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CHAPTER TWO — SOMEPLACE NEW
AFTER EXPLAINING HER LIFE STORY, Calista and Mando had began discussing the plan. Neither of them had expected it to go awry. Which is why it was a complete surprise when Calista was struggling to breathe as Oren tightened his grip on her throat.
She shut her eyes, assuming the worst—which was that her time was up—and thanking the Mother of all things for the good she'd gotten in her life. Tears streamed down her face, which was now bright red due to the lack of oxygen and would soon begin to turn purple. Before she fully lost consciousness, she heard a whisper, "fight back."
She extended her palm ( thankfully, Oren couldn't see ) and focused all her energy on pushing him as far as she could. Suddenly, his grip loosened and he flew into the wall behind him, his body going limp as soon as he slammed into the wall. The door was pushed open, but Calista could only see spots as she tried to catch her breath. She felt an arm around her, lifting her up. It was cold, which led her to believe it was the Mandalorian.
"Wait," she panted. He held her up, looking down at her. She could hear him trying to tell her something, but it was all muffled. She watched Oren scramble to his feet, a string of curses leaving his mouth. Her vision was clear, and so was her mind. She reached her arm out and made a fist, so tight her knuckles began to turn red.
"Princess..." Mando spoke softly. Oren tried to grab at the invisible force that was gripping his throat. Calista was so focused on tearing his breath from his lungs that she didn't realize that she was draining herself. Before she could go any further, she lost all feeling in her body and collapsed against Mando. He held her with one arm and used the other to shoot what was left of Prince Oren between the eyes. It wouldn't have been such a messy job if Calista hadn't intervened, but alas, it was done and there was nothing left to do. He quickly ( but carefully ) carried Calista's unconscious body out of the castle. A part of him would've left her there, but it was a small part, tiny. The rest of him knew she needed to get as far away from that place as possible.
He carried her into the Razor Crest, trying to figure out what to do with her. After placing her down on the floor of the ship, he nudged her with his foot. When she didn't move, he knelt down and felt her pulse. She was alive. He stood up and sighed, his hands on his hips. She was beautiful, he felt bad for staring while she was unconscious. But he couldn't look away.
For the first time ever, Mando was caught off guard when Calista gasped, sitting up slowly and coughing up a storm. He stepped back. She placed her hand on her forehead and looked up. "Where am I?"
"On my ship." He slid down the wall, sitting across from her. She lightly touched her neck and felt that it was beginning to bruise. She looked at the Mandalorian. A soft smile came across her lips.
"Is it done?" She asked. He nodded in response. "I apologize for causing any trouble... Thank you."
"What are you going to do now?" It was a complicated question. If she were to go back to the castle, she'd be greatly punished. She had nowhere to go. Before she could answer, he broke the silence. "I can take you to another planet. I don't think you want to be anywhere near this place."
"I'd like that. Thank you, again, Mando."
"No problem, Princess."
Neither of them had said anything a while after that, she just watched him prepare the ship for takeoff.
She sat beside him in the cockpit and couldn't help but find herself wondering about what he looked like. She'd read about Mandalorians before, she knew plenty about them but that didn't stop her from asking. "Has anyone seen your face?"
"No," he began, still focused on the galaxy before them. Calista didn't dare to look out the window, she'd never seen it before and whatever she saw out of the corner of her eye was terrifying. "How do you know about the way of the Mandalore? I mean, from what you've told me, it doesn't seem like you got a proper education."
"I've read... I wasn't allowed to, but I did when I had a chance."
He began to think about what she did back at the castle. He'd never seen anything like it before. He would've asked about it, but he decided against it in fear that she might get upset.
"This... Is very frightening," she began. Turning her head to look out the window. "I never knew there were so many stars."
Underneath the helmet, Mando frowned. A woman like her shouldn't have been put through something like that, he wouldn't dare let something like that happen to her again. She deserved a life. "I have some business on Nevarro, we'll figure out the rest from there."
"Okay... Um, does anyone on this planet know of my husband?"
Mando chuckled dryly, "he's pretty much hated all around the galaxy."
"Oh," she looked at her hands. She pulled the ring off of her finger, "that's good to know."
The two stayed silent for the rest of the ride, Calista avoided looking at the galaxy before her, there was something about the vast expanse of stars and darkness that caused dread to hang over her until they landed on Nevarro.
She hadn't been in a new environment since she was twelve. It was a bit overwhelming, but she managed to keep it together as Mando guided her out of the ship. She admired her new surroundings, a small smile on her face. The Mandlorian walked closely behind her with his hand on her back to show her where to walk. As soon as they walked into town, everyone's eyes were on the two of them. Calista began to panic, she grabbed onto Mando's arm which brought him to a halt.
"Do they know who I am?" She spoke, her voice shaky. He looked around at everyone who was staring, then back at her.
"From what I've heard, Oren never mentioned he had a wife," he told. Her eyebrows furrowed. "No, they don't know who you are."
She nodded as they continued walking, "good."
Entering a cantina, Calista's eyes widened at the sight of the strange assortment of faces around her. Mando grabbed her hand and leaned in closer to her. "They don't like being stared at."
"Who?"
"All of 'em."
She averted her eyes as he gently pulled her to a booth. She scooted in first, he followed after. She looked up to see a human sitting across from them.
"Who's this?" He asked.
"Princess, this is Greef Karga—"
"Princess? Mando, you kidnapped a princess?"
Calista shook her head, "he saved me."
Mando nodded in response. She felt like she didn't need to provide her input as the two continued talking so she stared at him occasionally, admiring his shiny helmet. There was something about the way he spoke that brought her comfort and warmth. She only knew him for a few days, but she hated the thought of having to leave his side.
"Princess?"
"Hm?" She was snapped out of her thoughts. She looked up at the Mandalorian.
