Luke fell to the training arena floor's squishy mat with a thud. He rolled to avoid the laser bolts from the training remotes. The mat absorbed most of his impact, but he would still have a bruise on his hip where he impacted the floor.
He scanned the large arena for Leia. The training coordinator had dimmed the lights, replicating a terrorist action. The metal edges of the platforms, cubes, and climbing walls glowed in the tall, dark room.
This was Luke's second day on the Alderaanian Security Forces' weapons arena, and he was glad that he insisted that Leia and he work as a team and not against each other. Luke felt out with the Force as he scrambled behind a climbing cube for cover.
There she is. Up there, about six more meters. He felt rather than saw her raise her blaster at the training remote nearest him.
As she fired on that remote, Luke saw another remote behind the wall move into position to blast her. "Leia! Watch out. Re—"
Laser bolts hit the girl on the arm, dislodging her grip. Luke stretched out his hands, pulling in the Force as he had been taught, trying to slow her descent.
She continued to fall. His screams joined with hers. The screams cut off when she shuddered to a stop in mid-air only inches above the arena floor.
Luke turned to the main hatch as the lights in the arena turned on. His father stood there, his hands extended toward Leia.
Anakin pulled the girl to him as she sobbed hysterically. The tall man clutched her, smoothing her head. "Shh, you're safe, Sweetie. You're safe."
Footsteps thudded down the corridor. The training coordinator burst into the room, followed by Bail and Padmé.
"What happened?" Bail asked as Leia extricated herself from Anakin's arms and ran to her father. Bail knelt down and took the girl in his arms.
The training coordinator shook. "I was supervising the program from the control booth. A remote got her in the arm."
Leia gasped with hyperventilation.
"Deep breaths. Deep breaths." Bail lifted the tiny princess into his arms.
Padmé moved close to Anakin. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
"Daddy!" Leia sobbed.
"Shh, Leia. I need you to tell me what happened. Did Luke do something to you?"
Leia wiped the tears with the back of her sleeve and found the inner strength to calm herself. "No, Daddy. Luke tried to save me."
Bail looked at Luke, noticing that the boy was rattled as well. "Can you tell me, Luke?"
The boy glanced at the princess, not wanting to tell on her. He opened his mouth, but Leia cut him off.
"It wasn't Luke's fault. I had climbed up the back of the wall and was shooting at a remote that was targeting him. But another remote was up behind the wall and got my arm." The Princess pulled her padded sleeve up and showed the red mark the training remote had left. "I lost my grip."
Bail asked, "Where else are you hurt?" He turned her around, looking for broken bones. "How high up were you?"
"A few meters." Leia winced as her father felt her arm. "Luke's father caught me. With that Force thing."
Bail whipped his head around. "Master Skywalker, I don't know how I can repay you. Thank you very much. Breha and I are greatly indebted to you."
Anakin nodded. "No, Leia is like my own daughter, Bail. She will never be in danger as long as I am near."
Queen Breha arrived with a contingent of guards in her wake. "What happened? Leia, are you all right?"
"I'm fine, Mother, thanks to Master Skywalker."
Bail set her down, and Leia walked sedately to her mother. Tears streaked her face, and her hair escaped her braids. "Look at you. Such a mess. You're going to need a new training outfit, too." Breha stood up. "Go get yourself cleaned up, Leia, and meet us in the Council Room."
The tiny princess turned her head to Luke and then her father. Bail nodded his approval. She hung her head down and trudged out of the arena.
The adults headed back to the Council Room. Luke tried to follow Leia, but Anakin put his hand on his shoulder. "You're coming with me."
"Yes, Father." Luke grabbed Leia's dropped blaster, returning their weapons to the rack by the door.
Padmé trailed at the rear. As they turned a corner, she turned the other direction, heading to the royal chambers.
She heard sobs, then the crash of furniture and keepsakes disintegrating.
Padmé waved her hand at the door, but the hatch was biometrically secured. She knocked. A few more crashes. She pounded.
"Go away!" Leia yelled through the closed hatch. "I don't want to speak to you, Mother."
Padmé took a deep breath. "Leia. It's Padmé, Luke's mother. May I come in?" The Nubian waited patiently as she heard Leia move some items around in the room.
The little princess opened the door after many minutes. "Lady Padmé, please come in," Leia greeted as regally as she could after throwing a temper tantrum.
Padmé took stock of the situation. A face streaked with tears. Hair escaping the braids. A normally-elegant room resembling a natural disaster.
The Rebel leader ignored the mess strewn throughout the room by focusing on the architecture and fine furnishings, minimizing the embarrassment to the girl. The white Synthstone walls were at least four meters tall. A coved dome graced the ceiling, with recessed lighting highlighting the architecture. A white and silver design covered the walls.
Leia's furniture was in shades of black and white with silver accents. Padmé could tell the accents were real silver that had to be polished daily to repel tarnish. A gargantuan canopied bed hung with heavy white tapestries took up the center of one wall, while doors on the adjacent wall led to closets and a refresher.
A small table with art supplies stood by the window. Paint brushes littered the carpet, staining it in a rainbow of colors. A vanity stood opposite the bed between the two pane-glass windows. Drawers stuck out at staggered increments, with contents jumbled. A few items covered the floor.
Leia gestured toward the bed. "Please, have a seat anywhere."
Padmé gingerly sat on the edge of the bed, the only option other than the floor at present.
Leia remained standing. "To what do I owe the honor of this visit?" She pulled on the hem of tunic and brushed a stray hair back.
Padmé patted the bed and shot the girl a small smile. The princess obeyed and sat with an extremely straight back, not disturbing the bed.
The Rebel leader pulled her daughter into an embrace, holding her, comforting her.
Leia started sobbing again, not able to hold it in at all. "I'm not supposed to cry in front of people," she bawled.
"Shh. I won't tell anyone. Sometimes we all need a good cry." Padmé rubbed the girl's back. "I wasn't much older than you when I was elected Queen of Naboo. If I didn't have my handmaiden Sabé to cry on, I would have never made it through the first week."
"Really? Queens cry?" Leia pulled back and looked at Padmé, questioning.
Padmé nodded. "Hmm-huh."
"Well, how come my mother doesn't cry?"
"She does. Every decision she has to make has two sides to it. She can never please everyone, so she has to make decisions that are the best for her people, even if they hurt people she loves," Padmé said. "And every decision hurts her."
Leia nodded.
"You will have to do that one day. When you do, it is imperative that you don't break down in front of your court. Your advisers have to trust you, and there will always be at least one enemy. You can guarantee it."
"Not here. Mother's advisers and court love her."
"I'm sure there's at least one that doesn't, and it's probably the one that seems the most pleasant." Padmé smiled at the girl. "That is your first lesson in politics—not everything is as it seems, and the people that seem the most trustworthy usually aren't."
Leia nodded at her. "I wish you could be here all the time."
Padmé mumbled, "I do, too." The two looked into each other's eyes, the same chestnut eyes staring back at each other. Padmé shuddered when she saw recognition in Leia's.
"Let's get you cleaned up, and then we'll both go back to the Council Room. You need to watch your mother—in everything she does. You will rule one day. It is your destiny, Leia."
Padmé grabbed the girl's hairbrush from the floor and combed through the tangles, gazing at her daughter in the mirror, seeing her own face in the same image.
Tell me what you think . . .
● What is Leia's relationship with her mother?
● How will finding out Padmé and Anakin are her real parents affect her relationship with the Organas?