~ CHAPTER 7 ~
Lois could hear someone calling out her name through the fogginess in her mind. The words just barely reached her but her eyes remained closed and she didn't have enough strength to open them. She also felt a hand gently touching her cheek, the warmth of it rushing through her body.
Gradually, the surrounding sounds and scents became clearer to her until her eyes finally fluttered open. She instantly became aware of how much her body still ached just before she noticed Clark sitting by her side.
"Hey," she mumbled in a sleepy voice with a smile, relieved to see him alive and well.
"How are you feeling?" Clark asked, smiling back at her while stroking her face.
"Like I've just been run over by a train," Lois muttered and suddenly winced at the pain emanating from her feet.
She looked down to see them wrapped up in bandages.
"Or almost been blown apart by missiles," Clark sighed, the smile gone from his face.
Lois glanced over at him, recognizing the look of guilt all too well after all the years. She reached out and grabbed hold of his hand, squeezing it as hard as she could.
"You don't get to feel guilty about this, okay?" she said firmly. "You did what you were brought here to do; save the planet and their people from the Xeneztrian scum bags. There was no way of telling that they would strike sooner. And as you can see, I'm fine except for a pair of sour feet but that's what you get after running bare foot."
"But if only I'd–"
"Clark, no! I get that you have the nasty tendency of making everything seem your fault, but this was all the Xeneztrians' fault. They are the cause of this entire mess. Got it?"
Lois glared at Clark while still holding onto his hand until he finally nodded with a heavy sigh. He smiled at her before leaning over and gently kissing her on the forehead.
"Has anyone ever told you what an amazing wife you are?" he said.
"Oh, it's been a good twenty-four hours since that handsome husband of mine did," Lois said, her face lightning up with a big grin.
"Well then, sounds like he better make it up to you."
"Damn straight. And I know just the thing."
They both leaned forward towards each other, about to share a kiss, when Lois caught a glimpse of King Azerteius and Azandria in the doorway.
She abruptly leaned back in bed and cleared her throat loudly, so sure that she was blushing for once.
"Sorry to interrupt," Azerteius said as he walked into the room with Azandria following close behind. "But we wanted to make sure that Lois Lane was alright considering everything that's happened."
"I'm fine," Lois said with a weary smile, looking from Azerteius to Azandria. "But your concern is very touching."
"I owe you my life, Lois," Azandria said, smiling back.
"Oh, I think we're even by now."
Clark glanced at Lois, clearly wondering what she was talking about. But she plainly ignored him and focused on Azandria instead.
"Very well," Azandria said with a nod.
"I'm glad to see you're feeling fine, Lois Lane," King Azerteius said, gesturing for his daughter to exit the room. "So we are not going to disturb any longer. We'll see you again tomorrow."
Lois smiled politely at King Azerteius and Azandria before they turned around and gracefully walked out of the room, closing the door behind them.
Once they were gone, Clark turned his attention back to Lois with a serious look on his face.
"Did something happen out there today, Lois?"
"Yeah, Qdeztra was nearly nuked by the Xeneztrians."
"Lois. Why are you and Azandria now even?"
Lois looked at Clark in silence, debating with herself whether or not she should tell him about being brought back to life by Azandria. She knew all too well that he would somehow manage to blame himself for the whole thing and Lois didn't dare to think about how it would affect him long term.
"Look, when the missiles hit, all we had was each other. If it weren't for her, I would've never made it back to the palace in one piece. And I guess she feels like I saved her life when those soldiers were chasing us," she said.
Clark's serious expression was slowly replaced by a relieved expression, followed by an equally relieved smile. After everything they'd been through that day, he was happy to have Lois alive and well by his side.
"I bet those soldiers didn't stand a chance against you," he said.
"Believe me, I would've gladly kicked their asses but someone beat me to it," Lois said with a grin. "Someone with super strength, perhaps?"
"And yet I don't stand a chance against my own wife."
"I'd say it depends on the situation."
"Movie Night?"
"Hey, I can't help it that you have horrible taste in movies! It's standard procedure to watch slasher movies on Move Night and I intend–"
"I rest my case."
Lois quickly closed her mouth, smiling sweetly at Clark. She always managed to get carried away on certain topics such as Movie Night. Which he knew, therefore bringing it up every chance he got.
"Now, I do believe things were about to get interesting when we were so rudely interrupted," she murmured with a now mischievous smile.
"Well, what if Azerteius happens to walk in on us?"
"Oh, I'm sure I don't give a damn…"
The following day began at the crack of dawn, much to Lois' dismay. While she was still on bed rest, Clark still had plenty to get done. He left early in the morning to assist the Qdeztraians in rebuilding the damaged parts of Qdeztra.
Because of his powers, Clark proved to be a valuable help in restoring the people's homes and removing debris from the roads. The Qdeztraians began preparing the land for another harvest and communicating with the animals to calm them down, asking for their help as well.
Lois watched from up on the balcony of the royal palace as all the people worked together to get Qdeztra back to its former glory. The breathtaking valley below the palace consisted of scattered debris and most of the village houses had been blown to smithereens.
It pained Lois to see something that had been so peaceful and magnificent the previous morning, to now look like a war zone with hollow ruins.
"You are not supposed to be out here."
Lois turned her head to the side, realizing that Azandria was standing next to her out on the balcony. The princess looked down at the valley with a distant expression on her face.
Lois noticed that the cuts and bruises was almost entirely gone, Azandria restored to her glamorous self again complete with a new gown and a golden headband in her shimmering hair.
"Neither are you if I heard King Azerteius correctly," Lois said, turning her head to look down at the valley again.
"Father is in a meeting with his consultants," Azandria said. "He doesn't expect me to spend all day in my room when we have an injured guest that needs attending."
"Is he planning on retaliating against the Xeneztrians?" Lois asked.
"Father would never do such a thing. He still believes in peace. They are discussing our options of keeping Qdeztra safe once Kal-El returns to Earth."
"What do you think your options are? I mean, what's to stop King Diminstrius from sending another fleet of ship to destroy Qdeztra?"
"We received word from King Diminstrius earlier this day, asking for a peace treaty. Apparently his soldiers have filled his head with stories of how Kal-El singlehandedly defeated their mighty army. Now he's afraid that Father will send Kal-El to destroy Xeneztra."
"Sounds like Azerteius have everything under control."
The two women stood next to each other, staring out at the valley in silence for a while. Even though she wouldn't let it show, Lois figured that Azandria was still shaken up after the attack.
She cared a great deal for her people and most likely worried a lot more than she'd care to admit to anyone. But although Lois didn't know the first thing about being an Empath, she knew what lay underneath the surface.
"What's Earth like?" Azandria suddenly blurted out, still staring ahead.
"I think you'd like it, flaws and everything," Lois said.
"From what you've told me, I can imagine it's a beautiful planet just like Qdeztra."
"In some ways it is. But after coming here and seeing what your planet is like, it's gonna be kind of disappointing to return to Earth."
"With someone like Kal-El, how can Earth ever be disappointing?"
When hearing this, a smile spread across Lois' face. She looked as Clark helped the Qdeztraians clear the valley of debris, as well beginning to rebuild some of the homes.
"Life with Clark is certainly never disappointing," she said, still with a smile in place.
"That's good," Azandria said.
"It is," Lois murmured. "Some might even call it amazing."
Lois twirled around one last time. The white gown danced along, landing softly against her bare legs. She admired her reflection in the mirror, a smile spreading across her face. After being pampered by King Azerteius' servants for the upcoming ceremony, Lois couldn't help but feel a bit like a princess.
She certainly looked the part dressed in one of the royal gowns, completed with royal head wear and the royal bracelet she'd been given by Azandria earlier. Lois glanced down at the gleaming golden bracelet, the smile growing wider when realizing that the past few days had actually happened.
"You ready?"
Lois looked up at Clark, standing in the doorway smiling at her. After helping out the Qdeztraians with rebuilding the majority of Qdeztra, he'd managed to clean up pretty good. Although he'd refrained from wearing one of the royal robes, politely insisting on wearing the clothes he'd arrived in.
Lois' face lit up at the sight of him, forgetting all about the fancy bracelet and everything else.
"When have I ever not been?" she said. Clark raised an eyebrow, opening his mouth to speak, when Lois quickly shook her head. "Okay, scratch that."
"It's not every day a ceremony is being held in your honor," Clark said, still smiling.
Lois walked up him, gently caressing his cheek as if making sure he was actually there. The aftermath of the Xeneztrian attack was far from forgotten and the fear of possibly have lost Clark still lingered at the back of her mind, but Lois decided not to dwell on the bad and instead treasure every waken moment she had with him.
"As flattering as it is, I'm just happy to have you back," she murmured.
"You're not getting rid of me that easy," Clark said, taking her by the hand and together they started down the corridor towards the great hall where the ceremony would take place shortly.
Lois squeezed Clark's hand every now and then as they rounded corners, walked down the stairs and bumped into some of the servants on the way.
"Hey, how about we skip this thing and just get back home instead?" Lois whispered to Clark once they were one corridor away from the great hall.
She listened to the bustling sounds of people moving about, finishing the final preparations while the guests were being seated. She even managed to overhear King Azerteius giving out orders to his servants, probably from up high on his throne.
"Azerteius has arranged to have one of his travelers' take us back to Earth after the ceremony, which won't be that long I'm sure," Clark said, unable to hold back a smile.
"Let's hope so, because you know I'm no good at these kinds of things," Lois sighed and squeezed Clark's hand once more.
They had come to a stop at the end of the corridor, the great hall located just around the corner. Lois still felt hesitant despite having Clark by her side but before she could obsess any more about it, Azandria rounded the corner and coming towards them with the same serene smile Lois had grown accustomed to.
"Sounds like quite a party," Lois said, smiling nervously.
"Father enjoys his ceremonies," Azandria said. "I normally don't but this time the occasion certainly calls for a ceremony."
"And we're honored that you're going to such length in order to show your appreciation," Clark said with a polite smile, glancing sideways at his wife. "Aren't we, Lois?"
"Words can't even being to describe how I feel," Lois said as she managed to maintain a straight face while giving Clark a subtle glare.
"Actually," Azandria said. "There is something I'd like to talk to you about."
The tone in her voice caught Lois' attention. Although she hadn't known Azandria for more than a week, she saw a lot of Lucy in the princess. That was enough for Lois' big sister instincts to kick into gear.
"You two want some privacy?" Clark asked, clearing his throat nervously.
"This concerns you as well, Kal-El," Azandria said quickly, actually seeming to be nervous.
Something Lois didn't think Azandria was capable of unless they were under attack from the Xeneztrians. The princess was silent for a moment, apparently mustering up the courage before she spoke again.
"Lois made me realize that there's so much more out in the universe that I need to experience before becoming a leader to my people. I talked it over with Father and he granted me a year to explore outside of Qdeztra before I need to return."
"So, does this mean…?" Lois started to say, trailing off in the middle of the sentence with an expectant look on her face.
"That I'll be leaving Qdeztra today as well," Azandria finished.
"Any idea on where you're gonna go?" Clark asked.
"I've been told stories about a beautiful planet not unlike Qdeztra," Azandria said, glancing at Lois. "So I'm planning on making that my first stop."
Lois' face lit up with a grin when she realized what planet Azandria was talking about. She found herself strangely enough speechless and instead embraced Azandria in a sudden hug, leaving a puzzled Clark standing on the side wondering what was going on.
"So you're sure about this?" Lois asked as she took a step back, just barely managing to maintain her excitement.
"As sure as I've ever been about something," Azandria said. "Either way, it's time for me to start living my life as I see fit. At least until Father steps down from the throne."
"Wow," Lois murmured. "Talk about an epiphany."
She looked up at Clark, another grin spreading across her face.
"Think you're up for another roomie?" she asked him.
"Probably not," Clark said, smiling down at her. "But I wouldn't mind finding out."
~ NEXT UP: THE EPILOGUE! ~
