Chapter Text
She likes Krypton, she really does. She loves its natural beauty, and its people, and the welcoming spirit of the country. She does. But right now, she really wishes she was anywhere but Krypton. Right now, she wishes that she wasn’t born into the Thorul Monarchy, that she wasn’t the Crown Princess, that she wasn’t a Luthor.
Right now, she wishes she was in her bed, at her house. Not at Thorul Palace, not at any one of the vast estates and countryside properties that the Luthor family owned. No, she wishes she was in a nice, cozy loft apartment. In a comfy bed, curled up with a good book, drinking a cup of tea—tea that she brewed herself.
She wishes she were home, wherever home may be.
Lena likes Krypton, she does, but the conference room in the east wing of El Palace is not where she wants to be. Certainly not with her mother, and her brother, and fifteen different ambassadors from both Thorul and Krypton.
She’s sitting diagonally opposite of Krypton’s king, Kal-El, or Clark, as he likes to be called. Across from her, to the left of Clark, is a seat reserved for Princess Kara, the Crown Princess of Krypton. However, her seat remains empty.
It wouldn’t usually bother Lena that a royal decided not to show to an official meeting like this, she’s missed her fair share herself. However, Princess Kara’s absence has prolonged the actual start of the meeting, and Lena would rather be anywhere. but. here.
“Has anyone seen Her Highness?” Lillian asks, addressing the whole room.
“She should be on her way,” King Clark responds with an easy-going smile.
It surprises Lena that he’s the one who spoke up and answered. Back home, Lex would never answer a question like that. He would've thought of it as too trivial for the king’s attention.
“I apologize for keeping you all waiting, but we really cannot start the meeting without her presence,” Lillian says.
"Oh, don't worry about that, ma’am. I have the whole day booked out for you all. I was actually planning to take you on a tour of the palace grounds after you were settled in, if that is something you were interested in,” Clark suggests.
Lex nods from beside her. “We appreciate that. Thanks, Clark.”
Lena rolls her eyes. Lex has never respected anyone’s title but his own. It leaves Lena feeling embarrassed on his behalf.
Clark just smiles at Lex, seemingly not offended. “While we wait, I would love to hear if you have been enjoying your time in Krypton so far. I hope my staff has treated you well.”
Lena feels a hand smack her leg under the table. She turns to see her mother raise an eyebrow at her, silently gesturing for her to answer Clark.
"The people have been lovely, sir,” Lena says through a tight smile. “Very welcoming.”
Clark grins, “I am glad to hear that. The welcoming spirit of Krypton and its people is something I am very proud of.” He turns his head and motions for a member of his security team to come closer to him. “Do we have an update on my cousin’s ETA?” He questions in a low voice.
The bodyguard whispers back, “I assure you Her Highness will be here very soon, sir. She is just—”
The door to the conference room slams open. A woman dressed in camouflage military fatigues comes rushing into the room.
“I'm here, I'm here!” The woman frantically announces. “I am sorry so I'm late. I had to train new recruits today and they were not cooperating.”
Lena sucks in a breath once she realizes who the woman is. Her mother motions for her to stand up out of respect.
It isn’t her first time meeting the Crown Princess, but it is her first time seeing her in nearly ten years. They first met at Cardy Boarding School in Maine when Lena transferred there for her final two years of high school. They only spoke a handful of times at Cardy, and with only short, polite interactions.
Lena remembers never giving Kara much thought then. Kara was tall and lanky then, with glasses the size of Texas resting on the bridge of her nose. She’s grown into herself since their boarding school days, and Lena shamefully can’t help but to let her eyes linger on her as she finds her way to her seat.
She feels Lex nudge her with his elbow. “Try not to stare too long, sis. It’s not polite for a princess to gawk,” he whispers in her ear.
She has to ignore him, as it would be inappropriate to deck her brother in the face in a meeting like this. Luckily for her, Kara serves as a welcome distraction. As the princess sits down next to her cousin, she and the rest of her family follow. Once Kara is seated, she holds out a hand for Lena to shake.
Lena’s eyes widen in surprise, but she shakes Kara’s hand nonetheless. Kara just completely disregarded royal etiquette by greeting her first, instead of Lex.
“It is wonderful to see you again, Your Highness,” Kara grins. “It's been a while.” She’s still a bit breathless from rushing into the room, but she’s slowly regaining her composure.
Smiling politely, Lena agrees, “Likewise.”
Lillian lets out a breath and stands to gain the attention of the room. “Now that Her Highness has arrived, we can get this meeting started.”
Lena storms through the halls of El Palace, her security detail following a few steps after her. She makes it to the living quarters that the palace has provided for her during her stay in Krypton. Once she shuts the door behind her, she immediately dials Sam’s number.
Her best friend picks up on the first ring. “Hey, babe, how’s Krypton so far?”
“I am going to kill my mother.”
She hears Sam laugh through the receiver. “You say that every day. What did the Queen Mother do this time? Insult your outfit? What, is your nail color not the exact same shade as your dress?”
“No, more like she set up an arranged marriage between me and the king of Krypton.”
For a while, all Lena hears on the line is white noise. Sam’s gone silent on the other end. She’s not at all surprised at her friend’s shock.
“What?” Sam questions after a moment.
“Yeah, it’s insane.” Lena starts to walk the length of her room. She has a habit of pacing while talking on the phone. “She has this grand plan to set up an arranged marriage between King Clark and me in an effort to create a solid union of Thorul and Krypton. She’s been working on this plan for over a year now, and now she’s gotten Lex on board.”
“Okay, well, did the king agree? There’s no way he would.”
“He did,” Lena says with a sigh. “Granted, he said he’d only agree if I was okay with it, but you know I couldn’t have said no. Especially not in that room.”
Sam splutters over the line, “I’m going to need you to explain this to me, in detail. I- I can’t wrap my head around this.”
Her friend sounds just as confused as she feels.
“Truthfully, I don’t even know everything myself. I just found out about all of this a few minutes ago,” Lena says. She’s found herself leaning against a window overlooking one of the many palace courtyards. She focuses on the staff bustling below to keep herself calm.
“Tell me what you do know.”
Lena huffs out a breath, “Okay, so for the past year and a half, my mother has been working on this plan to unite Thorul and Krypton to make us stronger as a nation. It’s a plan that my father and King Jor had in the works years ago, but it fell through when they both died. A year ago, Lillian decided to pick up where they left off. She looped in Lex and they’ve been working with Kryptonian ambassadors to perfect the plans. Apparently King Clark already had an idea of what was happening, but I was completely blindsided at the meeting.”
When Lillian announced her plan at the meeting, Lena saw red. If she hadn’t been restricted to civility by being in the Kryptonian royal family’s presence, she doesn’t know what she would’ve done to Lex and her mother.
“Did you fight against it, at least?” Sam asks? “From what I've heard, Clark seems like a really nice and noble person. I’m sure he would not have agreed if you were adamant on being against the marriage.”
“I mean, yeah, when she first told us about it. But, you know I couldn't make a scene in a room like that. So I just sucked it up.”
“What about now? Now that you’re away from all those people, can’t you meet with Clark privately or talk to Lillian and Lex?”
Lena sighs, “I already signed the papers.”
“What papers?”
“There was a contract. It was an NDA and an agreement where Clark and I would be in a romantic relationship for the public. We’d also have to get married, and I guess welcome an heir, eventually. I don’t know, I didn’t really read everything.”
“Lena, what the hell,” Sam scolds her.
“I know, I know, I shouldn’t have signed anything! I was just so frustrated and I had to get out of that room before I ripped Lillian’s hair out.” She runs a hand through her hair, trying to quell her annoyance. “Once I get off the phone with you, I’m calling Mercy.”
“Well, go ahead and call her now. I need to book a flight to Krypton.”
“No, Sam, you don’t have to fly all the way out here for this.”
“Nope, don’t even try to stop me,” Sam tells her. “I’d be a shitty best friend if I let you work through this all alone.”
Sam has always had her back, ever since they met at Mount Helena boarding school. They became fast friends, and she and Sam became attached at the hip. They only spent two years at Mount Helena together. Sam was kicked out in their sophomore year after administration found out she was pregnant, and Lillian made Lena transfer once she got word of how Lena was “making the most” of being at an all girls school.
Lena lets out a relieved chuckle. She didn’t know where she’d be without Sam. “Give me a ring when you book the flight?”
“I will. You stay strong, alright?” Sam says softly. “I love you, babe.”
“Love you, too.”
True to her word, she immediately calls up Mercy Graves after getting off the phone with Sam. Mercy was her private attorney, not at all affiliated with the rest of the Luthor family. She was the damn best money could buy and the only person Lena trusted with her legal issues.
Her phone call with Mercy was brief and to the point. Mercy promised her that she’d get to work on finding her an out the second she received the faxed copies of the contract. All Lena needed to do was find a fax machine.
She crosses the room towards the door with the intention of asking her bodyguard if he could escort her to a fax machine, but she’s stopped in her tracks by the door swinging open and knocking her back.
“Oh, my goodness!” A high-pitched voice squeaks. “I am so sorry, Your Highness! I didn't see you there.”
Lena grunts and rubs at where the door hit her right shoulder. “That’s because you can’t see through a wooden door, you numskull. How about knocking next time?”
The voice belongs to a short, curly haired blonde woman dressed in a pastel pink dress. She’s carrying a cell phone in one hand and a bright yellow clipboard decorated with the House of El sigil on the back in the other.
“I am so sorry,” the woman apologizes again, seemingly genuine. “I'm so used to Kara just letting me into her room without knocking. I didn't realize it had become a force of habit.”
Lena furrows her brow, “And I’m assuming she doesn’t care about you addressing her by her proper title as well?”
“Nope!” The woman pops the P, cheery as can be. “Kara's never really cared about titles. Neither has Clark, for that matter. Anywho, I haven't introduced myself, have I? I am Eve Teschmacher. I've been assigned by Kara to be your personal assistant during your stay here at El Palace. Anything you need, I am your girl.”
Kara personally assigned this Eve to her? The thought almost makes her smile before she catches herself.
She clears her throat, “Is there a reason you came waltzing into my room, Miss Teschmacher?”
“Her Majesty, the Queen Mother, has requested your presence for the tour of the palace grounds. I can escort you.”
Lena would rather do anything but go, but saying no to her mother at a time like this is like having a death wish.
It takes everything within her to agree, but soon enough she finds herself walking down the palace hallway, Eve a few steps behind her, giving her directions.
They pass by countless staff members on the way to the garden, each of them bustling away at their respective jobs. They all bow or curtsy to show their respect to Lena when she passes by them. It makes her stomach twist.
Lena never felt comfortable with the outright presentations of respect; it made her feel like she was above everyone else, something that she’s seen go to her brother’s head over the years.
She makes sure to nod her head at all of the staff members as she walks by them, an effort she’s made since she was in her early teens. She’d hate to give off the impression that she thought those around her were less than.
(Lex has already perfected the act of that.)
Eve directs her to a pair of tall, glass double doors and steps ahead to open them up for her.
“Here we are, Your Highness,” Eve smiles brightly. “Clark should be just around the corner to your right with your mother and King Lex.”
Lena shoots Eve a puzzled look as she walks outside. “Wait, the king is giving the tour himself?”
“Mhm,” Eve nods. “Clark loves to introduce his guests to El Palace personally.”
Lena walks further outside and peers to her right. Sure enough, further down the pathway, there stood Clark, Lillian, and Lex all chatting amicably. To her surprise, Kara was also with them. She was out of her fatigues and dressed a white button down and a pair of navy blue slacks. Her face now adorns a set of glasses, and her hair flows in loose waves over her shoulders.
Then of course, like some sick prank the universe has decided to pull on her, Kara glances over and her eyes lock with Lena’s. Kara’s face splits into a smile. Lena immediately looks away just to find Eve holding in a laugh.
“Do not be embarrassed, Your Highness,” Eve stage whispers, amused. “You are not the only one at the palace who is enamored with Princess Kara.”
Lena sneers at her.
“Lena,” Clark calls, making his way over to her. “I am glad you could join us.”
Clark is in the same suit he wore to the meeting early, but he’s decided to forgo the suit jacket and roll up his sleeves, leaving his forearms on display.
Seeing him out like this, in a more relaxed environment, Lena can admit that he is an attractive man. With his clean cut, black curls, his disarming smile, and his charming personality, it’s not a shock to Lena that he was ranked third on Variety’s list of the world’s best eligible bachelors last year.
(Not that Lena keeps up with those sorts of things. Sam, on the other hand…)
He offers his arm to Lena, and she politely slinks her arm through his. He leads her over to the rest of the group. It’s a short walk to the others, but Clark still takes the opportunity to ask her how her day has been so far.
“If I'm being quite honest, Your Majesty, it hasn’t been—”
“Clark.”
Lena frowns, “Pardon?”
Clark grins bashfully, “I apologize for my interruption, but please, call me Clark. I don't really care for titles when I am in the privacy of my own home, or if I am with friends. And considering our new arrangement, I was hoping we could at least be friends?”
Lena suppresses a grimace at the mention of their marriage arrangement. “Friends is good, Clark,” she tests on the name on her tongue. “But that’s actually what I was going to tell you about. Krypton has been wonderful, but this arrangement is… I don’t even know how to describe it.”
Clark sighs, “I completely understand. It is not what I would like, but all of my advisors are convinced it is the best way to help Krypton going forward. And Thorul, for that matter.”
She knew Clark was right about the arrangement to some extent, but she couldn’t get over the fact that they had to pretend to be in a relationship with each other.
She is saved from having to respond by Kara, who met them halfway to greet her.
“I'm really glad you decided to join us, Lena. Your mother was saying something about you being difficult to convince.”
“Your trusty personal assistant wouldn’t leave me alone unless I went with her, so.” Lena shrugs her shoulders and Kara lets out a laugh.
“I hope Eve wasn't too overbearing,” Kara says. “She is a wonderful assistant, but she can never tell when to stop talking.”
Lena just hums in agreement.
She takes in the sight of Kara and Clark before her. The sun reflects off of the pond in the center of the garden, casting a wavy shimmer onto the cousins, giving them an ethereal glow. It makes Lena sick how gorgeous they both are. It must be something in the Kryptonian water.
“How about we start this tour, yeah?” Lex grumbles. “I can’t miss lunch. I’ve got to eat at 2 o’clock on the dot or else it’ll mess up my circadian rhythm.”
The complaint draws a laugh out of Clark and Kara, but makes Lena roll her eyes. He’d had that habit since he was in his early twenties. He argued that if he switched up on it now, it would throw his whole system out of whack.
Clark pats him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about the time, Lex. I’ve got a nice picnic set up for us once we cross the bridge.” He juts his chin to the wooden bridge that arches across the lake. “It’s a stunning view.”
Lex brushes his suit jacket where Clark’s hand was and scoffs. “It better be if you’re making me walk for it.”
After a short walk across the bridge where Clark pointed out all of the unique flowers native to Krypton, with Kara chiming in occasionally, they arrived at a beautiful picnic lunch.
There were two wooden tables set up on a grassy pavilion overlooking the pond. Standing next to the tables were three kitchen staff members dressed in their chef whites, the House of El coat of arms embroidered over their left breast. The chefs all bow as they walk up to them.
Clark shakes one of the chefs’ hands and gestures to their group, “This is Ignacio, my executive chef. He and his team whipped up this lunch spread for us today.”
“It is my absolute honor to serve you all today,” Ignacio says, referring to Lena, Lex, and Lillian. His accent is distinctly Italian, Lena notes. It’s a far cry from the Kryptonian dialect she’s been hearing pretty much exclusively since she arrived.
“Thank you, Ignacio. It is much appreciated,” Lillian speaks on their behalf.
Ignacio bows his head and makes a quick exit, leaving the group of royals to their own accord.
“Lena, I was hoping you and I could sit privately?” Clark suggests. “To familiarize ourselves, maybe?”
Lillian immediately nods her head in agreement. “That is a wonderful idea. Lex, Princess Kara, and I will sit at a separate table.”
Lena watches as Lillian drags Lex over to the table closer to the pond. Kara follows after them.
She and Clark sit down at the picnic table and start eating their lunch. Lena’s more reserved than Clark, who dives right into the parmesan crusted chicken. While they eat, Clark takes charge and leads their conversion in the direction of getting to know each other. He frames it in a way where he asks Lena a question about herself, then Lena asks him, and back and forth.
It’s helpful, Lena can admit. She learns that Clark used to swim competitively in university, he has a pet dog named Krypto that roams the palace halls at his own will, and that “Clark” is his regnal name.
“I was advised to choose a regnal name when I found out I would be ascending the throne. I didn’t want to pick some random name, so I chose Clark, which is one of my middle names,” Clark explains.
“And your first name is Kal, right?”
“Yep,” Clark nods. “Kal Clark Kent El. You’ll hear a number of people around here call me Kal, too. Kara, especially. But I answer to both names when it comes to friends and family.”
Lena liked how easy going Clark was. It was a drastic difference from Lex and her mother. Up until then, Lena didn’t realize a king could be so relaxed. Maybe this arranged relationship won’t be as unbearable as she thought?
Only a few minutes into their impromptu 20 Questions game, a shadow appears and looms over their table.
“Do you mind if I join you guys?”
Lena’s eyes look up to find Kara standing over their table, plate and drink in hand, with a sheepish smile on her face.
“I’m sorry but the Queen Mother and King Lex are—" Kara hesitates, then quickly glances back to her old table to see if Lex and Lillian were looking. (They weren’t. They couldn’t care less.) Kara crouches down a little, just so she could meet Lena’s ear, and she whispers, “They are scaring me.”
Lena can’t help the unladylike snort that escapes her at Kara’s confession. “What, are they talking about the best hydraulic material to create a methascope?”
“Close. It was hydronic.” Kara nods her head to the seat next to Clark, silently asking them if she could sit. Clark just scooches down the bench to make room for her. Kara happily sits down and starts digging back into her food.
“So what are you guys chatting about over here?” Kara asks.
“We are attempting to get to know each other better,” Clark answers. “You know, if we’re going to be stuck in this situation, the least we can do is know each other’s favorite colors. Mine is orange, by the way,” he says, directing the last bit Lena’s way.
He looks at Lena expectantly, intending to learn her favorite color, as well. Lena doesn’t have the heart to tell him that she doesn’t have a favorite color, not when he is looking at her so intently, a soft smile on his face. So Lena just blurts out the first color she lays her eyes on.
“Blonde.”
Which happens to be Kara’s hair.
Her cheeks immediately start to burn in embarrassment. Both Clark and Kara look at her with identical confused expressions, head tilt and all. It has Lena scrambling. “Did I say blonde?” She forces a laugh. “I meant to say.. bronze,” she says it like she doesn’t believe it herself. “Like the, um. Like the metal. Or the medal , like in the Olympics. Did I mention to you that I was on track to becoming an Olympic fencer?”
As if her foot couldn’t get shoved further into her mouth. Lena was never flustered or off-kilter, and she certainly was not a rambler. Right now, however, in the face of two Kryptonian royals, she was a blubbering mess. Had her drink been poisoned?
Clark didn’t seem to mind, though. “Olympic fencing?” He notes. “That’s super cool.”
Lena smiles through her teeth, still too embarrassed to actually open her mouth again.
“I really like yellow,” Kara says. Lena looks at her and she flashes Lena a dazzling smile.
After lunch and Clark’s tour around the El Palace grounds, Lena went back upstairs to her living quarters and stayed there for pretty much the entirety of the day. She kept in contact with Sam, learning that her friend had booked a flight out to Krypton for the next morning. She’d be arriving that night with her daughter Ruby, and she was planning on staying for at least a week or “until we can get this figured all out.”
At some point in the evening, Eve brought Lena a tray with her dinner. It was a vegetable rotini with creamy vodka sauce that had Lena singing Ignacio and the rest of the cooking staff’s praises on a phone call with Sam. She also managed to get her guardsman, Demos, to show her to a fax machine and she faxed her copy of the contract to Mercy.
She knew it was a long shot, but hopefully Mercy could find some sort of work around or way out of the relationship. Mercy Graves was known as the best for a reason, so Lena would just have to hold onto hope while she waited to hear back. Having hope wasn’t something she was particularly good at, though.
Lena looks at the clock on the wall. It read 9:42PM. She sighs and closes the book she was reading. She really did waste her day away in her room.
She had to admit, her living quarters were a nice place to be. The Kryptonian Royals treated her to a large suite with a living room, fitted with a wet bar, a separate bedroom, and a bathroom. Her room had a view of a beautiful palace courtyard with a flower garden in the center. She spent a good part of her day people-watching, sitting on the reading nook next to the window.
Since it was getting so late, Lena decided to start settling down and getting ready for bed. Her plans get foiled when her eyes land on the wet bar in the corner of her room, though. The bar was pre-stocked with different types of liquors, including some native to Krypton which caught Lena’s eye. But that was for another time. Considering how much had changed in the past few hours, Lena chose to stick with scotch. Something familiar to keep her grounded.
Lena tips a heavy pour of scotch into a glass with a few ice cubes. She circles the glass around in her hand, chilling the drink.
“Lena?”
Lena jumps at the call of her name. She turns around towards the door and spots Kara standing at the entrance of her room.
“Jesus, Kara, you frightened me.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Kara steps further into the room. “Your door was left open. I should’ve knocked.”
“No, it’s alright,” Lena says, sighing. “Truthfully, I’m glad it’s you and not Eve Teschmacher.” She tries and fails to keep the disdain out of her voice when she says Eve’s name.
Kara winces, “I’m sorry about Eve. She can be a bit—”
“Annoying,” Lena cuts in. She takes a sip of her scotch. It burns her throat on the way down—she revels in the sensation.
“I was going to say happy-go-lucky, but sure, that works, too.” Kara motions towards Lena’s wet bar. “May I?”
“Help yourself,” Lena nods. She sits down on the couch in the center of her room and watches as Kara pours herself a finger or two of Aldebaran Rum. She makes sure to put the bottle back in its place before joining Lena on the couch.
“You know, I don’t usually drink. Especially not hard liquor,” Kara mentions. Her face scrunches up when she takes a sip of her rum.
Lena hums, “But you’re drinking now.”
“It’s been a long day,” she responds.
That she could agree with.
Out of the corner of Lena’s eye, she can see Kara turn in her seat to face her. She can feel the princess’ eyes on the side of her head. Lena stiffens under her gaze.
“What is it?” She questions, glancing Kara's way.
“How are you dealing with this whole situation?” Kara asks. “If I thought today was stressful, I can’t imagine how you feel.”
Lena wasn’t one to share her feelings to, well, anyone really. She kept her thoughts and feelings close to her chest and dealt with them in her own totally healthy way. On occasion, she’d let down her walls with Sam or Jack, a friend from college, but she mostly kept her true feelings to herself.
She doesn’t have the slightest idea why, but for some reason, she wants to tell Kara about how she feels. Maybe it’s because Kara is one of the only people who can understand what she’s going through right now. To some extent, at least.
Lena takes a long pull of her drink before answering. “I’m mostly angry,” she admits. “Angry at being forced into a relationship I don’t want. Angry at my brother and mother for not even giving me the courtesy of a head’s up before the meeting this morning.”
Kara shifts on the couch next to her. “Wait. You didn’t know about the arrangement before arriving here?”
“Didn’t have the slightest idea,” Lena says. “I thought this was a run of the mill diplomacy trip. I was confused about why Lex and my mother wanted me at this morning’s meeting so badly, but I just thought they wanted to spite me. They can be annoying like that.”
She looks to Kara, expecting to see some form of pity on her face. To her surprise, she’s met with a perplexed expression from Kara.
“Your family,” Kara starts. “I’ve read in the papers that they weren’t the nicest people in the world, but I had no idea they could be so cruel to you . You’re their sister, their daughter. I mean…” Kara trails off, unable to find the words to express her confusion.
“Please, Kara, this isn’t even in the top three worst things they’ve done to me,” Lena scoffs.
The look of shock that crosses across Kara’s features could almost been seen as humorous, if it weren’t for the heavy topic they were discussing.
“Rao, Lena. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine, Kara,” Lena shrugs. “It’s the family I have to live with.” She brings the brim of her glass up to her lips, draining the rest of her drink.
“It won’t always have to be that way.”
This time, it’s Lena who finds herself turning on the couch to face Kara. “What are you talking about?”
“I know this relationship isn’t ideal—”
“Understatement of the century.”
“Yes,” Kara smiles at her interjection. “But Clark, he’s a great guy. He’s the best . He can be there for you, if you let him in. And so can I, for that matter. I will always be here for you if you need someone to talk to, Lena. And if you need our protection—”
“I don’t need your protection,” Lena interrupts. She hated her family and their ways, yes, but she was not a damsel in distress. “I can handle myself.”
“Of course,” Kara readily agrees, nodding her head rapidly. It was quite endearing to see, Lena thought. “But if you ever need a friend, I’m here for you. Just say the word.”
Kara’s words echo through Lena’s head as she gets herself ready for bed that night. Kara was so earnest in her desire to help Lena that it knocked Lena off her axis a bit. She’d never met someone as compassionate as Kara before, and they had only met hours beforehand—minus their quick greetings with each other years ago in boarding school.
Lena had been around people with their fair share of ulterior motives before, but Kara didn’t strike her as someone who had something to gain out of befriending her. She was just kind. That’s it.
Their conversation, along with the rest of the day’s activities, floated around in Lena’s mind as she tried to sleep. She was uncertain about a lot of things going forward. How would this arranged relationship work out between her and Clark? As the thoughts crossed through her head, Lena knew one thing for sure: her life was never going to be the same.