Theed, it turned out, was the capital city of Naboo, or at least of its human citizens. Alik led her out into the street and Rey realized that it was nearly dusk already, and the city lights were beginning to turn on. The streetlamps glowed around them, and she could see the powerful buildings of the city, domed in verdigris. There were statues everywhere on the ground, and the air was still full of spaceships of all sizes. While the majority of the beings they passed were human, a good-sized minority were a tall, brownish-green species with long floppy ears. It was easy to see that they were primarily an aquatic species; Alik saw her glancing and told her these were the Gungans who shared their planet.
They walked through the crowds, slowly, so Rey could take it all in. "I've never been anywhere like this," she muttered. Everything was so beautiful: every building was so carefully built, every space treated like its own artwork, every person a portrait.
Despite the weight of the gown, Rey felt vaguely naked without a weapon. She carried nothing of her own, having left even her money back in Alik's family's home, and she had no way to protect the beautiful things Puja had so willingly shared with her. But Alik was dressed in equal finery, and she knew very well that he didn't carry a weapon, even when he wasn't in his own town, and he seemed utterly unconcerned. She remembered the little Rhodian child who'd tried to pick her pocket; she'd stopped the child using the Force, but Alik possessed no such power.
"All these people around," Rey observed. "Don't you ever worry about your safety?"
"Safety?" he echoed. "No. Theed is known for its excellent public safety." He nodded toward a uniformed woman standing on a street corner. "A few decades ago there was an attack on the Queen and the people. We've worked hard to find a balance between security and freedom, and, honestly, you'll have a hard time finding a city that's done a better job of it." He was proud of his city, of his people's accomplishments. Did he know how many had died to keep him so blissfully pleased with his homeworld?
They walked for a long time before Rey realized she was hungry. "We haven't eaten dinner," Alik observed, as if he'd heard her thoughts. "Would you rather sit down and be served or – no, this is definitely better." He was being deliberately mysterious. He motioned for her to follow and they cut through a sidestreet where diners sat in twos and fours at tables under the stars. They turned a corner to find the river, its crystalline waters flowing gently under the moonlight, and a little marketplace set up on its bank. Tiny tents had been erected all along the river, with vendors selling all kinds of food, the smells wafting together like a beautiful symphony.
Alik led her from tent to tent, buying one of this and three of that, and they shared skewered meats and plump ripe fruits and sticky breads that left icing on their chins. He gave her a clear glass vessel full of dark liquid, a wine from the other side of the galaxy; it was strong, but nothing like the ales a brews the Wookiees liked: sweet and warm in her mouth. They stood and listened to street musicians playing instruments she'd never seen before. One busker had a dancer with him who waved a silk scarf around herself as she moved in sync with the music, and Rey felt herself swaying very slightly along with her as she watched. "The Thana," Alik whispered into her ear. "Traditional dance from the countryside."
They wandered up river a few paces from the food tents, where the music wasn't as loud and there weren't quite so many people. Rey stood back and tried to take it all in. Naboo was an incredible sensory delight. Every single inch of the place was packed tight with beauty and a conscious effort to please as greatly as possible. It hummed with life; a different kind of life than Kashyyyk did, to be sure, but life. Vibrancy. It was a place of impossible beauty.
Suddenly, an explosion burst out of the night sky behind them. Rey jumped and turned sharply toward the sound. A second explosion roared as she tried to get her bearings. Blue and red lights streaked across the sky, shimmering slightly as the sparks fell into the river. Someone back by the food tents gave an awed "wow" and a child off to her left clapped.
Alik was facing her, his hand on her shoulder. "It's just colors and lights," he was saying. "Look. It's for show." She turned her head up to the sky again, and saw a third streak rising up from somewhere behind some trees; it exploded and released a shower of violet sparkles that danced across the sky like the woman dancing the Thana.
"You set off bombs for fun?" she asked him, incredulous.
"They're not bombs," Alik protested. "I mean, they're not really bombs. It's just a show. Lights and colors," he said again. Rey didn't seem comforted. "It can't hurt you. It's all very tightly controlled. There's a whole pyrotechnic team that maintains the fireworks." He was quiet then and watched Rey's eyes follow another streak of light up from the river and into the dark night sky. It exploded and rained down the glittering lights; the sparks dissipated long before they approached the ground, and the ashes fell harmlessly into the water. Her brows furrowed briefly at the display, but more children were gathering around them, their voices rising and falling as each new firework rose, burst, and floated downward. It took several minutes, but her face relaxed and she watched the show, even smiling when a particularly creative one burst into two concentric circles above them like magic. Alik leaned toward her, imperceptibly at first, then enough that he had to adjust his weight on his feet. He laced his fingers with hers, and she closed her hand around his.
~/~/~
"May I come in?" he asked, very gently. His silver-blue eyes sparkled in the soft, warm torchlight of the hallway, studying her face with intensity. Wordlessly, Rey turned the doorhandle under her palm and it opened into the darkened guestroom. She stepped back into the room, slowly, so Alik could follow her.
And he did. He shut the door, carefully and silently; for an instant the room was absolutely dark until he clicked on the lights with the switch by the door. The wall sconce behind him lit up his hair so that it put a golden halo all around his head; Rey couldn't help but feel the edges of her lips curl with pleasure at the sight of him and she turned away.
Puja's dress was too heavy and too long; it might be appropriate for a night out in Theed, but here in the small, intimate guestroom of his parents' house it only reminded her that she was a desert mouse suddenly in a palace. She reached behind herself to undo the lacings around her waist; they were too intricately tied and her fingers couldn't find the ends.
"Let me," Alik offered, and he pulled the lace that loosened the gown around her so she could step out. The rich blue brocade fell stiffly off of her and to the floor. The next layer wrapped in front; she untied the sash and shrugged that down her shoulders. After a moment, she was dressed in the simple blouse and skirt, more like herself except for the heavy jewelry around her neck and wrists. She pulled the bangles off her wrists, sliding them over her hands, and set them on the dressing table. Alik undid the clasp of her necklace, silently, his fingers warm where they brushed her skin, and laid it beside the bracelets.
Rey stepped out of the glittering golden slippers and stood in her stocking feet on the soft carpet, feeling herself sink slightly into its plush softness. She was aware, so aware, of Alik standing behind her, watching her undress, and she realized that she was trembling.
She drew in a steeling breath and turned to look at him again. His open waistcoat revealed the satin of his shirt, loose and gentle. He'd laid his jacket over a chair by the door with his tall leather boots. His hair was rumpled and out of place; he'd managed to run his hands through the careful coiffure he'd left the house with hours ago.
Rey stepped forward, toward him, and lifted her hands to his collar. She slid the waistcoat over his shoulders and he let it fall to the floor with the rest of her garments. It felt at last to her like they were two equals again, without the elegant trappings between them. Alik wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her into him; it surprised her that he was trembling too.
For a second, he only looked at her, as if he couldn't believe she was letting him hold her. Then she closed her eyes and waited, and he kissed her.
Alik's kiss was soft and afraid. Nervous. Almost as if he weren't sure she wanted him – but she did. His beard was softer than she'd imagined, his hands warmer. He took her by the hand and brought her to the bed and pulled her into his lap, her arms and legs around him while he buried his face in her throat. A soft sound escaped her – not of pain, though it sounded like it. Alik supported her head with one hand and kissed her exposed collarbone, moving to the soft flesh just below.
Then he pulled up her blouse, and she shrugged it off over her head and pulled her arms out the sleeves so that it landed inside-out on the floor. His hands on her skin made her shiver. "You're so beautiful," he whispered. She was familiar enough with the basic mechanics of sex, but she hadn't realized he would run his tongue over her breast, or that she'd want him to.
They moved so that Rey lay on the soft pillow of the bed. The bed itself gave underneath her; it was so unlike the hard benches or cots she'd known her whole life, like being enveloped, pulled down into its warmth and comfort and peace. Alik was above her, lying between her thighs. He was hard under his clothes; she could feel him through her skirt. "I'll be good to you," he promised, his voice a low murmur in her hair. His hand, hot on her skin, ran up under her skirt and between her legs. A perfect shudder of pleasure ran through her, surprise and fear and lovely happiness all at once. A life, here on Naboo; a life with him, free of fear and endless chasing. Full of quiet and of happy adventures and of Alik close beside her. "I'll be so good to you," Alik said again.
No. The thought came to her entirely of its own accord. Because all of a sudden, she knew it wasn't Alik she wanted in her bed. It wasn't his cologne she wanted to make her feel lightheaded, or his hands on her skin. She squirmed out from under him to stand beside the it, her breath caught in her chest.
"I'm sorry," she said. She couldn't think of what else to say.
Alik was up on one elbow, looking at her, astonished. "It's okay – we're both nervous. If I did something wrong –"
"You did everything right," Rey said quickly. It was everything else that was wrong. For an awful moment they just looked at each other. She felt sick. "I – There's just … someone else."
The words sounded stupid – insane, really – even as she said them. In love with a dead man. Lunacy. She shook her head at her own words, incredulous that they could even be hers.
Alik didn't speak, but watched her as she pulled her own tawny dress over her head and slid the satiny skirt out from under it, laying it over the chair with as much reverence as she could manage, and closed the sash around herself. She found her one little bag, the one that held her few clothes and the gold lightsaber and Luke's books, and put it over her shoulder. She looked back at him; he hadn't moved.
"I wanted to," she said, at last. "I really did." And then she went out the door, shut it silently behind her, and ran the whole way to the docking bay.