A/N: Sorry about the horrible time between the updates. I'll try not to let it happen again.

REVIEW RESPONSES: To Chimpo: No, I would have to say that based on YA, Wedge's nephew is definitely not what Jaina thought. Danni, huh? Yeah, Zekk does suck. To G-Anakin13: thanks.

Thanks to JagednJaded/KillerRomance!!!

Chapter 7: Political Puppet

Jaina walked down the hall to the dining room the next morning. Her mother, already in a designer suit fit for the princess that she was, was sitting down primly with her back to the doorway. Neither of Jaina's brothers or anyone else for that matter was in the room. Jaina tried to silently back out before her mother noticed her and her holey beater and cut off grey sweat pants.

"Jaina, good, you're up, sit down." Jaina gave a small moan of frustration that her mother had some how known she was there. Had it not been for the headache that was already starting to form, Jaina would have stood just to spite her mother, but she knew it would do no good. "What was that?"

"Nothing, Mother." She walked into the room and sat down at her normal place. Instantly a maid seemed to materialize out of thin air and place a plate of breakfast food in front of her.

"We need to go over your schedule for tomorrow. There is a press conference at ten o'clock until noon." Jaina spat out the orange juice she had been drinking. "Jaina!"

"Two hours? Mom, I can't go over a half an hour in front of people!"

"Well, of course you're not going to speak for two hours! You'd ramble for the last hour and a half of it or pass out, both of which would not be beneficial." Jaina rolled her eyes; once again she found herself wondering if the only reason her mother had children was because she thought it would be "beneficial" to her. "No, you'll hold your portion of the press conference for the first half hour, then some of the committee members for the renewal of our territory treaty with the Imperial Remnant and I will speak the last portion of it. I just want you to sit on stage with us."

"So, I'm a political puppet."

"Jaina, the press is starting to get suspicious about how quiet we've been about what happened last year, and when the press gets suspicious, they start to dig and the last thing I need is a scandal during these negotiations."

Jaina fumed. Leia would never treat her precious, boy-after-her-own-heart Jacen or baby Anakin like a pawn. "Oh, so you wouldn't mind if I came out with what actually happened after the negotiations are through?" she bit out.

Leia continued as if Jaina had not said anything, "All you have to do is be the charming Jaina Solo everyone loves, explain that there was a freak speeder accident, that only you were involved, and that you've made a full recovery. Then you just have to sit on stage off to the side. Understood?"

Jaina knew there was no point in arguing with her mother, a politician with years of debate and trickery behind her, so she mutely nodded.

"Good, now, all you have to do today is stay out of trouble. Can you manage that?"

"I was planning on going to see Wedge."

"I thought I said to stay out of trouble." Rarely did Jaina ever find anything her mother said even remotely funny, but she couldn't help the tight smirk that tugged at her lips at the comment about her godfather. She was about to respond with an equally sarcastic remark about Wedge's aptness to get into trouble, when she saw that her mother had glanced at her watch and was now getting a pile of papers ready and picking up her briefcase.

"I'll be sure to tell Wedge that."

"Wonderful," Leia responded, not paying attention to her only daughter anymore. "I have to go to the office now. I'll see you this evening."

Jaina waited until she heard the front door close, before looking at her meal of scrambled eggs, four slices of perfectly cooked bacon, and two lightly toasted biscuits. Never being much of a breakfast eater – which she knew her mother had never figured out, as she had never actually been around for breakfast –, Jaina took her plate into the kitchen, grabbed a bowl and poured Cheerios into it. Rather than cover the little O's with milk, which would mean a spoon would be necessary, she left them plain, as she always did, so she could dig in with her fingers instead.

Her senior year hadn't even started yet, and she was already praying for her graduation.