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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Beyond - Legends Alderaan Leia O./Ben S. (One-shot. Very slightly AU, I guess)

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction- Before, Saga, and Beyond' started by Blackfish, Feb 3, 2013.

  1. Blackfish

    Blackfish Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Feb 13, 2012
    Alderaan

    It was the time of year when his aunt Leia would grow quiet and withdrawn, and the family would allow her that time of mourning to herself. It was the anniversary of the destruction of Alderaan, a pain his aunt bore alone for no one else in their family could possibly understand what it felt like to see one's home-planet obliterated in front of one's eyes, to lose everyone and everything, every shred of one's identity in a matter of seconds.

    When he had been younger, much, much younger, too young to understand these things, he remembered having felt distressed at sensing his aunt's quiet melancholy. He had toddled up to her and tugged at her dress, gazing up at her with beseeching liquid blue eyes, unable to comprehend how, when everyone else seemed fairly normal, she felt so sad. But she had only looked down on him, her eyes dark and unreadable, and then looked away, ignoring all further acts of consolation until his mother had come and picked him up and gently told him that his aunt needed to be left alone.

    But it still bothered him. The sense of helplessness, of utter and complete loss and devastation. It felt like a gaping hole within his aunt, with only cold, cold vacuum within. The others told him to stay still, to respect his aunt's period of grief. But he kept on feeling like he had to do something.

    Thus, this year, on the anniversary of the destruction of Alderaan, Leia Organa Solo found a small piece of flimsi folded discreetly beside her pillow,anonymously inviting her to a room in the heart of the Jedi Temple for a service of commemoration. Initially, she hadn't wanted to go, she preferred to be solitary on this day as the only Alderaanian who had seen the catastrophe occur in front of her very eyes.But despite herself, curiosity overtook her and she found her steps wandering toward the destination prescribed in the invitation.

    It was an otherwise bare room, one of the many that had been in use as individual meditation chambers in the heyday of the Jedi of the Old Republic, but now had fallen into disuse. Only two young Jedi sat inside, patiently waiting for her in silence beside a stately pianoforte.
    As she entered, one of them rose and assumed his place behind the instrument. The other maintained his stance, cross-legged on the floor, his eyes closed as though in meditation. Leia, too, sat down in a similar position, wondering what all this was leading up to. Not a word had yet been spoken.

    As she settled, the elder of the two began a soft melody on the piano. Leia's eyes widened slightly in surprise. It was an old Alderaanian song, one she had heard rendered in musical soirees in the court of House Organa in her childhood. Her nephew, sitting facing her, opened his eyes and Leia was struck by the deep serenity in his twin pools of blue. Oddly, it calmed her, and lent her a feeling of peace. And then he began.

    She had no idea where he had learnt the ancient tongue of Alderaan, but he sang, softly, but with deep power, his voice vibrating within the confines of the chamber, but seemingly for no ears but her own.
    Leia closed her eyes and let the music wash over her, relaxing and allowing the old memories to flood her consciousness.

    He couldn't possibly have known them, but he sang every word with passion and feeling, his rich timbre capturing their every nuance, the haunting lilt of the piano providing only the barest of accompaniment. One by one he went through them all, the performance lasting for nearly an hour. At some point tears welled in her eyes and she had let them flow unhindered down her cheeks. The beauty and the sadness were almost too much to bear.

    He came to a stop as the piano trailed away at the end of the final song, and lifted his eyes to hers. She saw trepidation there. Had she understood? Was it enough? Had he gone too far?
    It was perfect and Leia sat for a long while simply staring back at her nephew, savouring the aftertaste of the flawless recital, unable to convey in words the magnitude of what he had achieved.

    Finally, she stood and he rose alongwith her. She walked forward and wrapped him in a loving embrace, leaning her head against his warm chest. She could hear the soft rhythmic thump of his heart, and for some reason, that soothed her further. He held her like that for as long as she let him, neither needing to communicate through words to understand what the other was feeling.

    "How did you find them?" she managed at last, her voice catching ever so slightly.
    "I tracked down some holocrons and old recordings, and managed to dig up the sheet music from the Archives. Did you like it?"
    She looked up into his eyes, not knowing how to reply to that without breaking down completely, and whispered only a simple "Thank you", but there was an ocean of emotion behind it. He only smiled. He understood.

    She ran into her brother while exiting the Temple and he regarded her curiously.
    "Leia?" he asked with genuine concern, "Are you alright?"
    She managed a shaky smile and nodded, hastily brushing away the last vestiges of tears on her cheeks.
    "Your son," she said, clasping her brother's shoulder, and looking him deep in the eyes, "is blessed with a wonderful gift, Luke. Don't let it go to waste."

    [A/N: Ok, this is basically for my "Ripples in Still Water" thread of drabbles/ one-shots that I have over at FF.N set in my own slightly AU-verse where Ben's passion happens to be music, but I was so excited about this one, I simply had to post it for all of you as well! I hope you enjoyed!]


     
  2. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    Wow. Very beautiful. Ben is such a sweetheart.
     
    Jade_eyes likes this.
  3. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    blackfish, please please post them over here [face_batting] [face_dancing] One of my passions is music, speicifcally the easy rock and smooth jazz genres. :D =P~ Josh Groban, Kenny G LOL This was lovely. I read an AU where Ben was a mechanic, [face_laugh] so this works too. [:D]
     
  4. Blackfish

    Blackfish Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Feb 13, 2012
    Hey, y'all! Thanks for reading and reviewing! That's a drug for a writer's soul!

    Briannakin: Thank you, and yes he is, isn't he?!

    Jade_eyes: Whew! That's the ambition, to re-post an entire year's worth of fanfics over again on this forum! But DRL keeps ambushing me from time to time and tripping me up :( But never fear! I shall never surrender! Just might take a while though. I think I'll have to start with my first novel which kind of sets the scene for the universe in which my stories take place. In the meantime, feel free to follow the link in my signature which will lead you to my body of work on ff.n.
    Thanks for reading and reviewing! And yes, my passion is music too! My Ben is very much Jedi and hero, but he never gives up on music!
     
  5. Lady_Misty

    Lady_Misty Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 21, 2007
    Beautiful!
     
  6. EmeraldJediFire

    EmeraldJediFire Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 23, 2012
    You posted it over here...Yay. This one was very touching as I said before
     
  7. Allana_Rey

    Allana_Rey Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    Very touching. Good work.
     
  8. ccp

    ccp Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 29, 2005
    Awesome
     
  9. Blackfish

    Blackfish Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Feb 13, 2012
    More reviewers, yay! Glad to see you all enjoyed this story. I shall try posting concurrently with FF.N from now on, if I'm able, but have a lot of back-dated stuff I need to upload here first.
    EmeraldJediFire: Yes, I did. And thanks once again. :)
     
  10. EmeraldJediFire

    EmeraldJediFire Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 23, 2012
    Well, it'll take some time, but you'll make it. Meanwhile just keep working on your other stuff lol. or else you'll get behind on that..
     
  11. Blackfish

    Blackfish Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Feb 13, 2012
    EmeraldJediFire: Hehe! Can't have that now, can we?! You know, I think I should start re-posting Myri and Me here first. Gives the context for the rest of my stuff, no?
     
  12. Tarsier

    Tarsier Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 31, 2005
    Very lovely story :)
     
  13. ginchy

    ginchy Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 25, 2005
    Awww! I love the idea of Ben being close to his Aunt Leia. I love that he did this for her, and in such a special way. A lot of Leia's pain and loss are swept under the rug because it's so enormous and hard to deal with. This was lovely.
     
  14. zsuzsa

    zsuzsa Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Mar 10, 2003
    Great episode of family moments! Ben is really a caring and loving nephew :)
     
  15. Blackfish

    Blackfish Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Feb 13, 2012
    Thanks again! Yes, I'd like to think Ben has a warm and loving heart... and so he shall!!! :p