Chapter 3
Leia Organa repressed the sharp intake of breath with which her body reacted when her sight reached the face of the Imperial Lieutenant Commander saluting her. Even without the name she would not have failed to recognize the hazel eyes or the subtle smirk that fluttered briefly across Han Solo's lips.
You're a fool, Leia Organa, the Princess of Alderaan berated herself as she extended her hand to him too. You should have known it...
Sweet Corellian stars, the kid's the Princess! She really is!
She looked nothing like the drenched brat he had fished from the lake the day before, with her elegant clothes and the long hair up in some complicate arrangement. She looked more mature, more in control. Royal. Still he would have recognized those sparkling chocolate eyes anywhere.
Han Solo laughed on the inside, knowing that this was a story nobody would ever believe.
"... Your lovely wife for a while, Lieutenant Commander," Viceroy Organa finished.
Han Solo blinked and dropped the small hand he was still retaining. "I'm sorry?"
"Dr. Tharen and I need to discuss some details about her work that will take some time, would you mind if I borrow her for a while, Lieutenant Commander?"
The young Corellian opened his mouth as if he had just remembered something but changed his mind. "Of course, Milord," he nodded.
As Bail Organa offered his arm to Bria and asked Winter to accompany them too, Han threw a questioning look to his wife. She shook her head fractionally and then turned her full attention to the ruler of Alderaan and former Imperial Senator.
The guides started to gather the group of scientists to bring them back to the shuttle that would get them back to Aldera.
"Is anything wrong?" the Princess's voice asked, watching him study his chrono with a worried frown on his forehead.
"No..." he answered. "Not really... But I need to report at the spaceport in a little more than two hours and my duffel's back at the hotel."
Leia remembered him telling something about leaving Alderaan the day before. "Oh. Don't worry, we can provide separated transportation if needed."
Solo shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "You think they'll take long?"
Her petite form straightened. "My father is a very busy person, Lieutenant Commander, I'm sure he will take the time he needs, no more, no less," she replied haughtily. Just what was this... Imperial implying?
The Corellian cocked an eyebrow, amused. He was sure Bria had been no saint all those long years he had been stuck at the Academy, and neither had he, but he also knew she was smarter than this. If she was so obviously excited about working with the old guy, there had to be some other reason for it. "I'm sure of it," he replied rolling his eyes.
An assistant approached them and whispered something in Leia Organa's ear. "Yes, of course," she answered. "Would you like to take a walk in the gardens with me after I say goodbye to the rest of your group, Lieutenant Commander?"
"So where are you stationed, Lieutenant Commander?" The Princess asked politely. How she hated the small talk mandatory in these cases, but each bit of information could be potentially useful, at the proper time.
"I'm between assignments, your Highness. I'll know when I report back to Coruscant in two days." His voice was even, emotionless. The exact tone he had learned - the hard way, of course - at the Academy that suited best these occasions. He had to be careful. Even if Alderaan was not the Emperor's favorite planet most of the time, she still was the Viceroy's daughter, heir to one of the most powerful families in the Galaxy. His in-laws, with all their wealth, were just working-class by comparison.
How do you get yourself into these situations, Solo? He asked himself.
"Leia?"
Solo and the Princess turned as one towards the newcomer's voice. A young man dressed in casual but expensive clothes closed the distance between them with agile strides. Blond hair, blue eyes, it was obvious he was an athlete of some kind.
"Jorlyn," she acknowledged.
Her stare was so cold that Han saw the youth literally shrink under her gaze. All muscle, no brain, he catalogued him. Poor idiot.
"I brought your swoop back," he stammered.
"Thank you."
The silence stretched between them.
"Do you need something else, Jorlyn?" Her words cut the clear air and the young man they were directed at flinched visibly.
"No..."
"Then I'd like to continue my conversation with Lieutenant Commander Solo uninterrupted, if you please. Goodbye, Jorlyn," she finished, lacing her arm familiarly to Han's and steering him away from the gaping blonde.
"I think you just broke the nerfherder's heart, Princess," he drawled imitating her accent, bending slightly to whisper in her ear. His free hand covered the small one she still had wrapped around his biceps and she turned her head sharply, her lips founding themselves only a breath away from his.
Leia's cheeks turned crimson in a split second, her mind working in overdrive, wondering how the blazes she had gotten into this situation with a married guy. And an Imperial Navy officer too for that matter.
She's beautiful, was all that Han Solo could think meanwhile.
Turning her face away she hurried him along a path that lead to a different section of the garden. Once they were hidden from the Nornen guy's view, the Princess slipped her hand from Solo's hold and for a while they walked silently between even rows of carefully groomed bushes.
Suddenly Leia stopped and plucked a few half-dried leaves from a branch. "They'll need all the strength they can muster when the blooming season comes..." She whispered to herself, as if she did not remember that she was not alone. "Maybe you'll get to see them in all their glory during the Flower Festival, Lt. Commander."
Dang, she was the proper Princess again. What a shame, he liked the brat.
"Maybe. Is that an official invitation?" He asked with a wink. Stop doing this to yourself, Solo. She's a kid, she's a Princess, you're a married adult. End of story.
"You don't need one..." The color came rushing back to her features. "I mean..." Why are you so inarticulate today, Leia Organa? "The gardens are open to the public during the Festival... And they're really beautiful."
"I'll try to come and see them, if I'm not half a galaxy away," he promised, smiling a little sadly.
"Since Dr. Tharen will be taking over Dr. Grasan's project, won't you be asking for a transfer to Alderaan?"
"I'm afraid I'm in no position to choose my destination, your Highness." And especially since I was the last one to be informed that my wife would be moving here.
Leia's sight dropped to the side of his pants. "But I thought..."
"It's just some old-fashioned piping, Princess. It doesn't carry any privileges." Not since the Navy top brass had wanted to discharge him dishonorably for the same actions the Corellians had decorated him.
There it was again, the hint of bitterness, she mused. Her treacherous mind tried to decide on the spot if he was cuter with this sadder look on his face or winking mischievously like before.
"My father could drop a word on your behalf..." She started.
"... I don't think that'll be necessary..." He denied.
"... you could be a great asset for us." Leia Organa's eyes dilated, her distracted brain noticing her slip at the same time the words left her mouth.
Solo's face turned dead serious immediately and he took his time to swallow and take a deep breath. "I don't think you wanted to say what you just did not say, Princess." He made a big show of checking his chrono again. "It's getting late, I should be going."