"The Courtship Of Princess Leia (Dave Wolverton)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Wolverton Dave)

The silence on the floor of the hall seemed heavy, ominous. More than two
hundred ambassadors from the worlds of Hapes stood on the promenade, and Han
marveled at them, for once again he was impressed by their grace, by their
beauty, by their strength. Until today, he had never seen a Hapan. Now he would
never forget them.

No one spoke as the Hapans held their silence. Han waited to hear what they
would ask in return. His blood thrilled, for he realized they could only want
one thing: a pact with the Republic. The Hapans would ask the Republic to join
an all-out war against the combined might of warlords who served as the last
remnants of the Empire.

Leia leaned forward from her throne, looked over the gifts approvingly. "You
said that you had gifts from all sixty-three of your worlds," Leia told the
ambassador, "but I see here gifts from only sixty-two. You have offered me
nothing from Hapes itself."

Han was shocked by the remark. He had lost count of the gifts long ago, stunned
by the wealth the Hapans offered, and now Leia's comments seemed churlish,
greedy. He expected the Hapans to scoff at her bad manners, take everything, and
leave.

Instead, the Hapan ambassador smiled warmly, as if pleased that Leia had
noticed, and looked up and held Leia's eyes. She spoke, and Threepio translated,
"That is because we have saved our greatest gift for last."

She motioned with her hand, and all the Hapan ambassadors stepped aside,
clearing the aisle. Without fanfare, without the music of horns, only in silence
did they bring their last gift.

Two women, modestly dressed in black with silver ringlets in their dark hair,
came from the ship. A man walked between them. He wore a silver circlet that
held a black veil in front of his face, and his long, blond hair fell down
around his shoulders. The man was bare-chested except for a small silk half-cloak
fastened with silver clasps, and in his muscular arms he carried a large, ornate
box of ebony inlaid with silver.

He brought the box and set it on the floor. He sat on his haunches, hands
resting lightly on his knees, and the women pulled back his black veil. Beneath
it was the most incredibly handsome man that Han had ever seen. His deep-set
eyes were a dark blue-gray, like the color of the sea on the horizon, and
promised wit, humor, wisdom; his powerful shoulders and firm jawline were
strong. Han realized that this must be some high dignitary from the royal house
of Hapes itself. The ambassador spoke, "Hapesah, rurahsen Ta'a Chume, elesa
Isolder Chume'da." ("From Hapes, the queen mother offers her greatest treasure,
her son Isolder, the Chume'da, whose wife shall reign as queen.")

Chewbacca growled and in the crowd below everyone seemed to talk at once, an
uproar that swelled in Han's ears like the sound of a storm.