CHAPTER 6:
Princess Leia's large brown eyes widened and her mouth dropped open for half a second before she leaped into action. She raced toward Han who was pinned down by a scraggly-haired beast with canines the size of her forearm.
"Run, Leia!" Han yelled through his clenched teeth as he wrestled the beast, fighting with all his strength to keep the dagger-like fangs away from his neck.
Leia stopped two feet away from Han and the determined animal when she realized her blaster was in her knapsack on the equine. She turned to the equine but stopped firmly in her tracks as another beast attacked the equine and began feasting on it. She grimaced and looked around. She then sprinted to a broken log nearby. She heaved the log over her shoulder and closed the gap between her, Han, and the thrashing beast. Using every ounce of strength she had, she swung the log, striking the beast in the head and knocking it off of Han.
"What the hell do you think you're doin'?"
Leia cringed. What was she doing? The beast shook its head and stumbled to its feet. She eyed the log. It was now too far out of her reached (why did she let it go?) and obviously impotent against that beast.
"Get outa here, Your Worship!" Han yelled as the beast jumped on top of him, pinning his arms down.
Leia searched the ground and found a large rock. She narrowed her eyes on her target and threw the rock with all her might. The rock sailed through the sky and slammed into one of the beast's fangs, cracking the impressive tooth. The animal howled and ran its tongue along its broken fang then looked between Leia and Han.
"Over here!" she yelled. "Come get me!"
"Leia, GET OUTA HERE!"
The beast expelled a low guttural growl that vibrated its way through Leia's blood. She glanced at Han who was fighting to clear his blaster from his holster. Her eyes returned to the beast. It climbed off Han and started toward her but abruptly stopped. Han was wounded which made him an easier target, and from the way the beast eyed Han, she was sure it was thinking the same thing. There would be no distracting that creature away from the smuggler now. The beast crouched down.
A dangerous fire lit up her eyes as she slipped her hand under her skirt and leapt on top of Han. Just as the beast took to the air, she pulled out the knife strapped to her leg and stabbed it in its carotid artery. The wounded animal howled as it stumbled away from them, falling hard as it bled out. Han managed to free his blaster and shot the other beast as it started charging toward them. The large animal dropped to the ground.
Only when the beast expelled its last breath did Leia's muscles relaxed.
"That was unexpected."
"Yeah," she nodded her head slowly before looking at Han. She found him propped up on his elbows and gazing at her with the most peculiar smile. Her cheeks warmed under his attention but she didn't move off of his lap.
"You're pretty strong for someone so small."
The princess brow pinched at the left-handed compliment, "I'm not that small."
The right corner of his mouth lifted, "You're not that big." He patted her on the head, "That was impressive."
"You're bleeding," Leia's anger dissolved into concern as she examined Han's shoulder for the first time.
"It's just a scratch."
"From the way it's bleeding, it's more than a scratch," she shook her head. "Take off your shirt."
"What?"
"Take. Off. Your. Shirt," she slowly commanded.
"Just wanted to make sure I heard you right," he grinned.
Leia rolled her eyes, "Just do it or I'll let you bleed to death."
"Hold your equines, Sweetheart," his hazel eyes twinkled, "I just wanted to be sure I heard you right."
"You're impossible," she grumbled as she helped him with his shirt.
"See? Just a scratch."
"It should be stitched up."
"Nah, bacta gel will be enough."
"If it's also stitched," she asserted.
Leia started to climb to her feet, but Han caught her hand, "You saved my life twice now. You most definitely like me."
"You're delusional!"
"I don't know…" he drawled.
"I would've done it for anyone."
"But you did it for me. Twice."
Han's chuckle followed Leia as she stalked over to the fallen beast, retrieved her knife, and stormed over to the dead equine. She clenched her teeth, knelt down next to the saddle bags and searched the contents of the bag. Her anger boiled up inside her but she didn't know why she was so angry. Was it because the beast that almost killed Han? Was it Han himself, how he could be so...so calm and light-hearted after what just happened? Why was she the only one worked up and…and what? She glanced over her shoulder at Han who had pulled himself over to a tree and was leaning against the trunk.
I have to get control of my fears, she admonished herself. If only she could be more like Han Solo, joking after perilous situations, whooping after storm troopers, confident to the point of arrogance, fearless in the face of danger. If only…
Eight months, fourteen days, and how many hours? Half a day, maybe? Eight months and fourteen and a half days since Alderaan, since first laying eyes on Han Solo who was nothing like anyone she knew. She would think after surviving Vader's torture, the destruction of her home planet, and the Battle of Yavin she would be a stronger person, someone who was fearless in the face of danger like Han. But all she felt inside was like a scared little girl, weak and easily shaken. How long could she hide her true self from the world? How long would it be until someone discovered she wasn't the brave and stoic princess they all wanted her to be?
She glanced over her shoulder at Han. He was examining his wound, giving Leia a chance to look at him without being noticed. His countenance was pale and from his rigid jaw and taunt neck muscle, it was clear to her that he was in pain. Leia stopped in her tracks. He looked so...so… She shook her head and swallowed down the uneasiness building inside her. Han wasn't invincible, she reminded herself. No one was. Han's vulnerability to the hazards of life just wasn't something she wanted to think about, especially now in the middle of a mission. A gust of wind mechanically wheezed through the trees, chilling Leia's blood. She inhaled, lifted her chin, and walked toward Han. When he noticed her approach, Han shifted his weight, relaxed his jaw, and smiled up at her.
"Lean all your weight on the tree," she ordered.
"I'm fine here."
"I want to make sure you don't move while I'm stitching you up," she crouched over the first aid kit and busied herself with collecting the implements she needed.
"Bacta gel will be enough," he argued but did as he was told.
Leia tore open the sterilization pad and was immediately overtaken with nausea as the antiseptic smell singed her nostrils. Again, that ominous feeling pressed down on her and she was in her cell on the Death Star-
"Never expected you to be squeamish."
She looked up to find Han quizzically staring at her.
"Far from it," she adopted a mask of royalty. "This is going to hurt."
"Ow!" he flinched and pulled away from her.
"Hold still, will you?" she ordered as she wiped the sterilization pad over the fresh wound.
She evaluated the severity of his wound: three long tears in his skin near his shoulder, most likely made by one of the beast's paws and not its fangs. That was good. There would be less chance of a bacterial infection than had it been from a bite. One of the cuts was substantial but not life threatening, while the other two slashes were superficial. Once she finished cleaning the wound, Leia dug into the kit and pulled out a numbing agent. She shook the can and sprayed it directly onto Han's wound, making sure she evenly covered it. Then she found a needle and some polydioxanone thread. Her nimble fingers threaded the needle and she mentally prepared herself for the job. She stole a glance at Han before she began on the deepest cut. He no longer looked so vulnerable, but the sight of his blood was enough of a reminder that he wasn't invincible. Everybody bleeds, she reminded herself.
Everyone dies. Leia bit the inside of her cheek as that thought floated through her consciousness. Eight months and fourteen and a half days…
"You've done this before."
"Huh?" her fingers paused as she looked up at him. "Yes, too many times."
"So why does a princess know how to suture wounds?" Han lowered his chin a touch to look into her face.
Leia returned her large brown eyes to the task at hand, "I didn't just follow my father around on mercy missions. I provided medical aid on the field."
"Your father let you go into the middle of a battlefield?"
"He wanted me to have experience in triage," she tied the last knot and moved to the next tear. "You need to hold still."
"That's what I'm doin'," Han huffed. "How old were you when you first had one of these triage lessons?"
"Fourteen when I first stepped foot on a battlefield."
"Fourteen?" he blew air through his teeth. "Lil' girls are supposed to be playing with dolls and mooning over boys."
"I had better things to do," she shrugged. "Besides, dolls never interested me much and the boys in court bored me." She moved onto the last tear.
"What kinda boys don't bore you?" he waggled his eyebrows. "Guys like me?"
She rolled her eyes, "Hardly."
"I don't know," he drawled. "Seems like you've taken quite a shine to me."
"Quite a shine," she shook her head and chuckled.
"So it seems."
Leia glanced up at him and decided to turn the conversation, "What were you doing when you were fourteen?"
"Gettin' myself into trouble," he answered but said no more.
"Of course." Leia bit her bottom lip then smiled, "There. All finished."
Han pressed his lips together as he examined her work, "Not bad."
"Not bad? I'd like to see you do better," she squeezed the bacta gel on her fingers and spread it over her perfectly spaced sutures.
"I hope not anytime soon," his grin contradicted the somber tone in his voice.
The princess nodded then applied the bandages over his wound, "Okay, Flyboy. We need to get moving."
She offered a hand to him and helped him to his feet. Han slipped his shirt back over his head and pulled it into place. The both stopped short when they saw the state of their transportation.
"At least it was a quick death," Leia quietly said.
"Yeah," Han looked toward the direction of their destination. "Looks like we walk from here."