Star Wars: Fighting Fear

Chapter VI: The Princess

The grip on her collar threw her forward. Leia Organa stumbled as the invisible hand left her.

She pointed her blaster around wildly, searching for something to shoot. There was nothing, no one. Just her.

  "Luke? Han? Chewie?" Her voice echoed strangely, like the dark void had swallowed up her calls. It was so silent, it was deafening.

Fear squeezed her heart. She felt like a cord had wrapped around her lungs, constricting her breathing. Her knuckles turned white around the blaster.

She startled at the sudden cackling all around her.

  "Show yourself, Palpatine!" Leia shouted. The years of training for the Senate taught her how to control the tremors in her voice. The dead Emperor's laughter sparked a defiant fire inside her, overpowering her fear.

  "Leia Skywalker," the voice mocked smoothly, "Daughter of Anakin Skywalker. Darth Vader."

Leia shuddered at the reminder. She could almost hear Vader's metallic breath and feel the chill that followed him wherever he went.

  She swallowed and answered confidently, "He may be my biological father, but Bail Organa was my real father."

  "Ah, yes. Senator Organa of Alderaan. A shame the galaxy had to lose a planet such a Alderaan."

There was a pang in her chest and her legs felt weak. She could imagine that moment so clearly. Alderaan was just outside, sparkling like a blue and green gem against a black satin cushion. Her parents, mentors and friends were there, either blissfully oblivious or spending their last moments wondering why Alderaan had a new moon.

She watched helplessly as the green laser pierced the outer crust and turned her home into an oblivion. A tsunami of emotions crashed down and overwhelmed her to the point of not feeling any of them. Leia was certain some of them weren't hers. They dragged a numb Princess of Nowhere back to her cell.

In one blow, she lost everything.

  "You are also the daughter of Padmé Amidala," the taunting voice continued. He knew he had her like a moth in a spider's web. "She was a close friend when I was Chancellor of the Republic, but she opposed the Empire, like you. You have much in common with your mother: senators, royalty, bold, strong, passionate. You even resemble her appearances."

A foggy image resurfaced in her mind. More like a feeling, a connection. A beautiful, kind woman in pain. The childbirth of twins was difficult and she was lonely. Her heart was broken.

  "Padmé desperately wanted to raise a family. Sadly, that was taken away from her and her children were separated to protect them from me. Their failure is now complete."

The blaster clattered to the floor. Leia brought her hands to her face as hot tears streamed down her cheeks. Her heart ached for the mother she never met. She loved Breha and she did an amazing job raising her, but there was always a hole in her heart growing up. A hole now ripped wider by Palpatine's description.

  "You lost so much, child," Palptaine continued almost soothingly. "But you have the power to save yourself from your mother's fate. You don't have to lose anything anymore."

  The Force! Leia tried to stretch out her feelings toward her brother. While her abilities with the Force were limited, she could always reach out to Luke. She felt nothing. Like her tie to Luke had been severed. Leia's knees hit the floor in despair.

  "You are powerless here. There is only the Dark Side. I've taken your family from you. Join the Dark Side, and you won't have to lose them."

Leia had tasted the Dark Side before–according to Luke–when she choked the life out of Jabba the Hutt. It was invigorating. Unlike Luke, she wasn't afraid of tapping into it again.