Chapter - 25
Kara had woken up, feeling sore. She had never felt this sore before.
Mon-El had come back to her bedchamber last night after talking to his father about Eliz. Ean's affair with Eliz had happened before he married Maia, this immediately excluded Eliz from the list of candidates to marry the Crown Prince. Queen Rhea was shocked to hear of the affair, Eliz had been her very first choice. And now she could see a strange smile on the King's face that he tried his hardest to hide. He was pretending to be upset, but secretly he was relieved that Eliz was out of their lives.
When Mon-El had returned to Kara's bedchamber and locked the door, he tackled her on the bed as soon as his eyes fell upon her. And then he had taken her not once or twice, but three times; all in different positions.
Kara's face grew red just as she thought about it. But she had to control herself since she was going to meet her parents and ask their permission to go to Zora's wedding.
They were seated in their living quarters, quite larger than the one Kara and Kal-El had. But since they were the esteemed guests of the Crown, there was no surprise to how they were treated. Her parents, Bar-Van's mother and her uncle were also provided a makeshift workplace to keep in touch with Krypton and do their work. As for Lara, she was helping Zora out with the space research. Mon-El often paid them a visit and learned something new from Lara. But since Zora's wedding was coming up, she was taking a break from work, and Lara had volunteered to take on Zora's role for the time being. Zora was more than happy to let the Kryptonian take her position. It was rather trivial for a space explorer to just monitor the skies and space, but Lara never felt any work was insignificant. And so, the Kryptonians found something to do here on Daxam.
Kara's parents often met with the King, but she knew it was to revise the peace treaty, since Mon-El had hinted that the trade routes between Daxam and Krypton were going to expand and maybe one day, day-to-day travel between the two planets would be established.
Kara went into her parents' chamber and was greeted by them with utmost joy. She wondered if she had done something to make them this happy. Her father put an arm around her shoulder and placed a kiss on her head.
"My dearest child, come sit!" Zor-El called as he guided Kara towards the couch.
Kara gave her parents a small smile and sat down. "Mother, Father, I wanted to talk to you about something. My friend is getting married. You must know Hal-An? The Crown Prince's guard. I'm friends with his fiancée, and I really wish to go to her wedding."
"Is it taking place at the town, dear?" Allura asked.
"No, Mother. The wedding is tomorrow and it's on the lake country."
Zor-El frowned lightly. "Well, if you really wish to go, then you can; but I insist you take Bar-Van along. A young lady must always have a chaperone."
"Then I will be most delighted to be Lady Kara's chaperone," a voice came from the door.
The Kryptonians turned around to see it was Prince Mon-El, standing by the door with a charming smile on his face.
"Your Highness," Zor-El greeted him. "We really do not wish to cause you such inconvenience."
"Zor-El, I will be happy to accompany Lady Kara. Hal-An and Zora have been my friends since childhood. I'm taking my dragon later this evening. Flying is always easier. I really don't mind taking Lady Kara along. She will be safe with me, you have my word."
Kara gave Mon-El a small smile. He winked at her when her parents weren't looking.
Zor-El and Allura asked for a minute alone and went to talk in their bedchambers. But before the young lovers could steal a minute together, Kara's parents were back.
"Well, Your Highness, since you are so kind to take our daughter to the wedding, we have no problem to send her with you. Should we expect to see you by day after tomorrow?"
"Yes," Mon-El answered. "I have some work to do, so I shall take my leave now. Lady Kara, until later."
Once Mon-El left, Kara's parents hugged her and told her to get ready. She gave them a big smile as she went back to her room to pack an overnight bag. Kara then spent the afternoon with Kal-El. The little boy was invited to the wedding too, but Jor-El didn't feel like sending his son to another town. He had also argued with his brother for sending Kara alone with Prince Mon-El.
So when the time came to leave, Kara knew she was leaving behind a very disappointed uncle.
She met the Prince at Aermy's courtyard that evening. The Prince had explicitly told her not to wear a dress or a skirt. She had a body-hugging one-piece suit on instead. It was all black and there was a small crest of El on the left side of her chest.
Mon-El's jaw dropped when he saw Kara approach him. Aermy immediately nudged Kara with her head and the Kryptonian giggled as she patted the dragon's head lovingly.
"Is that what you are wearing, Lady Kara?" Mon-El asked as he kept looking at her attire.
"Yes, Your Highness. Is there a problem? These are the only pants I own."
"Mon-El shook his head and pulled his coat off. He wrapped it over Kara's shoulder and said, "Put that on, my lady."
Kara took the coat from him and put it on without a word. When Mon-El helped her climb Aermy, Kara gave him a grateful smile. Mon-El jumped over his dragon and sat behind Kara. He immediately wrapped his arms around Kara's waist and took hold of the reins.
Aermy lifted off gently. Kara squealed when the dragon started to fly. She felt Mon-El's arms tightened around her. He leaned closer and kissed her cheek.
"Is it always like this?!" Kara shouted as the wind hit her face. She giggled when she heard Mon-El scream back, "Yes! It's always like this."
The ride to Braedon wasn't too long. Aermy flew them there before nightfall. When they reached Zora's family home, Aermy lowered herself near the lake. There was enough space for her and she would be resting for the whole day tomorrow.
Mon-El jumped down first before helping Kara. He then led her towards the house where Hal-An stood waiting for them. Mon-El greeted his friend with a hug. When Zora heard Kara was here, she came running down the stairs to welcome her new friend. The rest of the evening was spent with Kara meeting Zora and Hal-An's family. She was surprised to see how all these Daxamites wanted to get to know a Kryptonian. The house was surprisingly big enough for all the guests, but Kara knew they were all sharing the rooms. When Zora's mother offered Kara a room for herself, the young Kryptonian refused; so she ended up in a room with Zora and her sister and cousins.
As for Mon-El, the Prince's safety was Hal-An's priority. There was an old-fashioned cabin near the lake. Mon-El was going to spend the night there. Since there were two rooms, Hal-An was taking one.
Mon-El's room was bigger compared to Hal-An's, so he protested, but Hal-An wasn't going to listen to the Prince that day. When Mon-El realized his room opened to a balcony from where he could see Aermy, he decided not to complain anymore. Since Kara was not going to be let out tonight, he would have to pass his time talking to either Hal-An or Aermy.
The next morning brought a pleasant surprise to Kara. She was woken up by one of Zora's cousins who told her the Prince and other young men were swimming in the lake. All the girls made their way downstairs and cheered for the men who were having a swimming challenge. Hal-An won easily, but it was obvious that the other men let the groom win.
When Mon-El came out of the water, his eyes met Kara's and he gave her a bright smile. She smiled back and waited to talk to him. But Hal-An led him to the cabin quickly, all the while speaking to him in a low, serious tone.
Kara hadn't seen Mon-El after that. At least, not till the ceremony. There were beautiful gardens nearby and the wedding was taking place there. Kara was surprised to see all the arrangements. Clearly a Daxamite wedding was different than a Kryptonian one. Only the closest family attended a wedding on Krypton and it took place in the courthouse where they took an oath in front of the minister and signed their bonds. And they could go back to work after that. But this was entirely different.
There was a path made of flowers that ran all the way from the garden's entrance to where Hal-An's father stood. Mon-El had just walked in and hurried towards the man. He greeted Hal-An's parents with a hug and wiped the tears off Hal-An's mother's cheek. Then he took his place on Zeb-An's left, where Hal-An joined him and his father.
People stood on the either side of the flowery path. Zora's cousins had asked Kara to stand with them. As she stood there, Kara noticed that a soft musical note was being played. Zora walked into the garden, with her brother by her side. She wore a beautiful, long, red dress with a flowy skirt that sure hid her baby bump well.
Kara, who wore a traditional blue Kryptonian dress, wondered if red was what every bride wore on Daxam. It looked great on Zora, who was smiling at her guests. She even waved at Kara before she walked down the flowery path. When she finally reached Hal-An, who gave her a heartbreaking smile, Zora's brother placed her hand on Hal-An's and said, "My sister is for you, Hal-An."
Kara smiled when she saw Hal-An take Zora's hand. They began to exchange their vows. Soon the rings were being exchanged. Rings that didn't exist on Krypton. Hal-An and Zora sealed their bond with a kiss. Then Hal-An touched Zora's baby bump for a fleeting second as he pecked her lips once again. Seeing that, Kara couldn't help but lower her gaze. This was what she wanted. A husband who loved her, a child whom she loved the most… and a family. But could she have that with Mon-El?
When Mon-El's eyes caught hers, he raised a brow, asking her if everything was all right without speaking a word. She gave him a small nod and smiled before she went to congratulate the newlyweds.
The reception that followed was a party thrown by the parents of the bride and groom for Zora and Hal-An. It was like any Daxamite party – Drinks, dances and delicious food. Kara was busy stuffing her face with dumplings when she felt someone clear their throat.
"Hey there, beautiful!"
Kara turned around. It was Mon-El. He gave her a charming smile before he took a sip of his wine.
"Are you enjoying the party?"
"Ish nice! Yummy doomplings!" Kara managed to say with a mouthful of dumplings.
"What's wrong with your mouth?"
Kara gestured for him to give her a minute and finished eating the dumplings. Then she said, "It's nice, the party. The wedding was beautiful. And these dumplings are to die for!"
Mon-El chuckled. "Then I'll make sure the cook makes it everyday for you."
Kara grinned and looked away, her eyes falling on all the people who were dancing. "I miss dancing," she said, softly. "I used to dance a lot on Krypton."
"Yeah, we dance on Daxam too." Mon-El took hold of her hand to see she was holding onto more dumplings. "Well, then." He placed his glass of wine and looked at her with a charming smile.
"Sorry, hold on." Kara kept her dumplings on a napkin, wiped her hand with another one and slipped her hand in Mon-El's. They smiled as he led the way to the dance floor. For some reason, this felt familiar, and they had no idea why.