Star Crossed

Chapter 7

Jor-El looked at Kara and turned to see the way the Prince was eyeing her. He didn't like what he was seeing. As Kara lowered her gaze, trying to avoid Mon-El's eyes, Jor-El spoke, "Kara, dear, why don't we head back to the castle? I'm sure Kal-El is safe here with His Highness and the guard."

Seeing Jor-El's threatening gaze, Mon-El smirked and said, "Of course, both Kal-El and Lady Kara are always safe around me. Come along, Kal-El, I'll take you to see Aermy. Have a great rest of the day, Jor-El and Lady Kara..." Mon-El looked at her keenly and as their eyes met, she blushed. "I'm looking forward to your next Archery lesson."

"Thank you for your time, Your Highness," Kara said as she slipped her arm in her uncle's and they walked away.

Once Jor-El had asked his son to stay safe, he turned to face Kara. "How are you liking Archery? When Zor told me about your little adventures with the Prince, it was a little hard to believe you have taken a liking towards the Prince so as to spending so much time with him."

Kara's eyes widened. "What? No, Uncle Jor. I do not like the Prince! I mean... he was kind enough to teach me Archery and accompany Kal and I into the town, but that's about it."

Jor-El gave her a small smile. "Do you know why we are here, Kara?" Seeing her shrug, he continued, "Years ago, the King's father proposed a truce to stop the war between Krypton and Daxam. So he wanted to talk to the heads and at that time, my father was Krypton's leader. Many houses were against this, but we, the Els decided to go forth with this peace treaty. Every time with the new King's reign, the treaty is renewed. So the house of El is only here to represent Krypton. And this also means Prince Mon-El is going to be crowned as the next King very soon."

Kara gave him a small nod as they entered the castle.

"Do you know why I'm telling you this, Kara?"

"Enlighten me, dear uncle."

Jor-El gave her a small smile as he said, "Do you think it is wise for a Kryptonian noble to be seen with the next King of Daxam without a chaperone?"

"But uncle, Kal-El is always with us. And so is Hal-An, the guard. I was only alone with the Prince this morning and he was teaching me Archery. That is all."

"Dearest child, I am a rebel. On Krypton, we are bound by our customs and duties, but I rebelled and married the woman I fell in love with. Why else do you think Lara and I were not allowed to have a child using the Birthing Matrix? It was our punishment. If you are reading a page from a story of Forbidden Love, I'm one of the people who has written a book on the said topic." There was a coy smile on Jor-El's face.

"Fine, I'll keep my distance," Kara vowed.

Jor-El gave her a small nod. "I'm glad you understand." Saying that, he patted her head and left to join his wife and the others.

Kara sighed and decided to go back to her room. But she was bored and she suddenly remembered the castle had a library. Deciding to find it, she set off on her own, wandering through the long corridors of the castle.

As she had assumed, she got lost while trying to find the library and ended up in a corridor where no guards stood for her to ask directions. Kara gulped when she heard a loud, painful creak. There was no one here and she was lost in some strange part of the castle. Just as she was about to turn around the corner and go back to where she came from, she felt an arm reach out and grab onto her arm. Kara was about to scream but no noise came when that someone pushed her against the wall and closed her mouth with his hand. Kara's eyes widened to see that it was Prince Mon-El. She quickly pushed his hand away and moved back.

"It's just me, Lady Kara," he assured her. "I saw you wander off and wanted to make sure you didn't get lost. I was right, wasn't I? You did get lost."