In Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Darth Vader finally turned his back on the Dark Side and killed (for a while, at least) Emperor Palpatine. This came at the cost of his own life, and in his final moments, Anakin Skywalker sought his son's forgiveness and pleaded with Luke to tell his sister, Leia, that he was right about there still being good within him.
Alas, that did little to make up for the many heinous actions Vader committed over the years. Obi-Wan Kenobi reminded us what a monster the Sith Lord was at the height of his power, murdering innocents without giving it a second thought and helping subject the Galaxy to the Empire's rule.
If you've wanted to know how Leia reacted to her father's death (and the revelation that she was the daughter of the Galaxy's greatest villain), then this August's Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel promises to be a must-read.
Written by Beth Revis, the story picks up moments after Return of the Jedi ended and reveals how Leia reacted to Vader's funeral, the revelation of her parentage, and even clears up that plot hole when the Princess mentioned remembering her mother. That obviously wasn't possible considering when Padme Amidala died, but this novel does a great job of addressing it.
Check out a sample of the excerpt below and be sure to read the whole thing at StarWars.com!
A hand fell on Leia’s left shoulder, fingers firm, pulling her back. Leia sucked in a harsh breath—the touch was too familiar. The hand pulled her back with the same pressure as before, the same spacing of fingers, one painfully on her clavicle, and when she shuddered at the touch, the same soft, almost gentle rub of a thumb against her shoulder blade.
“It’s just me,” Luke’s voice said, concern etched on his face when she jerked away and turned toward him.
Just Luke. Her brother.
Darth Vader’s son.
“You smell like…”
“Smoke?” Luke guessed. “We all do.” He attempted a smile, but Leia didn’t return it. Because the scent that clung to Luke’s black tunic was not the same as the smoke that still lingered throughout the Ewok village of Bright Tree. The stench of it made her sick to her stomach — that, and the idea that while she’d danced, he had gone to give Darth Vader a funeral pyre.
Still, when she looked in his eyes, she saw only Luke. And he was sad.
“The whole galaxy celebrated while you mourned,” Leia said softly.
Luke shook his head. “I wasn’t the only one mourning.”
Leia glanced at the stormtrooper’s helmet. “No, I suppose not.”
“How are you?” Luke’s voice was sincere, but Leia wasn’t sure how to answer him. This was supposed to be a triumph, but all she really felt was confused. Not just about what Luke had told her about her lineage — their connection was something she’d felt for some time, and it had been easy to accept Luke as her brother. She would not think about what that meant of her biological father. No — it wasn’t just that.
“It’s the Force, isn’t it?” Luke asked.
Leia nodded. She had told Luke that she didn’t — couldn’t — understand the power he had, but he seemed eerily calm and confident that she could actually wield the Force as he did. Leia might not have any real experience with the Force, but there was no denying the power Luke had… the power she felt, too, like a fluttering of flitterfly wings just on the edge of her consciousness. Waiting for her to seize it.
“He told me to tell you –” Luke started, but Leia’s head whipped up, eyes fierce as she glared at him.
“Don’t,” she warned.
“They were his last words. He wanted me to tell you –”
“I don’t care.”
“He was good,” Luke insisted. “There was still good in him, after all…”
My father was good, Leia thought, but in her mind she pictured Bail Organa, not Darth Vader. Thinking of Bail made her think of Breha, her mother. Of her home. Of everything she had lost.
When she had spoken to Luke earlier this night, Leia had told him that she remembered the mother they shared, their birth mother. It had been vague images, feelings, really, nothing more. But she did have a memory — of love, of closeness, of things she could not describe. It was impossible to put her feelings into words, but there was no denying their truth. It felt like… a connection, a bond made of light.
Yet Luke, who was a Jedi Knight, strong in the Force, had no memory of the woman who had birthed them both.
Did he have memories of their father? Was that why he was so capable of forgiving the monster that was Darth Vader? They had been separated at birth, not just from each other but from their biological parents. Maybe Leia had a connection with their mother, and Luke had a connection with their father.
Leia bit back a bitter laugh. Perhaps it wasn’t as deep as that. Perhaps it was merely that Luke had never been tortured by their biological father the way she had.
“What happens next?” Luke asked.
Leia looked at him. Since becoming a Jedi Knight, he had always seemed so calm, so sure of his direction.
He wasn’t sure now. His eyes searched hers. He’s waiting for me to decide my fate before he chooses his own, she realized. Their blood connection may be new knowledge, but he was also her friend. The threads of fate that had pulled them in separate directions could be rewoven.