Chapter - 21

Kara had spent some time with Kal-El, playing with the baby dragon. At first she was nervous. She didn't want the dragon breathing fire. But when the dragon caretaker told her baby dragon weren't capable of breathing fire, she relaxed and patted its head lovingly. When it was time for the dragon to retire, Lara took Kal-El back to the castle, while Kara decided to take a walk in the gardens. She ran into Princess Maia there, who wanted to talk to her, to get to know her.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you," Maia spoke, taking a seat on a stone bench nearby.

Kara's eyes fell on the bump she was caressing. "Not at all. You are Princess Cait's sister-in-law?"

"I'm Maia. Nice to meet you, Lady Kara."

"Nice to meet you, too." Kara took a seat next to the Princess when she gestured her to. Her eyes fell on the Princess' bump again and she couldn't help but smile.

"We are having a girl," Maia spoke, smiling back. "Ean couldn't wait so when we visited my planet Aoturn, we got it checked."

"You are from Aoturn?" Kara asked in surprise. She thought the Princess was from Daxam.

"I'm an Aoturnian," Maia said proudly. "Ean used to visit my planet for political reasons. I was the daughter of the chief there. We hadn't known each other for long before Ean asked for my hand in marriage. We have been together for almost a year now."

Kara smiled. Women like Zora and Maia were so lucky. To fall in love. To have a mate who loved them more than anything. To have a child with their mates.

"I thought the Daxamite Princes only married Princesses."

Maia shook her head. "Not all of them. Ean was not the Crown Prince, and he was never going to be one, so marrying nobility was permissible. He was also the first Prince of Daxam who chose a mate for himself. On this planet, the parents choose the latchmates for the royalty."

"It's the same on Krypton. We don't get to choose our own latchmate."

"On Aoturn, we respect our freewill. Choosing your own latchmate is a privilege, I know. Knowing Mon-El, he would probably want to do it himself."

"But it does look like Princess Eliz would be the one," Kara said, immediately regretting it.

Maia's face hardened at the name of Eliz. "She is not fit to be Queen. I've heard of Eliz. She seduced Ean before I met him. She wanted to be a part of this family. But she didn't know that marrying Ean would make her the next Queen."

"Because Mon-El is the Crown Prince?"

"Yes. Ean might be older than Mon-El, but he cannot have any claims to the throne. It rightfully belongs to Mon-El and his children after him. Eliz didn't find out that till last year. She then invited Mon-El over for a… a secret tryst." Maia shook her head in disapproval. "But Mon-El knew better after Ean warned him. I was courting Ean then, and I appreciated his honesty. Eliz is not fit to be Queen. And if I have any say in this matter, I would make sure she is prohibited from visiting Daxam."

"She's that bad?"

"She tried to sleep with my husband on the day of our wedding." Maia grimaced. "She's the worst. I would advice you to be very careful of her. Even though they formally introduced her to me today, I know who this woman is and what she wants."

"Well, we can't have her eyeing the Princes now, can we?" Kara asked with a cheeky smile.

Maia couldn't help but chuckle. "What do you suggest we do?"

"Do you think Eliz is scared of ghosts?"

Mon-El had experienced many things in life, but trying his hardest to not murder someone was first for him. He knew very well Prince Eliz was eyeing the throne. She wanted to be Queen. Accidentally getting into Ean's bed was the first sign. But now that she knew Ean was not going to be King, she had set her eyes on Mon-El. It was true that he fooled around with her when he visited her planet, but he had no idea she was sleeping with Ean while seducing him.

And now, the woman was after him.

She had made a great impression on his mother. Mon-El knew Rhea would prefer Eliz to be the next Queen, but he knew his father wouldn't be so cruel to him by making him marry Eliz.

Mon-El had been polite when he greeted her, laughed a little at a pathetic joke she had cracked, danced with her because he was supposed to dance with every eligible bachelorette at the party; but never had he imagined that Eliz would try to stick to him as if someone had glued them together. When he finally escaped her through a secret passage and went to his bedchamber, he gave explicit warning to Hal-An to not allow that woman anywhere near him.

Mon-El had just walked into his room, tugging the jacket off him and throwing it on the bed. He got out of the formal wears and put on a simple white shirt and sleep pants. He was expecting Kara to be waiting for him here, but let out a disappointed sigh realizing she wasn't here yet.

When he heard a knock on the door, he turned around to see Hal-An walk in, closing the door behind him.

"Your Highness, Prince Eliz was asking for you."

Mon-El rolled his eyes and plopped on a couch nearby. "Tell her I ran away with my lover."

Hal-An's lips twitched at that. "Permission to speak freely, Your Highness?"

"Of course. Sit."

Hal-An nodded and took a seat. "Eliz can be persistent. But you already know that. What are you going to do now?"

"Eliz is leaving in a day or two, so I'm not bothered by her. It's something else."

"Lady Kara?"

Mon-El looked at his friend and nodded. "We were planning to meet here tonight. I thought she would be waiting for me here."

"Maybe she is busy with something," Hal-An said, sitting back in his chair.

"Too busy to meet me?!"

Hal-An shrugged. "You could always talk to her."

"No," the Prince said, stubbornly. He was quiet for a while, after that, he spoke, "I'll send her a present."

"That would be nice. Do you want me to deliver it?"

"Yes. Let's go to the town right now!" Mon-El rushed to his room and came back wearing a coat over his clothes. "We'll take the horses."

Hal-An followed the Prince out quietly. When Mon-El made up his mind, no one could change it.

They rode into the town on their horses. Mon-El wanted to present her with clothes. Well, that was his initial plan but when Hal-An wasn't looking, he bought silk lingerie as well, which he hid under the dress he had bought for Kara. They went back to the castle, and Hal-An was given the box after Mon-El put a note in it.

The guard gave him a quick nod and headed to Kara's bedchamber. To his surprise, he found Kara talking to Winn, as they both sat on the couches, laughing about something. Winn stood up as soon as Hal-An walked in. One look at the guard, he was excusing himself and leaving the room.

Hal-An shook his head and moved closer. Placing the box on the table in front of Kara, he spoke, "Lady Kara, the Crown Prince sends his greetings and a small present for you. Have a good day. I'll take my leave."

"Thank you," Kara called after him.

Hal-An gave her a small smile and left the room.

Kara looked at the box in front of her. She decided to return it, whatever was inside it. But she was curious so she decided to look what was in the box. Opening it, she found a note.

Dear Kara,

You have no idea what you do to me when you wear Daxam red. That is what my heart bleeds… only for you. I hope you love what I have chosen for you.

Love,

Mon

Kara had a small smile on her face as she placed the note away to take the beautiful red dress from the box. She noticed that Daxam red was a red she had never seen on Krypton. That was what Mon-El wore for any formal events.

Kara knew that whatever she saw earlier was something she shouldn't worry about. Mon-El was sending her a present. Not Eliz. Maybe she was mistaken when she saw Mon-El with Eliz.

She decided to put on the dress and go and meet him. After all, he had asked her to meet him in his bedchamber. As she took the dress out, she noticed something else in the box. Keeping the dress aside she picked up the pieces of clothing. Silky red undergarments. Kara's eyes widened as she realized why he had sent such a present.

Furiously, she dumped the contents back in the box and walked out of her room.

"Kara?" Winn called after her.

But she wasn't paying any attention to him. All she wanted to do was return the things the Prince had sent her and to tell him to stay away from her. Determined, she walked into his room unannounced.

There he was, waiting for her with a coy smile on his face. But what Mon-El hadn't expected was a slap. He touched his cheek and looked at Kara in shock. She was fuming. His eyes fell on the box that she dumped on his couch. And Mon-El knew very well that his lover wasn't happy at all.