Preface
"You will follow Kal-El to the heart of the Luthor Kingdom, Kara," The Kryptonian King repeated for, what seemed like, the hundredth time, "He will guide you and keep you safe."
"I'm not afraid, Father," Kara sniffled as she shook her head at the sight of her parents; they were huddled together in the horse stables that stood at the rear of the Krypton's castle. The reigns of two horses that were packed and ready for a journey were held behind her by her 18-year-old cousin, Kal-El, as he waited for the Princess to bid her farewell. The rest of the horses in the stables neighed uneasily in their stalls, their hooves loudly clapping against the wooden floorboards as they moved about their small spaces.
"The trek will be long, but we will be with you most of the way—in your dreams and in your heart. You and Kal-El will journey to the Kingdom and keep the Kryptonian line going…" The queen elaborated to her 13-year-old daughter. Kal-El could see the worry that lined Alura and Zor-El's face as they stood in front of their daughter, likely, for the very last time. He worried himself as he thought about the responsibility that lie on his shoulders and the chances of him failing the Royalty's orders.
The queen continued, "Because of the blood that runs through your veins, you will have extraordinary abilities. Kal-El will help you control these abilities as you get older." The 18-year-old boy shifted from foot to foot, as he was aware of the tasks that he would have to endure; to raise a dragonrider in a society where they are murdered for existing.
He would have to train her to keep her increased strength and speed in check around the people in the Luthor Kingdom as well as help her control any other extra abilities she is to gain in the following years.
"I won't fail Kal-El, or you," Kara vowed in front of the queen. Kal-El thought back to when he had come of age with his abilities. It had only roughly been two years ago, he had been so excited. He jumped in front of his parents gushing about being able to lift a table of knights with only his pinky finger. His parents had promised him his first egg when he became a knight for the Kryptonian army. That had been well before Non, Zor-El's stepbrother, waged a war against the Luthors.
Kal-El snapped back to reality as Alura shuffled closer to her daughter. He became aware that they had leave if they didn't want any of the Luthor soldiers to find them. The boy started shifting on his feet again, as Alura placed her necklace on Kara's neck. The younger girl gently touched it as if it were going to disappear with any slight movement.
The queen kissed her daughter on the forehead as she whispered urgently, "I love you, Kara." The statement brought tears to Kal-El's eyes, but he didn't dwell on it long as the four Kryptonians heard shouting and movement coming from the opposite end of the stable.
"You must go," Alura hissed to the two children, as she pushed her daughter in the direction of Kal-El and the packed horses as the rest of the horses seem to get even more restless in their stalls. Kal-El grabbed the younger girl by the shoulders, and helped her up onto one of the horses. He then jumped up onto his own, before looking at down at the Royalty that stood in the middle of the unorganized stable staring at the two children that now had the duty of surviving.
"I won't fail you," he vowed with a nod to the two parents, before aiding the horses to take off. A few seconds after, they heard the stable doors break. His heart raced.
After an hour, they slowed the paces of the horse; Kal-El looked up at his cousin for the first time since their ushered departure to see her face stained with dry tears and her mouth drawn in a straight line. He witnessed the loss of innocence of the young child and struggled to fight back tears. He looked forward at the distance they would travel.
"It's going to be okay," He murmured into the wind.
The fire burned in the middle of the makeshift camp. There was a tent set up behind Kal-El, while he sat on the log nearest the fire, cooking the small rabbit that he had caught the night before.
"Kal-El," Kara spoke from across the camp. He hummed in acknowledgement, waiting for the Princess to continue still poking at the small rabbit over the fire.
"How far are we until we make it to the Kingdom?"
"We should make it there by midday tomorrow," He answered while prodding the rabbit over the fire; he didn't want to burn the damn thing.
"What are we going to do?" Kara nervously asked after a few moments of silence, "Like, when we get there?" Kal-El looked up at the girl through the smoke, momentarily forgetting about the rabbit.
"Well," he started, "I've contacted some of my friends who are going to help us out." He stopped thinking of his next words as he brought his attention back to the rabbit.
"You'll be living with the Danvers family. You will grow up to become a knight, most likely. They're a high classed family, and I see you liking action better than being hidden away in a castle," he continued in amusement as he thought back to all the times he had played in the courtyard with his cousin as children. They would spar with random sticks they found and wrestle when there weren't any sticks to be found.
"A knight?" the Princess echoed drawing him out of his flashback to better times.
"Yes, a knight," He stated cautiously, "because of your, uh, genitals." He added the last part quietly. Kara had been born with a penis, therefore would have to do men's duties in a society that wasn't her own. He felt bad, but he knew with her increased strength that she would soon gain, she would do just fine as a knight.
She seem to understand and continued the interrogation, "What about you? Will you become a knight with me?" He looked over at the girl again with sad eyes.
"No, I'm going to live with another family… It's easier to not cause suspicion that way. The Danvers is a high class family, they will think it's odd if they took an 18-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl right after they stormed Krypton," He paused as he watched the girl deflate a little, "I'll be living with the Kent family in the lower part of town. I'll most likely become a farm boy or a stable hand. Don't worry though, I'll still be able to help you and train you when the time comes." The two fell in silence as Kal-El continued to cook the rest of the rabbit.
"Kal-El," Kara whispered, breaking the silence once again after a period of time had passed. They had shifted around the fire, eating the cooked rabbit in an uncomfortable silence.
"Yes, Kara," He sighed, slightly annoyed.
"Why did we have to leave?" Kara asked in a small tone, sensing the older boy's annoyance. The boy felt guilty at the feeling at the question. He sat in silence, before answering her question.
"Well, you remember Uncle Non, right?" She nodded at his question, "Well, he sort of did some bad things because he thought he deserved more than what he had. He killed innocent people, which started the war and left your parents defenseless. This was their last resort at survival."
Kara's eyebrows drew together in confusion, "Did he use Medusa?"
"Yeah, he used his dragon…It wasn't very long ago. He believed that we, as Kryptonians, were the more superior race, so we deserved the land and power, not humans. He killed the King of the Luthor kingdom, and forced his son to be crowned prematurely. They are the largest kingdom of this land, so it makes sense, but he forgot that with land and power comes a powerful army, so now King Lex hunts dragonriders and their beasts now, as a result of Non's foolishness," Kal-El answered. This confused the princess even further.
"But aren't we dragonriders?"
"Yes, but no one will know that, because we aren't going to use our abilities in our new homes," Kal-El comforted, "Come on, let's get some sleep before tomorrow. We've got a long day ahead of us." Kara nodded, before standing up and heading towards the tent.
"Goodnight, Kal-El. Thank you," She murmured. That night she thrashed in her sleep, suffering from what seemed like a night terror. Kal-El worried about what her future held.
The heart of the kingdom had the hustle and bustle of everyday life; people walked along the cobbled pathways with food, armor, buckets, and so many other things. Children ran around the streets playing, while adults yelled at them to move out of the way. It was an entire new experience for Kal-El who was used to the hustle and bustle of castle life.
He looked down at the letter that he received days prior to the two's ushered departure from the Kryptonian Kingdom. There were directions to the residence he was looking for, for Kara. He followed the directions carefully while holding the reigns of his horse; Kara wasn't too far behind him either.
They passed the tavern, where sleezy looking women laid all over knights still in their armor as if they had just got done with their responsibilities a few minutes prior. The air smelled of freshly cooked food and stale alcohol.
He carefully looked around looking for a friendly face to ask directions, when he spotted a young girl with long, auburn hair staring at him. She approached him and he became uneasy with anxiety.
"Follow me," the girl ordered, before turning on her heel and walking towards the large black castle. Kara was quick to follow, but Kal-El stopped her with his arm across her torso.
"Kal-El," The former princess argued weakly. Kal-El looked down at her with anxiety filling his eyes. He couldn't just trust a stranger to keep him safe. The girl seemed to sense a lack of presence behind her and she turned to see the boy and girl still rooted to the same spot he was in moments before. She backtracked to the boy annoyed at his adversity to his help.
"I'm Alex Danvers," She stated simply. That fact seemed to dawn on the 18-year-old, and he began to look apologetic. He opened his mouth to speak, but the girl stopped him with a wave of her hand, "Just follow me." He and Kara began to follow the girl at a distance.
They dropped their horses off at a nearby stable and began to trek towards the large black castle. They passed many more children playing in the cobble streets, knights patrolling the lower city, and people working. Eventually they crossed over into the upper city; not much was different, except the housing seemed to look more sturdy and reliable.
They reached a large courtyard where knights and royalty roamed about following orders and finishing their responsibilities for the day. The three children has been walking for a period of time, before they reached their destination.
"Welcome to the Medicine hall," Alex spoke as they entered a large open room. There were books everywhere, with tables full of herbs and medicines. Each wall to the left and right had floor to ceiling bookshelves.
"You live here?" Kara squeaked as she stared at the bookshelves in awe. She always had a knack for knowledge and learning. Kal-El thought to himself. Alex just nodded before disappearing behind one of the four doors in the far wall parallel to the entrance.
Kal-El studied the open room more closely as Alex disappeared. In the middle of the room was a fire pit. To the left of it stood one long table parallel to the left wall with herbs and medicines hazardously placed all over it and to the right stoof three short tables perpendicular to the right wall with nothing but a pillow placed at the head of each. Behind the three tables, was a raised platform with a few chairs and a small round table. That must be where they eat. Kal-El thought as his eyes kept roaming. Every free space of wall seemed to have a shelving unit of some kind to hold even more herbs and spices.
Alex came out through the door moments later, interrupting the boy's observations. Following behind her were two adults who introduced themselves to the two former Kryptonians as the Danvers.
They made small talk as they showed Kara the small room she would be staying in and the responsibilities she would have living with them. Once he was comfortable leaving Kara with the family, he bid his farewell and left to find his own adoptive family.
Find the Kents wasn't a hard task for the 18-year-old. He settled well with the older man and woman as they explained his duties on the small farm they owned. He would tend to the chickens and pigs, as well as making sure the crops were watered and harvested when ready.
He was grateful for the roof over his head and the food on his plate, but he was still filled with anxiety as he thought of getting caught in this Kingdom. He thought back to Kara.
I have to stay strong for Kara.
