Poe never thought Alderaan could be a dangerous place. It was a small planet, that was quite peaceful. They had high politics, and very pacifist laws. Violence was very low on this planet. It was a beautiful place. But human nature was what it was.
The streets of Alderaan were cobbled with beautiful lush trees either side. It was completely picturesque. Street vendors sold fresh food and beautiful ornaments and trinkets in colourful stalls here and there. Statues of famous galactic figures stood alongside famous people from Alderaan. In a large plaza at the centre of many streets branching out from it, in front of the large palace complex, a large statue of General Leia stood towering over them all. Poe looked up at the large figure, very much in awe.
"I'm starting to think you like my mother more than me." Dara said, a smile on her face. They were being accompanied by undercover palace guard. Poe wasn't exactly at ease posing as Dara's boyfriend in front of them all.
"Your mother was always my biggest hero when I was growing up. She pretty much saved the galaxy." Poe said with a shrug. He wasn't abashed at all about how much he looked up to General Organa. He was waiting for Dara to come back with a witty one liner but she was surprisingly silent for once.
"That's actually quite endearing." They walked hand in hand down the main boulevard, the people stepping out of their way. Some of the people recognised her as their Princess, others didn't really seem to know who she was, but they saw her regal bearing and intimidating presence.
"Dara Varana Solo, are you telling me, that I, the best pilot of the resistance, am cute?" He grinned quite foolishly at her. She only rolled her eyes in response.
"I need to get something here." She let go of his hand and drifted over to a stall to speak quietly to the vendor. Poe watched her with great interest. He was more infatuated with her with every day that passed. People passed between them, but Dara was safe. This was her planet and she was the Princess. Beloved by them. Her people revered her.
The crowd was getting thicker as Dara's conversation with the vendor continued. Poe wasn't feeling quite so secure right then. But he told himself to be rational. There were palace guards all around them and this was a peaceful place. Someone was walking towards Dara. They were in dark colours and shrouded. They didn't fit in. Poe's sense of panic overwhelmed him, and he tried to fight through the crowd to get to her. The person in dark clothing approaching Dara was holding something. Poe couldn't see what it was.
"Dara!" he shouted. She turned and saw the person, as they threw something at Dara, she turned her head just a fraction to avoid it, but she failed. The dark clothed person ran away and disappeared into the crowd. It was only a second later that Poe heard the ear-piercing shriek of pain. Dara was on her knees by the time Poe reached her.
The bastard had thrown acid at her. The left side of her head was angrily dissolving. Hair and flesh fell away from Dara's beautiful head. Poe held her arms briefly to look at what damage had been done. They had missed her face, but the side of her head was badly damaged. Her ear would have to be forsaken.
"Help!" Poe yelled. The palace guard was by the pair of them in seconds, pushing pedestrians away from them. Dara continued to cry out in absolute agony. "We need to get her to medical help. NOW!" Poe snapped at the guards. They jumped into action immediately. Poe would not leave her side. Not for love nor money would he leave Dara when she needed him. She clutched his hand to the point of agony on Poe's part, but he would not withdraw it. He. Would. Not. Leave.
"I'm going to take care of you Princess. It's okay. I've got you. I'll keep you safe." With a pang of guilt, Poe realised he had failed her. He had failed to keep her safe. Her pain was his fault. Nowhere was safe in this galaxy, and he should have been more vigilant. He gingerly picked up the glass bottle that lay beside Dara. "Get something to put this in. Just in case they need to figure out what did this to her. Or who, somehow." He passed the bottle to one the guards carefully and watched a medical vehicle finally arrived to take them away.
Poe couldn't pay attention to much else that happened, once they had been bundled up together. They had tried to separate Poe and Dara, but Dara had a vice like grip on him, and was staring up into his eyes, fury and pain behind them. She had her mouth clamped shut, but was still moaning loudly in pain.
"It's going to be okay. I love you, Dara, stay with me. You're going to be okay." Poe kept repeating platitudes to her over and over again. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realised he had told her that he loved her. He could worry about that later. Right now he was worried about his Princess. She crushed his hand. He would never complain about it. No matter how much pain he was in, he knew she had to be in much more grievous anguish. He hoped they could help her.