Of Knights and Aliens

Chapter 39

Lena's hands are shaking as she walks towards her doom. Well, not her doom. That's just her flair for the dramatic. But it might as well be. She's walking down a grand hallway with guards posted at regular intervals, eyeing her warily.

Lena knows they don't trust her, and she can understand why. If she were in their positions, she would be skeptical too. With Kara at her side, the blatantly mistrustful looks aren't as scathing as usual. She keeps her head held high.

But for the first time since she was a little girl, she's scared as she walks through a castle. Back then, it was because it was so big and she was so small. Now, it's because she's about to meet her girlfriend's mother. Which is understandingly terrifying, but Alex's words earlier didn't help the anxiety churning in her gut.

"What did she say to you, Maggie?" Kara asks as they start getting close, if the more frequent guards are any indication.

"I was almost as terrified as Lena. But she spent the first couple of minutes yelling at Alex instead of me, th-"

"Maggie!" Alex hisses.

Kara pulls her to a stop and they all pause in the hallway. "Alex," she says. Her tone is authoritative in a way that makes a shiver run down Lena's spine. "Why was Eliza yelling at you?"

"I may have gone on a slightly dangerous mission and forgot to tell her." Alex mumbles quickly, hoping Kara won't hear her.

Which of course she does, with her super hearing. "You did what? Alex!"

"What did she do?" Lena asks, not having heard Alex's rushed response.

"We went on a dangerous mission we were semi-prepared for at best and she didn't tell her mom." Maggie explains, her more in-depth answer causing Kara to give Alex a hard look.

"We'll discuss this more later," Kara warns. Alex winces and nods.

"Anyway," Maggie says. "Queen Eliza isn't that bad. She's intimidating and a little scary but she was really sweet. She even welcomed me into the family. You should be fine."

It reassures Lena slightly, but the worry in her chest isn't going away. She wants to make a good first impression; she of all people knows how important they can be. But she doesn't know the Queen, doesn't know how to charm her, doesn't know what persona she should put on to make her feel at ease.

They start walking again and Kara squeezes her girlfriend's hand. "Just be yourself," she murmurs.

Personally, Lena has always thought that was terrible advice. Why would she be herself when that was never enough for anyone? Why be herself when she knows that when people look at her, they don't see her. They see a Queen, a Luthor, the sister of a xenophobic madman and daughter to a xenophobic madwoman. But she doesn't tell Kara this, she gives her girlfriend a smile that's only partly forced because she really is grateful for her attempts to calm Lena down.

They walk into the throne room and Lena tries not to betray how impressed she is by the sheer size of it. Banners and large paintings of the Kingdom adorn the walls. She walks forward on shaky legs, instilling the confidence she learned to fake over years of being a Luthor.

Maggie and Alex slow down to let Kara and Lena pass them. Eliza and Jeremiah stand from where they're seated on their thrones.

"Kara!" Eliza greets her warmly. "Come here!"

Kara gives Lena a look, hesitant to leave her where she is. Lena gives Kara a look back to silently tell her that she'll be fine. She can tell she didn't really convince Kara. Lena can also see the unasked question in her girlfriend's eyes. She nods and that's when Kara practically flies forward, using her super speed to scoop both Eliza and Jeremiah in a tight hug.