Chapter 13

It seemed like only moments later, though it must have been a few hours, when noises from above jarred Shmi abruptly and completely awake. She clung to Kern in terrified silence, listening to heavy footsteps and harsh voices questioning. Granny Tikva's thin voice answered them. Shmi couldn't understand what they were saying, but the conversation seemed to go on a terribly long time. More footsteps accompanied by clanks and thuds followed. Shmi stared fixedly at the rectangle in the ceiling where the steps waited, neatly folded, certain that at any moment their hiding place would be discovered and those steps would descend, booted feet thundering down them. But the steps remained unmoving, and at length the noises died away, all once again quiet.

She buried her face in Kern's chest. "Do you think they'll come back?"

"I hope not. I trust Granny Tikva."

"So do I, but…"

"I know." He kissed her, and she returned it with desperate need. They loved each other fiercely but silently. Shmi had a wild vision of the searchers returning and catching them in the middle of lovemaking. She almost broke into hysterical laughter, but instead threw herself with redoubled passion into Kern's arms.

They slept again, and eventually woke. Neither of them had a chrono, and there was none in the hidden room, so they had no way of knowing how much time had passed, but they knew it must be near evening. They dressed themselves and waited, seated on the bed, talking in hushed voices.

They both jumped when the stairs finally began their descent. But they relaxed a moment later, when Granny Tikva's voice called out, "It's all right, dearies. You can come up now."

Shmi couldn't help a trace of lingering suspicion as she climbed the steps, and she glanced around anxiously as her head emerged into the main room. But Granny Tikva nodded encouragingly to her, and the stranger seated at the table, a man who looked to be in his early thirties, rose and came to clasp her hand, and Kern's when he followed her.

Granny Tikva introduced him. "This is my son, Frelvak. Frel, this is Shmi, and this is Kern."

"I'm honored to meet you." Frelvak's voice was deep and husky. "To set out upon the Road requires great courage. I expect you'll want to find out what's in store for you. Come, sit down, and I'll tell you what I've been able to arrange today."

The three of them took seats around the table. Granny Tikva bustled back and forth to the kitchen, setting a meal of warm stew and tall cool drinks out for them, joining them at the table as they began to eat and talk.

Frelvak took a bite of stew and sighed in appreciation. "This is wonderful, mother. Thank you. Ardila will be sorry she missed it, but she stayed home to get the children to bed. They'll have to come visit their Granny another night. We wouldn't want to disturb our guests."

Shmi was about to protest that she would not have minded if the children had come, when understanding struck her. Frelvak did not want to expose his children or his wife to the danger posed by Shmi and Kern's presence in this house. She ducked her head and bit her lip.

Frelvak turned his attention to the two escaped slaves. "There are a few freighter pilots that help us by smuggling Travelers offworld. The next one due in to Mos Eisley is Foss Daveen, but his regular run won't bring him here for several weeks. I contacted him today, and we agreed that it would be best for him to follow his established schedule, to avoid raising any suspicion. Mother and I can shelter you here until he arrives. You will have to spend most of your time down in the hidden room, unfortunately. It won't be very pleasant, but you should be safe as long as no one knows you're here."

Shmi and Kern assured him that the tiny room would be more than adequate.

"When Foss's ship gets here, it will take a couple days for him to unload his cargo and take on a new load. Then we'll sneak you on board, and he'll take you to Naboo. That's the nearest Republic planet, and his usual next stop. How does that plan suit you?"

"It's far more than we could have ever hoped for," Kern said. His hand reached for Shmi's and squeezed it tight. "We'll never be able to repay you for your kindness to us."

Frelvak shook his head. "There's no need. Slavery's a blight on the galaxy, and we do what we can to work against it. It's a privilege to help you."

Kern nodded. His hand clutched Shmi's even harder. "You've already done so much. But there is one other thing…"

Shmi looked at him, puzzled.

Kern looked down, then met Frelvak's eyes, an odd mixture of pleading and defiance on his face. "My mother is a slave also, here in Mos Eisley. If there's any way we could get word to her, and take her with us…"

Frelvak nodded, though he frowned doubtfully. "Mother and I are fairly well known here, and some have their suspicions of us. We try not to be seen talking to slaves if we can help it."

"I understand." Kern's voice was resolute. "I would never ask you to put yourselves or your mission at risk. I'll go to her myself."

Shocked, Shmi grabbed his hand. "You can't do that! She's still with… at the same house where you grew up, right?"

"As far as I know."

"Someone would recognize you! You told me it hasn't even been ten years, yet, since you were sold to Jabba. There've got to be lots of people around Mos Eisley who would know your face still. I mean, what if your… her owner saw you?"

Shmi could tell he knew she was right, but he refused to give in. "I'll just have to risk it. I've been thinking of her so much lately… I didn't expect to have a chance to reach her, but we're here, and we've got time, and a safe place, and she's so close… I can't leave without at least trying, Shmi."

"I know." Shmi thought of her own mother, and father, and brother. She could only assume they were still on Tatooine somewhere, but she had no idea where, or even if any of them were still alive. If she did have that knowledge, she would certainly be as insistent as Kern on trying to bring them to freedom with her. She hated trying to dissuade Kern, so well she understood his urgency, but the risk was just so great…

Suddenly she realized the solution to the problem. "I'll go." She raised her voice over his objections. "No, it makes much more sense for me to do it. I've never been in Mos Eisley before. Nobody here will recognize me. You just tell me where to go, and how to find her. I'll be perfectly safe."

"Perfectly safe?" Kern's voice was high with incredulity. But when their eyes locked for a long challenging instant, it was his that dropped first. "I don't like it."

"I don't like it either." She shivered a little inside, thinking of wandering the unfamiliar streets of Mos Eisley alone. "But you've got to admit, I have a better chance than you."

Reluctantly, Kern nodded. He looked at Frelvak. "Well?"

Frelvak looked back and forth between Kern and Shmi, then glanced at his own mother. "All right. I 'd rather you didn't risk it, but I can see why you have to. But, take my advice, and wait until Foss's ship docks. There'll be less time that way for anything to go wrong."

Kern and Shmi agreed. They finished the rest of the meal speaking only of inconsequential matters. Frelvak bid them good night and departed for his own home, and Granny Tikva let them down again into their hiding place.

The next weeks were both wonderful and stressful. At first it was bliss for Shmi to be able to spend every moment of the day with Kern. The first day they filled the long hours with talk of all sorts of things, both weighty and trivial. They luxuriated in the freedom and privacy to make love whenever they wanted, and took generous advantage of it. They shared the meals that Granny Tikva brought down to them, and marveled at the totally unfamiliar opportunity to relax without any demands on their time.

Very soon, though, the tight quarters grew claustrophobic, and the endless empty hours began to seem more curse than blessing. Within a few days Shmi had grown heartily sick of their confinement. She could only play sabaac for a certain amount of time before growing bored with it. She could only sleep so much. There was no space to move or to stretch her legs, and her body, which had been accustomed to constant hard work, felt weak and dull. Even Kern's company, much as she adored him, grew trying after awhile.

The fourth time she tripped over his boots on her way to the tiny refresher alcove in the corner was too much, and her temper snapped. "I asked you not to leave these lying in the middle of the floor!" She snatched up the offending boot and hurled it hard against the wall.

He was as stressed by the days of confinement and forced inactivity as she was. "Why don't you just look where you're going, then? It's not like there's anywhere else I can put them."

"You can put them at the foot of the bed, where I put mine! You're messy, and thoughtless, and you don't care if I fall and break my neck…" She crumpled to the floor and hid her head in her hands, sobbing.

He came and tried to lay his hand on her shoulder, but she twisted away. "Just leave me alone!" she shrieked.

"Fine." He retreated to the opposite side of the room, scarcely more than two meters away, and studiously ignored her as her wails gradually quieted to sobs, then to occasional sniffs and hiccups. She huddled on the floor, arms wrapped around her knees, head tucked, unmoving except for every now and then scrubbing her face on her sleeve. As the silence stretched cold between them, shame crept into her heart, making her misery that much more acute.

Finally she could bear it no longer, and she lifted her head. "Kern?"

He was lying on the pallet, his back to her. "What?"

"I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"Hm." He was quiet and still for a few moments longer. She noticed he had placed his boots carefully beside hers at the foot of the bed.

He rolled over to face her. "I'm sorry I left them laying where you could trip over them."

She breathed deeply, feeling tension drain from her shoulders. She crawled onto the bed and cuddled up to him. His arm went around her and squeezed her gently.

That wasn't their last quarrel, but they did learn to temper their anger and reign in the hurtful words that came first and most easily to their lips, and to treat each other with extra consideration and gentleness.