Star Crossed

Chapter 5

Another beautiful morning arrived, bringing Kara pure joy that she was able to help the Prince do something good. Her parents and uncle and aunt were once again meeting with the King and the Queen. So she was given a free pass to take Kal-El out and show him around.

When Mon-El had offered to take them into the town and show them around, little Kal jumped at the opportunity, but Kara politely declined saying the Prince would have better things to do, but seeing as how that had upset Kal-El, she quickly added she wouldn't mind taking a guard along.

The King had immediately ordered Hal-An to take Kara and Kal-El to the town. But he knew very well his son would just go along.

So that was how the El cousins had ended up going into the town with Hal-Al and Mon-El, dressed a bit differently—to blend in, he had said—to see if it was any different than a Kryptonian city. And it indeed was.

One thing Kara didn't understand was why the Daxamites had servants when they could use robots. Robots did everything people were capable of, well almost everything, so it would have made a lot of lives easier. But when she brought this up to Mon-El, all he said was, "We don't have slaves here. Slavery was abolished when my grandfather became King. Instead we have servants, who are willing to serve us, in exchange they are paid for their services. Many servants come from towns that have been destroyed in floods and those who just don't have shelters. At the castle, they are given a bed and warm food, and they also get paid so... and your robots can malfunction anytime. What will you do then?"

Kara had a small frown on her face. They had just been walking through the streets looking around, heading towards the market. Kal-El and Hal-An had already gone ahead but since she had stopped, Mon-El did the same. He turned around and asked, "Are you alright, Lady Kara?"

"Can you please not call me 'Lady Kara' here? Because we are trying to blend in," she said in an irritated tone, one that made him laugh. "What?" she demanded when she saw him stare at her.

"Crinkle," he said, pointing towards her forehead. When he saw her crinkling more, he touched the spot. "Right there."

"I don't have a crinkle," she said at once.

"Yes, you are—"

"I don't have a crinkle!" she repeated, frustrated.

"You are crinkling right at this moment."

"Mon!" They heard someone call. Kara and Mon-El turned around to see Hal-An and little Kal waiting for them. Kal-El was waving at them.

Mon-El smiled and waved back. Since they didn't want to catch anyone's attention Kara and Kal-El were dressed in Daxamite clothes. Kara felt uncomfortable wearing the tight dress that was like a corset. She did see Mon-El eyeing her more than once. When she caught him staring, he would look away, whistling lightly.

"Say," she started to speak as they began walking again. "Are Daxamite dresses always this tight?"

"Oh! Do you not feel confortable in this? Perhaps we could get you something else to wear. There is a shop right around the corner. I'm sure you will like something from there. Come along." Before Kara could reply, Mon-El took her hand and dragged her off to the shop to get her a dress. Kal-El had wanted to see the candy shop, so handing Hal-An some gold coins, Mon-El had asked him to take the boy and buy him whatever he wanted.

"Why did you do that?!" Kara demanded once Kal-El and Hal-An left. "He is seven. His teeth will rot if he eats sweets!"

"What are you? Seventy?" Mon-El shook his head and dragged her into the shop. The men and women running the shop recognized Mon-El and bowed to him.