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A soft droning buzz ended abruptly when the ramp closed behind them.
Rapunzel's severe lack of experience presented a problem. Din questioned his judgement when it came to her. He should've stowed away his bone deep loneliness and left her on Corona. He couldn't predict her behavior if he tried. And the natives here really didn't like Corona or her people. He worried about her response to possible hostility. He worried that no amount of time would replace harsh life experiences. And wondered when he'd stop worrying about her.
He didn't know the answers to any of it. There's one thing he did know: She needed a weapon. Not a frying pan.
Rapunzel skipped a few steps ahead of him. Pascal on one shoulder. The canvas satchel over the other. Her eyes bounced from one thing to another. The long delicate fingers on her right hand brushed everything in reach with soft, hesitate touches. She almost seemed afraid.
Afraid would be a good word to describe Rapunzel's current thoughts, but not in the way Din believed. Her mind raced to absorb and process the sensations thrown at her with fingers that trembled over the brown foliage that grew in the bushes all around. The cold from the compacted dirt froze the soles of her feet. She feared it was all a dream and she would wake in her bed, in her tower. Pascal's soft weight on her shoulder gave her some familiar comfort.
She treaded gently, afraid this wonderful adventure would end if she treated it too harshly. This world had stark differences to her own. Everything from the dry heat in the air to the wilted brown trees. Din said it was because they were closer to their shared sun and had long periods of droughts compared to Corona.
"Wait."
Rapunzel paused and turned to Din. Long shadows stretched off him and reached across the ground.
He nodded at the setting sun. "We should wait out the night here and travel in the morning. We're not far, but the cantinas can be dangerous after dark." What he didn't explain was that a lot of people pit stopped here on their way to the Outer Rim. And most going that way were usually running from something. He's caught quite a few bounties out here and Rapunzel wasn't ready for that type of confrontation.
Rapunzel nodded, slightly disappointed. "Should we go back to the ship then?"
"No point, nights only last a few hours here. Stalls open at the morning light and close midday. Natives sleep through then till the sun crests and the hottest time of the day passes."
Rapunzel listened with rapid attention. Even leaned forward a little, as if afraid to miss even one word. Her vivid eyes glued to his visor. He turned away from her strangely penetrating gaze and set to find her a soft bed of dirt to sit.
He found better.
The thin skeleton trees made a thick forest with bare dirt floors under the wilted canopy top. Vines ran from the thick bushes around the tree and raced up the bark toward the sun. Sharp thorns pointed out of the bushes. But at least it gave a clear vantage of almost one kilo of distance all around.
He picked his way to a spot clear of briars and bushes. His boots nothing but a soft whisper. Rapunzel followed just as quiet. Din felt a prickle of pride at her natural stealth. Some fallen logs against another thin tree served as a nice make shift seat.
Rapunzel sat next to him, with her normal complete lack of personal space. Her shoulder almost tucked under his. He huffed and moved over an inch.
She didn't even notice.
Rapunzel couldn't take her mind off of where she was. It's crazy that this planet sat next to her own, just a two day travel in a space ship. A large grin tugged at her lips. "Its so different from home." She exclaimed. She sat propped on the log. Her hands gripped the edge. She leaned forward. Her eyes flickered from her armored companion to the skeleton woods around them. She had to swallow passed the dryness of the air. "Are all places like this?"
Din shrugged. "Every planet is different." He leaned back with his arms crossed. His head tilted back till it rested against the tree. The sliver of skin between his helmet and the top of his jumpsuit drew her eyes. A rich golden light brown, she thought. Human. "Get some sleep. The sun 'll be up soon."
Rapunzel blinked, surprised to see that the sun had set while they talked. Her teeth pulled at her bottom lip. "Fine." She said. Reluctance clear in her voice. She pulled out her data pad from her satchel. "Can you figure out what Mother did to this? I've never been able to do anything but read a few books…"
Din took the slim metal tablet from her. Curious, despite himself. His gloved fingers tapped through the programming and content. "It's a general datapad, no specific purpose. She just locked it out of the broad network, probably so you wouldn't contact anyone. I connected it to the Razer Crest's system. There should be a good amount of information stored." Din read a lot when he had a little downtime. There's no harm in giving her access to all the stored data he's accumulated.
Din handed the data pad, now unlocked, back. She snatched it back with enthusiasm. Her eyes blew wide. He leaned back and watched with amusement. He dozed off to Rapunzel's face bathed in the soft glow of the screen and into that safe space between asleep and consciousness. His senses still picked up most things even as his eyes closed and things seemed distant and hazy.
Rapunzel couldn't possibly sleep. There was so much to look at and see…
She tentatively tapped through the different tabs. Her books were there. There was some sort of search engine. Ways to send messages…so much. Mother told her it only held books , that datacards cost too much. Her hand clinched into an unconscious fist. Just another lie.
She absorbed herself into the datapad. Searching for 'Mandalorian' with a shy glance at Din through her hair, then she read.
She read about the planet Mandalore. She read about their history. And she finally came to the Great Purge of Mandalore and the night of a thousand tears. It led into a rabbit hole about the Empire and the now New Republic. She never knew there was a galactic government…
With Rapunzel absorbed in history and Din resting, neither seemed to notice the beat up golden droid slinking through the trees toward them.
Din must've slipped deeper into sleep then he thought. Rapunzel's soft humming filled his awareness and loosened his muscles till he sat slumped. A sudden hard jerk sent his head into the ground.
"Stop it!" A feminine voice rang out.
The sky and small canopy of tree tops filled his vision and they were moving. His back scrapped against the ground with one leg in the air supported this conclusion. A metal hand had a bruising grip on his ankle, leading to a golden plated droid with a familiar dented head. It dragged him through the wood line.
"You will pay for your actions, swine." The droid practically spat at him.
Din cursed. His hand snapped out and grabbed the first thing he felt. It didn't register until he had already lobbed it at the droid's head, his other hand reaching for his blaster. Rapunzel's frying pan. When had she grabbed her goddamn pan? Still, it made a good projectile. It smashed into the side of the droid's head with a high pitched ding.
Strong small hands suddenly grabbed both of his and pulled. He watched as his blaster tumbled out of his holster with a painful sigh. His body lifted from the ground from the two opposing forces.
"He's mine" Rapunzel gritted through her teeth. "Give him—"
Din let out a long-suffering sigh. "Rapunzel, let me go. Right now." He barked.
She startled at his tone. Her eyes snapped to his.
"Now" He repeated.
She let go of his hands and at the same time the droid dropped his ankle.
He hit the ground with a grunt. A plume of dust and dirt rose in his wake. He rolled to his feet. Blaster in hand and aimed at the droid. His finger tightened on the trigger. A river of gold blond hair and lanky limbs jumped in front of him.
Rapunzel.
He quickly flung his arm to the side, the blaster aimed at the sky. His heart hammered against his breastplate. A slight trimmer in his limbs.
He almost shot her.
He glared at the back of her head, covered by her ridiculous hair. He was going to kill her after this.
"Rapunzel." He growled.
She glanced back at him with nervous eyes before she turned back to the droid. Her hands out in front of her. "Please. I know you two want to kill each other, but can you just…wait?" She pleaded.
The droid, oddly, relaxed when Rapunzel jumped between them. It's arms limp by it's sides. The eyes bright as they stayed glued to her face.
"A year. Din said we'd be back to see the lanterns in a year. A-And then you can go back to trying to kill each other" She continued. She thought a year would also give her time to dissuade one or both of them.
Din stared at Rapunzel. Her words played back in his head. She claimed him. She seemed to think they would not part ways when back on Corona. Interesting.
The guard droid had different things running through its programming. Because aside from enforcement, the King gave all guards a few very specific overrides.
Find the lost princess.
Protect the lost princess.
Obey the lost princess.
Find.
Protect.
Obey.
Obey.
"As you wish, my lady." The droid said with a faint bow. Its eyes cut to Din with a red, narrowed glare.
Mother Gothel watched on from a hill, a fair distance away, and seethed.
The droid was supposed to bring her flower back to Corona. She'll just have to do it herself. The Empire had fallen, but her friends persevered.
First, the bounty hunter had to go.
"Have your fun, little flower." She whispered venom into the wind. "It won't last."