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Part 4: Walking in a winter wonderland…
The broad footpath that stretched into the woods beyond their cabin was already blanketed with a fresh layer of snow by the time they changed into their new clothes, donned boots and coats, and set out arm-in-arm on their wintry excursion. Feeling the reassuring grip of her stylish new knee-high boots on the soft snow underfoot made Leia grateful all over again for Lando's thoughtful arrangements—and for his sartorial acumen. She was sure that none of the new civilian footwear she'd acquired in the few months since the battle of Endor would have been of any use whatsoever in the snowy conditions, selected as they'd been for political visits and formal occasions. She didn't think her beautiful new full-skirted dress and long coat would look very smart paired with combat boots, either.
As they made their way up the slight incline through the woods, Leia tilted her head back to peer up at the strip of sky visible through the gap in the trees. The swathe of deep indigo was already aglow with the silver light of Zalari's three converging moons, their combined power brilliant enough to cut through the thin cover of cloud and illuminate the gently ascending path. Although the evergreen forest through which they walked was deep in shadow on either side, the haze of moonlight poured down through the gap overhead to transform the broad ribbon of virgin snow into a glittering white laneway that stretched away before them. As they walked along, Leia slipped one hand out of its soft leather glove to lace her fingers with Han's, craving the feel of his skin even if it meant exposing herself to the cold. But his large hand easily enveloped her smaller one, keeping it perfectly warm despite the chill.
It was such a simple pleasure, holding hands; the sort of romantic indulgence they'd scarcely had time for in their unconventional courtship so far. Prior to the calamitous events on Ord Mantell, their growing closeness had been kept by tacit agreement quite private, which meant no public displays of affection that might draw comment or speculation from the rabble in Rogue Squadron. After Ord Mantell, however, all affection had been off the table. Leia winced inwardly to recall the venomous exchanges that had passed between them during those painful weeks, both of them feeling, for different reasons, frustrated, hurt and defensive. They'd seemed so far apart then; their differences wholly irreconcilable, and the prospect of their relationship recovering—never mind developing any further—quite remote. Indeed, she'd felt nothing but a plunging sense of horror in the aftermath of their escape from Hoth, when she realised that the failure of the Falcon's hyperdrive meant that she was going to be trapped with Han in a confined space for a very long time. Funny, she mused with an inward chuckle, how quickly and completely her perspective could change.
She gave Han a sideways glance as they crunched along the snowy path together hand-in-hand, and smiled with mingled amusement and appreciation. Lando had his friend's true measurements down pat, all right. Han was always handsome in her eyes, but he looked exceptionally good tonight; his new charcoal-grey woollen coat was a perfect fit, accentuating the strong lines of his masculine frame, and it featured a high collar that framed his face and turned his hazel eyes an alluring shade of warm grey to match. There was also a velvety woollen scarf in a shade of purple that Leia adored, reminiscent of the flowering Kibo on Yavin 4. But, despite her assurances that it looked quite stylish, Han had grumbled as she stretched up on tiptoe and wound it around his neck, convinced that he could hear Lando snickering about it all the way from Endor.
Leia couldn't remember a time when she'd felt so relaxed or so content. She stole glimpses of Han's profile as they walked, his handsome features limned in silver moonlight, with misty clouds of his breath swirling around his head, and felt a surge of emotion so strong it nearly took her breath away. He was here—not trapped in carbonite and helpless in the clutches of Jabba the Hutt, not lost forever in the wilds of space. The six months she'd spent desperately searching for him seemed like a distant nightmare now, though she'd lived through every hellish moment of that period, surviving on very little sleep, and sometimes teetering on the edge of despair. She felt a thrill of joy every time she remembered that it was over and he was finally home, safe and sound. And now theywere here, together and happy through battles hard fought and even harder won. It still felt a little surreal. She squeezed his hand, feeling the answering tightening of his fingers around hers as reassuring proof that this moment was truly happening, and not just some wonderful dream.
Han cast a glance her way as he walked, and flashed a lopsided smile. His cheeks were flushed from the cold, and his hair tousled from the blustery wind, but he looked happy. "You okay, Princess?" he queried. "Little legs keeping up alright?"
She gave him a mock-sour smile. "I can outlast you, Flyboy, and you know it," she retorted.
Han chuckled, tacitly acknowledging the truth of her assertion.
Leia drew a deep breath of the frosty air and blew it out as they mounted a slight rise in the forest path. "I was just thinking how far we've come," she ventured.
Han glanced over his shoulder at the line of their footprints in the moonlit snow. "Maybe half a kilometre so far, give or take."
Leia gave a snort and nudged him with her elbow. "Smart-ass."
Han laughed, and then sobered slightly. "I know what you mean, Sweetheart. And trust me, I've gotta pinch myself every now and then."
"Pinch yourself? Where's the fun in that?" she said in a teasing tone.
Han laughed at her gibe, and as his chuckles faded, she released his hand and linked her arm through his, hugging him a little closer to her side as they strolled along the snowy lane. "Seriously, though. Who would've dreamed that we would end up like this?"
"Me," Han shrugged. "All the time."
Leia felt a rush of pure pleasure at hearing those words and beamed a smile in his direction, which he returned with a wink. Han's newfound candour was one of the best things about the present state of their relationship, she mused. It turned out that much of his apparently self-serving, conceited and irascible behaviour was mere pretense; a persona adopted to disguise his true nature and a defence mechanism that kept most people at arm's length. In private, Leia had discovered, his traits were quite the opposite of those he displayed—and he could be downright mushy when they were alone together. It was a side of him that she found endlessly amusing, and one that she adored; she knew that he shared that vulnerable aspect of himself only with her, and it was a secret she would never reveal to anyone else. She couldn't stop smiling at the prospect of having him all to herself for a while, free from distraction and out of range of the curious stares of their Alliance colleagues. She held that promise close to her heart as they strolled along without speaking, each lost for a while in private thoughts.
Up ahead, Leia began to notice flashes of light and colour amid the surrounding trees, sparkling streaks that seemed to dart back and forth across the trail in front of them, and twinkling flares that briefly illuminated the dark undergrowth to either side.
"Do you see that?" she asked, her voice rising in wonder. "How beautiful."
"Yeah," Han replied. "Moves like some kind of bird."
"But they're so tiny," Leia breathed.
She came to a halt, holding up her free hand in a silent gesture for Han to do the same, and strained to listen. The quiet hum that she heard accompanying the flickers of movement all around them confirmed the truth of Han's guess—they were birds, miniscule creatures whose rapid movement disallowed any clear glimpses of them, beyond the flash of iridescent wings that reflected cobalt blue and silver in the bright light of the converging moons. The effect was magical, and unlike anything Leia had ever seen. She exchanged broad smiles with Han as they resumed their journey, rejoicing in the sheer beauty of the environment.
The remainder of the walk to the tree line was spent in alternating moments of companionable conversation and peaceful silence, listening to the soft susurration of the wind in the trees, the occasional chitter of a nocturnal creature deep in the woods beyond the path, and the crunch of their booted feet on snow. At the end of the trail, the forest gave way to a picturesque vista of a snow-covered meadow, bordered by the twinkling lights of the village just beyond, all framed by majestic mountain peaks, silhouetted against the fading radiance of the sunset sky.
The meadow itself was aglow with festive lights and more of the decorated trees, and it was alive with activity. To their left, in the distance, there was an old-fashioned ice rink from which sounds of merriment drifted up into the frosty night air to float across the meadow as a few dozen skaters—natives, humans and a handful of other humanoid species—wobbled and glided and laughed their way around the ice. Straight ahead, a group of young Zalarians had divided themselves into camps and were busily stockpiling snowballs, shouting and taunting one another in excited voices across an invisible boundary. And on the right, closest to the footpath that curved around the edge of the meadow and continued on toward the village, a handful of fuzzy kits were grunting and laughing as they rolled snow into huge, boulder-sized balls.
As they passed by the group nearest the path, the sound of growling felinoid laughter and the snippets of conversation in their native tongue that reached Leia's ears sounded so carefree and exuberant that she couldn't help but pause for a moment to watch.
"Look, Han," she said with a nod in their direction. "I think they're making snowmen."
The kits had split into two groups of three, and were hefting their giant balls of snow into stacks. As they worked, Leia could see them sneaking glances at one another's efforts, giggling and whispering behind their paws.
"Looks like a competition. Tryin' to outdo each other," Han observed, and then gave a soft chuff of laughter. "I saw the Rogues do somethin' like that on Hoth once."
Leia shot him a dubious glance. "The Rogues made snowmen?"
"Sort of," he grinned. "Only theirs were a little more...uh, suggestive."
"Why does that not surprise me," Leia said drily. "Uh-oh. Looks like someone is unhappy."
As they watched, one of the younger kits stomped away from her group's partially-finished snowman, and then plopped down in the snow just a few metres away from where Leia and Han were standing. She grumbled as she kicked at the snow with her paws, and her downturned ears and drooping whiskers made it obvious that she didn't share the enthusiasm of the others on her team.
Curious, Leia released Han's arm and travelled a bit further along, coming to a stop closer to where the little Zalarian sat and then sank into a crouch at the border of the path, her full skirts billowing and then settling around her as she leaned in to catch the young kit's eye.
"Hello there," she called out. "Is something wrong?"
Nose twitching, the child turned and tipped her face to Leia's with the Zalarian rendition of a pout dragging down her feline features. "Gonna lose, that's what wrong," she groused in youthfully high-pitched, sibilant Basic.
Leia straightened to her full height once more as Han's deep laugh rumbled over her shoulder. "How are you so sure?" he asked, stepping up to retake his position at Leia's side.
The Zalarian flicked her gaze up to Han's with a roll of her azure eyes and a don't-you-know-anything expression. "Look," she said with a note of frustration, gesturing with one spotted paw toward the other group, who had banded together to heave the last heavy ball atop their two-tiered stack. "They're all way bigger than us. We built it as tall as we could, but now we can't reach high enough to put the last one on." Her long tail swished back and forth, leaving a fan-shaped pattern in the snow. "It's not fair."
Leia glanced downward, studying her own legs clad only in tights under her dress and coat. Her boots seemed sturdy enough to allow her to venture out into the deep snow and lend the kids a helping hand, but she stood barely a head taller than the largest of the Zalarian kits herself; she was not likely to offer them much of an advantage. She cast Han a meaningful sideways glance.
He rolled his eyes but she could see a hint of a smile playing around his lips.
"Well, what about me? I'm tall enough, ain't I?" he asked with a smirk, pulling out the thermal gloves he'd stuffed in his pockets before they left the cabin.
The little Zalarian's bright blue eyes went wide and her white whiskers twitched in excitement. Her gaze tracked up Han's towering height from the tip of his boots to the top of his head, and then she bared her glistening white teeth in a bright smile. "You sure are!" she exclaimed as she leapt to her feet. Then she clasped her paws together under her furry chin, fixing Han with an expression full of wild hope. "Do you wanna be on our team, mister?"
"Sure, kid."
The kit released a happy yowl as she threw both arms in the air and bounced up and down on the balls of her furry feet. "Let's go!" she called, darting with renewed energy toward her friends.
"C'mon, Sweetheart," Han said to Leia. He tugged on one of his gloves and then the other, and gave her a wink. "You get to supervise, make sure we ain't putting its head on lopsided." He extended a hand to steady her as she stepped over the mound of deeper snow that bordered the path, and then led the way to the boot-flattened area where the shorter of the two snowmen stood. Two of the kids pushed a heavy snowball as close as they could and then, with Leia's direction, Han lifted and carefully lowered it on top of the stack.
"Oh no," one of the kits wailed. "We forgot his ears!"
Han chuckled and leaned down to scoop up some snow, then packed it together into a shape roughly resembling the Zalarians' rounded pinnae, flattening the bottom edge before setting the feature carefully into position. He soon had the second ear shaped and fixed to the other side of the rounded snowball, and then stepped back to admire his work. With the final touches in place, the snowman stood almost as tall as Han, and the kits were delighted. They cheered, then bounced and tumbled all around the squat figure for a moment, before scrambling around to gather up small stones and a few sticks to complete their construction.
After helping to position the eyes, nose and mouth on the finished creation, and inserting a couple of long twigs into its sides to serve as arms, with a longer branch to act as a tail, Han stepped back with his hands on his hips, tapping his boot on the frozen ground with a contemplative air.
"I dunno," he said in a dubious tone. "Something's missing." He snapped his fingers, and then tugged the purple scarf from around his own neck and looped it around the snowman's instead.
"There," he said, tying the ends with a flourish. "Much better."
"Oh, Han," Leia chastised, though she struggled to suppress a laugh.
"What?" he said with wide-eyed innocence.
"Trust you to find an excuse to get rid of that scarf."
"It's not an excuse," Han said, directing a wink at the kits. "Don't want him to get cold, do we?" He grinned and stamped his feet to shake away the snow still clinging to the legs of his trousers. "Well, it looks like he's got everything he needs now," he said to the gambolling youngsters. "And it's starting to snow again. We'd better be heading over to the village."
There was a chorus of cheers and thanks from the small crowd, and a couple of the younger kits began leaping around with their tongues out, trying to catch flakes of snow as they drifted, swirling, through the air.
"Your wife looks so pretty," piped up the young female they'd first encountered by the path. She peered up at Han, her blue eyes twinkling. "Are you going on a date?"
Leia met Han's amused gaze over the top of the kits' furred heads, and smiled. She hadn't thought of it in those terms before, but she supposed this probably was the closest thing to a real date they'd ever experienced. In the few months since the Alliance victory at Endor, they'd spent as much time together as they could possibly manage, but never had they been afforded the luxury of an evening out. She thought about their plans to cook dinner together later and smiled. Up until now, they'd rarely shared a meal that wasn't field rations, or some dubious dish cobbled together from the Falcon's stores or mass-prepared in the mess hall. So many of the meals they'd eaten together over the years had been scarfed hastily while keeping vigilant for trouble during missions—and they'd certainly never had the opportunity to dine at leisure, wearing nice civilian clothes. Han's knowing smile told her that the realization wasn't lost on him, either.
"Don't be such a nosy fluff-head," said one of the older children, giving the little one's tail a sharp tug. "If they are on a date, they don't need you buggin' 'em about it."
Han reached down and ruffled the fur between the kit's pert, rounded ears. "I don't mind you asking," he said. "Now that you mention it, I guess we are on a date. But we ain't married." He glanced back at Leia, the corner of his mobile mouth quirking up into a crooked smile. "Not yet, anyway."
The little Zalarian fixed her ice-blue eyes on Han with a curious tilt of her head and a twitch of her whiskers. "Are you gonna ask her?"
Leia looked away, feigning concentration on adjusting the snowman's squat root-vegetable nose as she tried very hard not to laugh, while Han raised a curious eyebrow.
"You think I should?" he said.
"Yeah!" The excited kits clamoured around, speaking all at once in a jumble of Basic and Zalari, flicking their long tails and clapping their paws.
"Maybe she oughta ask me," Han ventured, slanting another glance at Leia, which she studiously ignored while carefully attending to the drape of the snowman's purple scarf.
The young female Zalarian huffed impatiently at Han's suggestion. "If you wait around for her, and she waits around for you, you ain't never gonna get married," she pointed out acerbically, as if explaining something that should have been perfectly obvious to even the dimmest simpleton.
"Ah," Han nodded down at the kit in solemn understanding. "Guess one of us just needs to take the plunge, huh?" He looked over at Leia again and she lifted her gaze to his this time, biting her lip against the smile that kept trying to break free. Han's answering grin filled her with a flush of pure happiness.
"My mother's a magistrate," one of the kits announced proudly. "She marries people all the time."
Han dragged his eyes away from Leia's face and made a good show of looking suitably impressed at the kit's boast. "Is that right?"
"Uh huh. I'm going to be one too. I already know all the words to say and everything."
"You do, huh?" Han stripped off his gloves and stuffed them back into his coat pockets. "What's your name, kid?"
"I'm Joro," the kit said, patting his furry chest, and then pointed at the little female. "She's Nakuru, and that's Ikuti."
Han caught Leia's eye with a sly wink that said play along, and then addressed the Zalarian kit once more. "Tell you what, then, Joro. You wanna get in some practice?"
The kit grew wide-eyed. "Me?"
"Sure. You already know the words, right? You could do the job, if you want. Marry us tonight." Then he turned his gaze back to Leia. "That is, if you want to, Sweetheart."
"Well, I don't usually get married on a first date," Leia smiled. "But in this case, I suppose I could make an exception."
Young Nakuru could barely contain her delight. She bounced up and down on the spot, swishing her long tail with glee, and then came to a dead stop with a sharp intake of breath. "Oh! We need some flowers!"
Ikuti rolled his azure eyes and huffed. "Where are we gonna get flowers? And they don't need them to get married, anyway."
"Yes, they do," Nakuru insisted. She glanced around the area at her feet, and then bent to pick up a few discarded twigs that had been rejected as part of the snowman's finishing touches. After snapping off the long ends and gathering the remainder into a bunch, she stretched up to hand Leia her makeshift bouquet. "There," she said, beaming with obvious pride at her ingenuity. "Just pretend they're snow lilies!"
"They're lovely." Leia murmured. "Thank you, Nakuru."
Out of the corner of her eye, Leia could see that the size of their audience had grown. The other group of kits as well as a few of the snowball warriors from farther afield had gathered in a wide half-circle around the snowman to watch the curious exchange between the off-worlders and their peers. The snowfall had grown a little heavier as they talked, sprinkling them all with thousands of sparkles that clung to clothes and fur, although the kits appeared to take no notice.
"Okay, Leia's got her flowers," Han said. "What's next?"
Ikuti tilted his head to the side and scratched his fluffy chin as he gave the question careful thought. "Maybe you should stand in front of the snowman, like he's the magistrate."
"Yeah," Joro concurred. "It looks more real that way. And you gotta hold hands."
"If you say so," Han said with an affable shrug. He reached for Leia's hand as they moved into position, while Leia tried for the third time in as many minutes not to dissolve into giddy laughter.
"Now what?" Han wanted to know.
"Now you say some stuff about how you'll love each other forever," Nakuru interjected in a dreamy tone, sidling around so that she could keep their faces in view.
Leia did laugh, then. She couldn't help it; the little Zalarian looked enchanted, watching the scene with a look of starry-eyed delight that was utterly adorable. Leia quickly caught herself, though, and cleared her throat. "Sorry," she muttered, and then clasped her twig bouquet primly in front of her and adopted a serious expression.
"We'll save all that mushy stuff for later," Han demurred with a wink at Leia. "What does his Honour say next?"
"Uhhhh…." Joro hesitated, shuffling his snow-covered paws. He scratched behind one ear with a stubby paw, clearly drawing a blank on the details of the formal ceremony he'd claimed to know. "Uhh...do you wanna marry her?" he improvised.
Han focused his hazel eyes on Leia and, although there was still an air of merriment about his expression, his gaze was tender. "I do," he said gruffly. "I want that very much."
"Okay, good. And, uh, Miss?" the young kit queried, peering up at Leia. "Do you wanna marry him?"
"Yes, I do," she murmured, holding Han's gaze and pouring all of her heart into the simple phrase. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, and smiled as his fingers tightened around hers in return. All around them, the snow began to fall in earnest, blurring the distant lights that bordered the meadow and the luminous orbs that adorned the tall trees.
"Then that's it! You're married!" Joro exclaimed.
Han and Leia exchanged looks of surprise and then broke apart, laughing.
"That's it?" Leia wondered aloud, not bothering to hide her disappointment.
"Yeah, somehow I expected something a little more...involved," Han said, and then gave a shrug. "Okay, kids, thanks. Good job. I guess my 'wife' and I will be on our way."
"Nuh-uh," Nakuru objected with a shake of her fluffy head. "You can't leave. It's not done 'til you kiss."
Echoes of agreement rippled through the rest of the Zalarian youth assembled, and one of them started a chant that grew louder as the kits closed in around them.
Han turned to Leia with a lopsided grin. "Better give 'em what they want, Sweetheart," he drawled, dipping his head down. "Or we're never getting out of here."
"Wait," Leia said, and then gestured for Nakuru to come closer. "You have the most important job of all," she said, bending down to the little kit's level. "Here." She pressed the twig bouquet into the Zalarian's small paw, and winked. "Hold the bouquet, while I make this official."
Leia gently patted the top of the kit's furred head as her feline features lit up in a wide, toothy grin. Then she straightened to face Han once more, wound her arms around his neck, and stretched up to meet him halfway.
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