Leia Organa had seen the Imperial Palace many times before, the large building was rivaled in size only by the Senate Rotunda. Still, something about being this close to the towering walls and stone chilled her. Stepping out of the imperial transport ship alongside Darth Vader, Leia felt cold raindrops fall from Coruscant’s climate-controlled sky. The icy rain that hit her face was somehow warmer than whatever emanated from the Palace.

Dressed in the drab gray clothing provided to her, Leia followed a few steps behind the Dark Lord. As the ramp to the transport ship raised behind the two of them; Organa couldn’t help but notice the lack of security throughout the journey to Coruscant and now being there. She never saw anyone else aboard the transport besides Vader, there were no stormtroopers waiting to receive them, no TIE-fighters overhead. Leia wondered if anyone outside of Vader and his master knew where she was--what was happening to her. The thought made her skin crawl, but she kept going, it was all she could do.

As Leia stepped through the large doors of the Palace, she had to fight back the urge to run. She hadn’t felt fear since the Tantive IV and Alderaan, but now… it was the only thing on her mind. Goosebumps rose as she followed Vader in silence through the empty hallways. The walls and pillars they passed were bare, stripped of all adornments. Leia remembered her father telling her stories of what the Palace used to be like when it housed the Jedi Order; it was magnificent and warm, filled with gilded murals and paintings, decorated with complex statues, every hallway alive with smiling faces. It was the heart of the millennium old Galactic Republic. She took a shallow breath, I wish I could have seen what you saw in this place, Father… Imagining the dark corridors as anything other than foreboding seemed impossible.

Leia didn’t know how to describe it, but as they moved deeper into the old temple, she couldn’t help but feel as if something, or someone, was watching her. She turned to look behind her, confirming she was alone with Vader, and yet… she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone else’s presence filled the void of every dark corner. The shadows seemed to reach out like crooked fingers, as if they wanted to wrap around Leia and drag her into their darkness.

Her heart pounded in her chest and it took all her willpower to stop her legs from shaking. Leia fought to hide the fear she felt, but it was relentless. It didn’t just come from around her, the fear… it was within her. She wanted to run, to hide, to cry, to give up.

No, she promised herself with what strength she had left. This place, Vader and his master, they don’t scare me. I’m not afraid…

“Your thoughts betray you, Princess,” Vader’s low voice seemed to shake the marbled floors. “You cannot hide them from me in this place.”

Leia didn’t want to admit it but having something to take her mind off of the march through the endless halls was comforting--even if it was just talking to the man she hated.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Organa tried to keep her voice from breaking. “Why’s that?” She didn’t really care, but anything to fill the silence…

Vader stopped moving.

“My master,” he raised a clenched fist, “his power is greatest here.”

“The Emperor,” Leia spat with undisguised disgust. Thinking of the old man who organized everything she stood against made her blood boil, “if you’re bringing me to your master to apologize then you might as well kill me here. I will never bend to you or your emperor.”

A gust of wind blew through the windowless corridor, ruffling Vader’s black cape.

“You will. You have already bent to the power of the dark side.”

The dark side… He had mentioned that aboard the transport ship--what was it?

Leia forced herself to voice her thoughts aloud.

“You said I killed Tarkin with it--the dark side… What is it?”

“It is the most visceral form the Force can take. It is passion: anger, hate, fear, love. The dark side of the Force draws upon these emotions and manifests itself as raw power. Power greater than that of the Death Star.”

The sides of Leia’s face began to heat up; Vader hadn’t mentioned Alderaan or even her parents in specific, but the mention of the Death Star brought those not too distant memories flooding back. She winced but she needed to know more.

“What do you mean greater than the Death Star? What could be greater than…” Leia couldn’t bring herself to say “destroying whole planets” and she didn’t have to.

Vader’s tone and response were decisive, as if he had grown tired of repeating himself.

“The power to destroy worlds is insignificant to the Force. Technological terrors are but a glimpse into the true potential of the dark side. The strength my master possesses is something no weapon could ever emulate. Tarkin was a fool, but in the end of his life, you were able to show him a taste of true power.”

Leia had thought about what Vader had told her on the ship--that she was responsible for Tarkin’s death--that she had killed the Grand Moff through the Force. It still didn’t seem real, but if what the Dark Lord told her was true, then she had the same power as Vader and the Emperor. If I could kill the Grand Moff with it, then maybe I could do the same to--

Leia’s eyes widened as her hands rose to clutch her throat. The sudden pressure around her neck cut through her thoughts as panic seized her body. She looked to her sides to see who could have snuck up behind her, but no one was there, even her hands found nothing--just her own skin which was quickly compressing under an invisible weight. She let out a staggered cough and stumbled backwards, twisting her neck to try and pry it free from whatever held her. It was only when her eyes caught sight of Vader did she slowly realize, too late, the source of the chokehold.

From several feet away, Darth Vader faced her, unmoving. His large fist was raised and clenched tightly. Leia’s eyes glared into the fiend’s black mask. Her eyes seared into whoever hid behind that helmet. As her body cried out for air, she filled her lungs with anger. As every cell in her body seemed to burn with the need to breathe, she stared at Vader and satisfied her body with hate. The desire to breathe seemed to drown beneath wave after wave of anger for the man who stood idly by and watched her people die.

Slowly, Leia came to her full height, the pressure she felt on her throat burned away by flames of aching hatred. Something in the back of her mind told her to use that hate, to reach out to Vader--to act on it--but as Leia raised her hand to indulge in that feeling, she jerked upwards.

With a gasp, she writhed wildly as an unseen power ripped her from the ground. The anger dissipated into terror. Leia was suspended in the air, for the first time she was higher than Darth Vader. She didn’t know what to do, she couldn’t speak or resist the pressure that now held her whole body. Leia was terrified, and it showed in the tears that ran down her cheeks.

No sound came from her, all there was to hear was the never-ending breathing of Vader. All there was to feel was the powerlessness of being torn from the floor. All there was to see were the shadowed halls of the Palace and the dark void of Vader’s mask. So, Leia closed her eyes and dreamed of home.

Mother, I’m sorry… I couldn’t do anything to save you or father or Alderaan. I couldn’t stop Vader or the Emperor. I couldn’t protect the plans or Captain Antilles. I couldn’t save the Rebellion. I couldn’t do anything. I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…

Leia resigned herself to her worst fears and greatest failures.

But too soon for Vader. As she dropped to the ground, she didn’t bother catching her fall, instead collapsing into a ball on the cold floor. She was shaking and breathing harder than ever--ragged breaths that she didn’t think she would ever be taking again. Crawling to her hands and knees, she saw the flowing black cape of Darth Vader blending with the encroaching sea of shadows down the hallway.

“My master will not be as merciful with your thoughts as I am, Princess.”

Leia couldn’t tell if she had really heard Vader or just imagined the booming voice, but, nevertheless, she willed herself to her feet and followed after the man she hated deeper into the darkness of the Emperor’s palace.

----

Raindrops fell against the intricate circular windows above the Emperor’s towering throne. One after another, endlessly. Leia couldn’t help but imagine each drop as a voice crying out to be heard. Each one struck the smooth glass but no sound came. Only silence filled chamber.

Silence and a red-haired woman who knelt at the side of the Emperor.

“Welcome, Princess Organa,” The Emperor’s haunting voice echoed through the spacious room. A heavy hue of blue-black light colored Leia as she stood rigid atop the first row of steps leading to the throne. Darth Vader loomed over her, his dark gaze fixated on the hooded man before them.

Vader fell to one knee like the red-haired woman.

“Forgive me for my failure, master,” As much as Leia wanted, she couldn’t pull her focus from the Emperor’s leering yellow eyes to watch Vader beg for forgiveness. “My actions were--”

“Quiet.”

The vicious snarl echoed through the chamber. Vader obeyed, and even the Dark Lord’s breathing seemed to be muted. Leia was as much in awe of the Emperor’s command as she was afraid. She felt her right hand start to twitch and covered it with her left. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw the red-haired woman smirk.

“Your inability to sense the danger the Grand Moff faced was a great oversight, Lord Vader. It has given the rebel traitors the time they need to flee to the fringes of my rule,” Leia felt a surge of relief.

So… I was able to help the Rebellion in some way after all.

“Even now, Grand Admiral Niteren will be too late to apprehend the traitors on the moon of Yavin. Mon Mothma has vanished, as has every senator we suspected of colluding with the Alliance. Your failure has cost my Empire the security we had promised so long ago, old friend. However,” The robed figure rose from his black throne. Leia could make out the sickly pale skin of the Emperor. He held his crooked hands in front of him, his fingers reminding Leia of the Palace’s wicked shadows. He took a step towards her and breathed in deeply.

“You have done well to bring the princess to me,” The Emperor’s eyes shifted from Vader to Leia and she felt as if she were submerged in a tank of freezing water. Even the peaks of Alderaan’s mountains weren’t as frigid as being under Palpatine’s inspection. “Her connection to the Force is most strong. By bringing such a promising candidate, you have proven your loyalty to me and my Empire, Lord Vader.”

Leia could have sworn she saw the red-haired woman grimace.

“Grand Admiral Niteren shall destroy Yavin IV, Mon Calamari, and Sullust; ensuring that no other worlds shall turn against us. And with the princess as my new apprentice--”

“I will never be your apprentice!” Leia shouted. She felt the silent feud between the woman and Vader shift to her, and finally, she didn’t feel afraid. The fear had evaporated, the heat of righteous indignation fueled her. “I would never serve someone as corrupt and cruel as you. Not after everything you’ve done to my people. You may have the rest of the galaxy afraid of your Death Star, but you don’t scare me, your Excellency. Not anymore.”

She meant it. Every word. Leia wasn’t afraid: not of the Emperor, or Darth Vader, or their superweapon. If she was going to die, then she would die opposing the heart of tyranny just like her mother.

She would die a rebel.

The Emperor smiled as he moved to sit back into his throne. No one spoke. Only Vader’s mechanical respiration sounded as he continued to kneel.

“Lord Vader informed me of the fate of your mother and homeworld, Princess,” The Emperor’s drawling voice dug its way into Leia’s ears. “Most unfortunate that such a beautiful world was being led by a family of traitors. Perhaps if your parents had not been foolish enough to toy with treason, then you might still have your precious Alderaan or,” His pale-yellow eyes glinted as his wicked grin widened, “at least your mother.”

Leia knew the Emperor was just trying to draw out her anger, but there wasn’t any need for that. She was already furious. Before, she cowered in the presence of Vader and the Emperor, but now she yearned to lash out at them.

The Emperor closed his eyes and breathed in, savoring Leia’s emotions.

“Good, very good. There is much anger in you, Princess of Alderaan. Much defiance,” Every mention of Alderaan only stoked the fire blazing in Organa’s heart. She wanted to stop Palpatine from ever uttering the name of her home. He didn’t have the right to speak about a planet as gentle and innocent as Alderaan. No one here did.

“You want to hurt me, child?” The question hung in the air for only a second before the Emperor’s face contorted, his eyes opening with a sudden realization. “No… you want to kill me.”

Leia didn’t respond, she remembered Vader telling her that her thoughts weren’t her own here, and she was actually glad for that. Rather than speak, she imagined every possible means of hurting Palpatine and Vader, of making them suffer, of killing them, hoping her mental images could be seen. The thought of them in pain soothed her own…

Leia flinched slightly as the Emperor drew something from beneath the folds of his dark robes. It reminded Leia of the weapon Vader carried on him except it was markedly different in design. This one was thin and smooth with silver and gold coloring. He held it out to her as if beckoning her to step forward and take it.

No… not step forward--to just take it.

“Do it,” He breathed sharply, “take this lightsaber and strike me down, Princess of Alderaan.”

The words were forceful, they spoke to Leia. It was what she wanted, and the opportunity to avenge her people… her mother… it was right there.

“Destroy me now or else I will see to the destruction of the rest of your pitiful Rebellion,” He rose again, his robed arm outstretched towards Leia. “I will oversee the destruction of world after world until I am satisfied no one will ever stand against me.”

The Emperor’s voice was booming.

“Take it!”

Leia felt herself reach out with her right hand towards the lightsaber. She didn’t know why but it called to her. She needed to have it. She needed to use it. She needed to destroy the Emperor here and now.

She felt her mind tugging on the edges of the weapon, it twitched in Palpatine’s pale hands. The Emperor’s voice was like an earthquake in Leia’s mind--she wanted him out. She wanted to cut him out.

“If you don’t stop me, no one will.”

I know--I know--I know…

“Kill me.”

I want to--I want to--I want to…

“KILL ME NOW.”

Leia’s mind exploded at the utterance of that last word. She didn’t know how, but the silver gold cylinder tore through the air and into her hands. As soon as the cold metal touched her skin, a burst of images and emotions ran through her mind. Memories, visions, words, and information Leia couldn’t process.

A blinding blur of green… pure rage… a flurry of purple and red… malice….talons of jagged blue lightning…

The lightsaber spoke to Leia in rushed whispers. She couldn’t hear everything, but it gave her a sense of what she needed to do.

She needed to kill, and now she knew how.

Following the call of the lightsaber, she ignited its crimson beam, illuminating the blue darkness of the Emperor’s throne room. A gruesome smile and cackle came from the Emperor as blood red light bathed the area.

Leia contemplated her next move. All eyes were on her.

The Emperor, he needs to die, but… that woman and Vader, they’d stop me before I came close enough to finish him off. But, if I attacked Vader while he was still kneeling, I don’t think that woman or the Emperor would try to stop me. He’s not the Emperor, but if I can kill at least one of them…

Leia took a step towards the Emperor, pointing the crackling beam of light towards the throne. Just as she expected, she saw the red-haired woman shift her weight as if anticipating an attack--Leia decided to take her chances.

Letting out a monstrous roar she never knew she could make, Leia swung the red blade in a wild arc behind her. She cursed herself as the beam struck the ground, conjuring a flash of sparks in the spot where Darth Vader used to be.

She didn’t take any time to lament the failed feint, attacking purely on the animalistic instincts she pulled from the lightsaber and within her heart. Her body turned as she lunged repeatedly at Vader, slashing in every direction, pushing the fiend down the flight of steps.

Leia let out a scream of pure rage as she brought the lightsaber down right on top of Vader’s head, hoping to cut the Dark Lord in half. She was surprised, however, as he intercepted her blade with his own. The sound of the two lightsabers crossing was piercing. High pitched screeching, like a chorus of frantic screams, whistled in her ears.

With a growl, she pulled out of the lock, leaping from the final step and facing Vader on level ground. There was a pause in the confrontation as more millisecond memories appeared in Leia’s mind.

Horns… A sea of red lightsabers… Cackling…

Cackling just like the insidious laughter ringing in the background of the duel now.

“Die!” Leia roared, recklessly charging Vader with the same fervency she had felt towards him since the Tantive IV. He parried her strikes, intermittent flashes of white and red illuminated the duo as they pushed their way down the path away from the throne. Bright crimson light diffused across the dim chamber as the two locked blades again. Leia’s eyes bore into Vader’s mask, her senses had never felt sharper. She could see Vader’s chest expanding as the intensity rose, she could smell the scorched metal beams and stone caught in the way of the blinding torrent, she could hear the raindrops against the throne room’s soundproof glass.

The raindrops… The voices… Just like Alderaan… JUST LIKE ALDERAAN--

“Good, good!” The Emperor’s sadistic glee howled over his laughter, “Give in to your hate. It gives you focus, it gives you strength.”

I’m no longer powerless… I can change things… I have the power to avenge Mother and Father, to make up for my mistakes--

“Only through the dark side will you obtain the power to find your justice, Princess.”

I can do it, Mother… Your hope, I’ve found it--

“Only by becoming my apprentice will you obtain the power to kill me.”

“No,” Leia pulled away from Vader and allowed herself to breathe. She turned her gaze from Darth Vader to look back at the Emperor. “My power is my own, your Excellency. You’re a monster. You’re evil and you’re twisted, and I will destroy you through my own strength.”

Time seemed to stop as she made her stand. Her final stand against the Empire. Win or lose, this would be it for her, and she was content with that.

“I will never be your apprentice. I am Leia Organa, daughter of Bail and Breha Organa, Princess of Alderaan, and I will be your doom!”

With that declaration, Leia brought her lightsaber down hard. Vader deflected the blow and Leia’s eyes caught the Dark Lord’s blade move to strike her legs. Using the momentum of the parried blow, Leia let her lightsaber change direction in her hands before angling it to counter. If she could follow through, she would be able to kill Darth Vader and make her way to the Emperor, but something about the motion was off--too late, she realized something was horribly wrong.

Just before the two crimson beams connected, Leia felt the handle of the lightsaber slip from her grip. The smooth surface of the silver weapon flew from her fingers, back into the pallid palms of the Emperor. With no way to defend herself, Leia braced for the impact of Vader’s lightsaber.

A blinding pain shot through her as she fell to the floor, her body no longer able to support itself. She wanted to scream, but the searing sensation snaked its way up her body and left her too agonized to voice her pain. The sharp odor of burnt flesh filled her nostrils as the edges of her vision filled with dark tendrils. Leia simply stared upwards at the warped surface of the throne room’s ceiling, the coils of shadows becoming more and more tangible.

Before she drifted into the infinite darkness of unconsciousness, Leia saw the pair of cold yellow eyes glaring down at her.

“You will turn, Princess… I have foreseen it.”