Chapter 3
Leia POV
The night after Leia's first date with Edward, she met Bella again. She felt the weight of the future, of fate itself heavy on her shoulders and was terrified her feelings for Edward would eventually drive her down the same path of insanity her biological father had taken. She saw so many similarities between them already. The lowly slave boy falling for the queen, so similar to the fugitive falling for an idealized magical creature from a fantasy world. Then there were the mood swings, worse than any pregnant female and just how quickly she fell in love so deeply. It had only been a month since she came to this world and already she never wanted to leave it again. Even if that meant never seeing her real parents again. Never guiding her people the way they deserved. Never getting to know her own twin brother.
What she wanted, needed now the most was reassurance. Permission. Leia did feel guilty for leaving her old life behind but she couldn't bear the thought of parting from Edward. If she switched back now there was no telling if she could ever come back.
... Was this what Vader had felt like when he kept his marriage a secret from the Jedi? This yearning for a friend mixed with ugly jealousy, was that what he'd felt for Obi-Wan Kenobi?
She knew if she wanted to commit to Edward she had to tell him the truth about her. He would find out eventually if she slipped up in her thoughts. Edward... would understand, wouldn't he? He wouldn't think her crazy? He was part of the supernatural world himself! He wouldn't blame her for taking the real Bella from him, would he? He never met her and he loved her now, he said so.
But the more Leia's love grew the more she was terrified that Bella would one day demand her life back. If that happened, did she have the right to deny her? Wasn't it unfair to force her to fight her war while she stole her family? Bella was the main character in her own story. Leia was just the tag-along, the female representation, the spare. The last hope if the best hope failed.
Such feelings of inferiority were new to the proud princess and she didn't like it at all. For once she understood the constant self doubt book-Bella had suffered from. She needed a friend to talk to, someone who knew her secret, someone to tell her that she was allowed to feel this way. But that friend was also the source of many of her worries.
So Leia sat down on her bed in the tiny apartment she shared with Charlie, who had exchanged his wheelchair for crutches only recently (by the stars how would she explain that to Bella?). She immersed herself in the Force, doing her very best to remain calm and not be driven by her intense need for guidance. She thought of Bella and only Bella, her friend and sister, who'd given her so much. She didn't fall asleep this time. The blue, translucent specter of Bella Swan just appeared before her, like a Force ghost.
"Bella!"
"Leia!"
"It's so good to see you!"
The two girls looked at each other, deeply moved by the reunion and holding themselves back from hugging each other and accidentally switching universes.
"H-How are you doing?" Leia asked past the giant lump in her throat.
"Oh, I'm good! I'm doing good. I've been taking shooting lessons and piloting lessons and Luke has been helping me - Luke Skywalker, that's one of the main protagonists of-"
"I know", Leia said quietly. "I... I've seen the movies. Well, the first six that is."
"O-Oh..." Bella's face fell. "Then you know..."
"I know", she said quietly.
Unexpectedly, Bella suddenly teared up.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry Leia! I really should've told you sooner - right from the start! I don't even know why I kept it from you, I thought... There was so little time, I thought, and you didn't want to stay and - I'm so sorry." She sniffled and wiped her eyes. "I... I was just being selfish, I guess. When you made that offer to switch... I wanted that so much. But... But this is our family. It's like the most important family in the whole galaxy too. I don't really have a right to interfere with it..."
Leia shook her head, astonished. "Bella, what are you talking about? You saved my entire planet. I mean - Alderaan still exists, doesn't it?"
"Uhm... yes... It's under pretty heavy military occupation but it's still there. I've been getting some secret messages from your parents and stuff, they're worried but they're fine."
"Then you have absolutely nothing to apologize for", she empathized. "You're doing a way better job in my life than me. I can never repay you for what you've already done for me."
"O-Oh. Thank you, I guess. But I don't understand. You tried to reach me, didn't you? It wasn't me this time. Did you call me to switch back or...?"
"NO! I mean.. no, that's not it", Leia made. "D-Do you... want to switch back?"
Bella shook her head quickly. "Absolutely not. I mean... if that's okay. If I don't have to. I've been reading the holo novels, you know. Well, I'm halfway through the third one, anyway. I have no idea why you wanted to become me so badly, Leia. That relationships had so many red flags. I mean, okay I admit I didn't see it right away but I showed the book to Luke and he really opened my eyes to a few things. Edward was so rude to me, I mean book-Bella, in the beginning and trying to make her doubt herself and the stalking, ugh! Not to mention the total breakdown when he left her so cruelly. It's not a healthy relationship. If you have to get involved with anyone, please at least wait for Jacob to enter the stage, will you?"
Leia went a little red around the nose. "Err... It's kind of a bit late for that."
Bella looked alarmed. "What have you done?"
"Nothing! I mean..." Leia looked away and sighed. "Edward can read my thoughts so he realized pretty quickly that I knew what he was. But the Cullens were all really nice about it. I guess Alice saw me with Edward in the future. I kept my thoughts in check around him though to hide who I really am. I didn't want him to think me crazy before we even got to know each other. But I guess I still have all these habits and thought patterns from hiding my Force-sensitivity from the Empire and he was ... He was so considerate. Offered to help cover for me if anything weird happened and that I could confide in him about supernatural things and the like and... I just realized that it's true, that I'm not being hunted anymore and that I could actually try and explore this gift, you know? So I went to watch the prequels and..."
Leia told her everything then. He told her how upset she'd been when she learned about her true parentage and the terrible damage she had caused, apologized profusely for hurting Charlie. To her surprise and immense relief, Bella took that news well. She was alarmed and saddened that Charlie had been hurt but understood that it was an accident. If anything she blamed herself for not warning Leia more of the movies. Leia also told her how easy Edward and her got along, how he'd been her rock in the storm, cheering her up and distracting her and how glad she was she lived in a fantasy world now where her biggest concern was what to wear each day or how disappointed Charlie would be by her plummeting spanish grades. Then she told her about the movie night, about her own self-doubts in being inferior to Luke and her terrible fear of all the similarities she saw between herself and Vader. She knew diving head first into a romantic relationship in such an emotionally vulnerable state was foolish. But Edward had been such a great support through all of it. He didn't mock her one bit for being so upset about the contents of what to him was only a movie and did his very best to help her through the harrowing experience of watching them. She told Bella that she loved him and how he'd said he loved her too and how she'd all but butchered New Moon already by telling him about the shifters and Alice' blind spot. Even so she was still terribly afraid fate would somehow force her down the novel path anyway and he'd leave her, either out of some misguided attempt to protect her or worse, because he learned the truth. Leia told her of her fear of turning into a vampire and then becoming something like an immortal super-sith lady or something because there was no way she had the same self-control as all those other saintly Cullens because her blood was inherently bad already and-
"Leia, Leia stop", Bella told her gently. "I understand your fears but you can't let such unlikely what-ifs consume you. Edward... Well, he sounded like a bit of an obsessive jerk in the novels to me. I doubt he'd leave you even if you became a human-drinking vampire. You'd probably just go around hunting criminals together. You could be like batman and batwoman. That's fine. I mean, I'd prefer it if you didn't kill too many people in my world but I won't hate you if you do. It's a vampire story after all. You sound like you already screwed Edward's head on better than I ever did in that story so he probably won't ever leave you to protect you or some such. And if he does, you just go and nag the Denali's until they tell you where to find the Cullens. You can go and be a teenage girl and date all the vampires and werewolves you want. You're only seventeen twice." She grinned at that. "And even if the worst case came and you lose Edward, you have the entire Cullen clan to support you. You have a family and a support system the way Vader never did. The only thing you have to be wary of is the Volturi and their habit of collecting talents because they'll have it out for you. But you are Princess Leia! It will be so easy for you to gather enough allies to challenge them. Hell if you became a vampire and got vampire-enhanced Force powers, you could porbably take over my world and that would be great because I honestly think you would be a way better ruler than the Volturi. You know how to rule over people and you have the power - you could spread vampire vegetarianism all over the world and help the shifters spread beyond their reservation and -" Bella took a deep breath and ranted on: "You have to realize, Leia, that my world right now is actually ruled by the evil Empire. You can't mess it up anymore than it already is because the evil guys are already in power. Even ignoring vampires completely, just the human side of it is going to come crashing down because of climate change and nuclear war and all that within the next century or so. You can only make my world better. All you really have to do... is do a better job than me. Because I was a passive little house wife who did absolutely nothing to change the world. I really hope for you you get your happily ever after with the love of your life but if not? If you do end up using your power to take over? You can't be worse than those Volturi guys because you actually care."
When Bella finally stopped talking, both girls were just silent for a few moments. Leia felt stunned. She had hoped for reassurance, feared Bella's judgement but to receive such unconditional support was a shock.
"Is it.. Is it really okay? If I stay in your life?" she asked at last. "If you... If you say yes now... I don't think I'll ever give it back."
"I truly think it is the best for both of our universes if we stay like we are now. But I'm also really happy here. This galaxy is amazing and I don't think I'll ever get sick of it. So yes... If you agree, let's make this permanent." Bella smiled happily. "I wish you the best of luck with your love story. I'll take care of your galaxy for you."
"Oh Bella, I don't know what to say. This all means so much to me. You mean so much to me. May the Force be with you and may you create the lightest timeline."
"I will do my very best. No - I won't try, I will do it. But even if we stay were we are, I would still like to meet you like this if it's okay. I... I need your advice too."
Leia laughed relieved. "Well if there's anything I can help you with, I will."
"I... I want to tell Luke about his parentage. You know, so he doesn't find out the way he did in Empire strikes back. I don't know how much of the plot will stay the same because... Well, because I kinda told Vader that I am his daughter, that's how I bought enough time for Alderaan. So how instead of searching the galaxy for Luke, who destroyed the Death Star, he's searching the galaxy for me and for Obi-Wan, who's always with Luke. Which is not that large of a change, I suppose. Once Luke's name gets known as a Jedi, Vader will connect the dots himself. Right now he's training with Obi-Wan but since we both have giant targets on our backs, the Rebellion wants to split us up. Obi-Wan is not going to tell him and I never told him that I know Vader used to be Anakin Skywalker. So I need your help to break the news to Luke as gently as possible, without him rejecting his own Force powers or his destiny as a Jedi or even worse, become hellbent on revenge or protecting me or anything like that. Any ideas?"
Leia looked at the human girl incredulously. "Bella, why are you worrying about something like that? You just helped me get over those news just fine. You basically just have to repeat what you told me. From what I've seen in the movies, Luke is hardly the kind of person to fall to the dark side because of... something... like that... Oooh, I see what you did there. You're good, Bella Swan."
"What? No, I really wanted your advice!" Bella protested.
Leia shook her head. "You've got to work on your self esteem, Bella. You're amazing at this. Luke is so lucky to have you as a sister. And so am I."
Bella blushed red. "W-Well so are you. I don't wanna hear any more silly worries about being more likely to fall to the dark side than Luke. But... you have no idea how much it means to hear you call me that. Thank you."
"Yes and by the way, don't let anyone split up you and Luke. You need to join in on that Jedi training with Obi-Wan. Or, if he won't do it, go to Dagobah and learn from Master Yoda", Leia decided sternly.
"B-But I don't have the Force!" Bella protested.
Leia waved that away. "Nonsense. Twilight powers are similar enough to the Force. Your talent might be naturally defensive but that doesn't mean you can't learn to do other stuff. You'll be the greatest Jedi to ever walk the galaxy!"
"But-"
"The greatest, I tell you!"
Bella ducked her head. "Yes your Highness."
Leia kept up her stern look a few more moments to make sure she got her point across. Then a smile curled around her lips and a second later both Bella and her were laughing.
"Leia, I love you. I really do. You're the greatest sister ever", Bella said.
"Argh, you're going to make me cry! I love you too, Bella. And I hate that I can't hug you. You're going to have to hug Luke instead. But not Han. Don't ever hug Han, he's disgusting."
"I have no intention to. Besides, Chewie is way cuter than Han", Bella teased.
"Eurgh, go away!"
The girls shared another fit of laughter. Leia felt so much more light already. Bella was like a purifying sun she could bathe in. Switching lives with Bella was the best thing that ever happened to her.
XxX
Bella POV
Back in a galaxy far, far away, Bella wrung her hands as she paced in her tiny room on the Rebellion's base. A few days had passed between her last meeting with Leia and she'd asked Luke to meet her here after his training was done for the day. Despite Leia's reassurances it had taken her a while to find the courage to talk to him about Vader. One of the problems she had to deal with actually solved itself just this morning and now she didn't have an excuse anymore. Bail Organa had sneaked past the military blockade to meet with her. Despite never having met the man and him having very little screen time in the movies, Bella was so thankful for him for raising Leia to the wonderful woman she was, she had no trouble at all being a loving daughter to him. They had talked for a long while and the senator thankfully didn't seem to notice too many differences between her and Leia. Or if he did he wrote it up to the adventures she went on.
Bail did worry about the unusual attention she was getting from the Empire's newly appointed Supreme Commander though. And when she then told him about Luke and his training with Obi-Wan, he finally, really, actually... told her the truth. Bella actually loved him in that moment because so few characters in Star Wars ever did that. Bail confessed that her birth parents were named Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker, who used to be the queen of Naboo and a powerful Jedi respectively. He confessed that there had been two children and that Obi-Wan had taken the other one, the boy, with him. Luke was her brother.
With tears in her eyes Bella asked what had happened to her birth parents. Bail was vague on the details but told her that her mother died in childbirth and her father betrayed the Jedi order in the end and joined in the purge on the Empire's side. That he was later known as Darth Vader himself. Now he was very worried that Vader had found out that she was his daughter, might find out that Luke was his son soon too and that he might try to use this connection to lure one of them in.
Bella hugged her new dad tightly and promised that this knowledge changed nothing about how she felt about him and that she was only happy to gain a brother. Bail cried then in her arms, obviously so relieved and he apologized for keeping the truth from her and promised it had only ever been to protect her, because he loved her so much. Bella felt her heart break listening to him. She decided in that moment that she'd start keeping a diary and writing down all of these wonderful moments so she could tell Leia about it and let her know how much she was loved.
So now that Bella officially knew the truth, she had to tell it to Luke.
At last the door to her cell opened and Luke entered, looking still a bit sweaty from lightsaber training. Bella whirled around to face him, called out his name and hugged him. Luke laughed and whirled her around and Bella was in heaven. There was nothing better than this, to be in this galaxy with her favorite hero, a princess in an epic adventure story.
"I'm happy to see you too, Leia", Luke laughed. "But you didn't just call me here because you missed me, did you?"
"Why, am I not allowed to do that?" Bella asked with a grin.
"Sure but I can think of better places to spend time at than this tiny room", he answered, gazing around meaningfully. Princess or not, the Rebellion wasn't swimming in resources. Bella could be glad that she didn't have to bunk with anyone.
"I just needed to talk to you somewhere... alone, where nobody can overhear." Bella sighed and sat down on her narrow plank bed, patting the spot next to her till her brother (she was allowed to call him that, right? Leia had basically adopted her into the family so it should be fine!) did as well.
"This is... kinda hard to talk about. And I don't know how you'll react. But since Mothma and Obi-Wan want us to split up I might not get a chance to tell you for a while..." She trailed off nervously.
"Uhm, Leia... If this is about, well us..." The poor farmboy went all red in the face. "You know you're my best friend and all but I don't think..."
Bella's eyes widened in horror. "Oh my god, no! No, it's nothing like that! That came out so wrong, I'm sorry. I love you but you're like a brother to me."
"Oh, good", Luke made, sagging in relief. "I mean, you're beautiful, gorgeous really, but I feel the same."
"Please stop talking!" Bella squeaked. "No, I just... I met with my father this morning, you know, Bail Organa?" It sounded weird, clarifying like that.
"The k-king of Alderaan?" Luke stammered, a bit intimidated at the reminder of her royal status. It didn't usually come up in the Rebellion and it hadn't been a big deal in the movies, when the planet she was a royal of had been gone.
"Actually, he's prince consort, Alderaan is matriarchal", she corrected him. "But that's not what's important right now. He told me something today and it's kinda weighting heavy on me so I just... I need to talk to a friend about it, you know?"
"Oh, okay", Luke made, now a bit more comfortable. "What is it?"
"So, uhm, you know... Actually no you don't, I don't think I ever mentioned it. It's not really a secret but unless you researched me in the holonet or something you wouldn't know. I... I'm adopted, you see. Bail and Breha Organa are not my biological parents. They told me so at a young age but it never really mattered to me, of course, because they love me so much and I love them and well, I'm a princess, hardly any reason to complain, you know? My mother can't have children of her own but she needed a female heir to the throne, so that's why they had me. Officially, I'm an anonymous orphan baby. It's not the first time the royal family has done this so it's not unusual and I still very much feel like an Organa. But, well... Today, my father told me the identity of my birth parents. And it turns out... Well, it turns out only my mother is dead. My biological father... is actually still alive. And he wants me back now."
"Oh", Luke made. "I... I'm sorry. That must be a terribly awkward situation for you. Do you... Do you want to reach out to him?"
"Oh no, definitely not!" Bella burst out. "No, it turns out my father is actually a Jedi gone dark who now works for the Empire. My parents never told me to protect me, to keep me away from him. No, I don't care about that. What I do care about is that I was apparently born a twin. I... I have a twin brother out there who was hidden just like I was. That's a connection I care about."
"Wow. That is so crazy. So your father is, like, one of those Inquisitors? I'm so sorry, Leia. Do you know where your brother is?" he asked softly, still utterly clueless that she was talking about him.
Bella nodded. "He's with the Rebellion, actually so I'm sure we'd get along great. I'm happy that I gained a sibling this way, you know? But I'm also worried... If it got out who my biological father is, what would people think about me? The other Rebellion leaders and... and you. I mean... I might have Force powers too and he surely wants to turn me to the dark side and all of that. It's just so complicated."
Luke wrapped an arm around her and held her close. "I'm not thinking any differently of you because of that, Leia. I never would. You're still the same person. It doesn't matter who your parents are unless you want it to matter. And it's not all bad if you get a sibling out of it, is it? Besides, I can't imagine a single person less likely to fall to the dark side than you."
Bella chuckled a bit. "Thank you, Luke. That means a lot to me. But... My father isn't just some inquisitor. Actually..." She looked into his eyes then. "...it's Darth Vader himself."
Luke looked shocked for a moment. At this point he only knew Darth Vader as the man who killed his father, nearly killed his Jedi Master, had almost killed him during the battle of the Death Star and was currently hunting down his best friend.
"Does it still not matter?" Bella asked in a small voice.
Luke found his bearings and hugged her closer. "It still doesn't matter", he confirmed determined. "It only means I have to work twice as hard to help in protecting you so he never gets his hands on you. Family that we chose is way more important than blood family. You're the Organa's daughter first and my sister second and only then, waaaaay down below, are you his daughter." With a little joking pout he added: "I can't promise I won't be jealous of that twin brother of yours if he steals you away from me though."
"Uhm, about that..." As comfortable as that hug felt, Bella freed himself from it, took Luke's hands into her own and caught his gaze.
"There's more to the story."
"Yet more?" Luke smiled nervously. "Was your mother the grand master of the Jedi order or something?"
"No, she was the senator, former queen of Naboo, Padme Amidala. She died giving birth to me... us. But that's not important right now", Bella added when Luke looked faint again. "What's important is the name Vader was known for before he betrayed the Jedi and joined the Empire. The name he carried as a hero in the Clone Wars." She took a deep breath. This was it. "The name was... Anakin Skywalker."
Luke's face froze. Bella squeezed his hands lightly.
"Luke, I think you are my long lost twin brother."
XxX
Obi-Wan POV
"Obi-wan!" Luke shouted as he threw open the door to the little room his Master used for meditation. Bella trailed behind him, back to nervously wringing his hands.
"Luke?" Obi-Wan asked, slowly opening his eyes as he came out of meditation. He'd felt a... shift in the Force just ten minutes ago, as if something had changed and he couldn't make heads or tails out of it. "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong!?" Luke made angrily. "You lied to me! You - knew - all along and yet you never said a word!"
"I'm not sure what you're talking about", the old Jedi said warily.
Luke pulled Bella close, hugging her with one arm, his eyes spitting fire at his Master.
"You never told me about Leia!"
"W-What?"
"M-My father, Bail, talked to me this morning", Bella said quietly. "He told me the whole story, about my biological father, Darth Vader, formerly being known as Anakin Skywalker. So I went and told Luke."
Obi-Wan paled. "You did what!?"
Luke pointed at the Jedi angrily. "It shouldn't have been her job to tell me! It should've been yours! Leia is my sister. I had a right to know that!"
Obi-Wan floundered. That was... not the reaction he had expected. "I... I suppose so but... I didn't tell you because I was concerned the knowledge might make you vulnerable to Vader. That it would be too much for you to bear. Anakin used to be my friend... But Vader is nothing but a creature consumed by darkness. They are not the same person. I didn't want you to connect with or identify with that."
Luke's eyes narrowed. "You told me Vader killed my father. How is that any better? Why would you do something like that? What did you think would happen if I ever met him?"
Obi-Wan spread his arms helplessly. "Your father, Anakin Skywalker, died the moment the darkness swallowed him. So in a way, I didn't lie and Vader really did kill him."
"Oh please", Bella scoffed. "Don't give us that whole 'from a certain point of view' crap." This wasn't robot chicken. "And it's not about Vader. Not everything is about him, you know. This is about us. Right, Luke?"
Luke nodded vigorously. "If Leia and I are twins, that matters! Leia told me the Force is strong in her too, strong enough to keep Vader out of her mind when she was a captive on the Death Star. I no longer think it's a good idea for us to split up. We're stronger together!" Luke exchanged a glance with Bella and she nodded seriously. They had discussed this before, albeit briefly.
"I think Leia should learn how to be a Jedi too."
Obi-Wan blinked owlishly. "So you're less upset about Vader being Anakin Skywalker, your father... but you're angry I didn't tell you about Leia and included her?"
"Of course!"
Obi-Wan's eyes slowly wandered from the upset Luke to the girl clinging to his arm. Bella gave the tiniest of smiles.
In that moment the Jedi knew that she'd planned it all. He wasn't even sure if she truly only learned about her connection to Luke his morning or if she'd known all along. For years Olbi-Wan had worried and fought with himself about if, when and how to tell Luke about his heritage. And this girl, this clever, wondrous girl, had masterfully managed to somehow cover up the pain of such a revelation with the joy of their sibling bond.
She would make a fine Jedi indeed.
Obi-wan bowed his head. "You are right Luke. I apologize for lying to you. That was wrong. And I agree that Leia should receive training too, if she wishes it. But Vader is persistently looking for her as well as me. I dearly hope he is still unawares of your identity. Maybe we can hide it a little longer if you adopt a different last name. In any case, it would be too dangerous for all three of us to remain together. The Jedi order must survive. If he catches us and we are together, all hope will be lost. But", he added before Luke could protest, "there is a solution. There remains another Jedi Master. He is the only other I know of that survived the purge. I can point you the way to him, Leia Organa, and if he accepts you as a student you can learn about the Force from him safely away from Vader's eyes."
Bella hesitated more for Luke's sake than anything else.
"That would be... acceptable", she said finally.
"Leia, are you sure...?" Luke made worried.
"I'm going to miss you so much, Luke. But I have to do my part in fighting the Empire. I can't do that as I am now. But if I can't be there at your side for the foreseeable future, there is something I have to ask first." She turned to Obi-Wan. "Say, this mysterious Force... It wouldn't happen to occasionally give you glimpses into the future in a dream or something, would it?"
If possible, Obi-Wan went even paler. "That... has been reported to happen occasionally. Why, what did you see?"
Leia grimaced a bit. "I saw that dating Han Solo would be a horrible idea, so there's no way I'll ever accept his advances. But beyond that... Luke, you have to promise me that if the Rebellion ever moves to the ice planet Hoth, don't ever go out on patrols alone! There are dangerous wampas in that place and I don't think Han will stay with the Rebellion long enough to save you from them if I go to find this other Jedi master. Also, Lando Clarissian from Cloud City is a two-faced prick that'll totally sell out anyone who seeks refuge to the Empire. Don't be fooled by his attitude, it's just luring you into a trap. Don't try and fight a duel with Vader until you have at least three years worth of lightsaber training under your belt. Just run away! That'll be difficult enough. If for any reason you ever have to infiltrate the palace of Jabba the Hutt, which you shouldn't because I've changed so much already but if you have to, know that he underestimates droids, especially R2D2, but please beware the sarlacc pit and don't underestimate the bounty hunter Boba Fett."
"A-Alright. Anything else?" Luke made a bit overwhelmed.
"Yes, brush your teeth daily, always point the lightsaber away from you and don't forget to eat your greens!" Bella grinned. "It'll be alright, I'm sure. You'll be fine, you have Obi-Wan with you after all. Just please don't come to any sort of daring rescue if I ever do get captured."
"Wait, will that happen?" Luke asked alarmed.
"It shouldn't, like I said I already changed so much and it's a vision I had years ago", she replied. "But even then, I managed to free myself so it's just really unnecessary, okay? You just focus on your training."
"But you needed me to rescue you on the Death Star", Luke reminded her.
"I can't keep being the damsel in distress if I'm going to be a Jedi!" she protested. "I'm going to get myself out of trouble and you're going to get yourself out of trouble and we won't run into any obvious traps to try and help each other unless the other actually asks for help, okay? Please Luke, that's really important. I don't ever want to be your weakness. I want to be your strength."
Luke sighed. "Alright, I promise. I don't ever want to be your weakness either."
"Good! And just in case they force us to send any messages, I'll call you my friend if I actually need a rescue and I'll call you my brother if you need to stay away. Alright?"
"Leia, now you're scaring me."
Bella squeezed his hand. "I'm just... I don't want anything to happen to you. But it shouldn't. You're you. You will be fine. The Force is strong in you."
"The Force is strong in you too, Leia", Luke said reassuringly.
"Oh, not nearly as strong as with you. About my only talent is protecting my own head. But that was pretty useful on the Death Star. So... It will probably be fine. I'll be fine. You'll be fine. Nothing bad will happen..." Bella wrung her hands nervously. "Oh, I so hope I didn't just jinx it."
XxX
Leia POV
Meanwhile, on Earth.
Life returned to normal for Leia eventually. Well, as normal as it ever was in Twilight.
Leia knew all the Cullens had a bunch of questions after her rather emotional response to the movies. She was honestly expecting someone to count two and two together but she supposed the truth was so ridiculous it didn't occur to them. She loved them all the more for not bugging her too much about it though.
She did her best to take care of Charlie and spend any time she didn't have to waste on schoolwork or spend with Edward with him. She took him fishing, cooked for him and even watched sports with him. Charlie jokingly said that tornado destroying their house was the best thing that happened to him. Leia managed not to cry.
They had one very awkward visit from Billy Black who gave not-so subtle warnings about Edward. It was an almost word-for-word Twilight encounter. Three months after the house incident, when Charlie was declared fully healed and got back to work, he returned with reports of missing persons in the surrounding area. It looked like Jame's coven was drawing nearer.
Leia's relationship with Edward developed wonderfully. Her vampire was such a gentleman, always opening doors for her, paying for bills, leaving her little gifts. Leia was used to being treated like this because well, she was royalty but in this world Edward was the only one who did this and she felt at home whenever he was with her. They went on an outing almost every weekend, going to restaurants, visiting the arcade, taking hikes in the forest and other trips. The famous meadow was just as beautiful as she'd always imagined.
For weeks, Edward was extremely hesitant to take her to any more movies or even theatre. It took a lot of convincing from Leia to make him believe that she wasn't usually that emotional about movies. Just Star Wars.
Leia had been in Twilight for months without any more violent outbursts when she started to gather her courage and very carefully practice her Force powers. Edward was all to willing to supervise and help her out. He was amused when she suggested drawing on Star Wars lore to try and figure out how to improve, seeing as her supernatural gift was so similar to the Force but readily gathered any and all information he could find from extended universe sources. Leia herself stayed far away from any such books or comics. She knew the gist of the future now but Bella would probably change a lot about it and it would only worry her more to learn about more what-if's.
On rare sunny days when Edward was gone, Leia immersed herself in another project of hers. James' coven would come in March. The whole encounter could probably be avoided by just not doing any baseball on that particular day. However, James was a truly evil person, a sadist that liked to not just kill but torment people. Not to mention he was also the reason Alice lost her human life. If there was any chance to take him out, Leia felt it was her responsibility to do it. She was taking Bella's advice to heart: She would not just sit by and no doing, passing on the entire plot of the books just because she was in love.
Leia had zero intention to get herself turned before she hadn't at least caught up with her original age of 19. Being so young was weird. She also didn't think it would be wise to even make such a decision with the underdeveloped, emotion-driven brain of a seventeen-year old and then be stuck with that brain forever. With her life currently devoid of any major tragedies or stress, Leia had managed to get over the shock of the movie content pretty well all things considered. She was no longer completely opposed to the idea of turning but she wasn't as sure that it should definitely come as she'd been when she first arrived. Seeing, interacting with and possibly fighting dark vampires might give her the necessary boost to make a decision on whether she wanted that for herself or not.
But if she was going to let the James encounter happen, she'd have to make damn sure all three nomads didn't survive it. And she couldn't be a damsel in distress for the fight. That's why Leia gathered up all of her allowance to purchase a basic set of chemistry and physics tools and substances. Her goal was to replicate the weapons she was familiar with. There was no way she could build a lightsaber without a cyber crystal but even just a regular blaster should be able to hurt and maybe even kill a vampire. After all, a strong enough plasma beam was perfectly capable to eat through stone, which vampire flesh often got compared to. It also had the tendency to set flammable materials alight. And vampires were definitely flammable. If she could then get the hang of this whole 'aiming at where the enemy is going to be, not where it is now' thing that the Force was supposedly so great at, she might have a chance.
Leia Organa was not an engineer but she was an educated person and she did know how a blaster worked, probably better than the average Earth person knew how a shotgun worked. It took her a couple of experiments and one frantic phone call from Alice to not mix those two things together. Eventually, she did it. She managed to build her very own blaster pistol.
It was the 1th of March, two weeks before James' coven was due to pass them by. Leia and Edward stood in a clearing in the forest, targets painted on the surrounding trees as well as two large boulders. Leia took a deep breath, touched the well of power inside her for guidance and hit all nine targets right in the middle. With closed eyes.
The red laser beam punched a foot-long smoking hole into the boulders and the two trees she'd aimed at were additionally set on fire. Hurriedly Leia picked up the bucket of water she'd brought with her for just this and put out the flames. Then she turned to Edward with a large grin.
"Well? What do you think?"
Edward stared at the weapon in her hand with an unreadable expression.
"You... build yourself a blaster."
"I did!" she said proudly.
Edward shook his head slowly. "I... have questions."
Leia nodded seriously. She had expected as much. Edward had been incredibly patient with her but there was only so much any person could take. It was time to tell him what was coming.
"Ask."
He pointed at her blaster. "First of all, is that thing safe?"
That was not the first question she'd expected him to ask.
"Well, it is still a prototype so it needs some refinement. But it won't explode in my hand or anything", she answered. "I know what I'm doing."
"How do you know? And why do you think you need this? Bella, if there's anyone after you-"
"There is", she cut him off, her eyes hard as steel. "There will be. And I know you want to protect me, Edward, but you can't be at my side all the time. And even if you are, there are things you can't protect me from. I wouldn't want you to. I don't want to always need to be protected. I want to have a way to defend myself too."
"I am all for you having a way to protect yourself, if it is safe", Edward reassured her. "But please, Bella, just tell me who you're hiding from. Did you have trouble with someone in Phoenix? Is it the Volturi? Have they learned about your gift?"
Leia shook her head. It was time to come clean with Edward. She had procrastinated this long enough. Their love was as strong as it could be. He wouldn't... He wouldn't think too badly of her, surely.
"Love, there's nothing you could have done that would make me abandon you", Edward said quietly and wrapped her in his arms.
"I... I know. I trust you", she said quietly. "It's just... a bit much."
Then she sat him down and she told him everything. She confessed to her real name being Leia Organa, yes, that Leia Organa from Star Wars. She told him how she'd woken up one day in the body of Bella Swan but with all of her memories from a galaxy far, far away. She told him of meeting the real Bella, who was a fictional character from a holo novel in her world and how they'd agreed to switch places and live each other's lives. That's why she was so upset about the plot of a mere movie, that's why she was so bad a spanish and literature and modern media and everything else that was normal to know for an Earth human. That's how she knew how to build a blaster. That's where her Force powers came from. She told him she didn't actually have a gift of foresight, she just knew the plot of the novel Bella was the main character of. The Bella that Edward was originally supposed to fall in love with. The Bella whose place she'd taken. The Bella that was currently on the run from the Empire after having helped in Leia's stead to destroy the Death Star and save Alderaan.
Leia hid nothing from her love even in her thoughts, willingly letting him see memories of hers that couldn't be found in any movie or book. Memories of her father Bail and her mother Breha, of growing up a princess, of visiting the senate, of running secret missions for the Rebellion. Scarif was not the first mission she'd ever been on and it hadn't even been the first time she'd been chased by Vader. Using the cover of diplomatic immunity she had smuggled weapons and refugees before. Sometimes the cover worked, sometimes it did not. Leia knew how to use a blaster and not just from lessons either. She'd been in her fair share of firefights and had killed somewhere between one or two dozen troopers.
One thing she didn't tell him much about was the plot of the original novel. It was hard enough to admit that he'd been with another girl before. But it was also pointless because she'd already changed to much about the plot. Edward and Bella had only really started dating... around this time, actually, after months of back and forth. Leia and Edward were already a well-established couple. They'd went on dates, got to know each other's families and walked through school hand-in-hand. Edward knew of the shifters and of Alice' blind spot and he'd promised her many times not to leave her.
"The Volturi will eventually be after me if they ever find out about my power and they'll use any excuse they can to get me to join them", Leia ended. She didn't want to mention Renesme, that was way too much of an what-if but she told him this:
"In the novel, there's a coven of three that comes close to Forks and one of them, James, is a passionate hunter. He picks Bella out as his prey. Your family manages to kill him in time but then his mate Victoria swears revenge, which leads to all kinds of problems later on that give the Volturi all the pretext they could want. That first meeting with James is supposed to take place in two weeks. That's why I need to be prepared." She raised her blaster for emphasis. "I'm way stronger than Bella ever was in the novel. I've decided to do things differently."
Edward looked at her with wide eyes. "Bella, you can't honestly want to go hunting vampires with that?!"
Leia met his gaze with her own hard one. "And why not? I get that Carlisle and the rest of your family are pacifists, that you don't interfere with other vampire's habits. You don't try to push your way of living onto others and I can respect that. You're the odd ones out, the ones going against their nature. But James isn't like that. He's a monster. He would be one even as a human. He's preying on my herd. My people. I'm the only human who has a chance against him. I'd appreciate your help in taking him and Victoria out but I'll find a way on my own too."
Edward looked horrified. "I'm not going to let you anywhere near those vampires!"
"Edward", she said in a harsh voice. "Do you believe me? Everything I've told you - do you believe I am who I say I am?"
Edward hesitated. "I... I don't understand how such a thing could be possible. But I see you believe it and you have the knowledge and abilities and... and memories to back it up so... I hardly think it matters if it's true or not. If you act and think and have the abilities of Leia Organa, then you might as well be her. It certainly explains a lot. I don't care about any supposedly different Bella I was together in some other parallel universe. You are the one I love."
Leia nodded, fighting not to show her relief. "If you believe that, then you know what I'm capable of. You know what I've stood against. When I first switched with Bella I was a captive on the Death Star, about to be tortured for information. Bella has her own gift, she can shield her mind from any intrusions. Including yours. Including Vader's. She said she had an idea how to save Alderaan and whether or not it worked, Vader wouldn't have learned anything from her via the Force. I had to switch to give my planet a chance at survival. But I also wanted to come here. I wanted to meet you. I wanted to be a normal girl and fall in love and not have to worry about the Empire anymore. I... I fled. I hid. And now she's fighting in my place." Leia's eyes were blazing with determination. "I don't want to flee anymore. I don't want to go back to my galaxy because that would mean leaving you. But I also won't hide on a world that is so much safer than any world in my galaxy is for me. I used to shoulder the responsibility of protecting an entire planet. I can't shy away from protecting my sister's home town!"
"I... won't be able to convince you otherwise, will I? No. I don't want to try and convince you otherwise. If this is the path you chose, I'll walk it with you."
Leia wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's neck and hugged him fiercely.
"Thank you, Edward. That means a lot to me."
Edward froze for a moment but then carefully returned the hug.
"When you think of your sister... you mean the original Bella?" he asked softly.
Leia nodded, her face still hidden in his shoulder.
"And when you think about your brother, you mean Luke."
"And when I think about my father... I mean Bail", she confirmed. "I try very hard not to think about that person."
"But that's why you are so afraid of your own power. That's why you were so upset on our first date - you saw the movies for the first time", Edward concluded. He pushed her away just enough to look into her eyes and gently brush away a tear. "I'm so sorry you had to find out that way."
Leia smiled sadly. "Bella and I can still talk to each other... Sometimes I see her when I dream or meditate. She helped me deal with the truth and I'm better now. But yes, when I first found out, it was a shock. I'm not... as afraid anymore though. Bella was someone who had the world pass her by and everything revolved around her. That was just the kind of story Twilight was. At first, I just wanted to come here to escape. But she's doing so well over in my galaxy, I feel like it's time I finally take my fate into my own hands. I want to do well on my own."
"And you will. I know you will", Edward said.
And then he leaned down and kissed her.
It was Leia's first kiss ever. It was a brush of cold lips on hers, light as the wings of a butterfly and it send sparks all the way down her spine. She stared at Edward with wide eyes when he pulled back, her mind utterly blank.
"Are you alright?" Edward asked worriedly and she could feel his hesitance, his worry and his... his love for her.
As an answer, Leia simply pulled him down and kissed him again. She had to consciously reign in the fireworks in her belly, make an effort not to be too passionate because as much as she loved and desired Edward, she knew she was very inexperienced and she was secretly afraid that she'd be bad at kissing or something. Edward's answering chuckle told her he heard that thought and when she came up for air he whispered:
"Don't worry, you're great at this. It's just... hard, with your scent being what it is for me. Please give me some time to adjust."
"I love you, Edward", Leia said, smiling freely.
"I love you too" he replied, brushing a lock of her hair away. "Should I call you Leia now?"
"W-When we're alone.. I'd like that", she said quietly. "But I don't want anybody else to know. Who would believe me? You can read my mind and know the truth that way but others..."
"I understand. They won't learn it from me", Edward promised. "But I don't want to to call you by a name you connect with another girl that was with me in another timeline. I could use a pet name for you instead when people are around?, what do you think? You could be my princess."
"No", Leia made and scrunched up her nose. "That's way too formal."
Edward grinned. "Of course. You'd have grown up with people calling you that seriously all the time. Something more mundane then. But Leia, even with the Force and with your... your blaster, just the two of us battling against a coven of three is too dangerous. And I'm not sure if Carlisle and the others will help if they could just as easily avoid them."
"I know. That's why I plan to involve someone who won't care as much about diplomacy." Leia thought about the wolves, about their hatred of all vampires, how they'd brag about any that they managed to kill. Sure they could be a pain to deal with when it came to working with the Cullens but there was no doubt they were serious about protecting their territory and human life in general.
"The wolves?" Edward made. "I thought you said most of them aren't due to shift until one or two years from now.
"I know and that's true. But I don't plan to leave the timeline exactly as it is. We might be able to take on James on our own but you're right, his whole coven could prove a problem. Especially Victoria. She's a slippery one and if she gets away, we're going to have to deal with a newborn army in a few years. If we take them out, we have to do so with overwhelming force. I know the names of over half a dozen boys on the reservation who could shift if they were exposed to the presence of vampires for long enough. Not all of them might want to become shifters but I believe they have every right to chose it if they do."
"But that would mean telling a whole group of humans about the existence of vampires. Leia, you can't do that. The law..."
"The Quileute as a tribe know about your kind anyway. I'd just be reaffirming it", Leia argued. "And these people would be learning about it anyways in a few years. Sometimes in horrifying ways - Leah's first shift literally caused her father's heart to stop. I can keep that from happening."
Edward gave a little groan and kissed the top of her head. "Leia, you're far too good for this world. I don't want you to run into any battles or fight any wars. I want you to be safe."
"I can't just sit by and do nothing, Edward. That's not who I am. That... That's the real Bella", Leia said quietly.
"But I fell in love with Princess... No, General Organa." Edward gave her that adorable lopsided smile of his. "I suppose that means I have to brush up on my combat skills."
