Disclaimer: No, don't own, don't sue. All hail Lucas and Tolkien.
Authors note: Sorry it took so long, but my parents think I spend WAY too
much time on the comp, and they're probably right. The point is, I'm trying
to write in secret and it doesn't work. And on top of that, Internet broke
down.
I had actually planned for Han and Luke to meat in this chapter, but I
changed my mind.
Anyway, enjoy the chapter, please review, or I wont bother to sneak of to
the comp (Who am I kidding? I love writing this story, and you couldn't
stop me if you wanted to! Still I might write more if you reviewed!)
Thanks to all who reviewed, I love you guys...
Special thanks to jedielf!
******
Leia was scared. Fear flooded from her, and Luke, touching the bond between them, felt it all. It was nothing but an echo, as if the fear was almost gone, and what he felt was delayed. No harm was done to her, and Luke knew that she feared not for herself. Had she been with Han, and something had happened to him? No, Han was not near her, and Luke could feel his Force signature, unharmed. Still, Leias mind was with him.
She had calmed, and Luke could feel two creatures next to her. They were both humanoids, even if they were not of the same specie. He knew they would not hurt her. They were brave and would, without doubt, risk their life to save her. One of them did seam to find the princess a little annoying, but so had Han, and Luke knew Han would rather cut of his right hand than to let any harm come to her. Luke felt the same way, about both his friends. In fact, he had lost his right arm when trying to save them.
Looking down on his robotic hand, he found technology amazing. If he hadn't been there while it was attached, he'd have trouble believing the fact that it was fake. Not many knew. Leia and Lando did, as both had seen his hand after the battle. So had arto and threepio, but the list ended there. Not even Han knew. Not because Luke didn't want him to know, but because he'd never seen a reason to tell. He had other, far darker secrets that no living person, except for Vader, and most likely the Emperor, knew. Leia should know, but no one else.
The horse was tiring. It had been easy to ride, mostly because it resembled a tauntaun, except that when riding a horse, you didn't have to be worried of freezing to death. That was the problem about tauntauns. Even if it had been easy to ride, it hadn't been painless. He felt worse than after three of Yodas fighting lessons, and THAT had been bad. Silently Luke thought that the horse wasn't the only one needing a brake.
Knowing where to go had not been a problem. The Force had guided him, and he knew he was heading the right way. Still, something felt wrong.
Reaching a river Luke didn't know how to cross had been the perfect opportunity for the horse to get the rest it needed, before it collapsed. Or before Luke did.
It was almost impossible to judge what time of the day it was, as the only growing here, tall, dark trees, shaded the sun. Some sunrays did manage to penetrate the web of twigs and leaf, but nothing more. The wood, or perhaps the entire planets surface, rested in twilight.
Luke jumped of the horse, and then led it to the water. He was about to drink from the river as well, when he noticed that the horse refused to drink. The sight of the horse alarmed Luke. Maybe there was something wrong with the water? There was no need to risk anything, so he reached for the water bottle provided by the elves. After drinking his fill, helped the horse to some too. It drank greedily the water left in the bottle, before it laid down on the ground, resting. Luke, not finding this a bad idea, did the same.
He tried to meditate. Once again, he touched his bond with Leia. She felt calm now, and the fear he had sensed earlier was gone. Reaching out with the Force, he tried to find Han. Han was closer than Leia, and neither he was alone. The person next to him was humanoid, but it was not a human, nor an elf. It was female, Luke sensed, and somehow, she amused Han. He didn't find her ridiculous, just amusing.
Han knew he wasn't on Endor. How he'd found out, Luke wasn't sure, but he knew. Luke sensed that Han did not feel like move on. He didn't know where to go, or why. The female next to him seamed sure enough, but that didn't help Han. They were searching for Leia, Luke realised. Luke used all his might to penetrate Han's mind, not to read it, but to make him understand that Leia was out there, and that they would find her. It was not easy, as Han had a strong mind, but Luke was powerful, and he was able to do it.
Knowing that both Leia and Han were safe had lifted a heavy weight of Luke's shoulders, and he allowed his mind to wander. Where was Linelien right now? Had it been right to leave her like that? He'd been so worried about his sister that he hadn't thought it over. What should he have done? Drag her along on some adventure of his? No, she'd be better back home where she belonged, he thought. But on the other hand, she had saved his life, and he had just left. "That was not the way of a Jedi," he chided himself. He had been going hard on himself since that day on Bespin, when he had discovered the truth of his heritage. He had hardly been able to face Leia after that. Now he knew. He was no longer HIS father. He was THEIR father, and in a way, it comforted Luke. He felt bad about it. No one deserved father like that, least of all Leia. So much had happened to her already, and she had lost so much. No matter how bad Luke felt about it, the fact that he wasn't alone in this was comforting, and Leia wouldn't reject him because of his father if he was her father as well? But what about Han? Vader had done so horrible things to him. Would he stay if he found out? If he left, that would mean that Luke would lose his best friend, and to be true, he didn't know if he would be able to handle it. He had already lost so many. Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, Ben, Yoda and Biggs. Biggs had been Luke's only true friend on Tatooine. The only one who never called him "Wormie" (A/N: Fact! Luke was teased as a boy, and everyone but Biggs called him wormie. If you don't believe me, check out http://www.starwars.com/databank/character/lukeskywalker/index.html) Biggs had been killed in the attack of the first Death Star. Luke didn't even dear think about how Leia would react if Han just packed his bags and left. She had been completely destroyed when Han destroyed when Han was lost. He had been able to sense her grief, her pain and loneliness. She had tried to hide it, but Luke knew that every night, she had dreaded sleep, and when she finally fell asleep, she would soon wake up, crying. And Luke knew it was his father's fault. He'd been ashamed, but most of all, he had been afraid. Afraid of someone finding out. Afraid of turning into his father. Even if Luke feared his father, he couldn't bring himself into hating him. He had felt the conflict in him, that day on Bespin. A conflict of good versus evil. Or perhaps Vader was manipulating him? Luke didn't believe that. He wouldn't. His father might be evil to the bone. He could be as could as the core of Hoth, and as ruthless as a rancor, but he was his father. He would always be, and Luke would not give up on him!
There was so much going on, so much to do, and so many answers to be found, but nothing to be done now, no answers to be found here, and Luke was exhausted. He fell asleep on the ground, next to the horse. In his dreams, he was haunted by eyes. Beautiful emerald-green eyes, starring at him from under a hood.
*********
Authors second note: Oh no... What will happen next? What about Leia? What did she see? How could it be Han if she was in Gondor, and he was in the Shire? What about Linelien? How did Darth Vader end up there? Will our beloved trio ever meet again? What about Han and Elanor? Will Han abandon Leia if he finds out who her father is? Who is the father of Leias child? Wait a tick... Leia's not pregnant. Never mind. If you want the answers, tune in next week. NO, Luke is NOT madly in love with Linelien! Her eyes haunt him because he feels guilty about leaving her the way they did.
Now please, if thou would be so kind as to review, it would bring me great pleasure...
******
Leia was scared. Fear flooded from her, and Luke, touching the bond between them, felt it all. It was nothing but an echo, as if the fear was almost gone, and what he felt was delayed. No harm was done to her, and Luke knew that she feared not for herself. Had she been with Han, and something had happened to him? No, Han was not near her, and Luke could feel his Force signature, unharmed. Still, Leias mind was with him.
She had calmed, and Luke could feel two creatures next to her. They were both humanoids, even if they were not of the same specie. He knew they would not hurt her. They were brave and would, without doubt, risk their life to save her. One of them did seam to find the princess a little annoying, but so had Han, and Luke knew Han would rather cut of his right hand than to let any harm come to her. Luke felt the same way, about both his friends. In fact, he had lost his right arm when trying to save them.
Looking down on his robotic hand, he found technology amazing. If he hadn't been there while it was attached, he'd have trouble believing the fact that it was fake. Not many knew. Leia and Lando did, as both had seen his hand after the battle. So had arto and threepio, but the list ended there. Not even Han knew. Not because Luke didn't want him to know, but because he'd never seen a reason to tell. He had other, far darker secrets that no living person, except for Vader, and most likely the Emperor, knew. Leia should know, but no one else.
The horse was tiring. It had been easy to ride, mostly because it resembled a tauntaun, except that when riding a horse, you didn't have to be worried of freezing to death. That was the problem about tauntauns. Even if it had been easy to ride, it hadn't been painless. He felt worse than after three of Yodas fighting lessons, and THAT had been bad. Silently Luke thought that the horse wasn't the only one needing a brake.
Knowing where to go had not been a problem. The Force had guided him, and he knew he was heading the right way. Still, something felt wrong.
Reaching a river Luke didn't know how to cross had been the perfect opportunity for the horse to get the rest it needed, before it collapsed. Or before Luke did.
It was almost impossible to judge what time of the day it was, as the only growing here, tall, dark trees, shaded the sun. Some sunrays did manage to penetrate the web of twigs and leaf, but nothing more. The wood, or perhaps the entire planets surface, rested in twilight.
Luke jumped of the horse, and then led it to the water. He was about to drink from the river as well, when he noticed that the horse refused to drink. The sight of the horse alarmed Luke. Maybe there was something wrong with the water? There was no need to risk anything, so he reached for the water bottle provided by the elves. After drinking his fill, helped the horse to some too. It drank greedily the water left in the bottle, before it laid down on the ground, resting. Luke, not finding this a bad idea, did the same.
He tried to meditate. Once again, he touched his bond with Leia. She felt calm now, and the fear he had sensed earlier was gone. Reaching out with the Force, he tried to find Han. Han was closer than Leia, and neither he was alone. The person next to him was humanoid, but it was not a human, nor an elf. It was female, Luke sensed, and somehow, she amused Han. He didn't find her ridiculous, just amusing.
Han knew he wasn't on Endor. How he'd found out, Luke wasn't sure, but he knew. Luke sensed that Han did not feel like move on. He didn't know where to go, or why. The female next to him seamed sure enough, but that didn't help Han. They were searching for Leia, Luke realised. Luke used all his might to penetrate Han's mind, not to read it, but to make him understand that Leia was out there, and that they would find her. It was not easy, as Han had a strong mind, but Luke was powerful, and he was able to do it.
Knowing that both Leia and Han were safe had lifted a heavy weight of Luke's shoulders, and he allowed his mind to wander. Where was Linelien right now? Had it been right to leave her like that? He'd been so worried about his sister that he hadn't thought it over. What should he have done? Drag her along on some adventure of his? No, she'd be better back home where she belonged, he thought. But on the other hand, she had saved his life, and he had just left. "That was not the way of a Jedi," he chided himself. He had been going hard on himself since that day on Bespin, when he had discovered the truth of his heritage. He had hardly been able to face Leia after that. Now he knew. He was no longer HIS father. He was THEIR father, and in a way, it comforted Luke. He felt bad about it. No one deserved father like that, least of all Leia. So much had happened to her already, and she had lost so much. No matter how bad Luke felt about it, the fact that he wasn't alone in this was comforting, and Leia wouldn't reject him because of his father if he was her father as well? But what about Han? Vader had done so horrible things to him. Would he stay if he found out? If he left, that would mean that Luke would lose his best friend, and to be true, he didn't know if he would be able to handle it. He had already lost so many. Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, Ben, Yoda and Biggs. Biggs had been Luke's only true friend on Tatooine. The only one who never called him "Wormie" (A/N: Fact! Luke was teased as a boy, and everyone but Biggs called him wormie. If you don't believe me, check out http://www.starwars.com/databank/character/lukeskywalker/index.html) Biggs had been killed in the attack of the first Death Star. Luke didn't even dear think about how Leia would react if Han just packed his bags and left. She had been completely destroyed when Han destroyed when Han was lost. He had been able to sense her grief, her pain and loneliness. She had tried to hide it, but Luke knew that every night, she had dreaded sleep, and when she finally fell asleep, she would soon wake up, crying. And Luke knew it was his father's fault. He'd been ashamed, but most of all, he had been afraid. Afraid of someone finding out. Afraid of turning into his father. Even if Luke feared his father, he couldn't bring himself into hating him. He had felt the conflict in him, that day on Bespin. A conflict of good versus evil. Or perhaps Vader was manipulating him? Luke didn't believe that. He wouldn't. His father might be evil to the bone. He could be as could as the core of Hoth, and as ruthless as a rancor, but he was his father. He would always be, and Luke would not give up on him!
There was so much going on, so much to do, and so many answers to be found, but nothing to be done now, no answers to be found here, and Luke was exhausted. He fell asleep on the ground, next to the horse. In his dreams, he was haunted by eyes. Beautiful emerald-green eyes, starring at him from under a hood.
*********
Authors second note: Oh no... What will happen next? What about Leia? What did she see? How could it be Han if she was in Gondor, and he was in the Shire? What about Linelien? How did Darth Vader end up there? Will our beloved trio ever meet again? What about Han and Elanor? Will Han abandon Leia if he finds out who her father is? Who is the father of Leias child? Wait a tick... Leia's not pregnant. Never mind. If you want the answers, tune in next week. NO, Luke is NOT madly in love with Linelien! Her eyes haunt him because he feels guilty about leaving her the way they did.
Now please, if thou would be so kind as to review, it would bring me great pleasure...