Chapter 15

After having retrieved their luggage from the boat the three each retired to their respective rooms in order to clean up and get changed for dinner. After having showered and shaved, Han knocked on Luke's door.

"Come in," Luke called. Pushing the door open, Han saw that Luke had changed into his typical black Jedi robes and was combing his hair in front of a mirror. Sitting down in a plush armchair in the corner of the room, Han watched Luke with a lazy grin on his face.

"What's so funny?" Luke asked after seeing Han's reflection in the mirror.

"I've never seen you comb your hair before," he said. "Are these rich people rubbing off on you?"

Luke rolled his eyes at the accusation. "It's the least I can do," he replied. "Besides, I want to make a good impression on them, surely you can understand that."

Han shrugged, running a hand through his hair. "I don't think I've ever combed my hair," Han said.

"Well aren't you special?" Luke retorted sarcastically. Just then there was a knock on the door.

"Luke, can I come in?" they heard Leia ask from the hallway.

"Sure," Luke replied, putting the comb down. When Leia entered the room, both Han and Luke caught their breath at the site of her. Leia was wearing a simple silken white dress much like the one she had worn in the Throne Room after the first Death Star had been destroyed. Her hair was done up in a complicated bun, a single braid cascaded down her back elegantly.

"Luke, could you…" noticing Han sitting in the corner, Leia faltered.

"Do what?" Luke asked, recovering quickly from his momentary paralysis.

"Um," she mumbled, suddenly awkward in Han's presence. "Could you zip up my dress?" she asked. Han stiffened visibly at Leia's request, the hand that was resting on the armrest clenching into a fist. Noticing Han's visceral reaction, Luke hesitated.

"Han can do it, right?" he asked her. Surprised, Leia paused for a few moments.

"Of course," she said after a while, realizing Luke's motive. "If you're willing," she added quickly to Han.

His eyes darting back and forth between Luke and Leia, Han was confused by this interaction. "Sure," he said gruffly, standing up to help Leia. Luke smiled to himself subtly as he went back to combing his hair.

"Oh, you look lovely dear!" Jobal exclaimed when Leia entered the dining room with Luke and Han behind her. "You look just like your mother in that dress."

"Thank you," Leia replied warmly, realizing how happy she was to learn that she looked like her mother.

"You know, we still have a lot of her dresses back home," Jobal told Leia. "I'm sure she would have loved for you to have them."

"I'd love to see them," Leia responded politely. Perhaps she would have been excited at the prospect of seeing her mother's wardrobe a few years ago, but nowadays she doubted she could fully enjoy such frivolities.

"Luke, Han, you two look very handsome as well," Jobal told the young men flanking Leia.

"Thank you, ma'am," Han said with a bow of his head.

"Please join us," Jobal said graciously. Sitting down, Leia looked across the table and met Ruwee's unrelenting gaze. Determined not to be intimidated, Leia stared back at him confidently, attempting to convey that she was being nothing but truthful with him.

"So," Ruwee began as they were being served by a pair of serving droids. "Tell us about yourselves. Where are you from? How do you make a living?"

"Ruwee, we're not interrogating them," Jobal told her husband.

"No, it's all right," Leia said, raising a hand. "It's a fair question." Luke nodded his agreement. "I was raised on Alderaan as the daughter of Bail and Breha Organa. My mother… I mean Breha was the Queen of Alderaan and Bail represented Alderaan in the Galactic Senate. I represented Alderaan in the Senate after he retired, until…"

"Oh dear…" Jobal said when she remembered what happened to Alderaan. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Leia."

Leia's voice caught in her throat as she remembered her adoptive parents. "Thank you," she whispered, willing herself to stay strong. Recognizing Leia's emotions, Luke stepped in.

"I was raised on Tatooine by a couple of moisture farmers," Luke said, trying to lighten the mood. "So clearly Leia got the better end of the deal." Leia laughed, in part because it gave her an excuse to stop thinking about the Organas.

"And what about you, Han?" Sola asked the twins' mysterious companion. "Where do you come from?"

"I was born on Corellia," he answered. "I never really knew my parents, truth be told. I worked for the criminal organizations on Corellia for a while before I was able to escape and get enlisted into the Imperial Academy where I became a pilot."

"You served the Empire?" Ruwee asked suspiciously.

"Technically," Han said truthfully. "But I left when I got the chance to earn some money with some smugglers. I was a smuggler for about a decade, and I'd probably still be one if it wasn't for this kid," he said gesturing at Luke.

Luke laughed, remembering meeting Han for the first time in the Mos Eisley Cantina. "You know that's right," he said. "Although Leia's got as much to do with that as I do."

"I take it you two were also a part of the Rebellion?" Ruwee asked.

"Oh yeah," Han replied. "I even was a general. I still don't know how that happened to be honest." Everyone at the table except Ruwee laughed at that. "But Luke here was the true hero of the Rebellion."

"Don't sell yourself short, Han," Luke told his friend.

"Your humility gets on my nerves, kid," Han retorted good-naturedly.

"Why? What did you do, Luke?" Sola asked curiously.

"He destroyed the blasted Death Star, that's what he did," Han interjected knowing that Luke wouldn't do justice to himself.

"You did that!" Pooja exclaimed in shock.

Luke merely nodded, embarrassed by all the attention.

"That's remarkable," Sola said. "Padme would have been so proud of both of you. A senator and a war hero." A melancholy silence filled the room, disturbed only by the clinking of silverware.

"Would you tell us about her?" Leia asked after a minute had passed. "Luke and I know hardly anything about her."

"We would love to," Jobal replied. "What do you want to know?"

Leia glanced at Luke, not sure where to begin. "I don't know really…" Leia said honestly, "we just want to know what she was like, I guess."

Jobal and Ruwee gave each other a sad look, similarly conflicted about where to begin. Noticing her parents' predicament, Sola decided to take charge. "Padme was many things," she began. "Intelligent, beautiful, persistent. But what was most remarkable about her was her heart. She always had a way in finding the good in people, even if they themselves didn't see it."

Reaching under the table, Leia put her hand on top of Luke's. "She sounds just like you," she told him in a whisper. Luke smiled, remembering what his father had told him. In that way you remind me so much of her, Luke, Anakin had told him. You may look like me on the outside, but on the inside you have her heart.

"But she was a politician just like you, Leia," Luke reminded her.

"Padme always had a proclivity to politics," Ruwee said. "She was elected Queen of Naboo when she was just fourteen years old."

"That's truly unbelievable," Luke marveled. "Why did they elect someone so young?"

Ruwee shrugged. "It's the political culture here to elect young women to the office,"

"She was just a child though," Luke retorted.

"In some ways, yes," Jobal admitted. "But Padme was remarkably mature even as a young girl."

"I was a senator when I was eighteen," Leia reminded her brother. "In many ways, young people are actually more capable politicians than adults. They haven't yet been corrupted by cynicism," she said, giving Ruwee a pointed look.

Ruwee tilted his head curiously at Leia, scrutinizing her closely. "Padme used to be like you," he said eventually. "She was very adept at using passive aggressive comments like that one to criticize me." A tense silence ensued as everyone watched Leia and Ruwee stared at each other intensely. "Perhaps… perhaps I deserve some criticism every now and then."

The room erupted in laughter, not so much because of what Ruwee had said but out of relief that they had avoided a potentially cataclysmic conflict. A massive smile illuminated Leia's face. "Perhaps you do," she agreed. "Grandfather."

After dinner, everyone bid each other goodnight and retired to their respective rooms. Unable to sleep due to the whirlwind of emotions she had experienced that day, Leia went out onto the patio instead. Leaning against the railing, Leia took in a deep breath of the refreshing lakeside air. She gazed out at the tranquil lake which was illuminated majestically by the moonlight.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" a familiar voice said from somewhere behind her, startling Leia immensely. Spinning around, she came face to face with her father's force ghost who was watching her with a twinkle in his eye.

"You can't take a hint, can you?" she told him bitterly.

"No, not really," Vader said with a shrug. "I'm too persistent for my own good, just like you."

"I'm nothing like you," she retorted quickly.

"That is your greatest fear," Vader said taking a step forward. "To become like me, is it not?" Leia said nothing, glaring back at her father menacingly. "You are right to fear it, Leia. There are few fates worse than mine."

"I'm not going to pity you, if that's what you want," Leia snapped at him.

"Quite the opposite," he replied. "I want you to learn from my mistakes so that you can avoid my fate." Anakin paused for a moment, anticipating a retort from Leia but not receiving one. "Darkness surrounds you, my daughter."

Leia winced at that. "Don't call me that."

Ignoring Leia's comment, Vader continued. "Your brother thinks he can help you control it, but he is mistaken."

"Luke is a far wiser man than you've ever been," Leia said.

"Very true," Vader agreed, "But he doesn't understand the Dark Side like I do. He doesn't appreciate how powerful and how dangerous you could become."

Leia took a step back until her back was against the railing, perturbed by the tone in Vader's voice. "I don't want power," she said nervously.

"That's not entirely true," Vader told her. "One doesn't become a politician if they don't crave power."

"That's different!" Leia said defensively.

"Perhaps, but it only makes you more vulnerable to the Darkness," Vader told her. "Luke was able to fend off the Darkness because he had no ambitions other than to save me. You, Leia, are not as single-minded as your brother."

Leia had no response, knowing deep down that what Vader was saying was true. She was not as pure and naïve as Luke was.

"I want you to hate me," Vader told her much to Leia's surprise. "I want you to hate the choices I made because only then will you learn how to save yourself." Before she knew what she was doing, Leia nodded her head. Anakin stretched out his ghostly hand to Leia. "Let me show you how I failed."

After hesitating for a brief moment, Leia reached out to grab Vader's hand.