"We'll be expected to have breakfast in the main hall. The Elders will most likely be there. There will probably be some discussion about some matter or another. Then my father, Ching, and I will go to the main receiving hall. Once a week, we hear petitions from the commoners and lesser nobles. Depending on how many we have, we could be there all day. So I won't see you for lunch. We'll all be together again at dinner, then the rest of the night we'll all get some free time."

"So...I'm expected to do...what, exactly?"

"Nothing," Kal said.

"Jai isn't a full-blooded prince, and therefore can never ascend to the throne. The law doesn't explicitly forbid him from hearing petitions, but the Elders frown on his presence. So he almost never sits in with us. And Zara is a woman. The law actually does forbid her to sit in on the petitions."

"That's ridiculous!" she said, fairly fuming. "She'll be the Supreme Lord's wife one day, when Ching ascends the throne."...
"I know. And I agree. But the way that the laws are now, Zara will never have any true power. Ching and I both hate it. Our hope is to one day change the laws. We'd like to see equality...for men and women, for trueborn children and those who aren't."

"Why...why are you telling me all of this?" Lois looked at Kal as though she thought his confessions suspicious.

"You're my wife, whether you and I like this marriage or not. You are my equal. From the moment that I said my vows, I also pledged to withhold no secrets from you. Lois, I want you to know everything there is to know about me. I don't want you to feel like there's a part of me that is hidden from you. And, I need you to know all of my plans, my thoughts, my beliefs, my hopes for Krypton's future. There is a very real possibility that we'll never find a loophole to get out of this contract that our fathers forged. And one day, I will be helping Ching run this planet. I can't do that without all of the support that I can get. My hope is that we can be friends, and that I'll have your support when I need it. You've proven to me just now that you hold some of the same ideals that I do."

Kal found himself more intrigued by his wife than ever before. Before, he'd only found himself attracted to her looks. Now, perhaps, he could find himself attracted to her mind too.

Ah, Lois. Thou thinkest!

Sounds fun, not. Poor Kal and Ching.

Awwwwwwwwwwwww.

She can smile?

And I bet he looked adorable too.

Why exactly not? Is there a law against noble women yelling at the Supreme Lord? Yeah, probably. Disliking this society.

Sure, why not? It couldn't be worse than watching the video monitor. At least it was live entertainment.

Hmmmm. Where have I see that quote before???

Or was he just grasping at imaginary straws?

Duh! "You've got the bed, I've got the couch. You won that in the noble divorce settlement remember?"

Good choice. He's learning.

Wow, sounds equally... yawn... exciting.

Again... not really loving Krypton, here.

"Ewwww! I hate it when that husband of mine talks all mushy!" Kal is one big 'ol, nice sweetie, isn't he?

Women are allowed minds in this society?

Thank goodness for minor miracles!

Why did I read this whole passage as if on eggshells wondering when Lois was going to show up and protest her forced marriage to the Prince? I'm surprised she didn't show. She must have gotten lost.

The Wonder Twins?! Do they have a pet monkey named Zeke? (Sorry, I've been watching a lot of Superfriends this week.)

Inspector Henderson!

Gen Arry? The only one I could think of is Ari = Arianna Carlin, but I'm doubting Lux's first wife (now deseased) ever would have been made a General.

Lightbulb moment!

I'm a sucker for corn!

Kal? Jai, maybe, but Kal? Nope, sorry, I don't see it. <<this one was too corny for even me, sorry>>

I thought they only did room service, not take out?

Oooooh, now, this sounds like a fun plan!

What? That's it? I have to wait four more days for more? Argh! Fine, I'll go work on my own stories...

Well, I *could* have left you with only *one* chapter tonight!

Now go. Work. I wanna read some fics!

Kal was still asleep on the couch. The blankets were half hanging off him and he lay sprawled on his stomach. His head was turned to one side, though the pillow had fallen to the floor. Fasa was laying stretched out on Kal's upper back, and his head was resting on Kal's exposed cheek. Neither of them stirred at Lois' presence in the room. Fasa's paw twitched once or twice, as did his nose, but he was only engrossed in a dream.

And any man that would allow an animal to sleep on his face like that couldn't be all bad, could he? At the very least, she was now sure that Kal hadn't lied to her. It was obvious that the cat hadn't been some ploy to get her to trust him.

How could he ensure that they continued to have peaceful exchanges? Would breakfast be any less awkward than dinner had been the night before? Had there been some turning point for Lois, where she had decided not to act as if Kal was the bad guy?

"Jai isn't a full-blooded prince, and therefore can never ascend to the throne. The law doesn't explicitly forbid him from hearing petitions, but the Elders frown on his presence. So he almost never sits in with us. And Zara is a woman. The law actually does forbid her to sit in on the petitions."

She'd trap Kal in his lie that he never visited the concubines. She'd keep an eye out. If Kal continued to disappear, she would start to shadow his movements at night and expose him for that cad that he was. Smiling to herself for the first time in weeks, Lois dropped off to sleep.

Thank you for posting two. Sorry, did I forget to mention that? I was too busy reading and commenting.

Be careful what you wish for! My new dark drama (or dark comedy, depending on the sickness of your humor) starts posting Monday. (And a little bit of fluff made it in time for April 1st! )

Aaaaawwwwwwww! And side-point: Kal is lucky. I was watching my uncle's cat for 2 weeks and at one point he tried to do this to me- only the butt end was on my face. Stupid cats.

Yes, Lois. Fasa is not your nemesis. Now let it go.

RED ALERT! RED ALERT! MAD DOG ON THE WAR PATH!

There you go, Kal! Smart move- you should always agree with Lois. And then, just to be safe, run before she questions you.

I repeat: Aaaaawwwww! Kal woke up on the right side of the couch this morning, and so far has seemed to have all the right answers.

Took the second read through to catch, but: Bill!

DING DING DING! We have a winner!

I love cheese. And corn. And cheesy corn. That fulfills my requirements.

But he's not, Lois. Really, he's not. He's not lying, or cheating, or anything of the sort. Just being brutally honest with you.

Another great chapter. Since you were nice and gave us *two* chapters, I suppose I can be nice and wait for Thursday to come instead of griping for more. Hope you finish writing soon!

Originally posted by Sydney:
Two chapters! What a day!
Yes, Lois needs to talk to Zara (and to Marthe?).
Still enjoying the story.

Originally posted by MrsLuthor:
Very refreshing to see Lois POV. Sooooo funny that she wants to stalk Kal, even if it is to find dirt in him. That foot in her mouth is going to be mighty tasty

Originally posted by Lara Joelle Kent:
Soo great! And two chapters at once, you're spoiling us. (Or you just took one chapter and divided it, as some kind of April Fool's joke? Might even help with the black SUVs following you around.)

I'm so looking forward to Lois investigating Kal. Lois, Investigative Princess. (We once had a story on the dark side with Lois as an investigative concubine, too. When Galaxies Divide, wasn't it?)

Originally posted by Laurach:
Thanks for the double chapters.At least it is less depressing then before. Do I see hope coming in the near future. How come she hasn't noticed how beautiful he is physically? Is she blind? Laura

Originally posted by Lara Joelle Kent:
@DC: *hint* There's also a g-fic version on the archive...

Originally posted by angelsgmaw:
Well, it seems that no matter what setting a story is in, Kal/Clark is gentle and caring, and Lois pretends to be hard-nosed and uncaring. If she would just learn to leave the hard edges off, she would learn that her husband was one of the best things to happen to her. But, true to the Lois mold, she has to learn the hard way and have ulcers trying to make it the way she wants it to end (supposedly.)

Good story, Vicki. I love that you have Fasa as his best friend, his brothers caring about his tender heart, and his Father afraid for his son who is so good with everyone, but misunderstood by the one person who should have realized he was a good guy. I am enjoying this story. I know eventually they will get together, but I am enjoying the ride to get to that point.

Pat

On The Long Road, Take Small Steps

"It wouldn't be proper to show up late."

Before, he'd only found himself attracted to her looks.

Now, perhaps, he could find himself attracted to her mind too.

He wanted to tell Lois this.

They were a harsh, warlike race of beings.

but Lois claimed a headache and headed back to her rooms.

Wasn't that part of what female friendships were about?

Telling each other things that they would never tell a man?

A silver bell was struck,

As usual, the noblemen and noblewomen were the first to have their petitions heard. Kal always disliked this part of the process. All of the nobles had such petty problems.

This lord broke his oath to send money to that lady's cause.

Why did I read this whole passage as if on eggshells wondering when Lois was going to show up and protest her forced marriage to the Prince?

This lord accused that lord of cheating while dueling.

This lady sought a way to ensure that that lord pledged his son to marry her daughter.

The commoners were the ones who usually truly needed the help.

There were always disputes over land boundaries or those seeking justice against some thief.

Occasionally, there were impassioned pleas for work.

His parents, he said, were dead, and he had a twin sister to look after

"We could train him to join the palace security," Kal said to his father.

"You know that Bilan Hend'son could always use more on his staff.

So, this chapter will be from Lois’s POV? /expects lots of complaining to be going on. The bed is too soft. There’s a pea in the bed. The water is too hot. The water is too cold. Kal doesn’t want me. …

Umm… ‘heart’? Doesn’t one have to have one in the first place…?

That would be fun

Conjugal rites (sic)?

“I have a great audio-visual training course on how to be a concubine in the bedroom”?

They’re the smart ones?

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Although, can you imagine a woman like Lois hearing petitions? She’d likely blow a gasket over the first husband complaining that his wife objected to the concubine staying the night in their bedroom.

That’s gonna upset the labor market. And the concubine situation. /imagines lots of riots in the planet’s future/

Like the politicians do today? A very democratic practice

They could always say that they got ‘delayed’?

“Look, Lois. I’m not sure how best to phrase this, so I’ll put it straight: At first I thought that you just had a rockin’ bod’ and I mean *wowza!* But now, I mean, who’d have thought that there’s actually something going on behind those cute doe-eyes of yours?” Hmm… yes, that should work, right?

So, that’s how Krypton’s gonna blow up?

No. It’s sleepovers in frilly nighties and pillow fights.

“So, did Kal already try <insert nfic part here> with you? … No? … Poor girl. I’ll have to mention it to Ching so he explains it to Kal.”

/imagines really tiny bell. Like something tied around a cat’s neck/

Actually, their problems are of the utmost importance.

*sigh* That’s why you have the customer pay *first* before you let him to do his business with your concubine.

This reminds me, are women allowed to petition the court? And if so, *why*?

Dress the daughter up like a concubine, send her to the son’s chambers and have things progress naturally until the daughter’s pregnant. Then have a shotgun wedding.

Jak?

Huh, who does that remind me off?

I hear sex can be a perfect outlet. I’m sure Kal would volunteer to be a stranger for her to have meaningless sex with a stranger.

/waits for Lois to see sweaty Kal/

So, since there’s an abundance in story parts on the boards, I’ll allow for the delay till Thursday. Which means, only *two* of the black SUVs are courtesy of Carmichael Industries. Well, my contract, at least. Don’t know about the rest, though.

Originally posted by rkn:
I'd be happy to follow Kal at night to save Lois the bother. Watching him work out is not going to help her get any sleep!

Originally posted by Morgana:
OK, all that is nice, but:

When is the next installment!!!

Yes, but it does count, even if it's at the center of a glacier in Lois' chest.

Yeah, it sucks to be among the lowest portion of the 1%.

That might prompt inappropriate comments from Jai.

Followed by...bonding time?

Silly Darth! Only galaxies go on cat collars!

Yes, because it's not *that* backwards of a society.

(once Arya gets to be of legal age, that is)?

Sssshh...don't ruin anything. I'm only just finishing Clash of Kings.

Like a frozen mammoth?

They could organize an occupy protest? Well, pay their servants to protest by occupying.

You mean once her first moon's blood is upon her? Still a good 3 years or so to go.

There is a high probability we'll see some bits of Storm of Swords in S2.

Yes, that's what I meant. Uh-huh.

/thinks about making them an even 20/

Ah, two chapters. What a treat!

Excellent story! Keep up the good work.