Anidala: Across the Stars

Chapter 28: The Gathering

Leia and Luke were 8 years old, and it was finally time for them to construct their lightsabers.
"Dad, I'm scared. What if I can't find a crystal?" Leia said as her father wound her hair into buns on either side of her head.
"Leia, you are one of the most powerful Jedi to ever live. You will find a crystal as beautiful and strong as you are. I promise." Anakin said as he finished pinning her hair to her head. She smiled at him.
"You'll be fine. Ahsoka is leading the gathering mission again, and you know she would never let anything happen to you."
"I know dad." Leia sad, climbing off the floor and sitting next to her father, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"I love you Leia." He said, kissing her forehead.
"I love you too dad." She said smiling. She squeezed his hand, then got up to go find Luke.
"Luke! Come on! It's time to go!" She said running through the house to find him. Padmé sat down next to Anakin.
"Are you scared?" She asked as he pulled her into his arms.
"Am I scared? Of course I'm scared. They're almost ready to be Padawans."
"They're in the best hands. You know that." Padmé said. Anakin turned her head toward him and kissed her. When they looked up, Luke and Leia were running toward them, their Coats in their arms.
"We're ready!" Leia said. Padmé got up.
"May the force be with you two." She said pulling them both into her arms.
"Love you mom." They said laughing as she blew raspberries into their necks. Anakin was next.
"Remember, you two are powerful on your own, but together, you hold the greatest power in galaxy. What do we say?" He said, putting a hand on both their shoulders.
"Skywalkers stick together," they said in unison. Wrapping their hands together.
"Those are my twins." Anakin smiled, hugging them
"Now, Obi Wan is waiting to take you to the temple. When you come home, I expect to see the most amazing lightsabers ever ok?" They nodded, then ran out the door. Their hands together. Anakin stood and wrapped his arm around Padmé, pulling her into him.
"They'll be ok." He said, mostly reassuring himself.

"Master Tano," the younglings nodded to her as they passed into the ship. Leia and Luke said the same, but a glint passed through Ahsoka's eye and she winked at them making them laugh.
Once everyone was inside the ship, Ahsoka sat them all down.
"Does anybody know where we're going?" Ahsoka asked. Leia and Luke's hands shot up.
"The gathering. We're getting our crystals." Leia said. She had gotten more friends since the Temple incident. She was the most popular child in the group.
"We will be there very shortly, get some rest, I'll let you know when we land." She said, then went to sit with the pilot.

"Welcome younglings, to the gathering!" Ahsoka said as they walked out of the ship and into the frigid icy wasteland.
"Together, we will open the doors of the temple using the force and then you will find your crystals.

Leia and Luke looked at Ahsoka for confidence before following their friends into the cavern. Ahsoka had told everyone how the door to the cavern worked, and then they were off. The children all branched off, following the sense of their crystals. Luke grabbed Leia's hand, and together they walked into the darkness.
"Leia, do you see that glowing thing up there?" Luke asked, letting go of her hand to point. She nodded excitedly, then they broke into a run toward a dark corner of the cavern. The glow cane from under a pile of rocks. The twins knew what to do. They grabbed each others hand, and blasted the dick like away from the crystal. They opened their eyes to find one, rather long crystal laying on the ground. Leia picked it up.
"Luke, grab the other end." Leia said, and together they snapped the Kyber crystal in half, then ran back toward the entrance of the cavern.
"Ahsoka!" Leia called, and her future master grinned.
"Don't tell anybody else, but I knew you two would be first. Show me." She said, kneeling next to the twins.
"It was one crystal, and now it's two" Luke said excitedly and held out his crystal. Leia joined him.
"Learned something you have? Skywalkers?" Yoda said.
"We're strong on our own, but we're stronger together." Leia said. Yoda nodded. Soon it was time to get back on the ship, and build their lightsabers.

"Twins! I haven't seen twins since tiplee and tiplo. Very rare you are to the Jedi. And Skywalkers too? It seems like only yesterday I was helping your father build his first, and second lightsabers." The professed said. Leia giggled.
"Dad had two lightsabers?" Luke asked, amazed.
"Yes! He destroyed his first one when he was trying to save your mother. Before the clone wars even started." That made the twins giggle.
"Now Ms. Leia. Hold out your hand and feel your lightsaber resting in your palm. Close your eyes, and tell me what you see."' Leia did as the droid asked.
"I see a silver sleeve with blue designs in it."
"Perfect! I have just the perfect sleeve for you then. And, it's nearly indestructible." The professed said, rummaging through drawers to reveal the exact sleeve Leia had described. He handed it to her, and then the building was underway. Leia was fine first of course, she lit her lightsaber after the professed carefully inspected it. It was blue, just like her fathers, with a pointed tip. Luke was next, and his was green. The other children followed and by the time they landed back on coruscant, there was a small fleet of tiny Jedi.

"Dad!" Leia called, running out of the ship. She got to him and lit her lightsaber to present it to her father.
"It's beautiful Leia!" He said, proud of the fact that it was blue. She reattached it to her belt.
"And Luke?" He asked as his boy ran toward him.
"It's just like the picture that I drew dad! And it's green just like Soka's!" He said waving the sword around. Anakin laughed and ruffled his hair.
"They're perfect you two! Now, go show bee and soka." He said, smiling at the twins running toward his friends. He was excited, but also sad. They were one step closer to becoming padawans.