Chapter 22

The Queen said nothing for a few moments, staring back at Luke with a decidedly un-regal expression on her face. After a while she composed herself and adopted a blank expression once again, but Luke was painfully aware of the panic ensuing beneath the cool surface.

"That cannot be possible," one of the handmaidens said, noticing her Queen's shock and intervening on her behalf. "Queen Amidala died before giving birth, everyone knows that."

"She died right after I was born," Luke replied calmly. He decided not to mention Leia, knowing that if things were to turn south, he'd much rather the Queen not know about her. Realizing that the handmaiden was unconvinced, he reached around his neck and took off the chain. "In this locket is a lock of my late mother's hair," he said. "You may run tests if you wish."

"That hair could belong to anyone!" another handmaiden exclaimed.

"It was given to me by my aunt and by Queen Amidala's sister Sola," Luke replied. "I assure you, it is hers."

"My lady, surely you can't believe –"

"Silence!" Soruna ordered suddenly, shutting up her handmaiden. "Are you threatening me, Master Jedi?" she asked in a low voice, eying Luke suspiciously.

Luke shook his head emphatically, disconcerted by the Queen's reaction. "Not at all, your majesty."

"Then why are you here?"

Luke paused, suddenly understanding why Leia had been so hesitant to seek an audience with the Queen. He had come before her unannounced and armed, declaring himself the son of the two greatest heroes of Naboo's history. Soruna had every right to fear him; he represented a serious threat to her legitimacy which was shaky at best given that she had been crowned by the dreaded Emperor Palpatine.

"You seek to overthrow me, don't you?" she asked in a low voice.

"I have no such ambitions," Luke said, struggling to remain calm. "I simply wished to ask for a favor."

"A favor?" she repeated indignantly, her eyes widening. "What sort of favor?"

Luke swallowed hard, noticing about two dozen guards entering into the Throne Room behind him with blasters at hand. "I apologize, your majesty," he said, deciding to abort the mission entirely. "I see now that it was wrong for me to disturb you in such an abrupt manner. I have no right to ask anything of you." Soruna scrutinized Luke's face for a few moments, recognizing his sincerity but fearing him nonetheless. "I guess I'll be going now…"

"No, Master Jedi, I'm afraid that won't be possible," Soruna said coldly. "See, you present a great threat to me. I cannot allow you to leave this Palace freely." Luke looked around frantically as he saw the guards form a semicircle formation around him, blasters aimed at his back. "Guards, take him away."

Luke spun around to face the guards, each of whom were training the weapons directly at him. Panicking, Luke pushed the nearest guard away from him with the Force, sending the man flying into a marble column.

"Stun him!" a guard called out. In a leap, Luke jumped over the blaster fire and flipped, landing behind the line of guards. Pushing a few more guards back, one of whom landed with a thud at the Queen's feet, Luke turned to run towards the exit. He stopped when a phalanx of guards came streaming out of the door to greet him, blasters pointed at him. Realizing he was defeated, Luke raised his hands in surrender.

You were right, Leia he thought as a guard roughly cuffed his hands. Why didn't I listen to you?

Han was sitting at the foot of the steps to the Palace watching Leia pace back and forth in front of him. He had tried to convince her to relax and maybe go stroll around the city for a while as they waited for Luke, but she had shot him down. They had been waiting there for about fifteen minutes when Leia abruptly stopped pacing and swiveled her head towards the Palace entrance.

"What's wrong?" Han asked, sitting upright.

"Luke's in trouble," she said with a hint of panic in her voice. She reached down to grab her lightsaber. "We have to help him."

"Whoa, wait up a second there, princess!" Han said quickly, rising to his feet and putting himself in front of Leia. "What do you mean he's in trouble?"

"I can feel it!" she said irritably, looking around Han to see if anything was happening at the Palace entrance. "He's in danger!"

"Leia, stop!" Han said urgently, grabbing her by the shoulders. "You can't just go running in there alone, you don't stand a chance."

Leia's eyes darted frantically between the Palace and Han and was breathing rapidly as if she were hyperventilating. "We have to help him, we have to help him," she kept saying.

"Leia, listen to me!" Han yelled, shaking her a bit. "You have to calm down." Leia looked back at him with wide eyes. "We need a plan," Han said, knowing that he had her attention. "We can't go in their guns blazing, alright?"

Leia nodded her head, looking down at her lightsaber. Taking a few deep breaths, she regained her composure and felt her momentary panic slip away. "You're right, Han," she said in a calmer voice. "You can let me go," she added. Han released her and put his hands on his hips, still looking at her with a worried expression.

"You sure you're okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine, really," Leia said quickly. "Just give me a second." She closed her eyes and focused on locating Luke's force presence. Despite him being so far away, she had no difficulty locating him, perhaps because he was emitting waves of stress and fear.

Luke, she called out into the void Luke, can you hear me? Leia waited patiently for a few moments, oblivious to Han's perplexed expression.

I'm here she heard him respond, although his voice sounded faint and far away compared to how it usually did. Leia, you were right. I was a fool to come here.

What happened? Are you alright? she asked back.

I'm fine for now. The Queen is convinced that I'm here to overthrow her, though. She had me arrested; I don't know where they're sending me but I've definitely left the Palace.

We'll find you, Luke. Don't worry, we'll rescue you.

No! Luke insisted forcefully, the word reverberating in Leia's skull. There's too many, you'll never reach me alone. You have to find another way. Listen, I have to go, promise me you won't try to break me out alone.

I promise, she replied, starting to panic once again. Luke, what am I supposed to do? But she got no reply; Luke's presence had faded away leaving her alone once more. Opening her eyes, Leia suddenly felt extremely lightheaded, perhaps because of the exertion from communicating over such a large distance. Stumbling slightly, she felt herself fall towards Han.

"Leia!" she heard Han call out to her in shock. Colliding into Han's chest, Leia's body went slack and everything went dark.

Leia woke up a few hours later on a firm, uncomfortable mattress. Groaning, she rolled over and curled up into a fetal position. Her mouth was extremely dry and she had a pounding headache.

"How're you feeling?" she heard a familiar voice ask. Opening her eyes, she saw Han seated on a stool next to her bed. Looking around, she realized she was in a passenger hold on the Millennium Falcon.

"Horrible," she mumbled, sitting upright. Feeling dizzy from the sudden change in position, she leaned her head against the cool metallic headrest next to her. "What happened?" she asked in a hoarse voice.

"You passed out," Han told her. "Here, take these," he added, producing two tablets and a glass of water. "It'll help." After swallowing the pills, Leia began rubbing her temples as the events of the day came back to her.

"Luke…Luke's gone," she said. "I knew it was a bad idea, but I let him go anyway."

"Leia, listen to me," Han said. "You can't go after him. Do you hear me?"

"No, I have to save him! I can't lose him…"

"Leia…"

But Leia wasn't listening. Standing up, she looked around the room for her lightsaber. Unable to find it, she looked at Han suspiciously. "Han, where is my lightsaber?" she asked in an ominous tone.

Shifting on his stool nervously, Han looked down at his feet. "I uh…I have it," he said.

Leia took a step towards him. "Give it back to me, Han," she demanded.

Regaining his confidence, Han stood up off the stool so that he was now standing directly in front of Leia. "I will not," he said firmly. "Not until you promise me you're not going to do something stupid."

Leia's eyes widened in indignation. Feeling a strong surge of anger course through her, Leia envisioned herself pushing Han back with the Force, demanding that he give back her weapon. How dare he stand in her way when Luke's life may be at stake?

Fearing Leia's dark expression, Han tried to take a step back but tripped on the stool behind him, causing him to stumble backwards inelegantly. Leia felt her anger recede, replaced by a sudden urge to laugh at Han's blunder. Taking a deep breath, she calmed down and scolded herself for even considering attacking Han again. Vader's warning rang in her head: Defeat the darkness or suffer my fate.

"Han, I'm sorry," she said, a wave of nausea crashing over her causing her to sit back down on the mattress. "You're right, I'm being an idiot." Relieved, Han moved the stool aside and kneeled down in front of her.

"We're going to get him back, OK?" he said reassuringly, putting a hand on her knee. "We just need a plan first."

Leia laughed in spite of her lightheadedness. "Since when were you the logical one?" she asked good-naturedly. Han merely shrugged and grinned back at her.

"Why don't you get some more rest?" he said after a few moments. "You seem like you need it."

Leia opened her mouth to protest, but stopped herself when she realized that Han was right. Evidently, communicating telepathically with Luke over such long distances came at a cost. Nodding, she slipped back into the bed and laid her head on the pillow. Giving her a quick peck on the cheek, Han turned to leave the room, turning the light off as he left.