FROM THE ASHES

Chapter 26

Anakin and Padme were very nervous about how they were going to confront Organa about Leia. They didn't just want to come right out and say it, but the longer they waited, the more the Organas became attached to her, the worse it was going to be. Anakin put on his traditional dark Jedi gear, and Padme wore one of her best velvet dresses, aquamarine with teal green designs. She tried to fix her hair into one of her famous intricate styles, but thanks to the droids cutting off the tangles it was no longer long enough. She sighed as she stuffed it into a small bun and added one of her golden headpieces. She turned to Anakin, who had been watching her the whole time. "How do I look?"

He cracked a smile. "You don't have to ever ask me that, you know I think you're beautiful." He walked over and kissed her softly on the lips.

"Always? Even the way you found me at Gerapaline's?"

"I don't want to think about that, there are a lot things I can't make myself think about right now. There is so much it bothers me to think about." He turned his back and gazed out the window.

She walked up and put her hand on his shoulder, turning him back around. "I know, but it's not doing us any good not to face things."

"I just can't deal with it all, if I have to, I will, otherwise, please don't mention...certain things. Don't you understand that now, after your own experiences?"

She looked up at him, rubbing her hand against his chest. "Yes, I guess I do. But what we have to do today is going to be very hard, but we must do it, for Leia."

Obiwan, who had gone back to the temple, returned to get them. "We had best go now, I have an audience with Senator Organa on Jedi business. We will have our time to talk to him, try to work this out." He motioned for them to get into a waiting speeder, and they glanced nervously one more time at each other before getting in.

"This is it." Padme mumbled under her breath as she watched the familiar but now ominus Senate building come closer and closer. They landed and went inside, together. Obiwan got out first, followed by Anakin and Padme. She wrapped her arm tightly around his, just like she had done to lead him when he was blind. Then she released it. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I did that, you won't need me to guide you anymore."

He reached for and put her arm right back where it was. "I don't need you to lead me around, and I don't need to lead you around, but that doesn't mean we still can't hang onto each other. I will always need your loving touch and companionship. I will always need you to show me the way and help guide me through the perils of life."

"Then love has blinded you?" She made the joking reference. They laughed, latched their arms tighter than ever, and stared and smiled warm and lovingly into each other's faces as they walked ahead to the challenge that awaited.

"Maybe we shouldn't, though," she started to say, "what if.."

"Padme, after all that's happened, I don't think there's a person on Coruscant who doesn't know about 'us.' It doesn't matter anymore." He squeezed her even closer to him. It felt so good to be able to do that out in the open, in plain view of everyone, without fear, without hiding behind pillars and lying. "Let's go get our daughter back." Obiwan smiled warmly as he watched them walk arm in arm beside him all the way down the hall. It was about time.

This was it. Obiwan entered first, and Senator Organa and his aide rose to greet him. Organa's smile disappeared when he saw Obiwan was not alone. "Master Kenobi, my meeting was with you. Why are these people here?"

"They have important business with you as well, Senator. Business I fear can no longer wait."

Organa glared first at Padme, then at Anakin, as if trying to intimidate them. "You both have been quite busy of late, haven't you? I want you to know, there is much on you both, you should be grateful you both have your lives, your health and your freedom. I wouldn't ask for more." He folded his arms, continuing to stare them both down. Padme and Anakin looked at each other, then at Obiwan, then back at Organa.

Finally, Padme broke the silence. "Senator, we have been friends and collegues for a long time."

"You may not use that in your favor, you are the same as anyone else to me." She was disappointed to hear his voice so harsh and stripped of compassion. He seemed to be building a wall of coldness toward them so he would have no problem rejected the inevitable plea.

Padme didn't care, she made it anyway. "Senator, we have heard that you have recently adopted a baby girl."

"Yes, we have, are you here to congratulate me?"

"Actually," she bravely continued, battling a lump on her throat, " I was here to question the adoption."

Organa's face became furious."That is none of your concern.. You will leave my office at once, all three of you, or I will have you removed. Master Kenobi, your Jedi business will have to wait until you can come alone."

Padme did not give up. "Wait, something isn't right!"

"You're right, it isn't, and I'm going to stop it right now by having you taken out of here and dealt with properly." He could not meet her eyes as he reached down to press the security button. By now, Padme's courageous facade was breaking down into the heartbreak of a desperate mother. She had nothing else to lose. She moved closer to Organa, stared him right in the eyes and spoke clearly and loudly:

"I believe you have my daughter, and you obtained her illegally through Gerapaline's syndicate. I want her back!"

The veins in Organa's neck bulged, and his aide pushed Padme away. "You have no right to come in here and make such accusastions. You are an insane, unstable woman who has lost her child and is now trying to claim mine! You will be removed from these premises for good!"

"No, you can't..!" Obiwan and Anakin were so tempted to use the force to help her, but knew it might only go harder on them all, so they restrained themselves though they were raging inside.

Anakin did manage to speak up. "Senator Organa, I have seen your daughter, and she is indeed my daughter, Leia Skywalker. Our daughter is missing, and you have adopted an 'orphan' child who appeared the same time we lost our Leia, looking exactly like our Leia! Can't you put the pieces together?"

Organa stared at Anakin, his face distraught with obvious pain and desperation for his child, as Padme's was. He looked at each of them, then at Obiwan, who was giving him quite a glare of knowing of guilt. As the security men burst into the door, they stopped, only seeing the recognizable faces of Padme, Anakin and Obiwan. "Where are the intruders?" One of them asked. With long hard stares all around, Organa finally told them, "It was a false alarm. You may go about your business. Nothing here I can't handle."

All in the room breathed a sigh of relief but said nothing. Organa sent his aide away and locked the door. He sat down in his chair and locked his fingers together, now almost as nervous as they were. "Senator Amidala, I am going to give you a chance to prove your allegations. Honestly, I have suspected and feared my daughter might be your Leia from the beginning, but I have been avoidant. My wife and I would be very upset to lose her, we have waited so long, and she is already such a joy to us. But, the honor in me will not allow me to keep a child who is not legally mine, and the conscience in me will not allow me to damage you any further to take away your child. I want you to know, I could very easily ruin you all for life, and keep the child. The ease with which I could have you both ruled unfit would stun you. You know it to be true. However, blast my decency, I am not that kind of a man. I couldn't live with myself if I were." Padme and Anakin were reduced to tears at his compassion. Obiwan nodded in approval. "You will all come with me to Alderaan today, we must get to the bottom of this for the good of us all."

Dark space brightened to clouds, which soon split to reveal magnificent high peaked mountains in a glorious landscape. "Your home world is among the most beautiful I've ever seen." Anakin said as he gazed out the viewport of Bail's private ship, scanning the entire scene slowly enough to take it all in.

Padme came up and joined him. "Just look at that, it's amazing." It became more panoramic the longer they flew over it, circling lower and lower to prepare for a safe landing without hitting any mountains.

"Flattery will not help you." Organa said, arms folded, not even looking their way. "That wasn't my intention, I am honestly in awe of the beauty of your planet. Since my bout of blindness I take no such sights for granted, I assure you. I want to savor and appreciate all the beauty of the universe."

"I'm sorry, Skywalker. I was half joking, anyway. What will be, must be.None of us can change that." The ship landed, and they disembarked only to be boarded onto a royal vehicle for transport to the palace where his wife and Leia were staying. They admired more beautiful scenery along the way, and no mention was made of the difficult situation that lie ahead. At last they arrived at the fabulous palace where Organa's wife, the Queen, was waiting. Her ancestors had ruled the planet proudly and peacefully for hundreds of generations, and she didn't want the line to end with her. Walking inside, no one spoke, but all admired the intricate ornamentation, statues and decor of the inside of the ancient palace. Two sturdy servants opened double doors for the group, all four strode through them, revealing glass doors opened onto a wide veranda with a spectacular view of the mountains and its surrounding lake. Sitting on an ornamental stone bench was the Queen of Alderaan, holding a baby girl in her arms. They all bowed slightly in her presence.

Obiwan stood back as Leia's parents joined her adoptive parents on the bench. Padme, who had seen Leia more recently than Anakin, immediately gasped and reached for the baby. Leia seemed to recognize her, too, and cooed and smiled. Her little arms reached toward her. Anakin had not seen the baby in weeks, but could still tell it was his daughter's face. More than that, he sensed her strongly in the force. He glanced at Obiwan, who gave him one of their hand signals. He also strongly sensed Leia's force presence. Only a Jedi or the child of a Jedi would be giving off such a powerful sense of the force. Both parents ached to take the little girl in their arms and embrace her back into their lives, and it hurt deeply that they could not. They all waited for the Queen to speak first. "I have been told that this child I have adopted may indeed be yours. If this is so, I cannot keep her from you, since neither of you willingly gave her up. It will hurt me deeply, but is it right that I should cause you to hurt deeply?"

Organa was saddened by his wife's words. Sitting next to her, he put his arm around her shoulders. "Darling love, if it is your desire to keep this child, you know nothing can stop us. These people here before you can easily be ruled as unfit, should you choose to fight them."

Anakin and Padme were upset to hear now that he was around his wife, Organa seemed to be changing his mind again. The Queen looked up at Padme. 'You yourself were a Queen, and you are of noble birth and breeding. We were told by those who arranged our adoption that this was true, so now I see this is what he meant. Do you see that this is your child?" Padme could only nod her head, using her hand to try to fight tears and words from coming too quickly to her. She regarded Anakin with a look and asked him the same. "Master Skywalker, is this your daughter?"

"Yes, your majesty, she is. I recognize her, and through the force I can feel her. I know you can't understand that, but we Jedi have certain powers that way, and I have used mine to sense my daughter."

"Does this mean your daughter will also have the force?"

"Yes, your majesty, she will, to what degree, we don't know yet, but as my child, she certainly has the capability."

The Queen looked back at her husband. "A child with such possibilities would be a great thing for this planet."

Obiwan spoke up immediately. "All force sensitive persons must be trained, or they will not be able to use their powers."

"Are you saying she must be a Jedi?"

"No, but if she is not raised to know the force, or ever trained in it, her sensitivity will be wasted."

"If we were to keep her, would you be willing to come back here and be her trainer?"

Obiwan was shocked. The Queen now seemed to be using him against his friends. He responded honestly."If this child is kept against the will of her natural parents, I will want nothing to do with the situation." The Queen looked down. She knew Obiwan had done the admirable and honorable thing, though it wasn't what she wanted to hear.

She looked back to Anakin. "Master Skywalker, are you also of noble birth?"

"No, m'am, I was born to a slave woman on Tatooine."

"A slave!" The Queen spoke roughly. "Your mother was a slave?"

"Yes, she was, but a very good woman."

"What about your father, was he also a slave?"

Anakin didn't know how to answer that in a way she'd understand or accept. "Your majesty, I have no father."

"Even if he is dead, he is still your father. Who was he?"

"I don't mean he is dead. My mother is dead, yet she is still my mother, always. I mean, I never had a father. I was concieved through the force. That is why I am the Chosen One."

The Queen leveled her stare on Anakin. She knew of Jedi, and the force, but found this impossible to accept by her standards of reasoning. "You were born, of a human woman, and the- force? There was no father, no man?"

"No, m'am."

She shook her head. "I cannot believe this."

"There are ways of the force that we are not meant to understand, but to take on faith. My mother was with no man, I was born of the force."

The Queen stared again, shook her head, and looked back at her husband. "Those adoption people were not only crooks, they were liars! Noble born parents, they promised, yet this is only half true! This man here is the child of a slave and some unknown man she slept with!"

Anakin's feelings were hurt, and he was hurt for the way the Queen spoke of his mother. "With all due respect, your majesty, I cannot stand here and allow my mother to be insulted. Yes she was a slave, but not of her own choosing. She did not ask to be pregnant with me. It is wrong that you should judge her so harshly."

"How dare you speak to me that way in my own palace. You are no longer welcome here. Go, now." She waved them off.

Anakin looked at Padme, who was crying. He turned to leave as guards appeared to escort him out. He and Obiwan could easily have overpowered them, but they didn't think it their best move. The Queen stood up, handing the baby to her husband. "You have given me a child of lies! I want no more to do with the illegal operation behind the criminals who brought her to us, or her scandelous parents. It is best she go now before she becomes accustomed to our life here on Alderaan. She was not born to it, will not share it. The grandchild of a slave woman and her unknown sleeping partner! Who knows what kind of man he was? Take her away!" Leia whimpered as she was rejected, and Bail tried to comfort her.

"But, my love, all children we may adopt will be of some imperfect past, that is why they'd be put up for adoption."

"Which is why I have not adopted up until now!"

"But you should not feel this way, any child deserves a chance." He tried to plead with her, but her mind was made up. Her years of being raised with an attitude of haughty superiority had made her feel this way, and closed her heart and mind. "Then if I am to have a child, and I am unable, the only option left is to have myself cloned! Summon my aides at once, we will send for the cloners of Kamino. I will have a daughter of my own perfect genetic line!"

All, including Bail himself, were shocked by her actions and comments. "Darling," he asked, "what of this child?"

"Give her to them, they want her so much, they deserve each other!" The Queen stormed inside, followed by her servants. Bail smiled, relieved of his burden and worries of what his wife was going to think. He was upset to know of her true feelings, and felt her a weaker, less compassionate ruler for them. He was actually relieved to do the right thing and hand Leia Skywalker back to her own mother's arms.

"Here you are, Padme. Love her, keep her well." Bail said with a sad, bittersweet smile.

Padme held Leia close, and could feel her cuddle back. Their strong bond had not been broken. "I- I don't believe it, she's mine, all mine again!" Anakin smiled and wept as he watched Padme cuddling their daughter. He walked over to them, putting his arms around them both, and stared at Leia like he was afraid she'd vanish again. Obiwan and Bail walked over and regarded them both with caring looks and pats on the back.

"This is just, this is right." Organa told them. "I will get her little things, you may have everything we bought for her." He started to choke up a little."You will let me see her sometime, won't you?" He had become attached to the baby himself.

"Of course." Padme said, through her gasping cries of happiness. "We wouldn't have it any other way, Uncle Bail!" He managed a smile, then followed them back to the waiting ship as the servants loaded Leia's possessions. Still clutched together in a loving embrace, the Skywalkers were too busy looking at their daughter to even pay attention to the scenery as they left Alderaan and headed back home to Coruscant. There was one more missing piece of the picture. Their joy was great, but still incomplete. The next day they would have to go to Tatooine.