Chapter Text
At the ripe age of eleven years old, Kara Zor-El was dragged away from her home.
The isle Krypton was far off and secluded. Tall beautiful forests surrounded the expansive island from every angle, allowing them to have privacy but also safety. The people there, the Kryptonians, were a close knit and hearty people. They relied on themselves and the land for survival. They were masterful huntsmen and fishermen, able to feed their ever growing population easily. They also had a small guild of military because as much as they were secluded, others were curious. Only a few trusted traders came in or out, and travelers were few and far between as their leaders had to allow for passage. They were ruled under a council with Alura In-Ze and Zor-El at the head. The leader had been born into the bloodline, taking up the mantle after her parents eventual passing, marrying Zor-El in the years to come. They ruled with a soft but firm hand, the generations of Kryptonian hardships before them allowing for their reign to be a calm and peaceful one.
Until the night of the slaughter.
Alura came crashing through the door, sweat dripping from her brow as she scanned the room with wild eyes. Her quick breathing fell into a sigh of relief, watching as a small body tucked itself further under her bed upon the intrusion. Swift footsteps brought her to the side of the mattress where she dropped down to her knees and offered her hand to the small girl. Big cerulean eyes caught her gaze as the young girl climbed out from under the wooden bedpost. Her mother pulled her close to her chest, her chin quivering as she held her daughter. “Jeju what is happening? I heard s-shouts and…” she trailed off, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
“We have to get you to safety, that is all that matters,” The dark haired woman spoke assuredly, her eyes scanning around the room, growing big as she caught sight of the wardrobe. She jumped to her feet, barely giving time for Kara to react as she pulled the girl's arm behind her. She rummaged through the clothes, feeling content as she grabbed a pair of ratty brown breeches and a dirty white tunic. “Put them on.” She gave no room for questions as she pushed the said clothing into her daughter's arms and moved around the room. Kara stared only a moment at the clothes in her hands before she did so dutifully. Once she was donned in the garments, leaving the fine nightgown in a pool at her feet. Her mother ran frantically around the room, stuffing different things into her brown satchel, leaving Kara to stand petrified as the sounds outside crept closer. Shouts of terror and yells of pain could be heard outside the quiet house, the echoes bouncing off the walls before settling deep in the young girl’s bones. Her mother stood quickly from the corner of the room and she marched to Kara. Upon noticing the discarded nightgown, she was quick to throw it in the wardrobe before locking the cabinet and pulling Kara to the door
“I—I do not understand, who is it that would attack us?” She questioned softly as Alura slowly peaked her head out from the door. Though the princess was young, she was not dimwitted.
“I will tell you everything later inah, but not now. Now is the time for us to get as far away as possible.”
“Bu-but jeju...where is ukr?” Alura took on a dark look, her forehead slightly knocking against the wood of the door. She took a calming breath before looking down at her daughter.
“He is protecting us, he is to meet us where I am taking you.” Kara nodded, her lip tucked between her teeth as she looked at her mother. Alura put a finger to her lips before grabbing Kara’s hand and pulling them out of the room.
The dark hallway allowed for them to be able to move swiftly to the back of the house, each squatted low with their backs pressed to the wall. The queen never let go of her hand, checking over their shoulder every once in a while. As they reached the back door, Kara’s eyes widened. Outside was nothing short of chaos and she felt her throat close up around the knot that was forming.
The forests surrounding their settlement were lit ablaze, flames seeped from limb to limb, encircling them in a massive ring of fire. Their huts were quick to catch, the straw and wood being no match for the angry inferno. The orange hue of the night was a stark comparison to the usual darkness that was lit only by the moon. She watched in abject terror as the people she had known all her life were being slaughtered by the second. Their people were strong and fought back tirelessly but they were no match to the mere number of men they were coming from the trees. Countless bodies littered the village; some she sadly recognized, but most unrecognizable due to the amount of blood and mutilation. She felt bile rise in her throat, causing her to take a gasping breath as tears fell down her reddened cheeks. Alura quickly grabbed the girl and tucked her head into her body.
“Do not watch. They are with Rao now.” They stayed low as they managed to reach the tree line without anyone noticing.
Once in the safety of the trees, Alura was quick to pull Kara onto her back and break into a sprint. Brown hair whipped at her face, her mother running with all her might to get away from the madness. She could not help but look over her shoulder, the only world she had ever known left in a burning blaze as they ran for safety. Trees zipped past them, it all becoming a blur of green and brown, making Kara lay her head on her mothers back and close her eyes. After a while, the only noises she could hear was the forest in all of its glory, and the soft panting of her mother. The tired woman never faltered though, jumping over fallen trees and holding onto Kara’s crossed arms around her neck.
The young blonde did not know how long it was before they reached the far boundary, trees coming to a stop and the shore in their sight. She felt her mother let out a sigh of relief.
Just on the edge of the island, rocking slightly as the waves crashed against it sat, a single rowboat. Her head perked up, they could get off the island. Alura lowered slightly, allowing for the girl to climb off her. The queen kept an eye on the trees behind them, making sure they were not followed. Kara sprinted towards the boat, her bare feet kicking up a mix of dirt and sand as she got closer to the shore. She was just about to make contact with a boat when her ears perked to the sound of something whizzing towards her at an alarming rate. She made herself slam back, falling into a heap in the sand as an arrow nestled itself in the strong oak wood. She was quick to turn over on her belly and crawl to all fours, her eyes snapping from the direction of the arrow.
“Inah!” her mother yelled as she ran towards the girl quickly putting herself between her daughter and the three quickly approaching men. They ran from the tree line in sleek silver armor from their feet to their heads. Kara circled the boat and placed herself on the opposite side, using it as cover. Alura pushed her up and into the boat, “Get down!” she called as the young girl was tossed between the seats. She curled into a ball, her knees tucked to her chest as she heard the men quickly approaching.
“Yield and we will let you live!” She heard a deep voice call, and Kara felt her nose snarl, and as much as she wanted to stand up and see what was happening, she obeyed her mother and stayed in the ball.
“It is too late for that,” she heard her mother respond. Then it went eerily quiet for a moment.
“It is over, your king is dead. No need in fighting now,” Kara felt her breath leave her lungs, a hand coming to her mouth as a choked sob threatened to spill out.
“You liar!” Alura growled out, but Kara heard the fear in her voice. The fear that her mate and the father to her child was dead.
“His head is being taken back on a pike, I have no need to lie!” There was a moment of silence before another gravelly voice spoke up.
“They are too proud of creatures to yield, let us kill her and her pup like the rest!” Her mother said nothing in return, but Kara heard it. She heard the sounds of a low growl, then all her bones snapping simultaneously. They were as good as dead now. Her mother was the strongest wolf in all of their village; her family had not been the pack leaders for generations with no reason.
From inside the boat she did not know for sure what was happening, but she knew that her mother was giving them a fight. She listened on as the sounds of a steel meeting beast and teeth meeting metal. Growls and snaps of the wolf's jaw was hard to miss. Shaking her head, the young girl gathered her courage before peeking over the side, a triumphant quirk of her lips as she watched the large brown wolf jump over a powerful swing of a blade and pounce on one of the men. Claws clanged against steel, making three large scratches through the man's chest plate, blood seeping from the gashes. He fell to his knees, the sword dropping from his hand as the wolf dug its snout between the helmet and armor, a spray of blood erupting from his neck. The large beast turned on its heel, snapping its jaw and licking at its blood covered snout. Large yellow eyes flickered between the last two men, and Kara could swear that she saw it smirk as it ran forward.
One of the men panicked to notch an arrow in his bow as the other dove to the side, out of the animal’s path. Steel armor, no matter the quality or making, was no match as the wolf turned her head sideways and snapped its jaw on either side of his body and bit down. The metal of the armor bent inwards and by the shrieks of pain that escaped his mouth, she knew had dealt a critical blow. As the man was discarded, blood pooling from his mouth as he lay on his side, the wolf zeroed in on the last survivor. The man was quick to turn and run towards the trees, but the sand below his feet bested the clunky armor, and made his fearful strides less and less effective. The wolf did not even run, just stalked forward with its head low as it advanced with long powerful strides. He screamed as he turned and faced her in fear, the shadow cast from the moonlight swallowing him. Blue eyes looked away as the giant wolf towered the man and bit down.
Swiftly the wolf turned back to the boat, the headless body falling into the patchy grass with a thump. Big yellow eyes watched her the whole time as it came closer, but Kara stood tall from where she stood at the bow of the boat. As the beast got close enough to touch, she whined softly, causing Kara to reach out and touch the spot between its eyes. Brown fur threaded between her fingers, causing the wolf to close its eyes and hum in response. She had never seen her mother’s wolf form before, as she was too young to have been granted her first transformation from Rao; The change took place on the full moon following their thirteenth name day. She felt strong as she gripped lightly at the fur, the beast seemingly longing for the touch. Kara mirrored her mothers action, a sense of peace filling her body.
But all too soon it was broken.
A deafening howl ripped from the wolf's chest, sending it backwards with its might. The pained wolf fell to its side, a deep whine coming from the animal. Yellow eyes clouded with tears as she turned and faced the woods. Kara wanted to jump down, offer her mother any form of comfort she could, but she did not understand. There was seemingly nothing wrong with the writhing wolf, no blood or physical damage from what the girl could see. Kara stood on the bow, eyes frantically looking from the trees where she could see the smoke just over the canopy and back to her mother. The beast cried and cried, pawing at the sand. “Jeju! What is happening? Get in the boat we have to wait on ukr!” She motioned in a frenzied state, willing her mother to transform back and join her.
After an eerily quiet minute, the wolf slowly rose back to full height. Kara could see the tears and blood matting together on the light brown coat. Alura cautiously limped forward, a soft whine could still be heard as she stood at height with Kara. The beast nuzzled into her daughter's arms, the awaiting girl gripping at the fur. The soft moment lasted only a couple of minutes before they were broken apart.
The wolf snapped its eyes open, and used her muzzle to push Kara down into the boat. Not a second later an arrow went whizzing past, right where the girl’s head had been. Blue eyes scanned the tree line, dread filling her as she watched a small army come barreling through. The wolf seemed to think only for a moment before turning and looking at Kara in her eyes. A low whine escaped her before she ducked her head and started pushing the boat off of the shore. Kara, who had just regained her balance, was rocked backwards once more with the force of the boat.
“Jeju! What are you doing? Get in the boat!” She tried crawling towards the front, but was continuously knocked back, the wolf following into the ocean to push the vessel deeper. The wolf only pushed harder at her call, sending Kara almost overboard with the force of the shove. “I cannot do this without you! Jump in!” Wet bloodshot eyes bore into the big yellow of her mother, begging her to get in. The wolf only howled softly as the water began to rise past its shoulders. Instead of jumping in, it turned and used its back legs to offer the last powerful push, sending Kara and the boat far off the shore.
“Jeju!” she screamed as the beast swam back toward the shore, the infantry waiting with weapons drawn.
Thinking fast, she grabbed at the oars and tried rowing them back to land. She would not let her mother go like this. They already took her father, they could not have her as well. She had never rowed a boat before and her arms were barely long enough to reach both of the ores, let alone get any type of strength behind them, but she tried. She growled as tears riddled her cheeks, trying with all her might to get back to her. With the waves hitting her, she could only catch a few glimpses of the shoreline, watching as her mother was circled by prodding swords and torches. She yelled out exasperatedly as the rowing did not seem to do anything, she was still going far too quickly in the opposite direction. She looked at the boat for a moment before looking at how far she was from land. She could make that if she swam. She discarded her satchel, stood and went to jump off the side, only for a surprised scream to leave her lips. Below the water's surface she watched with wide eyes as a woman’s face slowly became visible. Long dark hair was the first to break the water’s surface, making Kara jump back and fall to the other side of the vessel. Slowly the woman crept over the side of the boat, a sad smile giving way as she crossed her arms and hung on to the side of the boat.
“Do not fear, we are here to get you to safety,” she spoke in an eerily silky smooth voice, which immediately put the young girl at ease.
“B-but my jeju—” she hiccupped, her eyes looking to where she could see the island in the distance. The shoreline was a blur, but she could still see the small group, the light from their torches to allow her to see their position. “You have to take me back to her! She needs my h-help,” her words cut off in the end, the sob that was caught in her throat finally coming free. The woman’s eyes softened as she reached forward, her hand seemingly calling Kara to her.
“She asked us to get you to safety and as a friend of the wolf queen I cannot take you back there, I am sorry young one.” Kara crept forward, allowing the woman’s hand to come into contact with her face. She leaned into the touch as she cried, sobs wracking the small frame. As she wept, she let the soft hand of the stranger comfort her; that was when she heard the humming start. Her eyes almost immediately began to droop. She leaned more into the touch, the woman’s hand rubbing soothing circles at her temple. “It is alright Kara Zor-El you are safe now.”