Leia loved the dawn. Unlike her twin, who preferred the sunset, one of Leia's favorite activities was to rise early and watch the binary suns come to life over the parched desert.
Her aunt and uncle knew about Leia's habit; and had given the eight-year-old girl the job of powering up the homestead for the day and starting breakfast for the family.
After early morning chores, Leia came up out of the hovel to witness one of the most incredible sunrises that she had ever seen. She was nearly dumbfounded by the sight of it. The twin suns ruled the lives of all who called Tatooine home; those who refused to respect their power did not last long.
However, unlike most, Leia never saw the suns as harsh and vicious gods that lorded over the lives of all who toiled under them. She viewed them as the great levelers. Everyone on Tatooine--slave or free, moisture farmer or smuggler, were all equal under their powerful glare.
In the dawn, even the normally dreary Lars homestead did not seem as lifeless. The desert sands sparkled and in the distance, Leia could see the condensation that had formed on the moisture vaporators. She grinned in anticipation of what that sign indicated--mushrooms.
She immediately wanted to run to collect them. Her aunt's mushroom stew was her favorite meal. However, she had been forbidden to wander off alone by her uncle. Leia scoffed inwardly, he was always too overprotective with her. He let Luke do almost anything but treated her like she would break.
Leia was determined to show them that she was just as good as Luke and was not a baby. Besides, it was not like the vaporators were very far; and it was too early for anything dangerous to be out.
Taking one final glance at the homestead, Leia set out on her mission. Ignoring all internal warnings that what she was doing was dangerous, she quickly made her way to the first vaporator.
Nothing was there.
Disappointed, Leia went to the next one, it had a few good specimens that were perfect for Aunt Beru's stew. She was thrilled that she could finally help out, and be useful. She knew her caregivers would be so proud.
Vaporator after vaporator yielded a good crop and Leia quickly filled her bag. Looking up, she then noticed that she was very far from the homestead. She had never been this far away by herself.
She saw nothing but desert all around her; all the markings of the Lars Homestead were impossible to see. Leia realized in horror that she had no way of telling which direction was home.
Panic set in almost immediately. Growing up in the desert, she knew what happened to those that got lost in the sand. Leia's heart was gripped with fear as she tried to remember which direction she came from.
I don't know! I wasn't paying attention!
Tears began to stream down the girl's face as her throat became parched with thirst. While the Tatooine nights were cold and the early mornings were still fairly cool, the twin suns quickly turned the landscape into an oven.
Suddenly, Leia heard something near her. Relief flooded her for a moment until she realized that the sound did not come anything human. She heard a terrible wail that echoed throughout the area. The child panicked thinking that she was being attacked by a wild animal.
What happened next made her wish it was an animal.
Without warning, Leia was hit by a large stick; just hard enough to knock her to the ground. Crying with the sudden pain in her back, she looked up to see the most hideous creature standing over her.
It was a Tusken Raider.
Growing up in a moisture farmer household, Leia had heard of the sandpeople; but never seen them up close. When she asked what they were like, her uncle would only respond by saying that they were "monstrous."
She did not understand then, but Leia certainly understood now what he meant.
The next thing she knew, she was surrounded by four sandpeople and was picked up and dragged along by two of them. She screamed as loud as she could, but feared that no one could hear her.
Leia did not know where these creatures were taking her, but she understood that very bad things awaited her there.
As she was carried, another wail was heard; much different than the last one. Leia had never heard such a noise, but realized that whatever it was, it frightened her captors. She was released and fell on the sand as the Tuskens ran.
While Leia was happy to be away from the sandpeople, she knew she did not want to meet the thing that would terrify monsters.
Too exhausted and emotionally spent to run, the girl remained on the ground hoping that this new creature would not see her. She closed her eyes wishing that this was all a dream.
Suddenly, Leia felt a gentle hand on her arm. She opened her eyes to find the kind face of Ben Kenobi staring at her. The relief began a flood of fresh tears.
The desert hermit was known in the Lars household. Leia never remembered a time when she did not know the kindly man that lived near their homestead. She had seen him many times, usually in Anchorhead when they were in town to buy supplies. Despite her uncle's outright hostility toward him, Ben was always kind to them.
She flung her arms around him, "They were going to take me away. I couldn't run from them. I was lost and I didn't know where to go."
Ben held the hysterical girl for a few moments and allowed her to cry. "How did you get so far from your homestead?"
"Mushrooms, they were growing on the vaporators. I wanted to surprise Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen."
He wiped the girl's tears with the corner of his cloak, "I imagine you did surprise them, they must be frantic searching for you."
Leia lowered her head in shame, "I'm sorry, I just wanted to show them that I'm not a baby and can do things."
"I'm sure you did, but if I wasn't here…" Ben did not finish his thought, but Leia understood completely.
"I just wish I wasn't so little!"
The desert hermit grasped her hands and stared at her with an intensity that she had never seen from him, "Please Leia, don't try to grow up so fast. Relish the little time you have to be a child, it will be over much sooner than you think."
This was not the first time she had heard the same sentiment from other adults, but it always seemed to be given in jest. Ben's eyes were filled with anguish; as if he knew some horrible truth that he could not dare speak.
Leia suddenly wanted nothing more than to go home. "I have to get back."
Ben smiled and rose to his feet, "Yes, you should get back."
With little conversation, the two made their way back to the Lars Homestead. Leia was greeted immediately by the loud cry of her aunt.
Beru ran to the girl and enveloped her in a hug, "Leia! By the Maker, where have you been? We've been looking for you everywhere!"
Leia could see that her aunt had been crying, and she felt even more guilty. "I'm sorry."
"I'm just happy you're home. Your uncle and Luke are frantic."
More tears fell, "I got lost."
Beru once again embraced her niece, "Don't you do that again."
"I won't."
The sound of an approaching speeder was heard in the distance. Leia cringed inwardly knowing that she was about to receive an earful; but it was a small price to pay. She deserved much worse for putting them through this.
The speeder barely had time to stop when Owen jumped out and ran to the girl, "How long have you been back?"
"She just arrived, only moments ago," Beru interjected.
He knelt down on one knee until he was eye level with the girl, "What in blazes were you doing?"
"Mushrooms...I wanted to surprise everyone."
A look of horror crossed her uncle's face, "Mushrooms." He uttered the word as if it was a curse. His hands even began to shake slightly. "What was it that I told you? Do not leave the homestead!"
Leia had seen her uncle angry before, but never to this degree. He had never screamed at her like this. She knew that he would never hurt her, but the intensity of his emotions made her want to hide.
Ben, who had thus far kept his distance from the Lars family, stepped up, "She made a mistake; one that will never be repeated."
Owen stood to his full height. It was no secret that he did not like the desert hermit, but the anger in his eyes when her uncle stared him down was something new. "Get off my property! You know you are not allowed here."
Beru moved to stand between the two men, "Owen, he brought her home, we should be grateful."
Leia did not want to interject, but she felt that something needed to be said. It was not fair for her uncle to lash out against this nice man, "Uncle, he saved me. I was attacked."
Both of them were surprised, "What do you mean?"
"Sandpeople, they tried to..." The girl trailed off, not wanting to say the words for fear that talking about the creatures would make them return.
Sensing her fear, Luke, who had stayed quiet thus far, went over to his twin and put his arm around her as a gesture of comfort.
Beru began to weep even more, "What did they do?"
"They were attempting to take Leia back to their camp." Ben answered.
Owen muttered under his breath, "Shmi."
It was a name Leia had never heard before. She looked up at him and saw an odd expression on his face. He was angry, but his lip was also quivering slightly. In her eight years, the girl had never seen her uncle with tears in his eyes. It was very disconcerting.
Without another word, Owen went inside, leaving the rest of the family with Ben Kenobi. Beru turned to him, "Thank you so much for saving Leia."
He smiled and gave a formal bow, "It was my pleasure."
"I'm sorry about Owen, he's..." She trailed off.
"I know; I understand." Ben then turned his attention to the twins. "It's good to see you two again. I wish it were under better circumstances."
Leia did not know what to say. She felt very guilty for being the cause of such turmoil. She looked down to see the full bag of mushrooms that she was still holding; such a large price was paid for so little a prize.
That evening, Aunt Beru did make mushroom stew, but to Leia, it was tasteless. Her uncle only took two bites and refused to eat any more.
After dinner, Luke was sent to bed early. The girl knew that her punishment was coming; but was not dreading it. She felt she deserved it, and wanted to get it over with.
With Beru looking on, Owen began hesitantly, "Leia, we need to talk about what happened this morning."
"Yes Sir."
"You broke the rules."
Leia nodded, "I did."
"Tatooine is dangerous; that's why those rules were made." Owen sighed, "You saw what could have happened."
Remembering the monstrous sandpeople, tears came to Leia's eyes. "They were trying to kidnap me."
"They hate the settlers and delight in torturing any of them that they find," Owen stopped as anguish again crossed his features. "Especially females."
"I understand."
Her uncle shook his head, "No, you don't; and I hope with everything in me that you never will."
He then took a deep breath, "So, here's what's going to happen. Your aunt will have extra chores for you to do for the next week." He then looked over to Beru, "Also, let me make this clear, neither of you are to go hunting mushrooms ever again. If I see any on the vaporators, I'll get them myself."
The only time they could be picked was early morning and her uncle was never near the vaporators at that time. There would never be any more mushrooms on the table. Leia did not mind, she never wanted to eat another one again.
"Go to bed, you have a busy day tommorow."
Leia got up from the table and started toward her room; she then stopped and turned around. A question was still burning in her mind. "Uncle Owen, who is Shmi?"
"Someone we lost, long ago."