The clearing on Ajan Kloss shimmered with morning dew. Sunlight streamed through the dense canopy, speckling the mossy forest floor with warm gold. The stillness was broken by the hum of two lightsabers springing to life, one green, steady and focused, and the other blue, sharp and vibrant like a blade of hope.
Luke circled slowly, his saber held in a loose guard. "Ready?" he asked, a quiet smile on his face.
Leia nodded, the hood of her training robe slipping back just enough to show the sweat on her brow. "I'm always ready."
She struck first. Quick, precise, a diagonal slash aimed for his left shoulder, easily parried. But she didn't stop. She flowed like water, turning her body into the force of the blow, sending a low sweep toward his knees. Luke leapt over it, his boots skimming the grass, and countered with a spinning slash meant to disarm.
But she was already there.
Her parry was tighter than it had been days ago. Her movement, no longer hesitant, it was practiced, confident. The duel turned into a storm of light and motion, sabers clashing with rhythmic hums and sharp cracks. Birds took flight from nearby trees as Force-pushed leaves spiraled into the air around them.
Luke had taught her everything he knew. But she had brought her own strength to the teachings, a strategic mind honed by war, the precision of a seasoned diplomat, and a will forged in fire. She was not just a student now.
She was a Jedi.
Leia twisted beneath Luke's slash and came up inside his guard. Their hilts locked, crackling, the pressure humming in the air between them.
"You're stronger than you realize," he said, breathing hard.
"Don't hold back," she warned, her eyes locked on his. "You said a Jedi must be tested."
A moment's grin flickered across Luke's face, then he disengaged and moved fast. He came in from her right, spinning, saber whipping in a flurry meant to overwhelm. But Leia caught the rhythm. Her feet shifted in perfect harmony with the Force, and she ducked low, sweeping her blade upward with a sudden Force-assisted surge.
Luke's saber went flying from his hand.
He blinked as his weapon clattered to the ground. Leia stood a few paces away, blue saber humming softly at her side, her breath steady.
For a moment, all was still.
Then Luke laughed.
"That was…" he walked over and picked up his saber, brushing leaves off it, "…unexpected."
Leia deactivated her saber and clipped it to her belt, a proud but modest smile on her lips. "You told me not to hold back."
He looked at her with quiet reverence. "I didn't. And you still bested me."
Their eyes met, and in that silence was something deeper, a mutual respect, not just as siblings, but as Jedi. She had earned this. Not through blood, not through titles or legacy, but through strength, discipline, and heart.
Leia turned and walked toward the edge of the clearing where her cloak rested on a log. As she draped it over her shoulders, Luke followed, smiling faintly.
"You're ready," he said.
"For what?"
He glanced at the sky, now bathed in golden light. "For whatever comes next."