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Kara always questioned what existed Beyond. She spent her days lost in her fantasy books, dreaming of what it would be like to fly. To touch the clouds and be one with the wind. No rules. No responsibilities. No worries. Just free from the chains of duty.
Maybe one day. She sighed and shook her head, knowing the truth. Royalty was a life sentence. Her crown was her handcuffs.
She exited her room and bounced down the stairs, banging her back on the banister. Kara rubbed her back slowly but did not wince in hopes that her father wouldn’t catch her looking weak. Good. No one there except Streaky the cat. His tail brushed her leg and Kara let out a small laugh as he meowed dramatically. Silly cat.
“Kara,” a stern voice bellowed down the hall.
There was no reason to pretend like she didn’t hear his voice. Kara poked her head out into the living room.
“Yes, father?”
“Come here. We must talk about a pressing matter that involves our sister planet Daxam.” Her father traced his index finger across his scarred arm and gazed off into the distance.
Sitting on an archaic chair, Kara observed her father’s worn face.
Tired and unhappy. He was always miserable.
“Kara, did you hear the prince fled Daxam?” Kara’s mother Alura rushed into the room, holding a newspaper up like a trophy.
“What?” Kara questioned as she twisted the necklace that she always wore instinctively.
“Who knows. Stupid hoodlum. All these damn Daxamites do is get wasted and party. There is no honor.” Zor-El took the newspaper and ripped it up.
Alura put a hand on Kara’s shoulder. “Well, a royal on the run certainly looks atrocious for Daxam’s honor and image indeed. I wonder what the prince’s father will do to resolve this issue.”
Kara shrugged her mother’s hand off her shoulder slowly.
Too much affection.
“How old is that boy, sixteen? Who thinks it’s a smart idea to abandon their planet and disappear off the face of Daxam? If he was my son…”
“Zor…” Alura shot him a look to control his temper.
“I’m just saying. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Good for nothing.” Zor-El squeezed his hand tightly to keep in his rage.
Kara remained in her seat. The perfect princess. Silent. She tried to converse with her father in the past, but it was useless and her confidence evaporated like a puddle along with her patience.
“That could never be our obedient daughter.” Alura smiled at Kara with a wide grin.
And she was always TOO happy.
“May I please return to my room?” Kara kept her eyes to the ground.
“Yes, you may.” Zor-El gestured absent mindedly.
Kara scooped up Streaky, carrying him to her room as she slammed her door slightly too loud.
I have to always be the perfect daughter. I have to always be the perfect person. I have to always be the perfect princess.
She removed her crown from her head. Then Kara smashed it against the wall.
Or not.
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Kara bent down to pick up the shards of pink glass as Streaky gave her a bewildered look.
“You’re right, Streaky. I don’t even like pink anyway.” Kara threw out the remaining remnants in her trash can.
Only a stubborn single piece of glass remained on her rug. As she was about to wrap her fingers around it, she accidentally sliced her finger instead on the sharp edge. A knock sounded on her door. Three. Four. Two.
Kara immediately stood up and ran to the door. Three. Four. Two. Again. She knew that knock.
“...Mon-El?” Kara stammered in disbelief.
“Hi, Kara.” Mon-El’s brown eyes glistened in the fluorescent lighting of the palace.
After a moment of standing there, Kara pulled him into her room by the arm.
“What in Rao’s name are you doing here?”
“Well after years of back and forth letters and calls, I figured it was time to see you in person again. It’s been forever.” Mon-El leaned his folded arms against his body.
Kara stared at him like he was her favorite character that finally came to life. Dark hair that swayed effortlessly from the breeze coming from her opened window. A tall frame that towered over her 5’5 body. Warm eyes that darted from her smile to her ocean blue eyes.
“You’re even more beautiful in person.”
Kara had no idea what to say. Sure, Mon-El and her had been planning to meet up for years now. They knew each other since she was ten years old, natural friends in fact. Now she was fifteen. They had met on a street corner one Wednesday morning and never lost their connection since. But Mon-El had changed. He looked more grown up, stronger.
“Did the guards see you enter the palace?” Kara asked as she hid the blush from overcoming her pale face.
Mon-El waved a hand. “Nope. I’m so quiet even Streaky didn’t hear me.”
Streaky yawned and plopped down in Kara’s lap on the mention of his name.
Walking around her room, Mon-El stopped to admire her artwork hanging from the walls that created an array of color bursts.
“Wow. To see photographs of your art is amazing. But in person? A whole other level of talent.” Mon-El picked up a picture of a sunset with seagulls flying in the distance.
“Hey, do you still have that seagull neck…”
Kara reached for the charm around her neck. “Always.”
Kara still remembered that day so vividly. She and her parents went to attend a meeting in an unfamiliar place as it was the duty of the royals. Kara went to the store to buy strawberry candies from a store they passed on the way there. Her mother insisted that she accompany Kara, but her stubborn streak prevented that from happening.
Clutching her money, Kara put on a determined look and set out to find the candy she spotted in a musty window earlier.
On her way there, Kara saw men and women being yelled at, harassed, and attacked. Not only by words but also by physical force. Weapons. Guns. She heard the sound of bullets firing and put her hands over her ears and crouched down behind a building.
A single tear ran down her face as her hands shook. So much fighting, and at what cost? Kara wanted to stand up but she felt frozen. She glanced over to see a young boy take the weapon from an older man who appeared intoxicated. He went over to help the other man who was spooked. He would be okay, she thought.
Then her eyes locked with the boy. He dropped the weapon and approached Kara carefully, asking her a question but she could not hear. She still heard the echo of the bullet.
“Are you okay?” The boy offered her a hand to gain her balance again.
She nodded quickly. “Yes, I’m just…”
“It’s okay,” he whispered. “I know it’s scary. You don’t have to pretend to be strong, I still get scared by it too.”
Kara wiped the tear from her bright red face to hide her emotion. “I’m fine, but thanks.”
“Okay, super girl.” The boy tried to contain his small smile at her bravery.
“Well, if you ever do get scared or overwhelmed, you can hold this.” He reached for a chain that was fastened around his neck.
Kara analyzed the seagull charm necklace that the boy held out to her.
He placed it in her hands. “It gives me courage. It helps me to be free. Now it’s your turn to fly…”
“Thank you.” Kara barely could say the words.
She received bountiful presents as a princess in the past, but never one that meant anything truly. This necklace belonged to him and held an important place in his heart, yet he so willingly gave it up for a stranger. So selfless.
“I’m Mon-El by the way.” He smiled as the red sun reflected off his black shirt. “Prince of Daxam.”
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“Okay, so what’s first on the explore Krypton list?” Mon-El questioned as he tugged at the collar of his jacket.
“Hmmm, I don’t know. Maybe tell me why you’re really here?”
“I like to travel.” He shrugged.
“No you don’t, you hate it.”
“I like the shops.”
“You barely go out.” Her eyes remained focused on him.
“I like the food.”
“You never tried it.”
“You.” he blurted out.
“Oh.” Too long a pause.
“But yeah, are the tacos any good here?” Mon-El turned away to look out the window.
“Um…they’re alright.”
Kara realized just how close they were standing. Each word brought them closer until there was barely any space between them.
Mon-El let out a breath and brought his gaze back to Kara’s eyes.
“Your eyes never changed like you thought they would.” His sudden raspy voice caught her off guard and sent a shiver down her spine.
“Yeah. Must have been lucky.”
I need to say something. Anything. What would a normal person say?
“Do you like turtles?”
Mon-El laughed. “Sure, Kara. I love turtles.”
She shook her head. “Well I love…”
What was I saying? I knew nothing about relationships or love or turtles for that matter.
The energy in the room shifted and Kara took a small step towards Mon-El. He tucked a piece of her blonde hair behind her ear and gently reached for her hand.
A burst of energy surged through Kara as she held onto his hand and slowly got closer to closing the distance between them.
A bang sounded from outside, and she immediately moved away from Mon-El. But it was too late.
“KARA ZOR-EL.” Her father entered her room, a cloud of fury pouring off of him that wiped away any and all positive feelings she felt moments before.
“No daughter of mine would disgrace the Zor-El name like this. A DAXAMITE? Have you lost all of your senses to be caught with a Daxamite…hell! The prince of them…”
“Father, stop.” Kara cut him off.
Did I say that?
“Mon-El is a good person. I don’t care if he’s a Daxamite or Kryptonian, he’s my best friend.”
Zor-El glared at Mon-El, anger radiating from his core. Mon-El took a step away from Kara and put his hands up as a peace offering.
“I’m sorry, sir. I meant no harm.”
“Listen to me, Daxamite. Get off my planet and never show your face again around my family and I’ll spare your life.” He snarled.
“Sir, I…” Mon-El said.
“NOW!” He pointed to the door.
“Father, please be reasonable. He did nothing wrong.” Kara stepped in between her father and Mon-El.
Kara knew he wouldn’t listen. She was fully aware that he would laugh in her face and tell her that her words meant nothing. But Kara finally saw through his control. The glass crown was broken after all; it shattered into millions of little incomplete crystals.
“I will not listen to this boy any longer. Get out of my palace and never return.” Zor-El pounded his foot against the floor forcefully.
It’s okay, Mon-El mouthed to Kara. “Yes, of course,” he replied to her father.
“Good, now be gone.”
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It had been five hours since Mon-El had left. Kara paced back and forth nervously in her room. She pulled the curtain back to see that night had fallen. It was freezing outside.
Did he have a place to go?
Kara sighed and became frustrated in her inability to read her new novel. It was the same sentence over and over again and she couldn’t get past the first chapter.
She chucked her book across the room and reached for her letter box instead. A letter per day from him. Some were to deliver sad news, others to bring joy, and then there were the ones that made Kara just laugh uncontrollably. She wondered how her father could see Mon-El as a bad person, especially because the only thing he knew about him was that he had Daxmanian in his blood.
Unsure of what to do, Kara decided to grab her ink well and write.
This will not be it for us. I refuse to let it happen. We will find each other again.
She stood up to open her new package of paper as she felt a small rumble shake her.
Was there a storm coming?
Kara glanced out of her room to see a typical, dark night sky. Huh. Weird.
She started to write her letter only to be disturbed moments later by an even more massive rumble.
“Mother,” she yelled, hoping Alura would hear her.
No answer. Right. Kara forgot her parents were going out to dine tonight. It was only her and Streaky in the upper quarters of the palace.
Another rumble. And then another. Kara became worried since this never happened before on Krypton, especially not this level of imbalance.
She decided to head outside to see if she could find the cause, but before she could touch the grass, small chunks of meteors and fire began to crash on the surface. The temperature was burning up even though it was the middle of winter.
Soon Kara started to cough as smoke and fire tried to consume her. She attempted to run away, but the fire was surrounding every possible path.
There has to be something. Some way out. Think, think, think…
Kara moved her body as fast as her legs would possibly allow to the escape room, and in that moment she realized many Kryptonians were taking the pods and launching themselves out of the confines of the planet.
“It’s going to blow,” someone shouted and jumped into a pod. There weren’t nearly enough pods.
Kara spotted a little girl crying behind a bush. She pushed with the small bit of energy she had left to get to the girl’s side.
“Hey, I saw a pod over here, let’s go get it for you.” Kara stated calmly.
The girl showed her a small smile despite the tears. “Thank you.”
It reminded Kara of herself when she was young. When she met Mon-El for the first time.
Kara quickly situated the girl in the pod, making sure her seatbelt was secured.
The little girl wiped her eyes. “You have a pod too right?”
Kara nodded. “Yes, I’ll be right behind you.”
What a lie. That was the last pod here, but the girl shouldn’t know that.
“Ready? Three, two, one…” Kara launched the pod off into space.
The girl waved and that was the last thing Kara saw before the Darkness.
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“Kara…Kara?” A faint voice said against her ear.
“What?” She choked out.
“You have to get up, there’s no time left.” He said picking her up.
“What’s going on?”
“Kryton is going down in flames. The core is giving out.” Mon-El said out of breath.
Kara knew this would not end well.
“My parents?”
“They’re safe. The royal guard was with them and sent them to a nearby planet already.” Mon-El placed her on the ground carefully.
“Now it’s your turn.” He coughed with great force.
“Mon-El, no.” She noticed that he found a pod somehow. But there was only one remaining pod left and they could not close it if there was more than a single individual in it.
“Kara, we don’t have time to argue, please get in.” He unlocked the pod and opened the door for her.
“I want this for you. I want you to… live your life. You’ll always be in my heart. Wherever…you go, I’ll be with you.” Mon-El struggled.
Kara shook her head and a tear fell from her eyes. “No, no, no, no…”
He wiped the tear off her cheek and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.
“It’s time,” he whispered softly. “Okay, super girl?”
Kara wrapped her arms around him. Not my Mon-El.
He held her close then let go.
He
Let
Go…..
“I love you, Mon-El,” Kara croaked before the smoke consumed her.
Mon-El’s eyes watered as he closed the pod. “I love you, Kara.”
The pod began to lift off the ground and Kara held Mon-El’s gaze until his figure disappeared by the smoke.
Kara pressed her hand against the glass and closed her eyes quickly.
She didn’t want to look out the window of the pod. She knew what she would see and she was not ready for that heartbreak.
Kara held on tightly to her seagull necklace.
I’m flying, Mon-El. I’m finally flying, free at last…
And you were the one to give me my wings.