"You want me to WHAT?!" Leia's voice filled the house, and she stood in an all too familiar stance; arms folded across her chest and her eyes wide with fury. "I have to pretend that you are Lando?"
Han remained seated, not wanting to tempt her anger even more. "It won't be for long, just this evening." His eyes wandered aimlessly to the door, where he could hear Luke's movement. He wished for once that the kid would put away his Jedi tendencies towards peace and come and give him a hand. "She won't be here for long, few hours maybe."
"SHE?!" Her voice screeched now and Han heard a thud on the door. Must have spooked Luke too, he thought, feeling a smile creep up onto his face. Wrong move. "Why on Earth are you smiling?"
"Nothing, it's nothing. Look, the she, is Jaina."
"As in our daughter Jaina?" Leia asked, her stance softening as she slunk onto the sofa, her arms falling to her sides.
"As in…" He paused slightly, trying to find the words that he had longed to say to her for years, "Jaina, my sister."
…
Her mouth sat open for several minutes; her eyes appeared to have glazed over. Han had left the room a couple of times to let Luke know what had happened, and every time he returned, there she was. Still staring blankly at the space where Han had been sitting.
"Leia?" He spoke up, cautiously. He moved closer to the sofa and knelt in front of her, his hand reaching up gently and touching her cheek. "Are you okay?"
Her eyes wandered slowly to meet his and her mouth opened and closed several times before she managed to say, "You have a lot of explaining to do."
"I know." He stood up and brushed off his clothes, distracting his mind and body. "I've never told you before, because I was ashamed of my past, ashamed of what I have done." He lowered himself onto the opposing sofa, his eyes fixed on the carpet.
Leia's face softened and she moved to sit next to him, her arm gently resting on his back. "I am your wife, Han. You don't have to be ashamed to tell me things."
This was exactly what he needed to hear from her and he groped for her hand, squeezing it gently as he began. "I was twelve, I think. Sometimes it all seems like blur when I try to remember it. Jaina was only five at the time. It was the last time I saw her." He paused momentarily, his eyes trying to gauge from Leia how well it was being explained.
"Carry on." She tried to soothe gently, a hint of anger still marring her voice.
"It was a typical evening. We all had to sit up the table and eat together, taking it in turns to discuss our day. The next thing I remember was smoke billowing into the house and blasters surrounding us. My father had pushed me and Jaina to the floor; she was screaming and crying so loudly. It broke my heart to listen to her fear." Han's eyes began to tear up, so he lowered his head further, not wanting Leia to see. His voice became quieter as he continued. "He told me to take her to the Falcon and get away, but before I could make it there, my cousin appeared. It turns out the noises and smoke was coming from Storm Troopers. The Empire was trying to make a play for Correlia but the threat had never been that serious. Until I saw Thracken."
"Thracken? As in Thracken Sal-Solo?" Leia asked hesitantly, her eyes wide. "He came up at our last summit meeting. He could be as dark a force as the Emperor once was."
"That used to be our family name, Sal-Solo, but after what happened, I couldn't use it anymore. He took my sister from my arms. I was pushed to the floor and he took her from me. My father had entrusted me to protect her and all I could do was struggle to get free."
Leia felt tears pricking her eyes now, and she reached for Han's hand, rubbing it gently as he fumbled for the story, "Part of me knew, he took her for a reason, that he wouldn't harm her. The only way for me to ever give her a chance of making it back to us was to escape. So I fled in the Falcon to Alderaan." Leia's thoughts wandered to her once home World of Alderaan. It had been such a haven for the Republic and for herself, but still it surprised her to know that Han had fled persecution there.
"What did you do when you made it to Alderaan?" She probed gently, studying his face as he spoke.
He grunted a small chuckle but his eyes still sank at the memories. "I worked with a local Nerf Herder for several years. He took me in as his own son." At Han's previous occupation, Leia felt her heart sink at all the times she had thrown that insult in his face. Nerf Herder. "Then I found he was using slaves on his ranch. Wookies. That's where I met Chewie. As the days went on I couldn't bear to watch the abuse they received, son one night, I took Chewie and we fled."
Nodding slowly, Leia felt all the pieces of his past fall into place. "To Kashykkk?" She asked, the Wookie home World.
"To Kashykkk." He repeated fondly. "Chewie didn't have any family either, so we looked after each other. Then we got into the smuggling business and that's the end of that really." Han finished quickly, his voice relieved at his confessions.
They both sat in silence for a moment, before Leia stood up and moved towards the living room door. "So Jaina is coming to dinner tonight?"
"Yes, but she's disowned me as her brother. She thinks Thracken is. So Luke thought it was best we make out I'm Lando. Just until we can work out what's going on." He added quickly, noticing Leia's gaze sharpen.
"Well," Leia sighed heavily, "I guess I should get started on dinner then." Han smiled warmly at her before she left, leaving him to his sinking fear of what was to be expected this evening.
…
Thracken Sal-Solo paced his office slowly, circling the desk like a hungry vulture spotting for his prey. He stroked his beard slowly, menacingly as his two victims looked on in fear. Swooping down to their level, he held up one of their heads for his scrutiny, before letting it flop back down. As he approached the second, it emitted a low grumble that startled Thracken momentarily, but he still continued to inspect them. After several moments, he smiled darkly at the two, who kept their heads down to avoid his gaze.
"Guards," He addressed the two men in billowing red robes next to his door, which moved closer to the prisoners, standing behind them. "Take General Calrissian and the Wookie to the holding cells. I have some news to tell my apprentice Jaina Sal-Solo."
A/N: Okay so here's the next part, sorry about the delay, I've started doing shift work so for like the past week I've been doing 6am to 2pm, so I've been knackered!! lol. But I've finally got round to this part. I hope you like it and please review so I know how to improve and what you'd all like to see happening in the story. Next part will be done soonish hopefully, so please keep reading!! Smiles