[Black Fleet Crisis(41)

Her body language foretold her answer. She held herself back from him, arms wrapped around herself, her mouth hard, her eyes darting, angry.

“No, ” she said. “Go back to wherever you came from. ” She turned abruptly and started back toward the residence.

“Leia-” Han said, reaching for her as she neared where he stood.

She eluded his touch with a twist and a sidestep.

“And you, if you take his side, you can go with him. “

“Leia-” Han’s tone was plaintive now, and it had no effect. In moments, the two men were alone on the path.

“I thought I was just out of practice flying, ” Luke said with a sigh.

“For what it’s worth, kid, she had kind of a hard day, ” Han said. “Leia’s been negotiating with the same guy for a month now, and it’s starting to drive her nuts. And I don’t know how they do it, but the twins seem to know when she’s not up to dealing with them, and really push the limits. “

“If she’d just draw on the Force, ” Luke said, shaking his head. “It’s inexhaustible. “

“Well-she’s not. For whatever reason. I guess you’d better come back. “

“No, ” Luke said. “I’m going to talk to her. She has to realize how important this is to both of us. “

“Kid, I can’t recommend it-“

“It’ll be all right, ” Luke said, and started up the path.

The valet droid helpfully told Luke that Leia was in the private kitchen. He found her sitting on a stool at the meal bar, cupping a tall glass in both hands and staring out the window with faraway eyes.

“That’s perfect, ” she said as he entered. “I was just trying to remember if you’d ever done anything I asked you to. “

“Once or twice, by accident, ” he said lightly, hoping to draw a smile from her. “But we made it through anyway. “

Leia said nothing, choosing instead to sip from her glass.

“This is important for both of us, Leia. For your children, too, ” Luke said. His glance acknowledged Han, who had followed as far as the doorway and taken up a position leaning, arms crossed, against the frame. “I think there really might be a chance to break through and discover our mother as a real person. “

“Why? ” She turned her face toward him for the first time, and he saw the weariness in her eyes.

“You’ve probed me more times than I can remember. You had Artoo and Threepio on Obra-skai for months, searching the libraries for any clue. ” She emptied her glass and set it down on the bar. “You and I sat in a Jedi meditation circle for hours on end, night after night, calling on Obi-Wan and Anakin and Yoda, Owen and Beru, my foster parents, anyone we knew of who might have known her. Calling her, too-remember? “

“I remember. “

“And when we were done, we knew exactly as much as we had before. A conspiracy of silence, you called it. “

“It seemed that way, ” Luke said. “But I think the silence has just been broken. I think I know why we never found any trace of her. “

“You’re obsessed with the past, ” she said, her tone sharp. “I just can’t let myself keep caring that much. Father and Mother are dead, and nothing you do can change that. My children are the future. “

“How do we know that Mother’s dead? ” Luke asked, easing onto a stool on the opposite side of the meal bar. “Where’s her grave? Who saw her die? Did you? “

“No-“

“How do we know she didn’t leave Alderaan, leave you on Alderaan, to hide from Father? How do we know she didn’t succeed? “

“There’s a simple answer to that, ” Leia said, raising her head. “She’s dead, Luke. If she were still alive, there’d be nothing to stop her from coming here for a reunion  . “

“She might be as young as fifty, ” Luke said. “It could still happen. “

“It’s been twelve years, Luke, ” she said. “And we’re not hard to find-at least, I’m not. “

“What does that mean? ” asked Luke.

“I’m going to tell you something I’ve kept from you, just because of the way you are about this thing, ” Leia said slowly. “Since the end of the war-since I made Coruscant my home, and the work of the New Republic my life-there’s been a steady stream of women coming here and claiming that they’re our long-lost mother. ” She looked to Han. “How many have there been now, honey? “

“More than two hundred, ” Han said, nodding.

“More of them lately, for some reason-almost one a week so far this year. “