Untangle the Lies, You Must

9~Discovery and Uncovering (Part Two)

I chuckled. "I didn't forget you, Chewie. Jabba caught the Wookie too but he and Han were never separated." I knew what was coming once I realized how far in the story we were but I took a breath and plunged in deeper. I immersed into my side of the story. "Jabba had caught us because Darth Vader was after me and the price over my head was more than tempting." I sighed and looked at the expressions. "It was signaling my doom and Jabba's new wealth."

Obiwan's face had distorted into one of horror and alarm. "You never told me that."

I shrugged and shifted my weight. "I never tell you every detail, just like you."

His blue eyes flashed in irritation. I could tell he was loosing patience quickly once more. "You should have told me that, at least, Eliza."

Luke was gaping at me and interrupted my exchange with Obiwan. "Then what happened? I guess it's safe to assume that Vader never got you."

Obiwan cast Luke an encouraging expression this time while I glared a final time at Obiwan before wincing and seeing Han's ears turn a very interesting shade of red. I sighed and looked into Luke's curious blue eyes. "Patience, Luke. When I discovered Darth Vader himself was after me, I had to see if I ever did anything to put me so high on the Empire's list Darth Vader felt like he needed to push me back down or take me off of it." I linked my hands together in my lap and looked at Han. "Out of everyone in the galaxy, I only expected Jabba and a few bounty hunters to want me because of the profit they would make. I had no idea why the Sith Lord was after me."

Everyone was quiet now. Even Han gave me an imploring look and begged me to continue. I did just that. "After Han and Chewie were separated from me, I could only assume that they were retained because Jabba presented me to Darth Vader very... elaborately. The Hutt wouldn't reveal anything to me other than Darth Vader held a bounty on my head and he wanted to collect it." Absentmindedly, I turned the ring over on my finger. "So, the Sith came and he escorted me to a room in Jabba's Palace while he talked privately with the Hutt. When he came back to me, he told me you had left, Han. He told me you had believed Jabba."

Han's brown eyes softened but there was hurt circling in their dark depths. There was something else churning in his system that was expressed when his fists clenched. Anger. "Jabba told me that you were leaving with Darth Vader. He told me that you had been lying to me since the day I met you."

I snarled at the dark note in his voice even though it was aimed mostly at Jabba and Vader. The rest was aimed at me for believing what Vader told me but we were both in a similar situation and I had actually been told a slither of the truth. "You did believe what Jabba had told you? I was told the truth, you weren't there, and that's why I never found you again. You didn't trust me."

Luke and Obiwan both bristled at those words, although I had believed what Vader said without a second doubt before I walked the  halls and prisons for him and never found him. My jaw locked. Han visibly cringed when he looked to Chewbacca and he didn't defend Han. Han turned to me with visibly agonized eyes. "How could I? Jabba told me you were a Jedi."

Obiwan and Luke froze now and both of them turned their heads toward me. My face plastered over into stone as I replied harshly but less emotionally, "Do I look like a Jedi? Jabba lied to you."

Han retaliated, "So do you."

Of course, Han knew I could lie well. It was something he found valuable while smuggling goods. But now he had thrown it at me to defend himself. I leaned forward/diagonally into Han's face with my hands and elbows on the table and spoke in the cold tone I had used on the man only a few moments ago. "Do you believe the Hutt or the person that loved you, Han Solo?"

He blinked. His breath had left him but his pupils were dilated, whether out of fear or lust at how close I was is uncertain. He leaned closer into my face as he collected himself. Our noses brushed but neither of us refused to give the other ground. Humor had unsurprisingly found its way into his voice as he said, "Well, when you put it like that-"

There was a laughing roar as Chewie slapped his hairy hand on Han's head. Our noses bumped each other's cheeks but I couldn't withdraw fast enough to prevent the feeling of his warm lips briefly on my own. My skin tingled from the touch and Han's fingers traced his own lips when he sat back as he shot Chewie a hard look that the Wookie laughed off.

A blush had crept its way onto my cheeks and made my skin burn. Obiwan cleared his throat as a vague reminder that he was here. My eyes looked him and Luke over. Luke's own cheeks were red from watching what had just occurred. His blue eyes were measuring Han up as if he was a challenge and he was. Correction, he was a shield blasters wouldn't penetrate.

"You never told us why Darth Vader was after you, Eliza." Obiwan's voice was careful. He was being cautious but there was hardly any point in it. I was going to explain it.

Everyone's attention was on me again as I tried my best to ignore the blush still controlling my cheeks. "He wanted me alive. He made that part very clear and he was not interested in Han or Chewie." Han honestly looked a little offended by that statement. "He believed I had contacts in the rebellion. Very significant ones." I looked at Obiwan. Luke knew him best as Ben Kenobi while I referred to him as his real name, which might be a bad idea at this place. But I had almost slipped up and the look I was giving Obiwan said it all. "It took a while before I had him believe I either didn't know anything or I wasn't going to budge because my loyalty was too far bound. I prefer to believe the latter because no one can simply lie to a Sith Lord. Then, he kept me. I was trained in combat with Imperials using various weapons and he kept me under single guard with a rotation of troops from the same legion. Which is why I can train you, Luke, and why I am so skilled, Ben, in case you ever really wondered. Eventually, there was a day when the guard never came and an Imperial I had trained with and trusted came for me. We both fled together and he joined the rebellion. I followed him a year later." I still remembered that sandy look in his elder sandy eyes as the agent came back for me. "His name was Kallus."

Wow that was a lot of dialogue.