Leia, Princess of Alderaan

On Leia Organa's sixteenth birthday, she takes part in the age-old tradition of declaring her future claim to the Alderaanian throne. However, her attention is largely consumed by her parents' recent behavior: they are constantly in meetings, having late dinners, and not engaging with her as much as before. She eventually learns the reason for their secrecy: they are involved in the growing rebellion. Leia resolves to join the fight against the Empire, regardless of her parents' wishes, and must demonstrate her value and convince them to allow her to take a stand, despite the risks. Her decision also puts her at odds with a young, pacifistic Alderaanian man, who becomes her first kiss and her first experience with real loss.

Princess Leia Organa is getting ready for her Day of Demand, aided by her attendant droid WA-2V. Overcome with nervousness, she rushes to the throne room as soon as she is prepared. In the antechamber, she steels herself and lifts the heavy Rhindon Sword from the wall, surprised by its weight. The curtains are drawn back, and all two hundred attendees turn their attention to Leia as she strides forward, sword raised. She approaches the dais where her parents, Queen Breha and Viceroy Bail, are seated. Upon reaching the dais, Breha initiates the ceremony, and Leia announces herself, using the specific line for adopted heirs. The ceremony proceeds with Leia outlining the challenges of the body, mind, and heart she will undertake to prove her worthiness: scaling Appenza Peak, representing Alderaan in the Apprentice Legislature, and carrying out charitable missions to struggling planets. Breha calls upon the audience to witness, and the guests respond with cheers. Leia feels disheartened when her parents turn away to greet guests instead of congratulating her, though Lord Mellowyn of Birren commends her performance as "wonderful." For the past half-year, Leia's parents have been increasingly distant, giving her less attention than before. Bail is constantly occupied with private meetings with senators from distant worlds, while Breha has transformed into a socialite, hosting lavish banquets that stretch until dawn. That night, watching a storm from her bedroom window, Leia resolves to do something so significant that her parents cannot ignore her.

The following day, Leia travels to the Aldera spaceport to embark on her first relief mission. 2V reminds the princess to treat the Imperial officials with respect. Leia is secretly thrilled to be able to request the use of the Tantive IV, and is greeted outside the ship by Captain Raymus Antilles. She expresses her gratitude for his prompt preparation of the ship, and after he informs her that they can depart within the hour, Leia realizes that he does not yet perceive her as a leader. The journey to Wobani is quick and uneventful, during which Leia inspects the corvette's cargo. The planet's economy has collapsed due to the Commodities Enhancement Program, and Leia is angered that none of the senators, including her father, have spoken out against the suffering of its people. As a result, she has kept her destination a secret from her parents. Upon the Tantive IV's arrival, Leia is shocked by the extent of the devastation on Wobani and its people. An Imperial officer greets her and, upon learning that Leia is ready to begin, dismisses the stormtroopers guarding the landing pad, causing the starving residents of the camp to surge toward the ship. Enraged by the officer's smirk at the Alderaanians' difficulties in organizing the crowd, Leia grabs a loudhailer and orders everyone to stop, issuing instructions to begin the distribution of aid in an orderly manner. Once the aid distribution is underway, Antilles remarks on how fortunate they are on Alderaan compared to the deprivation on Wobani. Leia, struggling with how to turn people away, decides to evacuate as many refugees as the ship can hold.

Captain Antilles expresses his reservations about the plan, but Leia explains that she intends to speak with the official in charge, believing he will agree because she is helping to alleviate his problems. Antilles is skeptical, as Imperial officers are not known for their flexibility, and orders Lieutenant Ress Batten to accompany Leia to the Imperial headquarters. On the way, Batten observes the refugees' lack of vehicles, speculating that they were not allowed to bring them, and disapproves of the Emperor's tendency to cause further suffering when his plans unintentionally lead to it. The head Imperial, Major Tedam, refuses Leia's request, stating that he lacks the authority to alter the terms of their landing permit and that her ship can only depart with its crew. Upon returning to the Tantive IV, Leia, determined to proceed with her plan, is inspired by the sight of an old woman sewing and decides to "hire" some refugees as crew members in order to get them off-world. As the corvette only has space for 100 more people, Leia seeks out that number of the most vulnerable refugees, including the old woman and her husband. After the Tantive IV departs, Tedam angrily attempts to reprimand the Alderaanians for violating the terms of their landing permit, but Leia calmly asserts that they have done no such thing. Antilles informs the princess that she will need to inform the queen about this. Due to Imperial travel restrictions, the Tantive IV must pass through Calderos Station, a deep-space waypoint, on its return to Alderaan. Upon arrival, the crew is shocked to find that the station has been attacked. A patrol of TIE fighters approaches them, demanding identification, and once the corvette's identity is verified, they are ordered to leave immediately. Leia observes that the damage to the station makes it easier for people to travel through the region clandestinely, and realizes that people are not just complaining about the Empire anymore, but actively fighting back.

Upon their return to Alderaan, Lieutenant Batten informs Leia that she notified Central of their arrival, and Captain Antilles, appearing strangely preoccupied, mentions that he should contact the viceroy. Leia questions why, as the viceroy only handles off-planet matters, while the queen governs the planet. At that moment, a droid announces Queen Breha's arrival, as she enters with a large entourage. Breha addresses the refugees, welcoming them to Alderaan and promising them a stipend to begin their new lives. The refugees cheer, and Breha approaches Leia and embraces her. Then, with displeasure, she orders Leia to the palace immediately. In the palace library, Breha rebukes Leia for undertaking a mission to a dangerous planet without informing her parents, as they have important matters to attend to. Leia angrily asks if the "important matters" involve planning another dinner party, and Breha raises her voice, a rare occurrence. Leia explains that she went to Wobani because people were in need, and Breha acknowledges the desperation of the situation but states that the planet is one of many loose threads that could ignite a fuse. Leia questions her meaning. Breha confronts Leia about her omission regarding her mission, and after Leia nods, the queen explains that she has spent several hours dealing with angry Imperial officials who are displeased with being tricked by a young girl. She emphasizes that Alderaan cannot afford to be associated with any "dissident action," and Leia asks if they shouldn't want to do something about the Empire, as she believed she would be helping those in need. Breha informs Leia that her father and his allies in the Senate have been secretly negotiating the resettlement of the people of Wobani for months. Leia is horrified when Breha explains that her actions have undermined all of Bail's efforts, stating that she is confiding in her daughter because she is nearly an adult. Breha says that in a few months, Bail might be able to resume negotiations, and tells Leia to be more careful in choosing her missions in the future. Leia responds that she had a reason for not consulting her parents: because they were too busy. Breha apologizes and returns to her books. As Leia walks through the palace, she passes her father's office and sees him talking to Captain Antilles, feeling hurt that the captain had the opportunity to report to Bail before she could speak with him.

The day after, Leia hitches a ride on an Alderaanian royal guard suborbital jumper to her first pathfinding class. Upon reaching the chalet, she introduces herself to the students already present: Chassellon Stevis from Coruscant, Harp Allor from Chandrila, Sssamm Ashsssen from Fillithar, and an Ithorian. Leia is struck by the next person she meets, a tall girl with green hair wearing a garish jumpsuit who introduces herself as Amilyn Holdo from Gatalenta, expressing her hope that the course is dangerous because she wants to become comfortable with the nearness and inevitability of death, which unsettles Leia. The course instructor arrives with the remaining students, including Kier Domadi, the other Alderaanian Apprentice Legislator, and Leia introduces herself. The instructor introduces herself as Chief Pangie of the Chandrilan Pathfinding Corps, explaining that the class will be visiting various worlds over the next few months. Pangie demands that everyone display their field generators, and once satisfied, the class sets off. Five hours later, Leia and most of the other students are exhausted as they stumble into a small clearing in the forest, where they discover a hoversled. The Chief reveals that it is her hoversled, and before departing, she announces that their next challenge is to find their way back to the chalet before nightfall, or they will be expelled from the class, shocking the students.

As the students slowly make their way back, they argue about the pace, while Amilyn searches for snow owls. At a tree struck by lightning, Leia and Kier remember that the group needs to head west. Harp, rushing ahead, slips on ice and breaks her ankle. This leads to a disagreement, as Leia and Kier refuse to abandon Harp in the woods, while Chassellon argues that, as all the students have trackers, they should leave Harp behind and hurry to reach the chalet before the sunset deadline. He implies that Leia has to stay behind with Harp to maintain appearances, which angers her. Chassellon convinces half the class to leave with him, with only the Ithorian pausing to offer an apologetic nod. Only Amilyn and Sssamm remain with Leia, Kier, and Harp. Leia, now in charge, decides they will proceed west. Later, as Amilyn takes her turn dragging the makeshift travois Kier created to carry Harp, she points out a "bright side" to the situation: "Who would've guessed we'd encounter mortal peril so soon?" Harp does not find this comforting and tearfully apologizes for slowing them down. Kier reassures her that nobody learns anything new without failing the first few times, and tells Leia that he's noticed she holds herself to a higher standard because she is royalty.

Shortly, the group arrives at a wide, snowy slope that is too steep to easily descend. Sssamm, with his sharp Fillithar vision, spots Chassellon's group about two kilometers ahead. Amilyn mentions that she used to enjoy tobogganing as a child. As Leia, Kier, and Sssamm discuss how to transport Harp, Amilyn pulls an emergency tent from her pack, revealing that they can flatten it to create a makeshift toboggan. Kier points out that it will be difficult to steer, and Sssamm slithers onto the tent, using his coils to hold out the edges and sticking his tail into an unfastened flap to create a sail. They begin their descent down the slope. At sunset, Chassellon and his group, exhausted and miserable, arrive at the chalet, and are stunned to find Leia's group lounging by the hearth drinking mocoa. Chief Pangie reprimands Chassellon for his lack of compassion, and when he threatens to tell Queen Breha about what happened, Leia informs him that the exercise was actually her mother's idea, shocking the Coruscanti. When Leia arrives home, cheerful, she asks a guard if she can see her parents, but is deflated when told that they are planning a banquet and have instructed not to be disturbed.

In the original preview chapter of the book, included in paperback editions of Lost Stars, Senator Gall Trayvis, who appeared in the first season of Star Wars Rebels, was present at Leia's Day of Demand, with his homeworld identified as Osk-Trill. However, in the published novel, Trayvis was replaced by Cinderon Malpe of Derella.

The initial print run of the book included the phrase "Strength through joy," which Leia Organa attributed to an Alderaanian philosopher. This phrase was also coincidentally used as a slogan by Nazi Germany. This resulted in significant controversy on social media platforms, such as Twitter, leading to a response from a Disney–Lucasfilm Press PR representative with a quote from the novel's author, Claudia Gray, who claimed she was unaware of the phrase's historical context when writing the book and apologized for its use. The phrase was changed to "Joy drives out fear" in subsequent editions of the novel.

On December 12, 2017, it was announced that LINE would publish a manga adaptation of the novel.

• ISBN 9781484780787 ; September 1 , 2017 ; Disney–Lucasfilm Press ; US hardcover [1]
• ISBN 9781368026635 ; October 1 , 2017; Hardie Grant Publishing ; Australian paperback [9]
• ISBN 9781405288903 ; October 5 , 2017; Egmont UK Ltd ; UK paperback
• ISBN 9781368026635 ; November 6 , 2018 ; Disney–Lucasfilm Press; US paperback [2]