Chapter 20

The next few days were the happiest Leia had had in what felt like months. Now that Leia was beginning to be able to move objects with the Force, she was able to move on with her Jedi training. Under Luke's tutelage, Leia spent hours each day refining her powers and learning how to use the Force on herself so that she could leap several feet into the air and perform flips with ease.

While Luke had told her not to abuse her newfound powers, she was having a hard time not using them for mischief. For example, during dinner Han was surprised to find that whenever he reached out for his soup spoon, the spoon would slide away from his grasp around the bowl causing the soup to slosh about. Perplexed, Han had looked around the table to see if anyone had noticed this strange behavior. Finding that no one was paying any attention to him, he tried again, only to have the spoon spin away from him once again.

Besides this incident, Han and Leia were getting along better than ever before. Whenever she wasn't training with Luke, Leia could be found with Han, taking long strolls along the beach, swimming in the lake, or having picnics in the meadows. Leia had never felt so at peace and so full of life.

The Naberries had been exceptionally hospitable towards their unexpected guests, even Ruwee had begun to thaw and had acknowledged Luke and Leia as his grandchildren. Sola was particularly receptive towards her newfound niece and nephew. Leia sensed that Sola wanted to serve a maternal role towards her and Luke. While Leia appreciated Sola's efforts, she was unable to oblige her aunt fully as her mother had always been Breha Organa, and she was sure Luke felt the same about his Aunt Beru who raised him.

At the end of the week the Naberries prepared to leave Varkyino. Sola had to return to work in Theed and Ruwee and Jobal insisted that they preferred living in their smaller home anyway.

"You're welcome to stay as long as you want," Jobal had told Luke and Leia on the last night of their stay.

"We couldn't," Luke had said. "We should be on our way as well."

"Hopefully the Queen will accept an audience with us," Leia had added.

That night Leia was packing up in her room when she heard a faint knock on the door. Sure that it was Han, Leia walked to answer the door with a smile on her face. "Sola?" she exclaimed when she was greeted by her aunt instead.

"I'm sorry to bother you," she said apologetically. "I just wanted to make sure I saw you one last time before I leave in the morning."

"It's no problem at all," Leia told her.

"May I come in?" Sola asked.

"Of course," Leia said, beckoning Sola into her room. "I'm sorry, it's a bit messy in here. I was just packing up."

As she walked into the room, Sola bent over and picked up a silken dress that was strewn over the bed. Holding it up to shoulder-height, Sola smiled faintly at the simple yet elegant dress. "Your mother was always a very fashionable woman," she said with a faint smile. "Although she often wore much more extravagant outfits than you do." Leia nodded, unsure what to say.

"It's so unfair that you never got to meet her," Sola said softly, her lower lip trembling slightly. "You would have loved her so much."

Surprised by this sudden outpour of emotion, Leia crossed the room and grabbed her aunt's hand. Sola smiled at the gesture, using her other hand to wipe an errant tear away. "I'm sorry for getting all teary on you," she said. "I learned to stow away my grief long ago, but meeting you and Luke has brought all the pain back." Sola's smile faded as she looked at their intertwined hands for a few moments. "You and Luke are each so much like her, but in different ways."

"She sounds much more like Luke than like me," Leia said with a hint of bitterness, suspecting begrudgingly that she was much more like her father.

"Oh, that's not true," Sola told her, squeezing Leia's hand. "She may have been gentle and kind, but she could also be ruthless. She was a very determined person; she knew what she believed in and she was a relentless fighter. I always thought of her as a mixture of warmth and steel."

Leia smiled at her aunt, but internally she was questioning herself. Is that really what I am? she thought. Do I know what I believe in? When she had been a part of the Rebellion, she had always known what she was fighting for. It had been easy back then. But now, what path was she on? To become a Jedi? To follow Luke?

"I didn't come to sadden you," Sola said, rousing Leia from her doubts. Letting go of Leia's hand, Sola reached around the back of her neck. Undoing a chain, Sola lifted it around her head and presented a small golden locket to Leia. "I want you to have this," she said solemnly.

Taking the chain, Leia opened the locket to find a lock of dark brown hair. Looking up at Sola, Leia's eyes widened. "Is this – "

Sola nodded. "It's Padme's," she said.

"I couldn't take this from you!"

"No, you must," Sola insisted sternly. "You need it more so than I."

"What do you…" Leia stopped when she realized what Sola was saying. "Proof?"

Sola nodded again. "The Queen can't doubt you if you prove that you are Padme's children. I'm sorry I didn't give this to you earlier, I didn't even think about it until this afternoon."

"Oh Sola, thank you so much," Leia said earnestly, closing the locket carefully and placing it on the bed. Sola smiled warmly at her niece and placed her hands on Leia's forearms.

"She was my best friend, you know. I would do anything for her children," she said gently. "It warms my heart so see that you are as close to Luke as I was to Padme," she added.

We're closer than you could ever understand Leia thought to herself with a smirk. While it had been scary at first to learn that Luke could hear her every thought, but the benefits of telepathic communication had proven to be much greater than she could have ever imagined. One night she had heard Luke heading downstairs, probably to meditate on the patio as he did often when he couldn't sleep. Curious to see how good the range on telepathy was, she had thought Luke, can you get me some water while your down there? Five minutes later, she had heard a knock on her door.

"You know, you could have gotten this yourself," he had said while handing her a glass of water.

"I know, but this was so much easier," she had told him with a grin.

"I'll let you get back to your packing," Sola said after a moments pause, rousing Leia once again from her memories. "And please remember that if you need anything, I would be more than happy to help."

"Thank you for everything, Sola," Leia told her graciously. After giving her a hug, Sola left the room to allow Leia to finish packing.

The next morning Luke, Leia, and Han awoke to a disturbingly quiet house as the Naberries had left the night before. Perhaps feeling as if they didn't belong in the grandiose estate, the trio ate their breakfast quickly and began packing in haste.

As Han was loading their luggage onto the boat, Luke and Leia stood side by side on the pier watching the sun creep up above the horizon. Leia watched Luke out of the side of her eye, unsure if she should say anything. He looked so peaceful in that moment, his hands behind his back as he gazed out at the serene lake. Nonetheless, she felt that she had to speak.

"Luke, I still don't think this is a good idea," she told him in a strained voice. While Sola had steadfastly insisted that Queen Soruna would welcome them as heroes, Leia still had her doubts. A life in politics tended to enhance a person's cynicism and paranoia, and Leia was no exception.

"I'm well aware of that, Leia," Luke replied after taking a deep breath. "You think I'm far too trusting."

"Yes, you are," she confirmed. "I know Soruna, she turned to the Rebellion but only after it became convenient to her. She's a pragmatist and a manipulator."

"She has nothing to fear from us," Luke argued.

"Maybe so," Leia agreed. "But that doesn't mean she won't perceive us as a threat. She might think we're here to overthrow her in our mother's name."

Luke said nothing, continuing to stare off into the distance. After a while, he looked down at his shoes, evidently deep in thought.

"Let me go alone," Leia said finally. "She wouldn't try anything if I say I'm with the Rebellion."

"But you're not with the Rebellion," Luke stated matter-of-factly.

Leia rolled her eyes. "I know that," she said, a hint of condescension in her voice. "But she doesn't."

Luke gave her a sharp look. "Deception is not the Jedi way," he told her.

Leia merely shrugged, unimpressed with Luke's dogmatism. "I'm not a typical Jedi," she said. "And neither are you for that matter." Frowning, Luke looked away again, squinting as the first rays of sunlight reflected off the shimmering lake. "You know I'm right," Leia said, irked by her brother's attitude.

"Perhaps," he replied. "But I won't let you go alone."

"I am perfectly capable – "

"You misunderstand me," Luke interrupted. "If you insist that the Queen is not to be trusted, I will respect your judgment. But if she is to trust one of us, it would be me, not you. You are a politician, and a well-known one at that. I, hopefully, am still a nobody."

"What are you saying?" Leia asked, crossing her arms in front of her.

"I will see the Queen alone," he replied. "Please," he said, cutting off Leia's impending rebuttal. "Do not fight me. I will not yield on this." Leia paused, her mouth still open from when she was going to rebuke Luke. I will not willingly put you in danger she heard Luke say in her mind. Please, allow me this.

"Fine," Leia said aloud, unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice. "But let me know if something goes wrong."

Luke smiled faintly. "I will," he said. "But nothing will go wrong."

Leia snorted derisively, clearly unconvinced by Luke's confidence. "Take this too," she said, reaching into her pocket and producing the locket Sola had given her the day before. Luke nodded, placing the chain around his neck, already knowing the significance of the locket from Leia when she had told him about it yesterday.

"Please be careful," she said. I can't lose you she added silently.

Luke nodded and returned his gaze to the horizon, smiling faintly as he appreciated the beautiful, ethereal sunlight. I will be he replied. You'll never lose me, Leia. I promise.