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| - Leia came skipping over to her father, who was finishing up with Sadvo. “Hello Princess, how are you doing?” Sadvo asked politely. “I’m fine, thank you Mr. Lanmaw!” Leia replied as she curtseyed. “I’m glad to hear that.” Sadvo responded nodding his head at Leia before turning back toward Bail. “Well, always a pleasure doing business with you Bail.” Bail extended his hand. “Likewise.” The two men shook hands as Leia looked back quickly toward Epin who was still standing where she had left him. She smiled as she thought about what she had just done. Never before had she done something so spontaneous. Though, she didn’t have any doubts about it at the time, nor did she have regrets now. Sadvo bid Leia and Bail farewell as he returned to the homestead. “So, how did it go dad?” Leia asked nonchalantly. “Very well,” He purposely paused for a moment before continuing, knowing that the next words he spoke were going to please his daughter. “Sadvo and Epin are going to deliver more nerf later tonight. I invited them to dinner." Leia remained quiet, looking off into the distance, trying to mask her happiness. Bail thought he caught a small half smile from Leia. “How is Epin doing, honey?” He asked, grinning himself. “Good.” Leia said quickly, wanting to skip the subject as if embarrassed by it. “Mm-hm.” He paused once again before going on. Bail leaned in toward her and pressed the next question, slightly enjoying himself. To add emphasis to his words he gently flicked the flower in her hair. “He seemed very good right after you gave him that kiss.” “Daaaadyyy . . .” Leia said, drawing out her words and stamping her foot on the ground as she thrust her arms downward. “You weren't supposed to be watching.” “You can't hide things from your dad.” He said laughing. Leia crossed her arms in a kind of pout. “But you know, honey, that you're still royalty, and there is still the Matching.” He reminded her, becoming somewhat serious. “I know, Dad, I know, you don't have to tell me.” She said looking off into the distance, annoyed that she was constantly reminded. “Well, don't sound so excited.” He said as he kneeled down. “I'm sorry, honey. It’s just that, as a father I want you to be happy, though at the same time, I cannot just break a tradition that has stood for generations.” Leia looks at him with saddened eyes. “I don't want to either.” She told him. “But, I mean, all the boys are boring and stuff...they never have anything interesting to talk about. Just credits and ships and pools and things and they're no fun . . .” Bail cut into and continued Leia’s sentence. “They're no fun, I know. I went through the same thing.” He paused for a moment to place his hands on his daughter's shoulders before continuing. “Sometimes, as royalty you just have to think of your people before yourself. I know it's hard, honey. But, it’s something you will eventually have to deal with.” Leia remained quiet. “You know what I used to do?” He whispered as he looked around playfully, as if checking for eavesdroppers. Leia remained silent, waiting for an answer. He puts a cupped hand to her ear and whispers something. Leia laughs and smiles at him. “Now, you didn't hear that from me.” Bail said, standing up and pointing his finger. Leia shakes her head happily, grabbing his arm as the two walked to their speeder. Epin stood in the field, trying to comprehend what exactly just happened. Did she . . ? he said to himself. He touched his cheek and went over what had transpired several times before finally realizing. Princess Leia kissed me. Rena came running up to him. “Epin, how long are you going to stay out here?" Epin made no response. "Hello!? Alderaan to Epin!" Rena said tapping him on his shoulder. He turned to face her and waited for a second before answering her. "Oh, Rena, sorry. What is it?" He finally answered. "You've been out here for almost an hour. Aren't you coming with us into Aldera?" Rena asked pointing toward the city. "We're going into Aldera?" Epin responded quizzically. “Yeah,” she responded. “Dad’s delivering some more nerf. Mr. Organa invited us to stay and have dinner with him.” “Leia’s dad?” Epin asked. “What other Mr. Organa do you know, dummy?”, she asked sarcastically, crossing her arms. Epin shook his head. "Sorry Rena." Epin started toward the homestead. Rena followed. “So. . . what was so interesting that you had to stand out here for that long?” she asked. “Oh, I was just checking the fences for holes and stuff.” Epin answered. “So you spend an hour standing around after you’re done?” Rena immediately shot back. Epin paused and scratched his neck for a moment. “Well, not exactly Rena. I mean, I . . ." “Was Princess Leia here?”, Rena asked, cutting him off. “Um, yeah, she came with her dad. . ." He replied. "How did you know?” “I heard Mom and Dad talking about her, but somehow they knew I was listening, so they sent me outside to get you." She explained. “Dad was pretty angry, did something happen? Did she do something wrong?” “I gave her a cardiff, and then she kissed me.” Epin told her with an upbeat tone. Rena looked at her brother for a second. “You know, maybe the reason you are in trouble with Dad is because you lie so much.” “But, it’s true! Rena, I swear.” Epin exclaimed as the two reached the door. She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Jeez, I wonder what would happen if Leia found out how much you lie about what she does. . .” The two then entered the house. The sun had just begun setting as Epin and his family pulled up to the Palace. As they came to a halt, a guard moved to open the doors of their vehicle for them. The guards themselves weren’t anything more than a simple security force, as there was very little disturbances in Aldera, especially at the Palace itself. The Lanmaw’s wore formal attire, rather than their typical farming robes. They exited their vehicle and made their way up the main stairway to the Palace. The Palace’s main entrance was, as to be expected, one of the most heavily patrolled areas. Armed guards stood at the bottom of the steps as well as on the landing at the top. The stairs were a simple set of about twenty steps that ended with the main entrance at the top. The Lanmaw’s began their ascent, and were greeted by the Organas when they reached the top. Though Epin himself made it up the steps first, as he was excited that he was going to see Leia. Bail began to speak to Epin as he reached the top, but Epin ignored him, and instead made his way straight for Leia. “Hah.” Bail said to himself, as he saw what Epin’s motives were. “Hi Leia!” Epin said as he came to a halt in front of her. “Hi Epin.” Leia responded with a big smile. “What did you do to your hair!?” She quickly added.. Epin had requested that his mother cut his hair, as he thought he might appear more proper in Leia’s eyes, though he didn’t let her know this, and instead fabricated a story. “Oh, um, one of the nerf spit on me. Boy, it’s so nasty when they do, it sticks to everything, and man, you should have smelled it!” He told her. Nerf were known to periodically spit black colored saliva with great accuracy, and when it hit something, it stuck and smelled rancid. “I can show you if you want, all you have to do is . . .” Epin began. “No, that’s okay, I believe you.” Leia said, curling her nose at the thought. Leia and Epin turned to notice that everyone had begun greeting one another. Sadvo had taken the hand of the Queen and kissed it. “You look lovely my Queen.” Sadvo said as he bowed his head. Breha accepted and returned with a slight nod of her head. Lania and Bail did the same, though Bail turned the tables on Lania and instead kissed her hand. She blushed slightly and thanked him. Rena stuck close to her mother, and greeted Bail with a curtsey. Bail acknowledged her by nodding his head. “Well, don’t you look pretty!” He said as he patted the top of her head. Rena giggled. “Thank you Mr. Organa!” He smiled and turned his attention to Sadvo and began discussing the nerf delivery. Epin and Leia watched their respective parents and attempted to perform the same greeting, though when they bowed, they went too fast and instead ended up head butting each other. “Ow!” Leia cried as she placed a hand to her head. The others had been watching them, and began laughing. “Well, I’m glad that you’re all happy I’m hurt!” Leia shouted. Epin held his forehead. “You’re hurt? You shouldn’t be complaining, what is your head made out of anyway, durasteel?” “Durasteel! Why you . . .” Leia crossed her arms and turned her head sideways. “Hmpf.” Breha made her way over and placed her hands upon their shoulders. “No need for hostilities children. Now, both of you apologize and let’s be done with it.” There was a pause between Leia and Epin, though when Breha cleared her throat, in an act of telling them to apologize, they both apologized at the same moment. Breha smiled and left them, joining the others as they went inside. Epin and Leia looked at one another for a moment. “Sorry again Leia, I . . .” Epin began. She looked him over for a second, before grabbing his hand as she headed inside. “Oh, stop sucking up to me and let’s go!” Epin was in awe at the size of the Palace, and stood with eyes wide and his mouth open, he had never been inside of the Palace itself. “Come on, I’ll show you around.” Leia said, tugging on his arm. “Don’t be gone too long, we’ll be eating soon.” Bail reminded Leia as she lead Epin toward the hallway. “We’re just going to go down the main hall dad, it wont take long.” Leia assured her father as the walked across the black marble flooring, which was polished to such perfection, Epin could swear he saw his own reflection in it. As they entered the hall, they stepped onto an elaborate rug, which stretched the length of the hall, that contained a variety of different patterns and colors. “This rug is wild!” Epin said as he stopped to kneel down and feel it. “What’s it made out of?” “I don’t know, I never really cared.” Leia said, as she knelt next to him. “I guess it’s nerf, almost everything is made from nerf fur.” Epin ran his hand across the rug a few times. “It’s not nerf, it’s too rough.” Epin said as he took hold of Leia’s hand and guided it over top of the rug. “See?” Leia felt her stomach flutter as she felt Epin’s hand on top of hers. “Nerf fur stays soft, that’s why people use it so much to make furniture.” He said, finishing up. After he was done explaining it to her, he realized that he was still holding her hand. He quickly looked at her, then to their hands, then to her again. She smiled in a manner that made it look as though she was holding back a laugh as she looked at him. “Sorry.” Epin said as he quickly retracted his hand. The two sat looking into each other’s eyes for a moment, smiling. Leia playfully tapped her fingers on his hand, to let him know that everything was fine. “Time to eat!” A voice called to them. “Coming!” Leia yelled back. “Come on, let’s go eat!” She said, standing up and holding out her hand for him. Epin took her hand and stood up himself. “This way.” Leia motioned, as she headed off down the hall. Epin followed close behind, as the two headed for the dining hall. As Epin and Leia opened the door to the dining room, they noticed that the table was already prepared, and everyone had begun taking their places. The room itself was circular in shape, and had a large glass window at one side that looked out onto the palace’s inner garden. Queen Breha entered through the door directly next to the window carrying various fruits with her, holding them by the vines that they grew from, allowing her to carry a good amount. “Breha, would you like a hand with anything? I feel somewhat awkward sitting here, while you and your husband...” Epin’s mother, Lania said as she rose form her seat. “Absolutely not. You’re our guests. And besides, I much prefer to do things on my own, it keeps me active. I appreciate your offer nonetheless Lania, thank you.” Breha responded. Epin instantly recognized some of them as Henny berries, which could be used to make the alcoholic drink Henzee. He knew his father favored the drink, and his stomach sank as he thought what exactly awaited him when his family arrived back at home. The effects of drinking Henzee were different depending on the amount consumed, the more you drank, the longer it took for the effects to kick in. Epin knew the routine, he had experienced it on multiple occasions. Though, the one side effect the drink had was that after consuming large quantities of it, a person was rendered unconscious for several hours, with short term memory loss following their awakening. “Ah, so nice of you two to join us!” Breha joked as she shut the door behind her. Leia and Epin both laughed as they closed the door they had just entered through. “Hah, sorry about that ma’am!” Epin said to her as she made her way to another door on the far side and entered. Epin assumed this was the kitchen area. “Come on Ep!” Leia said cheerfully, as she left him to take a spot at the table. Epin took a moment to consider what Leia had just called him. Ep? Nobody had ever referred to him in that way, and he wondered why she would do that. Though, he remembered that his sister sometimes referred to her friend Arkus Quelprim, as "Arky". Though that was because Rena liked Arkus quite a bit, calling it her "pet name" for him. At any rate, he considered it a compliment to at least be considered Leia’s friend, let alone be given a nickname by her. Epin noticed that there was an empty place next to Leia, though instead of taking it, he paused as he thought of what he might be able to do while sitting next to her, such as holding her hand. He had held her hand for only a few moments as they made their way here, and smiled at the thought of being able to do so again. Before he could act, however, Winter took the seat for herself. Knowing it was his own fault for not moving when he had the opportunity, though still slightly disappointed, he took the place at the end of the table opposite Leia instead. If he remembered correctly, he had met Winter once or twice before while he was at the palace making deliveries with one of his parents. As he took his seat, he noticed the room and table weren’t as large as he had first imagined them to be, though they still weren’t cramped for space by any stretch of the imagination. The table still sat the eight of them quite comfortably, and Epin had enough room to almost fully extend his arm before touching his sister. “Quit it!” Rena said as she batted his hand away from her shoulder. Not really paying attention, he made no response. Instead, he continued his investigation of the room, and did note that the table was rather thin, and imagined that he’d probably end up kicking Leia if he extended his legs. The door at the far end of the room opened, allowing Breha to again enter the room. She carried with her a tray of glasses containing a dark red liquid, Epin recognized it immediately as Henzee. She placed the four glasses on the table and briefly returned to the kitchen to return the tray before taking her seat at the table. Epin looked to his glass and wondered what it was that he had. The glass was filled with a red colored liquid, which he assumed was Red Blaster. Red Blaster was a cherry flavored soft drink, and one of his favorites. When Epin reached for it, his father stopped him. “Where are your manners boy? Not everyone has been seated yet.” Sadvo exclaimed. “It’s quite alright Sadvo. Please, everyone, eat.” Bail said chuckling as he reached across the table to grab himself a nerfburger. Everyone watched as Bail bit into his food. He paused for a moment to find that everyone was watching him. “What?” He said with a mouthful of nerf. He paused for a moment to swallow his food. “Oh come now, don’t be as stiff as those politicians on Coruscant that I have to deal with. This isn’t a senatorial meeting.” Bail then reached for another burger and pushed it to his wife’s lips. “So we don’t have to act like it is. Now eat.” Breha took a bite of the burger as Bail held it for her. After, he placed it onto her plate and settled back into his own chair. “My, you’re in an exceptional mood today aren’t you dear?” Breha commented as she wiped her lips. “Oh come now, I’m just trying to lighten the mood a bit. Everyone’s so uptight, it’s like being in the Senate Hall.” Bail remarked as he reached for his drink. He also was drinking a simple soft drink, though his was a different color than Epin’s. It was green, which Epin assumed was Fountain Brew, though he never really cared for the drink himself, so he wasn’t too sure of the exact taste, but from what he remembered of it, the drink tasted somewhat like limes. The mood lightened as everyone filled their plates and began eating. “So, Sadvo,” Bail started as he wiped some excess food from his lips. “how are things on the farm running? I hope that the excessive rainfall we’ve been experiencing recently hasn’t been detrimental to the animals. Surely the crops have been effected by over saturation.” “Only somewhat,” Sadvo explained, as he quickly chewed the remainder of his mouthful. “though it really isn’t too big of a concern. We have food reserves stored underground for just this sort of situation, there is plenty to carry us through should the animals food source be destroyed. I’d be more concerned about Manka attacks than rainfall, they are being spotted more frequently around the area.” “Ugh, I hate Mankas. They’re scary, they give me nightmares.” Rena said as her father finished his sentence. “Dreams aren’t real though Rena,” Leia said. “you shouldn’t let them bother you too much. I used to have really bad dreams, but I eventually told myself that they couldn’t hurt me and that they weren’t real. Now I don’t have them anymore.” “That’s because you dream about Epin now!” Winter blurted out. Epin choked slightly on his food and quickly reached for his drink to wash it down. Leia blushed slightly and tilted her head downwards. “Speaking of Mankas,” Lania started. “I have heard that the Black Mankas have been spotted in the spacer quarter. Is there any truth to this Bail?” “Yes, they have been spotted, though we don’t know...” Bail began. “Hey princess,” Rena said as she shifted her attention away form the adults, not being interested in the current subject.”guess what Epin said about you!” Leia perked up in her seat. “What?” She asked excitedly, wondering what it could be. “He said that you kissed him.” Rena said as she then turned to Epin. “Guess what Epin? She knows that you lie about her now.” When neither Epin or Leia would say anything, Rena spoke. “Well, aren’t you going to get angry? Or hit him? If you want, I’ll do it for you.” She said as she leaned over and punched her brother in the arm. “Ow! Rena, what did you do that for!?” Epin asked angrily, holding his arm. “He wasn’t lying Rena.” Leia said as she returned to eating. “But then...” Rena started. The topic soon fizzled and the four returned to their food. Leia smiled at Epin as she remembered his embarrassed face after she kissed him earlier. As he turned from his sister, he locked eyes with Leia and returned the smile. She decided to see if she could get a similar reaction from him now, and very carefully removed her right shoe by sliding it off with the left foot. She was wearing simple dress slippers, thus her foot was bare. With a slight grin on her face, she flicked her foot under Epin’s left pant leg and ran her toes up and down slightly. Epin again had to reach for his drink as he choked a second time. “Epin! Now that’s the second time. You’re supposed to chew your food honey, not inhale it! Please, remember your manners dear.” She said, leaning in towards the table to make eye contact with her son. Epin coughed and apologized to his mother, who accepted and rejoined the other adults in their ongoing conversation regarding the increase in crime around the city. Epin turned his attention toward Leia, who didn’t make eye contact with him, but smiled to herself while finishing the remainder of her meal. After dinner, the Lanmaws and Organa's gathered outside and exchanged goodbyes. The sun had almost completely disappeared over the horizon, giving the sky an orange color. "It was great seeing you again Princess." Epin said as he cleared his throat. Leia smiled and moved closer to him, causing him to stutter his next sentence. "G...good..." He said as he stumbled over his words. Leia leaned in and kissed Epin on the right cheek. "Goodnight Epin." "Well dear," Queen Breha started as she chuckled. "it looks like our daughter has found herself a suitable boy on her own." Bail laughed in agreement. "Yes, it looks that way doesn't it. If things go well, we'll have all the nerf we can eat!" Epin and Leia smiled to one another as the others laughed at Bail and Breha's joking. After a few moments the Lanmaws got into their vehicle and headed toward the farmlands. Alderaan Affair Part VI - Part VIII
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