The dark side energy ceased as suddenly as it had started. Luke blinked, his heavy eyelids scratching against dry corneas, and struggled to pull air into his lungs. He reached out through the Force for Leia and found her mostly unharmed, just stunned and bruised. He'd born the brunt of the attack. He rolled to the side and off the Princess, unable to do much more. Leia coughed, and managed to pull herself to her hands and knees. She began crawling toward the Falcon, still hovering in the air before them.
Luke felt more than saw the Beast, the cloak swishing as she approached. "I don't think so," the husky voice said. The Beast's slender fingers twitched and Leia fell flat on her stomach, pinned to the ground.
Chewbacca roared. Han raced down the Falcon's boarding ramp. "Leia!" he cried. He aimed the blaster in his hand at the Beast. Before he could fire, his wrist twisted, abnormally so. The blaster flew into the woods beyond. Han swore and tucked his hurt hand under his other arm, a grimace etched deep in his face.
Another wave of the Beast's fingers and the Falcon began to shimmy in the air, swooping dangerously from side to side. Han fell, slid. Chewbacca made a desperate grab for the ramp strut, hung on. He then caught Han by his foot before Han could tumble off the edge.
"Stop," Luke croaked. He reached for his lightsaber, but the Beast crooked a finger and it flew into the Beast's hand, and then disappeared into the voluminous cloak. Luke struggled to his feet, swallowing back the nausea that threatened to overtake him and held his hands out to show that he was unarmed. "Please. Stop."
The Beast slowly pivoted toward him. The deep hood cast a thick shadow over the Beast's features but it could not conceal the feral yellow eyes, glowing with hostility. "But they are my prisoners. Rebel traitors to the Emperor." The fingers moved once more, and the Falcon appeared to be buffeted by winds approaching solar force.
Luke swallowed, his mouth devoid of moisture. He pushed aside the hatred and aggression he sensed swirling maliciously in the atmosphere, and reached deep inside for calm as his Masters had taught him. He didn't dare try to touch the Beast's mind. The power the Beast displayed was far beyond anything Ben or Yoda had taught him. His skills, such as they were, would be no match. Still, he put all of his conviction and strength into his words. "I'm the one the Emperor wants. You don't need them. Let them go."
The glittering gold gaze turned on him. The rage in its depths still lingered but it was joined by wary surprise. "Are you offering to take their place?"
He nodded, even as impressions flashed through his mind. The dismal dungeons, the damp penetrating to his bones and the stench that never grew weaker. Seeing the stars only through a small, high window, and to journey among them only in memory. His thoughts skittered away before they could imagine what would happen once he was in the Emperor's control. He would deal with that when the time came.
He repeated, "I'm the one the Emperor wants. Not them."
The hooded figure moved closer to Luke, so close that he could see the rich texture of shimmering black cloak. The uncanny yellow gaze narrowed and swept over him, as if searching for something only the Beast could detect. Finally, the Beast's head inclined. "Fine. We'll agree to a trade. They can go. But only if you promise to stay here." The hood bent forward, and he shivered as warm breath hit his cheek. "Forever," the Beast said low into his ear.
Luke swallowed, his throat aching, but kept his voice steady. "I promise. But they must leave. Now. And Imperial forces will not pursue them." He met the glittering gold gaze with a steady one of his own.
The Beast's features remained in shadow, but Luke received the distinct impression that the Beast…smiled. The cloaked figure turned away, breaking the connection between their gazes. Luke gasped at the loss, for that was what it felt like.
The Beast raised slender fingers and Leia was on her feet, dazed and disoriented. Another sweep of the Beast's hands and the Falcon stopped its twisting dance, covering the last dozen meters to gracefully land next to the castle. Chewbacca let go of the strut and ran inside the ship, no doubt to check how many systems had failed.
Han rose, unsteadily, and sprinted down the boarding ramp to draw a waiting Leia into his arms. Luke watched, the ache in his heart increasing with every beat of his pulse, as she closed her eyes and moved deeper into Han's embrace. They stood together on the ramp, foreheads touching. Luke carved the image into his memory, for he knew it would be the last sight he would have of his two best friends.
A mechanical jerk, and the boarding ramp started its slow ascent back into the ship. Han and Leia broke apart. They scrambled, falling toward the ship's main cabin, as gravity did its work.
"Luke!" Leia shouted. "Where are you? LUKE!"
"KID!" Han echoed.
"It's okay," Luke called to them through lips numb and stiff. "I'll be fine. Take care of yourselves—"
The boarding ramp closed. Luke heard the hydraulics lock, seal. The Falcon's repulsors roared to life and the ship lifted into the air. It circled over the castle. Luke thought he caught a glimpse of Threepio, his golden face just visible through the cockpit transparisteel. He raised a hand in farewell. Then the Falcon shot over the treetops and disappeared into the starry horizon beyond.
The Beast's arms lowered. "Done." The hood turned toward him. "I have upheld my end. Now it is your turn. But be warned. If you betray our bargain, you will regret it. Painfully."
"I gave you my word," Luke said, crossing his arms tightly across his chest
"The word of a farmer." The Beast's scorn could not be more evident. Then the Beast turned to Pottz, still cowering on the grass. "You. We will speak. Now."
Pottz mumbled something inaudible and got up to her feet, following the Beast inside the castle.
Luke kept his gaze on the nighttime sky. "No," he said to the stars. "Not just the word of a farmer. The word of Jedi." He sat down on the ground and closed his eyes, letting the pain, exhaustion and sheer weight of what he agreed to pull him into a deep, unconscious hole.