A/N: If anyone has suggestions, drop them in the review section! I own nothing but my car.
She was falling again. This time it wasn't Kal-El falling beside her. It was the Princess. She tried to reach her, grab onto her. She tried to do anything to save her as they fell. The ground grew closer and just before impact…
Lena woke with a jolt. She could still feel her stomach doing somersaults. She sat up in her bed, gasping for air. It was still night outside. The bright red rays of the day fade into a maroon color at night. Lena buried her face in her arms that rested on her knees.
"Lena?" The Princess' hoarse voice called out. Fuck, of course she woke the blonde Kryptonian. She turned to the bed to her left. The occupant's blonde hair was messy from sleep. Kara brushed it from her face as she regarded the Terran. "You were…whining in your sleep." A deep frown etched across her lips. Lena waved away her concern.
"It was a nightmare. I apologize for waking you, Princess." Kara huffed.
"I am not Princess to you, Lena. You are my betrothed. Please call me Kara. Tell me about your nightmare."
"It was nothing." Lie.
"It did not sound like 'nothing.'" Kara spoke confidently. Lena gritted her teeth in frustration. She turned her head to hide her tears. Stupid Kryptonians with their stupid fucking inquisitive nature. A moment passed. She heard a shuffle, the sound of sheets rustling, the dip in the bed next to her. A warm hand touched her wrist.
"Lena. El Mayarah. Please tell me." she whispered pleadingly. Lena's whole body sagged. Finally, finally the dam broke. The Princess watched the Terran's body wrack with sobs ripping from her throat. An unfamiliar feeling panged deep in the Princess' chest. She furrowed her brows at the emotion. Without thinking, she pulled Lena towards her, a graphic she had seen studying. Comforting a human. It was a foreign concept, but it seemed to work as she held the smaller woman in her arms. The sobs slowly ebbed into soft sniffling.
"It was about Lex. He wasn't always evil or perhaps he was and I was too blind to see." The small voice carried from the crook of her neck. She inclined her head towards the sound. It was thick with tears. "When Lionel adopted me, Lillian despised me. It was obvious, despite my ever growing need to gain her approval, I would never have it. I learned later it was because I was the result of Lionel's indiscretion. I was living proof of an affair. Perhaps I clinged to her because she was the matriarch and somewhere my mind connected her to a mother. She was anything but. Lex, he was kind. I beat him at chess for the first time at six years old. Lillian could see I was smart, maybe smarter than her son. The rules became stricter, I became more compliant. Lex and I would tinker in the lab. It became obvious I had an affinity for mechanics. He treated me like family. I don't mourn Lex Luthor, the man who tried to kill Kal-El. I mourn Lex, the boy who embraced four year old Lena. The boy who gave me a stuffed rabbit that he won at a festival. Mother said it was trivial, but he insisted I have it. That boy died a long time ago." Lena whispered. The Princess pulled away. She identified the feeling. Grief. She was grieving with Lena. A sense of sadness permeated the air around them.
"I am sorry." the blonde Kryptonian whispered, capturing Lena's bloodshot gaze. It seemed hollow. The look in her green eyes. It was vastly different from the sharp intelligence they normally displayed. This was the look of a broken child.
"Don't be." she replied, just as softly.
Kara did not let go, and in the daylight hours, Lena slipped away from her warm embrace, disappearing to the gardens. She did not see Kara's sad look follow her as she left.
She glanced at the ring in the center of a pavilion basked in the red sunlight of Rao. The Princess requested she meet her here. She was given an outfit that was clearly not Kryptonian. It was from Earth. The raven-haired genius surveyed the ring. There were several glyphs etched into the ring with a podium off to the side. If Lena wasn't mistaken, it resembled a portal that Lex tried to create.
"It is an interstellar portal." Lena spun on her heel to face the Princess, her reply died on her lips. She wore denim jeans, a soft brown leather jacket with a hoodie underneath. Her hair flowed freely and on her face were a pair of thick framed glasses. She looked human. Kara stood by the podium, touching several glyphs she saw on the ring.
"I am inputting the galactic coordinates of Terra. The secondary ring will pinpoint an exact location. The west coast might be a nice change of pace." She said, mostly to herself. Lena looked up at the ring and back at the Princess.
"Are we going to Earth?" She asked curiously. Kara nodded. "Why?" Blue eyes snapped up to green. Suspicion. Kara recognized the look on the dark-haired woman's face.
"You have been gone for five Terran months." she replied. It wasn't the answer she wanted, but it's the only one she was to get. "Mother wants to debut you as royalty to Terrans. To solidify our alliance." She answered finally. Lena was flabbergasted.
"I am not royalty, Princess." Kara raised a brow, hitting a final button before standing before the ring next to her.
"It will be jarring; portal hopping the first time. You may become sick." she took Lena's hand in hers. The portal hummed low as energy flowed to it. It came alive a moment later. On the other side, Lena could see what appeared to be a base of some sort. "You are to be wed to me. You are royalty, Lena. Even the servants bow to you." she answered, looking directly at Lena. She turned back to the portal, tugging a stunned Terran behind her. A blinding light flooded her senses and soon the floating ended and her feet landed on the solid ground of Earth.
xxSGxxSGxxSGxx
Fucking shit! Immediately upon her arrival, Lena hurled to the side, hunched over and coughing. "Portal hopping may make you sick" was a gross understatement, literally and figuratively. Several uniformed soldiers were on them a moment later. Lena would have been embarrassed had a few red dots not appeared on her chest. Kara stepped in front of her, shielding her. Bulletproof. Lena thought.
"State your purpose!" The one in front screamed. Lena gripped the back of Kara's jacket, placing her forehead on the cool leather. Her stomach turned, still feeling the effects of portal hopping.
"My name is Kara Zor-El, Princess Kara Zor-El. I wish to speak to Director Henshaw and Agent Danvers." The military seemed to hesitate, and with all the regality of her upbringing, Kara stood taller staring them down. The man touched his ear.
"Director, the alien wishes to speak with you and Danvers." he paused gesturing to Lena with his rifle, "Is she a hostage?" he asked. The Princess did not reply. Lena stepped out from behind her.
"No, I am here on my own volition."
"No, Director." he answered. They stood there in a tense silence, rifles still trained on them as two figures emerged from the caravan that approached. Lena eyed them curiously. They had their weapons holstered, but she inched closer to the blonde anyway. Kara looked down at her. She placed an arm around her waist with her hand resting on her hip. She continued holding her to her side protectively. The human's heart beat was hard to ignore and Kara couldn't blame her. It was an unfortunate situation.
Lena nearly gasped. The Princess was shy with her touch. She never touched her in the presence of company. It was to be expected from the civilization of prudes. Why was it different now? The female agent approached first.
"Stand down." all at once the rifles were lowered. The auburn haired woman turned to the pair, observing the body language. Her hawklike eyes noted every interaction. Lena's time in the Luthor mansion taught her the mask of indifference. Her features morphed into a neutral expression effortlessly. Lillian would be proud. She almost scoffed at the thought. Lillian and proud were an oxymoron.
"Zor-El. Any relation to Kal-El?" she asked finally. The Princess nodded. She motioned at Lena.
"Lena Luthor, we wondered if you were dead or alive. Lillian insisted you were alive. I didn't have as much faith." she sneered. Kara bristled at her tone, her grip becoming stronger. Lena winced, tapping her arm with her right hand.
"Princess, you are stronger here." she gasped out. Kara's grip loosened. The blonde shot her an apologetic look before turning her attention back to the offending redhead.
"Her name is Princess Lena Zor-El. I expect you to treat her with respect fit for royalty." Kara replied bitterly. The woman had the audacity to actually roll her eyes, gesturing to the man at her side. What a bitch.
"This is Director Henshaw." She introduced, stepping back to allow space for the dark skinned man to observe them. He scrutinized Lena.
"Come. We have much to discuss, it seems."
By discuss, the Director meant the equivalent of a the Spanish Inquisition. Hours upon hours of interrogation seemed to be grating even Kara's nerves. Her leg bounced impatiently. Lena sensed her unease and placed a hand on the blonde's thigh. The blonde ceased her movements.
"Careful, you'll put a hole through the floor if you don't stop." she whispered. Kara shot her a look.
"Lena, this is ridiculous. We have been sitting here. We have answered all their pointless questions. I am tired and absolutely famished." Lena snickered.
"You are hangry." she said, clearly amused. Kara turned to her slightly annoyed. "On Earth, your cells metabolize calories quicker. You need more food to be satisfied. I'm sure you've burned through your breakfast by now." Lena mumbled awkwardly. A guard stood at the door, watching the pair. A glorified babysitter. His scrawny ass wouldn't be able to stop an angry Kryptonian. Lena addressed him.
"Sir, we haven't had anything to eat since we arrived. She needs to eat. Can you please ask Agent Danvers if she can accommodate anything, preferably vegetarian?" she asked sweetly. No reply. Instead, he banged on the door. It slid open to reveal another guard. Hushed whispering ensued. Kara's nostrils flared in anger. Whatever they said definitely struck a nerve. The door shut and several more minutes passed. Each minute, Kara's urge to rip the door right off the hinges inched closer to reality. By the grace of God, Agent Danvers entered with three bags of food.
"Despite what you may think, we aren't cruel. I didn't know Kryptonians burned through calories like that." A half assed apology if Lena ever heard one. "I didn't know Kryptonians were vegetarians either, so it's kind of interesting to know." she mumbled under her breath. She sat down across from the pair as Kara opened the bags. Several salads, a couple curly fry containers and a vegetable sub were placed on the table. One burger was left and Kara eyed it suspiciously.
"That's mine. I haven't had dinner yet." she said, reaching across the table to swipe the burger. Lena took one salad, leaving the rest for the blonde. Speaking of which, she absolutely inhaled the fries. The dark-haired woman had to refrain from laughing.
"These are delicious. What are they called?" she asked Lena, sparkling blue eyes wide in wonderment. Lena could feel her heart spudder, the beat coming a little faster. God, Kara was stunning. She sat, staring at her before realizing she didn't answer her question.
"They are called curly fries, Princess. It's made from a potato." Kara mouthed the word potato, brows furrowed.
"We need these on Krypton." she said with a teasing twinkle in her eye. Lena nodded.
"The Irishwoman in me agrees." Kara's confusion was obvious. "Ireland. I was born there. The Irish have a stereotype for liking potatoes. It's one of the many foods that can survive the harsh climate." she answered. Kara nodded, accepting the answer.
"I always wondered where your accent comes from. It's subtle, but it's there. Especially when you try to speak Kryptonian." Kara held out a fry to Lena's lips. She greedily took it in her mouth, her lips grazing the fingertips of the blonde. A moan slipped out of Lena's throat unintentionally. What? She hasn't had Earth food in months. She didn't notice how blown the Kryptonians pupils became. Pulling her hand away, the Princess coughed subtly. Oblivious to their dinner guest, Agent Danvers cleared her throat.
"We can set you up here for the night. I am sure you are tired from your journey."
One bed. There was one fucking bed in the quarters they were shown to. Lena froze in the doorway as Kara entered, oblivious to the Terran's distress. She lowered her frames, looking around the room. Lena entered as the blonde placed her glasses back on the bridge of her nose. Lena stared at the offending piece of furniture. It was small too. Dammit.
"No cameras or recording devices, we can talk freely." X-Ray vision. Of course. Lena's face turned red.
"Did you see my insides?" she asked, slightly bewildered. Kara shook her head.
"No, I would rather not be scarred." Lena froze again, she turned slowly to the blonde.
"Did you just say a joke, your majesty?" Lena asked cheekily. Kara turned to her.
"Stranger things have happened." she deadpanned. This time, Lena laughed, truly for the first time in months. Kara smiled. Terra was not so bad. Perhaps, this will do them some good after all.