Chapter Four: Coming to Terms

It was late Sunday morning almost noon when Kara walked out of her room and into the banquet hall. She wasn't dressed yet, still wearing her nightdress with her hair a mess. When she walked in she saw that her whole family was sitting around the table preparing for dinner. Kara slumped into the seat between her little brother, Jax-El, and her sister, Talia, who was still visiting from Genopolis where she and her husband, Zar-Rax, lived.

Across from Kara was her mother, Bre-El. "Are you very well, darling? This is the second day that you've slept in and missed breakfast," Bre-El spoke.

"I'm fine, mother," she answered in a whisper.

"Don't you go lying to me, missy," snapped Bre-El, "You know Rao doesn't appreciate liars. Now you tell the truth."

"I already told you, mother, I'm fine," Kara said brashly.

"No, mom is right. You've been despondent since you got home from your date," Talia voiced.

"For the millionth time, I was not on a date," Kara thundered, trying to convince herself as much as her family.

Kara's dad, Drax-El, leaned forward in his chair, angered, "You went on a date? You know your mother and I are going to give you a properly arranged marriage!" He then turned his attention to Talia, "And you. You knew about this and didn't tell us or try to stop it."

Talia glared at him, "I thought she'd have fun. Besides, she might meet someone nice."

"You, of all people, know arranged works. You love your husband, don't you?" Drax-El retorted.

She let out a deep sigh, "Yes, I love him, but that doesn't necessarily mean the same thing is going to be true for Kara."

Kara's mother decided to interject, "The point might be moot. Did you hear The Tribunal is trying to pass a law stripping parents of the right to mandatory arranged marriages?"

"I bet you out of the seven people on The Tribunal, it's councilman Janes Nic-Zek. Her parents never arranged a marriage for her," Drax-El responded.

"No, you know what I really think it's about. They want to help the gays, so parents can't arrange them into a proper heterosexual marriage," said Bre-El.

"You're probably right. It's the gay agenda trying to ruin proper marriages with their ways. Those wretched people. Now they have a say in The Tribunal. I heard that councilmen Mon-Ser is gay. He probably wants nothing more than that law to be passed so he no longer has to be tied to his loving wife," Drax-El uttered.

All this was too much for Kara, she couldn't stand it anymore. She got up, her chair scraping along the floor as it was shoved backward, and stormed to her room to change into her robes. The back and forth kept going on with her parents, they didn't even realize that she had left. The only one that seemed to notice was her brother.

He entered her room and unannounced. "What are you doing?" he questioned.

Kara nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden question. She turned around and was relieved to see it was just her little brother, "Oh, it's only you," she sighed in relief. Jax repeated the question.

"I am going for a walk to get fresh air and clear my head."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because things are getting pretty intense in there," Kara answered.

"No more so than usual," Jax said.

"It just is. Okay, I'm going now. Excuse me," Kara snapped, leaving her room and then the house.

Outside in the quiet, away from her homophobic parents' bickering, and with the red sun beaming down on her, Kara could gather her thoughts. She walked down the streets of Kandor thinking about all the things wrong in her life. First, there were her parents. They wanted to control who she saw and who she married. Then there was Alura; Kara had feelings she didn't quite understand for her. She couldn't possibly let them show, though, and in the end everything came back to Kara's parents: the homophobes.

Kara was so deep in thought that she didn't even notice Alura turn around the corner heading her way, greeting her with a simple, "Hi, Kara."

Kara was shocked; she hadn't expected to see Alura here. "Hello, Alura," she responded, her words hushed.

"It's nice to see you," Alura commented, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, you too," she trembled.

"Mind if I join you on your walk?" Alura asked eagerly.

"I don't. It's just…," Kara tried to say.

"Oh come on, it's no fun walking alone," Alura interrupted. "Trust me on this."

"Okay, you can walk with me," Kara folded.

They walked in silence for a while, until Alura decided to break it. "So, what did you think of Friday? Did you have fun at the club?"

Kara stopped in her tracks, eyes focused on the ground, "Alura, this isn't working. I don't think we should see each other anymore."

"What? But I thought we were having fun. Did I do something wrong?" Alura pleaded for an answer, eyes wide with confusion, but Kara remained still. "Did I do something to offend you?" she weakened.

"It's not … it … it just… I," Kara fumbled, unable to get the words out.

"What is it, Kara? Is it because I'm lesbian? You told me how your parents are," Alura quivered.

"NO! Of course not. I helped you when you were being harassed. I don't share my parents' feelings," Kara stifled.

"What else could it be?" Alura questioned.

"It's not that," Kara promised.

"What could it be? Is it something that happened Friday?" Alura demanded, her voice shaking. Kara tried to turn away, but Alura stopped her, locking Kara's arms in a vice-like grip. "It is about Friday. What is it?" she shouted, slightly shaking Kara.

"It's my family. Before I met you at the club; my sisters confronted me at the door, and they kept insisting it looked like I was going a date. I told them I was meeting a friend and that was all, but they wouldn't believe me," Kara yelled, her emotions running high. Alura let go of her, but remained where she was. "Then I met you at the club. It was the best time I've had in a long time, and when I got home I realized my sisters were right. It was a date," Kara finished.

"But you told me yourself; you're not lesbian," Alura slightly whispered.

"I lied to you. Just as I have lied to everyone, even myself," Kara sobbed, tears running down her cheeks "I told you about my parents. Do you know what they would do if they found out?"

"Hey, it's okay," Alura said, attempting to comfort her.

"No, it's not," Kara rejected.

"It's all right. Everything is going to be fine," Alura whispered, moving in closer and pulling Kara into her embrace. Alura pressed her lips against Kara's and after a moment's hesitation, Kara deepened the kiss. They held each other in an immersive embrace for a few wondrous moments before Alura let go. Kara never wanted it to stop. It was the most alive she had felt in years.

"See? Everything is fine," Alura declared.

Author's notes

All comments are appreciated and welcomed

Thanks to my beta reader Erandri, my teachers, and friends form school that help me edit this chapter