Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. If I did, Leia would've gotten a lot more screentime.

A/N: Inspired by a post made by PlaidButterfly (AKA wigglyflippingout) on tumblr, where she drew an awesome Lady Vader with an awesome AU backstory. (Post can be found at: wigglyflippingout dot tumblr dot com slash tagged slash lady vader). Heads up that this Vader is maskless. May or may not continue, depending on if more inspiration strikes.

circus girl without a safety net

In spite of everything, Leia couldn't help but be struck, as she always was, by Lady Vader's beauty. Even like this – perhaps especially like this – with cold fury making the angles of her face even harsher, bringing the scar by her right eye into sharp relief. Her eyes especially were gorgeous: icy and clear. Completely unforgiving.

It was the beauty of a predator.

And Leia would not allow herself to be the skittish, docile prey.

"Darth Vader," said Leia, looking the older woman straight in the eye. "Only you could be so bold. The Imperial Senate will not sit still for this. When they hear you've attacked a diplo-"

"Don't act so surprised, your highness," Vader snapped, eyes flashing. "You aren't on any mercy mission this time. Several transmissions were beamed to this ship by rebel spies. I want to know what happened to the plans they sent you."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Leia insisted, forcing herself to sound as incredulous as possible. "I am a member of the Imperial senate on a diplomatic mission to Alderaan."

"You are part of the rebel Alliance and a traitor." The words weren't quite loud enough to be a yell, but Leia still had to resist the urge to flinch back. Vader had been like a congenial aunt for most of her childhood, though Leia had tried to never lose sight of the woman's true nature. And indeed, there was no hint of the dry humor and restrained warmth that Leia had become so familiar with over the years. Of the person that she had, begrudgingly, grown to be fond of.

That person had been a lie all along, just as her father had always told her.

"You are your father's child," Vader spat. "Take her away!"

Vader had always known that this day would come, for all that she had secretly hoped it wouldn't. She was fond of the Princess, and wished no harm to come to her. But Organa had no doubt been brainwashing the girl, and Vader had never been under the illusion that the relationship she'd fostered with Leia would be enough to mitigate his influence. Still, she knew the young woman's intelligence was prodigious, as was her strength of spirit, and Vader had entertained the notion that Leia may one day come to the right path on her own.

But that had obviously not come to pass, and Leia was now in possession of vital information. Information that Vader would extract from her.

Leia's composure was admirable when Vader entered her cell, though the young woman could not hide how her fear rippled through the Force. She also failed to stop her gaze from falling squarely on the syringe displayed prominently by the IT-O interrogation droid.

"And now, your highness, we will discuss the location of your hidden Rebel base." Vader waved a hand at the troopers who had come with her to the cell. "Leave us." They did so, the door of the cell hissing shut. Vader then used the Force to disable the cell's surveillance apparatus. Gazing down at the Princess, she said, "It pains me that it has come to this, Leia, even if I was expecting it."

Leia bristled. "Can we not dispense with the needless pleasantries? Whatever scheme you had in mind when you started our association is clearly no longer viable."

Vader felt a stab of genuine hurt, though she quashed it easily. With her hatred of Bail Organa swelling within her, it wasn't hard at all to summon the Dark Side. To overcome her weakness. "Is it really so hard for you to believe that my affection for you is sincere?"

"You have no more affection for me than a serpent does for a rodent."

Vader almost rolled her eyes. It was like speaking to a wall. "You are no rodent, your highness. You are the official representative of Alderaan, and your complicity in this plot implicates the entire Alderaanian Court." Vader sat down beside the Princess, her tone softening. "It isn't too late, child. If you tell me where the base is, I can ensure that this goes no further. I know you care little for your own welfare, but the consequences for this betrayal will extend to everyone and everything you care for. Your mother and father, your entire planet – you have the power to save them from the wrath of the Emperor."

Leia wasn't meeting her eyes anymore, her stoic mask betrayed by the tremor in her shoulders. Nevermind the emotions she was releasing into the Force. Vader reached forward with a mechanical hand and gently took her by the chin. "Your father has done you a great disservice, Leia. But you must see that his ideals are misguided – that the Alliance is a self-serving campaign that does nothing but sow dissension and chaos. I don't blame you for being lead astray by someone you love so dearly, but it has to end here."

Leia did meet her eyes, then, her mouth set into a hard line. "You're mistaken, Lady Vader, because my father did everything in his power to keep me from joining the Alliance. I see things all too clearly with my own eyes, and it's not the Alliance that is self-serving and corrupt. Your beloved Empire is evil, and, as long as I draw breath, I will do everything in my power to destroy it."

Vader sighed. "Then you leave me no choice." She beckoned the droid forward. "I'm afraid that this is going to hurt."

Leia braced for the pain, fear and defiance making her muscles tense in anticipation.

But, aside from the brief pinch of the needle entering her arm, it was not pain that came.

It was...bliss. Relaxation of a kind she hadn't even thought was possible. It was as if every muscle in her body was made of putty. Her head felt very light and very heavy all at once, like it was floating, but unable to move. It should have bothered her, but all she could think was that she didn't want to move. She was quite happy to just lie there.

She didn't fight it when her eyelids began to droop.

Leia...

Leia...

It was her mother's voice, calling to her.

Leia...

Wake up, dear one.

"Mom?" said Leia, opening her eyes. "But...how?"

Breha smiled down at her sadly. "You've been asleep a long time, sweetheart. We think you were hit with a psychoactive gas."

Leia tried to sit up so she could hug her mother like her life depended on it, to feel her warmth and know that she was home. But she found that she couldn't muster the strength to move her limbs. Leia tried to stop the tears that flooded her eyes – of helplessness and relief and frustration – but she failed miserably.

"I missed you so much," she said, as the tears spilled over onto her cheeks, and she was unable to wipe them away. "You and Dad – I thought I'd never see you again."

Breha wiped the tears for her, gently. Her hands were oddly cold. "I know, dear one. We could see how much you were suffering, but it's all over now. You're home."

"I'm so sorry," said Leia, as the tears refused to abate. "Dad told me this would happen, but I didn't listen. You shouldn't have to see me like this."

"Shh," soothed Breha, wiping away more of the tears. "We understand, Leia. We really do. But..." She sighed, and Leia noticed the lines of exhaustion and worry on her face.

Leia's finally managed to get her crying under control. "What is it, Mom? Please – I need to know."

"Your father and I have reason to believe that the secret Rebel base is in grave danger."

Leia screwed her eyes shut and took a deep breath through her nose. "Somebody must've talked," she said. "Or they tracked one of our ships."

Breha's tone was pleading. "Leia, you must tell me where the base is located. I know you want to protect me, but I cannot allow the base to fall without at least trying to send supplies and evacuation transports."

Leia wanted to shake her head, but couldn't. "No, Mom. If I tell you, it makes you a target."

Breha stroked her hand through Leia's hair. "I'm a target whether I know the location or not, dear one. You know there's no such thing as plausible deniability when it comes to Imperials. And besides, I'm more than willing to lay down my life for the struggle."

Leia wanted to lean into the touch. She wanted to close her eyes and pretend she was a child again, being tucked into bed. "But that's not a sacrifice I'm willing to make," she said.

"I love you too," said Breha, her voice warm with affection. "But you know that I'm right."

Leia did. But she also knew, through the haze of safe and home, that there was something deeply wrong about this. She opened her mouth to make another objection, but was suddenly overcome by a wave of comforting, blanketing warmth.

Her mother's fingers felt unbelievably nice running over her scalp.

"Mommy," she mumbled sleepily. It was something she hadn't called her mother in years. "I don't want you to die."

"I know, my darling," said Breha, tone soothing. "I do. But you must tell me where the base is, for the good of the rebellion."

Leia closed her eyes in surrender. "It's on Yavin 4. Please..." She swallowed past a mounting dryness in her throat, finding it harder and harder to hold onto complete thoughts. Her next words were slurred. "Please save 'em."

She wasn't sure, but she thought she could hear her mother making loving shooshing noises – telling her that everything would be alright, and that she should go back to sleep.

Leia had no choice but to obey.

Vader smiled in triumph.

She had long suspected that Leia was Force sensitive, though she'd delayed investigating the possibility for fear of tipping off her Master. If Leia did indeed have potential, and the Emperor discovered it, he would no doubt have taken her to be trained as one of his little pets.

And Vader had simply not been willing to allow that to happen. If Leia were to be trained by anyone, it would be by Vader herself.

Vader's hunches were rarely wrong, and so she'd gone about her interrogation of the Princess as if she were a Force user. Even untrained, most Force sensitives were exceptionally good at resisting torture – of pushing back against Vader's intrusions into their minds. In many cases, the physical pain itself served as a catalyst.

So Vader had a special serum developed for the sole purpose of interrogating Force sensitives: a potent cocktail of hallucinogens and narcotics that caused extreme relaxation, euphoria and suggestibility.

Leia had proven more resistant to the drug than even most trained Force users, and had still managed to push back against Vader's attempts to shape the nature of her hallucinations. But only for a time. Vader had needed to administer enough of the serum that it skirted dangerously close to an overdose in order to do it.

Clearly, Leia was a well of untapped power.

And Vader was in need of an apprentice.

The thought made Vader smile wider, mechanical fingers running through the young woman's hair. Idly, she wished that she could feel the silky strands, and tried not to think about how Leia calling her "mom" had made her heart clench with longing. How her children, if they still lived, would be Leia's age.

It was Skywalker's weakness, and Vader had no need of it.

She would never be Leia's mother, but that was hardly a tragedy. Vader would soon be something far more important, after all.

She would be Leia's Master.