Lady Leia and the Prince, Part 1

Rating: PG-13 (violence, mild language)

Pairings: Han/Leia

Disclaimer: The franchise belongs to George Lucas and the Walt Disney Company.

Leia Skywalker could never remember a day when she hadn't lived in the cottage in the clearing in the Endor Woods. It wasn't the biggest cottage in Naboo, nor was it the most elaborate. It had four walls, a large stone fireplace for cooking, and beautiful wooden furniture her father made. Anakin Skywalker was a carpenter now, but years ago, he'd been a member of Queen Jania's fabled Jedi Guards. The towering oaks provided them with all the protection they could ever need.

She and her brother Luke spent hours listening to the stories of their father and his dear friend Obi-Wan's many adventures during their days as Jedis. Ever-restless Anakin had been a knight, preferring slaying evil Sith sorcerers and rescuing citizens in distress to arduous study. Obi-Wan, who was gentler and more of a scholar, devoted much of his time to becoming a master mage.

“But why are there no Jedi anymore, Papa?” Leia asked Anakin once during one of their hunting trips.

Her father's still-handsome face fell. Leia thought Anakin was the most beautiful man in all the world, even with the scar over his eye and the ragged gold beard on his chin. “They were all wiped out by the Sith sorcerer Palpatine, my little warrior. He set his magic on them, tearing them apart or turning them to mindless beasts. Your mother, Obi-Wan, and I barely escaped with the two of you.”

Leia got along less well with her mother Padme and Uncle Obi-Wan than her brother Luke did. While she was wild and free, always riding horses and exploring the woods, Luke enjoyed quieter pursuits. When he was outside, he helped Mama with her fruit trees or Obi-Wan with his garden. Though he enjoyed riding and could swing a sword almost as well as she, he was happiest when Obi-Wan was teaching him a new spell or showing him how to make potions that would heal the sick and wounded.

No one who saw them believed they were twins, other than they had their mother's petite stature. Leia's dark hair was usually only done in elaborate braids and buns because that's how her mother's people had done their hair when she was in the Naboo court. If left to her own devices, she'd throw it up in a bun or leave it down, and that would be that. She had inherited her mother's outspoken nature...but also had her father's explosive temper. Luke knew that when his sister's brown eyes flashed and her button nose flared, it was time to run very far away from her, possibly to the other side of the kingdom.

Luke, on the other hand, had his father's long golden hair, tanned skin, and glowing blue eyes, but he had Padme's compassionate heart. Leia had seen her brother cry when he stepped on an ant hill. Anakin completely supported his children when Luke said he wanted to train as a mage and Leia was more interested in learning the skills of a knight. There had been many male mages and warlocks in the Jedi order, and several women whose abilities with weapons were unparalleled.

Leia spent as much time as she could working on her skills with her father. He taught her to wield a blade and a bow and arrow as well as any man. They raced each other and Luke on foot and on horseback. Luke would occasionally join them, and though he became fairly proficient with a blade and a passable archer, Leia was better. By the time she was 16, she was winning cash prizes for her archery in town.

On their 17^th birthday, Anakin and Obi-Wan brought Luke and Leia down to the little cellar in the cottage. Hidden under a pile of Mother's ceremonial gowns from her days as a counselor was a heavy oaken chest. The two men slowly flipped the top open, as if they were touching something spiritual.

“We wanted to have these, when you were old enough,” Obi-Wan explained. “Every member of the Order gained the tools of his trade when they were 17.”

Luke's sweet smile shined like the sun beaming through the window. “Does that mean we're ready to be knights?”

“Does that mean I can finally go out and start slaying dragons?” Leia added, no less delighted.

“Not dragons, my little warrior.” Anakin chuckled. “They're so few in number nowadays, most humans just leave them alone. But there are other monsters that still pray on our kind...including the human variety.”

Obi-Wan lifted a set of books out of the dark oak chest. “These are the sacred texts of our order. They contain all the wisdom of our past masters, and everything you must learn to be able to perform magic.” Luke cradled the books to his chest like they were a lover.

Anakin revealed a long, flat box, carved with knights on horseback. Leia watched, her eyes wide as he revealed the most beautiful sword she'd ever seen. Its hilt was pure gold, finely etched with phoenixes and flames. The sharp crystal blade glowed with an unearthly blue fire.

“Is that...” Leia traced her finger down one of the phoenixes. It looked real enough for it to sit on her finger. “A real Jedi Light Sword?”

“Yes, my daughter.” He gathered it from the white velvet lining. “Every Jedi usually made their own Light Sword from khyber crystals at the old forges at the Mufasar volcano, but since the forges were destroyed when the Jedi died, I bequeath this one to you.”

Obi-Wan took a smaller green sword with a less-elaborate silver handle from another box. “I want you both to kneel before me.” As soon as the twins did so, Obi-Wan stood over them, touching Luke with his sword. “As the oldest remaining Jedi Master, it is in my authority to dub thee Sir Luke Skywalker,” he touched Leia, “and Lady Leia Skywalker, of the Skywalking Clan. Arise, my Knights.”

“Our old armor is in there too,” Anakin added. “It should fit both of you by now.”

“Thank you, Uncle Obi-Wan!” Luke flew into his arms. “You too, Father.” He gathered them both in a hug, tears streaming down his rosy cheeks. “I'm so happy!”

Leia put her arms around all of them. “Me too. Thank you. This is what I've always wanted.”

“I'm proud of you, too.” Padme stood in the doorway. “You'll both make wonderful knights. Now, come upstairs, before your dinner gets cold. I've made all your favorites.”

Leia knew Padme was concerned for her children. Most of Naboo's nobility was not in favor of the Jedis' return after Palpatine claimed they'd been conspiring against Queen Jania and her court. They'd been able to hide from him successfully so far, but along with being a sorcerer, he was a shape-shifter who could take any form...and his favorite was a crow. He could be listening to their every conversation in the woods. She'd heard Uncle Obi-Wan and their parents argue about it enough at night, when they thought she and Luke were asleep.

She forgot her mother's worries the next day, when her father started training her with the Light Sword. Even Anakin, who had been one of the best swordsmen in the entire order, was impressed with his daughter's skill. “Careful, Leia,” he warned her in their little yard out back. “You can't let your anger influence your thinking. Use it, but don't let it control you. Obi-Wan warned me about that enough. That will lead you to dark magic. Not to mention, allow your opponents an opportunity to get the better of you.”

Leia ducked around him. “How will I be able to tell the good side from the bad?”

“Obi-Wan says you'll know when you're at peace.” Anakin gave her a grin that looked a lot like her brother's. “Personally, I think it's a load of horse manure. Maybe that works for him, but I think it has more to do with knowing right from wrong. Palpatine tried to get me to join him, but I left instead. He claimed he could help your mother, but I think he wanted to help himself.”

“Then why is he still the Queen's head counselor?” She ducked under his swing. “Queen Jania's not stupid. You'd think she would have figured out about him.”

“Queen Jania is getting on in years.” Anakin was just barely able to duck away from Leia's lunge. “She doesn't have too many people to rely on since King Josiah died and Prince Henry left home as an envoy for his mother.”

Leia wrinkled her nose at the mention of Queen Jania's only child. “Prince Henry is a useless idiot. I've heard that he drinks, gambles, and has more bad debts than the kingdom has taxes.”

“I wouldn't be too hard on him. No one ever truly found out what happened to his father King Josiah, only that he was dead. Henry left home after that, joined the Naboo Army.” He managed to get a good lunge in, making his daughter stumble. “It didn't last very long. He was drummed out. Something about a wolf they were attacking and not letting them harm him.”

“Maybe you can feel for him, but I can't.” She finally managed to hit him in the chest. “Got you!”

Anakin smiled. “You're getting better, my daughter. Perhaps it's time we went into the woods and sought larger game.”

Which is what they did. For the next two years, Leia and Anakin traveled throughout Naboo's lake country, selling his wooden chests and furniture and teaching her how to slay smaller monsters that terrorized the locals, such as the two-headed dogs and miniature orcs. They even beat off a few soldiers stealing property from farmers and craftsmen. While they traveled, Obi-Wan and Luke tended to Obi-Wan's herb garden and taught Luke all the wisdom that was contained in the older mage's books.

Padme was more concerned for her daughter's future. “I love you, dear,” she told Leia one morning when she was brushing her long, tangled brown hair, a few days before Leia and Luke's 19^th birthday, “but when are you going to settle down?”

“Settle down?” Leia laughed. “Why, when I find the right man, I suppose.”

“Most girls of your age are already married.” She wound her daughter's hair into two buns on either side of her head. “I was older when I married, but that's because I was a council member. Your Aunt Breha wed Uncle Bail at 15.”

“I love Aunt Breha, and I love you, Mother, but I'm not you.” She sighed. “I've barely met any young men out here. Most of the boys in town are idiots who would rather talk about hunting deer than helping people or arguing about how Palpatine is driving people out of their homes.”

“I'm just scared for you and your brother.” She kissed her daughter's forehead. “I don't know how much longer we can stay out here, undetected.”

“We'll be fine, Mother.” Leia jumped up the moment she finished and looked in a piece of polished glass they used as a mirror. “You are so good at doing hair. I could never figure this out.”

“I've been doing this all my life.” Padme gave her daughter a hug. “I love you, Leia, no matter what you choose.”

“You too, Mother.” She gathered a woven bag. “I'm going to go into town to buy some supplies and sell a few chairs Father just finished. I might do some hunting after that. I heard a band of Wookie wolves were seen outside of town. Some folks are worried they may try to eat their cattle.” The girl shuddered. “Mother...do you think I should go? I have this feeling, like we're being watched by something terrible.”

“Wookie wolves mostly keep to themselves, though some people have tamed them as watch dogs.” Padme nodded. “We'll be fine, dear. Your father is already here, working on his next project.”

Luke was coming in as Leia went out. “Hi, sis!” He gave her a hug. “I'm here to talk to Mother and Father. Obi-Wan and I just found out in town that Palpatine has been more openly attacking his enemies. Three counselors who disagreed with his new higher taxes a few months ago have either died in mysterious house fires or vanished all together.”

“That man needs to be stopped!” His sister narrowed her eyes. “Someday, I'm going to stick my crystal sword right down his skinny throat of his!”

Luke looked so distressed, she wished she hadn't said it. “Oh no, Leia! You know Father and Obi-Wan say that our powers and weapons should only be used in defense!”

“I'd be defending the kingdom,” his sister grumbled. “I'll be back in a few hours. We're really low on supplies, and a few people are waiting for these chairs.” She gave her worried twin a hug. “You take care of Mother and Father, all right?”

He laughed. “Of course! I'm a big boy, Leia. I know how to handle myself.” He helped her hitch their horse Twilight to their old cart, and even waved to his sister as she snapped the reins and drove down the path through the D'Qar Woods.

As he returned to his family's home, Luke swore he saw a mangy old crow staring at him like he was trying to figure out if he'd seen him before. The crow was a rather odd critter, with beady yellow eyes and rusty, molting feathers. When he turned around to look at it closely, it was gone.