More Than His Name

More Than His Name
By Misha

Disclaimer- Not mine, I’m just borrowing them for a little while and will return them when I am done.

Author’s Notes- This is a short Kenna piece that takes place after her first kiss with Diavolos. I’ve noticed that the biggest objection to the Kenna/Diavolos relationship seems to be “his father killed her mother” and this address that. From what we know of Queen Adrianna, she seems like a very fair leader who valued peace above all else and I think she would a) want her daughter to be happy and b) see the benefits of creating a lasting peace between Abanthus and Stormholt and because of that would have approved of the relationship.

Pairing- Kenna/Diavolos

Rating- PG

Summary- Kenna remembers a long-ago conversation with her mother that helps her come to terms with her complicated attraction to Diavolos.

Words- 874
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Kenna watched Diavolos slip out of her quarters, then collapsed on to the bed. Her mind was racing with the implications of what had just happened between them.

They had shared a kiss. A kiss she’d initiated.

She could still taste him on her lips, still feel his body against hers, his hand in her hair. It had felt good. Better than any other kiss she’d ever had.

More than that, it had felt right, and that made no sense. After all, he was a Nevrakis, how could it ever be right? Yet, no matter how many times she tried to remind herself that he was the enemy, she couldn’t quite make herself believe it.

The internal battle had been raging since the moment he had walked into that dining hall. She’d taken one look at him and her heart had leaped inside her chest and cried out Mine! But of course, he wasn’t. He couldn’t be.

His words rang in her ears, “I’ve been wanting to do that since the moment I first saw you.” Was it possible that he’d felt it too? That instant connection? Even if he had, did it matter? He was still the son of the man who’d killed her mother, she’d still taken his brother’s life. How could there ever be anything but bitterness between them?

Suddenly, a long-ago conversation with her mother popped into her mind…

“What did you think, my little butterfly?” Queen Adrianna asked Kenna over dinner. She had forced Kenna to sit in on a sentencing hearing for a nobleman who had been convicted of trading sensitive information.

“I think Lord Tunney was upset about the sentence,” Kenna remarked, remembering the baron’s barely concealed fury. “He wanted you to seize the family holdings and title.” Probably because he wanted them for himself.

“Yes, he was quite vocal in his opinion.” Her mother agreed dryly. “But what did you think?”

Kenna paused, considering the details of the case. Her mother had sentenced the traitor to death, but she had left the family estate intact, allowing his oldest son to inherit the lands and the title. “There was no proof that his son was alone,” Kenna said after a moment, “in fact, all the evidence pointed to the baron working alone.”

She considered the facts. “Of course, there is no way of knowing what the son did or did not know,” Kenna continued, “and he may have been aware of his father’s actions, even if he didn’t participate in them. Guilt by association.” That idea had made her more than a little uncomfortable. She wanted to judge people on their own actions, not those of their parents. “Finally, there is the argument that treason effects the whole bloodline and the only way to effectively stop it is to wipe out the whole bloodline.”

That had been Lord Tunney’s argument. He’d been very vocal in his belief and very angry when the Queen hadn’t seen things his way.

“Yes, there are many who feel like that,” Adrianna agreed, “and I know there are other kingdoms, like Abanthus, that believe that there are no such things as mistakes and that anything but absolute loyalty must be punished.”

“But not you,” Kenna stated, thinking of the sentence her mother had handed out and how calm she had been when she had shot-down Lord Tunney’s objections. She normally didn’t have a lot of interest in the diplomatic side of ruling, she preferred to be outside, but it had been interesting watching her mother today. She had handled everything so calmly, so regally. Kenna wondered if she was capable of being half the queen her mother was.

“No,” her mother answered, “I don’t. Whichever way I decided, Lord Anson was going to remember my actions.  If we seized the holdings and titles based on nothing more than speculation and the idea of guilt-by-association, then we condemn him as a traitor based on no fault of his own and he would have no reason not to turn against us. By choosing to judge him as an individual, separate from his father, I have hopefully secured his loyalty in the future.”

A smile crossed Kenna’s lips at the memory.

Lord Anson was one of the few nobles who had survived Luther’s invasion, as he had not been at Stormholt that day, and he’d been an invaluable ally in the fight against Luther, sending both men and supplies to replenish what had been lost re-claiming Stormholt.

Her mother had chosen to judge him as an individual, not just as a traitor’s son, why couldn’t Kenna do the same for Diavolos? Why couldn’t she judge him as a man, not just a Nevrakis?

She remembered the way he had opened up to her, talking about his terrible childhood and his grief for his lost brothers. There was a fascinating, complex man behind the cold, loyal soldier and she wanted a chance to get to know that man.

She didn’t know yet what was happening between them, whether it was just an intense attraction or if that gut-feeling was correct and there was something more there, but she knew she wanted to find out and she wasn’t going to let his last name stop her.

• End