Chapter 13

Once they had finally wrangled a boat from the greedy store keeper, the three made their way out on the lake towards Varykino. The gorgeous scenery seemed to have soothed Han's spirit as he was acting like his old self during the voyage, much to Luke and Leia's delight. But Luke was not fooled by Han's cheery attitude; he knew that his own presence helped ease the tension between Han and Leia, and that the moment he left them alone things would become icy between them once again.

"Are you ever going to tell us where we're going?" Leia asked once again, having to talk loudly over the sound of the engine.

Luke sighed good-naturedly, impressed by his sister's persistence. "Fine," he said, relenting. "It's called Varykino. All I know is that mother and father fell in love and were married here."

Leia's eyes widened, surprised that Vader could have ever been associated with such a beautiful place. "How do you know this?" she asked, suddenly suspicious.

Luke looked away, his eyes focused on the water ahead. "You know how," he said simply. Leia understood, somewhat disappointed in Luke but unwilling to get into an argument about it. Somehow it felt sacrilegious to be angry at one another in such a beautiful place.

"Surely someone else must live there now?" Han asked practically.

Luke shrugged. "I hadn't thought about that, actually," he replied honestly. Han merely laughed and shook his head, unsurprised by Luke's singlemindedness. The three fell into a comfortable silence as they watched the sun descend beneath the horizon, painting the lake in a glorious orange and pink hue. Out of the corner of his eye, Han watched Leia as she grasped the railing of the ship, enraptured by the phenomenal sunset. Han held his breath as he marveled at how stunning Leia was. Snapping out of it, Han forced himself to look away.

"How far is this place anyway?" Han asked Luke who was watching him closely. Luke scrutinized Han's face briefly before answering.

"We should be there in a few minutes. I think we can even see it from here," he said, pointing out at the horizon. As the boat approached, the building in the distance grew in size.

"Oh, it's beautiful!" Leia exclaimed as the grandiose estate came into view. Luke's eyes widened in surprise as he took in the marvelous palace before him, having never seen such a spectacular building before. Once they had reached the shore Han busied himself with tying up the ship to the dock with some rope while the twins exited, Luke still in a state of shock.

"Are you coming?" Leia asked Han.

Han nodded. "I'll be right behind you. You two go ahead."

"OK," she replied. "Let's go, Luke." The twins proceeded to make their way up the marble stairs leading to the estate.

"You know, I hadn't really thought about what we'd do when we got here," Luke said, suddenly concerned about trespassing. Leia was about to say something when Luke held out his arm. "Shh," he whispered. "Someone's coming." The two held their breath as they heard approaching footsteps. At the top of the stairs on the patio a young woman in a flowing dress appeared, a concerned expression on her face.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" she demanded, her arms crossed in front of her.

"I-I'm sorry," Luke stammered, unsure of how to explain himself.

"Pooja, what's going on?" another female voice asked. The defensive woman turned towards the voice.

"I don't know, mom. Some strangers are here," she said to the approaching middle-aged woman.

"We can explain ourselves," Leia said, stepping forward in front of Luke. The middle-aged woman looked at Leia closely, a curios expression on her face.

"Who are you?" she asked slowly, her eyes never leaving Leia.

"My name is Leia Organa," Leia replied, somewhat unnerved by the woman's intense scrutiny. "This is my brother Luke Skywalker." The woman's eyes widened slightly at Luke's name, turning her gaze to the young man.

"We apologize for showing up unannounced," Leia continued diplomatically. "We've only just learned that our late mother once lived here and we wanted to visit." The woman gasped and put her hand to her mouth.

"This can't be true," she muttered to herself, taking a step backwards.

"Mom, what's wrong?" her daughter asked, concerned.

"Pooja, go get your grandparents," she replied quietly.

"Why? What's going on?"

"Pooja, just do it." With a huff, Pooja left back into the house. Leia gave Luke a confused look as they watched this strange interaction.

Once they were alone, the woman approached them tentatively. "You're Padme's children?" she asked. Leia raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Yes," she told her. "How did you know?" Reaching out, the woman grasped Leia's hand with her own, tears sparkling in her eyes.

"You look just like her," she told Leia in a whisper who blushed at the comment.

"How did you know our mother?" Luke asked curiously. The woman looked up towards Luke with a weak smile. Before she could answer, Pooja returned with an elderly man and woman in tow.

"Sola, what's going on?" the aged woman asked. Sola stepped aside to reveal Luke and Leia standing on the steps.

"Mom, Dad," Sola addressed her parents. "Meet you grandchildren, Luke and Leia." The twins collectively gasped as they realized what was happening. Neither had ever considered that even though their parents were both dead that they could still have an extended family, yet here they were.

"What are you talking about Sola?" their grandfather asked, bewildered.

Recovering from her initial shock, Leia took a step onto the patio. As she did so, her face became more visible in the fading light. Taking in Leia's face, the elderly couple's eyes widened in shock. Beckoning Luke to step forward, Leia addressed her grandparents confidently. "Senator Amidala was our mother," she informed them, still accustomed to referring to her mother by her official title.

Grasping her husband's arm, the elderly woman stared back at Leia. "That's impossible," she insisted. "Padme was pregnant when…" she tapered off, the immobilizing pain of loss reemerging forcefully.

"We buried her with the child," her husband said for her, tears emerging in his eyes. Leia looked away, the pained expressions on her grandparents' faces overwhelming her with emotion.

"Anakin is your father, wasn't he?" Sola asked suddenly.

Luke looked at her curiously. "You knew our father?"

"We met once a long time ago when he was serving as Padme's bodyguard." Sola smiled as she remembered the charming young man. "Padme denied that they had feelings for each other at the time, but it was clear as day how much Anakin cared for her."

Luke looked over at Leia, curious to see her reaction, but her face was unreadable.

"I assume he died in the purges?" Sola asked sympathetically. Leia stiffened, remembering that nobody knew that Anakin Skywalker had become Darth Vader.

"In a sense," Luke answered after a while. Ignoring Sola's perplexed expression, Luke addressed his grandparents. "We know hardly anything about our mother, but we know it was her. I understand why you might doubt us, but I assure you both that we are telling the truth"

His grandfather stared back at Luke for a long while, taking in every aspect of Luke's face. "Why don't we go inside," he said finally, clearly still suspicious about these two strangers. "We have much to discuss."