Chapter Eighteen

"May I inquire as to our destination, Princess Leia?" Threepio questioned the quiet human female sitting in the Captain's seat of the small Hapan shuttle. "If you don't mind me asking? Since it appears we have been traveling at sublight speed for the better part of a standard day since leaving Ta'a Chume'Dan."

Leia sighed, glancing down at the ship's controls. "I've been waiting to hear if Luke replies to my messages." If her brother failed to answer, she would set the hyper-space coordinates for Coruscant. The idea of going back to the Capital of the New Republic as a complete failure made her physically ill, and she was already nauseated at being forced to leave her beloved child behind with people that despised her, even long before her 'unlawful affair' with Han.

"May I ask how long you intend to wait for Master Luke to reply?" the droid said worriedly. "The Hapans were very clear they wished for us to leave the Consortium as soon as possible, and I fear that lingering in their space may cause them to become angry... and upset. Upset and angry humans can be very unpredictable, in my experience."

"Threepio -" Leia started to admonish the droid when the com-message board light started blinking. The signal was coming from Luke, and the Princess felt a rush of relief as she opened the channel. "LUKE!"

His voice came through, sounding far away and indistinct. "Sorry I took so long to reply. Mara and I have been outside arguing with the contractors that are building the Academy and H... Evin's studio What's wrong?"

Leia's lips twisted at Luke's decision to use the name 'Evin' rather than Han. While the frequency she was using was supposedly secure, she had little doubt the Hapans had installed listening devices as well as trackers.

"Isolder and his mother have banished me from Hapes."

Although the sound over the small speaker was not good, Leia could hear shock in Luke's tone. "What? Why?"

"I'd rather tell you in person."

"Do you have Isabell with you?"

A sharp pain, like someone twisting a knife, coursed through her chest. "No." Then added with determination she wasn't sure was justified, "I'll have to get a lawyer and go through New Republic courts and fight for custody. I'll get her away from Isolder. I have to." If they were listening let them hear that. Leia had no intention of giving up her daughter without a fight, and she was certain the Queen Mother had somehow twisted the Hapan laws in their favor.

"Come to Corellia. I'll send you over the coordinates and make sure the Dock Controller is aware you are arriving."

"Do you think Evin will mind?" Leia asked softly. She knew he was still on tour, and would be for the next five standard weeks. Despite his offer to take her to Corellia, Leia knew he would still be blindsided by everything when he arrived back home. Knowing Han, he would probably blame himself for Leia's banishment.

"Evin would insist," Luke responded. "You know he would. His house has... plenty of room."

Leia detected the slight hesitation at the word 'plenty'. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. It's just that our landlord on Coruscant ...where my students were living and training? He told me they had to find other accommodations. The landlord claimed his neighbors were complaining about too much noise. I think they just didn't care to have Jedi students living next to them."

"Where did they go?"

Luke gave a noisy sigh. "I brought them all here to Corellia, all six of them. They're living with me in Evin's house, since the Academy building isn't finished yet."

The Princess felt her lips twitch in amusement, despite herself. "And I am guessing that Evin doesn't have a clue that six Jedi of various ages and species are all living inside his house?"

"No," Luke admitted, and Leia thought she heard Mara's snort of amusement in the background. "Not yet. He's hard to get in contact with since he's on a different planet nearly everyday."

Mara's voice came through the speaker, "Luke hasn't been trying very hard, either. I think he's afraid of Evin's reaction."

"Have you received the coordinates, yet?" Luke asked his sister.

Leia glanced down at the panel. "Yes. They're here. I'll see you shortly."

"Safe skies."

The communication cut off, and Threepio said, "Thank the Maker! I am certain the Hapans would have been sending attack fighters in our direction if we lingered much longer!"

A small part of Leia wished Isolder had declared ownership over Threepio, but Leia figured she wasn't that lucky, or perhaps Isolder wasn't quite that stupid. "Quit worrying, Threepio. We'll make the jump to hyper-space in a few standard minutes." She could swear that she heard the droid give a sigh of relief.

"Do you suppose this Evin Daysun will be pleased to see us? I do not recall meeting a celebrity of his particular type before, and you failed to introduce me while he was at the Palace. Do you think he might be pleased if I ask him to sing a song for me, since that is what I have surmised he enjoys doing? Would that be a good thing to request, Princess Leia?"

Leia knew Threepio was going to annoy Han to no end, but she couldn't help herself. "Yes, Threepio. Please, ask him to sing you a song. He might be shy and say no at first, but just keep asking. Every single time you see him, okay?"

"Yes, Princess. I will do that."

Corellia

Sitting in a small hovercraft, the Princess gazed around the vast estate as Luke took her for a lengthy tour of the grounds.

"That is going to be the new Academy," Luke said, trying not to sound too proud as he pointed to a large, partially constructed, two story building. "The apartments are going to be located on the top level, and the training, dining room, and various other rooms will be on the main floor."

"How long until it's completed?"

"Probably another six months," Luke replied a bit ruefully.

"So your students are guests in Han's private house until then," she said, biting her lip in amusement. "He'll be back in four and a half weeks, correct?"

"Yes," Luke answered with a sigh. "He's going to be so thrilled to find every room in his house is now occupied with lightsaber wielding younglings running amok, yelling at the top of their lungs and tipping over chairs, scorching the furniture..."

Leia laughed at the mental image Luke was conjuring up. "I can't wait to see his reaction." Then she paused for a moment before asking, "If every room is occupied, where would you think I should sleep? In the Groom's house you showed me a little while ago?"

"I was thinking you'd probably just move into Han's bedroom," Luke said carefully. "That's where he'd want you to stay."

The Princess looked away from her brother, both with embarrassment and shame. "Maybe not. Maybe he hates me now."

"Why would he hate you all of a sudden?"

"Because," she shut her eyes tightly. "I ... used him, Luke. I've missed him so badly, so when I found out he was alive, all I wanted to do was have him make love to me again. It's been so long..." She let out a choked sob and repeated, "I used him."

Luke reached over and took her hand. "He won't feel that way." After a long moment, he gently asked, "Leia? Why didn't you know about the Hapan laws regarding having extra-marital affairs?"

"I knew about their stupid, unclean laws," Leia whispered, still unable to look at Luke. She had told Mara why she'd been banished, unable to discuss with her brother the embarrassing, private matter as to the reason why. Mara had, hopefully, filled Luke in to the facts. "I wasn't thinking with my head, Luke. And I didn't know about the immediate annulment law at all. I thought I'd read everything there was about divorce in the Royal Hapan family. I researched their divorce laws! I was desperately looking for a way out of my marriage. There was nothing at all about annulment, banishment, or giving up my child if I had an affair with someone that still had ..."

"Pubic hair," Luke put in gently. "You can say it. Everyone has it."

"Not everyone," Leia replied dryly. "Not Hapans."

"So, what did their laws say the punishment for disobeying that law, then?"

"Six months of imprisonment for the first offense. Five years for the second offense."

"And you were willing to risk imprisonment to spend the night with Han?"

"Yes," she said, still looking down and unable to face Luke. "I love him."

"Did Han know any of this?" Luke asked.

"I told him it was against the Hapan law, but not the punishment part," Leia admitted, finally raising her head. "I truly believe that the Queen Mother created those new punishments after Isolder told her I'd spent the night with Evin Daysun. She wanted him and was jealous that he willingly went with me, instead of her."

"Can she do that?" Luke asked, surprised. "Just make up new punishments?"

"She's the actual ruler of Hapes, Luke. Her word is law," Leia told him with a sigh. "She can do whatever she wants. Something like adding or changing punishments does have to be approved by the High Court of Hapes, but they are nothing more than her lackeys. I'm sure that's the reason why my banishment took a week instead of a day." Then she added dryly, "Flimsi work and all."

After a long moment of silence, Luke said, "Well, you need to head into town with Mara and buy clothes and all those other feminine things, since you had to leave it all behind. Mara simply loves shopping," he added with a grin to let Leia know Mara, in fact, felt just the opposite. "I can't wait to hear about Evin's reaction when he sees his 'fresher stocked up with frilly towels, perfume, makeup, and all those other female things."

"Evin? Not Han?" Leia put in, raising an eyebrow while deciding not to tell Luke about the fact Han was forced to wear makeup for holo-photos and vids so he probably wouldn't object too badly about Leia's makeup. At least he'd better not.

Luke grinned. "We have to get used to calling him Evin, especially now that the house is fully occupied. And he is the same person, no matter what we call him."

"Then I'm planning on sticking with Nerfherder," Leia said firmly. "I'll get less confused that way."

Four weeks later, on a planet called T'Cheuem in the Hapan Consortium

Han Solo flopped down into his bed on the Wookiee Princess. He was tired down to his bones from touring for the last six weeks. This evening's concert had been, thankfully, his last one before heading back to Corellia. He could hear Corran and Mirax talking in the hallway, but their words were too indistinct and quiet to make out, and then Corran knocked on his door.

"Evin?"

"Yeah?" Han called back, not getting up from his cot.

"Do you want to raise ship, or should I do it with Mirax?

"You do it," Han replied, giving his head a rueful shake. Back when he was still Han Solo, permitting someone else to fly his ship when he was conscious wasn't something he'd ever consider. But this wasn't the Falcon, a ship he still missed with every fiber of his being, plus he was exhausted and just wanted to sleep.

"Okay,"Corran replied. "Strap in, then."

Han could hear his footsteps leaving to head toward the cockpit, and his thoughts drifted back to Leia, like they had been relentlessly drifting since they'd made love. He shut his eyes, but her face refused to leave his mind. Part of him desperately wanted to go back to the city of Ta'a Chume'Dan where Leia was living, grab her and her child and then spirit them away to his estate, damn the consequences or the wrath of the Hapans. Han suspected the Royal Family wouldn't care too much if he kidnapped Leia, but her daughter was another story entirely. And Leia would never leave her child to run away with him. It was something he understood, but it still hurt. And kidnapping a Princess-turned-Queen would probably not be a good career move, either. Lando would undoubtedly kill him, slowly and painfully, and that would happen after he got out of prison in about ten to twenty years, maybe a bit sooner with time off for good behavior. Han gave a snort. Good behavior? Since when? I might be in prison for life.

Why, Han thought in despair as he heard Corran start to warm up the engines, was life always so damn complicated?