Chapter 29
It had been evening by the time all the guests had gathered at the great hall. Wine and conversations flowed as they all waited eagerly to see the Crown Prince's betrothed.
Mon-El was in his bedchamber, getting dressed for the gathering. He wore the royal celebratory suit all in black, gold and crimson. When he was ready to go downstairs, he asked the varlet and the guards to leave him alone for a minute.
The Prince stood in front of the mirror. There was a time he used to see a young lad with so much liveliness in the reflection. Now all he saw was the man who had betrayed his true love and was once again sacrificing something for the Crown.
But the words kept ringing in his ears. The Crown must come first.
He gathered his wits and made his way out of his room. To Mon-El's surprise, Zeb-An stood waiting for him.
"Zeb-An, what brings you here?"
The man gave the Prince a little bow and said, "I'm here to escort you to the gathering, Your Highness. This was my son's only condition when I told him that he must spend few days with his new wife alone. Hal was terribly sorry that he would miss this gathering."
"I hope he is taking his much deserved break." Mon-El began to walk. Zeb-An walked by his side, all the while asking him if he was ready for today.
Mon-El lied to the man he loved and respected so dearly. The same man who protected him when he was a child. The man who didn't think twice before jumping into the sea to save young Mon-El who was drowning. But Mon-El had to lie. The Crown came before anything else.
When he reached the great hall he found Princess Cait standing outside with her guard.
When she saw him, she curtsied. Mon-El gave her a small bow and went to greet her. "Dear Cait, are you well?"
"I should be asking you that, My Lord."
Mon-El gave her a weak smile. "Should I walk you in?"
"If you would be so kind." Cait slipped her arm in Mon-El's and their arrival was announced. They walked in together, all the while greeting all those who bowed and greeted them.
When they finally reached the front of the hall, Cait moved away. "Are you really ready for today?" she asked in a low voice.
Mon-El had been looking around. His eyes had fallen on Princess Kaydel, who smiled at him when their eyes met. He gave her a small nod and turned away. "No. I would rather be somewhere else," Mon-El confessed. "How is Ean?"
"Not good. Mother has been so disappointed with him that she made sure he knew how disappointed. Father doesn't really care. Ean plans to leave home for a while and stay at his own property till Mother calms down."
"I feel sorry for him. This isn't even his fault."
Just then, the arrival of the King and Queen was announced. This was the first time Mon-El was seeing his mother after the Eliz and Ean incident. She looked like she had aged ten years. She even looked somber now. The King, on the other hand, looked as if he had found the secret of immortality. He was smiling brightly as he made his way towards the throne.
Once the King and Queen were seated and the music resumed, a guard came to Mon-El's side and told him that the Queen wanted to have a word with him.
Queen Rhea stood up and walked towards the back of the great hall. When she saw her son approaching, she gestured for her lady's maids to leave them alone.
"My dear boy!" Rhea greeted Mon-El and pulled him into a hug.
"Mother," Mon-El greeted back and pulled away. "You wished to speak with me?"
"Yes. I wished to speak about your betrothed." Rhea patted her son's shoulder and said, "I had no say in who you are to marry."
"Pardon?"
"I did want Princess Eliz to be your wife. But after the little secret of hers and Ean's came out, your father told me to not interfere in this matter. He had already chosen someone for you. Eliz was merely… a second contender."
Mon-El gave his mother a small nod. "Thank you for being honest, Mother."
"I do not wish to doubt your father's choice, but all I want is for you to be happy. I pray to Rao that you do find that happiness with your bride… I love you, my dearest child. Forgive me if I have done anything to hurt you."
"Mother, I might be King to my people. But I will always be your son. So please, do not ask for forgiveness." Mon-El gladly accepted his mother's hug. She then slipped her arm in his and they made their way to the thrones.
Mon-El then noticed a small, ornate chair next to his own. He tried to not think about it. He greeted his father with a bow and led his mother to her throne. Once she was seated, he went and took his own seat.
The guests were greeting the royals now. When some of them stepped away, Mon-El leaned towards his father and asked, "Your Majesty, it's it time to welcome my bride. We shouldn't keep our guests waiting, you told me that before."
King Lar gave him a big smile and nodded. "Of course. We're just waiting for your bride to arrive."
Mon-El looked at his father in confusion. Princess Kaydel was right here. If it wasn't her, then who?
The doors opened and the arrival of the House of El and the other Kryptonians was announced. Jor-El, Lady Lara and Kal-El were the first to walk in. They made their way in and greeted the royals and went to stand by Princess Cait's side. Bar-Van walked in with his mother. Zor-El accompanied his wife.
When they had all moved away, Mon-El heard Kara's name being announced. "Lady Kara Zor-El of Krypton."
Mon-El felt the wind get knocked off him. Dressed in an exquisite blue and golden ball down, Kara Zor-El was a sight for sore eyes.
"There she is!" King Lar said, proudly. "You were eagerly waiting for her, Son. Won't you greet your bride?"
"Father, what are you saying? Lady Kara is my betrothed?"
King Lar raised a brow. "I thought you knew… Son, I thought you knew since the first ball we had after the Kryptonians arrived."
"You should have talked to him before arranging his marriage to a Kryptonian," Queen Rhea said, frowning at her husband. "Enough of these old traditions, if our son doesn't want to marry her the—"
Mon-El cut his mother off. "Forgive me, Mother. But I never said I didn't want to marry Lady Kara. I think I am the luckiest man in the entire universe now!"
King Lar smiled proudly and turned to face his wife. He gave her an expression that screamed 'I told you so!'
"Excuse me, Father, Mother," Mon-El said in a hurry as he stood up and started walking towards Kara.
They met halfway, getting lost in each other's eyes. "You knew?" Mon-El asked.
"Just this morning."
"I'm so sorry for what I said, Kara. You have to know why I was scared to leave it all and run away. I know I hurt you. You cannot imagine just how horrible I felt when I did!"
Kara gave him a small nod. "Yes, it hurt. And all I wanted was to leave and never return. But I did pray to Rao to help me. Help us… And he did. So all is forgiven, my love."
"Do you have any idea how happy I am right now?"
Kara gave him a heartbreaking smile. "If you are as happy as I am then I think I know what you feel."
"Sweetheart," Mon-El called as he pulled her into his arms and crashed his lips against hers.
There were few gasps and some even applauded for them, including the King. But all the Els looked at the young couple in shock, except for Kal-El, of course, he was happy for his dear cousin.
Allura touched her husband's arm and asked, "Dear, are all Daxamites this forward while meeting their betrothed?"
"I don't know, love. The Prince always seemed… a bit forward." Zor-El gave his wife a small smile.
"I told you, they have been seeing each other behind our backs!" Jor-El called, rolling his eyes slightly. "Does that look like a first kiss to you?"
"Darling, hush," Lara spoke with a twinkle in her eyes. "All that matters is that they like each other and they make a wonderful couple."
Mon-El and Kara had broken the kiss by now, resting their foreheads against each other's. The Prince then took a step back and held his hand out for Kara to take. "My dearest bride, let us go seek blessings from the King and Queen. I'm sure my mother is dying to greet you."
"Oh, I'm sure she's on top of the world." Kara winked at Mon-El as she slipped her hand in his and they made their way towards the front of the hall.
Kara curtsied in front of the King and Queen. King Lar greeted her with warmth and joy, and asked her to join them. Queen Rhea was almost polite, but she did have a small frown on her face.
Mon-El and Kara climbed the platform and stood in front of their chairs, holding each other's hand tightly.
"My dearest people and our beloved guests, today is a big day for Daxam for we are so happy and so proud to introduce you to our future Queen. I would like to announce the betrothed of my son, Prince Mon-El Gand to Lady Kara Zor-El of the house of El… Today is also her birthday, so please join us in raising our glasses to our future Queen, Lady Kara."
"To Lady Kara," Mon-El said with a huge grin, raising his glass of wine.
"TO LADY KARA!" the whole hall called out. The young Kryptonian had tears of joy in her eyes.
Mon-El slipped his arm around Kara's waist and pulled her closer. "It's alright, my darling. Everyone loves you. Even Mother will come around."
"I can't believe this is happening," Kara said, leaning against him.
"Me neither. But this isn't a dream… I never dream of my mother, you see."
Kara chuckled and buried her face against Mon-El's shoulder. He kissed her forehead. Once the King and Queen were seated, Mon-El asked his father's permission if he could dance with his bride.
King Lar was more than happy to grant him permission. Mon-El then led Kara down the platform and went to greet her family in person. Kara's family greeted him with big smiles and hugs. Only Jor-El looked as if he wanted to be anywhere but here.
So when Mon-El held a hand out for him to shake, Jor-El raised a brow.
"I know you are worried about Kara. And I also know you are worried that I'll hurt her," Mon-El spoke, his voice borderline serious. "I promise you that would never happen. But if it does… Your sword. My head." Jor-El's eyes widened hearing that. "Oh! I know you don't have a sword, you could always borrow mine. But it won't come to that."
Kara's family burst out laughing. Even Jor-El had a small smile on his face. He simply nodded at Mon-El.
The Prince then led Kara to the dance floor. They danced for a while, before enjoying the delectable spread. After that Mon-El didn't wait for even a minute before leading Kara out of the great hall. They hurried to his room, wanting to spend the rest of the night in each other's arms.
Clothes came off in a hurry. Some of Kara's inner garments even ripped as Mon-El didn't care about them enough. He gently pushed her back in his bed and climbed over her. Mon-El's fingers brushed against her sex. "My, my! You are so wet, my darling!"
Kara blushed furiously. "I'm just happy to be with you. I thought we could never be together when I left you at the tower. Then my parents told me that our marriage, despite arranged, is to strengthen Krypton and Daxam's bond."
"It sure has strengthened ours, sweetheart!" Mon-El kissed her as he pushed a finger into her. Kara gasped against her lips.
"Are you always going to drive me this crazy?!" Kara muttered against his lips.
"This is just the start, my sweet Princess. I won't rest till you scream my name!"
"We shall see, my Prince!" Kara pulled his head down for another kiss.
Their lovemaking was nothing short of intense. They had been desperate for each other's touch and now that they were finally together, they vowed to never let each other go.
The next morning dawned bright and cloudless. Kara and the other Kryptonians had to leave. The wedding date was set in one month's time and the Els had to do their own preparations.
Kara and Mon-El's goodbye was a bit sad and they held onto each other for a long time.
"Stay," Mon-El said as Kara moved away, but still held onto his shoulders.
"If you want to marry me, you have to let me go now." Kara cupped his face and kissed him.
Zor-El, who stood near the spaceship, looked at his brother. "You said these two were… How long have you known?"
Jor-El shrugged. "Why did Kara decide to suddenly learn Archery?"
"I don't know. Maybe she was interested?"
"Brother, the Prince was teaching her. Do you think that's all he was doing?"
Zor-El's eyes widened. "Oh my innocent daughter…"
"No longer innocent, Brother. No longer innocent."
