Quiver and Crown // KateLena

Cinder

"What if your mother finds out?" Kate asked worriedly, running alongside her best friend through the cavernous palace halls, stone floor cold even through her shoes. "I'm not trying to draw the ire of the Queen."

"She loves you," Yelena responded with a dismissive wave. "Quiet now, we're getting close."

The two girls slowed their run to a creep as the palace kitchen's signature scent of sweets grew stronger. Yelena locked eyes with Kate, mischievous smile on her lips. The blonde perched behind the jagged stones of a hall corner, peaking into the kitchen. Inside, a palace baker pumped out tray after tray of goodies, cinders popping in the stone oven.

"What did Gustav make today?" Kate whispered, too nervous to peak herself. "Blackberry, I hope?"

"Mm, I can't tell. Guess we'll have to get closer." The blonde took her friend's hand, inching toward the door. "Just follow my lead. And don't worry, I'd never let you get into trouble."

Kate nodded and followed Yelena's sneaky footfalls. As the chef turned his back, the young girls rushed into the kitchen, grabbing as many muffins as their small hands and pockets could hold. Hardly containing their giggles, the pair bolted back into the hallway, laughter echoing off the stone walls. Kate rounded a corner, thinking she was home free, when she ran into the firm figure of another person, the impact knocking her back.

"Oof!" Kate said, eyes widening when she saw who she had run into. "Hello, dad..."

"Girls, you know better than this," the tall man said, a frown forming as he saw his daughter's hands filled with muffins. His knight's armor creaked as he knelt down to level with the girls. "You know my favorite is chocolate."

Kate sighed in relief, then launched back into giggles with Yelena as her father's stoic façade faded. He ruffled Kate's hair, standing back to his full height.

Yelena laughed, offering a muffin. "You won't tell on us?"

He took the muffin graciously. "Of course not, Princess! Not when the spoils are shared."

"You're a good knight, Sir Bishop."

Kate's eyes sparkled in admiration as her father nodded and replied, "I try to be, Princess. I try to be."

Kate smiled fondly at the memory as she passed the palace bakery on her way back from training. Clint was not present to spar with, he was far too busy accompanying the Queen everywhere she went, so Kate shot arrows through the heads and chests of canvas dummies to her hearts content. Unbeknownst to her, Princess Yelena watched from a distant balcony as Kate ducked, rolled, fired arrow after arrow in the courtyard. She had to admit- six years ago she could not have imaged Kate becoming so... proficient. And professional.

Deep down it pained Yelena to be so distant from the girl she had yearned for so long ago, but it was better this way, she convinced herself. She was no longer a vulnerable young princess, she was a powerful socialite, a force on her own. Her heart was not a plaything, it was a weapon.

"Yelena," Natasha whispered to her reserved sister, already bored of the delegation that currently attempted to entertain the princesses. "What is it?"

Eyes dark, Yelena whispered back, "what do you mean?"

"You look like you're... plotting."

"I am."

With that ominous answer, Natasha turned back to the royals in her court who chatted animatedly amongst themselves. Her place at the head of the table felt less like her own every day, and she was anxious for the meeting to adjourn. Should she have been more interested in a conversation surrounding the circumstances of her father's death? Yes, probably, but Natasha was not so much concerned with the how as the why. If the King was in fact poisoned, as the nobles theorized, Natasha needed a motive, needed a reason, or a problem, so that she could work on fixing it. Yelena, on the other hand, seemed to not care either way. Sure, Alexei was an objectively terrible father, but he was a decent King, and the stability of Galon may rest on putting the issue to bed. Yelena understood this as well as anybody, and as the meeting dismissed, beelined for one of the few people she had trust in.

"Pietro," Yelena hissed as she knocked at his quarters. "Open up!"

Sleepily, the man opened up his door, hair ruffled. "What is it?" Yelena pushed past him into the room, impatient. She went to close to the door, but he held firm, saying, "you know how that would look."

"Fine," she said, retreating to the farthest corner of the small concrete room. She closed the window, then spun back to face the man. "They're saying poison. That's not what you told me."

"Who do you trust, them or me?"

"You. I think."

"Then relax." Pietro gestured to his cot, and Yelena took in a deep breath before taking a seat, wringing her hands. "I know you're nervous, Yelena, but do you think they're credible? Those nobles throwing out wild theories?" The woman shook her head. "Exactly. Alexei didn't die of any ill intent, I promise you. This won't start another war."

"You'd better hope it doesn't. What do your spies in other provinces say? What is the perception?"

Pietro shushed the woman. "Shh, speak discreetly, Princess. My coworkers say there is no stirring in the other cities, just here. The common people will calm after a few weeks." The man knelt in front of Yelena, taking one of her hands. "They just want someone to blame for the death of their leader. As do you, I think."

At this moment, a wide eyed Kate Bishop screeched to a halt in front of the open door on instinct. She regretted this almost instantly, as both parties inside backed away from each other awkwardly, Pietro scratching the back of his neck, Yelena staring at the floor.

"Your Highness," Kate nodded. "Man whose name I don't remember."

"Pietro," he said, recomposing himself. He offered Yelena a hand and she stood, crossing the door's threshold.

"Do your job," Yelena whispered as she exited, and Pietro nodded gravely. "Now, Kate Bishop, I need you to escort me to my quarters."

"You don't have any other knights assigned to you?" Kate asked as Yelena took her armor clad arm.

"Actually, no," Yelena confessed, walking quickly to keep up with the taller woman's king strides. "There's a lot of uncertainty in the palace these days."

"I can tell."

"How do you mean? What have you heard?"

"Nothing specific, Your Highness. Just what Clint says. The Guild is in disarray, he was asked to be Queen's Guard. That's about it."

Yelena only hummed, expression unreadable.

"How, um..." Kate started, truly looking at her best friend for the first time in years. "How are you?"

The question surprised Yelena; no one else in the palace had really asked. Most were too scared to, others only cared about how she appeared. "I'm fine, thank you."

"So, this Pietro guy..."

"Yes?"

"What's his deal?"

Yelena smirked. Where was she going with this? "Why do you ask?"

"No reason."

The blonde smiled easily, sensing a way to gauge Kate's intentions. "You've gotten tall, Kate Bishop. And this armor... it suits you."

A bit of flirtation was harmless, Yelena justified. Her heart was broken the day Kate told her she was leaving for the Plains. That it would only be a few months, maybe a year. Then six years passed with only a sparse few letters from the other woman. Compared to that heartache, toying with Kate for a moment was incomparable.

"You haven't gotten much taller at all," Kate joked back easily, surprising the blonde. "I don't get it, Yel- Your Highness."

"Get what?"

"You."

"Explain."

"I thought you would be... I don't know, happy to see me? I was excited to come back at first, but now..."

Yelena stopped outside her quarters, letting go of Kate's arm. She brushed her hand over the cold silver armor for a brief moment. "You aren't anything like I expected you to be."

"In a good way?"

Yelena's eyes clouded over, expression once again unreadable. She ignored Kate's question, instead answering, "you left me, Kate Bishop. I loved you, and you left me."