Star Wars: Leia, Princess of Alderaan (Star Wars: Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi) by Claudia Gray

Author:Claudia Gray [Gray, Claudia]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Disney Book Group
Published: 2017-09-01T00:00:00+00:00

Step one in being a totally normal person with totally normal concerns was to spend more time hanging out with friends, doing nothing. Leia had become comfortable with the people she’d gotten to know in her pathfinding class, but they still mostly spent time together on expeditions or in quasi-official gatherings tied to the Apprentice Legislature. Time to try doing something purely social, for no purpose besides wasting time, having fun.

But she hadn’t expected to be “hanging out” quite so literally….

“Imagine you’re carved of wood!” Amilyn Holdo held herself firmly in the splits, despite the fact that she wasn’t on the floor but suspended in midair, held aloft by brilliantly colored scarves she’d acrobatically twisted around each leg. “Unbending! Unyielding!”

“Unbelievable,” muttered Leia, who had only just managed to wrangle herself into a seated position without feeling like she’d topple four meters to the floor at any second.

Apparently this was a Gatalentan calisthenics practice called skyfaring, which was said to make their entire world stronger. The supposed reason for this was that advanced practitioners could meditate in place, “unmoored to the ground,” and so enhance their spiritual well-being and that of those around them. Leia thought the real reason was that the weak hung themselves in these damned scarves, and only the strong survived.

She also wasn’t sure she was going to make it into the “strong” category. As far as she could tell, skyfaring mostly involved pale blue leotards and a disregard for human life.

“All right,” Leia muttered to herself. “One leg out. You can do this.”

As she awkwardly reached out with one foot, trying to snag the nearest scarlet scarf, Amilyn easily unwound herself from the splits. She kept one leg tethered as she let her body fall back until she was suspended upside down. For someone so awkward and ungainly on the ground, Amilyn possessed considerable grace midair.

“Remember,” she said in her odd, singsong voice, “you’re made of wood. Strong but organic! Life force–made material!”

I’m carved of wood. I’m carved of wood. Leia bent her knee and made a circle with her leg, capturing the scarf just right. For one instant, she felt a flicker of understanding of what “carved from wood” might actually mean. Encouraged, she eased herself into one of the lunging stances. Her sides ached, but she could keep her balance.

“That’s it!” Amilyn clapped her hands together. Her long hair (currently magenta) streamed down from her head like another of the bright scarves. “You’re getting there!”

In a rush of confidence, Leia extended her arms to complete the pose—

—and then spun out like a cyclone for a long second before she tumbled onto the floor. Fortunately the surface was so springy she bounced once before making a soft landing. Still, she groaned as she flopped down with her limbs splayed wide.

Amilyn rotated down to her, slowly spinning along the length of a pink streamer with such elegance that if Amilyn were anybody else, Leia would’ve assumed she was showing off. She simply flowed into her position at Leia’s side.

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