Chapter IV: Oh, Sister
~~~~ANAKIN POV~~~~
After a long chat, filled with tears and relief, we bid my mother and the Larses farewell for now, and trudged back to the spiritual entrance to their "heavenly" homestead. Master Jinn was silent for a time, until I asked a question that had been nagging at me ever since my duel with Luke.
"How did I not notice my own daughter? Was I THAT out of it?"
"No, not really. She was raised in plain sight of you, which made her, in a way, more believable as someone else. And, there was the fact that you were unaware of having a daughter. She also knew nothing of you, so she wasn't giving off any 'Anakin Skywalker is my father' vibes, or any 'Eww! Darth's my dad!' thoughts. To her, you were only the enemy."
I cringed. "Man, that sucks. Will she ever know?"
"She already does."
"Really?"
"Your son told her right before going to face you."
I rolled my eyes. "I bet she took that REAL well."
"Well, Luke told her about him being your son, and _then_ about being her brother. She trusted him, and cared about him. So she took it better than anyone expected, I bet."
"That's a good thing, I guess. Still, I don't think she'd like for me to just go up, introduce myself and say, 'Hey, sweetie, how's my little girl?'"
"Probably not. But would you like to see her?"
"Yes, but aren't we still getting witnesses?"
"Naah. If we don't have enough, then I hate to say this, but you're screwed."
"Gee, thanks."
"Relax, Anakin. You passed the judgement of the Jedi Council, and I'm confident you can pass Shio's judgement. Why don't we go check up on your daughter?" I nodded, and the landscape once again twisted, morphing back to that of Endor. I flinched as I realized we were in a tree.
"Aah! Uh, I guess I'm not used to trees. For a long time I was too heavy to be in most of them." Qui-Gon laughed, and pointed down.
"There she is. I've made it so _no one_ can see us, not even her." I followed his finger until I saw the girl sitting on the edge of a wooden platform created by those Ewok things. She was looking down into the blackness below, far down into the forest, and I heard her sigh.
Then, I was startled to find that I could hear her speak. With a groan of frustration, she muttered, "How the hell does something like this happen to me? It's great Luke's my brother, but Vader- ahh, damn it! I know it's true, but it's just so blasted hard!" Slamming her fist onto the wood, she didn't even notice the smuggler Solo creeping up behind her, until he knelt and flung his arms around her.
"Aah!" She jumped, and elbowed him in the ribs, but let out a weak laugh. "Han, you scared me!"
"Sorry, Princess, but did it help cheer you up? You seemed pretty steamed."
Shaking her head, she replied, "I wasn't 'steamed,' but you did help me feel better. Thanks." She leaned into his embrace, and I felt a tinge of jealousy. I never even got to hug my daughter, and this scum comes and takes her before I even get a chance?
Solo smiled lightly, and cupped her face in his hands. "So, sweetheart, anything you want to talk about? I'm cool with anything."
She grinned, and replied, "Not really." Solo nodded, and they just sat peacefully for a time, until she sighed. "Okay, I lied. I _do_ need to talk. How open-minded are you feeling?"
"I'd be fine with anything except you telling me you're Chewie's sister or something like that." She giggled, and smacked him on the shoulder.
"Well, I've got a problem. You know how Luke's my brother?"
"Yeah. I'm glad, too. Not just because I know my competition's out of the way, but because you deserve a brother like him, and he deserves a sister like you." She smiled gratefully, and continued.
"I just learned that last night. But with it came worse news. Han, our- our father-" She buried her face in the smuggler's shoulder, and he gave her a light squeeze. She gathered her wits, and finally let out, "Vader."
I saw Solo's eyes widen, but he made no other gesture of surprise. Kissing the top of her head, he sighed. "So that's why the kid went up there." She nodded, and Solo pulled back, taking her face in his hands. "Leia, that doesn't mean a thing. You're still the amazing woman I love, and Luke's still the great kid that everyone loves." She smiled through her tears, and he continued. "And besides, Luke survived, so that must mean something good happened up there. Who knows? Vader might have snapped out of it and saved Luke! Let's wait until Luke gets back before we make assumptions about what happened. He'll tell us the whole story, and we might find Vader wasn't actually all bad."
I grinned, silently reminding myself to thank Solo sometime if I got a chance. Turning to Qui-Gon, I murmured, "I think I've seen enough."
~~~~ANAKIN POV~~~~
After a long chat, filled with tears and relief, we bid my mother and the Larses farewell for now, and trudged back to the spiritual entrance to their "heavenly" homestead. Master Jinn was silent for a time, until I asked a question that had been nagging at me ever since my duel with Luke.
"How did I not notice my own daughter? Was I THAT out of it?"
"No, not really. She was raised in plain sight of you, which made her, in a way, more believable as someone else. And, there was the fact that you were unaware of having a daughter. She also knew nothing of you, so she wasn't giving off any 'Anakin Skywalker is my father' vibes, or any 'Eww! Darth's my dad!' thoughts. To her, you were only the enemy."
I cringed. "Man, that sucks. Will she ever know?"
"She already does."
"Really?"
"Your son told her right before going to face you."
I rolled my eyes. "I bet she took that REAL well."
"Well, Luke told her about him being your son, and _then_ about being her brother. She trusted him, and cared about him. So she took it better than anyone expected, I bet."
"That's a good thing, I guess. Still, I don't think she'd like for me to just go up, introduce myself and say, 'Hey, sweetie, how's my little girl?'"
"Probably not. But would you like to see her?"
"Yes, but aren't we still getting witnesses?"
"Naah. If we don't have enough, then I hate to say this, but you're screwed."
"Gee, thanks."
"Relax, Anakin. You passed the judgement of the Jedi Council, and I'm confident you can pass Shio's judgement. Why don't we go check up on your daughter?" I nodded, and the landscape once again twisted, morphing back to that of Endor. I flinched as I realized we were in a tree.
"Aah! Uh, I guess I'm not used to trees. For a long time I was too heavy to be in most of them." Qui-Gon laughed, and pointed down.
"There she is. I've made it so _no one_ can see us, not even her." I followed his finger until I saw the girl sitting on the edge of a wooden platform created by those Ewok things. She was looking down into the blackness below, far down into the forest, and I heard her sigh.
Then, I was startled to find that I could hear her speak. With a groan of frustration, she muttered, "How the hell does something like this happen to me? It's great Luke's my brother, but Vader- ahh, damn it! I know it's true, but it's just so blasted hard!" Slamming her fist onto the wood, she didn't even notice the smuggler Solo creeping up behind her, until he knelt and flung his arms around her.
"Aah!" She jumped, and elbowed him in the ribs, but let out a weak laugh. "Han, you scared me!"
"Sorry, Princess, but did it help cheer you up? You seemed pretty steamed."
Shaking her head, she replied, "I wasn't 'steamed,' but you did help me feel better. Thanks." She leaned into his embrace, and I felt a tinge of jealousy. I never even got to hug my daughter, and this scum comes and takes her before I even get a chance?
Solo smiled lightly, and cupped her face in his hands. "So, sweetheart, anything you want to talk about? I'm cool with anything."
She grinned, and replied, "Not really." Solo nodded, and they just sat peacefully for a time, until she sighed. "Okay, I lied. I _do_ need to talk. How open-minded are you feeling?"
"I'd be fine with anything except you telling me you're Chewie's sister or something like that." She giggled, and smacked him on the shoulder.
"Well, I've got a problem. You know how Luke's my brother?"
"Yeah. I'm glad, too. Not just because I know my competition's out of the way, but because you deserve a brother like him, and he deserves a sister like you." She smiled gratefully, and continued.
"I just learned that last night. But with it came worse news. Han, our- our father-" She buried her face in the smuggler's shoulder, and he gave her a light squeeze. She gathered her wits, and finally let out, "Vader."
I saw Solo's eyes widen, but he made no other gesture of surprise. Kissing the top of her head, he sighed. "So that's why the kid went up there." She nodded, and Solo pulled back, taking her face in his hands. "Leia, that doesn't mean a thing. You're still the amazing woman I love, and Luke's still the great kid that everyone loves." She smiled through her tears, and he continued. "And besides, Luke survived, so that must mean something good happened up there. Who knows? Vader might have snapped out of it and saved Luke! Let's wait until Luke gets back before we make assumptions about what happened. He'll tell us the whole story, and we might find Vader wasn't actually all bad."
I grinned, silently reminding myself to thank Solo sometime if I got a chance. Turning to Qui-Gon, I murmured, "I think I've seen enough."