Quiver and Crown // KateLena

Forged in Steel

Yelena's words rang in Kate's ears as she stalked down the cavernous palace halls alone. Gas lamps lining the walls coated the space in warm yellow light, though Kate felt anything but warm. Her chest felt hollow, head muddled. Honestly, back then, and even now, Kate neglected to think of how her actions may have affected her best friend. How could she be so selfish?

One of the pillars of knightly life was selflessness, putting others first, filling their needs before your own. Here she was, about to be knighted, and she could not even uphold the simplest of values. Should she apologize? Should she even mention it, or just try to do better?

Kate cursed herself for being so clueless around anything emotional. That was more Yelena's thing- reading people's thoughts from a single glance, knowing if someone was truthful or deceptive. She had to be that perceptive in her world of politics and power. Kate, on the other hand, preferred the concrete, preferred action to analysis. That, she thought, is the type of quality that would make her an honorable knight, but now she was not so sure.

As she reached the armory, Kate put all of these thoughts away for the moment, and focused on her task. The armorer, Tony Stark, tinkered in the corner of his workshop with a contraption the likes of which Kate had never seen. On the Plains, most of Kate's weapons were crafted and sharpened single handedly, so the array of razor sharp blades covering almost every inch of Tony's workshop would have frightened or intimidated her if she was not so fascinated.

"A fellow weapons enthusiast?" Tony asked, observing the young woman.

"Of sorts."

"What are you, a solider? Guard?"

"Soon to be knight. Not sure what station."

"Congratulations."

"Thank you."

"Now, what brings you here? Other than to stare at my marvelous collection."

"I wanted to ask about an engraving?"

"On?"

"My sword blade."

"Let me see."

Kate unsheathed her sword slowly, laying it atop a wooden workbench. Tony rolled up his sleeves, grimacing at the crude crafting of the blade.

"Clint made this, huh?" He said, running a light finger over chips in the metal. "What do you say we engrave a new blade?"

"Really?"

"Of course. It's always an honor to arm Aram's finest. And you shoot?" He nodded to Kate's quiver.

"Yeah, I do. And just about everything else."

"Oh, this is going to be the most fun I've had in weeks. Tell me, kid, what's your favorite color, and what do you want engraved?"

In a matter of minutes, Kate was armed with the finest weaponry in the kingdom. A golden-accented sword with an 'XIV' numeral engraved at the hilt now hung at her hip. A plethora of purple-feathered arrows filled her quiver, sheathed daggers now strapped to both forearms, and along with freshly polished armor.

"Hey, kid," Tony called as Kate turned to leave with her spoils. "Come see me when you get the gold chest plate. I'll engrave that too, if you want."

Kate nodded gratefully and took her leave. It was evening by now, though the woman had no desire to attend dinner. She could not stand to see Yelena right now, not with so much left unresolved. Surely, though, Yelena saw Kate's perspective. She was emotionally intelligent enough to sympathize, though definitely ruthless enough to hold a grudge as well. It was best for Kate to leave, couldn't she see that?