CHAPTER 25
Han was panting rather strongly when he got up to check the situation: «They've hooked the Falcon… it seems that they've already come to pick us up…»
Leia sat up trying to recover her composure, but when she observed the scene around her panic caught her. Mud on him, mud on her, mud everywhere… and the ship of the Hapan representative which was going to take them aboard itself. Soon the port of the Falcon would open and what excuse would princess Leia make up then to explain all this? Time for herself was already over.
«Don't worry, I'll deal with the representative.» He told her sensing her worries. «You go in my cabin, lock yourself in the bathroom and take a shower. Stay there until Jessa comes.» He helped her getting up, but wasn't sure that she had heard his words, because she literally was in trance.
«Hey!» He told her, gently taking her face between his hands and bringing her back to reality. «Everything's going to be alright. I'll make something up, after all I've truly fallen in the quicksand…» He addressed her a tender smile giving her a light kiss on the lips.
A big jolt anticipated their landing inside the depository of the big Hapan spaceship, Leia's gaze finally focused on him and thought that she had never seen him so beautiful, even if he was covered with mud.
«Come on, now go… everything's going to be alright.» He repeated.
Even if she didn't trust at all his "everything's going to be alright", she nodded and hastily went away in order to hide from the others' view while Han got ready for the meeting. She looked at him one last time from the end of the corridor, then the port of the Falcon opened and she disappeared closing the door of the cabin behind her. In that moment of silence she felt her heart still frantically beating in her chest.
xxx
Garynn, the Hapan representative, gaped at the conditions of Captain Solo while he exited from the Falcon and an astonished air appeared also on the faces of Luke and Jessa who, though, grinned and bore it.
«Hey Han, you seem to have just come out of a pigpen, do you think these are the conditions to introduce yourself to a Hapan nobleman?» Jessa went to him, but avoided touching him, seeing his not too attractive aspect.
«My dear… a pigpen was the place that has been chosen to hide the Falcon!» He replied bitterly. «Apparently some imperials had fallen in there before us, without knowing it they've damaged my spaceship and then have sunk in the quicksand… just like what was going to happen to me!» His tone was irreverent as usual, it didn't let on anything of the facts voluntarily omitted from the story.
«Sir, I apologize for my conditions, but I didn't have time to renovate myself.» Han slightly bowed his head in order to great the Hapan.
«My name is Garynn, Captain, I have an important message to give to her Majesty, princess Leia, with utmost urgency, prince Isolder himself sent me.» The messenger said in a quite formal tone.
The smuggler was a little taken aback by that news, he'd actually thought that the Hapan representative had been sent by the Mother Queen and not by her son, since Isolder, once, had promised to remain extraneous to the matter. He doubtfully looked at Luke and the boy offered himself to explain the last news: «Don't worry, Garynn is a trusted person sent by Isolder and not by the Mother Queen. Unfortunately Ta'a Chume hasn't waited for our return to start her attack, she has imprisoned her son and has sent an emissary to kill us. Luckily Garynn, since always faithful to the prince, has eliminated the killer and has joined us in order to bring some help.»
«What? The Mother Queen has imprisoned her son? But…» Han's head was still upside down and he was wondering if all that was a joke of his imagination or if it was really happening.
«Yes sir, it's just like that. Now, can you tell me where I can find princess Leia?»
«Sure.» Han faltered trying to recover. «Her majesty is having a shower because, unlike me, she refused to appear in public in such conditions.» He carefully avoided to look at Luke or at Jessa in order to keep the highest credibility possible.
«Oh, I understand. In this case I'll wait for her up in the control room. In the meantime, if you want to join us, I'll show you the data we managed to find in the database of the Imperial station, this way you'll realize the situation better.»
«With pleasure.» He accepted, but before following Garynn he took Jessa aside and whispered to her: «Go to Leia and stay with her… make sure that she's ready before you bring her in the control room, is that understood?»
Jessa nodded without asking more questions, his terribly serious look was enough to understand that many things had happened, but that wasn't the right moment to discuss about them.
xxx
«Leia? It's me, Jessa. May I come in?»
Jessa's voice brought Leia back to reality; she'd been under the steaming hot and restoring shower, but she hadn't realized it, her mind was absorbed by a thousand thoughts.
«Sure, come in.» She came out of the shower and wrapped herself in the first towel she found.
The mud had been completely washed away, but his scent had remained and was everywhere inside there, in his cabin. She observed the reflection of her image in the blurred mirror of the bathroom and asked herself how she would have managed to fool the others, since now she couldn't even deceive herself, what would the others think at seeing her in that state?
It seemed to her that her sin was written in capital letters on her forehead, but in the end what harm had she done? Even princess Leia had a heart and for once she had listened to it, so why did she have to feel guilty?
Again she took a deep breath, in order to gain some courage. He had gone down to face the others, now she had to prove that she was strong too.
«Leia? I brought you some clean robes…» Jessa said, handing her the clothes as she came out of the bathroom.
«Thank you very much. The last thing I wanted was to wander around the spaceship looking for something to put on!» Leia tried to be funny, but avoided looking at her in the eyes.
«You're welcome, Han told us about your accident with the quicksand so I thought to fetch you a change of clothes. Seeing his conditions I can understand why you've refused to show yourself.»
The comment was lacking in naughtiness, but the princess visibly blushed as she thought about some details that had happened before their meeting…
At this point a strong suspicion entered into Jessa's mind, after having seen the mud that covered the entrance of the Falcon, the strange blush on her face and, most of all, her confused state, she completely understood the importance and the difficulty of the task that Han had given to her: it wouldn't have been easy to prepare her for the news that Garynn had in store for her!
«It's better if I hurry now, I don't want the Hapan representative to wait more than it's necessary.» Leia said taking the clothes and waiting for the other woman to exit of the room.
«Fine.» Jessa excused herself «While you get dressed I'll clean up the Falcon, the entrance is a disaster!» This time her comment, just like her smile, was willingly naughty and again Leia's face got painted with a bright red.
The woman smiled to herself while she left the room; she was happy to know that things between Han and Leia had finally fixed up, but she feared that the confrontation between the princess and Garynn could change the cards on the table again, still to the detriment of the poor smuggler.
xxx
Thanks to Leia's intervention in the data center of the base, Luke had managed to gain a lot of information of vital importance: the map of the new Imperial settlements, the arming, the list of the corrupted politicians, the detailed files of the spies… and naturally also part of the communications elapsed between the Mother Queen and the new head of the Empire.
The Jedi Knight tried to explain to Captain Solo the discoveries he'd just made, but it soon occurred to him that his friend's mind was completely somewhere else and also the contact with his sister through the Force was hard for him… the fact that something had happened between them was obvious, but the person in charge for Isolder had to remain oblivious of it.
Han tried to hide his impatience by pretending to follow the data that passed on the screens of the center of control installed on the ship of Garynn. The mud that covered him had dried up by then and was pulling his skin, but in spite of the strong desire to have a bath and retire in the quietness of his Falcon, he wanted to wait for Leia's arrival, in order to make sure that she was fine and able to face the meeting with the Hapan with her ever-present determination.
Luckily the waiting didn't last long, actually, after a few minutes the two women made their entrance in the control room and Garynn immediately ran to the princess' feet in order to greet her.
Leia was astonished at seeing him, she knew that he was Isolder's right hand and surely she didn't expect to find him there as an envoy of the Mother Queen. Something was not right and the hypothesis could be only two: Garynn was double crossing them or Isolder had lied to her. Luke's presence, though, reassured her, her brother had probably already probed the mind of the Hapan and he had made sure of his good faith. Near the Jedi Knight was Han, still covered in mud; she avoided to look at him in order to hide her agitation, but she just needed to look at his figure with the corner of her eye to feel surer and stronger.
Thank you Captain for remaining next to me. She thought, before turning her attention to the Hapan.
«Princess you don't imagine what relief I feel at seeing that you are alright, I feared that I had arrived too late.» Garynn began.
«Too late? What does this mean?» She sent him a confused expression.
«I've been sent by prince Isolder to protect you, his mother has imprisoned him and has sent Syumn, one of the best Hapan hit men, in order to eliminate all the members of your expedition. Probably the Queen has no more interest in keeping secret her intentions towards you and has abandoned every form of diplomacy. When I managed to find Syumn by then the base on Kalist VI had already been warned of your arrival, the Imperials had the task to retain you until his arrival… he would have personally dealt with the rest. Princess, I'm sorry if I didn't manage to get here sooner, but I did my best.» The representative told her in a lightly mortified air.
«What? Isolder has been imprisoned?» Leia couldn't believe such a thing.
«Quite so your Highness and… about this I have a message that I have to tell you.» The Hapan looked around himself with circumspection.
«Don't worry.» She reassured him. «I totally trust all those who are in this room, you can talk freely.»
«But… these are kind of personal facts, Your Majesty is sure that…»
«At this point there are no more secret, don't be afraid, talk.» She felt Han's gaze on her and, somehow, that gave her courage.
«Alright.» Garynn began. «I know that your highness had prayed the prince not to interfere in the researches, but just after your conversation things had precipitated. Apparently the Queen, informed by her spies, had come to know of your mission and has immediately ran to find a remedy. The prince had refused to be subject to the orders of his mother and that's why he's been imprisoned. Thanks to a disguise I managed to talk with him and it has been in that moment that he had charged me to find you at every cost and to praise you to come back in the name of the people of Hapes and for the sake of the New Republic. He told me that you were right to suspect of his mother and begs your forgiveness…»
Leia suddenly felt her head spin dizzily, she really didn't manage to explain to herself how so many things could've happened in such a brief lapse of time.
Even if she wasn't looking in Han's direction she was convinced that his face had become pale at hearing the story of the Hapan, maybe because, like her, he had realize that, in spite of the strong feelings they felt for each other, their story was simply unattainable.
There were too many things involved: the New Republic, all the innocent people that soon would have been involved in a war, a husband to save, the plans of an ambitious queen to spoil, the return to power of the Empire… how could she find time and space for a personal matter?
And yet how could she forget what had happened in the last days and go back to living like before? How could she manage to sweep away all the feelings, the passion and the joy for having found him again in a moment?
Oh Han, don't go away. She would have cried, she didn't want to lose him again, especially now that more than ever she needed him.
«Furthermore,» Garynn continued putting something in her hand, «the prince had urged me to give you this as a proof of his good faith and as a sign of trust towards you. He's sure that you will act for the sake of your people and that you'll make the right choice.» The representative sent her a sure and faithful glance.
Isolder's wedding ring was shining in Leia's hand, she knew well what choice his husband was referring to and she feared she had no alternative: she couldn't waste any more time, she had to go back to Hapes in order to save her people. The official task that was awaiting her was too important for her private life and what she had to pay was a very heavy and painful bill.
«He said that only when the ring will return to its place it will mean that everything will be fixed.» The Hapan ended looking at her with hopeful eyes.
When she raised her head again she noticed that the figure of captain Solo had disappeared from her view, he had silently gone away just after having heard Garynn's last words.
Salty tears went to wet her face again, her life was going to be upset by a new war, but the only thing she could manage to think about was Han and the fact that she had managed to lose him, one more time.
«Oh princess, you're crying… I'm sorry if I've upset you with this awful news». Garynn couldn't understand what was passing through her mind in that moment, but Luke did and he readily approached her in order to sustain her because, from the moment his friend had gone out of the room, she had lost all her strength and collapsed.
«Please excuse us Garynn, I think that now is better to accompany my sister in her quarters and give her time to reflect on this last news.»
Luke accompanied Leia in her cabin and left the Hapan with Jessa while their spaceship and the rest of the team made their way back to Urdur.