Chapter 92

AN: I apologize for how long this update has taken but I hope everyone enjoys it. I also wanted to say that "Revenge of the Sith" was amazing. I hope everyone goes to see it if they haven't already.

Ari just stood in the room the lighting very faint, but she could still see Boba Fett, who was now sitting on the chair in the room, blaster rifle resting over his legs, just watching her. At least, she thought he was. She still could not see his face, and she wondered for a moment about this bounty hunter. Who he was, how old he was. Was he even human? She assumed so, but could not be certain. Those questions flew out of her mind when the bounty hunter spoke.

"You can sit," he offered to the only other place, the bed.

"I don't think so," Ari answered. Did he really think she would easily sit on the bed? It would be too easy if he wanted to try something with her.

"I am not going to touch you," he replied as if he could read her mind.

"Then why agree to have me to be here?" she countered, still not moving any closer. While she did want a comfortable bed to sleep in and have a warm blanket around her, since it was chilly in such little clothing, she was not about to move any closer to the bounty hunter.

"I am not foolish enough to say 'No' to a Hutt," he replied. "He thinks I want you, so I said I did."

"Then why not do what he thinks you will do?" she asked. She didn't want him to touch her, but had been fairly certain that Boba Fett was not the type of being to have morals.

"Simple. You are not a farmgirl. I don't trust liars like you. You might try to kill me in the middle of such a thing. If so, then I would have to kill you. That would anger Jabba."

It made sense to Ari. Angering Jabba, even though he was the favored bounty hunter, would be a big mistake on Boba Fett's part. Hutts were known to hold a grudge, which was why Han was currently frozen in carbonite.

"So what happens? I stand here all night?" she asked.

"Not all night. Just a few hours."

"And then what?" Ari asked. She was tired after being on her feet and dancing so she slowly sank to the floor. It was colder than she would have liked, but she would never admit that aloud. Especially not around Boba Fett. She could would not let others know she was uncomfortable.

"Then you got back to the other dancers." After that, he was silent, just watching her, or so it seemed, blaster rifle still resting on his knees. She knew that any attempts to escape or to attack would quickly be dealt with, and she was fairly certain that his weapons were not set on stun.

Time seemed to pass slowly, each minute seeming like an hour. It was silent in the room. Ari couldn't even hear him breath, but she knew he was still as alert as ever. His entire body still sat rigidly, blaster rifle never moving from its ready perch on his lap. When Ari shifted ever so slightly, the bounty hunter tensed and she noted that his hold on the blaster rifle tightened.

Finally, hours later, though it seemed like half a lifetime, Boba Fett shifted slightly. "You may leave." Since neither of them had spoken in a long time, his words, while not loud had jarred Ari out of her thoughts. She was tired, but had stayed alert. Instead, she was thinking about her Jedi training, which helped her stay calm as the hours dragged on.

She got to her feet, legs only slightly cramped from not moving for so long. She glanced over her shoulder at Boba Fett who was now on his feet, his blaster rifle up, ready to be used in case Ari tried anything foolish.

Instead of saying or doing anything, Ari palmed the door open and saw two Gamorrean guards standing there. They raised their weapons slightly but Boba Fett spoke. "Take her, I am done."

The guards roughly grabbed her arms and while she knew she could disarm them, she allowed herself to be led away and toward 'The Pit'. While a few beings were still awake, she realized it must be very late at night. At the entrance to 'The Pit', the guards released her and allowed her to enter the room. The other dancers were in their beds, one left empty for her. While she stepped around the beds of sleeping dancers, her gaze fell on Arica. While her eyes were closed, Ari was fairly certain the other girl was still awake. Her body seemed much too rigid for sleep, and while the others looked peaceful, Arica did not.

With the dim lighting, Ari was able to get to her bed, which was close to the center of the room. She took off her boots, but left the rest of the clothing on. When she slid under the somewhat coarse blanket, she felt warmer than she had in a long time. Even though she had that and a pillow, she could not allow her body to relax enough to sleep. After all that had occurred, she found herself very tense.

Her mind was racing with all that had happened. She knew she needed to rest, and that laying awake all night would be the worst thing for her to do. Siri had taught her a few meditation techniques that Jedi used to relax. Taking in slow, deep breaths, she cleared her mind and she felt her muscles start to loosen up. After a few minutes of this, she soon found herself drifting into a light, dreamless sleep.

The hours passed and all too soon, Ari heard other dancers getting up. She sighed and while she wanted to stay in the small cot, she knew she had to get up. As she turned over, she froze. Something felt strange and caused a shiver to run down her spine. Frowning, she opened her eyes every so slightly and could see Arica already dressed, and while she was brushing her hair, she was looking at Ari in a way that made the young woman very uncomfortable. Ari knew she would have to be careful around this other dancer.

She quickly pulled on her boots and made her bed which did not take long. Since she did not have a way to brush her hair, she ran her fingers through it to work out the tangles. She decided it worked after clipping her hair back.

Then Ari followed all the dancers to the kitchen where they were handed a tray of food and a mug of something that smelled a little like tea, but did not look like it. Tasting it proved that it was supposed to be tea, yet the bitter taste made her flinch. The food was not very good either, having almost no taste and tough in texture. However, she forced herself to eat it, not knowing when she would next get the chance.

The dancers were all rushed through breakfast and then were hurried to the pit again where Melina helped them go through some warm up exercises. As they stretched, Ari kept feeling someone's eyes on her. Without even looking, she had a feeling she knew who it was. Arica. Instead of turning to look, Ari ignored it.

All too soon all the dancers were rushed to their places to start. Upon entering the main chamber, Ari saw Lando look over at her, concern showing in his eyes. She just gave her head the smallest of shakes to show that nothing horrible had happened. It had not been pleasant, but it had gone much better than she had expected.

She didn't get to see Lando's reaction as the music started and she had to focus solely on dancing.