Archive of Our Own

Nothing could be heard for miles— nothing but the skittering of dust, the clapping of feet, and the warbling hum of lightsabers whirring and colliding. It was dusk, and the horizon bled red as the binary sunset bathed the sand in a pink haze. The pale glow of their sabers spread like beacons, neon lights in a vast and unforgiving wilderness. A world so bereft of life, and yet colors thrived. Reds and pinks and luminescent blues twitched and breathed like living things.

The footwork was simple here. Step, two, three, pivot, slide, step, two, three, pivot, backflip. The backflip had given her trouble at first, but now she pushed off the dry, hard packed sand and she spun back into the air before landing delicately on her toes several yards away. Footwork was fine. Footwork she could handle.

The actual sparring, though? That could be going better.

"Stop," Ben said suddenly as she broke her pattern and stepped a fourth time, leaning in and driving her lightsaber down in a fierce sideways cut. He blocked it readily, and placed an alarming amount of pressure on her blade. Her biceps ached, but she did not waver. She wanted to disarm him so badly, she had not even heard him.

She broke away and spun, two, three— then she struck. Her blade swept against his, breezing wildly from first to second position, and then wildly into an uppercut. She pivoted and struck again. Each time he merely lifted his saber and blocked, once, twice, thrice, turning the hilt in his fists effortlessly and grazing the blade against hers.

"Stop."

Leia gasped as he looped his lightsaber around, clipping the rim of hers and whisking it from her fingers. It flew into the air and hovered for half a second before zipping into Ben's palm. For a brief moment Leia stared at him, a rugged old man with twin suns burning blood red at his back and shadows swarming at his feet while his face was lined by the illumination of two blindingly blue blades. Then he extinguished them, and the enchantment was broken.

"Switching between forms is clever when attempting to obfuscate your opponent," Ben said, his hands disappearing into the folds of his sleeves. His voice was curt and disciplinary— a sign that he was not happy with her. She bit her tongue and schooled her expression before she could wince. "However, your grasp of Form V is meager at best, and volatile at worst. Have I not warned you again and again that your small size can only be an advantage if you allow it to be. Any attempt at overpowering your opponent with brute strength will be your downfall."

Leia took a deep breath. She had not realized she had slipped into Djem So. She wasn't good at Djem So. It wasn't her preferred form. But sometimes, when she got irritated or caught in the heat of the moment, she just started attacking as hard and fast as she could without any thought or care about the outcome.

"I'm sorry, Master," Leia said breathlessly. She bit her lip and bowed her head low. "You're right. That was a mistake."

"If you would like to learn more Form V," Ben said patiently, "I would be glad to teach you as much as I know. Unfortunately I am not nearly as competent in that form as I am with Form III and IV, but I know it well enough. I do advise against relying on it, however, given your height and build."

Leia bit her lip harder to keep from snapping that her height was perfectly adequate, and she was plenty strong. It was no use. He was right. She considered herself strong, especially for how small she was, but it wasn't enough. She had to recognize that and adjust accordingly.

"It's not that," Leia said hastily, twisting the braid behind her ear nervously. It was as close to a traditional padawan braid as Ben would allow— and even then she undid it often because it was connected to the braided headband that kept her long, thick brown hair from her face. "I mean, learning more Djem So would be nice. We should definitely try it. But… that's not my form. You know that."

Ben blinked at her. He had not moved toward her at all, and he looked unimpressed.

"Do I?"

Leia huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Ben," she groaned.

"Has our lesson concluded?" Ben peered up at the sky, and then cocked his head toward the bleeding suns. "Oh dear, look at the time. I suppose we should wrap this up, hm?"

"Ben," Leia said, slinking closer to him and smiling sheepishly. "I like Form III. I really like Form III. You know this."

"You are not under any obligation to study my preferred form as your own," Ben said firmly. "It is not healthy, to emulate your master. You are your own person. Choose what form you feel suits you."

"Djem So doesn't suit me at all," Leia gasped.

Ben's face was half devoured by the streaming glow of the red sunset, and half caressed by shadow. But somehow she thought she saw a smirk pull at his whiskered cheeks.

"Next time we will try more Form IV," Ben said gently. "It is more combative than Form III, so it might suit your temperament better."

"I like Form III."

Ben turned to face her. She saw the small, fond smile that stretched upon his lips, and she relaxed exponentially.

"Then practice, my dear." He tossed her the lightsaber he had snatched from her hand, and she caught it easily. For a moment she weighed it in her fist, and she peered up at him. "Do not reach so far that you cannot feel what is in front of you."

Leia sighed deeply, and she nodded. "Yes, Master," she said glumly.

"Good." Ben snapped his lightsaber onto his belt, and he lifted his arm. Leia grinned, hooking her own to the girdle she'd haphazardly tied about her tunic that morning, and she leaned into his side happily. He looped his arm around her shoulder and allowed her to fling her arms around his middle and squeeze him tight.

"Thank you, Ben," she murmured into his chest.

He led her back to their speeder with his arm still around her shoulders, his smile hidden by the deepening dusk.

"You thank me every day, little one," he remarked, "but I can't seem to grasp why."

Leia beamed up at him. "For being the best master a girl could ask for, of course!" She winked and broke away from him suddenly, bounding for the speeder and hopping in.

The training was daily. Leia worked on the farm from dawn until noon, took her lunch on top of the domed fixture of their home with her legs sprawled out and her newest project in her lap, and then she headed out to the Wastes to train with Ben until dusk. Dusk meant returning to the Lars homestead, some dinner, and then a short and thankless sleep before it all started over again.

More than once she had fallen asleep on Ben's shoulder on the way back. They often headed deep into the desert to avoid being seen with their lightsabers, and sometimes it was a few hours before she found herself tucked neatly into her bed with no recollection of leaving the speeder.

"Tomorrow is a meditation day," Ben declared. He drove home usually, because of how undeniably exhausted she was due to her packed schedule.

"What?" she couldn't help but whine, sinking into her seat and kicking her feet up. "Ben, come on. You know I don't need a meditation day."

"Meditation, or no lightsaber for a week."

"What?" Leia bolted upright, and she peered into Ben's weathered, lined old face incredulously. He allowed the speeder to bolt forward without any further delay. "Ben!"

"You are physically and emotionally exhausted," Ben replied curtly. "I do not care what you want, this is not a matter up for discussion. Do you hear me, Leia?"

"Ben, I am not—!"

"Shall we take this matter up with Owen, little one?" Ben cut in politely, not even sparing her a smug glance as she fell silent. "I'm sure he would love an opinion on this."

Leia gritted her teeth, but remained silent. She knew better than to take an argument to Uncle Owen. If he had his way, she would be out of training for an entire season, and she could not afford that.

"Fine," Leia muttered. "I'll meditate, or whatever. I'm not happy about it, though."

"I'm sure."

"We will be focusing on shielding," Ben continued, "until further notice. I do not want to feel your presence in the Force even while standing right beside you, do you understand? You cannot be a Jedi without proper cloaking, especially in this day and age."

"I already can shield," Leia sighed.

"Yes," Ben said, "and it is an admirable attempt, at that. But will that save you from the Emperor? From, Force forbid, Darth Vader?"

"Darth Vader is not going to come to Tatooine, Ben," Leia said gently, "let alone the Emperor."

Ben was oddly relaxed and responded to her as easily as reporting the weather.

"You will not always be on Tatooine, little one," he said. "Count your blessings now that you are safe in your isolation."

It was not often that she heard him speak so certainly about one day leaving this planet, and it stunned her so thoroughly that she sat in silence for the remainder of the ride back home. She rolled the idea over in her head, of one day leaving. One day soon, perhaps. It excited her more than she cared to admit, and she pressed her lips together thinly.

There was a whole galaxy out there, and Ben was going to show it to her.

How exhilarating was that?

Once they returned to the Lars homestead, Leia hopped out and handed her lightsaber back to Ben instinctively. It was not that he did not trust her to keep it with her at all times, but rather he felt it was too dangerous for her to openly have a lightsaber. Their farm was not so remote as the Jundland Wastes, and even then Ben was wary of letting his own saber loose.

"Shield tonight," Ben told her as he walked her to the door. "While you dream. Do not allow even a shred of a feeling to escape into the Force."

Leia nodded. "Are you going to be paying attention?" she teased him.

"Perhaps." He glanced down at her, and he winked. "Don't let your guard down. You don't know when you might be tested."

"Right…"

She started inside just as Ben turned to go. Beru happened to be in the kitchen, and she peered up at Ben and called out.

"Leaving so soon, Ben?"

Ben froze. Leia smirked as she dragged her fingers across the table and plopped down beside her uncle, who was reading a story on the holonet. Owen did not even look up when his wife called out to Ben, and the relief that flooded through her when she realized they were inviting him to stay was overwhelming. She could cry! They'd been at this for nearly a year, and finally her family seemed comfortable enough that they felt they could truly interact with Ben.

Her master turned very hesitantly back to Beru. His face was shrouded by shadow, as he'd pulled his hood over his head as he had turned to go. This was tradition. He hardly left her home without doing so.

"I by no means wish to intrude, Beru," Ben said cordially.

Beru quirked a brow, and she leaned back to squint at him. "Nonsense," she said, tapping a ladle against her thigh. "Come inside."

"Really…" Ben shrunk in the doorway. "I don't want to trouble you."

"Ben Kenobi," Beru said with a sharp sigh, "come in. I have made entirely too much stew, and we have an empty seat for you."

Leia watched with huge eyes as Ben, speechless, finally relented. He slumped as he retired to the stool beside her, and she smiled up at him brightly.

"That does not feel like shielding, Leia," he remarked quietly.

Her smile fell, and she shot him a dull look. Indignantly, she began to focus on her shields, mentally strengthening her permanent ones by layering a temporary dampener on top of what was already there. She liked to visualize the whole thing, as it made it easier to apply it.

"Better," Ben said.

She allowed herself some shred of pride, which she was pretty sure he did not feel. Otherwise he would have scolded her.

"So…" Owen set aside the datapad, and studied Ben with narrowed eyes. "How has this been going?"

Leia blinked rapidly. Owen had never asked that before. In fact, he regularly avoided asking Leia how training went. Her eyes flitted between these two men nervously.

If Ben was surprised, he hid it well. He replied courteously, his voice level and offhand.

"It's been well," he said. "Leia grasps things incredibly fast, so despite her training being non-traditional at best, she has come along rather well. I dare say she's even at the level of any regular padawan— certainly as good as I was at her age."

"As good as her father?"

Leia's eyes widened. She leaned forward to gape openly at Owen, because he had never in her life spoken of Anakin Skywalker so flippantly before. Was she dreaming?

Ben pushed his hood back, and he smiled sadly down at his lap.

"Not quite," he admitted. "Anakin was… exceptionally gifted in every possible way. I cannot quite explain it, but he was a prodigy in most regards. Leia certainly inherited the natural talent from him, though blessedly she's retained some shred of dignity and patience."

"Leia," Owen repeated dully, "patient?"

"Compared to her father," Ben said brightly, "yes, in fact."

"What was my father like?" Leia gasped. "I mean, I've heard a bunch of it before, but I mean really. You never talk about his flaws, Ben."

"No?" Ben looked honestly surprised, his watery blue eyes falling dazedly upon her face. "Odd. He had so many."

Leia choked on a laugh, and she propped her elbows up on the table to lean on her hands. "Oh yeah?" Her eyebrows raised encouragingly. "Like?"

Ben paused, and he sighed deeply, his head tipping to the side as though to say, where do I begin?

"Well," he said thoughtfully, "he was impulsive and stubborn to say the least. He was bad at following orders, and relied on his instincts more than was anyone should ever be comfortable with, and when given the opportunity he was not a half bad teacher. He certainly was a better master to his padawan than I ever was to him."

"My father had a padawan?" Leia gasped.

Ben frowned deeply, as though he had thought he had told this story before and it shocked him that he hadn't.

"He did," Ben said distantly, "once."

Leia looked to Owen to confirm, but her uncle merely shook his head.

"I didn't know," he murmured.

"Anakin was rather closed off when he visited us last," Beru said, walking over and setting two bowls in front of Ben and Leia. "Even if he did have an apprentice, I doubt he would have told us."

"The apprenticeship was short," Ben said quietly, "so I doubt you were even in contact when it happened."

Leia sat quietly, and she looked down at her soup. She wanted to ask what happened, but she heard how forlorn Ben's voice had become, and decided to quell her curiosity for his sake.

"I am learning a lot though," Leia said brightly, turning to face Owen with a smirk. "I really am! I obviously have a long way to go before I'm anything resembling a Jedi, but Ben is the best teacher I could ever ask for."

Beside her, Ben stiffened visibly. He stared down at his stew while Leia spooned a mouthful to her lips, ignoring how thoroughly she'd rattled him with this remark. She had told him time and again that he was an incredible teacher, but he never seemed to believe her. Maybe now he was actually listening.

"I'm glad it's going well," Beru said as she sat down, her eyes flashing worriedly to Ben's face. Ben did not look up, and instead began to prod at the cubed roots that had coagulated at the bottom of his bowl. "Concerned, of course, but glad. The Jedi did good for the galaxy, and if you can continue that legacy, Leia…"

"We will be proud of you," Owen finished for Beru, looking into Leia's eyes tiredly and nodding. "Regardless."

After that, Leia and Beru managed to pester Ben into telling an old war story, much to Owen's chagrin. They finished their stew and listened intently while Ben plucked curiously at his beard.

"So it was the three of us— me, your father, and Count Dooku— tied together in the middle of a pirate nest on Florrum, and it is an absolute disaster. Dooku and I were never friendly, and honestly this situation was the only time in my very long life I had the chance to actually speak civilly to the man. And of course I did not take it."

"Why would you want to?" Leia asked, her brow furrowing. "Wasn't he, like… evil?"

Ben peered at her, his beard twisted between his two fingers, and he said with all seriousness, "From a certain point of view."

Leia shot him a pointed look while Beru and Owen glanced at each other. "You know I don't believe that," she said.

"Yes. I know." Ben leaned back, and he offered a meager shrug. "I believed for a very long time, you know, that Dooku was evil."

"He was a Sith," Leia pointed out.

Ben nodded. "That he was. And yet, it is only now that I wonder if we had all the facts. Dooku was a pragmatic, versatile, and undeniably ruthless man, but something does not quite add up. His motives were never clear. Not to me, not to Anakin— perhaps they were clear to Sidious, but I believe it was never Sidious's intention to keep Dooku long as an apprentice. Dooku was an old man, and though he was formidable to say the least, he was long past his prime."

Leia exhaled sharply through her nose. "You've never told me this before," she mumbled. "What are you even saying? That the Sith can be complex? Ben, that's bantha shit. They're evil."

"It is your duty as a Jedi to safeguard whatever Light there is left within this world," Ben told her gravely, "but that does not mean that everything that is cast in shadow is evil. I learned that the hard way."

"That doesn't make sense," she declared, throwing her hands into the air and leaning back. Beru and Owen remained silent, their eyes wide as they tried to process this argument of philosophy.

"So it does not," Ben said. "For now. I do not want you to think too hard about this, Leia. I do not mean to suggest that user of the Dark side may become an ally, because that is not true. I merely mean that as much as we, the Jedi, liked to believe that the world is split up, black and white, Dark and Light, it is not. There are gray areas."

"And Dooku was one of them?"

Ben stared at her. He sighed, and his tired eyes fluttered closed.

"No," he said softly. His lips were pressed thinly together, and he shook his head. "I don't know. I will never know. Darth Vader killed him, and it was too late at that point to start questioning whether he deserved to die for his sins or not. And do not mistake me, Leia, Dooku committed more atrocities than I care to mention."

"Perhaps this conversation can continue another day?" Beru offered mildly. She hid her shock well enough, but Leia could tell she was a bit shaken by all this talk of morality.

Leia sank into her seat, her irritation melting away. "Yes, Aunt Beru," she said quietly.

Ben took this as a sign to go. He stood and bowed his head politely in Beru's direction. "Thank you for the meal, Beru," he said in a much lighter tone. "It was absolutely delicious."

"Hm." Beru smirked at him beneath intertwined fingers. "Has no one ever told you that flattery gets you nowhere, Ben?"

"In my very long life," Ben said placidly, "I have never found that to be true." He then patted Leia on the head and passed by her absently. "Remember. Shield yourself. One week. I don't want to feel a thing."

Leia rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah," she muttered.

"Goodbye, then."

"Bye, Ben." Leia stretched her arms above her head and yawned. She was absolutely beat. Her brain was foggy, but she thought she would probably be able to shield herself indefinitely. They had been working on that for longer than she cared to remember, and if tomorrow was just a meditation day, it would be best to keep it up.

Beru and Owen looked at her sharply when Ben left. She blinked rapidly, a little late to their pointed stares.

"What?" she asked blankly.

"That debate," Owen said, his eyes narrowed. "What was that about?"

"What?" Leia repeated. She scratched her head, and she shrugged lightly. "I don't know what to tell you? Jedi philosophy isn't my strong suit, and Ben's been berry-picking through the stuff he wants to teach me because he doesn't want me to feel, uh… how'd he phrase it…" Leia glanced up at the ceiling and frowned. "'Shackled to my sense of duty,' or whatever. Apparently my dad had trouble following some stuff, and Ben doesn't want me to feel obligated to hide stuff from him. So he gives me a choice in what I want to believe."

"That was not a conversation about choice," Beru said gently. "That was a very heavy debate about morality. Leia, I won't pretend I understand even an inkling of what you are going through, but don't you think his view might be a bit… dangerous?"

"Ben has never told me anything like that before," Leia told Beru curtly. "It's not that weird though, like… I get it. Ben doesn't talk about Dooku much, but he once told me that he was his master's master. So I think he's just been thinking about it too much. Ben does that a lot."

"Count Dooku was… what?" Owen looked a little dazzled. Leia knew that even with the bare minimum of education and shoddy holonet connections, Count Dooku's infamy had even reached the Outer Rim. The fact that she had known who he was before Ben had talked about him proved that. "Ben's… master…?"

"His master's master," Leia said patiently. "Like how Ben's my master, right? So Ben taught me and dad, and this old dude, Qui-Gon Jinn, taught Ben. So Dooku taught Qui-Gon, who taught Ben, who is teaching me. Is that clear?"

"I think so," Beru said. She and Owen shared a look, but did not breach the topic any further.

"Anyways," Leia yawned, "I'm gonna go to bed."

They bade her goodnight, albeit hesitantly, and she kissed Beru on the cheek before slinking off to her room. Her muscles were so sore, and she licked her lips as she dunked her callused hands in lukewarm blue milk. When she had first started, her blisters had been so bad she spent an hour after every training session biting back tears and soaking her hands in milk until she essentially passed out. Now there was no pain, but the habit remained. Part of her, an irrational part, believed that the milk prevented the blisters somehow. But that was a superstition, and she knew it was fake as all hell. Still, she did it.

After she stripped down to nearly nothing, she collapsed onto her bed and took a deep breath. Model shuttles dangled above her head, and she imagined flying one. Biggs had told her just last week that he had been accepted to the Imperial Flight Academy, and though her heart had sunk into her stomach she had celebrated heartily with him. Biggs had spent their drunken stupor trying to convince her to hit on Camie Marstrap. Leia had been about half a drink away from actually doing it before they hit the end of their bottle and consequently sobered up.

"Cam, Camie," Biggs had teased her, "what's the difference?"

"The boobs, perhaps?" Leia had smacked her lips together and shrugged. "Though Camie is certainly the better looking of the two. Hey, do you know if she's still got a thing for Fixer?"

Leia knew it was awful to feel jealous of Biggs. After all, she would not last ten seconds in the Imperial Navy. Everyone said it. She was too volatile, too openly against Imperial rule, and she would get court martialed before she even had a rank. It shouldn't bother her that Biggs was getting out, getting away, building a future for himself. She should be happy for him.

But damn it, she wasn't! She wanted to leave too!

How bratty was that? She couldn't even be genuinely happy for her friend because she was stuck staring at her ceiling of handmade spacecraft mobiles, and she was so thirsty for adventure that she was blinded by the pursuit of it. It was fucked up. She was fucked up! Right?

It didn't matter. She had to tell herself that it didn't matter, or she'd go insane, cooped up in this little room, in this little house, on a little farm, on a godforsaken planet. Why did Beru and Lars have to live here?

Leia took a deep breath, and she pushed all these thoughts from her head. She focused on layering up her mind, brick by brick, applying grout manually and thickening her defenses with every passing minute. Her problem was always keeping the shield at this density while she was asleep.

Well, here went nothing.

She fell into her dream like she had once fallen into a sand dune. Abruptly, rolling into a gritty and disorienting abyss, and then opening her eyes to an overwhelming brightness.

There was a man. He had a stark, proud face, and hair as long as hers. Perhaps longer. He kept it pulled back from his face like she did, half swept back, though he lacked the braided headband. He watched her with a small, coy smile and waved her over.

She stood quietly. When she looked around, there was only white. Unperturbed, she started forward until she was as close as she dared.

"Hello, little one," the man greeted. He had a bellowing voice, so sort of tone that could move the sand and settled it with a whisper. There was an authority to it, similar to the charming lilt of Ben's voice but graver somehow.

"Only Ben calls me that," she blurted.

He regarded her for a moment, before his smile deepened. "Does that mean I'm not allowed?" he said curiously.

Her jaw tightened, and she bit back an unkind remark. Instead she squinted at him, and shook her head furiously.

"I don't know you," she said plainly, "so I'm just going to say no. You can't. Only Ben can."

"Well, alright." The man chuckled, and he tilted his head at her. "Leia, then. I imagine you are doing well?"

"Who are you?" she asked instead of replying, her fingers closing into fists and her body tensing. She looked around, and she realized the whiteness had faded into a dull gray. They were standing in a place that was completely unfamiliar to her— a durasteel cavern of some sort. Perhaps the guts of a ship. There was an enormous gaping hole in the floor to their right.

The man turned his eyes away, and they whisked about the yawning room sadly.

"You are not half bad at shielding," he remarked.

"Are you real?" Leia blinked rapidly. "Is this real?"

The man looked at her, and his smile was well worn and crumbling. "What was it Obi-Wan said?" He considered it for a moment before snapping. "Ah. From a certain point of view."

She stared at him incredulously.

"Oh," she breathed, "great."

"I think if you look very deeply within yourself," the man offered, "you know who I am."

Leia wanted to object. She was already too far within herself to even really process the logistics of it all, and she was scarcely aware that she was even sleeping. Was she sleeping? Was this a dream? The thought crossed her mind and vanished, flitting from her fingers like a moth darting away from an avian predator.

"I'm very sure I don't," she replied mildly. "Maybe you have the wrong person?"

"I doubt that."

She sighed, and she folded her arms across her chest. "Well," she said, "I can't help you."

"I truly doubt that."

Leia glared at him. Stubbornly, she refused to search her feelings for signs of recognition. She did not want to give him the satisfaction.

"I must be having a vision," she muttered. She collapsed into a kneeling position, customary for meditating, and she took a deep breath. "I shouldn't be so angry. Okay. Calm down, Leia. Calm down."

"Does that help?"

She gritted her teeth, but did not respond. Instead she wrapped herself in the Force as readily as she could, blanketing her feelings in the soothing warmth of it. It hummed around her, and it tickled her mind and her heart and her soul.

Then it began to whisper truths.

Her eyes snapped open, and she gaped up at the man.

"You're—!" She might have bolted to her feet if the Force were not swimming so heavily around her, rooting her to her meditative state. "You're Qui-Gon Jinn!"

"There," Qui-Gon said gently. "See? I knew you could do it."

"How is this…?" Leia blinked, and she shook her head. "No, no. It's the Force. I shouldn't ask questions. I should just be thankful."

"Very good." Qui-Gon's eyebrows raised quite high on his tall forehead. "You're already wiser than your father and Obi-Wan combined in that regard."

Leia snorted. Hard to imagine that. "No," she sighed. "I just don't like hearing vague answers that don't really explain anything at all. I'd rather just not know."

"Well, Obi-Wan is your master." Qui-Gon folded his arms into his sleeves, much like Ben did, and he shrugged. "I suppose everything he says will come out rather vague and unhelpful."

"Has he always been like that?" Leia gasped.

"Oh, no." Qui-Gon laughed. "I tended to find his insights quite helpful. That may be because of our unique partnership, however. I had a tendency to look to the Living Force, while Obi-Wan was much more in tune to the Unifying Force. He was plagued by visions as a child, and though I'm not sure how much of it stuck with him, it made him an odd teenager and eventual adult. His problem has always been that he knows too much, and he grasps it, but he cannot fully comprehend in normal terms what it is he is seeing, feeling, or knowing. Even now, I think, he struggles with it."

Leia sat and listened, and by the time Qui-Gon finished speaking she did not know what to say. Ben was her master— he was truly like an uncle, or even a father if she didn't count Owen. He was wise and unyielding, especially when it came to the Light side of the Force, and yet today he had informed her that there were other ways. That was unlike him.

Very unlike him.

"Did you put that idea about Dooku into Ben's head?" Leia all but accused Qui-Gon.

The man looked down at her mildly. He said calmly, "I merely suggested that Obi-Wan consider the fact that he has no idea what was going on in my master's head. Nothing more, nothing less."

"And you do?"

Qui-Gon looked at her sadly. He shook his head.

"Unfortunately," he said quietly, "we will never know what my old master was thinking. While I have no trouble doubting his descent into Darkness, what I am skeptical about is his submission. My master would never kneel to anyone. Certainly not to Sheev Palpatine."

"People change." Leia closed her eyes, and she relaxed her muscles. "People compromise."

"Not Master Dooku," Qui-Gon said bitterly. "Never Master Dooku."

Leia folded her hands in her lap. Her jaw was clenched tight, and her bitterness rose like bile at the back of her throat. She looked up at Qui-Gon, and she shook her head.

"I know you don't want to hear this," she said, "but it is possible Dooku just… became evil. There is nothing you can do it about it. There's nothing any of us can do about it. He's dead, and so are you."

Qui-Gon sighed deeply. "Yes," he murmured. "You're right."

She didn't say what she was thinking— that of course she was right, that it made no sense to dwell on what they could not change. A man who was so rooted in the Living Force, as he said, should know that. But then she imagined what it must be like for him. If one day she woke up, and Ben was gone, and she found out that he had turned to the Dark Side and died without warning. She would feel the same way, probably.

It didn't make it any more rational.

"Do you know why I am here?"

Leia had been sitting, mulling over her own irritation and confusion, and she glanced at Qui-Gon Jinn dully. She did not respond, but instead watched him with a pointed stare, the sort that questioned his integrity.

Qui-Gon must have noticed, because he continued.

"I am here," he said, "because Obi-Wan will not tell you when something is wrong. He will merely hint at it, and hope for the best."

"What?" Leia found herself staggering to her feet. "What?"

Qui-Gon watched her, and whatever he thought of her, whatever he felt toward Ben, it expanded and engulfed her like the warmth of dawn. She was suddenly dragged beneath the surface the sand, her breath paused and her eyes glimpsing the solemn, round face of a young boy. Younger than her, with wispy ochre hair that ended in a stubby nerf-tail and clear blue eyes that looked right through her. His nose was bridged with freckles. They stood and stared at one another, and she thought perhaps he really saw her before he turned away and aged before her eyes with every step he took until he turned around and a young man stood in his place.

"Here, Master," he said, brushing past Leia as though she were not even there. "Tatooine… it's small, out of the way, poor…"

Qui-Gon spoke, his bold baritone voice rumbling beneath her feet like quaking sand. "I sense a disturbance in the Force."

He spoke as though he was echoing a line he had once heard long ago.

The young man, with his smooth cheeks and clever eyes, paused to allow these words to sink in.

"I feel it also, Master," he said.

Qui-Gon's eyes flew to her, and she was stifled by a sudden heat. They were standing in the desert, and the twin suns were at their peak in the sky. She doubled over breathlessly, sweat tickling her upper lip. She squinted through the blinding rays, peering up at a distant starship.

"Anakin," Qui-Gon snapped at her, "drop!"

Leia gaped at him, and before she could truly digest what he had said, she flung herself instinctively onto her stomach. The sand shifted beneath her, and her hair slipped against her shoulders. Something zoomed overhead, casting her in shadow and leaving her disoriented and afraid. She pushed herself onto her knees and gaped as a shadowy figure leapt from a speeder-bike, a blood red lightsaber hissed into life and fell with a fury upon Qui-Gon.

The flurry of blows that fell between these two baffled her. She shrunk, sand swirling beneath her as the sky turned stormy and steely clouds shrouded her shoulders and neck. She wanted to scream but she didn't know how. Red and green were blurring together, tapping less than colliding with fiery vengeance, catching one another vividly and crackling like lightning.

Qui-Gon shouted at her over his shoulder.

"Ani! Tell them to take off!"

Leia lurched to her feet, sand in her mouth and lightning in her soul, and she struggled forward until the wind blew the sand away from beneath her feet and she ran forward rapidly on unsteady ground. The sand was swept away to reveal durasteel floors, and she stood shakily as Qui-Gon heaved deep breaths on the floor before her.

The young man watched her. She looked up at him and blinked. Her mind was whirling like a storm, and she choked on a name that rose like bile in her throat.

His eyes were unmistakable.

Ben?

Qui-Gon dusted himself off, hardly catching his breath when he gestured between the two of them.

"Anakin Skywalker," he said gently, "meet Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Ben gazed at her uncertainly while she smiled warmly.

This is how my father and Ben met! She thought excitedly. She was so unbelievably delighted, but at the same time she felt shrouded by an unfamiliar feeling of crushing despair. Something was here. Something was coming.

They shifted, and Leia was thrown about in a great whirlwind of light. They were in an open space, and the air tasted odd— biting and cold, with a trace of exhaust.

It was Ben, his head low as he spoke calmly to Qui-Gon.

"The boy is dangerous," he whispered, his eyes cast toward Leia warily. "They all sense it. Why can't you?"

"His fate is uncertain," Qui-Gon replied, "he's not dangerous."

Dangerous? Leia thought about how long it had taken Ben to accept her as her padawan. Because of his fear of failing her, as he had failed Vader. Her mouth was dry, and her heart hurt.

Leia stumbled back, the floor beneath her disappearing, and she had no voice to scream so she tumbled into the light, her body disintegrating and reforming and deforming rapidly with every millisecond that passed. She had no breath, no heart, no brain to think how painful this was.

She was floating overhead, an observer in a deadly game of playing knight. The shrouded figure from before was whirling about, a devil alive and lucid, blocking every blow from a blindingly bright blue and green lightsaber. Ben and Qui-Gon traded places, ducking and moving rapidly. Ben swooped down, and flipped back, leaving no room for error. His style here was different. She couldn't put her finger on it, but this Ben was like a stranger compared to the delicately honed grace of her master's Soresu.

And then Ben got stuck. An energy field had blocked his way forward, and Qui-Gon fought alone.

There was a crater in the middle of the floor. This was the room she had met Qui-Gon in. He danced around the pit, his green lightsaber a flurrying blur against the devil's red staff, a two-bladed monstrosity that was undeniably cool and undeniably terrifying.

Leia wanted to scream when Qui-Gon fell for the devil's feint. He blocks low, and the devil grasped the staff in both hands before butting it into Qui-Gon's face. There was no time for Qui-Gon to even shout before one side of the crimson blade slid through his sternum and punctured through his back cleanly.

Ben's scream flooded her brain and rocked every part of her displaced body.

And then there was nothing.

She was in her bed, sitting upright and fully clothed. The suns were nearing the horizon, and her chest heaved heavily. Her whole body tingled, and when she grasped her chest, her heartbeat was palpitating wildly. She dragged her hands through her loose hair, her fingers catching in the single braid she kept neatly behind her ear.

What… what was that?

She closed her eyes, prodding at her shields and noting that they were perfectly in place. Perhaps they were even stronger now than when she had gone to sleep.

Qui-Gon? She called into the Force.

No one answered.

She waited.

She waited.

She felt the sands and the suns. She felt her blood pumping through her heart. Dig deeper. She felt the Krayt Dragon's bones in the distant dunes. She felt the slaves bowing their small bodies into the dusty huts of Mos Espa. She felt a boy fall to his knees in the dusty sea, thirst creeping into his eyes and blurring his vision.

Help, he rasped, his presence in the Force like a child dipping his fingers into cold water.

Leia leapt to her feet, and she nearly fell right onto her face. Her legs were jellified, her joints cracking and her feet tingling from disuse. How long had she been sleeping?

Or… had that just been a very deep meditation?

She would have to ask Ben. That had certainly never happened before.

Once she massaged the life back into her calves, she shrugged on a black cloak and put on her hiking boots. These were soft-soled shoes that wrapped around her calves up around her breeches and stopping at her knees. They were cream colored and sand-resistant.

She sneaked around back before jumping into the speeder and heading out.

Something was wrong. There was a shadow closing in, and it nipped at her heels like a rapid animal. It felt familiar, like a nagging sensation that had been at the back of her mind for weeks. Only she had ignored it, as one might ignore a toothache, assuming it would pass.

This toothache had rotted her gums, and now she was about to spit out a whole molar.

She kept the hood of her cloak low as she followed her gut, sweeping her speeder into the vast and flat desert. She was getting better at feeling with the Force, searching with her feelings. It was the part of being a Jedi that always eluded her, but somehow it came naturally once she understood how to properly reach a meditative state.

The suns were just about at the horizon line, and the sky bled brightly just for her as she maneuvered through the Jundland Wastes. She reached out for Ben, but found he was not home. Her mouth was dry, and her knuckles were white on the yoke.

After checking her shields for holes, she reached out into the Force. The boy. What had that been? Was this boy Force Sensitive, or did he just need her help? Whatever it meant, Leia felt certain that she was meant to help him. She had felt him, hadn't she? From all the way at home.

She saw the fire in the dim twilight before she felt Ben. She realized he was cloaking himself heavily, cutting himself off from even her. As she approached, he entered her mind and delivered nothing but a nonverbal inquiry. What was she doing?

Once she was close enough, she leapt from her speeder and flung her hood back. Her eyes roved from Ben's hooded face, to the fire he was stoking, and then finally to the boy slumped on the ground before her.

"You should not be her," her master murmured.

"This boy," Leia said dimly, finding her hands were shaking as she approached him. "Who is he?"

Ben did not answer. He merely watched as she crouched down beside him, feeling his sweaty, dusty forehead and checking his pulse. He had warm brown skin and closely cropped black hair. Short strands had fallen out from the neatly combed back style, and stuck to his forehead and temple. He was caked head to toe in sand, and wore an odd orange outfit— it was tightly fitted and made of a fabric Leia had never seen before.

An off-worlder! She realized excitedly. She had met people from off Tatooine before, but most of them were smugglers or slavers. She never really associated with them.

"Leia," Ben said gravely. "Go home."

"What?" She looked to Ben fiercely over the fire. Her hand hovered protectively over the boy's head. "Are you joking? Ben, I was meant to come here. The Force guided me!"

"Yes," Ben sighed. "I know, little one. You felt this boy in the Force. You felt his fear and his loneliness, and you leapt at the chance to find him. But he is safe now. You, however, are not. Go home."

She exhaled sharply through her nose. She shrugged off her cloak and draped it over the slumbering boy. Then she unhooked a canteen from her belt and held his head up gingerly, coaxing his chapped, peeling lips open and dribbling a bit of water onto his tongue.

"Who is he?" she asked once she set his head back down and planted herself down beside him. Ben stared at her, a warning in his watery gaze. She met his eyes with a bright defiance.

"A boy," Ben sighed, relenting. "A Jedi apprentice by the name of Ezra Bridger."

"Another padawan!" Leia gasped, looking down eagerly at Ezra. She saw the lightsaber hooked to his belt, and she felt almost giddy with disbelief and delight. She couldn't believe it! Someone like her was out there in the galaxy all this time, and she hadn't even known!

"Yes. You two might have quite a bit in common." Ben bowed his head, and sighed deeply. "However, it is unlikely you will be able to speak with him. There is no time. Leia, you must go home."

"Why?" Leia's hands clenched in her lap, and she challenged Ben with a fierce glare. "You know the Force sent me. Why are you fighting this? I was meant to meet this boy!"

"You cannot be here," Ben told her firmly. "You simply can't. Do you understand?"

"No!" She broadened her shoulders and raised her chin high. "I don't understand. You're not telling me everything, and usually I can excuse that because I understand that you are hurting— that the past hurts you in ways I cannot possibly comprehend— that I can forgive. But this? Ben, I was meant to find Ezra!"

"Ezra was never meant to be here," Ben all but snapped back at her. "This was a trick. This poor boy has been tricked and manipulated, and I will not let him nor you be another casualty at the hands of this menace. Go home, Leia."

The fire crackled. She did not breathe, not even when a log at the bottom of the heap collapsed, and coughed a flurry of embers into the darkened sky. The moons were full on the horizon above Ben's head. Leia's jaw was tight.

And then the boy stirred beside her. She froze, and she relaxed her shoulders before shooting an irritated glance a Ben. We'll talk about this later.

Leia was far enough away from the boy that he did not initially notice her. He blinked rapidly, and sat up hesitantly. His deep blue eyes flitted from the fire to the droid that sat beside him. Leia had not noticed the droid. It was a small astromech, and when it spoke, it grumbled. Its little head swiveled toward Ben. Ezra followed its gaze and stared vacantly at Ben's cowled form.

Ezra blinked. Rapidly. He bowed his head and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger before squinting at Ben again. Ben took a deep breath, and he peered up at the boy. His eyes were clear and earnest.

"You're in the wrong place," he said gently, "Ezra Bridger."

"Master?" Ezra blurted, shock melting all his apprehension and blooming into excitement. "Master Kenobi?"

He struggled to his feet. Leia stared up at him as her cloak was cast aside, and he rounded the fire quickly before his eyes landed on her. He stopped to gape at her for a moment before Ben patted the place beside him. He sat obediently, his mouth clamping shut.

"I am," he said, the barest shred of amusement tickling his voice. Only Leia could have picked it up. "And once you have regained your strength, I will help you on your way."

Once again the boy was on his feet.

"On my way?" he repeated incredulously. "What? No! I came here to find you! To warn you."

Ben glanced at Leia, and she stared back at him mutely. They watched each other grimly.

"You're weak," Leia piped up. She stood, and she offered out her canteen over the fire. Ben stood up as she did so and pushed back his hood. She picked up her cloak and rounded the fire, offering it to him as well. "Here. Take these."

"What?" Ezra looked down at her, peering at her wide, round face and her unruly, loosened hair. She knew she looked like an orphaned child, especially when her hair was loose like this. She refused to let him know how self-conscious she felt though.

"Here." She shoved the canteen into his hands and wadded up the cloak and stuffed that into his arms as well. "You're severely dehydrated, and the desert can get unbearably cold at night. Trust me, you'll need it."

"I'm not going anywhere!" Ezra shook his head furiously. He did clutch what he had given her tightly, though, and she figured that was thanks enough. "You're in danger— Master Kenobi, I had to come warn you!"

Ben blinked up at the boy absently. Leia pressed her lips together to hide a smile. He had been affectionately rubbing the flat top of the little astromech.

"About Maul," Ben said very softly.

Ezra stared at him with wide eyes, his shoulders tensing. "I— yes—" He struggled to continue. He looked down at his feet, his brow furrowing uncertainly. Then his gaze flashed up to Ben fearfully. "Uh— you know…?"

"A person doesn't survive as long as I have," Ben said simply, "by being foolish. Or unprepared." Ben walked toward Ezra, and Leia frowned at him.

What is this about? she asked him, tugging on their mental bond like a child tugging on their father's sleeve.

Ben did not respond. At least not to her.

"Maul is an old adversary," he admitted, walking past her and Ezra and nodding to them curtly. "And a persistent one at that."

Ezra grew a bit taller in that moment, and he said firmly, "We can fight him together."

Leia perked up. "Fight?" she asked, leaning forward and prodding Ben through their bond. "Ben, what's going on? You were planning to fight someone without me?"

Ezra shot her a brief, disbelieving look. "Sorry, what?" He squinted at her. "You… want to fight too?"

"Yes," she said firmly.

He studied her for a moment, and before Ben could object, he unholstered a blaster and stuck it in her hands. "Do you know how to use this?"

"Absolutely not." Ben plucked the blaster from her fingers just as she began examining it in awe and handed it back to Ezra. "This is the daughter of a friend. She is very stubborn, and will not be much use in a fight."

"Why are you lying?" Leia asked him coldly.

Ben looked down at her, and for a moment she could see the young man from her vision. His honeycomb voice oozed charm and grace, even as he said mildly, "That boy is dangerous."

Ezra looked between the two of them inquisitively. He hesitantly holstered the blaster once more, and held his hands up. "I don't mean to cause any trouble," he said.

"You're not," Leia told him curtly. "This isn't about you."

Ben turned his attention to Ezra. "I had no intention of fighting him," he admitted. "Though that seems inevitable now."

Ezra swallowed hard, and he shook his head. "You— you don't understand!" He waved his arms emphatically while Leia smoothed back her hair and twisted it into a messy knot at the back of her head. Her padawan braid hung loosely near her ear. "You're the answer! The holocrons told me. They said you would be the one who would help us destroy the Sith."

"The Sith?" Leia whirled around to squint at Ben's back. "What's this about, Ben?"

Ben shrugged, folding his arms into his sleeves and reminding Leia of her vision of Qui-Gon Jinn. "Hmm," he murmured. "I'm not sure, little one. It's the first I've heard of it."

Ezra inhaled sharply, and he looked between the two of them pleadingly. "The Rebellion needs you," he said. "We need you to defeat the Empire!"

Leia bit her tongue and schooled her expression. She did not want Ezra to know how incredibly star struck she was to meet a member of the Rebellion. Nobody from the Rebellion would stoop so low as to come to Tatooine! Even satellite cells avoided this place. Her and Biggs talked about it a lot, and threw around the idea of one day joining as pilots. She'd never told Ben, though. It was just a dream. And she was going to be a Jedi.

Right?

"What you need, you already have," Ben told Ezra delicately. "Unfortunately… you seem to be letting it all go."

"But— if I had what I needed… why would the holocrons send me to you?" Ezra stared up at Ben confusedly.

"Maybe," Leia suggested, stepping in between Ben and Ezra and staring the boy in the eye, "these holocrons… maybe they weren't directing you toward Ben."

"They weren't," Ben said firmly. Leia looked up at him in shock. Was he admitting it? "Maul was."

"I was going to say maybe they were leading him to me," Leia scoffed, folding her arms across her chest. "But sure. Let's go with that. Who the hell is Maul?"

"He's… he's an ex-Sith. User of the Dark side of the Force, and… all that…" He paused to study her face once more. "I'm sorry, but… who are you?"

"Leia," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm Ben's—"

"Leia," Ben warned sharply.

She ignored him with a deliberate pause before continuing. "I'm Ben's apprentice."

Ezra took a step back to gape at her. Then, as though all of his fears and despair had dissipated, his face melted into pure, unadulterated joy.

"Apprentice!" he cried, grabbing her arms and grinning at her broadly. "You're a Jedi? You're— how old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"Leia…" Ben hissed.

"No way!" Ezra laughed ecstatically, and he held his head in disbelief. "Me too! I was born on Empire Day."

"Whoa," Leia said, reeling back. "Weird. I was born around then too. Two days after, I think. Tatooine's calendar can be a little off, though, so it doesn't always fall on the right date. We just celebrate it on Empire Day because it's easier to remember."

Ben looked between the two of them tiredly. Leia turned to look at Ben with a quirked brow. "Why didn't you want me to say anything?" she demanded. Ezra blinked down at her, and he pressed his lips together. "What if I wanted to meet the only person in the whole galaxy who could possibly relate to my situation? Did you even think, Ben?"

"Of course I did," Ben murmured. "But, Leia, Maul is coming. You must leave."

Ezra's expression fell faster than sand on a restless dune. "He's right," he whispered. He grabbed Leia's hand. "He's right, Leia. Maul can't know you exist."

"I'm not leaving," Leia said firmly, yanking her hand away. "Let Maul come."

"Here I am," growled a low, vicious voice from beyond the fire. The three of them whirled around to stare at the figure, and Leia caught sight of golden eyes.

She saw the devil's face.

"No," she whispered.

She flung herself onto Ben's sleeve, and she tugged him toward her speeder. "Ben," she gasped, "you can't. You can't fight him!"

Hush, little one. Ben placed a hand gingerly on the top of her head. It will be over soon.

And then he shoved her into Ezra's arms. Leia cried out as the boy wrenched her away and dragged her toward her speeder.

"Master Kenobi," Ezra choked out, holding Leia back as gingerly as he could while she wriggled against his grip. "I led him to you… please! Let me make it right."

"Let me help," Leia begged. "Ben— Master!" Her heart was thudding in her throat. There were tears in her eyes. All she could see was the protrusion of that red blade in Qui-Gon's chest.

"This is not your responsibility," Ben said gravely. His eyes darted painfully to Leia's face, and she saw decades of sorrow washing up on his face like old, broken bits of bone on a dune after a sandstorm. "Either of you. I will mend this old wound."

"Master…" Leia whispered. Ezra held her tight. He swept her cloak over her and led her to the speeder.

This is not your battle, little one, Ben told her gently. I have let this fester for too long. Far too long.

Leia's eyes darted to Maul. He was watching her with a predatory gaze, the sort of chilling crawl that made her feel ill. Her gaze flickered back to Ben's face sharply.

"If you don't kill him," she breathed, "I swear! I'll find your ghost and murder you in the afterlife!"

Maul actually laughed at that. "Ooh!" he crooned. "That anger— that potential… I see now. I did not sense you earlier because you are a talented little shielder, aren't you?" His yellow eyes flitted toward Ben's face, and he smirked. "Once I am finished with you, I will mold your apprentice into something far more powerful than the Sith or the Jedi could imagine."

Ben said nothing. Leia found that his words stoked a fire within her, and she gathered up all the phlegm in her throat and the spittle in her mouth, and hocked a great gooey glob of spit at the ground.

"Over my dead body," she declared fiercely.

"Or that," Maul sighed wistfully, waving at her vaguely. "Whichever. I am not picky."

"Over my dead body," Ezra snapped behind her. He gripped her shoulders tightly, and she knew he probably thought he was protecting her. At this point, it was hard to know who had more experience, and the dumb boy's heart was in the right place. Even if he had led this devil here. She'd have to punch him for that later.

"That is less negotiable," Maul said absently. Leia scowled as Ezra climbed into the speeder.

"Move," she snapped, shoving him aside as she jumped in and climbed over him to get to the yoke. "First rule. I fly. No question, no arguing. Just sit down and shut up."

Ezra blinked, and he held up his hands in surrender. "Yes, ma'am," he said dryly.

"And don't call me ma'am!"

"Then don't act like one."

Ben stepped toward them, touching the hood of the speeder gently. "Head north," he directed her. "Ezra's ride home will be there."

"Sure."

Ben's eyes flickered to Ezra. He reached out and touched the boy's shoulder.

"You have what you need to defeat the Empire," he said.

Leia glared at him. Stop lying! She sent over their bond.

It is not a lie, Ben replied defensively. From a cert—

"From a certain point of view," Leia muttered irritably. "Right. Got it. Don't die, Master."

"Be safe, little one."

"Uh huh." Leia started the speeder and shook her head furiously. "We're about to have a long talk, Ben. You're grounded."

Leia started off north, and felt Ezra slump beside her. "Have some water," she advised him. He blinked at the canteen that he had given her, and began to guzzle it down. He didn't even notice when they turned right and circled back.

When they were a safe distance, she parked and watched.

"What are you doing?" Ezra gasped. He grabbed her shoulder and she shrugged him off.

"They're still not fighting," she whispered.

Ezra squinted beside her. His eyes widened in the dark. "You're right." He slumped forward confusedly. "What are they doing?"

"Feeling each other out, most likely." Leia dug some binoculars from the back seat and adjusted them accordingly. "Yeah. Ben's got his business pose all up. Form III, but he does this thing where he points at you with two fingers, because he's kinda pissed. He only did it with me once, and he wasn't even mad at me, he was mad at my uncle— oh. He switched forms."

"What?"

Leia was silent. She watched through the lens of the binoculars as Ben switched from Soresu to Ataru. Maul shuffled forward, both hands on his staff. He paused. There was another short stalemate. Ataru, Leia thought. Form IV…Qui-Gon. Qui-Gon's form.

She did not want to watch any longer, but her eyes were glued to the scene.

Maul flung himself forward with a cry that echoed to them way out in the desert, and Ben blocked it fast. His knees were bent forward as Maul bounced back and spun his double-bladed staff. Red and blue glowed hotly all around them, leaking unnatural colors into the sand and bleeding into her eyes. Maul struck low then, half kneeling while Ben's lightsaber was extended upside-down in his fists just to make that block.

She held her breath.

"No!" she cried, lurching forward as Maul clutched his staff with both hands and moved to butt it into Ben's face. Nausea stirred within her and she fell against Ezra's arms as he reined her back into the speeder. Her breath was short and there were tears on her cheeks. She saw it. She saw Qui-Gon's death in her eyes, and she heard her own voice bleed into the young man that Ben had once been. She saw Ben holding Qui-Gon, cradling him gently, and she felt dizzy from the feeling of loss and illusion.

Ezra had pried the binoculars from her hands, and peered into them.

"Leia," he whispered. "Leia! He's okay!"

She tensed up. Her mind felt like it had been stewed into mush. She looked up at the boy in disbelief, and he held the binoculars out to her. She wrenched them from him and peered into them.

The images of Ben cradling Qui-Gon Jinn and Ben cradling the devil that had skewered him were bleeding together. They were superimposed on one another, and she could not quite pick out which one was real. All she knew was that Ben was alive. She let the binoculars fall from her fingers and into the space between her and Ezra.

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Maul is dead," Ezra declared. He was tense, with his back hunched and his arms between his knees. Leia glanced at him. Her tears were drying on her cheeks.

"Okay," she said. She started the speeder again and moved on.

She did not go north. She understood what she was doing by not going north, and she recognized Ben would be mad about it.

However, she did not care.

Ezra sat quietly beside her. His eyes kept flickering back to her face, and his chin would lower toward his chest before he would quickly avert his eyes. Finally she glanced at him sharply.

"What?" she demanded.

"I don't feel you," he said softly, "in the Force."

"That's because I'm shielding," she sighed.

"That strongly, though?"

Leia inhaled deeply, and she shrugged. "I guess I'm just good at it," she said simply.

"How long have you been training?"

Leia chewed on the inside of her cheek. She drummed her fingers against the yoke. "About a year," she admitted.

"Oh…"

"What about you?"

He blinked at her. He rubbed his knuckles absently and sighed, leaning his head back on the seat and peering up at the stars.

"About two years… almost three. I was fourteen when I started, but my birthday wasn't too long after, so…"

"Yeah." Leia nodded. "I get it."

"Why didn't Master Kenobi want me to know about you?" Ezra blurted, looking at her desperately. "Does he not trust me? Because I led Maul here?"

She sighed deeply, and she shook he head. "Ezra… don't take it personally." She slumped as she stared into the darkness ahead of her. "Ben's shifty as hell, and everything he says is only about half the truth. I don't think he does it intentionally, I mean… that's just the way he sees the world, and it's hard for normal people like us to follow his thinking. But I think he's just worried that you'll tell the Rebellion about me."

"Why would that be a bad thing?" Ezra gasped. He placed a hand on her shoulder and stared into her eyes. "Leia, we're basically all that's left of the Jedi. The Rebellion could use you."

"I'm sure they could," she muttered. She sunk into her seat and stared bitterly at the horizon. "Listen, Ezra, I want to join the Rebellion. I feel like I've been dreaming of it for years."

"What? Really?" Ezra grinned at her. "Well, then, let's go! You can stay with Phoenix Squadron! If you decide to go, I doubt Master Kenobi would refuse. Kanan will be so happy, I can't—!"

"Ezra," Leia said gently, allowing the speeder to roll into a stop close to her home. She turned to face him sadly. His smile fell, and he sighed. "I can't go with you."

He looked down at his hands. "Can I ask why?" he whispered.

She smiled at him, and placed her hand gently on his cheek. "You're a good person," she said. "I can tell. Which is why I hope you can understand… I'm not ready to leave home just yet. Like, you know I want to leave. Nobody wants to stay on Tatooine. But I can't leave my aunt and uncle, not right now, and Ben… Ben has been working so hard to train me, and if we're in the Rebellion, will we still have time for that?"

"We made time?" Ezra offered weakly. She shot him a blank look, and he sighed. "But… yeah, I understand. I really want you to come back with me, and I hope you don't mind me telling my master about you, but… you're free to make your own decisions."

"Thank you, Ezra." She smiled at him and climbed out of the speeder. "If you ever need help, don't hesitate to contact me. Don't bother with Ben, he's nervous about too many things. Contact me directly, and I'll make sure Ben and I get to you."

Ezra grinned. And then he looked around and blinked rapidly. "Uh, where are we?"

"Oh." Leia blinked. "Right. I took you to my home."

"Uh… why…?"

"Because you are suffering from dehydration and exhaustion— here, let me help you with your droid." The astromech was warbling as Ezra and Leia helped it down onto the ground. "You can stay for the night. We're pretty remote, but you might get enough of a connection to call your family and your master to tell them you're okay."

Ezra stared at her, his eyes gleaming in the bright blue glow of the moonlight. She choked on a gasp as he gathered her up into her hug, and she patted his back awkwardly.

"This trip was worth it," he whispered, "because of you."

She couldn't help but laugh. "What," she joked, "Ben didn't cut it for ya?"

Ezra pulled back and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Meeting him was pretty cool too," he said.

Leia rolled her eyes. "Come on," she said, gesturing forward. "I'll show you my room."

"Uh…"

She stared at him blankly. "Unless you'd rather sleep somewhere else?"

Ezra shook his head furiously. "Nope. Nope, everything's good. Just wondering, is all."

"Okay…" She sighed and rolled her eyes. Boys were all the same no matter what part of the galaxy they were from. Even Biggs, who she knew for a fact had no interest in girls, was awkward about going into her room.

She led him to her room and cleared out some space on the floor. He looked around in wonder as the droid, Chopper, warbled away. Leia couldn't understand him, and that annoyed her. She had always meant to pick up Binary, but they'd never owned a droid that used it.

"Chopper's way of talking is more like a bastardized version of Binary than anything," Ezra admitted as he took his place on the floor. Leia collapsed onto her bed and watched the astromech curiously. "I have trouble understanding other astromechs in comparison."

"Huh." She rolled onto her back and shrugged. "I can give him a tune up before you leave tomorrow, if you want. I'm good with droids."

Chopper grumbled.

"He said he'll pass," Ezra said sheepishly. "Sorry, he's sorta… touchy."

"I don't mind." Leia yawned and closed her eyes. "Well, goodnight, Ezra."

He was quiet for a few moments before she heard him exhale quietly. "Goodnight, Leia."

This time, when she fell asleep, she was blessed with the sweet taste of nothingness.

She woke up to an inordinate amount of yelling. At first, she sort of just ignored it. Her arms and legs were stiff, and her eyes would not open. Everything felt too heavy, and her heart most of all. Yet when she recognized her name scrambled into the jumble of shouts, her eyes peeled open. She twisted blearily toward the floor, throwing an empty nutrient bottle at the wide open space where Ezra had been last night. It bounced off the floor, and she blinked dazedly.

"Oh," she croaked very softly, "shit."

Leia bolted from her bed, skittering across her room and flinging herself outside, She stood for a moment in the subterranean courtyard of their farm, using her hand as a visor as she peered dazedly around her. She heard a shout from the kitchen and she took off.

"Leia!" Ezra cried in pure, shaky relief as she appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. Her hair was loose about her shoulders, fallen out of its messy knot from last night. Owen had pinned him to a chair and had the rifle blaster she used to shoot wamp rats stuck in Ezra's face. Leia stared at her uncle with an unimpressed gaze.

"Are you joking?" Leia opened her palm and felt around in the Force before latching onto the blaster and wrenching it from Owen's hands. It flew into her fingers, and she tossed it aside violently. "Uncle Owen, this is my friend Ezra."

"Your friend," Owen repeated bitterly. He jerked his chin at the blaster on the ground. "And what'd I tell you? No magic in the house!"

"It's not—!" Leia took a deep breath, and she pushed her anger aside. "Uncle Owen. Ezra is a Jedi. Like me."

"You are not a Jedi."

"Fine." Leia rolled her eyes and flung her hands into the air. "Apprentice! Whatever! And even if he was my boyfriend— which he is not— I'm disappointed in you for treating him this way!"

"Disappointed," Owen hissed, "in me? You bring a strange boy into our home— a smuggler by the looks of it—" Leia groaned and buried her face in her hands. "— And you play the victim? I thought Beru taught you better. What if you become pregnant?"

"Uncle Owen!" Leia snapped. "Enough!"

"I'm really, really not her boyfriend, sir," Ezra said weakly. "My name is Ezra Bridger, and I'm the apprentice of Kanan Jarrus. I'm from Lothal, and I only came to Tatooine to meet Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"Kenobi," Owen muttered. His tense shoulders loosened, and the redness of his neck seemed to fade. He glanced at Leia, and he sighed. "Of course… Kenobi…"

"Yes, Uncle Owen," Leia sighed, "Ben. Listen, I will excuse how utterly barbaric you were acting just now if you calm down and recognize that I was just letting Ezra stay here for the night. He spent the whole day in the sea outside the Wastes, and he's not from the desert. He probably nearly died from dehydration and exhaustion. I was only trying to help!"

A quick shuffling of footsteps came from behind her, and Leia did not turn around when Beru's voice echoed into the kitchen.

"What in the world is going on here?"

Owen opened his mouth, but Leia was faster and louder.

"Uncle Owen is accusing me of fucking a boy I was trying to help because he had desert-sickness, and I was just trying to be a good person!" Leia shot a glare at her uncle, who glared right back.

"This boy appeared out of nowhere, Beru. He was sneaking out of Leia's room like some kind of— of seedy smuggler from Mos Eisley!"

"I'm not a smuggler!" Ezra cried defensively. "I'm a Jedi! And a Rebel!"

Leia's eyes flashed to his viciously, and she swiped her flat hand across her neck to signal him to shut up.

"A…" Owen trailed off dazedly before his gaze moved heatedly to Leia. "Leia!"

"Uncle Owen," she groaned, "it's fine!"

"A Jedi and a Rebel!" Owen flung his arms into the air in distress. "It's a wonder the whole Empire isn't at our doorstep right now! Don't you have any sense?"

"That's enough," Beru said very sharply. Sharply, at least, for Beru. "Owen, Leia is a Jedi too. You forget, because you don't want to acknowledge it, but it is more a part of her than moisture farming ever will. Of course she would go out of her way to help someone like her. Don't be silly." Her eyes rested on Ezra's face, and she smiled warmly. "What's your name, young man?"

Ezra beamed at her, bouncing back from the verbal berating of Owen at the mere sight of a friendly face. "Ezra Bridger, ma'am," he said brightly.

"Well," Beru said gently, "you seem perfectly nice. Would you like some breakfast?"

Ezra took a polite pause, glancing at Leia worriedly. She nodded, and he smiled up at Beru. "Yes, thank you. But after that I really need to get going."

"Of course," Beru said. She set her bags down on the counter, and Leia realized she had been out getting groceries. "But I can't in good conscience let you leave without feeding you. I assume your journey is far."

"Sorta," Ezra said sheepishly. He looked down at his hands, and he shrugged. "You understand why I can't tell you, though."

"It'd put us in danger," Leia sighed. "Yep."

Ezra smiled at her, but she couldn't find it in herself to return it. She simply sat down, and idly began to sweep her hair back into a hasty braid.

"Don't play with your hair at the table, Leia," Beru scolded.

"I'm just putting it back."

"Do that in the fresher."

"Aunt Beru, I've already finished braiding it…"

"Well do it in the fresher next time."

Leia chewed on the inside of her cheek, and she slumped forward. Ezra watched her curiously out of the corner of his eye.

"What?" she hissed.

He blinked rapidly, and he smiled. "Your family is nice," he whispered back.

"Uncle Owen nearly shot you. Idiot."

"In his defense," he murmured, "I think Kanan would've done the same thing if he found a weird boy in Sabine's room. So. There is that."

"Is Sabine your sister?" Leia asked curiously.

Ezra looked down at her, surprise glinting in his eyes but subsiding quickly. "Uh…" He scratched his cheek and frowned. "I mean… something like that."

"Okay, well," Leia yawned, stretching her arms above her head. "Tell me some stuff. How'd you and your master meet?"

"Kanan?" Ezra blinked. "Uh… hm. Well, he was stealing some shit from the Empire. And then I stole that shit from him. And then I stole his holocron, and he was like, hey, want me to teach you how to be a Jedi? And I was like, yep! Anything is better than being homeless." Ezra drummed his fingers against the table. Leia noted that Owen and Beru were glancing at each other in their own unspoken language.

"You were homeless?" Leia gaped. "Really? What… happened? If you don't mind me asking."

"The Empire," Ezra replied simply, his large blue eyes blinked down at her earnestly. "What else?"

The thing was, as much as she hated the Empire, she'd never felt the brunt of their tyranny. Out here, the only sign of the Empire's existence was the slow trickle of slaves brought in from non-human conquered planets and a handful of stormtroopers. That alone was enough to make Leia hate it, but it wasn't like there had been any personal slight against her. Against Ben, against Rona Rha, against her steadfast morals, but nothing that had seriously affected her.

But still, she thought fiercely, it's better to be privileged and know it, then to be privileged and ignorant.

While she wouldn't consider living on Tatooine, where the work was hard and the days were long, an enormous privilege, at the very least she had grown up free, with a roof over her head, and two loving people to raise her into adulthood.

Not many people in this galaxy could say that.

So yes. She was privileged.

I will make it right.

"My father was killed by the Empire," she said grimly.

Ezra's eyes were shining with sympathy. He put his hand gently on her shoulder. "Mine too," he admitted.

"Mine was a Jedi."

Ezra gaped at her. He recovered quickly, though. "Mine was a rebel broadcaster," he murmured. "He died in jail. So did my mom."

Leia searched his face, and her heart broke for him. A boy raised on the streets because his parents had dared to speak out. It was tragic in a way that spoke to her personally. Because she knew if she were in his parents' place, a young child to care for and a tyrannical government crushing them, she would do the same.

"I'm so sorry," she said gently, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Ezra shook his head. "It's… I'm okay." He shot her a wan smile. "I've come to terms with it. And I've got a new family now."

"Your master," Leia said with a nod. "And your not sister, Sabine."

"Yep. And Hera, and Zeb. And Chop." Ezra looked around suddenly. "Where is Chopper?"

Aunt Beru set a bowl of grains before him, setting a spoon beside it. "Who is Chopper?"

"My droid." He twisted to look at Owen. "Did you see an astromech roaming around before you found me?"

"No," Owen said gruffly.

"He might've gone closer to the generator," Leia suggested, hopping out of her seat. "The signal's better over there. I'll go check, kay?"

She left him there before he had the chance to object.

Outside, in the wall of heat caused by the dazzling morning suns, she was once again half-blinded. She moved instinctively outside the homestead to the generator, and stopped short a few feet away. Chopper's signature warbles died away, and his flat head swiveled to peer at her.

She slumped. Ben's eyes gazed at her, and then gazed right through her.

"Ben," she mumbled. She caught her braid in her fingers and fiddled with the thick plaits.

He did not immediately respond. She was overwhelmed with the feeling of guilt and disappointment, as though she had both failed him and been failed by him.

"I did not want you to see what you saw, little one," Ben said softly.

Leia was struck mute with shock. The suns blazed overhead, inching toward the center of the sky and threatening to burn the whole world to a crisp. Her braid slipped from her fingers.

"What?" she gasped, stepping forward. "Ben— Ben, I thought Maul was going to kill you!"

"I know."

"No," Leia breathed, taking another step forward, and then another, "no, you don't! Ben, how long was I meditating in my room for?"

Ben looked down at her, his brow raising curiously. "I don't know," he admitted. "I had not seen you for several days, and I assumed you were busy."

"Days?" Leia exhaled shakily. "Days… damn. It felt like it had only been a few hours."

"That's fascinating." He looked at her with fresh surprise, and some bare amount of pride around the whiskers of his mouth. "You have never meditated for so long before. Tell me, how did it go?"

"That's just the thing, Ben," Leia gasped. "It was too much! It was awful!"

He folded his arms into his sleeves, and he frowned deeply. "Oh dear," he muttered. "Leia. Listen to me. Visions are simply the Force's way of speaking to us when we are facing troubling circumstances. It does not mean what you saw will come to pass."

"I didn't see the future," she said heatedly, her jaw clenching, "I saw the past."

He froze. Leia felt from him something she had never in her life felt from their bond, and it shuddered through her like a fever chill.

Panic.

He did not speak. Instead he watched her sadly, his eyes drooping under the weight of a lifetime of sorrows.

"I spoke to Qui-Gon," she said.

His shoulder jerked, as though this was not what he had been expecting. He blinked down at her uncertainly.

"Oh?" he said softly.

Leia inhaled very deeply, and the smell of the heat, of the baking sand and roasting clay of the homestead filled her nose.

"He showed me how he died," she whispered. Her fingers curled into fists, and she looked up at him fiercely. "I saw it happen! Maul was going to do the same thing to you! The very same way!"

"Yes," Ben agreed quietly. "I noticed."

"Well," Leia huffed, rocking back and biting the sides of her tongue to keep tears from spring into her eyes, "now you know why I was so scared! I had just seen it happen before, and— and of course I'm angry, and frightened about it! I don't want to lose you, Ben!"

He closed his eyes. Beside him, Chopper grumbled away, his top swiveling between them. Ben patted the top of the little droid's head.

"I would appreciate it if you did not mention this," he told the droid.

Chopper warbled and threw his claws into the air in a shrug. Ben glanced at Leia, and he shook his head. He stepped as close to her as he dared, and laid a gently hand on her shoulder.

"Nothing in this life lasts forever, little one," he said gravely, "and one day, whether you like it or not, I will be gone."

She squeezed her eyes shut and shrugged his hands off her shoulder. "You saw your master die," she whispered bitterly. "You saw my father die. You know how awful that feels! How can you ask me to be okay with something like that?"

His back straightened up, and he lifted his chin as he watched her with a tired resignation. It hurt so badly, the thought of letting him go, and she knew what he was going to say. She knew it, and she understood it, but it was too hard for her heart to bear. How could he ask this of her? How could anyone be so cruel?

"That is the Jedi way."

Leia shrunk. Her shoulders tensed up, and bile stirred at the back of her throat. The Jedi are wrong, she thought numbly. But another voice, a grave and wise voice from within her, a voice that reflected that of Qui-Gon Jinn said, But living suspended by fear of grief, and then by the will of grief itself, is not life at all.

She closed her eyes and let her head fall forward. Her forehead bumped against Ben's chest. There was nothing she could say, or do, or think, or feel that would make this right. Perhaps because in this instance, she was the one in the wrong.

Ben's fingers fell gingerly upon her head. He stroked her hair absently while she stood there, fighting back tears.

No tears. No tears. She would not let herself cry over this.

"When Qui-Gon died, I was devastated," Ben admitted. "When your father died… that was worse. But I moved on. I looked forward, and latched on to a new hope. Promise me, Leia, that when I go, you will do the same."

She gripped the folds of his threadbare cloak. She held on tight.

"I promise," she whispered.

Ben exhaled softly, and he patted her head.

"Alright," he murmured. "Let's go see Ezra Bridger off, hm?"

Leia choked a laugh. She glanced up at him, smiling sheepishly. "You're not mad I let him stay the night?"

"Not in the least. Though I heard Owen made quite the scene."

Leia groaned, and held her head in her hand. "Why does he think I'm fucking every boy I meet?"

"He's just worried about you, little one."

"But every boy I meet, Ben! It's so unfair, I've never even had a boyfriend before and he acts like I've been around half of Anchorhead!"

"Truly," Ben said faintly, "I do not know how to help you with that."

"Of course not," she muttered. "The only girl you loved was a Duchess. I'd kill for a Duchess right now! That'd teach Uncle Owen. I could totally land a Duchess, too. Couldn't I?"

"Being a Jedi does have its charm," Ben chuckled, patting her head as they returned slowly to the kitchen. "Though it is pretty harsh on your long term love life."

"Eh." Leia shrugged. "I'll deal with it when I have to."

Leia poked her head into the kitchen. Chopper came barreling in beside her, choking garbled Binary at Ezra. Ezra had his mouthful, and he choked a bit when Chopper whipped his thigh with his mechanical arms.

"Hey!" Ezra gasped. "Okay, okay! We're going." He leapt to his feet and bowed his head respectfully toward Beru. "Thank you so much for the meal."

"It's no problem," Beru said gently. "I only wish I'd known you were here earlier. It could have saved you some trouble."

Ezra shrugged weakly. "I don't mind," he said. "I'm glad I got the chance to meet all of you, though!"

Beru's smile was warm and genuine. Owen sat at the table and eyed Ezra distrustfully. "Have a safe trip," Beru called as Leia led Ezra outside. Ezra waved at her enthusiastically before turning forward. His eyes lit up when he saw Ben.

"Master Kenobi!" he cried.

Ben had his hands in his sleeves and his hood upon his head, but he smiled all the same.

"Hello," he said, "Ezra Bridger."

Ezra beamed at him. "I'm so glad you're here," he said, clapping his hands together enthusiastically. "I get to say goodbye!"

"We'll see you off," Ben said, ushering Ezra, Leia, and Chopper toward the Lars' speeder. "It's the least we can do."

"You've done enough," Ezra said earnestly. "You took care of Maul! You have no idea what that means to me."

"I could sense that our mutual adversary had a bit of an obsession with you," Ben admitted as they all climbed into the speeder. Ben took the back with Chopper while Leia and Ezra took the front. "As someone who has been on the receiving end of such an infatuation, I imagine it has been difficult for you."

Ezra exhaled a quick puff of breath through his teeth. "Yeah, I'll say…" He grimaced, and turned his face away while Leia started the ignition of the speeder. "I think it's been harder on my master, though. He kept telling me to let Maul go, but I just… I couldn't. Not after what Maul did to him."

Leia's eyes flashed to Ezra's face curiously. "What'd he do?"

Ezra stared out into the desert as Ben pointed her in the right direction. "He blinded my master about a year ago," he said bitterly. "It was my fault. I thought we could trust Maul because we had a mutual enemy— the Inquisitors, and Vader."

"Vader," Leia breathed. "Darth Vader. Really?"

"Yeah…"

"What was that like?" she asked, hoping she sounded casual.

Ezra swallowed hard. He tried to play it off cool, she could tell, by loosening his shoulders and shrugging. "You know. Terrifying."

Leia couldn't help but laugh. It was a short, disbelieving chuckle. She felt Ben's eyes on the back of her head, and she ignored it. "I'll bet," she murmured. "You know, Vader was the one who killed my father."

"Oh." Ezra watched her sadly. "I'm sorry."

"It's… you know." Leia lifted her shoulders and dropped them lazily. Her knuckles were white against the yoke. "Whatever."

Ezra twisted to look at Ben with big eyes. "Kanan says Vader is responsible for killing most of the Jedi," he said. "How did you escape?"

Leia could not see Ben, since she was driving the speeder, but he was quiet for a few moments.

"I had help," he said softly.

Leia had never heard this before. She glanced at Ezra, and he glanced back at her. They probably would not get anymore information out of him if they tried.

"Do you know of any other Jedi who lived?" Ezra asked eagerly.

Ben shook his head gravely. She saw it out of the corner of her eye. Her heart sunk.

"I am glad, though," he said softly, "to hear that Caleb Dume lived."

"Caleb— oh. Kanan." Ezra nodded. "Right. He doesn't go by that name anymore."

"I do not blame him. I changed my name as well."

"Yeah! That's right. You go by Ben now. Why didn't you change your last name?"

"I tried," he admitted, "but Owen Lars kept spitting "Kenobi" at me so often, I figured it was a fool's errand to go by anything else."

Leia burst into a giddy, incredulous bout of laughter. "No way!" she gasped. "Uncle Owen fucked up your cover? That's incredible!"

"He doesn't like you much, I gather," Ezra said dryly.

"He's come to accept me, at the very least."

Leia's laughter died down after a minute or so. Ben kept directing her, and after a little while her curiosity got the best of her.

"Do you know any other Jedi that survived?" she asked Ezra, eyeing him uncertainly.

Ezra blinked at her, and his thick eyebrows pulled together pensively. "Well… actually," he said, "there are two that I know of."

Ben leaned forward, suddenly very attentive. Leia actually turned around to share a brief, but excited glance with him.

Survivors! she called into his mind.

I know, he thought back, I know…

"One is, um… you must know him. Master Yoda?"

Ben blinked. He smiled then, a warm and true smile, and he nodded. "You've met Yoda," he murmured. "I'm glad. Younglings were his specialty."

"Who's Yoda?" Leia asked.

Ben shook his head. "You may meet him one day. It is not important right now. Watch the sand, Leia."

"I'm watching!"

"I only met him in a vision," Ezra admitted, "but I think he's okay."

Ben nodded. "And the other?"

"Oh." Ezra smiled sheepishly. "Hopefully you know her— she was just a padawan too, when the Jedi fell. Ahsoka Tano?"

Leia felt a jolt of several different emotions hit her at once, bare-backed and shivering as they poured through their bond. Shock and dismay and overwhelming relief. Sadness and grief and blissful joy.

And then, very suddenly, it all stopped. Leia looked over her shoulder at Ben, who had closed himself to her so quickly and violently that it had stung.

"Ahsoka," he murmured. His voice was half a whisper, and the fondness in his tone soothed her. "Of course… of course she made it."

"You knew her?" Ezra's eyes were big and bright. "Listen, if you want, I can try and contact her. She's been dark for about a year now— I think she's rehabilitating after a fight with Vader, but as far as we know she's safe. I can tell her you're alive, if you want."

Ben tensed up suddenly, as though he were seized with a sudden and prevalent fear.

"No," he murmured. "It's best… it's best if she doesn't know."

"Ben…" Leia said softly. Ben did not respond, so she prodded their bond gingerly. Even then there was no response. She glanced at Ezra, and he glanced back at her. There was an unspoken sense of comradery between them, and he lowered his eyes sadly.

There was nothing they could do. The last dregs of Ben's old life were so out of reach that he'd rather push them aside than embrace them.

Leia rolled into a stop before a black and red ship. Her eyes glazed over as she gaped at it, excitement filling up her chest as she leaned forward eagerly.

"What?" she gasped leaping out of the speeder and rushing up to the pointed wings of the fighter. "No way! Is that a Mandalorian starfighter?"

"So it is," Ben said absently from the backseat of the speeder. Leia wadded her sleeves around her hands and tested the wings of the fighter. They were radiating heat from being out in the sun for so long.

"She's beautiful! Can I take her for a spin?" she gasped, whirling to face Ben with large eyes. He stared at her blankly. "Just into orbit! Please?"

"I don't think that is a wise idea, Leia," Ben said quietly.

She slumped. Ezra watched her with a sympathetic gaze, and he patted her shoulder with a small smile. "Hey," he said. "Don't worry. You'll get out there someday."

"Yeah…" She sighed and glanced longingly at the Gauntlet. She'd only ever seen one in the small model toys her Uncle had allowed her when she'd been young. It was beautifully crafted with a sleek, pointed design and a classy paintjob. "Rebellion short of any pilots?"

Ezra's dark face brightened, and he cocked his head at her curiously. "You interested?"

Leia grinned, and she opened her mouth. Ben cleared his throat rather loudly, and she glanced back at him, her smile falling away. She sighed deeply, and she shook her head.

"Not right now," she said. She paused, and she swatted Ezra's bicep playfully. "Don't count me out, though, okay? Put in a good word for me."

"I definitely will," he said, smiling down at her warmly. He offered out his hand. "It was incredible to meet you, Leia."

She grasped his hand and shook it briefly. "Yeah. Ditto." She stepped back toward the speeder as Ezra opened the hatch of the fighter and hopped in. Chopper flew in after him. "Hey! Ezra!"

He had just settled into the seat when he turned his head to look at her in surprise.

She grinned and waved at him brightly. "May the Force be with you!"

He blinked, and he laughed, and he threw her a mock salute. "And with you guys. Be safe!"

"Right back at you!" Leia leaned against the speeder haughtily, her arms folded across her chest. "Don't rebel too hard and die on us! We're an endangered species."

Ezra was still laughing. "Yeah, yeah," he gasped. He paused briefly as the hatch slowly descended upon him. He looked her in the eye, and his expression softened considerably. He said gently, "Thank you."

And with a roar of an engine and a burst of speed, Ezra and the Gauntlet were gone.

Leia stood and watched him become but a dark speck in the ceaselessly blue sky, and then become nothing at all. She stayed there after. She stood with a craned neck and gazed at the blinding dome above.

Something brushed gingerly against her arm. She glanced at Ben vacantly.

He looked at her and offered her an object in his hand that glinted wildly against the blazing suns.

She grinned at him, and grasped the lightsaber tightly.

"Let's go home," she said.