The weeks that followed were the sweetest Shmi had ever known. She floated through each day on a golden cloud, mind occupied with thoughts of the night. She knew her feelings weren't hidden, and her relationship with Kern must be obvious to everyone, but she no longer cared. Even when lack of sleep caused her to nod at her task, and the head cook barked at her to wake up and get back to work, she brushed the fear and anger aside. Kern was her husband, she was his wife, and that was all that mattered any more.
She forgot to pay attention to the passage of time, so she didn't understand at first why one night Kern held her tighter than usual, and loved her with a frantic desperation unlike his usual gentleness. She held him, afterward, and stroked his hair back from where his face was buried in her shoulder. "What's wrong, Kern?"
"We finished round one hundred and two tonight. Tomorrow is it, Shmi. They'll insist on starting early and playing until the round is over. Tonight might be the last… If I don't win…"
She silenced him with her mouth on his, the kiss heightened by the terror they both felt. "Of course you're going to win. Don't even think of any other possibility."
But for all her brave words, she clung to him, and he to her, seeking comfort that didn't exist.
At the next day's meal, they ate together in near silence, only an occasional quiet word or gentle touch acknowledging the other's anxiety. They retreated to the courtyard, carefully watered the flowers, and then sat together without speaking. Shmi could sense that Kern was restless, trying to find the words for what he wanted to say. She waited, patiently letting him think, until finally he was ready to speak.
"Shmi, I've been thinking… I don't have to go through with it. No, hear me out. What we have is so precious; do we really want to risk it? I never thought I could be happy in slavery, but I have been happy, these past few weeks. I could be content to stay here, with you. If that's what you want."
Shmi leaned against him, unable to meet his eyes. "The past few weeks have been the best of my life. I could happily live this way forever. I hate the thought of risking it. But… it's not just us we have to think about, any more."
He stiffened against her. She nodded, pressing herself closer to him. "I was going to wait to tell you, because I'm not sure yet. But… I think I may be pregnant."
For a long moment he was still, and she closed her eyes and buried her face in his chest, afraid to see his reaction. But at length he put his arms around her and crushed her close. She looked up at him and he bent to kiss her. His eyes met hers, all the doubt and confusion gone. "That settles it, then. I'll make the bet, and then… whatever happens, happens."
She nodded.
He broke into a tremulous smile and reached to caress her belly, looking at her for permission. She pressed his hand there firmly, though it was far too early to feel any difference. She laughed a little, and he joined her, eyes wide with wonder. "It's so hard to believe, Shmi. I never thought…"
"For me too. But I was due to start my cycle four days ago, but I haven't yet. And yesterday I felt a little nauseous in the afternoon, but it went away after I ate. So I think I must be."
For a while they shared their joy in silence. But mindful of the need to return to work on time, eventually they stood and made their way toward the door.
Kern dug in his belt pouch. He took her hands in his, pressing a small cold object into her palm. She stared down at the speeder key. "Keep this. Just in case. You might find a way to use it someday, if…"
She shook her head in denial, eyes wide with fear, but he continued.
"I won't name you when I propose the bet; I'll just say myself and one other. Not that they won't guess, but still, you should be safe. The game probably won't finish until late tonight. If I win, I'll come and get you as quickly as I can, so pack anything you want to take with you, and be ready. If I don't come by morning…." He swallowed. "I love you, Shmi. I will always love you. Don't ever forget."
Shmi was crying. "I love you, Kern, I love you…" His lips met hers, infinitely gentle, and she wept, for she knew he was telling her good-bye, if indeed this were to be their final farewell.
He tore himself away. Hand in hand they walked through the corridors to where they must part. Her last glimpse of him was his back, tall and straight, as he strode away from her toward the garage.
That night, she lay awake in her bed, fully dressed, eyes fixed on the stars outside the tiny window, heart pounding. She had made a small bundle of her few possessions and tied them up in her apron. It lay waiting by the curtain. She had no way of knowing how the game went. A thousand times she became convinced that it had been too long, that Kern must have lost and even now the Gamorreans must be dragging him before Jabba to be summarily executed. A thousand times she hoped again, certain every tiny sound was his footstep outside her curtain. The night wore on.
She started awake. The stars had jumped to new positions. She must have drifted off to sleep. It was far past midnight now. "Kern?" she whispered. But her straining ears heard nothing.
Desolation flooded her. It was too late. He was probably already dead. She was too cold for tears, too empty for grief. She closed her eyes, sure she would never sleep again, but longing for the oblivion of unconsciousness.
This time it was definitely a sound that woke her. She froze as her curtain fluttered. Were they coming to get her also, knowing her to be Kern's accomplice?
A hand touched her cheek. "Wake up, Shmi." She started shaking, for it was Kern's beloved voice, and his lips were on hers for a quick kiss, and his hands firm in hers pulling her upright. "Let's go."
She scrambled out of bed and grabbed her bundle. She threw her arms around him just to assure herself that he was real. "You won?"
"I won. We've got to hurry. The patrols will only avoid the garage for an hour."
They padded as silently as possible through the hallways of the women's quarters. As they approached Irneeto's guard station, Shmi went ahead. The gold disks of Irneeto's eyes glowed in the darkness.
She realized she had nothing for him. "I'm sorry, Irneeto, I forgot to bring you anything tonight."
"Don't worry about it, furling. You've given me more than I could ever have hoped for. And you're here to collect your debt, aren't you?"
"Yes."
He pulled the keys from the belt at his waist, and turned to unlock the heavy durasteel grating that barred the entrance to the slaves' quarters. Shmi held her breath as the creak of the hinges as it swung open seemed to echo in the silence of the night.
"Don't tell me the specifics, but you have a way to get out of the compound, and to safety?"
"We do." Guilt assailed her. "Oh, I hope you don't get in trouble for this, Irneeto." The thought hadn't occurred to her before that he might be blamed for their escape.
"Me? I never saw anything." He reached out to pat her arm. "Don't worry about me, furling. Just be careful." He turned to Kern. "You take care of her, you hear?"
"I will." They clasped hands. Shmi threw her arms around Irneeto and hugged him fiercely.
They slipped through the gate, and Irneeto locked it behind them. The corridors of the compound stretched before them, changed by the shadows from their usual familiarity to an alien landscape. But as Kern had assured her, they were deserted, and the two of them made their way without difficulty across the compound to the garage.
Shmi fumbled with her bundle, and carefully extracted the key from where she had tied it in a corner of her apron. Kern took it and went to where a small speeder was moored, secured to its docking station by a heavy chain fastened with a large padlock. The snick of the key turning in the lock was barely audible, but the clank as the chain hit the ground made Shmi jump, seeming to echo around the garage for long moments until at last silence returned.
She lent Kern her strength, and together the two of them dragged the speeder, bouncing gently on its repulsors, toward the vast door. Kern worked the controls, and the door rumbled upwards. He stopped it just high enough for them to drag the speeder out, ducking their heads. Then he shut it again. Shmi no longer knew whether the pounding of her heart came from fear or exertion.
But despite the noise, the garage remained deserted as the descending door cut it off from her sight, and the flat expanse of sand outside the duracrete walls of Jabba's compound stretched empty and vast underneath the blazing stars. Ketrell was honoring his bet. Shmi looked up at the twinkling lights of distant suns, allowing herself to believe for the first time that soon they would be out there, among them.
She climbed into the speeder as Kern took his place in the driver's seat and started the engine. The little speeder was as fast as Kern had promised, and within moments the low outlines and domed tower of Jabba's compound had vanished behind them. She shivered as the cold night air whipped past them in the open cockpit. Kern put his arm around her shoulders and she gratefully leaned into him.
"Have you ever been out here before?" she asked him. "Do you know the way?"
"I've studied the map. We'll hit the road that leads to Mos Espa a little way ahead. We'll circle the outskirts of the city, and then join the main road south to Mos Eisley. It's a long way; I hope you're not too uncomfortable."
"No." She didn't say that she would gladly endure icy wastes, flames, storms, nightmares to gain their freedom. A few hours in a chilly speeder was nothing.
She didn't dare say, or even think too loudly, that they were out, they were free, their plan had succeeded. They were still in danger, and would be as long as they remained on Tattooine. She wouldn't risk jinxing the remarkable luck that had blessed them so far.
She snuggled her head more firmly into Kern's side. "Tell me about your game. How did they react, when you made the bet?"
"Actually, they didn't even act surprised. I think they must have guessed that's what I was planning. I think they hoped I would, even, because I had to put up a huge amount of cash to cover it. Any one of them that beat me would have been set for life – or until they lost it all again, more likely. Anyway, it was an exciting round. All the others dropped out until it was just me and Ketrell. In the end, it came down to the last card."
"Only one card." Shmi felt dizzy. Maybe it was better, after all, that she hadn't been able to be there watching. Just hearing about it was almost more than she could bear. It wouldn't have done them any good if she'd screamed, or fainted, or fallen down dead, now would it?
"Yes. He had the stronger hand, but I was only one card short of a six-card orbit. I had one last chance to complete it. I knew there was only one card left in the deck that could do it. The odds were at least fifty to one against me. Any other hand I'd have dropped out to cut my losses. But – I didn't have any choice. So I drew." He shrugged. "And I got it."
Shmi closed her eyes and leaned against him. They must truly be favored by gods or fate or Force. She sent her heart's fervent thanks out into the night.
The desert rolled along beneath the speeder. They passed endless kilometers of wind-sculpted dunes, bizarrely shaped outcroppings of rock, and flat glassy plains. Shmi caught haunting glimpses of fantastic landscapes lit only by the hard glitter of the stars. She drowsed a little, her head on Kern's shoulder. The night seemed endless, but eventually, just as the sky was starting to lighten in the east, a collection of low domes and rectangles peeked up over the horizon. As the sun appeared, they arrived at the outskirts of Mos Eisley.
Kern halted the speeder. He sat and looked at the city for a long moment before climbing out and offering Shmi a hand. She clambered down, stretching legs stiff from the cold and the long inactivity. She pulled out her bundle and slung it over her shoulder. Kern retrieved his slightly larger bundle from where he had stowed it in the back of the speeder and set it on the ground. Then he climbed back in, warned Shmi to stand back, and restarted the speeder. He backed up and turned the speeder until it pointed out into the trackless desert, away from both the city and the road they had followed here. He jumped out, leaving the speeder running. Shmi wondered what he was doing. Then she understood. He reached in and engaged the speeder's drive, and jumped back as it shot away. He watched in satisfaction until it was out of sight, then turned to pick up his bundle and throw and his arm around Shmi.
"The autopilot should keep it from crashing into anything until it runs out of fuel, far from here. If any one ever finds it, it won't lead them to us. Come on."
Side by side they set out toward Mos Eisley.