HEAVY IN YOUR ARMS [A DIN DJARIN X READER STORY]

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE FEAR

Din knew that it was a matter of time before ships carrying the Empire's fleet would arrive. The three of you broke out of the palace prison, ran towards the foyer, past all of the statues you'd spent days near with Din, and straight for the gates. At the gates lay the knapsack you'd left behind and the weapons and pieces of armor Din had been stripped of. The two of you gathered your belongings before heading out. Stormtroopers weren't chasing you this time; your father had really told them to stand down. To ensure that you would be killed.

"The Rebellion rescued me," your brother told you quietly as you walked through the woods, trailing behind Din to get to his ship. "They took me in and they didn't question my loyalty. I proved it time and time again to them. The Empire had already lost by the time I was recruited, but there was still work to be done. They didn't stop working really until a year ago, when the New Republic was finalized and peace was restored."

"There still isn't peace," you told him. "No one has won yet except for the Empire."

Darius shook his head. "What do you think that was back there? That was a win."

"We aren't out of trouble yet," you said. "Thriff was right. No matter where we go, they will look for us. We will never be safe."

"Maybe so," Darius said, "but any death in the Empire is a win for peace. For justice. For restoration in the galaxy. You'll see. You'll learn all of this when you meet my friends, learn their viewpoints."

"It's here." Din parted a large bush with both hands. Through the green, you could see a clunk of metal; a huge, odd-looking ship. "That's the Razor Crest."

"And I thought mine was a hunk of junk," Darius muttered under his breath, ducking through the foliage.

You shook your head at your brother and stepped into the green, pushing leaves out of your face as you moved carefully. A branch brushed against your shoulder and you hissed, the pain fresh and new once again. Din's fingers carefully brushed your arm.

"Easy," he said. "When we get to the ship and I can get you someplace relatively safe, I will help you. I have plenty of medpacs. You'll be fine."

With a nod, you shook off the pain and Din lifted all of the branches out of the way for you. Your dress was tattered and destroyed, hanging loosely on your shoulders, the skirt shredded and making it more difficult to maneuver in. You held up your skirt best you could off the ground, bunching it up into your arms as you moved towards the ship. Din was right behind you for a split second before he moved around you and hurried onboard.

As you walked up into the ship, you turned. Your kingdom lay before you. The village you never got to see hid behind the trees. And the autumn was here, warm and orange and all in the distance, up in the high mountains that you would never travel to.

But you weren't sad. There was no life here.

The ship closed as you stepped completely inside of it. All of the years you'd been alive, you'd never once seen the inside of a ship. You'd never been on one before. You watched Din disappear up a ladder and you followed him. He silently turned back to grab your good arm and pull you up the rest of the way, knowing that you couldn't. When you entered the cockpit, you noticed that your brother was already in the cockpit, taking the seat in the far back. You took the seat left and smoothed out your ruined skirt.