AN: This is one of my favorite chapters so far, so I hope this is half as decent as I think it is. Please enjoy! (Also, please don't forget to feed my hungry box below!)
There was something peaceful about water, about its motion, the sound it made as it slapped along the sand. Leia was mesmerized, and she found herself smiling as she threw her head back and thrust her toes into the sand below the river's surface. The cool waves were a relief from the beating rays of Reecee's brilliant sun. But Leia knew she wouldn't be lucky enough not to burn; her pale skin had never been summer-friendly.
Leia hiked up her skirt so it wouldn't get wet, rolling the top band where it sat at her waist. Isab— who was younger than Leia— stood several feet across the river with an infant strapped to her back. She squinted in the daylight, surveying the waters while she clutched a net in both hands. "Allá!" she exclaimed, and handed Leia one corner of the net. "You toss. Over there," she directed.
Leia stepped forward and tossed the net just as Isab had shown her to while Isab tossed a handful of pellets of food. Something caught on the net, yanking it back, and— surprised— Leia gave way and stepped forward. Without criticism, Isab joined her and took hold of the net. "Right here," she instructed, "you pull. Just drag back to shore with you."
Her efforts were met with resistance, but she pulled just as Isab had shown her countless times until she'd dragged the net out of the waves and onto the dry sand. She looked back to the tethered net where a few fish were entangled, shiny tails flapping helplessly against the sand. She huffed a sigh and played it off as exhaustion as she considered the greater sums the other women had been dragging in for the last hour, but Isab still came hurrying to her side, shouting gleefully, "Harra! Harra! Beautiful fish! You do good." The woman knelt before the net and, in a single fluid motion, unsheathed a knife from her hip and cut into the head of one fish.
Leia was a trained soldier; and Leia had eaten fish plenty, too. But there was something about it that made her stomach take a deep-sea dive as Isab seized the fish in one hand and ripped off the head with a crunch. She held it up for Leia to see. "Good meal," she exclaimed, then tossed the dead fish into a basket with the rest of the day's catch.
Nearby, a few of the other women chuckled with amusement. "That's how we pick out the new ones," one of them— Himah, Leia thought she remembered her name was— said to her. "Whoever goes green in the face. But don't worry. It gets easier."
Leia smiled in appreciation as she took a seat beside her and the others. "I came here straight from the Alliance. I didn't think I could be surprised."
Nakia, a women closer to Isab's age with piercing jade eyes and full lips, cast Leia a sympathetic smile. "We know things can't be easy for the Rebel Alliance, but they are their own government. They have their own resources, and you get it all handed to you. 'Here is what you need for this mission', they say. Here? Food, shelter, clothes. It is all up to you. Here, you work for yourself. No time any other commitments."
"Why don't you all just join the Rebel Alliance, then? They would gladly take you in, feed you. We have plenty of resources whether the Empire realizes it or not—"
Himah just laughed. "Leia, Leia! Why are you here, huh? What do we have that your Alliance doesn't? Why can't you just go back to them?"
It took Leia no longer than a second to understand, and, at once, she felt so stupid for it to have taken her even this long to understand. Really, it wasn't about what the Alliance didn't have so much as what they did that Han and Leia had come to Reecee to escape. She understood now why all these women were here, why they stayed here, and it said so much about them, something that they all shared— something Leia didn't see in herself.
"Family. You're all here to be with your family."
"The Rebel Alliance is a glorious and righteous figure, and it is thanks to it that we have any hope at all in this galaxy. But there's a commitment that comes with being a Rebel, is there not? A commitment that discourages families and looks down on relationships."
Leia couldn't deny any of it. She didn't see it as a slight against the Alliance— it was just the truth. Being a soldier in the Alliance was constant. Constant moving, running, new stations, new new assignments, often new peers. There was no time to dedicate to a whole family— there was hardly time to dedicate to a relationship between just two people. If that wasn't a great enough obstacle, High Command did have the tendency to view relationships and families as distractions. While General Rieekan had definitely participated in Rogue Squadron's betting pools concerning Han and Leia's relationship, Mon Mothma set herself in charge of overseeing that every Rebel under her command was equipped with the most efficient birth control. It was all a necessity for the Alliance, really. They couldn't afford to lose their soldiers for honeymoons and babies.
Leia laughed silently to herself, laying her hand over her small belly. Mothma was rigorous about that damn birth control schedule, and it was thanks to that and the lcukiest timing that Leia and Han had to thank for their little package. Mothma had set everyone's calendars and the next renewal was scheduled for approximately a month after the battle on Hoth. Lucky you, Leia thought with more joy than she'd predicted she would have about it. Or you wouldn't be here, and Daddy and I would be racing back for the fleet.
"You're right," Leia admitted to the women. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't afraid of facing my colleagues and telling them I'm pregnant."
"I'm sure it's even worse for you. if you don't mind my saying so." Nakia's eyes grew round as the plump fruits she had just been picking from the trees earlier. "But you are a leader of the Rebellion, are you not? In High Command?"
"Was," Leia corrected her with her own amused grin. "But, yes, I sat on the High Command's Provisional Council for three years, made decisions, commanded troops. But they knew before I did that something could matter more to me than the Rebellion. I suppose it was just a matter of time before I left looking for something more."
"Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that you don't belong with the Rebellion. These things change; they're subjective. It's a matter of choosing whether you would rather be part of bringing change to the galaxy or being part of a family."
"So, you all chose family."
"Actually," Nakia grinned. "We chose the rebellion." She raised an eye and added a drawl to her tone as she elaborated, "Or, at least I did. Until I met my husband and he forgot the protection."
Refusing to give her even the satisfaction of an eyeroll, Himah took over. "But that's what Casita is for. You can't fight forever. At some point, you have to rest, find your own happiness. Maybe, that means having a family. Maybe, not. But if you do— or, whatever you do— you aren't alone. You have everyone else in the village to encourage you and help you along the way."
"I really appreciate that. Han and I will certainly need the help."
"Yes!" Nakia exclaimed. "I saw you practicing to swaddle on Guada and Mari's dolls. You aren't going to strangle the baby, but you just might drop her!"