Chapter 17: Chapter 17: The Oath of a Princess
Luke and walked alongside his sister in silence through the lush tropical island, their forms completely bare except for the footwear they still possessed. They were making their way towards the Jedi Temple, located at the top of a hill. Along the way, they noticed that the air was filled with the sweet scent of exotic flowers and the sounds of chirping birds. Luke's mind, however, was preoccupied with thoughts of the holocron and the bits of insight he gleaned from the Force while dreaming, hoping that Master Belaerys would be able to answer the questions he still had. His sister matched his silence, taking the time to pay attention to their surroundings.
As they strolled along, their eyes scanned the vibrant landscape, taking in the diverse flora and fauna. Eventually, Leia stopped walking, and Luke followed her gaze, wanting to see what had caught her attention. It was a small grove of banana trees, with dozens of delicious fruits already ripe and ready to eat.
Luke grinned at the discovery and approached to look at the fruits more closely. "This is a great find, Leia. And from what I can see, they look just like the most commercially popular banana species that are most resilient and common throughout the interconnected galactic economy. I guess we can thank Master Belaerys and whoever else helped her seed this island with flora and crops that are common in known space."
"Indeed," Leia said with a smile as she took one of the bananas.
She gave it a tentative bite and soon sighed. "Delicious. A great find, to be sure."
The princess swallowed, and then, she held her banana horizontally, playfully offering it to Luke. He understood her unspoken invitation and smiled, taking the other end of the banana in his hand. Their gazes locked, filled with affection and desire, as they brought the fruit to their lips. With each bite, the twins's lips met in the middle, sharing the sweet and succulent taste of the tropical fruit.
The surroundings faded into the background as their connection deepened. The knight and his beloved princess embraced in a passionate kiss, and Luke could practically feel their love and longing echoing through the Force amidst the lush jungle. Time even seemed to stand still for a long moment, as they lost themselves in the moment, their bodies pressed close together while the soft winds of the tropical island caressed their naked skin.
As their lips finally parted, they gazed into each other's eyes, their breaths mingling.
"That was nice," Leia sighed, her voice dreamy. "Thank you, brother."
He cleaned up a bit of fruit that had dropped to her chin with his finger, a warm smile on his face as he looked at his wonderful, wonderful sister. "Anytime, my future wife."
And with that, they continued their journey towards the island's Jedi Temple, holding each other's hands as they did so. The taste of the banana lingered on their lips, feeling like a reminder of the unexpected love that bound them together.
Just as the Force bound the galaxy in its embrace.
---
As they neared the entrance of the temple, Leia slowed her steps, her hand tightening around her brother's. He turned to her, sensing her sudden anxiety through their Force connection. Her eyes were wide and uncertain, her lips pressed into a thin line.
"Luke," She began, her voice barely more than a whisper as she started to loose her nerve. "I...I'm not sure about this."
He tilted his head, his brows furrowing in confusion. "About what, Leia?" He asked, his voice gentle, and clearly encouraging her to share her concerns.
Leia took a deep breath, gathering her courage. "Master Belaerys...she knows about us," She said, her cheeks flushing at the admission. "And...and we are...naked," She added, her voice dropping to an even softer whisper as she gestured towards their lack of clothing.
Luke nodded, understanding her apprehension. "Yes, she does. And she has encouraged our relationship, believing that it will strengthen our Force bond and quicken your Jedi training," He reminded her.
"But Luke," Leia continued, her voice trembling slightly, "it's one thing to be naked in front of my future husband...and another entirely to be naked while training with Master Belaerys. Even though she's a holographic personality mainframe, it still feels...awkward. And I can't help but feel embarrassed, knowing that she is aware of our relationship and will be teaching us in such a state of...exposure."
Luke's gaze softened, filled with understanding and affection. He squeezed her hand reassuringly, his thumb tracing comforting circles on the back of her hand. "I understand," He said, his voice filled with quiet understanding. "It will take some getting used to for me too, I am sure. But, there's something else I learned from Master Belaerys that I haven't told you yet."
Leia's dark eyes narrowed slightly, her grip on his hand tightening in anticipation. "What is it, Luke?" She asked, her voice filled with curiosity.
Luke paused, his eyes meeting hers. "Well...to put it simply," He began, his voice steady and calm, "Master Belaerys shared with me that she is intimately familiar with our situation because she has experienced it herself."
Leia's eyes widened, a look of surprise crossing her face. "She...she had a relationship with her own twin?" She asked, her voice filled with disbelief.
Luke nodded, his gaze steady on Leia's. "Yes," He confirmed, his voice gentle. "She told me that her twin brother's name was Aurion Belaerys, and he left his own holocron on another island nearby. So, it seems that she understands our situation better than we realized."
Leia was silent for a moment, processing this new piece of information. Then, she gave Luke a small, uncertain smile. "That does make me feel a little better, Luke," she admitted, her voice soft. "At least, we're not alone in this."
"No, we are not," Luke said in agreement. "Still, while I am inclined to believe that she will understand, there are still some questions that I have for her about her past."
"I remember you saying that," Leia said slowly, her gaze contemplative. "Like what?"
Her beloved knight bit his bottom lip slightly. "Aside from more information about her brother Aurion and the location of the island that has his holocron, you mean? Well, I have thought of plenty of questions that I would appreciate some clarity on. Like, who was her master? For how many years was she a member of the Jedi Order before making her holocron well over a century ago? What were the biggest challenges of the Order back in her day, given that she trained and served more than a hundred years before the Clone Wars started and ended with the creation of the Galactic Empire? What were the major duties of a Jedi Knight in times of peace and prosperity, and how did it differ from the Order's approach to times of warfare and chaos, as I have had to deal with during my entire career as a Jedi?" He asked, his tone wistful.
He paused for breath before shaking his head as if to clear it. "Could she know of any other classified Jedi secrets or planets that could have been successfully hidden across the galaxy despite the Empire's best efforts to wipe out their legacy? Were she and her brother the only Jedi that made their way to this planet before the clone wars and the dark times that followed? If not, is that why she called herself a member of the High Council of the Valyrian Jedi Order to be more precise? Because some of their peers, or at least their apprentices and descendants, may still live somewhere on this planet?" He asked aloud, his tone a volatile mix of uncertainty, hope, and longing.
She looked at her beloved twin, sensing the wide variety of emotions that were haunting him with curiosity and fear of disappointment. Before she knew it, she had placed a hand on his cheek and got her face closer to his.
Luke sighed at that, as if he were a balloon letting out the air it contained. "Am I about to learn that I am not as alone as I feared I was, Leia? Will I soon find out that I won't have to shoulder the responsibility of recreating the entire Jedi Order all by myself? Or will we eventually leave this planet with more training than before, but also with more awareness than ever that, at the end of the day, the burden of breathing new life into a legacy that spanned 1000 generations all comes down to me?"
The Princess of the shattered world of Alderaan waited a handful of heartbeats to respond. When she did so, however, her voice did not waiver in the slightest.
"None of the above, Luke," Leia said with conviction. "Because even if I never become as great a Jedi as you during my training...even if my duties force me to prioritize the politics of the New Republic at certain times...I swore to marry you when we return to Republic space. That means I choose to help you with your burdens one way or another for the rest of my life, and that includes the restoration of the Jedi Order. Because I love you, brother, with all my heart. And more and more, I feel convinced that I always shall."
Luke let out a breath that he may not have realized he was holding, his jaw trembling for a moment as he stared at her. And soon, she noticed a single tear rolling down his cheek and into the back of her hand.
"Thank you," He said simply, his eyes speaking plenty.
And with that, they kissed at the top of the temple stairs; the princess allowing the love she felt for her future husband to swallow her whole.
---
Taking a deep breath, her brother turned his attention back to the task at hand. He extended his hand towards the holocron that was welded to the stone table, his fingers slightly curled as if grasping an unseen object. Leia followed his cue and silently held his other hand, letting her presence beside him speak for itself.
The princess saw him smile slightly as the air around them seemed to hum with energy while the Jedi Knight reached out with the Force, his focus, if memory served, on the intricate gears inside the holocron.
Leia watched as Luke's hand moved subtly, mimicking the turning of gears. The holocron responded in kind, the mechanisms within shifting and moving under the influence of the Force. From what little she knew, the process was methodical, requiring a delicate touch and intense concentration, although Luke had told her before that it got easier with practice.
All the same, what the New Republic Senator found most intriguing was that this time, she could actually feel the effort Luke was putting into his task, the strain of his concentration a tangible force in the air. Yet, she could also feel his determination, the unwavering resolve that had always been a part of his character. Leia smiled at that, realizing that even if she still lacked formal training, she can still gain insight from her twin's actions in the Force due to their growing Force bond.
Which made her wonder just how intense their bond would become once they performed the Force ritual that Master Belaerys suggested...
As the final gear fell into place, the holocron hummed to life, a soft glow radiating from within. The light grew brighter, casting long shadows across the stone table and illuminating the temple chamber. Leia looked at Luke, noticing that his handsome gaze was reflecting the brilliant, holographic light. He glanced back at her and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, their shared anticipation feeling all but tangible to them.
And then, Master Belaerys's personality matrix turned three-dimensional, and she regarded the two of them.
She gave them a kind, yet knowing smile. "Hello again, Skywalker twins. I trust you had a memorable time since last we spoke?"
Despite everything, and the mortification she still felt at being nude in front of their holographic Jedi Master, Leia couldn't help but chuckle at her choice of words. "You can say that again, Master." She responded while tightening her grip on her beloved's hand.
Luke smiled as well and nodded. "Well, from a certain point of view, I believe it was the best day of my life. So, yes, Master Belaerys. It was a memorable day."
Leia's heart fluttered at the thick layers of honesty she could feel in her brother's voice. And before long, she noticed that the silver-haired Jedi Master looked at them with...nostalgia?
"Believe me, I know exactly what you mean, my fellow Jedi," She replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "There really is nothing quite like bonding with your own twin like that."
There was a long pause as they shared a moment of understanding, and Leia had to admit that she definitely appreciated their master's sense of empathy on the matter, especially if she was going to be aware of their secret.
"Well, as promised, I can guide you so that you can perform the ritual that will strengthen your Force bond to the point that your sister here will be able to instinctively learn the lessons that you have already mastered through your past Jedi training," The holographic Jedi said as she looked at Luke. "But I imagine you have questions for me, about the mechanics of the ritual itself and probably about many other things. So, go ahead, my new students. Tell me, what do you wish to know?"
She exchanged a glance with her brother for a moment before yielding the floor to him with a nod. Luke scratched his chin in contemplation for a bit before straightening up.
"I have many questions," Luke admitted. "And if the answers are especially long for some of them, then the short versions should suffice for now. But there is something that I have been wondering since we first opened your holocron, Master Belaerys," He remarked. "Why exactly did you call yourself a member of the High Council of the "Valyrian" Jedi Order when you introduced yourself to us? Why not just the Jedi Order in general?"
Leia blinked rapidly after the reasonable query because the holographic personality actually sighed in response, displaying an even more advanced breath of artificial consciousness and emotion than the princess had expected, along with a shade of bitterness on her face.
"The short version, young Jedi," She began, "is that I became one of the founding members of a splinter group that formed after our members chose to walk away from the Jedi Order, due to a heated disagreement with the Jedi High Council over what was, in our opinion, a position of such dangerous, willful ignorance that it was going to put the Galactic Republic in general and the order in particular in grave peril. And given what you have told me about the Clone Wars that erupted during our isolation in the Unknown Regions and the Imperial-sanctioned Jedi Purge that followed, I believe our splinter group was proven right in choosing to establish a hidden colony while we waited for our visions to come true. Especially given that this way, we could ensure that future generations of Force-sensitives wishing to serve the people of the galaxy after the Galactic Republic was reformed would not need to reinvent the wheel," She added, giving Luke a pointed look full of meaning.
Leia joined Luke in silence for a while as they analyzed her words.
"So, she was a part of a group of...Separatist Jedi then, so to speak," Leia thought to herself as she narrowed her eyes slightly.
She then shook her head, knowing that even if technically accurate, this splinter group broke away from the mainstream Jedi Order long before the Clone Wars and the Separatist Crisis that preceded it, so it's not quite the same thing in terms of political association or the strife it caused galaxy-wide.
Still...the Force-sensitive heir to the Alderaanian throne and the New Republic Senator in her both couldn't help but shiver at the idea of large groups of warriors as powerful as the Jedi breaking away from their centralized authority after heated disagreements with their governing body. Mainly because after everything she had seen in the past few years, the mere idea of a Jedi Civil War sounded like the stuff of nightmares to her.
Before she could feel Luke voice his agreement aloud, however, the holographic echo of the Jedi Master opened her mouth again.
"It's clear that you need more explanations," She acknowledged. "So, let us start at the beginning, then, around half a century before I even created this holocron, about 190 years ago. Back in the days when a Dark Jedi started a conflict that gripped the Cularin system."
Belaerys stared at them attentively with her violet eyes, her conviction practically carved into the three-dimensional pillars of light.
"Back in the days that the Jedi High Council first learned, and chose to ignore, the warnings of the Sith's survival under the Rule of Two."