By the time the girls emerged from their "study session," they were convinced of the plot. But the others in the living room had their minds on another matter.
Teena hopped up from her chair. "Yay! You're here! He made us wait for you." She scowled and pointed at Leia's father.
Bail laughed. "You have perfect timing, actually. The fire has burned down to some nice coals, just right for roasting nutroots."
"Can we start now?" Teena asked eagerly.
"Absolutely," Bail answered. "Would you like to help me get the roasting pans ready?"
Teena squealed and clapped her hands, while Leia seized the opportunity to announce, "Winter and me will get the nutroots from the pantry. Dal, come help us."
Dal leapt to his feet and scrambled eagerly after them. Leia led the way to kitchen and opened the door to the pantry. It was a large storage closet, and the three of them good just fit inside. They squeezed in, and Leia held the door shut.
"So?" Dal whispered in excitement. "What did you find? The numbers didn't make sense to me."
Winter cast a nervous glance at Leia, who was finding it hard to lie to Dal. Stalling for time, Leia said, "There was a lot of stuff on the pad."
Worried, Dal prompted, "But you found something?"
Leia forced herself to smile in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. "It all seemed to be about the plans to rebuild the capital city," she said at last. "Boring stuff, really. There was nothing dangerous about it at all."
Dal's brow wrinkled, and for a moment Leia feared he wouldn't believe her. "You sure?"
"Of course, I'm sure," Leia replied in her most confident voice. "Your mother is probably going to be a hero for rebuilding the city. The Cyreneans will love her."
An ecstatic smile lit Dal's face, and Leia's stomach twitched guiltily. She glanced quickly at Winter. Her friend's expression mirrored her own unease. Steeling her resolve, Leia turned back to Dal and smiled warmly at him. "So you see? Everything is fine."
"You are the best friend ever, Leia," Dal beamed at her. "I hope you'll come visit me when we move to Cyrene."
"That would be great," replied Leia.
"Let's get the nutroots before everyone wonders why we've been gone so long," Winter suggested, desperate to change the subject.
"Right," Leia agreed, searching on the shelves for the bag of nuts.
Now that he could stop worrying about his mother, Dal's curiosity returned. "What are nutroots, anyway?"
"They're... nuts. They grow underground. Like roots," Winter attempted to explain.
"How do you roast them?" Dal asked.
"Oh, you'll see," Leia dismissed, pulling the bag of nuts off the shelf with an "oof." "These things are heavy!"
Dal helpfully grabbed a corner of the bag, and they returned to the living room, where Bail, the governor, Jaffia, and Teena hovered by the fireplace, two roasting pans at the ready.
"Goody, goody!" Teena yelped. "I can't wait!"
Jaffia shot her a quelling look. "You don't even know what nutroots are. You just want to play in the fire."
"Now, Jaffia," her father rebuked. He looked across the room to his wife. "Meyra, are you sure you don't want to join us?"
"I doubt there's room for me. You go ahead."
Dal crouched eagerly on the hearth. "What do we do?"
Leia untied the bag and poured some of the nuts onto the floor. The size of a baby's fist, they were light brown and gnarled, with tough hulls.
"You eat these?" Jaffia protested. "You really *are* bears, aren't you?"
"I know they don't look very pretty," admitted Bail, "but they're quite tasty."
"Look." Leia tossed one into the coals. It began to make a sizzling sound.
Bail heaved a long-suffering sigh. "I tried so hard to raise you right, Leelee. Yet clearly I have failed. That is not the proper way to roast nutroots."
"But your way takes too long," Leia teased back. "Besides, I like them burnt."
"What do you mean --," Dal began, but he was interrupted by a loud *pop* as the nut exploded, leaping out of the fire. The children jumped backwards as the nut landed on the hearth. The hull had split, revealing puffy brown innards, burned black in places.
Eagerly, Leia pick up the nut and tossed it back and forth between her hands as it cooled. Then she peeled off the hull and popped the nut into her mouth. "Mmm! Black and crispy!"
"I want to try!" Dal said.
"They're terrible that way," Bail assured him. "If you do it, you need to be careful that it doesn't hit you when it explodes. It's very hot."
While Dal and Teena both scooped up some nuts to toss into the fire, Bail opened one of the roasting pans and poured some nuts into it. "This is the proper way to do it." He closed the lid and extended the pan into the fireplace, holding it by its long handle so that it hovered a few centimeters above the coals. "You have to shake and toss it a bit so the nuts roast evenly. It takes a couple of minutes."
Teena's nut exploded, ricocheting off the chimney and landing back among the coals. "My nut!" she cried in dismay.
"Don't worry." Leia grabbed the tongs and carefully pulled the nut out of the fire, letting it drop to the hearth to cool. Dal's nut exploded next, and Leia retrieved it, too. After a few seconds, Dal and Teena pulled off the hull and eagerly devour the innards.
Teena instantly made a face and spat hers back out again. "Yuck!"
Dal nobly chewed on and managed to swallow, but his sour expression betrayed his opinion.
"What's it like?" Jaffia asked curiously.
"It tastes kinda like a burned piece of wood," he confessed.
Leia protested, "No, it doesn't! It tastes really good!" She threw another nut into the coals.
"It does not taste good, Leia," Winter contradicted. "You're just weird." She prepared the other pan, but the Narauds' enthusiasm had been visibly dampened.
"Don't worry," Bail assured them, shaking his pan over the coals. "Done the right way, they're delicious. You'll love them."
The children watched as Winter held her pan over the coals alongside Bail's. Leia's nut exploded with a satisfying *pop.* Teena and Dal liked the noise, but they left the burnt nuts for Leia to enjoy alone.
After a minute or two, a muffled ping sounded from Bail's pan. He shook harder, and more pings followed in rapid succession. When the racket stopped, Bail pulled his pan out of fireplace, raised the lid, and poured the contents into a large bowl that had been set on the floor.
The hulls had split, just as Leia's had, but the puffed nutmeat was a lovely golden brown. The children cautiously selected a nut, picked off the hull and gingerly bit off a piece.
Jaffia's face immediately lit into brilliant smile. "It's really good! It just melts in your mouth!"
"It's not like wood at all," Dal agreed. "It's yummy, like -- like fried caramel."
"Fried caramel?" Jaffia scoffed, but she couldn't come up with a more satisfying description. Teena said nothing, just grabbed a handful of nuts and stuffed them in her mouth as fast as she could hull them.
The governor chuckled. "It looks like your nutroots are a success, Viceroy." He sampled one himself. "They really are delicious. Meyra, try one!" He looked up, but Lady Naraud was nowhere to be seen. "Ah, well. No doubt she's back to work again. My wife just doesn't know the meaning of the word ' vacation.'"
Winter's pan began pinging, and while she finished roasting hers, Bail loaded up another pan and let Jaffia try it.
"I still like my way best," Leia said, throwing another nut into the fire.
"That's fine, dear," Bail told her. "And you may rest assured that no one will ever try to steal them from you."
Everyone got to try their hand with the roasting pans, but they couldn't cook them fast enough to keep up with the demand. The bowl emptied as rapidly as it filled up, and everyone laughed enjoyed themselves, not even minding when they accidentally burned their fingers or tongues by digging at the nuts before they had a chance to cool down.
The governor had just finished roasting a panful when he turned and saw his wife standing behind them. "Ah, Meyra, you've come back at last! You must try these. They're wonderful!"
But Lady Naraud's eyes glittered darkly in the firelight. "Viceroy," she said, her voice even more cool than usual, "there is a matter of grave concern which I must bring to your attention."
Everyone looked up to see her holding her datapad. Leia, Winter, and Dal froze in shock.
"What is the matter?" Bail asked, all innocence.
She held forth the 'pad. "This has been tampered with."
Leia glanced at her father. He appeared concerned and solicitous, but betrayed no guilt. "How do you mean?"
"Someone has logged onto my 'pad, but did not log off properly before shutting it down."
Leia flushed guiltily. But it couldn't be her! She had logged off. Their execution of the plan had been perfect. Lady Naraud hadn't noticed anything when she used the 'pad before dinner. Could they have inadvertently tripped some security alarm? Her father would know it was her. She waited in anxious silence, but Bail remained calm and did not look at her. "I am sorry to hear that, madam, but I'm not sure what you wish me to do about it."
"I believe it was your servant, Aris. She has free access to the house."
"Madam," Bail replied, "Aris has been in my service for many years. She has my complete confidence. I'm disturbed to hear about your 'pad, but I assure you, Aris had nothing to do with it."
"Your loyalty to her is admirable, but perhaps you are deceived in your trust. After all, we know that you have not always chosen your friends wisely."
Bail's expression remained impassive, but his hands flexed slightly. Leia knew her father well enough to know that this accusation vexed him, but he refused to be goaded into a reaction. "Is it not possible," he ventured, "that one of your children might have accessed your 'pad, perhaps wanting to play some computer games?"
Leia shot a quick glance at Dal. He had done it, she knew it! He had said something about the numbers when they were in the pantry, but he'd never even seen the files when she and Winter got onto the pad. He must have accessed the pad later on, perhaps while Winter and Leia were in their room. She glared at him, but he remained silent, clutching the handle of the roasting pan, an almost eager expression on his face.
"My children know to respect my property," Lady Naraud assured him. "There is no way one of them would have done this. The items on my 'pad are confidential, your Highness. This breach could be construed as treason against the Empire. You have long declared your loyalty to the Emperor. Prove it now by finding the perpetrator and bringing her to justice."
Governor Naraud rose to his feet. "Now, Meyra, this is a very serious accusation you're making. Perhaps there may indeed be an error. Nevertheless," he turned to Bail, "I'm sure the Viceroy will be eager to discover whether there has been any wrongdoing on this Aris's part. After all, the best of us may be deceived by our inferiors."
Leia bit down hard on the inside of her lip to keep from leaping to Aris's defense. She glared furiously at Dal, silently urging him to come forward. But Dal only stared back at her, his lips pressed together.
Bail paused, just a beat or two too long, before saying, "Of course I will speak with Aris. If she has indeed accessed your files, I will see that justice is done. But according to Alderaani justice, she must be considered innocent unless her guilt is proved."
"Certainly, your Highness," the governor said. "Investigate her, and I, too, will look into the matter to see if there is some other explanation. One way or another, we will get to the bottom of this."
"Papa," Jaffia spoke up, "it might have been Leia."
Now all eyes turned toward Leia, and she could see the alarm in her father's eyes.
The governor cautioned, "Jaffia, you should not make unfounded accusations."
"But she could have done it when she said she was studying. All the rest of us were here in the living room."
"Leia and Winter were studying together. Are you going to say that Winter did this, too? And for what purpose?"
"They're rebel sympathizers," Jaffia sneered.
"Jaffia!" Naraud rebuked, but his wife did not share his skepticism.
"Winter," she asked, "was Leia with you the whole time?"
"Y-yes," Winter answered. Leia wondered how someone could tell the truth and yet sound so guilty at the same time.
"And did you remain in your room studying?"
"Yes, we did!" Leia interrupted hotly. "You can look at our books!"
"Did anyone see you study in your room?" Lady Naraud continued.
Bail rose, his expression thunderous. "Madam, I will not permit you to interrogate my daughter in this manner!"
She turned a calculating gaze on him. "Are you so certain that she is innocent?"
"I am saying that it is not your place to question her."
"Meyra, the Viceroy has said he will get to the bottom of this, and we will trust him to do so. I'm certain that he will be eager to prove the innocence of his household, just as I am sure he will treat this matter seriously. After all, it will not do to have such allegations shadowing the Royal House of Alderaan." The governor's tone was kindly, but his words held a definite menace.
Bail gave a slow nod. "As you say, Governor." He looked at Leia, his expression hard. "Girls, will you please come with me?"
Leia stood on trembling legs. By sheer force of will she crossed the room to her father, Winter close behind her.
The girls followed Bail down the hall to his room. They found Aris there, working on Bail's computer. She glanced up at them in surprise, and Leia almost wept to think she might be in danger.
"What has happened?" Aris asked, seeing their grave faces.
Bail held up a cautioning hand and engaged the room's shielding. Once the room had been secured, he turned to face the girls, and the expression on his face was more terrible than anything Leia had ever seen. "It seems," he said, "that someone has broken onto Lady Naraud's datapad."
"It wasn't us, Papa!" Leia protested. "It was Dal!"
"And how do you know this?"
"Because--." She stopped herself. If she told him, she'd have to reveal what she and Winter had done.
And her father knew it. "Let us do this systematically. Aris?" he asked. "Forgive me, but I must ask. Did you access Lady Naraud's datapad?"
Her eyes flickered to Leia and Winter before returning to Bail. "No, your Highness."
"And I did not access it." He turned inevitably toward Leia. "Leia, did you?"
"Dal! He-"
"I didn't ask whether Dal did it. I asked whether you did."
Leia gulped, tears filling her eyes. She knew he would be disappointed, but he had it all wrong. This wasn't how she's imagined telling him. "Yes, Papa."
"We both did," Winter hastily added.
Bail sighed in deep disappointment. Leia couldn't bear it. "Leia--"
"But it's not what you think, Papa! We closed the 'pad down correctly. We did everything right. She should never have known. She *didn't* know, because she used her 'pad right before dinner. It has to have been Dal! He got on it later but didn't close it down properly, and now he won't admit it because he wants Aris to take the blame."
"That doesn't matter," Bail said. "I gave you an order. I forbade you from messing with that 'pad. You disobeyed me, and now you have brought danger upon us all."
"But Papa, we found important things on that 'pad!"
"The Empire is going to enslave the Cyreneans and force them to work in the mines!" Winter added.
Bail hesitated. "What mines?"
"The tridentium mines!"
Bail and Aris exchanged alarmed glances at this news, and the two girls held their breaths. For a long moment, the grown-ups remained silent. In the end, it was Aris who spoke first. "It makes sense, Bail," she said. "Too much sense. When Bail remained silent, his expression sober, she turned back to the girls. "Winter, you saw the files?" She nodded wordlessly. "And you can reproduce them from your memory?" Another nod, and Aris looked back at Bail.
The Viceroy sighed, his expression still grave. "How did you get access to that 'pad?"
"We got Dal to find out his mother's codes. We did it all the right way, Papa, she wouldn't have found out if Dal hadn't -"
Bail again held up a hand, and she fell silent. "And why would Dal have given you those codes? Why would he have helped you spy on his mother?"
Leia's heart sank. Her father always knew how to get straight to the heart of the matter. "He was worried about her. We told him that if we could get onto her 'pad, we might be able to find out whether the work she would be doing on Cyrene would be dangerous or not."
Bail's penetrating dark eyes shifted from Leia to Winter and back again. "And what did you tell him when you discovered this plot?"
Shamefaced, Leia admitted, "We didn't tell him. We just told Dal she was going to help rebuild the capital."
Bail contemplated this, turning and walking across the room to stare at the moss painting that covered his communications panel. Leia glanced up at Aris, but the woman's expression remained carefully neutral. Leia was sure that Aris knew how valuable the information they had recovered was, and she had hoped Aris might put in a good word for her with her father. But Aris refused to speak, refused even to favor Leia with a sympathetic glance.
At last Bail turned around, his hands held behind his back. "I'll not deny that you girls found very important information. But the fact that you successfully accessed that 'pad does not make up for the fact that you chose your ally poorly. Dal proved to be impetuous enough to try to access the 'pad himself, yet not smart enough to do so undetected. And the fact remains that his loyalty will be first to his family and second to the Empire. You cannot count on him to support you in your little adventure. Lady Naraud knows that someone got onto her datapad, and neither you girls nor Aris has a proper alibi. Now we will have to lie to an Imperial Governor."
"But *you* lie to Imperials all the time!" Leia protested.
"At least I know how to do it properly," replied her father.
Leia scowled. "I'd know, too, if you taught me. I'm old enough, Papa. I can do this, but I need you to show me how."
"Enough!" Bail said. "I will not discuss this further. Now, we need to come up with a story." He paused a moment, thinking. "Aris, where were you while the girls were studying?"
"I was in here," she answered, "looking over those communiqués for you."
"Did anyone see you?"
"No. We can say that I went in to check up on the girls while they were studying."
"And what were you girls studying?" Bail asked.
"Geography," they answered.
"All right. When lying, you must always stick as close to the truth as possible, so you're less likely to forget the details. And you should volunteer as little information as possible in order to reduce your chances of contradicting yourself. This will have to do. And girls, try to leave the talking to us as much as possible. Focus on keeping your face relaxed. You must not react to anything they say or do, lest your expression betray you. I shouldn't have to tell you that failure is not an option we can afford."
Leia gulped and glanced at Winter. She was starting to regret the whole thing, but it was far too late now. Winter looked as frightened as Leia felt, but the two girls straightened their shoulders, prepared to do their best.
"All right, then," said Bail. "Let's go."
He led the way out of the room, followed by Aris, with the two girls bringing up the rear. Leia's heart pounded furiously in her ears as they walked down the hallway to the living room. 'Mouth shut, ears and eyes open,' she repeated to herself with each step. 'Mouth shut. Mouth shut. Mouth shut.' Right now she hoped she'd never have to speak again.
The governor's face was grave when they entered the room, and he stood up. Before Bail could say anything, the governor said, "I'm sorry, Viceroy. I inspected our room, and underneath the dresser where my wife kept her datapad, I found this." He held out his hand. Resting on his palm was Leia's hairband.
Leia sucked in her breath, despite her best effort to remain impassive. But her father merely wrinkled his brow. "I'm not sure I understand," he calmly replied.
"This hairband does not belong to either of my daughters," the governor added.
Before Bail could speak, Jaffia piped up, "That's Leia's. She was wearing it earlier today."
The governor's eyes were hard. "I remember seeing it, too. I do not think you can explain this away, Viceroy. What I want to know is: what was your daughter doing with my wife's datapad?"
For a moment, time stood still. Leia didn't know what to say. Winter stood rigidly beside her. Her father stared at the hairband in the governor's hand, and Aris kept her eyes steadfastly on Bail.
Then Dal stepped forward. "Leia didn't do it, Papa. I took her hairband when we were playing at the river today."
Surprised, the governor turned to his son. "Why would you do that?"
The boy blushed furiously and stammered, "I wanted to have it because - because -"
All at once, Leia knew why, just as she understood why Dal was speaking up to protect her now. He had a crush on her. Her betrayal of him weighed all the more heavily on her, and she almost burst with the desire to help Dal out of his scrape, but she realized her father was right. She should not volunteer information. Their stories would most likely end up contradicting each other. Dal had to get through this on his own. He was a sweet boy, but she doubted he could be trusted as an ally. Her father had been correct about that, too.
"Why did you take Leia's hairband?" the governor pressed.
Dal blushed bright red. "Because - because she's my f-friend. She didn't look at mama's datapad, either. I did."
"You know better than that, Dal."
"I know, but - but," Dal blushed and stammered, obviously flustered. "I wanted to play with Leia - but she and Winter were studying - and - and - and I was bored, and Leia told me how she hacked onto her father's computer - so I wanted to see if I could hack onto mama's datapad."
Leia's jaw dropped open in horror before she could collect herself. She glanced up in alarm at her father and was surprised to see that he had relaxed slightly.
The governor cocked an eyebrow at Bail, who gave an understated but long-suffering sigh. "My daughter does indeed get onto my computer in order to access the holonet. She promised me she'd stop doing it, but evidently --." He shrugged in disappointment and turned to Leia. "Did you tell Dal how you hack onto my computer?"
Leia hesitated, not exactly sure what she was supposed to say. She finally just followed Bail's lead. "Yes, Papa."
The governor asked, "You did not get onto my wife's datapad?"
Leia started to contradict, but Dal interrupted, "It wasn't her. It was me. I did it when she was studying."
Leia glanced at the others. Jaffia and Lady Naraud did not appear convinced in the slightest, and the governor himself still seemed to harbor doubts. But to Leia's relief, he turned to Dal and said, "I'm very disappointed in you, son. There is no excuse for what you did."
Dal lowered his head sheepishly, and Leia doubted it was an act.
Bail said, "I'm sorry that my daughter may have encouraged Dal's behavior. I will talk with her about it."
"Indeed, I hope you will," replied the governor. Leia thought she could detect a hint of amusement in his eyes. "It doesn't say much that our security can be breached by children, does it, Viceroy?"
Teena hopped up from her chair. "Yay! You're here! He made us wait for you." She scowled and pointed at Leia's father.
Bail laughed. "You have perfect timing, actually. The fire has burned down to some nice coals, just right for roasting nutroots."
"Can we start now?" Teena asked eagerly.
"Absolutely," Bail answered. "Would you like to help me get the roasting pans ready?"
Teena squealed and clapped her hands, while Leia seized the opportunity to announce, "Winter and me will get the nutroots from the pantry. Dal, come help us."
Dal leapt to his feet and scrambled eagerly after them. Leia led the way to kitchen and opened the door to the pantry. It was a large storage closet, and the three of them good just fit inside. They squeezed in, and Leia held the door shut.
"So?" Dal whispered in excitement. "What did you find? The numbers didn't make sense to me."
Winter cast a nervous glance at Leia, who was finding it hard to lie to Dal. Stalling for time, Leia said, "There was a lot of stuff on the pad."
Worried, Dal prompted, "But you found something?"
Leia forced herself to smile in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. "It all seemed to be about the plans to rebuild the capital city," she said at last. "Boring stuff, really. There was nothing dangerous about it at all."
Dal's brow wrinkled, and for a moment Leia feared he wouldn't believe her. "You sure?"
"Of course, I'm sure," Leia replied in her most confident voice. "Your mother is probably going to be a hero for rebuilding the city. The Cyreneans will love her."
An ecstatic smile lit Dal's face, and Leia's stomach twitched guiltily. She glanced quickly at Winter. Her friend's expression mirrored her own unease. Steeling her resolve, Leia turned back to Dal and smiled warmly at him. "So you see? Everything is fine."
"You are the best friend ever, Leia," Dal beamed at her. "I hope you'll come visit me when we move to Cyrene."
"That would be great," replied Leia.
"Let's get the nutroots before everyone wonders why we've been gone so long," Winter suggested, desperate to change the subject.
"Right," Leia agreed, searching on the shelves for the bag of nuts.
Now that he could stop worrying about his mother, Dal's curiosity returned. "What are nutroots, anyway?"
"They're... nuts. They grow underground. Like roots," Winter attempted to explain.
"How do you roast them?" Dal asked.
"Oh, you'll see," Leia dismissed, pulling the bag of nuts off the shelf with an "oof." "These things are heavy!"
Dal helpfully grabbed a corner of the bag, and they returned to the living room, where Bail, the governor, Jaffia, and Teena hovered by the fireplace, two roasting pans at the ready.
"Goody, goody!" Teena yelped. "I can't wait!"
Jaffia shot her a quelling look. "You don't even know what nutroots are. You just want to play in the fire."
"Now, Jaffia," her father rebuked. He looked across the room to his wife. "Meyra, are you sure you don't want to join us?"
"I doubt there's room for me. You go ahead."
Dal crouched eagerly on the hearth. "What do we do?"
Leia untied the bag and poured some of the nuts onto the floor. The size of a baby's fist, they were light brown and gnarled, with tough hulls.
"You eat these?" Jaffia protested. "You really *are* bears, aren't you?"
"I know they don't look very pretty," admitted Bail, "but they're quite tasty."
"Look." Leia tossed one into the coals. It began to make a sizzling sound.
Bail heaved a long-suffering sigh. "I tried so hard to raise you right, Leelee. Yet clearly I have failed. That is not the proper way to roast nutroots."
"But your way takes too long," Leia teased back. "Besides, I like them burnt."
"What do you mean --," Dal began, but he was interrupted by a loud *pop* as the nut exploded, leaping out of the fire. The children jumped backwards as the nut landed on the hearth. The hull had split, revealing puffy brown innards, burned black in places.
Eagerly, Leia pick up the nut and tossed it back and forth between her hands as it cooled. Then she peeled off the hull and popped the nut into her mouth. "Mmm! Black and crispy!"
"I want to try!" Dal said.
"They're terrible that way," Bail assured him. "If you do it, you need to be careful that it doesn't hit you when it explodes. It's very hot."
While Dal and Teena both scooped up some nuts to toss into the fire, Bail opened one of the roasting pans and poured some nuts into it. "This is the proper way to do it." He closed the lid and extended the pan into the fireplace, holding it by its long handle so that it hovered a few centimeters above the coals. "You have to shake and toss it a bit so the nuts roast evenly. It takes a couple of minutes."
Teena's nut exploded, ricocheting off the chimney and landing back among the coals. "My nut!" she cried in dismay.
"Don't worry." Leia grabbed the tongs and carefully pulled the nut out of the fire, letting it drop to the hearth to cool. Dal's nut exploded next, and Leia retrieved it, too. After a few seconds, Dal and Teena pulled off the hull and eagerly devour the innards.
Teena instantly made a face and spat hers back out again. "Yuck!"
Dal nobly chewed on and managed to swallow, but his sour expression betrayed his opinion.
"What's it like?" Jaffia asked curiously.
"It tastes kinda like a burned piece of wood," he confessed.
Leia protested, "No, it doesn't! It tastes really good!" She threw another nut into the coals.
"It does not taste good, Leia," Winter contradicted. "You're just weird." She prepared the other pan, but the Narauds' enthusiasm had been visibly dampened.
"Don't worry," Bail assured them, shaking his pan over the coals. "Done the right way, they're delicious. You'll love them."
The children watched as Winter held her pan over the coals alongside Bail's. Leia's nut exploded with a satisfying *pop.* Teena and Dal liked the noise, but they left the burnt nuts for Leia to enjoy alone.
After a minute or two, a muffled ping sounded from Bail's pan. He shook harder, and more pings followed in rapid succession. When the racket stopped, Bail pulled his pan out of fireplace, raised the lid, and poured the contents into a large bowl that had been set on the floor.
The hulls had split, just as Leia's had, but the puffed nutmeat was a lovely golden brown. The children cautiously selected a nut, picked off the hull and gingerly bit off a piece.
Jaffia's face immediately lit into brilliant smile. "It's really good! It just melts in your mouth!"
"It's not like wood at all," Dal agreed. "It's yummy, like -- like fried caramel."
"Fried caramel?" Jaffia scoffed, but she couldn't come up with a more satisfying description. Teena said nothing, just grabbed a handful of nuts and stuffed them in her mouth as fast as she could hull them.
The governor chuckled. "It looks like your nutroots are a success, Viceroy." He sampled one himself. "They really are delicious. Meyra, try one!" He looked up, but Lady Naraud was nowhere to be seen. "Ah, well. No doubt she's back to work again. My wife just doesn't know the meaning of the word ' vacation.'"
Winter's pan began pinging, and while she finished roasting hers, Bail loaded up another pan and let Jaffia try it.
"I still like my way best," Leia said, throwing another nut into the fire.
"That's fine, dear," Bail told her. "And you may rest assured that no one will ever try to steal them from you."
Everyone got to try their hand with the roasting pans, but they couldn't cook them fast enough to keep up with the demand. The bowl emptied as rapidly as it filled up, and everyone laughed enjoyed themselves, not even minding when they accidentally burned their fingers or tongues by digging at the nuts before they had a chance to cool down.
The governor had just finished roasting a panful when he turned and saw his wife standing behind them. "Ah, Meyra, you've come back at last! You must try these. They're wonderful!"
But Lady Naraud's eyes glittered darkly in the firelight. "Viceroy," she said, her voice even more cool than usual, "there is a matter of grave concern which I must bring to your attention."
Everyone looked up to see her holding her datapad. Leia, Winter, and Dal froze in shock.
"What is the matter?" Bail asked, all innocence.
She held forth the 'pad. "This has been tampered with."
Leia glanced at her father. He appeared concerned and solicitous, but betrayed no guilt. "How do you mean?"
"Someone has logged onto my 'pad, but did not log off properly before shutting it down."
Leia flushed guiltily. But it couldn't be her! She had logged off. Their execution of the plan had been perfect. Lady Naraud hadn't noticed anything when she used the 'pad before dinner. Could they have inadvertently tripped some security alarm? Her father would know it was her. She waited in anxious silence, but Bail remained calm and did not look at her. "I am sorry to hear that, madam, but I'm not sure what you wish me to do about it."
"I believe it was your servant, Aris. She has free access to the house."
"Madam," Bail replied, "Aris has been in my service for many years. She has my complete confidence. I'm disturbed to hear about your 'pad, but I assure you, Aris had nothing to do with it."
"Your loyalty to her is admirable, but perhaps you are deceived in your trust. After all, we know that you have not always chosen your friends wisely."
Bail's expression remained impassive, but his hands flexed slightly. Leia knew her father well enough to know that this accusation vexed him, but he refused to be goaded into a reaction. "Is it not possible," he ventured, "that one of your children might have accessed your 'pad, perhaps wanting to play some computer games?"
Leia shot a quick glance at Dal. He had done it, she knew it! He had said something about the numbers when they were in the pantry, but he'd never even seen the files when she and Winter got onto the pad. He must have accessed the pad later on, perhaps while Winter and Leia were in their room. She glared at him, but he remained silent, clutching the handle of the roasting pan, an almost eager expression on his face.
"My children know to respect my property," Lady Naraud assured him. "There is no way one of them would have done this. The items on my 'pad are confidential, your Highness. This breach could be construed as treason against the Empire. You have long declared your loyalty to the Emperor. Prove it now by finding the perpetrator and bringing her to justice."
Governor Naraud rose to his feet. "Now, Meyra, this is a very serious accusation you're making. Perhaps there may indeed be an error. Nevertheless," he turned to Bail, "I'm sure the Viceroy will be eager to discover whether there has been any wrongdoing on this Aris's part. After all, the best of us may be deceived by our inferiors."
Leia bit down hard on the inside of her lip to keep from leaping to Aris's defense. She glared furiously at Dal, silently urging him to come forward. But Dal only stared back at her, his lips pressed together.
Bail paused, just a beat or two too long, before saying, "Of course I will speak with Aris. If she has indeed accessed your files, I will see that justice is done. But according to Alderaani justice, she must be considered innocent unless her guilt is proved."
"Certainly, your Highness," the governor said. "Investigate her, and I, too, will look into the matter to see if there is some other explanation. One way or another, we will get to the bottom of this."
"Papa," Jaffia spoke up, "it might have been Leia."
Now all eyes turned toward Leia, and she could see the alarm in her father's eyes.
The governor cautioned, "Jaffia, you should not make unfounded accusations."
"But she could have done it when she said she was studying. All the rest of us were here in the living room."
"Leia and Winter were studying together. Are you going to say that Winter did this, too? And for what purpose?"
"They're rebel sympathizers," Jaffia sneered.
"Jaffia!" Naraud rebuked, but his wife did not share his skepticism.
"Winter," she asked, "was Leia with you the whole time?"
"Y-yes," Winter answered. Leia wondered how someone could tell the truth and yet sound so guilty at the same time.
"And did you remain in your room studying?"
"Yes, we did!" Leia interrupted hotly. "You can look at our books!"
"Did anyone see you study in your room?" Lady Naraud continued.
Bail rose, his expression thunderous. "Madam, I will not permit you to interrogate my daughter in this manner!"
She turned a calculating gaze on him. "Are you so certain that she is innocent?"
"I am saying that it is not your place to question her."
"Meyra, the Viceroy has said he will get to the bottom of this, and we will trust him to do so. I'm certain that he will be eager to prove the innocence of his household, just as I am sure he will treat this matter seriously. After all, it will not do to have such allegations shadowing the Royal House of Alderaan." The governor's tone was kindly, but his words held a definite menace.
Bail gave a slow nod. "As you say, Governor." He looked at Leia, his expression hard. "Girls, will you please come with me?"
Leia stood on trembling legs. By sheer force of will she crossed the room to her father, Winter close behind her.
The girls followed Bail down the hall to his room. They found Aris there, working on Bail's computer. She glanced up at them in surprise, and Leia almost wept to think she might be in danger.
"What has happened?" Aris asked, seeing their grave faces.
Bail held up a cautioning hand and engaged the room's shielding. Once the room had been secured, he turned to face the girls, and the expression on his face was more terrible than anything Leia had ever seen. "It seems," he said, "that someone has broken onto Lady Naraud's datapad."
"It wasn't us, Papa!" Leia protested. "It was Dal!"
"And how do you know this?"
"Because--." She stopped herself. If she told him, she'd have to reveal what she and Winter had done.
And her father knew it. "Let us do this systematically. Aris?" he asked. "Forgive me, but I must ask. Did you access Lady Naraud's datapad?"
Her eyes flickered to Leia and Winter before returning to Bail. "No, your Highness."
"And I did not access it." He turned inevitably toward Leia. "Leia, did you?"
"Dal! He-"
"I didn't ask whether Dal did it. I asked whether you did."
Leia gulped, tears filling her eyes. She knew he would be disappointed, but he had it all wrong. This wasn't how she's imagined telling him. "Yes, Papa."
"We both did," Winter hastily added.
Bail sighed in deep disappointment. Leia couldn't bear it. "Leia--"
"But it's not what you think, Papa! We closed the 'pad down correctly. We did everything right. She should never have known. She *didn't* know, because she used her 'pad right before dinner. It has to have been Dal! He got on it later but didn't close it down properly, and now he won't admit it because he wants Aris to take the blame."
"That doesn't matter," Bail said. "I gave you an order. I forbade you from messing with that 'pad. You disobeyed me, and now you have brought danger upon us all."
"But Papa, we found important things on that 'pad!"
"The Empire is going to enslave the Cyreneans and force them to work in the mines!" Winter added.
Bail hesitated. "What mines?"
"The tridentium mines!"
Bail and Aris exchanged alarmed glances at this news, and the two girls held their breaths. For a long moment, the grown-ups remained silent. In the end, it was Aris who spoke first. "It makes sense, Bail," she said. "Too much sense. When Bail remained silent, his expression sober, she turned back to the girls. "Winter, you saw the files?" She nodded wordlessly. "And you can reproduce them from your memory?" Another nod, and Aris looked back at Bail.
The Viceroy sighed, his expression still grave. "How did you get access to that 'pad?"
"We got Dal to find out his mother's codes. We did it all the right way, Papa, she wouldn't have found out if Dal hadn't -"
Bail again held up a hand, and she fell silent. "And why would Dal have given you those codes? Why would he have helped you spy on his mother?"
Leia's heart sank. Her father always knew how to get straight to the heart of the matter. "He was worried about her. We told him that if we could get onto her 'pad, we might be able to find out whether the work she would be doing on Cyrene would be dangerous or not."
Bail's penetrating dark eyes shifted from Leia to Winter and back again. "And what did you tell him when you discovered this plot?"
Shamefaced, Leia admitted, "We didn't tell him. We just told Dal she was going to help rebuild the capital."
Bail contemplated this, turning and walking across the room to stare at the moss painting that covered his communications panel. Leia glanced up at Aris, but the woman's expression remained carefully neutral. Leia was sure that Aris knew how valuable the information they had recovered was, and she had hoped Aris might put in a good word for her with her father. But Aris refused to speak, refused even to favor Leia with a sympathetic glance.
At last Bail turned around, his hands held behind his back. "I'll not deny that you girls found very important information. But the fact that you successfully accessed that 'pad does not make up for the fact that you chose your ally poorly. Dal proved to be impetuous enough to try to access the 'pad himself, yet not smart enough to do so undetected. And the fact remains that his loyalty will be first to his family and second to the Empire. You cannot count on him to support you in your little adventure. Lady Naraud knows that someone got onto her datapad, and neither you girls nor Aris has a proper alibi. Now we will have to lie to an Imperial Governor."
"But *you* lie to Imperials all the time!" Leia protested.
"At least I know how to do it properly," replied her father.
Leia scowled. "I'd know, too, if you taught me. I'm old enough, Papa. I can do this, but I need you to show me how."
"Enough!" Bail said. "I will not discuss this further. Now, we need to come up with a story." He paused a moment, thinking. "Aris, where were you while the girls were studying?"
"I was in here," she answered, "looking over those communiqués for you."
"Did anyone see you?"
"No. We can say that I went in to check up on the girls while they were studying."
"And what were you girls studying?" Bail asked.
"Geography," they answered.
"All right. When lying, you must always stick as close to the truth as possible, so you're less likely to forget the details. And you should volunteer as little information as possible in order to reduce your chances of contradicting yourself. This will have to do. And girls, try to leave the talking to us as much as possible. Focus on keeping your face relaxed. You must not react to anything they say or do, lest your expression betray you. I shouldn't have to tell you that failure is not an option we can afford."
Leia gulped and glanced at Winter. She was starting to regret the whole thing, but it was far too late now. Winter looked as frightened as Leia felt, but the two girls straightened their shoulders, prepared to do their best.
"All right, then," said Bail. "Let's go."
He led the way out of the room, followed by Aris, with the two girls bringing up the rear. Leia's heart pounded furiously in her ears as they walked down the hallway to the living room. 'Mouth shut, ears and eyes open,' she repeated to herself with each step. 'Mouth shut. Mouth shut. Mouth shut.' Right now she hoped she'd never have to speak again.
The governor's face was grave when they entered the room, and he stood up. Before Bail could say anything, the governor said, "I'm sorry, Viceroy. I inspected our room, and underneath the dresser where my wife kept her datapad, I found this." He held out his hand. Resting on his palm was Leia's hairband.
Leia sucked in her breath, despite her best effort to remain impassive. But her father merely wrinkled his brow. "I'm not sure I understand," he calmly replied.
"This hairband does not belong to either of my daughters," the governor added.
Before Bail could speak, Jaffia piped up, "That's Leia's. She was wearing it earlier today."
The governor's eyes were hard. "I remember seeing it, too. I do not think you can explain this away, Viceroy. What I want to know is: what was your daughter doing with my wife's datapad?"
For a moment, time stood still. Leia didn't know what to say. Winter stood rigidly beside her. Her father stared at the hairband in the governor's hand, and Aris kept her eyes steadfastly on Bail.
Then Dal stepped forward. "Leia didn't do it, Papa. I took her hairband when we were playing at the river today."
Surprised, the governor turned to his son. "Why would you do that?"
The boy blushed furiously and stammered, "I wanted to have it because - because -"
All at once, Leia knew why, just as she understood why Dal was speaking up to protect her now. He had a crush on her. Her betrayal of him weighed all the more heavily on her, and she almost burst with the desire to help Dal out of his scrape, but she realized her father was right. She should not volunteer information. Their stories would most likely end up contradicting each other. Dal had to get through this on his own. He was a sweet boy, but she doubted he could be trusted as an ally. Her father had been correct about that, too.
"Why did you take Leia's hairband?" the governor pressed.
Dal blushed bright red. "Because - because she's my f-friend. She didn't look at mama's datapad, either. I did."
"You know better than that, Dal."
"I know, but - but," Dal blushed and stammered, obviously flustered. "I wanted to play with Leia - but she and Winter were studying - and - and - and I was bored, and Leia told me how she hacked onto her father's computer - so I wanted to see if I could hack onto mama's datapad."
Leia's jaw dropped open in horror before she could collect herself. She glanced up in alarm at her father and was surprised to see that he had relaxed slightly.
The governor cocked an eyebrow at Bail, who gave an understated but long-suffering sigh. "My daughter does indeed get onto my computer in order to access the holonet. She promised me she'd stop doing it, but evidently --." He shrugged in disappointment and turned to Leia. "Did you tell Dal how you hack onto my computer?"
Leia hesitated, not exactly sure what she was supposed to say. She finally just followed Bail's lead. "Yes, Papa."
The governor asked, "You did not get onto my wife's datapad?"
Leia started to contradict, but Dal interrupted, "It wasn't her. It was me. I did it when she was studying."
Leia glanced at the others. Jaffia and Lady Naraud did not appear convinced in the slightest, and the governor himself still seemed to harbor doubts. But to Leia's relief, he turned to Dal and said, "I'm very disappointed in you, son. There is no excuse for what you did."
Dal lowered his head sheepishly, and Leia doubted it was an act.
Bail said, "I'm sorry that my daughter may have encouraged Dal's behavior. I will talk with her about it."
"Indeed, I hope you will," replied the governor. Leia thought she could detect a hint of amusement in his eyes. "It doesn't say much that our security can be breached by children, does it, Viceroy?"
