borntorebel | [IC] Appointments

Perhaps had it not been on my arrival, it might have been more appreciated.

[There was a certain light dryness to her voice, but she had not sensed any harm from him. Although, she would say that there had been a moment where she had not known what to make of him. After all, her marriage to Anakin was still fresh in her mind, while he had made reference to it as if it were common knowledge.]

Not for many years, I hope. [After all, a child should live longer than their parent.]

Yes, well, I suppose that being exposed to it right off the bat would be a bit much upon one's arrival here in Luceti. I was at least spared that much the first time I arrived. The presence of yourself and Anakin were a much larger shock, honestly.

[Like a fist to the gut or being shot by a Stormtrooper. Temporarily shocking but not lethal.]

Well, according to Han, I at least live to see our older children reach the age of six. [Among other things.] Did my brother or father also mention our relation to Han Solo?

Something that, no doubt, went both ways.

[Knowing your parents were much young, or realizing that your children were suddenly grown- or that you even had children in the first place.

She paused though, a surprised look on her face which more or less answered Leia's question without her having to say a word.]

No. [Drawn out slightly as she shook her head. Children... So grandchildren?] Given what you just said... You are married?

Yes. [Leia can't help but smile as she answers that question. She hasn't forgotten the how it happened, but she's glad that it does.] Though it's a few years from my own point in time.

We have...will have three children, a girl and two boys. From what Luke and Han tell me about them, they seem utterly perfect. But they're strangers to me, as I am to you on a certain level.

[Her brows rose. And to think that Padmé had found having children to be a surprise. Leia not only had unknown children, but was married as well. No doubt it would have been awkward had she been the same, or even if she had arrived before the arena... It had only been then that she had actually admitted her feelings to Anakin.]

I hope the marriage wasn't a complete surprise?

[She knew so little of her daughter that she didn't know what role this Han person had played.]

Not...entirely. Han and I have been involved for a while even from when I arrived, though work had kept us apart for some time.

[Although, their relationship was much stronger now that she knew what she could look forward to as his wife.]

He's a General in the Alliance forces. And besides my brother, he's one of the few people that I know I can trust with everything.

[Even despite of his temporary leave of sanity regarding the few weeks before their wedding.]

Then I hope it wasn't too much of a surprise to know that the next step- or steps- were taken.

[Although children, as she knew, weren't always expected. Then again, for all she knew, Anakin and her would move to that point, openly seeking to have children. It was not that she was disappointed though, as children had always been something that she had thought about. The time had just never presented itself- that, and she had just married.]

I'm glad to hear that. Having people you can trust is important. Especially one's husband.

[As much as Leia enjoys hearing of her children from Han and Luke... As much as she realizes that being the daughter of Anakin Skywalker isn't a burden, doesn't make her a walking time bomb for instant Sith Lady... She's still not 100% sold on motherhood. She knows that she'll feel differently after going through the whole process and having the actual discussions with Han when the time is right.

But a small part of her is still terrified at the type of environment she can afford to innocent lives with the way that she lives back in their galaxy.]

To the fact that we get married, no. Motherhood...I'm still a little unsure about. I haven't really thought about having children yet, because of the condition of the Republic. However, both my brother and husband assure me that I change my mind when the time is right.

[The comment about being able to trust one's husband sits like a knot in Leia's stomach. She knows what happens between her parents. She knows, for the most part, how she ends up a wife and mother. But trusting Han has...become as easy as breathing for her.]

We've known each other for nearly seven years. I hope that's adequate time to trust the man I love.

[There is so much of Padmé reflected in those words that she does still, listening. While she does at least know that she is married, she hasn't thought beyond that, at least in the sense of children. Having them had always been something she thought would happen, but then she had married a Jedi. She had no doubts either that things in the Republic would be taking a turn for the worse, and a part of her duties were to help.]

Time, I think, is irrelevant. With some people, you can spent a lifetime getting to know them, and with others, it feels like an instant sets them out before you. [But she offers a smile.] But trust is a precious thing that is easily earned, but once lost, hard to regain.

[The truth of the matter is that Leia hadn't really planned on ever having children after finding out the truth of her parentage. Before Luke had sprung that tidbit of information on her, she'd held out hope that one day things would calm down so that she could maybe get to a place where children and a husband were plausible.

She can only assume that time with Han and Luke will change her mind back home, make things easier for her to accept. But she can't say for sure in Luceti.]

Force, when I first met him, I couldn't stand him. [Of course, extenuating circumstances and all that.]

[Her own mind turned to the first time she had met Anakin and it brings a soft laugh from her. She hadn't been pleased that she had to put her fate and the fate of her people and planet in to a boy that had not even finished a race. He had been strange though, she recalled, with his talk of angels, but kind. So very kind.] Yet that clearly changed.

After many years, yes. [Talking about Han himself was a safe subject. He was himself, no matter what else happened, and Leia understood him for the most part too.]

He was arrogant and brash. He called me things like "Sweetheart" and "Your Worshipfulness". I think he went out of his way to provoke me, honestly. [She shook her head at her past self's foolishness.] And I rose to the bait every time. Because he was also handsome and charming, on top of being smart and resourceful. And it was hard not to fall in love with him in the end.

[Even if she might have heard it, to Padmé it was new, and it was giving her little glimpses in to the life that her daughter had had. It may well have been stories that Leia had told her already, and Padmé hoped that she didn’t mind sharing again. Although, she somehow thought that if Leia did, she would let it be known.]

There are those who do go about making... acquaintance... in a unique manner.

[It did sound a little like when boys used to pull hair though, teasing those who they liked.

Although her daughter looked to have a good head on her shoulders and she doubted that anyone could make her do something that she didn’t want to. Putting up with someone included.]

He sounds like an interesting character.

[Talking about Han and Luke will never cease to make Leia smile. They are both so different and yet they complemented one another. And they were good friends as well. It wasn't hard to see it for anyone either.]

Unique is probably a good word. I can't say that I've met anyone else is such a...different way. [Lando was another person met under unique circumstances, but they seemed tame when compared to escaping from the Death Star.]

I don't think I've ever met anyone quite like him since. Which is probably a good thing, in the long run. The galaxy only needs so many over-inflated egos in one spot. The Senate can carry the rest of the slots.

[Padmé could tell her own stories about meeting people in different ways. It was surprising how well those meetings could work out actually, and Padmé had ended up with some very pleasant results because of it. A husband, as well.]

It is funny how these events turn out... How, at the most unsuspecting time, things can change.

Luke would probably say the Force was behind it all. After sometime training with him, I'm not so sure he's wrong.

One could state that that is a very Jedi thing to say.

Considering I've heard both Obi-Wan and Master Yoda use the same line, I will agree with you there.

[So, it might have been through the holos that she heard Yoda use the line, but that doesn't make that statement any less true.]

Perhaps after a long enough time of being connected to the Force, that's something all Jedi say? Maybe one day I too will say it.

Yes.

[She thought back, to when she had first met Obi-Wan, and his master. Her interaction with other Jedi were fewer and far between.]

At least the sentiment behind it.

[And how things must have changed...]

You may well, even if I’m not the one to speak to about Jedi affairs.

Perhaps, although, honestly, I prefer to think that I have some say in how I live my life. Personal accountability must mean something, after all.

[Which is a sentiment she'll probably never get over.]

I...it is still strange to think that I have any say in Jedi affairs, considering my teaching began so much later than anyone else's that I know.

Anakin was the oldest anyone had ever been trained, at least in my time.

[Which clearly isn't the case in the future. Then again, with what happens... It will be a dark day when all that light goes out- had gone out by the reckoning of some.]

It seems that the Order has changed though. It does seem strange, on the one hand, and yet... Well, I suppose remaining the same does leave one to stagnant.

According to my brother, I am over thirty when I begin actively training to become a Jedi. As it stands, I'm almost twenty-five now. I think it would've been easier when I was nine years old.

[She knows what happened with Anakin. And sometimes wonder if they had found him sooner if things would have been much easier or if everything was indeed due to the Force.]

The Order...went through a major change while Luke and I were very young. A lot of things that happened during your time were lost, forgotten or disposed of as [tiny, dead bodies of younglings] too backwards thinking. I'm not sure which side of the line I stand with just yet, but I'm a little busy with other things as well.

It would have been far earlier than nine, had things been like they were in my time.

[In much the same way, Padmé wouldn't have known her children. They would have gone off to train to be Jedi when they were far younger. Although she understood what Leia was trying to say. Padmé couldn't say she knew what they were trained, but being younger did tend to help when learning something new. Not always, but certainly sometimes.]

I've no doubt you'll make up your mind eventually, and I've no doubt that what side you stand on will be the side you believe in.

[Not really? Because... well... Yeah. Reasons.]

I've heard how Jedi were trained before I was born. It seems rather harsh to take a child that young from their family. But, if you want the sort of detached warrior they seemed to have been, that would be the way to do it.

[Not exactly humane or kind, but proficient. If one wanted machines wearing humanoid faces. Although, Obi Wan seemed rather bad at that sort of detachedness that they were encouraged to have too.]

Perhaps that is true. [She can't help but smile, knowing herself the way she does.] However, it will probably not be to everyone's liking. Not that I live my life for others' approval.

The Jedi do have their code.

[Stated matter of factly, so it is hard to tell what exactly Padmé's thoughts on the matter were. Then again, there wasn't anyone in her family that had become a Jedi. Ani was the first one she had known quite intimately, and even he wasn't what was considered the norm.]

It rarely is, but everyone else isn't who you have to answer to. It is yourself that you have to live with. [Smiling.]

[IC] Appointments

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