For the love of God! My life is about to get a whole lot busier. I'm looking for a job on campus, I got an invitation to this leadership society that I can't pass up because I saw the word scholarship, and I'm typing this. Not so mad at school anymore. I'm kind of like, whatever… I can squeeze a job in now.

Anyway, this chapter is more of Pesinoé trying to undermine Leia's belief system very subtly. I enjoy writing them along with Pesinoe's sudden unstable personality. It was so fun. Also a little bit of Luke starting to feel something not right and a surprise at the end that one of my muses forced me to write. Oh and someone mentioned that Leia was a bit whiny in the last chapter and maybe she was depending on how you read it, but that's why I was kind of trying to warn everyone in the beginning when Leia said she knew she was acting incredibly immature and childish. Alright. That's it. Read, Enjoy, and Review Please!

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Chapter Ten

Luke was haunted by the memory of his vision in the dark cave. He didn't know what it meant yet, but he was positive it had a meaning. Yoda had been teaching him how to meditate to find the answer to his problems, but so far, he had no luck. Today, he was meditating… again. He didn't mind meditating. It was calming. It helped him slow down. He found himself amused. He doubted Leia would find it that way. She always had to be working, especially now since she had been having those nightmares. He felt something through their bond all of a sudden and it snapped him out of his meditation. Something was wrong…

Luke got up and met Yoda standing with his walking stick looking at him disapprovingly.

"Just like your father, you are. Do what you are told, you do not. Got your father in trouble many times, it did. Darth Pesinoé, good example of that, she is?"

"What do you mean by that?" Luke asked momentarily forgetting about his sister.

"The chance to kill her, he had. Do it, he refused," Yoda said.

Luke shrugged. "Well, she was his padawan. I can't blame him."

Yoda hit him in the leg with his stick.

"Ow! What was that for?" Luke asked rubbing his leg.

"Duty always comes first, young Skywalker. Let emotions get in the way of what must be done, you should not. Now why are you not meditating?" Yoda asked.

Based on what Yoda had just said, Luke figured he was about to earn another hit in the leg. He sighed and sat back down.

"My sister," he said quietly. "She's… I don't know. It's not quite danger yet. But she's feeling a mixture of curiosity, confusion, and pain… lots of pain. She's conflicted. I need to go to her."

"Finish the training you must. Besides, know you do not what is really happening. No need to rush blindly into such things," Yoda replied.

"I guess she's fine for now. I feel some semblance of security from her," Luke replied.

"Then forget and not worry, you must. Come. More training, I have for you today. You must be ready after your failure in the dark cave."

Luke paused before following the jedi master. He was beginning to wonder if this was what Alex meant when he said the old masters were stuck in their way about attachments. Yoda seemed so passive and uncaring about his concerns with his sister. And while he agreed that he probably shouldn't just go to her without knowing everything that was going on, Yoda could at least act a little more concerned that this was his sister, his twin sister no less, and let him investigate it further.

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Leia locked the door to her room and steamily sat on her bed in a meditative position. She had to let go of this anger and hate that was building more everyday she train with 'her master'. Darth Pesinoé pushed her to the edge everyday and though it got harder and harder every time, Leia was always able to pull herself out of her emotions. However, it was getting harder to tell the difference between dark and light… heck, she didn't even know what the light was. She just knew giving in to her anger wasn't the route to go.

Leia sighed. She was practically desperate now. She had no idea how long she could hold out on the dark side, and she missed Alex and Pemé. They were the closest things to parents she had. They were here somewhere, but she wasn't about to ask Pesinoé about it anytime soon. It hadn't ended well last time…

Pesinoé was another matter all together. The woman seemed to have a dual personality. One moment she was brutal and unforgiving in the duel and the next moment, she was gentle and showing Leia how to properly stand her ground and grip a light saber. They'd even had a civil conversation about government before…

"Still intending to learn all you can from me and then turn around and kill me along with the emperor and restore the republic?" Pesinoé had said with a laugh after a particularly brutal training day.

Leia groaned. She was aching all over, but at least she had no cuts. She had learned how to use a light saber quickly after being cut and burned mercilessly by Pesinoé's blade the first three days. She wasn't that skilled, but she knew the basics. It had also helped when Pesinoé had finally caved and showed her some techniques. It was times like those she wondered if Pesinoé was really evil… Sometimes she just seemed a little misguided. She was her own woman when it came to doing things, but her opinions seemed to stem from the Emperor…

"Shut up," Leia snapped risking punishment. She couldn't have cared less.

"I'll take that as a yes. Hmp. You'll practically be driving yourself to the dark side then," Pesinoé replied.

"How?" Leia asked cautiously.

"Because what you want is revenge. You want to kill me and the emperor for what we've made you suffer through," Pesinoé pointed out standing in a suggestive way. Leia couldn't believe how easy Pesinoé acted and talked like she was always trying to seduce someone.

"No, I want justice. There's a difference."

"Yet you don't seem to know what it is."

"And you do?" Leia shot dryly.

"Of course. Revenge is personal. It's not about anyone else and you do whatever you have to in order to get it when it's about you. Justice is usually tied to other people and you're always careful about how you go about it," Pesinoé replied knowingly.

"Well of course killing you and the emperor would be justice. I'd be doing a whole lot of people a favor,"Leia said firmly.

"Sure, but at what cost dear. I can feel your desperation and soon you'll be so desperate you'll be willing to do anything to get what you want, even turn to the dark side. It's only a matter of time before you cave."

If Leia didn't know any better, she would have thought Pesinoé was trying to warn her. She had felt the pride through their bond before. She was impressed at the Leia's strength and ability to resist her along with a twinge of what felt like… jealousy.

"What do you know about the republic anyway dear?"

"My father told me…" Leia trailed off as Pesinoé rolled her eyes.

"It's always what your father said. That just goes to show you know nothing. I lived it dear and democracy isn't all it's caked up to be."

"People were free to govern their lives the way they wanted to."

"They can do the same thing now."

"In an empire? Where everything is governed by one person? Where there is no individual freedom?"

Pesinoé bent down to Leia's level. "People are corrupt princess," she said slowly. "No one really cares how the galaxy is governed. They're too selfish… most people anyway and the only reason they want a say in how the galaxy is governed is because you give them the choice in the first place. They're like children. They need good parents to tell them what to do."

"Children grow up," Leia said mocking Pesinoé's deliberateness.

"True and then they come to see the wisdom in their parent's way for the most part, when you have a smart child. But the thing is, unless you steer people the right way by telling what they can and can't do, they're going to mess up."

"But that can't be that way with everything. Some things are up to the child to choose. Some things aren't right and wrong. It's just a person's way. It may be bothersome but as long as it's not causing any harm it's fine," Leia replied.

"Explain yourself child," Pesinoé replied.

"Slavery is wrong, no matter how you look at it and no one should have to debate on whether or not it needs to be eradicated or corrected. Sure we can debate on how to go about doing it, but it has to be dealt with. Period. It can't be ignored and no one should be left to decide whether it's dealt with or not. But something like a matter of religion or personal beliefs or even rituals like holidays are just a matter of opinion and depending on the atmosphere of the time people are going to swing different ways. They had a right to choose what they want to do. People should have a right, for example, to decide not to want to celebrate Empire day."

"The same can be said about slavery," Pesinoé replied.

"Anyone who could condone that is just being selfish. To take away a person's freedom without good reason, no one wants that done to them," Leia said softly. "Therefore, there's no debate to be had. Greedy, heartless people who only care about themselves and money would do that."

"There are people like that in the galaxy though so you'd have to have a person who can just declare it and then move out on it. That's why it was never able to be eradicated in the outer rim. It took too much debate to decide whether to do it or not," Pesinoé explained and then said, "So what you're saying is that some things aren't up for debate. Wrong is wrong. But some things can be left to people to decide."

"Yes," Leia said. "Too far either way makes a mess of the galaxy and rebellion…"

Pesinoé looked at her with a smirk. "Now do you get my point dear?"

Leia was steamed. Pesinoé had somehow manipulated her into saying that perhaps some aspects of the empire weren't bad and sometimes people didn't need or rather couldn't be given the freedom to choose.

When Leia didn't reply Pesinoé continued, "While I agree the emperor is dogmatic in his way and his only concern is power, to be able to do what he wants and go unchecked, I must say he's got the right idea."

"I still stand by my original plan," Leia declared and Pesinoé leaned in close to Leia.

"And then what? You kill me and the emperor and the galaxy is in shambles. You declare a republic and then what about all the governors and grand moffs and the military that I control? You would never get a stable republic. The galaxy would be in a perpetual state of war and rebellion. Besides, the galaxy needs someone like me to… persuade them into seeing things my way," Pesinoé said with a sultry smile and then stood up and walked away.

Leia laughed and Pesinoé turned to look at her, the smile still in place.

"What's so funny princess?"

"You know. I always wondered why you never settled down or got married or at least had a whole harem of men, besides the fact that you're a sith lady and all," Leia said in amusement.

Pesinoé's expression faltered. "Why do you say that?"

"I don't know. But you always seem to act and talk like you're seducing someone without trying. It's so part of you, I bet you could have any man you wanted in the galaxy," Leia said dryly with a laugh.

Pesinoé scowled and her mood turned dark. She didn't say anything, just stormed out the training room in a huff. Leia sighed. So much for her being in a good mood…

Leia couldn't help but think that Pesinoé would have been the type of person she'd really liked if she weren't a sith and that scared her. She was supposed to hate Pesinoé with every fiber of her being, but sometimes Leia felt sorry for her. There was more to the sith lady than what was apparent and it attributed to her almost split personality… if you could call it that. Leia rarely saw Pesinoé's gentler (somewhat gentler anyway) side.

Force, Leia thought in her meditation. Please help me.

It was then that Anakin felt the first signs of the force in days. He couldn't wait to get out of here (which he would) and kill Pesinoé (which he probably wouldn't) for this. Ysalamiri. Really. He wondered if she'd like to be shoved into the bubble the lizard created. And force knew what she was doing to Leia if the girl was as stubborn as he and Padmé were combined.

Please help me.

Anakin almost jolted out of his meditation… if he could call it that since he couldn't feel the force like he wanted. He had figured out days ago that he wasn't quite in the Ysalamiri bubble but on the edge of it, close enough to it that it still dimmed his force ability, but just enough outside it that he could still touch the force for little thing… like telekensis.

Leia? Anakin sent.

Leia almost snapped out of her meditation and broke the connection in surprise. She hadn't expected an answer. She knew that voice... from her dreams.

'Father?' she sent.

Anakin tensed. She wasn't supposed to be able to get to him. She wasn't even trained in the force yet. Bonded or not, without knowing how to access the bond in addition to Leia not knowing they were related, she shouldn't be able to call him. He sighed. He may as well answer. Although he could distort his appearance with the force, there was no disguising his thoughts. Leia heard him for who he really was in the force and not the slightly distorted on he used as 'Alex'.

Yes, he said with a smile even though she couldn't see it.

Leia was shocked, and Anakin felt it through their bond.

But I don't get it. You're dead. Where are you

Anakin smiled. It wouldn't be a lie. There is no death. There is only the force. I'm here with you, always. I sense that you're in distress. What's wrong?

Leia told him everything that had happened in the last few days. It was great to have someone to talk to, especially since she wasn't quite sure where Luke was and where ever he was, he was too far away to contact mentally.

Pesinoé's been training you then… Anakin replied gravely. That would explain how she found the bond.

And it's getting so hard to resist it, the dark side I mean. She just pushes me there and then the next minute she's confusing me with her personality. It's almost like she cares sometimes. And sometimes I'll ask her about before the empire or I'll mention Han and she gets all moody and touchy. It's almost like she's jealous. I don't know… I've always seen Pesinoé as this evil person who only knew cruelty. But now… It's different. I don't hate her as much. I'm confused, Leia admitted.

Anakin sent a mental sigh and Leia scowled.

You know don't you. You know why she's like this, don't you?

She was my padawan, Anakin sent. Of course I know, but I'm already on bad terms with the council. It's complicated. It's better you didn't know.

So now what? What do I do? I can't tell her no. She'll hurt Han and Alex and Peme! Leia thought.

Anakin thought for a moment and then said, I'll help teach you how to resist the temptation of the dark side and draw into the light. Pesinoé can teach you physical things, but I'll show you how to do it with the light.

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AN: My muses would not let me take this story in the direction I wanted without writing that scene. I really was going to delete it and just let the story go on from there, but my beacon of light muse said, "You can't really just leave her mixed up in all of that. You've got to give her something to cling on." And for the sake of my muse leaving me alone, I said whatever! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Review Please!