Chapter 94
AN: I apologize for how long it has taken me to update. I wanted to say a big thanks to everyone who are reading and leaving reviews. You guys are awesome!
The rest of the day passed in which Ari spent the time dancing. She made sure she did well enough that she would not be fed the monstrous creature below, but made sure not to attract too much of Jabba's attention, not wanting to be the next dancer that was forced to wear a collar. She did well in her attempts, because as the patrons started to pass out, she was still alive, and not chained.
Ari kept stealing glancing over at Leia, who was still dressed as Boushh, the bounty hunter. The princess never risked anything by speaking more then usual or drawing any more attention to herself, which was smart of her.
"After last night, I would not think you would want to be around anymore bounty hunters," Melina smirked. She had alcohol on her breath, but Ari was certain that this woman could handle her alcohol and not have her judgment impaired.
"Just impressed by his tactics," Ari answered.
"Well, don't expect to be with him. In fact, you and Arica should be heading to 'The Pit'."
"What about you and the others?" Ari asked. They did not look as if they were planning on going to the bed soon, and from the looks a few looked as if they would not be able to find their beds even if they were planning it.
"You will do as you are told," Melina told her in a sharp tone, one that Ari had never heard her use before. Immediately, she knew that something was up. She didn't know what, but it had to be something big.
While she wanted to protest, she thought better of it and nodded in response. She would find out, with or without permission. It could help them get Han out, which was their whole reason for doing this.
Arica also seemed upset to be told to go back to the dancer's quarters, but like Ari, she nodded and started back to 'The Pit'. Neither dancer spoke to the other, though they both kept glancing at each other, cold looks that made Hoth seem warm.
When they were both their, they had clothes that they could change into to help keep them warmer at night. While they both changed and laid down on their beds, neither was about to sleep. Ari was uncertain what Arica was thinking, but she worried that if she did fall asleep, she might not wake up again.
Instead of sleeping, Ari let herself meditate. She was unable to hear anything going on in the audience chamber, but she had a feeling that whatever was occurring, would happen there.
She stayed like this for a fairly long time, at least two hours. Then she heard Arica get out of her bed and almost silently leave the room. Ari waited to hear the guards stop her, but there was no protest, as if there were no guards at all.
Curious, she got to her feet as well, pulling on her thin shoes. Like Arica, she was almost silent as she walked. When she got to the entrance, she noticed that she had been right. No guards were there. Usually they were there to keep Jabba's visitors from coming after the girls.
Without resistance, she started to the main audience chamber. The Force seemed to be telling her that something was happening, and she had a sinking feeling that it was not a good thing.
Jabba's booming laughter could be heard even before she entered and she felt her heart jump into her throat. Had something happened to Leia, Lando or Chewie?
"Look…" came a familiar voice as Ari entered and she gasped. It was Han! He was free of the carbonite, and while he looked very shaky, he seemed to be alright. While no one had said anything, they all feared that he would be greatly injured or might not even survive being unfrozen after being in the carbonite block for almost a year.
The guards started to drag Han out of the room and he called over his shoulder to the Hutt. "Jabba... I'll pay you triple! You're throwing away a fortune here. Don't be a fool!"
Lando was there as well, and moved to grab Leia, who no longer wore the helmet. While Leia was the type to be defiant, Ari knew the fight she was putting up with Lando was just for show. He started to pull the Princess out of the room, until Jabba spoke.
Ari noticed that more creatures were appearing, having heard all the commotion and no one stopped Lando from bring Leia to Jabba. Now she really was struggling to get away. Lando might have allowed it, but another guard had grabbed Leia and was pulling her to Jabba.
Threepio, who was standing by Jabba seemed quite distraught, which was more than understandable.
"We have powerful friends. You're gonna regret this," Leia attempted to threaten him.
However, it was clear that he did not find it a very likely threat as he leaned slightly closer to Leia and Ari was disgusted to see how he was eyeing Leia, his tongue hanging out slightly. It made her stomach clench and Leia clearly was disgusted as well. She turned away from him with a sound that voiced such feeling.
"Ohhh, I can't bear to watch," Threepio moaned, turning away and Ari couldn't help but look away from a moment. She wished she could get Leia out of this situation. She could not even imagine what it was like to have the Hutt touch her with his small grubby hands or even what it was like being near him.
When she managed to look back a few seconds later, she saw that Leia was being pulled back from Jabba, who had said something to the others.
"I told you to stay in 'The Pit'," spoke a voice from beside her. It was Melina, who did not look happy to see her.
"Arica left though. I just decided to follow," Ari answered. She did not want to be on anyone's bad side. She had seen what the rancor had done to Oola.
However, a scan of the crowd did not show Arica among them. "I will deal with her later then." Melina looked about to continue, then she sighed. It appeared Jabba wanted her. While the conversation was in Huttese, they all knew what was going to happen. Leia was going to become a dancer girl, and since Jabba seemed to consider her beautiful, she might be chained like Oola. Ari could only hope she was wrong.
As she was led away, Leia caught Ari's eye. She clearly was nervous, but her brown eyes also showed determination. She had lost her entire homeworld and many friends. She had also managed to get Han out of carbonite. She would get through this too.
"There are a lot of drunken guests, you could use an escort," a voice spoke up beside her. It was Lando, his disguise still in place. Ari gave him a forced small smile. She was thankful that he was around, but now that Leia's cover was blown, Ari wondered what they could do now.
"Thank you," she nodded to him, as if he was a guard she did not know, letting him lead her back toward 'The Pit' and away from all the others.
"I can't stay long. I figure I should check on Leia and see if I can help," Lando told her when they were out of earshot of the others.
"That is fine. She might need a blanket or two. It can get cold here at night in those outfits," Ari suggested then paused. "So she is now Jabba's favorite?"
"Sadly," Lando sighed. "She only has to go along with it for a short time."
"I hope so," Ari muttered. It was not that she didn't have faith in Luke, but the odds were against them. However, they had not figured out that both Ari and Lando were not who they pretended to be.
"Hey, this is Luke. I've seen a big change in him since I first met him. We can do this," Lando tried to reassure her, and succeeded. She was a bit sad that she had not been able to keep track of Luke's progress, but she had seen the change right away. He was no longer Luke Skywalker, farmboy and dreamer, he was now Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight.
"You are right," Ari nodded. She had faith in Luke, not just as a Jedi, but as her best friend. He had never let her down before, and he would not start now.
"Do you happen to know what he is planning?" Lando asked, breaking her away from her thoughts as they got to the entrance of 'The Pit'.
"No," she shook her head. "But I am sure it is a good plan."
"Well, whatever his plan is, I hope it happens soon." He then bid Ari a good night and watched for a few moments to make sure there were no problems, then left to take care of Leia.
Ari went to her bed and laid down, wide awake. She knew that this had not been planned, but they had been in worse situations. At least Han was no longer frozen. That would help.
Even when she heard a few of the others come back and fall asleep, she found sleep hard. She knew she needed to sleep though and forced her body to slowly fall asleep. Before she did though, she whispered into the dark, almost inaudible. "Luke…please come soon."