Padme fired at another guard when one gripped her arm. Quickly, the 19 year old bent down, twisted her arm and flipped the guard over, releasing her arm. She fired at the main ship to keep them away from Leia, whom she knew was in the center of the ship. Suddenly, a guard grabbed her and flipped her over, causing her to land on her stomach. Quickly, she crouched in a bug position and flipped into the air before she fired as to stay out of the guards range. Another guard however shot the part of the ship near her feet, causing her to stumble back. She fired when she realized her arm was resting on fur. She turned only to see Chewie's head sticking through the bars.
"Chewie!" She cried, "What are you doing?" The Wookie growled. Padme looked over the railing to see Lando near the pit while Han held a rifle out to him to grab. "Han Solo, have you lost it!" She cried.
"I can see better princess now get back to fighting!" The pilot shouted back. Padme sighed and continued to fire, keeping the guards away from Chewie when she noticed something. Luke and the fighting was all on the main ship now. She looked up and saw a group of guards running towards the center to fight. Quickly, the young queen fired on them, causing them to fall. She continued to fire in order to create openings for her children. Finally, she saw Leia fire the gun before Luke and her swung over as Lando was lifted up.
"Get back to the ship," Luke ordered, "and don't forget the droids." Lando took control, picked up the fallen Artoo and Threepio and led them back to where the Falcon waited.
As they left Tatooine, Leia and Han were talking to Luke over the comm, Padme nervously biting her nails while Lando and Chewie flew.
"We'll meet you back at the Fleet." Leia said, "Be careful." Padme could hear the smile in Luke's voice as he said,
"Don't worry I will." Then, Han leaned towards the comm and said,
"Hey Luke, thanks for coming after me. I owe you one." Luke chuckled before turning off the link. Before they had separated too far, Padme said,
"Luke, please be careful. I can't lose you."
"You won't Mother. I promise." Luke answered as they became too far apart for Padme's limited Force abilities to sense Luke. Padme sighed and returned to her seat outside of the cockpit, watching the stars fly past.
"Hey Padme." Padme looked up as Han sat next to her. "Thanks for the help." He said. Padme blinked before she smiled,
"No problem Han." Han smirked at her before saying,
"You know, when I first met you in the cantina, I thought you were some kind of wanted criminal. When I saw you were just a 14 year old girl, I'd thought you'd be useless in any fight. But you turned out to be one amazing fighter." Padme smiled,
"Well my family thought it was important for me to learn how to fight." Leia came in just then. She had changed out of her disguise and now wore a simple brown dress.
"You know you never talk about your family much." Leia remarked, "What were they like?" Padme took a deep breath. She looked up at the ceiling, a faraway look in her eyes and said,
"My mother was one of the kindest people you'd ever meet. She was very good and kind. She never let anyone leave without eating." She chuckled before continuing, "She and my father moved our family to Theed so I could get a better education. My father was very strong and brave. He loved me more than you could imagine and he loved my mother even more. My sisters were some of the best siblings I could've asked for. They didn't complain about the move and supported me every step of the way." She smiled wistfully.
"Why'd you leave than?" Han asked, receiving a hit on the arm from Leia immediately after. Padme chuckled,
"It's okay." She took a deep breath before beginning, "I ended up serving the queen of Naboo as a handmaiden. My whole life I was blissfully unaware of the cruelty of the empire. But, one day, I witnessed some Stormtroopers hurting an innocent man. I attacked them in order to free the man but they captured me and put me on a ship loaded with bombs. It was supposed to take me to Tatooine where it would explode and nobody would know. I was able to untie the ropes and open the door. I…I jumped just before the bombs went off and landed right Obi-Wan and Luke found me." She looked down at her hands, grateful that neither Han nor Leia was strong enough in the Force to sense her lies. She hated it but she had to do it. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up in Leia's identical brown eyes.
"I'm sorry." She whispered. Padme smiled slightly,
"It's okay. Maybe someday I'll be able to return to Naboo and see my family again." Han suddenly smiled,
"Tell ya what princess. When this war's over, we'll take you back to Naboo to reunite with your family." Padme smiled slightly,
"I'd like that." But she knew it wouldn't happen.
Padme ran her fingers through her hair as she prepared to go to the meeting. She had changed into a royal blue dress with matching silk in her hair. She stared at her reflection. Before her was a young woman not old enough to be a mother and yet she had two twin children who loved her, though neither knew the whole truth. She sighed. The secrets just kept piling up and she knew if she kept it bottled up too long, she'd burst. She turned as she heard a knock on the door.
"Come in." She called. Leia entered wearing a brown dress and white vest. Padme chuckled, "I see you've gone from white to brown." Leia laughed lightly. Padme had teased Leia when she used to wear white and now she switched to brown.
"Are you ready?" Leia asked. Padme nodded and followed her daughter to the meeting. The two sat next to Han and Chewie and Mon Mothma and Admiral Akbar explained how a team would go into the Death Star's center to blow it up while a strike team on Endor took out the shield that protected it and prevented anything from coming in.
"General Solo, is your team ready?" Akbar asked.
"Well the strike team is but I don't have a crew for the ship." Han said. Chewie growled and raised his paw. "Okay that's one." Han chuckled.
"General," Leia said, "count me in." Padme smiled and looked at Han.
"I'm not letting you go alone." She said.
"I'm with you too." Luke suddenly said as he entered the room. Leia stood up and hugged her brother. When she pulled back, she noticed his face.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"Ask me again sometime." Luke answered. He went to Padme next. Padme hugged her son tightly.
"How was Yoda?" She asked.
"He died." Luke answered as they pulled apart. As the meeting continued, the two remained silent until Padme whispered,
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. But there's something I need to tell you." Padme waited silently but Luke didn't continue so she prompted,
"What is it?" Luke took a deep breath and said five words that literally made Padme's heart stop.
"I know Leia's my sister."
Dun duh da! And we are one step closer to the end of the story! I know this chapter is shorter but I wanted to see what you guys think Padme's reaction will be. Also, I know I added an extra year but I do not care it is too late to change it now. Also, the sequel now has two options. Whichever title you guys prefer will be the sequel's title. The Hope's Chance, thought up by me, and The Hope's Choice, which is credited to Maleficent-darkgoodwitch2416. Vote for your favorite and the title with the most votes is the winner! Anyways, thanks to tate4eva, ccp, JACarter, QueenNaberrie, whatsnotbeentaken, Morgana Ravenheart, roses for marianne, HopeS11 and fictionfrek101 for reviewing, following and favoring. Also thanks to all 8,876 readers. I can't believe I'm almost at 9,000 and 10,000 after that! I never thought so many people would read and love my work. I can't thank you guys enough. You've boosted my self-esteem to new heights just by reading this story. I can't make any promises on the next update but if you want more of my writing and like Once Upon a Time, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy VII, Tangled or Rise of the Guardians than please check out my other stories. You will not be disappointed. Anyways, let me know what you think, vote for the sequel's title and enjoy it. We've only have a little bit left and then it's time for (spoiler alert for sequel. Don't want, skip to the next sentence) Luke and Leia to go to Attack of the Clones! Thanks for everything guys, it really means a lot to me in more words than I can explain. See you soon.