Chapter 25

Fly Me to the Moon

Lord Lang's first move was to introduce Clark to the assembled diners, loosely explain what he had done, for the few who didn't already know, and then make sure they all knew he was now a knight instead of just a squire.

Clark and Lana couldn't hold hands all night long, but they shared so many looks and smiles that it hardly mattered. After dinner, Lord Lang pulled Lana aside long enough to let her know she was allowed to spend time with Clark, but that when she did, she needed to make sure they weren't alone, or if they were in a room alone, she needed to keep the door wide open. Not out of any fear that Clark might ravage her, but that they needed to maintain her reputation, especially now that she and Clark had such a prominent connection.

Lana wanted to talk privately with Clark and tried to think of a place where she could while still being observed by a maid or someone else who could testify that nothing improper had happened. She finally chose the interior courtyard where she and Clark had shared a late lunch the other day just before her father had banned her from seeing him. She thought the place was decently romantic and the burbling water would make it difficult for anyone to overhear them. She sent one of her maids to find Clark and ask him to meet her in 'the courtyard,' and that the maid would lead the way.

Bruce and Clark had gone outside for a talk. "You know, Clark, you seem to have your choice of the Lang women."

"Hmm?" Clark wasn't really listening yet. His mind was fully on Lana and the time they'd spent together. More and more he was becoming convinced she was the one for him. He just despaired of ever getting his parents to see that, too.

"I was saying that while Lady Lana's interest in you is obvious, it seems that Lady Lois and Lady Alicia have an interest, too."

"Lady Lois?" Clark said. "With me? Oh yeah, I really want a girl who gets mad and beats my butt when she doesn't get her way."

"But you did say she apologized very nicely the other day."

"Yeah, she did. It was everything I could have hoped for. A woman like that could turn a lot of heads. The problem with Lady Lois is I think the girl with the temper is more likely the real her than the sweet girl who apologized. And having a girl who jumped back and forth between the two would be pure torture."

"What about Lady Alicia?"

"Beautiful girl. Nice. Quiet." Clark turned to Bruce. "Whatever makes you think she's interested?"

"I've seen her look at you when you weren't watching. I was sitting next to her tonight, and when Lord Lang told everyone what you had done, she sighed and got these big eyes."

"I hope you're joking. I already have the Lady Lang I want."

"Not joking. Not at all. And while I think you can chase Lady Lois away by making it clear you're not interested, I can't say the same for Lady Alicia." Bruce kicked at a pebble and watched it bounce away. "She's a third daughter and is used to waiting, sometimes a long time, for her turn. She will wait patiently for her chance, and then seize it."

"She can seize whatever she wants, as long as it is not me."

About that time, the poor maid finally found Clark talking to Bruce outside. She'd been all over the manor and was nearly exhausted, so she caught her breath for a moment and then relayed Lana's message. "Sir Clark, Lady Lana asks for your attendance upon her in 'the courtyard.'"

"The courtyard?"

"Her words, Sir."

"I believe it's time for me to go, Bruce. My Lady Lang is calling." He started to walk off, but then stopped and looked back at his mentor. "But your Lady Lang…your Lady Lang may be waiting for you to grow a pair." Clark winked. "See ya in the morning, Bruce. I have a room of my own right next to yours now."

My Lady Lang? Bruce wondered. How'd he make that leap? I'm landless, make a comfortable living as a knight, but nothing to support a lady, and I'm more than ten years older than the oldest of those girls. My Lady Lang indeed.

Clark walked into the torch-lit courtyard to find Lana seated on the coping of the fountain, trailing a hand through the clear water. He cleared his throat, startling Lana, who started to fall before Clark zipped across the courtyard to catch her.

"I almost fell in," Lana said in wonderment.

"Not while I'm around."

Clark sat Lana back on the edge, but she was suddenly too nervous to sit. She stood, and Clark immediately stood with her. Her hands started to flutter around until Clark clasped her fingertips with his and held them between them.

"Why so nervous, Lana?"

"Being here, alone, with you."

"We're not alone. Your maid is waiting for us over by the door, protecting your reputation."

"You're not insulted, are you?"

"Insulted? No. I understand completely. A young woman's most valuable personal asset these days is her, uh, purity. If that comes into question, even once, it can have a material effect on her chances of marrying well." Clark grinned slightly. "In fact, if I was your father, I wouldn't let 'Sir Clark' within a mile of you."

"Why not?"

Clark squeezed Lana's fingertips and looked into her eyes, wanting her to know the truth of what he had to say.

"Because I know how much I love you."

Lana's mouth opened wide, and she gasped, not having hoped to hear that from Clark, not yet anyway. "You love me?"

Clark nodded readily, a smile breaking out over his face. "Yeah, I love you." He looked at the expression on her face, and asked, "Is it so hard to believe that someone could love you?"

Lana shifted her speech from Alemanni to Iberian, "I love you, too, Clark. From the moment you knelt in front of me to apologize, I knew you were the one for me, and I found myself falling deeper and harder for you with each passing day."

Her command of the language was slightly less perfect than his, but that didn't keep her emotion from shining through. Clark smiled ruefully, knowing Lana had understood him completely when he'd admitted his growing attraction to her in the library.

"You…" Clark used his fingertip grip to pull Lana in close. She looped her arms around his thick neck and he held her lightly at the waist, looming over her like a cliff face over the shore. Then he told her, "Step onto my toes."

Lana didn't talk, she just did as she was asked, never once taking her eyes off of his, even though she had to crane her neck to do so. Clark lowered his lips to meet Lana's which were rushing up at him, and as their lips touched and their eyes fluttered closed, Clark's feet drifted up off the ground as the two of them took flight.

They rose slowly as they kissed. The first kiss was short and sweet, and both pulled back just long enough to see the other smile before rushing in again to kiss harder and deeper. When they finally pulled back for air, their entwined bodies had floated up above the top of the manor, which opened up the whole sky to their view.

Lana could see the walls of the courtyard had disappeared from around them, and was just a little bit afraid to look down, but she quickly adjusted. Her maid, on the other hand, watched from below with a slack jaw and wide-open eyes. She'd never seen a Kryptonian fly before and was stunned by the sight of it, even if all the old stories said they could.

"Scared?" Clark asked.

Lana nodded quickly and jerkily, "Just a little."

"Sorry," Clark said. "I guess I should have warned you first."

"No. Don't worry." Lana looked off to the side, and saw the moonlit landscape, mostly farmland, rolling away from her vantage point. "I'm scared about us."

"Why?"

"With the Harvest Ball coming up in a few weeks, it's possible I may start receiving suitors after attending, and father intends to find me a husband soon."

"He does?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"Then…maybe I can use some influence. We've got some time, so if I can send off a letter to the right person, and he decides to intervene on our behalf, it may buy us some time."

"Time for what?"

"For me to fight for you, to convince my parents that you, Lady Lana Elizabeth Lang, are the one for me."

Lana's eyes shone with tears as she heard what she had only hoped to hear until now. "I-I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything just yet. This is a lot for someone to deal with, but know now that my intentions, which have never been less than honorable, are now of the highest quality. I intend to marry you."