Star Wars: Lightforce

Chapter 13

The sun filtered through the thin muslin drapes that hung at the royal bedroom window and a warm breeze enticed little hairs on Han's body to dance, waking him softly from sleep. He absent mindedly pulled the soft sheets up to cover himself and turned over, stretching out his arm. The space in the bed next to him was empty. Raising his head slightly from the pillow, he looked around the room to find himself alone, but the full length window was open to the balcony, the drapes blowing in the breeze.

He lay still for a while, watching the teasing glimpses of blue sky as they appeared through gaps in the billowing muslin. The tension of the day before had been washed away by their love making which had, in turn, made him incredibly sleepy. He momentarily closed his eyes again. Last night had been long awaited; the first time in a long time he and Leia had been afforded a few hours to spend together, uninterrupted by obligations, able to finally share each other. Her hands had played across his body like an expert, although he knew she wasn't one. Their bodies locked like perfectly fitting puzzle pieces. She had smelled like wild flowers and the hallucinatory smell of passion that his subconscious found irresistible. His body warmed as he played the experience over again in his mind and he took a deep breath of morning air.

Getting up, he pulled on his trousers and went to the window. Leia was sitting, mind wandering out over the state park beyond the balcony, hugging her knees through her silky, white robe, her long hair flowing down her back and spilling over the edge of the stone bench on which she was sitting. Her bare toes idly played with the material of her robe where it touched them, and the hide bound document she had brought with her from Thyfeera lay on the bench next to her. He leant against the stone window frame and watched her for a while, until she sensed his presence behind her and turned.

"Hey you," he said gently. She smiled, reaching out her hand for him to approach her and he came to sit behind her, enveloping her in his arms and resting his cheek on her hair. "What are you doing out here?" he asked. She turned on the seat, so that she was curled up against his bare chest, and regarded his face a moment.

"I was trying to make sense of everything; the disappearances, the meeting yesterday, this ceremony..." she sighed.

"And what did you come up with?"

"I am worried about the document and the report. I've been thinking that, if it was a message left a long time ago in the hope that I would one day find it, it is very unlikely to have been successful. That only leaves the possibility that someone has created this intricate fake and placed it there recently with the intention that it should get back to me, and the only reason I can think of for doing that is to draw me somewhere. It could be an elaborate trap." Han squeezed his lips together and nodded. It sounded like a reasonable deduction.

"Maybe we should just drop it then. Not risk the chance that you're right."

"I don't think I can," she looked concerned. "I can't help thinking about those children and the fact there may be more." He breathed out slowly.

"What about the ceremony?"

"I think I'm going to have to do it, if only to get Luke the crystal. It's important that he keeps it safe. I just have a bad feeling about it. I felt something yesterday but I don't know what."

"I thought you did." She looked into his face a moment.

"If I do this, will you please be there? I don't want to do it by myself."

"Sure, Leia. If you want me to be." She reached up and squeezed his arm.

"You said you wanted a taste of what it was like for me at Aldera Palace. You're about to get a whole plateful." Han took a deep breath and let it out again, smiling wryly. He had wanted to know more about her past but didn't want it to be at the risk of her happiness. He could feel her underlying tension and it was, in turn, making him uneasy.