Where there is Hope (revised)

“Leia… we are coming out of Hyperspace now,” said Bail Organa, hoping this would get her out of the sour mood he had seen from her for the entire trip back from Coruscant. Unfortunately, all this news did was make Leia heave a huge sigh of frustration and sink even deeper into her seat. The datapad in her hands she brought closer to her face, pretending to read the contents with much more concentration than was needed.

Bail sighed, and left her to read in peace until they landed.

“Do you think she will let me back in yet sir?” Asked the ever-calm Winter.

“Possibly, it wouldn’t hurt for you to try. I just wish I knew what was making her so moody.”

“I wish I knew as well sir,” Winter replied as she got up to go join her charge.

Leia continued to pretend to be interested in the datapad as she entered the room. But for all the effort she put on for her father, she couldn’t keep it up as Winter just sat across from her and waited her out. At least Bail gave up. But Winter simply sat there, behaving far better that Leia herself could behave, even when she felt like it. She smiled to her-self. Winter’s behavior had gotten her mistaken on more than one account for Leia. While she found this funny, Winter did not. Leia had been known to receive a small look if she started to giggle when it happened. Finally, she could stand it no longer. With another sigh, Leia got up, dropped the datapad on the table and went to sit next to her.

“I am interested in Politics right now,” Leia blurted out, “I came on this trip because I wanted to see the Capitol and all the excitement. I wanted to observe all I have been learning about in action, but all I did was sit and listen to long winded speeches and this and that, power and might, on and on and on…What’s the point of learning all this debating and such if I never get to use it?”

“My only question Highness is why aren’t you telling this to your father?” Winter replied, calmly changing her position to undo and fix Leia’s hair that she had messed up while squishing herself to the back of her previous seat.

“I don’t know, I guess because I don’t want to bother him”, Leia changed position to give Winter more room; “He has much more to worry about than to listen to me complain about something he has probably known about for years.”

“But he agreed to let you come. So he must be expecting you to ask a few questions.”

“Yes, but I don’t want to be an annoyance.”

“You are most certainly not an annoyance. Go ahead and tell him what you thought. He will give you an answer. He always does.”

With a final look-over, Winter finished fixing Leia’s hair. Just afterwards, they both felt a small jerk as the ship landed and the hiss of the airlock and hatch opened. Both girls got up and followed Bail out onto the landing platform there his wife was waiting for them.

“I am glad to see you all back safely,” Breha said, giving Bail a quick peck and asking, “How was the session?”

“More of the same I’m afraid.” Bail replied with frustration, “But I will tell you more once we are settled.”

“Leia”, Breha next swooped down to her daughter for a hug, which Leia gave only half-heartedly. “Did you have a good time?”

“It was alright,” Leia replied, ignoring the look she got from Winter, “I just wish it had been a bit less boring and there had been more debating. Are all the Emperor’s speeches that long?”

“I’m sure it wasn’t as bad as you make out to be dear. You may one day find them enlightening. Now, go get ready for Dinner, we are having a guest.” As Leia and Winter went on their way (Leia was running as fast as she could with Winter yelling at her to slow down), Breha turned to Bail and asked, “Was it really that boring?”

“It was the longest speech I have ever had to sit through.” Bail replied with a smile.

“So, she had a point?”

“A very good one.”


“I thought you were going to tell him,” Winter gasped out as they reached Leia’s room, “But instead all you said was that it was boring?”

“I figured he would take the hint for now,” Leia gasped back, reaching up and keying the door open. “It’s not like I was secretive about it. By the way, who is the guest?”

“I haven’t the faintest idea,” Winter called as she went into the closet, “But I suppose we should assume important, and…casual?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Winter came out of the closet with several outfits in hand. “Pick one you like and I will match it.”

“Um… The pants and tunic. Are there any amulets?” Leia asked as she started to peel off the traveling clothes. They were much dirtier that she had originally thought.

“Check the box. I’m not entirely sure,” Winter called back. “And see if there are any earrings.”

In five minutes, both girls were ready. Leia had chosen a set of pale blue loose pants and a matching tunic with a necklace of silver squares that she had gotten from her father for her birthday a year before. Around her waist was something special. Only months ago, Leia had been formally named the Princess of Aleraan. With this new title, came a symbol of the power and responsibility. A belt made specifically for her. The silver belt had the markings of the Royal house set symmetrically with those of the Organa family; recognizing her officially as a member of the royal family.

Upon entering the large dining room used for these special dinners, Leia immediately saw that this dinner was not going to be as bad as she had thought. The guest her mother had mentioned was Mon Mothma. One of her fathers friends form the Senate.

While Leia had known her father had friends in the Senate, he had never had any over for dinner before. Or, at least she had not known about it. Governors and Officers were to be expected. However, rarely did Bail invite personal friends to dinner with the family.

“Leia, How nice to see you,” Mon Mothma said as Leia came over to greet her.

“It is nice to see you as well, Senator.” Leia replied as they all went to sit down.

The dinner was not very exciting, and it did not help that for the main course was Duck. Leia hated Duck; both alive and dead. They were awkward, like the dinner. It was mostly Bail chatting with Mon about the most recent set of speeches. Breha chimed in a few times with a question, but mostly just listened. Leia pretended to be interested only in her food, but she paid close attention to their reiterations, hoping to be able to make an intelligent comment, just to prove that she understood. But as the dinner wore on, she found it difficult to pop in. She was so consumed by her thoughts that she just barely noticed when Bail mentioned that she had come with him on the latest trip.

“Really, and what did you think Leia?” Mon Mothma was asking.

Jolted back into the present, all Leia could say at first was nonsense. She had never participated in these conversations, this was her first try.

“Huh? Oh, the trip…well…it was mostly confusing.”

“In what way?” Bail asked, “I’m sure we can clarify them for you.”

Startled by the answer the she had somehow known would come, Leia remained quiet for a moment. She then turned to glance at Winter. Winter glanced back, smiled, and nodded.

“My main problem is that I don’t see the exact purpose of The Galactic Senate. Is there a specific purpose?”

“Well,” Bail began, “The Senate’s main job is to provide the opinions of all the systems to the Emperor to help in his decision making process.”

“I didn’t mean the taught version; I would like your opinions. You both have been in your positions since before the Empire. What are the differences? What stayed the same? Of what changed, were they for the better, or not?”

All three adults were silent. Bail and Mon Mothma glanced at each other, unsure of how to proceed. Such questions lead to dangerous answers, and therefore should not be discussed in certain settings. In the end, it was Breha who saved them both from answering.

“Leia dear, I think we should leave those questions for the classroom. Why don’t after dinner, you write them down to ask at a later date?”

After dinner, when Leia and Winter had left, the three adults all sat together in a private room.

“After the way she behaved this afternoon, I most certainly did not expect Leia to come up with those questions,” Bail said in disbelief, “she never gave off that impression.”

“What do you mean ‘never gave off that impression’?” Breha laughed, “Did you think her wanting to go with you was a fluke? She is quite mature already Bail. She knows what she was saying.”

“Even so,” Mon Mothma commented, “Her outward ness could get her into trouble. We, especially you, Bail, need to be careful. She might let something slip.”

“Not if she is anything like her mother,” Bail countered, “I think we should see where this goes for a while. By the next session, I think we will be able to discern whether or not to continue.”

“Very well,” Mon Mothma stood up, “I will leave this to you. Anyway, I must be off. Thank you ever so much Breha for the lovely dinner. Good Night.”

One month later…

“You’re sure about this?” Breha was not convinced. “I don’t think she is ready for this burden.”

“I’m positive,” Bail assured his wife, “Over the past month she has grown even more confident and curious. It is time she saw for herself and was introduced. She needs to be well known and well liked. We need to encourage this while we can.”

Breha nodded in understanding. They gave each other a goodbye kiss as Leia came out with Winter.

“All set?” Bail asked.

“All set.” Leia replied.

“Before you go,” Breha stopped Leia, “I have a present for you. Go on, open it.”

From under her cloak, Breha pulled a package. Leia looked at it with interest. I was not normal for her to receive something when there was no holiday. The package had some weight to it, but had no set structure. It moved with ease when she pulled the flap up. Out of the package came a bright white dress. It was plain, there were no special seams, or embroidery, the only different thing about it was a large hood attached to the back. However, the package was not yet empty. Still inside, was another white dress. This one, however, was form fitting and had a small drape for the back and arms.

“For the Session and Reception, in that order.” Breha was beaming, “Your new belt goes with both of them. I want you to make a good impression.”

“Thank you.” This was all Leia could think of to say. She was speechless. She was still in a daze as she hugged her mother and the ship lifted off.

As the stars turned to lines and they entered Hyperspace, Bail came in.
“Leia, we need to talk about a few things before reaching Coruscant.”

“Alright,” Leia said with a similar serious tone, realizing that this was important. As she sat down next to him she asked, “Should Winter hear this as well?”

“No, Winter already knows.” Bail smiled, “This is very important, especially for you.” With that, Bail began:

“At about the time you were born Leia, there was a big change in the Republic.
We had been at war for nearly three years, and signs of stress and need for closure were popping up. Many Senators were worried, including Mon Mothma and myself. The Supreme Chancellor had too much power. We feared that when the war was over, he would not relinquish them. In the end, we were right.

“Palpatine Eventually called an emergency session, and told all of the Senate of an elaborate plan to take over by the Jedi that had failed. He said his deformity was a result of their attempt to kill him. As a result, Palpatine declared himself Emperor ‘in order to ensure the security and continuing stability of the Republic.’”

“But it is no longer a Republic if there is an Emperor,” Leia added, “It doesn’t make sense.”

“Exactly,” Bail Beamed, “There isn’t a Republic anymore. There is an Empire. As such, many changes came pouring in. Nothing we Senators said really mattered anymore. Governors have been given more and more power. In reality, The Imperial Senate means nothing anymore. It is simply there for transition. It has no real power, and could disappear at any moment.”

“So is anyone doing something about it?” Leia asked, looking at Bail.

“We—are trying,” Bail began.

“When you say ‘we’, whom do you mean?”

“Mon Mothma, myself, and others. We strive to make our points better heard and attempt to stop The Empire as best we can in certain ventures.”

“In other words, a rebellion.” By this time, Leia was smirking inside with satisfaction. She was finally finding the underlying cause of all Bail’s strange behavior over the past month. Things were starting to fall into place.

“We prefer to think of it as an Alliance,” Bail smiled. “Interested?”

“Darth Vader couldn’t keep me away.”

To himself Bail thought ‘I hope I don’t have a bad feeling about this.’