As Leia Organa returned to the cottage, she was surprised to see Han waiting outside for her to arrive. She quickened her pace a little, sensing something was wrong. Han met her halfway between the house and a hill she had just passed over.

"What is it?" the princess asked worriedly.

Han turned around to check the house, probably making sure Tess was still inside. "It's Tess. She's starting to remember."

Leia took a deep breath while Han watched her expectantly. She thought she would have at least a couple of nights to think about this. After her conversation with Luke—though it was counterproductive for their relationship—for the first time, Leia saw some benefits in telling Tess the truth.

"How much did she remember?"

"Just Zkab slapping her," Han informed Leia. "Right after I shot the guard. Maybe she's remembering in order."

Leia could see that Han's worry earlier was not just for a small memory like that. "There's something else."

Han looked down slightly. "It was just for a second, during the flashback…" he murmured. "But she had another lightening episode. Not as bad as the last ones, but her hand was on her face at the time…"

"I need to tell her," Leia suddenly decided aloud. She started walking back towards the cottage. "Not everything yet. I'll start slow. But if she gets a zap big enough to burn for remembering a slap, I need to tell her before she remembers everything else."

Leia knocked gently on her sister's bedroom door.

"Han, I told you, I'm fine," came a voice from inside.

Leia opened the door and peeked her head in with a small smile. "Wanna talk?"

Tess' eyebrows raised as if her sister's words were completely out of character. She scooted back on the bed to give Leia a spot in front of her. The princess took it and couldn't help but look more closely at the burn on the girl's cheek.

"It doesn't hurt," Tess assured her sister, leaning forward as Leia tried to get a closer look. "And you can't see through the bandages, but the burns on my hands don't look like they'll scar."

Leia nodded, smoothing out the sheets beside her. Now that she was so close, she once again wondered if telling Tess the truth was the right thing to do. Maybe she would never remember what happened.

"Is something wrong?" asked Tess.

Leia finally looked up from the blankets. "Do you think you're up for a walk?"

"Sure," Tess shrugged. She rolled off the bed onto her feet and crossed to the closet. "Let me just change into something lighter."

Leia pulled out the hidden lightsaber from under Tess' pillow and ignited it. The sixteen-year-old spun around, the picture of guilt on her face.

"I was going to—"

"Make sure you bring this," Leia interrupted. She turned off the lightsaber and tossed it to her sister. "I'll wait outside."

Leia watched a blindfolded Tess block every shot from the new top-of-the-line training remote that Luke sent them. For the first time, the princess allowed herself to be proud of her sister for her accomplishments in Jedi training instead of fearing the danger it might put her in. Tess really had a talent. She was not as physically strong as Luke, but she was agile and used her small frame to her advantage.

After about a half hour, Tess removed her blindfold, turned off the remote, and joined Leia at the bottom of the valley's incline. She took off her gloves to inspect her bandaged burns.

"I could have gone longer," Tess claimed. "But I didn't want to overdo it. The last thing I need is to make these worse before they get better."

"You're getting really good," Leia told her.

"Really?" Tess beamed. The princess nodded in confirmation. But her sister had just smiled like it was her first compliment from Leia—had she really been that oblivious to Tess' improvement?

"So…" Tess began unsurely. "I was under the impression that you brought me here to talk to me about something."

"I did." Leia gently brought a hand to Tess' unburned cheek. She looked even more pale in the daylight somehow. "You think your freckles will come back after you get some sun?"

"Maybe," Tess replied. "But I would be happy if that one vein stopped looking like something is trying to crawl out of my forehead."

The princess grinned. "You're still beautiful, though."

"Not as beautiful as you."

"Are you kidding?" Leia shot back playfully. "If we were the same age, people would think we're identical. Except you have more manageable hair. And a better nose."

Leia sighed, taking another moment to stare at the girl who was practically a clone of her younger self. However unconventional the circumstances, she couldn't imagine life without her half-sister.

"I've decided that I'm going to tell you what I can, but not all at once," Leia announced. "I'm hoping that if you hear it from me, it will be easier than finding out through an episode like the one you had today."

Tess sat waiting with anticipation. She wouldn't know that she didn't want to know the truth until it was too late.

Leia allowed herself a deep breath before she began detailing one of the worst days of her life, only second to the destruction of Alderaan.