A Star Wars Fairy Tale: Return, Part 1

Rating: PG-13 (violence, mild language)

Pairings: Han/Leia

Disclaimer: The franchise belongs to George Lucas and the Walt Disney Company. I just got back into this fandom after more than a decade away and decided I wanted to play, too.

Notes: One of the many inspirations for Star Wars was beloved fairy and folk tales. I decided to go back to the source, so to speak. Among the stories I'm borrowing ideas from are “East of the Sun and West of the Moon,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves,” “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” “Rumpelstiltskin,” “The Girl Without Hands,” and “Robin Hood.”

Notes 2: This is based around the Original Trilogy, though a few characters from Star Wars: Rebels and the prequels have cameos.

Once upon a time, in a world very far from ours, lived a princess without a kingdom and a knight without hands. Young Force Knight apprentice Luke Skywalker left his training prematurely (and against the wishes of his teachers) in order to rescue his friends Princess Leia Organa and Han Solowolf. Alas, he arrived too late to save them. Han had been put under a sleeping spell by Leia's jealous father, the half-demon Lord Vader. He sheared off Leia's long hair to keep her from healing Han. Luke tried to fight Vader, but was no match for the seasoned war lord and lost his sword and his right hand in battle. He was in turn saved by Leia, the servants Cecil and Arthur, and huntsman-turned-nobleman Lando Calarissian.

When we last left our heroes, Calarissian and the Wookie Stallion Chewbacca were riding off towards the Kingdom of Tatoon in search of the carriage that carried the slumbering Han Solowolf to the greedy Ogre King Jabba. During their duel, Vader revealed to Luke that he was his son, making Leia Luke's sister. Having discovered their true relationship, the siblings now traveled in the gypsy cart the Falcon to the Dagobah Swamps to gain answers from one of Luke's teachers, the wise goblin sage Yoda.

Where Leia was concerned, the trip was nothing but a pain in the rear end...and not just because Han really needed to have the driver's seat re-padded. The Enchanted Woods had gone insane. The once-beautiful green trees were now lifeless black hulks that clawed at the Falcon and grabbed at anything they could get their limbs on. The colors seemed to have bled out of the plant life. The delicate, pastel flowers were gone. The glowing polka-dot mushrooms were slimy and blackened. Everything around them seemed to painted in deadened shades of black, white, and gray.

The general malaise affected the animals, too. Squirrels threw nuts at them and at each other. Wolves and wild boars growled and squealed at them, glaring at the cart and its occupants with menacing gold eyes. The tiny blue and green lights that once lead them through the darkness were replaced by a blackish haze that often made it difficult to see more than a few centimeters in front of one's nose.

Luke was trying to fight off one of the trees with his one good hand. “I really wish I had my sword,” he complained. “I'd be able to take down these branches with one chop.”

“If you had more than one hand,” his sister reminded him. For her part, Leia had been trying to guide their horse Tauntaun around the flora that seemed determined to knock them off the road. Arthur the Blacksmith leaned out of one of the cart windows, hacking at every branch with Han's ax. Cecil the Butler stayed hidden in the cart as much as possible.

Leia saw Arthur's fingers fly as Cecil leaned out the window, pulling away just in time to avoid a bramble of thorns with stickers as sharp as needles. “I agree with Arthur. Not to be blunt, but just what in the name of the Alliance of the Seven Kingdoms is going on? I don't remember the Woods ever behaving quite this badly before!”

Leia rubbed her head. She'd had a major headache ever since they'd driven into the Woods. “I think it's Vader's doing. Vader's or his master's. I feel the influence of dark Force magic.”

Luke nodded, looking more serious than she'd ever seen him. “I feel it, too. The negative energy is affecting everything. That's why the animals are so angry. They can sense it. So can the trees and the flowers and the plants. The darkness has taken control.”

“Well,” said Leia with all the determination she could muster, “I'm not going to let it control us. We just need to find our way out.”

“Pardon me, Your Highness,” Cecil began, “but when are we going to find our way out? Neither Arthur nor I have seen so much as a sign in days. I'm starting to think we're lost.”

Luke sighed. “I hate to admit it, Leia, but he's right.” He rubbed his temples, trying to ignore the throbbing between them. “I've been trying to talk to Master Yoda with the Force, but it's like thinking through my aunt's Spiced Cactus Heart Soup. I can't break through the mud in my head.”

Leia rubbed her head again. “You've been feeling the same way?”

He nodded. “Ever since we started through the woods.”

She winced, pain coursing through her head. “And it's been getting worse the further along we've gone.” Luke nodded, the pain showing in his own gentle face. “We have to get out of here.” She flicked the reins harder. “Whatever dark magic has taken over the Woods may be too strong for both of us to handle, especially in the condition we're in.”

That was when they heard wings swishing in the distance. Leathery wings that rubbed against each other, swaying in the thick mist that now enveloped the Woods. The brother and sister knew the sound of those wings, knew who they belonged to.

Luke recoiled. “It's him. He found us.”

Leia flicked the reins harder, ignoring the pounding in her temples. “Come on, Tauntaun! We have to outrun him. I won't let him toss us in yet another tower!”

They'd come to what appeared to be murky light at the end of the tunnel of ebony brushstrokes when an enormous, scaly figure swooped low over the Falcon's roof. It landed directly in the center of the path, its outstretched wings easily blocking the view from both sides.

“Children,” Vader hissed. “You have come to me.”

Leia's dark brown eyes glared hot molten lava at the unholy creature before her. “Get out of our way, Vader,” she snarled. “Unless you want an arrow in the other wing!”

He turned to Luke, ignoring his sister for the moment. “Son, the three of us could rule together as one, a family united. You don't know the power of the Dark magic. You'll be able to crush your enemies, take whatever you want, make anyone you want yours.”

Leia climbed out of the carriage, holding Han's Endorwood longbow and arrow level with the demon's rippled chest. “Vader, get it through your thick skull. All I wanted was Han and my home, and all Luke wanted was his family. The Empire stole everything from us. We won't let you take our freedom, too.”

Her anger only provoked a cruel smile. “Very good. Use your anger. Let go of your hatred. You're closer to embracing the dark magic than you think.”

“No!” Luke jumped off, his blue eyes wide. “Leia, don't give in! Don't listen!”

Vader inched closer. “Your powers are strong. Under my master's tutelage, they could be stronger. Strong enough to break the ogre's hold on your adored wastrel.”

Leia's bow didn't waver. “Han isn't a wastrel. He's a good, kind man.” Luke raised his eyebrows at her. “Ok, he is a wastrel, but he's MY wastrel, and I won't let you use him or us anymore. You are no father of mine!”

The demon was prepared for the arrow she sent towards his head. He easily brushed it away in mid-flight, along with the next two she shot after them. He only had to lift his claws, and the bow went flying from her hands into his.

“I would be honored if you would join me,” he said darkly.

“Never!” She launched herself at him, but he shot out at her with a red light. Luke screamed as Vader lifted the young woman into the air as if she were a rag doll. He flung her into a half-dead tree surrounded by slime-encrusted lichen. The tree's branches grabbed at her arms and legs, holding her down. A vine wound around her mouth, silencing her angry cries.

Luke was trying to reach for Vader's red and black sword when the enraged demon turned his attention to the boy. “This isn't yours, boy. Yet.” A red light dragged Luke towards Vader's grasp. “Come with me, boy. I can feel the growing anger within you. Release that hate.” Leia shrieked under the vines, writhing in the embrace of the branches that wrapped around her.

“No...” Luke struggled. “Father, this isn't you! You're not a monster. You're a man. There's still a man in you.”

“You are mistaken” He lifted Luke over his shoulder. “Now, I'll retrieve your sister, and we'll return to Bast Castle to begin your training.”

“Mistaken, you are, Anakin Skywalker.” That was when Luke saw the light. A small beam of bluish light appeared in the end of the tree tunnel. He saw a familiar green goblin waddling down the path. The two wolves by Vader's side glared at the tiny figure. “Take these two young people away, you will not.”

“That is not my name.” Vader sneered at the figure. “Master Yoda. I thought you died when we purged the White Knights from the Kingdoms.”

“Resilient, I am. I bounce back. Underestimate me, humans do, because of my size and age.” Yoda pulled a small, shining green crystal sword from his walking stick. “Fight you for the younglings, I will.”

“Very well. You know I'll trounce you, you old goat.” Vader concentrated. Luke was flung against the same tree as Leia. The tree limbs wrapped around both, holding them to the trunk. One of the vines snaked into Luke's mouth, cutting off his frightened bleats.

The two older combatants circled each other like vultures waiting for their prey to pass to the next world. When their sabers struck, it sent red and green sparks flying in all directions. Luke couldn't believe how agile his master was. Yoda circled and danced around Vader, avoiding his former pupil's enraged lunges and feints. He actually managed to hit Vader on his side, drawing blue-red blood and a snarl from the demon.

Vader hissed, holding onto his side. “I can see you are more than a match for me, old one.” He lifted his claw. “You were lucky enough to escape the White purges. Your luck runs out here.”

The moment the claws went up, the two wolves made a dash for Yoda. Luke and Leia screamed under the vines as they bit into the goblin's shoulder with their sharp teeth. The little green creature fell to the road with a startled cry.

Vader took his sword as the wolves circled him, looking for another place to bite. “I'll be taking my children with me now.”

That was when the back door to the Falcon slammed open. “Arthur!” Cecil ran as fast as he could after his stubby-legged friend. “Arthur, what are you doing? We're hardly Force Knights! You could get hurt, or worse! This is no place for us!”

Arthur rushed right up to Vader, his fingers flying. Vader swung around...and his repulsive, reptilian face suddenly showed very human recognition. To the surprise of his children, his fingers flew in the familiar symbols of the Language of the Mutes. Arthur's flew back.

Cecil watched them go back and forth. “You two know each other? Arthur, how do you know him?” Arthur's twisting fingers were now directed at his gold-clad friend. “You knew him from the Seven Kingdoms' Wars? Arthur, we were together through most of that conflict. How come I don't remember him? I would certainly remember meeting a demon!”

“Arthur?” Vader's voice sounded very different. It was lighter, softer, more brittle...more human. “Arthur, is that you?” He looked over at his friend. “And Cecil? Padme's butler? What are you doing here?”

“It's a very long story, Lord Vader,” Cecil began. “I'm not entirely sure this is the appropriate time or place to tell it. I don't even really recall much of it. So much seems to have simply vanished from my memory! We fled Aldran Castle with Sir Luke and Sir Kenobi when it was burned by the Sith Dragons three years ago.”

Luke and Leia were even more surprised when Arthur put his short arms around Vader in a hug...and Vader started to lean into it. “Old friend...” But the gold light came back into his eyes. His children felt him strain against the darkness, the lust for power and burning anger that had trapped him. He held Arthur out....but his eyes were gazing into the Woods. “Master...” He shook his head in confusion. “I can't...I have to go.” He pushed Arthur into Cecil's arms, then unfurled his wide wings and shot through the gray canopy, making for the open sky.

The moment Vader flew off, the trees released Luke and Leia, and the wolves darted back into the brush. Arthur and Cecil had already gone to Yoda's side. Luke tugged off his sleeve, using it to stop the bleeding. “We have to get him to his hut in the Dagobah Swamps. Master, can you hear me?”

“Hear you, I can, young apprentice.” Yoda definitely sounded annoyed. “I do not require fussing.”

Leia joined them, gathering Han's longbow in her hand on her way. “That's not what I'm seeing. You need medical attention, and you need it now.”

“Directions, I can give.” Yoda pointed a little claw down the road. “Hut not far. Only half of an hour.”

Leia looked at him. “Between the three of us, we may have enough magic to get us there the quick way.”

“Very well. Use our magic to return, we will.” When Yoda closed his eyes to let the Force flow, Luke and Leia did the same. After a few minutes, a series of weak blue lights gathered around them and the Falcon. When it subsided, there was nothing remaining but a few scattered leaves and sticks.