Chapter 3

"Would you stay on the road!" Kara sniped as she attempted to brace herself for another hard bump, barely keeping the hot tea in her hands from sloshing over the rim of her mug.

"I am on the road!" Alex yelled back, pulling the reigns to the side in an attempt to miss a gouge in the road. "It's not my fault this dirt road's full of dips and pot holes."

"Then go slower," Kara hissed as she arched over her mug protectively.

"I would but someone didn't wake up when they were supposed to this morning and now we're over an hour late on our deliveries."

Kara narrowed her eyes at her sister before taking another sip of her tea, doing her best not to spill it on her lap as they bounce across the rough road.

"Well sorry," Kara sneered, mimicking her sister's derision. "You try not getting a wink of sleep during the night only to finally drift off to be suddenly awakened by some woman banging on your door."

"Look, if you didn't want to come then you should have just stayed behind."

"I didn't exactly know that was an option," Kara mumbled over the rim of her mug.

"Have you been drinking that chamomile tea I gave you?" Alex asked, glancing at her sister over her shoulder, her voice softening when she noticed the deep purple bags prominent under her blue eyes.

"Two cups every night," Kara sighed before taking the last gulp of her green tea. "I would drink more, but then I'd spend most of the night in the bathroom than the bedroom." She tossed her mug into the back, hearing the metal clang against the wood. "It just doesn't seem to work though. Nothing does."

"Have you tried ear plugs?" Alex asked.

Kara let out a loud laugh.

"Trust me I've tried everything. I know it comes from the stars, but it appears in my head. It's like she's singing right beside me, but I can't leave and she certainly won't be ignored."

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Kara leaned back, instantly jerking away when her back pressed against the wood backing. The pain shot through her and down her spine making Kara grit her teeth in pain as she arched forward.

"Do you want me to look at that?" Alex offered. "I'm sure we can use some marigold or something to take care of it. Mom still probably has some of the salve from before."

"No," Kara said quickly, but her resolve cracked under the look Alex gave her. "It's just… this time it feels different. It's not just the scars. I don't think the salve will work and I really don't want to worry any more people about this."

"We worry because we care, you know," Alex told her as she pulled back on the reigns to slow the horses pace. "And hiding it will only make it worse."

Kara sighed.

"Please Alex," Kara begged. "Let me just try to handle this my own way first. I promise I'll let them know if it gets any worse, but right now… I'm handling it."

"By snapping on your sister every morning?" Alex asked, raising her thin eyebrows.

"You made me spill my tea!" Kara defend, gesturing to the wet spots on her lap.

Alex scoffed. "Must you always have to criticize my driving?"

"Well, you could always let me drive," Kara offered, leaning her head towards Alex.

"Yeah right. Our goal is get the produce delivered today, not next week."

"There is nothing wrong with taking it slow! I like to enjoy the scenery and take my time to avoid the potholes rather than fly over them."

"Oh whatever. Face it, I'm the one that keeps us on the schedule. Just sip your tea from the passenger seat and enjoy the same scenery we past almost every day."

Shaking her head, Kara crossed her arms.

"Dibs on driving back then."

"Oh, well see about that," Alex said cocking an eyebrow.

Despite her pain, Kara insisted on carrying the crates during the delivery, claiming that it was less painful that surviving the same small talk with the locals and the constant haggling with business owners like Cat Grant. All Kara had to do was drop the crates off in the hands of the receiver or place it where they so desired and then wait for them to unload so she could take the empty crate back to the cart to be used again. Alex handled collecting the payment and writing down what and when their customers sought their produce again. Kara couldn't help her smugness when not one customer commented on their later than normal arrival. All except Cat Grant, but she took every opportunity to try to save a penny. Thankfully, the sisters only had to deal with her on a biweekly basis.

They had made good time and when the last delivery came around, Kara was already looking forward to lunch. She'd discretely bought brown sugar from a merchant on the edge of town earlier that morning and couldn't wait to get home and cover her warm sweet potato with it. Maybe she could find some pecans in the pantry to add to it. Hank probably had some, she thought. He had a knack when it came to tree nuts. Maybe she could even get some almonds. Would those taste good with brown sugar? By the way Kara's mouth watered, she was sure that they did.

As they pulled in front of Jess's Tavern, their last stop for the day, something caught Alex's eye over at the business across the street, and she immediately sat up straighter in her seat. Her nimble fingers hastily undid her ponytail only to redo it. She quickly wiped her face with hand as if she thought something could be on it. Kara could swear she saw a little color flare to her sister's cheeks.

"Can you do this last one solo?" Alex asked as she climbed down from the cart straightening out her clothes and brushing the dust off afterwards.

"I mean, I guess," Kara replied, cocking her head to the side. "But why?"

"I just have to go, uh, see someone," Alex answered, a deeper blush coloring her cheeks.

Kara narrowed her eyes.

"Who?"

"No one you know," Alex quickly brushed off as she turned to cross the road.

"Alex!"

"I'll meet you back by the cart!" she called back over her shoulder.

Kara sighed and turned towards the back of the cart, grateful when she saw that only one crate remained. Jess's Tavern wasn't exactly the place that prided itself on fruits and vegetables, but the owner always preferred to have a nice basket of fresh apples out. She claimed it enhanced the atmosphere, and therefore the actions of the clientele. Kara was sure that there was more to it, but as far as she knew, Jess's Tavern had probably the lowest number of violent altercations in the area. Even lower than the courthouse. And if apples were a part of that, then Kara would do her best to provide them.

Even though the tavern was technically opened, the place was mostly deserted as it was still before noon. The owner, Jess, stood behind the bar, cleaning the glasses with a towel when Kara walked in. Jess jerked her head towards the counter in front of her; Kara obliged by setting the crate down there.

"Same time and order next week?" Kara asked.

"As always," Jess answered, her tone clipped as she slapped the cash in Kara's hand before taking the crate in the storage room back behind the bar.

If anything, Kara could always count on Jess being brief and despising small talk.

As she counted the coins in her hands to double check the payment - although she doubted Jess would ever intentionally cheat her – Kara noticed a raven-haired woman at the end of the bar. She became drawn to watching the way the woman's green eyes danced over the pages of the open book in front of her, and her pale fingers flipped through the pages while sipping from a glass of what looked like water from the other. She sat perched on the wooden stool with a grace and posture that seemed almost unnatural and absolutely uncomfortable, but she didn't seem to mind. And Kara knew within a heartbeat exactly who she was: none other than Lena Luthor.

Kara's heart skipped a beat and then took off in a sprint. Lena Luthor, the very same girl whose song had kept her awake the past several nights, was sitting alone by herself just mere feet in front of her. And Kara could help to her. How? She didn't know, but talking seemed like the easiest way to start. Alex wasn't here to stop her. Alex didn't even have to know. But Kara would know and Kara would know that she broke a promise with her. Wasn't blood stronger than this strange pull? It had to be.

But she so desperately wanted to hear that voice speak to her again. Not in its mourning song, but just in simple conversation almost like at the market. And soon, Kara found her feet leading her towards breaking that promise.

"Hi," Kara greeted with a smile as she approached the Luthor witch.

Lena glanced up from her book, her green eyes flicking up and down Kara as if she was either attempting to remember her or sizing up a prey. However, from the way her eyebrow arched, she seemed to lean more towards indifferent annoyance.

"Hi," Lena replied, but by her tone and the way her gaze returned to her book, it felt more like a bid farewell than a warm welcome.

Kara opened her mouth, but shut it quickly as she silently kicked herself for her inability to engage in simple small talk. Her nerves had already wound her up and Lena's response only rattled her more. Even if it Lena had been trying to be dismissive, she still spoke in the same voice that Kara automatically recognized as the one from the song the stars brought her. And she desperately wanted to hear it again.

"You're Lena, right?" Kara asked despite her own certainty of the fact.

"So it would seem," Lena's mumbled, not taking her focus away from her book.

"Lillian Luthor's daughter, right?" Kara persisted.

Lena's jaw clenched as she looked up from her book. "So it would seem," Lena repeated slower. "And you're the delivery girl. Don't you have more deliveries to make?"

"It's, uh, Kara actually," Kara corrected, rubbing her hand on the back of her neck. "Kara Danvers. And I'm not just a delivery girl. I mean, yeah, I make deliveries, but I do more than that. I was actually one of those girls at the market the other day who sold you the holly and stuff."

"Oh, that's right," a brief light of recognition shone in her green eyes before her annoyance flared back up. "So, it's farm girl then."

"Um, yeah, I guess so."

Kara's eyes dropped down to the worn, leather bound book in Lena's hands that had her enamored. Kara scanned the cover for a title and found none, but whatever it was, by the wear and tear along its binding and by the writing along the dog-eared pages, it was clearly one of Lena's favorites.

"What book is that?" Kara asked.

"It's not a book actually," Lena replied, snapping it shut. "It's a play."

"Oh, sorry, it just looked like a book."

"Well, you of all people should know how often appearance conflicts with reality."

Kara felt her mouth go dry. Her chest constricted. How did she know?

"All your family really," Lena continued as she stood up. "Is it really fair to the other farmers to have them competing with the likes of you?"

Kara's lungs deflated as she breathed a sigh of relief. How quickly she forgot about the dryad she was supposed to play.

"We just sell enough to get by," Kara explained slowly as she realized the attack behind Lena's words. "And we do our bests to make it fair. I mean, we don't venture out of the produce market and we don't sell in the winter and spring months."

"But you still play a part you're not," Lena drives.

"Well, I mean, can't the same be said about you?"

"Precisely," Lena's lip curled as she started to move towards the door. "And I suggest that not be something you easily forget, farm girl."

Her words sounded like Lillian, but her tone lacked the harsh cruelty that Lillian's was known for. And then there was the faint hint of an accent that hung on certain words. An accent Kara couldn't place. Perhaps English was her second language, Kara thought. One she learned after the one she sung her sorrows in.

"Thank you, Jess," Lena nodded at Jess as she walked towards the door. "Perhaps next time I'll be able to stay longer."

"Wait!" Kara called out as she grabbed the empty crate Jess had recently returned.

She raced to follow Lena out the door, but Lena ignored her call. Instead, she pulled herself up gracefully on top of her black horse and drew the hood of her brown cloak up to block her pale skin from the sun. For a brief second, Kara's blue eyes met Lena's green ones and she could have sworn she saw some flicker in them. A flicker of something more than the insensitive and hard attitude she projected. But then it was gone with a turn of her head. Clicking her heels against the horse's side, Lena trotted down the road and into the woods and out of Kara's sight.

Kara's blue eyes lingered where Lena had faded into the trees and brush, sucking her teeth as she ran her fingers through her blonde hair. But her frustration was nothing compared to the fury that lied in Alex's livid expression when Kara turned her gaze back to the cart. Kara's stomach twisted into a tighter knot with each step she made towards her.

"Alex…"

"I thought we agreed that you weren't going to pursue this," Alex seethed, her arms crossed in front of her.

"I know, but I just wanted to talk," Kara feebly explained.

"Well that seemed to go really well," Alex sneered as she took a step towards Kara, taking the wooden crate from her hands. "Just tell me when I should expect to see smoke rising from our crops."

"Please, Alex –"

"No Kara! What were you thinking? Are you trying to get us killed?!"

"It's not like that!"

"Then what is it?!" Alex demanded, throwing the crate into the back of the cart before recoiling her hand in pain. "Dammit!"

"Alex!" Kara cried, this time out of concern rather than anger.

She ran up to her sister, who was cradling her hand against her side. Gingerly, Kara lifted Alex's hand to examine the damage. A small cut ran along Alex's palm from what looked like where a wood splinter had torn through her skin as she had thrown the wooden crate. A small line of blood had begun to drip down her hand.

"It doesn't look too bad," Kara murmured. "Just hold still."

Kara gave a quick look up and down the empty street and the surrounding businesses to see if their argument had drawn any sort of crowd, but she saw not a soul, so she turned her attention back to Alex's hand. Gently, Kara placed her thumb on wound, triggering a sharp intake of breath from Alex. Humming softly to herself, Kara drug her thumb along the cut, leaving healed skin behind her touch. It wasn't until she had finished did Alex finally let go of the tension in her shoulders.

"I'm sorry," Kara muttered, her eyes still focused on Alex's hand she held in hers.

"Look," Alex sighed. "Just promise me that you won't talk to her or about her again. Or any business with the Luthors. Just promise me you'll stop all this, okay?"

"Okay," Kara mumbled.

She kept her head down as she fought the strange sudden waves of tears prickling her eyes.

"Hey," Alex whispered, placing her hand on sister's cheek so she could look at her watering, blue eyes. "I just don't want you getting hurt. Or any of us for that matter. It's for our own good."

Kara nodded against Alex's hand.

"I know."

It wasn't until then that Kara realized she hadn't felt her scars the entire time she was in the tavern with Lena.