Leia Organa sighed in the darkness of her room, frustrated. It was only 05.00 AM, but she was wide awake and unable to stay still in bed.

She had spent a restless night and all her attempts to get back to sleep after waking up due to a bad dream had not worked. It was now time she admitted that not even her stubbornness would be able to help her in this circumstance.

So she stood up, dressed and left her quarters, hoping a walk would at least relax her, if not make her sleepy again.

Leia had always liked to walk. It helped her to think, even if she was not sure thinking was a good idea just now. After all, it was because of the thoughts running through her mind that she was not able to sleep.

Thoughts and memories…

Her father, sweeping her in his arms as she giggled. Her father, walking with her in the gardens, telling her in hushed tones about the Rebel Alliance. Her father, looking proud and moved when she was elected to the Senate at only eighteen years of age. And then Captain Antilles, faithful until the end, her maid Ashera, Devin the gardener, Atthias her first love…All the people she had known and loved, all the landscapes on her beloved Alderaan she would never see again.

If she only could, Leia would gladly forget everything had happened in the last days. From her capture, to the torture she had been submitted to, from Tarkin's sneer when she had confessed where the Rebels' base was located, to the destruction of her home planet…if only she could step back in time!

But you can't, she said to herself. So stop dwelling on it. Think of the positive things, instead. We have the plans of the Death Star and with a bit of luck our engineers will be able to discover a way to destroy it. We have found a new, gifted pilot for our starfighters and, perhaps best of all, General Kenobi has survived his fight with Vader and has decided to stay with the Rebel Alliance.

Leia felt a slight thrill course along her spine at the prospect of coming to know the legendary Jedi Master better.

Her father had always spoken fondly of the man, telling her many of his exploits during the Clone Wars, when he was nicknamed "The Negotiator". She also knew he had invented a starship maneuver, now called the Kenobi Offensive, which was standard learning for both Imperial and Rebel pilots. Leia could not help but think how precious such a tactician and mediator could be for the Alliance.

Some people had never believed the Jedi had betrayed the Republic. Many of them instead thought they had been destroyed because they had predicted the brutality of the Empire and tried to act against Palpatine. Leia was sure that these people would be happy to know one of the most respected Jedi Masters was still alive, and maybe his presence would be useful to convince more systems to join or at least support the Rebel Alliance.

Leia was almost smiling as she walked by the door of one of the training rooms, only to stop when a strange noise attracted her attention.

Light filtered from beneath the door. Who was working out at that early hour? Someone else shared her insomnia? Curious, Leia activated the manual opening and peered inside the large room.

In the middle of the gym, General Kenobi was training with his lightsabre, using the weapon

to deflect the blaster beams a small probe droid was shooting against him.

His movements were quick as light, powerful yet graceful, and they filled Leia with awe…and something else she could not name.

The Jedi had taken off his upper clothes and as her eyes roamed over his slightly sweated, chiselled chest, Leia realized with a bit of shock that even if the man was as old as her father, the way she was looking at him was not daughterly—far from it!

As she watched him bend and sidestep, pivot and leap, Leia became aware he was not an icon of a glorious past she wanted to re-live. He was not a hero stepped off her father's tales.

He was a flesh and blood man—a very handsome man.

General Kenobi was in his late fifties, but he had aged very gracefully. His short hair and beard were grey, almost white, sprinkled with some auburn, shiny and thick. There were lines on his face, but not as many as one would expect in a man of his years, and they seemed to have been put there more by Tatooine's unforgiving sun and pain than by age. His eyes… Leia thought she had never seen eyes like that. They were an enchanting mix of blue-grey-green, and they changed colour according to the light and, maybe, his mood.

The look in his eyes was whose of a man who had seen too much, but still managed to stay true to himself and his beliefs.

Another thing Leia liked in the General was his smile. It set all of his face alight and made him look much younger—just as it was happening now.

The young woman became suddenly aware the Jedi Master had interrupted his exercise and was looking at her.

"Oh my," she thought, as she blushed crimson. "For how long have I been staring at him? For how long have I been mooning over him like a schoolgirl with a crush? For how long has he been watching me?"

General Kenobi had powered off both his lightsabre and training droid and was now looking at her with a confused expression and…was it embarrassment? Was the flush on his neck and cheeks due to his recent efforts or was it the result of her staring?

Leia was not sure she wanted to know. She was too busy dealing with her own embarrassment. What would he think of her?

"May I do something for you, Your Highness?" The General's accented voice finally broke the silence.

"Huh? Oh no, thank you. I didn't want to disturb you. It's just that I cannot sleep and I decided to take a walk. As I was passing by I noticed the light and the noise and came in to see who was sharing my insomnia."

He nodded. "I understand." He walked to the bench where he had left his clothes and quickly put them on. "I didn't have trouble sleeping," the Jedi said as he walked closer, "but my encounter with Vader has made me realize how badly I have neglected my physical condition in the last years. If I am to train Luke in the ways of the Force, I need to be in form. Hence the reason of my training session, at a time I thought no other would need the gym."

Leia nodded. "I see." A part of her wanted to tell him she thought he was in perfect form, but she silenced it. How could she ever say it to him?! The General would certainly look at her with pity, for there was no way such a wise, experienced man could ever be interested in someone as young as her.

She had always had this tendency to like older men, perhaps because her involvement in the Rebellion since she was a young teenager had made her grow quicker than her age. She had found her agemates immature and childish and her first lover had been a few years younger than the General…The General, who was once again looking at her with that trademark gentle smile of his.

Get a grip on yourself, woman! Leia said to herself. This is not the time to even think about romance. There is the Death Star to destroy out there, an Imperial fleet to defeat, and an Emperor to overthrow. There is no space or time for this silliness.

The Jedi Master stepped closer. "Have you completed your walk, Your Highness?"

"No, not yet. I was planning to reach the greenhouse in the east wing. Would you like to come with me, General?" Leia blurted out before she knew what she was doing.

His blue-grey eyes regarded her intently. "Yes, I will come with you, Your Highness, but only if you stop calling me 'general'. I never liked it."

"But it is your title! You deserve it."

He shook his head. "No. I am a Jedi, not a soldier. Call me Master Kenobi or simply Obi-Wan. Or Ben, as Luke does."

Leia nodded and smiled. "I will call you Obi-Wan, then, but only if you call me Leia. I too don't like that title…especially now that Alderaan is no more."

Obi-Wan looked at her for a moment with compassion and understanding, before he smiled. "All right, Leia, would you kindly show me the way to the base greenhouse? I look forward to seeing it."

Leia's heart fluttered under the intense yet slightly playful glance he gave her before they both moved to the door and left the gym.