Chapter Thirty Five:
Leia stared at the screen, trying and failing to get into the report Padmé had set for her to read. Her parents had left for an extended vacation, though only a select few people knew that. While they were gone, Padmé had set aside some required reading for her daughter to 'keep Leia busy'.
Leia snorted. "More like bore me to tears," she muttered to herself.
Giving up with a heavy sigh, Leia turned off the screen and settled back into her chair, staring at nothing. The truth was, despite her promise to remember Luke by fulfilling her mission, Leia hadn't truly been able to focus since his death.
She supposed she was still in the grieving process and that she would be able to focus again in due course, but for now... Leia felt like she was treading water.
Leia's head lolled lazily to the side, and her gaze happened to fall upon the nighttime view outside her window. As she stared listlessly at the multitude of ships coming and going, an idea came to the princess.
If her parents could take a random trip, why couldn't she?
The more the thought ran laps about her head, the more and more Leia grew to like it. In fact, Leia thought it could be just what she needed to get herself back on track. She needed a break from reality; or rather, an escape from everything.
Leia sat upright again and picked up her datapad, opening a map and scrolling about with pursed lips. Where should she go? Where could she go that she'd not be recognized and not have to worry about anyone bothering her?
As she viewed her options, a ping from her datapad alerted her to a new message, and Leia frowned. Who would be contacting her at this hour? It was nearly midnight!
But something in her shivered when the message appeared, and that gave the young woman pause. Warily, Leia shifted to the message and was surprised to find that she had to verify her identity before it would open for her.
Thinking that it could be from the Alliance, Leia perked up a little and did as the message asked by keying in her pass code. The message box disappeared for a second, and then reappeared after verifying her information.
What came up lifted Leia's brow:
Borleias; two days from now. Come alone. Meet at the Nocturne. Extremely important!
~MM
"M-M?" Leia whispered, befuddled, before it hit her. "Oh! Mon Mothma!"
Leia glanced at her window again, and fell into her thoughts briefly. If Mon was contacting her like this then whatever it was had to be big. But what if she wanted to talk about Vader pinning Luke's death on the Rebellion?
Leia swallowed, not knowing if she'd be welcomed back with open arms after this. But she'd sworn to the Alliance to be true, and so she would be. And if Mon needed her, then Leia would do what she could to help.
She would have to persuade Quane to let her go, of course... but Leia knew she could. Sending a coded communiqué to Artoo, Leia asked him to prepare their usual ship for departure.
Then she went to pack a small bag of essentials.
And all the while, the Force seemed to be humming with anticipation.
00000
Mara stood in the shadows of the alleyway nearby the Nocturne, watching and waiting for her quarry. Luke had told her exactly what to expect from Leia, who had training not unlike Mara's but more specific to assassins' work.
Mara was up to the challenge however. Luke hadn't seen all she could do, not by a long shot. And besides, Mara never failed.
It had been two days since she'd received confirmation that Leia had received her message, and Mara was actually impressed by Luke's underhanded usage of Leia's friend to lure his sister into the open.
Mara's teeth showed briefly in a sly grin. That young man had some interesting gall to him, tricking his own twin like this. She held back a chuckle and resumed her scan of the persons walking by.
She glanced at her chrono and noted that it would soon be night, though with the lights of the nearby city, one wouldn't really be able to tell. Borleias' busier parts of town were not unlike Coruscant in the way they advertised.
Personally Mara thought it was overkill, but who was she to judge?
Movement at the far end of the street caught Mara's eye, and she straightened, sensing that her target had finally arrived. What she hadn't been counting on was for the princess to be accompanied by a squat little astromech droid.
Mara thinned her lips, but then shrugged her shoulders. She would take care of the droid too, then. Relishing the challenge, Mara unclipped one weapon and one tool.
Taking aim with the tool, Mara targeted the droid first... and shot the small electric charge onto the back of the droid's domed head as it spun to take in the sights.
The thing paused, clearly feeling the thing attach. Mara didn't immediately set off her charge, however, needing to wait and lure the droid into her alleyway.
With her first target secured, Mara turned her attention to the princess, who seemed suddenly wary, as if she sensed something wasn't right. As Leia's eyes scanned the area, Mara stepped deeper into the shadows, her completely black attire blending in perfectly.
Mara saw the older girl's gaze settle momentarily upon the alley Mara occupied, but then pass by. Mara breathed a silent sigh of relief when Leia continued on... moving closer to the jump point.
Mara watched, keeping her head level and her emotions strictly in check. The red head allowed the other girl to move by, and then she stepped out, a rag in hand, and jumped the young woman.
Leia sensed the attack and spun away, lifting a hand as if to push Mara. There was a surge of power, and Mara was suddenly several inches back.
Surprised, but then cursing herself for forgetting Luke's warning about Leia's Force abilities, Mara remained where she was, lifted a specialize blaster and taking a shot at the brunette.
Leia leapt aside, but Mara was ready for that, and she had already shot where she knew Leia would go. Purple rings— a more concentrated stun blast than normal blasters had— enveloped the princess and the girl cried out before going down.
Mara grinned, hearing the droid companion screeching angrily. Mara ignored him for the moment and, counting on the drunkards that were around not caring— most were only concerned about themselves— Mara grabbed Leia's ankles and dragged her into the alley. And indeed, no one moved to stop her, though some did pick up their pace to get away.
She heard the droid still following, and Mara hoisted Leia into her hoversled, turning with a bored expression as the astromech caught up. Not wanting to carry the heavy droid, Mara waited until it was close enough to strike— and indeed it had an arc welding arm out— before she activated the electric charge that instantly engulfed the droid with a static burst. It was a small dose of electricity, one that would stun the droid without frying its circuits.
And Mara watched with a satisfied smirk as the thing straightened and fell flat on its face.
After some heavy lifting Mara got the thing in place next to Leia, praying that the droid didn't roll and crush the girl in transit. Finally, she covered the duo with a black sheet and began to steer her sled along back streets and side roads that would take her to her ship.
Once her targets were both secured, Mara lifted the Jade's Fire from the deck and pulled for open space.
00000
Leia was furious. And she had a pounding headache. She didn't know what that specialized stun blast had done, but it hurt afterwards.
She looked up when her captor appeared with a somewhat sympathetic look on her face. "Here, take these, it'll help with the headache."
Leia glared at the other as she placed a plastic cup and two painkillers on the table at Leia's side. The princess was chained at the ankles to the leg of the booth on which she sat.
"What do you want with me? Are you here to take advantage of me since my brother's gone?" Leia snapped.
The red head lifted a brow, snorting before she turned to leave. "So instead of trying to figure out just how I knew you were there to begin with, you're going to yell at me for kidnapping you?"
Leia opened her mouth to retort, but was cut off by the other. "We're almost there, so stay strapped in."
"Almost where?" Leia shouted after her, but she was ignored.
Leia huffed, folding her arms across her chest in anger before the other's words sank in fully. How had she known Leia would be there? Had she somehow intercepted the message? Or had someone in the Alliance sold her out in payment for what her parents had done to them?
That thought stung Leia, and she swallowed with difficulty. But something about that didn't fit, so she dismissed it with an effort. Her head throbbed again and she looked to the offered relief.
Sighing, Leia gave in and took the medicine, praying it worked fast. She felt the ship shudder as it no doubt came out of hyperspace and then descended into a planet's atmosphere. Leia looked to her left, where Artoo was still powered down. Leia saw the scorch marks left behind by what had to be an electric charge, and she cursed the red head.
When the ship settled to a gentle landing, Leia stiffened. She was only mildly surprised to see a blaster in the other's hand as she approached again.
"Try anything and you'll get stunned again. And I guarantee a second blast will worsen the headache to something not even pain killers will help." The teen's green eyes narrowed in warning.
Leia glared venomously. "Where are we?"
"You'll find out. Let's go." The other tossed a key to Leia. "Unchain yourself and walk in front of me."
Leia's brow lifted in surprised. "Unchain myself?" That was wholly unorthodox for someone who as supposed to be kidnapping her.
The other placed a hand to her hip. "Would you rather walk in leg-shackles or retain a level of dignity, Princess?"
Leia's lips thinned at the implied insult, but she held her head high regardless and unlocked her restraints. "What about Artoo?"
"He'll be fine. I didn't damage him; I just stunned him as well." The red head gestured with her blaster. "Let's go."
Leia sighed, sensing the Force telling her to actually trust this girl. Leia was doubtful, but then again, the Force had never steered Leia wrong before. "Alright."
Leia walked to the boarding ramp, surprised to find herself looking at a beautiful planet full of lush forests and an abundance of lakes. Despite herself, she had to pause to take it all in, whistling under her breath at the marvelous beauty.
"Where are we again?" Leia asked without any ire this time.
The red head looked to her, and then joined her in gazing at the scenery. Leia was surprised to see the girl's face actually soften a touch. "Takodana."
Leia felt understanding dawn. She'd heard of this planet briefly, in a classroom, but nothing special had been said about it, only that it was a place of beauty. Leia couldn't agree more.
"Let's go," the red head said, gesturing with her blaster again.
Leia turned in the indicated direction, walking along a semi-trodden path. But when she saw a large castle appear, she started moving for the entrance.
"Not that way."
Leia frowned. "What?"
"Keep going south," was the cryptic reply.
Leia eyed the other, but decided to obey. She really didn't want a second dose of that stun blast. The red head herded Leia to the back end of the castle, well away from any prying eyes. Leia began to worry that the red head was trying to kill her out of view, and she began resisting again.
"If you're going to kill me, then do it to my face!" Leia snapped.
The other girl's flash of annoyance hit Leia alike a shockwave. "Princess, if I'd wanted to kill you, I would have done so on Borleias. Now shut up and walk!"
Leia glared ahead. "Walk where? There's nothing here but stone walls!"
Another snort. "You're so observant. I'm of course leading you to a dead end after all the work I've gone through to get you here."
The red head walked ahead of Leia, but the brunette had no doubts the other was ready for anything Leia would try. Leia actually blinked in shock when the younger teenager activated a hidden doorway right in front of Leia.
More doubts began to circulate in Leia's mind. What captor allowed their prisoner to see where they were being taken to? Especially a hidden entrance?
What was really going on here?
"In." The red head ordered, gesturing with her weapon.
"What is this place, and who are you?" Leia asked, gingerly stepping forward.
"You will soon see," the other answered, and for once there wasn't any irritation in the redhead's tone. "Come on."
Leia was led through a darkened storage room and into a hallway that was dark and gloomy looking. But only because it was obviously underground, Leia noted as they moved. She was then guided left and deeper into the bowels of the castle, and to another hidden doorway.
Leia miss-stepped when black curtains were parted to admit Leia into a suddenly well-lit and highly cleaned hallway. She stared in surprise for long seconds, glancing back at the red head before she got an encouraging nod.
The Force hummed with greater intensity, and Leia finally stepped through. The red head followed and then opened a door for Leia on the right hand side.
"You're welcome," the red head muttered before she left completely... and Leia's mouth dropped open.
"Where are you going?" Leia asked her retreating back, utterly confused.
But she was given no answer, and when the curtains closed behind the red head, Leia couldn't believe what she'd just witnessed. She realized at some point that her mouth hung ajar, and with an effort Leia closed it, turning to gaze at the open door she was obviously meant to go through.
The Force seemed to be beckoning to her, and Leia hesitated, pondering her next move.
Finally Leia walked forward, shaking her head as she entered the room, figuring she'd come this far, and might as well find out what this was all about. Still she couldn't help but wonder aloud, "What in space is going..."
She stopped with a little shriek when her eyes landed on someone standing on the other side of the room, his hands clasped nervously before him while his sky-blue eyes gazed at her with open love.
"Hello Leia," Luke whispered.
