Beauties and the Frogs, Part 6

The next few months passed quietly. Leia and the girls continued to have dreams, though not as many as they had in the summer and fall...then, they fell off all together. Perhaps it was just as well, Leia decided. Han remained silent in the dream world. Every time she would lean over to kiss him, or get a closer look, he vanished into thin air.

Besides, she was almost starting to enjoy her time here. Under his prickly hide, Harold hid a soft and gentle heart. The girls had begun to think of him almost as a spiny second father. He used his spines to help Rey clip the last of the roses. He helped Jessika and Poe mend much of the broken furnishings, and even clean the mucky basement. Kaydel and Snap were highly amused by his croaking to their favorite tunes.

Christmas was one of the most pleasant Leia had known in years. The young people spent over a month making them small gifts from bits and pieces found around the house and grounds. Chewbacca made them a massive feast of roasted quail sausage, apple biscuits, and nuts from the trees on the edge of the gardens. The boys and girls brought in garlands of greenery and a yule log from the edge of the property, along with a small pine tree they decorated with nuts and cookies.

The most surprising gifts came from Harold. He spent much of the month sequestered in his room, barely coming out for meals. He barely even saw Leia in the library. She knew he was up to something. His bulging eyes showed with delight every time he went downstairs, and his webbed hands were always covered in ink.

Along with their wrapped presents, there were eight rolled-up papers sitting in a pile on the floor by their tree on Christmas morning, each tied with a different color ribbon. Leia took her blue one as Harold stumbled into the living room. “Oh, it's a poem.” She squeezed his slimy hand. “Did you write these yourself?”

“Yes, I did.” Harold turned holly berry red under his spines. “I've always enjoyed it. I didn't know what I was going to give all of you until I thought of writing. I'm just a dumb frog, but this is something I can do.”

“I don't think you're dumb at all. This is so sweet!” Rey gave him a kiss on his cheek. “I didn't know you knew so many flower names.”

“I told him.” Finn grinned. “He asked me about a month ago. I thought there was a reason besides 'I'm just interested.'”

Kaydel smiled. “I think I could turn mine into a song.”

“I have instructions to make a new chair.” Jessika grinned. “I'll start it tomorrow.”

“Thank you, dear.” Leia smiled and tucked her poem into her pocket. “I'll keep mine here, where I can always reach it.” She hugged him as well as she could with his spines.

“You're welcome.” He managed as big of a slimy smile as a toad could have. “Sweetheart.”

Winter proved to be quiet and cozy. Harold and Leia spent their days in the library, arguing over books, periodicals, and the latest news from Alderaan. They laughed until their sides ached as they watched the girls and frogs, all dressed in their warmest clothes, chase each other in the snow and throw snowballs and make snow angels.

Sometimes, they'd even join them. Harold taught the girls how to make snowmen that never fell over and snowballs that wouldn't break until they hit their target. His servant knew where all the best spots in the lake were to go ice fishing. He threw snowballs down Leia's back, to her annoyance and the delight of their wards.

Only two persistent worries marred Leia's happiness. The first was her duties in Alderaan. The letters that came from the Millennium Palace were full of frustration and sadness. Luke reported that the barricades were still in place, and that Snoke refused to relent in the First Order Clan burning villages. The villages of Hosnia and Jakku had been burned to the very ground, with most of the adults left for dead and the children and few remaining adults taken as slaves.

The other was Harold. He continued to ask her to sleep with him every night the entire winter long. She couldn't. Not only because he wasn't her species, or because of his spines. She'd long ceased to even really think of him as an amphibian. She couldn't because he wasn't her husband. He wasn't Han. Sleeping with another man would be betraying him, especially now that she knew he was alive.

She was, however, beginning to wonder about Harold. He could still be prickly, keeping to his bedroom for days. Most of the time, he was charming and kind. His observations weren't brilliant, but they were sensible. All six of the children admired him. He helped Rey shovel snow, listened to Kaydel's piano playing, laughed at Snap's jokes, comforted Finn when he was frightened, and helped Jess and Poe repair simple objects.

“I'm really worried about Harold,” Finn observed one afternoon in late February. It was unusually warm for the time of year. The snow had begun to melt, revealing the tiny heads of the first crocus popping out of the damp earth. “He's been trying so hard to woo Miss Leia, but he's been so angry, they've been arguing more than usual.”

“He has been cranky lately, even for him.” Rey shoveled old vegetable peelings onto the earth. “I guess it's because we'll be leaving in a few weeks.” She sighed. “I'm going to miss this place.”

“Do you have to leave?” Finn's pouted as well as a toad could. “I love having you here. You and your sisters and Miss Leia.” The brown skin around his lips turned a little red. “Especially you. Your so nice. You've taught me so much about gardens! I just...I wish...”

“I like you too, Finn,” she said softly, taking his hand. “I think...I think you're wonderful. You're the nicest, sweetest boy I've ever met.”

“Boy?” Finn's bugling eyes got even wider. “But I'm a toad. I know I'm ugly. You can't even touch me without wiping your hands off, I spend a lot of time eating flies and keeping my skin moist, and I'm really, really ugly. I mean, I like you too. I even love you....”

Rey put a finger on her mouth, her own eyes surprised. “You...love me?” He nodded once. “I think I love you, too. I don't care what you look like. And you know, I don't think my sisters do, either. I've heard Jess talking about staying here and helping Poe with the horses, and Kaydel and I are trying to figure out more about this spell.”

“But that's just it!” Finn was jumping up and down with agitation, looking more and more like a jumpy toad. “If Harold doesn't sleep with a human woman by the time the first spring flower blooms, we'll be half-frogs like this forever! S...he...” he stumbled over his words. “He'll...make...us...s...slaves...”

“He? He who?” Finn shook his head. “You probably can't tell us that, either. Why is it so important that Mother sleeps with Harold?”

“That's part of the spell.” Finn was jumping all over the garden now. “He has to eat with a human woman for a year, then sleep with her, then kiss her. She has to do it herself, too, without being forced.”

Rey shook her head. “She's still in love with her husband, but we haven't had those dreams for months.” She sighed. “I guess they really were just dreams. They seemed so real! And Finn...he was so sweet...” She looked up at him. “Finn. Your name is Finn. The top of your head...” She ran her hand over the black markings on his head. “Like his hair. There's just something about you. Harold, too. And Snap, and Poe.”

“Thank you, for calling me a prince.” Finn smiled at her. “Maybe you'll...kiss me? Would you, if you were the prince in your dream?”

“I don't know.” Now Rey was the one who couldn't help blushing. She dug her shovel into the compost pile. “Why don't we work on the flowers? Might help us think of a way to bring Mother and Harold together.”

Finn nodded. “Right.” He hopped over to the shed, but he felt like his heart was breaking. We don't have much time. The Master has to get Miss Leia into bed with him, but he'll never do it if he was making her too angry to see the truth.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It was early March, about two weeks later, when the six young people sat down in the living room to luncheon. They'd invited the hairy servant to join them. They needed his input on Harold.

“Here ye, here ye.” Poe banged a meat mallet on the table. “This meeting of the Deckard Manor Improvement Society will now come to order.”

Finn raised a webbed hand. “Poe,” he said, “I think we ought to do something special to celebrate the ladies having lived here for almost a year. Maybe a big party, with a fancy dinner and dancing and new outfits.”

“There's lots of pretty fabric and fancy old clothes in the attic.” Kaydel beamed excitedly. “I could make those over into ball costumes.”

“And we could play the music.” Snap waved a webbed hand at Kaydel. “We've been practicing.”

“Poe and I could decorate,” Jessika added. “Chewie, you could help. You're the tallest.” Chewbacca roared his agreement.

“We'll dance and let Leia and Harold have a fancy dinner.” Poe grinned. “Kay, Snap, and I could play for them. It'll be really intimate and romantic. We'll get Harold spiffed up and everything.”

“If you can get Harold cleaned up, we'll make the fanciest dress we can for Mother.” Kaydel grinned. “She'll be so beautiful, she'll blow him away.”

“And he'll be so handsome,” Poe added, “she'll forget his spines and grumpiness and see him as someone she can love.”

“And sleep with.” Jessika sighed. “I almost wish Mother would fall in love with him. We don't know if the men in those dreams are real or not. The look in her eyes every time her husband disappears in her dreams...”

Kaydel nodded. “If she had Master Harold, maybe she wouldn't be so sad.”

“They could take care of each other.” Rey grinned and patted Finn's back before wiping the mucus off her fingers. “And the spell will be broken.”

“And the Master loves her.” Finn sighed. “He's told me often enough. I think it breaks his heart that she only sees him as a friend. He badly wants it to be more.”

“Then it's settled.” Poe hit the mallet on the table again. “We'll make it a week from today, the day before you girls are scheduled to leave. And we have to keep it secret from the Master and Miss Leia. Don't let on what you're doing. Not even you, Chewbacca,” he added, pointing his mallet at the towering furry creature. It nodded its head, managing a smile under the russet fur.

“In that case, let's get going.” Rey jumped out of her chair. “Come on, Jess. Let's go figure out where the decorations are going to go.”

Kaydel headed towards the stairs to the attic. “I'll start working on the dresses.”

Finn frowned as the boys stood. “Do you think this will work, Poe? If the Master can't get her into bed with him...”

“It has to.” Poe rubbed the side of his slimy green head. “I wish that spell over us wasn't so strong. If only we could tell her who he really is...”

“But we can't. We've tried.” Finn rubbed his friend's back. “We can only help them along. Every time we try to tell them, the black magic stops us.”

“It'll be all right.” Snap grinned. “They're smart girls, and Miss Leia loves the Master. She'll figure it out, and we'll be as we were.”

Poe sighed. “I hope so.” He managed to give them a shaky grin. “Well, what are we all standing around here for? We have a party to plan!”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Leia knew their charges had something planned to celebrate their first year at the manor. Every time one of them passed her or Harold, they'd giggle or snicker and hurry along. Rey and Finn's arms were always filled with flowers Rey had nurtured in the tiny greenhouse on the edge of the manor property. Jessika and Poe's arms were always filled with silk streamers, ropes of ivy and pine, and piles of old planks and tools. Kaydel's arms were filled with old gowns and jackets and bits of lace, ribbon, and shiny trim. When Snap wasn't acting as a dressmaker's dummy for her, he was in the music room, pounding away at some song or the other.

Harold had no idea what they were doing, either. “Let them alone,” he insisted when Leia tried to peek in the ballroom. “It's keeping them out of trouble.”

“It's very vexing that they won't tell me what's going on,” she huffed. “Even Chewbacca seems to be in on it. I've seen him out hunting game in the woods in the back of the property and trying to hide his kill when he thinks I'm looking.”

“As long as they're not hurting anyone, there could be no harm in it.” Harold chuckled. “Let them have their fun. Come on, let's have our tea in the library.” He took her hand. “I'll miss our chats over tea and books. You make even me sound smart, sweetheart.”

Leia shook her head. “You're smarter than you think. You're practical and plain-spoken, if a bit of a grouch. That's no crime. There are kings and noblemen I know who don't possess half your kindness or noble heart.”

“Yeah, well,” Harold took her hand quickly, “that tea won't drink itself. Let's go.” Even as he pulled her into the library, two froggy guffaws and two human giggles could be heard from the door to the ballroom down the hall.

~*~*~*~*~*~

A week later, Leia was wearily climbing the stairs to her room. She really needed to finish packing the small trunk she was sharing with the girls. Harold told them they could keep the dresses Kaydel had repaired or made from the older fabric, along with some of the older antiques that could be sold or bartered for things they needed at home.

There was a light flickering in her room when she trudged through the door. She wondered who left it on. It wasn't her. She'd been downstairs all day, helping Harold pack the antiques. Giggles floated down the hall as a fluttering bit of pale blue fabric ducked into a closet.

The candle illuminated the most beautiful old gown she'd ever seen. Though it had the standing lace collar and puffed lace sleeves of a century ago, the gold embroidery and wide forest green velvet skirt were more recent. There was a lacy petticoat, a tiara trimmed with tiny diamonds, a gold and crystal bead necklace, and even green shoes with golden buckles.

“Surprise!” The girls, all of them in fine gowns of ecru and soft pink and pale blue, burst into the room.

“Oh...oh girls...did you make this for me?” Her fingers trailed down the jade beads on the bodice. “It's exquisite!”

“I did the most on it.” Kaydel beamed. “Rey helped me with the embroidery, and Jess found the shoes and jewelry in a closet upstairs.”

“Girls, I don't know what to say.” Leia put her arms around all her daughters. “This is the nicest present anyone has ever given me.”

Kaydel leaned into her adopted parent's embrace. “You're welcome, Mother.”

“Well, what are we standing around here for?” Rey lead her mother to the lacquered changing screen from Japan. “We have to make Mother into the most beautiful queen in all the land!”

~*~*~*~*~*~

The boys escorted them to the ballroom at 6 PM sharp. The ragged trousers and shirts they sported to cover their sensitive skin in the winter had been replaced with the finest brocade and velvet suits they could pull out of the attic. She knew Kaydel's work instantly in the older wide sleeves and doublets that had been lengthened to be made more fashionable and to fit the frogs more easily. Poe was resplendent in deep orange, Snap in navy blue, and Finn in a thick chocolate brown velvet.

Harold stood and waited for her at the top of the staircase. She bowed before him. “You look so handsome, my liege.” His heavy black brocade vest and trousers were made thick enough for the spines to not poke through. Someone even found him a crown. Bulging hazel eyes shown with amusement. “My queen.” He kissed her hand. “You look...you're pretty tonight.”

She laughed. “Now you remind me of my Han. He was never much good at compliments. I don't think he'd had many women in his life before he met me.” She dropped a sweeping curtsy. “You look every bit as much of a king as he is.”

He managed to bow deeply. “Thank you, Your Worship.” Chewbacca lead them to a small table, richly dressed in purple satin. Spring flowers from the greenhouse, violets and crocus and spicy-scented hyacinth, decorated their table and were tucked into ivy and pine ropes. Poe and Jessika set it with their very best china plates and freshly-polished silver.

“This is lovely.” Harold pulled out the heavy oak chair for Leia. “Thank you.” She settled down, then let him settle down as Chewbacca and Jessika brought them their first course, a rich vegetable soup with cream taken from the old cow in the barn. There was a rabbit roasted in the fire, potatoes and carrots pulled up from the cellar and seasoned with herbs from the greenhouse, and a delicious cake flavored with the jellies Leia and Rey had jarred in the fall.

As they were finishing the cake, Poe bowed before them. “And now, Miss Leia, Master, we give you, a dance recital.”

As Kaydel sat at the old harpsichord, Leia was surprised to see Poe pick up a lute. He had a clear, rich voice under that croak that went well with the vibrant old stringed instrument. They played a lively tune as the other four performed the steps. It was clear they'd practiced, maybe for weeks. Only Snap was any kind of dancer, but the others didn't stumble too badly, and indeed, looked like they were having the time of their lives.

Leia sipped a full-bodied red wine that Chewbacca had brought up from the cellar. “This is wonderful.” She smiled at Harold. “Did you plan this?”

“Not at all, sweetheart.” He gave her the laziest grin a horned toad could manage. “This is all the young people's doing. I was as in the dark as you were.”

“Sweetheart.” Leia looked straight into his eyes. “Han used to call me sweetheart. My husband. Before he...before he vanshed.”

Harold's smirk disappeared in an instant. “I can call you something else, Leia...”

“Oh, no. I like it.” She sighed. “I miss my husband...” Her eyes flicked over from the youngsters' dances. “But it's nice to have someone call me names again.” Her tender, pale hand went over the smooth side of his webbed one. “Harold,” she said softly, “I agree to sleep with you tonight.”

His hazel orbs bulged even wider than usual. “You...you do? You will?”

“Yes.” Her gentle smile was brighter than even the newly-dusted crystal chandelier over their heads. “It couldn't hurt. We only have a few days left. I really do like you. You're funny and gentle, and so much more intelligent than you give yourself credit for.”

“I'm not that smart.” The wide grin that spread across his spiked face was no longer grotesque to her. In fact, she found it rather endearing. “But thank you for saying so. I...maybe you'll give me a wake-up kiss tomorrow morning?”

“We'll see.” She stood as Kaydel and Poe moved into one of the plaintive old folk tunes from his native Yavin. “Would you like to dance, Master?”

He bowed and took her hand. “I don't know how good I'd be on these webbed feet, Your Worship, but I'll try.”

“As Luke's old tutor Yoda used to say, do, or do not. There is no try.” She took his hand. “I'll help you.”

The young women and frog and toad who were already dancing gave Harold and Leia room, moving in their own worlds.

“We'll be free by sunup, Rey!” Finn exclaimed. “And then you can see how gorgeous we are.”

Rey laughed. “You're already beautiful to me.” Finn remained as red as a beet for the rest of the dance.

~*~*~*~*~*~

They agreed that Harold would sleep in her bed, rather than her climbing all the way to the tower. Leia had just gotten into her night shift and ruffled cap when she heard the knock on the door. “Your Worship? You ready for bed?”

“Yes, I am.” She swung open the door, revealing a pair of spiny, thick frog legs hidden behind woolly blankets. “What's all this for?”

He dropped the blankets on the bed. “It's been cold the last few nights. I thought we might need the extra warmth.”

“That's very thoughtful of you, Harold.” He felt his knees wobble when she smiled at him. “Shall we turn in?”

“Uh, yes.” Harold scrambled under the covers. “I don't know about you, but I'm tired. It's been quite a day. I have to hand it to our children. The party was the most fun I've had in years.”

“Me too.” Leia slid in next to him. “Is there any way you could sleep on your side, with your stomach facing me? I would prefer not to be stabbed in the middle of the night.”

Harold did what she'd asked, turning on his side. “How's this, Your Worship?”

“Very good.” She leaned over and fell asleep, plunging the room into darkness.

She hadn't slept so well in months. It was nice to have another warm body in bed with her, even if it was a toad. His chest was smooth and surprisingly dry, like new leather boots. She didn't want to awaken when she heard an urgent voice yelling out their window.

Her eyes flickered open...to discover a spiny arm wrapped around her. Wisps of iron gray hair under her night cap clung to the skin of his belly. He looked so content for a toad, she was almost reluctant to dislodge him.

“Your Majesty!” Arthur, the diminutive squire of her brother Sir Luke, stood under her window on a stout pony. “We need you back at the castle right away. The Knights of Ren have laid siege to the Millennium Palace. They may already have taken Sir Skywalker.”

“What?!” Leia hurried to the window. “Arthur, is this true?” She barely noticed Harold coming up behind her, rubbing at his eyes. She could hear the voices of the girls and frog-youths grumbling in their rooms, complaining about the noise and wondering why someone was yelling so early in the morning.

“I'm afraid it is true, Your Majesty.” Arthur himself was in sore shape, his blue cloak and white tunic and trousers in tatters, his face covered in soot. “I barely escaped meself. Clarence is still with my master. I don't know how much longer we can hold on.”

“I'll be there in a few hours, Arthur.” She turned to Harold. “I'm sorry we have to leave early, but...”

“That's all right.” Harold quickly yanked a ring off a chain around his neck. “All you have to do is rub this, and it'll take you and the girls home. It used to belong to a...a very powerful family. Now, it belongs to you.”

Leia turned the ring over in her hand. “This is a ring of the royal family of Alderaan. It's one of the special rings Mother had our old magician Obi-Wan make for her and Father so they could court secretly. How did you get this?”

The horned toad shook his head. “I can't tell you that now. Just...know that I'll be thinking of you.” He took her hands in his.

“And I you.” She gave him her gentle smile that warmed him from his head to his warty toes. “Thank you, Harold!”

“You're welcome, Leia,” he said to her retreating back. He'd just collapsed into the bed when Finn pushed past her.

“Master? Master, are you all right?” Finn sat next to him. “What happened? Did you and Miss Leia have a fight? Why did she take off in such a hurry? Are you all right? You don't look so good.”

Harold's croak was weary. “Leia had to go home early. The First Order Clan is invading her kingdom. They need her.”

“She's leaving?” Finn nearly leaped out of his seat. “You have to stop her! Go kiss her before she leaves! We need her, too! You need her!”

“I do need her.” Harold's drooping throat trembled. “But her kingdom needs her more. She's a queen. What's she doing amongst toads and frogs?” His long toad legs managed to hop up to the bare wood floor. “When Snoke comes for us, he'll find me in the tower.”

“But...” Finn didn't have the time to respond before Harold slammed out the door. 

Beauties and the Frogs, Part 7

Leia was about to rub the ring, her small trunk on the floor beside her, when the girls hurried into her room. “Mother,” Rey began, “we're not going to let you do this alone.”

“You don't need to come with me.” Leia hefted the trunk under her arm. “I know how you feel about the youths here. You should be able to stay with them and live your own lives. Luke and I can handle this.”

“No.” Rey shook her head and picked up her own travel trunk as Jessika took Leia's. “Mother, this is Snoke. You're going to need all the help you can get.”

Kaydel pulled her pale blue cloak with the white fur trim around her arms. “I wonder why he pushing through the blockades now? He could have done it years ago.”

“I think I can guess, but we won't know for sure until we get there.” Leia slid the ring on her finger. It was much too big for her, fitting loosely even on her thumb. “Get close to me, ladies, and hold onto your luggage. We're going to take the quick way home.”

Rey's eyes widened. “What do you mean? Mother, where did you get that ring? I've seen it be...”

A soft blue light sprang up suddenly from Leia's finger, enveloping the four women and their trunks. When the light subsided, the quartet were gone. There was nary an indentation in the carpet to prove they'd ever been in the house.

~*~*~*~*~*~

When the quartet reappeared, they found themselves standing in Leia's office. “Oh god!” Rey went to the window, pointing at the road to the palace. “Mother, look!” The shiny silver and black helmets of the First Order Clan swarmed around the road to the Millennium Palace. “We have to help them.”

Leia dropped her trunk on the floor. “Stack your trunks here, ladies. We'll attend to them later. Right now, I need to find my brother.”

They pushed into the hallway, past knights and demons battling soldiers and volunteer fighters from the villages and making an appalling mess of the furniture. Volunteers pushed back soldiers as they made their way across the hall. Kaydel noticed one familiar, mouse-like head trying to sneak out. Her mother noticed it, too. “Lieutenant Mitaka!” She ordered. The young man froze in his tracks. “Where do you think you're going?”

“That's right.” Kaydel smirked. “Where do you think you're running off to, hmm?”

“Uh, with the others.” Mitaka looked as if his hands had just been caught in the cookie jar. “Prince Kylo and General Hux already left. Snoke and I are supposed to join them after we turn Sir Skywalker into a toad...” He gasped, slapping his hand over his mouth. “I wasn't supposed to tell you that,” he added more softly.

Leia narrowed his eyes and grabbed the boy by the collar of his gray jacket, shaking him until his teeth rattled. “Tell me more, boy.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

The audience chamber was a shambles when Leia and the girls burst into the room. Rey used her own light magic to carry Mitaka and make sure he didn't flee. Luke and Snoke had flung every bit of furniture into each other and the walls, with Clarence wailing in the background about that vase being a priceless antique, and oh, couldn't they be more careful with the queen's favorite chair?

“Enough of this!” Snoke threw out his lightning at Luke, sending him backwards into the wall. “You're beaten, Skywalker. You'll never walk out of this in your own skin.” He thrust the glowing red ball on his cane under Luke's chin as two demons yanked his arms behind his back. “Now, what would make you more useful? Perhaps I could change you into a pig, or a toad, or a...”

“Snoke!” Another blue light lifted the withered old head of the First Order Clan into the air as Leia rushed into the room, followed by the girls with a frightened Mitaka. “Release my brother this minute!”

The ancient wizard only laughed at her. “Your Majesty! What a surprise! I thought you were, er, out of the country. You're here just in time to see me make your brother into a new pet for my boys.”

“We know all about your plot!” Rey stomped up next to her mother, dragging Mitaka behind her. “He told us!” She yanked the boy's arm in the air. “You were going to turn Father Luke into some animal and take over the kingdom with Kylo Ren.”

“I'm beginning to think my wayward son isn't worthy of the throne.” Leia glared at Snoke. “Nor are you. You've caused us enough trouble!” Blue light shot out from her hand and Rey's. The flowers strewn on the floor from vases formed into garlands, wrapping themselves around Snoke.

Luke nodded, grabbing his blue sword, with its crystal ball on the hilt. “This kingdom has been in our guardians' family for generations.” The blue light he shot writhed around Snoke, who screamed like a banshee as the garlands tightened around his body. “You can't handle the healing light. You're made up of all things corrupt and wicked. The healing light purifies corruption and dissolves the evil.”

Snoke's hollow eyes glittered with a nasty light. “You think your little powers can hold me?” Thin gray lips narrowed into a smirk. “If you kill me now, Queen Leia, you'll never find out what happened to your dear husband and his wards.”

Leia lowered her hands, her eyes wary. “What did happen to him? He's alive, isn't he? I knew he wasn't killed by brigands!”

Sir Luke waved his sword as Rey waved her hand. The blue light tightened further, causing Snoke to gasp. “What did you do with Han?” Luke's gentle voice as as close to a growl as Rey had ever heard it. “Where is he?”

“Come to think of it, where are my son and the ginger-haired boy?” Leia lifted Snoke into the air. “My soldiers have told me that they rarely abandon your side.”

Snoke's slimy smirk grew wider, making him look more like a frog than Harold's wards. “I really do need to be going. My apprentices and I are inducting a few new members into our monster army today.” The ball in his cane flashed, sending a bright red light over the entire room and forcing everyone to cover their eyes. When the light subsided, Snoke was gone.

Leia and the girls ran to Luke's arms the moment he vanished. “Luke, are you all right?” Leia checked him over. “Did that bastard hurt you?”

“Threw me around a little, but nothing worse than bruises.” Luke hugged Leia and his daughters. “I'm so glad to see all of you! I missed all of my girls, and so did Clarence and Maz and Arthur.” He frowned. “I'm surprised the frogs let you go. That monstrous brown toad was the one who insisted you come in the first place.”

“His name is Finn, Father,” Rey quickly assured him. “He told me to tell you that he's sorry he scared you, but he thought it was the only way he could get any women to stay there.”

“We weren't really prisoners,” Jessika added. “In fact, we had a lot of fun. I learned so much about antique clockworks and machines!”

Kaydel kissed her father on his whiskery cheek. “And I learned some really lovely old songs that I think you'll enjoy.”

The queen shook her head. “Luke, the frogs and toads weren't monsters. They were nothing but kind to us.” She frowned, her face turning thoughtful. “Harold...the head of the group...they called him 'Master.' I don't think he was a horned toad. In fact, none of them were. Not even the furry fellow who served their food. You were right about the black magic there. It was hiding something...”

“Mother,” Rey said quickly, “remember the dreams?”

“Yes.” Leia saw the girl's eyes widen. “I found Han in the dream, but a sorcerer kept him in the shadows. He couldn't make a single sound or come into the light. Every time he tried, the sorcerer would attack me and take him away.”

“I'll bet that sorcerer was Snoke!” Jessika nodded. “And the boys were the frogs. Finn and Poe even had the same names.”

Rey growled, her nostrils flaring. “They were prisoners, all right. Prisoners in their own frog bodies! No wonder we couldn't find the princes. They were right in front of our eyes all the time!”

“Hey!” Kaydel noticed Mitaka tip-toeing out of the remains of the audience chamber. “Stop that boy! He's trying to escape!”

“Oh no, you don't.” Rey blocked his way as Jessika and Kaydel grabbed his arms. “Where do you think you're going?”

Mitaka gulped hard. “I have to join the others at Decard Manor. I sort of, uh, promised them I'd be there. I'm already late leaving!”

Jessika shook his arm. “Sorry, but that's one promise you're not going to keep.”

“Or maybe he will.” Kaydel sidled up to him, giving him her most alluring smile. “Why don't we take you with us? We wouldn't harm you. We're not like Snoke. We just want to know what he's going to do to King Han and those poor princes.”

“Well,” Mitaka began, visibly sweating under his heavy black cloak, “you see, Your Majesties, Snoke's planning to oust the king...”

~*~*~*~*~*~

They reappeared in the ballroom...but it was dark now. The harpsichord had been covered with a dusty cloth, and the chandelier no longer sparkled in the evening light. “That ring.” Luke inspected Leia's hand, his blue eyes wide with surprise. “Where did you get it? That's one of our parents' rings! The ones I gave you when you and Han were married.”

She'd just taken her hand off the insignia. “Harold...or at least, that's what he told me his name was...gave it to me. I wish I'd been able to figure it out sooner.”

Rey gasped as they heard screaming. “Mother, it's Finn! They're hurting him!” She dashed down the hall, her blue crystal sword at the ready.

Luke couldn't stop her from leaping into the pile of demons holding Finn and Snap to the floor in the hallway and running her sword through as many as she could. Jessika jumped onto the back of another, putting her hands over its eyes and letting it stumble around. Luke used his own white crystal sword to slash three demons to ribbons. Leia turned the remaining ones into flowers.

“Are you all right?” Kaydel helped the two frogs to their feet. They were battered and bloody and badly shaken. “Where's Poe, Chewie, and the Master?”

“They're...in tower....don't know about Chewbacca...” Snap gasped. “Snoke...going to take...master..”

“Don't know...how much longer...we'll hold out.” Finn's bulging eyes were already starting to look a little wild, and Rey noticed claws growing on the end of his webbed hands. “Snoke...wants us...to be...one of...them.”

“NO!” Leia screeched, rubbing her ring as hard as she could. “Take me to the tower room!” She vanished in a thin blue light.

Luke waved Finn off before he could weakly insist he was a toad. “We're all going up there. If she's dealing with Snoke, she'll need our help.”

“It's not...just Snoke.” Finn's voice was sounding more and more like a croak. “Kylo Ren...Hux...they're up there, too.”

“Ren wants...to rule alone,” Snap puffed. “Wants Master...out of...the way.”

“I knew he was a brat.” Rey turned to Luke. “We know where the tower is. We can take you there.”

The older knight nodded. “Lead the way, my daughter.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Leia appeared in the tower, just in time to see a blast of red lightning fling Harold into the bed like a rag doll. She answered with her own blue light, throwing the bed into Snoke. The elderly head of the First Order Clan hacked the bed in two with a beam of light.

“Hello, Mother.” Kylo Ren held his red crystal sword to Harold's neck as two demons held him to the ground. Another demon held Poe in the corner. “You've come just in time to see me get rid of a stumbling block on my way to becoming king.”

“Ben,” Leia snapped, “is that all Han is to you?”

Her son and the horned toad's heads both shot up in surprise. “How did you know?” her son asked, his jaw dropping nearly to the floor.

Hux grumbled from behind them as he glared at Kylo. “You said the spell you cast on the king and the princes was foolproof! How did she recognize him?”

“I'll explain that later.” Leia grabbed her son's hand. “Ben, put that thing away at once. I don't want to hurt you. I love you. I always have, and I always will. But don't you see what you're doing?”

“Yes, I do, Mother.” He coldly thrust the sword into his father's side. Leia gasped in horror, Chewbacca roared like a raging river, Poe let out an angry curse in his native Yavninian, and even Hux's icy amber eyes widened. “I just made myself king.”

“Leia,” Harold gasped, clutching his heavily bleeding wound. “I'm...I'm sorry...tried stoppin' him...was turnin'...into demon..anyway...”

A massive roar shook the room as Chewbacca leaped onto Kylo Ren and took hold of the apprentice's sword, trying to pull the glowing red ball off the hilt. Kylo threw his hands over it and wouldn't let go. “Hux,” he whined, “could you give me some assistance here?”

“Why?” The red-headed youth smirked as he leaned against the clothes press. “It's rather amusing, watching you fight over a ball with a giant ape.”

Leia rushed to Harold's side. She tore off part of her skirt to stop the wound in his side from bleeding. “It'll be all right, my love. I'll stop this. You'll see.” She looked up as Snoke as he held his cane over them. “That was you, wasn't it?” she hissed. “You were the sorcerer in my dreams. You held Han and the boys hostage, kept Han in the darkness and took his voice!”

“Of course.” Snoke's thin smile chilled Leia to her bones. “Did you honestly believe I was going to let him continue to run a kingdom? A former thief and scoundrel? If he was able to speak, you would have known the truth. He's far too persuasive for my liking. When he and those little fools tried to talk, my magic choked their throats and kept them from giving everything away.”

Leia wrapped the torn bits of skirt around her husband's side. Her pale hands were immersed in crimson blood. “I don't care what he was years ago. He made a better king than you could ever hope to be! The kingdom needs him.” Her voice softened, just enough for the toad in her lap to hear. “I need him.” Han gave her wide, crooked grin.

“No!” Kylo finally yanked his sword away, holding it to Chewbacca. Two demons grabbed the hairy beast's arms. “Mother, get out of my way! I have to finish this!” His face softened. “I never wanted to hurt you. Just Father and Uncle Luke. They're afraid of real power...but you, Mother. You're not afraid. You're not afraid of anything.”

His mother's face held indescribable sorrow. “I'm truly sorry it had to come to this. I don't want to choose between you and Han. I love both of you. Ben, I am afraid. I'm more afraid than I've ever been in my life! But even when you're afraid, you still need to do what's right.”

“Kill both of them!” Snoke nearly shrieked. “What are you waiting for?”

“But...” Kylo, for once, looked truly confused. “Mother...”

His hesitance would be his undoing. The moment Rey and the others appeared, she leaped on Ben, her sword at the ready. “Don't you touch them!”

“The balls!” Poe waved his flipper at the glowing ruby ball on Snoke's cane as he, Finn, and Snap doubled over. “You have to...destroy...them!” Horns were slowing growing from the top of his head, and his bulging eyes were turning a dark yellow.

Luke nodded. “That's what I was trying to do in the audience chamber back at the Millennium Palace. Those balls are the source of their power.”

“You don't need this kind of power.” Rey sent a blue light of her own over Kylo Ren. The black-garbed prince gasped as rose vines wound around his sword, cracking the crystal and shattering the ball. “There are other ways of proving your worth to your family!”

“Oh no...you don't!” Finn stepped in front of Hux as he was turning to flee. “Don't...even think...about leaving...this room...General.” He finally hit him as hard as he could in the nose. Hux crashed into the remains of the bed as Kaydel and Jessika grabbed Mitaka's arms to keep him from running out. Poe and Snap wound the curtains around both young men.

“You're...through...Snoke!” Han crawled to his leathery knees. “I have...no...magic...but I can still...defend...my kingdom!” He thrust his back against Snoke's, stabbing him with the sharp spines on his body before collapsing.

Snoke let out a screech and dropped the ball. Luke snapped the ball off his cane and handed Leia his sword. “Let's do this together, sister.”

Leia gave him her most wicked smile. “I would love to, dear brother.” The queen and the knight drove his blue crystal blade through the glowing scarlet ball, smashing it into a million sharp pieces around them. Red light blasted around a shrieking Snoke and a wailing Kylo Ren. When it subsided, Snoke's cape lay empty on the floor.

Rey yanked the robe away, revealing a squawking old crow with rusty black feathers. “Here's your First Order chief!” She grabbed the creature by its neck. “A bloody damn bird!” She thrust the bird out the window, letting it fly away. “He can do no more harm in that form, I imagine. At least, not to anything bigger than an oat plant.”

“Han!” Leia and Luke were at their husband and brother-in-law's side on the floor in an instant. “Han, don't leave us!”

“I'm sorry, Leia.” Luke took the horned toad's webbed hand, but he was looking at his sister. “His breathing is very shallow. He's not going to last much longer.”

“Han,” Leia took his other hand, “I love you. I do know. I've always known.”

“Yes,” the toad rasped, “Your...Worship. I think...I love you...too.”

Finn and Rey were in each other's arms, with Luke's arms around both of them, as Leia leaned over and gave her husband the most passionate kiss she could on his thin toad lips.

“I like that.” Rey took Finn's hand. “You're so sweet, and you've been so good to us. I think...I love you, too.” She kissed him, wrapping her arms around him.

“Oooh, great idea!” Jessika turned from her sister and yanked Poe into her arms. “I love you, too. I want to ride horses with you forever.” She gave him the biggest kiss she knew as Kaydel dipped Snap and kissed him.

A blast of glittering red light threw almost everyone in the room into the walls. The croaks of toads and frogs and roar of a furry creature were gradually replaced by five very human voices. When the lights subsided, five men in tattered shirts and trousers stood in the middle of the tower room.

“Han!” Leia rushed to her husband's arms the moment he appeared, kissing him for all he was worth. His silver hair was even more scruffy than usual, and there were dark circles under his eyes. But the rest of him was exactly how she remembered, from the gash on his chin from a long-ago carriage accident to those long, slender legs that could out-run every member of the Austrian Empire, so long ago.

He gave her that familiar lazy grin. She never knew if she wanted to kiss it to death or smack it off his face. “Hello there, sweetheart. Miss me?”

His wife thought she'd never remove her arms from him again. “More than you know, Sheep-Herder.”

“Master Luke!” Big Chewbacca lifted his beloved friend and waved him around in the air. “Look at us! We're 'uman again! Ye did it, mates! Ye lifted that blasted curse!”

Luke could only gasp “Yes...we're glad...please put me down!”

“This is sickening.” Kylo Ren tried to shoot his magic at Rey...but all that came out was a soft beam of golden light. “No! I can't have light magic! I don't want it! This isn't powerful!”

“Yes, it is!” Rey waved a finger in his face, looking rather like a female version of Han. “Have you ever healed a sick person? Helped plants to grow in the spring? Nursed a bird back to health and seen it fly again? Become part of the Earth itself? That's real power, Kylo Ren.”

“Ben.” Han frowned. “His name is Ben. I don't understand what he has against it.”

“It's the name of a child,” Ben whimpered. “A pathetic creature no one loved.” He looked at his hands. “Snoke promised me power. He'd been promising it to me in my dreams for years. He said if I had power like his, I could get my parents to pay more attention to me than to affairs of state. He's the one who told me you didn't love me.”

Leia put her hand on her son's shoulder. “On one hand, it sounds like you were thoroughly taken in by Snoke's deceptions. Luke and Han and I should have paid more attention to what was going on with you.” She put up her own hand before her son could protest further. “However, that doesn't absolve you of what you've done. You chose to go with Snoke and further his reign of terror. You chose to become a dark magician. You chose to help him put a curse on your father and these young men.”

“He was going to let these...these useless brats,” Ben hissed, waving a hand at the princes, “rule the kingdom instead of me! He never loved me! I showed him what it was like to be ignored, to be too prickly or plain to be loved, to have your voice never be heard!”

Han crossed his arms. “I'd take you over my knee and spank you, boy, but you're way too big for that now.”

Rey held her fist so close to Ben's long nose, he ended up staring at it cross-eyed. “He's not too bloody big for this!”

“Rey, that won't solve anything.” Luke pulled her away.

“I know.” The girl made a face. “But it would make me feel a lot better!”

“I'm currently the queen of this land. Let me handle it.” Leia shook her own finger at Ben. “As of right this second, you are disinherited. The girls and their husbands are now next in line for the throne. You and your two so-called friends there,” she pointed at Hux and Mitaka, “will have to start over in whatever kingdom you choose, without Snoke's magic or our support, until you can prove you're worthy of the throne.” She sighed. “I want you to find a trade, Ben. Become a farmer or a soldier. Meet a girl you love for her alone, not just for her title.”

“But that's not fair!” Ben whined loudly. “I'm the oldest and your real child! I should be king!”

Leia gently touched his wavy black hair. “Life doesn't always work that way, my son.”

Jessika glared at him. “It's not fair that the King and these poor guys had to spend years and years catching flies around a lake, either!”

Finn frowned. “And what about our families? I need to get a hold of my Uncle Lando in Bespin. He probably thinks I'm dead!”

“I need to write my parents.” Poe nodded at Snap. “And he has to send a note to his mother.”

Rey smiled and took Finn's hand. “I'll go to Bespin with you. I've always wanted to see the Bespin Mountains. I've heard they're even more beautiful than the ones in Alderaan are.” Finn gave her a dreamy smile and another kiss.

Leia took Han's arm. Luke took her other one. “Come on, my boys. Let's go home.”

And indeed, they did. The Kingdom of Alderaan, having driven the First Order Clan from their land, was delighted to have its monarchs back. They lined the road, cheering long and loud as Han drove the cart over the bridge and up to the Millennium Palace. Leia and Han declared a special feast day to celebrate their return and the end of the First Order Clan. Everyone in the kingdom was invited. Kaydel and Snap played the pianoforte for the guests, and Luke and Rey demonstrated displays of light magic fireworks.

The trio of princes did court the lovely princesses of Alderaan. When Rey and Finn married, Han made Rey his legal heir. It was she who became Queen of Alderaan, with Finn as her gentle king, when Han and Leia stepped down. King Lando gave his gracious consent, delighted to unite their two kingdoms at last. Jessika and Kaydel did wed Poe and Snap and became the queens of Yavin and Wexley. Chewbacca remained devoted to the royal family for the rest of his years, as did Clarence, Maz, and Arthur.

Neither Prince Ben, nor Hux, nor Mitaka were ever seen again...but stories sometimes circulated, in the kingdom, of a trio of thieves who did nothing but bicker with one another. One was said to be especially light-fingered, making money disappear as if by magic.

As for Han and Leia, they never left each other's side again, remaining happily arm in arm, sometimes with Leia's brother and Han's dear friend Luke, for the rest of their lives.

The End