Leia ran down the halls of her home, ignoring the slight breathlessness that she was feeling. She was slightly dizzy and her legs were shaking. She felt like she hadn't slept in several days. She pushed past those physical feelings because they didn't matter. Only one thing mattered at that moment. Luke.
She could still feel him. He was far away, but he was reaching for her, and she reached back to him. She couldn't quite get an impression of what he was feeling, and Leia didn't know if it was because they were too far from each other or if his emotions weren't intense enough to bleed over into her mind. But she knew he was there, and that was good enough for now, but not for long.
He shouldn't be alone. Even if he was okay right now, who knew how long that would last? She needed to be there with him when he fell apart again. She needed to be at her brother's side. At that moment it felt like the single most important thing in the galaxy.
As soon as Leia had realized that she was back on Alderaan and Luke wasn't there she knew what she needed to do. She'd climbed out of bed and didn't even bother with shoes, or a robe, or doing anything to present herself properly. Her image was important, but it felt like nothing at the moment.
She ignored the servants and the odd looks they gave her as she ran past. None of them had seen her behave like this since she was a child, and even back then she knew better. They probably thought there was something wrong with her, and in a way there was. They wouldn't understand if she tried to explain it though. How could they understand the intense need to be with a brother they didn't even know she had? No, the servants wouldn't understand, but Leia had to hope that her parents would.
The early morning sun was streaming through the windows, and Leia had to take just a moment to figure out which of her parents she should go to, because that would decide where she looked. It was early in the morning, and Leia knew that her mother was already up and about. As queen, she always started her days early, because there were always people wanting an audience with her.
Leia's father didn't necessarily sleep in late, but he had very late nights. He was probably still sleeping right now, or at least trying to rest his eyes for a few more minutes while her mother got breakfast.
Leia debated with herself for a brief moment before she made her way to her parent's bedroom. Her mother was the one she had always felt like she could talk to about serious emotional issues, but she wasn't sure about this one. Luke, as well as Leia, were the children of a woman that she knew for a fact was a friend of Bail's. Leia had no idea if Breha had ever known her birth mother. Did she know who Leia was born of? Did she know of the powers that Leia had, which would help explain why she was drawn to a boy that she should never have met.
Leia thought her best bet would be with her father. She was fairly certain that he knew who her parents had been. And even if he didn't understand the specifics of what a Jedi was, he had worked on Coruscant when they'd been alive. He'd seen them in action and worked with them personally. He had to have at least an idea of what the Force was, and maybe he wouldn't actually be surprised at the news that she had it.
Leia didn't know what she was going to say. She was desperate, frantic, and more than just a little confused. The less she would have to explain, the better.
Leia went to her parents' bedroom and let herself in. Something she hadn't done since she was four or five. Her father was still lying on the bed, fast asleep. Leia didn't pay it any mind. She jumped onto the bed, practically landing on her father. She knew she was far too old for this, but it was the fastest way to wake him up.
Besides, she'd missed him. She hadn't been gone for very long, but seeing the past version of her dad, so much like him and yet still a total stranger, it made her feel so much longing.
Bail grunted and immediately woke up. He groaned and rolled over towards her. His eyes widened as soon as he saw her and he sat up.
"Leia, my dear." He somehow didn't sound confused or upset about being woken so harshly. He sounded relieved. "You're okay." He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. Leia returned the embrace, though she was still confused about the reaction.
"Dad," She stayed in the embrace for a long moment before she pulled away. He reluctantly let her go. "Why wouldn't I be okay."
Bail brushed some hair out of her face. "We found you unconscious in the courtyard the other day. There was no sign of injury. As far as our doctors could tell, nothing was wrong with you. But you wouldn't wake up." He pulled her in for another hug. "We were so worried."
Leia blinked. "I was…asleep?" The courtyard. That was where she had been last before she'd suddenly appeared in the past. Had she not literally time-travelled. Had the whole thing been just a dream? The thought scared Leia at first. Luke couldn't be a dream. She could feel him. She knew that he was out there. No mere dream could reveal things that she hadn't known before.
But then, maybe it could. Perhaps not a normal dream, but one gifted by the Force. A vision.
Leia's thoughts were spinning as she tried to wrap her head around how much of what she had seen had been real, and how much of it had been in her head. She reached out to Luke through their connection, just nudging at him. She felt a little nudge back, and just that small action made her feel better.
Regardless of what was real, Luke certainly was. And he was still out there, waiting for her.
"We didn't know what happened." Bail said.
"I think I might." Leia said. She could feel the Force inside of her, confirming her little theory. This was all because of it. "Father…Dad, it was the Force. It showed me a vision."
Bail looked confused at first, and when his expression changed she was worried that he was going to deny the very existence of the Force. He didn't know a lot about it. So much of what he knew was that everybody who had the Force was being hunted down and either killed or captured and tortured to the point that they wished they were killed. Bail wouldn't want that for her, so of course he would try to protect her from it. That was why he hadn't told her about her abilities before.
But Leia couldn't just duck her head in the sand and pretend that her powers weren't there, just because it was easier. Now that she was aware of the Force and her connection to it she couldn't ignore it. She didn't know how. She thought she would need a lot more training to reach that point.
After a long, tense moment, Bail sighed. "What did you see?" With just that simple question Leia almost felt like she was going to cry. She was so relieved. He was open to hearing what she had to say. She wasn't being shut down for her own protection.
There was so much that Leia needed to talk to her father about. She wanted to talk to him more about the Republic, now that she had seen just a little bit of it in action. She wanted to know how, exactly, the Republic fell and became the Empire, because her father was always a little vague about that part, and she thought it was about time that she knew the truth.
She wanted to know more about her birth mother and what she was like. What were the Jedi actually like? Because the only tale she heard now either decreed them traitors or put them up on a pedestal. How was she supposed to learn about her powers and the teachings that surrounded them if all she heard was exaggerated rumors?
But there would be time to talk about all of that. For the initial conversation she needed to keep it simple and straightforward.
"I saw Luke." Leia said. "My brother." And if Bail had any doubts before that this was more than a dream, her words pushed them away. Bail Organa wasn't an overly expressive man with his emotions. As a politician, he couldn't afford to be. But Leia had fifteen years of experience when it came to reading her father, and she could see the shock, guilt, and shame in his eyes. He knew she had a brother, and he knew that if their lives hadn't been at risk it never should have been a secret to them.
"Leia-" Bail began. Leia interrupted him. She normally wouldn't do such a thing. She knew so much better than that. But if her father spent time giving her unnecessary apologies then there would be even more time before they actually addressed what she wanted to talk about.
"I understand why you didn't tell me." Leia said. "I know how dangerous having the Force can be in the Empire. I know how dangerous it is to have the blood of a Jedi."
Bail gave her a pained look. He hugged her again. "I wish we could have told you." He didn't give any more excuses or explanations. He knew she understood.
"I know." Leia said. "It wasn't safe for me to know. But now I think it's not safe for me to not know." They would have to talk more about the Force and potentially developing those abilities more. But that wasn't at the top of Leia's priority list.
"Dad, Luke needs me." Leia said. "I've told you how I've been feeling these past few weeks."
Bail nodded. "Scared for no reason, and homesick, even though you were home. You said you felt like you were forgetting something, or were needed." He looked at her. "You think that was Luke?"
"I know it was." Leia said. "We have this…connection, I guess, in the Force. He's been reaching for me."
Bail looked concerned. "Is he in danger?"
"No." Leia said. She wasn't going to let her father keep her from Luke because he thought it was too dangerous. "No, he's alright, he's just struggling." She knew he was being plagued with nightmares, but she was worried that if she said as much then her dad wouldn't take it seriously. Everybody had bad dreams sometimes. Learning to live with them was just a part of life. Luke was fifteen. Her father might think that he was old enough to deal with his own bad dreams. Leia knew it was far more than that, but she didn't know how to explain it.
Leia took her dad's hands, giving them a squeeze. "He needs me. I can feel it." Luke wasn't crying for her now as he had before, but Leia knew it was just a matter of time. She would rather be at Luke's side when he needed her rather than half a galaxy away.
Bail looked conflicted. "...We should speak to your mother." Leia was both annoyed and relieved at her father's words. If she wanted to get to Tatooine she would need to talk to both of her parents about it. The fact that she wasn't being immediately dismissed was reassuring. But Leia knew that convincing her parents would be difficult and it would take time.
She reached out to Luke, surrounding his presence in the Force with her own, giving her the closest thing to a hug that she could at this distance. She sent him as many reassurances as she could. She hoped he could wait for her.
Luke woke up in physical discomfort, but he felt more rested than he'd been in weeks. He immediately knew the reason why. He hadn't had any nightmares.
There had been no invasive touches that made him feel like he never wanted to feel human contact again. There had been no horrifying screams from his grandmother as she was tortured and forced to go through things that nobody should ever experience. There hadn't been any of the chilling sounds of the Tuskens. Luke hadn't even seen the blinding light of a lightsaber and felt the uncontrollable fury of a son who'd had his mother cruelly taken from him.
Luke had seen and felt nothing. He'd just slept, and he woke up feeling completely at peace, even if he'd been sleeping on the hard ground and warm sand.
It didn't take Luke long to realize what had happened. He hadn't had any nightmares during the sleep that had brought him into the past. He just hadn't been able to have the chance to enjoy it because he had woken on Coruscant and immediately been overwhelmed by the presence of the Force. Between the thousands upon thousands of beings living on Coruscant and the strength of all the Jedi, the Force was far more powerful on Coruscant than Tatooine.
Luke had gotten used to it, but it had still been a lot. He felt like at all times he could hear and feel every living being on Coruscant. It all bled into white noise, but it was still there. Now that he no longer had all that distracting noise, he felt like he had never been somewhere so quiet.
He could still feel life. He could feel the Tuskens and Jawas traversing the desert. He knew if he was closer to Mos Espa or Mos Eisley he would feel much more, but it would still pale in comparison to the presence of the Force in Coruscant.
It was almost a little lonely. Luke hadn't been in the past for long, but having people around who he could truly connect to and understand was so nice, and it would be hard to get used to not having that.
Luke felt a light nudging. He smiled at the familiar feeling. Leia. He could still feel her. But she was far away. He already missed her, but at least he could still feel her. He didn't know what he would do if he'd lost his connection with her completely.
While Leia was far away Luke could feel another closer Force presence. A familiar one. One that he'd known his whole life, though he'd never had the chance to grow the bond, and maybe now he could.
Luke reached out to Obi-Wan. The reaction was immediate. Obi-Wan reached back and Luke could feel the concern and care through the connection. And he could feel it coming closer. Obi-Wan was coming for him.
Luke smiled to himself as he stood up. There was still a familiar hollowness in his chest. The pain and grief of what had happened to his grandmother and what he'd been forced to experience second-hand. He didn't think those feelings would ever completely go away. But he still felt that maybe he could be okay anyway.
He could still feel Leia, just one nudge in the Force away. He could just hear a whisper of her presence, but it was always there. Always supportive. She wasn't going anywhere. Luke didn't have to be alone. And maybe that was what mattered.
Luke remembered what had both confused him most about his nightmares. The very end, just second before it all became too much for Shmi and she died. Anakin had come too late. He hadn't been able to save her, and it broke Luke's heart and made him want to scream, and those feelings conflicted with what he knew she had felt.
Shmi had felt nothing but love and relief when she'd seen her son. Seeing him all grown up, strong and healthy, that was all she'd ever wanted. Just the knowledge that he was okay had been enough for Shmi, and she'd died content.
Luke hadn't understood before. He'd felt all of her pain and fear. He'd heard her plead for mercy and pray to the Desert Mother to spare and save her. She hadn't wanted to die. Shmi had wanted to be saved. But she held no resentment towards Anakin that he hadn't been able to do that for her, because that wasn't who she was.
She'd been tortured for weeks. Luke had felt her hopelessness himself. But he'd also felt that light in her soul when she saw her son. He was everything to her. Her own well-being didn't matter as long as he was okay.
Luke imagined that she had missed him every single day that he'd been gone. Shmi had given up her son, and she still kept living. She had probably believed that she would never see him again. For him to appear out of nowhere during her lowest moment, it had been nothing short of a miracle.
He'd been there. Even with the probably very busy life that he was leading as a Jedi, he had still returned to the planet he had hated, just for her. How could Shmi be mad or disappointed that Anakin could have done more? He'd never needed to do more in her eyes. He was her son. He was there when she needed him. What else could she have asked for?
Luke hadn't understood before, even though he'd felt it all. The feelings just made no sense to him. Now he thought he finally got it.
Terrible things happened, and it was so easy to be dragged. Luke had felt that for himself. The lingering pain and fear after getting hurt was almost as bad as the initial pain, and it could stay forever if you let it.
Luke was so tired of carrying it all. The weight on his soul was a heavy one. But understanding Shmi helped lighten it quite a bit. She didn't linger on her own pain. She let it go. She'd felt hope and happiness when she could have felt bitter and heartbroken instead.
Luke didn't know how to be as strong as her. But he knew that she had let others help her. She'd let two strangers save her son from slavery when she couldn't. She'd let Cliegg win her freedom for her. She'd accepted her son's return with nothing but love and happiness in her heart.
She'd trusted people to help her when she needed it, even if what they had to offer might not be enough. Her soul was eased because she cared for others, and she let them care for her.
Luke cared a lot about people, but it was a two-way street. He knew he had people who cared about him, but he kept them at arms' distance without even realizing that was what he was doing. He did it for a couple of reasons.
He was scared of being disappointed by them. He was scared of letting them down and chasing them away. He didn't want to burden them.
It was a very painful and lonely existence. Luke loved people. He wanted to be around them. But being surrounded by people and not letting them in was almost more painful than being completely alone.
Luke needed to give others, and himself, a chance. Leia was right there, reaching out, wanting to help him. Obi-Wan was on his way right now. His aunt and uncle were probably at home, waiting for him to open up to them. Luke was scared to, but he really wanted it. He wanted it more than he feared how it could go wrong.
If Grandma Shmi could be strong enough to hope even after the nightmares she'd endured, then Luke could do the same.
He took a deep breath and left the cave. The twin suns were high in the sky. Seeing them was like greeting an old friend.
Speaking of old friends…
Luke could see a speeder approaching. He could feel that it was Obi-Wan. He didn't think he'd ever seen the man ride a speeder. It was a little amusing to see the old hermit ride so fast. Especially now that Luke had met him as a peaceful Jedi master.
Soon Obi-Wan had pulled up right in front of the cave. Luke wondered if he'd been able to find him if he hadn't stepped out of the cave. What kind of thing could people do with these Force connections? Luke hoped to build it up.
He was still more than just a little scared of the Force, but maybe Obi-Wan could help him with that too.
The man got off the speeder. He looked older than Luke remembered, and he didn't know if that was because the last time he'd seen him he'd been in the past, or if the concern in his eyes had aged him.
"Luke." Obi-Wan was breathless. He strode up to the boy and pulled him into his arms. "Don't do that." His grip was so strong that Luke felt like his air was knocked out of him.
"Sorry." Luke said sincerely. "What did I do?"
Obi-Wan sighed. "You disappeared. You told your aunt and uncle that you would be back soon. Do you call this soon?"
"I didn't mean to." Luke said. "I fell asleep."
Obi-Wan pulled back and gave him a look of disbelief. "You fell asleep?"
Luke swallowed thickly. This was it. It was time to let him in.
"I had a dream." Luke said. "From the Force."
Obi-Wan pulled back and looked at him, his Force presence searching Luke's. He let him. Obi-Wan sighed, sounding drained. Luke could feel his exhaustion and fear, but he thought there was a small amount of relief there too.
"I suppose it was just a matter of time before you learned about it." Obi-Wan said. The feelings that Luke could sense from him actually felt very similar to what Luke had been feeling. Maybe Obi-Wan was also used to only relying on himself, and he was tired of doing so.
"I know about Leia too." Luke said. "I can feel her."
Obi-Wan gave him a painfully sad smile. "Of course you can." He shook his head. "What did you see in your vision?"
Luke saw so much. He thought about just talking about experiencing the past with Leia. Being exposed to the Force properly. But that wasn't where it started. It had all begun weeks ago, and it was time that Luke talked about it completely. No more hiding.
"It started two weeks ago." Luke said. And he told Obi-Wan about his dreams. All of them. And Obi-Wan listened, his presence wrapping around Luke like he could protect him from further harm. Luke knew he couldn't, but he appreciated the care nonetheless.
The suns were going down by the time Luke found himself all talked out. He felt exhausted and raw, but he could feel Obi-Wan's protectiveness and Leia's support. Those were the feelings he focused on.
"I don't know why the Force did any of this." Luke rubbed his eyes. He hadn't talked about seeing the past with Leia. He should, and he would, but he was too drained. He needed just a little break.
"Neither do I." Obi-Wan said. "But we'll figure it out. And whatever the Force wants from you, I'll help guide you through it." Luke could feel that he meant it, and he couldn't be more relieved. He breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against Obi-Wan, both physically and through the Force.
The man held him for a long time, only letting go when Luke pulled away first. "We should get you home." Obi-Wan said. "You have no idea how worried your guardians are."
Luke nodded. He wanted his aunt and uncle back. He'd missed them. He needed the Force connection, but now that he had that from others then maybe he could finally let himself appreciate just what Beru and Owen could provide.
Luke's speeder wasn't where he had left it. That was to be expected. The Jawas had probably taken it. Luke would be spending the next several months working that loss off. He accepted that.
He got onto the speeder behind Obi-Wan, not saying a single word about wanting to drive. He wanted to let someone else take care of him just this once. Besides, Luke was a little distracted to focus on riding right now.
As they made their way back to the homestead Luke's gaze drifted to the sky, as it often did. The stars weren't quite out yet, but Luke could imagine the view so vividly after spending his whole life looking at the stars and wanting more.
He still felt that longing, but he could pin down what at least part of that was specifically. It was that desire to know his father. To be at his side. To grow their connection through the Force, though Luke hadn't known about that last part until recently.
Luke could still feel his father out there, far away, and it filled him with hope.
A part of him wondered why his father had been gone for so long. Why had he been told that his father was dead? Maybe after the Jedi purge it was just assumed that all Jedi were dead until proven otherwise. Most people probably thought that Obi-Wan was dead.
A little bit of him was angry that his father had never come back for him. Couldn't he feel the connection that Luke could?
It was tempting to hold onto that anger, but he was so tired of that. Luke wanted to be happy. He wanted to feel hope. So he reached out through that bond, opening up what had been closed off to him a short time ago, and what he'd been reluctant to open again.
Anakin had tried to open up to him in the past. Luke hadn't been ready to listen to him. Maybe now he was.
'Father'.' Luke called out to him, just as he had tried to do so often as a child. But now he knew what this connection was. Now he had an idea of what he was doing. It was probably sloppy and impractical, but it was more than Luke had been able to do before.
Anakin was closed off to him, but Luke could feel whispers of intense emotions bleeding through. It was raw. There was so much anger that it was dizzying. He couldn't imagine how intense the fury was when it wasn't locked behind a thick wall.
Luke could remember the fury he'd felt from Anakin in his dream. It had been unbearable. He thought that this anger was worse than that. Either Luke had caught Anakin at a really bad time, or the underlying anger that he'd constantly felt from his father was now on the surface instead of under it.
Luke pushed past the anger and he could feel pain bleeding through the connection. So much pain. It brought tears to his eyes, even though he really shouldn't be crying on Tatooine, despite what Leia had told him.
Luke couldn't bear through his pain by himself. It made it even worse. He wondered if his father had anybody to help him through his pain. Considering a fair amount of the pain Luke felt seemed very similar to loneliness, he doubted it.
That was okay. Luke had Leia and Obi-Wan to help him. He'd been reaching out to his father for the same, but he didn't truly need his help. Luke had what he needed. He was strong enough to give what he was asking for.
So Luke pushed at the connection. Tapping at the wall around his father's Force presence. Asking to be let in. Luke was pushed back so harshly that he was physically knocked back. He almost fell off the bike, but he felt an invisible force wrap around him and steady him.
"Careful, Luke." Obi-Wan said loudly to be heard over the wind. "What are you doing?"
"Sorry." Luke blinked. He looked at the sky. His father was out there, and he was hurting and angry. He wasn't letting Luke in. That was fine. He was going to keep trying. Though, maybe not while he was on a speeder.
Leia wasn't giving up on Luke. He wasn't giving up on himself. And he wasn't giving up on his father either.