This fanfic takes place in the canon Star Wars universe, with some facts there and there belonging to the legends universe.

Star Wars

Twin Suns Early Rise

Chapter 1: Behold the Truth

Alderaan: located in the Core World region of the galaxy, this planet has been a source of help and assistance to those across the galaxy for tens of millenniums. A beautiful world, known for its pacificism, art, culture, and generosity, the planet has provided aid to countless worlds in times of need; as well as taken in refugees throughout galactic history. To many across the stars in times of darkness under the wrath of the Galactic Empire, the planet has served as a beacon of hope against this vile, galaxywide government.

Unknown to the Empire, at least officially, Alderaan has been a leading supporter of the Rebellion, a secret network comprised of countless rebel cells determined to overthrow the Empire's tyranny. The founder/head of this planets' rebel unit was none other than Bail Organa, Viceroy of Alderaan, and representative of the system in the Imperial Senate. Bail Organa was known by many across the galaxy as a kind, uncorrupted politician, dedicated to the principals of galactic democracy. It was this devotion to democracy that motivated him to form a rebellion against the dictatorship that was Emperor Palpatine and his empire who used the senate as a figurehead to deceive the galaxy into thinking they still had a voice in galactic affairs.

Despite the dangers of the Empire, despite how it was becoming harder to speak out without facing high consequences, despite how many citizens failed to see the Emperors' true evil, Bail would not give up this fight. He was determined to restore the Galactic Republic to its former glory and bring about true freedom to the galaxy. Even as the darkness was only just beginning to grow darker.

"Leia, your father has become Darth Vader."

The words just spoken had come from the holorecording of Bail Organa, made only moments ago and now being rewatched by the same man inside his private office in the Royal Palace on Alderaan. Hearing those words, even from his own mouth, caused the longtime senator to quiver. Bail knew all too well of Leia's parentage from the day she was born, as he'd watched her birth happen with his own eyes, right after learning about her father's tragic fall to the dark side. He'd been close friends with her mother Senator Padmé Amidala and had come to respect Anakin Skywalker before he became the dark lord of the Sith.

It was one of many secrets that he and his wife, Breha Organa, queen of Alderaan, had kept from their adoptive daughter throughout her life. And for good reason, however. Knowing the truth about her birth family, particularly her father and "other" relative, at a young age could cloud her mind. Causing her to make wrong decisions that could jeopardize everything they'd worked towards, and thus endangering the young girl herself. Nevertheless, the royal couple had agreed that their daughter had a right to know the truth about her origins, deciding to wait until Leia was older and mature enough to handle the burden without putting others at risk. Though as the Empire's wrath worsened each day, and attempts to initiate peaceful transitions in the senate continued to be met with little to no success, both parents saw that war was inevitable. Which meant the chances of them getting exposed as rebels and executed, or perhaps die in the upcoming conflict continued to grow high. As a precaution Bail decided to leave behind a recording for their daughter, outlining the truth behind her biological family if something were to happen to him and his wife die before they could tell their daughter in person when she was ready.

He'd just finished reviewing the recording of the confession, which he'd hidden inside an old music box for safekeeping when he heard someone knocking on the door. Bail quickly turned off the recording, placing the music box back inside another small box and hid it in one of his desk cabinets before standing up and calling out to whoever was at the door.

"Enter."

The door opened, and gracefully walking in like she'd been raised to do, was none other than Princess Leia Organa, heiress to the Royal House of Organa, Bail and Breha Organa's adoptive daughter, and Alderaan's shining hope. She was a true beauty, not just from her sparkling face, or the gorgeous white dress with a shining silver belt she wore along with the tiara atop her braided dark hair, but also from her kind personality and renowned reputation for being determined to help those who needed it without question. A true model of her parents, both adoptive and birth.

"Father the delegates from Serenno have entered the system," his daughter reported. "Mother wants you with us at the landing platform when they land."

Bail remembered. He and his other rebel allies had spent years attempting to persuade the planet, once one of the key members in the Confederacy of Independent Systems, to join their cause against the Empire. Efforts had proven unsuccessful despite their best efforts, as the world was still receiving backlash after the Clone Wars ended. Still, Serenno possessed great wealth, and its people were never big supporters of the Empire; many of whom could be persuaded to join the fight should their leaders agree to give its support. Bail hoped that a private dinner with key political members of the growing rebellion and Sereno's leaders might begin to turn things around in their efforts to recruit more systems to their cause.

"Of course, how could I forget?" Bail said to his daughter.

Unbeknownst to the Viceroy, his daughter could somehow feel like something wasn't right. That there was a secret her father was keeping from her. Kinda like back when she began to suspect her parent's involvement with the rebellion.

"Are you all right father?" Leia asked suspiciously.

"Of course, Leia. Why wouldn't I be?" Bail responded, a few drops of sweat developing on the sides of his head, something Leia noticed and knew meant her father was lying.

"What were you just doing before I came in here?" Leia asked, attempting to devil further into the matter.

"I was simply reviewing a message from one of our Fulcrum agents," Bail defended, trying to end the discussion as quickly as possible. "I'll tell you all about it later after the delegates from Serenno are gone."

The fib failed to convince his daughter otherwise. "Are you sure father?" Leia asked. "If there is some-"

"Leia, it's nothing!" Bail said sternly, almost shouting, which was enough to cause his daughter to back away a few feet, startle his outburst.

"Sigh, I'm sorry Leia dear," Bail said, in a more calming voice. "C'mon, let's go meet up with your mother."

Walking around till he was right beside his daughter, Bail put a comforting hand over Leia's shoulder, which caused her to smile in response. The two then made their way out of the office, which Bail forget to not only lock but also the desk cabinet that contained the secret confession inside.

The whole event was a failure so far. Instead of attending the event himself as agreed, Count Rodas Borgin, Regent of Serenno, had sent his brother-in-law Count Malvern in his place. While the Count had some manners, more so than Serenno's regent, he was not an easy man to talk to. He refused to get involved in talks that Leia's parents and their allies, including Senator Mon Mothma, brought up about going against the Empire. When they finally got Count Malvern talking about rebellion, he made it clear that Serenno would not get involved in another war against a galaxy dominating government. He kept reminding his hosts about all the punishments that the Empire had inflicted on his people for the late Count Dooku's leading role in the Clone Wars in the last seventeen years' since the war's end. The Great Houses of Serenno that starting another galactic-scale war would lead the Empire wiping out Serenno for good.

The princess of Alderaan didn't take part in these discussions between the leaders of the rebellion and those of Serenno. Instead, Leia's mind was occupied with her recent visit to her fathers' office earlier that day. Her father had acted very strangely when she went to tell him about the Serennian's arrival; and even before she entered, for some reason, one she could not explain, she felt this "whisper." Like a sound, she could only hear with her mind and not her ears. She didn't know what it was that was, just that it came from inside her father's office. Despite her best efforts to remain focused on the diplomatic mission, the whisper would not go away. Leia figured that her best option to deal with this would be to sneak off when no one was looking and investigate it further, then return as discreetly as possible.

Her opportunity arrived when the Count had had enough and of this "rebel talk" as he referred to it and began threatening to report the Royal House of Alderaan and their cohorts to the Empire under charges of treason. Arguments then erupted between both parties, with some of the rebels making their own threats of taking the Serenno's down with them while others tried to offer reasoning, which was met with further backlash. With everyone occupied in this mindless fight of threats, Leia made her move and snuck away from the banquet hall. Unbeknownst to Leia, a small blue and white astromech droid had seen her unannounced leave; who then rolled out the same door as the young princess had, following her in secret.

Making her way towards her father's office, guided by the whisper, which now felt like a calling, Leia reached the door, to her luck, finding it unlocked. Entering the office, she let the calling guide her, leading her towards one of her father's desk cabinets. Opening it, Leia found a small wooden box inside with an inscription on it saying FOR PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA OF ALDERAAN. Leia recognized this box as her keepsake box. The one she'd given to her father during her coronation as the official heir to Alderaan. It contained cherished items from her childhood that she handed over upon reaching the age where she was ready to begin her journey to become a full adult, as per Alderaanian traditions.

Feeling that whatever was inside was the source of this strange feeling she'd been having all evening, Leia grabbed the box, pulling it out of the cabinet, and placed it atop the desk. She then took a seat on her father's overly large, and comfortable chair in front of the box and opened it. What she found inside, was nothing she didn't recognize. It was all stuff she remembered putting in when she was sixteen years old; a blanket she cuddled as a child, her favourite doll, a lock of hair belonging to Kier Domadi, her deceased love interest. This brought back some nice memories, and some bad ones too. Then next she found was the music box her parents had given to her as an infant child. She'd play with this thing every night, listing to its beautiful song before her parents or the nanny droid would tuck her into bed. It always brought a sense of peace after a long day of being the princess of Alderaan.

But unlike in the past when she was younger, she felt something different about the music box. She could feel a strange, yet familiar, music coming from it. Like the whisper that brought her here all the way from the banquet hall. In an instant, she realized that this was the source of the strange feeling Leia had been having all evening. Something had happened to the music box since she'd handed it over, something connected to both her and her father.

Opening the music box, it began to play the song, Mirrorbright, that it had always played whenever Leia opened it. Just as Leia remembered as a little girl the song was a joy to her ears, bringing back memories from her childhood. But unlike her memories, the song didn't start over again after it finished. Instead, a hologram of her father appeared; one wearing the same outfit as the one he'd worn all day.

"Leia, my daughter, my most cherished treasure, if you're viewing this message then it means that I am no longer around. I want you to know that I wish to have told you myself in the flesh what you're about to hear. There is a dark secret about yourself, one that has been kept hidden from you, and most of the galaxy itself since around the time of your birth. Only a few others besides myself, your mother among them, who know this dark secret. We kept this from you for the same reasons we kept our involvement with the rebellion a secret, for your own protection. We love you, Leia, always have, always will. It is why we've done what we've done by not telling you the truth. But this dark secret cannot be hidden from you forever, and if anyone is going to tell you this, it should be me."

Leia became concerned when she heard her father say the words, dark secret, multiple times, about her. It sent chills throughout her body. It also made her feel more curious. What secret was her father hiding from her? What was so dark about this secret, yet important enough that her father had created a recording to make sure she learned about it?

"You've never once asked about your birth parents," her father's recording continued. "Unlike many kids who are adopted as infants, you have not once asked about where you come from. You only know what you do about your birth parents due to how your mother and I have brought up the topic to you a few times without you showing any hint of curiosity on the subject. You tell us that you're satisfied with being our adoptive daughter. That we have provided all the love and happiness you could ever want. It fills our hearts with joy to hear you say those words. We truly do love you, Leia. From the moment we took you in, you have warmed our hearts more than any star in the universe ever could. Nevertheless, you must know the full truth about the people who gave you life. It is why I leave this recording should something happen to me and your mother during our struggle against the Empire.

"Yes, while it is true that your birth mother did die in childbirth shortly after the Clone Wars, you never knew that who she was, or what she did in life. Well, the truth is that she was an old ally of mine in the senate. Former elected queen of Naboo who then went on to represent her world as a senator during the waning days of the Republic, Padmé Amidala Naberrie."

Leia's eyes widen when she heard this. She'd heard stories about the great Queen Amidala of Naboo. The one who led her people during the Naboo crisis against the Trade Federation ten years before the Clone Wars broke out. The one who was said to have publicly stood against the creation of the republic army. Then she remembered her visit to Naboo where she met Moff Panaka who acted weird around her; who kept asking her very personal questions about her birth parents. According to what Leia had researched, Panaka had served under the late queen throughout her two terms as head of her security staff. Did she carry a resemblance to her birth mother that the Moff had noticed?

Leia had so many more questions now in her mind, but with little time to contemplate them as the recording kept going, and she was drawn back to her father's confession.

"And your father. He fought in the Clone Wars as a commanding officer in the Grand Army of the Republic. But he wasn't just some ordinary captain or commander. He was a Jedi Knight and general; one I think you may have heard of. He's one of the only who's reputation remains unbesmirched despite the Emperor's claims that the Jedi betrayed the galaxy. His name was Anakin Skywalker, the Hero with No Fear. And it hurts my ears when I say this, but your father did not die in combat like his fellow Jedi in one of the final battles of the war or during the Great Jedi Purge. Your father suffered a far worse fate than death. He fell into darkness at the end of the Clone Wars, becoming what many in the galaxy believe to be the embodiment of pure evil. Leia, your father has become Darth Vader."

Leia immediately pushed herself as far back into her fathers' chair as she could, almost causing it to fall over. She couldn't believe what she heard. The fact that she was the daughter of two of the galaxy's greatest heroes was more than enough for Leia to take in. But being the biological daughter of the most feared enforcer in the entire galaxy! A creature who appeared and acted more like a machine than man. The fact that he was able to have kids was impossible for Leia to even imagine.

"I'm afraid there's more."

More? Leia didn't think she could take much more of this. She couldn't possibly imagine what else her father might be hiding from her.

"This might actually relieve you, though I believe you will be more hurt at first by the fact that I kept this secret from you throughout your entire childhood. I can only offer my deepest apologies and hope you will someday understand why you were not told of this sooner. Leia, you have a twin brother. His name is Luke Skywalker."

A brother? Leia hadn't imagined she'd be more shocked than she was now, but yet here she was, overflowing now with questions about her family, her birth family.

"Given how powerful your father is in the force, the chances of you and your brother inheriting his powers were strong. And that, in turn, made you a threat to the Emperor should he discover the existence of Anakin Skywalker's offsprings. For if he got a hold of either you or your brother, he'd either turn you both into weapons of evil as he did with your father or destroy you."

Now it appeared that she had mystical powers now too. Leia wondered if this madness she was watching would ever end.

"To protect you both from the Emperor, it was agreed that you and your brother should be kept hidden from each other. For both his and your own safety, I will not reveal the location of where your brother was taken, if he is still there at the time you are listening to this message and the Emperor still lives. I do promise you that he is with a good family, under the care of one of my most trusted friends, and that you will meet each other when the Empire has been vanquished.

"Leia at this point I expect you are feeling a mix of shock, hate and pain now that you've learned the truth. It is understandable at this time and I know your anger will be set towards myself and your mother for keeping this from you for so long. Regardless I want to remind you that everything we did was for your safety and that we love you, Leia. We always have, always will Leia Organa, my daughter."

"Leia? Are you in there?" Bail's voice called out from outside the office. Though Leia gave no response or reaction. Her mind was occupied with trying to contemplate everything she'd just learned about her birth family, particularly the evil father, and the long lost twin brother whom she hadn't known existed until now. She was so focused on this that she failed to take notice of her father entering the room until he was standing right in front of her. When she finally looked up at him, his eyes staring at her with a shocked expression on his face. She, in turn, stared at him, her eyes filled with anger.

Life had just changed completely for Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan. And so far, the light could not yet be seen at that moment.

To be continued...

Hope you all liked the first chapter. Please feel free to follow, favourite, and review this story.