She had always hated the sand. It was itchy and always managed to stick between her toes for weeks. Reina also despised the blistering heat of Tatooine, in fact, she hated everything about the violent desert planet. It had been her home for nearly ten years and still, she dreamed of returning to her true home, clinging to every memory she had of Naboo.
The chains on her wrists scratched her skin as she made her way around the shop, placing new ship parts on the counters. Reina stumbled as her chains pulled forward, nearly dropping the metal piece in her hands.
"You must be more careful Reina," Asto smirked, "that is expensive." He wrapped the links around his hand and pulled her closer to him.
"Not now Asto." She pleaded. "I have to put everything in place before Varan gets back."
"My father won't be back for hours." He yanked on the chain again, but she resisted. She knew it would only cause problems, but if she didn't get done, Varan would take her to the Hutt's for their form of sick entertainment. Asto frowned. She wasn't giving him what he wanted- and he always got what he wanted. He pulled again, this time with force enough to bring Reina to her knees.
It was all just one big cycle to her now. During the day, she would work tirelessly for Varan, an outlet for him to take out his anger on and at night she became Asto and his even more vulgar brother's favorite play thing. Everyday since she was thirteen, the only thing she had known was the end of a whip and the feel of dirty hands on her skin.
"We could always take this outside." Asto sneered. He dragged her across the rough floor before she had a chance to get to her feet.
"No." Reina said hastily, already beginning to feel the hard leather hitting her back. The cuffs had started to dig into her wrists leaving them raw and red. As she got closer she could smell the alcohol around him. His disgustingly filthy hand wrapped around her neck and lifted her up so she could feel his vile breath on her face.
"Then do as I say." He hissed and leaned his head towards her. The sound of someone clearing their throat was the most beautiful sound she had heard all day. "We're closed." Asto growled. The man shifted and placed a large bundle of Wuipui on the counter, his eyes never leaving the two of them. Asto smiled sickly and threw Reina back to the floor. "How can I help you?" As they spoke of repairing the man's ship, Reina brushed off and stood, searching for the parts the two were discussing.
Cassian had to keep himself from killing the store keeper right there. Watching him with that girl shouldn't have affected him so much, but an immeasurable anger had rushed over him. And the fact that she didn't even flinch when he touched her showed Cassian that she had seen so much worse.
The girl went into the back room, the store keeper's eyes following her greedily. Cassian's stomach twisted in disgust. His conscience battled, part of him wanting to simply get the parts his ship need and get off the forsaken planet, but the other half knew he couldn't leave her behind.
Logically he should have left and snuck around back, waiting for the girl to come out alone to avoid making a scene. But he knew what would happen once his back was turned. He couldn't sentence her to even one more minute in that hell. After Cassian spotted the parts he was looking for, he pulled his blaster from its holster and shot the man in the chest.
Reina screamed. She quickly put her arms over her head. He began grabbing ship parts and putting them in his bag.
"Take anything you want." Her voice was shaky and quiet. Without a word, he pointed his gun at her. She squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for the sound of the blaster. But when it did go off, she didn't feel anything. Opening her eyes, she found that the shot had cut the chains binding her in half, allowing her hands to move freely again. Shouts sounded from outside, a crowd of footsteps storming towards the shop.
"Is there a way out the back?" The man asked.
"There's a courtyard." She pointed in the direction of the door. He glanced behind him quickly before gently grabbing her arm, pretending not to the notice the scars and bruises. It made him feel better for killing the bastard.
"Wait." She pulled her arm away. "Why are you helping me?"
"You don't think I could just leave you with that pathetic excuse for a human?" Cassian scoffed. The shouts grew louder and he started down the hallway she had pointed to, this time taking her hand. It was rough and raw, even compared to his own. He turned every corner she instructed. Soon they reached the small outdoor area. Cassian grimaced and tightened his grip on her hand when he saw the long leather rope hanging on the wall, stained with dark red.
Reina felt the familiar stings on her back as she followed the stranger's gaze to the whip on the wall. She walked towards the opposite wall and looked up.
"We can climb over here." She knelt, locking her hands together. "I'll boost you up." He was hesitant, but she was stronger than she seemed. In the most theatrical manner, the crowd bust out of the building right as Cassian started to pull her up, one of the them nearly latching onto her barefoot as she scrambled over the wall. The alley was empty since most of the people had rushed into the store when they heard the shots.
"Who are you?" Reian asked, the man checking around the corner.
"My name is Cassian Andor." He responded quickly, not paying much attention to her since he was focussing on his escape plan. He finally decided the best way to get back to the ship. "This way." He started to move, but Reina stopped him.
"Wait." She started to dig around the sand.
"We don't have time." Cassian said angrily, his patients quickly running short.
"Just hold on. I left something here when I was first brought here. It's important to me." So he waited until she finally found what she was looking for; a long rectangular box that appeared to have no openings.
"You've got what you were looking for, now let's go!" Cassian grabbed her arm again, hoping she'd be able to keep up with him. Reina tucked the box in her belt and ran behind him, though she quickly passed his speed. They exited the alley and entered the main street. Reina turned, facing a group of seven stormtroopers, not that they paid any attention to her.
"Not that way." Cassian pulled her in the other direction. Walking their way, however, was Varan, and Asto's brother Zane.
"Not that way." Reina hissed but they had already been noticed.
"What the hell?" Varan shouted. The two and their gang of mindless minions started to charge the pair.
"Run!" Reina started down the street, careful to avoid the pack of stormtroopers. The street was crowded, making it difficult to move quickly, but creating the perfect cover. Reina ducked into an alley, Cassian nearly running into her when she stopped, both breathing heavily.
"So what about you?" Cassian wondered. She turned to him with confusion. "Your name." She caught a glimpse of the barrel of a gun over Cassian's shoulder, Zane's angry sneer at the trigger. She rammed into Cassian, sending both of them into the dirt, right as the shot went over their heads.
Cassian hit the ground hard, knocking the breath out of him. Reina landed on top of him, their faces only one movement away from touching. As his chest rose and fell, she slightly moved with every breath he took.
"Well Cassian Andor," She whispered, "the names Reina Tolderyn and I believe I just saved your life." She jumped up, holding out her hand, but he got up himself, giving her an irritated glare. Zane had started towards them, but was stuck between the stormtroopers and the crowd. Rerouting the plan, Cassian continued running down the alley.
"You could be a little more grateful you know." He muttered.
"Oh quit complaining." She thought for a moment. "And thank you." They kept running until they reached a small cargo ship in a landing area. A tall droid walked towards them and Reina stopped in her tracks when she saw the symbol on the droids arm. "You're with the Empire?"
"Hardly." Cassian chuckled.
"Who is this?" The droid asked, his digital voiced laced with disapproval. "You know, there is a 95 percent chance that-"
"K2, I don't care." Cassian passed his droid and entered the ship, Reina hesitating to follow him. But since he was her only option, she had no other choice but to go in after him.
"Well if you're not part of the Empire, than what are you part of?" She placed her hands on her hips and he looked up at her from the parts he was repairing.
"That is none of your business." K2 snapped.
"Sorry about him." Cassian sighed. "Ever since I reprogrammed him, he's been a pain in the-"
"I beg your pardon?" K2 exclaimed. "I have saved your life over-"
"Still don't care K2." He went back to repairing as many parts as possible in the amount of time they had before the thugs from the street found them, which turned out to be sooner than he thought. Reina shut the entrance hatch before Varan could get on, but they used all the force they had to try and get in.
"We need to get out of here." She shouted, looking down at Cassian in the hole in the floor with sparks and wire sticking out around him. He was leaning so close to the welder, she was afraid his hair would catch on fire.
"If I don't get this fixed, we won't be going anywhere!" He yelled back. She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed angrily. She was so close and if they took her back now, Varan would kill her for what happened to Asto, whether or not Zane protested. No slave slut was worth more than his son.
"You fly, I'll fix." She blurted. His eyebrows knitted together.
"What?" He rubbed his eyes. "Do you even know how ships work?"
"I know enough." She hopped down into the maintenance pit next to him. He opened his mouth but she stopped him. "It's the only chance we've got." The banging on the ship got louder. "Besides, your droid can talk me through it."
"I most certainly will not." K2 snapped. Cassian ran his hand down his face and handed her the welder.
"You're crazy, you know that right?" He said and he climbed out of the hole and rushed to the cockpit.
"Being crazy is the only way to keep sane on this planet." Reina muttered. She looked at the tangled mass of metal before her. Varan had made her fix hundreds of ships over the years and her mind labeled the broken parts as she saw them.
The ship jerked forward as Cassian tried to get off the ground. Sweat ran down his forehead and the ship swayed from side to side. Reina frantically started welding as a bright red alarm went off over head.
"The probability of us successfully taking off is-"
"Shut up!" Reina and Cassian yelled.
The two worked quickly, Cassian trying to keep from crashing into anything and Reina desperately trying to fix broken parts. She welded in one last piece and the alarm silenced. Cassian looked back at her and she nodded. The ship moved upward, over the buildings around it. Cassian pushed the lever forward and the ship zoomed through the Tatooine sky. They did it.
Reina moved the metal floor panel back into place as she climbed out and walked across the ship to join Cassian at the cockpit. The two suns had started to set, turning the sky a deep russet red and for the first time in ten years, it was beautiful. She couldn't stop the tears from filling her eyes and collecting on her cheeks.
Cassian glanced at her and gave her a soft smile. His own heart filled with joy for her, and although he wanted to know more about her; wanted to ask her a million questions, he stayed silent, and let her have this moment.
Reina sat down in the copilot seat and watched as they broke through the red sky into the stars. She closed her eyes tightly and reopened them slowly. She was still on the ship, sitting next to her mysterious- and ruggedly handsome, as she now noticed- savior. She was still gazing into the dark void of space. She was free.
I wrote this story a while ago, and I am reentering the world of fanfic, so I thought this would be a great way to come back. This story is going to deal with some dark themes, so ye have been warned. I hope you like it, and let me know your thoughts!