This chapter (and a few of the following ones) is dedicated to my parents and their obsession with Disneyland, which is where I'll be for the next week.

Chapter 12

The next morning Leia and Han decided to give Ty the best day of his life. First they would buy him some new clothes and get him cleaned up, and then they were going to go to Corellia Land, the hottest theme park on the planet. After they gave Ty a bath and Leia had bought some new clothes for him (as Han refused to go shopping) they rented a hover car, and Han took the clean, handsome boy for a joyride. The whole matter was very interesting as Ty had never been in a hover car before, and Han drove like a maniac. Ty's peals of laughter mixed with screams of terror were loud enough to reach every creature on Corellia. Finally Leia had to intervene with Han's wild antics as she thought the poor boy would explode from too much excitement. Not that going to an amusement park would help matters any, but…well the truth was that she was just getting sick of driving around and she wanted to go to Corellia Land.

They drove to the 100-kilometer wide amusement park, and as rides became visible all of their eyes lit up. Ty gasped as he saw the gigantic Galactic Dome, a high-speed ride that took patrons on a realistic hyperspace flight around the galaxy. This was the newest addition to the park, and the latest holo technology was used to create images of the planets, stars, and trips through hyperspace. Other visible rides were Protocol Droid's Daring Journey, Mr. Toydarian's Wild Flight, and It's a Small Planet. They flew into the parking structure, an immense tower that held millions of hover cars. Even this mammoth structure was packed, and Han had to squeeze between two cars in a feat rivaling the best stunts of the century. They rode down the turbo lift and as they came to the front entrance of the park Ty (and Leia and Han) was literally jumping for joy. They paid an exorbitant amount of credits as the entrance fee, and Leia's pack was searched, while strangely Han and Ty remained unchecked. Leia hardly noticed this injustice, however, as she saw the magical scene that lay before her. There was an old fashioned street with antique-looking shops on either side of it, and at the end of the street there was a beautiful garden that led up to an Alderaani-style castle that looked almost exactly like the one she used to live in. It was pure white with peaked towers and handcrafted wooden drawbridges. She couldn't believe she was seeing this, on Corellia of all places! The sight should have upset her, but it did exactly the opposite. This really was the most magical place in the galaxy! She grabbed hold of Han's hand and started running, running back quickly to grab Ty's hand as well, and headed toward the castle.

Upon reaching the castle they saw Bernie Bantha, the park's mascot. Leia tore her gaze from the beautiful castle and ran toward the character. She looked like a little girl with her cheeks flushed to a bright pink and her hair in two braids hanging down her back. She jumped up and down in excitement as she waited in line to get the mascot's autograph, drawing confused looks from the parents of the children waiting in front of her. When she got to the front of the line she threw her arms around Bernie, saying, "Oh, I've wanted to meet you all my life! Ever since I was a little girl on Alderaan I've looked up to you!"

After she got her vaunted autograph Han put his hand on her shoulder and stooped down to whisper in her ear. "Sweetheart, you do know that he's not really Bernie Bantha, right?" When she just looked at him blankly he continued, "You know he's just a guy in a Bantha suit, not a real bantha, of course."

"Oh, yeah, sure. Of course I know he's not really Bernie Bantha. I've known that forever," Leia responded with a look that did not entirely convince Han.

"Well, anyway…why don't we just go see the castle?"

"Oh, yes!" Leia said as she ran toward the castle.

Han watched her go and turned to Ty. "Sorry 'bout her, Ty, but I have a feeling she's never been here before. She's sure been running a lot since we got here. You'll have a great time, I promise. We just have to let Leia run around for awhile and make sure she doesn't have any sugar."

"Sure, Han. Don't worry about me; I'm really happy. Yesterday I was starving on the streets; today I'm at Corellia Land. Thank you so much for everything you've done for me."

"Well, Kid, I couldn't imagine not doing what we did for you. You're a great kid. Hey, why don't we get Leia and go over to Space Tours? It's a new ride based on the war. I want to see how accurate it is."

"That sounds great, Han! Let's go get Leia."