Leia couldn't breathe. The heavy rock that crushed her chest was too much. In the hours since the medal ceremony, there had been a flurry of events. The Empire knew where they were, so preparations were hastily being made to move to another planet. There was a small feast for the rebel fighters that was filled with many congratulations and sorrows to her about Alderaan. She nodded and muttered "Thank You's," but she was still numb. The whirlwind of what was happening was enough of a distraction.
But now the princess with no kingdom was collapsed on a bed somewhere in the base, waiting for the go-ahead to abandon planet. And now the ice was thawing. It came back in waves- the horror of the ship being captured by the Empire, the torture droid, Darth Vader's strong grip on her shoulder as her home was blown to oblivion, getting her death sentence. Then there was golden haired boy and the tall smuggler and his hairy friend. Obi-Wan's demise. The eventual destruction of the Death Star.
Each wave came stronger than the last, until the girl was curled up in a ball, her arms wrapped around herself in hopes that it would ward off the past. Her tears blurred her vision, created rivers on her rosy cheeks.
"Leia?" A soft voice came from the door. Luke. The farm boy who was a little too short to be a stormtrooper. Who had saved her life twice in the short amount of time they had known each other. Luke walked in, keeping a respectful distance from the grieving princess. Leia sat up, hastily wiping the tears from her cheeks.
"Hm, what's up?" She chirped, but her voice was cracking. Luke looked at her with sad blue eyes, and then glanced down, shrugging his shoulders.
"Nothing. I was just wandering the halls and I ended up here." Leia nodded. The boy had gone through his own trauma too, losing his family and mentor, and being the only one from his squad to survive the Death Star destruction.
"D-Do you need anything? Food? Kaffe?" Luke asked quietly, taking a step closer. Leia shook her head.
"I don't know what I need anymore. There's nothing in this galaxy that I-" Leia choked out, her throat closing. Luke sat next to her on the bed holding her delicate hand in his calloused one.
"Don't say that. It feels like that now, and that's ok, but someday you will find something that you want," Luke whispered. Tears brimmed the princess' eyes.
"It's all my fault. My father wanted someone else to go," she cried, and Luke pulled her into his arms. Her sobs shook her small body. Luke stroked her back, needing the hug as much as she did.
"It's my fault too. I should've never persuaded Uncle Lars to buy that R2 unit." Luke pulled back, his eyes meeting her dark brown ones.
"But if we were with our folks, we would have died too." Leia looked down, wiping her face.
"Sometimes I wish I had been on Alderaan when it blew." Luke grabbed her shoulder, shocked by her response.
"Don't say that! Without you-" Luke paused, looking up at the ceiling. Leia looked at him, trying to figure out what he was doing.
"What, Luke?" The farm boy squinted his eyes, then looked at Leia.
"What's that noise? It doesn't sound like the air system or the comm." Leia listened, and sure enough, there was a soft noise that she knew instantly.
"Oh, that's just the rain. Anyways-" Luke jumped up, his eyes wide.
"Rain? Like the water that falls from the sky?" Leia chuckled, a small smile coming to her face.
"Yeah. Have you ever seen-oh!" Luke suddenly grabbed Leia's hand, pulling her to her feet. The ran down the narrow hallways of the base, barely containing their giggles. Finally, they reached the door that led outside. Leia stayed behind as Luke ran out into the storm.
Luke could hardly take in what he was experiencing. Back on Tatooine, they had to physically suck the moisture out of the air to have enough water, and people still died from dehydration. Here, there was enough water falling that he could take off work for a year. The desert boy raised his face to the clouds, arms outstretched, feeling the cool drops fall.
Leia watched from the door as Luke jumped around like a little kid, opening his mouth to catch a drink and jumping in the puddles. There was no worry on his face, no fear in his eyes. Only pure enjoyment. After a good while, Luke turned to her, his soaking hair dangling in front of his eyes.
"Leia! Get out here! You'll feel a thousand times better!" The princess shook her head.
"I've played plenty of times in the rain. When I was five." Luke's hands slapped to his sides, his lips pursing. There was something about him, she couldn't put her finger on it. Being with him...it just felt right. Was this what love felt like?
"For goddess sakes, Leia, who gives a kriff if your dress gets muddied? Live a little!" Leia rolled her eyes, but her mind was made. Screw it. There's no one to stop me now anyways. She stepped out from under the doorway and gasped, the cool rain sliding down her back and drowning her shoes. Luke sloshed over to her, taking her hand and dragging her to the center of the small clearing. The princess couldn't help but smile. If anyone saw them, they must look ridiculous. Luke was now whooping and hollering, letting out almost maniacal laughs when the thunder boomed overhead.
Leia ran towards the farm boy, whose back was turned to her. She was just about to sling her arms around his shoulders when he turned unexpectedly, sending the Princess to the ground. She landed with a disgusting squish, Luke's jaw dropping open in shock. Leia could feel the mud seeping through the dress. No doubt this would be going in the trash later.
"I-I'm so sorry, Leia...I, uh, I didn't see you there," Luke stammered, leaning over her and lowering and arm. Leia pretended to look offended, and when Luke's face got close enough, her hands flew from the ground, spattering mud all over his cheeks. Now Leia was the one to cackle, bringing herself to her knees as Luke tried to register what just happened.
"It's good for exfoliation," Leia remarked sarcastically, a devious smile on her face. Luke looked her in the eye with a just as mischievous expression./
"Oh, it's on, Princess." The two of them scrambled to their feet, mud clenched in both hands. Luke was surprised at what a good arm Leia had. If she had been with him on Tatooine, she would have been the star player on the handball team.
Leia could taste the wet, grimy soil in her mouth and felt it in her hair. Yet, she didn't care how long it would take to wash out or how long there would be dirt stuck in her teeth. In fact, she felt light. She felt...free.
It was when Luke tried to dodge one of her throws and fell crashing into a bush that they decided to end the fun before someone got hurt. Leia pulled Luke out of the bush, smiling as she helped him pull out the leaves and twigs tangled in his soaking wet hair.
"Truce?" She asked, still holding his strong, calloused hand.
"Truce. Til' next time, of course," Luke agreed, and both walked back into the base on Yavin. It was nighttime, so they tried to sneak quietly down the hallways, elbows linked. It was hard to suppress the giggles that threatened to wake up the entire base. Suddenly, they turned a corner and almost rammed into Han, who raised his eyebrows at them when he saw what they looked like.
"Hey Han," Leia snickered.
"We were- we were just exfoliating," Luke explained, trying to stay serious. Leia couldn't help it though, and soon enough she and the farm boy were cracking up again, as Han watched in confusion.
"Okay...well, I'm going to bed. Nite," Han grumbled before sauntering down the hallway. The pair tumbled into Leia's room, spreading mud and water all over the grey concrete floor. Leia turned to Luke.
"That was a lot of fun. Thank you," she whispered, realizing how much better she felt. Luke grinned, picking a chunk of dirt off her head.
"Anytime. Now, get some sleep, alright?"
"Alright," she replied, before closing the door. Looking in the mirror, she almost didn't recognize herself. Her usually perfect braids were undone and streaked with mud, and her once white dress was now stained brown. It didn't matter though. She had escaped, at least for a little while, from the nightmare that was her life. Her smile didn't leave her face as she walked into the fresher for a good long shower.