Alright, before starting, I'd just briefly like to thank all the favorites and followers this story has been receiving ... and to ask you to be patient for the next couple of weeks. The next chapter will have some of Luke's past in it, and I've only now realised what a can of worms I've opened - it's either risk portraying it wrongly, or first write the prequel (which I'll only post after the main story is finished for suspense). And as I'm sure you can imagine, that might take a while.

So, I'll hope you'll bear with me, and, anyway, enjoy this chapter at least. :)

xXx

Chapter IX

Leia stretched her cramped muscles as they finally landed in the spaceport of Theed. So far, she had never been to the capital city of Naboo, no matter how many times Pooja had invited her to come. One of the downsides of being a politician and secret rebel sympathiser. You simply never had the opportunity to take some time off, much less go on vacation. It had surprised her immensely when Mon had granted her this leave, but she seemed to feel some sort of moral obligation to enable her to find out as much as she could about her family. Leia suspected that Mon still felt guilty for keeping her parentage from her for so long (even if she had only followed her adoptive parents' wishes) as well as for not being able to reveal her father's identity. So Padmé's family was the only source Leia could turn to to find out anything about him.

"So, princess, what are we doing here now?" The unusually tame words were accompanied by a playful look in the eyes of the most annoying pilot in the world. "We aren't doing anything together, Captain Solo. I am going to meet up with a friend and spend two weeks unbothered by your presence. I really couldn't care less for what you will be doing." Han actually pouted. "Pity. Did you at least book a room for me in some fancy hotel? I don't exactly have enough cash to go on a holiday right now."

Leia glared at him. "Don't try to trick me, Han. I know the Alliance gave you enough credits to last these two weeks if you spend them sensibly. Have a nice holiday." Grabbing the suitcase she had prepared for her stay with the Naberrie family, she left the cockpit, though Han apparently couldn't resist giving some parting words of his own. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" She rolled her eyes. What a helpful advice. As if she would ever do half of the things that 'reformed' smuggler would.

As she left the spaceport, she looked around, searching for the familiar face of her friend. Pooja had promised she would be here on time (and she was the epitome of punctuality), but she would probably have a hard time recognising Leia, as she had chosen to wear a cloak with a huge hood so the few Stormtroopers stationed on Naboo wouldn't spot her too easily. She was a wanted rebel, after all.

"Pooja, there you are!" Finally, she spotted the brown-haired woman in the small crowd in front of the spaceport, hugging her as she reached her. "Leia! I'm so glad to see you again. I couldn't believe it when you took me up on the invitation at last!" Pooja broke the embrace and whispered, "I am so sorry about Alderaan, and your parents." Leia responded with a pained smile. "Thank you."

"Come on, there is a speeder waiting for us. We'll talk later." She grasped Leia's free hand and tugged her along to a nearby vehicle. "We're going to Varykino in the Lake Country. My parents have everything prepared for the holiday." Smiling brightly as they got into the speeder, she turned to their driver. "Let's go, papa!"

xXx

When Luke exited his small one-man-fighter, he deeply inhaled the rich, moist air of the wild woods on Dagobah. The planet was overwhelming – if he had thought that Cularin was strong in the Force, it was nothing compared to Dagobah. Luke leaned against a nearby tree, feeling the life in the veins of the tree, in the countless insects crawling on the bark and the birds nesting further up in the branches. After centring himself again, he enforced his shields to make them even stronger than they had been before. If he was going to meet the most powerful Jedi during the Clone Wars (though his father would probably feel offended at that), he would definitely not let his guard down.

As if his thoughts had conjured him up, a green dwarf-like creature appeared directly in front of Luke, sadly catching him completely off-guard, a feat he had thought to be impossible as he had actually kept an eye out (so to speak). At least Luke wouldn't be fooled by his quirky appearance (he shuddered to think how embarrassingly this encounter could have turned out if he hadn't been aware that he would likely underestimate the old Jedi master if he focused on his looks). So instead, Luke sat down cross-legged opposite of Yoda, speaking before his new companion even had the opportunity to. "Master Yoda. It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

If he felt surprise that Luke had recognised him, he at least didn't show it, only exhibiting the calm, collected aura of a wise, old Jedi master. "Luke Skywalker. Expected you I have." He turned around, hobbling away while being supported by a gnarled stick. "Come, come." Luke was subsequently led through a labyrinth of trees until they reached a small hut which Luke correctly presumed to be Yoda's residence. Even though Luke was curious about the Jedi master and whether or not his trip here would be wasted, the two of them spent the walk in silence. Probably to test Luke's patience.

Luke had never belonged to the tallest of men, but even he had to duck when they entered the dwelling, though then, it was meant to fit someone much tinier than him. As soon as he could Luke sat down on the floor, watching Yoda bustle through the house. Finally, the Jedi joined him on the floor, fixing him with an unnerving gaze which seemed to penetrate the depths of his soul despite his heavy shielding. Feeling slightly paranoid, Luke quickly checked his shields again, only to find them intact. Somehow, that made Yoda's eyes even more disquieting.

After another few minutes of slightly awkward silence in which both of them absolutely refused to break eye contact, Yoda began to speak at last. "Trained by the Sith, you were?" Not exactly an unexpected start for their first conversation. "My father trained me, yes." No way Luke would tolerate any affiliation with Darth Sidious. That man just made him sick with his creepy yellow eyes and sickeningly sweet words, although fortunately, he had never met him in person.

"Yet come here you have. Why?" "Obi-Wan highly recommended your Jedi training." Yoda slightly narrowed his eyes at that. Better stop joking, then. "And he made a very good point of me being the only hope for saving the galaxy." "Yes, always good with words Master Kenobi was. Called the Negotiator for a good reason he was." Master Yoda briefly paused. "But train you I will not. Once a Sith, always a Sith."

Shock and anger fought for dominance in Luke's mind. "What?" True enough, Obi-Wan had warned Luke that Yoda might be against taking him on as a Padawan, that he would have to make a good argument and an even better impression to get him to accept him, but never had he expected to have to face such prejudice. Never had he thought that Yoda would not even give him a chance to prove his character. It was simply unfair!

Suddenly, it occurred to Luke; what if this was meant to be his first test? Maybe Yoda wanted to see how quickly he would give into his anger. If that was the case, he was probably already on the verge of failing it. Immediately, he shut his eyes and took a few slow breaths until he reached a calmer state of mind again. "Forgive me, master." Only then he faced Yoda again, though he didn't establish eye contact again. "I will freely admit that I was rather sceptical at first as well. And while Obi-Wan might have talked me into it, I assessed his arguments myself and I would not be here if I were not absolutely convinced that this was the right way to go. I cannot and will not force you into taking me on as your Padawan, but I strongly urge you to reconsider. The fate of the galaxy is at stake."

Yoda's face scrunched up as he shook his head and turned away from Luke, muttering under his breath. "No. Too old he is. Too much anger, too much fear. Too attached to the material world he is. Just like his father was."

"And still, Anakin became a great Jedi, one of the greatest during the Clone Wars." Once again, the ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi showed up out of nowhere to meddle in the affairs of the living. Luke would have been very grateful, if not for the fact his father had become a Sith. Meaning he hadn't been a great Jedi, obviously. If this was Obi-Wan's plan to convince Yoda of taking Luke on as his apprentice, he doubted that it would work.

Yoda apparently shared his opinion. "A Sith he became. Give into his anger and his fear he did. Trained him we shouldn't have." Obi-Wan somehow managed to convey his agreement and his disagreement through his gestures. "You are right, Master Yoda. While we don't know what exactly led to Anakin's downfall, he likely gave into his emotions. But you shouldn't forget that those feelings also made him an excellent Jedi, if unconventional. Anakin always felt so strongly – he felt love and great loyalty for his friends, compassion for anyone who was in need for it, and he never left anyone behind, no matter how much he might have disagreed with them. His emotions made him a better man, a better Jedi, than all of us."

Try as he might deny it, Luke was absolutely captivated by the course of this conversation. Obi-Wan shed a completely new light on his father – although Luke would never admit it, he had never looked at his father in the way the Jedi did. All he had ever seen was a power-thirsty Dark Lord, who, though he loved and cared for his son like any proper parent would do, never lost sight of the greater picture. The man Obi-Wan described, a man who lived in the moment and who acted on his feelings, Luke had rarely ever seen – and never in a good way.

"Not the Jedi way it is." Yoda scrutinized the Jedi critically, probably considering if he should start calling Obi-Wan a Sith as well. But the ghost didn't seem to be bothered by Yoda's criticism. "Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. It really depends on your point of view." Obi-Wan smiled wryly. "I've had a lot of time to ponder our mistakes concerning Anakin during my exile. And it has led me to the conclusion that some of our own actions were rather paradox." He fixed Yoda with his stare, switching into teacher mode, as Luke noticed with mixed feelings. Could it really amount to anything to try and lecture a being as old as the Grand Master?

"We were taught to have compassion for others, and we were encouraged to form a bond between Master and Padawan. Yet at the same time, we were supposed to 'free ourselves' from our feelings. Only then could we reach a peaceful state of mind." He paused to let his words take effect. "But we didn't let go of our emotions. I have seen so many Jedi act rashly in the face of losing a friend, whether it was another Jedi or someone outside the order. We formed attachments, even the best of us, but the real problem was that we didn't know how to deal with a relationship. If we had taught and learned to handle love and friendship correctly instead of forbidding it, we would have been all the stronger for it."

Sighing heavily, still shaking his head, the old Jedi seemed to contemplate those words only briefly. "Truth to your words there might be. But reasons for our rules there were. Attachment leads to fear of loss, and fear …" He shot a pointed look at Obi-Wan, who seemed tempted to role his eyes. Or maybe that was only Luke's interpretation of his expression; he would have done it himself, if he hadn't promised to give the light side a chance.

"And fear can lead to the dark side, yes. But do you remember my first fight with Darth Maul?" While Yoda apparently remembered it very well, Luke was left stranded. The two Jedi obviously had completely forgotten his presence. "I was tempted, that day, tempted by the dark side. I was afraid of losing Master Qui-Gon, I was furious at the Sith for injuring him and I wanted to take revenge. And there was this seemingly limitless power, calling for me, promising to fulfil all those wishes if only I accepted it, if I just let it in." Well, who would have guessed? The model Jedi, using the dark side? Luke certainly wouldn't have believed it if anyone else had told him.

"And you know what stopped me that day? It was Qui-Gon, lying across the room, dying, and the love I felt for him. He needed my help, and fighting with rage would have accomplished nothing. It would only have been dishonourable to his memory, especially as there was still a chance to save him. So I fought – I fought to protect, not to avenge. My attachment to him saved me back then."

Master Yoda looked at the passionate Jedi (and if that wasn't a paradox if Luke had ever heard of one) pensively. Then he nodded serenely. "Much to think about I have." Luke was surprised to see that he turned towards him afterwards – so maybe they hadn't forgotten him after all. "Many dangers you will face, from others and from yourself. Learn to let go of your anger and grudges, you must, or fail you will, young Padawan." While Luke's mind still struggled to catch up with the sudden turn of events, the old Jedi Master already walked away, ignoring the now silent (but triumphant) ghost of Obi-Wan, and motioning for Luke to follow. "Come. Much to learn you have."

xXx

"And this is going to be your realm for the holiday." Pooja pirouetted as she gestured around the room they had entered – well, it was actually large enough for a saloon. A year ago, Leia would have hardly wasted a second thought on the size of it, but the past months spent jumping from one location to the other, always sharing what little room there was with countless other like-minded souls had put things into perspective. Gone was the princess who had been used to the extravagance of the royal house of Alderaan.

"It's beautiful; as everything around here is. I really can't remember why I haven't visited Naboo before. It must be one of the most wonderful planets in the entire galaxy." When Leia turned around to Pooja again after depositing her suitcase in a corner of the room, she found the woman smiling at her cheerfully. "That's what I always told you." She then raised a rather sceptical eyebrow. "You really got everything you need in there?" Leia mock-glared at her as she glanced pointedly at Leia's (admittedly rather tiny) suitcase.

"Believe it or not, that's actually almost everything I possess right now. Life as a rebel isn't exactly a life of luxury." Somehow, this sounded more like whining than it had done in her head. Pooja smiled sympathetically at her plight. "Well, that just won't do for Naboo. Plus, I doubt you have many fancy clothes in there." At Leia's sulking look, she started laughing. "Come on, we'll do something girly today, then." Her smile turned mischievous. "And I know exactly where to start."

Grabbing Leia's hand, Pooja continued dragging her through the mansion as she had done all day already. When they arrived in the western wing of the house (the part they had completely stayed clear of so far), the former senator of Naboo directed her into another, equally huge bedroom. It was obvious that it hadn't been used for a long time – though it was apparently cleaned frequently, it simply felt different from the rest of the house, kind of … dead, for the lack of a better word. It really gave Leia a very strange feeling, not necessarily bad, but, well, strange. Leia resisted the urge to scrunch up her face as she tried to sort out her confused thoughts.

"This was Aunt Padmé's room. Whenever she had time to come home, she usually visited Varykino as well … She really loved this place." Both sentimentality and curiosity rose in Leia's mind as she looked around the room her mother had lived in just over twenty years ago. It felt almost like a travel to the past – never before had Leia felt so in touch with her ancestors, especially compared to the visits to the ancient buildings of the royal House of Alderaan. She had always felt like an intruder there, although her father constantly reassured her that she was a part of that family.

During the time Leia had spent looking around the chamber reminiscing, unknown to her, Pooja had disappeared into the adjoining room. Only when Pooja thrust an absolutely magnificent dress, made of a light material and sporting colours ranging from a beautiful cream to a deep Bordeaux into Leia's hands, she managed to return to the real world. "Is that …?" Pooja nodded at Leia's unfinished question. "Yes, that is one of the countless dresses my aunt owned. Many of them are just gathering dust in this wardrobe as none in our family has the right height to wear them. Padmé was just so tiny." She smiled as she remembered her favourite (and only) aunt. "But it should fit you perfectly. Now hurry up, put it on! I can't wait to see you in it!"

Although Leia's heart was beating faster at the thought of wearing a dress her mother had worn when she had been her age, she suspected that it might lead to awkward situations with the family who was still unaware of their relation. "Pooja, I couldn't possibly …" But her friend waved her off unceremoniously. "You can, and you will. You don't have anything suitable to wear for Naboo, so this is the obvious choice. Besides, I think everybody in this house gets far too sad when looking at this room and everything else which belonged to Padmé, so it will be good if you can at least breathe new life into her wardrobe."

At Leia's further protests, Pooja simply responded with a glare until the princess finally relented and moved to put on the dress. When she reappeared from behind the dressing screen, her cousin drew in a sharp breath. "That bad?" Leia fumbled with the lose sleeves, chewing her lower lip uncertainly. "It's definitely more revealing than anything I've ever worn." While Leia had previously sported a wardrobe almost as huge as her mother's, Alderaan was far more conservative than the matriarchal Naboo, so a dress which left her entire back and her shoulders completely bare would have been a no-go.

"No, you just look … absolutely stunning. And … well, I never realised how much you resembled my aunt." Pooja shook her head lightly to return from her memories to the real world. "Oh, and dear, you are on Naboo now – we don't conceal our benefits." She smiled mirthfully at Leia and winked, but her friend didn't respond to her joke properly; instead she cast her eyes down guiltily as she thought about what she still hadn't revealed. It wasn't exactly easy; how do you tell someone that you are their long-lost relative (whom they didn't even know existed)? And what if Pooja didn't believe her and accused her of lying? It wasn't like Leia had any proof that they were related.

"Alright, what is it?" Pooja fixed her with a stern glare, but Leia only sent her a (hopefully convincingly) confused glance. "What do you mean?" She was rewarded for her acting with a sceptically raised eyebrow. "You've wanted to say something from the moment we met on the spaceport, so just spit it out. I won't bite."

Did Pooja just know her this well or had her political skills diminished over the last year? It was rather frustrating how easily people seemed to read her lately. "Am I really that obvious?" Pooja chuckled at her annoyed expression. "Well, let's just say that a year without politics doesn't exactly improve your countenance." Then, she glanced at her pointedly again, clearly not letting her off the hook.

"It's … well, I don't know how to say it … it just sounds so ridiculous, and crazy, and totally unbelievable, but …" Leia broke off her rambling and closed her eyes, expelling a nervous breath. "But Mon told me that Padmé was my birth mother. Absurd, right?" While Leia knew it with relative certainty to be the truth, she was also aware how it must sound to anyone who hadn't been introduced to this outlandish idea. Pooja obviously agreed with her on this, as she was gaping slightly un-lady-like until she managed to regain her composure.

Then, her face turned pensive. "Actually, no, it's not. I mean, Padmé was almost due when she died, and Bail was a good friend of hers. I don't really see any reason why your existence would have needed to be kept a secret, or why nobody ever told us about you, but that doesn't mean there weren't any. Padmé had many enemies, after all." Now, it was Leia's turn to look surprised. Never had she expected that Pooja would accept her claim so easily, but her friend simply smiled at her openly. "If Mon told you this, and you believe that it's the truth, I'll believe it, too. You are my friend, Leia, and I've always felt very connected to you. It won't be so difficult to see you as a cousin as well." She chuckled. "Besides, how could I ever doubt your relation to her when I see you looking like this?"

To feel such acceptance from her biological family brought greater joy to Leia than she had imagined it would, making her smile freely. "Thank you, Pooja. This really means a lot to me." After Pooja had engulfed her in a warm hug, she grinned at her cheekily. "Now, be a good cousin and brush your hair, while I go downstairs and tell mama and papa about our new family member. You'd only start stuttering again." Quickly, she tore away and almost skipped out of the room, laughing playfully at Leia's indignant shout.