Chapter 4
Leia POV
"Thank you all for coming", Leia said, looking at the group of teenage boys (and one girl) assembled in front of her. They were meeting in the forest halfway between Forks and the reservation, on a clearing with several tree trunks prepared for the boys to sit on. It was the first time for Leia to see most of them. She'd first called Jacob, using the excuse to want to reconnect with an old friend. Jake had predictably been quite eager to please and it had taken little persuasion for Leia to convince him to bring along a group of his closest friends as well as some other boys he knew from school.
Gathered in front of her now were Jacob, Embry, Jared, Seth, Leah and Quil. Leia had double-checked with Alice that Sam and Paul had already started shifting and the other wolves, Brady and Collin, were too young to get involved just yet. But these six would all shift within the next few years and Leia was convinced that they'd be better off doing it sooner rather than later.
"Why did you ask us all to come here?" Leah asked annoyed.
Leia took a deep breath. "I called you here because I wanted to make you an offer... and because I need your help. But first, let me show you something."
Leia held out both arms to either side of her and concentrated on the well of power inside of her. Her heart was at peace and her mind concentrated as calls of "Whoa!" and "What the fuck!?" became loud around her.
Leia opened her eyes to see the tree trunks floating about one to two meters in the air, some still with the young Quileute sitting on them. She lowered her hands and with them the trunks lowered down too.
"What you just saw... was magic", she said seriously. How strange was her situation that this explanation would be more believable than just calling it the Force. "I was born with magical talent, as a witch. It's not terribly unusual for people to be born with magic. It can take different forms. My talent is in telekinesis."
"No way! There must be some wires involved somewhere!" Seth exclaimed.
"I welcome you to check. There are none", she said. "I'm telling you this because the six of you were also born with a magical talent." She motioned to encompass the teenagers. "All of you have magical blood in you. Your elders even taught you about it, in your stories and legends. You have the ability to merge with the spirits of a wolf and take on its form."
Jacob laughed out aloud. "No way, Bella! You're kidding us!"
"I am not kidding", she said seriously. "Not everyone of you who carries the gene will necessarily activate it. It needs an outside factor to trigger it. I believe I know what that factor is. Your bodies react to the presence of threatening magic, magic that would harm yourself or your tribe. If such a threat comes close to you, your own inherit magic will be triggered and you'll gain the ability to shapeshift into wolves."
"She's crazy, isn't she?" Quil whispered towards Embry. "Isn't she?"
"I heard that", Leia made with a scowl. "And no, I am not crazy. I'm trying to warn you. There are other, powerful magical people in this world who want to collect talents like me or want to kill me. Three of them are going to come to Forks in a little more than a week. It's entirely possible that their mere presence in the vicinity of the reservation is going to trigger the change in one of you. What's even worse though is that these people are hunters. They will hunt and kill humans for their own enjoyment and to drink their blood - your legends also tell of these enemies. They call them the Cold Ones."
"Wait, you mean vampires?" Jared laughed. "That's just a fairy tale."
"They are not vampires as described in modern movies or novels. They don't burn in sunlight and can't be killed with something as simple as a wooden stake. Fire, other vampires and the Quileute shifters are about the only thing really effective against them", Leia explained calmly. "If these vampires come near here, there's a real chance they will kill someone on the reservation, someone you know. And even if they don't, if they just pass by, they're going to kill dozens, hundreds of more people away from here."
"That's all terribly interesting and all", Jacob made doubtfully, "but what exactly do you want from us, Bella?"
"I want to give you a chance to activate your abilities early", she explained. "There's a group of friendly, integrated vampires living nearby, that only feed off animals. I happen to be friends with them. If you would agree to spend a bit of time with one of them, I'm sure it would trigger your transformation early. Then you would have time to get used to it and train your abilities before a real threat arrives that might make it necessary for you to defend your tribe."
"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard", Leah scoffed. "I'm out of here."
"Leah, please!" Leia made. "The transformation can be dangerous if it's uncontrolled. You don't believe me, fine. I need just one person, just one of you willing to try it out to prove it to the rest of you." She looked at the boys imploringly. "One of the vampires I'm friends with has her own special talent, a gift of foresight. That's how I know that all six of you are going to turn eventually. It would save you all a lot of pain if you did it together and in a controlled environment."
"What if we don't want to turn? Ever thought about that?" Jared snapped.
"If you don't want to turn, your safest bet would be to leave the reservation and move somewhere else", Leia said. "Preferably a small town with a lot of sun. This region is favored by vampires because of the cloud cover. Being in the sun will not harm them but it makes them stand out like a sore thumb. My friends and I are going to do our best to protect this territory against the vampires that come to hunt here but there's no guarantee that we'll always succeed."
"Okay, that is a really crazy story, floating trees or not", Jacob made. "If all you wanted was for you and your boyfriend to join our clique, you could've just said so." He grinned at his friends. "But fine, if you care so much about it, I'll play along. Try and make me go woof."
"Thank you, Jacob", Leia made relieved. "There's just... Three more things I have to explain before I take you up on that." She took Jacob's hands in hers, noticing how they were of a perfectly normal temperature. "One, is that there are already two shifters on the reservation: Paul Lahote and Sam Uley."
"What?!" Leah made shocked.
Leia nodded sadly towards her. "It's true. Sam was the first to shift. The wolves, when transformed, share a pack mind and can read each other's thoughts. So if you shift now and one of them happens to also be transformed, they'll know you're here immediately..."
Leia continued to explain about the alpha orders and then, glancing at Leah apologetically, the imprinting too. She explained how after the first change their bodies would undergo rapid change in gaining muscles and height and how they'd age rapidly to their physical prime and then stop aging altogether until they quit their wolves forever. She warned Leah especially that she didn't know if as a wolf she'd still be able to imprint or have children because in the future Alice had seen (never mind it was actually the future from the holo novel) that Leah had been the first female to ever shift.
Her explanations had two consequences. One, the boys were starting to actually believe her. Between the details she knew that fit so well with what Leah had observed from her former fiancé Sam, who had only recently left her for her cousin Emily, the drawbacks and warnings and a repeated display of her telekinetic powers at Seth's urging, they were at least listening.
On the other hand, the boys were also not all that keen on becoming shifters themselves. Leah was disgusted by the whole concept. Seth was a bit freaked out and Jacob now looked more worried. Quil and Embry were intrigued but only Jared looked truly interested.
"It's your choice", Leia repeated. "Personally I think your magic is an amazing gift but it's all about how you use it and how you treat each other. Battling the instincts of the wolf will be like going through puberty twice over, it will not be easy. But you could save lives when nobody else can. If this is not something you want, you can try and avoid it by keeping as far away from vampires as you can. With a large enough pack and in the best case, an alliance with the vegetarian coven, you won't need to risk your life in a fight. But this is your heritage, your blood. And I thought you should get the chance to make a fully informed decision."
"Wait, if you're the girlfriend of one of those supposed animal drinkers", Quil asked, "does that mean you'll become a vampire yourself soon?"
"I don't plan on getting turned anytime soon, unless that's the only way to protect me from one of those evil coven's that want to capture or kill witches like me", she answered evenly having expected the question. "But I'm determined to protect my home town and to do so with only my human powers if I need to."
Jacob huffed. "Well I can't let you go all Van Hellsing all on your own with just a couple of leeches to back you up", he said. "I'm kinda freaked about Sam Uley of all people reading my thoughts or whatever but I'm not going to pass on a chance to be a freaking superhero because of that."
Leia smiled at him brightly. "I knew I could count on you!"
"Well, if Jacob's in then I suppose I'm in too", Quil mused.
"Yeah, me too", Embry made.
"If that's what it takes to get into Sam's head and set him straight again, sure", Jared made.
"You're crazy. All of you!" Leah made. "I'm going home. Seth, come on!"
"But... I kinda want to join too", Seth made quietly.
"Don't be ridiculous, they're all nuts!"
"Look, you can go home if you want, I'll take him back in my car after we just hang out for a bit more, okay?" Jacob offered.
"If it's just crazy talk, nothing will happen, right?" Seth made.
Leah looked from him to Leia and back again. Then she huffed "Do what you want" and turned to leave.
"Maybe that's best", Leia mused, watching her go. "Nobody should be here that doesn't want to." She turned to the rest, asked them one last time if they were all sure. Then she pulled out her phone and called Edward.
Her boyfriend was at her side not even two minutes later. She introduced him and they had a more or less fun session of him showing off his mind-reading ability, guessing random numbers and objects the boys thought of. Everyone was a bit uncomfortable at first. But then Edward made a quick run back to his car (showing off his superhuman speed) and came back carrying beer and snacks and sandwiches for everyone as well as a football. The theory was that proximity to vampires triggered the gene so Leia settled down on a tree trunk to watch the boys set up a small areal and separate into two teams. Of course Edward had to hold back considerably to play with the boys but it wasn't like he wasn't used to doing that from gym.
An hour passed before Jared started to complain about feeling way too hot and weak on his knees. Leia told him those were the first symptoms and encouraged him to sit on the sidelines with her, watching the game. She did make sure to sit far enough away from him to not get her face clawed off if he went fluff though.
Jacob and Quil broke out in a fever before that happened though and pretty quickly the group gathered in a circle looking somber and pensive.
Edward sat right between Jared and Jacob, feeling very much uncomfortable. They shared stories and asked questions and Edward told them more about his family and the vampires they feared would come to Forks soon. Nobody really doubted him anymore and to Leia's great relief, they treated Edward fairly.
Then it happened. Jared was first. He started trembling from head to toe and Leia warned everyone to give him space. A moment later Jared exploded out of his pants and a giant shaggy wolf stood in his place.
At first Jared panicked. He whined and scratched the floor and growled at Edward. But with everyone talking to him in a calming manner and Edward translating the thoughts he could no longer speak aloud, he eventually calmed down.
Jacob was next, almost simultaneously together with Embry. Those two promptly got into a minor fight, biting and clawing at each other, though Edward assured the remaining humans that they were just very excited and trying out their newfound strength.
Leia guided Jared through a series of breathing exercises to get him to shift back again and by the time Jacob and Embry had calmed down and Quil was starting to tremble, Jared had managed to turn back human. He was very reluctant in accepting the spare clothes Edward offered, complaining how they smelled like perfume. But it was either that or going home naked.
Apparently neither Sam nor Paul were currently transformed today so the group of friends could freely experience and celebrate their first shifting experience. With three wolves now playing around on the pretty much demolished clearing and Jared describing the experience in an excited voice, Seth was now very eager to join in too. He was frustrated that it was taking so long and even ended up hugging Edward to try and trigger the change. Leia was just about to rescue her boyfriend when Seth actually did start to tremble.
About two hours later Leia had managed to get all the Quileute to shift back and forth at least once to make sure they got the hang of it as well as given them all simple haircuts so the'd stop tripping over their own fur. Edward made two separate trips to the nearest pizza place to quench the suddenly ravenous hunger of the pack. Everyone was in a great mood and Jacob made a big show out of adopting Leia as an honorable pack member. She was so touched she might've shed a tear.
When it was time to say goodbye Edward somewhat awkwardly encouraged the boys to discuss the vampire threat with Sam and to relay a message that Carlisle and the rest of his coven would be happy to meet and organize a defense line. Any wolves that wanted to get some practice in would also be welcome to spar with Edward and his friends.
The six hours or so that the teenagers spend getting to know and playing with Edward seemed to have gone a great way in making them like him at least somewhat - just enough for them to not slip into the automatic hatred brought upon by their newfound instincts once they shifted. Leia counted it as a big success.
Now all that was left was convince the rest of the Cullens to play along too.
XxX
Bella POV
In a galaxy far, far away...
...Bella was regretting her choice to ever try out Jedi training. Master Yoda was a vicious little slave driver. Bella didn't mind the meditation, though it seemed to do very little to get her 'in touch the Force'. But as a sheltered Earth girl known for her clumsiness, she had a rather severe dislike against sports. Yoda was demanding she exhaust her body in ways she just wasn't used to and she didn't like it one bit.
Seeing how unlike Luke, Bella hadn't been gifted the former lightsaber of a Sith Lord at any point and there was no natural kyber source on Dagobah, she had yet to build her own saber, one thing she'd been really looking forward to. Instead it was just katas day in and day out, trying and failing at acrobatics that made her fall on her butt and doing push ups with Yoda sitting on her back.
(He did that a lot, sit on her back.)
Bella was determined to push through. This was real, actual Jedi training! But she admitted she much preferred listening to Yoda go on talk about riddles in his cute little backwards way than actually putting anything into practice.
Two months passed. Bella had little talent for any sort of physical combat, couldn't even lift the smallest of pebbles with her mind and was equally pants at the whole premonitions thing, regardless of whether she was trying to glimpse into the far future or just tried to predict where Master Yoda's next jab with his stick would come from. She couldn't even do a mind trick to save her life.
On the other hand, the Force was apparently turning the insides of her head into an impenetrable fortress. This actually frustrated Master Yoda a lot because he had a hard time forging any sort of training bond with her. But this mental shield also made her all but immune to hostile mental attacks. Master Yoda still fully expected her to learn the basics of all other disciples but in order to get her started, to teach her to really feel the Force, he encouraged her to focus on her natural strengths. This meant that he guided her in developing her defensive techniques; stretching the mental shield to widen, grow bigger, thinner, thicker and change its shape. Bella could indeed feel it, after a lot of practice. She imagined being surrounded by an invisible bubble and changing that bubble to shot forward a little spike so she could create her own version of a mental attack. Usually in a mental battle you tried to delve into your opponents mind to retrieve a memory. Bella couldn't do that. Nothing would pass through her shield, not even if she wanted it to. But she could use her little shield-spikes to push back an attacker, to cause headaches or even, if she really concentrated hard, envelop their mind with hers so they would be blocked from all outside influences. This way, she could use her power to shield not just herself but other people too. So far she'd only managed to shield a frog and even that only if she held it so close to her head she felt like a Disney princess but hey, baby steps.
There was one other talent Yoda proclaimed her to have that Bella hadn't even considered.
She could see Force ghosts.
Bella had jumped a good three feet the first time she saw Yoda conversing with Qui-Gon Jinn. Who (important detail!) hadn't been meaning to show himself to her. Once she got past her shock though, she had one of the most interesting conversations of her life with him. Her curiosity was insatiable and luckily Master Jinn was amused by her childish enthusiasm and indulged her.
It wasn't only the ghosts though. Bella might have trouble letting anyone's Force presence touch hers enough to forge a bond but she found that if Master Yoda left her alone in the middle of nowhere (which he liked to do often, the little shit) and she focused on him enough, she could summon his Force ghost.
Well, not his actual ghost of course, though the first time it had happened she'd fainted from fright, thinking he'd died in her absence. It was really more like the connection she had with the real Leia. It wasn't unheard of for Jedi to communicate through the Force over long distances, but it was only done when you had a strong bond with someone and even then, it was usually just faint sensations, emotions or whispered words. Pulling such detailed projections out of the ether was extremely rare.
Interestingly, Yoda later reported that he had seen her Force ghost as well - the way she was now, appearing as Leia Organa, though of course he wasn't aware that this was unusual. To the real Leia, Bella had always appeared as herself in her Earth body. Further experimentation showed that Bella could control to a certain extend what appearance her projection would take. Leia was easy. Her original body was easy too, like a shadow at the edge of her consciousness, though she refrained from using it. After a while, she learned to imitate other people she was familiar with, such as Master Yoda, Luke and even Han.
Obviously, the moment Bella realized that this was not just a fluke thing that connected Leia and her specifically, she promptly went and summoned Luke's Force ghost. It took a while for him to respond. When he came, Luke was elated to see her again and to be able to communicate this way. He told her all about how he'd been in the middle of a busy cantina when she'd 'called'. For him, it had felt like he suddenly felt her Force presence right next to him even though there was nobody there. He'd panicked at first and Obi-Wan had dragged him outside so he wouldn't make a scene. Only then had he tried to reach for her with his other senses and then suddenly she was right there, except Obi-Wan couldn't see her and was staring at Luke like he was crazy for talking to thin air.
They shared a healthy laugh about that.
In the following days Leia tried to teach Luke how to contact her the same way but found that her brother was utterly stumped on how to replicate what she was doing. Yoda warned her the communication was rather noticeable in the Force and if she used it to often, the Sith might be able to use it to pinpoint hers or Luke's location. On Dagobah, a planet so steeped in the Force it covered even the great presence of Master Yoda, she was relatively safe to practice but Luke might be more vulnerable. That's why she should only use it to reach beyond the planet in an emergency.
Sadly, that put an end to her hopes of chatting with Luke every evening but she still promised to at least check in on him occasionally.
It was during such a regular scheduled chat that Bella got the news.
The news that Darth Vader was holding Leia's parents, Bail and Breha Organa, captive. The news that a galaxy wide call for Leia Organa to surrender in exchange for their lives was being broadcasted. The news that the deadline was about to run out.
"You don't have to worry about it", Luke said with a forced smile. It was hard to tell with translucent Force ghosts but Bella thought he looked paler than usual.
"I already have a plan to get them out."
"No..." Bella made, her tongue feeling like lead. This might not be her adoptive parents but there was no way she'd let them die. She would never be able to face Leia again. Even more important though, she couldn't allow Luke to put himself in danger when Vader was involved.
"No, Luke, please don't tell me you plan to go yourself to save them! You can't do that!" she protested.
"But your parents..."
"They're my parents", Bella said strongly. "It's not your job to save them, it's mine!"
Luke sighed. "I knew you were going to say that. But it's too dangerous for you to attempt to get them out. They will be on the lookout for that. Vader doesn't know about me though, I might be able to surprise him."
"And what if not?" Bella asked despaired. "It's exactly because he doesn't know about you that you would just be another Jedi padawan for him to cut down. But me, he would at least not kill me on sight."
"It's better to be killed than to be captured by the likes of him", Luke said darkly.
"No Luke, you mustn't say that! You have to survive", she insisted. "I'm pants at being a Jedi, Luke. I still can't move a single pebble and I have never so much as held a lightsaber. The only thing I can do well is protect minds and talk to ghosts. If I die, it's not a big loss. By the Force, if I turn, which I don't think I ever would but if, I wouldn't be much of a threat. But you, Luke... You have the potential to be someone truly great. You have to go on living and fighting and hoping. You are so much more important than me."
"Leia that's bantha poodoo! You're my sister, my twin, it's not about who is more important!"
"I'm really sorry Luke. But they're my parents. And it's my choice. You can be a true Jedi and a true hero and consider the whole galaxy – but I'm the princess of Alderaan. I have to consider my people first", Bella tried a different route. "If my parents get saved by a known rebel or worse, if you bring Obi-Wan into the mix, my entire planet will have to pay the price for its queen collaborating with traitors. But if I save them, it becomes a family matter and we might be able to avoid the worst case scenario."
"I…" Luke hesitated, not knowing how to reply to that. At last, he sighed. "Very well. I'll organize a group to start an offense. But I'll keep in the background and I will get you out if anything goes wrong."
"Thank you, Luke", Bella sighed in relief. "Thank you for telling me and for letting me do this."
They exchanged a few more words of encouragement before Leia ended the connection.
When she turned around, Yoda was sitting on a little boulder behind her, looking tired and ancient and incredibly sad.
"I'm sorry, Master. But I have to go", she said quietly.
"Your training, complete it is not", he said slowly.
"I know. I know I'm not ready yet. But I can't let them die."
Yoda shook his head. "Your parents, they are not."
"They're the closest thing I have though." Bella knelt in the mud in front of the little gnome. "Master Yoda... Do you see anything in the future? Can you tell if I'll be able to save them? If I can't, if you tell me that if I go all three of us will die, I won't go."
Yoda had warned Luke to confront Vader in Empire strikes back and indeed, in the end Leia had freed herself without Luke's help so his rescue attempt had really done more damage than good.
"Uncertain, the future is. Go, you should not."
"Will I die if I do? Will my parents die?" she asked again. Yoda remained silent.
"Then I have to risk it." She put a hand on his shoulder, giving him a warm gaze. "Thank you for everything, Master. I will return eventually, I promise. If not in body then in spirit."
"Foolish child, never listening to your elders", Yoda grumbled. "May the Force be with you."
"And with you, Master."
Bella lost no time in gathering her things and readying her fighter. As she was preparing to settle into the cockpit, another translucent ghost appeared next to Yoda.
"Are you really going to let her go?" Qui-Gon asked his former mentor quietly.
Yoda closed his eyes with a pained sigh. "Into darkness she is heading. Yet light it is, that I see on her path. Trust in the Force, I must. No matter how difficult it is."
XxX
Leia POV
"Did I do the right thing?", Leia worried anxiously. After spending nearly all day with the Quileute shifters and helping them turn, Leia and Edward where now driving home in Edward's silver Volvo.
"We", Edward said quietly. "We did the right thing, Leia. It might have been your idea but I agreed to it. All we did was give them a choice. They're all excited and happy about it and it will help them keep their families safe."
"I just hope it doesn't cause any trouble for your family. Maybe I should've asked Carlisle for permission first", Leia whispered.
Edward gave a snort.
"What?" Leia made, scowling.
"I'm sorry, it's just…" Edward gave her a lopsided smile. "It feels wrong for you to ask permission for anything. You just do what you think is right. I like that about you."
Leia blushed a little and looked away.
"Besides", Edward added, "if you insist on taking on a nomad coven, the more help we have the better."
"It'll be fine", Leia said. "It was fine even in the other future, without the wolves. We just have to make sure to get them all."
"We will", Edward promised and brushed away a lock of her hair, gazing into her eyes.
Suddenly alarm bells rang in Leia's head for no discernible reason and she whirled around just in time to spot a figure standing in the middle of the road.
"WATCH OUT!" she shouted and Edward hit the brakes. The car slid to a stop, passing by the lone figure. Leia only had time to see that it was someone small and pale. Then suddenly there was a thump and something heavy landed right on the hood of the car.
It was Jasper.
He was crouching in front of the front window, yellow eyes cold and calculating as he gazed at Leia and Edward. The former princess quickly turned around to confirm that yes, the figure they'd almost hit was Alice.
Edward was cursing something in a language Leia didn't understand. However, she just sighed a breath of relief and pulled down her window.
"By the Stars, Jasper, Alice, you scared us! What are you doing here?" she asked them.
Alice came over to the car slowly. She looked nervous.
"Bella, Edward. We need to talk", Jasper said coldly.
"Jasper…" Edward made warningly, not leaving the other vampire out of his sight.
Leia reached out to open the car door but Edward grabbed her wrist to stop her.
"Don't", he said quietly, still watching Jasper.
Leia laughed nervously. "What's wrong, Edward? It's just Alice and Jasper."
Alice had come closer and now stood next to Jasper, who'd jumped off the hood.
"We just want to talk, Edward", she said, her eyes flickering from Edward to Leia and back again.
"You didn't have to ambush us like this if you just wanted to talk", Edward said tensely. "We were going to meet with everyone to discuss things tomorrow anyway."
"That's exactly why we need to talk to you now. Alone", Jasper said seriously.
"What's going on?" Leia asked Edward quietly.
"They think you're a danger to the family", Edward said without letting his siblings out of his sight.
"What?!" Leia made. "I would never hurt anyone in your family!"
"Please", Alice made, pink tears welling up in her eyes. "We just… want to ask a few questions. Okay?"
"You have no right to ask that!" Edward said furiously.
"Edward!" Leia made, not liking how aggressive he sounded. "It's fine. They're your siblings and my friends. There's nothing wrong with talking. I'm sure it's all just a misunderstanding. There's a road leading deeper into the forest a bit farther ahead where we can park the car. Why don't you follow us there and we can have a chat?"
Alice nodded relieved. "Okay. Thank you, Bella."
The two vampires vanished and Edward restarted the car but didn't drive. He just stared ahead at the road with narrowed eyes.
"Edward?" Leia said.
"They'll try and force you to make a decision", Edward said darkly. "Because Alice' visions are unclear. They have no right to do that!"
"It's just the wolves", Leia reassured him. "It was bound to happen. She's probably upset because their presence is causing blind spots. We'll just explain the situation and it'll be fine."
"No", Edward said with narrowed eyes. "That's not it." He turned to her abruptly. "You don't have to make a choice. Not now, not because of this. I don't want you to make a choice because of this."
"What choice?" Leia asked. "What are you talking about?"
Edward was quiet but the longer he remained so, the more it began to dawn on her.
"Oh", she made. He was talking about the choice on whether or not to become a vampire.
"My sweet star, I love you just the way you are. I don't want you to feel like you have to change for me. I could never forgive myself if I were the reason you died", he said pained.
"Oh Edward", Leia sighed. "I know we haven't known each other for all that long… But even so, you are the most important person on this world to me. But as much as I love you, when it comes to that choice, I have other forces to consider than just my feelings for you. I refuse to make the same mistake my sire did. So I promise I will not make my choice dependent on you, at least not entirely. But when I do make my choice it has to be a fully informed one. And if Jasper and Alice have important information to share with me, such as her visions of what is to come, I have to know that."
Edward looked into her eyes for a long moment. At last, he sighed and nodded.
The two were silent while Edward drove and eventually they reached the end of a narrow forest road where Alice and Jasper were waiting.
"Alright, we're here", Leia said confidently as she closed the door of the car behind her and approached the two vampires. "What did you want to talk about?"
Alice was fidgeting around nervously.
"I… I was keeping an eye on your future, Bella, just in case, you know, because of what happened in the past… And suddenly more and more blank spots appeared in it."
Leia nodded. Edward came up behind her – he had her back but he also wasn't positioned to stand between her and the other couple. A show of trust.
"That would be the Quileute wolves. As you know, I have my own… visions, sometimes. In mine, the wolves aren't blank spots. I saw a nomadic coven of three approaching and they were going to hunt in this area. The current pack wasn't large enough to handle them but they were going to grow in the future. I decided to speed up the process a little to make sure nothing happens to the people in Forks and the reservation."
"You purposefully activated the wolves?!" Jasper made incredulously. "They're dangerous!"
"Exactly. I needed something dangerous to keep James' coven in check and Edward thought Carlisle might not agree to antagonizing a foreign coven that didn't break any vampire laws. We were going to ask for the support of your family anyway but it looks like you couldn't wait for that?"
Alice and Jasper exchanged knowing looks. Leia felt Edward stiffen behind her in reaction to their thoughts.
She sighed. "Anyone want to clue me in?"
"Well, Bella, you see…" Alice began carefully. She stopped, then burst out: "Oh, why must it come to this!? Your future used to be so clear when you first came here! We were supposed to be best friends, sisters even! And now…" She sobbed and Leia felt her heart melt. She hurried forward to comfort the tiny vampire and hugged her close without hesitation.
"Oh Alice… I don't know what you've seen but I've always looked forward to being your friend. If something has changed that could endanger that future, please tell me."
Jasper approached and put a hand on Alice, who calmed down quickly and Leia let her go so she could fling herself at her mate instead.
"Maybe we should start at the beginning", Jasper said seriously.
"I think that would be helpful", Edward said tightly.
So Jasper started to explain:
"Bella, you have to understand that the way our family lives is not at all usual for vampires. Alice and I haven't been with them for long at all, barely more than five decades. Before that, Alice lived like a nomad for almost thirty years and I was changed in 1863 and didn't even switch my diet before I met her.
Vampires usually either live in a city big enough to hide their hunts or they travel through a well defined territory. Inside their claimed domain they will allow no other vampires to pass through or hunt without permission. The exception of course is when a particular powerful vampire with a known gift or a larger coven meets a weaker group, in which case the weaker group would try and avoid conflict. That is how I lived for nearly a century. A coven the size of Carlisle's would normally claim a territory at least the size of Washington state. Yet because of our special diet, we only claim the town of Forks itself and even that only because we don't want any people vanishing because of visitors that draw attention. The reason for our small territory is not just because Carlisle is a pacifist though. The main reason are the Volturi. They are always collecting talents and they've wanted to recruit Alice, Edward and me for a long time now. We're afraid they're just waiting for some excuse to 'punish' our coven for some perceived rule breaking and then conveniently offer mercy only to the gifted ones. You, knowing about our kind, knowing what we are, have been a walking, talking breach of law from the very start. But we ignored it and gave you time because Alice saw you turning. She saw you being a powerful, gifted vampire. With you as part of our coven, the Volturi would think twice about attacking us."
"When I first came to Forks, I had my own visions of joining you", Leia admitted. "I wasn't sure if they would come true at all. It all seemed like a dream. I'd never even met a vampire before. But when I saw Edward and saw how he reacted to my thoughts, I knew that it could indeed be my future and I was ready to accept it happily." She looked at her love sadly. "But then… I had this accident. I hadn't realized before just how dangerous my gift could be. I hurt Charlie so bad… I'm afraid I'll be an even worse danger to people I care about as a vampire. And I do care a lot about people in general. I don't ever want to slip up and accidentally kill a human just because I'm thirsty or because I'm sad or angry and things start flying around me."
"That is a noble way of thinking", Jasper made. "And if it was just about you, we wouldn't interfere. But your decision has more far reaching consequences than you think."
"Jasper", Edward made warningly.
Jasper met Edward's eyes in challenge. "She has to know what she's getting into", he said.
"Tell me", Leia demanded. "I want to know", she added for Edward.
Jasper looked at Alice and whispered something in her ear.
Hesitantly, Alice broke away from her mate and turned towards Bella.
"I looked into as many different possibilities as I could. You plan to go after the nomadic coven… If you do that, there's a chance you will die. If that happens, Edward will… Well. He'll want to follow you", she made sadly. "Except it's not easy for a vampire to die. Someone has to… help. That means either one of our family has to do it… or Edward would have to go to the Volturi. If it's the latter they would use his actions there to punish the entire family to get to Jasper and me. But even if it's the former, without Edward the coven would be weakened and they'd find another excuse in a few years. Jazz and I would have no choice but to leave the Cullen's. Even if you survive the encounter with the nomads though but you remain human and die a natural death… This would only delay the outcome."
"I…. see", Leia made. She'd suspected, no, she'd known that Edward wouldn't survive her death. She didn't know if it was like that for all vampires or if it was just Edward's character but she had taken Bella's place now. If he'd been willing to die for Bella, now he would be willing to die for her.
But would it be fair for her to have to sacrifice her humanity to save him? Especially if that was something he himself didn't want? Edward had already lived nearly a century.
"That's not all", Jasper made.
Alice continued: "If you do become a vampire and you remain with us, with the Cullen family, we would all be safe from the Volturi for as long as I can see. I swear I would help you every step of the way with your diet and we could be sisters and you could have a wonderful wedding and – that future still exist. We could have that", she urged her. "But… There's also another future. One where you challenge Carlisle' authority as our leader and insist on antagonizing and persecuting every other coven that comes near. Not because of feeding territory of course but because you want to protect humans. Now Carlisle and Esme will still love you but…. The Volturi would see us expanding like that as a direct challenge to them. That would frighten the others and… and our family would break apart over it."
Alice took Leia's hands in hers. "Bella. If you want to stay human, as much as it would pain me to see you die eventually, I would support you. Even if it means Jazz and I have to leave the family, we would still support you against these nomads to make sure you survive. Then we'd have at least a few more decades with everyone together. But it is important for Jasper and me to know because we have to make preparations in time to leave the Cullen's to avoid the Volturi. And if you want to become a vampire – that would be fantastic. But if you will not align with Carlisle's way of leading our family, then the only way for us all to remain safe would be for us – the four of us – to form our own coven and leave. With just us we're a small enough group that the Volturi won't feel challenged and yet strong enough that they won't attack us without reason. Whatever you decide – we can find a way to make it work. But it is important that we know what you'll decide."
"It doesn't have to be now though", Edward interjected. "Alice – that's not fair!"
"Her indecision is endangering all of us", Jasper said tightly. "Depending on the future she chooses we might or might not get the rest of our family to help against the nomads. If we do get them to help but then she changes her mind, it could lead to a really ugly break and nobody wants that."
"You wouldn't have to turn right away, even if you chose to become a vampire", Alice hurried to say. "You can wait for as long as you want… as long as you make a decision not to die of old age."
"I…" Leia trailed off, not knowing what to say.
"It is fine to decide later", Edward insisted. "I'll be with you no matter what. And you can always change your mind."
"It would be really bad if you did though", Alice whispered stubbornly and Edward shot her a death glare.
Leia sighed. "I… I need to think about this. There's so many things to consider… Please give me some time. I promise I'll let you know of my decision before the nomads come close."
"That's okay", Alice made and squeezed her hands encouragingly. "I'm sure you'll make the right choice."
Jasper gave her one last calculating look but then he simply nodded. Alice hugged her one last time before they said their good byes.
"I'm sorry", Edward said when they were gone.
"Whatever for?" Leia asked. "They have a right to demand a choice if it's concerning their own safety." She turned from the forest to her love.
"I want to go home, Edward. I… I have to talk to my sister. She always helps me clear my mind."
"I'll take you there", Edward answered and opened the car door for her. She gave him a kiss before she sat in it. For the whole drive back she was lost in thought, weighting her choices. She couldn't risk making a mistake now.
XxX
Geneal POV
Somewhere between Earth and Alderaan.
"I need your help."
The two girls looked at each other, both fidgeting nervously, once again so aligned they spoke at the same time:
"I don't know if I'm doing the right thing."
Bella sighed. "You go first please."
Leia drew her hand through her hair and gave a frustrated sigh.
"James and his coven are going to arrive in Forks soon. Very soon. Now I could just avoid them altogether and basically kill the entire novel plot right now. But I really don't want to. I think James is a horrible monster and he has to be taken out. And if I take him out, I have to take Victoria out too and I have to use overwhelming force to do so to make sure she doesn't slip away and return with an army. So I went and activated all the Quileute wolves..."
Bella chocked up. "You did what?!"
Leia looked miserable. "Do you think that was a mistake? Edward said he'd help me take on their coven. But then Alice and Jasper came to us and they want to know what my plan is and what decisions I'll make and that they might end up splitting their family and..." She started pacing up and down, deep in thought. "I mean, please correct me if I'm wrong but when I read the novels, I never had the impression that you cared all that much about Earth, about the people of your planet - about anyone outside your immediate circle of friends and family."
Bella winced but Leia continued quickly:
"Oh please, that is completely fine - I'm not judging you! It's just that I was raised differently. If I am to stay here forever - then this is my home now. This is my planet and my people. Not just Charlie. Not just Forks. But Earth. Jasper says... Jasper says if I were a vampire, my talent would be powerful enough that if Edward and I stick with him and Alice, we'd be safe from the Volturi. But I don't want to just be safe. I don't want to hide and tiptoe around forever. I don't know if I want to become a vampire, but if I did, I could never join the Volturi. I'd rather die. I would see it as my responsibility to bring as many vampires as possible to vegetarianism as I can and those that won't do it, people like James... They're like parasites, Bella. And I really kind of think they ought to all be wiped out. But then I also love Edward and he used to live like that and Jasper used to live like that and I'm also afraid if maybe I will fall to the dark side and I'm disgusted with myself for considering genocide but also, they're vampires! But Alice says if I go against Carlisle' leadership and start going after other vampires, him and Esme and Rose and Emmet will split with the others. How can my choice possibly be the right one if Saint Carlisle disapproves of it? And - And if I don't become a vampire myself, then how could I possibly be with Edward? I think I can take on the nomads. I have better control over my powers now and I've managed to build myself a blaster. The wolves will help too. But I'll end up dying eventually and okay, fine, all humans die and Edward has lived for over a hundred years. But if we both die, the Volturi might come after Alice and Jasper and sure they could escape for a while but probably not forever. I don't even want to imagine what Caius and Aro and the others would do with a talent like Alice'... I just don't know what to do! Alice says it's important I decide right now or the entire Cullen family will break apart!"
"Wow, okay, uhm... It sounds like you want the same happy ending I was supposed to have in these novels but you also want to change the entire plot to get a better outcome for everyone - and the two are at odds with another." Funny that, Bella had exactly the same problem. "About becoming a vampire... You first have to decide what is most important to you, Edward or planet Earth. If it's Edward, you won't get around becoming a vampire. If it's Earth, you have two choices. You can be the first ever human vampire hunter and work with the wolves. But Bella, you could also do a great service to humanity by finding a way to produce bacta on Earth or revolutionize the energy industry or become president of the United States and ensure world peace or something. My planet has other problems than just vampires. You don't have to make it your job to hunt them down. If you leave the nomads alone and just avoid the whole Twilight plot, you could make big waves on Earth by just being yourself, as a human and keep the hot vampire at your side as a boy toy." She shrugged with a grin when Leia looked affronted. "On the other hand, if you turn, that just means you have more time to better the planet. You could spend a century amassing enough wealth to open your own research center and invent synthetic blood or something. I think it would be wrong to think of vampires as parasites. They're not all evil, just as not all citizen of the Empire are evil. Wiping them all out is not the solution. You have to find an alternative to offer them if you want them to change and negotiate and try to draw them to your side."
Leia looked skeptical. "You think I could do that? Be a vampire and still improve Earth?"
"Absolutely. If it's you, you could do it. But you would need time and resources for that and you'd have to keep your head down for a while. Keeping Alice and Jasper at your side and happy would be really helpful too. If they're concerned about the Volturi, you shouldn't do anything that'll draw their attention. If the rest of the Cullen's won't comply with your bid at world domination, why don't you try starting off with something smaller than planet Earth?" Bella suggested. "You'll have eternity to try and convince them to help spread vegetarianism everywhere. I'm sure the concept itself is something Carlisle would agree with, he'd just be concerned for the safety of his family."
"Jasper said most covens his size would claim the whole state of Washington as territory", Leia muttered. "He would probably agree to help protecting that much if the worst case happened and him, Alice, Edward and I had to form a coven together."
"See, that's a start", Bella made. "From what I've read about Carlisle Cullen he'd be on board with declaring Washington a sort of safe-space for humans, where feeding is not allowed. Except, Leia, that is important, you can't just sentence anyone who goes against that to death. You'd have to make an exception for the Volturi, obviously, or you'd be challenging them. But you also have to come up with other sorts of punishment for nomads passing through, maybe old friends that come to visit and slip up or are just being stubborn."
"How would I punish a vampire?" Leia asked. "It's not like there's a prison for them."
"You could ask them to do something nice for the family of the victim, to help them out in some way or even just spend time with them so they see the pain they cause with their own eyes. If it's your state it's your rules and your coven is big enough to enforce it if they refuse. You could also ask them to just plain pay you money and then donate that money to the family left behind or to a good cause."
Leia scrunched up her nose. "That's hardly equal to the value of a human life."
"Maybe not. But imagine this were Alderaan and there's a stormtrooper murdering one of your civilians. If you ask for them to be killed, the Empire is just going to dismiss you and there will be no consequences at all because they hold all the power. But if you ask for a lighter punishment, even if it's just something that'll inconvenience them, they might indulge you to keep the peace. Vampires would at least not hunt in your territory. Those that do, people like James, they'll do it because they really have zero empathy for humans, no desire to change and no respect for your strength. Those vampires you can then put down without having to fear so many consequences."
Leia thought about that for a while. "I could... maybe ask Carlisle to sort of extend the non-feeding zone of Forks to include a few nearby towns at least. It's a reasonable enough request, I think, for as long as I'm human and might go around visiting those places. Then after I turn, we could extend it to Washington state. I'd see how the Volturi react to that and meanwhile build up my influence in the human world. If I can find a way for vampires to live without relying on blood or a way to make animal blood more palatable, I might not have to challenge the Volturi at all. I'm not a science genius or anything but I would have eternity to work on the project. The only reason I'm even considering staying human is because of this whole dark side business. They say power corrupts and if I do this, if I get myself turned, it would enhance my Force powers. And with Alice and Jasper so keen on staying by my side for protection, I would have influence too."
"Leia, I... I don't think you have to worry about the dark side", Bella said quietly. "I think... I think whatever it is that made us switch, it sort of... translated our powers into a version that fits the world we're in. You started out with the Force from Star Wars but now you have a Twilight-style witchy talent for telekinesis. I started out with a Twilight witchy-talent for mind-shielding. But now, I'm Force-sensitive with a special talent for shielding and seeing Force-ghosts. I'm not particularly good at Jedi training. Master Yoda said my talent is too specialized and I started training too late. But I did make some progress, more than the me in the novels ever did, even as a vampire. So... I don't think you have to worry about the Force driving you mad or something. Just do what feels right to you."
Leia looked at her with wide eyes. "You... You really think so? You don't think... That my blood... My heritage... That it could somehow influence me down the line?"
"You're a seventeen year old high school girl from Earth now, Leia", Bella reminded her. "I'm the one with the dubious heritage. Whether you'll let power corrupt you just depends on your character. And you have a great and strong character, Leia. I really think you'll be alright."
"I... I don't know what to say", Leia made. "I don't think anyone has ever believed in me like you do. My parents always cautioned me..." Leia had tears in her eyes now. "Thank you, Bella. I don't know what I'd do without you. You really helped me out." She wiped away her tears and smiled. "But what about you? You said you need my help too?"
Bella sighed. "Yes... I learned something important and I have to make a decision...I have an idea that I believe could work but... I'm afraid maybe I'd be doing the right thing for the wrong reasons? And if so, is it still the right thing to do?"
"Why don't you start from the beginning?" Leia said.
Bella took a deep breath. "Okay. So. You know how I kind of, sort of, told Vader I'm his daughter to buy enough time for Alderaan and to avoid torture?"
"A risky move but one that worked out in your favor", Leia said.
"Right. So now it's basically Empire strikes back, except I've been training with Master Yoda while Luke is training with Obi-Wan and Vader flooded the galaxy with space probes looking for Obi-Wan and me - we're not sure yet if he knows about Luke. He hasn't gotten his hands on him yet anyway. However, there's still a hostage situation. Vader... Well... And please don't freak out now, but he's holding your parents captive. He's threatening to kill them unless I turn myself in."
Leia's face just sort of froze, not a single muscle moving.
Bella hurried on:
"So I, well, I can't let that stand of course. Luke offered to intervene but it's way too early for him to confront Vader, we both know how that will end so... I've decided to do it myself. I want to save them. Except... I have no idea how. I'm... I'm seriously considering just plain taking the deal and turning myself in..."
Leia closed her eyes. Her lips were pressed together to a pale, thin line.
"And why", she said calmly, quietly, "knowing what you do about the dark side and the Sith, would you think that was a good idea?"
"Well...For one, they're your parents and saving them and your planet was the whole reason you agreed to let me come here in the first place. So if he keeps word, which I think he will, your people will remain safe."
"Bella, I am immensely grateful for what you did for my people. But Bail and Breha are not your parents. They are not your responsibility. Just like you said it's not my responsibility rid Earth of vampires, you don't have to sacrifice your life for them. I love my parents. But I also know them. I know they would die for me as surely as they would tell me to save myself and leave them behind. I've helped the rebellion for years before I met you. We were always prepared to die for the cause but we also know that some people have more strategic value than others."
Bella looked at her with wide eyes. "So you're saying... You wouldn't sacrifice yourself for them?"
"I would sacrifice myself in a heartbeat for my own child. But not for my mother or father. They wouldn't want that. They would be horrible parents if they did", Leia said. "Bella, if that is your only reason - if you want to do this for not even your but my parents -"
"It's not", Bella said. Her face was pale. "I... When I first heard they'd been captured... I wanted to keep my word to you, to keep them safe. I only ever met Bail once and he's a great father and certainly doesn't deserve to die. But when I heard they'd been caught... Oh, I feel terrible saying it out loud... "
"What is it?" Leia asked gently.
"I...I was kinda glad... and excited. I was happy the plot was still going on and I was in the middle of it and taking Luke's role and... I want to see him again. To see Vader. I know that he can turn back to the light, that he's supposed to at the end and I want to witness that journey. I want to have a part in it. I want to be able to contribute."
Leia looked at her first in shock, then pity.
"Bella... Vader is a monster. He'll torture you, force you to work for him and failing that, he'll kill you! Or he will discard you, leave you to the Emperor."
"No, Leia, I really don't think he will. I have this plan – I can contact other people via the Force, not just you, so I'll call him and I'll offer him what he really wants, which is his daughter, not just a weapon or a rebel princess and-"
"But you're not his daughter", Leia said strongly. "I am. He is not your father. Charlie is. Your mind shield is powerful and thank the Force that you were able to keep Vader out. But can you do the same with the Emperor? What if not? What do you think Vader will do to you if he ever finds out you're only possessing my body?!"
Bella's face fell and she looked heartbroken and close to tears for a moment.
"I am so sorry, Bella", Leia said softly. "I know growing up with your parents divorced and Charlie absent for most of your life was hard for you. But you do have parents that love you. You don't need Darth Vader of all people."
"But I'm never going to see them again", Bella said in a small voice. "I… I'm not as strong as you, Leia. You're going to marry your vampire and have a wonderful in-law family and found your own. But me? I really do look forward to traveling the galaxy and exploring it. It wouldn't bother me if I never fall in love. But I can't get too close to your adoptive parents because they know you well and they might notice I'm not you. I'm not as strong or capable or knowledgeable as you. But Luke doesn't know you and Vader doesn't know you and if I could be part of that family... It would be so amazing, Leia. I want that. I never wanted anything more than that."
"You love them", Leia realized. "Don't you?"
"I..." Bella fiddled with the hem of her shirt. "I think I might?"
"I can understand you bonding with Luke. You've spend time with him, learned and fought together. But Vader?!" Leia shook her heard incredulously. "He's not deserving of love, Bella."
"Love is a gift, not something you must deserve", Bella said stubbornly. "You should know that, you love Edward and I know he thinks he doesn't deserve love either."
"That's totally different!" Leia protested. "Besides, Vader killed the person he loved most - remember what happened to Padmé?"
"Well obviously, I'm not gonna try and debate him on Force philosophy while he's in the middle of fight", Bella said unhappily. "I know it's dangerous. I'm not expecting him to start digging wells and building pre-schools tomorrow. But if I could do it - if I could get him to see the light, it wouldn't just be a dream come true for me. It would also be hugely beneficial to the whole galaxy."
"Why would it even matter?" Leia asked frustrated. "He's just one person! What's important is defeating the Emperor. Do you really think you can turn Vader faster than he did in the original timeline? Can you do it within the next two years? If that could even be called turning - all he did was admit to the possibility of there being good in him still and then conveniently escaping to death so he wouldn't actually have to make up for any of the billions of atrocities he committed. What if you do turn him but it's just a little too slow or too fast, too obvious and the Emperor gets wind of it? Then Vader won't be able to use the element of surprise to attack him and he won't be defeated at all!"
"But that's exactly what I'm talking about!" Bella said. "Haven't you seen the sequels yet? The Emperor survives The return of the Jedi. Somehow he's back at the end of the ninth movie with some kind of cloned body or something - I'm not sure on the details because that whole movie sucked. I only watched it once and then banished it from my head canon. But it means the Emperor has too many safeguards in place. Just spontaneously throwing him down an elevator shaft won't do it. Just destroying another Death Star and killing the Sith won't be the end of the Empire. They'll just reform under new leadership and continue to harass the galaxy. But Vader knows the Empire and he is feared and respected by everyone higher up. He has a way better chance at truly, lastingly destroying the Empire from within than Luke, me, all the remaining Jedi and the rebellion put together. It's a circle that repeats all over the history of your galaxy, Leia. The Sith don't get destroyed by the Jedi. They destroy each other. They even have a prophecy about it and everything!"
Leia met Bella's stubborn gaze for a few more moments.
At last, she sighed. Very deeply and long.
"I still believe it's a horrible idea and I would never, ever do it in your place. But you're not me and this is your life now. If there is anything at all in the galaxy that could melt a heart as cold as Vader's, it would be the stubborn, reckless love of Bella Swan. I don't know if it's the right thing to do. But I know that if you want to save that ridiculously, dysfunctional family because you love them, that can't possibly be called the wrong reason.
However, if you're really determined to try this, I want to make a deal of my own with you." Leia crossed her arms in front of her and regarded Bella seriously.
"What kind of deal?" the younger girl wanted to know.
"We're both walking a dangerous path. I believe the Force connected us for a reason. We are each other's anchors. I... I think I want to become a vampire. But I'm afraid I'll bite off more then I can chew and endanger the Cullens or that I'll become too confident in my self-control and end up killing someone innocent. And you, you are so blinded by how you want your story to go that you might not see it when the dark side sneaks up on you. So let's make a deal. Let's be each other's moral compass. We will keep meeting like this regularly and check up on each other. And Bella, you have to promise me that if I tell you you're slipping, you will listen to me, and you will distance yourself from Vader as quickly and as safely as you can. Will you do that for me? "
Bella thought about that for a moment.
"If I do that... You need to promise that you will listen if I tell you to run away from a fight I think you can't win. You will seek a diplomatic solution to a conflict if I tell you to and won't consider any more vampire genocide?"
"You make it sound so unreasonable", Leia complained only half-jokingly. "But fine."
"I wish you the best of luck in your battle with James", Bella said earnestly.
"And I wish for the Force to be with you when you face Vader", Leia returned.
"Thank you... And take care."
XxX
Bella POV
Bella stood from her meditation, now surer than ever in her choice and fiercely glad to have the other girl's blessing. She didn't waste time preparing for her travel. Grandmaster of the Jedi or not, Yoda got a proper hug from her and a promise that she wouldn't forget any of his teachings. The little gnome grumbled a bit but reluctantly wished her well and send her on her way.
Bella made a couple of quick hyperspace jumps, wary of Yoda's warning of her 'ghosting' being easy to follow through the Force. She stopped three systems away from Dagobah, fiercely glad she'd taken R2D2 with her. The little droid was a godsend for an Earth girl with only a few months of piloting training under her belt.
Bella set her fighter to orbit a small uninhabited moon, told R2 to sound an alarm if any ships approached and leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes to concentrate.
Contacting Darth Vader through the Force was disturbingly easy. She supposed she was familiar enough with him just from the years and years of watching movies featuring him. Maybe her borrowed genes also played a role. One thing that really did surprise her though was that the Force ghost that appeared to be floating just outside the cockpit of her fighter was not the black-clad terrifying Sith warrior. It wasn't the youthful Anakin Skywalker from the prequels either or the burned up husk of a shell that laid within the armor. Instead his form was that of an older, bearded man, a form she'd only seen a few times for a few seconds, right at the end of Return of the Jedi. Before they changed it in the blue ray version.
"Huh", Bella made without thinking. "So that's what you really look like."
"Leia", Vader said, his voice still deep but most definitely much more human sounding without the breathing apparatus. "My daughter. I see you have explored your connection to the Force."
It was so weird to actually be able to see an expression accompany these words. No thoughts or emotions came strumming along the cord of the connection she'd forged, her mental shield blocking any such attempts. But Darth Vader now had an actual facial expression. That would take some time getting used to. Not that he gave away much - he stood calmly, feet secure on whatever ground he stood on, hands clasped behind his back in a military pose, facing her proudly, challengingly, with a calculating glint in his eyes. Yellow eyes.
"I've heard you've been looking for me", Bella said. "And going to rather extreme lengths to meet me too."
"You belong at my side, child of mine." He unclasped his hands, closing in on her. Strapped into her fighter's seat as she was, she couldn't back away. He reminded her of a big cat circling its prey.
"I was furious when I learned the truth... How the Jedi stole you away, ripped you from your mother's dying body and hid you away... But their schemes have ultimately been unsuccessful. You uncovered the truth, brushed away their lies..." He reached for her, one ghostly hand not quite touching her cheek. "...and now you shall be mine, as you were always meant to be."
Bella shuddered. She felt an impossible draw to this apparition even though she knew there was no actual relation between them. Was it her inner fangirl, squealing at the whole family drama? Was it the Force, itself confusing her for Leia? Or was it Vader, using some dark side shenanigans to influence her? Whatever it was, she loved it. She loved the way he talked, so old-fashioned, like he was some kind of middle ages knight. She loved how he sought ways to tell the truth while also twisting it to make the Jedi look bad, presenting himself as the wronged party when Bella knew Obi-Wan had rescued the twins, not stolen them. She loved how hard he tried. He really did want his children at his side. He was reacting to her the way he was supposed to react to Luke. It made her feel powerful and precious and she loved every damn minute of it.
But.
But she mustn't forget why she was here. She mustn't forget her mission and the person that had enabled her to come here in the first place. Bella wasn't here to live out her own fantasies. She was here to rescue Leia's family, her people and her galaxy, in that order. She was here in place of Leia Organa and she would play her part.
Having closed her eyes for a moment to gather her wits, Bella now opened them again to meet Vader's yellow gaze.
"You have captured my adoptive parents. My king and queen, the ones who raised me, the ones I love." She chose her words carefully. It was itching her to stubbornly deny Vader, to call Bail and Breha her parents even though she'd barely even met them. It was what the real Leia probably would've done and she'd love to see how he'd react. But if she wanted her plan to work out she had to avoid making him angry so she held her tongue.
"Do you really think that will draw me to your side? That it will endear you to me?" she asked instead.
The hand at her face stuck forward quick as a snake, wrapping around her throat instead and Force be damned, Bella could feel it there. It hurt just the tiniest bit and Bella gasped in fright.
"Those two are just as guilty in keeping you from me as the Jedi are! You should be glad I haven't killed them yet for their traitorous actions", Vader growled.
Bella had never felt the touch of a Force ghost. Touching Leia had resulted in them switching bodies and she'd carefully avoided touching any of the Jedi she practiced with. She hadn't even known this was possible. For one absurd moment she feared she'd soon find herself switching bodies with Vader, which would be all kinds of horrifying - but he was only choking her a little and it was ridiculous how relieved she was at that.
For the fraction of a second she saw confusion in Vader's eyes before he let her go and she knew some of that relief must've shown on her face.
Quickly she tried to cover it up.
"So they are still alive. Then I believe we can come to an agreement."
Vader gave her a curt nod. "I will release them if you come to me."
But Bella shook her head. "It's not that easy."
The Sith Lord's eyes narrowed to slits. "I believe it is very easy, daughter. You come to me or they die."
"You believe my parents don't love me enough to sacrifice their lives for me? You think if they could talk to me they wouldn't tell me to run as far away as I could?" she challenged him, deliberately using an address that made Vader's nostrils visibly flare in anger.
Carrot and stick.
Bella paddled back and lowered her head submissively as she said:
"On the Death Star, I begged you to spare my people and you did. Alderaan still stands. That's two billion people you've saved, my people. For that, I will always be thankful. For that, I give you the benefit of the doubt. I'm willing to believe there might still good in you. That you truly do see a daughter in me, not just a tool or a prospective apprentice or a weapon. That's the only reason I'm even willing to negotiate. But if there's one thing that's more important to me than my people, it's my family. If you kill them, I will not forgive you." She raised her gaze, looking straight at Vader's unreadable blank face. "But just because I'm open to the possibility of an exchange doesn't mean I'm going to surrender to you just like that. I know for a fact that my parents would rather die a thousand deaths than see me become a twisted caricature of myself, swallowed by the dark side."
"The dark side is the only path to true power", Vader snapped angrily. "Don't tell me that power is something you don't desire. The power to protect those you care about... If you accept what I have to offer, you could become the most powerful woman in the Empire!"
But Bella shook her head. "You have been absent for most of my life... father", she said, now fully immersed in her role as Leia but also doing her best do channel her inner Luke. "You don't know me very well. Power is not something I truly desire. It is only a means to an end. I want my people protected, true, but that doesn't mean I want or need control the way you do. I was raised a princess but taking the throne of Alderaan was always a duty and a burden awaiting me, not some glorious end goal. If someone more suitable to rule them came along, I'd gladly give them my position. But there is something other than power that you can offer me that I might be interested in."
Anger was still boiling underneath the surface of Darth Vader but her last words calmed the waves somewhat.
"And what would that be?" Vader asked tightly.
"The truth", Bella said quietly. "I want to learn more about you... about my real father. I want to learn about my heritage." She faced him bravely and laid out her final demands:
"So this is the deal I propose, Lord Vader. You give me your word that if I come to you, you will treat me like a father should treat their daughter. You will release one of my parents and send them back to Alderaan as well as pull back the military occupation. After I have confirmed that you have done so, I will meet you at a place you may decide and you will release your second hostage. You will not attempt to capture, imprison or harm anyone else I consider family ever again. If you do this, I will go with you willingly and I will not attempt to leave without your permission unless you break your word or mistreat me."
Vader stared at her hatefully for a moment. Then he turned around abruptly and started pacing. This looked just the tiniest bit ridiculous as it meant his Force ghost was passing through the nose of Bella's fighter every time he turned around. It also gave her a déjà-vu - Leia was pacing too when she was deep in thought.
At last the Sith Lord seemed to have come to a conclusion. He turned back towards her again and though he still looked angry, there was a strange undertone in his voice as he spoke, something that almost sounded... like pride.
"You have much of your mother in you, child. I also think you would have a hard time finding anyone more suited than yourself to rule. You wield your words like I wield a saber. I agree to your deal. Know though that if you are the one to break your word first, your precious family will suffer the consequences."
Bella closed her eyes, relieved that her gamble had worked. She silently apologized to Master Yoda and Luke and everyone else counting on her. But she had a new mission now. One that may just end up being way more important than destroying a Death Star.
"Thank you... father."
"Meet me at Alderaan in one standard week. Don't be late." With those words Vader drew back from her and Bella felt the connection snap as he vanished. She pursed her lips in discontent - meeting Vader at Alderaan would mean one wrong step and he could threaten both of Leia's adoptive parents and her people in general, making it oh so very easy to go back on his word. But taking everything she knew about him into account, Bella truly didn't think he would do that if she kept up her end of the bargain. Or would he? Uneasily she remembered how he'd 'altered the deal' he made with Lando time and time again. But Bella wasn't a scoundrel. She was family now. Vader said she'd reminded him of Padmé - it was what she'd been aiming for, actually, and she was happy and maybe a bit proud that it had worked.
Saving the rebellion, destroying Death Stars, bringing down the Empire - those were Luke's tasks. That was his destiny. Bella would just carve out one tiny part for herself.
She would turn Darth Vader to the light side.
XxX
AN:
Sorry for the long wait, folks! I do have a couple of more chapters in reserve but had no time to review them until now.
Just to make one thing perfectly clear: Bella has and will never have any romantic feelings for Vader. She just admires him as a character and thinks he's really cool because well, she's a Star Wars fan and Vader is pretty cool. She's a cheerleader on his road to redemption. Or well, maybe not redemption but at least humanity.
Bella hasn't forgotten about her real parents but she's seventeen, ready and eager to spread her wings and do her own thing. Her mother has never taken care of her, she's always taken care of her mother and she hasn't spend any significant time with Charlie since she was a small child. The rebels, Luke and the Jedi made her feel at home in the galaxy and she continues to have a connection to her old life through Leia. I imagine her as this bright personality that has no fear, only optimism and is infectious that way because she just loves everything about the Star Wars universe, the good and the bad. She's like a closet nerd who finally steps into a world she feels she belongs to, where she can be herself... by pretending to be someone she's not. Well, she is seventeen, who ever said seventeen year olds make sense, right?
On the other hand, Leia looks at Earth and sees one of those many underdeveloped planets, like a modern person suddenly traveling to the middle ages and she's like: I can just give these people a bunch of inventions and technologies and improve their life so much! As a princess, she would've been involved in some charity work and building up less developed worlds so she actually knows what she's doing when she plans to take over Earth. Her building a blaster is similar to a modern person mixing their own gunpowder or a Molotov cocktail with household cleaning supplies - which is something Leia would've researched if she was going to be involved with the Rebellion.
Please leave a review and tell me what you think of their plans!