"I swear to God that when I get out of here, I will kill you." Clark hissed as he looked through the bars of his cell.
"Oh, I have no doubt you would...if you could. However, you will never get out of here. After all, why would the King free a man who slept with his daughter without her consent?"
"You lying bastard. The Princess will never love you Thomas, you must know that." Clark told him, but the older man just laughed darkly.
"Love? Love is for children and fools. The Princess is a lovely young girl to be sure, and I have no doubt I will enjoy her even if you...used her first. However, make no mistake, that is all it will be, and then I will find someone more worthy." He replied with a cold smile, making Clark wish he had his heat vision; he would burn that smirk right off the smug bastard's face.
"So that's all she is to you? A means to an end?"
"She is a woman. What else are they, but a means to an end? Enjoy prison Kent." He said before walking away, leaving the Last Son of Krypton alone. Clark sank to the floor, wishing that there was something he could do, but knowing there was nothing. He laughed without humor as he thought of what his dad would say if he saw him now. No doubt Jonathan Kent would say that last night had been a mistake on his part, but Clark disagreed. His mistake was not that he had made love to Kara, his mistake was that they had gotten caught.
Flashback
"What is the meaning of this?!"
The words broke Clark from his slumber, making the Knight bolt upright in the bed, Kara doing likewise beside him. Clark cursed mentally as he saw himself looking into the furious gaze of Kara's father, King Richard looking more angry than Clark had ever seen him.
"Father I can explain-"
"Hold your tongue child! How dare you betray me?" He asked Clark, fury clear in his every word.
"It does not matter. Your silence is proof of your guilt." He said after a moment, when Clark still did not respond.
"Father if there is guilt to be had than I insist that I be allowed to take my share." Kara spoke up, but Clark shook his head.
"I am grateful for your attempt to help me Princess, but let us be honest. The guilt lies with me and me alone." Clark said, getting out of the bed and throwing on his clothes before walking over to the King and bowing.
"There is no excuse for my actions, and I shall accept whatever punishment you may give. All I ask is that the Princess is not punished as a result of my actions."
"I do not punish the innocent. However, you will find that the guilty are punished most severely." He finished just as guards entered the room.
"Lock this swine in the cells."
"It seems you were correct in your suspicions Sir Thomas. As such, I am placing you as my daughter's bodyguard."
"Thank your Your Majesty."
"I trust that you will remain professional?" The King asked, a hard edge to his tone.
"Of course my King." He replied, shooting Clark a smug grin as he was led away.
Flashback end
So now he was stuck in a cell for the forseeable future, and if he was honest with himself he didn't think his future was going to last much longer. Richard was beyond furious, and Clark figured that it was only a matter of when not if he was going to order the young man's execution.
"Damn you Jor-El. Was this your plan? To allow me to find happiness only for it to be snatched away? Is this your way of saying that the only way to be a hero is to stand alone, and watch everyone I ever love be either killed or taken from me by scum like Thomas or Lex? ANSWER ME! Is this destiny or am I merely cursed?" He finished bitterly. He wasn't surprised, but disappointed when he was given no answers. He stood there for what felt like years, but was actually only minutes before finally falling asleep; However, he could not even find refuge in his dreams as they were full of sadness and death, and above it all stood Clark, broken and alone.
"Clark, Clark wake up."
"K...Kara?" He asked as he opened his eyes, surprised to see her standing above him, her blue eyes barely visible in the dying embers of the torch above the Last Son of Krypton's cell.
"W...What are you doing here?" He asked as he stood up.
"Hmm, let's see...I was bored and thought I would take a stroll through camp. I'm here to see you idiot!" She told him, the look on her face equal parts happy and frustrated.
"You shouldn't be here. If you get caught-"
"I won't. My new bodyguard" She said, spitting out the word as though it were a curse "is currently passed out on the floor of his tent for having drank too much wine. I was honestly tempted to kill him on sheer principle." She finished, making Clark grin for the first time all day.
"But that would be such a loss...After all, Sir Thomas is one of your father's best knights." Clark said with a perfectly straight face, making Kara laugh softly.
"Oh yes, Salahadin's entire army will run in fear the moment that Sir Thomas shows his face." She replied sarcastically.
"Seriously though, how are you?"
"Well the food's crap, the woman I love is being protected by a drunken imbecile and I could be executed tomorrow for all I know. But at least the atmosphere's nice." He deadpanned, making Kara smile although it didn't quite reach her eyes.
"I will find a way to get you out of this Clark, I promise." She told him, but he shook his head, reaching through the cell bar and grasping her hand in both of his.
"No, don't do that. The last thing you need to do is go risking your life for me, I'm not worth that!"
"No you're not, you're worth much more than that." She replied, making him glare at her.
"Damn it Kara, just forget about me and move on with your life before you get hurt. I told you, everyone close to me ends up hurt or killed. This is just further proof."
"Are you done?"
"Excuse me?"
"Are you through feeling sorry for yourself? It really is amazing. You'll charge headlong into a war to save a man that you don't even know, but you won't even fight for someone you claim to love. Was last night all a lie? Was I just a notch on your belt, something to be enjoyed and discarded once you were done like some common whore?"
"No! Don't ever say that! I love you, more than I've ever loved anyone."
"Then fight dammit!"
"And how would I go about doing that? Newsflash Princess, I was caught in your bed by your father no less! He's not going to listen to a single thing I say, much less let me out of here. Even if he did he would only exile me so that I would stay as far away from you as possible, and I can't say I blame him. I would do the same thing if it were my daughter." He said, blushing slightly as his brain processed what his mouth had just said. For a moment there was silence, both of them blushing red.
"We'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it." Kara said finally, neither voicing the fact that they would both be happy with children.
"Now as for how you're supposed to fight, that's actually quite simple. There is only one thing that knights trust more than evidence and that is the hand of God."
"Hand of God?" Clark questioned, making Kara nod in response.
"Any man believed to be guilty of a crime may contest his guilt by demanding the Hand of God. It is a challenge, a duel to the death. If the man dies he is guilty, and if he lives he is innocent because a just God would never allow an innocent man to die." She finished, and Clark nodded. He didn't like the idea of having to kill another knight, but he wasn't going to let Thomas take Kara from him without a fight.
"Kara, you must leave! The sun is due to rise in less than an hour, and the King will not be far behind." Robin said as he entered the tent.
"I'll be back as soon as I can." Kara said and Clark nodded, bringing her hand to his lips and planting a kiss on her knuckles before allowing her to leave.
"Why are you helping me Sir Robin? You know the trouble that you could get into should the King discover you knew that Kara came to see me."
"You are my friend as is the Princess. Also, I could never believe that a man who would save a complete stranger with no thought for the safety of his own life could then go and rape a woman he claimed to love. Besides, you are not the only one to have told a lie or two for the woman you love." He finished with a grin, thinking of Marian and praying that she would still be waiting for him when he returned home.
"Thank you my friend. Promise me you will watch her? I don't trust Thomas any more than I trust Salahadin."
"I will take care of her, until you are able to do so yourself. Although I would not advise allowing her to hear that."
"Not if we value our lives anyway." Clark replied with a smirk which Robin returned before walking out of the makeshift jail, leaving Clark alone yet more hopeful than ever before.
"Get up Kent. The King wants to see you, probably just so he can spit in your face before he orders your execution." Thomas said a couple of hours later as he opened Clark's cell door, roughly forcing the younger man forward, after 'accidentaly' kicking him in the stomach as he stood up.
"Rather than worry about that, I would be worrying about fulfilling your duties Thomas. I will escort Sir Kent to the King. Now get back to your job of guarding the Princess before I decide to take your head for abandoning your post." Robin told him coldly, pushing him aside and ushering Clark forward.
"You got lucky Kent, but next time Lockesly won't be here to save you." He whispered into Clark's ear.
"Enjoy every breath you have on this Earth Thomas because very soon the only thing you will be breathing is the scent of your own blood for what you were planning to do to the Princess."
"We'll see." The older man replied before walking out of the tent, Robin and Clark following at a slower pace.
"I would love to kill him. He is a disgrace to his country and the code of knighthood."
"No Robin. He is mine." Clark replied, glaring daggers into Thomas's retreating back.
The conversation ceased as they approached the command tent where Richard was standing waiting for them. Both men bowed until Richard told Robin to rise. Clark remained with his head bowed, not daring to risk his head.
"Look at me." Richard commanded, and Clark did as he was asked, looking into the King's eyes. The King was silent for several moments as if judging Clark, which Clark thought probably wasn't too far off the mark.
"Tell me... did you force yourself on my daughter?"
"No. I would sooner slit my own throat than do that to someone I love." Clark replied, meeting the King's gaze unflinchingly.
"You lie! Your honeyed words may fool others but I know better. You are nothing but a child with delusions of grandeur who took advantage of an innocent girl." Thomas said as he and Kara walked over, having caught the exchange between the King and Clark.
"I did no such thing, nor am I any of the things you would claim. However, don't take my word for it. Test me, and let's finish this once and for all." Clark replied coldly.
"I cannot-"
"Challenge accepted! Once you are dead, the Princess will be mine, and I shall be rewarded."
"Rewarded? By whom? I know nothing of any reward." The King said, and Thomas swallowed nervously.
"I meant the reward of personal satisfact-"
"Do not finish that sentence! Thomas wants to collect the bounty on Sir Kent. It seems that Salahadin wants his head after finding out that it was he who saved your life, and he promised thirty crowns to the man kills him, along with an additional three hundred for the Princess alive." Robin said as he came forward, a young man following behind him.
"Your squire and I had a talk. It seems he wasn't too happy with the way you sold out your country."
"I'll have your head for this betrayal Mulch!"
"My name is Much, and I would be more concerned about your own head traitor."
With that he spat at Thomas' feet, the ultimate act of disrespect and disgust for a knight.
"You'll be glad to know that Much is now my squire Thomas." Robin said, making Thomas glare though he attempted to cover it up with a laugh.
"So be it! However I will still have your life Kent."
"Then let's go." He replied, standing up and taking the sword Robin offered him. By now, a small crowd had gathered forming a circle around the two combatants.
"I will offer you one chance Thomas. Throw down your sword and face the King's justice or I will end your life."
The Last Son of Krypton's voice was as calm as ever, but no one could mistake the seriousness in his tone. Clark wasn't playing around, and everyone present knew it.
"I'll see you in hell boy."
Clark didn't respond, instead charging forward forcing the older man off balance with his speed and ferocity, to the point where Thomas was barely able to block the strikes that were coming his way. He raised his sword to block a strike at his head, only for Clark to move his arm down and stab the other man through his stomach, pushing the sword to the hilt, with the blade coated in gore as it came out of Thomas' back.He fell to the floor, chocking on his own blood, Clark bending over him.
"I offered you a chance. You should have taken it...Judas." Clark said quietly before pulling his blade free as the traitorous knight breathed his last. He wiped the blood off his sword and handed it to Robin before once again bowing to the King.
"In light of the revelations here today, there will be no charges leveled against you Sir Kent. Do you love my daughter?" He asked suddenly, and Clark smiled as he looked up at the King.
"With all my heart Your Majesty."
"Kara, do you love this man?" He asked, turning to his daughter.
"Yes father, I do."
The King nodded, and for a moment he said nothing. Finally he ordered Clark to stand.
"I have often wondered about who to entrust my daughter to. She is not only England's future Queen, but the most precious thing I have in life. I never thought I would find someone worthy of that trust, and I have never been more glad to be proven wrong. Take care of my daughter son."
Clark smiled and nodded, and not caring about the whispers that had suddenly erupted from the crowd behind them, Clark took Kara in his arms and kissed her, thinking that what had started as the darkest of days, had ended as the best of days.
A/N: There you have it, part two of four! Be on the lookout for part three Best of Days!