Imperial Governor's Palace
Tatooine
1 year later
"It is, er, interesting," Breha Organa said in what she knew was a feeble tone.
Leia Organa laughed and threw her arm around her mother. "I assure you that it was far more bizarre a few years ago."
"That is reassuring," the queen remarked drily, looking around at the ochre walls with its occasional peculiar alcoves and doorways leading to who knows where. "What is that grate on the floor for? Siphoning away the water after lavish squirt gun fights, perhaps?"
"Of course not," her daughter said with twitching lips. "This is Tatooine, Mother! Water is too precious to be used for mere fighting; we only have water gun fights on Naboo, I promise. No, that's where the rancor used to live."
"The rancor?"
"Yes. Back when Jabba the Hutt sat enthroned on that dais, he had a pet rancor underneath the throne room and when he was annoyed or bored, he would open the grate so people would tumble down and get eaten. Ick."
"Ick indeed," Queen Breha replied, turning pale. She was a brave woman, but she had a deep, abiding fear of giant creatures with pointy teeth thanks to a particularly terrifying children's show from her childhood. Her parents were fine people but had been kind of stupid about letting her watch scary things.
"Vader killed it along with Jabba and most of the scum surrounding the Hutt when Luke asked him to," Leia continued sunnily. "We will have to bring in chairs, of course, but it is going to be a small wedding, so there is plenty of room."
The queen gazed at her daughter, who looked back at her, suddenly solemn.
"Yes, Mother, I am sure," Leia said quietly.
"Are you reading my mind, my dear?" Breha asked uneasily.
"No, I'm just reading your expression. You have very strong mental shields. Seriously, Mother, I know it seems peculiar for me and Han to marry here on Tatooine, but it is important."
"I know," the older woman said wearily, "for symbolic reasons. I do applaud your determination to unite the Outer Rim with the Middle Rim and Core worlds, and your wedding here is a powerful indicator of that goal. I just always imagined that you would marry on Alderaan."
"So did I," her daughter agreed, her eyes suddenly faraway. "Luke and Mara were married at Varykino, of course, as were my biological parents. I would have enjoyed being married next to our retreat in the mountains on Alderaan but truly, Mama, the ceremony is important because Han and I will be married, but I don't care a great deal where it happens, and this just makes sense. Besides, this way I won't have to deal with my aunts, who would be hovering over me from morning until night ensuring that the ceremony was up to their standards, along with making snide remarks about Han."
"They aren't that bad," Breha said weakly.
Her daughter turned a fierce glare on her and the queen admitted, "All right, they are that bad. They love you, of course, but they are also sticks in the Dagobian mud where pomp and ceremony are concerned."
"They hate Han, too, because he is so not the kind of guy they think I should be marrying."
"I know," her mother said with contrition. "I have talked to them about it, I promise, but they are too old and set in their ways."
Leia hesitated and then, suddenly looking younger, asked softly, "You like Han, don't you?"
"I do," the older woman assured her. "Indeed, for all that you are my daughter, you are also obviously the daughter of Padme Amidala, and would dominate most men. Solo is truly good for you as he loves you but has a strong enough will to remain his own man. I daresay you will have some epochal fights, but better that than a husband who is more cuddly tooka than companion. Now, I assume you have someone to officiate the wedding?"
"Yes, the Emperor, though he won't be wearing the mask. He's actually much improved in health thanks to our work on him, and of course as leader of the known galaxy, he is allowed to marry us."
"The Emperor? I thought he was remaining on Coruscant to vote on the anti- slavery bill!"
"He isn't going to miss my wedding, Mother, and the anti-slavery bill is a shoo in. But you are right; he doesn't want everyone to know he is here."
The queen eyed her uneasily, "Why?"
Leia smiled dangerously. "There is a good chance that Jabba the Hutt's father Zorba will try to break in and kill us."
"Zorba?" her mother said in confusion.
"Yeah, he was in prison until a couple of years ago but managed to escape and has laid claim to a lot of Jabba's empire. He is royally pissed off that the Emperor killed his son, so we think he will probably break in here and try to kidnap or kill me. He's as much a scum as Jabba ever was, and we want to draw him out."
"So what you are saying is that your wedding ceremony is actually a trap for a vicious Hutt warlord."
"Exactly!" Leia said cheerfully. "I am hoping he'll wait until after the vows are exchanged but we will see, won't we?"
/
Jabba's Former Throne Room
2 days later
Emperor Darth Vader gazed down, dewy eyed (thanks to repaired tear ducts), at his beautiful daughter. The girl was the very image of her mother with her dark brown eyes and glorious hair. She was also tiny like her mother. Luke, while taller than his sister, was still a rather short man. It was, he thought, entirely appropriate; he had gifted his children their Force power, but Padme, dear Padme, had left her mark not only the stature of her children, but their temperaments and, in the case of their daughter, her looks.
The Supreme Ruler of the galaxy (who was, if truth be told, giving up power at a rapid rate and shifting towards democracy, because overseeing the Empire was actually pretty boring, and he'd rather be running around shoving lightsabers through slavers) now turned his attention on Captain Han Solo of Corellia. The man was an insouciant ruffian and former scrumrat, but Vader knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he was the perfect man for his strong minded daughter. Leia would not do well with a wimp for a husband. At times she overwhelmed her father. Han Solo had both strength of character and strength of will. They would be happy together.
The small audience had arrived and been seated, and Darth Vader, his bald, scarred head open to public view, smiled down at the waiting couple before shifting his attention to his holopad. The marriage ceremony would be a brief one, but both his daughter and son-in-law to be had assured him that the quicker the better.
This was especially true as he could sense Hutt minions approaching the palace.
Better get to it.
/
5 minutes later
"Do you, Han Solo, take my daughter, Princess Leia Organa, to be your lawfully wife. If so, say I do."
"I do," Han said, sounding appropriately serious.
"Do you, Princess Leia Organa, take this man, Han Solo, to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
A grenade rolled into the throne room and as Luke Skywalker threw it back outside with the Force, Leia yelled loudly. "I do!"
The grenade exploded outside, provoking a series of screams from incoming combatants. Vader grinned, lit his purple lightsaber, and ordered. "Let's go!"
/
Bail Organa and his wife stood side by side listening carefully to the tumult outside the alcove where they had sought refuge. It was an odd little space, presumably a tunnel leading somewhere at some point, now just a cubby hole where the rulers of Alderaan could huddle in safety.
Mara Jade Skywalker stood beside them, her blue lightsaber humming in her hand, staring out toward the confused maelstrom of men, Dugs, Weequays, Twi'leks who were busy attacking Vader, Luke, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Leia Organa (now Organa Solo) and several other Force users working for the Emperor.
"Is everything all right out there?" Breha asked worriedly. She wasn't able to see what was going on, which annoyed her, but she also knew that Leia would be heartbroken if she was hit by a stray blaster shot.
"Everything is fine," Mara assured them. "These scum don't have a chance against our side. Of course, they had no idea Vader would actually be here."
"I appreciate your staying here with us," Bail said courteously though loudly; the din was only increasing with lightsabers flashing and sentients screaming in horror.
"It is my pleasure," Mara assured them, though her face was glum.
"I am sure you would like to be out there," Breha said. Mara Jade Skywalker was, along with being beautiful and intelligent, well known for being an enthusiastic fighter.
"I would, but Luke says, and he is right, that I need to stay out of this one for the sake of the baby."
It took a few seconds for this to sink in, and then Breha squealed, "You are expecting? Oh, Mara, congratulations!"
"Yes, it is awesome," Mara agreed, rubbing her belly with her spare hand. "Of course, I feel sick, and I can't go out and kill rotten people but still, totally worth it."
"It is worth it," Bail agreed.
/
Millennium Falcon
In hyperspace en route to Naboo
Three hours later
The newly married pair, kissing enthusiastically, staggered out of the cockpit and into the main cabin, which had been carefully fitted out with a new mattress and new synthsilk sheets.
"My darling, that was quite the most romantic wedding I could have imagined," Leia murmured into her new husband's ear as they crawled under the covers.
"I hope the honeymoon is even more to your liking, sweetheart," he said with a grin.
The End
Author Note: Thank you so much for being incredibly patient with this fic. I know I took a LONG LONG break, which is irritating. One little note; I decided to have Vader carrying a purple lightsaber. I know Mace Windu did (not sure why) but I'm going with the idea that Sith lightsabers are red because the kyber crystals have been warped by the Dark Side. Vader's is shifting back to blue so it is now purple. That is probably not entirely canon but whatever.