What Could Have Been Part III: The Destined Warriors

Growing Up

Luke

Squirming under his black Jedi robes, Luke Skywalker tugged at the scratchy collar once again. "Luke Ruwee Skywalker, hold still! You're too old for me to have to keep fixing your clothes!" his mother chastised as she fixed the neckline.

"Mom," Luke whined, "Can we please just get this over with?" he asked impatiently. Padme Skywalker frowned at her son's attitude. "This is a big day Luke. You should be excited," she insisted as Luke continued fidgeting with his robes.

Luke sighed and took a seat on his bed. He was excited, but he was also anxious and nervous. It wasn't everyday that he was promoted to the rank of Jedi Knight. What if he messed something up? The Council was counting on him and Leia to do things right.

"It would be easier to be excited if the entire galaxy wasn't coming to the ceremony," Luke remarked as he dropped his head into his hands. His mother sat beside him, resting a gentle hand on his back. "The Council didn't promote the event on purpose," Padme noted regretfully, "but when word got out that the heros of the galaxy were taking their first steps toward greatness, well, there wasn't much that could be done."

Luke groaned as he fell back onto the bed in frustration. "You're not really helping." The Council may not have advertised the ceremony, but they certainly weren't making anything easier on him either. Padme frowned as she ruffled Luke's blonde locks. "I remember how nervous I was at my coronation as queen," she recalled thoughtfully, "I was so afraid I would forget my speech, or that my headdress would fall off or something! During the Coronation Ball I-"
Luke smiled slightly as his mother reminisced about her youth. "You stepped on the Prime Minister's foot. You've told me before," he finished. Padme chuckled as a grin grew on her face.

"But do you remeber after that when I spilled beebleberry punch-" Luke laughed in amusement at his mother's story which he must have heard a million times over the years. "When you spilled beebleberry punch all over Governer Sio Bibble's genuine Shaak skinned robes? Yes, Mom, I remember."

His mother finally gave up. She marched away with her hands on her hips. "My point is, whether or not you step on someone's toes and spill punch all over a governer, your father and I will still be proud of you and your sister." Luke puffed his cheeks in agitation. "Dad..." he said under his breath. Not only had the Jedi Council and the rest of the galaxy been fussing over the fact that he was becoming a Jedi, his own father was just as guilty and probably even more.

Padme frowned at her son's melancholy. "Oh Luke, I know he's got a lot of pressure on you two, but you have to remember; he's afraid of messing up just like you." Luke rolled over on his stomach, "Right. In case you were wondering Mom, he's like, the most powerful Jedi ever. He's not the type to mess up."

Padme shook her head, "Don't be so sure. Your father grew up knowing that he was supposed to "bring balance to the Force" and destroy the Sith. How do you think he felt with that on his shoulders?" she asked before realizing what she had said. Luke smirked at his mother as he pretended to think.

"Hmm... Probably a lot like me."
As Luke pulled himself up from his bed, he pulled at his collar again so that he could manage a breath. "Alright young man, let's get moving. If you're late to the ceremony your father will have a Bantha!"

"Why don't you tell that to him? He's the one without a sense of time!" Luke defended with a laugh.

Padme lightly smacked her son's shoulder, nudging him toward the door. "Just go check on your sister!"

Leia

In the middle of her daily diary entry, Leia felt a disturbance in the Force.
Or maybe just a brother...