It's What Goes On In Here That's Hard (Star Wars AU Fanfiction)

Chapter 5. Training On Dagobah

Chewbacca roared mournfully as another day passed and yet there was no sign of Leia.

"I'm sure she's fine." Lando tried to reassure the Wookiee, but even his own voice did not sound very certain. It had been nearly three days since they escaped Bespin and joined the Rebel Fleet.

At the news of Han Solo and Leia's capture and the events that followed, Mon Mothma and Admiral Ackbar both became worried. Losing the princess would send a huge blow to the Rebellion. And so it was kept quiet about Leia's disappearance for as long as possible.

But Chewbacca wanted to go find Leia. He had promised Han he would look after her. A Wookiee's promise to a friend was unbreakable, but a promise to the man who had saved that Wookiee's life, well, Chewbacca couldn't see himself living on if something happened to Leia. He had to find Leia, and then together they would rescue Han and bring Luke home.

***

The blue blade hummed with dangerous energy as Leia held the lightsaber with both hands, arms length away from her body as she watched the saber warily.

Often Leia had witnessed Luke cut down a stormtrooper with ease using this weapon, it's hot blade going through stormtrooper armor as if it were nothing but paper. It severed limbs of any kind without effort as well. This weapon was a dangerous tool, and Leia often worried that Luke would one day accidentally cut off his hand with the saber.

Yoda watched from where he stood perched on a log as Leia tried to relax while holding the lightsaber. It was normal, for Leia to be so tense, but Yoda needed the girl to relax, to feel the Force. But perhaps he shouldn't have let her hold the lightsaber as it seemed to put her on edge.

Yoda had to remind himself that Leia was not Luke, that she hadn't been wanting to become a Jedi until just yesterday morning. Luke had wanted to be a Jedi ever since his aunt and uncle had been killed, which had been three years ago. Three years of being mostly self taught and feeling the Force versus twenty-four hours of wanting to become a Jedi and save the ones most dear. There was no comparison and Yoda opted to approach this new task differently.

"Away put your weapon." Yoda commanded, Leia following the command with relief as the blue blade returned to the hilt with a snap.

Leia looked to Yoda who motioned her to come forward.

Slowly she joined Yoda, looking confused. "Did I do something wrong?" She asked sheepishly, using the tone of a young school girl who had gotten an answer wrong but wasn't sure how.

Yoda shook his head though. "To feel the Force, calm your mind you must. Comfortable with a lightsaber, you are not."

Leia nodded slowly. "I'm just not sure how to use it." She said with a frown, looking at the Jedi weapon in her hand.

Yoda nodded calmly. "No weapon training we will do, until feel the Force you can."

Leia agreed and went to the X-wing, trudging through the shallow swamp water as she unloaded the X-wing's cargo and placed the lightsaber in a large metal container for safe keeping before going back to Yoda who waited patiently.

The rest of the day Leia tried to calm her mind, sitting on her knees with her head bowed as Yoda instructed. She concentrated on breathing, trying to forget Han's peril and Luke's unknown whereabouts, about the Rebellion, about Chewbacca who was most likely worried sick. But being calm and quiet minded was very hard as Leia found herself sitting there for nearly three hours, struggling along, but to no avail.

Finally Yoda decided he'd seen enough. His work was surely cut out for him.

The same weeks that followed Luke's imprisonment and brainwashing also followed Leia's training as she slowly began to feel what Yoda spoke of.