Title: Into The Shining Day
Author: JediNemesis
Era: Around where ESB would have happened
Genre: Dark AU, angst, drama, vignette
Characters: Leia; Luke; Vader; Mara; Han; others mentioned

Notes: This story skates pretty close to the shadowy line as far as TOS is concerned. However, it's been read and cleared by the mods, and so if you have any objections to issues raised, please take it up with them rather than with me. However, hopefully nobody will feel that need. Enjoy


[b]DISCLAIMER:[/b] The universe belongs to Mr Lucas, I'm just playing with it. No money has changed hands.

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Six years; six years since the parody of a wedding we went through; six years in which he?s never so much as touched me, though I know he?s thought about it, in the harrows of a sleepless night when all the darknesses he?s created seem to be hemming him in.

Six years ago I stood beside Luke in the echoing hall of the old Temple, tears in my eyes and my fingers trembling as I held his hand.

I look at the pictures now and wonder who they are, those people. There, the girl, straight and serene as a lily in her long white gown and gloves, crystal and sea-pearls gleaming at her throat, and there, beside her, the boy, every inch the young soldier, with the flashes of his first commission shining brand-new on his shoulders. There she is, reciting the words of the marriage service in a clear voice; there he is, answering her vows with his own.

There they are, caught in the awkwardness of that first public kiss; there again, holding hands as they come down the great steps towards the acclamation of the crowd. And again and again, in a thousand frozen pictures, there they are, the glorious girl who borrowed my body for the day, and the golden boy who has my brother?s face but not his heart.

They are perfect, as flawless as a fairytale, and no more real. They walked together into the sunset on that shining day, and left us behind to live out the term of our lie.

Because that night, in the dim, close halls of the family mansion, it was broken to us that the bond we had felt, the inexplicable but utter certainty that we were two halves of the same whole, was not true love as we had naively thought it.

We are twins, Luke and I, not soulmates, and [i]that[/i] is the reason why we understand one another?s minds so completely.

We are also married.

By the time my mother steeled herself, to a degree I can barely imagine, and confessed that the presumed daughter of Bail Organa was actually her own child - spirited away at the age of only hours in the hope that I would escape my brother?s fate - the arrangements were already underway.

All the galaxy was caught up in the dream we represented, of a shining and united future, just as it had been caught up eighteen years before.

Our parents? wedding was the event of a generation, a brief light in the dark years of the Clone Wars. The Emperor?s favoured ward and apprentice courted and married the young, beautiful and talented Senator for an ancient and noble sector, and the galaxy fell in love with them both.

Then came Mustafar, and while the galaxy watched with bated breath to see if our father would live, his wife, our mother, gave birth, sent into labour prematurely by the shock, and ? or so the story goes for everyone outside our family ? only one of the twins she was carrying survived.

They recovered together, in the same medcenter, side by side, and when he at last surfaced from the coma she was able to show him his son and heir. And later, she showed him a grave, a little, little grave, inscribed with a name and dates of birth and death scarcely an hour apart.

They weathered their tragedies together, and the watching millions loved them for it.

Time passed; and a generation on, the son of that marriage, protégé of the Emperor and heir to the Empire, met the only daughter of the influential ruling house of Alderaan. We liked one another: I liked his terrible sense of humour and boyish grin, and he liked the fact th>

 

Nem, that was great. I loved how the people still had the same basic fate, Leia and Han, Luke and Mara and yet it's all so tilted offcenter that it seems almost teeth-gritting. In a good way!

You are such a wonderful writer. I love your work!

 

OOOoooooh my goodness. This is absolutely chilling - I literally have shivers going down my legs and arms.

I can't even imagine Leia's horror when she found out abotu Luke, or when Han died. And the idea of her children passing their father's marker without knowing was so absolutely, horrifyingly sad.

Absolutely amazing.

 

You already know how much I love this! Your writing, as always, is powerful and moving.

Bravo!

 

That is haunting and heartrending and beautifully delivered. I can't even wrap my mind around what such a setting would be like, to live day in and day out for the rest of your life in such an awkward and crushing lie, but you craft it believably and beautifully. It's an exquisite squick factor, if that makes any sense.

Wonderful job and kudos for being brave enough to tackle such a plot idea. I am seriously, seriously impressed.

 

WOW

That was quite the AU! And what a bomb to drop on the wedding night.

I can't help but wonder what would have happened if Padme had been strong enough to tell them before the ceremony...

I'm glad Luke and Leia have found some happiness, though it's unfortunate they are stuck in their marriage.

Great job on this

 

Oh wow. That was so chillingly dark and sad, but so beautiful at the same time. The scene between Vader and Leia was heartbreaking, and it's so, so sad that Han died without knowing he had a child and Leia would never find that happiness again. Great job.

 

Wow, this story has blown my mind. What a way things could have turned out! I really like Leia's train of thought. What an amazing vig.

 

Lands, you can really boggle and blow the mind!!!!!!!!!! Fascinating gripping all too plausible viggie!!! Your grasp of Leia in this very different scenario is superb. Bravo and roses!!!!!! You must be e-related to the fantastic furrylittlebantha

 

Wow! That was amazing!

 

That was so depressive and amazing! I loved it-so dark! I love AU like this. There's so many aspects of this I liked- Vader wanting to be sent to Alderaan for it's termination, MAra's role in Luke's life

 

"in the harrows of a sleepless night when all the darknesses he?s created seem to be hemming him in."

Excellent AU and I liked the quoted above, as it reminded me of Eowyn and her dilemma while living under Wormtongue's influence, that sense of helplessness and inertia, the waiting described so well. Good story!

 

Hello everyone! It's wonderful to have so many replies

diane I loved how the people still had the same basic fate, Leia and Han, Luke and Mara and yet it's all so tilted offcenter that it seems almost teeth-gritting. In a good way! I think it sort of taps into the idea that our favourite couples are meant to be together. Fate will out. But, in this case, in a really appalling way. You are such a wonderful writer. I love your work! Thank you!

NYCitygurl OOOoooooh my goodness. This is absolutely chilling - I literally have shivers going down my legs and arms. Getting that kind of physical response is worth many thousands of words. I'm flattered. Chilling increasingly appears to be my stock in trade I can't even imagine Leia's horror when she found out abotu Luke, or when Han died. And the idea of her children passing their father's marker without knowing was so absolutely, horrifyingly sad. It struck me as a very sad and powerful idea. I'm glad some of it, at least, seemed to come off

VaderLVR You already know how much I love this! Your writing, as always, is powerful and moving. Thank you. And especially thank you for 'as always'.

Bri_Windstar That is haunting and heartrending and beautifully delivered. Wow, thanks! I can't even wrap my mind around what such a setting would be like, to live day in and day out for the rest of your life in such an awkward and crushing lie, but you craft it believably and beautifully. It's an exquisite squick factor, if that makes any sense. It makes perfect sense. It's a combination I'm getting fond of, too. Wonderful job and kudos for being brave enough to tackle such a plot idea. I am seriously, seriously impressed. That, more than anything, was what made me pause - would anybody read, let alone like, a story that at least allows for the idea of incest? I think I made it pretty clear that, while nothing did happen, something easily could have. Anyway. The mods okayed it, and I'm amazed by the response this has had

KELIA That was quite the AU! And what a bomb to drop on the wedding night. Hell, yes. I'm not sure I can think of a bigger one. This is "I am your father" -scale revelation. I can't help but wonder what would have happened if Padme had been strong enough to tell them before the ceremony... I imagine Palpatine would have made them get married anyway. Like a lot of political weddings it was more about maintaining appearances and forging an important alliance. I'm glad Luke and Leia have found some happiness, though it's unfortunate they are stuck in their marriage. I think, being who they are, they would survive. Great job on this Thanks very much!

LASOS Oh wow. That was so chillingly dark and sad, but so beautiful at the same time. Ooh, thankyou. It's a contrast I like, when I can do it. The scene between Vader and Leia was heartbreaking, and it's so, so sad that Han died without knowing he had a child and Leia would never find that happiness again. I'm glad you liked the scene with Vader and Leia - that was one of my favourite parts to write. And I'm sure Leia would endure, though she and Han are so right for one another I think I agree with your last point. Great job. Thanks!

ginchy Wow, this story has blown my mind. What a way things could have turned out! I really like Leia's train of thought. What an amazing vig. Thanks for reading. It's a hell of an outlandish idea and I'm glad you liked it

Jade_eyes Lands, you can really boggle and blow the mind!!!!!!!!!! Fascinating gripping all too plausible viggie!!! Your grasp of Leia in this very different scenario is superb. Thanks especially. Leia is tricky - I think I've only ever written one other story from her POV. I'm glad she seemed 'right'. Bravo and roses!!!!!! You must be e-related to the fantastic furrylittlebantha Hehe. We're acquainted

Golden_Jedi Wow! Tha

 

wow, what an au!

palpatine emperor before anakin was 'discovered'
anakin raised by said emperor
and all the darkness that follows

wow.


beautiful POV from Leia,
the nightmare of the Holy Pair when it is enacted literally,
the hopelessness, that they as a family cannot even attempt to unite and overthrow the one who has robbed and maimed them so.

wow.

 

Hello Been a long time since I checked in on this story ...

ratna palpatine emperor before anakin was 'discovered', anakin raised by said emperor, and all the darkness that follows ... wow. Yes. The course of events is pretty drastically different ... This story began as a nebulous sequel to the AOTC-era bit of the same AU, but I ended up finishing this and not that. So it goes. beautiful POV from Leia, the nightmare of the Holy Pair when it is enacted literally, the hopelessness, that they as a family cannot even attempt to unite and overthrow the one who has robbed and maimed them so. To me, it seems totally in character for Palpatine to force the wedding through even once the truth came out - because surely he would just see a genetic diagram with Anakin's blood, Anakin's powers, on both sides, and never mind anything else. Of course that didn't happen ... but Palpy still controls the members of the family who are present, and as you say they can't escape. It's a horrible scenario. I don't know how I came up with it

Thanks for reading! And thanks also to the people who nominated this story for Best Drama in this year's Saga awards.