into the chaos! → luke skywalker ✓

xvi. the much more chaotic and dangerous plan b

⋆☆* ✧✰.✦

CAS'S HEART NEARLY STOPPED the next morning as she saw Leia perched on the stairs right in front of Jabba the Hutt, chained to him and wearing the most demeaning outfit she had ever seen. A white-hot surge of anger shot through her and it took every ounce of restraint within her to keep from breaking cover and going after him then and there. Even with Luke's planning, Leia being his slave had never been part of the equation—or perhaps Luke had thought of it but decided to spare Cas the thought. Regardless, seeing her friend in such a position and being unable to do a damned thing about it made her feel sick. She was supposed to be protecting Leia, even if that wasn't her official job anymore. If something happened to her, she'd never forgive herself.

At least Han was free of the carbonite and Cas and Lando's covers were still in tact. That information, along with the fact that she trusted Luke knew what he was doing, was enough to bring her at least some comfort. The plan may have taken a detour, but they still had a chance.

Speaking of her cover, Granger really hadn't been kidding when he said he wanted to treat her. Whether because of that or because he wanted to admire her in a different outfit (she was still suspicious of his true desires), he had bought a dark purple dress for her to wear that day. It was tight at the chest but the skirt was thin and flowy with a slit in front of her right leg. It was an elegant thing, not to mention it was genuinely comfortable and she could still fight in it. She obviously wouldn't keep, she was far too stubborn for that, but perhaps she would look for something similar once everything was over.

Granger never let her out of his sight, and she couldn't tell whether it was because he was just that infatuated with her or because he wanted to show ownership of his property. She hated not knowing what type of a man she was dealing with, but she also didn't want to find out the hard way, either. After all, knocking out her mark in the middle of Jabba's receiving room would only make their situation worse.

"You really do look magnificent," he purred into her ear, and a shiver went down her spine at the way his breath rolled against her neck. They had scored a table that day and were sitting watching people wander about. His hand hadn't moved from her bare thigh, and really she was just grateful he hadn't decided to move it upward. Lila would have loved it, but it very well could have been the last straw for Cas, who was on edge enough as it was.
"Tonight, what do you say we finish what we started last night, hm? Before all the unpleasantness..." To her surprise, he trailed off, for something else had caught his attention. Cas followed his gaze and her heart leapt in her chest as she watched Luke descend the stairs into the room, looking as confident and mysterious as ever. For just a moment their eyes met, then he turned to the crime boss at the center of the room.

"At last! Master Luke's come to rescue me," Cas heard poor C-3PO say from where he stood behind Jabba the Hutt. She missed the droid, honestly; due to his inability to keep quiet they hadn't told him the plan, but they had told him Cas would be there on a separate mission and he was not to blow her cover.

"I must be allowed to speak," said Luke with a great deal of confidence behind his words. Cas had never seen him so sure of herself; suddenly, even with the bounty hunter's hand on her thigh, she didn't feel so on edge anymore. He had always been so gentle and awkward around Cas that she didn't even really how much he had changed until that very moment. He had truly grown into a proper Jedi Knight, one the boy from Tatooine she met several years earlier wouldn't have recognized.

Bib Fortuna spoke briefly with his master, only to be pushed aside and called a fool, for he had clearly been taken advantage of by a Jedi mind trick. Luke turned to address Jabba directly, staring at him with a steely gaze.