When she woke up, Leia couldn't wait to go to bed. The days were better now that she had Han to help her deal with them, but nights were a glory she didn't deserve. Every night when Han visited, Leia was overcome with a feeling she couldn't quite put in words and she wished she could feel that way the whole day through. Last night had quickly become one of her most favorite visits and she wished Han could have stayed longer. It hadn't escaped her attention that Han seemed to be cutting their visits shorter and shorter and it worried her. Was he nervous about getting caught? He hadn't been that nervous before.

Shaking her head and wearing a bright smile on her face, Leia got out of bed and quickly took a sanisteam before breakfast. She hoped she would be able to catch Han in the middle of his shift at Ducchi's. Then, maybe they could discuss last night.

Crossing her room to the dresser standing beside the bed, Leia opened a drawer, but a small flimsiplast note caught her eye. At first glance, she recognized Han's handwriting and she smiled all over again, the butterflies starting up their rounds in her stomach. And then, she read it.

A note. Yellow paper, black words, hurtful words, scary words.

Denial and shock ran through her veins. She shook her head as if to clear her vision and read it again, but the words remained the same. "No," she muttered, falling to sit on the edge of her bed. "No. No. Please don't . . ." She read it again.

I love you, Princess. Please, please don't forget that. As hard as it will be for me to write the following things and for you to read them, I thought I'd at least start on a high note. I love you, Leia. I love you so much, I can't put it into words all that I feel for you. I wish I could be with you all day, all night, but we both know that's not realistic. And that's why I'm writing this. I love you and I don't want to leave you, but you deserve better than what I can give you. And with Jabba still searching for me, I just can't keep you in that kind of trouble. I'm sorry, Princess, I really am, but . . . but I don't want to hurt you later. That's why I left now.

Please don't be mad at me, Princess. You have no idea how hard this is for me to leave, but I love you too much to stay. Please forgive me, Princess. I love you.

"I know," Leia muttered in response, her heart pounding too hard she couldn't manage another word. "No, Han, please. No."

"Leia!" came the cheery call of her aunt Rouge, knocking on the door as she passed. "Leia, your parents are waiting for you downstairs! There's a guest coming! Hurry, now!"

The note fell from Leia's shaky grasp and all she could do for the moment was stand there in complete shock. Her heart suddenly weighed too much to carry the rest of her and her legs lost the strength to keep her moving. She lamely slid off the bedside, falling into a heap on the floor. The note was within her reach and she took it in one hand, crumpling it into a ball and wetting it with her tears. She managed to sit herself up and pulled up her knees and cried into her hands, tearing the note to shreds.

She lost track of time, had no idea how long it had been since Rouge had called her down. She was only jerked out of her personal fit when she heard another knock on the door followed by a gentler call. "Leia?" It was Sabé. "Leia, come on, now. Your parents are waiting for you."

No answer came back. Sabé knocked again. Still no answer. She stopped, pressed an ear to the door and listened to hear if the sanisteam or refresher were running. Her ears caught a soft noise, but it wasn't water running or the refresher flushing. No, it was . . . sobbing. Muffled by a pillow, Sabé heard the sob stretch into a long wail and something light and fluffy hit the door. The pillow, perhaps. "Leia?" she asked a third time, slowly opening the door. She kicked the pillow aside and rushed to Leia's side when her suspicions were confirmed. "Leiá, honey, calm down. What's wrong? What's happened?"

Leia opened her hands to let a hundreds tiny pieces of flimsi paper fall to the floor, all bearing the pencil markings of some note. "He's gone," she muttered, slowly turning her gaze up to her. "He left. The bounty hunters . . . he left. . . . So they won't follow me. Sabé, he's gone."

Sabé stopped, soaked in Leia's words, her appearance. Her heart dropped and she knew she was supposed to comfort Leia, but she didn't know what to say. What a good man! was all she could think while the same thought hurt so bad. For Leia. "He left that note?"

"Saying as much," Leia nodded, sniffling. She froze, staring at the shreds. Then, all of a sudden, she rushed from the room and down the stairs. Sabé was quick to come follow her. "Leia!" she called after her, "Leia, where are you going?"

Standing at the bottom of the staircase, the tears returning, Leia told her, "I have to find him."

"No." Sabé sternly shook her head, taking the last few steps and reaching out to grab hold of Leia by her arm. "Absolutely not. He left to keep you safe. For you to go after him would be to demean his sacrifice. Leia, do you really want to do that? He loves you enough to leave. You can't go after him. He did this for you and you have to leave it at that."

"No," Leia shook her head, trying to yank her arm from Sabé's determined grasp. "Please, Sabé, let me go. I have to find him before he leaves. I can't let him leave!"

"Leia?" a new voice called and Sabé looked past Leia to see the Alderaanian queen approaching fast, curiosity clear in her dark eyes. Following her were also Bail, Tia, Rouge, Celly, and Memily. "Leia? Is everything alright, dear?"

Instead of answering, Leia turned back to her, still shaking her head. "I have to go," she repeated.

"Then, everything he's done for you will have been in vain. And this whole time he's been here . . . it will mean nothing."

Leia considered her words. However, pshe shook her head once again and brushed past her aunts on her way to one of the exits. She made way quickly and Sabé hurried to stop her.

"Lelila." Bail set a hand on his daughter's shoulder, gently pulled her back. "Where are you going? Is everything alright?"

"Fine," Leia insisted in a gruff voice, shaking her shoulder free and moving on. Knowing that Sabé had no plans on letting her go, she broke into a sprint out the door, ignoring the sounds of heavy footsteps as they chased after her, ignored their shouting. All she allowed herself to think about was Han, imagining him leaving Ducchi's shop, Alderaan, her. The thought pained her and she sped up, thinking of nothing else as she continued on running.

Speeders screeched to a stop, pedwalk lights went berserk, the screaming and shouting directed at her continued, but it was only Han she was thinking of. "No," she cried, muttering to herself. "Please. Don't leave me like this," she panted, breathless, but she didn't have the time to notice. She'd never run so fast, so relentlessly, with such purpose. She was driven by fear and love, the latter which kept her going.

"Valden!"

"Yes? May I help you, My Queen?"

"Follow Leia!"

Sabé threw herself into the front passenger seat and pointed out the front viewport. "Han might have left," she whispered to him. Speak no more, the chauffeur slammed on the gas, sending Sabé forward to nearly hit the viewport. "Oops," Valden muttered, spinning his control handle one way to send them screeching through the streets. "Sorry. Now, I assume we're headed for the mechanic shop-"

"No stops, speed limit, and road rage. Please."

"Copy that." He jerked another turn and, from the back seat, Breha and Rouge screeched in protest. "Was this really necessary?" the queen asked, catching her breath. Her hands were locked onto the back of Valden's seat, caught in a death grip. "Sabé, where is she even headed? What were you two talking about?"

"Your job is to worry about that later. Right now, we have to stay focused on catching her. Valden! There's a speeder!"

"I'm sorry, but I believe it was your request for no stops."

"I change my mind! I change my mind!"

Valden swerved again and took a back alley shortcut to land them at the back entrance of Ducchi's mechanics shop. Breha, Winter, Celly, and Rouge fell back in their seats and Sabé released a long, relieved sigh. "Well!" Valden beamed, letting go of the handle. "We're here!"

Once Sabé had gotten control over her stomach, she shoved open the door and hurried into the shop, not bothering with closing the door behind her. Bail and Breha quickly followed behind to find their chasing group only a few feet behind Leia. Their daughter looked exhausted, tired from, perhaps, little sleep and running. She was panting, gasping for breath, but she kept going. "Leia!" Breha called after her daughter, a foreboding sense settling in the pit of her stomach. Her worry jumped a few notches and she hurried to catch Leia. Leia skidded to a stop in a corner of the shop near Ducchi's desk. There was a small empty space amidst the cluster of speeders, freighters, and other Alderaanian royalty-owned vehicles. Breha knew Ducchi was always busy, his shop filled, but this small, insignificant space seemed to bother Leia. She stared at a small section of the emptiness, shaking her head. She fell to her knees and planted her palms flat against the oily pavement. "No," she started muttering once again, her head-shaking growing more and more vigorous with every 'no' she uttered. "No!" Now it sounded more like a wail and she turned to look up at Ducchi where he stood watching her with sad eyes. "He's gone! How could you let him leave?!"

"Leia," his reply came back quickly and guilt clouded his appearance as he began to answer her. "I didn't. I wouldn't have. He left before I got here in the morning. I'm sorry." From the corner of her eye, Breha caught him trading a glance with Sabé. Both seemed very upset, sad, guilty in a way.

Leia didn't say anymore, just stayed there in her spot on the ground, tears pooling in her eyes until they were heavy enough to start falling down her cheeks.

"What's going on here?" she finally gained the courage to ask, her worry mounting as she watched her daughter. "What happened? Somebody! Tell me!"

Sabé seemed to still be ignoring her questions and she moved to Leia's side, pulling her in for a hug. "Come on. Leia, let's get off the dirty ground. Please, sweetie. You should go home."

Leia shook her head and wriggled out of Sabé's grasp, crawling on the filthy ground. "No. No. He's gone and I want him to come back."

"Who are you talking about?" Breha nearly screamed. "What is happening?"

When Leia looked up to her, her eyes were filled with anger, hot angry tears. "Why should I talk to you now when you've never listened before?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why should I tell you what's going on with me if you weren't going to support it before? Answer me that."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Leia. You have to talk to me."

"I have been. In fact, I've been screaming and you won't listen. I've been trying to tell you, trying to get you to hear my screams, but you don't listen. You just keep pushing."
Her gaze turned to her husband, but he didn't seem to understand either. "I don't understand, Leia. You need to talk-"

"No! I've given up on talking to you because all its gotten me is deeper into this mess. I don't want to marry Isolder or Gram or any of those suitors you think we'd make a good alliance with. I don't want to marry at all. I've had enough of this and I just want it to end."

"Leia," Sabé shook her head and tried pulling her up to her feet. "He isn't coming back."

"Who? 'He' who?!"

Leia slowly relaxed in Sabé's arms. She calmed herself and told Breha, "I found a better suitor."

Shock and confusion rolled over Breha both at once and she took a step back, trying to understand that simple, short statement. "You've . . . you've been seeing another man?"

"Oh, so you suddenly care about what I'm doing. But you didn't care before. Since this whole thing with the suitors has started, you've had no clue what's been going on with me! You've been too busy with ball preparations and arranging my dates for me that it's been far too easy to sneak out of my room every night and go see him."

"Sneaking out of your room to see another man? Is it safe to assume we would not approve if you've been sneaking out to see him?" Bail and Breha's frustration had reached a level where it was more fun to antagonize the situation and watch their anger grow, but Leia was too distraught to care for such a game and she was filled with her own anger while her parents started in on her. "Who is this man? How old is he?"

"He's gone!" Leia screamed through gritted teeth. She forced a mad smile onto her face and glared at Bail and Breha through hot tears. "He's gone. He's left. He's not on Alderaan anymore so you can just thank the maker for that! Isn't that what you want? There! It's over before you even knew it had happened. Congratulations. You won. Who are you going to have me marry, huh? I'm sorry. Is Isolder waiting-?"

"You dirty, filthy, little child!" Rather than the string of insults coming from the mouths of her parents, Leia turned her neck to see Aunt Rouge glaring at her, raising one arm like she planned on using it to meet Leia's face. "This is how you want to represent our family?" Rouge asked with a snarl, gesturing with a hand to herself and the other Organas behind her. Behind her.

"Your family? Your family? You know what? Just as well. It wasn't my choice to be taken into this family. I never asked to be forced into all of this." The words cut deeper than she'd meant, Breha was sure, but it didn't stop the knife from cutting the deepest it could. She didn't say that, Breha thought to herself, her eyes shut tightly against the whole picture. She didn't mean it.

"Just as well," Rouge agreed, planting her hands on her hips. "You've always been difficult, ungrateful, selfish. I told my brother Winter should have gotten the honor of princess instead."

"That's enough!" Bail's voice quickly cut in, harsh, loud, and bold, but backed by the most love one could put into their voice. And the love, of course, was for Leia.

It had been for years that Breha and Bail had been trying for a child of their own, but the results never improved. Fate had a different plan. Then, came Leia. Tumbling into the world, born out of calamity, Breha had been nervous about taking the Jedi child as their own and sheltering her on their peaceful planet. But, at the same time, she had immediately developed a love for the poor child that could rival that of a true mother. And with every passing day, Breha could only pity her more, her love growing and blooming until she felt like Leia really was her own. And, of course, Leia knew none of this.

Breha's chest ached and tears slipped down her face. She wanted to run to Leia, envelop her in a huge hug and forget anyone had said anything at all. But the shock of Leia's actions remained and Breha had no idea what to say, much less do. At the moment, Bail seemed torn, too. First, angry with Rouge's harsh scorning. Second, frustrated with Leia. Third, furious with this mysterious man who had been visiting his daughter and was now gone. Breha felt much the same.

"You will not speak to my daughter like that," Bail made clear to his sister, practically standing over her. "She is as much of this family as you. If you feel the need to disown her again, you can go find Deara and stay with her."

Deara. Breha's own sister whom Breha herself had banished from Alderaan after she'd put Leia in danger. She didn't know where she was, just that Leia was safer with her gone.

Rouge laughed and Celly quickly came to her side to back her up. Watching this horrendous scene unfold, Breha wanted to curl up in a ball with Leia and cry, shield them both from it all and pretend like none of it was happening. "Are you even hearing what your daughter is confessing to? While we have been working hard every day to help her choose a suitor and marry, she's been with another man! He probably isn't even from Alderaan! Do you understand this, Bail?"

"Well?" Celly asked Leia, approaching her and glaring down her nose at the young woman. "Tell us now. Who is he? Is he even from Alderaan?"

Leia shook her head, scooting closer to Sabé for protection and comfort.

"No? Then, where is he from? And what is he doing here?"

"I don't think that even matters," Sabé quickly said before Leia could answer to Celly. "Is it not enough for you to be screaming at her, but you have to start criticizing her own personal choices?"

"I asked you a question and I expect an answer, young lady."

"She isn't a child!" Sabé yelled at Celly, but Leia still answered. There was no point in hiding anything now, she must have figured. "Corellia," she told Celly, her voice clearly heard by all.

From behind her, Breha noticed Winter freeze. Though she'd been quiet this whole time, suddenly, she seemed eager to voice her own opinions. "The Corellian?" she guffawed. "The one that was watching you when we were at the restaurant downtown? You've been seeing that Corellian? How. Low."

"Stop it!"
It surprised even Breha to realize that it had been her who had so suddenly whirled on the young woman and Bail's sisters. She caught their gazes and glared. Hard. "Just stop it! That is enough from all of you. This is going to stop and you all are going to leave us to deal with this. Now." She waited until she heard their hesitant footsteps as they turned around and the slam of a speeder door as Valden quickly escorted them away. Now, there was just Memily, Bail, Ducchi, Sabé, Leia, and herself remaining at the scene.

"You've been visiting a man," Bail started the conversation, rearing it back to the Corellian. "Are you . . . in a relationship with him, now?"

"I don't know." Leia wiped at her eyes and sat straighter. "I guess."

"And did you have any plans to tell us that any of this was happening? How did this even start?"

"I just saw him around. We kept bumping into eachother and then we started talking and . . . things just happened. Don't think that I didn't want to tell you. I wanted to be able to talk to you both, but you wouldn't have let him stay and he was the only person who was listening to me. I didn't know what else to do."

"And you knew, Sabé?"

"Yes. And I helped her. I encouraged this. If everyone is going to be punished let it be me. I helped her sneak out. I told her to do these things. At first, she didn't want to and I told her to-"
Leia wrapped her arms around herself, her anger gone now, replaced with a wild, frantic desperation. "I love him!" she cried, folding in on herself and Sabé immediately went back to her side to comfort her. "Like he's done everything for me, I'll do anything for him. Let me save him, please! Let me bring him back! If he had any intention to hurt me, I would already be dead. Please believe me. Sabé knew him, too. Tell them-"

The Nabooan women was already getting up to confront the Organas. She stood shoulder to shoulder with Bail and whispered in his ear, "Never would I allow for Leia to be around someone who I thought might mean her harm. Besides, she's practically my niece and I'm watching out for her. What makes you think I would let a man I didn't like around her? Her mother would have none of it and so, nor shall I."

Bail gasped. He turned his neck to look at Sabé who held a steady gaze, not wavering. So, she knew, he realized. He took a breath and asked her, "How long have you known?"

At first, she only offered a sly smile in response, but then she told him, "Ever since you brought that little girl home, I've never been able to get past how much she looks like her mother."

Bail looked to his wife and gave her a simple nod that told her everything. Sabé had known all along. And sneaky Sabé was, her comment told him another thing. She had been like a sister to Padmé, her closest and most trustworthy friend. Bail knew she cared deeply for Leia, perhaps tenfold knowing the girl was Padmé's. Which meant everything else she'd said was true. She really trusted this Han around Leia, her niece.

Fear for Leia still thundered in his heart, but he knew he had no choice but to trust Sabé. He turned back to look at her and asked to confirm, "You really trust him that much?"

"Bail, I trust him with my lady's daughter as you should, too."

He nodded, slowly turning back to Leia who appeared to be holding in a huge breath. She watched him carefully, her eyes not blinking, waiting for him to utter that first word. And Bail said to her, "If this man is found guilty to an extreme that which I cannot tolerate, I will hear none of it and you should let it go. If the law is found on his side to a degree, he must first go through me before he gets back to you. Is that clear?"
Leia's look of fear and patience turned to jubilee and she nodded, faster and faster. "Yes! Yes! Thank you, Daddy! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Daddy!" She jumped into his arms and Bail held her there, pouring out all the love he could for her, trying to make her understand exactly how this made him feel. Honestly, truly, genuinely, honestly he hoped he could trust this man. Han Solo, she had said. He really wanted to trust him because he feared for Leia's sake how she might cope if Bail didn't. He wanted his little princess to be happy, wanted to give her he galaxy that her parents had always meant to give her, wanted her to know just how much he loved her. But, still, the fear remained. Bail tried to dismiss it for the moment, kissing Leia atop her head before letting go and breaking the hug.

Stepping back a few paces, Leia smiled gently at him. "Thank you-"

"I think I've heard it all enough. Now, I suppose we ought to find this Han before the bounty hunters do, yes?"

Leia nodded with a cracked smile. "Preferably so."

There was a picture that was stuck in her mind and, no matter what she tried, Breha couldn't seem to forget it. Perhaps, that wasn't too bad. It was, after all, a rather fond picture. It was Leia, only a newborn with dark curls for hair that resembled her mother's in such a way the pain felt fresh. She was so small. A small head, tiny feet, tiny fists, tiny everything just like her mother. But then there was Leia as she was growing up, impatient when it came to just about everything with a fierce, fiery attitude and will. She was a flickering flame just like her father. Breha had no problem with that. She could still remember the young Jedi Knight who had accompanied Bail's fellow political friend everywhere she went for that time. Breha was sure that, from somewhere up in the sky, Padmé was watching her little girl, proud of every step.

And then she was back to little Leia, remembering those first days with Leia in her and Bail's life. Finally parents, the two had quickly come to realize what a shock parentage was. Late nights, early mornings, feeding Leia nearly every hour, burping her, rocking her to sleep until she woke up screaming. And those beautiful moments when she was calm, blowing bubbles, smiling, using their fingers as teething toys. Her first steps, her first words, first teeth, first of everything as Breha and Bail took every step with her.

And then she was back to grown-up Leia. And the pain was fresh once again. Leia, in love and so sure of it all, ready to leave this palace for her real destiny. Going of to fix her father's mess alongside her brother, paving way for a generation to grow up in a safer place. And Leia was eager for it, running with full force, done with this life which really wasn't meant for her.

Breha felt something wet slide down her face and she reached up with a hand to wipe away salty tears. She sniffled, smiling at all those thoughts. It was here. Now. Leia was finally headed for that place she was always meant to be. It both scared and excited Breha, knowing all that she was capable of and that she would change the galaxy for the better. And Breha would watch from the sidelines, cheering for her, proud to claim that Leia had once been hers-

"Mama?"

Breha jumped, turning to see Leia standing in the doorway of her and Bail's bedroom. "Lelila! There you are! Come in. Come in, sweetheart."

"You've been crying," Leia stated, not asking. She sat down on the bed's edge beside Breha, leaning against her. "Are you okay?"
"Fine, sweetie. You needn't be so worried for me! How about you? I wouldn't wish for you to still be so down. We're going to help you, Lelila. I promise-"

"I know you will and I thank you for that. I just talked to Papa about this, told him I'm sorry I hadn't told him before and I wanted to make that clear to you, too. Mama, I wanted to tell-"

"I know," Breha stopped her, taking her into a big hug. "I know, Lelila, and it's okay. I'm not mad at you. Neither of us are. I'm sorry we hadn't listened before and I just want this to be behind us. We want you to be happy, Lelila. We want you to be happy and feel like you're where you need to be. If this is what that means . . . then I'm glad Han can give that to you. We've always known you and this whole royal thing have never really worked. It's okay, Leia. We just want to make sure you're okay."

Leia nodded, her own face now wet with tears. She left them running down her face and wiped Breha's instead, assuring her, "I'm okay, Mama."