So, week of the 40th anniversary, thought I'd get working on this while I took a study break (finals are coming up, very little open time, sorry) Also let me know if you think I should make a separate story that depicts the glimpses into the future shown in this story and expands on them.
It was with a dry mouth and a rapidly beating heart that the esteemed Senator Padme Amidala stepped out of her speeder and up the small set of stairs of the portable stage that had been set out for the once in a lifetime (for most races) look into the future that was the Ceremony of Hope. The Jedi High Council- those that could be pulled from the field- and the Chancellor were already gathered in front of her along with her friends Senators Organa, Mothma, Chuchi, along with her handmaidens and her family while her secret husband stood in the front row along with his Padawan and a small army of reporters.
-Stay calm Love, everything will be okay- Anakin projected to her. It was not an uncommon thing for him to do it was actually how they talked to one another whenever their jobs had them cross paths in public.
-I'm not so sure Ani, what if they see us together?-
-We either play it off as just sex – Jedi aren't celibate after all—or we tell the truth and face the fallout together- He told her earning a small smile from his wife.
"Ready are you, Senator Amidala?" Grandmaster Yoda asked the former queen.
"Of course Master Jedi, what do I need to do?"
"Stand here you must, the rest we will do." The small green alien told her.
As the young politician took her place on the stage she took a moment to look out over the thousands of faces that sprawled out before her nerves becoming more strained with each set of eyes and camera that she saw. This could well be it for not only her carrier but her reputation and the safety of her family.
"People of the Republic," Chancellor Palpatine called out, his words projected across the galaxy by the varies microphones and speakers on the stage, "Today marks a momentous occasion, once every one and a half centuries the flow of the Force allows our protectors, the Jedi, to show the masses a rare sight, a glimpse into a possible future of one of our own, and I am proud to announce that none other than my fellow citizen of Naboo Senator Padme Amidala has been chosen by the people I serve to be the focus of the glimpse we shall now see. Master Windu, if you would?" The old man beckoned the dark skinned warrior monk forward, allowing the Jedi to address the people.
"Thank you Chancellor. First I think it should be said that what we see today is not a guarantee, merely what will happen if no one attempts to change what is shown, it is a possible future, just as all visons of the Force are possibilities, but it is not a guarantee. Second understand that while Senator Amidala is to be the root of the Visions it does not mean that the scenes we will see will all have her present, as long as she is connected to the event in a significant way it is more than possible for it to be shown. Now, let us begin."
Stepping away from the microphones Windu joined his fellow Masters in lining up before the esteemed Senator their eyes closing and their hands raised toward her, focusing the all-powerful energy of the Force to show them the future.
Above Padme's head the air began to shimmer, light bending and twisting in ways that reminded many in the crowed to hot air. Suddenly, like an eye opening in thin air color erupted from the shimmering light and the first vison of the future was revealed.
A young girl with braided chocolate brown hair and warm brown eyes sat reading on her bed in a comfortable white nightgown. By her height and trace amounts of baby fat left on her face one could guess that she was roughly fourteen or fifteen years old, no longer a child, but by no means an adult either.
Anakin looked at the little girl who could only be his and Padme's daughter with a small sad smile. 'She looks so much like her mother' He thought, 'But… does she even know who her father is?'
For a scant few moments the vision was silent, just a young girl enjoying her pastime before bed, then a knock was heard on a door out of frame.
"Leia, sweetheart, may I come in?"
Eyes widened and thousands burst into quite whispers, that was a voice that everyone recognized, and it certainly was NOT Senator Amidala.
Looking up from her data pad the now named Leia answered the voice "Sure Dad."
Que disbelief from the masses.
From what could be assumed to be the hallway entered the form of Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan, his face visibly aged but his body still as strong as it was twenty years previous. With visible nervousness the Senator sat down beside his daughter and for the first time in all the years he had raised her found it hard to meet her eyes, "Leia, today marked your fifteen birthday, and your coming of age." He told her.
The teenager rolled her eyes, "Yeah Dad I know, we just had a whole ball for it and everything." She informed him earning a small smile from the man before it quickly disappeared.
"Leia, your mother and I agreed long ago that we would tell you something very important when this day came." He told her, his voice weary.
Hearing her father's odd tone Leia began to grow nervous, "Dad?"
Taking a deep breath Bail decided to simply say it, "Leia honey, you know that your mother and I love you more than anything in the whole Galaxy right?" The girl nodded, "You're our daughter, nothing will ever change that, but we felt that you had a right to know that… that while we are and will always be a family, we are not bound by blood. We adopted you on the day of your birth fifteen years ago."
Okay, while that answered one question it brought to light a dozen more: Why would Padme Amidala put her daughter up for adoption? Why did Organa take her in? And where was the child's blood father in all this?
Leia's breath caught in her throat "W-what?"
"Leia, your mother… she died in childbirth and your father… was in no condition to raise you, they never named a godparent but I knew your mother well, she had been a close friend for many years, so I took you in as my own." Organa explained.
Leia was openly crying now, she had spent her whole life bearing the name Organa with pride and now she finds out that she did not possess the blood right to the name. It stung but…
She buried her face into her now known adoptive father's chest, arms wrapped around him tightly, "Like you said," She mumbled, "we will always be family."
The vision vanished, becoming a blur of color once more leaving the Galaxy in both a state of sorrow and perplexity. Senator Amidala dies in childbirth of all things? In this day and age that was next to unheard of, what could possible happen that would cause the woman revered for her strength to die in such a mundane and preventable way? And once again: WHO WAS THE FATHER? WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?
"People of the Republic, please be calm, as the Jedi explained this is merely a possible future, now that we are aware of the Senator's possible fate precautions will be taken." Palpatine assured them.
While Palpatine was doing his best to calm the nerves of the interplanetary audience, Anakin was having a bit of a breakdown. 'SHE DIES? What happened!? Where the SITH HELL am I while freaking ORGANA is raising MY DAUGHTER?! You know what? FUCK the Order, the second Padme gets pregnant I'm quitting and investing in med care. Now WAY am I going to abandon my family!'
Yeah, not sure why I wanted to do a 'Leia reacts to adoption' thing but... tell me what you all think okay?
Next chapter: Luke and friends go get drunk for the blonds birthday celebrations.
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