Chapter 53 - Realm of Light, Part 4

(Summary: Palpatine attempted to make himself Emperor. Anakin opposed him, and the two died within minutes of each other. As Padme struggles to push past her grief, Obi-wan and the other Jedi attempt to adjust to the knowledge of Anakin's marriage - and his newborn twins.)

Takes place three years after Part 3

A nervous pulse came along the Force bond, causing Ahsoka to nod oh so slightly as she sent back a wave of reassurance. The expression on Leia's face didn't change, but her Master could detect a slight easing of tension as they entered the elevator.

Since Palpatine's death and the end of the war more than a decade before, the Republic had slowly been healing itself. Jedi and groups of clone troopers were still needed to safely deliver relief supplies across the galaxy, catch remaining Separatist holdouts for trial, and encourage fair elections in the more notably corrupt systems. That also meant that, from time to time, a Master-Padawan pair were sent to collaborate with the current Chancellor, in the interest of slowly easing the Jedi back into their peacekeeper role.

At present, the selected pair were Ahsoka and Leia.

More than a little wary of all the finery of the Senate building, the human girl remained on edge. Knowing that this was the main place to have been inhabited by Palpatine while he was alive, not to mention the very same location where her father had died battling the Sith, put more discomfort on her mind than the teen cared to admit.

Emerging from the elevator, the pair nodded to the trooper on guard. He returned the gesture, before gesturing towards the door to the Chancellor's office, just ahead. "Go right on in, Master Jedi, you're expected."

"Thank you, Sergeant." The man stood a little straighter when Ahsoka smiled at him, and Leia grinned a bit as she and her mentor walked onwards.

Entering the office, however, the girl's smile dropped in shock.

Because her mother was sitting behind the Chancellor's desk.

"Good morning, Master Tano," the woman said. As soon as the door slid shut, her polite expression warmed considerably, and she stood to approach and embrace the both of them in turn. "Thank you for coming, Ahsoka. And you, Leia."

"Wh- but you- you're-"

Ahsoka snickered, causing her padawan to shift from confused stammering to an irritated glare. "You didn't warn me!"

"Well, it was supposed to be good practice for keeping a calm face at all times," the Togruta teased.

"Part of the blame lies with me, though - I have, after all, never adequately introduced myself to my children." She caught her daughter's gaze with her own, and smiled. "My full name, Leia, is Padme Naberrie Amidala, secretly of the surname Skywalker, and I was elected to the position of Chancellor in the aftermath of Palpatine's death and the removal of his corrupt underlings."

Leia nodded hesitantly, before frowning. "I'm allowed to tell Luke, right?"

Both older women threw their heads back and laughed. "Yes, dear, you're allowed to tell Luke."

At the end of that day, as they met for dinner in his and Obi-wan's quarters, the male twin wasn't nearly as perturbed by the revelation as his sister had been.

"Well, we knew she'd had something to do with politics during the war," he pointed out. "Or else she and Dad never would've been together on those diplomatic missions." Scowling, Leia refused to be mollified.

"I still think she should've told us... Or Ahsoka and Obi-wan should've, at least."

Luke shook his head. "Why? We didn't need to know when we were younger. And even now, it doesn't make that big a difference - she's still Mom to us, and that's never going to change."

It did make a difference, though, when the Senate building was bombed less than a week later.

At the time, Luke had been training with Leia and Ahsoka since Obi-wan was busy with a Council meeting, and both twins froze when they felt the warning rip through the Force. The Togrutan knight sensed it to a lesser degree, but nonetheless led her charges to the nearest comm console in the Temple.

The news channel was showing live footage from the circular building, smoke pouring from windows on the upper west side.

Leia barely reigned back her panic, for silently informing her twin that their mother's office was right in the middle of the blast zone. Luke stiffened as well, and Ahsoka picked up on their shared distress.

"Chancellor Amidala is inspecting the Clone Trooper Citizen Training center this morning," she murmured, barely loud enough for them to hear. "She's not at the Senate building."

The twins sighed in relief.

"Now you know why we never told you who she really was - that woman always drove your dad crazy when he felt she wasn't taking her personal safety seriously enough. Just as she had to spend weeks or months at a time worrying about him during the War."

"We still have to pretend to know nothing about her," Leia sighed, understanding why Ahsoka was telling them these things.

"And can't let on to others how attached to her." Luke concluded with a sad nod.

"Exactly."