#ok i need to vanish & go to the bank now agsdhjf

[pippytmi]

Hi, for the drabble thing: The Last of the Real Ones by Fall Out Boy Supercorp, please And if I may... I feel that the first part is lena's pov and in the second it swichs to kara's But feel free to do whatever. Thank you so much

this song deserves so much more backstory ahhh but thank you for sending me this prompt!

The leaves of the trees are just beginning to fall when Lena loses her mother.

The cold of the air is turning her cheeks pink, and even the scratchy wool blanket Kara has draped over her shoulders offers little solace. Eventually Kara emerges from her home, carrying a cup of something hot, and Lena feels relief flood through her.

“You’ll catch your death, of cold,” Kara says, and she cups Lena’s face in her warm hands.

Lena swallows as though there is something lodged in her throat, her sorrow resurfacing at the soft sympathy in Kara’s eyes.

“Is she,” she tries to ask, and Kara’s sad smile is answer enough. Lena takes a cautious drink out of her cup as to avoid saying much else. The murky tea is something Kara’s mother always makes for those with upset stomachs, and it is just right for now.

Over the edge of the tin cup, Lena quietly watches the horses lined up by her home and wonders how, in such a short span of time, her life has changed so drastically.

Kara follows her line of sight. “I always did say you were meant to be a princess,” she says, perhaps to distract Lena as her mother’s body is carried out by soldiers. “One day, you will be queen as well.”

The thought makes Lena’s stomach churn. “I am not equipped to rule,” she says, dropping her gaze to her tea. “I find myself wishing that this is all a bad nightmare I have yet to wake from.”

“Do not count this as a complete misfortune, my friend,” Kara says gently, and she guides Lena’s head to rest atop her chest. “You will have a new family by the morn, and you will be in the palace walls, free from cold and hunger.”

“I will not have you,” Lena says. She has known Kara her whole life, and yet she is bashful in a way she does not understand now, cheeks pinking for a reason beyond the cold.

She cannot fathom why she has been the one chosen for this now, when there are others who deserve it more than she. Kara is one of the people who never seeks glory, but deserves it most of all; she is kind, and she is selfless, and has a heart so golden that Lena has always felt as though she is undeserving of such a friend.

Kara has a smile Lena would never tire of, and she shows it now. “You will not lose me,” she says. “I will write you, so you may tell me all about your father.”

The father she has always assumed has been dead, suddenly alive. A brother Lena has never known existed, suddenly dead on the brink of taking over his father’s place. Lena has gone from a tame life of a peasant to a sudden, overwhelming new one of a missing princess destined for the crown.

“Promise?” Lena asks, quietly, and Kara nods against the top of Lena’s head.

“I will always protect you, Lena. You have my word.”

.

.

.

Kara has not heard from Lena for many moons.

Alex rides with her all the way to the castle, and they deliver the letters Kara writes, but no letter ever comes back. Kara suggests they move closer to the palace, for it may be an issue of distance. Realistically, she knows she cannot uproot her mother, and they do not have the money to move as it is; eventually, she stops writing.

She does not banish Lena from her thought entirely, however, for she knows how afraid Lena is bound to be. She takes a position as a squire in town, and rides out daily to work every morning. Her hope is to become a knight, to keep her promise and protect Lena as best she can outside the gates of the castle.

“The new queen’s coronation shall take place in the summertime,” Alex tells Kara one day as they chop wood, one rare afternoon when Kara is not needed by her knight. “Mother has insisted on going.”

“So soon?” Kara asks, and she thinks of Lena, of her old friend who she has not laid eyes on for quite some time. “She is unwed still, is she not?”

“She will be wed before then, or so I have heard,” Alex says. “To a Lord Jackson. You know how much of a gossip Winslow is, he could hardly wait to tell the news.”

Kara knows not why the news gives her pause, but it does. “Lord Jackson will be a fortunate man, then,” she says, and swings her axe next a bit harder than before.

“From what he’s heard, Winn swears it is an arranged marriage,” Alex says. She looks over at Kara and gently smooths the crinkle of Kara’s brow with her thumb. “I miss her myself. Do not count this as the end quite yet.”

“She has moved on, Alex,” Kara says. “I do not fault her for it. It is her duty.”

“Matters of the heart have never concerned those with power,” Alex says, and it sounds as though it is an apology. “You needn’t concern yourself with them either, if you truly hope to one day be her knight.”

“You are entirely too cynical, sister,” Kara says, and she tries to smile a bit. “Have you no wish to follow your heart’s desires?”

“No,” Alex says, her eyes full of nothing but pity. “I fear, however, that you do, and that one day you will suffer for it.”

.

.

.

Lena does not wed.

Lord Jackson, who prefers to be called Jack, is a very kind man. He is honorable, and handsome, and though Lena knows she cannot love him, she imagines she can bear this marriage as best she can.

But her father dies before the wedding is set to take place.

Her stepmother, who has never been particularly warm to her new daughter, becomes even colder. She does not want to step down from the throne, but any queen who has just lost their husband is expected to be torn apart with grief and unable to reign any longer; even though that is not nearly the case, Lilian Luthor is counseled to step down lest she gain a reputation as a heartless monarch.

Lena assumes the throne unwed. Her first decree is that she will not wed, for she owes it to herself to find love just as anyone ought to.

“Do not be foolish, Lena,” Lilian says, repeatedly. “You will be assumed weak.”

“I will not marry someone I do not love,” Lena says, and she raises her chin in quiet defiance; Lilian dares not to challenge her, now that she is queen.

“Your foolishness will be your undoing,” Lilian swears, and she storms out of the throne room.

Lena is left with her guards, the two knights she trusts more than anyone else.

“Call for my council,” she tells Clark, who nods at her. “We have much to discuss.”

“Of course, my queen,” Clark says, but before he can move to do so, the doors of the throne room burst open.

Lena rises for that is all she is compelled to do, her jaw slackening in nothing but shock as Kara Danvers enters. She is disheveled, and her blond hair dirtier, longer, but she stands as strongly as she always has.

“Forgive me,” Kara says, immediately ducking into a bow. “Sir Kent, Lord James requests your presence. He says it is a matter of urgency.”

“Kara,” Clark says. “You know you must never enter the palace.”

Kara’s face falls. “I know, Sir,” she says. “I apologize.”

Lena is unable to keep quiet any longer. “Sir Kent,” she says. “Who is this?”

“Apologies, my queen,” Clark says. “This is Kara Danvers, my squire. I will leave with her at once.”

“No,” Lena says, and she looks at Kara, who refuses to meet Lena’s eye. “Please, leave us. I shall talk to your squire alone.”

Clark bows. “Of course,” he says, and he and his fellow knight take their leave; Lena sees him cast a warning glance at Kara as he goes.

Kara does not move any closer. “I apologize, my queen,” she says. “I meant no harm.”

“Kara,” Lena says, stepping down from her throne so that she may be the one to bridge the gap between them. “You needn’t be so formal with me.”

Kara’s jaw tightens. “I would not dare to disrespect you.”

“Are you not still my friend?” Lena asks softly, and Kara looks down.

“I know not, my queen,” she says. “I have not seen you for many winters, now.”

Kara has always been as brilliant as the sun, as warm and inviting as its rays, and Lena has always been unable to resist her. Now, however, she seems more guarded, formal, as though her light has dimmed.

“I received your letters,” Lena says. “I was not permitted to return them.”

Kara’s eyes snap back, as if surprised. “No?” she says. “I feared you had forgotten me.”

“That could never be true,” Lena says. “I have missed you dearly.”

She is shyer than she hopes to be, more hopeful than necessary perhaps, but it is worth it all to see Kara softening, slowly.

“I train to be a knight,” Kara says. “For the sake of the kingdom, as it is my duty. But also,” said quieter, more bashfully, “for you.”

“Oh, Kara,” Lena says, and her heart aches for her friend. “I fear I will be selfish when it comes to you, if that is the case.”

“You are allowed to be selfish,” Kara says, and she gently takes Lena’s hand. “You deserve it, Lena.”

The ��sound of her name, so simple and yet not my queen, is enough to make tears spring forth.

“I have missed you,” Lena says, tearfully. “So very much.”

Kara wraps her arms around her, and it is as comforting as Lena remembers; Kara’s body is a bit leaner, but nothing else has changed.

“I have missed you, too,” Kara breathes against Lena’s neck, and the words make Lena’s heart pound in desperation.

She does not dwell, of course. “Come,” Lena says, untangling herself from Kara and urging her towards her quarters. “You must tell me what has happened since I have been gone.”

Kara smiles. “So long as you return the favor,” she says, and it sounds like a promise; Lena takes Kara’s hand once more.

(This time, she knows she cannot let go.)