An Ocean of Fire- Supercorp AU

13- In The Name Rao

A week passed uneventfully.

Lena woke up every morning with Kara outside the window, stretching, posing, and maneuvering her sword. They shared breakfast in the sitting room, and passed the day walking around the palace or visiting the country surrounding the palace grounds.

Kara found Lena to be incredibly adept at learning Kryptonian ways. She was brilliantly clever, and Kara never found her out of step. She officially introduced her to members of the royal council, including Sir J'onn Jones, the hand of the king; Lady Samantha Arias, whom she learned was the Royal Treasurer; and Lady Catherine Grant, Chief Scribe of Krypton.

She also spent time pouring over books in the massive palace library, where Winn kept his office. He was delighted to have a student who was so interested and eager to learn, and they spent hours in front of the tall windows and fireplaces – reading plans, discussing theories, and tracing their fingers over maps and passages of lore.

Lena, on her part, began to truly realize how incredibly in-tune Kara was with the people she considered to be her friends.

And she seemed to consider everyone to be her friend.

She remembered the names of all of the knights and guards, the kitchen staff, the gardeners, the engineers, the stable hands. Lena watched with fascination as she – Kara Zor-El, the future Queen of a country – got down on the ground to play with a puppy that belonged to the son of a knight.

Word had officially spread of their engagement, and she was surprised at how quickly the palace staff had warmed to her. It seemed that once they learned she was not going to sprout snakes out of her hands and run them out of their homes with fire, they treated her as if she was just another member of the royal family.

Other Kryptonians, however, were struggling.

One afternoon, Kara took her to visit an orchard that was being harvested by several farmers. They were polite, but their interactions were stiff, their words were brief, and their expressions were icy.

Lena could tell when they returned to the palace that the interaction had weighed heavily on Kara, and she spent the evening by herself in her study. When Lena knocked on the door before heading to bed, she found her staring contemplatively out the window with a drink in her hand.

She tried to ask her about how she was feeling, but the blonde simply smiled her brilliant smile and told her she was alright.

On the day that marked one full week since they arrived in Krypton, a sharp rap came at the door to Kara's wing. Kara was outside in the grass, cursing in Kryptonian and pulling at some roots. She had told Lena that Alex and Sam had an incredible garden outside of their wing, and she was determined to have one herself. Lena expressed that she was a black thumb, so the afternoon found her curled up in the sitting room with a book, a soft blanket tucked around her lap. She had glanced up to check that Kara hadn't cut off her own finger after one particularly loud curse when the knock came.

She stood and placed her book on the table, pulling the heavy door open. Kara looked up, shading her eyes from the sunlight so she could see through the windows, smudging dirt across her forehead.

Lena was surprised to find Alura and Alex on the other side of the door.

She curtsied politely and pulled the door open wider to allow them entrance.

"Your highness. Captain Arias. Please, come in."

Kara stepped in through the open door and wiped her hands on a wet towel. Alura and Alex both stared at her with amusement, though Alura wrinkled her nose at the grimy state of her daughter.