This is the first in a series of three short fairy tales I have planned, one revolving around each member of the original trilogy "Golden Trio." Next up, "Hansel & Gretel" for Leia, then a gender-reversed "Cinderella" for Han.
Luke
and the Beanstalk
Rating:
PG (mild violence)
Pairings:
Han & Leia & Luke
Disclaimer:
The franchise belongs to George Lucas and the Walt Disney Company.
Once
upon a time, twin siblings named Luke and Leia Skywalker lived in a
small cottage in the Kingdom of Naboo. Their parents had died when
they were tiny babies. They were raised by kindly Aunt Beru and gruff
but loving Uncle Owen. After they passed on, they ran their small
dairy farm together.
The
twins couldn't be more different. Luke was golden-haired and
blue-eyed, a cheerful lad with a dreamy demeanor. He took care of the
animals on the farm and tended to their small garden. Or at least, he
was supposed to. His mind was usually in the clouds or imagining
far-away places. His sister Leia was tiny, with long, dark hair and
snappy brown eyes. She was practical and strong-willed where her
brother was gentle and good-natured. It was she who ran the farm and
sold their cheese and butter in the near-by town.
Now
it happened that Naboo fell into a period of decline, around the same
time the twins' aunt and uncle died. A terrible drought turned much
of the formerly fertile kingdom into a near-desert. Luke found it
harder and harder to feed their cows and water their crops. Most of
their cattle and almost his entire garden withered. Leia had less and
less to sell at market, until they, like most of Naboo,were starving.
“I'm
sorry Luke,” Leia said one day, “but I just went over our
finances. You're going to have to sell Artoo, our last cow. She just
stopped giving milk. I know you're attached to her, but we can't
afford to keep her anymore. I know a local butcher who'll give you a
good price for her.”
“No!”
Luke threw his arm around his favorite cow. Artoo nuzzled her human.
She wasn't a big cow. In fact, she'd gotten rather scrawny in the
last few years. She was a good cow, though, with slick black patches
in her white fur that looked almost blue. “Leia, I couldn't let
anyone kill Artoo! She's a good girl. She's given us so much milk and
cheese over the years. Besides, she's my friend!”
Leia
sighed. She went through this with her brother every time she wanted
to sell one of the animals. He never wanted to let them go. “Luke,
I understand. She was a good cow, but she's getting old, and she
can't earn her keep anymore. She stopped giving milk two days ago. I
was hoping she would start again, but it looks like she's dry. You're
going to have to sell her.”
She
put an arm around her despondent brother. “Think of it this way. If
you sell her, we'll have enough money for dinner tomorrow. There may
even be a little leftover to buy another cow, a younger one who'll be
able to give us more milk we can sell.”
“I
don't want another cow,” Luke whined. “I want Artoo!” In the
end, there was nothing he could do. He knew his sister was right.
They desperately needed the money, and poor Artoo was getting old.
There was no choice. The next morning, he tied a rope around her neck
and lead her to town to the butcher.
“Try
to get a good price on her, brother,” Leia insisted as he left.
“Don't let that old butcher bully you. And don't dawdle! Sell
Artoo, buy our groceries, and come home.”
“I'll
be all right.” He gave his sister a kiss on the forehead and was on
his way.
He
hadn't gotten too far when he encountered an old peddler on the road.
He was a tall, gaunt fellow, with a scraggly silver-gray beard and
thin silvery hair. He wore tattered old tan robes and an old, patched
tan tunic. He pushed a cart filled with plants, from beautiful
flowers Luke hadn't seen since the drought began to prickly cacti
from the Kingdom of Tatoonie.
“Hello
there, young Luke.” The old man smiled. “I was hoping I'd see you
today. Rumor has it that you have a fine old cow for sale.”
“Yes,
I do.” Luke put his arm around Artoo. “I really wish I didn't
have to sell her, but my sister insists on it. We need the money, and
she doesn't give milk anymore.” He looked the old man over more
closely. “Aren't you Old Ben Kenobi? I heard you used to be a
knight for the king, and a great magician besides.”
Old
Ben nodded. “I was, at one time. Before...well, before the drought
came. Before the dark times. Before the sorcerer.” His face
darkened. “The sorcerer was the adviser for a great king and his
wife. He enchanted the king, killed his beautiful queen, and stole
their treasures.”
“Sorcerer?”
Luke frowned. “I heard that rumor, too. People are saying that an
evil sorcerer from the clouds is responsible for the drought. Some
kind of curse on the land and the royal family. Leia says it's
nonsense. We just haven't had rain in a long time.”
The
old man continued to inspect the cow, walking around her to check her
haunches. “What do you think, young man?”
Luke
shrugged. “I don't know what to think. All I know is, I wish there
was a way we could make more money, or that I at least could get some
water for my garden. We haven't eaten anything besides old, hard
bread in days.”
“I
think I have the answer to your problems.” Ben reached into the his
cart. He pushed several pots and pans aside before emerging with a
small burlap bag. “These are very special beans, lad. If you plant
them in your garden, something magical will happen.”
“Magic
beans?” Luke peered at the bag in Ben's palm. “They don't look so
special to me.”
“They
will once you plant them.” Ben held the bag out to Luke. “Tell
you what. I'll trade you Artoo for these beans. Put them in the
ground as soon as you get home. They can grow in any soil, including
very dry soil, and they'll grow overnight. After they come up,” he
gave Luke a small smile, “you'll know what to do with them.”
Luke
shrugged. “What do I have to lose?” He gave Ben Artoo's lead.
“You'll take good care of her, right? You won't kill her, or harm
her in any way?”
“Not
at all. My knight order didn't believe in the slaughtering of
animals. I need her to carry some of my extra wares. She has a
stronger back than you might think and may make a good pack animal.”
Ben handed him the beans. “Don't forget, plant them as soon as you
return.”
“I
will!” Luke waved him off. “Thank you!”
“You're
welcome, young Skywalker.” Ben waved as the boy headed down the
road. He sighed and turned to the cow. “I know he'll understand
about the beans. I'm not so sure about his sister.” Artoo mooed her
agreement.
Luke
nearly skipped all the way home. He danced right into their front
door. “Leia!” He swung his surprised sister around as she was
setting the table for dinner. “You'll never guess what I got at the
market!”
“Dinner,
I hope.” Leia looked around him. “Luke, where are the groceries?
Didn't you bring any food home?”
“No,
but I got something even better.” He pulled the beans out of his
pocket. “Ben Kenobi, the old peddler in Theed Town, traded these to
me for Artoo. He says if I plant them, something magical will
happen!”
“Luke,
are you crazy?” Leia's pretty face turned beet red. “How could
you? I told you to sell Artoo and get the money! We can't live off
magic beans!”
Luke
shook his head. “Leia, listen. Ben says they'll grow overnight.
Think of all the beans we could have tomorrow!”
“If
they were real, which they probably aren't. That old man tricked you
to get our cow. Oh Luke, when will you ever learn not to trust every
person you see?” She grabbed the bag out of her brother's hand.
“Here's what I think of your silly beans!” The angry girl flung
the bag out the window before her brother could stop her.
Luke
and Leia both went to bed hungry and out of sorts with one another.
Leia was still upset with Luke. She'd trusted him to go to town and
get food, and now they had no cow, no money, no nothing. How would
they live? Luke, for his part, was more disappointed that he'd lost
his best friend besides Leia. He'd probably never see Artoo again.
Luke
had a hard time sleeping that night. He swore he heard voices, two
male ones, a deep, deep bass and the slightly nasal tones of the
mid-western plains of the Kingdom of Corellia. Something about going
to the top and seeing what they could take. Thieves, Luke
thought. When he stuck his head out, though, all he could see was a
long dark shadow. He did wonder about the shadow, but he was tired.
He went back to sleep before he could think much about it.
What
neither of the twins knew was that the bag broke after Leia threw it.
The beans spilled onto the brittle soil in Luke's garden. They
quickly took root there. In the light of the moon, a stalk grew..and
grew...and kept growing. Two figures traveling by night were so
amazed, they took hold of the growing plant and climbed it to the
top.
Luke
knew none of this the next morning. All he knew was he was hungry,
lonely, and still a little annoyed with his sister. He was still
sleeping on his pallet of straw when a frantic voice and familiar
pair of tiny fingers shook his shoulders.
“Luke!”
Leia sounded genuinely shocked. “Luke, wake up! You've got to see
this! You're not going to believe it!”
Leia
and Luke quickly got dressed and hurried downstairs. The side of
their house with the window where Leia had tossed the beans was now
completely dominated by the tallest, widest, greenest beanstalk
either of them had ever seen. It was so tall, it's top pierced the
very clouds in the sky.
Luke's
sunny grin nearly split his face. “I told you Old Ben wasn't lying!
They are magical!” He raced to the bottom of the thick trunk and
took hold of a vine. “Come on! Let's go see what's at the top of
this thing.”
Leia
rushed after him. “Luke, be careful!”
He
shrugged. “What do we have to lose? Maybe there's gold or treasure
at the top.”
“Or
just clouds.” Leia finally started after him. “If you're going,
then I'm going, too. Someone has to keep an eye on you!”
They
climbed and climbed for what felt like hours. They stopped at least
twice to snack on beans the size of their fists and admire the view.
Enormous leaves and curling vines as long as rivers made quite
comfortable couches.
“You
know,” Luke mentioned as they started climbing again, “I swear I
heard voices outside last night. One was really deep. I didn't
understand it that well. The other kind of sounded Corellian.”
Leia
shook her head. “It was probably the wind. Nobody comes out to
these parts except for traders and wanderers passing through.”
Luke
got to the top first. He couldn't believe the sight his eyes met when
he arrived. “Leia,” he exclaimed, “oh Leia, you have to see
this!”
“I'm
coming!” Luke took his sister's hand and helped her onto the
clouds. To her surprise, she was able to stand easily on the clouds.
“How are we doing this?”
“Forget
the how.” Luke waved his hands at the beautiful world around them.
“Look at this! Everything is so green...and huge!”
Indeed,
it was as if all the water drained from Naboo had been pent up here.
The twins were surrounded by the most beautiful greenery they'd had
ever seen. Wildflowers like a rainbow carpet grew in abundance around
their feet. Trees with heavy, fat leaves rustled in the breeze. The
stalks of grass were as soft as moss.
“I
had no idea all this was up here!” Leia picked a wildflower. It
smelled as sweet as honey.
Luke
grinned. “I did.” He gently placed the flower in his sister's
ear. “I've dreamed about it for years.”
“There's
a reason for that, young Lord Luke.” The duo looked up as Old Ben
Kenobi shuffled between the trees. He held a long, straight staff.
“This was originally your home.”
Leia
pushed protectively in front of Luke. “Who are you? How do you know
who we are?”
“That's
Old Ben, the man I sold Artoo to.” Luke hurried over to the
gentleman. “Where's Artoo? Is she all right?”
“Artoo
is fine. She's grazing outside my cottage.” He bowed before the
duo. “Permit me to explain myself.” Their eyes widened as the old
man pulled a long sword out of the wooden staff case. “My real name
is Sir Obi-Wan Kenobi, of the Kingdom of the Sun Clouds. I was once
the knight and adviser for the head of the kingdom, Lady Padme and
Lord Anakin. They were good and kind rulers, who used their vast
wealth to aid their people.”
Luke
gulped. “What happened to them?”
Obi-Wan's
blue eyes became haunted. “Anakin fell under the influence of the
King of the Storm Clouds, an evil sorcerer named Palpatine. He
murdered the beautiful Lady Padme and put a powerful curse on Anakin
and their people. Anakin became the wicked giant Darth Vader, a great
hulking brute with a heart made of stone that can feel no love. Their
people were killed along with the lady, or trapped in the trunks of
trees.”
He
settled down on a large, flat rock by a glistening stream. “I was
the only one to escape the siege of the castle. Padme had just bore
twin children, a boy and a girl. Before she died, she entrusted them
to me for safekeeping. I took them to Anakin's half-brother and his
wife, simple farmers in the Land Below. I knew they would raise them
as their own.”
Luke's
blue eyes were wide. “Why didn't you tell us this before?”
“Owen
wanted me to have no contact with you. He blamed me for not
protecting his brother better and letting him fall so easily to
Palpatine's wiles.” Ben frowned. “Then, Palpatine attacked the
Land Below. It's he who ordered that drought. He's keeping all the
water in the cloud for himself and his followers.”
Leia
looked skeptical. “How could this be true? There's no such thing as
magic.”
Her
brother rolled his eyes. “Leia, we just climbed a beanstalk that's
taller than a mountain!” He turned to the older knight. “How can
we save our father and restore his treasures and his people?”
Ben
Kenobi sheaved his sword. “I'll take you to Twilight Castle,
Vader's home. His housekeeper, Ashoka, will be willing to help. She
was once the king's ward, but he forced her to become a servant when
Palpatine took over. She wants nothing more than for her guardian to
be himself again.”
The
castle was even taller than the beanstalk. It was the biggest
building any of them had ever seen. It was also the ugliest.
Crumbling gray stone walls were surrounded by a deep, murky moat.
Sharp towers stabbed black needles into the soft blue sky.
The
trio floated over to the castle on a boat made of a green leaf. They
used poles made of twigs to paddle their way across. When they
arrived, Ben lead them right to a heaven oaken door. He knocked hard
on it with his wooden scabbard.
Luke
gulped. “What if the giant answers it?”
“I
don't think he will. He's usually out at this time of the day.” Ben
gently pushed them away from the door as footsteps were heard. “This
should be her.”
The
person who opened the door was huge. She was the tallest person Luke
had ever seen. She was also not too old, and really quite pretty, in
her blue and white headscarf and brown caftan. The young woman held a
dusty rag in one hand that could have dusted the entire contents of
sixteen palaces down below. Her big blue eyes gazed down at them in
shock.
“Obi-Wan?”
Her red lips pursed with worry. “What are you doing here? I thought
you fled years ago! Palpatine's still trying to eliminate all of the
Knights of the Sun Clouds.”
“Hello,
Ashoka.” She scooped him in her palm and let him give her cheek a
kiss. “I told you I'd find help.” He put his arms around the
twins as soon as she put him back on the ground. “This is Luke and
Leia Skywalker. They're going to join us in restoring Anakin to his
former self and expelling Palpatine from the castle.”
The
woman shook her head. “Ben, I can't have them here. Skyg...Vader
eats youths for breakfast now. Those two would barely make an
appetizer. He already has one human in a bird cage in the dining hall
that he's planning to roast for supper, and there's another one who's
still at large.”
“Please,
madam,” Luke insisted. “We're terribly hungry. We haven't eaten
in days.”
“Of
course,” Leia added quickly, “we don't want to impose...”
The
woman looked thoughtful. “Skywalker...” She swept the trio into
her arms, her deep blue eyes staring intensely at the twins. “Any
relation to Lord Anakin Skywalker?”
Leia
nodded. “We're his children, or so Sir Kenobi told us. We only just
found out ourselves.”
The
blue eyes grew wider, like two great, stormy lakes. “The twins! Our
twins! We were told that you were killed with Lady Padme!” She held
the two to her breast and very gently hugged them. “I'm so glad
you're safe.”
“But
we won't be if we don't do something about Father.” Leia pulled
away from her caftan. “Where is he? And Palpatine? Isn't there
anything we can do to break the spell?”
“What
if we discussed that over lunch?” Ashoka set them down on the
longest, widest dining table Luke had ever seen. It was so long, they
couldn't see the end of it. It seemed to go on forever. The end of
the table was covered in all kinds of good food – fine cheese,
bread, sausages, hams, bacon, cups of wine and juice, fruits and
vegetables, desserts of every kind. “Eat hearty, kids. I'll just
tell Skyg...Vader that the mice got into it.”
Luke
gave her his sunniest grin. “Thank you!” He ran right for a bowl
of fruit salad and started stuffing one of the grapes in his mouth.
“This
is very kind of you, Miss Ashoka. Thank you!” Leia gave her finger
a hug, then went to eat a hunk of cheese.
Sir
Ben sat down on a spoon, cutting off a slice of bread for himself.
“Ashoka, there has to be a way we can all put our powers together
to defeat Palpatine.”
Ashoka
spread a thick slice of bread with a pat of butter as big as a hill.
“I don't know, Obi-Wan. I've tried everything I can think of,
including fighting him. That curse just won't come off.”
“Have
you tried talking to him?” Luke swallowed his mouthful of grape.
“Maybe he just needs to be reminded that he still has you and Ben,
and that Palpatine isn't his friend.”
“I've
tried dozens of times.” Ashoka shook her head. “He gets angry and
turns something into a tree or a footstool instead of listening.”
Obi-Wan
sighed. “That's Anakin. He never did have the best temper.” The
older knight cut a piece off a near-by sausage. “When's he coming
back, anyway? I want to get the children at least out of his sight
before he arrives.”
That
was when they heard the door open and the booming voice that shook
the castle. “Ashoka, where's my dinner? Did you finish roasting
those six oxen?”
The
woman in the scarf quickly finished her bread and butter. “Yes,
Master Vader. They're ready in the kitchen for you.” She pushed the
trio along, dragging Luke from his grapes. “I'll hide you in the
stove. I did the oxen in the fireplace in the kitchen. I haven't used
the stove since yesterday.”
Ashoka
took them off the table and tossed Luke and Ben in the iron stove.
She didn't see Leia tumble out of her hand and onto the floor. The
girl didn't have the time to duck away before a pair of long, black
legs strode into the dining hall.
“Ashoka,
why do I smell human?” He was the ugliest, most fearsome creature
Leia had ever seen. He wore heavy black robes and leather gloves,
with a mask covering his face. His breathing was labored and raspy,
and his voice shook the room. “I smell the blood of a child of Land
of the Clouds!”
“N...no,
Lord Vader.” Ashoka shook her head. “There's no children here.
Your children died when your wife did. You're probably just smelling
the oxen.”
“You're
lying, girl.” Vader reached out and slapped the young woman hard on
the cheek. “I don't like it when servants lie to me!” Ashoka
glared at him, but said nothing.
Leia
couldn't stand seeing anyone treated so badly. She went right over
and kicked Vader in the foot! “Leave her alone, you big bully!”
Vader
picked her up by the collar of her white peasant blouse. “What is
this?” He sniffed. “A human girl. I haven't had a human girl for
dinner in a long time.”
“Let
me go!” Leia struggled, swinging this way and that, her little
fists raised. “From what I've heard, you're just some lap dog to
Palpatine anyway. You have no right to abuse a servant!”
He
slammed his fist over the girl, leaving her breathless. Luke and Ben
watched in horror as he took a bird cage down from the high hook he'd
had it hanging on. He pulled out a big brass key, opened the door,
shoved Leia in, and locked the door again. They could vaguely see the
form of another human in the cage, a tall man in a dark vest.
“I'll
deal with these intruders myself.” He handed the cage to Ashoka.
“Take this to the kitchen. I'll eat them both as an appetizer with
supper.”
Ashoka
glared at him, but all she said was “Yes, Master Vader.” Leia
looked helplessly at the stove as the towering housekeeper took her
away from her beloved brother.
Luke
looked out in horror. “Ben, we have to rescue her! I'm not leaving
here without my father or my sister. I think I saw someone else in
the cage, too.”
“We'll
have to wait until Vader's occupied.” The older knight jumped as
more booming steps were heard in the hall. “There's also Palpatine
to consider. He's the most powerful sorcerer in the entire land. He
can take down whole armies with his dark magic lightning.”
“Vader!”
called a cackling voice that echoed off the stone walls. “Vader,
bring me my gold. I wish to count our wealth.”
He
was little more than a skeleton in a stiffing black cloak. Long, bony
white fingers and a stark white face were all that could be seen of
him. He sat at the long, polished table as Vader returned with a high
pile of small, lumpy sacks.
“Yes,”
the aged voice chuckled. “Yes.” The bony hands dumped out bag
after bag of gold coins that glittered wanly in the soft light.
“Between this and your hen, this is all the money we need to amass
an army and invade the Kingdom of Naboo in the World Below. Vader,
bring me the hen. I want to see her lay.”
Vader
did as he was told. He came in, carrying a tiny white bird on his
palm. She looked like any ordinary chicken to Luke. She had feathers,
and a yellow beak, and a red crest on top of her head. To be honest,
she did look rather frightened when Vader put her down in front of
Palpatine.
“Lay,
bird,” the old sorcerer demanded. “Lay, or we'll be having
chicken fricassee for dinner!”
To
Luke's shock, just moments after the poor, nervous fowl sat down,
something golden appeared under her. When she stood, a shiny gold egg
lay where she'd been. He'd never seen anything like it. His few
remaining hens lay ordinary white or brown eggs.
“Those
were your father's treasures,” Ben explained. “The gold and the
hen belonged to him and your mother. They kept the Kingdom of the Sun
Clouds prosperous and happy for many years. They're rightfully yours
and Leia's now.”
Luke's
eyes were fixed on the duo at the table. “How are we going to get
on the table?”
“Lady
Tano,” demanded Palpatine, “I wish for some refreshment while I
count. Bring my apprentice and me two glasses of our favorite wine.”
Ashoka
entered a few minutes later with two glasses of rich burgundy wine
and a blue bottle on a blue enamel tray. “Here you go, masters.”
She set the tray on the table between them, right next to the hen. “I
made it with mulled spices, just the way you like it.”
“Thank
you, girl.” Palpatine took the cup first. Vader sniffed his
suspiciously.
“Oh,
go ahead, Sky...Master Vader.” Ashoka gave him a rather sly smile.
“It won't kill you.”
“It
had better not.” Vader managed to lift his visor long enough to
down the entire contents. “If I die from this, every demon and dark
fairy in this land will be after your hide, girl.” Palpatine
continued sipping his.
After
only a few minutes, both men yawned. “I didn't know how sleepy I
was for this time of day.” Palpatine tried to stretch his bony
arms. “I suppose...a short nap...wouldn't hurt...”
Vader
started to stand, but his head was already nodding. “Master,
something was wrong...the wine...” His head dropped to the table
before he could finish that statement. Palpatine lay his head on his
thin hands, his cloak spreading over them. Snores that shook the
entire room emerged a minute or two later.
Ashoka
opened the oven door. “Hurry! Get the gold and the hen. I'll keep
an eye on them. The kitchen is in the next room. Leia and the thief
Vader caught earlier is in a bird cage hung on a hook from the
ceiling.” She rushed them along. “Go! The sleeping potion won't
last for very long.”
They
ran up the swirling carvings in the table legs, getting onto the top
of the table with a little help from Ashoka. The hen let out a loud
squawk at first. Luke had to calm her. “Easy, girl. We're going to
help rescue you and your people.” He turned to Ben, who had a bag
of gold under his arms. “Ben, what are we going to do about those
poor people in the trees? Not to mention, stop Vader and Palpatine
from invading the World Below.”
“Let's
get your sister and get the gold out of here first.” Ben's eyes
widened as the hen let out another squawk. “Then we'll figure out
what to do about Ana...Vader.”
“The
rest of the gold and the Golden Harp are in the Treasure Room.”
Ashoka gave them a small grin. “If you run, you'll never make it.”
She took a small wooden cart down from a shelf and tied a mouse to
the harness. “Here. This will get you where you need to go. The
kitchen is the next room over. The treasure room is at the very end
of the hall.” The hen chose to let out a very noisy cackle at that
moment. Vader's head jolted awake with a start. “Hurry little
mouse!” She handed Luke some cheese to dangle in front of it,
encouraging it to rush off just as Vader lifted his head from the
table.
Luke
looked over his shoulder as they dashed down the hall. He could hear
angry shorts and yelling from behind them. The cart was nearly
knocked off its wheels by two heavy booted feet raced after it. “Come
back here! I know that's you, Obi-Wan! You'll return my gold and my
hen, before I eat you and those thieves you brought for supper!”
The
poor mouse was so frightened, it darted into the nearest mouse hole
rather than for the kitchen. “No, mouse, don't!” Luke tried to
pull it to the other side, but the poor creature wouldn't listen. It
got into the hole just in time. They barely avoided Vader's
leather-gloved fingers reaching out to smash them.
The
boy was sure that no road in Naboo had as many twists and turns as
that mouse hole! The mouse kept racing down, down, down. It was
pitch-black. A lot of the time, he couldn't see where they were
going. “Whoa, mouse, whoa!” Luke tugged on the reins. “Isn't
there any way to get her to calm down?”
Obi-Wan
leaned over, listening to the mouse chatter. “She's quite afraid of
Vader. He's ordered Ashoka to put out huge traps for her and her
family. She lost her mate and six of her thirteen children. She says
she knows a place where we'll be safe.”
Luke's
mouth dropped open. “You can talk to animals?”
“It's
part of the powers of a Sun Knight.” The older man chuckled. “I
suspect you might be able to as well, if you work on it. I know you
were able to communicate with Artoo.”
“Me?”
Luke shook his head. “I'm not a Sun Knight! I'm just a farmer.”
“That's
what your uncle told you.” Ben sighed. “He'd always said Anakin
should have stayed down below and not gotten involved with the
knights' quests here.”
The
mouse finally pulled into an enormous room. Chests overflowing with
gold and precious jewels covered the floor. The shelves groaned with
trunks of silver coins and ancient armor. A golden harp with what
appeared to be a rather crude, angular figure of a man carved into
the front sat on one shelf.
“Master
Kenobi!” the harp called from the shelf. “I'm so glad to see you,
and all of you! You've all come to rescue me!”
“Hello,
Threepio.” Ben chuckled as they climbed out of the cart. “It's
good to see you again, too. Are Vader and Palpatine taking good care
of you?”
“They
don't take care of me at all, sir.” Threepio sniffed. “Lady Tano
is the one who tunes my strings and polishes my body. They only
demand that I sing for them or have conversations with them. Though I
can't imagine why. Every time I say something they even remotely
disagree with, they threaten to pull out my strings! Can you imagine
the nerve? And Master Vader used to be such a good, appreciative man.
He was the one who made me. He thought his dear old mother Lady Shmi
might want some music to ease her sorrow after his father died.”
“He...it...”
Luke's jaw dropped open. “The harp talks!”
The
golden man sounded quite annoyed. “Of course I talk, sir! What else
would a harp do?”
“Shut
up occasionally, mate.” A tall, muscular man in a heavy tunic, a
bandoleer and crossbow slung over his shoulder, stepped out from
behind a chest of pearls. “All you've done since I've bloody gotten
'ere is talk me ear off! I just wanted directions to the kitchen.”
His beard was so thick, it was hard to tell it apart from the
shoulder-length chestnut mane.
“Who
are you?” Luke reached for a knife with a sapphire-encrusted handle
in one of the chests. “What are you doing here?”
“Name's
Chewbacca, mate.” The big man easily swung down from a tapestry,
carrying Threepio on his back. “Me and me partner Han Solo are
thieves. We saw this crazy beanstalk growin' in the middle of the
night an' thought we'd investigate. Snuck in the castle through a
mouse 'ole. Some over-sized piece of walkin' metal 'ad a hen that
laid golden eggs sittin' on his table. Do you know how much a solid
gold egg would bring in the markets in Naboo?”
“I
can imagine,” Ben said dryly. “What happened to your friend?”
The
blue eyes under all Chewbacca's hair darkened. “The walkin' tin can
caught Han when we were tryin' to escape. I shot at the giant, but it
didn't do no good. The armor's too thick. I ran in a mouse hole
instead an' got lost. Ended up down 'ere. Ain't no one 'ere to give
me directions but this bloke.” He poked at the harp. “An' all 'e
does is go on an' on about what a splendid chap 'e is.”
Luke
frowned. “I know how you feel. Vader and Palpatine have my sister,
too. I think we saw your friend when Vader locked her in the bird
cage.” That was when he remembered something. “That was you! I
heard someone climbing the beanstalk last night. I thought I was
hearing things.”
“Right you are, li'l mate.” Chewbacca set Threepio and several bags of jewels in the cart. “That beanstalk of yours was bloody 'ard to resist. I knew we should have continued to town, but Han said 'you ain't gonna see that again' and insisted we go.”
“Right you are, li'l mate.” Chewbacca set Threepio and several bags of jewels in the cart. “That beanstalk of yours was bloody 'ard to resist. I knew we should have continued to town, but Han said 'you ain't gonna see that again' and insisted we go.”
Luke
took the reins. “Ben, ask Miss Mouse if she knows the way back up
to the main floor. We'll need to find our way out of here.”
Ben
and Miss Mouse exchanged several squeaks for a moment, before the
older man turned to them. “She says there's a shortcut around the
dungeon areas and through the parlor rooms. It shouldn't take long.”
It
actually took a little bit longer to get back up than it did to get
down. They had someone else riding with them, not to mention more
weight in the back. Luke was very worried about his sister. What if
Vader had already eaten her? Not to mention, Ben had said Vader was
his father...but he was more like a monster now than a parent. How
could he restore him? He wasn't a knight, like Ben.
They
came into the kitchen through a hole next to the fireplace. Luke had
never seen such a big kitchen! The shelves groaned with dishes the
size of fields. Long bunches of herbs and garlic hung on the walls.
As in the dining hall, the table seemed to go on for miles, covered
with every food Luke had ever seen.
The
bird cage sat on the table, next to the flour and a giant carving
knife. Leia was trying to open the cage with an arrow the other human
in the cage handed her. He was tall and handsome, with messy
reddish-brown hair and a rather lopsided smirk.
Luke
got out of the cart first. “I have to get to my sister! Leia!” He
was so excited, he started towards the cage without thinking. Ben and
Chewbacca hurried after him, Chewie carrying the harp on his back.
“Luke!”
Leia looked up as her brother managed to get to the top of the table.
“You're all right!” She'd just managed to pry the lock open when
he arrived.
“Chewie?”
The man's grin got wider as the remaining duo came after them.
“What's with the giant music box?”
“Nice
to see you too, Han.” Chewbacca dropped Threepio on the table. “He
could tell us how to get out of here.”
“Ouch!”
The harp's strings waved, letting out several discordant notes. “You
could treat me a little better, you mop-headed ape!”
Chewbacca
growled. “You'll be lucky if I don't pluck out all your strings for
that remark, mate.”
“Look
folks, this is a bad time to argue,” Ben began.
“I
agree.” Leia started towards the table. “We have to get out of
here, before Father returns.”
“Father?”
Han's hazel eyes widened. “Those giants are related to you?”
Luke
nodded. “Only one of them, but yes.” He turned to his sister.
“Leia, we can't leave him like this, or all these poor people. And
what about Ben, and Ashoka?”
Han
waved his hands, frowning. “Oh no. I'm not gettin' involved in any
of this. Chewie n' me just came up here to check things out, not to
fight giants.”
“Mate,
they need our help.” Chewbacca pulled out his mechanical crossbow.
“That giant probably weren't always like that, if 'e's their dad.”
“Right
you are, Chewbacca.” He turned to Luke and Leia. “You two are the
only ones who can truly save him. The spell can only be broke by an
act of love that will break the stone around his heart.”
“How
can we do that?” Leia shook her head. “We can't even reach him!”
They
all wobbled on the table as the pounding of giant feet were heard
outside the kitchen door. Han couldn't help his small grin when Leia
was tossed into his arms. “Well, you better figure it out quick,
Princess, 'cause here comes Ugly.”
Leia
glared at him. “I am NOT a princess!” She didn't have the chance
to try to hurt him. They all made for hiding places behind various
cans and bowls of food. Han and Chewie tried to take the harp with
them, but it was too awkward to carry. They didn't make it before
Vader stormed into the kitchen.
“I
smell the blood of World Below humans!” the giant bellowed. “When
I find them...” He turned his visor on Han and Chewbacca. “You
thieves!” Luke and Leia watched in horror from a bowl of apples as
Vader scooped the duo into his hands. “You're the ones who tried to
take my hen!”
“Hey,
hey, pal, we're not even stealing it this time!” Han complained.
“Yeah,”
Chewie added. “We're just movin' it. No 'arm done.”
“This
is true, Master Vader.” Threepio's strings rippled. “They're not
trying to steal me. Actually, they just wanted directions out of the
castle. I would have been more than happy to give it to them. They
weren't really bad about it at all. Well, perhaps that hairy ape
could have carried me a little better, but...”
“Silence!”
Vader took the harp's strings between his fingers. “I want you to
play beautiful music for me. I enjoy a good song while I eat.” He
turned towards the fireplace. “I'm going to roast these two slowly
over an open fire. They might make a rather enjoyable appetizer.”
“Aw,
come on, Ugly.” Han tried to give him one of his lazy smiles. “You
don't want to eat us. I'm too skinny. No dark meat. And Chewie has
too much hair. You'd probably hack up a fuzz ball.”
Luke's
eyes widened. “How are we going to get them down from there?”
Leia
sighed. “He may have flirted outrageously when we were in the cage,
but even he doesn't deserve to be roasted.” She waved her hand at
Threepio. “Psst! Hey!”
The
golden harp looked over his shoulder, surprised. “Young lady, I
think you're in the wrong place. You don't at all resemble an apple!”
“We
need you to distract Vader while we get Han and Chewie.” She nodded
at Vader, who had thrown a heavy clay bowl over Han and Chewie while
preparing herbs to toss in his stew pot.
“That's
right,” Luke added. “Play a lullaby or a really boring song. Put
him to sleep.”
Ben
popped his head out from behind the bowl. “Not only is that a good
idea, but I'll help it along.”
“Very
well.” Threepio made his strings ripple into a beautiful, calming
melody. “As long as he doesn't really decide to pull out all my
strings!”
Vader's
head began to nod. Within a few minutes, his head lulled to one side,
and his breathing became slightly raspy snores. Luke had to admit, he
was feeling a little drowsy himself...until Leia smacked his arm.
“Come on!” She pointed to Vader as his head lulled.
“Wow.”
Luke's mouth dropped open as Leia helped him out. “I'm impressed.
He can sleep standing up!”
“Shh!”
Leia nudged her brother. “Vader might hear us.”
The
pounding of small fists could be vaguely heard through the thick
bowl. “Get us out of here!” The bowl moved slightly, as if
something had run into it. “Chewie,” Han said in exasperation,
“this clay must be at as thick as you are. I don't think we're
gonna get out that way.”
Luke
looked around, finally grabbing a table knife. “Leia, Ben, help me
get this under here.” It took all three of them and Chewie and Han
lifting the bowl as best they could to finally get it up. Even then,
they were only able to move it just long enough for Han and Chewie to
duck out.
“Ok,
great. Thanks.” Han reached for one of the bags of gold. “Let's
get this stuff out of here, before Ugly realizes he's passed out.”
Chewbacca
and Ben raised the harp. “Oh, do be careful,” Threepio fretted.
“I don't want to crack anything!”
Ben
patted him. “You'll be fine, old friend.”
They'd
barely made it across the table and down to the floor when blinding
purple lightning lit up the entire kitchen. Ashoka went flying
through the door, hitting the back of the wall. She crashed through a
shelf of pots and pans, falling unconscious to the floor.
“Vader,”
the ancient sorcerer hissed, “your...ward...drugged both of us. I
want her eliminated at once!”
“Anakin,
no...” Ashoka tried to pull out of the pile of pots. “You're
not...like that...”
Palpatine
saw movement out of the corner of his eye. “Vader!” He shot the
ground under his apprentice's feet, making him jump. “Those
thieves! And...” he squinted “...Sir Obi-Wan Kenobi. I thought I
felt him. We were told you were dead.”
Vader
blocked their way. “The circle is now complete, Obi-Wan. When we
last encountered each other, I was a mere human noble, and you were a
great knight. Now I'm the true master.”
“Only
a master of evil.” Luke watched in horror, ignoring Leia tugging on
his shoulder. Obi-Wan pulled a blue-steel sword from under his cape.
“If you destroy me here, I'll become more powerful than you could
possibly imagine.”
“Noooo!”
Luke screamed. The moment Vader put his foot down over Obi-Wan, he
just...vanished. The younger man snatched the sword into his hands.
“What have you done? Where is he?”
“The
important question is,” Vader scooped the boy into his hand, “who
are you?”
He
looked up at the visor with his big eyes. “I'm Luke Skywalker.”
Palpatine
reached for him. “Skywalker? That name's quite familiar, isn't it?”
“That
name,” Vader hissed, “no longer has any meaning.”
The
boy in his hand shook his head. “It's your true self, Father.”
Palpatine
was blocking the door. Han pulled the reins on the mouse, trying to
veer towards the right, but the cart was laden with gold and a harp
and wasn't moving as well as it did before. He just barely skirted
the lightning that shot from the sorcerer's fingertips.
“What
are you doing?” Han protested as Leia grabbed a gold-handled knife
out of one of the bags. “We need that! We could get at least a
hundred credits for it!”
“We
need our lives more!” She hurled it at Palpatine with as much force
as she could muster. “Someone has to save our skins!” The knife
entered his leg right at his ankle, piercing the skin.
Palpatine
screamed, clutching his ankle. Vader went to him, holding onto Luke.
The boy pulled the knife he'd filched from the treasure room and
jabbed it into Vader's palm. The giant dropped him...but a hand
reached out and just got him before he hit the ground.
“You're
going to be all right, little one.” She put Luke in her pocket.
“I'm going to help you get out of here.”
“No,
you're not.” Vader stood back as Palpatine got to his feet. “I
want that boy. He'd be a great asset.”
“I'm
not going with you!” Luke leaned out of the pocket. “I want you
to restore Father. He's not a real giant!”
“I...”
Vader seemed confused. “Ward...Ashoka...what happened to my
children? After Padme...”
“We
didn't die, Father.” Leia called from the cart. “Ben took us to
the World Below.”
Ashoka
nodded. “We thought it was for the best.”
“No,
Vader!” Palpatine reached for Ashoka's pocket. “I want him! If
he's anything like you, he'll be another perfect giant! I'll have my
army yet!”
Vader
finally grabbed Palpatine's hand. “Don't do that. You won't be
getting anywhere.” He took Luke out of Ashoka's pocket and very
gently rubbed his back. “It's too late for me, son. Take your
sister and your friends and go. I'll deal with Master.”
Leia
looked up, worried. She and Han were both reaching for their bows and
arrows. “Luke, come on!”
“Yeah
kid,” Han added, “let's get out of here while Palpatine's down!”
Luke
gave his father's huge thumb a hug before he set him right next to
Leia on the cart. He rubbed her back as well. “Leia...my
daughter...”
“Will
we see you again, Father?” the young woman asked.
“More
than likely not.” Palpatine was nearly on his bleeding foot. “I
have to go. Be careful, children.”
Vader
and Ashoka turned to Palpatine just as Han flicked the reins again.
The mouse darted for another mouse hole in the hall, this one leading
straight to the drawbridge. Luke could hear crashing and the sound of
sizzling lightning, even as they made their way out and onto the
clouds.
They
took the drawbridge over the moat this time, racing as fast as they
could towards the beanstalk. “Oh my,” moaned Threepio. “I've
forgotten how much I simply hate traveling by cart! It makes my
strings wavery.”
“Well,
try to hold on, mate.” Chewbacca gave him a big grin full of large
teeth. “We're almost at the beanstalk. I hope you don't mind
heights. It's a long way down.”
The
top of the beanstalk continued to spire majestically into the clouds.
Luke sighed as Han pulled the cart up to the topmost leaf. “I wish
Ben could have come with us. I wish...I wish I could have saved him.”
Leia
put a hand on her brother's shoulder. “I wish it, too, but there
wasn't anything we could have done.”
“Yeah,
kid.” Han got off the cart with two bags of gold under his arm.
“Old man did what he did so we could have a future.”
Luke
sighed and gently put the hen under his arm. “You ok, girl?” The
hen gave him a nod and a slight cackle. “I hope you aren't afraid
of heights! We have a while until we get down there.”
Chewbacca
looked up as he slung the harp on his back. “I don't think we have
that much time, mate!” Purple lighting lit up the sky, cracking
open clouds and causing the white fluff under them to shake badly.
“We have to get down there as soon as possible!”
Leia
took the last bag of gold. “That's right, boys. We're going to have
to do this double-time.” She nearly fell onto Han as the ground
shook again. Loud, angry voices boomed behind them.
Han
grinned at her. “Well, hello down there, princess.”
She
pushed him away. “Flirt later, when we're on the ground.”
It
took a lot less time to get down the beanstalk than it did to climb
up it. Luke couldn't help noticing as they decended that, for the
first time in months, the clouds looked dark and threatning...enough
for rain. “Leia,” he yelled down to his sister, “we have to
move. I don't think we want to get caught in a storm on this thing!”
“Master
Luke is correct.” Threepio's strings glided up and down in a
shudder. “This beanstalk would likely be a huge lightning rod. I
alone could be a magnet for electrical discharges.”
Chewbacca
groaned. “Good to know, mate. Next time, Han carries you.”
Suddenly,
the beanstalk began to shake violently. More lightning sizzled above
them. “I'm coming for you, children!” Palpatine hissed. “I'll
have you as giants yet!”
Luke
grinned up at him. “You have to catch us, first!”
Han's
eyes widened. He was just barely able to hang on to a leaf. “Vader's
coming, too!” He pointed to the black armor that gleamed in the
light of the storm.
Leia
was almost at the bottom. “Hurry! The storm's getting closer!”
Indeed, thunder rattled the earth under the beanstalk, shaking every
leaf on the plant and under them.
It
had just started to shower when Luke made it to the ground. Leia was
already there, having rushed inside their cottage to stash the gold.
Han and Chewbacca quickly followed after. She ran back out with an ax
and a large cutting knife. “Luke, go get the saw,” she ordered.
“We have to get that thing down!”
“Are
you crazy?” Han heard her as he jumped off the last leaf. “That's
our ticket to unlimited riches up there!”
Luke
frowned. “And what about Father and Ashoka?”
“What
about our lives?” Leia grabbed Luke's hand. “I wish we could have
gotten to know Father and Ashoka, Luke, but they made their choice.
They belong in the Kingdom of the Sun Clouds. We belong here,
together.”
“I
agree.” Chewbacca slid of the last leaf, which was by now soaking
wet. “If we don't do something soon, those giants may come down
here and decide to tear apart the bloody countryside. This land has
seen enough trouble.”
Han
grabbed both twins by their collars, yanking them all back as
Chewbacca darted for the house with Threepio. “Uh, you guys might
want to give Palpatine some room. He's coming down.”
Indeed,
even as they looked up, the sky continued to darken. Purple lightning
swirled around the ancient sorcerer. Vader picked him up as if he
were a child's toy and hurled him into the Dark Star Mountains
between Naboo and Alderaan. He landed there with a great crash that
almost drowned out the storm and shook them off their feet. He landed
so hard, ground piled up around him, imprisoning his body in a new
stone cliff, the Sith Ridges.
Chewbacca
came back with the ax, saw, and a heavy, sharp knife. “Don't
forget, mate, there's still a giant up there. You saw what he did to
his master.”
Luke
and Han took either side of the saw, pushing back and forth with all
their might. Chewbacca handled the ax. Leia sliced at tendrils of
vines with the knife. The storm soaked them all through and made the
stalk slippery, but little by little, their blades sliced through the
green fibers.
It
wasn't until he and Han had almost finished cutting that Luke's eyes
moved up to the storm. He expected to see a giant clutching the
leaf...but to his surprise, he saw an ordinary man in a slightly
tattered cloak. “Leia...” he started, “there's someone up
there!”
“Too
late!” Leia took her brother's arm as Chewbacca and Han gathered
their tools. “The beanstalk is falling!”
Han
couldn't resist adding a mischievous “Timberrr!” as they dashed
for the safety of the twins' farmhouse. When the stalk landed, it
made a noisy thud that matched the last of the thunder. To everyone's
surprise but Luke's...the body that crashed to the ground after it
was that of a normal man, not a giant.
“Father!”
Luke rushed out. “Father, I'm so sorry. We didn't know...”
“Luke.”
The older man reached up and held his son's hand. “I
realized...that you were right. I couldn't let...Palpatine have
you...or Leia.”
Leia
emerged on his other side. He reached for her hand. “Daughter,”
he wheezed. “You're like your mother...just as beautiful...as
strong...” The older Skywalker gazed into his son's blue eyes. “
Ashoka...she's fine...she'll be a good ruler.” He smiled at his
children. “You were right about me. If you see Ashoka...tell
her...you were right.” He died in their arms, the last things he
felt being his son's tears.
The
twins hugged and hugged one another, sobbing. Han frowned and finally
put his arms around both of them. “I'm sorry, kids,” he murmured.
“At least the old guy did the right thing in the end.”
“That's
right, mates.” Chewbacca emerged from the farmhouse. “You saved
him, and rescued his treasures. I think that's all he really wanted.”
He laughed, throwing his arms around the trio. “You cubs, you!
It'll be all right.”
Luke
sniffled. “Do you think so?”
Leia
managed to smile at her brother. “I know so.”
Indeed,
it was. The bags of gold were more than enough to pay for repairs to
the farm and Luke's garden and buy a whole new herd of cows. Luke was
even able to get Artoo back. Between the prosperous farm and their
gold-laying hen, the twins never wanted for money ever again.
They
buried Anakin Skywalker in the green fields behind their house. Luke
brought flowers to the headstone, which simply read, “With Padme
and Obi-Wan again.”
On
dark, stormy nights, the people of Naboo still say that strange
purple lightning can be seen in the Dark Star Mountains, lightning
created by the Wicked Sorcerer of the Sith Cliffs. He became a
legendary figure, often used to frighten children into behaving.
Han
Solo and Chewbacca had originally planned to go on their way...but
something always kept them around. There were repairs to make to the
farm, and golden eggs, not to mention butter, milk, and cheese, to
sell. Han helped Leia with all business matters. Chewbacca tended to
the buildings and kept Threepio oiled and in good condition.
Threepio, for his part, was just happy to be back in the hands of
people who cared about him and enjoyed his chatter and occasional
concerts.
That
huge storm lead to a series of storms, the first in Naboo in nearly
two years. It refilled the lakes and rivers and helped the country
become green and beautiful again. The people flourished, happily
buying Han and Leia's dairy products and Luke's vegetables.
Ashoka
Tano became the new ruler of the Kingdom of the Sun Clouds.
Palpatine's death released the people from their tree prisons. The
female giant never saw the twins again, and she often thought of
them, but she was happy to be able to aid her people.
As
for Luke and Leia, they lived happily ever after, with their beloved
farm and their new, dear friends.
The
End
