Star Wars: Legacies

Luke

    Luke swallowed hard, hesitating for a moment before knocking on Ahsoka's door.
"Enter," came a familiar voice. He opened it and stepped inside, locking it behind him. The grandmaster sat in a meditative position when Luke entered. Morai was roosting on a perch at the foot of Ahsoka's bed, opening her bright green eyes and cocking her head when she saw him.
"Ah, Luke. Come to inquire about your knighting trials?"
Luke shook his head, trying to ignore the churning in his gut, and Morai's gaze.
"Ah- no. It's about Leia," he confessed, sitting in front of his aunt on the floor.
"Did you know about the Sith Temple right underneath this one?" he started.
    Ahsoka paused for a moment, then nodded. "Yes. I found it during my time away from the Order. No one else knows about them, I kept them a secret because they're dangerous," Morai hopped down onto Ahsoka's arm, nuzzling her friend's hand in a comforting manner, and the togruta stroked her chest feathers thoughtfully.

    Dangerous. Luke suppressed a shiver as he recalled the corpses down there, fresh and ancient alike. He avoided Ahsoka's eyes, shifting uncomfortably.
    "Luke, how did you find it?" Ahsoka asked gently, no doubt sensing his anxiety, "The only way is if you know where you're going," Morai fluttered up onto Ahsoka's desk, curling her tail over her feet and preening her feathers.
"Last night I- I followed Leia down there. She's been training in the Dark Side with Talon."
    Ahsoka pursed her lips and laced her fingers. "I was afraid of this."
"What do we do?" Luke asked tentatively.
    She sighed and shook her head, looking like she'd just aged ten years. "I'll talk to her. Maybe I'll be able to get through to her." She buried her face in her hands, "Too much like me," she muttered.
    "What?"
"That's what your father said. When you two were 14 and ready to be apprenticed. Obi-Wan asked Anakin if he thought you'd be tempted by the Dark Side like he was.  Anakin said you'd be fine, but Leia is 'too much like me.' I never should've let Talon into the Order."
    "It's the Jedi way to forgive. You judge people based on what they do, not what they could do," Luke told her.
    Ahsoka sighed and looked out her window. "I suppose you're right, Luke," she lightly touched the side of his face, "I do see a lot of your father in you, but you have your mother's gentle wisdom."
    She stood up and started towards the door. "I just wish you didn't have the to see it before I could. I've been blind, and I'm sorry."
    "None of us saw it happening, her actions aren't your fault."
The togruta put a hand on the doorknob and paused, "Perhaps not, but I can't help but wonder what I could have done differently."

    Luke distracted himself by training. He sparred with the droids in the practice room, trying to improve as much as possible before his knighting trials. He didn't tell his parents or Obi-Wan what he saw, trying to get his sister in as little trouble as possible. He didn't know how long he was there, but he was so lost in his own head he didn't even notice the passage of time.
    "LUKE SKYWALKER!" came an enraged voice. He flinched, recognizing his sister without even needing to see her face. He turned to look at her, and she was a mess. She didn't even bother keeping up her hair buns anymore, instead allowing her long brown hair to fall in loose braids over her shoulders. Her robes weren't neatly pressed or carefully maintained anymore, her collar was crooked and hanging open, her belt hung loosely from her waist, and she had definitely lost weight.
    The dark circles under her eyes were deep, and she looked much paler than usual. She stomped toward him, her anger rolling off in waves. She shoved him hard into the wall, her dark eyes blazing with fury. "Not only did you follow me, you told Ahsoka!?"
    Luke flinched at the venom in her words. "I was worried about you!" he protested.
Leia shoved him again, this time a little harder than before, "Why does everyone keep saying that!? I'm fine! I was doing great, until YOU had to go and ruin everything for me like you always do!"
    "You don't mean that," Luke insisted quietly.
"Of course I mean it!" She pulled her lightsaber off her belt and ignited it, her eyes blazing with anger, "You might be content with never being anything more than the most dedicated Jedi Knight, but I wanted more for myself!"
    Luke flinched, he's never seen his sister like this before. Of course she'd always had ambition and a temper, but the hatred in her voice was deafening. His hand shaking, he ignited his lightsaber.
    "Turning to using the Dark Side never works Leia! Look at yourself!"
She pressed her mouth into a hard line and pointed her lightsaber at him, "You can't handle the idea that I might be better than you! That's what this is about! All any of you ever do is hold me back!" she yelled, taking a swing at him.
    Luke blocked it easily, their green and purple sabers clashing in a hard flash of light. "You're my sister! Why would I do that to you!?"
    Leia screamed and swung again, Luke blocking her strike yet again, "You might be content with never being anything more than the lesser version of Anakin Skywalker, but I'm not!"
    Her words cut deep. Luke swung at her, repressing his anger, "I'm not the one that was so obsessed with being my own person that I split up our family for four years, all you've ever been is ungrateful!"
    "Ungrateful!?" Leia shrieked, slashing sideways, "I've spent my entire life being stuck in the shadow of a legacy I never asked for!"
    It happened so fast Luke didn't even see it coming. His sister thrust out a hand, invisible claws grabbing her brother, her best friend, by the neck, and flung him into the mirror, shattering it.
    Judging by her startled cry, it wasn't intentional. Luke slammed into the wall, hitting his head so hard he saw stars as the wind was knocked clean from his lungs. He collapsed onto the floor, sputtering and gagging for air. He felt her rage dissolve into regret and concern in an instant , but he was too angry at her to care.
    "Luke!" she rushed to his side, trying to help him up but he shoved her away. "I didn't mean-"
    "Get away from me!" he yelled, smacking her hand away.
He scrambled to his feet and backed away, his head throbbing as he clutched his neck. "Luke I-"
    "Forget it! That's the last time I ever try to help you!" he spat, stumbling out of the sparring room, leaving Leia alone with a caved wall, a busted mirror, and a broken relationship.