Han blinked, staring at the door Luke had just left through.
"What the hell was that?" He asked. Leia shrugged and shook her head, for once not having the answer. That suddenly display of anger was very unlike Luke and it worried Leia.
"Maybe I should go talk to him. He's seemed a little bit off since Naboo. Maybe it's having that Sith apprentice around him all the time."
"Are you saying he's turning Sith? Come on Leia, this is Luke we're talking about. The day Luke becomes Sith is the day Mustafar freezes over." Leia knew Han was right, however she couldn't shake the feeling something was seriously wrong with Luke. She kept getting a foreboding feeling whenever she was around him, very much like the feeling she got around Inari. It was this that worried her.
"I'm going to go talk to him." Decided Leia, rising from her seat and moving towards the door.
"Just let him know again that I'm sorry?" asked Han, before she left. Though Han sometimes poked fun at the young Jedi, he did really consider him to be his brother, especially since he had never really had any official family. Leia nodded, smiling a little. She understood clearly the underlying message in the smuggler's words. Leia then walked smartly out of the door of the cockpit and down the corridor, navigating her way through the Millennium Falcon until she found Luke's room. She hesitated slightly before entering, sensing wave upon wave of subtle panic and anger emanating from the other side of the door. Leia then shook her head and checked herself. Don't be silly, she scolded herself. You can't sense things, that's ridiculous. Never the less, she braced herself slightly as she entered the room.
"Luke?..." she said quietly as she entered. Luke didn't reply, but Leia could see him. He was sitting on his bed with his back again the wall, busying himself with levitating a cup just in front of him. He stared straight ahead, his eyes unseeing but behind them, Leia could see the turmoil in his mind. "Are you alright?" she asked, a little tentatively. This numb Luke was worrying her, even going as far as to make her nervous not only for Luke, but also the crew of the Falcon. Luke was very powerful and Leia knew this for a fact; if he were to decide for some reason that he wanted to tear apart the ship and its crew, he could with relative ease. However, Leia's rational mind soon came to the conclusion that this was a highly remote possibility as so stole herself to ask Luke the question she had really been meaning to ask.
"Why did you go off at Han like that? Is there something the matter?"
This question suddenly bought Luke back to life.
"I, um… I don't know." He answered quickly. In the air, the cup wobbled as Luke's focus waned. He's lying, Leia thought with conviction. But why is he lying? Leia frowned slightly but quickly corrected this, going back to her usual open and kind but focussed face. She decided to delve further in search for the truth.
"Is it Inari?" she asked. At this, the cup went stock-still, as if it has been frozen in mid-air and Luke's face hardened. Now we're getting somewhere, thought the Princess.
"It's not Inari." Luke said as calmly as possible. A rather long and awkward silence followed this statement. Very carefully, Leia moving to sit on the edge of Luke's bed, thinking. I know he's lying, but why? Why would he lie to me?
"Han says he's sorry again." Offered Leia. Luke's expression didn't move. He continued to stare at the cup. "You can talk to me you know Luke." Stated Leia, in a last ditch attempt to get the Jedi to open up to her. "I will understand-" Suddenly, the cup flew through the air and smashed into pieces against the wall and the monster roared.
"No you won't!" Shouted Luke, suddenly standing. "You don't understand anything about me because you're a clever little Princess and I'm just someone who happened to wind up coming to find you on the Death Star. I'm not even meant to be here and it's only by chance that I am. The only reason you kept me around is because I have some useful little party tricks you can use in your Rebellion! You don't even understand what it's like to use the Force, you don't know how difficult it is and with all its endless rules and deviations about the Light and the Dark…" Luke trailed off, his voice lowering and his anger dissipating as quickly as it had arrived leaving only a strong feeling of being ashamed of himself. Luke froze, very tempted to run again like he had done in the cock pit, but he had nowhere to run to. Leia remained on the bed, unmoving but eyes wide and full of shock.
"I am so sorry," began Luke, words tumbling out of his mouth and tripping over one another. "I didn't mean to… I mean I don't…" Leia shook her head and raised a hand.
"It's fine." She said, quietly. She rose quickly, making her way towards the door. However, she paused in the door frame and looked Luke straight in the eye and decided to speak her mind and her heart. "Luke, I love you like a brother and so does Han and I know it isn't you who is angry and shouting at us. We are and always will be here for you no matter what so don't you dare think we only keep you around because of your abilities. I'm glad it was you who came to rescue me on the Death Star and though you and Han weren't the best rescuers, I wouldn't have wanted it to be anyone else."
Luke looked momentarily surprised by this emotional statement from the Princess, whom he was so used to thinking rationally and practically, rarely leaving room for emotional things like this. However, he briefly nodded and Leia nodded in return.
"Thank you." He said, clearly. This warm message had driven back the icy grip of the monster, forcing it down into the dark depths of his mind, from where it would have a hard time returning. "And can you tell Han I'm sorry, please?" He added. Leia smiled slightly, seeing old Luke was back for now.
"You can tell him yourself." She said smartly, but with a discrete, mischievous smile. Luke rolled his eyes and followed Leia out the door, back to Han in the cock pit.