Palace, Forest, Stars: The Journal of Queen Breha (DDC 2023)

Title: Palace, Forest, Stars: The Journal of Queen Breha
Author: Divapilot
Era: Saga - OT, approximately 10-13 years BBY (Kenobi)
Characters: Queen Breha Organa, Viceroy Bail Prestor Organa, Princess Leia Organa
Summary: Queen Breha records her fears and anguish when her daughter Leia is abducted.

Note: possible spoilers for the Obi-wan Kenobi series.

Written for the 2023 Dear Diary Challenge.



Library


This book was my mother’s.

I pulled the volume from its place on the shelf where it stood with the rest of the books and laid it on my lap. The dark leather cover, creased and aged, looked out of place against the crisp white of my gown. I traced the gold lettering, hand pressed onto the cover: HRH Queen Liandra Organa. My mother.

I closed my eyes and pictured her: Tall, stately, her dark hair carefully arranged around her fair-skinned face. I remember her laughter. I remember her soft hands stroking my hair.

The book was her diary. As queen, my mother kept a journal of her daily life, a personal record of her reign. Unlike the holonews archives or the many official biographies, this was the account of her private, inner world. I’ve read it many times. It is fascinating to see the difference between her public persona and the actual woman my mother was. For example, one section recounts her anxiety about ascending the throne upon the death of my grandmother. I learned how to push aside my own fears and anxiety by reading this.

Mother was heartbroken, as you could imagine. Her dear mother lay in state only weeks before, and now she, the new queen, was expected to walk the long hallway to the throne room, take the oath of allegiance to the people of Alderaan, and accept the crown. Like every other citizen, I’ve seen her coronation images: how she sat still and tall, the shining gold and red crown placed on her black hair, braided with pearly strands. She looked so regal and composed. But nobody hears of her nervous stomach, sweaty palms, and a choking fear of misspeaking the oath or tripping on the elaborate coronation gown. That’s what the diary reveals.

Just as my mother kept her personal diary, so do I keep mine. Again, it’s handwritten, a delicate thing made of paper and bound by hand. I write this for Leia, as my mother wrote hers for me. We are members of the Elder House Organa. We are Daughters of Alderaan. We are queens from a line of queens. But we are also mothers and daughters.

Leia has been a handful again today, of all days. When I should have been waiting to greet Celly and her family, I was instead sending search parties out to look for Leia. She was, as I have often found her, off in the woods beyond the orchard. Sitting in a tree, of all places, as if she were a fluffy treemouse and not the future of the planet’s royal house. Once I got her back in the palace and cleaned up, and then into her receiving clothes (which she had to dress into in the speeder, we were so late!), we made it to the landing platform just in time for Celly’s transport to arrive.

Why this child insists on pushing me, straining my patience with her, I do not understand. I would not dare do that to my own mother. Leia has a stubborn streak, and a temper when she does not get her way, and a desire for exploration that often justifies (in her mind) a talent for subterfuge. Of course, she also has a deep sense of justice and a truly compassionate heart. But she is my daughter, so I cannot stay angry at her exploits.

I have reread my mother’s diary for any assistance she could give me toward raising this wild child, but without much success. My mother left a lot of the discipline to my father, who kept me out of trouble by keeping me always, always busy. And of course I had a younger sister with whom I could play, whereas Leia only has her imagination for a companion. The children of the palace staff and her classmates are wonderful playmates, but they don’t replace the intimacy of a sibling.

Bail went to speak with Leia. She said some things to her cousin Naimo today at the reception that were repeated to Kayo, then to Celly, then, with frowns and huffs of indignation, to me. Hopefully Bail made some impression on her that she cannot simply say whatever comes to mind – no matter how true it is. Bail is in his office now; with any luck Leia is in her room, thinking about the error of her behavior, and not trying to double down on her stubborn independence by eluding her guards and running off yet again.

 

I love this-- what a wonderful start to the Dear Diary Challenge!

Beha has her hands full for sure, and looking forward to getting to know her and the rest of the royal family.

 

@divapilot , you're back! Really glad to see you're here, and of course to have you in the Diary Challenge -- that's awesome.

And it's really cool to see more Kenobi show fic popping up; there were a couple nice oneshots last summer but I can't remember if anything longer is running (though I could be wrong). Anyway, we could definitely use more, and I'm curious to see Breha's thoughts. The Organas being such great parents with Leia was one of many things in the show that I really loved, and it's great to see that reflected here with Breha's thoughts on her daughter.

Also, this part was just too cute!

 

Leave it to Alderaanian nobility to record private thoughts on such a luxury resource as paper. That's a nice and quiet touch of the privilege of Core Worlds nobility that they don't even realize they possess.

 

A diary by Breha. I love it

 

Exquisite tone for Breha, showing her dignity and queenly poise juxtaposed to understandable motherly exasperation ... Leia has a whole bunch of intriguing qualities: compassion, love of justice, combined with outspokenness and the love of exploring. Runs in the family, Skywalkers that is.

 

Thank you! This diary will follow along with the Kenobi series, so this is the calm before the storm, so to speak. But we will get to see a bit of the "behind the scenes" of the Organa family.

Thank you, Kahara! I really lost all creative flow during the pandemic. I just hope I can keep It going. I'm rusty.

I loved Kenobi. Not just for the Leia parts, but because it is such an intense portrayal of a man with severe depression and PTSD. Seeing the impact of the fall of the Jedi on Obi-wan was heartbreaking.

Lol - "Fluffy treemouse" = space squirrel

There is a canon establishment of the Organas having a library, a collection of paper books that dates back years. It's a luxury for sure.

Thank you! Hope I can do it justice.

Thank you, Mira! I've been gone for a while but I am trying to dip my toes back in the water. I loved Kenobi; I loved how they really examined what it meant to Obi-wan to have been so utterly destroyed and to have found redemption from such an unexpected place.

It does make sense; the arts and hand crafted items are so valuable to Alderaan. I can imagine it's a skill handed down through the generations -- the bookbinder to the Royal House.

I would think that there is this tension between the public and private lives of the royals. Leia is already being trained to be a queen, but she's still a little girl. And Breha will need all the advice of all of her foremothers to deal with someone as headstrong as Leia.

I would think that Breha knows all about Leia's birth parents, and the existence of her twin brother. I can't see Bail keeping this from her. It would be in the back of her mind that Leia is living an isolated life, unaware of the fact that she still has birth family out there.

thank you!

Thanks so much! That's just the tone I was hoping for. Loving, but firm; dignified, but warm. Leia is definitely a mix of both of her birth parents, and a mix of Breha and Bail, too.

Thank you, Finds! Now, the trick - to stay in once place! I really lost all sense of creativity during the pandemic.

She wears two roles -- dignified ruler of her people, and ringmaster to Leia's circus. As Teddy Roosevelt once said about his daughter Alice, "I can either run the country or control Alice - I cannot do both." Breha's got her hands full.

No spoilers, but Little Leia is pretty much a preview of Sassy Leia in ANH. (Just a warning, the diary will parallel Kenobi a lot.) And yes she speaks her mind! The idea of the diary is all mine but the details of the palace (which frames the diary) comes mainly from the book Leia, Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray. In the book, the palace library doubles as a place where the Organas often spend quiet family time. Why shouldn't some of those books in that library be diaries? Who best to advise the current queen but the combined knowledge of all the queens before her?

Breha must see Leia as a miracle. After nearly giving up hope of having her own child, she is handed this perfect little baby. I would think that Leia brings such joy to her. She probably has to fight from laughing when she has to chastise Leia's mischief.

 

Office

I was speaking with a delegation from the southern lake region when my chief aide quietly but quickly entered the room, approached my seat, and whispered in my ear. I felt the blood drain from my face and I muttered some kind of apology, then ran as fast as I could to Bail’s office.

By the time I made it there, I was sweaty and wheezing. Bail stood beside the captain of the palace guard. The two men had been reviewing security footage and they turned toward me when I entered.

His eyes widened as he looked at me. “Breha,” he began, his voice strained. I could tell that worry for my health competed with the gravity of the current crisis. “Breha, you should calm down first. Your condition—”

Waving my hand dismissively at his concern, I sat down to avoid an over-reaction from my pulmonodes, which were now glowing brightly and turning my skin a shimmering gold. My health could wait. I turned my attention to the captain. “Run the footage again,” I said.

“Yes, your highness,” the captain said, bowing slightly. He made a gesture at the communications controls, and the scene blurred and then coalesced. I recognized it as the forest just outside of the palace. Leia was playing when she was confronted by a man I did not recognize. He was a pale human with a humorless, aged face, and his clothes were not particular to any culture.

His arrogant smirk and casual posture told me who he was. “Mercenary,” I whispered.

The scene continued; a Falleen woman and another man, possibly of Dathomir, chased Leia through the forest. She eluded them for a while, then burst onto a trail and cried for help. One of the palace guards came running, but the human man shot him with a blaster. I gasped.

Then they encircled my daughter like a trapped animal and placed a hood over her head. The human man picked her up and her body went limp. The trio ran toward the southern end of the woods, into the nature preserve that makes up vast swaths of territory just to the west of the palace grounds. At that point the recording ended.

The captain turned off the device and addressed us. “The hood appears to have been treated with a chemical that caused her to lose consciousness. There was no sign of blood, and we know she was still moving on her own. Other than being knocked out, she doesn’t appear to have been injured.”

“How did they get in here?” demanded Bail.

“Through the preserve. They had a ship at the edge of the public recreation area. Their heat tracks trace through the wilderness but end at the public access. It appears that they deactivated a section of the boundary fence that separates public from royal grounds and slipped in. We have limited monitoring in that area due to the frequency of false alerts brought about by wildlife accidentally activating the alarms.”

My breathing had become more stabilized and the pulmonodes had returned to their usual soft glow. Steadier now, I rose from my seat to stand beside Bail. He reached over and gripped my hand. “Have they sent a message?” I asked.

“No, your highness,” he answered. “There’s been no communication. No ransom, no political demands. Nothing.”

“Do we know where the ship went?” Bail asked.

The captain nodded. “Yes.” He pulled up a star chart and pointed to a star system. “They shielded their signature, but we were still able to track them. They are headed to Daiyu.”

Bail was about to say something when I interrupted. “The guard who was shot. Did he survive?”

The captain looked grim. “No, your highness.”

I gripped Bail’s hand tighter and addressed the captain. “Thank you. Leave us, please.” With a bow, he turned and exited. The heavy wooden doors closed behind him.

Bail pulled me to him and held me for a moment before letting go and sitting down at the edge of the desk. I turned to face him, frowning. “No ransom, no demands?”

“And they are willing to kill to get Leia, yet they didn’t harm her. They knew where to find her. They had been watching her.” Bail paused. “We have to activate the guard. Send the militia out to find her.”

I shook my head. “That will bring questions from the people of Alderaan. As a peaceful world with no standing military, activating the militia will signal that something is terribly wrong.” I pulled my arms tightly around myself. “We must control this. We cannot allow this to become fodder for the holonews. What if offworlders hear about this and begin to pry into her background?”

A thought came to me. “What if we launch something more indirect?” I asked. “Can one of your contacts from the Senate investigate this? Maybe Mon Mothma or –”

“No,” Bail interrupted. “I can’t involve them. If this abduction is the Empire’s retribution for something we have done politically, then it condemns our allies, too. Helping us betrays them. For their safety, for the safety of our cause, they can’t get involved.”

“We need to do something, Bail.” I began to pace along the rug. All I could think of was Leia. Was she cold and hungry? Was she hurt? The look of fear on her face from the security recording haunted me.

Did she cry out for her mother?

I stopped pacing and lowered my head. Tears filled my eyes and slipped down my cheeks. But this was not the time to fall apart — my mother had always taught me to “act now, react later.” I took a deep breath.

Bail came up to me, put his arm around me, and pulled me into a tight embrace. “I have an idea. We have an old friend who can help,” he whispered. “Someone who can be trusted to be discreet.”

“Who do you mean?”

Bail wiped the tears from my face and kissed my forehead. “I’ve seen him do miraculous things and face dangers with astounding bravery. He will find her, and he will bring her home. I know he can.”

I stared into his dark eyes as my mind raced. Suddenly I understood. “But Bail – the risk to him. If he is found, they will kill him. And Leia would be lost to us for good.”

“If Leia is discovered to be as powerful as we think she is, she will be lost to us anyway.” I could tell Bail had set his mind. He held me closer and spoke softly in my ear. “No one can ever know who Leia’s genetic parents are. This is a secret kept between us and him. Breha, he of all people understands what is at stake here. If the Emperor ever discovers Leia’s power…”

Bail’s voice trailed off. I already knew the rest of the sentence. We had seen flashes of Leia’s uncanniness: her ability to read people as if she knew their very thoughts, her skill at games as if she could predict the way a play would go as the balls were tossed, her “feelings” about events. We had done our best to hide these signs from the public, to teach her to keep these tricks to herself.

As her mother, I had my daughter’s welfare to worry about. But as Alderaan’s queen, I also had my people’s welfare to worry about, too. If anyone ever knew that Leia was Force sensitive, the Empire would be merciless in its response — against her, against us, and against the planet for harboring her.

I pondered our options. A military response attracted too much attention. Sending mercenaries of our own would take too long. Hiring bounty hunters was too unpredictable— they could easily retrieve her only to sell out to a higher offer. Getting other systems involved in our problems was too risky. That only left one option.

He was our only hope.

I composed myself, raised my chin, and nodded. “Contact him,” I said quietly.

 

scary and I hope Leia will be alright. But Bail knows.

 

What a gripping turn of events! I just know on a personal level how worried Bail and Breha are but their strategy seems the best.

 

Thank you! Bail has a plan to get her back, but it's terrifying when your child is missing.

Thank you for your response! This journal ties closely to the Obi-wan Kenobi series, so it helps to know that series to see why exactly she was stolen. But it's not necessary for this diary, which focuses on what it's like to be helplessly left behind. And yes, the "old friend" is Obi-wan.

One thing that the series DOESN'T look at is the impact of Leia's kidnapping on her mom, and as a consequence, on the whole government of Alderaan. Leia is the only princess; the whole of Alderaan's royal line is counting on her. Bail and Breha are aware of her force sensitivity, even at ten years old (it's hinted at in the series). This is at the height of the Inquisitors, who would have no problem destroying her.
At the heart, though, despite all the politics, this is a story of a mother's love for her daughter.

 

Private Rooms

At this moment, the only thing that seems to make sense is to write this down. I can’t fully function just yet. I am angry, I am frustrated, and I am terrified beyond all reckoning. All I can think of – every moment – is my Leia.

I had a fairly full day scheduled; I canceled most of it. I couldn’t cancel everything, though. I had to make an appearance or there would have been talk. Thankfully, courtly protocol gave me a script to follow that did not require me to be fully engaged for the appearances I had to put in. But as soon as it was possible, I told my secretary to make apologies for me and reschedule the rest of the meetings.

The night Leia was taken from us, I had to deal with the details of explaining her absence. I called together the Aunties – that’s what Leia calls them. There are three handmaids – young women who attend to her. (Leia’s not old enough to have her own TooVee droid.) These handmaids are also nannies and caretakers for her while she is in the palace. Young children need a human touch in addition to droid caretakers. I remember when she went through a very clingy phase about three years ago. The Aunties were indispensable in caring for her while I was drawn away with court duties and Bail was on Coruscant.

I digress. I contacted the handmaids and told them the essentials - that Leia had been kidnapped and we were undertaking a rescue mission. They were, understandably, horrified. But they are very well trained and know not to ask questions, and they can be trusted to not share this information.

We must preserve a sense of normalcy. We cannot afford the luxury of panic. I know that eventually word will get out, but we will keep this undisclosed for as long as possible. The fewer people who know Leia is missing, the safer, ironically, she will be. We cannot trust Leia’s welfare to strangers, to those who would profit financially or politically by her predicament. That’s why if the truth is to emerge, it must be under our direction, our control. I pray she will be home soon and we will not have to deal with this.

The kitchen’s server droid brought Leia’s breakfast up to the room today. I had it set the tray on the table on the balcony in Leia’s room. Once it left to return to the kitchens, I contacted the handmaid on duty and had her dispose of the food. I am not ready to tell the rest of the palace staff about Leia’s absence yet. The handmaids can be trusted to handle any situation that might come about concerning her. They will pause the tutoring programs, postpone Leia’s dance and art lessons, and make excuses for any other social situation that comes about. (Oh, what I would give to hear Leia complain about her dance lessons again!)

I have made myself busy with the tasks of hiding Leia’s absence. To keep busy is to keep moving. I cannot stop because if I do, I will be so rooted in place with worry and fear that I will be unable to ever move again.

Our plan to rescue her has hit an unexpected obstacle, and we are not moving forward in the way that we must be: We contacted Obi-wan Kenobi, explained the situation. To our shock, he said no. Not only that, he turned off the communication.

I still don’t understand Obi-wan’s refusal, and it makes me angrier the more I think of it. He apparently spends every single day on an outer rim planet watching Leia’s brother do nothing more than play and do farm chores, but then he refuses to help her when she is in possibly mortal danger? Is she not the orphaned child of her parents as much as the boy is? Does he only owe his protection to the son and not the daughter?

If anything, to my way of thinking, Leia is even more important than the boy. The boy may be trained, or he may not. He may rise to galactic prominence, or he might take over his aunt and uncle’s farm and live quietly. Leia doesn’t get that choice. She is the sole heir to the throne of Alderaan. An entire world will look to her to lead them. She is destined for greatness. There are no such expectations on the boy.

Bail knows Obi-wan from their time together during the Clone Wars. He tells me that I am judging too harshly; that Obi-wan will come around with patient persuasion. Bail is an impressively insightful person who has a knack of reading the true intentions and motivations of a person. I think it’s what makes him a good politician.

He seems to sense what is making Obi-wan refuse to get involved, and he has left Alderaan to speak with Obi-wan directly. This is terrifyingly dangerous to all of us. The fact is, there is no good reason for Bail to be on Tatooine. He’s taken precautions, of course; he took a nondescript hopper instead of the Tantive IV, he filed a false flight plan, and so on. But… if things go wrong and he is followed, he will lead the Empire directly to Obi-wan. And if that happens, not only is Obi-wan useless to us in regaining our Leia, this puts the boy and his family in peril. But what choice has Obi-wan left us? At this point, only a personal contact and all of Bail’s senatorial skills will convince Obi-wan to come to our aid.

I have slept alone in our room many times, when Bail was away on Coruscant, when he was doing charity work, when he was meeting with our allies, even when we were newlyweds and he was still fighting in the Clone Wars. But this is the loneliest night of them all. Bail’s mission away from his home tonight is to save our daughter.

 

The worries of a mother shine through her words. She reveals a lot about Leia's upbringing

 

So. Here I am, trying to write a review of this wonderful diary since this morning, and things keep happening and interrupting me. Here's hoping I manage this time!

Before I start:

I feel you, it was exactly the same for me. We can start a support group

To the story now. I was really happy to see a Kenobi fic and even happier to see you writing it. I really enjoyed that show and in particular that it took its time to tell its tale. My only complaint was that Breha wasn't getting enough screen time, but you're here to fix it!

Ha! You wish, Your Majesty!

I loved that you brought back this detail from the Leia novel (and the mention of the droid!) I was really frustrated that they didn't show this in the show; to me, it was part of Breha not getting enough development.

This is, to me, such an important aspect of being a mother and a queen; I touched upon it in a story I wrote and I can't quite fathom why it doesn't appear more strongly in more stories. For Bail and Breha (and Leia when she'll grow up and understand), everything they do, including their private lives, must be thought of as a possibly public fact. Calling panic a luxury is such a powerful way to sum it up in just a few words, but you managed to convey this sense in every sentence, however mundane.

Preach, sistah!! Loved the girl power moment. The patriarchal men of the 70s (and up until today) just got their sorry behinds handed to themselves.

I also loved the description of the diary in the beginning, both the object and its meaning. I wonder if Leia will ever get the opportunity to see it before the destruction of Alderaan.

Just in case it wasn't obvious, you have a reader, and I'll be sitting in my little corner waiting for more!

 

Excellent that Breha is able to handle the minute details of hiding Leia's absence while also being totally frazzled with worry! I share her frustration and puzzlement over Obi-Wan's refusal. Looking at the situation from her side of things, Leia is the more visible, more tied to a tangible destiny than Luke's, so her survival and her remaining unnoticed by the Emperor is even more crucial because of the ripple effects

 

Thank you for your kind reply. Breha is worried sick about her little girl, as any mother would be. She's organized the little princess's life so much, arranging her activities, and now this is completely out of Breha's control.

Thank you, Chyn! I'm glad you're enjoying this. I loved Obi-Wan Kenobi, not just because of the plot, but because the writer in me really appreciated the smart, tight storytelling. Plus Ewan McGregor really knows this character and made his journey so believable. I too was thrilled to see more of Leia's home and especially more of Mama Breha and Papa Bail!

I think the line between royal duty and personal needs is a tough one to keep intact. Since Queen Breha is responsible for the welfare of her people, she can't indulge in emotionality. She is heartbroken and terrified, but on the outside she has to be serene and strong.

Breha is obviously biased toward her daughter, but she does have a point. Realistically, if Luke wanted to reject his inheritance and live a quiet life of obscurity, he could. But Leia, from the moment she was placed in Breha's arms, is the sole heir and the future of the Alderaanian monarchy. I like to think that Bail and Breha's relationship is so strong and that he trusts her so much, that Bail told her everything he knew about Luke and his family. Breha would know that Leia has a twin brother, just as Bail knows. Bail would have told her that Padme is the twin's mother. And since Bail believes that the twins' father died, Breha would believe that too.

In my headcanon, no. Leia would have received access to the diaries when she became queen, and since that never happened and since the planet was destroyed, she never read this.

Thank you, Findswoman! I appreciate your thoughtful response.
Yes, Leia's case is a complicated one. They know she is Force-sensitve, and this is the time period where Inquisitors are searching for force sensitives. They would not hesitate to kill a child, and to destroy anyone who harbored a potential Jedi. If they found out about Leia, they would destroy her and they would destroy her parents -- possibly her planet -- in punishment. Then there are the political concerns -- was she captured to punish Bail and Breha for their rebellious leanings? There are so many terrifying possibilities at play.
You're right, Obi-wan's refusal to help is part of the Kenobi series. But every hero's journey starts with the hero's refusal to heed the call to action. But thankfully this doesn't last, and the hero's journey begins when he accepts his quest.

Like I mentioned about to Chyntuck, Breha is biased. (What mom isn't when it comes to her child?) But when you think of it, Leia has been the crown princess and the only heir since she was a baby. (I always assumed that the reason Bail said "I'll take the girl" was because he knew that they needed a girl to inherit the crown.)

Thank you! The next chapter reveals a bit more.

Thank you, WarmNyota_SweetAyesha, for responding to this and for your earlier response. I blew it - I missed thanking you last time!
I think Breha is busying herself with the details of hiding Leia's absence because it keeps her busy. If she were to stop, as she puts it, she would never be able to move again. It keeps her mind off of the sheer terror of not knowing where her daughter is. I can't imagine having no idea where my ten-year-old is!
It's true that protecting Leia is protecting Alderaan. If the Emperor ever realized that Leia was force-sensitive, it would bring unwanted attention to her parents (who are busy forming the rebellion), to their allies, and to Alderaan.

 

Balcony

It has been four days since Leia has gone missing.

I went to the House Organa retreat in the western mountains yesterday to visit my mother, the Queen Emeritus, and my father. My mother is getting frailer every day, with the debilitating symptoms of Alsiner’s Syndrome and the effect it takes on her mental health. She becomes quite forgetful sometimes. It’s so painful to see how she deteriorates between my visits, and with my responsibilities I cannot see her as often as I want to. She’s far too young to go through this; she is only in her sixties.

Mother abdicated as queen when she was first diagnosed, when she was still mentally sharp and only slightly affected physically. This served to avoid an unpleasant fight for control between factions in the planetary senate and to ensure a smooth transition to my ascendance as the new queen. I was only 28 years old. Since then, Mother has been here in retirement, enjoying the days in the clear mountain air. Sadly, her condition is incurable, and it is cruelly progressive. In the fifteen years since she retired, she has lost so much.

Father, however, is as sharp as he was when he was Viceroy under my mother’s reign. He knew immediately that something was wrong when I entered the home, and he dismissed the attendants so that we could speak privately. I walked the grounds with him and explained the situation. I cannot express how comforted I was by his wise words and his gentle embrace. We agreed that this information should not be shared with Mother; there was no reason to upset her. I promised to let him know the moment his granddaughter is home again.

Family should know when there is an issue as significant and important as this.

This is why I requested that my sister Celly come to visit me. Celly and her family live in Alassa, which is a lovely, warm city near to a beautiful southern seacoast. It took her almost a full day to come up north to Aldera, and I had her guest room prepared in case we stayed late into the night. She had to move some things around in her calendar to come to the palace, and I am sure it was not convenient, but I admit there are certain advantages, even in the family, to being queen. Celly arrived in the late afternoon as I requested.

I cannot keep anything from my sister. She is my truest friend, and she knew right away something was wrong. I stood up from my seat on the balcony of our private room, and Celly rushed to my side. She reached out and clasped her hands around my forearms, searching my face in concern. “What’s happened, Bree?” she asked, using my childhood nickname.

I took a deep breath and told her. “Leia is gone. She’s been taken.”

Celly pulled back in shock. “What – When?”

I sat back down and gestured for her to join me. On the nearby table were some small dishes and a decanter of sparkling blue wine. “Sit with me,” I said. “I will tell you everything I know.”

Celly and I sat on the balcony and talked until the sun’s last rays shone against the snowy crags of Appenza Peak. As I gazed at the rugged mountain, I grew quiet, lost in memories. Celly was with me when I completed my Challenge of the Body, so many years ago. The heir is allowed one companion in the trial, and I chose Celly. I was sixteen years old; Celly was fourteen. She climbed by my side during the ascent, celebrated with me when I reached the apex, and was with me as I began the treacherous descent. She was there when the rappelling gear failed; she witnessed me slip and slam onto the rocky ledge below. Although the royal guards received the credit for my rescue – and they did remarkable work in evacuating me – it was Celly who responded to the crisis first. It was Celly who held my broken body; who stayed with me while I was airlifted to the trauma center. When I finally awoke in the hospital, my shattered heart and lungs replaced with pulmonodes, Celly was the first person I saw.

The dark blanket of night was falling, and the stars were emerging by the time I had finished telling her what had happened and (most of) what we were doing to bring my daughter home. She put her glass down and reached over to clasp my hand. “You know you have my complete support,” she said. “Just tell me what you need.”

I sighed and placed my glass of Toniray wine beside hers on the table. “I need to know that we are making progress.”

As if on cue, my private communications system chirped. “Incoming message from his highness, the Viceroy,” its tinny voice proclaimed.

Celly stood up. “I’ll let you take that.” She leaned down and kissed my cheek. “Breha, I’ll stay for tonight and see you in the morning. If you need me, just let me know.”

I thanked her. After she left to retire to her suite, I went to the comm unit and switched on the transmission. Bail’s image flickered in the blue holo light. “Did you find him?” I asked.

Bail nodded. “I found him. He agreed to help us.”

I collapsed onto the chair in relief. “Thank the goddess. And thank you, Bail. You did it.”

He smiled broadly. “I know the kind of man he is, Breha. He does not make promises lightly. He will find her, and he will bring her home.” His expression turned tender. “I’ll be home by early morning, my beloved. Sleep well tonight. I’ll see you in the dawn.”

His image flickered and went out. For the first time in four days, I felt hope.

 

writing about her mother and sister. She is going through a lot of sorrow. But now some news that Obi-Wan will help to find Leia

 

Very happy Celly is there to be supportive and very relieved over Bail's message and that he'll be home soon.

 

I loved how you developed the family aspect of Breha's life in this entry and introduced us to her parents and sister – the only people who can count as her inner circle when it comes to private matters.

It's so sad to see her mother in this diminished state; she must have been a wise queen indeed if she chose to step down even though she could probably have ruled for a good few years longer! But talking to one's parents is always a relief, and she is lucky that her father is still going strong.

Again, I love how you include the two facets of her life in every element of this story!

I believe that I mentioned this in a previous comment already, but I'll say it again. I've wanted to know more about Breha's accident ever since I read Leia, Princess of Alderaan, where it was mentioned barely in passing, and I'm so glad that you're making this an integral part of her story here. It tells us so much about her and it tells us so much about her relationship to her sister throughout their lives, from the moment she chose her as her companion for the trial to sharing her concerns with her now. However, the brief scene where Celly appeared in Kenobi didn't show her in the best light (or, at the very least, made it obvious that she is married to a complete moron and that her kid is a spoiled brat), and I'm very curious to see where you'll take this aspect of the story, because it could really go in any direction!