He shrugged. "Suit yourself." He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the side. It was probably ruined. Balancing himself on the edge of the counter, he dumped rubbing alcohol into his wound and winced. It was deeper than he thought. He wasn't sure if he could stitch with one hand, but he sure as hell wasn't going to ask Astra for help.
Astra peaked over the side of the chair, her long hair falling behind her as she watched him silently for a moment before she spoke up, "You sure you don't need any help? Wouldn't be the first wound I've stitch up," She smirked, resting her metal hand behind her head, "It's no trouble, really."
Kai clamped his lips together, glancing at her and then back at the wound. He felt a little strange accepting help from anyone, but especially his captive. Finally he sighed, letting his lips relax into a smile. "I mean, if you really want to, go for it. I won't complain." He took another long sip of his whiskey.
Astra simply smiled in return to his glare, hopping up out of the chair to close the small space between the of them, "You can't stitch up a wound with one hand, Kai," She grabbed a needle and thread, "And your good hand seemed to be taken with the alcohol."
He found himself smiling at that, even though he wasn't sure why. He shifted so that his injury was closer to her, his eyes glued on his drink. "Quite nice of you to help the person who is going to turn you over to your enemies. Unusual, but nice."
She shrugged, making sure the thread was secure before she started on her stitching, "What can I say, I guess it's just.. who I am. I like helping people." She mumbled, her voice trailing off slightly as she focused on not messing up the stitches.
"Your servants certainly think so," he replied in a low voice, thinking back to their excitement when they saw her down in the serving quarters. "Where I come from, the rich and the poor don't really get along. Is your kindess a you thing, or is it cultural?"
Astra was quiet for a moment, "Cultural. However I've been told I'm nicer then some of my people," She sighed, "There's always going to be people who don't see the good in the world, it's up to the others who do to help them out a little. A little bit of kindness can go a long way, you know."
"Kindess doesn't work every time," he pointed out with a sardonic smile. "I mean, you're quite nice, but I'm marching you off to be killed. Plus, kindness doesn't solve problems."
"Kindness solves more then you'd think," She mumbled, glancing at him for a moment before back to the wound, tying off the thread, "Just because you've basically signed my death certificate, doesn't mean I can't do something nice after you saved my life."
"I can't afford to see the world like that, although it sounds nice," he replied, angling his head so he could see her face. Her unusually bright, multicolored eyes were focused on her little act of kindness. He envied her innocence, even though he knew better than to accept her worldview. "Does your father think the same? Because someone clearly has a grievance with either you or him."
She sighed, placing the extra thread and needle back into the medical kit, “He used to, and sometimes he still does. But he’s become too focus on growing our political power and trying to protect our people that he doesn’t care how he does so,” Astra shrugged, “Probably why they’ve put a hit on my head. If he lost his last child then well, I don’t think my people would be around for much longer.”
Kai inspected the stitches, impressed by her handiwork, and let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. "Interesting. You're his only child, huh? Any idea why someone would want to destabilize his kingdom?"
“His only living child, yes,” She crossed her arms over her chest, “Well for one we’ve got power, money, influence, military. If someone was to over throne the kingdom then it’s one less influential power this side of the universe. Makes it easy for a rebellion if there was to be one.”
Kai grimaced, downing the last shot of his whiskey. He supposed it made sense. Rebellions were the natural order of things. "No amount of niceness will stop a rebellion if it's on its way," he pointed out with a dry laugh. "I hope for your father's sake that it's not."
“Me too,” Astra turned her gaze to the window, watching the stars, “Wouldn’t be the first time we’ve had to go to battle, he’d be ready for it if the time came.” She replied, “I just hope it doesn’t.”
Kai felt himself slipping towards a little too much sympathy, so he backtracked, grinning one of his sardonic grins. "I don't care either way. It's all about the paycheck for me."
Astra rolled her eyes, a frown pulling her lips down as she kept her gaze on the window, “Yeah, don’t worry, I know. Money is all you bounty hunters seem to care about.”
"It's what makes the worlds go 'round," he agreed, shrugging, shifting his attention back to the controls. According to the GPS, they were a few minutes outside of the closest planet, Hilte. He'd never visited, but it appeared sizable and well established. They would hopefully fly under the radar there. "When we get to Hilte, we're going to need new clothes. I'm dressed like a servant, and you –well, you know. Can I trust you to not run when we get there, or do I have to lock you in here?"
The princess leaned against the nearest wall with a soft sigh, slipping her hands into the pockets of her pants, “You can trust me,” She said, “I’d rather not be locked inside for the remaining time I have left in this world.” Hopefully they’d be at least some decent clothes on Hilte. She’d only been once but hadn’t been able to see much of the planet, mainly because she was there for diplomacy reasons.
"Alright, I'll take at your word," he said, "since you've been nothing but trustworthy so far." His lips twisted to the side as he stood, heading back for the main part of the cockpit. He paused, and keeping his back turned, admitted, "I feel bad, you know. Wish we could have met under better circumstances."
Astra looked over her shoulder at him, her already soft features softening further of at all possible, “Me too. But, we didn’t, and it’s just the way things are sometimes,” She shrugged, “The universe works in strange ways.”
"The universe and it's frustrating indifference," he agreed, breathing out a laugh. His voice brightened again, and he pulled himself into the pilot's seat, switching off autopilot. "I'd recommend sitting back down and strapping in, the landing gear on my ship isn't great."
“Maybe you should upgrade your ship with the reward money.” She did as she was told, taking up the nearest seat, “Try not to break the ship on landing.” She buckled in, making sure she was secure.
"With that money, I'd buy a whole new ship and name it after you," he laughed. He ran his hand along the dash before taking hold of the controls. "I've had this ship for seven, eight years, ever since I left my home planet." He eased into the gravitational field, the ship violently shaking as they burst through the atmosphere.