Author: Ashley
Title: Contractually Yours
Rating: M - Mature
Part: 12/?
Pairing: Mon-El and Kara Danvers (Zor-El)
Word Count: 4,817
Summary: Long ago, the Daxamites chased the Kryptonians off of their shared world. They were forced to live on a nearby moon. That Kryptonian moon is now running out of resources, while the Daxamites' planet is becoming a wasteland. The Royal Families have decided to come together in a truce to help everyone live better lives; a truce made with a signed contract involving their children; a contract that the children have no say in. Arranged Marriage Karamel AU.
Disclaimer: I don't own Supergirl, DC Comics or anything related to such things. The ideas, dialogue and plot points of this AU were inspired by the show, but they are my own. Plagiarism isn't nice. Please don't steal my ideas.
A/N: Welcome back, everyone. Time for another chapter! I was actually stuck on this one for MONTHS. It was my first REAL case of writer's block with this fic. Thankfully, most of the rest of it has been a lot easier. I hope you enjoy it because it definitely wasn't easy to get through this one for some reason.
Also, check the #ContractuallyYours tag on Twitter for photos - this chapter has another dress, and therefore another photo.
Chapter Twelve: The Introduction
Day Fourteen
Kara couldn't decide if she wanted to beg the day to move faster or slower; faster so that she could just get it over with, or slower to try to put off the inevitable for a little while longer.
In a few hours it would be time for the party.
Her Introduction Party.
Tonight was her Introduction into Daxamite society. It was a party to show her off to the community…which was really only a poor attempt at trying to hide the fact that this was Daxamite Society and they wanted any excuse to have a celebration filled with dancing and eventual hooking up.
At least that was what Mon-El had told her.
She stared at the dress resting on the mannequin. Well, it wasn't really resting. Its skirt was so poufy that it looked like it had swallowed the poor headless mannequin whole.
Rhea had said to them both yesterday at breakfast: "Mon-El, you can wear the suit from The Announcement, but you must get a new tie. We'll be adding a buttoned vest to your ensemble as well. Kara, we'll get you another gown for the occasion."
Another gown? She couldn't exactly be sure that this wasn't the actual wedding dress. Off the shoulder sleeves, tight corset bodice, flower detailing across the chest, abdomen and trailing down the fluffy skirt at all angles. She thought that this gown was pretty over the top considering that she was already betrothed to Mon-El. She didn't even fully understand why they were introducing her to anybody in the first place. Weren't these things usually used as a way to show her off to all the respectable families in the town in order to find a mate?
She had a mate (not that she wanted one). Couldn't she just sit at home and wallow in self-pity without having to put on fake smiles for the rest of society?
"Kara," Arden whispered as she walked into the dressing room and closed the door behind her. She had been calling Kara by her first name, but she was still really unsure about doing so in the Royal Palace.
"Good evening, Arden," Kara smiled as she turned to the servant.
"Are we ready to get dressed?" she asked as she stepped toward the dress. "My…this is a lovely gown."
"It's a little much, don't you think?" she cringed as she moved to stand next to her.
Arden shook her head. "No, I think you're going to be absolutely beautiful in it."
Kara smiled again. "Thank you, Arden, but I just think it's going to be a really long, uncomfortable night."
"Surely Prince Mon-El will be impressed."
Kara felt her heart jump inside her chest. "Mon-El?" She heard her voice crack and she coughed lightly. "Why would he be impressed?"
"By your beauty," she turned to face Kara as she said it, tone insinuating that that fact should be obvious. "It's hard enough for him to keep his eyes away from you every day. Now you'll be even more stunning in this beautiful dress tonight." Arden grinned. "He won't know how to behave himself."
Kara blinked at the young girl. "I didn't think he paid much attention to me."
Arden shook her head. "This is his way." She shrugged. "He doesn't want you to think he's interested in you. He's playing hard to get because you're Kryptonian." She unzipped the gown from the mannequin and signalled for Kara to undress. "You see, Daxamites are very easy to get," she snickered. "Thousands and thousands of female and perhaps some male Daxamites' dreams have been crushed with the announcement that the Prince has been taken off the market. They were all ready to jump into his arms and his bed the second he asked."
Kara's eyes widened. "Thousands?"
Arden nodded profusely. "Thousands," she confirmed. "But you, Kara, you're not one of those thousands. You're different. You pose a challenge to the Prince that he's unsure how to handle. You knock him off his game. He's attracted to you, but you don't give him the time of day," she laughed.
"He's attracted to me?" Kara asked with raised eyebrows as she set aside the rest of her clothing, standing in the middle of the room in her undergarments.
"Mhm," Arden hummed as she crouched down with the dress, making room for Kara to step into it.
"How can you tell?" she asked as she moved to get into the pile of material. Arden pulled it upwards.
"Nobody notices me here," she sighed. "Nobody in this family looks at me, or has a conversation with me, or appreciates me. Except for you, Kara. You're the only one who sees me. Because of that, I get to see everything without people even realizing it." She stepped around Kara to zip the dress up along her back. "I see how the Prince looks at you when he thinks you're not looking. He checks to see if you look at him this way, too and you don't. I can see it drives him crazy."
Kara's heart was pounding in her chest. Of course, Mon-El was attractive, but he was rude and so standoffish. How was she to believe that he was actually interested in her? And why was her heart pounding so fast? She wasn't interested in him.
Was she?
Kara shook her head at Arden as she came to stand in front of her again. "Just because someone is attracted to someone else, doesn't mean that they actually want to be with them. Sex and a relationship are two very different things."
"I understand that," Arden nodded. "I'm not sure the Prince understands that."
Kara crinkled her eyebrows at her. "What'd you mean?"
"Prince Mon-El doesn't have relationships. He has sex. That's it."
"You mean he's never had a…a girlfriend?'
"Never. No need for one."
"Oh, great," Kara sighed as she turned to take in her appearance in the mirror at the side of the room. "I get to be the test drive."
Arden was quiet for a while as she moved to set up the beauty supplies at the vanity. She glanced up at Kara who was spinning in front of the reflective glass.
"I think you can be good for him," she said quietly and Kara stopped spinning.
"What?"
"You…you're a good person. You're smart. You're kind. Your soul is good. The Prince…" she hesitated for a moment before her voice quieted to a whisper. "The Prince was not raised well. He doesn't know better. You can teach him to be kind; to be better."
Kara stepped toward the vanity before taking a seat. "I don't think I'm up for that challenge."
"You'll have a lifetime to work at it," Arden smirked and Kara quickly turned to her with her jaw dropped open.
"Ouch, thanks for reminding me," she scoffed and Arden giggled.
"I don't mean to be selfish, but I'm glad you're stuck here, too."
Kara looked up at the girl; a sadness in her eyes she was unable to hide. "I think we're going to get along well, Arden," she said softly as she reached for the girl's hand, holding it in her own briefly and Arden nodded at her.
"I think so, too. Now, we must hurry to get you ready for the party," Arden stated as she moved to grab at the makeup bag on the vanity.
Mon-El stood in his bedroom in front of the mirror again, his fingers twisting incorrectly while trying to get the damn bowtie tied on himself.
"I swear to Rao, I'm going to burn all the damn ties on this planet," he muttered as he snapped the thing off his neck in anger. He eyed the fabric in his hands before deciding to see if he could find someone to tie it for him. He checked the time and guessed that Kara would still be getting ready for the party tonight with the assistance of her dresser in the dressing room. He might as well hurry up and get over there. He was already running late.
By the time he made it to the room, he found it empty. He stood in the middle of it and sighed. It looked like he was on his own. He stepped up to the mirror in the room, set on trying to get his tie done properly again on his own when he heard someone entering behind him.
He looked up and saw Kara walking toward him. She already wore her gown for the party tonight and it was extravagant to say the least. The skin of her neck and shoulders were delightfully bare, her hair up in a loose, yet styled bun, her breasts cupped tightly in soft fabric decorated with little petals. The skirt was fluffy and long; hanging down past her ankles, puffed out so wide you probably could have fit another person inside the skirt with her. A pristine white colour; perfect and untouched.
"Hi," she said, shaking him out of his stupor.
He was at a loss for words. Was this going to happen to him with every new dress? She was practically glowing; radiating beauty and warmth and he didn't understand how a single person could make his stomach flip inside of him the way she did by only saying a single syllable.
"Did…did you need something?" she continued when he didn't speak.
When he finally found his voice, "Where's your dressing servant?"
Kara furrowed her eyebrows at him. "Arden?"
"What?" he asked confused.
"Arden," she repeated. "Her name is Arden."
"We don't call them by their names," he told her.
"Why not?"
He paused. "Because we don't need to."
"That doesn't mean you shouldn't."
He was silent again for a moment.
Kara watched him. His eyes slid down and back up her body again and she thought back to what Arden had said merely a couple of hours ago.
"You knock him off his game. He's attracted to you, but you don't give him the time of day."
She heard him clear his throat. "Are you trying on wedding dresses?" he chuckled lightly. He almost sounded nervous.
"I knew this dress was too much," she sighed, her hands straightening out the small creases in the skirt. "What was your mother thinking?"
"That she likes drawing attention to the family whenever she can."
"What do you need Arden for?" she finally asked, reminding him of why he was here.
"I need my bowtie tied."
Kara stared at him and he stared back. "You're searching out the mansion for a girl to tie your tie for you?"
He was silent as he continued to stare, and then he nodded.
"You never learned to tie a tie?"
"Why would I need to?" he asked.
"You have these kinds of events all the time. Surely you should have learned by now."
"If servants are constantly wandering the halls, why should I bother?"
Kara rolled her eyes at him before taking the fabric from his hands. She stepped close to him, the end of her skirt pressing against his form as she looped the black strand around his neck.
He took in a deep breath before hardening his posture. Did she really have to stand that close to him? He could smell her scent so easily now; not perfume, just her. Just Kara. It was intoxicating.
"Since when do you know how to tie a bowtie?" he choked out.
"It's really not that hard," she said simply, ignoring his question. She finished the tie, stepping back a bit to look at him. She quickly stepped forward again, straightening the tie a little more before stepping back again.
"Done?" he asked as he watched her.
She nodded with a small smile. "Sorry, yeah. You're good."
"We should go," he said. "The guests will be arriving shortly and we better be in the Great Hall before they do."
Kara nodded before following him out.
At least she could look forward to seeing her parents and Alex again tonight. She knew the invitation had been extended. She just hoped they had the time to make it over here.
Kara stood at the top of the staircase, hidden behind the curtain on a landing above the Great Hall.
Staircase.
Inside the Hall.
Who needs a room with an entire staircase inside of it?
She could hear the murmuring of voices below her; only the highest of class rank likely strolling through the room in celebration; soft background music playing, drinks in people's hands as they waited for her arrival.
Mon-El was already inside, he having entered with his family a few minutes earlier. She was supposed to wait for and pay special attention to the signal before she could pass through the curtains and move down the stairs. The signal was the music being silenced and her name being called out over the loudspeaker. How they expected her to manage to miss that signal, she didn't know.
"They'll announce your name and you'll come through the curtain and down the stairs to join Mon-El at the bottom. He will escort you to the centre of the dance floor. You'll separate. Face the crowd, curtsy and then you'll dance," Rhea instructed.
"Dance?" Kara questioned.
"Formal. In hold around the dance floor," Rhea continued.
"Surely you've danced before, Princess…" Mon-El laughed.
Kara scoffed. "Obviously. Just…we haven't rehearsed. This dress is a little…large. I haven't practiced moving like that while wearing it. I don't want to trip or something."
"You will not trip," Rhea stated firmly. "You will not embarrass this family."
"Will my parents be here? And Alex?" she asked suddenly at the mention of family.
"The invitation was given," Lar Gand stated. "We've not yet heard back, but we've reserved space for them at the Kryptonian Family Table."
She looked down at her gown, hands pressing the fabric to settle the fluffiness of the skirt. She felt like a Princess. That was for sure, but she'd rid herself of that feeling in a heartbeat if it meant that she could get out of this whole mess. She bounced back and forth on her feet; ball to heel, ball to heel, as she waited for her name to be announced.
She wondered if her parents were down there. If Alex had come, too. She really hoped they had. They were the only ones she would be happy to see tonight. Besides, the empty Kryptonian Family Table would be a really depressing sight to stare at all evening.
She heard the crackling of the loudspeaker as it clicked on, the orchestra fading, and a male voice echoed in the Hall below.
"Now presenting Prince Mon-El's betrothed: Princess Kara Zor-El of Krypton."
She took a deep breath before sliding her hands into the opening between the two curtains, pushing them aside enough so that she could walk through. They must have run out of servants for the night if she had to open her own curtain.
She stepped past the fabric barrier and onto the top landing of the staircase. She looked down at the people below, a loud whooshing in her ears; half of it from the sound of her heartbeat pounding in her chest, the other half from the noise of the people below; gasps, praise, clapping, cheering. If it weren't for the situation she was in, their attention might have been flattering.
She began to slowly descend the stairs and that's when she spotted Mon-El at the bottom waiting for her; a hand at his back, the other splayed across his abdomen. He looked up at her with a bright smile on his face; toothy and charming. He obviously had a lot of practice at faking it because she was sure that she was grimacing with every step she took as she moved down the stairs. She wasn't sure that she could manage to fake it in front of this many people for too long.
When she made it to the bottom, Mon-El extended his hand for her. She slipped her hand into his with her own fake smile and he led her to the middle of the Hall, as previously instructed by his mother. They separated and he backed up a step away from her before turning around. She spun as well and she found herself face to face with her parents. She felt her breath catch in her throat and she stumbled a little on her feet. Tears started to prick at her eyes, but she was somehow able to remember to curtsy to the crowd as instructed, her eyes locked on her mother's.
Music began to play again and it shook Kara back to reality. She turned back around and Mon-El looked at her, his arms open and held up in formation, ready for her to step into his hold. She rolled her eyes at his exaggeratedly happy features as she walked the final steps back toward him. She placed one hand on his shoulder, the other in his waiting and extended one.
"Princess," he greeted when she finally joined him in hold.
"Kara," she growled.
"My apologies," he smiled. "Princess Kara." She huffed at him in response. He knew she hated being called Princess on this planet. These Royal Daxamites spoke of their titles in a way that was demeaning to the people they led when they referred to themselves, and they somehow made it feel demeaning toward her when they referred to her in that way.
Nonetheless, she began to move along the ballroom floor; both members of a different race who easily fell in matching step with one another.
Well, at least, it seemed that way to everyone around them, but they were anything but on the same page.
"Can you please stop stepping on my toes?" Kara whined.
"Stop putting your feet in the wrong places. You're twenty-five and Royalty. How have you not learned to dance properly while in hold?" he growled back at her.
"I am dancing properly in hold. Maybe you should practice dancing in a way that doesn't involve you grinding your lower half against a woman."
"Oh, Kara, if you only knew how good I was at that, you would be wishing that we were doing that right now instead of asking me about practicing dancing any other way…"
"Ew, gross," she whined again as the song began to slow toward an ending.
He leaned into her, his mouth at her ear. "You wouldn't be saying that if you knew how good I was at it." He whispered before kissing her cheek and leaning back with a wink. He spun her around smoothly before extending his arm in a final pose as the music stopped.
The crowd began to cheer and clap as he bowed to them. Kara clumsily curtsied after he bowed, missing his cue.
"In sync, Kara," he said through a clenched-teeth smile. "We're madly in love, remember? Try again," he urged.
She had to hold back another eye roll and cringe as she watched his form bend again, timing her curtsy with him.
"That's it," he praised quietly and she squeezed his hand in hers as hard as she could in response, her nails digging into the skin of his palm. "Ack," he exclaimed, not loud enough to be heard over the cheering and applause, but he tugged her toward him, removing his hand from hers and pushing her to stand in front of him; his hands on her waist and hers nicely clasped in front of her. "Feisty," he whispered into her ear and she took a step back, her fluffy skirt pressing tightly into his lower half as she backed up and dug her pointed heel into his toe. "Shit, Kara, relax," he said as he let go of her waist, hands shoving her forward enough to get her off of him without drawing attention. The cheering died down and a new song began.
Kara looked up then and her eyes connected with Alex's as she stood right in front of her; the girl waving happily at her friend as she walked toward her. Kara easily slipped away from Mon-El and moved toward her.
"What is this?" Alex whispered as she met Kara while the rest of the crowd continued on with their conversations with those around them; the introduction portion of the event seemingly through with.
"Help me," she whispered to Alex.
"This is amazing," she said, astonished.
"This is so not amazing, Alex. This is awful. Can you believe this party? Atrocious!"
Alex laughed. "Relax, Kara. It's actually kind of nice. My parents couldn't come along with me, but your parents and I are at the Kryptonian Family Table and people are being nice to us. They're respectful and kind of excited to see us here. It's cool."
"Says the one who's not being forced into marriage here…"
"Okay, one downside."
"A lot of downsides, I will have you know," Kara whispered sharply.
"I think you'll be okay. I thought you were trying to make this work…"
"Trying being the key word, Alex. He's making it really difficult." She turned around to look at Mon-El. She spotted him in the corner of the room talking to two brunettes and a blonde. "Look at him," she said as the turned and backed up to stand next to Alex.
"He's talking?"
"Flirting!" she exclaimed before catching herself and lowering her voice. "He's flirting. He stepped away from me barely two minutes ago and already he's flirting."
"You don't know that," Alex shrugged.
They both watched as he dragged the back of his hand down the blonde's arm.
Kara turned back to Alex. "See? Flirting!"
"Well, at least he likes blondes," she shrugged again. "You're a shoe-in!" She wrapped her arm around Kara's waist.
"I don't want him to like me," Kara shook her head. "I want him to avoid me for the next year so I can just go."
"You're not even gonna try to get a little sumthin' sumthin' from him while you're stuck here?" she asked as she leaned her head on Kara's shoulder.
"Ew. No."
Alex stared at Mon-El as he walked away from the group of girls. "I think you're probably missing out."
"Why?" Kara asked as she nudged Alex upright. "Why do you want me to be into him so badly? What is it about him that's so fantastic that I should be jumping at the chance?"
"Kara," Alex started with a small laugh. "I just want you to be happy. I've said it before that I think you should give this a chance because, not only would it help our people, but I don't want you to miss out on an opportunity that you might not even know is there. Look," she nodded in Mon-El's direction. "He's not talking to them anymore. Progress."
Kara laughed. "Ugh. My dresser thinks that he's into me."
"Your dresser?" Alex asked, eyebrows raised high on her forehead.
Kara nodded. "They have a specific servant hired to help me get dressed. I'm not even allowed to dress myself anymore. I can't be trusted for these fancy events."
"Well, they do have an image to protect after all…" Alex nodded. "Stuck-up, rich and snobby."
"You got that right."
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PLEASE BE SEATED FOR OUR MAJESTIES' FEAST."
Kara cringed at the loudspeaker announcement.
"I guess I'll see you after the meal," Alex whispered as she pulled Kara in for a hug.
"I'll just stare at you longingly from my table, wishing I could be sitting next to you instead of him," she nodded behind Alex and she turned just in time to see Mon-El walking toward them.
"Princess," he nodded at Kara with a smirk. "Miss Alex," he turned away from Kara. He reached for Alex's hand, taking it in his own and bringing it to his lips for a chaste kiss as he bowed. "Thank you for joining us."
Alex giggled and Kara scoffed. "Stop hitting on my friend."
"Kara," Alex scolded. "He's just being polite. Right?"
"Absolutely. I know you're not family, but you might as well be seen as such soon. I know how important you are to Kara."
Kara caught his eye and confusion was clear on her face.
"I do listen to you sometimes, you know," he responded to her quirked eyebrow.
"Colour me shocked."
"We have to sit down for the meal," he held out his hand again for Kara to take. "Alex, we'll see you soon." Alex nodded and Kara reluctantly took Mon-El's offered hand. She let him lead her back to their table, taking a single glance back at Alex who winked at her and nodded suggestively before walking toward her own table. She rolled her eyes as she continued to walk beside Mon-El.
"So I don't even get to sit with my parents?" she asked.
"They have to sit at their own table," he stated as he led her to a chair. He pulled it out for her and she tried to get all of the fluff of her dress to cooperate enough to fit in the seat. How was she expected to sit down and have a multiple course meal in this dress?
"That sucks," she said and Mon-El shook his head at her.
"If we had to eat sitting next to your parents, that would mean that we would also have to sit next to mine…and nobody wants that," he stated as he sat down next to her in his own chair.
"I'd have to agree with you on that one."
The food was served to their table first, followed by their parents' tables and then the rest of the guests. They didn't speak for a long while, but eventually Kara got bored of the silence.
"So, what should I be expecting for this wedding of ours? I want to be prepared and I don't think I was even prepared enough for this party. It's so over the top. The idea of the wedding is really starting to freak me out."
Mon-El shrugged as he pushed around the food on his plate for the third course. "I don't know. I guess it's a lot like a Kryptonian wedding would be. There's the ceremony. The vows and promises. The exchange of courtship rings. The kiss. The sex."
Kara cringed at the final word and he scoffed at her.
"That's just like a Kryptonian."
"Excuse me?"
"You're a prude. Just like all Kryptonians are. You never want to talk about sex. You all act like it's such a secretive act that's only meant to be talked about in the shadows of dark bedrooms. It's okay to say the word. It's okay to talk about it. We all do it. It's normal. I don't know why you and your people make such a big deal out of it."
"That's not it," she insisted as a servant came by to switch out their plates for dessert. "It's you," she stated and he huffed at her. "We're going to be married. I always expected my marriage to be a sweet, romantic fairy tale; me falling in love with a man who was charming, smart, trusting, caring, everything I could ask for and more."
"If you would have lowered your ridiculous standards, you might have already been married and therefore unavailable for an arranged one."
"You…you're a player; sarcastic, rude, narcissistic, Daxamite. You're not at all who I would ever choose to be with; would ever want to be with."
"Well, now you are," he stated firmly. "You think I wanted to marry a Kryptonian? A woman who refuses to sleep with me, will barely look at me, rolls her eyes every damn minute at whatever I say or do? I want nothing to do with you, but at least I'm trying."
"Trying? Trying what? To turn me off? To drive me nuts?"
"I'm making the best of the situation we're stuck in, and Princess, we're stuck. Keep telling yourself that you're going to break this contract and wait out the year and find a way to save your people without having to stay married to me. Good luck. You're gonna need it since it's never happening. In a few months, we'll be sharing a bed, a life, and eventually a child if my mother gets her way. And she always gets her way. I'm just tired of wasting my time fighting for things I'm never going to get."
Kara watched as he started to dig into his dessert plate. He was wrong. How could someone be so laid back about something to huge? How could he just give up and let someone else control his entire life; his entire future? She wasn't going to stand for this. If he wasn't going to try to break this contract along with her, she was going to do it alone.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Lots of fun stuff coming up soon, and I know the slow burn must be killing a lot of you, so thank you for having faith in me and continuing to come back for more. I have lots of love for all of you!
Twitter: _ashleymaria_