CHAPTER 8:

Princess Leia curled her fingers around the high window ledge and pulled herself up on her tip-toes, but she was still too short to see out of the tiny barred window. The light that spilled from it had dimmed, and Leia guessed that she had been locked in this dank cell for most of the day.

The girl slammed her open palm against the wall and turned away from the window. It was exactly twenty-two steps from the window to the cell door that consisted of rusted bars. It was difficult to discern the exact color of the walls, but Leia made the safe assumption that whoever managed this place didn't give a minute thought to the décor of the cell. Or maybe they did, she thought as she sat down in the middle of the room. If the designer intended to extinguish the hope of its occupants, then he or she was a genius. Leia rubbed her nose for the umpteenth time as she tried to eradicate the desolate smell of sweat, urine, and fear. As rank as this prison was, it was far better than the pristine prison aboard the Death Star. She involuntarily shuddered and pushed that thought out of her mind.

Leia pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head upon them. How did she manage to get herself in such a mess? It seemed like a well-thought out plan. Then again, "well-thought out" may be a bit of an overstatement. Inventive and simple, perhaps one of her best, she'd call it, provided everything happened as planned. But as she has come to learn, things rarely happened as planned. She had only herself to blame.

Leia pulled a face as she replayed the disastrous rescue attempt. The detonators exploded right on key, and amiss the chaos that ensued, she managed to hijack the transporter that carried the non-Humans. It was beautiful and brilliantly executed. She just didn't figure on some of the non-Humans not wanting her help.

The princess rubbed the spot on her arm where an irate Vicero grabbed her and yanked her out of the driver's seat of the clunky transporter she hijacked. She could have kicked her way out of that situation, but the Vicero had help. A Rodian grabbed her legs and dragged her out of the transporter, and the pair managed to hold her tight until the authorities showed up. Local authorities, no Imperials, and for that, she was thankful.

Leia's stomach grumbled, reminding her that no one had bothered with her once she was searched and thrown into this cell. None of her captors seemed to have recognized her, and that little blessing brought her great relief. She was certain her disguise wasn't good enough. One less thing she had to worry about. Leia chuckled to herself. Who would have ever thought she would be more than happy to be treated like a common outlaw?

And she had to find joy in the fact that her plan partially succeeded. While the Vicero and the Rodian were worried with pleasing the local authorities, the other non-Humans managed to escape in the hijacked transporter. Vasulo was a large city, unlike the tiny town from which they came. Leia was aware of the network of underground safe houses. She just hoped that such knowledge wasn't common or else those safe houses wouldn't be safe for long.

Hopefully the escaped non-Humans had better luck than her. Leia sighed and stole a look out of the bars. As far as she could tell, she was the only prisoner being held and there were just a few guards. When she had first been taken into custody, she was rudely searched, but not searched thoroughly. No one thought to run their fingers through her hair, and she had a hidden surprise there. Now, she just needed the perfect opportunity to use it.

Leia looked over her shoulder at the window. It was getting dark, and time was now becoming a factor. She most likely was missed by now. Han was probably furious with her. But, she reasoned, she was furious with him, so what of it if he was angry?

"Oh!" Leia mumbled. She had to figure a way out of this sorry excuse of a prison hold. And she had to do it before Luke, Han, or Chewie came for her. The last thing she wanted was to be rescued by that loud-mouth cocky smuggler.

Leia pushed herself to her feet and wandered over to the bars. She cleared her voice, "Guard?" No one answered, so she raised her voice, "Guard?"

A long limbed man strolled over, "So she speaks."

The princess took a step back and shrugged, "I'm thirsty."

The guard leaned against the bars, and his lips stretched back to expose perfectly lined teeth, "What's that got to do with me?"

Leia fought to contain her impatience. She sweetened her voice, "Can I have a glass of water?"

The guard's eyes roamed over her before he turned his attention to someone in the other room. He called over his shoulder, "Can she have some water?"

"Is she ready to give us her address?" a voice answered. "Or how about the name of her parents?"

The guard looked back at the princess and raised his eyebrows.

Leia's brow lowered, and she clamped her mouth shut. If she couldn't get him to open her cell, her chances of escaping were slim.

The guard shoved his hands in his pockets and shook his head, "You kids. I don't understand you." He lowered his head to peer into her eyes, "Why do you gotta mess with the system?"

"What if the system is what's messed up?" Leia ventured.

The guard laughed, his chortle easy and non-threatening, "You a revolutionary? Going to join the rebellion against the Empire?"

Leia bit her lip, and the guard shook his head, "You kids just don't know when you got it good. Your kind hasn't suffered enough to know."

"And the non-Humans?" she countered.

"We gotta take care of our own kind," he answered. He offered her a smile, "Why don't you tell us your name, huh?"

Leia turned away and walked to the farthest wall.

"Come on," the guard coaxed. "You seem too sweet of a girl to get yourself mixed up in all this political stuff."

Leia snorted and took a seat on the ground.

"Don't you want to go home?"

Don't you want to go home? Leia slowly inhaled and looked away from the kind gray eyes of the guard. He'd make things a lot easier for her if he wasn't so likeable.

"I'm not stupid," she finally said. "You're not going to let me go home."

The guard remained silent for several long seconds. He shifted his weight and nodded his head, "I suppose you're right there, missy."

The princess returned her attention to the guard.

"What you did was pretty bad," he continued. "You're lucky no one got hurt. And those non-Humans that escaped?" He shook his head.

"It was worth it," Leia mumbled.

"You know," the guard squatted down so that he was eye-level with the princess. "Maybe things aren't that bad. It's obvious that your actions were rash and impish. There's a good chance you'll be released to the custody of your parents until your trial, if your parents are upstanding citizens. You look like you come from a good family, that you're just acting out. Is that the case?"

Leia pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head upon them. The guard continued on when she didn't answer, "No one got hurt, and those Non-humans that escaped? They did it on their own. Those who were upstanding citizens did the right thing and turned you in. The others," he shook his head, "they had a chance to make the right decision, put you in the right. You're just a kid with messed up ideas. They're adults. They should know better."

"Know better?" Leia mumbled into her legs.

The guard stood up, "You still want that glass of water?"

The girl raised her head and nodded, inciting a warm smile from the guard.

"Hey, Norm?" he called over his shoulder, "Can I give our guest a glass of water?" When no one answered, the guard pushed himself to his full height, "I'll be back."

Leia ran her bottom lip through her teeth. He seemed like a nice person, but that guard was standing between her and freedom. Leia positioned herself near the door ready to take action.

The guard returned, but he wasn't alone. His mien froze into a mask of regret and fear, "It looks like the Imperials have taken an interest in you."

Leia sat back on her haunches, and her mouth and eyes widened in fear as she took in his companion.