For Glory

“Ah.” Kate just barely managed to stop herself from barreling into Yelena’s back.

“What’s wrong?”

“It seems my mother got to the housekeepers before I could.” The Princess said simply before strolling further into the room.

She traipsed over to the large Queen-sized bed, plucking up a bowl from the small table opposite and flopping into a sit at the foot end. Her absence from the doorway gave Kate the chance to look around the room.

A trail of red and gold rose petals created a path to the bed, which was also covered in a heap of them. Candles were lit and placed on the bedside tables and drawers, their light the only one brightening the room, tinting it a dull orange. The large curtains for the window just opposite the bed had been drawn preemptively. Clearly to protect against being seen as they were . . .

“Ah.” Kate managed.

Yelena made no move to acknowledge the reaction, plucking a chocolate covered strawberry from the bowl and indulging.

After a few seconds of hovering near the door and fidgeting with her fingers, Kate forced her feet to carry her over to the bed. Stiffly perching herself at the edge of the bed.

With nothing else to do, Kate looked down to the floor. Her rough leather boots contrasted starkly with the soft white of Yelena’s bare feet.

In the span of one day, she had been stabbed, won the ‘unwinnable’ tournament, killed a man and been wed to a woman she’d never met.

All in all, today had been quite eventful.

“So,” Kate spoke, because she had to before she started spiralling. “What do we do now?”

“Well, if we were to follow the wishes of the King and Queen, now would be the time you sweep me off of my feet and deflower me upon our marital bed, making your empire proud.”

The mocking, deadpan tone of voice did little to prevent Kate’s cheeks from turning pinker and pinker with every word.

Endearing, Yelena noted, a small smirk rising on her face.

While there hadn’t been a winner of the Tournament for many a year, there had been a multitude of Challengers. Enough so that Yelena could easily characterize them.

The majority were brutish, barbaric and crude. All commoners, of course, so uncivilized behavior was to be expected, but Yelena wasn’t deaf to the insults and innuendos they would make about her.

It seemed that despite her impressive feat and show of mercilessness, Kate was surprisingly meek. Surprisingly gentle.

“Is that- I mean, you know- are you wanting. . . that?”

“No.” The Princess spoke flatly, “Why? Were you expecting something different, Kate Bishop?”

“No! Not at all!” Kate replied quickly. Suspiciously quickly, she realized after a moment. “If that’s not something you’re, you know, uhh, wanting, then I absolutely would hate to- to ask that of you.”

Before Yelena could get a word out, Kate continued to dig herself into a hole. “Not that I want to! I mean, we- we really don’t know each other all that well, so, you know, obviously I- I wasn’t expecting . . . And- and that’s not to say I don’t want to! I mean, wow, you’re- you look beautiful and- and anyone would be lucky to have this, uhh, ‘opportunity’. But I’m not saying that to pressure you or anything! I’m just saying that I would love to, but- but not really. But I would if you wanted to! But-“

Yelena couldn’t help herself. A snort slipped through her thinly masked expression, before opening the floodgates to full bodied laughter. Laughter that loosened the tightly wrapped tension in Kate’s shoulders and deflating her like a balloon as she was openly poked fun at.

Taking a few deep breaths, Kate closed her eyes and counted back from ten, composing herself. An effort made much more difficult by the cackling of the Princess in the background.

“What I’m trying to say is,” She finally managed once the last of Yelena’s laughter quietened. Calmer, cooler, and much more coherent. “I only wish to do whatever you want of me.”

For some reason, those words or the tone in which Kate spoke them, made the idea of consummation seem more bearable than Yelena had prior thought.

“I appreciate that, Kate Bishop.” In exchange for the admission, for the kindness not usually found in those in Kate’s position, Yelena opted out of further teasing. Offering only the truth.

With that, she stood and began to round her way to the head of the bed to peel back the blankets.

Sonya had already helped her change into her sleeping garments, and she was just about ready to end her first day of impromptu marriage.

As if struck, Kate scrambled off the bed to stand. Awkwardly looking away as Yelena crawled beneath the covers.

“I- I can sleep on the chair, or the lounge if you would prefer, Your Highness.”

“Kate Bishop, the estate has over a dozen sleeping quarters on this floor alone, why would you condemn yourself to a chair?”

“Ah. That makes sense.” Kate muttered mostly to herself before calling out. “I shall go find one of them then.”

“Wait,” Kate halted immediately. Still unsure, she slowly turned around to face Yelena’s furrowed brow. “The servants here belong to my family, meaning they have no allegiance to me. They will surely report back to my parents if you sleep elsewhere.”

The Champion blinked, shifting nervously on her feet as cogs and gears turned fervently in Yelena’s head.

“Sleep here. At least until we reach a more neutral position.”

It wasn’t a question. The demand was punctuated by a few taps to the opposite side of the bed and Kate did what she did whenever a stunning older woman gave her an order.

She carried herself on stiff legs all the way to the bed, sitting rigidly at the edge. Taking a deliberately excessive amount of time to remove her boots before hesitantly, and all too softly, sliding under the covers.

As if on cue, three knocks rapped against the door. In stepped a maid, her gaze respectfully averted.

“Your Highness, would you like me to remove the candles?”

Yelena simply waved her hand in an ambiguous motion.

“Yes, please,” Kate sensed the confusion in the maid and offered her the direct answer. She watched relief flood the young woman before she began to putter around, blowing out the fires. “Thank you.”

The room grew dimmer and dimmer, as each flickering little fire was extinguished until the room was completely dark, and after the maid departed, closing the door behind her, the room was bathed in only moonlight from the small crack of the curtain.

Kate sat tensely for a few long moments before carefully sliding down to lay her head on the pillow. If Yelena was bothered by the movement, she gave no indication.

All that echoed through the room was silence. So deathly quiet that Kate’s breathing felt all too loud. She purposely slowed her breaths in an attempt to quiet them, but it did little to unravel the ball of nerves that within her stomach.

While Kate had always managed to befriend most everyone she’d met, she had little experience in romance or courting. It had never been of interest to her. All the men that tried never intrigued her with more than a friendly fascination, so she always turned them down.

She believed that in time, she would find the right person, but she already had too much on her plate to even entertain a courtship.

Her lack of experience never really occurred to her. Not until this moment.

A scoff made Kate flinch, breaking her from her thoughts. Yelena propped herself up on her elbow to look down at Kate with a less than amused expression.

“You cannot be comfortable there, Kate Bishop. You are halfway off the bed.”

It was true. Kate was very aware of the fact that her left arm and leg was hovering over the edge and she had been dreading keeping them tense all night to avoid embarrassing herself once more.

“I don’t mind.” She lied.

With a roll of her eyes and a surprising amount of strength, Yelena tugged Kate further into the centre of the mattress. The Champion could do little else but helplessly cooperate with the efforts, finding herself in an, albeit much more comfortable position, but one where she felt she was taking up far more space than she deserved.

Yelena huffed once she was finished, before turning over and lying down once more.

Kate thought that was the end of that, and she could go back to her musings, but Yelena spoke once more.

“It is very clear you did not take part in the tournament to be wed.”

Not a question, and Kate debated a response for a few moments.

“I . . .” Yelena hadn’t moved from her position, curled up on the opposite side of the bed. A glance over made Kate think she had imagined the question, with how still the Princess lay. “I did not.”

Then Kate winced, remembering Clint’s scolding about short answers. ‘If your issue is being strangers, you’ll never fix it without sharing more.’

“I mainly took part because of the prize money. ‘Double your weight in gold and much more’ sounds great to someone who spent the day prior searching for work in an attempt to keep from going hungry. I- not that I’m unhappy being married to you, but I was honestly just hoping for enough funds to start a new life somewhere else.”

All she received in response was a low hum, and Kate cursed Clint in her head for his faulty advice.

Or maybe it’s because you just told your wife you didn’t want to marry her.

Damn it. Even in her head, Clint’s logic was sounder than her own.

Kate waited for a few moments to see if Yelena would respond. Then a few more, then more. After what had been a good half hour lying awake, staring at the ceiling, Kate resolved to try get some sleep.

She turned over, softly, carefully, just in case the Princess had fallen into slumber while Kate had been waiting. Then she hesitated.

“G-good night, Your Highness.” It was barely a whisper, imperceptible, but it soothed the anxious feeling in Kate’s tummy of leaving the conversation open ended.

And as Kate closed her eyes in one of many fruitless attempts to fall asleep, in her head she heard the faint sounds of a Russian accent echoing the words.

————————————-

Yelena awoke the minute Kate began to stir in her sleep.

it must have been an unholy hour, seeing as the moon was still high in the sky and there was nothing but silence in the air. 

She knew she was a light sleeper, so the second her spouse began to squirm and wriggle she decided to gather one of the ornate knives from her collection and began to sharpen it while she waited for Kate to settle.

It wasn’t as annoying as it should have been.

Yelena could scarcely imagine the consequences that would befall any maid who stirred her from sleep, or the wrath she would unleash if her sister dared to disturb her. She knew she was a light sleeper, she had been since she was a girl, but still, anyone who dared to even risk waking her would find themselves receiving the brunt of her ire.

This time though, instead of being angry when she was awoken, it had been simple indifference. Yes it erred more so on the side of annoyance, seeing as no one would be happy to be disturbed. But it was less of an irritation than what it would be usually.

Maybe Yelena subconsciously pitied the Champion. She had been through a lot the prior day, and bore the injuries to prove it. Maybe Yelena felt a little guilty at the fact that she was one of the Empire’s subjects and she was starving, a direct admission to what Yelena feared was going on amongst her people.

Maybe she took pity on her, seeing how her brow had furrowed in her sleep and tiny little noises escaped her every now and then, a clear indicator of a bad dream. Maybe Yelena was simply growing soft. 

Either way, she continued to near silently sharpen her blades in a methodical manner. That was until Kate let out a soft whimper.

While it was still quiet, it was louder than the rest of the small sounds she had been omitting and it drew Yelena’s gaze to her lithe form upon the bed. 

Kate’s face was scrunched and she began to toss and turn with a higher frequency. Her breathing began to quicken, reaching a crescendo of hyperventilation in mere seconds. 

Concern filled the Princess before she could begin to question why, and she found herself laying her blade on the small table and approaching the bed to observe the Champion.

“. . .” She opened her mouth, but nothing left it. It felt wrong to even speak at such a quiet hour, but Yelena simply wet her lips and tried again. “Kate Bishop?” She whispered.

No response. Yelena tried again to no avail.

Her hand hovered for a moment, just over Kate’s shoulder before pressing down and giving the Champion a gentle shake.

A heavy flinch, a loud heaving gasp as Kate shot upwards, her hand clutching Yelena’s wrist in a deathly firm grip. The Princess startled at the abrupt movement, before shock waned and indignation remained at such a rough hold. How dare she-

Dragging her eyes from where Kate’s hand strangled her wrist, Yelena’s ire faded once more to worry as Kate regarded her with wide, panicked eyes. 

Her chest was heaving rapidly up and down. Choked, rapid breaths escaped her. 

Kate’s grip tightened on Yelena’s wrist, pulling the Princess from her thoughts and back into the present. She was gasping now, clearly panicking as her free hand began to press shakily at her throat.

There were very few times in her life where Yelena was at a loss for what to do. Now was one of them.

Her eyes flickered between her wrist caught in Kate’s ever-tightening grip, and the panicked expression she wore that was slowly infecting Yelena’s own.

Like a bird barrelling into a pane of glass, memories of Kate’s face in the arena came careening into her mind.

Right now, in this moment, Kate wore the same expression she did when she thought she was about to die.

That thought made Yelena’s panic soar even higher.

”Kate Bishop,” She tried, “Kate Bishop, take deep breaths. Breathe.” 

It didn’t work. Of course it didn’t. If it was that easy to ‘just breathe’ she’d already be doing it.

In one fluid motion, Yelena swung her leg over Kate’s so she straddled her lap. Etiquette and decorum be damned. 

She brought up her free hand to gently, ever so softly, press over Kate’s panicked expression, covering her eyes. Yelena felt more than saw Kate’s face contort ever so slightly in confusion, still rampant in panic. Her grip also grew a fraction softer.

”There’s no one else here, Kate Bishop. It’s just me and you.” Yelena whispered. She purposely kept her tone low, low enough that Kate was forced to regulate her breathing if she wanted to hear what Yelena was saying. While she couldn’t see whether Kate’s face was relaxing, she kept a close eye on her heaving chest beneath the thin cloth she wore, paid extra attention to the frequency of warm breaths grazing the side of her hand.

”Breathe deeply, Kate Bishop. Don’t think about anything other than your breathing. You’ll get through this.” 

Repeating it like a mantra between soft shushing, Yelena got Kate to relax her grip enough for her to pull away. 

Kate’s breath hitched at the movement, her hand tightening once more as if afraid Yelena would disappear, but the Princess simply readjusted so their hands were intertwined instead.

They stayed like that for a long time. Long enough for Kate’s breathing to calm, and her whimpers to quiet. Long enough for Yelena to slowly coax her into a lying position, and long enough that when Yelena finally peeled her hand from Kate’s eyes, they were closed beneath her palm.