Gorgeous... A little old for her, that was true, but so gorgeous...
Gorgeous eyes, strong chin, long legs, shoulders like two meters wide, muscular arms...
Leia Organa blushed as her thoughts strayed while she tried to describe to Winter the more remarkable physical features of the man that had rescued her from the lake that afternoon.
She tried to estimate his age but could not come to a conclusion, somewhere between twenty-five and thirty. Probably some military training, by the set of his shoulders and the way he walked.
It had been a big risk she had taken when she had climbed into his speeder after accepting the offer of his jacket to warm herself. Not only because the man was a complete stranger that, in spite of her earlier bravado, could have overpowered her easily, but because of who she was and, more important, whose daughter she was.
What if the guy was an Imperial agent? Or, almost as worse, a holo-shill reporter?
Yet she had had this strange feeling of security from the moment she had entered that speeder. Not that he looked harmless in the least, on the contrary, there was a definite aura of danger about him, just not directed against her. A touch of sadness too, even if she did not know what had prompted that impression. She just knew those things, sometimes, and was rarely mistaken.
That impression had certainly not come from his warm laugh as they sped by the clearance where the swoop bike was parked. Her bright new racing swoop that she was still not allowed to drive but had insisted to try anyway. Jorlyn had stood there, meekly waiting for her return.
"You came in that thing?" Han had asked.
She nodded.
"You're braver than I thought," he laughed.
Of course he thought Jor had been at the controls and she had been the scared passenger. She could not help joining him in his hilarity as they left the surprised Nornen heir behind, remembering his blanched face as he had dismounted the bike, swearing to never let her drive again.
They did not speak much during the short trip back to Aldera City. Leia did not want to reveal too much about herself and he seemed to be of the reserved kind. He had confirmed that he was Corellian, though, when she asked – something obvious from his accent –, that he was on Alderaan on vacations and that he would be heading back home the next day. They did some small talk about the weather, the local amenities and then the conversation died until they reached Aldera's outskirts.
She had guided him through the maze of lanes and streets until they reached a small unmarked entrance in a tall wall.
"This is the Palace," he said surprised.
"I live here," she stated simply.
He emitted an admired whistle. "Wow..."
"My father... works here," she added quickly, diverting her eyes.
"I've heard it's a very nice place."
Leia gave him a small proud smile. "It is..."
"Will ya be in trouble? I can go and..."
"That won't be necessary, thank you, I can manage." Colonel Brant was on guarding duty until tomorrow and he would not report her escapade unless her father asked directly. She slipped the jacket from her damp shoulders and handed it back. Then, gathering her courage, she placed a small had on his arm and a brief kiss on his cheek. "Thanks for diving after me. Have a safe trip home, Mr. Solo," she added before bolting out of the speeder.
"So long, kid," Leia heard him mutter. She turned in time to see him smile at her with a lopsided grin she would not forget anytime soon. "Take care," he said finally. And then he drove away.
The Palace was a rather imposing place, that was for sure, Han Solo thought. Even if he had to endure the endless explanations about the particularities of each art piece and each architectural feature that they had encountered in the two plants they had patiently, painfully wandered through so far.
They had finally arrived to one of the halls in the North Tower, a middle-sized room – for the building's standards – with huge panoramic windows that left the guests gaping, admiring the breathtaking view of Aldera City, the Valley and the huge lake at the feet of the Palace. The guides had announced that refreshments would be served in short and he guessed they had just been brought when the crowd broke in applause. He clapped distractedly, his eyes never leaving the gorgeous landscape beyond the transparisteel.
In a couple of hours he would be leaving this beautiful planet, maybe forever, and he wanted to absorb as much of it as he could. The matter that had brought him to this place had failed in the end but one good thing had come out of it. Alderaan had definitely seduced him. Its gentleness, life loving and carefully preserved raw beauty was a stark contrast to his daily reality of dark space and hard survival, but he was glad he had been able to enjoy this place for once, if briefly. This unexpected opportunity to visit the Palace had been just too tempting to let it pass even if he was all ready to go.
A service droid offered him a beverage in a tall, frosty glass. Non-alcoholic, he guessed but he doubted he would be offered anything stronger at this time of the afternoon. He confirmed his suspicions as he sipped the sweet, fruity concoction, again lost in his thoughts.
Since he had set foot inside the gardens, of course, he had wondered if he would by chance meet again the girl of the lake. What was her name again? Yeah, Leia, like the Princess. Half the girls on Alderaan seemed to be called like that. But the Palace was as big as a small city in itself so he doubted it. Still, to try and spot her dark eyes among the dozens of beings that came and went through the maze of corridors was at least less boring than listening to the endless babbling of the tour guides.
A gentle hand on his arm interrupted his musings. "Han, dear, I want to introduce you to someone..."
Gah, archeology convention? Her father wanted her to interrupt her weekly weapon's training to go and greet a bunch of archeologists and art specialists? Leia could not believe it, the one class she really enjoyed lately and her father had taken a habit to interrupt or suspend it with trivial excuses. Maybe he had found out about her little adventure of the day before after all.
Winter had already laid out for her the pink and burgundy outfit that highlighted so pleasantly her eyes so the only thing left was to re-braid her hair and apply a little make up. At least that made her look a little older and people seemed to pay more attention to her that way. In a few months she would start her senatorial campaign and she would need to be taken seriously. If this was the way, so be it
.
"Leia, my dear, I'm glad you could take a break in your studies to join us," Bail Organa greeted his daughter warmly as she entered the North Hall, Winter in tow.
"I'm sorry to be a little late, Father," she answered politely. No, he didn't suspect, she was sure of it... Almost.
"Never mind, I want to introduce you to some people," he said, guiding her softly by the arm. The code he tapped discreetly on her elbow with his fingers told her these were important people and he wanted her to use all her abilities to evaluate them. "You know I've been financing studies about the pre-Republic art in the South Provinces," he continued, steering her to a couple near the center of the room. "I want you to meet the wonderful young lady that has agreed to take over Dr. Grasan's project now that his health has taken a turn for the worse. Leia, this is Bria Tharen, from Corellia. Dr. Tharen, my daughter, Princess Leia of Alderaan."
A beautiful woman with blondish-red hair curtsied deferently before the much shorter-than-her teenager, her blue-green eyes smiling at her over the hand she was offered to shake. "It's a real pleasure, your Highness." Then she motioned to the tall man at her side who wore a dark gray uniform with gold piping on the side of his pants. "May I introduce my husband, Lieutenant Commander Han Solo?"