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“We can’t leave without mom and dad.”
Paige Tico tensed to keep herself from sighing in response to her sister, Rose. This was the fourth time this week, the eighteenth time this month, that Rose said that exact same sentence. The frequency of her insistence was increasing as the hours ticked down to their departure.
“You know they can’t come, Rose,” Paige said. It was the first thing she said every time.
“We can buy their way!” This wasn’t a new argument, but at least Rose hadn’t used it for a while. “Smugglers are greedy; if we have the money they’re not going to say no.”
“You know very well we don’t have any more money.”
“But our own savings-!”
“That’s for when we get to wherever they’re taking us,” Paige said, wiping her dusty hands off on the legs of her coveralls as she stood, “We have to be able to survive after we get out.”
Rose started to falter, much earlier than the last fight. “W-we can work.”
Paige sighed. “And we will work, but who knows how easily we’ll find anything, how much they’ll pay, how expensive food and lodging will be, how much-”
“But we’ll be with the Resistance!” It was Rose’s last ditch argument.
Paige looked at her, silently thinking what she always said aloud to this. We have no idea what state the Resistance is in, or how long it’ll take for us to find them, or if they’ll even trust us. This is all a long shot.
“Fine, Paige, I get it!” Rose shouted, stomping her foot in frustration.
They stood silently, Paige watching Rose as she stared at the ground, hands were balled into tight fists. Thankfully they kept their nails short, Paige thought, or she’d be hurting herself.
“It’s not fair, Pae-Pae,” Rose said in a whisper, miraculously getting all the words out before the tears started streaming down her cheeks.
“Nothing about this is fair, Rose.” She put her arms around her sister and held her firmly against her. “If it was fair, we wouldn’t have to leave at all.”
“I don’t like this,” Rose said. Between her and Paige, Rose was always the first person to say something, especially if something was wrong.
Paige didn’t respond from where she was curled up on her narrow bunk. She hadn’t been able to sleep, but she could at least pretend, let her body rest while her mind couldn’t.
“It doesn’t feel right,” Rose continued. Either she didn’t care about waking Paige up (she never had before) or she knew Paige was faking it.
“Of course it doesn’t feel right,” said Paige without moving. Paige always gave into Rose’s proddings, even when she knew better. “We’re hiding aboard a second rate cargo ship after leaving our family and entire lives behind, heading to who knows where, in a galaxy that’s at the edge of all-out war!”
It came out so much more forceful than she meant it to, loud and bitter words escaping her mouth like she had little control over them. But she was tired. So tired. Paige always had to be the strong one. The thoughtful one. The smart one. Not that Rose wasn’t those things, Paige knew her talents would go far beyond her own once Rose had the confidence, but Rose didn’t have a little sister to take care of. It wasn’t as dangerous for Rose to show her softness and vulnerability because Paige was going to make sure she was safe.
Now gone from their home, Paige didn’t have her own secret places and mementos to bring her comfort. She couldn’t get up in the middle of the night to find her mother reading or her father making tea and ask for their advice, or just sit with them and be treated gently like the young woman she was.
For a while Rose and Paige were allowed to move about the ship, and it was nice to stretch their legs and do little odd jobs and repairs for the crew and other passengers. They weren’t used to sitting back and doing nothing and not earning their way. But now they were going through territory that was rumored to be patrolled by the First Order and they were confined in the shielded smuggling compartment they were first loaded into.
It had only been 36 standard hours before Rose’s frustrated restlessness boiled over. She was tired of sleeping and laying around, tired of arguing in circles with Paige, tired of reciting the same poems in her head Grandma Etta made her memorize. She needed something to do, something new to think about, or she was going to start yelling and kicking the walls.
“Rose, will you braid my hair?” Paige asked in a voice so even it was like they were sitting in their stargazing observatory back on Hays Minor.
Rose stopped and stared at her, not really comprehending what she was saying. It wasn’t about their family, it wasn’t about the ship they were on, it wasn’t about preparing for the worst. Paige had something about… about her hair?
Paige grabbed her holopad and scrolled through the menus while she talked. “You always wanted to learn, right? Like those dancers and riders we’d see in the fathier holos - they always had such pretty hair. I downloaded instructions for a bunch of different types before we left. My hair should be long enough now to do them all.”
Unclenching her fists, Rose took a seat slightly behind her sister and took the offered holopad. She looked through the instructions, each one similar to a style they saw from holos or from travellers stopping briefly at Hays Minor’s small port. There were so many, she didn’t know how Paige could’ve remembered them all to exactly, but then she realized Paige must have been collecting these for a long time… Maybe ever since she started growing out her hair.
Guilt settled heavily in Rose’s stomach. She had spent so much time fighting against what was happening to her - to her family, to her home - that she should’ve spent helping the people around her prepare. Paige must have hated being sent away as much as she did, but Paige - the older, reliable, serious one - didn’t have the luxury of crying and yelling about it. She was being strong for Rose, and Rose wasn’t being grateful.
But she was. She was so grateful. If she could only choose one person in the entire galaxy to be at her side, it was Paige.
Putting the holopad down, Rose wrapped her arms around Paige’s waist, pressing her cheek against her sister’s shoulder. She couldn’t hold back her tears, but this time she felt like she was crying the ones Paige couldn’t.
Paige leaned back against her, laying her arms over Rose’s and entwining their fingers. The smile she let herself half was small, but sincere. She knew she wouldn’t have to worry as much about her little sister anymore. Rose was going to be ready to fight and work together not only for their survival, but for justice for their home.
Once Paige felt Rose’s breathing return to normal, she removed her hands and patted Rose’s arm. “Can you try the one that makes it look like you have a crown made from your own hair?”
Rose laughed and loudly wiped her nose on the hem of her shirt. She found the instructions on the holopad and set it up so she could look at it while using both of her hands.
“I’ll do my best, Pae-Pae!” Rose said as she started to comb through Paige’s hair with her fingers. She would always do her best for Paige.