"It is not time or opportunity that is to determine intimacy;- it is disposition alone. Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others."
~ Jane Austen, "Sense and Sensibility"
The Challenge was to use that story quote. With great apologies to "Gone With The Wind", here is my take on SW meets The Deep South...
Wandering Among The Stars
It was a hot summer day, and Princess Leia Organa, dressed in a silky, light-weight green frock befitting her station, sat on the upper-most step leading up to the Aldra Royal Palace. It was a huge home, really more like a museum, but that didn't matter. She had grown up inside this estate and dearly loved every room, every piece of furniture and every painting hanging on its walls.
Gathered in a semi-circle around her, and grinning down were three of her long-time beaus, Tycho Celchu, Raal Panteer and his younger brother, Heth. Each man tried to out-maneuver the other, trying to get closer to the Princess.
"It's so very warm outside today," Leia stated to no one in particular.
"Would you like a cool drink?" Raal offered to Leia. "I could go fetch you something."
"I'd rather have the Prince bring me something," Leia said, carefully watching for a reaction from the trio.
"The Prince of Naboo?" Tycho repeated, shaking his head. "He'll be too busy with that new lady friend of his… what's her name?"
"Mara Jade," Heth supplied, grinning. "She's a looker, that's for sure."
"Ha!" Leia snapped, her brown eyes flashing in anger and jealousy. "Red hair is most unattractive on a woman. And besides, red hair fades out with age."
"Doesn't seem to matter to Prince Luke," Tycho argued. "He's been bitten hard by the love-ant."
"I've heard he's going to formally announce his engagement to Miss Mara tonight, before we head off to fight those nasty Imperials," Raal commented.
"NO!" Leia shouted, jumping up and clutching her chest dramatically. "He wouldn't dare!"
"That's what I've heard," Raal insisted. "Right after the Formal Ball."
"That's not going to happened," Leia declared. "Not if I have anything to say about it." With that, she trounced off, leaving the three flustered men behind in her wake.
Back in Leia's expansive bedroom, Winter helped tug a heavy, ornate gown over Leia's elaborately coiffed hairstyle. Winter leaned forward, noticing Leia's watery eyes. "What's the matter?"
"Nothing," Leia replied, before bursting into tears.
Winter quickly gave her friend a handkerchief, before guiding her over to sit on the edge of the canopied bed. "You can tell me."
"I've heard a rumor… rumor…"
"Yes?"
"That Prince Luke is going to ask that shrew, Mara Jade, to marry him tonight!"
Winter nodded. "Oh. That."
"How can you be so cold?" Leia demanded. "I've loved Luke ever since I laid eyes on him."
"You say that about all the cute boys," Winter pointed out.
"You've only had eyes for Tycho," Leia said, her tone frosty. "Even though he always hangs around me, acting like a sappy puppy. He never even glances at you."
Winter turned away, flushing with embarrassment. "You don't have to be cruel. I've known Tycho my entire life. You've just met Prince Luke a month ago."
"It is not time or opportunity that is to determine intimacy;- it is disposition alone. Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others," Leia stated firmly. "Luke and I are soul-mates. We are destined to be together for all eternity."
"Seven days?" Winter questioned, her tone dubious.
"With Prince Luke, it was a mere seven hours and I knew."
"You might have a difficult time convincing him of that, considering his love for Miss Mara."
Leia flicked her hand dismissively. "She is but a stumbling block along the way to true love. Once Luke knows how I truly feel, she will fade from his mind like a mist that lifts in the face of the morning sun."
Winter wasn't too sure that the Princess spoke the truth, but she wisely held her tongue.
The Princess walked regally down the curved staircase, smiling as every single man standing below turned their gazes upward at the descending young woman. Leia's eyes scanned the crowd, desperately seeking to locate Prince Luke of Naboo, the next in line to the throne after his aunt and adoptive mother, Queen Sola Naberrie. Unfortunately, Luke was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Leia's eyes locked on a newcomer – a tall man leaning casually against the staircase banister, wearing black slacks and a black vest, with a gun rig tied around his leg. What was even worse than the ostentatious display of a blaster, as she got closer she realized he was leering at her with absolutely no respect displayed in his manner or expression.
Not willing to let him fluster her, Leia stopped a few steps from the bottom of the stairs, allowing her to tower over the insolent man. "Proper manners would have dictated you leave your weapon at home instead of bringing it to the Ball," Leia said disdainfully.
"I've never been one to let manners get in the way of desires," the man drawled back, completely unfazed at her reprimand.
"You speak as a man of ill repute," Leia returned, ignoring the fluttering of her traitorous heart. "From Coruscant, I presume?"
"Corellia."
"Even worse."
The man had the audacity to give her a cocky grin, and take a deep, mocking bow. "Captain Han Solo at your service, Miss..?"
"You may address me as Her Royal Highness, Princess Organa," Leia replied, descending the remaining steps and pushing past the handsome stranger. "If you dare address me at all."
"Of course, Your Mighty High Royalness," Solo said, mocking her title with impunity. "I'll be sure to watch my manners in the future." He held up his fingers, showing her they were crossed.
"I can't imagine you were invited to this party," Leia shot back hotly. "Perhaps I will summon the guards to escort you from the premises."
Solo shrugged. "Go ahead. I'm sure your father can always find another pilot willing to risk his neck to defy the Imperial blockade around Naboo, and bring that Prince kid to this fancy local shindig an' then take him back home."
"Luke?" Leia questioned, suddenly very interested in what Solo had to say. "Did you fetch Prince Luke and bring him to Alderaan?"
"Yup, that's his name."
"Where is he?"
Han scratched his chin. "Last I saw, he was in the garden, smooching with some cute red-head."
Furious at Solo for relaying this information, the Princess stalked off, intent on finding her true love.
Luke wasn't in the garden, despite what that cad Solo told Leia in the foyer. Unfortunately, the woman known as Miss Mara Jade was sitting in the gazebo, cooling herself with a silk embroidered fan and looking quite alluring in her low cut emerald green ball gown with a stunning diamond and emerald necklace and matching earrings. The jewels must have cost a fortune, and Leia suspected they were a gift from the handsome young Prince. Those jewels should have been hers, by all that was right and just.
Leia was about to turn and head back to the mansion when Mara had the nerve to actually call out to her, "Princess Leia?"
Slowly, deliberately, Leia turned back to face her foe. "Yes, I am. I assume you are Miss Jade."
"Of course," Mara said, quickly rising to her feet and hurrying out of the gazebo to approach Leia. "It's so very nice to finally meet you. Prince Luke has had nothing but good things to say about you, and your family, as well. "
"That's nice." Leia glanced back toward the estate. "I do have something I need to ask Prince Luke. You wouldn't happen to know his whereabouts, do you?"
"He just went inside, to speak to my cousin, and told me to wait for him here," Mara replied. "Luke's been acting so mysteriously today."
Leia regarded Jade with curiosity. "Cousin?"
Mara smiled. "Yes. Tycho Celchu is my first cousin."
"I wasn't aware of that," Leia replied. "You're Alderaanian?"
"Oh, just on my mother's side. My father hails from Kuat."
"Too bad for your father," Leia said distractedly.
The red head laughed, thinking Leia was joking with her, although the Princess had been quite serious. "That's probably true to a certain extent."
Leia walked off without saying 'goodbye', leaving Mara standing alone and somewhat perplexed by Leia's strange behavior.
Finally, Leia's search was rewarded, and she located Prince Luke just as he was about to exit the mansion. "Luke! I've been searching for you for hours!" Leia cried, grabbing Luke's arm and pulling him close. "Have you been hiding from me?"
Luke smiled indulgently at the young Princess. Last month, he'd met her three aunts, Tia, Celly and Rouge, so he blamed most of Leia's self-centered behavior on those that raised her and influenced her life. "No, Leia, I haven't been hiding. I've been very busy since I've arrived on Alderaan, but it's certainly nice to see you again. You're looking very well."
Leia batted her eyes at the Prince. "Thank you, Luke." She glanced around, noticing the many guests that were leaning close to the pair, trying to eavesdrop. "Can we go somewhere private? The library, perhaps? I have something important I need to tell you."
"Certainly," Luke agreed, allowing Leia to pull him into the huge library.
Leia was relieved to see it was empty, and quickly shut and locked the door. "Finally! Now we can talk."
"What do we need to talk about?"
"Us," Leia replied, frowning at the Prince. "You and me. Us."
It was Luke's turn to frown. "What about… us?"
"Luke, surely you can't be thinking about asking Mara Jade to marry you!" Leia said, her voice rising in pitch. "Tell me that's just a nasty rumor, or the boys are teasing me ever so mercilessly."
"It's not a rumor." The Prince smiled gently, taking her hand. "My dear Leia. Why does this news upset you so?"
"I thought… I thought…" Leia gasped, jerking her hand back as if Luke's touch suddenly burned. "I thought you loved me."
"I do love you," Luke replied. "When I met you, it was like discovering a sister I never knew -"
"NO!" Leia shouted, stepping back, her eyes wide. "I don't want to be like a sister! I love you, Luke. And the love I feel is not sisterly."
Luke seemed taken aback at this confession. "I wasn't aware…"
"You kissed me! Last month, after that dinner, you kissed me!"
The Prince blinked in surprise. "It was a very chaste kiss, Leia. A mere peck on the lips. I'm sorry if you took the gesture for something more than it was intended."
"I'm better than Mara Jade," Leia argued, switching tactics. "She's not even royalty. I'll bet she's not even rich, and her speech sounds course, like a person that grew up in the lower levels of Coruscant."
"That's not very nice, Leia," Luke chastised. "Mara happens to be very refined. And I happen to love her very much. I am going to ask her to marry me, this very evening."
"You think she's pretty? Prettier than me?"
"No, that's not it," Luke responded.
"If you ask her to marry you, I'll die of a broken heart," Leia cried in despair. "I will never, ever be happy again."
"Don't be so melodramatic," Luke said, shaking his head and moving toward the doorway. "You have dozens of young men that are pursuing your hand. You'll survive this, Princess. Someday, when we're both older, we'll have a good laugh about this conversation." He unlocked the door, and turned one more time to face Leia. "Have a good time at the Ball tonight. Don't let this upset you and ruin the entire evening."
Then he left, and Leia was the one left standing alone in the large room. She stood completely still for long moments. Up until this point, she'd been certain of her ability to convince Luke to leave Mara and fall into her arms. She wasn't prepared to be rejected. No one had ever rejected her before in her seventeen years. The shock faded, and rage boiled up, and over. Leia reached down, and picked up an expensive vase, one of Aunt Celly's favorites, but that didn't matter. She pulled back her arm and launched the vase with all her might across the room, sailing it over the long sofa that faced the fireplace, and smashed the innocent object against the painting above the fireplace's ledge. It crashed into thousands of shards with a satisfying amount of noise and destruction.
"HEY!" a deep voice objected from the sofa. "Watch where you throw things, Your Royal Hot Temperness!"
Startled, Leia staggered a step backwards. "What? Who?"
The man sat up, brushing pieces of porcelain from his shoulders, and to Leia's horror, she immediately saw it was none other than Captain Solo. "What are YOU doing in here?"
"I was tryin' to get in a little nap, but between all your yellin' and throwin' things, it's pretty damn hard to do," Han muttered, rising off the sofa.
"You heard my private conversation with Prince Luke?"
"It was pretty hard not to," Han replied.
Leia could barely repress her indignation. "Why didn't you say something? Why didn't you let us know you were lying there, eavesdropping?"
"It was sort of entertaining, first listening to you throw yourself at the poor, confused Prince, and then get rejected like a bad piece of fruit."
"What you did... was… spying! It was positively rude!"
"First you call me a man of ill repute with no manners, and now I'm rude," Han mused. "You do like to call me names, sweetheart."
"I'm not your sweetheart!" Leia spluttered out. "And I am certainly not a 'bad piece of fruit'!"
"I might be persuaded to change my mind about that," Han said, approaching the Princess. "Care to try?"
"Certainly," Leia said sweetly. "But you are so tall, so you'd better lean down."
Grinning, Han moved his face closer, and was rewarded with a very hard … slap. He put his hand to his stinging cheek. "What was that for?"
"For being… a rude, ill-mannered, scruffy-looking scoundrel!" Leia snapped, then stomped out of the library.
Han watched her go, and gave a lopsided grin at the departing Princess. "You could use a good kiss, sweetheart," he said softly, amused. "And someday, I'll be the one to give it to you."
THE END