Author

laysean87

Characters

Kator Hol/Carter Hall/Hawkman, Chay-Ara Hol/Shayera Hol/Hawkgirl, Bashari/John Stewart/Green Lantern

Pairing

Carter Hall/Shayera Hol/John Stewart or Kator Hol/Chay-Ara Hol/Bashari

Disclaimer

I don't own any of the characters used in this story. They belong to their respective owners.

Am I wrong?

It was all Katar Hol could ask himself at that point.

Here he was, a former law officer from Thanagar turned ruler of Egypt, helping to bring to these humans the benefits of Thanagarian rule upon their culture. In turn, the natives had treated him like a God for doing so.

Yet none of that mattered now. The sight he saw before him that early evening in the private garden below... was too much for him to bear. He could feel his heart slow down to a stop, the blood in his veins ran cold. Being informed of this infidelity by his high priest Hath-Set was one thing. It was another thing to actually see unfold before his very eyes. No matter how much he didn't want to believe it, it was real and it was happening.

The King's hands clutched the rung of the balcony from where he stood. How could he have not seen this? And how long had this been going on between them?

He could never view Bashari the same way anymore. To think that his own Army general, his own best friend, would have a wandering eye towards his wife, his life partner. If he knew then what he knew now, he would've...

More significant, he knew he could never see his wife Chay-Ara the same way. Not the same way he did when they were still younger long before they landed in the River Nile. Not when she only had eyes for him and vice versa.

Yes, she was feeling left out. Yes, she wanted a child and wanted their bloodline to continue, that much he knew. But... he felt he'd focus on expanding his kingdom across the entire nation of Egypt first. Never in his wildest dreams did he think she would do something like this.

All I wanted was to help bring peace and stability to these human beings, to this world. To teach these humans how to live in perfect harmony with each other. Teach them our way of rule and life, to help better their life better. Am I so wrong in wanting this all this time that I was blind to my wife's loneliness?

Was I so ambitious in my duty to these people who view us as godlike that I neglected to see she wanted my attention?

Am I so wrong in wanting to help these savages understand our way of living, that I failed to give my wife what she desires at this point?

These questions wouldn't stop spinning in his head. If he were honest with himself, he would say that the one to blame was himself. He should've seen it.

Now Katar stood on the balcony, his posture stiffened as he stared down at his wife Chay-Ara's betrayal. His bottom lip quivered as his close 'friend' Bashari pulled her closer to him in their illicit, passionate embrace. Their tongues danced on top of each other like a pair of snakes in the sand. His hands ran down her back, stopping just above her waistline almost concealed by her wings. Each hunger filled kiss the two shared, felt like a dart, the tip laced with poison, piercing through his chest.

Crushing the railing of the balcony, the King's eyes looked downward. He could no longer bear to see it, on the verge of either crying or crumbling in bitter rage.

The injustice was the ultimate cruelty for him. And there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.

"I wish they were dead."

Author's Notes

1.) This rough draft of a short story is based on the Egypt flashback scene between Katar Hol, Chay-Ara Hol, and Bashari in the JLU season 3 episode "Ancient History."

2.) This was an attempt to get into Katar Hol's head when he sees his ally and his wife kiss each other, to describe his inner emotions of anger, bitterness, betrayal, feeling of loss.

3.) With the exception of two sentences (which admittedly were A.I. text generated), this was largely written by me.

Additional Note

What do you think? Is there anything to be taken out, or added? Constructive criticism would be appreciated, thanks.