nodded. She bit her lip. ''I want, no, I need... I need alderaanien crystals, Luke,'' she said softly, looking away.

He looked intently at her. ''Where are you going to find them ?''

Her gaze was burning. ''I will seek throughout the galaxy, wherever there is a possibility that I might find one.''

Leia retrieved three blue and very powerful alderaanien crystals from the pouch on her lap. It had taken many months of struggle, but she had finally found them : one on Coruscant, one on Naboo, and one on Corellia.

She was glad she had persevered. It was as if she could feel Alderaan's heart pulsing through them, as if it was somehow still alive. And to her, it meant everything.

Luke had questionned why she had chosen blue. As she looked up into the now darkening sky of Dantooine, she found that the answer was surprisingly easy.

The first time she had seen a red lightsaber, she had felt anger, burning and hatred. And she was so tired of her anger, of her hatred. Whereas she had once been fueled by it, now it was merely weakening her on a daily basis. She didn't think she could live like this again. Sometimes, she just wanted to let it go.

But then, green or blue ? She didn't want to reflect on the mysteries of the Force, this was her brother's calling, not hers. The green blade she had held on Alderaan felt too calm, too frozen, too foreign. She wanted to fight, to protect, to shield people from hurt.

Twice she had held a blue blade. Twice she had fought with it. Both time it had felt right. Far more right than when she had held any other blade. As if it was a mere extension of her arm.

And deep down, she had always known that blue was to be her lightsaber's color.

''Why Dantooine ?'' Luke had asked, curious.

''This is where all began,'' she had answered softly.

It was on Dantooine that she had first used a lightsaber to fight, to protect her friends, and to kill, too. It was Dantooine that, for a very brief moment, she had been ready to let be destroyed instead of Alderaan. She had so badly wanted to make amends since...

She had also hesitated with Naboo, but it was still too painful for her, and besides, Naboo didn't just concern her, but Luke as well, and this was something she needed to do completely alone.

Leia struggled out of her memories and slowly returned to the present. She looked one last time up at the now starry sky of Dantooine, right where Alderaan ought to have been, then closed her eyes and immersed herself in the Force.

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Leia Organa looked at the lightsaber she was holding in her left hand, the one which was now fully hers, feeling strangely at peace. The weapon had turned out exactly how she had wanted it to be, and it felt so right, as if it was nothing but a rightful part of her.

She ignited it. The blue, powerful blade hummed quietly. The weapon felt so much alive. So much like Alderaan and herself.

She switched it off and clasped it at her belt, letting it hang at her right side. Then she neared the edge of the cliff, looked down, and jumped. She landed lightly on the ground below, then got up and walked back towards the Falcon.

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Through the Force, Anakin Skywalker silently watched his daughter finally accepting the last part of her legacy. He did not appear to her ; he had wronged her too much, and he would not inflict this burden on her in a time like this.

He just watched her sadly from afar, prouder than he had ever been in his life, and thinking that Padme, Bail and Breha would have been proud of their daughter too.

END.

Fiction # 2.10

Nylien