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“My feet are kriffin’ killin’ me!”
“Stop being a big baby and shut up! We’re almost there!” Leia hissed, trying her best to not slap the damn scoundrel “I’m deeply sorry for how my companion is behaving Kodo,” she shot an apologetic look to the man sitting next to her on the luxury speeder.
Kodo shook his head, amused “Don’t worry Leia, captain Solo is a much needed breath of fresh air. I’m sure you can remember how hard it is to play nice in front of so many Imps for so long,” his smile turned sour.
She nodded, a far away look in her eyes “I don’t think we can thank you enough for what you’re doing for us. I know this must be far from easy for you and your family.”
“Nonsense. And playing your fake fiancé is surely not a difficult task,” he joked, winking at her.
She smiled, feeling a little lighter, but every hopeful thought that had entered her head soon left when Han exaggerated a loud cough.
“Yes?” she asked, exasperated, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“Just wanted to let you know that I hate everythin’ about this and that my feet are still killin’ me.”
“Yeah?! Well you aren’t wearing five inch heels and a freaking skin tight corset, so I advise you to shut up!”
“Force, you’re jumpy tonight,” he grumbled under his breath, slouching on the front seat next to the driver.
“And sit up straight! We’re almost there!”
“Oh yeah?! Well-“
“Okay!” Kodo clapped his hands, looking extremely uncomfortable “Captain Solo, I’m deeply sorry to have put you in this position, but I’m sure you understand that your role here is more than fundamental-”
“Yeah, as if! I can take care of myself perfectly well, thank you very much! And-” Leia started, trying not to narrow her eyes too much, knowing that people could see her.
“Leia,” Kodo shot her a calming look. “You have to admit that Captain Solo’s idea of coming as your personal bodyguard was a stroke of genius-”
“See! I’m a genius!”
Kodo sighed “And I feel much more confident knowing that a man with the blaster skills of captain Solo will always be at your side. I can’t assure you protection, but if you’ll need to flee without being seen, he will be there to help you. That’s more than I could’ve promised you.”
Leia huffed, forcing every muscle in her body not to slouch and whine like a little girl “I know.”
“Then let’s just lay low. I’ll try to gather as much dirt as I can on the officers but you’ll need to mingle with the wives,” Kodo grimaced “Just be careful, those women are harpies.”
Leia shuddered “Yeah. Can we go over our engagement story one last time? I need to calm down.”
“Sure,” Kodo nodded “We officially met two months ago, my mother and your mother were introduced on Chandrilla at your parent's home and we arranged a marriage soon after. Try not to talk too much about the fact that I was a junior imperial senator, we don’t want anyone remembering you too,” he twisted his hands in his lap “I proposed over dinner at my parent’s a month ago and we’re planning to get married in six months time, as soon as the spring comes on Chandrilla.”
Leia sighed “Han do you remember your cover story?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“I would like to hear you repeat it. Just once.”
“But we rehearsed it for two hours on the trip here!”
“Please? For my peace of mind.”
Han huffed, frowning like a child “I was born on Nubia but I trained with the royal guards on Naboo. I have a ten year experience in the bodyguard business and I’m a freelancer, I deal mostly with high end beings. Your mother, Miria Denau, hired me after you tried to run away from home two years ago,” here he had to cover a snicker “and I’ve been your trusted knight in shining armour since then, miss Kandra,” he smirked.
Leia rolled her eyes “And what’s your name?”
“Ianar Felian.”
She nodded “We can do it.”
Kodo rested his hand on her shoulder, smiling softly, making Han’s eyes narrow “Yes we can, Kandra,” he winked.
She chuckled nervously “I just feel so strange, red hair and green eyes are so far off my normal appearance.”
“That’s kind of the point, miss,” Han grunted.
“Ianar, just remember you have to open my door and help me out. Try to act as elegantly as possible,” she gritted her teeth.
He sat up straighter, schooling his expression into a more professional one “I know how to be elegant, miss.”
She nodded, adjusting her handbag on her lap. It was made of chainmail, so she couldn’t hide any type of blaster in it, which made her feel queasy, but Shara Bey assured her that she needed an handbag like that, since she was going for an ‘Old Republic court knight’ vibe. Her makeup was too bold for her liking, but she had to admit that it made her features change drastically. She wasn’t used anymore to such elaborate headpieces and gowns, so she was fighting a huge headache already, and her feet were screaming, begging to be freed from those wretched boots.
The speeder finally came to a stop and Leia relaxed her features, trying to look like the girl who had grown up at the palace again. Han opened her door and she smiled politely, taking his hand and getting out of the vehicle. The brushing of his fingers on her gloved ones made her stomach churn, but she was quick to hide her embarrassment by taking Kodo’s arm and nodding politely at all the old ladies who were watching her from a distance.
Damn maybe she needed a fan? Everyone here seemed to have one. She hadn’t really been thinking about fashion trends the last few years, but maybe she could’ve looked at some magazines, anything could’ve blown her cover.
She could feel Han walking behind her and, much to her chagrin, that made her feel extremely more safe. She had the unexplainable need to look for his hand and she had to tighten her grip on Kodo’s arm to stop herself from reaching for him. What the hell was happening to her?
Kodo seemed right at place, smiling and making small talk here and there, charming generals and waiters alike. She, on the contrary, felt like everyone knew that she was a fraud, that she hadn’t been to a ball in years and that she was a criminal, a terrorist, as the Empire liked to say.
She wasn’t used to being a diplomat anymore, she had become a woman of action, and she hadn’t even noticed.
Kodo whispered something in her ear and before she could ask for him to repeat himself, he was leaving, shaking hands with the most important people there and entering the ballroom, while she was left like a dumbass near the entrance.
Years of training came in handy though, because she continued to smile politely at everyone who passed her by, making small talk with some wives and giggling just when needed, just to remind everyone that she was young and naive, someone they could trust with their secrets.
She felt a hand on her lower back and she almost jumped out of her skin, before Han’s voice reached her ears “Miss, your fiancé asked me to escort you to the ballroom since he’ll be held back by some acquaintances. Are you ready to go in?”
She briefly looked at him, trying to convey with a simple look all the gratefulness she felt towards him in that moment and nodded “Thank you Ianar, I’d like a drink right about now,” she smiled genuinely, maybe for the first time that night.
It was obvious that he was trying to look professional, but he couldn’t keep himself from winking at her, before giving her his arm and taking her to the refreshments.
She covered her mouth with her hand, which many could’ve mistaken for a demure gesture to make her look more pure and innocent, but she was really trying to hide her stupid grin.
She was surprised, but Han could really clean up good if he wanted to. He was wearing some kind of black suit that vaguely reminded her of a tunic with a built in belt, new boots that were definitely more structured than the ones he usually wore and a pair of sunglasses with yellowish lenses. His hair had been kept a little bit longer than usual and he hadn’t shaven in a few days, but, instead of looking even scruffier, he looked… good?
No, good was an understatement. He was sexy. Maybe the hottest man in the entire ballroom. And he was looking at her.
What are you thinking you stupid girl?! Of course he’s looking at you! It’s his job! What the hells is wrong with you?!
“Hey,” he whispered in her ear “Relax.”
“I am relaxed,” she bit back.
“You’re breakin’ my arm.”
She looked down at where their arms were intertwined and she blushed “Sorry.”
“’T’s okay,” he said, scanning the ballroom to find the buffet “There,” he nodded to a corner, where there were a few sofas and coffee tables.
She nodded back and followed him, already tired.
They were almost there, she could already taste the feeling of being seated, when an older lady stopped them in their tracks “Oh dear, I don’t believe we’ve been introduced yet.”
“Oh yes ma’am, I believe so too,” she smiled politely “My name is Kandra Denau, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Aren’t you adorable?!” the lady squealed “I’m Lora, Lora Kinall. Isn’t this party absolutely wonderful?!”
It hasn’t even started yet! Leia rolled her eyes internally.
But she nonetheless responded “Oh yes! This ballroom is simply spectacular!” before giggling softly.
Lora nodded energetically “I told Nej many times that we couldn’t miss this ball, every year they outdo themselves and it becomes the talk of the next ten months! And you’ll have to try the Silver Sea Martini! The bartender is Corellian and to my humble opinion they’re the only ones who know how to make them right! Nej!” she waved a hand, trying to catch the attention of this Nej.
A very overweight man emerged from a group of the highest officials, parading around many medals and a cape, which made him look hilarious, but she was grateful to notice that Han’s sabbacc face hadn’t faltered.
“Oh Nej, my love, this is Kandra. Isn’t she the most delicate and pretty girl you’ve ever seen?” Lora asked eagerly, clasping her hands to her chest. She really loved theatrics uh?
Nej looked at her lavishly, doing a one over of her outfit and staring at her breasts, and she had to force herself not to cover her body with her arms or slap him in the face. She knew this was a normal occurrence in this circles. She remembered it all too well.
She felt Han tense up next to her and she could hear his jaw clenching, but he didn’t say anything, which was a definitive win.
“Oh most definitely darling. Kandra you said?” Nej smirked.
Leia nodded politely, faking shyness “Yes sir. You’re mister Kinall I presume?”
Nej chuckled “Yes sweet girl, that’s my name. Lora dear, should we ask this young lovers to join us at our table? I’m sure they would like to meet our friends.”
“Oh!” Leia blushed “No sir, you’re mistaken! This is my bodyguard, Ianar!”
“Oh really?” Lora furrowed her brows in confusion “But I thought… well it doesn’t matter what I thought. You and your handsome bodyguard should really join us, we know everyone who matters here and I want to show you off. You might be the youngest people here!” she giggled.
“We’d be delighted ma’am,” Leia replied, still blushing.
“Oh and stop with the formalities my dear! Just call me Lora! I feel like we’ve known each other forever already!”
“I know the feeling Lora,” Leia smiled.
Lora clapped her hands and took Leia’s arm, basically dragging her to the reserved area, while Han walked behind them.
Lora kept talking her ear off, while Nej kept looking at her ass. It was her literal circle of hell.
Lora made her sit next to her and asked Han to take place next to her ‘boss’, which made Leia almost lose it, knowing Han’s hatred for authority, but he simply sat next to her, just distancing himself enough that if she needed to have a more private conversation with the lady she could, but also near enough that if she needed to flee he could grab her and start to run.
Leia met so many people that her head was bursting with new informations. Every old woman wanted to have her attention, wanted to know who Han was and what they were doing there, and the ‘oh’s and ‘ah’s that followed the reveal that Han was just the bodyguard became louder each time.
“But, if Ianar is not your lover… You came here alone?” Jysyal was asking, and Leia wanted to scream.
“My fiancé is here somewhere Jysyal,” she smiled as politely as she could.
“Fiancé?!” a collective gasp raised from the ladies.
“Does Ianar know?!” asked Millee, shocked, probably trying to whisper, but it came out almost as a scream.
“Well, yes Millee, he was there when I was proposed to,” Leia nodded, extremely confused.
“And he still hasn’t confessed his love?!” asked Lumyia, her mouth agape.
“Why would he do that?” Leia furrowed her brows.
“You can’t see the yearning in his eyes?!” asked Teckla.
“He’s so obviously pining after you! Oh it’s so romantic!” squealed Jama.
“He’s probably just trying to remain professional, you don’t look like the secret fling type Kandra dear, no offence,” mused Lora.
“Look at him, he’s so lost in your face that he hasn’t heard Nej and the others asking him questions!” Anthara sighed.
Leia risked glancing at him for just a second and, yeah, he was looking at her, his eyes soft and his lips turning slightly upwards as soon as he caught her gaze. She was sure her face had become as red as her hair.
All the ladies collectively sighed, clutching their chests.
“Oh Kandra, if I was 22 and beautiful like you and a man like that was looking at me that way… well, I wouldn’t be marrying someone else,” Ersela shook her head.
Lora nodded along “Kandra dear…”
Leia abruptly stood up “I’m sorry ladies, I have to go look for my fiancé. It’s been a pleasure meeting you,” she bowed her head and started walking towards the table where Kodo was sitting.
Han rushed after her, bowing slightly to the ladies, trying to not look too confused. He didn’t know what could’ve provoked such a reaction, since Leia was usually very calm and composed, but it couldn’t be anything good. He wasn’t able to hear her conversation, since the husbands had trapped him, wanting to know everything about his relationship with Leia and it had been hard to explain that there was no relationship to talk about, she was his boss and that was it.
“You okay?” he whispered in her ear when she finally slowed down.
“I just thought that it would appear weird if I was on the other side of the room from my fiancé all night,” she sighed.
He nodded “Good call.”
Kodo smiled at them from his table and ushered them over “Kandra, my love! Let me introduce you to Jado Harik, my very good friend! I’ve talked to you about him, remember?”
Leia remembered perfectly well. Jado Harik was one of the richest merchants of the core worlds and he was very well known for his backstabbing nature.
“Oh, mister Harik! It’s such a pleasure to finally meet you! Kodo told me so much about you!” she smiled politely, taking a seat next to Kodo.
Jado smirked at her, before glancing at Han. His smirk then widened, for whatever reason “It’s a pleasure to meet you Kandra. Only good things I hope?”
“Of course!” Leia giggled “Kodo admires you very much sir!”
“Your fiancé is as delightful as I expected Kodo,” the man winked at them “You’ll have to excuse me, but my Lumyia is in need of my assistance. I’ll see you later son,” and like that he left.
Leia, Han and Kodo looked at each other, one more confused than the other, but to keep appearances Kodo started talking in Leia’s ear and caressing her hand, while she giggled. Han’s jaw twitched, but the other two didn’t notice.
The crowd of old ladies did though, and their husbands with them.
Kandra and Ianar had quickly become the talk of the night.
‘So romantic!’ you could hear some wives sigh, while the husbands shook their heads, amused, talking about how Kodo was in for a really happy marriage, since he wouldn’t have needed to please his wife.
Everyone started to speculate. Were the two young lovers having an affair? Were they star-crossed lovers? Were they just pining after one another? Were they oblivious to each others feelings? Did her family disapprove of him since he was a man who obviously had lots of experience, if you know what I mean, and she was just a young woman, so naive and innocent? He was a commoner after all and she was obviously someone very important.
The ladies fanned themselves, moon-eyed and giggling, while the husbands were clapping each other on their backs and making comments increasingly more lewd by the minute.
Leia felt all eyes on her, but she knew it couldn’t be possible. She had been very good at acting like a demure fiancé until now. What the hell was going on?
Her cheeks were burning, her throat was screaming for any kind of beverage and her ankles were barely intact. She looked at Han, signalling him to come closer to her.
He bowed his head, so that his ear was close to her mouth “Yeah?”
“Ianar could you go fetch me a drink please?” she asked.
On the surface she looked absolutely normal, even like she was having fun, but Han knew her too well. He could see the pleading look in her eyes, he could see her panic, he could see the slight tremor of her fingers.
He nodded, trying to look as reassuring as possible for someone who was as scared shitless as her. He could feel the looks on them too, and he too couldn’t understand how they had already screwed up.
“Less alcohol the better,” she whispered, they had to stay sharp.
He nodded again, brushing his fingers on her shoulder while straightening up. If he did that for her or for himself he didn’t know, but it didn’t matter right now.
He left her and Kodo and she couldn’t help but feel even more frightened then before.
“Hey,” Kodo whispered in her ear “How did the talk with the ladies go? Did you get something useful? Oh, giggle, we want people to think we’re flirting.”
She giggled “Mhm, I know. No, nothing useful, those old wenches talked about everything other than what matters. But it was to be expected after all. Have you had any good luck with the men?”
Kodo nodded, smirking “Year and years of networking are finally paying off. Don’t worry about gathering intelligence, I think I can manage quite well. I’ll give you the chip before you leave,” Han had the genius idea of making Kodo wear a small mic under his shirt, that way they were sure that they wouldn’t forget any piece of information. Even the most useless fact could be used after all.
She nodded, smiling prettily “You’re a life saver.”
“Don’t worry my dear, just doing my duty. And-“
They were interrupted by Han’s return. He smiled softly at her and handed her a Nysillin and Bubbles, her favourite.
She smiled, taking the cocktail in her hands “How did you…”
“You said you liked it at the last party,” he shrugged, trying to look nonchalant.
She blushed, before starting to sip her drink. She could feel the liquid going down her throat and the relief was almost instantaneous.
She felt more in control now, so she let herself relax momentarily.
She scanned the room, but everything seemed to be going alright. The music was enjoyable, the string quartet was playing some kind of old tune and people were waltzing around the room, laughing and drinking.
She felt her blood boil. There was a war going on, the rich were getting even richer and the poor even poorer. People were dying every day from famine and sickness, and they were eating so much that their gowns could’ve popped. They ignored what was going on in the galaxy because they felt that nothing could’ve touched them. She longed to be as privileged as them, to be able to turn the other way in the face of tyranny, but she just couldn’t.
She sipped her drink calmly, knowing that Han had noticed her knuckles turning white from her grip on the glass.
Suddenly Kodo looked paler, his fingers crushing her palm “My chauffeur just buzzed me. Stormtroopers will be coming in in a few minutes to do some kind of parade. You have to go.”
She felt sick, but she nodded, smiling softly at him.
“I’ll go talk to some other people, there’s no need to cut short the evening, I’ll slip by tomorrow to give you the chip, you just need to lay low until then. Wait a minute or two before I leave and then run.”
Leia looked at him, squeezing his hand “Thank you Kodo, you’ve been a true friend.”
He smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek, before getting up and walking over to some officials on the other side of the ballroom.
Han looked puzzled but didn’t budge.
Leia took a deep’ breath, before knocking with her fist on her arm two times. That was the sign: Stormtroopers coming. RUN.
Han became a shade paler, but remained calm.
They waited a minute or so, but to Leia it felt like an entire century had gone by. Then she got up as gracefully as she could and took the arm Han offered her. They started walking towards the servants hallway, while Han commed Chewie to send them a speeder in the back. They succeeded in not being noticed and, as soon as they closed the door behind them, they heard the Imperial March, which ment that the Stormtroopers had arrived.
They were both breathing heavily, already in battle mode. They stopped in a dark corridor, just to give time to Leia to take off her boots, or she wouldn’t have been able to run. Han took some of her dress in his arms to help her with the running and set his blaster to stun, keeping it hidden for now. Leia took her boots in her arms and turned around to look at him.
They both looked wild, his sunglasses in a pocket and his hair sticking out, while she was literally barefoot and dragging her gown in their arms.
They couldn’t help but chuckle. Now they could say they had seen them all in life.
They started running and thank goddess Leia had memorised the plant of the palace, because that place was a labyrinth.
Finally, out of breath, they reached the back door where a speeder would be waiting for them. She took the doorknob in her hand, turned it around, but before she could sigh in relief, se saw Lora Kinall standing outside the door, next to their speeder.
“Lora!” Leia exclaimed, faking cheerfulness to hide the fact that they were fucked.
Lora just giggled “I knew it!”
“Knew what?” Leia asked.
“You two really are in love!”
Leia and Han’s mouth fell open “What?!” they both screeched.
“You’re running away to be together! Are you not?”
Leia was left flabbergasted and she couldn’t think about anything smart to say.
Han came closer to her “How did you know?”
He was completely serious and Leia couldn’t do anything but see where he was going with that.
“Well,” Lora smirked “It was quite obvious that you have a lot of unresolved tension there,” she waved at them “And I was sure you wouldn’t have let her marry someone she didn’t love,” she winked at Han.
Han and Leia blushed, but involuntarily stepped closer together.
“Lora, please, don’t alert anyone. We… we have to go. It’s now or never,” Leia begged.
Lora smiled “You two really are in love.”
Han’s lips started trembling “I can’t live without her.”
Leia whipped her head around, her eyes wide.
Han continued “I know it’s a lot to ask of you ma’am, but please, please, keep this a secret for at least another few hours, we can’t get caught.”
Leia caught herself in time and nodded along, trying to contain her thundering heart.
“And you Kandra? Why are you going with him?” Lora asked eagerly.
“I-i…” Leia breathed in deeply “He sees me. The real me. He doesn’t ask me to be someone I’m not. And I can’t live without him either.”
Lora clutched her chest, nodding “Go. May the force bless you two and your love.”
They both nodded gratefully and after a beat they started running again.
Her bare feet were killing her but they had lost too much time to think about that.
They threw themselves in the vehicle, before Han started the engine, speeding through the streets of the city.
As soon as they were a few blocks away, Leia erupted in a fit of giggles, followed soon after by Han.
“Oh goddess!” she wheezed “This was the most absurd evening of my life!”
“You’re telling me?!”
Finally they were in the docking bay, still giggling. They wiped tears of laughter from their cheeks and Leia had never been more grateful to see the Falcon in all her life, other than maybe the day of her rescue from the Death Star.
They exited the speeder, Han running to unlock the ramp of the Falcon, before running back to her, having noticed that she was limping after having ran in her bare feet, and picked her up bridal style.
“What are you doing?!” she screeched.
“Shut up! It’s just very sad seeing you limp your way around,” he grumbled.
She rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath, but she couldn’t help but feel relived.
He carried her to the dejarik table and then he gently dropped her off. They were both smiling like idiots, even if they hadn’t gathered any useful information and they had just escaped certain death.
Chewie let out a soft growl from the cockpit, greeting them and saying that dinner was ready.
They both thanked him and sat to eat, too tired to change clothes.
They were almost done with their stew when both their comms buzzed.
They grabbed them quickly, afraid that something had gone wrong for Kodo.
Kodo: Hi guys, everything good here. I’m just now returning to my hotel, wanted to check in with you. I presume everything went smoothly. Just wanted to let you know that everyone at the ball was warning me about your affair and Lora approached me quietly saying that you were probably running away to elope and to not look for you, because you two love each other and you deserve to be together. I’m truly heartbroken by the fact that my fake fiancé and her fake bodyguard would go to such lengths to be together without telling me. Of course I’m joking, I’ll be at the Falcon tomorrow morning at 0900. Sleep tight and try to not elope before I can congratulate myself ;)
Both Han and Leia chocked on the stew that they were chewing, while Chewie slapped them on their back to help them, but only succeeding in hurting them even more.
They both took a generous sip of water, not looking at each other.
Leia quickly stood up “Report and… I have to change. Goodnight.”
“Yeah I… I have stuff to… yeah. Night,” Han got up too, looking at his feet and trying to reach the crew’s quarter, since he left his own to Leia when she was on the ship.
They bumped onto each other a few times since they were trying so hard to not look in the other’s direction, saying ‘sorry’ profusely and blushing like teenagers, before reaching their bunks and saying a quick ‘night’.
Chewie shook his head [Humans.]