The Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel novel is now available, and Entertainment Weekly has shared an excerpt revealing new details about the day Princess Leia and Han Solo got married. Beth Revis penned the book, and reveals that Han popped the question while on Endor.
Some storybook-inspired concept art by artist Geneva Bowers has also been shared, showing what Leia and Han's wedding day actually looked like.
Taking place at the Great Tree, an Ewok temple with great significance on the Forest Moon, their nuptials were overseen by Luke Skywalker. Mon Mothma helped organise the event, while the likes of Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2 are among those watching on.
We don't get to read about the full ceremony here (you'll have to buy the book for that), but get some insights into how the day played out. Needless to say, this novel looks like a must-read and we're intrigued to see what came next for these two before Ben Solo's fall to the Dark Side seemingly pushed them apart.
Here's the excerpt from Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel:
The tree the temple was built into was called the Great Tree, according to C-3PO's translation, and it was something of a god itself to the Ewoks.
"The Great Tree is a part of their origin mythology," C-3PO had explained when Han and Chewie had arrived there that morning. "It gives life and connects them to their land. They say the roots of all the trees in the forest intertwine with the Great Tree's roots. Each tree on the entire moon is both a unique individual and a part of the Great Tree." C-3PO had seemed to consider his translation for a moment. "It is rather confusing," he allowed.
But it made for a great spot to get married, Han had to admit. Separated from the main village, the Great Tree had an air of solemnity to it that didn't really exist anywhere else on the forest moon. And the Ewoks had outdone themselves in decorations. Flower garlands wove around the entire outer perimeter of the temple built high into the Great Tree. C-3PO had tried to explain what each flower symbolized, but Han hadn't even known how to distinguish the different varieties, much less that the yellow bloom wrapped around the pink one was supposed to be a blessing of the forest for many children. Or much food. One of those. C-3PO wasn't exactly clear on the distinctions.
But the furballs really had gone above and beyond, tucking tight little buds of flowers between each wrung of the ladder Han had climbed to get to the temple. And it was even better inside.
Not only was the temple the biggest building in the entire village, it incorporated the Great Tree into its design. Standing in the center of the open space, the Great Tree's branches spread wide. Below the temple, stretching to the ground, there was one solid trunk, but behind the walls, the trunk split off into three different directions. Han wasn't sure if the tree had grown like that naturally or if some patient Ewok had bent the branches to form the interlacing design. The three different splits curved around, intertwining and creating a hollow space in the middle of the trunk before they shot off in three different directions, forming the main beams that supported the temple's roof.
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Luke looked between Han and Leia at the crowd gathered in the temple, then turned to Leia.
"Ready?" he asked softly. She nodded, and then Han did.
Luke started speaking. His words were soft, but everyone in the temple heard him. It was a simple speech really—about love and unity and trust. But truth lay in simplicity. He spoke sincerely, and Leia felt everything fade away as her brother's words wrapped around her and Han, a comforting promise that they—all of them—were a family, and that this moment would last well beyond this day.
"When I saw Leia for the first time, she spoke of hope," Luke said. "And that is what she has always embodied for me."
Leia almost laughed aloud. That message had been sent to Obi-Wan, a formal, yet desperate, call into the void that she had no idea her long-lost twin brother would find. He labeled her the symbol of hope. No—she did not embody it.
She had been seeking it.
And, somehow, she had been heard.
Leia's hands tightened in Han's, and he met her eyes. Okay? he mouthed. She nodded silently, smiling.
Maybe Luke was right. Maybe, to be the embodiment of hope, all she had to do was seek it.