For hc-bingo
Sep. 6th, 2019 10:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladyofleithianTitle: Primal Instincts
Summary: In which Leia is a better parent to her son.
Prompt: Telepathic Trauma
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
It's when Ben Solo is five years old that Leia notices that something's wrong with him. The instances in the terrible twos were one thing, when he would accidentally knock over objects during his fits, but this is different. At least the terrible twos, as much as they're unpleasantly enhanced by having a Force Sensitive child, aren't unheard of. This...
Ben tells her, about the strange presence that visits him in his sleep, and Leia can't help but feel the chills. It would be one thing if it were Ben's imaginary friend. It's another to know, plain and simply, that this being wants to hurt her son.
She has to do something. Anything. Not doing anything would simply not be right -- and besides, Leia Organa has always stood up to monsters, to bullies.
This is no exception.
***
The problem with looking up resources for blocking out telepathic intrusions is, believe it or not, Leia thinks, actually having to rely on the word of a former Sith operative. There's something about it that feels repulsive -- even more unsettling considering that Atton Rand actually reminds her quite a bit of her own husband, with his sarcasm, even the fact that Han was apparently in the Imperial Academy for quite some time before being kicked out. (The fact that Han has come this far is amazing) Anyone's capable of redemption, Luke tells her (something that Leia isn't sure she entirely believes yet. There are still some things like Darth Vader lurking under her skin, how he had tortured her to make her talk, making her watch when Tarkin destroyed Alderaan, and more -- things that no father should do to his own daughter, to say nothing of what he did to Luke and Han and others) and yet there is something in Leia that even as she listens to the Jedi holocron that Atton Rand created, she can't help but feel like she's delving into some sort of forbidden technique. She never thought she would accept help from a former Sith operative, even though said former Sith operative has been dead for so many years.
She listens nonetheless, Ben by her side. When the holocron ends, Leia's almost relieved. She turns to Ben. "I don't usually take advice from former Sith operatives," she says, "But sometimes you do have to do what you can to protect yourself."
"What's a Sith, Mommy?" Ben says, and there's something in his five year old face that makes Leia hurt for him. He hasn't been exposed to the worst of the galaxy yet, all it has to offer.
Leia sighs. How does she even begin to explain? "They're...not nice people," she says. "From what I can gather. The Emperor was a Sith, at least according to things Uncle Luke dug up."
"The Emperor was a bad man, right?"
Leia nods, solemnly. "A very bad man. But...that's a story for another time. Close your eyes. Imagine you're in the main hold of the Falcon, playing sabaac with Daddy and Uncle Chewie..."
***
It's not a foolproof solution, of course. Leia knows as much. After all, whoever -- or whatever -- is attacking her son is still out there. Out there. It's something that frightens her, the idea that their fight with evil is far from over.
She knows that she and Han have to confront whoever's out there. Luke too. It's a mother's duty to protect her children, no matter what the cost. A mother nexu would fight to the death for her cubs. Leia would do absolutely no less.
You foolish princess. It's at night that the voice in Leia's mind all but pierces through -- she doesn't know how Ben takes it; it burns. It feels like the scorching deserts of Tatooine on Jabba's sail barge, when she had to wear that horrible metal bikini. It brings back memories of heat, scorching heat, of a Hutt leering at her -- of course, Leia strangled Jabba with a chain before. Facing down this monster trying to attack her family should barely cause her to break a sweat.
They're standing in the ruins of some sort of wasteland -- a fiery, flaming wasteland that Leia can't identify. She wouldn't be surprised if it was something that this monster conquered in the past, laid to waste. Whoever's attacking her son. She can't see him -- and that voice in her mind sounds distinctly male, distinctly deep, like his voice is coming from the depths of a planet.
"Where are you?" Leia says. "Show yourself, if you've got the guts!"
A chuckle comes from the shadows. "Even if I did, do you think it would give you a chance against me, Your Highness?"
Leia doesn't know what chance she stands against this being, even in dreams. She's had nightmares before, about Alderaan. This is a different kind of terror. This is an enemy that she's not sure that she can fight.
"I'm not going to let you hurt my son."
"I'm not hurting him. He was always meant for greater things. Far greater than you could ever imagine. It's what he's made out of -- the Light inside him, the Dark inside him. It mixes together, creates a balance. Power, Your Highness, power is what matters, what makes him up." A beat. "He'll be great, truly. He'll be one of the most powerful Force users in memory -- reforming the galaxy as it was meant to be reformed."
Leia can't believe what she's hearing. How anyone can see what they're doing as reformation, as greatness...
"You've been mentally invading him, haven't you?" Leia says. "In his sleep. Even in his waking moments. What right have you to treat a youngling like this in the name of reforming the galaxy as a dictatorship?"
" 'Dictatorship' is such a harsh word -- "
"That's what the Empire was," Leia argues. "A dictatorship. It's what it was, through and through. There's no other way to put it -- and I will be damned if you ever let my son become that way." A beat. "If you come near my son again, I'll find a way to kill you. I don't care who you are."
"You may try."
***
Leia has to leave. She knows that much. Even telling Han about the dream, about the vision -- it seemed too lucid for a dream, actually -- and telling Luke about it, Leia can't help but wonder what exactly this entity will do to Ben.
"We're gonna do something then," Han says. "And that's a promise." He sighs. "We just need to find out where that son of a schutta is..."
"Leia already has that power," Luke says. "When you found me on Bespin, Leia, you were able to harness that power. To track. To find."
Leia can't find words for a moment. "But -- I'm hardly even trained -- "
"It's not too late to start. Consider this our starting point. Now, close your eyes," Luke says. "Reach out through the Force."
Leia raises an eyebrow at him.
"With your feelings. Remember Bespin, and how you found me. Draw on that. Immerse yourself in that."
Leia nods. To save Ben, she'll do whatever she can. She closes her eyes, and immerses herself. Feels that familiar heat in the Force -- like Jabba's sail barge, like the deserts of Jakku. It's there. All she has to do is find it. The presence stretches out far beyond the Unknown Regions, into the depths of space -- and when Leia opens her eyes, she's gasping, trying to reorient herself to her surroundings.
"We'll have to go to the Unknown Regions," Leia says. "I know it."
"Then," Luke says. "Let's go."
Summary: In which Leia is a better parent to her son.
Prompt: Telepathic Trauma
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
It's when Ben Solo is five years old that Leia notices that something's wrong with him. The instances in the terrible twos were one thing, when he would accidentally knock over objects during his fits, but this is different. At least the terrible twos, as much as they're unpleasantly enhanced by having a Force Sensitive child, aren't unheard of. This...
Ben tells her, about the strange presence that visits him in his sleep, and Leia can't help but feel the chills. It would be one thing if it were Ben's imaginary friend. It's another to know, plain and simply, that this being wants to hurt her son.
She has to do something. Anything. Not doing anything would simply not be right -- and besides, Leia Organa has always stood up to monsters, to bullies.
This is no exception.
***
The problem with looking up resources for blocking out telepathic intrusions is, believe it or not, Leia thinks, actually having to rely on the word of a former Sith operative. There's something about it that feels repulsive -- even more unsettling considering that Atton Rand actually reminds her quite a bit of her own husband, with his sarcasm, even the fact that Han was apparently in the Imperial Academy for quite some time before being kicked out. (The fact that Han has come this far is amazing) Anyone's capable of redemption, Luke tells her (something that Leia isn't sure she entirely believes yet. There are still some things like Darth Vader lurking under her skin, how he had tortured her to make her talk, making her watch when Tarkin destroyed Alderaan, and more -- things that no father should do to his own daughter, to say nothing of what he did to Luke and Han and others) and yet there is something in Leia that even as she listens to the Jedi holocron that Atton Rand created, she can't help but feel like she's delving into some sort of forbidden technique. She never thought she would accept help from a former Sith operative, even though said former Sith operative has been dead for so many years.
She listens nonetheless, Ben by her side. When the holocron ends, Leia's almost relieved. She turns to Ben. "I don't usually take advice from former Sith operatives," she says, "But sometimes you do have to do what you can to protect yourself."
"What's a Sith, Mommy?" Ben says, and there's something in his five year old face that makes Leia hurt for him. He hasn't been exposed to the worst of the galaxy yet, all it has to offer.
Leia sighs. How does she even begin to explain? "They're...not nice people," she says. "From what I can gather. The Emperor was a Sith, at least according to things Uncle Luke dug up."
"The Emperor was a bad man, right?"
Leia nods, solemnly. "A very bad man. But...that's a story for another time. Close your eyes. Imagine you're in the main hold of the Falcon, playing sabaac with Daddy and Uncle Chewie..."
***
It's not a foolproof solution, of course. Leia knows as much. After all, whoever -- or whatever -- is attacking her son is still out there. Out there. It's something that frightens her, the idea that their fight with evil is far from over.
She knows that she and Han have to confront whoever's out there. Luke too. It's a mother's duty to protect her children, no matter what the cost. A mother nexu would fight to the death for her cubs. Leia would do absolutely no less.
You foolish princess. It's at night that the voice in Leia's mind all but pierces through -- she doesn't know how Ben takes it; it burns. It feels like the scorching deserts of Tatooine on Jabba's sail barge, when she had to wear that horrible metal bikini. It brings back memories of heat, scorching heat, of a Hutt leering at her -- of course, Leia strangled Jabba with a chain before. Facing down this monster trying to attack her family should barely cause her to break a sweat.
They're standing in the ruins of some sort of wasteland -- a fiery, flaming wasteland that Leia can't identify. She wouldn't be surprised if it was something that this monster conquered in the past, laid to waste. Whoever's attacking her son. She can't see him -- and that voice in her mind sounds distinctly male, distinctly deep, like his voice is coming from the depths of a planet.
"Where are you?" Leia says. "Show yourself, if you've got the guts!"
A chuckle comes from the shadows. "Even if I did, do you think it would give you a chance against me, Your Highness?"
Leia doesn't know what chance she stands against this being, even in dreams. She's had nightmares before, about Alderaan. This is a different kind of terror. This is an enemy that she's not sure that she can fight.
"I'm not going to let you hurt my son."
"I'm not hurting him. He was always meant for greater things. Far greater than you could ever imagine. It's what he's made out of -- the Light inside him, the Dark inside him. It mixes together, creates a balance. Power, Your Highness, power is what matters, what makes him up." A beat. "He'll be great, truly. He'll be one of the most powerful Force users in memory -- reforming the galaxy as it was meant to be reformed."
Leia can't believe what she's hearing. How anyone can see what they're doing as reformation, as greatness...
"You've been mentally invading him, haven't you?" Leia says. "In his sleep. Even in his waking moments. What right have you to treat a youngling like this in the name of reforming the galaxy as a dictatorship?"
" 'Dictatorship' is such a harsh word -- "
"That's what the Empire was," Leia argues. "A dictatorship. It's what it was, through and through. There's no other way to put it -- and I will be damned if you ever let my son become that way." A beat. "If you come near my son again, I'll find a way to kill you. I don't care who you are."
"You may try."
***
Leia has to leave. She knows that much. Even telling Han about the dream, about the vision -- it seemed too lucid for a dream, actually -- and telling Luke about it, Leia can't help but wonder what exactly this entity will do to Ben.
"We're gonna do something then," Han says. "And that's a promise." He sighs. "We just need to find out where that son of a schutta is..."
"Leia already has that power," Luke says. "When you found me on Bespin, Leia, you were able to harness that power. To track. To find."
Leia can't find words for a moment. "But -- I'm hardly even trained -- "
"It's not too late to start. Consider this our starting point. Now, close your eyes," Luke says. "Reach out through the Force."
Leia raises an eyebrow at him.
"With your feelings. Remember Bespin, and how you found me. Draw on that. Immerse yourself in that."
Leia nods. To save Ben, she'll do whatever she can. She closes her eyes, and immerses herself. Feels that familiar heat in the Force -- like Jabba's sail barge, like the deserts of Jakku. It's there. All she has to do is find it. The presence stretches out far beyond the Unknown Regions, into the depths of space -- and when Leia opens her eyes, she's gasping, trying to reorient herself to her surroundings.
"We'll have to go to the Unknown Regions," Leia says. "I know it."
"Then," Luke says. "Let's go."
