Kara stirred as she felt a small puff of air hit her cheek. She blinked as sunlight filled her vision. There, with her arm sling over Kara's chest and her head on her shoulder, lay a sleeping Lena. Kara looked down at her friend, marveling at how peaceful she looked. She was absolutely radiant in the morning light. Her long, black hair fell in waves around her face and her smooth, pale skin and full, red lips practically glowed in the morning sun.
In shock at the heavenly position she'd woken up in, Kara lay frozen in place. Keeping as still as possible, she gazed down at Lena's beautiful face and her heart filled with such a strong yearning that she was overwhelmed for a moment. Slowly, with great care, Kara raised her arm and wrapped it around Lena's shoulders, gently holding the girl to her body. They lay like that for a few minutes before Lena stirred.
"Good morning," Kara said as she looked into bright green eyes.
"Morning," Lena yawned. Slowly, she sat up, pulling the covers up with her and looking around the room. She looked confused, like she was trying to remember something important.
"Mon-el," Lena gasped. She shot out of bed and began to get changed. Kara, who was still in her dress from the day before, decided it was best she waited for Lena outside for obvious reasons. Within a few minutes, the Queen was hurrying out of her room. Lena and Kara made their way along the corridor to Mon-el's quarters. A set of guards greeted them at the doorway and they walked through to the antechamber, where Eliza was sitting on a large armchair by the fireplace.
"Eliza," Lena greeted. "How is he?" she asked, skipping the pleasantries this morning.
"He's asleep, your Highness," Eliza answered, standing and walking over to Lena and Kara. "He had a long night, but the fever and paralysis are gone and he's been asleep for a few hours now. He'll likely need to rest for awhile."
"How are you?" Kara asked her mother. "You must be tired. Why don't you go home and rest? I can take over from here now that I've slept some."
Eliza tapped her chin, thinking. "Okay," she relented. "He is doing better now, so I think it's safe for me to go rest for a few hours." With that, she gave Kara a quick hug and then left the room.
Kara and Lena spent the morning vacillating between Mon-el's bedside and the outer room of his chambers. As he slept throughout the day, with no more signs of illness, Kara noticed a release of tension within Lena and felt a pang of guilt at the jealousy it sparked. She was, after all, also relieved that Mon-el was improving. But the better he got, the closer they would be to a royal wedding.
Stop, she told herself. It's a good thing Mon-el is getting better. And it's a good thing he's marrying Lena. Maybe not for you, but for everyone else.
Still, telling herself these things didn't make Kara feel any less hopeless. Before this whole thing, before Mon-el had been brought back from the hunt, Kara and Lena had been talking. Kara had been sure that Lena had been about to say something important. She was dying to talk to Lena again, to finish their conversation from earlier, but she knew this wasn't the right time. So she continued to look after Mon-el and surreptitiously watch Lena as she sat at his bedside.
In the evening, he finally woke up.
"Lena?" he croaked, looking at the girl sitting beside the bed. "Where am I? What happened?"
"You're in your chambers," Lena said gently. "There was an attack, you were poisoned. But we've had the best healers in the kingdom working to save you."
Mon-el, didn't say anything, just laid his head back onto his pillow and looked up at the ceiling.
"Are you hungry?" Lena asked. "I'll have some food sent in."
At that, Kara took advantage of the opportunity to leave the room. "I'll go get some," she offered quickly. She slipped out of the room and began her trek towards the kitchens. When she got there, she found Winn and pulled him aside as she got some food together. She filled him in on the events of the last 24 hours and his shock was clearly evident. Mercifully, he didn't ask too many questions and Kara was able to leave out any indication of what had transpired - or rather almost transpired - between her and Lena.
She left the kitchens, full tray in hand, and retraced her steps back to Mon-el's room. As she walked into the bedroom, she saw Lena holding Mon-el's hand and felt her stomach clench. She brought the tray to the bedside table and then quickly retreated, unable to stay in the room any longer.
The next few days passed slowly. Kara helped Eliza supervise Mon-el's recovery, and spent the rest of the time attending to her usual tasks around the castle. Mon-el had sent word of his illness and recovery to his parents and was taking some extra time to recuperate. Lena had filled him in on what had happened: John Corben's involvement, Lex's betrayal, and Kara and Eliza's roles in saving his life. He had been utterly shocked at the story, but didn't seem to hold any of it against Lena or the kingdom at large. Now that all of the conspirators were either dead or in the castle dungeons, the kingdom and the Daxamite prince were safe.
After a full week of recovery, Mon-el was well enough to travel. His belongings were packed and his carriage was prepared. The entire castle staff and court showed up to send him off. Though Kara desperately wanted to skip the occasion, she knew she could not. Despite everything, she had grown to like Mon-el. She thought in different circumstances, they could actually be friends.
As his carriage pulled away and turned down the road, Kara, like the rest of the servants, began to walk back into the castle. But before she got far, she was stopped by a guard.
"The Queen wishes to speak with you in her chambers," he said, standing at attention in front of her. "Please come with me."
Kara felt like grumbling that she knew the way perfectly well, but opted for silence. The walk to Lena's chambers was a silent one. The guard wasn't particularly chatty and Kara, herself, didn't much feel like talking. Just the thought of Mon-el's next visit to the castle made her heart clench.
When she arrived, she found that she had beaten Lena back to her room, so she took a seat at the table by the window and gazed out at the field beyond. Within a few minutes, Lena strode into the room. Kara's breath caught as she looked at her. Lena had worn a long, dark green gown and Kara's stomach dropped at the knowledge that it had been chosen especially to bid her fiancé farewell.
"Your Highness," Kara said, standing. "You wanted to see me?" Her voice sounded strained and stilted to her own ears.
Lena flinched at the formality of Kara's words.
"Yes…" she said slowly. "I wanted to talk to you. So much has happened over the last few weeks and I...felt we needed to clear the air a bit."
Kara nodded but said nothing.
"Mon-el is returning to Daxam to cement the agreed upon alliance. We're quite lucky he still trusted me - and our kingdom - enough to go forward with it after Lex's attack."
"So I suppose he will be back soon, then," Kara said stiffly.
"Yes, he'll be returning with a diplomatic envoy in a month's time," Lena answered.
"And then your wedding planning will begin," Kara said, doing her best not to let dismay leak into her voice.
"No…" Lena said. "Not exactly."
"Oh, will the wedding be delayed?" Kara asked, a small bubble of hope filling her chest.
Lena bit her lip and Kara's eyes involuntarily followed the action. She swallowed thickly.
"Actually, there won't be a wedding," Lena said.
"What?" Kara cried out in surprise. "But the alliance."
"The alliance will still be moving forward," Lena confirmed. "Mon-el and I believe it will benefit both of our kingdoms greatly. But we will not be getting married."
Scarcely able to believe what was happening, Kara sunk down into the nearest chair.
"Why?" She asked, her voice small and trembling.
"Well, Mon-el and I both sort of came to a realization during the past week."
Kara couldn't say anything. Trying and failing to form words, she clamped her mouth shut and waited for Lena to continue.
Lena began to walk towards the table, slowly as if Kara were a nervous creature she didn't want to spook.
"We both realized that I was too in love with someone else to marry him," Lena said gently. She slid into the chair opposite Kara and reached out for her hands.
"Oh?" was all Kara could choke out. She felt the smooth skin of Lena's hands and it was all she could do to keep her breathing calm and even.
Lena nodded. "I've been in love with the same beautiful, courageous, kind girl since I was thirteen. And the thought of marrying anyone but her is truly unbearable. Mon-el understood. It turns out someone else has his heart, as well."
Kara froze, shock hitting her like a physical force. Lena was saying...surely it couldn't be.
"And," Kara cleared her throat. "Who is this lucky girl?" she asked.
"My best friend in the entire world," Lena answered softly, squeezing Kara's hand. Lena's bright green eyes stared into hers and Kara felt her heart skip a beat at the admission.
"I- I-," she stammered out. She was at a loss for words. "Me?" she finally managed.
Lena laughed lightly. "Yes, you," she said simply. "You are my sun, Kara Danvers. You always have been."
"But I'm just me," Kara protested weakly.
Lena's eyes flashed. "You," she said fiercely, "are the best person I've ever known." Her voice softened. "You are the one who makes my heart feel light, no matter what else is happening. You are the one I love."
"I…," Kara took a deep breath, willing herself to be as brave as Lena was being. "I love you, too," she said softly. "I always have. I just never thought we could be together. I mean, I'm not a princess or a lady, I...I'm just a servant in your castle, Lena."
"Not a princess, huh?" Lena asked, arching an eyebrow. "How would you like to be a Queen instead?" And she leaned in slowly, capturing Kara's lips with her own.