or the one where they were too content and happy so something had to happen
"I do not think I have cared very much for this experience." Kara said softly as she and Lena returned to their rooms for dinner. "It felt like being back at the stadiums for them to look at, as though I were a piece of meat to be used however they liked."
"You do not ever have to do it again, then. Kara, if you had told me how it was making you feel I would have pulled you out of there, immediately." Lena said earnestly, her eyes widening in shock.
"I thought you wanted me to look pretty for the party because I am your responsibility. If I were to look bad it would reflect poorly on you, would it not?" Kara asked, seemingly stunned to see that Lena cared. She hated the younger woman still seemed surprised every time someone was kind to her. Kara mistrusted almost everyone who was not the princess. Even Maggie was still on thin ice.
"Yes, how you look is going to reflect on me and is my responsibility as well, but so is your health and comfort. We protect one another, Kara. That is the deal from now on." Lena cupped Kara's cheek in one hand.
"I can get behind that." Kara said with a nod. "You will protect me politically and socially, etcetera; while I protect you physically." she worked it out aloud.
"Yeah, that is probably going to be just a bit harder for the two of us from here on out." Lena said as they resumed their walk back to their quarters. "Court season is about to begin and the two of us will be surrounded by nobility and their ilk that we know little to nothing about. I am going to be accosted by suitors and forced to host parties. You will have a lot of studying to do over the next few weeks. There are crests to learn to identify, politics to learn, and most importantly, manners fit for the court."
"That all really sounds like my own personal brand of hell." Kara said, her expression seeming taken aback and mildly amused. "You may enjoy your books, histories and dead languages, my lady, but I am a whole other type of person."
Lena could not help but to grin back at her as Kara moved to hold the door to Lena's room open with a sloppy but grand flourish. As soon as the princess began to cross the threshold, Kara caught a flash of movement out of the corner of one eye. She pushed Lena out of the way with her shoulder; knocking the princess to the floor and out of harm's way. The dagger intended for Lena slid with a sick thud into the taut muscle of Kara's shoulder. She bellowed in pain and grabbed the attacker by his ears, using his momentum to slam her knee into his torso.
The impact wrenched her shoulder painfully, but Lena pushed through, yanking the knife free and slicing through the assassin's throat in one smooth movement, before letting him drop onto the stone floor. She held one hand over her wound to put a damper on the bleeding as she stepped into the room again to look for any other potential threats. Kara cleared Lena's room and her own before returning to her charge.
"Lena, my lady, are you hurt? Are you okay?" Kara asked before dropping to her knees heavily beside of the princess, her legs no longer strong enough to hold her up.
"Yes, I am fine. I am safe." Lena reassured her. "You are not though.... actually you are losing a lot of blood. GUARDS! You need a doctor."
"I am okay. I am not leaving you. I have had worse, believe me." Kara said as she propped herself up into a sitting position against the cold stone wall with a sharp wince. The steady thumping of boots on the stone floor alerted them to the arrival of the guards as Lena pressed her handkerchief into the injury to attempt to staunch the bleeding.
"I do not care if you have had worse or not, Kara. I want you to be okay. I definitely do not want you to be getting yourself injured n the line of duty for me. Even if you are meant to be protecting me." Lena said as she finger-combed sweaty blonde hair out of her protector's face.
"We should get her to the doc, okay?" one of the guards said, trying to peel the princess away from Kara.
"Get your hands off of me." Lena growled at him. "I go where she does."
"Keep people on her at all times, boys. We do not know when or if someone will make another attempt on the princess's life. If one hair on her head is disturbed while I am not there to do anything about it, I will rip you all limb from limb." Kara threatened, despite her sweating profusely and being helped on her feet between two very awed men.
All three of the men that Kara's pained blue eyes had been staring down seemed sufficiently cowed despite her injuries. Lena knew they recognized Kara and were aware of her very specific skill set. If anything were to harm her, Lena knew Kara would make good on her threats. She had every confidence she would remain perfectly safe so long as Kara was the one in charge of her care.
"Someone needs to clean this up and it is not going to be me." Lena gestured coldly to the dead man on her bedroom floor. "He was wearing one of our uniforms. Someone go and get my brother. This was an inside job."