Leia covers her face with her hands. Today has been terrible, and the sharp pain in the back of her throat mocks her cruelly. She lets her hands drop to her sides, and she stares at the ceiling, bored. The packed ice and snow that makes up the walls, floor and ceiling is so white, it's almost blue. She begins to wonder if her lips are still blue, like they were last night. A painful cough forces its way out of her chest, and she groans. She coughs again, and then once more. The rebels arrived on Hoth three days ago, and she's had this sore throat since then. She breathes in as deep as she can, but her chest feels too heavy, like a Wampa is sitting on it. C-3PO had informed everybody of her sore throat and cough, and nobody has come to her quarters to see her since. Not even Han. Sure, Threepio would come in once in a while yesterday to make sure she wasn't dead, but she thinks that human contact would feel much better.
She rolls over on her side and yawns. She doesn't know what time it is, only that it's either late morning or early afternoon. She had only left her room once today, and that was to use the bathroom. She noticed on her way there and back, though, that everyone seemed to be avoiding her. She shakes her head at the thought. It's just a sore throat, probably from the cold air. It's not like she has the Blue Shadow Virus! She coughs again, and sighs. Her voice sounds an octave lower than usual, and she almost laughs at herself when she tries to sing a few lines of a song stuck in her head. She hasn't spoken out loud to anybody but Threepio, and she doesn't plan to speak to anybody else if she doesn't have to. On the other hand, though, she would like somebody to speak to. She's the princess for crying out loud! She decides that having company would just be pointless, if she can't speak to them anyway. She closes her eyes. Might as well have a nap. Nothing better to do. She pulls the thick woollen blanket over her shoulders and tries her best to settle down.
"Princess," she hears a man's voice in her dream. "Your Highness. Your worshipfulness...Leia!" her eyes snap open. She closes her mouth after realizing it's open. She wipes her mouth and turns over to see Han Solo sitting at her bedside. He gives her a lopsided grin. "It's about time you woke up. Say, do you always sleep with your mouth hanging open like that? I thought I saw a couple bugs fly in!" She crinkles her eyebrows and gives him her best 'I'm-not-impressed' look.
"Hmmm," is all she can manage. She doesn't want Han making fun of her voice, too. Han laughs.
"I'm just teasin', Princess!" She relaxes her face, and nods. "What's the matter? Wampa got your tongue?" She opens her mouth to speak, but then closes it. She shrugs. Han scoots closer to her. "Aww," he says, the tone of his voice suddenly softening. "Throat hurts?" She nods. For once, he almost sounds sympathetic. He lightly runs a finger down the cold skin of her throat, and rests his palm against the side of her neck. "Open your mouth." Leia shakes her head. "C'mon, Leia." She rolls her eyes and opens her mouth a little. Han squints, looking into the back of her throat.
"You have no tonsils." she closes her mouth at his comment. She had her tonsils removed when she was just a little girl, after a bad sore throat had caused her and her father to miss a few too many important senate meetings. "Interesting," Han says. "I'm not a doctor, but I'll tell you what-" he stands up and tickles Leia under her chin. She turns her head away. "I'll be right back."
He returns with a cup of water in one hand, and a packet of salt in the other. He sits down on the bed and tears the salt packet open. Leia watches the white crystals swirl around the steaming water, and then disappear. He's not going to make me drink that, is he? Han hands her the cup. It is warm against her palm, and she wonders how he managed to find something this warm in Echo Base.
"Swish this around in your mouth, but don't swallow it. Then, just gargle what's left in the back of your throat. You'll feel better right away." He rubs her forearm, and stands up. Leia taps him on the hand before he takes a step to leave. He turns around. She gives him a smile.
"Thank you," she whispers. Han winks.
"No problem, Princess. You'll be back to arguing with me in no time!"