The moment the men trooped away, following their master, a touseled
brown head popped out of one of the seats. “All clear.” Han
pushed the seat off, revealing him and Luke.
“It's a good thing you had these compartments.” He and Cecil had
joined Han in the right seat. Ben was already helping Arthur and a
cramped Chewbacca out of the left one.
“I use them for smuggling,” Han explained. “Never thought I'd
be smuggling myself in them.”
Luke just barely managed to climb out of seat in the silver armor.
“Well, now what do we do? The Imperials will be back here any
minute!”
Han grinned. “You know...we might be able to use those guys.”
Arthur's fingers were flying. Cecil stretched his long limbs as he
translated his friend. “Pardon Arthur and me, Captain Solowolf, but
just what do you mean by that?”
“This.” He popped his head out of the stables. “They're coming
back. Three of them. I think we can take them.”
Indeed, the three soldiers barely had the time to cry out before one
was felled by an arrow in the arm, another was hit over the head with
a sword, and the third had a hairy hand around his neck. Han, Cecil,
and Chewbacca put on the armor right away, making use of Ben's magic
to get it to fit the muscular horse-man. Luke and Ben used what
little magic they had to make their own armor more closely resemble
the white and black pieces worn by the Imperial army.
Cecil and Arthur bound the men with rope and rags, then piled hay
over them. Arthur's fingers flew. “We were able to ask the men a
few questions before we gagged them,” his taller friend explained.
“They're keeping Princess Leia in the Death Tower. Castle
scuttlebutt has it that Lord Vader has personally ordered her to
remain there until such time she agrees to wed the King Palapatine,
the ruler of this country. It's quite against her will, apparently.
She has no desire for such a union to take place, but His Lordship is
firm in allying the Kingdom of Aldran to the Kingdom of the Empire.”
“So he can take over the lands for both,” Han finished. “Pretty
typical for royalty.”
“Oh no!” Luke wailed. “That poor girl. That's worse than
choosing your husband at a ball. We have to rescue her!”
“What about all those guards out there?” Han reminded him. “Not
to mention Vader. And unless you two have enough magic left to get us
over that wall, we're going to need to get the drawbridge open.”
Ben pulled out his sword. “Leave that to me.”
Luke leaped to his side. “I want to come with you.”
“No, Luke. You help the others rescue the Princess. She, the
servants, and that message have to be delivered to the Rebels, or the
remaining Seven Kingdoms will suffer the same fate as Aldran.” Ben
put a hand on the boy's shoulder, even as he protested. “Our
destinies are on different paths from here on, my boy. Put your faith
in the Force...and in yourself. You're stronger than you believe.”
Luke watched sadly as Ben went in the opposite direction from them,
toward the front of the castle.
Han took his arm. “Kid, if we're gonna do this, we have to get
goin' now. Let the old man do what he has to do.”
“All right.” The five men hurried along the courtyard, trying to
look like ordinary soldiers. It wasn't easy when one of them was
smaller than the average soldier, one of them was thinner, one was
far larger, and one was in a footman's uniform, but they somehow
managed to avoid the regular guards.
Han lead the group, his longbow slung as casually over his shoulder
as possible in armor. “Does anyone know where we're going? This is
a big courtyard.”
Arthur's fingers flew. He had grabbed an apron back in the stables
and thrown it over his uniform to appear less conspicuous. Not that
it helped much. The apron was almost twice as large as he was, more
resembling a dress on him than an an apron. He spoke with the fingers
of one hand while holding up the apron with the other.
“Arthur, slow down!” Cecil sounded exasperated. “You know I
have trouble translating when you talk with one hand.” Arthur made
a face, his gestures becoming a bit less rapid. Cecil turned to the
others. “He says he found out from one of the guards in the stables
that the Death Tower is in the back of the complex, the tallest tower
in the prison area.”
“That still doesn't give us much to work with, mate,” Chewbacca
snorted.
That was when Han heard an absolutely beautiful voice. “Hey, what's
that?” It was a woman's voice, a deep, gentle contralto. He'd never
heard anything that was more beautiful...or sadder.
Luke heard the music, too. “I've never heard such a pretty voice.”
Arthur was already weeping on Cecil's arm. “Please control
yourself, Arthur. You'll rust my armor!” Cecil turned to the
others. “The song she's performing is an old Aldran folk tune about
a young woman who was imprisoned by her jealous father, who had
killed her lover.”
Han made a face. “Not exactly your light listening.” Luke was
already darting towards the back of the Castle, following the voice.
The others hurried after him. “Kid, hold on! She's probably got a
hundred guards surroundin' her. We're gonna have to be careful.”
Luke stopped suddenly. His breath quickened. “No,” he gasped,
“not a hundred guards. Just one. A black magician...I can feel it.”
Han grabbed his arm. “How the hell are we gonna get past a black
magician?”
Chewbacca pulled them all back into an alley between two buildings.
“Mates, watch out! There's someone comin'!”
That someone was the Black Knight, the same imposing figure Luke saw
at the ball. It seemed rather odd for him to be carrying a picnic
basket, but there it was, a typical wicker specimen hanging over his
armored arm. He stopped before the tower and called to the one window
in his booming bass voice, “My daughter, let down your hair!” The
longest brown hair Luke ever saw dropped to the ground.
“Well, well.” Han smirked. “Looks like we have our way in.”
“Yeah, but what about Vader?” Luke rubbed his head. “His magic
is strong. I've never felt black magic like this.”
Han shrugged. “So we wait until the father-daughter moment's over.”
He turned to the others. “Is anyone here a good mimic? I'm not
great at imitations myself, but if one of us could sound like Big,
Dark, and Ugly out there, we might be able to get the Princess to let
down her hair and get us into the Tower.”
Luke grinned, despite his headache. “Oh, I love doing voices. I
used to mimic the stable masters for some of the other servants, and
I did the voices of farmers in Tatoon for my friends when I lived
there.”
Han nodded. “Perfect. Do you think you could manage Vader, kid?”
Luke shrugged. “I could try. I don't see any other way of us
getting in.”
A crash and a screech from the tower made them all jump. When Luke
looked up, Vader was climbing down the hair again. He carried the
basket again, but Luke could distinctly see a dent in it where it had
been thrown or kicked. Vader just looked angry. He stormed away from
the Tower, his black cape flowing behind him.
Cecil looked faint. “I'm not sure this is a good idea, Sir Luke. It
seems that Lord Vader left the Tower in a frightful temper. Princess
Leia does have a rather peppery temper herself. Perhaps we should let
her alone to calm herself before we attempt to remove her from the
premises.”
“We can't do that,” Han complained, “or we'll be here all day.
She's a princess. Who knows how long it'll be before she finishes her
tantrum?”
Luke nodded. “Han's right. It has to be now.” Still rubbing his
head, he crept to the Tower, making sure no guards were around before
he did so. “My daughter, let down your hair!” he yelled in the
deepest bass voice he could manage.
“Father,” called the beautiful voice from the Tower, “I told
you, I'm not speaking to you. And do you have a cold? Your voice
sounds strange.”
“Uh, no, daughter,” Luke said quickly, “but I wish to discuss a
matter of great importance.”
“That's what you always say.” There was a sigh, and then an
annoyed “very well,” and the velvety-brown tresses tumbled out of
the window.
It was far easier for Luke to climb the Princess's hair than it was
for Vader. He was smaller and lighter, and his armor wasn't as
cumbersome. Leia noticed, too. “Father?” she said as Luke pulled
himself towards the window, “did you finally take off some of that
armor? You're not as heavy as usual.”
Something was different about this one, though. It wasn't her father.
It was the shortest guardsmen she'd ever seen. Usually, the Kingdom
of the Empire prided itself on conscripting only the strongest and
heartiest young men in the land for its Imperial Army, but this one
was almost scrawny under his ill-fitting armor. She raised an
eyebrow. “Aren't you a bit small for a guardsman?”
“Your Highness?” The guard said hurriedly. “Oh...my armor is
different.” He pulled off the helmet. “I'm Luke Skywalker. From
the ball. I'm here to rescue you.”
Leia turned around in surprise. “The apprentice knight from the
ball! How did you get here? My father has guards everywhere...”
“Magic, Your Highness.” Luke had to wince at the state she was
in. Her white and silver lace gown had a jagged rip in the elbow
where an angry purple bruise was forming, and the skirt was dusty and
torn. He could see bruise marks on her wrists, and her eyes were
red-rimmed from crying. He gestured at the window. “I'll explain it
when we're on the ground. I brought the servants, and we have your
message to the Rebels. My master Ben Kenobi is getting the drawbridge
down...”
“Sir Benjamin Kenobi?” Leia now looked far more eager. “We have
to help him! Did you bring the rope?”
Luke blinked. “Rope?”
Leia nodded. “How else are we going to get down? I can't climb my
own hair.”
“I could try with my magic.” He concentrated. Luke was surprised
when Leia did, too, gently taking his hand in hers. There was a soft
blue light around their hand. When it subsided, a long, silken,
braided rope lay on the floor.
Leia smiled. “We did it!”
Luke looked up at her, surprised. “You can...you're....”
“Force-sensitive?” Leia was already pulling her massive locks
back into the two buns they were in at the ball. “Yes, I am. I can
perform magic, same as you. I don't often do it. I prefer to do
things the normal way. This is an emergency, though.” She grabbed
the rope, tied it to a hook in the window, and threw it over. “Come
on, White Knight.” Luke was too shocked to do anything but follow
her to the ground.
Unfortunately, they had no sooner descended than they were spotted by
a contingent of Imperial guards. Han and Chewbacca were already
exchanging arrows with them. Han had taken off his helmet,
complaining about the heat. Leia glared at him. “It figures you
wouldn't know how to conduct a proper rescue. You can't even behave
like a proper prince.”
“Hello to you too, Your Highness,” Han grumbled as he loaded
another arrow. “You know, it wouldn't hurt you be a little
grateful. The kid and I just saved your rear from that tower.”
“Well, you got in here,” Leia pointed out. “Do you have a plan
for getting out?”
Han just nodded at Luke. “He and the old man are the brains here,
sweetheart.”
Luke didn't have a chance to reply. Leia grabbed his cheap
Imperial-issue bow and quiver and shot a flurry of arrows at the
oncoming guards. “Do you at least have a carriage or a horse or a
way for us to escape?”
“Yeah.” Han sent a perfect arrow right into a trooper's uncovered
arm. “My carriage, the Falcon, is at the stables. It's guarded, but
we may be able to make a distraction of some kind.”
“Good enough.” Leia tossed Luke his bow and arrow. “Alright,
boys, concentrate. We're getting to the stables the quick way.”
Even as the troopers charged, there was a light around the group. To
their collective shock, by the time they made it to the spot where
the group stood, they had vanished. Only a burst of blue starlight
remained to show where they had been.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The six reappeared in the stables in the same blue light. Three
soldiers guarded the Falcon. Luke's sword, Han's bow and arrows, and
Chewbacca's fists made short work of them. Leia was stroking the
horses' manes, giving them the strangest looks.
She turned to the two men. “The horses are all right. The Imperials
did nothing to harm them. In fact, they fed them. They were upset
they didn't feed them cheese, though.” The princess' gaze turned
from one man to the other. “They told me they used to be mice.
There's only one way that could happen, and that's with Force magic.”
Han threw up his hands. “Don't look at us. That was the old man's
idea.”
“Ben!” Luke exclaimed. “We've got to find him! He isn't here!”
Han had shed his armor and was already climbing next to Chewbacca on
the driver's seat. Luke waved his hand, returning his armor to its
original silver color. “Kid, we'll pick him up at the drawbridge.
Everyone in who's getting outta here!” Leia jumped in the carriage.
Luke climbed on Tauntaun, stroking his whitish-gray mane and doing
his best to calm him.
Cecil wasn't having as much luck getting his armor off as he had
getting it on. Arthur did his best to help. “This is why I became a
butler, not a soldier!” the taller man wailed to his friend as he
tried to pull off the leg guards. “Ouch! You're twisting my leg,
you mop-headed ignoramus!”
Han made a face. “Are you two coming, or are you gonna keep playin'
with the armor for the rest of the night?”
“I'm sorry, Captain Solowolf,” Cecil fussed, “but we're doing
the best we...oh!” Arthur finally just opened the door, pushed his
friend inside head-first, and followed him in.
Han looked over his shoulder. “Ok, that's everyone but the old man.
We'll get him at the drawbridge. Let's go!”
Leia popped her head out the carriage door as they backed out of the
stables. “Doesn't it seem rather strange that there aren't more
guards here?”
Han nodded. “Yeah, you're right. I wonder where they all went?”
Several soldiers were running past them, even as they galloped across
the complex. “I think we're about to find out, mate.” Chewbacca
pointed towards the drawbridge, where the sounds of clanging metal
and clashing crystal could be heard.
Luke gasped. Ben and the Black Knight Vader were locked in fierce
combat, the light from their swords blazing in the oncoming night.
Ben's green sword glowed bright and strong against Vader's blood-red
saber. Just beyond them was the open drawbridge. Several soldiers
were already running over, drawn by the confusion.
“The circle is now complete,” Vader was saying. “When I last
fought you, I was but a learner. Now I am the master.”
“Only the master of evil, Black Knight.” Ben was doing his best
to defend the Black Knight's blows, but they were far stronger than
his. It had been years since the old knight had used his saber for
anything besides training Luke. “You can't win. If you strike me
down, I will only become more powerful.” Luke's eyes widened. Ben
saw him and drew back before turning to Vader. “You only sense part
of the Force magic. There's more to what we can do than power,
Vader.”
“I care nothing for your foolish light magic, old man,” Vader
snarled. “This game ends here.”
Ben only nodded. “I believe you're right.” Ben simply stepped
away, throwing his sword to the ground. “It is time for the game to
end.”
Luke screamed in horror when Vader's red saber sliced through Ben's
head...but though the helmet rolled to the ground, there was no head
in it. The gold and black armor clattered before Vader's feet, empty.
Ben had disappeared in a soft puff of blue smoke. Vader was still
checking the Master Force Knight's armor when he looked up...just in
time to see the Falcon rolling by him.
Han had all six horses going as fast as they could. Luke shot arrow
after arrow at the guards, venting all his anger and loss on the
soldiers. Four guardsmen were quickly raising the drawbridge. “Kid,”
Han yelled, “cut the chain on the drawbridge! They're tryin' to
keep us in!”
Luke concentrated. The blue crystals in his blade lit up with a glow
that brightened the inky darkness of midnight. He easily cut through
one chain, then the other. Even as he swung his sword, he swore he
heard Ben's voice. “Run, Luke,” it whispered, “run to the
Enchanted Woods. You'll be safe there.” Luke nodded, following
them. The Falcon and the horse flew down the mountain, speeding
towards the forest.
