This is the story of Leia's childhood, her rebellious spirit, her adoptive family, and her choice to fight the Empire.

Chapter 1: The Battle

Leia, the youngest member of Alderaan’s House of Organa, skipped out into the royal courtyard, her stuffed Wookiee doll Leafgrunt in her hand. She surveyed the trees around her, and the sunlight filtering through their branches, down into the palace’s walls. Leia was in the mood for an adventure.

She remembered her father’s tales of the Clone Wars, of the brave Jedi Knights and the clone troopers who fought alongside them. She decided that she was not Princess Leia Organa, but the famed Jedi general Obi-wan Kenobi, and that Leafgrunt was her faithful Wookiee companion. Behind her was her army of clone troopers, and before her was the menacing droid army, her enemy. She would give them a surprise attack.

Leia-Obi-wan climbed up the nearest tree, with Leafgrunt climbing just inches behind her. She grabbed a limb and looked down upon the battle droid armada.

But, the logical part of Leia’s brain insisted, you can’t fit your entire army onto a tree branch!

Of course not, the rest of her brain agreed. This is a cliff edge. Don’t you see the battle droids in the canyon below us?

The matter was settled. Now it was time for the real business. She signaled for her troops, all at once, to attack. They fired. Her victory was ensured, but, to finish the troops off, Leia-Obi-wan jumped into the canyon and ignited her lightsaber. Leafgrunt assisted her from the cliff edge, firing from his Wookiee bowcaster. But the droids started to make a comeback, and, under their heavy laser fire, Leafgrunt was hit. He fell to the ground, wounded.

“Leafgrunt!” Leia-Obi-wan shouted. She pointed toward a few of the clones, and yelled above the sound of the blaster fire.

“You!” she commanded. “Come down here and get him medical help! Hurry!”

The troops rushed down and carried Leafgrunt off the battlefield. But the battle droids were blasting more and more lasers from their cannons. Leia-Obi-wan had to quickly roll over onto the ground to guard from being shot. It seemed for a moment that all was lost…

Just then, two of Leia’s aunts, Celly and Rouge, came into the courtyard, disrupting her fantasy. Leia stood up. She didn’t want her aunts to see that she had been lying on the ground. In case they did, Leia made sure to command a regal posture, which her aunts had instructed her to use. But it was too late.

“Leia, child!” Celly exclaimed. “What in the entire galaxy could have made you become so filthy?”

Leia looked looked down at her white dress. It was covered in dirt.

“Go inside and change,” Celly told her. “Mon Mothma, the senator from Chandrila, is visiting your father today. I expect you to be on your best behavior.”

Leia remembered Mon Mothma from several other visits. Her father, Bail Organa, was rather close with her. And she was one of the few senators who didn’t look down on Leia. To the young princess, Mothma’s visit seemed to be good news.

Chapter 2: Eavesdropping

The next hour in the palace was a busy one. Leia watched as her parents' assistants scurried about, getting everything in perfect order for when Mon Mothma came.

Suddenly, she felt a hand lightly touch her shoulder, and whirled around to see the gentle face of her mother, Breha. She  wore a white dress and a lace shawl covering her head, a few, wavy strands of brown hair dangling out.

"How is everything, Leia dear?" Breha asked.

"Good, Mother," Leia replied.

Then she blurted out, "Mother, why is Mon Mothma visiting Father?"

"Well..." her mother trailed off, "they just needed to- talk about some things-"

That was the best explanation a mother could give her six-year-old daughter of galactic politics, but its vagueness greatly dissatisfied Leia. She wanted to know exactly what was going on! Had the answer been given by anyone lesser than one of her parents, she would have demanded a better one, but it wasn't, so she just kept quiet.

Bail Organa walked briskly past.

“Mon Mothma has arrived,” he spoke to his wife.

“We should go out to meet her,” Breha said.

¨Can I come too?” Leia piped up.

Bail Organa smiled down at his daughter.

“Of course, Leia,” he said, and the royal family walked out of the palace onto the lawn.

An Imperial shuttle, one that was intended for passengers, descended from the purple of the Alderaanian mountains and onto the emerald green grass. The boarding ramp extended, and out stepped Mon Mothma, flanked by two Imperial stormtroopers in glistening white armor. Mon Mothma had short brown hair with a slight reddish hue, and her eyes were a greenish blue. She wore a beige gown and a silver medallion around her neck, which was fairly simple attire compared to that of other Imperial senators. On her face, she had a polite smile, but somehow Leia sensed that behind it, there was a grave concern.

Mon Mothma gestured to the troopers, signifying that they wait inside the ship. They obeyed.

“Greetings, Mon Mothma,” Bail Organa said. “You must have had a long journey. Are there any refreshments you would be wanting?”

Mothma shook her head.

“We have important things to discuss,” she sighed “It would be best if we started right away.”

“What important things?” Leia asked.

Mon Mothma glanced downward to make eye contact with Leia.

“And this must be Leia,” she said with a smile. “How old are you now?”

“I’m six,” she informed her.

“You’ve grown,” the senator noted, and she walked with Bail and Breha back into the house.

For a moment, Leia just stood there, her arms crossed. She’d asked Mon Mothma a question! Why would no one tell her what was going on?

Well, it didn’t matter, the young princess decided, because she was going to find out.

Leia went inside, then walked to her bedroom. She knew that Mon Mothma and her father would be in the adjoining chamber. Leia would be able to hear whatever went on there through a vent in the wall. She put her ear to the vent and listened.

“If we can unite the beings in the galaxy who are opposed to the Empire…” said Mon Mothma’s voice.
“That would be impossible,” her father interjected. “There are too few, and most of them are living in fear.”
“No!” Mon Mothma argued. “There are not too few!”

“Palpatine has brainwashed the galaxy,” Bail came back.

Leia knew that Palpatine was the Emperor. She knew that her parents didn’t like him, but she wondered how he could possibly “brainwash the galaxy.” Her father’s voice went on to explain.

“He made people believe that he redeemed us from the Clone Wars, when in truth, he manipulated the whole affair, rose to power, and murdered the Jedi.”

Leia turned away from the vent, covering her mouth in shock. Her still-childlike mind was racing, trying to figure this whole thing out.

Clone Wars.. Jedi...

Leia had been told by her parents that the Empire was “evil,” but she had never knew why. Now her young mind finally knew the truth