I'm like a phoenix, the fabled bird of Alderaanian legends. The legends say that it is a symbol of rebirth, as the old phoenix is reborn as a new phoenix in the ashes of the old one's corpse.
As Alderaan was destroyed in front of my eyes, the old Leia died. The old Leia was a naive young woman who thought she could make a difference in the Imperial Senate. Ice Princess knows that making a difference in the Imperial controlled Imperial Senate would never have worked, just like so many trusted Senate friends and family told her.
In her place was reborn Ice Princess, the woman who hid her grief behind an emotional mask to help keep the Alliance's morale strong during the dark days on the run. Ice Princess was the girl who never cried. Ice Princess was always working a normal shift, and then more, sometimes not sleeping to avoid the nightmares of missions gone wrong or people I know dying. Scarif. Death Star One. Mimban. Yavin's blockade. Mako-Ta. All these and more are in my nightmares whenever I sleep.
Update – Sometime Later:
Ice Princess is slowly dying, now that I have Han and Luke. In the moments when I'm just with close friends, sometimes bits of the old Leia will show again. The true (not just diplomatic training) smile. The laugh. I guess love melts a frozen heart.
The Alderaanian words for phoenix are Fhionnuisce and éan tine. What some cultures (like my own)call a firebird, others like Luke's and Han's call them starbirds. (Note: In Alderaanian, starbird is éan réalta or éan an tsolais, and is used to refer to a legendary bird that could only be summoned in Alderaan's darkest hour by an Old Queen. Old Queen Victoria tried, but she wasn't an Old Queen at the time, and failed. The ritual must have not worked, as Alderaan, along with my adopted family is space dust.)
Author's Notes: The Alderaanian words in this are really Irish. I used Google Translate for this, as I only speak English, so hope I got this right.