My Life as Leia

Chapter 14 - She Hates Sand

A/N: Hi there! Sorry it's been a while — well, it's been a week or so. Usually I'm pretty consistent with updates, so IZE SORRAY!!

Summer is always super busy with me, and I'm sure at least one of you can relate, hehe. The rest of this month is gonna be real hectic, as is August. . .ACK

*puts head in hands*

Moving on! Spent a lotta time on this chapter, so I hope you all like it! Without further ado, let's hop right in!

Han Solo was getting, for lack of a better word, anxious. He had been trudging through the Tatooine deserts for two (almost three) days now. The only time he stopped was to sleep and eat. Then, he would keep moving, driven by some unseen and unwelcome determination to find Princess Leia.

Chewie had been following him, and neither wanted to give up. But they also didn't enjoy the scorching sunlight, seemingly endless sand dunes, and occasional dangerous sand creatures.

Not thirty minutes ago, Chewie had to pull Han out of a pit of quicksand. That had been an experience.

Han himself was unsure of why he was risking death to find this girl. They had only met. . .how long ago had it been? A few days? A week? Two weeks? Han couldn't remember. But she had been a mere stowaway, nothing more.

Or. . .had she been nothing more?

No. Pull yourself together, Solo. She's thirteen, you're fifteen. She's a Princess, you're a smuggler. She's royalty, and you're. . .way lower than royalty. Use your common sense.

Chewbacca gave Han the, "I know what you're thinking" look more than a few times throughout the day. The young pilot, though, always brushed it off and moved on. Maybe denial would fix it. Denial always seemed to come through.

Yet, throughout the day, Han would find his mind wandering to the fiery Princess. She was small, but she packed a punch bigger than you'd expect. Her very personality was enough to leave Han awestruck.

He had traveled far and wide across the galaxy, but he'd never met a girl quite like Princess Leia.

Then there was the matter of her bravery. It was something other than simple bravery, though. She possessed outright boldness. Leia had deliberately run away from her family and all she'd ever known. And for what?

She had done it because she was standing up for something she believed in. Or maybe she was rebelling against something that she didn't believe in. Or perhaps both.

One way or another, Leia had made a statement that she wouldn't deal with injustice. But she didn't stop there. The small Princess had proceeded to scale down the palace wall, run through a garden, and make her way to the Alderaan shipyard! What's MORE, she had boarded a stranger's ship. His ship.

Not knowing what would come next or where she'd go from there, Leia had snuck onboard his beloved ship.
Han was willing to admit that she probably wouldn't have been found onboard if it weren't for Chewie. She was probably clever enough to have hidden and then hopped off without Han even noticing.

And, as if the rest hadn't been enough, Leia had fooled Han (which he still couldn't believe) and escaped again!

Sure, Han felt bad for planning to take her home, but what choice did he have? Leia had run away, and her family was most likely worried sick. Not to mention, the young girl had a whole planet to rule one day. Surely she wasn't planning to stay gone forever. . .right?