Chapter Text
Kara Pov.
I sighed in relieve as I saw the Stone Marker that divided Krypton and Camelot, we had been in the road non-stop for the past two days and nights, only stopping long enough to rest the horses.
“There is a trading village half a day from here My King, we should be able to send for a garrison from there, these horses are too exhausted to make to Kandor” said Red as she dismounted from her horse, she like the stupid loyal wolf that she was refused to leave Camelot without me as did Gwen without Morgana, luckily, we were able to flee before the town was completely taken over.
“You are right on that account, the horses won’t make it home, but you are faster moving alone, go to the trading post and send message to Kandor, the rest of us are going to make camp and let the horses rest, we will meet you in the village as soon as we are able” I said as I looked back at the sorry bunch behind me.
With Gwen and Merlin Looking like death wormed over, Morgana was pale and green at the same time, and Arthur looked like someone who just lost everything he ever knew, the only one who looked somewhat composed was Cat, but them again she was Cat.
“You sure you will be, okay? Because they don’t look like they are going to be of any help any time soon” said Red concerned, I nodded tiredly.
“See you soon old friend” I said as I watched the brunette woman turn into her giant black wolf form and run away.
“She went to get help I presume” said Cat as she came to stand beside me, I nodded turning to her.
“I saw his banner, the Savage Empire, he is back” I said seriously, Cat became perfectly still as she processed the information.
“You sure of that Kara?” said the blond her voice taking a very serious edge.
“As sure as one can be after seeing a ghost came back to life” I said as I stared out into the green fields in front of me.
“Then a King’s council must be called, If Vandal Savage and his Empire are back then we are all in danger” said the blond, as she looked out in the direction of the Forbidden Lands, she was no doubt thinking of how Maleficent was going to take the news. The old dragon had fought in the first rebellion against the Savage Empire some 1000 years ago, something that left Maleficent with some deep scars and dead loved ones.
“I know, you should go to Mal, she is going to need you, even if she pretends not too” I said as I turned back to look at Morgana, she was sat with Arthur in front of the fire Merlin had produced.
“Specially because I think I know who was manipulating things back in Camelot” I turned back to look at Cat, she had a dark look in her eyes.
“The boy wizard over there kept mumbling about how Kilgharrah was right all along and other such non-sense” said Cat almost spatting the name, whoever this Kilgharrah was, it was clear that Cat hated him.
“Yes, Merlin said something about this when I found him back in the castle, I never heard the name before, is he anything special?” I asked casting a quick look towards the boy wizard.
“You could say so, he is Maleficent’s younger brother, they had a fallen out some 800 years ago” said the blond shocking me.
“I never knew she had a brother; I mean I lived with you guys for years and I never heard Mal say anything about her family besides you and Lily” I said quietly.
“Mal doesn’t like talking about it, her family is very complicated as it is, but she has three living siblings, one of whom is Kilgharrah. He is a dragon like Mal and the second oldest after Maleficent, he is also a seer like your Morgana” said the blond as she sat on a flat rock nearby.
“Like I said they had a falling out 800 years ago, Kilgharrah challenged Mal for the title of Alpha, he lost and by the rules of the challenge Mal had to kill him, but he was her little brother, she couldn’t do it.
Her sparring him made him even angrier, he vowed to destroy her, and eventually Mal had no choice but to exile him from the Forbidden Lands, they never saw each other again” said the blond, it was clear that there was more to this story but I trusted Cat enough to know that she wouldn’t lie or withhold important information.
“So, you think he ended up in Camelot somehow and used his visons to manipulate the future to his advantage” I said a little skeptical.
“I think he was playing the long game, specially because there are only 4 weapons in the whole world that can actually Kill Mal and her siblings and the easiest one for him to gain access to, is the one that the little Pandragon Prince is hold on to right now” I looked towards Arthur and sure enough the boy was holding Excalibur as if the sword was his only life line.
“Well, whatever his plan was, there is no way he is still alive after Black Adam” I said calmly as I started to make my way back to camp.
“I hope you are right my child, because the alternative may bring the end to us all” I heard Cat say quietly a shiver running down my spine.
-----------------------------------------------------------xx----------------------------------------------------------
By the time we made to trading post of Rao’s Last Light the sun was long gone, the village was small with but well taken care of.
“A village thank the Lords” I heard Merlin say.
“Let’s find Red” I said calmly as I dismounted the tired horse, this was not my beloved steed Krypto, no my horse had perished in the fire that had taken over the stables before we could run away.
“Unsaddle the horses and set them free, they won’t serve us any longer, not in the state they are in” I said to the boy wizard as I saw him moving towards the stables.
The horses were completely spent and too exhausted to go any further, which wasn’t really a surprise considering that farm horses weren’t made to travel long distances in a short period of time as we did, I was actually surprised that they held this long.
It didn’t take us long to find Red, as she was waiting for us in the only inn in the village, a cozy place going by the name of the Smiling Sun, the place was packed with happy villagers after a long day of work.
“I have arranged for us to stay here until the garrison arrives, I’m pretty sure I almost killed the old lady who runs this place when I said you needed some place to stay for a few nights, she is definitely a fan” laughed Red as we came to sit with her in the tavern, and sure enough not two seconds later we were approached by an old lady with a smile, the woman was in her late 60’s and had quite the welcoming look as she came to us, a server boy trailing behind her with way too much food.
“Sun King it is an honor to have you in my humble establishment, said the woman as she motioned for the boy to put the food on our table, my stomach rambling as it finally hit me that I had barely eaten a thing in the last two days.
“What is your name Mrs.?” I asked calmly and with a gentle smile.
“Margareth, your Majesty, the boy is my grandson Horan” said the woman with a big smile.
“Then the honor is mine Margareth, and I thank you for your hospitality and care” I said smiling back to the woman, Margareth didn’t stay long after it, and not many in the tavern came to talk to us, probably at order of the tavern lady herself.
“The people seem to really like you around here” said Merlin at some point during our dinner, the boy was holding to his soup like it was a long-lost lover.
“This is just the way of Krypton; they would’ve welcomed us the same had we been peasants” I said calmly as I ate my own soup.
“We have to go back” said the blond prince suddenly, I looked up not really surprised.
“Arthur” I heard Merlin whisper in pity, I shock me had tiredly.
“No” I said with a tired voice as I got up and started to make my way to our temporary room.
“My people need help, I can’t just abandon them and my father could still be alive” half screamed the prince as he furiously got up, the tavern was suddenly quiet, I sighed.
“Arthur…sit down” whispered Merlin as he looked around, no doubt seeing the less than friendly glares that the young prince was receiving after his outburst.
“Arthur this is not the place for this discussion, go to sleep, rest and cool your head we talk in the morning” I said as I kept on walking, that is when I felt something hard hit me in the back and all hell broke loose.
You see, Arthur in his anger had thrown his cup hitting me in the back, Morgana screamed shocked at his action and rushed with Ruby to see if I was alright, at the same time half of the men in the tavern jumped on the Camelotian prince completely overwhelming him before he could even think to take his sword out.
“Are you alright?” asked Morgana as she came to be beside me, I nodded quietly as I turned to see the prince be held at knife point by some of the more enthusiastic patrons, I sighed again, stupid prince.
“Peace my friends, the boy didn’t know any better, he’s just lost his father, he is angry and stupid, let him go” I said in Kyptonese, my words calming the men that slowly let the prince go, still there eyes were no longer friendly towards the blond prince, I had no doubt that by morning the whole village would know of the stupid foreigner who dared attack their King, Arthur had just managed to become the most hated person in the village in record time.
“Thank you” said Morgana as she saw the villagers let go of her brother, I nodded turning to her.
“It’s okay, he just needs time” I said tiredly as I finally made my way upstairs, I was exhausted
--------------------------------------------xx-----------------------------------xx-----------------------------
In the days that followed our arrival very little happened around town, Arthur had pretty much turned into the town’s pariah, not that he cared much about it since he barely left his room ever since his outburst in the tavern, Merlin was doing his best to help the prince pull himself together, with very little success.
Gwen wasn’t much better, the woman wasn’t locked in her room but she was having a hard time in her own way, in the days since our arrival Gwen had offered to help Margareth, and after some insistence the woman accepted, ever since then Gwen had taken to work herself to exhaustion, much to Margareth’s worry that had started to mother the young woman like she was her own child.
And then there was Morgana, the one that truly worried me, differently of the others who were quite clearly grieving their lost, Morgana was completely numb, she hadn’t shad a tear or even shown any sort of emotion since we ran from a burning Camelot, the only sign that she was even bothered with what happened were the nightmares, Gwen had told me about them, about how Morgana would scream herself raw in the middle of the night but refuse any help from her.
During the day Morgana would act like nothing happened, even though we all could see the dark circles under her eyes that got more and more apparent each day.
It took five long days for Kate and her garrison of men to arrive, the woman was a sight for sore eyes even as she strolled thru town in her full armor and accompanied of about 50 soldiers.
“My King” said the woman as she clicked her heels together and brought her right fisted hand to her heart in the official military salute of Krypton.
“At ease Lord Commander” I said with a tired smile, one the woman returned.
“You got us all worried Kara, when we received the report of Camelot Burning and that no one had seen you, we feared the worst. Alex was beside herself until we received word of you arriving here” I sighed felling guilt for causing my sister to worry like that.
“Do we know if any one escaped Camelot?” I asked calmly, my guilt would have to wait.
“From the reports we received, the attack was centered at the castle, every soldier, Lord, servant, men, women or child in the Pendragon castle was slaughtered, the town was burned and looted, the castle was destroyed.
Uther had apparently been keeping a dragon captive in there, he burned the rest of the town when he got loose, or at least that is what we got from the survivors we found, beyond that we don’t know anything, just that they burned everything and vanished like they were never there at all” said Kate as she moved more into the shadows with me.
“Uther has not yet been found, neither him or his body was found” said Kate as she looked around, I nodded, Uther was not one of my main concerns right now, as cold as it may sound, Uther was of very little importance in the grand scheme of things, specially without Excalibur.
“Very well, we keep this to ourselves for now, the last thing I need is for Arthur to get himself killed trying to save Uther” I said with a grimace.
“As you command my Lord” said Kate formally
“Very well, if that is all, I want to leave as soon as possible. A King’s Council was called and it cannot be delayed any further” I said shocking Kate which was no surprise seeing as the last King’s council was held over 50 years ago.
“I will see it done my King” said the woman as she got over her surprise.
Kate was one of my most loyal friends and a soldier at heart, before we meet, she had been a soldier in the White Kingdom’s army; following in her parents’ footsteps.
Both of Kate’s parents were soldiers in the white Kingdom, her father Jacob was a general and her mother was a captain before her passing, Kate was her father’s pride and joy as she followed in his legacy, until she was caught having a relationship with another soldier, a woman. You see, in the White Kingdom same sex relations are outlawed, being seen as a capital offence whose punishment was death.
Kate was arrested, beaten and sentenced to death at the stake, all for the crime of loving someone of the same sex, and her father, the only family she had left did nothing, he simply watched as his last living child was dragged half dead to be burned.
Luckly she wasn’t the only one sentenced to burn that day, with her were a young man named Barry, and none other than the princess of the White Kingdom Emma, I had gone to the White Kingdom to save the princess, ended up saving a princess and 2 very good friends that day.
“My King, we are ready to leave” I was taken from my memories by Red, I nodded as I started to follow the young werewolf.
“Morgana and the other?” I asked as we made our way thru town, I could already see the garrison’s encampment just outside the town.
“Already with Kate, she’ll be getting back to Kandor with us but the rest of the men are staying here to fortify the border, she’s leaving Captain Wayne in charge of the garrison” said Ruby, I nodded in confirmation.
“Lord Thomas, her uncle, right?” I asked calmly, I liked Thomas.
“No, his son actually, the young Lord Bruce” I nodded, Lord Thomas Wayne was an old friend of my father’s, and the Lord head of one of the great houses of Krypton, his family held Gotham and the south for many generations, until Lord Thomas refused to bend his knee to my uncle, they were stripped of their title as Lord Paramount and Wardens of the south and of most of their lands, and yet they were the first to support me when I decided to take back my home.
After the war I offered their lands and titles back, but neither Lord Thomas or his son were very interested in taking the burden of holding the south once again.
As luck would have it Kate was Lord Wayne’s niece from her mother’s side, Lord Thomas was oh so happy to pass Lordship of Gotham and the South to Kate, with him taking the role of her advisor, in the man’s own words he was too old to care for politics, and his son wanted nothing to do with ruling a province.
And he wasn’t wrong, Bruce Wayne, was a stoic, intelligent and serious man, one of the best warriors and strategists I’ve ever meet, it was no surprise to see how fast he climbed the ranks in the army, reaching the patent of Captain by the age of 20, one of the youngest Captains in the army; and yet he had no patience for politics.
Bruce was an excellent soldier, maybe even a great Warden, but he was no Lord Paramount, in the years I’ve known him Bruce had never once suffered the bickering and pettiness of Lords, he had no patience or stomach for it.
“Good, will need to send ravens to the provinces, war is upon us and right now we are exposed, we have Thorul to the West and whatever may come from Camelot to the North, we need to prepare, because I don’t think we will have much time before our enemies a beating down on our door” I said just as we arrived to camp, Morgana and the others were already waiting by the horses, Kate was waiting beside a pure white steed.
“This one is yours my King, his name is Mxy” I nodded appreciatively as I mounted my new horse, I would surely miss Krypto, but now was no time to mourn a horse, not even one I loved as much as I loved Krypto.
The journey to Kandor was swift, with only a handful of us instead of 50+ men, it took us 3 days to reach the city, the white and golden gates opening to reveal the white city, Kandor, my home.
Continue…