thefinaljedi | Appointments

[Leia looks at him for a moment and the hurt of Han's betrayal is written all over her face.]

He admitted that he forcibly removed me from my quarters on Coruscant to go to this planet after this Isolder tried to bribe him.

[The remark about being bad with her feelings was true, but that hurt as well.]

I've made every effort I know how to be with Han when we could. My work is important. So is his. I was under the impression that he understood that. I see now that I was mistaken.

[It's true, though. You work too hard, Leia.

Still, he can't help but wince slightly. And... he just has point out some things.]

Well, first of all, Isolder did try to bribe him and he had every right to take offense to that. Second, you know that if you'd really demanded it, Han would have taken you back. Honestly Leia, do you really think he'd be able force you to do anything? He loves you, he dotes on you. Do you honestly believe that if you'd really wanted to marry Isolder that he'd not accept your decision?

[Luke stops, his tone turning a bit more serious, and a bit more distant. He can understand that she's angry...but what she's saying just isn't right.]

And third, your work is important, and Han feels the same way so don't think that. Our work is important, but something I've learned in the last few years is that our family is too. I was with him through most of the Thrawn campaign, and during Daala's rampage across the Galaxy. He put himself into more than a few deadly dangerous situations to stop some of the worst threats to the Galaxy since Palpatine, and every single time his thoughts weren't about his own life or feelings. They were about the betterment of the people of the New Republic.

And, if I might add something Han probably neglected to mention, without you and Han on Dathomir, Zsinj would have destroyed all life on that planet. Prince Isolder and myself included. And the Hapan military would have been caught in a trap by Zsinj. I don't know the specifics of what transpired between you, and it's not my business, but I can say that one way or another the Force probably guided the pair of you to Dathomir.

[Leia sits down on the ground, a little of her anger dispersed in the length of Luke's lecture. He has more than one point, but he's also taken something she said out of context.]

I never said that he was wrong to be insulted by Isolder's bribe. I find that a bit disgusting myself. I am not anyone's property to be bartered for. Since Han probably never saw fit to tell me this, I can't answer for that.

[As she continues, she finds a way to control her emotions so that she can continue talking. A certain amount of passion is needed for politics but it's a hindrance for a Jedi. She knows this.]

I know that he loves me and I know that he's a good man. He's also stupid and doesn't think things through. He's impetuous and takes risks that would kill anyone else. It's only his sheer dumb luck that's kept him alive through most of his misadventures and we both know it.

I thought that he understood that I love him. I don't know many women who'd go against Jabba the Hutt to rescue the man they love. Kidnapping me seems to show that he doesn't at that time.

[She shakes her head, trying not to cry. Tears would do no good here. They would merely make it harder for her to continue on.]

The fact that this is the future for me and the past for the two of you is hard enough. I can see by the way he looks at me here that he cares for me like no other man will. That...is a little frightening but exciting too. However, it doesn't excuse his stupidity and lack of faith in me.

[He isn't able to read her perfectly all the time.]

Leia, his faith in you never wavered or he wouldn't have done what he did. Anyone who didn't love him would've had him arrested at best. Not to mention, he did what he did, in part, to keep you safe. Part of it was selfish, and you know him. He's impetuous, you're right, and impulsive. And he's dogged about keeping you save. The Queen Mother was planning to have you assassinated, and I know for certain that NRI had gotten wind of the plot.

Just...remember that Han's an idiot sometimes, but he does what he does for a good reason.

Edited 2014-07-28 02:25 (UTC)

[She looks up at him and lets out an annoyed laugh.]

You know, it would be nice if you two told me these things. I'm not stupid or helpless. But you're right that if I'd decided that I didn't love him, I could easily have him arrested or worse for a stunt like this.

I never said you were helpless or uninformed. You were apprised of the situation from what I remember, and Isolder told me this while I was in Hyperspace and you were already on Dathomir.

I'm almost afraid to ask how the rancor and Force sensitive women you mentioned fit in.

[She stands, feeling tired and lonely and still hurt, despite the fact that talking to Luke has helped.]

I'm sure that nothing good can come from knowing the future. I'm not sure how you deal with it.

There are tribes of Force sensitive women there, calling themselves Nightsisters. They ride rancors.

[Simple and dumb explanations are often the best.]

And...you know the only person here from my future is Han. And it's apparently been a relatively quiet two years.

[She just stares at him for a few moments, absorbing what she heard and trying to make it sound clear to her.]

They ride rancors. I didn't know what was possible.

And, that's not what I mean. I've heard stories about some Jedi being able to see flashes of the future. Has that never happened to you?

It is. Through the Force, anything is.

[He would know.]

And as to that, yes. I do have moving visions of the future sometimes, and if I concentrate hard, I'm able to see into the future for a few seconds with some real clarity. But...always in motion, the future is.

Not everything.

[The Force couldn't return her home world and all the murdered people who'd been innocently living their lives there before Moff Tarkin and Vader had blown it up before her very eyes. Even after six years, there's hole in her heart that will never be filled.]

My father...Bail Organa told me that one of the old masters of the Jedi Knights could see the future. Well, possible futures he believed that could happen.

[Luke shakes his head.]

We can, yes. But again, not with any real clarity. As I said, the future is never written in stone. It moves and changes with each action and reaction. Predicting it accurately is impossible."

So, what you're saying is that it's a skill that's not really worth attempting to train or to consider useful.

[She can feel a headache building with this talk, but she pushes it back. She will not let it distract her.]

I can't just stop being angry, Luke. Good intentions or not...It's not easy for me.

I didn't say that, Leia. It's just not something you can count on to give you all the answers. And not one you can control, either. The Force will share visions with you when it wants to.

[He just shakes his head.]

It's not easy for anyone, Leia. But it's something you have to learn to do. Anger leads to the Dark Side, and that is not a road you want to walk down. Ever.

I've never relied on something I couldn't verify to help me. Force visions always sounded like magic to me. It was hard to take them seriously to be honest.

[She knows the wisdom in what he's saying. She really, truly does.]

No, I don't want to end up like Anakin. Or worse. But this will take more than just a night to get over. Even if it works out in the end, even if it's what the Force wanted, I will have to deal with it in the way that I can, when I can.

Besides, I have time now.

The Force isn't magic, Leia. It's just alive, and it guides us how it wants.

[~~Despite what Troy Denning might tell us.~~]

And no, it won't be easy, but it will work out. I don't want to sound patronizing, but you will calm down. You do that, you know. You have Father's temper. And Mother's ability to let it go.

I know the Force isn't magic. Now. But as a child, it was all so fantastical.

[She closes her eyes and lets a few moments of silence pass.]

You're not patronizing. Despite not growing up together, I think you know me better than even Winter does. It would be scary if I didn't know you a little.

Well, it's been a decade or more by my time now, I think I've gotten to know you in that time. We are twins, after all.

Yes, we are twins.

[Which is still a little strange if she stops to think about it. She'd felt a connection with Luke from the moment he and Han showed up on the Death Star to rescue her. Ever since learning the truth on Endor's moon, everything makes a lot more sense to her.

And it would continue to do so, it appears.]

This is still very strange. All of it.

All of what? Family? Luceti? Han?

All of the above.

[She says it with a slight teasing tone. She's still angry, but it's hard to keep up that with Luke for some reason.]

Han is, of course, the strangest of them all.

[Luke snorts a laugh.]

Nah, wait till you meet Mara. Or Talon.

[She raises an eyebrow at him in annoyance. One day, perhaps, comments like that won't irk her so much.]

For now, Han still retains his title as strangest member of this...family. Even the Bantha is more normal.

[There, she's conceded that he's part of the mess that is the Skywalker family. Progress.]

...hold on. You're forgetting someone.

Oh? Who's that?

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