Bonus post because I am thinking of our Princess and just felt like it.
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The cave was hot, the air dry, but it was nothing compared to the scorching heat of the twin suns. Han didn't think he had ever been so happy to have water before. It was going to be a long trek to civilization, and they might possibly be captured. But, without water, they would not make it too far from this cave. Dehydration had set in long before they found this shelter. Now, they just had to conserve their water and hope they could make it safely to…anywhere.
He glanced down at the Princess snuggled against him. Not for the first time since she had rested her head on his shoulder, he resisted the strong urge to wrap an arm around her and draw her closer. The soft, slow sound of her breathing was like a gentle breeze. He couldn't deny that she felt good at his side.
Han was not easily impressed, but she had impressed him yet again. He had expected her to bitch and moan her way across the craggy landscape, but she hadn't complained, not even once. He would have expected any woman to at least go on about the heat, especially a pampered Princess. And, clearly, she was pampered. That Palace of hers made it evident.
He wondered what made her so…what was the word he was looking for? Humble? That wasn't quite right. He couldn't come up with the word to describe her, but it amazed him that someone who had so much would risk her life for others. His own experience with the well-to-do had proven quite differently.
She had quite a mouth on her. Her quick wit really caught his attention and her attitude was the one thing that hinted towards royalty. She was clearly used to getting her way. Perhaps that was where she came by her fortitude.
He didn't want to find her so attractive. Not only was she a Princess, she essentially owned both Chewie and him. When the Imperials had been about to board, he had instantly been concerned for her safety, and not only because her father had entrusted her to him. He wanted to believe that was the reason, but it didn't ring true. He was drawn to her, even as he tried not to be.
He had dozed for a while and woken to find his awareness of her beside him would not allow him to sleep again. It was an unfamiliar feeling and he didn't like it.
Chewie growled softly from the right, where he had laid down and slept. Han nodded but remained still, not wanting to wake the Princess, but she stirred against his shoulder and for a moment, her head burrowed into him and he inhaled the scent of her hair. A light hint of sweat lie beneath a sweeter, flowery scent and it filled him in an oddly intimate way.
Then, she seemed to realize where she was and she sat up very quickly, expression filled with disoriented discomfort. Her hands were at her hair, fussing self-consciously at the buns that had loosed a few stray strands.
"Have the suns gone down yet?" she asked in a voice fuzzy with sleep.
"Looks like they're just going down now." He stood, walked to the cave opening, and peeked out. "Yeah. Let's get more of those flowers and get moving."
Chewie stood, grunting agreement, and the Princess followed suit, shaking her head as if to clear it. As they went to the crevasse that only allowed her passage, Chewie complained of hunger but Han ignored him. It wouldn't do any of them good to start thinking about food now. He divvied up the remaining flowers between the three of them and they each quenched as much of their thirst as possible before the Princess slipped through the opening in the rocks to retrieve more.
After filling Chewbacca's bag with flowers, they squirmed out of the cave and were met with the sight of the setting suns that bathed the landscape in a soft, orange glow.
One sun, either Tatoo One or Tatoo Two-Han had no idea which was which—had met the horizon, melting from a hazy yellow to a deep orange. The other sun remained above the horizon, still a glowing yellow, the bottom cloaked in an array of clouds, iridescent rays filtering through. More wispy clouds peppered the sky above, various shades of yellow and orange, with a tinge of pink here and there.
Leia's voice was dreamy. "This must be the only beauty on this planet."
His eyes bolted to her, and in the soft, glittery light, she looked impossibly beautiful. Not the only beauty, he thought, a tiny pang of longing shooting through him. It was a long moment that his eyes remained fixed on her face and then her gaze met his and he quickly looked away feeling disconcerted.
"C'mon," he grunted and led the way.
The temperature was dropping and had become comfortable, much to his relief. In the distance, he could see the end of the rocky terrain and the start of an endless abyss of sand. He couldn't guess how far they were from civilization and he wasn't sure how long it might take to reach it. But, he wasn't about to let the Princess know that.
It was a bit of relief when, finally, they came to the end of the rocks and cliffs and were once again on the flat expanse of sand. It was full night now, but illumination was plentiful as all three of Tatooine's moons were visible.
Having trudged forward fruitlessly for several hours, a chill had settled in the air. Han looked behind him to see that Princess Leia had her arms wrapped around herself, hood raised.
"You all right?"
She nodded listlessly, barely sparing him a glance. He stopped walking, waited then fell into step alongside her. After a moment's hesitation, he placed an arm around her shoulders and began rubbing up and down her arm. He felt her stiffen beneath his touch and some barrier inside him raised in defensive response.
"What are you doing?" she asked starkly.
"You're cold," he replied thickly.
"I'm fine." Her voice was frigid.
Han dropped his arm and resumed his quick stride, leaving her to fall behind again. He should have followed his deeper instinct and just ignored her.
Lips pressed together in an irritation that hid his wounded pride, he pushed her from his mind as they journeyed through the night. His legs were growing weary and he wondered about the Princess' much smaller legs, but shoved the concern aside and focused on their dismal circumstances instead.
A very low hum began in Han's ears and, at first, he dismissed it as some sort of insect. But, Chewie warbled quietly to alert him as the noise began to grow steadily louder and he realized it was coming from somewhere behind them. A faint light appeared in the distance behind them. It drew steadily closer and all three turned to stare at the source with trepidation.
Han was torn. It could mean help…or it could mean they were about to be captured. With nowhere to hide, there was no choice for them.
With a frustrated grunt of resignation, he turned and began waving his arms at the oncoming vehicle.
"What are you doing? It could be Imperials!"
"Where do you suggest we hide then, Your Worship?" he sneered without looking at her. "Feel free to bury yourself in the sand." He returned his gaze to the lights moving towards them, but not before he caught her sour look.
It was impossible to make out what came towards them as the beaming lights drew closer, causing the three beings to shield their eyes with raised hands. It slowed to a stop before them and Han moved to the side to clear his vision and assess their situation.
It was a medium-sized land crawler, normally used to transport raw materials, but the open cargo hold appeared empty, save for a few young humans. The driver was equally young and the girl by his side clung to him before he stood up in his seat.
"What you guys doin' out here?" His voice was slightly slurred and Han saw the group for what they were: a few teens out for a night of partying on a planet where there was little else to do. He breathed an internal sigh of relief.
"Trying to get to town." As little information as possible was the best way to go.
"How'd you get stuck out here?"
"A friend decided this was as far as he was taking us."
"Doesn't sound like much of a friend."
"Isn't anymore."
The young man appraised them, one by one, and Han knew they looked like a strange bunch out here in the middle of nowhere.
With a raise of his chin, he gestured towards them. "Hop in back. I can take you to Mos Eisley."
Relief brought a friendly grin to his visage. "Thanks. Appreciate it." He smiled at the Princess and she smiled back as they made their way behind the landcrawler to haul themselves inside.
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Under the cover of the low light of early morning, Han, Chewbacca, and Leia crept into Mos Eisley. Han had asked to be dropped off in the distance so that the noise of the landcrawler would not draw attention. It had been a smart move because the town was deathly quiet. He had never been out this early and the silence seemed eerie and unnerving.
The trio huddled beneath a large, tented structure that was shadowed from the rising sun. Sitting on the sandy floor in the dimness, they battled the rising heat by sipping some of the carefully hoarded flowers.
Han glanced down at the Princess. Her dress was stained with dirt from her crawl through the cave and she had taken down her hair from the mess it had become. Now she sat, arranging that hair into one long braid, her fingers moving in expert twists and twirls, faster than his eyes could follow.
By the time she was finished, the sunlight was peeking through the front of the tent, but they were still obscured at the back. The sounds of people arriving and setting up for business began to filter through the air.
"We gotta find passage off this system," he told her quietly.
"Not yet," she replied urgently. "There's someone I have to find. And hopefully the droid will be with him."
He gave her a stern look. "If we stick around, the Imperials are gonna find us."
"It's a risk we have to take." She dismissed him with a wave of her hand, which only angered him.
"Maybe it's a risk you have to take, Sweetheart!"
Chewie grumbled beside him but Han just ignored his friend.
Her eyes were angry slits when they found his in the slight light. "This is the mission you were assigned, that we were all assigned. You'll do as I say."
His natural opposition to orders flared brilliantly. "Why? Cause you own me?" he growled.
She stiffened, posture now rigid, and her expression became unreadable. "Because the Alliance owns you," she said coldly. "And I'm in charge of this mission."
"And I'm in charge of you!"
Her jaw tensed and her voice came out low and mildly menacing. "You are in charge of keeping me safe and you've done an admirable job of it. But, make no mistake. I am leading this mission. Is that clear?"
From his other side, Chewie barked and growled softly and Han bit back the nasty retort on the tip of his tongue. With an effort, he edited his response to something more suitable.
"What's clear is, you don't know how to look out for your own best interest."
She flicked her eyes in the other direction and huffed angrily, shaking her head in frustration.
Equally aggravated, Han crossed his arms over his knees and stared sullenly at the sand. The noise outside the tent increased and he turned his thoughts to the skies. When would he get to fly?
Thinking about being free amongst the stars helped calm him and when he felt able to deal with her again he spoke without looking at her.
"Who is it you're looking for?" He had almost said 'we,' but stopped himself. He was not a true part of the Rebellion and wanted to keep that clear.
"A general from the Clone Wars."
Reflexively, he turned to her. "A general? Out here?"
"Yes. I sent the droid to find him."
"Why?"
"Because my father said that if I encountered any trouble, General Kenobi would help me. So, I recorded a message asking him to bring the droid to my father."
"You really think your droid's gonna be able to find this guy?"
"I can only hope," she said softly.
He tried to wrap his mind around this but found it impossible. There were a lot of things that droids could do, but they lacked the ingenuity to pull off something like that without explicit instructions. The chances of the droid finding this General Whoever were slim to none.
Chewbacca spoke mildly into the silence. Han realized he was right.
"We need to find you some different clothes," he told the Princess.
He saw the sudden dawning of his words in the slow progression of thoughtful change to her expression. It gave him a small measure of pride that she hadn't thought of it herself. The look she gave him was questioning.
"When things get a little busier outside, I'll go and find something."
She nodded and her thoughts seemed to turn inward. He watched her for a moment, feelings muddled, before deliberately turning away.