As long as she didn’t think Leia looked cute. The Day of Demand wasn’t about being an adorable little kid. It was about growing up.
When she reached the front of the throne room, only a few meters short of her parents, Breha called out the first line of the ceremony: “Who is this, who disturbs the queen in her seat of power?”
“It is I, Leia Organa, princess of Alderaan.” Sure enough, the speech had come back on cue. “I come before you to hear you acknowledge that on this day it is known that I have reached my sixteenth year.”
The “it is known” was an addition to the simplest form of the ritual, one used only when the eldest child of the king or queen was adopted. Leia had turned sixteen three or four days ago; she didn’t know her birthday for sure and didn’t much care. She’d become a princess of Alderaan on her Name Day, and that was the anniversary they were marking.
“We acknowledge that you are of age,” said Bail. Only the slight crinkling at the corners of his eyes betrayed the smile he was working to hide. “Why then do you come before us armed?”
“I come to demand my right to the crown.” Leia knelt smoothly and held the sword overhead in one hand. Distant thunder rumbled, sending a small tremor through the floor. “On this day, you will acknowledge me as heir.”
Breha’s voice rang throughout the throne room. “The crown of Alderaan is not merely inherited. It must be earned. The heir must prove herself worthy in body, heart, and mind. Are you prepared to do so?”
“I am, my mother and queen.” It was a relief to stand again and lower the heavy sword. “I have chosen three challenges. When I have undertaken these challenges and succeeded in them, you must invest me as crown princess of Alderaan.”
“Reveal these challenges, and we will decide whether they are worthy,” Bail said, as though he didn’t already know each one. For a moment, she was tempted to make something up on the spot. I’m going to learn to juggle and take to the stage as a feather-fire dancer. Aren’t you proud?
But she’d practiced her speech so many times that it poured forth almost automatically. “For my Challenge of the Body, I will climb Appenza Peak and reach its summit.” That mountain was visible from her bedroom window, spectacularly silhouetted against every sunset. “For my Challenge of the Mind, I will no longer merely assist my father in the Imperial Senate but will also represent our world in the Apprentice Legislature. And for my Challenge of the Heart, I will undertake missions of charity and mercy to planets in need, paying all costs from my share of the royal purse. Through these challenges, I will prove my right to the crown.”
Breha inclined her head. “The challenges are worthy.” She rose from her throne, and Leia stepped up on the dais and brought the sword back into position in front of her. Breha’s hands wrapped around the sword hilt, their fingers overlapping for the instant before Leia let go. “May all those present bear witness! If my daughter fulfills these challenges, she shall be invested as crown princess, heir to the throne of Alderaan.”
Applause and cheers filled the room. Leia curtsied to her parents, who were beaming so proudly that for a moment it felt as if everything had been put right. Like the ceremony really had made them see her again—
—until the guests crowded closer with congratulations and her parents turned away to greet them instead of congratulating their daughter.
Bail was in conversation with Mon Mothma and her fellow Chandrilan senator, Winmey Lenz. Breha had taken the hands of Senator Pamlo, clearly thanking her for her presence.
Already, Leia was forgotten.
“Leia, my dear girl!” Lord Mellowyn of Birren came to her, smiling beneath his bushy white mustache. They were cousins through intricacies of Elder House lineage nobody bothered tracing any longer. “You were wonderful.”
“Thank you.” She returned his smile as best she could.
It’s true. I’m not imagining it. They don’t pay attention to me anymore.
Did I do something wrong?
Or do they just not care?
She didn’t think she’d made them angry. They hadn’t turned from her in one moment of displeasure. Instead they had…ebbed away these past six months.
Leia had never had very many friends her own age. As egalitarian as the Alderaanian monarchy was, there would always be a dividing line between those within the palace and those outside its walls. She’d gamboled around on the rolling grounds with some of the cooks’ children, but for the most part, her companions had been her parents.
Bail and Breha Organa had waited a long time for a child. They had told her that many times, often as she went to sleep, as part of the story about when her father came home from a mysterious mission to surprise her mother with the baby girl in his arms. Leia would’ve known it even if they hadn’t told her, though. No matter how many questions she asked, her parents never tired of looking up answers. When she had bad dreams in the wee hours of the night, they never left her to a human nurse or caretaker droid; one of them always came to her, sometimes both. Every time she entered a room where they were, they smiled. She felt as if she made them happy merely by existing.
Many children would’ve become hopelessly spoiled. But Leia always wanted to be helpful, especially to those she cared about, and she loved her parents more than she could imagine ever loving anybody else. So she tried to interest herself in everything they did. Breha planted Malastarian orchids; Leia planted orchids and learned to care for them so they sent forth pale pink blooms. Bail liked dancing; Leia studied dancing and would practice with her father until her feet were sore.
With her mother’s queenly work, she hadn’t made as much progress. Breha Organa had charge of the royal books, balancing the many accounts and personally overseeing funding of all public works on the planet. Leia had gamely tried to get the hang of basic accounting, doing well enough but hating it the entire time. Within a week her mother had released her with a hug and a laugh.
“But don’t I need to learn, if I’m going to be queen?” Leia had protested.
“Not if you fall in love with someone who likes bookkeeping.” Breha had winked. “Then you can make your viceroy do it.”