CHAPTER 7:
Han Solo's hazel eyes lazily opened and met an electric blue sky that peeked between the camouflage of foliage. He yawned and twisted his aching neck. The princess was still asleep on his lap, and he hesitated to wake her. Her face was upturned to him, and her lips slightly parted. She looked content, so peaceful. Her right hand rested against her chest, but the fingers of her left hand gripped the front of his shirt, her knuckles white, belying her tranquil slumber. Han lightly ran his finger along her hairline, careful not to wake her. He could only imagine what was haunting her; there were so many real nightmares in her life from which he could choose. Too many bad things happened in her short life, and it angered him that she had suffered so much. The first words that came to his mind were it wasn't fair. But what was fair about life? Didn't he have just as much loss and strife in his own life? So why did her pain affect him like this?
Leia's two tails of hair were wound and curled around both of them. Han's fingers slid along the tail closest to him, and he was awed by its smoothness. He figured her hair would be stiff and sticky since it was always being forced into intricate styles. He lifted the end of the tail and twisted it around in the early morning light that seeped through the vegetation. The dark auburn strands caught the cobalt light, giving the appearance of violet highlights. Absentmindedly, Han brushed the tail along his cheek, and his eyes closed as he reveled in its softness. How could someone who seemed so hard be this soft? He smiled down at her. He felt as if he could spend an eternity watching her sleep.
What was he thinking? This was Princess Leia Organa, the youngest member of the disbanded Senate, the fearless leader of the Rebel Alliance, and the biggest thorn in the bottom of his foot. But right now, she didn't look like a spoiled, stuck-up, royal pain in the ass. She looked…so beautiful. Han yawned again in hopes to clear his mind. What was she doing to him? He thought he had her all figured out. But now…he felt like he didn't know anything about her. What bothered him the most was that he wanted to know more about her. What had gotten into him? If he was thinking Princess Leia was not the ice cold princess he thought she was, then maybe he needed to reassess his sanity. Or reassess his opinion of her. Han spent a few more moments admiring her beauty before he gently jarred the princess awake. She bolted into a sitting position, her head moving side to side as she tried to orient herself to her surroundings.
"Sleep well, Your Worship?" Han smirked, hoping to get a rise out of her.
Leia stifled a yawn and then rolled to her knees to face her companion, "Well enough, for the circumstances."
"You're welcome, Sweetheart," Han winked at her.
Leia sat back on her haunches and rolled her eyes, but she couldn't hide her smile, "So what's the plan?"
Han climbed over the front seat and deactivated the security system, "Figure we'd get an early start."
The princess climbed out of the speeder and helped Han remove the debris he used to camouflage the vehicle. As Han cleared out the last remnants of the foliage, Leia followed the path that the speeder made through the heavy vegetation the night before. She grabbed a few well-rooted bushes as she pulled herself up the inclination.
"Don't go far!" Han called after her as he worked to clear some of the dense foliage out of the path of the speeder. When he finished he stood up and glanced toward the direction Leia went. "Hey, Your Worship?"
No answer. Han angrily kicked at the foliage, "Come on. We need to get moving!" She still didn't answer him. How far away could she have gone? Idling around would only give Sargoza's men time to find them, and Han wanted to get deeper into the wild land before Sargoza's men had a chance to track them. He pushed his way up the small inclination, ready to give the errant girl a piece of his mind.
"Lei—" Han stopped in his tracks, drew his blaster, and aimed it at the man who held a blaster of his own at Princess Leia.
"Easy there, Slick," a straggly-haired man with one milky white eye smiled a toothless smile at Solo.
Han shifted his weight as the man adjusted his hold on Leia, "Let her go."
Another man with a wider girth and a mouthful of filed teeth hysterically giggled, his bald head bobbing up and down with the erratic cadence, "Now why would we do that?"
Han gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to blast that man's bobbling head off. Instead, he decided it would be best to play nice, "Cos we have a speeder. Let her go and take the speeder."
"Why don't you first give Rig yer blaster," the man holding Leia began stroking her head with the muzzle of his blaster.
Han looked into Leia's eyes. He detected a taste of fear amidst the anger that swirled in her dark eyes. He could tell she was tired of being in this position and itching to do something about it.
"Alright!" Solo held out his blaster. The bald man hobbled over to him and snatched it from his hands.
"It's a good one, Uriel!" The man glanced down the muzzle of the blaster and then twisted it around in his fat, grubby hands. "Oh, it's a beauty."
"Bring it here," Uriel ordered, and the other man complied.
Uriel gave the blaster he had pressed against Leia's temple to the man and exchanged it with Han's. Before he had a chance to retrain Han's blaster on the princess, she elbowed him in the ribs with as much force as she could muster, causing him to double over. Han's blaster fell from his hands and Leia dove for it.
Han took an advantage of Leia's actions. He charged the larger man, knocking him to the ground. Then he pulled at the man's pudgy fingers in hopes of extracting the blaster from the man's hand. Rig rolled over on top of Han, forcing the air out of his lungs. Despite the lack of air, Han pulled harder on Rig's pinky finger. Rig cried out in pain and grabbed Han's head with his free hand, slamming it against the ground. Han let go of Rig's finger and stopped struggling.
The large man started cackling as he slid off of Solo, "Did you see that, Uriel?"
Uriel had no time to answer as he struggled with the princess. However, Rig's outburst was enough to distract Leia, "Han!"
The princess abandoned her fight with Uriel and rushed to Han's aid. But Uriel wasn't finished with her. Uriel kicked Leia in the side, preventing her from reaching Han. She grabbed her side and rolled over. The straggly man's lips stretched wide and saliva spilled out of his mouth as he moved to stand over the princess. Despite her disgust, she allowed him to get closer, all the while overplaying the pain in her side. Just at the right moment, Leia kicked Uriel in the groin. Uriel dropped to the ground, and Leia frantically crawled toward the blaster. She had to reach it before Rig did any more damage to Han.
But Leia had nothing to worry about. As Rig moved to assist Uriel, Han jumped up and grabbed the larger man from behind. He strained as he fought to wrap his arms around Rig's neck. Still cackling, Rig began to spin around hoping to throw Han off of his back, but Han held strong. Rig dropped to his knees. Han scrambled over the man and grabbed onto the blaster.
Leia continued toward Han's blaster, hoping that the toothless man wouldn't recover from her attack. Just as Leia's fingers were about to curl around the butt of the blaster, the Uriel slammed his foot on her wrist. She cried out in pain, and Han froze. The bald man shoved Han off of him, rolled to his feet, and pointed the blaster at Han's head.
"She's a feisty little thing, ain't she Rig?" Uriel now held the princess by one of her tails of hair.
Han slowly sat up, and the toothless man pulled Leia to her feet by her hair. Her eyes squished up in pain, but she made no noise. Han felt as if it was his own hair being pulled.
Rig began giggling again, "Ain't she! Never seen one as feisty as her. She's gonna be a lotta fun!"
That was it. Han jumped to his feet and slammed himself into Rig, knocking him to the ground once again. The blaster in Rig's hand tumbled out of his grip, and Han retrieved it. He aimed the blaster at Rig's large head and his finger started to pull back on the trigger.
"I wouldn't do that, Mister," Uriel's calm tone stopped Han in his tracks.
Solo kept the blaster trained on Rig, but his complete attention was now on Uriel and the princess. Uriel smiled his toothless smile as he squeezed Leia's cheeks, forcing her mouth open. She immediately ceased struggling and became totally compliant once the muzzle of Han's blaster was securely in her mouth.
Solo's breath caught in his throat and his heart pounded in his ears. "Let her go," Han pleaded, "There's no need to hurt her."
"Drop yer blaster," Uriel's milky eye widened and the tendons in his neck stood out like the roots of the trees around them. Uriel shoved the blaster deeper into Leia's mouth, causing her to cry out. Han winced and dropped the blaster as if it suddenly burnt his fingers.
"That's much better," the straggly man said. "Rig, stop being lazy down there. Git yerself up now."
The large bald man rolled to his feet, retrieved the blaster, and grabbed Han by the back of his neck. Uriel's good eye stared into Han's. The toothless man began smacking his lips together, making a wet slapping noise. Han grimaced in disgust.
"This girl yer girlfriend?" Rig asked.
"No," Han honestly answered.
"Butcha like her," Uriel wheezed. "I can tell there. You like her a lot."
Han's eyes met Leia's. Then he looked back up at Uriel, "She's just a traveling companion. Giving her a ride to back to her family."
"Is that so?" Uriel removed the blaster from the princess' mouth, and Han visibly relaxed. That didn't go unnoticed by Uriel.
Uriel pushed back his greasy hair with the hand still holding the blaster, "Good to know she's not yer girlfriend. I've been needing one meself."
He leaned over the princess and pressed his crusty lips against hers. Rig's giggles evolved into a perverted cackle as the girl pushed and kicked in an attempt to get a way. Han started toward them, but Rig's hold on his neck tightened, and Han found that he couldn't move a muscle. Inside his anger raged; there was nothing he could do to protect her.
But Leia had never been the damsel in distress type of girl.
"Damn bitch!" Uriel slapped Leia away from him, slamming her hard into a tree. She yelped in pain, her lip stained with blood. "She bit me!"
Rip let go of Han and ran to Uriel's aid. Uriel pushed away the bald man. Uriel's good eye burned with anger as he moved toward Leia. He had every intention of teaching her a lesson she soon wouldn't forget. Leia, a little dazed from hitting the tree, prepared herself for the worse. Then someone grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet.
Every nerve in Han's body screamed for him to beat Uriel to a pulp for even laying a hand on Leia. But there was no time for that. Han held Leia's arm protectively as he pushed her toward the speeder, all the while firing the blaster he recovered. He was so blinded by anger, he didn't even bother to look to see if he killed them. Leia started toward the passenger side of the speeder, but Han pulled her deeper into the dense foliage. He broke into a run, shoving branches and debris out of their path and not taking a moment to look back to see if they were being pursued. Leia did her best to keep up with him, occasionally tripping over roots and other unknown objects, but Han wouldn't let her fall. He continued dragging her along as fast as he could. Her lungs burned to the point that she couldn't even yell at him to stop if she had the opportunity.
Han finally stopped running when he came to a cliff. He let go of Leia. She dropped to the ground and struggled to catch her breath. Han stomped around in a small circle as Leia watched.
"Han…" she touched his leg as he passed her.
He stopped in mid-step and looked down at the girl as if he just remembered she was there. Han knelt down next to her and took her face in his hands, "I'm so sorry."
Her moist brow knitted, "How's your head?"
"Huh?" Han's eyes were focused on Leia's bloody lip. He wiped out away the blood with his thumb. He smiled to himself, Uriel's blood.
"Remind me never to kiss you without warning," he joked, but she didn't smile.
"Sargoza's men are probably still on our trail," she pointed out. "And I'm sure they have already informed the Imperials. The Imperials have the technology—"
"Those weren't Sargoza's men," Han interrupted.
"Who were they then?"
"They are the reason that why the city dwellers don't go into the wild land."
Leia slowly nodded, "So now we have Sargoza's men, the Imperials, and these guys after us."
"Can't get nothin' passed you," Han quipped, and then he stood up. "They live out here and prey on travelers. Sometimes they raid the outposts, but usually they stay in the wild land. They use the environment to their advantage."
"So why did we leave the speeder?" Leia pushed herself onto her feet, ignoring the ache in her side. "It would be a lot faster than traveling by foot."
"Yeah," Han walked over to the edge of the cliff. "But they wanted the speeder and everything in it. Hopefully, that'll slow them down, give us more time."
"Wish we ate something before we left it for them," Leia muttered. She joined Han at the edge of the cliff and peered over the ledge, "I thought you said the land out here was flat?"
"It is," Han answered, "but we've gotten a little off course."
"Just great," Leia sighed. "Now what?"
"Well," Han scraped his upper lip with his bottom teeth, "I figure our best chance is to go to Grel. That's the closest city around here, if you want to call it a city." Han glanced back at the tangle of vegetation, "We could go through the bush, but those guys have a lot more friends out there." Then Han looked down at Leia, "Or we go that way."
"I was afraid you were going to say that," she unconsciously grabbed a hold of Han's sleeve as she leaned a little farther over the ledge of the cliff.
"That'll be the fastest way to Grel." Han pressed his lips together, "And probably the safest."
The princess turned her large eyes up at him, "That's not very reassuring." She looked back down over the cliff's edge, "Well, I hope your climbing skills are better than your mechanical skills."
"What's wrong with my mechanical skill?" Han's eyebrows peeked as he followed her.
Leia continued looking for a good place to start their decent, "You tell me." She stopped and knelt down, "This looks like a good spot."
Han stood behind her, hands planted firmly on his hips, "You know the Falcon would run a lot better if the Alliance had better equipment."
The princess slipped her legs over the ledge, "You keep telling yourself that." She started sliding herself down but abruptly stopped, "Are you going to help me?"
Han grabbed Leia underneath her arms, but instead of lowering her down, he pulled back up on the ledge. She pulled herself out of his grasp, "What are you doing?"
"So did you do a lot of climbing in the Senate? I mean literally, not figuratively."
"I'm very agile, Captain," the princess' chin lifted a few centimeters higher.
Han's right eyebrow rose, "Really? Just how agile are you?"
Leia scowled at him, "More agile than you'll ever know."
Han's lips slowly spread into a wide smile as he pondered her agility. A tingling sensation ran up his spine as he appraised the small girl in front of him. She had her eyes angrily narrowed on him and the ugliest frown on her face, but she still looked beautiful to Han, maybe more beautiful. Han couldn't help but delight in her anger.
"Oh!" she huffed and then turned to back to the spot she was about to climb down a moment ago.
Before she had a chance, Han lifted her off the ground. Leia twisted around in his grasp, "Put me down this instant!"
Over there looks like a much easier way down," Han walked several meters to the right before putting her down.
"What's wrong with where I was?" Leia demanded. "Stop acting nerf-headed. My place is perfect."
"Yeah, perfect for falling."
"You're just angry because I insulted your mechanical skills," she accused.
"Yeah, but that still doesn't make your way better," Han insisted. "Look, this way isn't as steep and there are more foot holes and wider ridges."
The princess' lips squeezed up to the left as she scrutinized Han's choice of paths. Then she looked up at Han. His head was held high and his arms were crossed over his chest while he smiled smugly down at her. She narrowed her eyes on him once again, but there was no way around this one. She held out her arms, "Fine. We'll go your way."
Han's tongue clicked triumphantly against the roof of his mouth, "I knew you'd see it my way."
The pair began their decent at a slow, cautious pace, testing ridges and foot holes before completely trusting the rock formation with their weight. They used the occasional sprigs or roots sticking out of the rock wall to compensate for their awkward climbing skills. Han took the lead, much to Leia's dismay. He didn't care if his brashness irked her; her safety was his only concern. If the rocks, ridges, and sparse vegetation could hold his weight, they would definitely hold hers.
"Make sure you step where I step," he ordered.
Leia's eyes rolled as she clung to a root, "Can you repeat that? Maybe I'll hear you the seventh time you say it."
Han looked up at her and scowled, "Just be careful."
"Yes sir, Captain," her voice dripped with sarcasm.
Han grit his teeth together. Now wasn't a good time to get into a sparing match with her. He pressed his body as close to the rock wall as possible and ignored the droplets of sweat that interfered with his sight as he scaled a thin ridge. He risked looking up at his climbing companion. Leia lowered herself onto the ridge he was standing on, relying heavily on a gnarled root poking out of the rock wall. Han returned his focus to his own descent. He shoved the toe of his boot into a grove and his hand into a crack as he made his way to another ledge. Although it was a lot shorter than the last, he was thankful that it was wider. Leia followed close behind. She dropped onto the ledge as graceful as a malix.
Han glanced around, looking for his next move, but Leia had a move of her own. She twisted a sprig around her arm and scaled the course rock wall. She reached out to a ledge with her foot and Han's heart leaped into his throat. There was no way she was going to make it.
"Leia, don't do it!"
But his words came too late. The tip of the ledge crumbled under her weight, but Leia managed to throw herself onto it before she fell. She smiled triumphantly up at Han from her crouched position.
Han's eyes widened, "Don't ever do that again!"
"It seems I'm much better at this climbing thing than you," she teased.
"Just move over," Han ordered as he traced her steps.
Solo's right foot was firmly planted on the ledge. He was about to swing the rest of his weight over when a buzzing sound stopped him in his tracks. He found himself face to face with an angry looking vilify curled into a large crevice. The thick-skinned vermin was poised and ready to strike. He stayed there frozen with fear. Vilifies had the meanest bite of its species, and that poisonous bite caused instant death even for prey the size of Han. He couldn't think of any way to get out of this.
"Don't move," Leia ordered.
"Wasn't planning to," Han whispered.
The leathery vilify pulled his head back and went in for the kill. Instinctively, Han pulled his head back, but he knew that wouldn't be enough. Just as the jaws of the dangerous creature were about to clamp down on its prey, a stick the width of Han's thumb was shoved into its mouth. Han watched the vilify as it was pulled out of the crevice by the stick and tossed away, slamming its body against the hard rock wall as it fell.
With mouth agape, Solo stared at the princess. She smiled at him and answered his silent question, "Reeiken taught me that little trick. Once the vilify's jaws lock on something, it can't open its mouth until its venom is completely released."
"Remind me to thank Reeiken when I see him next," Han exhaled. Then he started to look for his next move. The encounter with the vilify threw off his momentum, and he found himself stuck in between the two ridges.
Leia lied on her stomach and reached out to him.
"There's no way you're gonna be able to pull me over to you," Han pointed out.
But she had no intention of pulling him onto the ledge with her. Instead, she reached over and slipped his blaster from its holster, "Close your eyes and try to pull your feet up as much as possible."
Han's brow furrowed, "What are you doin'?"
The princess smiled sweetly at him, "Trust me." Then, closing one eye, she aimed the blaster at the rock wall near Han's feet.
When Han realized what she was doing, he screwed his eyes shut and waited for his foot to be blasted off. Leia squeezed off two shots, and chips of rock struck his leg. He opened his eyes and looked down. The princess had made a couple of foot holes with her precisely aimed shots. Han couldn't help but be impressed with her blaster skills. He looked up at the girl and smiled at her with a relieved, crooked smile. She returned his smile as she sat up. Han shoved his feet into the newly made holes and made his way toward Leia. Still smiling at him, she scooted back to give him enough room.
And then the ledge gave way from underneath her, sending Leia tumbling down.