#<- using this for now until i have a good name like for hollow wonderland

[aroace-poly-show]

ummm revamped showtime at 25 mafuyu thoughts. smth smth her mom was a struggling actress who gave up on it and i am debating on whether she immediately pushes mafuyu to do acting as a way of living vicariously through mafuyu’s future success or her initially not allowing mafuyu to act bc she believes its a pointless and worthless thing to pursue from her own experience but then she sees actual potential in mafuyu and the way people praise her and decides to let her act. either way bc of her past failure she really pressures mafuyu into aiming for fame and stardom and performing on big famous stages when mafuyu originally only wanted to make people smile with shows. mafuyu then loses this true passion for shows and forgets why she wanted to do them at all like her whole thing in canon. yeah

[junowritings]

Hi friend, I hope I'm not bothering you. I stumbled across your twisted wonderland writings a little bit ago and fell in love with them. They're so good! I was wondering if you could do an angst comfort imagine with Jamil or Kalim where MC overblots? In game, Crowley piles so much work on poor MC, along with MC being the college's resident problem solver, and some of the students have called them worthless due to their inability to cast magic. I was wondering if you could play around with that idea? Regardless, thank you for doing what you do! Hope you have a lovely day.

Hiyya friend thank you for the love <3 I'm glad you've been having fun with these~! I'll admit this started off as a little thing but then the overblot brainrot kicked in thinking about the effects of blot on a non magic user and it spiraled from there lmao. Please do enjoy this though I had a bunch of fun giving my Scarabia boys some love,even if it is filled with angst!

The realization of what’s happening comes too late, as it always does. 

Eyes have been everywhere, watching your every move since you clawed your way from that coffin into this twisted wonderland. And each of them have expected something from you, saw fit to use you and take advantage of your situation for their own gains. Making yourself useful seemed to be the only way you could earn any modicum of respect, and so the pressure mounted and mounted as every day saw you taking on more responsibilities than you could handle. But you’d been so hopeful that it wouldn’t be that way forever - things would get easier, and you only needed to put up with the pressure until you got home; Crowley promised you that the day you enrolled at the school, and he wouldn’t lie when he was the only one capable of making that a reality, right?Right?

You should never have believed him; maybe that would have saved you.

This shouldn’t have been possible; with no magic to your name or even a magical presence to call your own the thought of you of all people overblotting was laughable, some cruel joke that was humored for the few seconds before you were deemed magicless, and thus no longer a concern. And yet the impossible pools at your feet and clings to your skin and clothes like a parasite as your brain spirals into a frenzy. All you can think about is what they’ve done to you, what they made you do. You were so useless to all of these people until you had some kind of purpose to serve, was that it? Running their errands; being a personal therapist and caretaker to so many dorms when you were still nursing your own wounds; having to take care of everyone else's problems only to return to your dilapidated corpse of a dorm at the end of the day. 

Perhaps it’s the stress, the mental fatigue drawing in all of that leftover magical waste with nowhere to go that accumulated the blot, allowing it to take root after months of being subjected to the worst that magic could do. It’s there which it festered until the pressure became too great, until it now seeps through your bones, your eyes, your fingertips in thick, viscous globs of ink for all to see. And from that blot comes the monster, a patchwork mockery of all of those overblots you’ve dealt with before taking shape of your deepest insecurities and regrets; and your own despondent sobs are drowned out by the screams of its birth as it rises to its full height, writhing and looming overhead.

But it’s imperfect; with no stable magic source to siphon its energy from the blotted creature latched onto you fights only to stay alive. The noises it releases are distorted, a hollow rattle that has the students taking an unconscious step back as a chill settles in the air. Many were smart enough to flee, yet there are those that stay, either foolish or frozen in fear at the sight in front of them.

You’re conscious, barely, the remaining dregs fading in and out of your control as your eyes, half blinded by the inky mass that pours from the blotted thing above you scans the sea of horrified faces. Friends, dormmates, and finally….

…Jamil

♡ Jamil feels the rush of students tripping over themselves to flee, can hear the screams of people too confused or too terrified to understand the impossibility of the situation, but his focus is trained solely on you and the thing that leeches off of you to stay alive. He watches it twist, heaving ink as it takes a defensive stance ready to attack anything that tries to get in its way. Your friends around you all make vain attempts to reach out to you; Ace and Deuce are frantically screaming out for you as they bat away an onslaught of inky limbs, and Grim gets close enough to barely brush your shoulder with his paw before the frantic swipe of the creature nearly sends him careening back in a torn mess had Jack not yanked him back to safety.

♡ For that moment he takes in the scene unfolding in front of him, watching the person who has fought to earn his respect and gain his trust being taken over by the flood of bottled up emotions preyed upon by the blot, and it hits him. Is this what you’d seen during his overblot? Is this how you felt seeing the person you cared for being reduced to a shadow of their deepest hatred and pains? If he closes his eyes he can vaguely recall the horrified look on your face in the muddled memories from his own overblot, but there’s no time to dwell, no time to panic, or scream, or cry when the most important thing is separating you from the blot and making sure you survive. And so he takes a steadying breath, steeling his resolve and shelving his emotions until you’re freed.

♡ Your friends are already mounting an offensive against the overblot and Jamil is right there in stride acting as a defensive force for those better equipped to attack. Each hit has the beast screaming, chunk by chunk being wrested away from its patchwork frame that’s barely holding itself together as is. Your screams echo along with it, only making the fight harder as hesitation hits your friends, Jamil himself almost making the mistake of stepping towards you before catching himself and refocusing on the fight at hand.

♡ He’d caught glimpses of the strain your situation had forced you under, he’d be a fool not to have noticed the pressure you’d been settled with. He knows the pressure well, having to play the part and live your life restricted by the whims of others. And yet every time he’d reached out to you, pulled you to the side away from prying eyes you’d only smiled and told him that you were fine, even if the sallow eyes and the constant tremble in your hands screamed otherwise. Jamil should have never taken you at your word, so sure that if whatever you were dealing with became overwhelming you would open up to someone - open up to him - before it was too much. Who could have ever imagined that it would get to this point? Jamil feels a sickness welling in the pit of his stomach just thinking about it, and the momentary lapse in attention nearly costs him a limb as a writhing hand slams down at his side when the overblot monster lunges forward, warbled voice screaming “-𝔸𝕎𝔸𝕐...𝔾𝔼𝕋 𝔸𝕎𝔸𝕐-!” again and again.

♡ Your overblot fights harder than anything they’ve faced before, even as the half formed twitching mass of energy that it is. Like an animal caged and surrounded it’s got no qualms pulling every ounce of power it can muster to ensure its survival even if it means turning you into little more than a husk. All it takes is watching you crumble, heaving and choking on some invisible force that saps everything from you for everything to finally snap. Whatever strength the creature pulls from you isn’t enough to keep it standing, and no sooner have you dropped the blot caves in on itself, still reaching out to you for more even in its final moments. In the wake of its dissipation the air is thick with an unspoken pressure, and the remaining students even torn up and bruised all make a beeline for your crumpled body, surrounding you in a wall of frantic calls of your name. 

♡There’s a lump in his throat as Jamil approaches the crowd, elbowing his way between Ace and Deuce kneeling before you. His breathing all but stops at the glimpses he catches of you among the hands cradling you, body limp as the remaining blot flakes from your skin and turns to whisps. Those seconds last for an eternity, bated breaths unwilling to ask the question that’s burning on everyone’s tongue. 

♡Are you…?

♡The next moment you’re gasping for air, rocketing up and narrowly missing headbutting the vice dormhead as you all but throw yourself up to retch. You miss the collective breath that everyone releases as the world starts to turn once again, relief flooding the atmosphere now that the imminent danger has passed. Someone mentions making sure you’re taken to the infirmary and Jamil can practically see the cogs turning in your head as you panic, finally coming back to your senses. You insist that you can take yourself there, scrambling groggily to your feet and shaking away the mass of hands supporting you only to immediately buckle the second your feet touch the floor. 

♡How lucky you are that Jamil catches you before you fall, one arm firmly gripping your elbow and the other pressed against your back to make sure you don’t try getting away on your own again. Surprisingly you don’t argue, in fact you hardly even say a word as Jamil whisks you away from the crowd; the silence is only broken on the walk there when Jamil has to stop you from nearly bucking again. You’re gripping his jacket for support when you ask “Did I hurt them?” focused on your hand wrapped into the fabric and not willing to look at him. There’s a pause, and Jamil watches your knuckles turning pale from your grip like you’re afraid of the answer. “It takes more than that to hurt any of those guys;They’ll be fine.” 

♡ Whether it’s the answer you wanted or not your grip loosens on his jacket but never truly lets go the entire walk there even as the infirmary sign comes into view around the corner. There’s no saying what effect the overblot had on you both physically and mentally, so the staff are on high alert as soon as you’re led into the infirmary. The nurse tries to take you off of his hands but you’re still holding onto Jamil for support and he’s quick to take the lead in getting you onto the bed so you can finally be seen to.

♡Jamil only allows the gravity of the situation to hit him once you’re in the capable hands of NRC medical staff, giving you some space to recover without being hounded by people as he tries to collect his thoughts. A part of him wants to stay there with you, especially with the way you’re so reluctant to let go of him during the initial checkup, but you’re drained both physically and mentally and need time to rest, and he needs to start picking up the pieces of the aftermath.

♡ The work keeps Jamil’s mind occupied, and provides a welcome buffer to the what ifs that are already beginning to creep in. But the moment he’s given a moment to finally rest it’s like all his energy’s been drained, using the nearest surface to keep himself upright as the events of the day finally fully sink in. You’ll live but all he can think about is what if you hadn’t; those few seconds where you weren’t moving, repeating over again and again. It’s an image that’s burned into his brain no matter how much he loathes having it there, and it forces his feet to move without thinking, heading straight back to the infirmary where he’d left you. Jamil needs to see that you’re really there, that you’re really safe in that bed and not taken whole by that creature again, and it’s something he finds himself doing long afterwards if only to set his own nerves at ease.  

…Kalim

♡ Kalim is horrified to see what’s happening to you, watching the creature that rises from your barely standing form like it’s tearing itself free from your very shadow. For a split second it’s as though he’s back at Scarabia watching his childhood friend overcome the overblot and change right before his eyes. That familiar chill of fear that he’s hoped to never have to experience again hits him square in the chest and his entire body goes cold as the reality of the situation settles with the wheezing howl that the overblot creature lets loose into the air. 

♡ Even though he can see it with his own eyes it’s almost impossible to come to terms with the fact that this is you. The one who always went out of your way to help people, who was so kind and there for everyone to help deal with their problems with hardly ever a thanks in return - there’s no way that the trembling, half coherent body looking out at the world with nothing but hatred burning behind ink stained eyes is really you. But it is, and there’s a beat, a split second where your eyes meet his and that anger flickers to grief, a lapse of the real you looking back at him before the hatred consumes you once again.

♡ It’s hard to think straight, and Kalim’s got little concern for his own safety as he joins Ace, Deuce and Grim in trying to reach out to you however pointless it may seem. He has to reach you, has to get to you somehow to make sure that you’re safe and get you away from that thing; he has to-!

♡ There’s a whoosh of air barely inches from his face, and Kalim only has a second to process the mangled claw that makes a swipe for him before there’s a hand winding into the back of his clothes , pulling him back into the dirt before those claws can bury themselves into his skull. It's enough to shock him back into the present moment, only now hearing the panicked voices of his friends and classmates as the chaos unfolds; there’s others here, and every single one of them is in danger the longer that this overblot is free to wreak havoc onto its new domain.

♡He hesitates to fight you - he just can’t bring himself to do anything that risks hurting you even though he knows that standing by and doing nothing it’s only going to make the problem worse. So he calls out to you, shouting your name with a near frantic desperation begging you to come to your senses even as the creature you’ve summoned continues it’s assault, gouging into the earth in its attempts to get at him with half formed joints. His cries are drowned out by the overblot monster’s screams, garbled words sounding like white noise ringing in the air only ever cut off when a sudden blast of magic from behind Kalim has the beast reeling. 

♡Your friends round up to make a wall effectively creating a barrier between it and the students, their faces grave as they realize what it’s going to take to make sure everyone gets out of this situation alive. The last thing he sees before they close in is you, the blot still dripping down your face as you let out an enraged scream, the months of bottled up emotions sending goosebumps up Kalims skin before you disappear back into the overblot’s hold.

♡Hesitating will only result in you getting more hurt, so Kalim tries to pour his focus onto helping elsewhere. Hoisting himself to his feet he takes charge in making sure that everyone not directly involved in the fight has a clear path to get to safety, ensuring that the debris scattering through the air never has a chance of hitting any of the students and causing more damage. All the while he’s fighting not to be distracted by the sounds of fighting - the gurgling of the overblot, the shouts of everyone co-ordinating together and struggling to turn the tide of the fight. He can’t allow himself to think too hard about what’s happening to you; the people he’s helping are looking to him as dorm leader to keep them safe and get them out of there, and if he thinks about it for too long he knows he’s going to slip up and someone’s going to end up hurt or worse. 

♡ A bloodcurdling howl brings everything to a standstill, and all at once something snaps in the air, the pressure on the back of Kalim’s skull dissipating as the blot that has soaked into every corner of the area breaks apart and disappears, no longer held together by magic. That means only one thing, and Kalim immediately drops everything that he’s doing to get back to where you are. The terrain is a mess and he trips up more than a few times on the huge chunks torn out of the earth beneath his feet as he grows more desperate to see you, to get to you. 

♡His heart drops into his stomach once he finds you through the sea of people who were fighting you not moments before, now crowded around you in a protective circle. You’re curled up on yourself, unresponsive and Kalim immediately sinks down onto his knees in front of you, not caring for the last broken pieces of the overblot that try to claw at legs for purchase even as it sinks back into the mindless puddle of waste it came from. Hands trembling, Kalim holds you as close to him as he can, wide eyes scanning your face for any sign of reaction, a sign that you’re back. The time stretches on and he feels his throat burn the longer you go without waking up; he’s here, calling your name over and over again, can’t you hear him? It’s okay to wake up now, everyone’s safe! You're okay right?... right?!

♡A groan cuts his thinking off, and there’s no holding back the sob he almost chokes on when you finally come to. You’re blinking away the haze that’s making your head pound and finally make out his face, caked in mud and debris and smeared with stark tear tracks as he cries. You bring a hand up to try and wipe away the tears and grime but that only makes him cry harder, though you don’t have time to feel bad before he’s pulling you even closer, pressing your face against his shoulder and wrapping his arms around you so tight that your ribs groan in protest. It’s not like you have the heart to push him away though - you’re so tired and drained and all you can think about is how glad you are that he’s here as you zone in and out of him gushing about how he’s so glad that you’re going to be okay.

♡Kalim refuses to let you go even as the others begin to crowd around to check on you for themselves; now that this is all over the last thing he wants to do is leave you on your own again much to the frustration of Grim and your other friends. It takes Jamil stepping in and none too subtly warning him that there’s a chance you’re still suffering from complications unless you get to a nurse and find out for sure before he relents, but even then he’s going right with you to the infirmary, taking a seat right next to the bed you’re propped up in and holding your hand and supporting you through the entire checkup.

♡All he can focus on is how tired you look, the exhaustion palpable now that the blot has washed away from your skin and clothes. He knows that it isn’t from the blot though; Kalim may be naive but he knows you were suffering before the overblot overwhelmed you. He’d tried so hard to help - offered you to stay at Scarabia any time you needed a break, insisted that you could always rely on him for anything, to tell him anything, just say it and he’ll be there! And yet it wasn’t enough to save you from all of this, and he can’t help but feel guilty that he couldn’t help you when you needed him the most…♡ You have to convince him not to call in the best doctors from back home just to come and see you the second the nurses are finished with their tests, insisting that he really doesn’t need to go that far despite his protests that he wants to make sure that you’re really okay. He’s already rattling off about how things are going to be better once you’re all healed up - he’ll come to see you everyday, of course, and he’ll make sure to bring plenty of things to keep you happy so that you can focus on resting and feeling better! It’s almost enough to forget the fact that everything that happened wasn’t just some dream your stress addled mind conjured up; however, even so exhausted you don’t miss the concern hiding behind his seemingly carefree smile, grip on your hand squeezing every once in a while as though to reassure himself that you’re both still here - he hasn’t lost you yet.

[vulpinesaint]

camelia + papyrus + taro <3 mwah

camellia ⇢ what were you like when you were younger? do you think you’ve changed a lot?

man honestly i think i was just a smaller version of myself when i was younger haha. when i think of myself as a kid i think of how judgemental i was in my head... truly starting the haterism young. you know me and you have met my mother and if i tell you that i was raised that way it probably makes sense haha :) forever thought i was doing SUCH a good job of being subtle about disliking people but someone in middle school casually mentioned "yeah, you hated me in elementary school" so. just as with now. very good at being a hater not very good at hiding it. sorry nick you were actually the cool one of that group of boys but i thought your friends sucked so bad 👍

DEFINITELY a little superiority complex. my mom raised me to be confident in my abilities and has never been shy about saying that she thinks i'm better than my peers 😭 voracious reader, insane little reading level, very opinionated and sure of himself. developed the opposite problem though where i came to the conclusion that people would not like me if i was succeeding where they were not and that nobody would want to be my friend if i told them i got 100% on a test so i kind of. stopped talking about my academic achievements to people. currently working very hard on being able to just say "i did this and i'm proud of it!" to people cause i feel like i'm being an asshole and bragging every time 😭 i have this foundational memory of using a big word in like. fourth grade maybe. and having sam mullen Stare at me like i'd grown another head. and deciding that i needed to dumb down my vocab a little bit when i was talking to people that were not my parents lol

lots of whimsy alongside the haterism though! believed in fairies for sure, played the hell out of imagination games. really liked peter pan and alice in wonderland. favorite computer game was that little pixie hollow game that loaded slow as hell. loved reading fantasy stories. would wrestle my brothers to the ground and pin them there to win arguments and assert dominance. had monster high and ever after high dolls :) draculaura was my favorite obviously (dressed up as her for halloween once) but i always knew in my heart that i was more of a frankie stein whether i liked it or not... thought raven queen was cool obviously.

all the time i'm going "man it doesn't even matter but i'm not a good trans person i was such a girly girl" but this is like. untrue. my mother put me in dresses throughout most of my elementary school career cause she really wanted to make sure that me and my siblings were presentable so i certainly Seemed girly. i liked dressing up. but i also went to kindergarten and i remember staring so hard at this girl named hannah who was a tomboy while i was in the sandbox or whatever. and i decided in my head that i Was a tomboy. like i wore dresses but that wasn't what mattered... i had other things going on that made me a tomboy... and i told my mom that and she laughed and it broke my heart a little bit so i said Nothing about anything like that again until i came out as transgender in high school 😭 in middle school i remember thinking that i kind of wanted to dress like a boy except i Couldn't. not because it wasn't allowed but because it was Ugly. genuinely stopped myself from being a boy because i hated the thought of khaki cargo shorts so much. all of which is to say that i think i am just the same as i was when i was a kid haha :D

papyrus ⇢ if you put your ‘on repeat’ playlist on shuffle, what’s the first song that comes up? what do you like about it / associate it with?

so american by olivia rodrigo. you have done ruinous things to my reputation by making me like this song so much... someone looked over at my phone once and went "you're listening to olivia rodrigo?" how am i supposed to keep my cool alt boy façade up if i am forever so delighted and bashful and giddy and enamoured with the fact that i am the boy who is like a poem you wish you wrote. to me seeing you post so american by olivia rodrigo is like when you see me post poems that you know are about you... in my head forever. nobody ever talks about the feeling of hearing what someone else's love song is For You

taro ⇢ if someone called you right now to catch up, what’re the things you’d tell them about?

what a silly question to ask me when you know damn well from experience that it's venom all the way down haha. would tell them about school i guess! told annelise today about my professor who married a republican that i hate and about my friend who got pronouns over the summer! but then uh. that's the friend who works at a comics store. who is getting me venom comics. and then we're sitting in a park with cheesecake having a lovely picnic and i am vividly narrating the last fifteen issues of the venom run i'm on and talking about the differences between the comics and the movies when you have seen Neither of them yet 👍 i am a simple man. i have literally nothing fucking else in my head right now 😭

 ﹟random get-to-know-me ask game  !! 

[panic-at-the-fiction]

True Love’s Kiss

Summary: Jefferson loves his family but when Regina puts (y/n) under a sleeping curse he risks it all to save her only to end up separated from them for more than 28 years. Also shout out to @fangirltrash15 for asking for this fic. I know you didn’t ask me specifically but I hope you like it.

Warnings: Spell check? We don’t know her!

A/N: This is the longest story I have ever written in one sitting and I loved writing it. I honestly love writing for Jefferson. He’s such and untapped potential for fanfiction and I blame that for his lack of screen time which I blame on the fact that he was dating Jennifer Morrison and they broke up so I guess it was weird for him to be on the show but there was a wonderland spin off and there is no reason he shouldn’t have been on that.

Jefferson was making his way down the street like he did every night. Only stopping outside the Tea Grove cafe to look through its window on the other side of the street where he couldn’t be seen. He watched as the young woman in the store turned off the open sign and began to sweep away at the floors. He just loved walking by her store to watch her close up at night. He knew he could never talk to her. In this life she didn’t know him and he couldn’t tell her what he knew because knowing was the worst curse.

The enchanted forest.

(Y/n) was running through the forest. Dodging every tree she could and jumping over the big roots of trees that stuck out of the ground. She ran until she eventually found a hollow tree to hide in. She did her best to remain silent while she caught her breath but her hiding place must not have been good enough...

“I found you!” Said the little blonde as she popped her head into the tree (y/n) had hidden herself in.

“So you did sweet Grace,” she laughed “at least tell me you found your father first.” (Y/n) climbed her way out of the tree and finally stood up.

“She did.” Said a slight grumpy voice from behind the tree.

“Oh well good, that means at least I didn’t lose.” (Y/n) said smiling and laughing at the handsome man who was leaning against the tree.

“Just because grace found me first does not mean I lost.” He huffed.

“It kind of does,” He rolled his eyes. “Oh come on, admit it, you're just upset that you lost to a girl at hide and seek. Come on admit I beat you.” She said teasing him and pointing at his chest.

“Ok find you beat me, you always do.” He laughed.

“Damn straight.” (Y/n) said finally getting close enough to Jefferson to throw her arms around his shoulders and pull him down for a quick kiss. Making a mental note that grace was still there.

She had been living with Grace and Jefferson for a couple of years now but she was always sure to keep things g-rated around Grace. Especially since she wasn’t Grace’s actual mother, though she loved Grace no less, (y/n) knew she could never fully replace her like that.

“Come on papa let’s go back to the house and have our tea party.”

“Of course my dear Grace,” Jefferson said holding his hand out for his little girl. Grace took her fathers hand and then offered her other hand for (y/n).

Present day.

(Y/n) finished locking up the store and turned to head toward her car. It was pouring down rain and as she opened her umbrella a gust of wind blew it out of her hand and down the street. She quickly chased after it down the road. She paid no attention to the road as cars tried to swerve around her. As she made it to the other side of the road she ran down the sidewalk never getting much closer to her umbrella till a strange man finally caught it and walked over to her.

He set the umbrella straight and held it over her head. “You uh... dropped this I think.”

“Thank you, so much really.”

He seemed nervous or even panicked. She had never seen him around before which was so strange for this small town. “Here I’ll walk you to your car.”

They both walked back up the street till they reached her car. He helped her get in and handed her the umbrella. “Thank you so much, uh I actually don’t know your name.”

“Jefferson,” he said with pain on his face.

“Well it’s nice to meet you Jefferson, I’m (y/n). I guess you’re sorta like my knight in shining armor tonight aren’t you? You really saved me out there.” She laughed.

He frowned at the ground before looking at the girl in the car again. “Trust me I’m no knight and you didn’t need my saving.” He said before walking away from the car.

The enchanted forest

After having visited the market that evening with Grace, (y/n) came back home to find the queen's Carriage sitting by their house. (Y/n) bent down to her knees so she was at eye level with the young girl. “Wait, stop Grace. We should hang out in the woods for a bit ok? We can play our game for a while.” She smiled at the little girl.

“Who’s at the house with papa?” She questioned being the smart girl she was.

“I think it’s the Queen.”

“The Queen, at our house. What does she want? Shouldn’t we go inside and check on papa?”

(Y/n) rubbed up and down Grace’s arms. “No sweetie. Me and your father made a deal a long time ago that if our past ever came back that one of us would stay with you. He doesn’t want you to ever be alone. Ok? So for now let’s go into the woods and play our game. Your father can handle this.” She smiled.

After spending sometime in the forest the girls walked back to the house. This time with no carriage in sight. When they went inside they found Jefferson sitting at the table in the kitchen contemplating the box in front of him.

“Papa!” Grace ran and hugged her father.

“You're both back late. Did you enjoy yourselves at the market?”

“Yes we did but when we got home we saw the queen's carriage so we stayed and played in the woods for a while.”

“Oh I see. Grace why don’t you go play in your room while I talk to (y/n) for a moment.” She smiled and ran off to her room.

(Y/n) frowned and set down beside Jefferson. “What did the Queen want?”

“She wanted me to portal jump.” He said running his hands through his hair.

(Y/n) began to rub calming circles on his back, “and what did you tell her?”

“I told her I didn’t do that anymore. I have a family now.”

“And so she just left?”

“Yeah I think so.”

“ I doubt that she doesn’t have a plan to come back.”

“I know. When Regina wants something she’ll get it. Whatever the cost.” (Y/n) rest her head on his shoulder.

“Is that why you brought out your hat? Incase she comes back?”

“I don’t know. I just keep thinking maybe it wouldn’t hurt to just do one more job. We wouldn’t have to worry about money ever again. You and Grace wouldn’t have to live so poorly.”

“Jefferson, me and Grace are just happy with the life we have. We don’t need money to be afamily and we need you here. With us.”

He smiled faintly and kissed the top of her head. This was why he needed (y/n) she reminded him of why he put that hat away. He belonged here.

A couple of days later

It was getting late and (y/n) still wasn’t back from the market. She left hours ago and it was almost supper time. She should be back by now and Jefferson was beginning to worry.

With the sun beginning to set he grabbed his hat and told Grace to go stay at the neighbors house till either he or (y/n) came home. He knew they had once said that in times like these one of them would always stay with Grace but he needed to bring (y/n) back home.

He knew exactly where she was; he didn’t need to look. He quickly made his way to the queen's castle and by nightfall he marched through the doors. No guards stopped him so obviously he was in the right place and the Queen wanted him here.

He finally reached the queen's quarters and tossed his hat bose on to the floor. “Here that damned hat Regina, now where’s (y/n)!”

“Calm down mister Jefferson. We both know that I don’t know how to use that hat without ending up somewhere useless. Only you know how to use it properly. It’s useless to me but if you're looking for your little girlfriend I’m sure I can help you with that.” She stood up from her seat and walked over to the middle of the room where Jefferson stood.

She waved her hand and a mirror appeared. “Here this will show you anyone you wish to see.”

He cautiously took the mirror from Regina and held it in his hands and thought of (y/n). The mirror in the cloud of smoke showed through a picture of (y/n), she appeared to be unconscious, almost appearing to be dead.

“What did you do to her!”

“She’s fine Hatter. She’s only sleeping.”

“Wake her, I know you can!”

“Well of course I can but why would I do that? Not to worry though, if you want to wake her on your own all you have to do is give her true love's kiss.” Jefferson's face dropped. “That is if you believe in your true love?”

“I love (y/n)”

“Yes but is it good enough? I mean does she truly love you? All you can offer her is a small house with little money and a daughter who's not even hers.”

“And what do you want? What would I have to do in exchange for you waking her?” He said through gritted teeth.

“Like I said before. I want to go to wonderland of course.

Present day.

Jefferson set alone in his house like always, using his telescope to check on his family. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about (y/n) since he last saw her on the street.

Ever since Emma came to town he’s had this annoying hope that maybe she could break this curse and he could be with his family again. He knew it wouldn’t be that easy though. He abandoned his family many years before the curse, who says they would want him back now. Besides, Emma was convinced in not believing in magic. He tried to show her and despite all his proof she didn’t believe him.

As he peered through his telescope he spotted a glitter in the sky. It seemed as though it was moving closer like a wavy. Before he could even process it the wave washed over him. At first he felt nothing, like nothing was different but he looked back through his telescope this timing aiming it at the town square. He could see everyone coming out of their shops and houses and hugging and reuniting with people on the streets. He couldn’t believe it, there was no way this was possible. They were waking up.

Jefferson passed back and forth through his whole house. This was all he had waited for for 28 years, even longer when counting the time he spent in wonderland. But he couldn’t muster up the courage to go find his family. He finally forced himself to go outside onto the street. Families and reunited loved ones pass him all around. He slowly made his way down the street but not long after the first wave he saw another come toward him. This one was like smoke, purple smoke. No one had time to cover for shelter but as soon as it covered the street it was gone. Everyone began to panic but he knew what this was. He had been a dabler of magic; he could feel it here.

Pain rang through him as he thought of what would happen now that magic was in town. He quickly ran down the street toward the little tea shop he had passed millions of times before. When he finally reached the shop there was a small crowd of customers who crowded around the entrance. As he approached the crowd and tried to push passed through them, he heard a familiar voice.

“Papa!”

“Grace, my darling” he hugged his little girl as hard as he could, too scared to let her go.

“I was going to find you but (y/n) found me first. She was fine but when the smoke came by she collapsed. I don’t know what’s wrong with her papa.” He did his best to calm the girl and then stood up and pushed the crowd away to finally reach (y/n).

“No no no, this wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. You were supposed to be fine in this world.” He knelt beside (y/n) and held her unconscious form in his arms.

“We tried to help her but we can’t tell what’s wrong with her. Someone already called 911.” Said some man in the crowd.

“They won’t do her any good. This is a magic problem and it needs a magic solution.” He snapped. He tuned the rest of them out as they all stood around them. He leaned his forehead down to hers as he brushed some hair out of face. “(Y/n) if you can hear me… I I need you to wake up. Ok?” He paused for a second but she didn’t move. He closed his eyes and pressed a small kiss to her forehead.

(Y/n) eyes flew open and she jumped as she quickly awoke from her sleep. She looked around her and saw Jefferson and sweet Grace by her side. She smiled, finally being able to remember them after seeing them everyday but never truly seeing them. She cupped Jefferson's cheek with her hand and smiled. “How did you know that would work?”

He laughed slightly as he took her hand and placed a kiss in her palm. “I didn’t.” He swiftly pulled her into a passionate kiss with all the love he could conjure. “I love you”

(Y/n) smiled, “I love you too”

Jefferson pulled his family into a hug as they all sat on the floor. He had been dreaming of this day for too long. “Let’s go home” he said smiling at his small family.

[coepiteamare]

handwriting tag

tagged by: kharli @propinqxity hehe thank you 💕

write your:

1) URL & sideblogs 2) favourite quote 3) works in progress 4) tag people!

so uhm this got long because i had too much fun and now my hand hurts but...

url & sideblog: coepiteamare this is my only active blog

favourite quote:

albert camus: and you destroy everything without intending to, and you are even drawn to idiots who want to destroy for their own comfort, simply because it is easier to destroy than to not destroy

tenessee williams: it was like somebody in a room that you pretend not to see but whom you are nevertheless always looking at indirectly

jane austen: if i loved you less, i might be able to talk about it more

lemony snicket: people aren't either wicked or noble. they're like chef's salads, with good things and bad things chopped and mixed together in a vinagrette of confusion and conflict.

works in progress: (if you want to read more of my wips, i have some here!)

love letter: stop falling in love with people who won't love you back. stop falling in love with hollow galaxies. stop wandering the universe in the hopes of finding a supernova, only to find yourself in the arms of a blackhole.

it won't save you

(but i wish i could)

(untitled): desert princess x pirate jk

they name hurricanes after girls, he tells you. a prayer for gentleness, a hope for small casualties.

"huh," you reply, "whoever came up with that idea must never have been caught in the storm of a girl."

welcome to wonderland:

be careful in the woods, they whisper. so many girls have gotten lost and made it out with just their bodies intact, bones rattling hollow and mind astray. the girls mumble about tea parties with madness, about croquet games with heads of the executed, before they are wheeled off to hospitals, still talking to the wall.

be careful in the woods, they warn. it preys on your fears and feeds on your sanity if you linger too long.

tagging (but only if you want to!): @cutechim @yeojaa @artaefact @papillonsgf @sunsetae @jinpanman @suhdays @kkulfm @bratkook @flytomyjoon @augustbutwinter

and i wanted to show my appreciation so.. favourite quotes from my mutuals

cutechim’s i’m not good enough for you: not because you’d lost him, but because you finally understood—he’d never been yours to lose

yeojaa’s see nothing but you: in this room, love exists in every bated breath, every batted eyelash. it sinks into your bones and coats your teeth. you can’t escape it, even as it reminds you of all the ways it isn’t for you. 

artaefact’s wounded: “you should have blocked me for fuck’s sake,” you giggled before hiccuping, “makes me think you still want to hear from me.” 

papillonsgf’s blooming ink: if miracles were possible, you’d tell the flower that you drew on that fateful night to bloom again.

sunsetae: i know you deleted your works, so i won’t quote them, but hi i adore you. and i love chatting with you

jinpanman’s famous happy ending: all you can see is that shoe, and you’re hit with wave after wave of inadequacy, betrayal, and...emptiness. 

suhdays’s a little wicked: “look up from your spellbook sometimes, y/n”...”you will see that we are a little wicked and...a little nervous to admit how we feel about someone.” 

kkulfm’s echoes of life: “really? toothpaste ice cream?” + it’s okay. you have time to sit in the warming sun with him until it melts away his reluctance.

bratkook’s like you used to: that was just how jungkook was wired, so much love to give he had to spread it out, give everyone a fair share of it, choosing to pretend he wasn’t being selfish.

flytomyjoon’s break up with your girlfriend: he still loves her. he still wants to marry her. he told his family that he was going to propose to he. he’ll let her spend a few months without him in europe if it means that she’ll be ready to marry him when she comes back. 

augustbutwinter’s my location unknown: schrodinger’s cat. you’re there and not there at the same time. you’re always at the back of his mind, but everytime he wants to define what this is, what you are to him, even if it is just for himself, you slip right through his fingers. 

[spookyspaghettisundae]

Going Home for the Holidays

Rita hid behind the couch. She dared not peek over the edge or around either of its corners, fearful that she might be seen.

Almost everybody grows up in fear of the dark, using light to keep at bay any things unknown and scary. But the bright overhead lamps and strings of fairy lights on the shelves and even the mellow shine from the Christmas tree did nothing of the sort.

Even night itself had yet to fall, dusk’s twilight shedding a dim blue glow from outside, pouring in through the windows. The living room of her old family home was anything but dark.

None of that helped. For they were here and not a single one of them feared the light.

Worse, the light only made their each and every visage all the more horrifying to behold. Masks covered their faces—masks made of what could only be identified as dried husks of flesh, stitched together like bandages, covering any semblance of a human countenance.

Rita trembled all over. The grandfather clock tick-tocked away, so loud and obnoxious as if to mock her. She prayed without words that they had not seen her hide where she cowered, that they could not hear her. Holding her breath only made her heart race faster.

She hoped their hearing was no better than her own. Because these were no normal vampires.

They did not bite you, nor did they drink your blood. They did not have superhuman strength. They could not fly, nor could they turn into bats. Vampire fiction had gotten it all wrong.

All they did was chase, and talk in familiar voices not their own. Regurgitate words and phrases that sounded almost exactly like the people whose faces they had stolen, with only a mild warble or eerie distortion that gave them away.

When they caught their quarry, they made them wear masks.

Like Rita’s brother, Steven. They had made a mask out of their father’s face, and now Steven wore it. Or whatever Steven was now.

Her whole hometown, the entirety of Greenwick—everybody had been turned. Everybody she ran into on her mad dash through town, everybody had been wearing these hideous skin-masks. Every one of them gave chase.

Whenever Rita lost one, others spotted her, or heard her, and ran after her in pursuit.

Her lungs now burnt with the fire of exhaustion. The house of her family where she had grown up in had been her last resort. She had hoped to find safety here, to warn her family, to escape Greenwick with them. But she was too late.

Vampire Steven, wearing her father’s face, now stalked through their childhood home, hunting for her.

Something fell, something that sounded like plastic slapping on a hardwood floor. Her nostrils flared as she struggled to not breathe loudly. Part of Rita wanted to peer around a corner—needed to. If she saw him first and knew which way to flee, then she would have better chances at outrunning him.

Worst case scenario, more of them were converging on the house. Right now. Hunting her. A blanket of beautiful snow had covered the entire town, and her tracks would lead them all right here. Even as night fell quickly outside, all the Christmas lights adorning this suburban winter wonderland would clearly outline her footprints crisscrossing through the village. Right back here.

Just a matter of time. Time she wasted in hiding. Behind a crummy couch.

That realization finally sank in, steeled by an instinctual drive to survive. She had to escape and she had to make a move—now. Complacency would get her turned into one of them and she did not want to find out what that meant.

Shaking like a leaf, she crawled to the end of the couch and looked around its side.

Vampire Steven sat atop the bookshelves, amidst the fairy lights, perched there in a grotesque pose of a human mimicking a predatory bird.

The awful mask hid his natural facial features. The layers of frayed and sewn-together human skin strips left only hollow dark spots where his eyes should be, through which he could see. And she could feel his stare, meeting her gaze and burning a hole into her very soul.

He tilted his head. He had been waiting there. He had known she was there, all this time.

Rita scrambled to her feet and stumbled up into standing, staggering as she broke out into running from behind the couch. The loud thud behind her heralded Steven leaping down and chasing her right out of the living room. Her awkward lurching start robbed her of any much-needed momentum and he grabbed her by her arm.

“You know how expensive that tablecloth is?” he asked—but in dad’s angry voice, repeating a traumatic line she had long forgotten from decades ago.

Heart pounding like a drum, she kicked and screamed and flailed about. A fist connected here, a kick there. Multiple times, hitting things both soft and hard. Fleshy patches, spots that hurt where bone struck upon bone. His grip tightened, another one of his hands groped at her shoulder but slipped away in the struggle.

“Why the hell are you late? Answer me,” said her dad through the vampire mask. Repeating that caused her blood to curdle as he screamed, “Answer me!”

Rita began crying, sobbing, and Vampire Steven grunted. The next moment her eyes were open, she had clawed him in the face and he let go, clutching his horrid man-mask, burying its front in both hands.

She had no sympathy for him—for it. Deep down, she knew: this was not Steven. This was not her father. This was a thing. This was them.

She ran, knocking over a chair and slamming a door shut behind her. She almost gasped in relief when she saw a set of car keys on the counter. She snatched them while dashing and exited through the next door, hearing thundering footsteps nearing until someone ripped the kitchen door open through which she had entered.

“Bacon’s great, but bacon alone is hardly breakfast, honey,” said her mother’s voice, albeit distorted. The words came from Vampire Steven again.

He lunged at Rita, swiping at air instead of connecting.

She grunted and stifled a scream as she pushed over the heavy metal shelves in the garage. A cacophony of metal screws rattling out and a toolbox clattering to the ground and plastic boxes exploding and spilling everywhere erupted, the contents of those shelves all tumbling down and barricading the door to the garage.

The pounding of Vampire Steven’s fist as it hammered against the door sang with murderous rage. Rita whimpered as she backed away from it, growing certain that it would hold for now.

He stopped punching the door in futility and retreated, likely to find another way to get to her, but she wasted no time and fumbled with the keys, unlocking the car, sliding into the driver’s seat, and firing up the engine.

Little lights on the dashboard flared up, a soft and repetitive dinging sound nagged her to put on her seatbelts, and the quiet engine all drowned in the bedlam of the car smashing through the garage door, splintered planks of wood raining down on and around the vehicle as she backed down the driveway.

The car skidded, the inch of snow on the ground reducing its traction. She pulled the hand brakes and ripped the wheel around, causing the car to slide and spin around in violent motion, surprising Rita with how effective the unintentional maneuver ended up being. The car was now facing down the drive, ready to roll out into the streets of Greenwick, and she could escape this doomed town.

Switching her headlights on, the cones of bright illumination sliced through the darkness of night that had fully fallen. They exposed the many people from around town, all standing in the road, all staring at her with hatred, or hunger, or some combination of both.

All of them wearing those God-awful masks. Even outside of the cones of light shed by the car, the Christmas lights on the lawns and houses of neighboring properties drew clear and ghastly silhouettes of the horde of these vampires, standing in wait for her.

The tires spun out of control when she stepped on the gas and the car lurched forward but the mass of vampires engulfed the vehicle. Some of them must have gotten hurt and knocked around, but they were too many. A living sea of bodies that brought the car to a halt before it ever really started.

Hands and fists thumped against its body and windows with fury, a staccato of menacing thunder erupting all around Rita. The car’s wheels found purchase and propelled it forth another few feet, but the mass of vampires held the car in place.

And voices of people she had known from growing up in Greenwick, they reached her through the windows, muffled, sounding bizarre in how out of place their words seemed now.

“I tried my hand at professionally raising and selling koi carp for a while, but I got back into working at the hardware store after two years of that,” said a garbled Jacob from down the street.

“Both of these toasters look pretty good. Help me decide,” said Gina.

“Eh, I wouldn’t rely on those maps. Just use your phone,” mumbled Mister Ferrer.

The voices blended together and the shock and adrenaline and the pounding of Rita’s heart and the rushing of blood in her ears and the panic all blended together into one toxic soup, clouding her every thought. The darkness encroached from the edges of her vision, the chaos and noise blotted out her hearing, or her sensory faculties just all began shutting down, all at once.

She remembered the nightmare from the night before. The blur of the day, waking up early and slapping the alarm clock beside her bed, silencing that annoying beeping noise when it went off—and tearing her out of that nightmare.

Packing her bags for the long drive from the city to Greenwick. The weird thing about that dream was how she had been someone else—a woman named Caroline. Everything else looked and seemed and felt like her own life, but she was this Caroline instead. On her way home for the holidays to get together with her family. All the same, but something was slightly off about it.

And before that alarm clock went off and saved her from the end of the dream, the sky ripped open in it. The void between the stars of a night over the same idyllic town of Greenwick, it just parted and the hungry maw of something greater began to feast on the ripe fruit that was this town. Something colossal, monolithic, and awful. Something that wore the heavens like a mask. An entity by the unspeakable name of Yoz'odrhaxz.

The ringing in her ears grounded her, the thumping of hands against the car which she still sat inside of, locked in, with the vehicle bobbing wildly in every direction due to the vampires in the hideous masks shaking it. The dream was gone. Reality mercilessly caught up to her.

It dawned on her that thinking of last night’s nightmare was her last form of escape. Her final feeble attempt at thinking her way out of this predicament. Her last hope that none of this—none of these vampires, none of this hopelessness—that none of it was real.

But the shaking of the car was real. The horde of aggressors, separated from her only by thin sheets of safety glass, plastic, and metal; protected only by pathetic synthetic things that bent and groaned and threatened to break any second now.

And that panic, seeping into her bones.

The first window cracked, then a fist punched it in and hands started grabbing her. Rather than fighting back anymore, the shock had fully seized her. Just like the hands that grasped and clutched and pulled, the cold embrace of wintry air engulfed her as she was tossed onto the wet ground, slipping and sliding on a slick of trampled-down snow.

Before she could turn around onto her back of her own volition, vampiric hands had pushed and pulled and thrown her into that prone position. And Jacob, her childhood friend and long-time crush, held out one of those hideous masks. In a way that she saw it from the inside.

The stitched-together strips of flesh shuddered, either in a gust of wind, or because they were alive somehow.

He lowered it down onto her with slowness and precision until the last inch in which it just slapped onto her face like a piece of raw chicken. All the air got sucked out as it nestled snugly against her skin, like a suction cup grabbing hold of the flesh.

She did not black out. She did not wake up.

Rita was one of them now.

Only one objective remained in the wasteland of her quickly eroding mind, standing atop a mountain of bleached bones and rubble, looking out from the mountain of broken thoughts and surveying her surroundings with a laser focus.

The violence ceased abruptly. They helped her up, getting her back up onto her feet.

They had more people to turn. Had to make more. Make them more like them. Once they had gathered enough, the feast would begin.

Yoz'odrhaxz demanded it.

The sky waited.

Caroline awoke.

—Submitted by Wratts

[kathyprior4200]

Frosta Fanfiction Seasons 1-5

Season 1

  A young girl, eight years old, stood at attention as the crowd watched. She had short dark blue hair and wore a dark blue dress with white fur covering her shoulders and her wrists. The front of her dress was decorated with seven short icicles carved into diamond shapes. Her round dark eyes met a dozen other eyes in front of her.

“Today,” announced Frigid, a blonde general of the guards, “is a day of both celebration, and mourning. His Majesty King Freeze led several of our strongest men into battle against the Horde on the edge of the Kingdom of Snows. Their leader, Hordak had attempted to invade our kingdom and steal our wealth and resources. King Freeze held Hordark off…but gravely, didn’t make it.”

The crowd muttered in low voices and several younger individuals gasped.

A tear threatened to fall from Frosta’s eyes, but she held it in. She couldn’t afford to be seen as a weak child during her coronation.

As an only child, Frosta had always known that she would become a ruler someday. Both her parents had taught her etiquette and rules early on. After observing weekly meetings with the king and the council, she could recite the anthem and the names of the other kingdoms with her eyes closed.

Despite all the formalities, Frosta still had time to closely bond with her parents in the late evening. She remembered the warm smile behind her father’s dark beard as he watched her practice her ice magic in her bedroom. When she had accidently froze a butler against the wall who had arrived to her room, her father showed her how to melt the ice surrounding him.

“Frosty, you must always be careful,” explained her father. Frosta rolled her eyes at her silly nickname, but smiled all the same.

Frosta remembered the subtle reassurances from Queen Iceis, her mother.

“Follow me,” she had said to her daughter. The two royals entered a hidden passage that led to a dark cave. They both stopped at a ledge.

A young Frosta pointed at something glowing from above. “What’s that?”

“The Fractal Flake,” the queen explained, the light briefly illuminating her long black hair. A large snowflake-shaped crystal hummed with power and stayed in place. She could feel the pulse from the gem similar to how she felt her heart beat.

“This gem has powered our kingdom for hundreds of years,” said the queen. “Its power has been used by kings and queens of the past to protect our land, as well as replenish their power. There will come a time, when it will be your turn to assume the throne. When you do, the crystal’s power will be transferred over to you, amplifying your power.”

Frosta’s eyes filled with both wonder and concern. “I know I’ll be able to do it…but what if I cannot?”

“You will,” said her mother. “There is a reason why we have taught you how to stand your ground so early. It is to best prepare you in case the inevitable comes.”

Frosta tried to pronounce “inevitable” and asked what she meant.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” said the queen. “Now, let’s be off to dinner. The food-tasters should tell us reports on the food when we arrive.” Frosta wrapped her arms around her mother in a hug. Shortly after, she returned the embrace.  

 Frosta didn’t know how fast time could fly by, until now. How could her mother’s clear ice blue eyes sparkle with happiness at her, only for them to roll back into her head, days later. Iceis’ pale white skin became sheer white as her body struggled to fight off a mysterious poison that had entered her veins. Medics and healers rushed into the queen’s chambers, doing all they could to heal her. All the meanwhile, Frosta looked on in fear from the distance, feeling ever so small and vulnerable.

“Definitely poison, alright,” stated a food taster, lifting his nose up to the silver wine chalice the queen had drunk out of. “The Horde must have slipped some in when they arrived with barrels of wine and fish for us.”

“We gave away our weapons to them for nothing,” spat a guard. “But surely, they would want us on their side. It must have been a mistake.”

But the queen’s pained gasps and coughs suggested otherwise. No longer able to stay in one place, Frosta rushed over to her sick mother. Her mother’s hand was ice cold, yet the young princess did not let go.

“My time is almost done, Frosta…” she stuttered. “Remember all the things I have taught you…”

“Mother, please…I’m not ready…”

“You are ready…you must be ready,” said her mother. “Make sure that all your subjects are well cared for. Enforce the rules when necessary. Be strong as a glacier, sharp as ice…but remember to be soft as snow at times.”

“I…I will make you proud, mother,” mumbled Frosta, her eyes turning red.

Iceis squeezed her hand tighter. “Oh, Frosty…you already have…”

Her head turned to the side and her hand went slack in Frosta’s.

“No! No! Mother!” cried Frosta. One of the guards tried to pull her to the side, but she screamed and sobbed loudly. It was the only time when she did not care when she acted like a child. It was even harder to get back into her responsibilities the next day. That was the day when the calls of war were heard.

It was the last time she would ever see her father’s face.

 Frosta’s thoughts were interrupted when she felt something hard being put on her head. It was a small ice crown.

Who would have imagined Frosta being crowned on her birthday…and her feeling like the world was already weighing down on her.

Another man with brown hair stood by her side and spoke. “By the power vested in me, I hereby crown you, Frosta, Princess of Snows.”

The crowd clapped politely, while a few other people looked at her with pity and disbelief in their eyes. Frosta stared at them icily, daring them to challenge her.

‘Don’t underestimate me because of my age,’ she thought. ‘You have no idea what I can accomplish.’

“Happy Birthday, Your Majesty!” called several teenagers as Frosta climbed down the stairs and walked toward the snack bar. For the rest of the day, she was bombarded with gifts from other kingdoms and endless requests of joining the Rebellion.

“Bright Moon needs you, Your Majesty,” said a messenger of Queen Angella who had been sent to her kingdom. He wore armor and the white garb of Bright Moon. A small insignia, a crescent moon, was pinned to his chest over his heart. “The Horde have almost destroyed the Whispering Woods and the Meadowlands. They could be up to something else!”

Frosta ignored him and popped a frost covered fish egg into her mouth. “Not interested. Being involved with the rest of Etheria has only caused problems for our kingdom. It would be beneficial if the Rebellion and the Horde could solve their problems like real adults. I suggest you do the same.”

The messenger looked aghast. “But the princesses…”

“Nope.”

Frosta walked away, leaving a bewildered messenger behind.

A strong burly man walked over to her later on while she was chewing a ball of dark chocolate candy. “The Horde and I have the best technology in the land. With our people and your kingdom ruling together, all of Etheria could be ours!”

“Not today,” Frosta replied with a wave of her hand. “Have a nice evening.”

Desperate to get away from the crowds and noise, Frosta headed back toward the council room.

“Scribe Chiller,” she ordered. The black haired writer looked up from her seat. “Yes, Your Majesty?” she asked.

“I want you to create a new law for this kingdom. Call it the Neutrality Treaty. We will not be involved with the Horde nor the Princess Alliance anymore.”

“Yes, Princess,” she nodded, not daring to question Frosta’s orders.

For months afterward, Frosta felt safer and more secure in her icy palace. The rules and regulations that had formerly confused her, now served as a good way for her to escape her troubling thoughts.

 Soon enough, the hidden pain of the loss of her parents and the ever increasing stress of her job made her perfectionistic.

 The rules had to be followed by the book: no cracks were to be evident in the ice walls and floor. All the beds had to be carefully made and smooth. The food had to be meticulously decorated and prepared. And for Snows sake, nothing on the plate could be touching each other!

Some people may have been put off by Frosta’s perfectionism and her antisocial ways. The more traditional nobles and several jokesters called her derogatory things like “youngster,” “ADHD Autistic Anarchist” and “Lost Frost.” But she didn’t care much anymore. How could she? Sharp comments weren’t going to penetrate her stone cold stance. There was no point in pretending like everything was fine and dandy when she still felt that hollow loneliness each and every day like a gaping hole.

Frosta lived by the rules and her role, day by day, only letting her emotions flow freely in her bedroom when she cried herself to sleep. In the back of her mind, she hoped to have her father and mother appear by her side once more. She imagined them saying that there hadn’t been a war. That they had made peace with the Horde and that they would live safely in Snows for the rest of their lives. Certainly, she could enjoy herself and become queen at 16, the traditional age where she would be shown proper respect.

But just as quickly as they came, her hopeful thoughts faded away in a cold blast.

 It wasn’t long before Frosta was almost twelve years old. Her kingdom had kept to itself for a long time. They had more than enough resources to keep busy and stable.

 The day came when Princess Frosta put together a rule list for the Princess Prom event. The sooner she got this event over with, the better. Already, the scribe was working on dozens of other copies to send out across the land.

“All Princess Ball: Winter Wonderland.” Was written in elaborate script at the top of the scroll. The rules were listed below.

“Rules:

No weapons allowed in the palace. Castle guards are the only ones permitted to carry weapons.

No use of magic powers for harm or fist fighting. Any form of violence will not be permitted.

For the chefs: All food must be prepared properly (fish and meat frozen with the right amount of ice power).

All guests must wear formal attire: (dresses, suits, ties, etc.)

Any princess may bring a plus one individual with them to the event

Princess Frosta is eleven and ¾ years old. No one is allowed to mock her or make any comment on her age or experience.

 The day of the prom arrived. A guard stood by a table, confiscating weapons from the guests. Adora was very reluctant to let go of her sword. Snow and icicles wrapped around the columns in the hallway. On and above the double doors were stain glass snowflake designs. The ballroom was shining with rows of icicles arranged in rows. People from all walks of life were dancing under colored strobe lights and pop music. A chandelier of long icicles hung from the high ceiling. A small band of beautiful women were playing string instruments on top of some stairs in a corner. An array of fruits and exotic food were positioned on ice covered shelves, made to be preserved throughout the night. There were small sandwiches, wrapped hotdogs, cookies, and cupcakes with wintery designs and colors. A large jelly-like sculpture was positioned at the edge of one table.

A line of guests walked up the steps to Frosta, who was sitting on her blue and white throne. The people bowed and greeted her, and they were then escorted back down the stairs by guards. Frosta didn’t particularly enjoy the moment; for her it was just another chore, albeit a necessary part of the ancient traditions. It was then that Adora and princess Glimmer arrived to the front. Adora bowed and Glimmer curtsied.

“That’s Frosta?” Adora whispered to Glimmer. “But she’s like…ten!”

A collective gasp came from the crowd as they heard Frosta’s age mentioned out loud by Adora.

“I’m eleven and three quarters,” said Frosta coldly. If she could, Frosta would have told her to shut the hell up.

“Revered hostess,” said Glimmer. “We come under the ancient rules of hospitality, bringing greetings from Bright Moon.”

“And She-Ra” added Adora.

“You are welcome under the rules of hospitality,” Frosta stated. “Leave conflict at the door. Enjoy the ball.”

Glimmer tried to remediate the situation and Adora started to say something about the Rebellion but Frosta had enough. The two princesses were moved along by Frosta’s guards down the steps.

Later on, during the party, Frosta went over by the snack bar, wanting to be left alone. She observed the light orange jelly and the fruit on the table. However, she noticed out of the corner of her eye, Adora walking over to her from her right.

Chatting with this disrespectful blonde stranger was the last thing on Frosta’s mind.

“Revered hostess,” said Adora with a bow. “I’ve come to apologize. I was so rude.”

“Yes, you were,” Frosta replied bluntly.

Then she turned back to Adora. “But you’re only an honorary princess. You can’t be expected to know better.”

Changing the subject, Adora looked around at the magnificent walls of ice and the vast architecture of the place.

“Your kingdom is beautiful. I’m honored to be here.”

“Thank you,” said Frosta, not looking at Adora.

Frosta sighed in annoyance, knowing why Adora had decided to speak with her. “And now I expect you’re gonna ask me to join your Rebellion?”

“You know about that?” asked Adora.

“Of course I do,” Frosta replied. “Princesses talk, you know.”

Just then, one of Frosta’s guards came over with a tray of food. He offered some to the princesses.

Frosta looked at the tray with disapproval. “The snow peas and the cookies are touching. Do it right.”

The guard left.

“Princess Frosta, the Rebellion needs you,” Adora pleaded. “Your kingdom is powerful. Your alliance could defeat the Horde.”

“The Horde hasn’t threatened us here,” stated Frosta. Despite several mishaps, the Horde had kept to themselves thanks to the Neutrality Treaty. Not even the Horde soldiers could get into the kingdom back when she lost her parents.

“Because the Kingdom of Snows is so out of the way,” Adora added. “Joining the Rebellion is your best bet.”

At this point, the ice princess was getting frustrated at the sight of a stranger telling her what her best choices were.

She had heard comments like that quite often in the castle, especially after the death of her parents.

“Are you sure you know what’s best for you?”

“You’re too little to run a kingdom! Do you even know what you are doing?”

“Maybe she’s too scared to associate herself with the outside world. Not doing what is best.”

The truth was, no one knew what was best for her…except herself. She certainly wasn’t going to let another person test her like that.

Frosta spoke. “The Kingdom of Snows has defended itself well for thousands of years. We do not need your help or your rebellion.”

She turned to Adora. “Please continue to enjoy the ball.” She left with her guards by her side.

Frosta was sitting back on her throne, doing her usual routine of meeting and greeting her guests. She was about to go into another state of boredom when she saw two guests that stood out from the crowd: Catra and Scorpia from the Horde. Catra was wearing a fancy maroon suit, while Scorpia was wearing an elegant black dress and red gem earrings.

“Revered hostess!” called Adora in concern.

‘Not this again,’ thought Frosta.

“They’re from the Horde!” Adora yelled, pointing at the two villains.

‘So what?’

“Hostess,” said Catra. “Princess Scorpia was invited per the rules of this ball. Rules which I personally have utmost respect for.”

“You do not!” shouted Adora to Catra.

“Princess Adora!” said Frosta sternly. “The rules state clearly that all princesses are welcome.”

“They’re up to something. I can feel it!”

“That’s enough!” Frosta reprimanded. “You look at me and see a child, but I have worked too hard to gain respect, only to throw away because you feel they’re up to something.”

It was quite clear that Adora had no evidence to back up her statement.

“The All-Princess Ball is neutral. I will not dishonor that legacy,” finished Frosta. “Scorpia is a princess. Princesses get plus ones. They. Stay.”

Adora grumbled in defeat and deviance.

After the guests left, pushing Adora and Glimmer below the stairs, Frosta grumbled, “Teenagers.”

The guests were all scattered around the ballroom now, eating food, and chatting with their friends. With no more people to greet and the time drawing near, Frosta stood up and announced, “It is my solemn duty as hostess to announce, it is time for the first dance of the ball.”

The crowd flooded toward the dance floor, laughing and pairing up in couples. Frosta watched and saw Adora and Catra dancing…and arguing at the same time. The dancing remained uninterrupted…until Adora suddenly pushed Catra into an ice structure, breaking it. The music stopped and the crowd gasped.

‘I knew Adora was trouble,’ thought Frosta.

Frosta stomped over and with a raise of her hands, entrapped Adora in a cage of ice.

Frosta glared at Adora. “The Princess Ball is a ceremony of unity. Violence is strictly forbidden.”

“You don’t understand…” started Adora.

“I understand perfectly,” spat Frosta. “In accordance with the rules set down over the centuries, I hereby revoke your invitation. You are to leave my kingdom and never, ever…”

A sudden loud explosion interrupted Frosta’s reprimand. Then a series of crystal bombs went off one after the other. Guests screamed and ran away in a panic. The food and plates crashed to the ground and crack appeared in the walls.

“Remain calm! Stop!” ordered Frosta to the crowd. Frosta knew what she had to do next. There was no time to stop the mysterious intruders. She had to keep her kingdom safe. She ran off, flanked by two of her guards.

Frista raced down the hall toward the secret passageway.

“Help get everyone out of here. If you see the intruders, freeze and restrain them.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” said the guards.

Frosta opened the ice covered door, which blended in well with the rest of the ice wall from a distance. Heart pounding, Frosta ran in the dark, searching for the beacon of light. Finally she found it: the Fractal Flake. She stopped, took a deep breath and raised both of her hands.

In several seconds, the falling debris that had threatened to fall on the guests froze in mid fall. Slowly, the castle started to amend itself. The roof closed back together, a light fixture flew back up into place and the large star structure outside the palace was fitting itself back together. Frosta strained herself and grunted with effort. If she was going to risk collapsing or even death protecting her kingdom, then that’s what she would do.

Once the palace was fully repaired, Frosta gasped for breath and fell to her knees on the cold ground.

How did all of this happen? Here was an event that only happened once a decade, which was supposed to be harmonious and secure. Seeing the two sides in harmony would have strengthened Frosta’s confidence of her rule.

Now, everything had fallen apart.

Frosta had lost her parents. She had lost her sense of security and safety.

And now…though she was reluctant to admit it, she had lost her trust in the Horde.

She wiped away some tears that had fallen down her face.

‘I have failed you, mother, father,’ she stuttered through her sobs. ‘I almost failed my kingdom. What am I supposed to do now?’

She clenched her fists and stood up. “I…I must go back outside. Tend to those who may be wounded. Reassure the public.” She remembered some advice from her father: “Professional in public, playful in private.”

Maybe…perhaps maybe…this Adora person was right after all.

But would joining the Rebellion really be her best bet? Even if it meant going against her centuries long tradition of neutrality? Her Neutrality Law was, in fact, nothing new. Her parents made a similar law, as did her grandparents and the ones before them. It was expected of a ruler to be partial and logical…never to fight unless the enemy invaded first.

Which of course, they had.

With one last surge of energy, Frosta stood up and raised her hands once more. This time, huge towers of ice rose up from the outside and encased the palace like a triangular shield. Now her kingdom was more isolated and insulated than ever.

She now felt safe…but never had she felt more alone.

She made her way out of the chamber and was met with one of her messengers, a young man named Frigid. “Your Majesty, no one appears to be hurt after the bombs went off. There were reports of two men in blue coats taking away Princess Adora’s comrades.”

Another messenger came over, this time a woman with dark hair, Glace.

“We think that Bow and Glimmer have been taken away by spies. They disguised themselves as our guard!”

“And the Horde must have set off the bombs. That scorpion princess was suspiciously nowhere to be seen…”

“Alright, I understand,” said Frosta holding up her hands.

She cleared her throat. “Strengthen the defenses. Search the castle for any other intruders. See to it that all weapons are observed and stored away.

“Yes Princess,” said Glace. The two messengers wandered off to their duties.

 Days and weeks passed. Frosta sat in with the council, going over document after document. She wore her usual blue coat, tan pants, and blue boots. She was about to sign a Treaty from the Horde when she felt a strange uncomfortable feeling in her stomach.

It wasn’t from hunger nor was it cramps. It was the everlasting feeling of fear and dread. Even her hands had begun to shake of their own accord.

“Excuse me for a moment,” she said. Frosta walked fast out of the room, leaving the council members in confusion.

When Frosta felt the Fractal Flakes power diminish, she knew that something was not right.

It felt like another, much darker power was trying to corrupt it. Although it felt far away, she knew that the force could grow increasingly closer. It was a feeling of dread that she couldn’t seem to let go of.

Her fears were further confirmed when she saw a pale blue light shine up into the dark sky. She knew what it was: a distress beacon from BrightMoon!

Perhaps it was the time for her to do something different.

Perhaps it was the time for her to take action and go outside her comfort zone.

Making her way into her office, she came across the Neutrality Treaty that she had meticulously put together…and threw it out of a nearby open window.

The wind blew away the documents and Frosta felt a weight lift from her shoulders. Her previous life of rules and solitude had blown away.

If the Rebellion truly needed her help, than that is what she would have to do.

“Princess?” asked one of two guards, who were standing outside her door. “Are you alright?”

“Go back to your positions. Don’t let anyone know I’m gone. If I don’t come back…”

“You’re leaving?” asked one of the guards.

“To help save the Rebellion. I sense that something bad is happening.”

“But the Neutrality Treaty…”

“Is henceforth disregarded!” she declared. Frosta never believed that those words would ever leave her lips.

Her guards stood in frozen shock. They wondered if Frosta had lost her mind.

Which, due to the events, she most likely had.

“If I don’t make it, tell the people that I left this world with honor,” she finished, managing to make her face emotionless.

“Princess, wait!” the guards called with concern.

But Frosta jumped out the window and shot long sheets of ice from her hands as she fell.

The ice rose from the ground and created an icy path that Frosta slid down and across. She moved gracefully as if she were wearing ice skates instead of her blue boots.

Red lightning flashed across the sky, lighting the world in a blood red glow. The sight made Frosta’s hair stand on end.

‘No time to back away now. I must do what is right for my kingdom.’

She slipped over the Whispering Woods…or what was left of them. The majority of the ground was frozen below. As she came up to the palace of BrightMoon, she saw quite a sight.

Horde tanks were firing green blasts at the castle. One of the blasts fired by Catra made impact with the large stand that held the Moonstone upright. It stared to crack in half and threatened to fall, bringing the Moonstone to its doom under the lake. With a quick flick of her wrist, the stand holding the gem was encased in ice.

She proceeded to blast more Horde soldiers away with her powers.

Adora and the other princesses looked happy to see her.

Frosta flipped through the air and landed in front of She-Ra. “I hope I’m not too late,” she stated.

“No, you’re right on time,” said Adora.

For the first time in a long time, Frosta smiled. Then feeling impatient with Glimmer teleporting again and the group reuniting, she said, “Let’s do this already,” holding her staff in front of her.

Feeling a new energy within her, Frosta fought alongside the other princesses, forcing the Horde to retreat. She shot blasts of ice from a long staff she carried in her left hand.

Soon, the Moonstone brightened up the world, healed Glimmer and made things right again. When Frosta joined the other group of princesses who gave She-Ra extra power in rainbow waves, Frosta had never felt such happiness before. She glowed in a blue aura, with Perfuma and Glimmer on either side of her.

With victory for the Rebellion, Glimmer shook Frosta hard with glee, which she did not expect nor appreciate. Later, Frosta found herself cheering with Perfuma after the rainbow of power had been unleashed. “We did it!” both of them cheered. “We defeated them together! Isn’t this wonderful?” She happily hugged Perfuma and she hugged her back.

‘So this is what friendship is like,’ Frosta thought. For the first time in a while, Frosta truly felt like a kid again.

‘Mother and Father would be proud of me. If only they could see me now!’

As Frosta said her goodbyes and skated back to her kingdom, she did not know what the future would hold for her. In the back of her mind, she knew that the Horde was still out there. They would stop at nothing to conquer the land of Etheria along with the whole world. Now, she realized that her kingdom would be included on their list.

Her visit back was met with celebration and some apprehension. There were still people who could not accept a mere child ruling their kingdom but they were few and far between. The castle was now fully cleaned, repaired, and routines were set back in order. It was the same as it usually was.

Only this time, Frosta made plans to interact and travel with the Princess Alliance and help out in any way possible. Even though at times, she still had high expectations of other people.

No matter what the future would bring, Frosta would meet it head on like an unyielding glacier. To herself, she had the audacity to thank the Horde for what they had done. For without their involvement, Frosta would not have grown stronger and more resilient. Their attack at the Princess Prom made her want to defeat them more than ever before. It was a peculiar surge of adrenaline that she formerly, was not allowed to feel.

Being with her friends was…freeing. Weird, no doubt, but also freeing.

Frosta smiled as she hugged Perfuma.

“Yeah! We did things together! Isn’t this wonderful?”

 Deep down inside herself, Frosta knew she had made the right decision. She would not just honor tradition…she would expand upon it, alter it to better her kingdom for the good of her people. It was a daunting task for such a young girl who was so used to routine…but then again, she was one not to be underestimated.

One thing was certain…her memories of her new friends would stay frozen in her mind for a long time.

  Season 2

 Time had passed since the Rebellion had been victorious at the battle for Bright Moon. Frosta had grown more light-hearted and friendly with the other princesses. She was more than happy to accompany them on their journey. She liked to imagine herself in large ice armor smashing through the Horde's robots and creating ice weapons from her hands. After being secluded in her ice palace and having to learn her responsibilities for four years as a ruler, she felt a new thrill of freedom with the others. She felt like she had made friends at last. In contrast to her previous cold and distant attitude, she has been shown to be reckless and wants to prove her strength in order to impress the others. She had learned how to be professional back at the castle, but around the other princesses, a different side of her appears...one that is enthusiastic, though socially awkward. Due to her traumatic situation at a young age, and being the youngest princess, she did not have a normal childhood. However, Adora and the others show her that it's never too late to make friends and step out of one's comfort zone once in a while.

   Frosta smiled as she pounded her ice covered fists against one of the Horde bots that had been swarming the frozen forest. Frosta knocked one robot aside and gasped as another one flew at her.

“Got it,” said Mermista, stopping the robot with a wave of water and tossing it to the side. Bow lodged an arrow in the robot, causing it to explode.

Perfuma arrived on the scene, vines trailing in her wake. “Sorry, Frosta,” she said, feeling bad that she had accidentally flung the robots high into the air before.

“Wow, flower princesses can’t aim,” said Mermista with a playful grin.

“I-I’m working on it!” Perfuma stuttered.

 “Look out!” cried Frosta as another robot appeared.

“Got it!” called Glimmer. The pink and purple haired girl teleported herself and the bot up into the pink sky. She kicked the robot down to the ground, where it exploded in a stream of smoke.

“Thanks for dropping in,” said Glimmer with a grin.

Frosta appeared by Glimmer’s right side and let lot a loud laugh.

“Dropping in, because you dropped him from the sky. Good one.”

Frosta slapped Glimmer playfully on the back, resulting in a glare from her. She rubbed her arm in pain, since Frosta’s ice hands had hurt. Glimmer wondered off in search of another bot, Frosta eager to follow.

 Glimmer noticed another wondering bot and summoned a thin purple staff from purple light in her left hand.

“How’d you do that?”

Glimmer noticed Frosta and shouted in surprise.

Frosta showered her with questions. “Can you teleport anything you want? Like a cannon? I can make ice cannonballs.”

“What? No. Just the staff. It was my dad’s…Ugh. Actually, I was sort of in the middle of something here. Do you mind?”

A purple beam emerged from Glimmer’s staff but with a shout, Frosta had impaled the bot with a large ice spike.

“It’s more effective if you hit their core processing unit,” Frosta explained.

“Ugh. I know,” said a frustrated Glimmer. “I was about to…”

“Hey. There’s another one. Let’s get it,” interrupted Frosta. Glimmer groaned as Frosta hurried off.

Eventually, all the bots had been defeated.

Adora, Bow, and Glimmer walked down the hall at Bright Moon castle, Glimmer’s home. The other princesses had also arrived to the Rebellion’s base and were waiting inside the council room with Queen Angelina.

 “You should have seen it,” Glimmer exclaimed. “With the Moonstone super-charged, I’ve been so much more powerful. I took out, like, at least five bots,” she bragged.

Bow rolled his eyes from behind her. “Just like the day before, and the day before that.”

Glimmer turned around and looked at him. “So? What are we supposed to do? Not fight? We have to protect the woods. The Horde is going to keep taking ground until it regrows.”

“I know,” said Bow. “But how long can we keep this up?” He faced Adora.

“Did you learn anything from Light Hope?”

“Uh…” Adora smiled nervously and pointed at her sword in her other hand. “Getting way better at transforming my sword. Look.”

The sword morphed into a golden water pitcher.

“A pitcher,” said Bow with a nervous chuckle as Adora gave a small thumbs up. “That’s so useful.”

“We can picnic once the woods regrow,” said Glimmer.

“We should turn it into a dagger,” said Frosta eagerly from behind her. Glimmer screamed.

Frosta continued.  “See me take out that bot with daggers?”

“Where did you come from?” asked Glimmer.

“I’ve been here the whole time,” she stated.

Glimmer narrowed her eyes at Frosta. “Well, we have to go. We have an important meeting.”

“The war council?” Frosta asked. “I’m heading there, too.” She winked and whispered, “Better, hurry, you’re gonna be late.” She hurried down the hall, went into the room and took her seat.

Glimmer’s eyebrow twitched as Bow said playfully, “Do we have a new addition to the Best Friend Squad?”

“Shut up,” she replied with a sigh.

  The council meeting was about to go underway.

Perfuma went up to Mermista. “Sorry, heh, I think that’s my chair.”

“Yeah, don’t you find it helpful to shift perspectives, sometimes?” Mermista asked, clearly not giving up her seat.

Perfuma’s eye twitched and she hummed, sitting down on her knees with her hands together, trying to calm herself. Glimmer, Bow, and Adora entered through the doors.

“Aunt Casta! You made it,” said Glimmer.

The woman beside Angelina smiled, her hair in black braids. “I wouldn’t miss it, dearest. The first war room of the new alliance. How exciting.”

Angelina glanced at her sister. “Shame you couldn’t be there where the alliance was formed.”

“I knew you’d bring that up…”

“We have a great deal to discuss,” said Angelina cutting Castaspella off. “Please take your seats.”

Frosta took her spot next to Glimmer and smiled. Glimmer grunted in response.

 Frosta listened as Swift Wind and Glimmer reported on territories taken by the Rebellion or the Horde. Bow came up with a plan to capture one of the Horde bots for the possibility of using it against them. After a while, the queen rose from her chair. “Glimmer, take your patrol out and capture a bot for Bow to study and carry out his plan,” ordered Angelina.

Frosta stood in front of Glimmer, making her flinch. “Commander, I have ideas to improve. First we should all have code names. I’d like to be Frostbite. And you can be Sparklebomb. Second…”

Glimmer cut her off. “Oh uh, Frosta. I need you to stay back and help Spinnerella and Netossa guard the castle. Great, thanks.”

She vanished before Frosta could get any words out.

With the council dismissed and the mission in place, Frosta decided that she was going to help Glimmer and the others. There was no way she’d stay back and miss all the good fighting. As quietly as she could, Frosta followed the other princesses out the door and toward the frozen forest.

 “Okay,” said Glimmer, pacing back and forth as the others stood in a line. “We’ll split up to cover the most ground. “Adora, Bow and I will go east. Mermista and Perfuma, you go west. Swift Wind, cover the sky and tell s when there’s a bot nearby.”

“And remember, we want an intact bot,” Bow added.

“What if it’s just like, a little waterlogged?” asked Mermista.

Perfuma chimed in, “And also covered in ferns that secrete corrosive poison?”

Frosta jumped out from behind the white Pegasus. “Or what if it’s totally smashed by my ice hammer?” She formed an ice hammer from her hand.

“Frosta!” gasped Glimmer. She sighed and walked fast toward her.

“You’re supposed to be defending the castle with Netossa and Spinnerella.”

Frosta crossed her arms, already tired of being told what to do.

“I know I ignored orders, but, no offence, those orders were wrong. You need me here.”

Glimmer put her hand son her hips. “You can’t just go running off whenever.”

“But I did,” said Frosta. “And I’m here now. And I’m not going back.”

“Fine. You can be in Mermista and Perfuma’s patrol.”

“I’m going with you.”

Glimmer leaned in, angrily. “Don’t push your luck.” She stomped off, Frosta glaring behind her.

 Frosta wondered off with Mermista and Perfuma and, using her soft padded boots, snuck out of sight. She soon noticed Adora, Bow, and Glimmer fighting off a larger robot that looked more advanced than the previous ones.

It wasn’t long before the group was surrounded by four of the new robots. Now was her chance.

Frosta jumped with her ice fists ready and landed on top of one of the robots.

She hit the top part of the robot that held the purple lit camera.

“Frosta!” yelled Glimmer. “Do you even listen when people tell you things?”

“What?” asked Frosta, still attacking the bot.

Glimmer waved her staff. “Get away from that bot!”

“It’s the bot you should be worried about!” Frosta replied. A metal claw picked up Frosta by her jacket and flung her over a cliff.

“Frosta!” Glimmer cried as the ice princess screamed and fell. Teleporting, Glimmer grabbed hold of Frosta in midair and teleported them to another area before they both hit the ground hard.

“There you are. We’ve been looking everywhere for you,” said Perfuma, arriving on a vine.

“Yeah. Everywhere,” Mermista deadpanned.

Frosta stood up and rubbed her nose, while Glimmer rubbed her head.

“That was incredibly stupid!” Glimmer scolded. “You could’ve gotten hurt, or gotten one of us hurt!”

“I was just trying to help,” said Frosta.

“This is serious, not a game,” said Glimmer. “You need to stop getting in our way.”

Frosta stared at Glimmer, stunned. Tears fell from her eyes as she ran off.

“Frosta, wait,” pleaded Glimmer, but she had already left. Frosta climbed up a rock overlooking the land and sat down. So apparently, her friends thought of her as nothing more than a burden. She had wanted to make friends and not feel as lonely as she had for countless years.

Frosta could hear Glimmer’s feet from behind her. Frosta turned her head. “Come to yell at me more? I just wanted to be your friend.”

“By ignoring us and throwing yourself into danger?” Glimmer asked.

“Sorry, I don’t know how to act.” The next words she said were painful for her to hear. “I’ve never had any friends before.” She turned away, head in her arms.

Glimmer teleported next to her and sat down. Frosta looked up at Glimmer, with a sad look on her face.

“I was eight when I took over the throne. Kind of hard to make friends when everyone is your sworn subject.”

“I know how you feel,” said Glimmer, empathetically. “I didn’t have any friends before Bow and Adora.”

“You?” Frosta asked, surprised. “Figured everyone would wanna be your friend.”

Glimmer chuckled half-heartedly. “Yeah, definitely not everyone.”

Then glimmer added, “And I’m still learning how to be a good friend, too.”

They both went silent for a moment, staring at the ground. Gathering her courage Glimmer turned back to Frosta. “I’m sorry I yelled. It’s just…I guess you remind me of…me.”

Frosta was not expecting to hear that. Being more of an introvert and not having the same carefree personality as Glimmer, comparing herself to the Brightmoon princess would be the last thing she would consider.

Glimmer continued, “And I can do really dangerous stuff sometimes.”

“I remind you of you?” asked Frosta, her eyes big and shining.

Glimmer nodded. Then disgust crept into her voice. “Ugh. And I even sounded like my mom when I yelled at you. Please don’t make me to that again.”

“Deal,” said Frosta with a small smile. Frosta held out her hand. Glimmer was about to shake it, but Frosta briefly held it back. “Does that mean we’re friends?”

“Yes,” Glimmer answered. “And we…I could really use your help.”

Relief filled Frosta and she stood up. “You want me to come back? I knew we’d make a great team. So should I do ice hammers or daggers? Your right, one of each.” An ice hammer formed in her left hand and an ice spike from her right.

Glimmer laughed nervously and rolled her eyes, deciding to go along with it. The two of them climbed down and hurried after the others.

 Frosta noticed the robots crawling toward the crystal tower and shot some ice underneath their metal legs, causing them to skid.

“Ice of you to drop in,” she said with a laugh.

Glimmer teleported her to safety to avoid an incoming laser. Both girls barreled into the bot and Frsota banged a large dent in it with her ice fist. “Showed you, bot face.”

 Catra charged at the last remaining robot, landing a punch, which sent it back. Glimmer blasted it back with her magic.

“You ready, ice princess?” asked Mermista.

“Yeah,” Frosta replied.

Mermista shot water at the bot, pushing it back against a cliff.

Yes!” Frosta said as she froze the water.

Perfuma held the bot in place with vines.

Bow held a piece of tech in victory and the princesses cheered.

The princesses watched in amazement as auras outlined their bodies and the forest magically grew back to normal. Frosta’s aura was dark blue.

“Whoa. Did we do that?” asked Frosta, looking around.

The answer was a clear yes.

Frosta laughed and hugged Glimmer.

 Later, the girls were back at Bright Moon castle. Frosta relaxed as Glimmer brushed her short blue hair.

“So, we’re okay now the woods are growing back, right?” Frosta asked.

“Light Hope says there’s still a lot to fix, but at least it won’t be as easy for the Horde to attack us.”

Frosta looked at Glimmer. “Thanks again for saving me, you know, after that bot threw me off the cliff.”

“Friends stick together. No princess left behind,” replied Glimmer. Adora held Frsota’s hand and the three of them laughed.

 During another day, Frosta and Mermista met with the others during a battle plan.

“Mermista said you were playing. We wanna join,” said Frosta.

“Ugh. We’re in the middle of a very serious planning session,” sighed Adora.

“We have lots of ideas for plans,” Perfuma added.

“Aren’t you on watch right now?” Glimmer asked.

Adroa groaned. “But only if you’re serious…”

“I’m sitting next to Glimmer!” Frosta said joyfully as she sat down.

“I have ideas,” Frosta said. “Staring with we punch them!”

One by one, all the members fantasized battle plans, each with their unique twists. In Bow’s fantasy, Catra turned into a purple mountain lion.

“Wait, she can do that?” Frosta asked.

“No,” said Bow. “But I ran out of figures and only have this left, so she can now.”

Perfuma then began talking about using a plant golem to take down the tower.

Then Mermista fantasized about having She-Ra’s powers, holding a trident and calling herself “Sea-Ra.”

 Frosta interrupted Perfuma. “The Winter’s Bane needs no help from a plant.”

Frosta imagined herself in full body ice armor similar to a transformer. The enemies were frozen in her ice. Frosta spoke in a dramatic voice.

“My enemies know me as Frostbite Winter’s Bane. My friends call me Bane. That is, if I had any. But no one comes close to the Winter’s Bane! She’s got a board sword that enhances strength plus three. Her finishing move is the Snow Strike.”

She pointed to a sketch of her character.

“What’s that pink blob?” asked Mermista.

“Her sidekick, Glimmer.”

The group continued talking, with Frosta adding her own ideas. “Frostbite uses Snowstrike to encase the tower in ice, then crack it, kapow!”

 “Frostbite smashes the wall!” Frosta exclaims.

“The ice armor cracks as you hit stone,” Adora says.

 The group then began talking about Catra.

Frosta disagreed with Perfuma and said, “No, no, no, she’s more like ‘I love ruining parties.’”  She imagined a drunk Catra holding a glass of wine, with sunglasses.

Adora soon began worrying that the Horde would defeat them and was about to give up. Her friends gave her words of encouragement.

“The Winter’s Bane stands with you. Also, me, Frosta stands with you. I can’t tell if we’re still in character.”

  The princesses soon launched their improvised attack on the tower, Perfuma staring with her plant golem. Frosta encased the cannons in ice.

“Yay, Frosta!” cheered Perfuma.

Frosta’s arms, hands, and chest were covered in ice armor. “This is colder than I thought, but not a problem.���

She charged through the line of Horde robots, knocking them over the wall with her ice fists. “Snow Strike!” She knocked two robots down and then a third.

“Huh?”

One of her hands was free from the ice, but water splashed on it, making ice appear again.

“Thanks, Mermista!” Frosta called.

“You mean Sea-Ra, Princess of the Oceans!” She conjured up a wave that splashed throughout the tower.

Adora, Mermista, Perfuma and Frosta yelled their battle cries.

“Charge!”

“I am Sea-Ra!”

“Plant magic!”

“The Winter’s Bane!”

The princesses were soon glowing and knocked off Scorpia and the other Horde soldiers. The Rebellion swiped down the red Horde flag and cheered.

  Season 3

Perfuma, Mermista, and Queen Angella analyzed the holographic map on the round table in front of them. Over toward the back of the chamber, Frosta stood by a map, sticking another smaller map into place with an icicle. Netossa and Spinerella watched intently. They were all trying to come up with another way to defeat the Horde.

 Mermista gasped and fell backwards out of her chair, when an exhausted Glimmer and Bow appeared with Huntara.

“You’re already here. Perfect,” said Glimmer nervously.

Mermista picked herself up. “Yeah, where have you been?”

She glanced over at the lavender skinned warrior. “Is this some new She-Ra form?”

“No. This is Huntara,” Glimmer explained. “She’s the leader of the Crimson Waste. Or was.”

Huntara observed the map with fascination and swiped at the image with her hand, a child-like expression on her face. Swift Wind arrived and pushed her out of the way.

Glimmer continued. “Uh, we don’t have time to get into it. We need to get to the Fright Zone.”

“The world doesn’t stop just because you aren’t here,” Angella warned. “We have been planning our attack on the Horde.”

“That’s a relief,” added Bow. “Because Catra kidnapped Adora.”

Everyone gasped, including Frosta, Netossa, and Spinerella, who turned around.  

“The Horde has Adora?” Angella asked.

“Which also means they can open a portal because they have her sword,” Glimmer explained.

“What? I don’t understand…”

“There’s no time.”

“Glimmer, slow down…”

“We need to get to the Fright Zone now,” Glimmer spoke in urgency.

“We?” asked Angella. “You are not going anywhere until you explain.” She stood up and unfurled her white transparent wings. “Glimmer, outside. Now.”

Frosta continued observing her maps, as Glimmer and Angella walked outside, the doors closing behind them.

 When their conversation was over, Frosta and the others rushed from their hiding spot behind the doors. Several of the princesses whistled innocently, like they had not been eavesdropping.

 Later on that night, Perfuma, Frosta and Mermista used their powers to hoist themselves onto the raised platform. Perfuma got up using vines, Mermista via a rising wave of water, and Frosta, via ice.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Mermista asked.

Glimmer summoned her staff into her hand. “Don’t try to stop us. This is the only way to save Adora.”

“We’re not trying to stop you. We wanna come with you,” Perfuma said.

Mermista smirked. “We could do the whole “you can’t come with us, it’s too risky” thing…”

Frosta stepped up. “Or you could just accept that we are coming. Because we are.”

Shadow Weaver spoke from behind. “A larger group will be a disadvantage. I won’t…”

Mermista interrupted her, pointing at her. “We’re calling the shots. You’re gonna have to make that thing bigger, weird, scary lady.”

Reluctantly, Shadow Weaver complied.

“Quickly now,” she urged.

She spread out tendrils of dark purple magic from her hands and down below, the complex circle of symbols and shapes lit up.  Shadow Weaver made another symbol in the air, identical to the symbol on the ground. She extended her hand through the small hole, beckoning Glimmer to take it.

After a brief hesitation and a deep breath, Glimmer’s hand grasped hers.

The moment their hands touched, dark purple power swirled around the area, the energies of the Black Garnet and the Moonstone converging. It wasn’t long before all the group members were transported into the heart of the Fright Zone.

 “We did it. I did it. Oh that was amazing,” Glimmer exclaimed, jumping for joy.

“Hmm,” said Bow in thought. “Kind of figured Hordak’s sanctum would be way scarier and not so empty.”

“Yeah no,” Mermista added. “Decorating is not their strongest suit.”

“We aimed for Hordak’s sanctum, but obviously, we missed,” said Shadow Weaver. “We’re not far. Stay behind me. And try to be quiet.”

The door opened to reveal a blue skinner reptile humanoid, holding a blue cup in his hands. All the princesses and Bow turned around. The Horde cadet dropped his cup in shock, spilling the rocky and sloppy contents on the ground.

“We have to go,” called Shadow Weaver, pushing a button and opening a metal door.

“I’ll hold her off,” said Perfuma, before Mermista, Bow, Glimmer, and Frosta hurried after the sorceress.

As the group ran, the door ahead opened up, revealing Lonnie and Rogelio. Glimmer stood, conjuring balls of glittery light in her hands. Frsota already had formed ice fists around her hands.

Lonnie pulled a lever, sounding the alarm before pulling out a stun weapon. Rogelio roared and charged.

Mermista walked forward, pulling water from beneath a sewer grate to the right. “My turn. I didn’t almost drown in these sewers for nothing.”

Frosta strode forward. “I want in.”

She waved her hand and Mermista’s water turned into shards of ice. Mermista fired them at Rogelio and Lonnie, catching their hands and legs in ice.

“We’ll keep them busy. Go,” Mermista called. Mermista and Frosta stayed behind to fight off incoming soldiers while Glimmer, Bow, and shadow Weaver disappeared down another corridor.

  She-Ra walked through the portal. In one strike of her sword, she broke it and the machine collapsed.

“Adora!” shouted Glimmer and Bow, both running over and embracing her in a hug. All of their eyes shone with tears.

“See? We told you, you could do it,” mentioned Glimmer.

“Who hoo!” Frosta cheered. “Yes, we did it. We did it.”

Frosta ran over and hugged Adora as Perfuma and Mermista also joined in.

“Touching as this is, we need to go,” Shadow Weaver cut in. “Now.”

She held out her hand. Glimmer stepped forward and took it. The others let go of Adora and took their positions. The black power swirled around them, transporting them back to the raised platform where the Moonstone resided.

Everyone laughed and shouted with joy; Perfuma even hugging a stiff unamused Shadow Weaver.

“We did it,” said Bow, lifting Glimmer up and carrying her around.

“Did we do it?”

“We did it,” Glimmer assured. “I’m probably going to be grounded for the rest of my life, but reality is back to normal.” Bow gently put Glimmer down.

“Speaking of which, I guess I should go find my mom. Maybe she’ll be so happy to see me that she’ll forget about grounding me.”

Adora slowly walked over to Glimmer, head lowered, and silent.

“Adora, what is it?” Glimmer asked in confusion.

Adora transformed out of her She-Ra form and embraced her in a somber hug. Glimmer knew then what she was telling her.

Adora started to cry. “Angella, she…she stayed behind. She…she saved us.”

Tears pooled in Glimmer’s eyes. Frosta and the others gathered around, comforting Glimmer and Adora.

  Season 4

Glimmer, Adora, and Bow followed Castaspella down the hall. Castaspella explained the process of Glimmer’s coronation.

“So the ceremony begins with the Ritual Quest, followed by your first speech as queen. And most importantly, the whole thing ends with a Grand Ball!”

Adora gasped. “Oh, there’s a quest! We’re great at quests.”

Castaspella continued, “The Quest of Queens, in which Glimmer will forge her connection to the Moonstone. The Moonstone’s power has been balanced between you and your mother since you’ve been born, but now, with her…her absent…”

“So, about that quest!” Bow cut in. “We’re great at quests, right?”

Castaspella cast a spell, a blue circle design in the air, which a scroll appeared. She tossed it over to Bow.

“Yes, it’s in the scrolls. Secret ritual, witnesses, light, etcetera, etcetera. Oh, and you’ll need this.”

She threw an elegant lantern into Bow’s arms, the interior glowing with a white flower against light blue.

A shirtless man with wild white hair arrived with a large bouquet of red and pink roses, nettled in green.

“Are those the flower arrangements?” Castaspella asked in amazement. “Glimmer, what do you think?”

Glimmer mumbled awkwardly raising an eyebrow. “Oh uh, they’re, uh, fine?”

“You’re right, they’re awful!” said Castaspella. She turned to the man. “Burn them at once. Also, you’re fired.”

The man sobbed into the bouquet and ran off.

“Aunt Casta, you…” Glimmer began.

“Don’t you worry about a thing,” said Castaspella, touching Glimmer’s nose. “In addition to being a powerful sorceress, I am also a legendary party-planner. This will be a coronation for the ages! Glimmer, take us to the terrace!”

Glimmer merely sighed and walked on.

“Oh, we’re…we’re walking, are we? Great. We can use the exercise.”

  Glimmer, Bow, and Adora stood outside in the castle grounds, Frosta across from them. Frosta had made something for Glimmer’s coronation as the new queen of Bright Moon.

“What do you think?” Frosta asked Glimmer. She presented a grotesque ice sculpture of Glimmer and Frosta with strong muscles, looking angry.

“I wanted to do something special for you,” she explained.

Glimmer lowered her head. “This is going to be awful.”

But oblivious Frosta wasn’t paying attention. “Awful inspiring, right? I can make more!”

Glimmer held up her hands and gently placed hers on Frosta’s. “I appreciate the idea. But I need someone for a very important job to, uh, greet the guests.”

Frosta jumped into the air in excitement. “Oh! You need a bouncer?”

Frosta smashed her newly created ice fists together.

“I’m on it! Bouncer!”

She happily ran off.

“Wait, I didn’t say bouncer,” Glimmer began, but the ice princess had left.

“Glimmer!” called her aunt. “I need your opinion on color schemes.”

“Uh…blue?”

There was an awkward silence.

“What about purple?”

“Excellent choice,” said her aunt. “Isn’t this fun? Soon you will have to make many decisions just like your mother…”

Adora and Bow rapidly shook their heads.

“That is, uh…chop, chop, everyone! Adora, move the ice sculpture to the side!”

Adora walked off, grunting with moving the heavy blocks of ice.

“We still need flower arrangements!” called Castaspella. “Where’s that florist?”

“You fired him,” said Glimmer.

“Oh, right. Perhaps you’d like to do the flowers, Glimmer?”

Glimmer looked toward Mermista, who let out a long drawn out yawn.

“You know, I bet Mermista would love to do the flowers! Right Mermista?”

Mermista spoke with sarcasm. “Wow, how did you know? Flower arranging is my passion.”

“Ah, wonderful!” said Castaspella. “Now let’s talk stem length.”

Perfuma cried out loud, “What? No! Why?” Her giant dark pink flowers wilted as she sank to her knees, upset of her position being taken.

Swift Wind turned to Glimmer. “Is now a good time to talk about my song for the coronation? I will require a stage and oats for the backup horses.”

Frosta created a thick wall of ice between them and the horse flew off.

“Stop bothering Glimmer! Bouncer!”

“Hey!” said Adora, sliding over. “I think it’s all really coming together, don’t you?”

Adora led her over to Bow.

“Yep, it’s gonna be perfect! What else do we need to do, Bow?”

Bow held a long scroll on his hands.

“Still don’t know what the lantern is for! This is so official and confusing. It says Glimmer needs to wear some ceremonial robe. I don’t know where to get all that!”

“Maybe if we all looked together…” Glimmer suggested before Adora cut in.

“Don’t worry! We’ll find it!”

“But…”

Castaspella interrupted. “Glimmer, you’re needed in the Dining Room to choose the napkin folding technique! I’m thinking swans. What do you think?”

“Uh…”

“You’re right, it’s a terrible idea. I should just fire myself.”

“Aunt Casta, no…”

A gush of water then soaked both of them.

Glimmer pulled a starfish off of her and Castaspella threw away a vine of seaweed.

“Mermista! Vases!” Castaspella yelled.

Mermista stood in a large puddle of water and seaweed. “Don’t stifle my creativity!”

“Ugh. Please.”

“It’s okay. We will handle everything,” said Adora, transforming her sword into a mop. “You go have fun!”

Bow scooted away.

Glimmer sighed. “Fun. Right.”

  After Adora arrived from inside the castle later on, Frosta walked over to her.

“Adora, I’ve been freezing anyone trying to sneak in, but I’m running out of space to put them.”

She mentioned to Sea Hawk frozen in mid-run.

“Unfreeze him right now!” Adora demanded.

Frosta nodded and ran off.

Perfuma snuck over to where Mermista was busy putting things together.

“Mermista, um. Flowers are sort of my thing.”

Mermista had put coral, starfish, shells, and seaweed onto a large rock.

“Uh, it’s art and it’s what Glimmer wants. New queen, new era.”

Frosta then noticed Perfuma and Mermista fighting over Mermista’s sculpture and pushed the two girls apart by their faces.

“Stop fighting! You’re ruining Glimmer’s big day! Bouncer!”

Bow walked over. “Okay, has anyone seen a sacred lantern?”

“Yeah, there,” said Mermista, pointing to Swift Wind, Adora’s self-centered and valiant steed. The horse had the lantern hanging from his horn.

Bow sighed and walked over.

“Oh!” said Adora. “We’ve been looking all over for it! Thanks, Swifty.”

Swift Wind held it out of arms reach, attached to his horn.

“And I’ll present it to Queen Glimmer. Then she’ll be all, “Swift Wind, why don’t you sing the coronation song you made up?”

Swift Wind then sang obnoxiously. “Queen Glimmer, it’s your day. We’re all excited for you.” Bow and Adora wrestled with the winged stallion. Frosta went to check on Sea Hawk, and he was still frozen.

Mermista and Perfuma stood close to Glimmer.

“Glimmer, can you please tell Perfuma to stop questioning your wise judgement?”

“What? I’m not…”

Frosta interrupted Glimmer, grabbing hold of her face.

“Where do you keep the blankets? Sea Hawk is whining about being frozen.”

“Why did…”

Glimmer,” said her aunt, cutting in. “The quest is due to begin. Where’s the latern?”

“I have it!” called Swift Wind. “And now, my song!”

Perfuma argued with Mermista. “Everyone knows Glimmer would be happier with me on flowers!”

“Glimmer disagrees,” Mermista deadpanned.

“Glimmer, your guests are waiting,” Castaspella reminded her.

As Perfuma and Mermista argued, Frosta yelled, “Everyone, stop bothering Glimmer! She has a ton on her plate.”

Swift Wind belted out more off-key words, “Till the end, until I die, of course.”

 The commotions, the noise, the pressure, the loss of her beloved mother…

 It was all too much for Glimmer.

 “Everyone, just stop!”

Glimmer’s yell was so loud, that the ice Glimmer head broke off and rolled to her feet. Everyone gasped.

Castaspella put a comforting hand on her niece’s shoulder. “Glimmer, we will fix all of this.”

Glimmer walked over to Bow and held out her hands. Bow handed her the lantern.

“Let’s just get this over with,” said Glimmer, before walking away.

 Glimmer made her way over to her room and sat sadly on a round lavender cushion. She stared at her hands, and watched a few sparkles appear around her hands. Glimmer remembered how she recently looked at the shimmering MoonStone high above on the golden stand. Her body has glowed and sparkled pink, like the stone was calling to her.

But to take all the power for herself, and her mother not being here…

Glimmer had been fine with the shared power she possessed for all her life. The sudden changes were hard, shocking…heartbreaking. For Glimmer, receiving her mother’s power felt overwhelming. Could she be prepared to be Queen of Bright

Moon, even with Angella not around to guide her?

 Her thoughts were interrupted when Bow, Adora, and Castaspella entered the room.

“Well, it took some searching, but we finally found the Royal Coronation Robe!” said Bow.

 Adora held a white sheet in her hands. She walked over and draped it over Glimmer. Glimmer glared at the heavy thing on her.

“Wow, Glimmer…” she began. “You look…um…”

Adora held a thumbs up, staring at the way too big robe.

Glimmer gave a nervous smile, then looked downcast.

Concerned Castaspella made her way to her niece.

“Oh, my little Glimmer. I’m so proud of you.”

She tenderly touched her cheek.

“I know you’re going to make such a wonderful queen.”

In an attempt to cheer her up, Castaspella continued, “Almost time for your quest! Give me a tick and this robe will fit like a dream!”

“Of course,” sighed Glimmer, sitting down on the cushion. “The quest we still don’t know anything about. But it’ll be fine. Castaspella will fix the robe, Bow has the lantern, and I’ll have you guys by my side the whole way.”

   Later on, a nervous, sad, but determined Glimmer walked between the woodland man creatures, across the white bridge and over to Bow, Adora, and her aunt. A banner with a golden symbol of the MoonStone stood proudly over to the left. Her ceremonial robe now fit her perfectly. It was white with a golden symbol of a crescent moon pointed upwards on the back. The waterfall curtain behind them fell with barely any noise; the water reflecting sunset colors of light orange, pink, and blue from the top to the bottom.

 Glimmer held the lantern in both shaking hands. She walked over with determination and then turned to face the crowd.

Castaspella opened up her scroll and read aloud.

“We are gathered here today to witness the crowning of Queen Glimmer of Bright Moon as she completes the Quest of Queens and begins her reign as our new leader. She will be accompanied by two witnesses, Master Archer Bow, and Adora, She-Ra, princess of Power.”

Mermista closed her eyes and opened the curtain of water with her powers. Perfuma, Sea Hawk, and Frosta stood with her to watch in their fancy Princess Prom gowns.

Castaspella continued. “Let the light guide you and go forth in peace and safety to emerge as Queen of Bright Moon.”

Glimmer, Bow, and Adora stepped in, and the watery curtain closed behind them.

   Later on, the sky had turned dark. When Glimmer emerged from the Chamber of Queens, triumphant in her quest, the hall was all set up for the party. Frosta had made two new ice statues of Glimmer and Queen Angella holding hands. Perfuma had created vines of green with flowers in them that hung from the top of blue and purple banners on either side. Glimmer cried tears of joy.

“This place looks amazing!” Glimmer exclaimed, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Perfuma, Mermista, and Frosta arrived in the same gowns they wore to the previous Princess Prom.

“We wanted it to be perfect for you,” said Frosta.

“So we worked together to finish,” added Perfuma.

“That was my idea,” said Mermista.

“Glimmer,” said Castaspella. “It’s time.”

She mentioned to the golden throne high up. Smiling, Glimmer walked up the floating golden round steps and up to the throne.

She took a deep breath, having planned what her speech would be.

“I am here today because Queen Angella, my mother, sacrificed herself to save Etheria. We can’t let her bravery be in vain. But there’s so much we still need to do. Hordak is still in power, and we know there’s an even larger Horde army out there somewhere. We can’t let them win. It’s time for us to take back our home. Together, we will push out the Horde, once and for all!”

The crowd cheered and stood up in an ovation, fists and hands in the air. Frosta and Perfuma hugged each other as they cheered. “Yeah!” cheered Bow and he and She-Ra hugged.

 Glimmer smiled at the ice statue of Angella, the ice face smiling and eyes closed…at peace. Seeing her sweet angelic face, Glimmer knew her mother would be proud.

  “Mer-Mysteries”

 Known books:

“Mer-Mystery: The Pearl Who Knew Too Much”

“Mer-Mystery: Secret of the Abalone”

“Mer-Mystery: Serpent of the Sea”

“Mer-Mystery: The Maltese Otter”

“Mer-Mystery: Salt-er Ego”

 Potential titles:

“Mer-Mystery: Rip Current Events”

“Mer-Mystery: Seaweed Scandal”

“Mer-Mystery: The Missing Mermaid”

“Mer-Mystery: Lost at Sea”

“Mer-Mystery: Cat-Fished”

“Mer-Mystery: The Case of the Great White”

“Mer-Mystery: Hidden in the Coral Reef”

“Mer-Mystery: Devious as a Clam”

“Mer-Mystery: Brainwash in the Deep Blue”

“Mer-Mystery: Murder at Salineas Shore”

“Mer-Mystery: The Stolen Trident”

Mer-Mystery: Atlantis Apocalypse”

“Mer-Mystery: Sea Shell Standoff”

     One stormy night, the princesses sat together in one of the chambers of Bright Moon castle. Frosta had a bored look on her face, arms crossed, next to Perfuma who stared off into space. Other sin the room included Mermista, Sea Hawk, Perfuma, Flutterina, Adora, Bow, and Glimmer. Glimmer stood facing the fire in the fireplace. Mermista sat on the couch next to Sea Hawk who was lying down, tired.

Glimmer turned around. “I called you all here to discuss what happened today. The mission to retake Dryl was a complete disaster. We barely made it out. I wanna know why.”

Bow spoke up. “The Horde knew we were coming. They were ready. How do they keep doing this? We thought they were tracking Adora, but she wasn’t even there today.”

Mermista then slammed her hands down on the table. “Isn’t it obvious? There’s a Horde spy somewhere in Bright Moon.”

Outside, the sky lit up white as thunder rumbled.

“And no one is going anywhere until we figure out who it is.”

Thunder crashed again.

Mermista,” said Glimmer, “It’s very unlikely that there’s a spy…”

“We need to investigate,” Mermista cut in, pacing back and forth. “I’ll be the lead detective since I’ve read every single Mer-Mystery book.”

“Mer-what?” asked Adora.

Mermista moved over behind the couch dramatically. “Mer-Mystery. It’s only the best undersea mystery novel series ever. There’s 18 of them. It taught me everything about solving mysteries.”

She leaned in, and said louder, “Murder mysteries.” Sea Hawk fell down on the couch in shock.

Perfuma raised her hand. “Um, but no one’s been murdered.”

“Yet!” added Mermista, moving between Frosta and Perfuma, making Perfuma flinch. “First, we need to question the suspects.”

“Who are the suspects?” asked Frosta.

“Everyone is a suspect,” stated Mermista.

“Everyone?” asked Bow. “Is anyone else sweating? I’m sweating.”

Glimmer sighed. “This is a waste of time. We know that the Horde is pulling their troops back for something big. That’s what we should be investigating.”

“No, Mermista’s right,” said Adora. “And it can’t be me the Horde’s tracking, since, once again, you used me as a distraction today. A spy is really the only thing that makes sense.”

Glimmer crossed her arms. “Maybe they didn’t fall for the distraction because you’re a bad actress. And who would the spy even be, anyway?”

“Heh,” said Adora. “How about the Horde officer who’s living at…I’m sorry, being held prisoner at Bright Moon? Shadow Weaver has actual spies. We met them.”

“Shadow Weaver does seem like the obvious suspect,” said Mermista. “Which means it definitely isn’t her. It’s never the obvious one. Like in Mer-Mystery: The Pearl Who Knew Too Much. You think it’s the pearl, but it’s not.”

“Spoilers!” cried Perfuma, flinching again.

Mermista pointed off in the distance. “It’s time to interrogate the castle.”

Lightning and thunder crashed once again.

“How are you doing that?” Frosta asked.

“I practice at home!” Mermista answered dramatically as thunder boomed again. Glimmer facepalmed and groaned.

 As lightning flashed across the sky, Flutterina hummed a happy tune as they went inside a tent on the Rebellion campsite. Checking that the coast was clear, they transformed into Double Trouble. The chameleon flopped onto a cushion and took out a tracker pad, pressing a button. Catra’s angry face appeared on screen. “Move. Now. We don’t have all night, Kyle.”

“Meow. You all right there, kitten?” they asked.

Catra stared straight ahead. “About time you checked in. Are the princesses still moping around about Dryl?”

“No,” they said with a scoff. “Watching them mope was my favorite. Now they’re playing detective, searching for the elusive Horde spy who foiled their plans.”

“Wait. Spy? Is your cover blown?”

“Please,” they said. “Who would suspect a goody-two-shoes like Flutterina? Besides, if they get suspicious, I’ll do a quick wardrobe change and throw the blame onto someone else.”

They transformed into a guard.

“They better not,” Catra demanded. “Keep them in Bright Moon. If they catch on before the plan is complete, before our bug mission is done, I…”

They transformed back. “Darling, darling, don’t worry. I’ll just tire them out a bit.”

 A dark brown skinned guard sat on the couch in front of Mermista and Perfuma. Mermista slapped her hands on the table. “Where were you when the murders happened?”

“The what?” asked the guard.

Mermista slapped her hands again, Perfuma winced and shook her hand.

“Don’t think you can get away with it,” added Perfuma. She turned to Mermista. “Although, there still aren’t any murders, Mermista.”

“Yet.” Mermista planted her foot on the table.

“I sincerely do not have time for this,” stated the guard.

“According to a bunch of other people…”

“Witnesses!” yelled Perfuma. “…you weren’t where you were supposed to be at the battle for Dryl.”

“I followed the plan exactly,” said the guard.

Perfuma planted her foot on the table causing the flower shaped head lamp to shake. “A likely…sorry, a likely story!”

“Admit it,” said Mermista. “You were slipping away to warn the Horde of our plan. Just like in Mer-Mystery: Secret of the Abalone. That one’s really good. You should read it.”

Perfuma took notes on her scroll of paper in fancy cursive: “Maintain scowl,” “Hit the table,” “Secret of the Abalone.”

The guard moved the spotlight away. “Look, this is what happened. “On approach to Dryl, Glimmer filled me in. She-Ra would lure away the Horde. Team A, Frosta, Bow, and Flutterina, would scout ahead. Team B, Sea Hawk and Mermista, would guard the exits. Team A indicated the coast was clear, and we converged on their signal. That’s when Frosta ran into us and said, “We haven’t finished scouting.”

Team A sent the all clear. If you wanna know what went wrong, ask Bow.”

“Okay, I confess, it was me” he cried.

Frosta stared back at him in her chair. “We’re not even interrogating you.”

“I mean, if I am the spy, it’s an accident. I think. Can you be an accidental spy? Do I have an evil alter-ego? Or was I brainwashed and I’m just realizing it now?”

A shirtless man with a flower necklace sat next to Bow. “So, like, are you guys still questioning me or…”

Bow took the spotlight and held it up to his face. “It all goes back to what happened in Dryl. Everyone was in position, and I was using my new tech to look for remaining Horde soldiers. But then, my goggles glitched and I don’t know what happened. I started to see double. That’s when the other team came in way too early. I tried to signal everyone to fall back, but my tracker pad was missing.”

“Whoa,” breathed the shirtless guy.

“Don’t you see what this means?” Bow asked. “Either I lost my tracker pad at Dryl, and that gave the Horde vital information, or I did it on purpose because I am the spy, and I gave the signal and I didn’t even know.”

Bow grabbed the guy’s flower wreath. The shirtless guy stared into Bow’s eyes. “You’re blowing my mind.”

“Bow!” called Frosta. “You aren’t the spy!”

Bow’s voice rose up in panic. “You don’t know that! It all makes sense. Who else could it be?”

 Meanwhile in Shadow Weaver’s dark garden…

Adora paced back and forth. “So you’re telling me, you really didn’t know about the plan to retake Dryl? Really?”

Shadow Weaver held a dark rose in her hands. “Not a bit. I’ve been busy with my garden. She’s always been paranoid like this, you know.”

Glimmer giggled under her breath. “I’m not being paranoid,” Adora argued. “You were spotted around the castle without your guards this morning, and I wanna know why.”

“Actually, Adora, that’s…” started Glimmer.

“I was engaging in a ritual,” Shadow Weaver explained. She recounted the time when she stood by her magic basin, naming ingredients and adding them in.

“Essence of Echinacea. A dash of Gingerroot. Ah. My daily morning ritual.”

She held a cup of tea in content.

Adora burst out laughing. “Okay, you expect us to believe you were just having tea? She’s the spy. You’re the spy. Who else could it be?”

“I am not the villain of this story,” stated the sorceress. “As to your question, Glimmer saw fit to grant me free rein of the castle. My guards have been dismissed.”

“No guards? Seriously?” Adora glared at Glimmer.

“Yes, seriously,” she shot back. “What has she done other than to help us?”

“Do you really want me to answer that?”

“Girls,” warned Shadow Weaver, “Every moment you waste here, the Horde gets that much further ahead. In order to catch a rat, you need to spring a trap.”

“Well in order to catch the spy, we need you to admit that you’re the spy,” blasted Adora.

“Let it go, Adora,” said Glimmer. “There’s lots of other people it could be.”

“Like who?”

 “Ah,” Sea Hawk sighed happily, propping his feet on the table back in the chamber. “I love recounting the epic tales of my exploits. My heroic exploits.”

Mermista groaned out loud, Perfuma sitting next to her on the couch. “It definitely isn’t Sea Hawk. Why did you even bring him in?”

“You said everyone was a suspect,” mentioned Perfuma.

“Exploits for the ages,” Sea Hawk began. “Narration. I was supposed to be guarding the door. But Perfuma relieved me of duty so I could join the fight. I advanced through the courtyard, avoiding the booby traps, risking my very life, just like in Mer-Mystery: Serpent of the Sea.”

“Wait, is that were my book went?” asked Mermista. “Sea Hawk, I’ve been looking for it.”

Sea Hawk continued his story. “That’s when the clouds parted, and the moonlight illuminated my dearest Mermista in the distance.”

“Moonlight?” Mermista sighed. “The battle happened this morning.”

“I made my way over to her when…we were ambushed! My sole aim was to protect Mermista from the Horde. Thinking quick, I took on the 40 or 50 Horde soldiers surrounding us, and saved Dryl.”

“We lost Dryl, and you punched, like, one guy before Glimmer got us out,” Glimmer said with a laugh.

“Exactly 100 guys!” he countered.

Both woman facepalmed. “Wait, wait,” said Perfuma, “I was with the General the whole time.” She leaned in and glared at Mermista, crossing her arms. “And why weren’t you with Sea Hawk, Mermista?”

“Because Frosta waved me over, but disappeared before I could reach her.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense. She was with Bow, and then Glimmer, and the others were…”

“Who wants to watch me do some squats?” Sea Hawk asked, beginning his exercise.

Mermista then proceeded to shove him out of the room.

“I bet Adora and Glimmer don’t shove suspects out the door.”

 Flutterina sat innocently on a chair, while Adora and Glimmer stood apart, turned away from each other.

“Okay, Flutterina,” asked Glimmer, “Where were you at the start of the battle?”

“With Bow and Frosta, of course. Like we planned. Is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine,” said Glimmer. “Now…”

Flutterina spoke up, “It’s just that, everyone’s so on edge after what happened in Dryl. Have you tried interviewing Shadow Weaver about it? She seems kind of untrustworthy.”

“Oh no,” said Adora with sarcasm. “According to Glimmer, she’s totally trustworthy, and it’s fine to just let her walk around the castle whenever she wants.”

“Can we please not start this up again?” Glimmer asked.

“I’m just saying, it would’ve been nice if you told me.”

“I don’t have to tell you about every decision I make.”

Adora panted in anger. “But you tell Shadow Weaver?”

“Maybe it’s because Shadow Weaver actually listened when you and Bow kept leaving without me!” Glimmer fired back.

Flutterina smiled. “You two seem like you have a lot to talk about. Maybe I’ll just come back later.”

Glimmer added, “I don’t know why I’m going along with this. The Horde is obviously planning something. We should be out there, looking for them, not stuck here, playing around.”

Double Trouble grinned deviously through their disguise as Adora and Glimmer continued their argument.

“No one’s playing around, Glimmer. There is a reason we’ve been losing.”

“And we’re going to keep losing soon if we don’t act.”

Mermista opened the door, the other princesses behind her, startling Flutterina. “There you are. Why are you just standing around? This isn’t Mer-Mystery: The Case of People Who Just Stood Around, the sequel I wrote right now about all of you.”

“Who is even left to question?” asked Glimmer.

Later on that night, several other people were questioned.

“I think I saw Mermista with Bow’s tracker pad,” said an elfish man standing with Entrapta’s baker and servant.

“Wait, you guys have been here the entire time?” asked Bow. Perfuma and Mermista stood with him.

“Tiny scone?” asked the baker, holding up a small desert.

During another interrogation, Mermista, Frosta, and Sea Hawk talked with one of the guards. “I can’t believe you read those too,” said the guard. “Mer-Mystery: The Maltese Otter is my favorite.”

“Ugh, that one’s so predictable,” groaned Mermista. “I saw that twist coming a mile away.”

Swift Wind was next and he did a pose on the table along with a neigh.

Mermista, Perfuma and Adora rolled their eyes.

“Swift Wind, you weren’t even there,” stated Adora.

“I told you how I took out 100…no 150 guys right?” asked Sea Hawk.

Mermista groaned again, frustrated.

Bow them walked over to the front, tears in his eyes and held out his hands. “You have to arrest me for everyone’s safety. Otherwise, my evil alter-ego might do it again.”

“Bow, knock it off,” Glimmer demanded.

Swift Wind posed again with a mace in his mouth.

“Still no,” said Adora. “And put that back.”

Mermista took a look at the other people coming in for the interrogations.

A group of people, one with three eyes…

“It’s not them,” said Mermista.

A bunch of fauns and a dark skinned lady with bull horns…

“No,” said Perfuma.

Netossa and Spinerella in fancy clothing, holding a bouquet of flowers. Two butlers standing awkwardly to the side.

“No,” stated Glimmer.

The shirtless guy came forward. “Okay, dude, I think, like, maybe She-Ra did it.”

“Hey, we already questioned you,” Frosta reminded him.

“Oh yeah, I came back for the tiny scones.”

“I made a fresh batch,” said the smiling baker as the guy popped one into his mouth.

“Fizzy beverage?” asked another server.

“If you just lent me the book, then I’ll show you who done it,” said Mermista to Sea Hawk.

“We should interrogate him again,” argued Perfuma.

“Happened in Pearl in the Window,” Mermista mentioned.

 Glimmer stood in her darkened bedroom, watching the lightning flash outside. She conjured her staff in her hand, getting ready to handle the issue herself.

“Glimmer? Where are you going?” Adora asked as she walked behind her.

“This isn’t working. Nothing we do is working. The Horde is always ahead, and I just can’t wait for the next bad thing to happen.”

Adora walked over. “So what? You’re gonna teleport into the Fright Zone and try to solve this by yourself?”

“Someone’s gotta do something.”

“Glimmer, please,” begged Adora. “You can’t leave in the middle of the night without backup.”

Glimmer shook her head. “The less people involved, the better. We don’t know who to trust.”

“And what about me? Were you gonna tell me? Or Bow?”

“Adora, I…”

“Stay. Please. I know we can figure this out if we work together. No more secrets and doing things without us.” Adora placed her hands on Glimmer’s shoulders.

“We need you here. I need you here,” she said softly.

Glimmer’s staff vanished and she put her hand on Adora’s. “Okay. I’m here.”

“Adora! Glimmer!” called Bow.

Frosta opened the doors to Glimmer’s darkened bedroom, spotting Adora and Glimmer. “Where have you guys been?”

“The communication panel in the war room has been severed,” said Perfuma with concern.

All the princesses made their way to the room and sure enough, the holographic map had a hole in it.

“When did this happen?” Adora asked.

“I don’t know,” replied Mermista. “We were passing by the room when we saw it.”

“Wait, we saw you run out of here two minutes ago,” Frosta accused.

“Uh, what are you talking about?” the mer-woman asked. “I was with Perfuma.

“Could the storm have done something to cause this?” Perfuma suggested.

Glimmer then glanced down at a broke tracker pad on the floor in a puddle of water. “This wasn’t an accident. It was sabotage.”

  As it began to rain outside, all the members met once again in the chamber sized living room. Everyone remained seated in the same positions as before, but with Glimmer standing by the fire again.

 “The General is working on restoring communications. In the meantime, there’s a backup device in the dining room, should we need it.”

Mermista closed the doors. “All of us knew we were trying to unmask the spy. And we were the ones who made the plan to take back Dryl. We’ve ruled out all other suspects. Which means the only person the spy could be is one of us.”

Perfuma gasped.

Frosta stood up on her chair. “Perfuma let the Horde take the doors.”

“I wasn’t there,” she argued. “Wait, your team was the one who told us to come in, and you led Mermista way.”

“I did not,” Frosta snapped.

“Trying to throw the blame on someone else, huh, Frosta?”

Frosta pointed at Mermista. “If Mermista knows so much about mysteries, she’d probably know how to plan the perfect crime.”

“And there was water by the tracker pad,” Perfuma mentioned, glaring at Mermista.

“Water that could’ve been melted ice,” Mermista replied, pointing at Frosta.

Bow cried again. “It’s probably me.”

“It’s not you, Bow!” Frosta shouted.

Mermista countered, “Or maybe it is, like in Mer-Mystery: Salt-er Ego.”

“It couldn’t be me. I was busy fighting at least 200 soldiers,” Sea Hawk bragged.

“This is a waste of time, Glimmer,” said Adora. “Shouldn’t we be…”

“Stop. Stop questioning my choices, stop whining about being a decoy, just stop. Okay?”

“I’m not whining,” said Adora. Sea Hawk did squats on the table.

“All you do is question me, question my authority. It’s exhausting.”

Sea Hawk shouted and buried his head in his hands. “Okay, I lied. I didn’t fight 300 soldiers. Mermista, will you ever forgive me?”

“Sea Hawk, we all knew that,” Mermista deadpanned.

“I don’t know who to believe anymore,” said Bow. “I can’t trust my own eyes. Who am I?”

“Look at what she’s doing to you,” Adora argued. “Shadow Weaver wants power and you are listening to her.”

“Oh what? Are you jealous because you aren’t Shadow Weaver’s favorite anymore? Or are you just mad that I’m queen and in charge and you’re not?”

“That’s ridiculous,” Adora said.

Glimmer wasn’t done. “You just run around playing the perfect hero. You have no idea how hard it’s been for me.”

“Because you stopped including me in your decisions. We used to be a team. And now? I don’t know what we are.”

 Flutterina had disappeared and quietly opened the door to the darkened dining room. Flutterina crouched down.

“Come on, backup communicator, where are you?”

The lights turned on and Flutterina gasped.

“Hey, Flutterina,” said Glimmer. “Looking for something?” Glimmer and Adora stood, triumphant.

“Glimmer? Heh. Adora. Hi, hi. Uh, just looking for the bathroom.”

Flutterina ran into Bow who stood with Frosta, Perfuma, and Mermista, all grinning.

Flutterina backed up on the floor. “Okay. Okay. This looks bad, but it isn’t what it looks like. So let’s all just…”

Flutterina kicked Adora in the foot and ran off. Adora grabbed onto it in pain and fell down. The spy grinned and ran toward the door…only to be blocked by a force of magic. The spy stood trapped, standing on a glowing light blue circle.

“Oh,” they said with a laugh, touching the force field around them. “I see.”

Glimmer stepped forward, having cast the spell. “Give it up, Flutterina. If that’s really who you are.”

“Magic. How very clever,” remarked the trickster.

“Isn’t it? Shadow Weaver helped,” said Adora.

“You see…” Glimmer began, but both girls were shoved aside by an excited Mermista. “The reveal of how they caught the murderer is my favorite part.”

Glimmer sighed.

“In order to catch a rat, you need to spring a trap,” recounted Adora. “So we set up one of our own.”

“Classic murder mystery move,” added Mermista.

Perfuma spoke, “There’s no murder…never mind.”

Glimmer began, “We knew a backup communication device would be irresistible to whoever destroyed the original.”

Adora added, “We wanted the spy to feel safe enough to make a move, so we created a diversion.”

“Adora managed to be a really good actress for once,” said Glimmer.

“It was really hard. Do not ask me to do that again,” she said.

“So that brings us back to you,” stated Glimmer, walking over. “Who are you really, Flutterina?”

The shapeshifter transformed into Glimmer, causing the queen to yelp and step back. They then transformed into Bow, Frosta, Perfuma, Mermista, and Adora.

“Please…” they said as they transformed into their true form. “Call me Double Trouble.”

“You’re a shape-shifter?” asked Adora in shock.

Bow gasped. “It wasn’t my goggles glitching. It was you pretending to be Frosta at Dryl!”

“And Perfuma said Double Trouble. “Don’t shortchange my credits, darling.”

They gave a bow and moved their tongue over their eyelid, making everyone gasp in disgust.

They continued. “May I say, as one actor to another, that was truly a masterful performance. I really bought that you two were furious at each other. If you would indulge me, were you inspired from any real emotion or experience?”

Glimmer glared. “Enough. It’s over, Double Trouble. Now tell us what the Horde is planning.”

Double Trouble laughed. “Over? Oh, love, it’s just beginning. The Horde has been planning a massive attack for some time now. I let Catra know that you were going to Dryl. After that, all I had to do was plant seeds of doubt. Sowing chaos where I could.”

Double Trouble has disguised themselves as Frosta, Perfuma, and Mermista, luring the group away. They also smashed the holographic map with a hunk of metal and broke the tracker pad when no one was looking.

“It wasn’t hard. I just had to keep you isolated and at each other’s throats until the plan was underway. Salineas. If the Horde controls the seas, they control Etheria.”

Mermista looked downcast and twiddled her dark blue braid.

“That will never happen. We won’t let it,” Glimmer claimed. “Now that we know their plan, we can stop it.”

Double Trouble laughed again. “No. Stop it? Oh, this was a ruse, darling. A distraction. The Battle of Salineas is over. It happened earlier this very evening. It’s too late. Salineas is gone.”

“No,” breathed Mermista.

“No!” cried Glimmer. “No, it’s not too late. It can’t be.”

In desperation, Glimmer teleported her friends over to Salineas. Glimmer raced up the hill, spotting a bright red Horde flag waving in the wind, the black symbol on it. To everyone’s horror, the magical gate was broken and filled with gaping red holes like wounds. Horde flags stood guard at every corner. Black smoke rose up into the blood red sky. A lone doll was floating in the water.

Mermista sunk down to her knees and sobbed.

“We can fix this,” Adora assured. “We have to be able to fix this, right?”

“This won’t happen again,” said Glimmer, tears in her eyes. “I won’t let it. We won’t give up. We will take back Salineas. Take back all of Etheria. No matter what it costs. No matter what the Horde throws at us next.”

Hordak and Catra smiled at their victory, while out in space, Horde Prime grinned sinisterly.

              Frosta watched the simulation of the planet blowing up in boredom, sitting at the holographic map table.

“So how do we stop it?” Frosta asked.

Frosta yawned. She closed her eyes and accidentally banged her head on the table startling herself awake.

“Maybe we should continue this in the morning? Not that I’m up past my bedtime. I don’t have a bedtime. I can go to bed whenever I want.”

Frosta rubbed her eyes when she saw Scorpia sitting on Emily.

“Horde soldier!” yelled Frosta as all the princesses got ready to attack.

Frosta jumped into the air. “You ruined Princess Prom!” she shouted, landing on the ground with an ice fist, where Scorpia had been standing a moment earlier.

Frosta sent out a sheet of ice, causing Emily and Scorpia to slip and fall to the outside.

 Scorpia was tied up and she told her story.

Frosta led Scorpia to a comfortable spare room with her ice spear.

“Hang on. I get to stay here?” Scorpia asked.

“This is the only other spare room we have. But don’t go thinking it’s a sleepover. We’re guarding you.”

 Frosta later asked, “How strong are your pincers? Can you crush things or just cut?”

“Oh you know, they’re good for general pinching. And cutting through basically everything.”

“Really?” Frosta asked, excited. “I gotta try that.” She created ice claws from her hands.

“Oh, are you…are you crying? Is it because I made ice pincers? I’m sorry. That’s your thing. I get it.”

“No it’s not that,” said a sad Scorpia. “The Horde always told me I was different, that I wouldn’t fit in with you all. But you’re making me feel like the opposite of not belonging, which I guess is belonging?”

“I used to feel that way too,” Frosta explained. “And then I met Glimmer and the others and I realized that none of us fit in. We’re all different, but that’s okay.”

“That might be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me,” said Scorpia.

“Well don’t get used to it,” Frosta said, serious again. “You’re still our prisoner.”

She created her ice spear and walked off, but then stopped.

“But I’ve got first watch, so I’ll be up if you wanna talk more.”

Scorpia smiled.

  Later, Bow and Adora snuck out of the castle.

Frosta opened the doors.

“What’s happening?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.

“Uh…you’re asleep,” said Bow. “Yeah, you’re asleep. This is a dream. A dream.”

“Yes, the flying unicorn dream,” said Swift Wind. “Classic.”

“I know what you’re doing,” said Frosta. “And you better hurry.”

“You’re…you’re not gonna stop us?” asked Adora.

“I didn’t join the Princess Alliance just to fight. I joined to save people. And the Horde, even after everything they did…they’re people, just like us. I’ll cover for you, but you have to go now. Everyone will be up soon.”

Bow and Adora nodded in thanks, jumped onto Swift Wind and flew off.

Frosta looked on, hoping they would be alright.

   Frosta became superpowered and fought with Perfuma against the Horde bots. Perfuma glowed green, Frosta glowed blue, each shooting out plants and ice respectively.

Frosta, Perfuma, and Scorpia yelled in pain as their powers were used. They huddled together until the pain was over. Frosta was last seen with Perfuma, looking at the sky, now filled with stars.

              Season 5

Episode 1: Horde Prime

 Horde Prime’s spear shaped ships hovered around Etheria. One of their massive vertical white ships landed on the ground, crushing trees underneath. The double doors opened and an army of white robots with laser guns marched down the walkway and through the grass. White small drones flew overhead. They scanned the forest, emitting beams of green light.

Two Etherians huddled together; a young white skinned boy with curly brown-red hair and a winged dark skinned woman with yellow clothing and short green hair. They saw the ships and started to run, only to be surrounded by several more. Green light shone onto them.

“For Etheria!”

Adora jumped into the air and smashed a drone with her long stick. She smashed the drone with her stick before it could fly away. The Etherians smiled before gasping again. Another oncoming drone was shot by Bow’s arrow.

Bow smiled and stepped on the fallen drone.

“Two down!”

Swift Wind kicked another drone with his hooves, sending it crashing to the ground.

“And a whole Galactic Horde to go!” Swift Wind called.

Perfuma trapped another drone with thick green plant vines. Frosta hit the drone with her ice fists.

“I’ll get the next one, I guess,” Mermista mentioned.

Swift Wind landed.

“It’s okay, you can come out now,” Adora called.

More Etherians emerged from the woods. Bow and Perfuma helped them across a log bridge while Frosta stood guard with her ice fists at the ready.

 Frosta’s advisors and loved ones had warned her to be careful during the battle. Some didn’t even want Frosta to go out and risk endangering herself. But Frosta had to help her friends.

Adora smiled at an Etherian before gazing up at the looming spire space ship.

 A random green laser shot through the air.

“Run!” Adora shouted.

Three white robots burst through a tree which exploded. Perfuma retracted the vine bridge.

Mermista grinned and got into position. “My turn.”

She summoned a large wave and knocked the robots down.

Bow called out to them, “Come on, let’s go before they…”

Adora shouted and dashed forward.

“Adora!” Bow yelled. Frosta stood with her ice fists. What was going on with her?

Adora leapt and kicked a white bot in the chest. Her staff and the robot’s arm sword clashed. The robot pointed its gun at her and narrowly missed. The robot soon fizzled and exploded after Adora moved out of the way.

But more robots and drones were coming.

Adora grinned and raised her staff. “For the honor of…uh…”

She stared in shock as she couldn’t transform into She-Ra.

A robot shot a blast that missed, then clutched her staff with both arms, throwing her hard into a tree.

Bow shot another drone before looking over.

“Adora!”

“I’m okay, I’m okay. Ow.” She winced as the bot walked closer.

Mermista blasted the robot away with water. She rushed over to her.

“Adora, chill. You’re not She-Ra anymore, remember?”

Adora spotted another bot, stood up and left. “I’m on it!”

“Ugh! I just said…” Mermista groaned.

 “Gotcha.” Adora slid on the ground, using her legs to trip another robot. She yelled and broke the robot’s visor.

 The Rebellion headed back to camp, which was protected with magic overhead in white and pink bands.

 Bow and Entrapta were discussing plans at a table. Both were typing into hand held devices. Entrapta had on her bug shaped purple mask.

 “Adora, did you get any sleep?” Bow asked.

Entrapta lifted her mask.

Ignoring the question Adora asked, “Have you finished the updates to Mara’s ship yet? How soon can we take off to rescue Glimmer?”

Bow spoke, “It’s a little more complicated since…”

“Space!” Entrapta exclaimed dlightfully. She took Bow’s device with her light purple hair. She twirled around and tapped the screen with her hair tendrils. She used her hair as a chair. “Sorry, I’m just so excited. In order to achieve maximum velocity for lift-off, the repairs and upgrades to the shields, the engines, and the life support should take us approximately…oh. A very long time.”

“We don’t have time,” Adora stated. “Glimmer’s up there, somewhere, waiting for us. We just have to figure out where.”

Bow placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “We’ll find her. I know we will.”

Entrapta popped up. “This isn’t just a little update. Space has a lot more dangers and variables, crushing pressure, freezing temperatures, vaporization.” She moved sideways, shivered and waved her hair in dramatization for each one. “All it takes is one little hull breach and then, whoosh! That’s it.”

The purple screen icon showed hovering figures with xs for eyes.

Entrapta continued. “Besides, there’s no telling where Glimmer could be. Space is always expanding, always getting bigger and bigger.”

She let out a laugh, which unnerved Bow and Adora.  

 Entrapta stood up. “But don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll determine her precise location soon.”

Adora sat on the bench and pinched her nose in frustration before going inside another tent. Shadow Weaver, Frosta, Micah, Perfuma, Mermista, and a guard were there. A map of the land showed red icons for Horde Prime’s territories.

 “Are you kidding me?” Frosta asked in disbelief.

“The sorcerer’s spells will keep us hidden only for so long,” said Shadow Weaver. “Then what? This is the only way. Your daughter understood well enough.”

She jabbed at Micah who shoved her hand aside. “You don’t talk to me about my daughter.”

“She would never have us abandon Bright Moon,” said Shadow Weaver.

“We couldn’t hold Bright Moon with the Galactic Horde attacking us form overhead. We need cover,” stated Micah.

“Which is precisely why we should use the Heart of Etheria,” Shadow Weaver stated.

Everybody groaned.

“Come on!” Frosta yelled.

“I can’t. I just can’t,” said Perfuma.

Mermista looked at her, annoyed. “Okay, so we’re not doing that, because A, without Glimmer and, most importantly, without She-Ra, the Heart of Etheria won’t work. And B when it did “work,” it nearly destroyed everyone. So, no thanks.”

Frosta crossed her arms. “Oh and also, C, we don’t like you and we don’t want your help.”

“Also, D, are you still our prisoner?” Perfuma asked. “Could we get a rundown of who is and who is not our prisoner anymore?”

Adora walked up front. “Arguing is not going to help us. We need information on Horde Prime to find Glimmer. And we won’t get any of that sitting around here.”

“Adora’s right,” said Micah. “The best thing we can do now is focus on evacuations, scouting missions, and keeping everyone safe until we can learn more of Horde Prime’s plans. Our scouts report that another one of his spires has been spotted near Thaymor.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Didn’t we just save Thaymor?” Mermista asked.

“No, you’re thinking Elberon,” said Frosta.

Mermista flopped back into a sofa. “Ugh. Can everywhere stop getting invaded for like, five seconds?”

“I’ll do it. I’ll bring them back here,” Adora called.

“Alone?” Perfuma asked, placing her hand son her shoulders. “Adora, you really ought to bring backup. You’re not you know who anymore.”

“Fine. I’ll take a team,” said Adora.

The group began to leave.

“I still believe in you, Adora,” said Micah. “You saved me and I know you’re gonna save my little girl.”

“I promise I’ll find Glimmer, Your Majesty. Wherever she is, we’ll get her back.”

Adora sighed and followed everyone out.

 Swift Wind flew overhead and scouted the area. More woodland creatures with human appearances walked down the path.

Swift Wind landed by Scorpia.

“No bots in sight. I don’t wanna jinx it or anything, but this is a pretty great first mission together.”

Scorpia smiled. “I am so happy you said that, ‘cause I feel the same way. We’re kind of a great team. Between your hooves…”

“And your pinchers…” he added.

“And our positive attitude, nothing can get in our way.”

Swift Wind laughed. “Oh, uh, just so you know, I have been known to sing from time to time.”

Scorpia’s eyes lit up. “What? I love singing. Catra always said it was annoying. Man you guys are the best.”

“That’s the last of them. No bots, no drones, we’re all clear,” said Bow.

A young dark faun dropped a She-Ra doll.

“Wait!” called Adora. She picked it up and handed it to her. “Here you go.” The girl’s eyes shone in thanks.

Bow’s device suddenly beeped.

“Uh oh,” said Swift Wind. “Beeps and that look are never a good combination.”

Bow put on goggles and looked ahead. He spotted three clones. “We’ve got trouble.”

Bow, Scorpia and Swift Wind ducked behind a rock.

Swift Wind whispered, “Is that Hordak? Three Hordaks?”

“That’s not Hordak,” said Bow.

Scorpia put the goggles on and gasped. “Clones.”

“We need to get out of here,” said Bow.”

“I’ve got a better idea,” said Adora as she shouted and charged at them.

“Wait! Adora!” shouted Bow.

Scorpia raced after her and stung her in the back. Then the group ran as fast as they could.

Adora hung upside down then opened her eyes.

“No!” she gasped.

Swift Wind laughed. “You’re awake! Hello, Adora.”

“What happened?” she groaned.

She fell to the ground. “Where are those clones? Did we get them?”

“Okay, um, don’t get mad, but I may have had to sting you,” said Scorpia. “Just a little.”

“What?”

“You were refusing to retreat, and we really, really needed to run away.”

“Space clones!” exclaimed Swift Wind.

“You stung me?”

“I’m sorry, so sorry,” Scorpia said. “But I don’t regret it, and will do it again if needed. Mm. Sorry again.”

“Adora, you can’t run into battle like that,” scolded Bow. “Not anymore. You have to stop acting like your invincible. You aren’t…”

“You don’t need to say it,” Adora muttered. “I know. I made that choice, I’m living with the consequences.”

“What were you trying to do?”

“Maybe I could get those clones to tell us where Glimmer is being held. Then at least I’d be one step closer to saving her.”

“That’s…not a bad idea,” Bow remarked.

“Wait, what?”

“Trying to fight a group of clones by yourself is reckless. Catching and questioning one clone is also reckless, but this time we do it together.”

  After they interrogated the clone, a pink moon of magic appeared in the air.

“That’s from Micah! They’re in trouble!” said Bow. The group rushed off to camp sliding down a steep rocky hill.

Back at camp, Mermista and Frosta were busy fighting off Horde Prime’s forces. Mermista summoned water from barrels and Frosta slide on an ice wall. She froze some bots then stabbed other bots with icicles in midair. Perfuma smashed more bots with a large vine. Behind her, Micah, Shadow Weaver and some guards were running off.

Entrapta bent down to pick up scraps of metal.

“This is amazing! Alien tech from a distant world.”

Micah used a sphere of purple magic in a sigil shape to make an overhead bot explode. He conjured a shield to protect Entrapta as smoke clouded the area. A robot raised a spear arm.

“Micah!” gasped Shadow Weaver. She threw a grenade at the robot, which exploded and fell.

Miah scoffed in thought before he and Entrapta left.

“You’re welcome,” Shadow Weaver said in frustration.

More bots closed in.

Scorpia blasted them down with red electricity from her claw.

“This way. Excuse me, pardon me,” she said as she ran forward. “Hi. Hello. How are you? Watch out there.” Micah picked up Entrapta before she could look at more scraps.

“Come on,” said Bow. “Adora, wait!”

“I can do this,” she said as she rushed forward.

 The rebels were struggling as more bots arrived.

Scorpia rescued Adora as she struck down more bots surrounding Adora.

“Adora, are you okay?” Bow asked.

“No. You were right, Bow. I can’t fight them all. I’m not strong enough, I’m not She-Ra. I’m not a hero anymore, I’m just me. And I can’t do this alone.”

“But Adora, you aren’t alone. You’ve never been. We’ve got this. Together.”

“Together,” Adora said. They clasped hands then ran into the battle.

Mermista send up pillars of water while Scorpia punched a bot to the ground. Frosta punched a bot with her ice fists while Perfuma summoned her plants.

“Scorpia! Coming at you,” Adora called as she swiped a bot with her staff. Scorpia shocked the bot with a blast.

“Bow! The drone!” Adora called.

“Got it,” said Bow as he notched an arrow and fired.

Mermista swept several bots aside with water.

Frosta shot ice at bots and three inched closer.

“Frosta, ice catapult,” Adora ran with her staff out. Frosta ran to her, launched herself off the stick and rammed into the bots.

 “We can’t stay here. It isn’t safe anymore,” said Adora.

“We’re kind of running out of places to hide,” said Bow, with a look of worry.

Adora gasped as visions of the Whispering Woods entered her mind. “I think I know where we can go.”

More bots and drones rushed forward.

“And we better hurry. Come on.”

 Adora led the way into the woods.

“Adora, were are we going?” Bow asked. Bow was followed by Mermista, Frosta, Perfuma, Micah.

“It’s around here somewhere. A place where we’ll be safe. Madame Razz brought me there, and I saw it again in my dreams. I just have to hope it lets us in.”

Adora spotted a light between two trunks.

“There.” She pulled it and the trees parted.

The nine members breathed in awe.

 The area was surrounded by sparks and spirals of magic. The sparks danced through the air like fireflies as crystals stood out in random places.

“Whoa,” Adora breathed as she ran to the center.

“Wow,” said Scorpia as the others admired the area. A few three-eyed teal colored deer peered out to see the visitors.

 Frosta admired the scene as well, her hair short and blue. She wished her parents could see a beautiful place like this. She knew that they would be proud of her, how fast she was growing up…not that she had much of a choice in the matter. The battles were constant, always filling her up with adrenaline and energy. She fought tough and acted tough in order to be taken seriously.

 Frosta imagined a future where everyone was older. She would be ruling her kingdom as a teenager, winning every boxing match in her spare time. Entrapta would make inventions with Hordak and they would fly to distant worlds. Mermista and Sea Hawk would be up to their sailing adventures and hopefully not setting more boats on fire. Adora and Catra would laugh and spend time together. Glimmer and Bow would be together as well, perhaps getting ready for Scorpia’s ball at BrightMoon.

 Adora and Catra…

Bow and Glimmer…

Netossa and Spinnerella…

Scorpia and Perfuma…

Mermista and Sea Hawk…

Entrapta and Hordak…

 Frosta felt like she was the only one would won’t get into some kind of relationship in the future. But at least she would have Glimmer and all her friends around.

 “Where are we?” Micah asked.

Adora smiled. “The deepest part of the Whispering Woods. Horde Prime won’t find us here. We’re safe. Now we just need to set up camp and…”

Adora grunted and clutched her head, sinking to her knees. “Adora!” cried Bow. “Adora!”

The visions of She-Ra flashed in her head: her sword shattering after stopping Light Hope, the Fright Zone, Etheria in space, She-Ra in her golden form…just out of Adora’s reach…

 Episode 2: Launch

 Frosta and the others listened to Horde prime’s message.

  Frosta came into the room and saw Adora lying down.

“Is he dead?” Frosta asked in shock.

“What? No,” said Bow.

“Okay, good, ‘cause Adora does the planning, and we’re wondering if there’s a plan…”

Bow held up his hands. “Look, the upgrades to Mara’s ship are done, but we can’t go anywhere until Adora’s back on her feet.”

He turned back to Adora. “So go to sleep and everyone will…”

Swift Wind cut a hole in the tent with his horn. “Did someone say “Swift Wind?!”

Bow covered the horse’s mouth just as Micah came in.

“Is Adora feeling better? Did you tell her Horde Prime’s message? Does she know he’s looking for her?”

“What?” Adora sat up.

“Okay, that’s enough,” said Bow. “Adora, rest! Swift Wind, head!”

Swift Wind pushed Adora back down gently.

“Everyone, shh!” said Bow.

“She will be fine soon, right?” Frosta asked.

“Yes. She just needs sleep,” Bow mentioned.

Frosta, Micah and Swift Wind left.

 Entrapta appeared in the tent.

“Adora sick log, day three.” She spoke into her recorder.

“Nope!” said Bow and pushed her out.

Entrapta wailed. “Wait! But it’s for science!”

Mermista, Perfuma, Frosta, Scorpia and Emily sat by a fire outside.

“Look we have to do something,” said Mermista. “We don’t know when Adora is gonna get better, and even when she does, we have no plan for how to get Glimmer back. We know she’s on Horde Prime’s ship, but we don’t know where that is, like, in space.”

Perfuma spoke, “Well, then it’s up to us to make a plan to find Glimmer. With these.”

She held figures of Bow and Adora in her hand.

Frosta stood on a log. “We don’t need dolls. We just need these!” She made ice fists.

“What are you gonna do with those?” Mermista asked.

“Punch Horde Prime,” Frosta grinned.

Perfuma cleared her throat. “Perhaps if we meditate we can access our princess connection to find Glimmer’s spirit out in space.”

Entrapta walked over. “Hello. Oh hi. Were you guys talking about space?”

The group looked down and were silent.

Perfuma spoke. “Yes. We were talking about how to get Glimmer back from spa…”

Entrapta leaned in. “I’d do anything to go to space. An infinite universe of information at our fingertips, full of countless planets and stars and civilizations…”

Mermista covered Entrapta’s mouth.

“This isn’t like a fun field trip for you to run more of your messed up experiments. Our friend’s out there, remember?”

Entrapta smiled.

“Glimmer?” Mermista prodded.

Entrapta stared blankly.

Mermista groaned in frustration. “The sparkly one?”

“You’ve met her multiple times,” Frosta added.

“Oh, right,” Entrapta said, as Mermista facepalmed.

Scorpia had an idea. “Wow…hey Entrapta. Look over there! Is that a robot?”

“A robot? Where?” She ran off with a crash.

Scorpia spoke, “Look, I know that she can be kind of, “Whoa, science!”” She mimicked explosions and laughed. “But I promise, Entrapta has a good heart.”

Mermista crossed her arms. “She’s betrayed us before. For all we know, as soon as she sees Horde Prime’s ship up close, she’ll ditch us to join his army.”

“She did use her inventions to attack us a lot,” Perfuma added, in worry.

“I’m just saying,” said Scorpia, “none of us know how to track a spaceship, but Entrapta might. If you just give her a chance.”

Entrapta was on the top of a tent. After looking at Scorpia’s pleading look, Mermista sighed. “Fine.” They walked over to her.

“Okay, Geek Princess,” said Mermista, “are you gonna help us or not?”

Entrapta stared.

Mermista groaned. “If you help us find Glimmer, you can go to space.”

“Great!” she cried, sliding next to Mermista.

 The five princesses huddled behind a bush, Frosta holding two green leaves for cover. Entrapta held a device and a metal U shaped antenna connected by a wire. The sky was full of stars. The tall spire was surrounded by flying drones and guards.

“The message from Horde Prime was transmitted through that spire,” stated Entrapta. “Which means it’s got a wavelength connecting it to his main base of operation, one that we can track.”

“Great. So track it,” Mermista deadpanned.

“Well, hypothetically we can track it. Horde Prime’s astral communication network is incredibly complex, and I’ve only been able to intercept parts. I’d need to gain as much proximity as possible to the receptor before I can triangulate their origin.”

The others were confused.

“I need to get close to the spire to track the signal.”

Everyone said “Got it.”

“If we follow that signal, we’ll find a ship of impossibly sophisticated design, the center of a super technologically advanced empire…”

“I think mostly we’re just hoping to find our kidnapped friend,” Perfuma replied.

“That spire is crawling with surveillance bots,” said Mermista.”We need to find a way to sneak past them, so we can get Geek Princess close enough to track the signal.”

“So what’s the plan?” Scorpia asked.

“Uh…that’s the whole plan. We sneak past the surveillance bots.” She groaned. “I don’t know. Adora usually handles the being in charge stuff.”

Persuma spoke next. “Okay, we sneak past the bots, and then if any of them see us, we…”

“Punch the bots!” Frosta made ice fists.  

“Sure, sounds like enough of a plan for me,” Mermista said. “And someone needs to keep an eye on…”

Entrapta hummed as she walked. Mermista turned back in anger.

“What? Did she seriously just immediately run off?” The group followed.

 The group waited behind a boulder as a drone sped past. They followed Mermista after she raised a hand. Mermista, Frosta, Scorpia, Perfuma and Entrapta. Entrapta was dragged by Perfuma’s vine. The group ran to another rock.

 “Well, no signal here. We need to get closer,” said Entrapta.

Mermista groaned. “I hate the desert.”

She looked toward the spire. “All clear. Let’s go.”

The group ran off but Entrapta skidded to a stop. “Wait, I think I’m getting something.” She tapped her device with her hair. Perfuma turned back to her as the others ran ahead.

“Entrapta, we really need to get out of the open,” Perfuma urged.

Entrapta dragged Perfuma along as she climbed onto a rock. “Hang on, I’ve almost got it. I need to get up higher.”

Entrapta climbed. “So close, almost got it.”

She reached the top of the rock, her hair wrapped around the top point and checked her device.

Her device buzzed.

“Nope. False alarm. We need to get closer.”

A whirring sound grew closer as a drone passed by.

Perfuma flung Entrapta off the rock where she landed on the ground with a thud. She grabbed her and both pressed their backs against the rock wall. Perfuma held a hand over Entrapta’s mouth as the drone scanned the area. The drone beeped and flew off.

Perfuma whispered, “What do we do?”

Mermista, Scorpia and Frosta stood near several rocks.

Mermista held out her arm and with her other hand, made a walking motion with her fingers. She then moved both her arms, her hand sin fists in a running motion.

“I should run?” Perfuma asked.

Frosta sighed, head lowered. Mermista made full body jogging movements.

“Don’t run? Do run?”

Mermista circles her palms in the air.

“What?”

Mermista pointed and whispered, “Entrapta.”

Perfuma looked at her vine, which was empty at the end. She gasped in shock and looked around.

Entrapta was wandering around, looking at her device in thought.

Worst of all, she was walking right into the green scanner beams.

Mernista and Frosta ducked as Scorpia shot electricity that broke off a top part of a rock with an explosion. The drone flew off in distraction.

The group sighed in relief before Scorpia let out a scream.

Entrapta bumped into a tall white robot and fell down backwards.

Entrapta smirked as the robot scanned her. “Oh hello,” she said suggestively. “You’re very technologically advanced.”

The robot pointed its gun at her. Entrapta screamed. “Bad robot!”

Frosta froze the robot in ice and it fell down backwards with a clank.

Frosta pulled her along. “Come on!”

The robot beeped inside the ice. The spire glowed with red dots as more drones flew out from it. Scorpia peered from behind a rock.

“What do we do?” she asked.

Mermista had her head in her hands. “I don’t know. This plan was obviously doomed from the start. I’m not Adora. Why did I think I could be the leader?”

Entrapta moved the antenna close. “Well, still nothing. This transmission pattern is fascinating. We should get closer.”

“We can’t,” said Mermista, shoving the metal antenna away and sending it clattering to the ground. “Thanks to you, this place is about to be swarming with bots. We have to retreat.” She groaned. “I should’ve known better than to trust you.”

A pang of hurt came over Entrapta as Mermista continued.

“You don’t care about Glimmer or any of us. You only care about tech.”

“Are you all mad at me?” she asked.

Mermista seethed. “You’re seriously just realizing that? Yeah, we’re mad.”

“You don’t consider how your actions affect other people,” Perfuma added. “People who are supposed to be your friends.”

“Like us,” Frosta chimed in. “The ones who were getting beat up by your dumb bots. And whose kingdoms you almost destroyed!” Frosta had tears in her eyes.

Entrapta lowered her head. “I’m not good at people, but I am good at tech. I thought maybe if I could use tech to help you, you’d like me. But I messed that up, too.”

Entrapta ran off.

“Entrapta, no!” yelled Mermista as she ran after her.

Mermista grabbed her purple hair which made Entrapta scream in pain.

“I said we have to leave! Can’t you listen for once in your life?”

“I’m sorry I’m bad at listening!” Entrapta yelled. “I’m sorry I mess everything up!” She held up her device and antenna. “But you need this signal and I’m gonna get it for you.”

Mermista let go. “You’re still trying to get the signal?”

“Of course,” Entrapta said, this time tears in her magenta eyes. “Glimmer needs us.”

They both looked up as more drones approached. White robots marched outside.

“Okay Geek Princess, get that signal. We’ll cover you.”

Entrapta smiled and ran ahead.

Mermista turned to her friends. “Frosta, Scorpia, on Entrapta! Perfuma, with me! Now!”

Perfuma followed Mermista and Scorpia and Frosta raced ahead.

Scorpia and Frosta grinned before Scorpia lifted Frosta into the air. She did several flips and shot ice from her hands, destroying four drones at the same time.

Entrapta launched herself forward and was soon right in front of the spire.

She stared in awe at the technological wonder.

“Oh…what’s inside you?”

She slapped herself with her hair. “Focus, Entrapta. Glimmer needs you.”

She rapidly typed into her device and held the antenna into the air.

Mermista used her trident to battle a robot. A blast narrowly missed them. Mermista’s trident and the robot’s sword arm clashed. Her trident caught the arm and forced it to the ground. But the robot pointed its gun…

Perfuma’s plant vine lifted the gun away from Mermista. The plant vine wrapped around the robot before Mermista struck the bot in its metal head with her trident.

 More bots stood in a doorway.

“Perfuma, cut off that spire.”

Perfuma yelled and plant vines rapidly grew in the doorway, blocking off the robots.

“Nice job,” said Mermista.

“Thanks,” Perfuma said. “I wish there was water here for you though.”

Mermista ducked in shock as a drone sped nearby. She looked down at the ground. “But there is.”

Old thick pipes ran along the ground.

“If there’s one thing I know in the Fright Zone, it’s the sewer system.”

She held out her arms and yelled. The pipes soon broke and sludge flowed out and blasted drones away. Scorpia and Frosta huddled for cover on the ground.

Scorpia made a face. “Oh, wow, that smells…” she gagged.

Frosta cheered. “That was so gross!”

The group ran over to Entrapta.

“Almost. Got it! Okay, good news and bad news. The good news, I’ve successfully triangulated Horde Prime’s flagship.”

“Hooray!” cheered Scorpia.

“Bad news, I intercepted the last message he sent. He’s sending reinforcement ships to Etheria. They’ll be here any minute.”

 Scorpia lowered her arm. “I take back my “horray.”

 The group rushed toward Mara’s ship.

“We’re exposed here,” Micah said. “We need to make these goodbyes quick.”

 “We’ll be back as soon as we can” said Adora to Mermista. She gave her a hug. “The Rebellion is in good hands.”

“Yeah, as it turns out, I’m an awesome leader, so we’re gonna be fine,” Mermista said with a blush. And Entrapta helped.” She pulled her in, and whispered to her, “You’re still a weirdo, but you did good today. We’ve got your back any time.”

Perfuma, Frosta, and Scorpia nodded with smiles. Entrapta smiled as tears came from her eyes. The group sobbed and embraced in a large group hug.

Swift Wind pulled Adora to the side, grabbing her collar with his mouth. They stood facing each other. “Adora, I...I’m not going to…Oh! I don’t know how to say this.”

“You’re staying here,” said Adora.

“I don’t belong on a ship,” Swift Wind agreed. “I belong on Etheria, protecting it. And with you gone, someone’s gotta bring the gorgeous flowing hair. “He laughed then broke into sobs. “I hope you’re not disappointed in me.”

Adora held his nose and chin with her hands. “Are you kidding? I’m proud. You’re exactly where you need to be. I’m not She-Ra anymore.”

“But I’ll always be your loyal steed.”

  Whirring sounds buzzed from ahead, as the drones approached.

“Surveillance bots. If they see the ship, they’ll alert the armada and stop us,” Frosta warned.

“What are we gonna do?” Scorpia asked. “Are we gonna stay here?”

“No,” said Micah. “We’re getting this ship off Etheria no matter what. I’ve got an idea.”

 The row of bots fired their laser guns. She Ra and Swift Wind did a pose, then blasted the bots to the ground with a blast of magic.

“You want She-Ra? Come and get her!” Frosta slammed her fists to the ground, ice spreading along the ground. The bots were frozen in an ice wall.

 More bots appeared, weapons raised.

“What do you think, Micah?” Mermista asked. “Have we wasted enough of their time?”

Micha removed his facial disguise. “Get my good side.”

Micah shot a circle of magic that blasted several bots away. Perfuma and Mermista lifted other bots in a wave of water and vines. Scorpia and Frosta punched the robots at every moment.

An engine roared and the group looked up to see the ship blasting off safely.

Everyone cheered and raised their arms.

“Whoo!”

“Yes! Yes!” cheered Frosta. “Go get our girl! Go, Adora! Go go go! Go save my best friend!”

“Hooray!” said Scorpia. “I reinstate my hooray!”

“You okay?” Swift Wind asked Micah when he transformed back into his regular outfit. “I know you wanted to go.”

“But If I hadn’t stayed, they wouldn’t have been able to take off at all. I trust my daughter’s friends. They saved me. Now they’ll save her.”

Micah looked up hopefully at a pink sky. “See you soon, baby girl.”

   Episode 6: Taking Control

 Frosta thinks that Micah sees her as a little kid and doesn’t like it. Micah tries to relate to her. Frosta saves the group by forming an ice shield when they’re attacked by brainwashed Etherians.

 Episode 9: An Ill Wind

Frosta happily reunites with Glimmer, and they hug. Frosta punches Catra before Adora says she’s on their side.

 Episode 11: Failsafe

Netossa tells Frosta’s weakness is fire.

 Episode 12 and 13: The Heart

Frosta helps the team defeat the Horde bots and free the others. Frosta rides n Scorpia’s back as she celebrates their victory. Perfuma, Adora, Scorpia and Frosta embrace in a princess hug and laugh.

[itsclydebitches]

I consider taking angsty prompts and turning them into absurd fluff to be a specialty of mine~ 

Wretched 

Aziraphale had always had a soft spot for children’s books. One wouldn’t think it based on the antiques and religious texts crowding up the shop, but if you took your time and wandered all the way to the back you’d find a sizable collection waiting, enhanced by the occasional plush and toy truck. They were mostly books from the mid-18th and 19th century, didactic texts with (surprise, surprise) religious bents. A Little Pretty Pocket-Book Intended for the Instruction and Amusement of Little Master Tommy and Pretty Miss Polly had been a long time favorite of his, both for the brightly colored paper it was bound in and the absurdly long title by contemporary standards.

The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes. The New England Primer. Millions of Cats. Peter Rabbit, The Secret Garden, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland...that was about as modern as Aziraphale was willing to go—for now at least—with the exception of one co-authored series from the 1990’s.

“The Bailey School Kids,” Crowley read. He flipped through one at random, eyes already skittering away from lack of interest. The cover got an amused snort though. “Dracula Doesn’t Drink Lemonade? Wouldn’t mind showing that to old Bram sometime.”

“You’re welcome to take that copy if you ever pop back downstairs.”

“Isn’t he with your lot?”

“Can’t quite recall anymore.” Aziraphale’s fingers skimmed the spines until he found the book he was looking for. With a dramatic flourish he showed off this cover too: a glowing woman performing a kick in front of four children.

Crowley’s lips twitched. “Angels Don’t Know Karate.”

“I’ll admit this one certainly doesn’t.”

“‘She’s too good to be true!’ Well they got that part right at least.”

Crowley’s admiration was rarely verbal. He preferred actions over words and when something did come tumbling out it was quickly followed by an insult for balance. You’re so clever. How can someone as clever as you be so stupid, and so forth. Thus, Aziraphale waited for the blow and instead felt his cheeks heating when all Crowley did was glance up over his glasses, eyes soft. He’d bent to get a look at the book and having him in such a, ahem, submissive position did nothing to calm Aziraphale’s racing heart.

What absurdities human bodies were. His palms had begun to sweat so badly that Aziraphale feared he’d do damage to the pages.

Yet when he dropped one hand to brush against his trousers he found it caught halfway, Crowley’s fingers ensnaring his, right at the tips. He drew Aziraphale’s knuckles to his mouth and placed a kiss there, reverent.

“Too good by far,” he murmured.

“Oh,” and Aziraphale was floundering, choking a bit, trying to put the book down and pull Crowley forward all at once until they were simply a mess of limbs and laughter. They finally succeeded and as Aziraphale bent to press his own kiss into the hollow of Crowley’s throat he forgot the reason he’d brought him over here in the first place.

I was making a joke, he thought faintly. Then Crowley took his face between his hands and Aziraphale forgot that too.

***

It came to him thirty hours later when a stray cat nearly upended itself into a drain in its attempt to get away from Crowley.

That was it. The Bailey series was missing a title: Demons Don’t Keep Pets.

“Wretched beast,” Crowley muttered and Aziraphale kindly ignored that the words were spoken in the same tone as, ‘I’m not nice’ and ‘That’s ridiculous,’ and ‘Shut up, angel.’

“We merely startled the poor thing,” Aziraphale said. He kept his eyes straight ahead.

“Shut up, angel.”

Hmm.

Spending time in the company of demons resulted in all sorts of odd, but really quite predictable outcomes. The stench of sulfur and chlorine was a given. Aziraphale had long ago ceased trying to cover up Crowley’s scent with any human-made creations and after the first couple of hundred years he’d forgotten why he’d wanted to in the first place. Minor mischief was another. Not anything planned, demons simply had a sort of... bad luck that surrounded them. Minor falls, forgotten words, and lost socks followed them everywhere. There was the expected gravitation towards warmer climates—many were cold blooded by nature—and the inevitable itch to groom one’s wings once the encountered concluded. Though that was due more to self-comparative embarrassment than anything the demons actually did.

And then there were the animals. Needless to say, creatures of Earth didn’t take kindly to demonic entities from the literal depths of hell.

Over their multi-millennium friendship (Courtship, Aziraphale silently corrected himself, experiencing a little thrill) he had seen Crowley interact with every animal imaginable. Or rather, unintentionally terrorize every animal imaginable. Cats, as established, had enough sense to get out of his way. Dogs were a little dumber, but that just resulted in shaking, whimpering, and a pungent mess on the floor. The Bentley was beloved not only for it style, but the freedom it had afforded him. Over the years Aziraphale had watched Crowley get bucked off of horses, camels, donkeys, mules, and on one memorable occasion an elephant. Though there were upsides too, of course. This particular body was quite susceptible to bug bites, though Aziraphale never needed to worry about such things when on a dusk stroll with Crowley. In decades past a visit from him had been more than enough to scare off the rats and cockroaches plaguing Aziraphale’s home. Squirrels and other rodents never bothered them while eating outside. Birds wouldn’t dare to defecate anywhere in their presence (smarter than the dogs then). It had taken a hundred years for the ducks of St. Jame’s Park to become accustomed to their routine... and even today they very obviously only ate the bread on Aziraphale’s side of the pond.

In short, there was a reason that poor unicorn had bolted the moment Crowley come on the scene.

“You’re thinking about how I’m responsible for the extinction of the unicorns, aren’t you?”

Aziraphale faltered only briefly. Uneven pavement. Such a danger. “Not at all, my dear.”

“You’re a terrible liar, Zira.”

“I am quite accomplished in the art due entirely to your influence. Now hush and enjoy the sunset.”

Crowley grumbled, but slipped his hand into Aziraphale’s when they just so happened to brush. They did enjoy the sunset while strolling back from dinner and as they did not a single mosquito, bird, or daring cat came their way.

***

Crowley would have dearly loved to have a pet.

He’d never said as much, not even at their most inebriated, but the desire was clear as day to Aziraphale. Put aside how well they knew one another; Aziraphale was, quite literally, a being meant to understand and exhibit love, someone who could feel it in all its forms. He knew that Crowley loved animals with the same surety that he knew Crowley loved children. And him. The duck obsession, the drunken worry for all the ocean’s creatures, they were just neon signs pointing to an already obvious statement.

Aziraphale had briefly thought that Dog was the answer. Who better to love a demon than a hell hound? Sadly, a visit to the Young household established that Adam had been a bit too thorough in transforming Dog into a normal dog. The puddle on the family room rug had created quite the stir.

So, with Armageddon two weeks behind them and all the freedom to do as he pleased, Aziraphale went shopping.

“Angel, when you said you’d gotten me a present...” Crowley’s mouth worked for a moment, seeming to taste a whole lot of words before rejecting all of them. “Weeellll. Kinda thought it was another stuffy old book.”

“You love when I give you stuffy old books.” Aziraphale had seen the small collection in Crowley’s apartment, as loved as anything else in that minimalist space.

“Is this a stuffy old book then?”

Crowley pointed to the box. The box moved.

“No, dear.”

In truth Crowley already knew what was inside. He could no doubt smell it, but he went through the motions of surprise all the same. Aziraphale watched how hard he swallowed and the shake in his hands as he pulled back the flaps.

“...You got me a snake,” he said and Aziraphale smiled at how wet his voice had gotten.

Specifically, Aziraphale had gotten him an Eastern Hognose Snake, black with a reddish tint to match Crowley’s hair. Docile and small, the little dear had no sooner tasted the air then it was making a beeline for Crowley, around his wrist and up onto his shoulder.

He’d been right. The curse didn’t extend to one’s own species.

“I’m surprised you never got one for yourself,” Aziraphale said. He watched as Crowley ran two fingers delicately over the scales, entranced. A soft, subconscious hiss was emanating each time he breathed. “It’s rather the perfect pick for you.”

“Way to toot your own horn. But nah, just... snakes. Not very cute, are they? Not the sort of thing people want in their home.” Crowley used his free hand to sit his sunglasses more firmly onto his face and... oh.

Oh.

Aziraphale felt something in his chest tighten. He stepped forward and removed those glasses, despite the protest.

“I think they’re positively adorable,” and a laugh bubbled out of Aziraphale as Crowley spluttered. The tension in his shoulders released though and the little Hognose ended up better settled between them. “A snake will make a wonderful addition to this home, rest assured. You’ll have to give him a name.”

“Her,” Crowley croaked.

“Her then.”

“Got any suggestions?”

“Not just yet.” Stepping closer Aziraphale laid his head on Crowley’s shoulder, eye-to-eye with their little lady. He wasn’t at all scared though. Like with the snake above him, Aziraphale knew he was perfectly safe. “I hear these lovelies play dead when feeling threatened, so the name must be something suitably dramatic. You see? You’re perfect for one another.”

“Shut it, angel.”

“And yes, there’s a collection of stuffy old books in the second box. You must read up on how to properly care for her. You don’t really think I’d pass up the opportunity to—”

“Somebody give me strength do you ever shut up?”

Crowley finally decided that the best way to achieve silence was to get it himself, which was precisely why Aziraphale blathered on in the first place. Kissing one snake while another watched wasn’t precisely what one would consider angel-like behavior.

Although, given that Aziraphale was an angel and here they were, perhaps it wasn’t so far off the mark after all.

[the-fiction-witch]

The Tower

REAL LIFE: x OLD TIMES  COUPLE: TBS X READER RATING: SWEET

I sat on my old rusty bedframe, in the dark corner of my bedroom. This room has been this way for as log as I could remember. The bed, in the corner with the metal frame rusting the white paint chipping from the metal, it would come off if I touched it. The window tall and pretty, but someone had painted it black from the inside, there was a small section where the black paint had chipped away giving a tiny glimpse to the little tracks in the garden. Next to my window is a little table and two chairs for me to eat dinner even If I haven't been eating for ages., The other corner had a bookcase, I had read them all a hundred times. There was a small door to the little bathroom and just beside it as the little bed for my cat Lucas who was currently under my bed anyway. "Knock Knock my angel" I heard her voice smile from the door as it unlocked and opened "I brought you your dinner" she smiled putting a tray of food on my bed "I'm not really hungry mother" I admit "Why ever not my angel?" She asks picking up my chin go look at her "I'm just... Not mother" I told her looking away from her hollow blue eyes "mother... could I come down?" I asked "No," she snaps "Mother please, not for long, just to get warm by the fire, get a couple new books-" I began "Out of the question" she yells slapping my face "you have to stay up here my angel where you’re safe" she smiled kissing my head and leaving locking my door as she left. I sighed seeing Lucas climb on to my bed to have my food his black fur looking a little matte where he was still wet from the leaky roof across the other side of the room I went to pet him but he hissed so I stopped and laid back on my bed

I sat watching the little path, a lot of carts had come back and forth today I had counted six had come and only four have left so far. I could hear noises downstairs but I didn't think much off it, my mother often has people over. The hard rain was constantly pounding in my roof a bowl sat on my floor clinking with each drip from my leaking roof. I saw a cart pulling away empty meaning there is only one left, A minute or so later another cart pulled away into the rain, a man sat at the front directing the horses, and a girl sat on the back her feet hung off the back. She had a dark y/f colour and black dress with a plait of y/n hair cascading on her shoulder she quickly out the hood of a black cloak over her head to protect her from the rain wrapping herself up in it like a blanket as the cart disappeared from my view. I couldn't escape the feeling I had... Seen her before

I sat listening quietly, I could hear noises coming though the wooden floor to the kitchen a little way below, I could hear singing. It was a beautiful song, a song that I... Seem to remember. Sung by a voice that I seemed... To remember. I knew the next words before the heavenly voice sung them "Days, and dreams of wonderland. Of pixies and of goblins. Of woods and rivers far away. Beyond the old romances" The voice calmed me somewhat, like my soul felt better hearing this little innocent singing. The song began to go quiet like moving away, until I heard it so much louder, I looked out the window and it was that girl with the plait and y/f/c dress stood in the garden she wondered away from my view still singing the little song, before coming back with a bucket of water and starting to water plants in the little pots by the door she seemed so happy. I was confused at first, because she made me feel happy and I haven't felt happiness in so long that I... I hardly remember what it was like to be happy. She stopped her watering and looked up to my window, I hid away Incase of her seeing me. I didn't want her to see me looking, mother always says outside wasn't good that it's wasn't safe for me, but I couldn't help looking I peaked a little trying to keep myself hidden she was looking at my window a small sad smile on her face before she hurried Inside. I smiled sitting quietly on my bed listening to that girl sing her sweet little song, she makes me so happy. Until I heard the familiar sound of footsteps, but they where coming from the stairs I went to the door to listen and... The song as getting louder the steps soft and quick I heard the beautiful voice and little steps hurry Past my door I felt heartbroken hearing that beautiful voice just rush past like I wasn't even here. I heard a door unlock on the other side of the corridor she kept singing as she did whatever it is she is doing, and I heard her steps coming close again. I didn't know what to do, or how to do anything I froze hearing that heavenly voice. I knocked on the door. Just lightly, two little knocks and the singing stopped suddenly. I didn't know what to do until a knock came on my door from the other side I knocked a couple of times back and she returned them "I knew there was someone up here," the voice smiled "who are you? What are you doing up here?" She asked I couldn't speak, I tried but no words arrived at my mouth so I knocked again "Hehehe, why won't you speak to me?" She asked All my fears, all the warnings my mother had given me about the outside world, I didn't want to be but... I was terrified. So scared at the idea of a girl being in the other side of my wooden door "I know this room..." She said sounding upset "my friend used to live up here, until the-" she began "y/n!" a male voice calls from downstairs "Coming" she calls back knocking a couple of times and then running off down the stairs. I hurried to my window looking out the little gap to the path, I saw the cart again and she looked up to my window as she sat on the back I moved away so she wouldn't see me but I couldn't help but peak she was smiling but looked so sadness the cart left my view.

I sat impatiently at the window watching for the little cart with that little kitchen girl named y/n, I saw her little cart come in down the path and as soon as it was out of my view  I began to hear her beautiful and gentle song from down in the kitchens, I just sat listening to her sweet song. Until I heard her coming up the stairs and a tap on my door. I leapt from my seat and went putting my hands on the door and knocked back "Hehe, hello again" she smiles "You sweet little thing" she smiles   I didn't know what to say as her words had made my face heat up so much "Aren't you going to speak to me?" she giggled "Y/-y-y-y/-y-y/-y/-y-y-y-y-y/-y/-y/" I stutter "What's the matter?" she asks "y/-y/-y/" I stuttered trying so hard to get the worlds out "what are you trying to say?" she asks "y/- Y/- n- y/n" I stutter "Awwww, thats so sweet" she smiles "y/-y/n Sweet to me" I forced out "aww thats so cute" she smiles "what are you doing in there? locked away from everything" she asks "I- I can't" I explain "she keeps you locked away in here?" she asks "tho-?" she began "y/n!" the voice yelled from downstairs "I'll be back tomorrow" she smiled before rushing off downstairs.

I sat listening to steps hurrying up my stairs and the door quickly unlocking my door, it was my mother, Lucas instantly ran under the bed trying to hide. "Come down," she says forcing me to follow her I tried my best to resist her but she just kept pushing me along till we reached the stairs down to her lab, "No... no mother please" I begged her "Go on" she warns "No Mother, please... I feel fine. I don't need to go up there. Please mother" I begged "Go!" she yells pushing me down the stairs and I blacked out. When I woke up I was in the kitchen a bowl of soup sat on the table Infront of me so I sighed starting to have some soup even if I wasn't very hungry, until I heard the sweet little singing on the other side of the kitchen door. I panicked and ran into the pantry just as the door opened. I couldn't help but peak into the kitchen at the beautiful girl in her little y/f/c dress as she ties a white apron around her and begins sorting boxes and food humming her heavenly song for a while until she noticed the soup on the table and my obviously just used chair "Madam?" She asks around the kitchen but nothing till I heard her stop and began gingerly walking towards the door to the pantry I hid myself away not wanting her to find me "it's you isn't it?" She asks "Thomas?" She asks and I froze, my heart beating out of my chest I could hear my heart in my ears she... She knew my name. How did she know my name?   "Thomas..." I stuttered my own name sounding so strange to me "Won't you let me see you?" She asks "y/-y/n shouldn't see" I stuttered "Ohh Thomas... What has she done to you?" She asks "my sweet Thomas, are you still my little knight?" She asks I tried to remember my soul seemed lightened by those words her little knight... Like I knew that somehow and I knew what I was supposed to say back "Pr-pr-princess y/n" I stuttered forcing out the words "Ohh Thomas it is you" she smiled "y/n!" A voice yelled it sounded like my mother so I hid myself better wanting to make sure she wouldn't find me "Yes madam" y/n answered "Have you decided?" She asks "Yes of course madam, I would be thrilled" y/n answered "Good you start tomorrow," she says before my mother left "I'll be seeing you tomorrow Thomas" y/n smiled before she left, I slowly came out and blushed hard she knew my name, she knew me, she's amazing.

I laid in my bed listening to the rain on my roof, the dripping into the little pan where the roof is leaking, the Thunder cracking ever now and again, Lucas purring very so often when I pet his soft fur. I felt strange as I laid there.... Like for the first time for as long as I can remember. I dreamt of something. "Help help! The dragons got me captured!" "Ohh no! My beautiful princess y/n is being held captive in the tower! I must save her!" "Horray! My wonderful knight has saved me, he won a hundred kisses" "A hundred? I slayed a dragon for you my princess, that's atleast a million kisses?" "We should get married then we could be king and queen" I remembered flames, inescapable wooden flames "Thomas!" I shot up in my bed Lucas jumping off my lap as the thunder cracked in the sky that was... A dream? Or was it real?

I smiled waiting by the door I could hear her heavenly singing but she didn't come to see me, I had begun to lose hope sitting on my bed, but she promised she would come see me.. There was a quick knock on my door and I jumped to my feet but I heard It unlocking so I moved away trying to hide from my mother, but I saw... It wasn't my mother, it was y/n! So I hid myself away in the bathroom closing the door with just enough to peak out as she came in and shut the door again "You don't have to hide from me Thomas" she smiles to the door "Don't worry your mother's gone out to her meetings she won't be back till next Tuesday," she explained "I won't tell her I was up here if you don't" she giggled winking at me and starting to change my bed for me "y/-y/- y/n...." I stutter "I don't think you should be up here" "Really Thomas? Honestly I can handle myself, I'm not scared of you" she says coming towards the door but I made sure she couldn't see me she sighed finishing my bed fixing the fresh sheets and going over to light a candle her face looked so beautiful with a warm orange glow below it "Thomas please... I just want to see you" she smiles "No ones ever seen me, but my mother" I answered "Not since last I saw you, there is nothing that could have happened since I saw you last that wouldn't make me want to see you" she smiles pushing on the door lightly before she could see me I put my hand over her eyes making her giggle "Hehehe, Thomas I'm serious" she laughed as I blew out her candle leaving us in darkness again and moving my hand...

She froze... Her eyes wide and she looked awful, a mix of so many things, fear, nausea and much more she looked confused looking at me before resting her hand on my cheek her hand felt so warm and soft I nuzzled into her hand like a cat it feeling so soft and sweet "What... What has she done to you?" She asks "What are you talking about?" I ask her "Thomas what do you remember?" she asks "about what?" I ask "about everything?" she asks "I remember...fire, ash, wood-burning and I remember you" I explain "I remember, my princess y/n" "Oohh... My sweet, sweet Thomas" she smiles "Is that all you remember?" "It is" I nod "what happened? what happened between then and now?" I ask "It's hard to explain," she says "I have to go, I have other work to do, come down later I'll make you dinner" she smiles blowing a kiss and going off again but leaving my door unlocked

[antiquechampagne]

Beastly Kingdom - Chapter 5 - Wonderland

Liz made her way to Kiddie Kingdom slowly, her mind churning over the day’s developments. So many things to consider and weigh against each other. She knew the threat the Brotherhood posed. It was very much real and nearly at their doorstep but… the Minutemen were equally dangerous. Could Nuka-World take them both on if it came down to it?

Something red sticking out of a trash heap caught her eye. Bending down, she plucked a rusted Nuka-Cola truck toy from the refuse. Stuffing it into a pocket, she made her way to the lollypop-themed entrance to the children’s park.

“Any problems? Requests?” she asked the two bored guards standing outside the barricades.

A woman nodded, colorful feathers pasted resplendently to the pale pig-nosed mask covering most of her head. “No, Boss. The ghouls have been pretty quiet lately. Nothing’s come in or out.”

Liz reached into a pocket, pulled out a blue bottle, and tossed it to her. “Have yourself a little break, on me.”

The woman turned the bottle over. “Day Tripper?!” A greedy smile glowed on her face. “No shit! Thanks, Boss!” She turned to her compatriot, grabbing his shoulder. “Come on!” The two guards headed off in the direction of the nearby dilapidated restrooms.

Past the barricades, Liz felt a familiar buzz on her skin. A buzz humans would be smart to avoid. Kiddie Kingdom had a network of still-functional sprinklers. These misters used to cool the prewar patrons on oppressive summer days, but now they spread a steady mist of deadly radioactivity through the air. Not that this bothered the current residents of the park.

“Grraaaagh,” guttered a slack-jawed ghoul standing on a bench, turning to face Liz. Its clothes were in tatters around its waist, its face grotesquely covered with bright patches of flaking make-up.

Liz waved. “Good evening, Mark. Is Oswald in the Castle?”

“Gwwaa,” Mark managed to shrug.

Liz made her way past the eerily silent carnival rides and empty midway to the focal piece of the park, a huge medieval fantasy-styled theater named King Cola’s Castle. Every so often a feral ghoul would notice her, snarling or howling at something unfamiliar. Each soon turn away uninterested, recognizing her as one of their own.

She found Oswald in the courtyard of the castle, fussing over a feral friend, as usual. Oswald stood out among the ghouls in Kiddie Kingdom. Not only did he wear a stately tuxedo costume complete with top hat (he was a professional magician, after all,) but also he had yet to turn feral, his mental faculties still sharp as a tack. Another thing that made Oswald unique was that he had a literal glow about him, as if some personal nuclear reactor powered him deep inside.

As soon as Oswald spotted Liz, he waved her over. She smiled as she crossed to him.

“Hello Liz! You are just the person I needed to see today.” His voice was gruff and gravelly like that of most ghouls. “Jerry here, I just can’t convince him to wear his kit today.” In his gloved hands, he held a scruffy, curly clown wig. “I put it on him, but after a few minutes, he just rips it off again. I’m not sure what’s going on.”

“Maybe he doesn’t want to wear it… God knows I wouldn’t be caught dead in this thing!” Liz stifled a laugh.

Oswald frowned. “I don’t think that’s it. I can put it on him just fine. He just keep taking it off.”

He handed the wig to Liz. Liz squatted down to look at the Jerry, who stood hunched over and pawing at the ground, then back to the wig.

“Hey Jerry, come here please?” she asked calmly. The feral ghoul meandered over to her on all fours, almost skittish, like a wild animal. She put a hand on his shoulder to calm him. Liz noticed he wasn’t anxious at her touch, but tracked the wig.

Liz pursed her lips in thought while running her fingers through the plastic fibers that stubbornly clung to the cap. Flipping it over, she found the culprit. Plucking a wooden sliver out, she held the offender out for Oswald to see.

“Oh Jerry… I’m so sorry. I’ll be more careful next time.”

Liz gave the wig back to Oswald. “I’ll leave that part to the professionals.” She stood up. “Where’s Louis?”

“Last time I saw him, he was watching the Nuka Racers by the carousel.”

“How’s he doing?” Liz’s brow furrowed.

“The same. I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you. It’s been a while since your last visit.”

“I know.” Liz sighed.

She made her way around to the carousel. On the grass stood a small ghoul with a threadbare striped shirt and red baseball cap staring at the nearby tracks near a pile of toys. She hesitated as she retrieved the toy truck from her pocket, placing it on the ground near the dozen other toy cars and trucks, each smashed and scattered about.

“Hey, honey. Mommy brought you a new toy.”

Just then, a pair of cars came racing along the railway track, clattering loudly on their endless loop around the park. The noise broke the boy out of his trance. He hissed and raced after the duo for a few steps before losing interest and returning to his spot.

“Louis… Mommy’s sorry she hasn’t been around much.” Liz sat on the ground. “There is a lot going on right now at work.” Her words sounded hollow, fake to her, but it might be something that would be familiar to her son. Louis continued stare down at the tracks, unmoved by this mother’s words. “Mr. Oswald has been taking good care of you, hasn’t he? No bad people trying to chase or hurt us.”

Liz reached out, picked up the new truck, and held it out to him.

She really wished she could come more often, but had to be careful with her visits. Someone might come to suspect something more than just her letting her hair down with a local. She had worked so hard to find somewhere safe for her son; there was no way she was going to screw that up now. Even if that meant spending more time than she would like away from Louis. He probably didn’t even notice. At least he was safe. No random human could find him in here. Oswald made sure of that.

Slowly, Louis took a few steps towards his mother before taking the toy. As he did, she held his hand tenderly.

“Do you want to lay down for a bit? I bet you are tired from chasing those cars around all day.”

The boy stood, eye vacant, his breath rattling in his chest for several long seconds before he allowed her to lower him into her lap. She held him as he tried to pull the wheels of the truck with his teeth, gently rocking him until he fell asleep.

A half an hour later, she returned to the ramshackle castle with her boy in her arms. Oswald smiled warmly, opening the door that lead to a room with a bed. After placing him down, they both retired to the apartment in one of the towers.

“He hasn’t slept properly in a few weeks,” Oswald said as he pulled a couple of Nuka-Colas out of the fridge.

“You mean since the last time I was here.” Liz leaned against the back of the couch.

Oswald sadly nodded as he popped off the cap and handed her a bottle.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been back. Is there anything you need? Food? Paint? The guards say they haven’t received any requests in a while…”

“We’re fine. If I need anything, I’ll let you know. That is the agreement, right? But…” He took a swig. “Why are you really here? I wasn’t expecting you for another week or so.”

The both moved to sit on the couch. Liz looked away as she sat down. “Well…” she tried to avoid his question, but she didn’t have the energy. His glowing green eyes drilled into her. “Fine.” Some soda cleared her palate. “You remember that pipe dream I told you about?”

Oswald’s brow arched. “That crazy one involving catching Quantum deathclaw?”

“Yeah... well, we bagged one.” Oswald’s jaw dropped. “A big one. Probably the biggest one in Nuka-World. I think we got the matriarch.”

“Really? That explains all that noise coming from Nuka-Town.” Liz nodded. “Where in the world are you holding her?”

“Under the Bradberton amphitheater.” Liz could see Oswald start to shake his head. “Now hold on. I had the guys build a custom cage for her. Strong as Fort Knox. She ain’t getting out.”

“She better not! She’s going to eat all of you for breakfast, lunch and dinner if she does. You really think that little trinket is going to save you if she gets out?”

He poked at the talisman hanging from Liz’s neck. She swatted his hand away.

“Hey, knock it off! Big Mama isn’t going anywhere.” She looked critically at the talisman, a small claw from a young deathclaw decorated with crude scrollwork, capped with a metal clasp.

“Oh, it’s got a name? Are you going to keep it in a doghouse and feed it treats? You think you’re going to train it to fetch your slippers?”

“Shut up!” Liz couldn’t help but snicker. She had to admit to herself that part sounded insane… but who said it was impossible to tame a deathclaw?

After a minute, Oswald looked at her with a serious look in his eyes. “The deathclaw thing, as neat as that might be, isn’t all that urgent.” He turned to face her right on. “What’s really on your mind?” He had quite the knack for reading her. Guess that was why she always came here when she needed to talk.

“Turning it up to the third degree, eh? Fine. I need some unbiased feedback.” Oswald settled back on the cushions. “Have you been keeping up with those newspapers I’ve left for you? Yeah… well, you know who the Minutemen are then.” Oswald nodded. “Guess who walked through the Gauntlet? The fucking General of the whole outfit.”

“Oh boy.”

“Yeah. We’ve been butting heads with those guys every time we try to expand out into the Commonwealth. And here he waltzes in right through the doors!”

“His head’s on a spike over the gate now, I suppose.” Oswald’s obvious distaste for the violence soured his features. Liz found it a bit endearing after 200 years of hard living.

“Actually… not quite. Seems he wanted to parley.” She could see Oswald starting to stew over this new information. “Upshot: Nate and his band of merry men will leave us alone in Nuka-World AND give us access to some lucrative trade routes… in exchange for additional firepower against the Brotherhood of Steel. Not too bad of a deal there, but there is a catch. He wants us to go legit too.”

Oswald thought for a moment. “No more raiders in Nuka-World,” he said succinctly.

The both sat in silence, sipping their soda.

After a while, Oswald ventured, “Can you even manage that? Do you have that much power over them?”

Liz rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “I’m not sure, but I have some ideas.”

Oswald’s eyes pierced her own. “Do you want to?”

That question gave Liz pause. She had been a raider for centuries out of pure necessity. She cultivated and honed herself into a viciously sharp blade, mostly through sheer power of will. After watching all her friends and family slowly ghoulify and lose their minds, she nearly lost it herself. She only kept herself together in those years to keep Louis safe. Cruelty was the only currency the Commonwealth dealt in.

But…

Nuka-World was busting at the seams. The factions had flourished under her leadership, filling Nuka Town and nearly all the surrounding parks. Only Kiddie Kingdom was left untouched, a haven for her son. They critically needed food and supplies, and stable ones at that. Shaking down farms and raiding caravans just wasn’t cutting it anymore.

She knew about Nate’s exploits, which went beyond his defeat of the Commonwealth’s bogyman, The Institute. He treated ghouls, freed synths and even some mutants as people, even palling around with a few. His network of settlements was changing the landscape of the Commonwealth. The one thing he seemed to give no quarter to was raiders, but he had paused to try to broker a deal with her. That meant Nuka-World must be sizable enough that he thought they could give his forces trouble.

“The fact is, the Brotherhood could strip everything here for tech trinkets if they wanted. It’s a real possibility… and we need to solve our resource problem. We’ve grown too big. Something needs to give.”

“Can you do what needs to be done?”

Liz thought, ruminating on the question. Partial ideas started to crystalize in her mind, focusing her, showing her exactly where she could exert pressure and influence, turning the gangs to her will. She smiled and nodded.

“I think I can.” She finished the bottle. “But… if it doesn’t work, you need to have a plan. Nate has set up ghoul settlements, so I think you could probably work with him. The Brotherhood has no love for ghouls. I lose control of the gangs…”

She didn’t need to say anything further. The both knew what that would mean. Her rules would no longer apply.

Oswald shook his head resolutely. “We’re not leaving, Liz. This is our home.” Removing his top hat, he played with the brim. “It will be easier to hear any news from Rachel.” Oswald looked into his lap. Liz felt for him; he missed his girlfriend terribly. “Damn, I miss her. It’s been years since I’ve heard anything from her… and nothing about the cure.”

Liz put a comforting hand on Oswald’s paint-speckled shoulder. “I know. What would you do if… well… if Rachel never sent news? If she… didn’t come back?”

“I don’t want to think about it.” His fingers tapped nervously on his hat.

Liz frowned before putting on her best ‘buck up’ smile. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure we’ll hear from her soon. Just think what a cure for ghouls would mean.”

Oswald tried to smile back. “Yeah… I’m sure we will.”

They didn’t say anything for a long while. Eventually, Liz got up and gave Oswald’s shoulder another pat before saying good night. She silently made her way to the small bedroom that held her sleeping son. She nearly tripped on his baseball cap, which had tumbled to the floor.

Some things never change, she mused to herself, thinking of how hard it was to get Louis to clean his room back in Sanctuary Hills before the bombs fell.

Carefully, she picked it up and hung it from the corner post of the rickety bed. Pulling out a sleeping bag stashed in the corner, she soon fell asleep on the floor next to her son.

[strigwrites]

Werewolf

At the tailor, I broke down into tears when my favorite lilac shift still couldn’t fit over the swell of my stomach that had not yet seen fit to rid itself of the lingering remnants of a very long and tiresome pregnancy. My first guest since the last party had fallen to tatters at the hands of my daughter’s untimely arrival promised to be an interesting one; the dream of an Ishgardian minor lord come to deposit antiquities into my able hands set me alight, and there wasn’t a chance that I would be lazy about arrangements. The seamstress wrapped her arm around my shoulders and assured me that this was all normal, this was all fine—new mothers were just like this. Can you imagine? She gestured at her assistants as I tried to dab the moisture from my eyes without ruining my paint-perfected face, and they used the cataract of my own tears to bring out a printed charmeuse number that she promised would drape beautifully and give the illusion of a smooth silhouette and naturally I was sold on the spot.

I haven’t yet gotten used to the sound of crying interrupting the pristine wonderland of my own home. I can hear it from across the manse and it will tear me out of a particularly moving concerto with a much prettier wail coming from the orchestrion as I choose the perfect music to accompany the evening to come. One thing they don’t tell you about motherhood is that your instincts don’t necessarily blossom gently like a soft and beautiful flower; in my case, they warped me like a monster in the night, turning me into a beast of instinct alone. The call of my own flesh and blood snaps me out of the luxury of quiet cogitation no matter the hour and into a realm of reaction where my feet move faster than my rational thoughts and carry me until this warm and fragrant bundle is at my chest. I comfort my dearest girl, but in some alien way, she soothes me as much as I do her. I wish I had more agency than this, I don’t want to be riled and pacified this way. Sometimes I even resent her for this spell that has come attached to her, the way it controls me.

It is with this sort of inefficient, maternal mind that I spend the rest of the day readying for this man’s arrival, right up to the last minute spent rearranging a vase that doesn’t quite sit right, but I just can’t seem to fix. Don’t tell me he won’t notice; the point of being a good hostess is that your guests should never even have a chance in the first place, their environs should be that immaculately manicured. Much to my delight, his eyes barely left me from the moment I opened the door and for a time, I forgot all about the demolished and imperfect flesh beneath the exquisite couture. I forgot about my daughter, about my new duties, about my transformation. For a moment, I could be unabashedly the woman I have cultivated for years. My highest calling.

Luther, of course, lets me work relatively unimpeded. He’s happy to see me happy, he says, and of course I believe him. We worked our way through heaping dishes of cheerful greens, all three of us, and platters of minuscule hors d’oeuvres so finely constructed by the culinarian-meets-architect in our kitchen that a part of you died just to devour it. The conversation was uncomplicated—a bit hollow, actually—but I was starved and so I smiled through rich cuts of meat, I laughed over a positively indecent tart that boasted plump slices of stone fruits made glistening with a syrup glaze, and I was ready to deal business over after-dinner coffee (Thavnair’s finest) when it happened. The crying.

I rose so quickly that I nearly sent my chair toppling as I rushed to answer my child’s squalling that I knew not even the nannies I’d hired could quell. I was embarrassed in spite of the understandable nature of my interruption; thank all gods past and present for Luther’s presence to keep him occupied as I was forced to answer to the awaiting baby, for there were no other guests around to cover my absence. Naturally, the dress was no longer suitable for a woman like me, betrayed by my body’s own awakened functions, and it took two maidservants to lower my gown enough for my daughter to nurse. Time was ticking and Luther was to leave soon on business of one sort or another and I felt the pressure of expectation crush me slowly. I swallowed the lump in my throat, for crying would only set me back more time than it would already take for me to return.

I nearly ran the length of my home when we had finished, slowing my steps just before I thought they’d be able to hear my arrival to look as natural and unflustered as possible in spite of the unseen maelstrom I brought with me. I rounded the corner with a quippy phrase already on the tip of my tongue to make my entrance known, but that’s when I saw something was amiss.

“...Anthony?”

Luther’s back was turned to me as he directed several staff, his towering body blocking a full view of the table. My heart leapt into my throat.

“Is everything a--”

“Stay there.”

“What happened?”

“It’s best you don’t concern yourself with this, so do as I say and just stay there.”

I knew at once that the night had been ruined and I felt my blood boil and hiss within. I grew indignant and plowed forward, the heat already rising into my face, spreading through my body in a white-hot rush. My husband turned to block me, but the glimpse of the elezen’s limp body being wrapped in black shroud detonated a slow-ticking timebomb that even I hadn’t realized was planted within.

“Are you joking?! You murdered him?”

“Now hang on...”

“This is why nobody wants to come to our dinner parties!” I shrieked.

“Lower your voice...”

“Do you understand how much effort I poured into this? I am at my most hideous and I have spent all day trying to make myself and this place presentable to company! I brought out the good serving boards! I had a massage!”

“Something was wrong...” I wouldn’t let him finish. Tears were already welling up in my eyes as I squared up in my husband’s shadow and voiced my indignation like a veritable child.

“I-I’ve been trying for ages now to host guests the proper way and so many parties have been ruined! It was already difficult enough and now nobody will ever come to a house where someone’s been murdered! That’s the death knell for entertaining!”

I could hear the sternness rise in his tone, but couldn’t be arsed to back down off the ledge I’d put myself on, and so I just kept on while I had the stage to myself, the lone primadonna.

“There is no sommelier in the whole, wide world who can recommend a wine to wash that bad taste out! Tell me, what kind of dessert says, ‘I’m sorry you heard someone died here, but please try to forget about that little detail and have a good time’?!” It was not my finest moment, to say the least.

“I just want people to love me!” I shouted petulantly, gulping for air as despair bubbled up. As it slowly choked me up, I sputtered my parting remarks. “I am a good hostess! One of the best!”

In the throes my unflattering tantrum, I failed to notice him stoop to kneel in front of me and wait for me to be finished. Even hunched as he was, he was nearly as tall as I am standing, even more imposing than he had been in prior times we no longer talk about. As I scrubbed my eyes with my fists, he offered a gentle, but exasperated, “Are you finished?” to which I nodded.

“Now listen to me,” he began lowly in his perfect gentleman’s cant. “Enough of this fit. He came to harm you. I don’t know how or why, but I took matters into my own hands. To protect you.”

And just like that, the bramble in my chest released its tangled, thorny hold on my heart. A strange chord of warmth plucked and I felt instantly placated. In a moment, I couldn’t remember why anyone found him so terrifying, why this man of means and politesse rattled anyone at all. “Really...?”

He offered a disarming smile in response and swept me up, rising with me cradled in his arms. Just like that, I had everything I wanted and could scarcely recall why I’d been so upset in the first place. What was the man’s name again...? You know what, nevermind. I don’t care.

“You must be exhausted, darling,” he murmured. And gods, was I ever.

[believingbrook]

the blind forest, 2

He wanders the Starblaster alone. After so long isolated he should rejoice in the company. Should go find his sister, or Barry, tell them what they missed and hear how they spent their ten long years. Tell them how much he missed them, and how acutely it tore him open that they were gone, that he didn’t know their names. That when he’d met Barry, face-to-face, he’d felt absolutely nothing.

The Starblaster isn’t a large ship. They were only supposed to be gone two months, after all. But Taako knows how to keep himself unseen, and his meandering feet keep him well away from his other crewmates. He doesn’t know where they are, exactly, but when he hears Davenport’s voice echoing down the long halls he turns and walks the other direction.

There’s a room on the Starblaster. A giant, transparent bubble. Standing in it, one can see all around; the stars carpet every wall, the planets a gleam of color beneath one’s feet. The IPRE Mission Board had presented it as a luxury.

It kept them sane.

Taako finds himself in this room, and looking at the stars should hurt, because they’re all different, they’re unfamiliar and unfriendly and unkind, but he looks out into the vastness of space and feels about as uncaring as it is.

His footfalls clink quietly against reinforced plastic as he mounts the stairs, tracing a spiral along the outer rim of the sphere. Here the path widens into a bench large enough for three. He and Lucretia used to come out here, decades ago. He would nap and she would write and the silence felt harmonious.

The silence now is oppressive and cool and Taako likes the weight of it on his shoulders, so he sits.

Ever around him turn thousands of stars.

He loses track of how much time passes. He sits, still as stone, and waits. For what, he doesn’t know.

The doors hiss open and shut, and another pair of footsteps track closer to him. As Lup approaches, Taako doesn’t look up. She slips beside him and looks out.

“How are you feeling, babe?”

Taako traces a spiral in the stars, then a feather, then a magnifying glass before blinking the mirages away. One of the only good things about these new planes is that every constellation is undiscovered. In the stars, they make their own maps.

“Fine.”

“Babe...”

“I mean it, Lup. I’m fine.”

He’s not even lying. He feels fine. He feels perfectly fine, in fact - flat and hollowed out.

“C’mon, Koko. You’ve gotta be feeling something - ”

“That’s rich,” he snorts. “Telling me how I should feel after you left.”

Lup freezes, and the flash of anger recedes as quickly as it came. Because he knows he should, Taako apologizes. He hears the words come out of his mouth, distantly. May as well be the stars speaking.

She accepts it, because she’s Lup, and she loves him.

Another while passes, both of them looking outward. Not forward, but out. Lup rests her hand over his and he pulls away, the touch of her skin searing like fire.

“I’m glad your body’s back,” he says.

“Thank you.”

They sit in silence until Lup leaves.

When Barry comes knocking on the door, Taako decides to take his leave. He Blinks out easily, slipping between planes just as Barry pushes the door open, and Blinks back into his room.

It’s just as he left it. No — it’s just how the IPRE Mission Board designed it. Two beds, both bunked, one walk-in closet and a white carpet beneath the only chair in the room. Sparse and spartan. Normally by this time Taako would have transmuted half the ship into more comfortable accomodations — after two decades of bickering they’d decided they liked Taako’s specialty downy couch painted bright purple, mostly because Taako overruled Barry when he argued for something less dramatic — but there’s a problem: the Starblaster doesn’t feel like home any more.

Besides, redecorating would take an energy Taako doesn’t have. He doesn’t transmute their wall-length mirror, he doesn’t pluck another five blankets from the white walls, he doesn’t turn their flickering, standard-issue light into a chandelier, just for kicks. He sits on his shitty bed with its shitty springs, not yet coated in rust, blanketed in sterile darkness, and closes his eyes.

Sleep doesn’t come, of course, because luck never favored Taako, but at least this way Taako can pretend — or at least ignore the fact that this is no longer the moonbase, there’s no child detective curled up on the armchair in the living room, no Reaper holding Taako to his chest.

The air in the room is chill and stale and smells faintly of chlorine, like a hospital with perfectly-cleaned white sheets.

Taako breathes, and breathes, and imagines his lungs filling with whatever varnish the IPRE used to coat their walls. He hasn’t spent so much time in this room in its untouched state since the very first cycle.

There’s a faint ringing in his ears, one with which he’s very familiar. It’s the sound of absolute silence, of the tiny movements in his ears and the maddening noise that silence makes. He snaps his fingers and that gets rid of it, for a while, but before long the quiet presses back in.

The door clicks open.

“Hey, kid,” says Merle.

“Old man,” Taako says, sitting up, which is weird, because he hadn’t meant to do that. “I didn’t let you in.”

Merle smiles, shrugs. His movements, too, are muted. “Let myself in. You gave me standing permission, remember?”

“That was a long time ago.”

“Yeah. Sixty-somethin’ years, wasn’t it.”

Merle shuffles onto the bed proper, and Taako makes room for him. Merle winces. “Shitty-ass springs,” he grumbles. “Pokin’ my back.”

“Not my fault you’re delicate.”

Merle flips him off, and Taako catches himself moments before returning the gesture. “See you haven’t transmuted this baby into somethin’ more comfortable.”

Taako shrugs. “Didn’t feel like it.”

Merle hums at that, and they sit together in the quiet. Somehow, the ringing stops, and instead of nothing Taako can hear Merle breathing.

“Barry’s helpin’ Lucretia,” Merle says after a while. “Lup’s talkin’ to Davenport. I tried helpin’ Magnus out but he told me to leave ‘im alone, after a while. Said he didn’t want to talk about it any more.”

“That tracks.”

“He’s gonna need us tonight,” Merle says, squinting at Taako. He has both eyes. Can see clearly in the darkness in the room, now. Guess sometimes Wonderland does give back but only, Taako thinks, when they’ve found a fouler hell.

Taako looks at him for the first time, looks at him like he didn’t look at Lup, straight-on and honest. He arches an eyebrow, and something in Merle uncoils. “You came all the way in here to ask me to transmute a three-person bed.”

“Eh, I figured it’d be worth the walk,” Merle says, and slaps his thighs. “‘Sides, these old bones creak somethin’ awful on those regulation mattresses, and it’s been so damn long since I tried to sleep on ‘em.”

Taako snorts, picks Merle up with Levitate and deposits him unceremoniously on the ground. “Don’t move. Wouldn’t want you to get mixed up in this transmutation,” he says, to which Merle grumbles “fuck you,” to which Taako finally flips him off.

It’s quick; he softens the mattress, replaces the springs with a bit of robo-tech they scavenged from the planet of robots, smooths it lengthwise and, after a moment, heightwise as well. He’s tall but Magnus is taller.

He doesn’t dye it pink and he doesn’t sew his initials into the pillowcase, but when he plucks Merle off the ground and plops them both on the mattress it’s a much softer seat.

“There we go,” Merle says, pleased. “Thanks, kiddo.”

Taako’s tongue trips over don’t mention it.

Merle still snores like a pack of walruses and Taako still stifles the urge to ram cotton up his nose, so some things don’t change.

Taako’s halfway to deep meditation when the door creaks open. Lup never tried to come in; with Barry, no doubt. Which leaves —

“Taako?” rasps Magnus. “Are you in here?”

Without opening his eyes, Taako releases three balls of light from his fingertips, bathing the room in a soft glow. As a matter of principle he refuses to hit the lightswitch. He’ll have no such impersonal and boring lighting touching his skin, thank you very much.

“Evenin’, kiddo,” Merle grunts, shifting over on the bed.

“Oh, shit — sorry, Merle.”

“Don’t even think about it,” Merle yawns. There’s a sharp jolt along his shins as Merle drags Magnus onto the bed proper, and with an irritated sigh, Taako opens his eyes.

“I didn’t know you both were, uh...in here.”

“Merle installed himself in my room, you mean.”

“You let me in!”

“You would’ve kicked the door down if I hadn’t.”

“No I wouldn’t have!”

“Well, I wasn’t about to wait around and find out,” Taako bites, dragging himself fully out of meditation, and looks at Magnus.

To put it politely, he looks like shit.

“Nightmares?”

“Yeah. I — I tried sleeping in my own room, like — like we used to, but, uh...” he breaks off, laughs sheepishly, or it would be sheepish if he didn’t sound three seconds from crying. “It didn’t work.”

“Welcome to the club,” Merle grumbles. “I couldn’t sleep either, what with pointy-hat goin’ all creepy and Zen on me.”

“It’s called meditation, old man.”

“Still weird as shit.”

Magnus chuckles, a choked-off and watery sound. “Taako, do you mind if I — could I stay in here for a bit?”

Taako studies him, and thinks about it; demanding a toll, maybe a carved duck, because it really has been a long time since Magnus has carved him a duck and he’s starting to miss the shitty braids he’d make from the grain.

Instead, he says “Of course.”

Magnus smiles. “Thanks, Taako.”

“Don’t mention it,” Taako says, then “really. Don’t.”

It’s an old line and it wrangles a grin out of Merle, too.

Silence falls again, harmonious this time. Merle lays back down and Magnus follows suit and for a while, the only sound in Taako’s room is that of breathing. With a flick of his fingers Taako snatches the blankets off Lup’s bed and spreads it over the three of them, graciously ignoring Magnus’s muttered thanks.

“It was Julia,” Magnus whispers, voice breaking.

“Dreamed of her?”

“No. I mean yes, I did, but I realized — even if — ”

Magnus breaks off, hand clenching around his own mouth, shadows painted along his temples and beneath the jut of his nose as he curls in on himself, fighting for breath. “I was thinking, you know, I always — death is so common here, on the Starblaster, but if — if I die I won’t — ”

He shudders, the beginnings of sobs hitching on his lips, and Merle reaches over to rub soothing circles on his shoulder. “Sorry,” Magnus whispers, “sorry.”

Taako tweaks his ear. “Don’t apologize.”

“Right,” Magnus says and breathes deep, counting one then two to five, a breathing exercise Taako taught him for meditation, many decades ago. “I realized that even if I die, I won’t s-see Julia again.”

Oh.

“Oh man,” Merle says.

“Yeah,” Magnus says. “I mean, I wasn’t planning on dying — not here, at least, not on the Starblaster — but that was always kinda, I dunno, a thing, y’know? That death wouldn’t be so bad if she was waiting for me.”

In this moment, Taako does not think about several things. He does not think about an aproned drow woman, he does not think about a curly-haired boy detective, and he absolutely does not think about Death.

He realizes, eventually, that Merle is speaking. “ — either. It sucks, I know. But we just gotta have faith that things will turn out okay.”

“But how?” Magnus’s hand clenches around Merle’s arm, even blind as he is in the darkness. “How can you believe that, Merle? They’re gone, they’re in the Hunger, how do we get them back?”

“I just do,” Merle says. “I have faith that one day, we’ll see them again. And they’re not gone, not really. We don’t know where they are, but they’re not gone. We’ve seen souls. Even after we die, our souls keep on going. Somewhere, they’re still out there.”

“But the Hunger,” Magnus argues, voice shaking, “the Hunger is nothing. It’s just — it eats. It feeds. What if it’s eaten their souls?”

“I don’t have a good answer for you, kid.” Merle turns and wraps a hand around the back of Magnus’s head and, with an instinct borne of decades, Magnus presses his forehead to Merle’s. “But I believe that somewhere, there’s an answer for us. I gotta.”

After a beat, Magnus rolls back onto his back, eyes staring sightless at the underside of the mattress above them. “What about you, Taako?”

“What about me, kemosabe?”

“What do you believe?”

Taako pauses. He knows several things. His plane is gone, and the people in it lost to him forever. They’ve never been able to bring someone back. He knows Magnus is grieving, even worse than before, and before left him reckless and careless with his own life.

“Way I see it,” he says eventually, “the seven of us? Best in the damn galaxy. If anyone can work it out, ‘s us.”

The words taste bitter, but over his head Merle looks grateful. Too late, Taako realizes that he’d never met Merle’s kids.

“Okay,” Magnus says eventually. “Then — okay. We’ll figure something out.”

“Sure will, kiddo.”

After Magnus falls asleep Taako snuffs out the lights. Despite the darkness the red rimming his eyes, the breath of bruises beneath them are clearly visible. He looks exhausted as he curls around them, head tucked against Taako’s shoulder and arm thrown over Merle, protective even in sleep.

Merle takes a deep breath and Taako looks at him, but he shakes his head. “Night, Taako.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Taako doesn’t sleep. Instead, when Magnus’s face twists in grief, Taako smooths down his hair, murmurs nothings until rest finds him again.

[unholyhelbiglinked]

Camp Beaverbrook | 002

CHECK OUT THE REST OF THE STORY HERE

Dear Mom,

Things look great this year at the camp. I almost didn’t’ recognize it when I got off the bus, but it is the same place. Gail did a lot of improvements though, including repainting the sign and actually changing out the flag. It looks yellow now, and that’s good. I get my own cabin this year, so I don’t have to worry about not getting much sleep. I don’t know if Gail did that for her sake or mine.

Aubrey M. Posen.

Aubrey hated heavy sunscreen. Its scent was thick with chemicals and the white-streaked against her skin in uneven lines even though she had rubbed it close to raw. Still, it was better than the alternative of bubbling skin, angry and painful until she dipped into the lake that her cabin faced.

She had woken up and gotten dressed this morning before the sun was even up, but she still heard movement in the kitchen. Her mother had worked the night shift and would be asleep before she finished showering. That was always the case, and Aubrey didn’t mind- yet, her heart seemed to ache when she climbed onto the bus and slipped a pair of headphones over her ears. She kept the Walkman steady in her grasp as Rush echoed against her chest. That way the CD didn’t skip.

Aubrey was alone here, or at least, that’s how she felt. The metal clipboard in her hand made sure of that.

Her fingers stuck to the paper from the sunscreen and smudged the words. Bunk assignments and a long list were scribbled in between blue lines. The letter she mentally reminded herself to mail when she walked towards the mess hall.

Instead, her sneakers crunched against the gravel that wracked the sides of the lake; long and stretching. The afternoon air rippled against the reflective surface as water danced dangerously close to the canoe’s flipped against their sides. They were old and needed to be replaced but she bit her tongue until she tasted metal.

Camp Beaverbrook had changed with each summer. When she was twelve, it was a wonderland away from her family. She had brought home the crumpled-up pamphlet that they handed out at school and somehow convinced her parents to let her leave for the summer. It’ll be good for the girl. Her father had said Maybe she’ll learn the importance of consequences.  

She hadn’t. Instead camp was a place to have sex with Andrew Watts behind cabin number nine when she turned sixteen. She had gotten poison ivy places where it shouldn’t have been that summer and came home to her father sleeping on the couch.

“This is an important job, Aubrey. I need bullet focus.”

She bit back a scoff as they walked. Bullet focus was the only thing that Aubrey Posen possessed. That’s why she went home with a blue ribbon for the science fair four years in a row. Why she had been considered for a full ride for Harvard in the Fall, and an RA position at Stanford’s summer program. She had turned it down for the chance at a last summer at Camp Beaverbrook.

Gail didn’t have the energy to run a camp like she used to. Still looking quite young, she was tired. Her slumped shoulders and ill-intentioned words were the clear-cutting points for Aubrey, the two of them keeping a brisk pace as they rounded the corner of the lake. It smelled rancid.

“My role here will be vastly shrinking, understand?”

“Of course,” Aubrey said. And she meant it.

“Not that I don’t enjoy spending time with the campers in the summer. Trust me, I do. I just have a lot more to handle. The legal faucets of keeping this place up and running. That’s why I’m entrusting you.”

Her words made Aubrey’s stomach bubble in unbridled anxiety. The whole camp under her instruction? Gail Abernathy had made it clear that she would come down from her big house a mile west if things got bad if any type of problem occurred. But Aubrey made a silent deal with herself that nothing would go awry.

Aubrey brought her hand back up to the side of her throat, her fingers stung, a tiny insect squishing against her pale skin. Its bloody guts mixed with a sheen of sunscreen. She rubbed the raw spot until little balls of dirt appeared. She remembered how much she hated the mosquitos. Little vampires that never got their fill.

“The campers arrive later today, and all of your counselors are here.”

“Mine?”

“Yours.”

They had stopped at the edge of the property; a long edge of pine trees filled every aspect of her senses. It made her itchy, or maybe that was the new pink welts that formed against her skin. Gail didn’t seem to mind, instead, she grasped the clipboard. “This,” She flicked the corner of it, creating a hollow noise “Is your lifeline. Consult this before you consult me. Are we clear?”

“Crystal.”

She got a pat on the back. Her father used to resort to those all the time. It was a fine line between actual affection and a condescending way to get her not to screw up. She got one after her first dance recital, when he left the house for the last time after the divorce, and when she graduated a month ago.

Gail added in an extra squeeze of the shoulder for comfort, though it didn’t’ help much.

Aubrey watched as the older woman walked away. She looked dark compared to the golden shirts that hugged everyone’s sides like a warm blanket. Aubrey scratched at her neck, cursing herself for not pulling on a bracelet or spraying on citronella. She listened as the waves lapped at the shore and stared down at the clipboard.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” It was a low growl as she turned in the gravel, struggling to get herself up the side of the hill leading to the lake. She had to get to the mess hall, not only was she late, but she was also in charge of a bunch of teenagers- which meant most of the welcome cookies would be scarfed down by now.

A rough pain worked its way through her shoulder as she collided with another. A warm body that smelled like citrus and was soft to the touch. She had grasped at elbows blindly and stabilized the two of them, making sure her clipboard was still pinned under her arm. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry.”

The counselor under her touch was wearing a smile despite almost being bulldozed by an angered blonde. Mousy brown hair fell into perfect slate eyes, ones that could have been green if the day was clearer. She wore a camp tank-top, that obnoxious beaver chomping on wood against the front.

“No worries,” her voice was smooth. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, I-“She breathed out evenly, pulling herself away as she ran her fingers through blonde hair. “Sorry, I was rushing.”

“Mess hall, right? I’m headed there too, I may have overslept. My roommate didn’t’ wake me up and… and I’m rambling, aren’t I? I’m Stacie.”

“Aubrey,” She smiled.

She had seen that name on the registry. A camp counselor who had an expertise in archery, two championships, and a summer to teach a bunch of snot-nosed kids what she knew about the sport. Stacie Conrad looked like she was built enough to go to the Olympics.

But instead, she was at Camp Beaverbrook.

[hercleverboy]

Paint White Roses Red

masterlist

part one : down the rabbit hole 

part three: off with her head

Asylum AU

PAIRING: Jefferson x reader

WARNINGS: Swearing, over all angst, themes of violence. 

PART TWO: PAINT WHITE ROSES RED

She’d been sitting in her room, now on the last few chapters of her book, absentmindedly humming to a made up tune when a knock sounded through the room. Before she could answer, it was thrown open, and her guard told her that she was wanted by Nurse Harlow. Y/N knew exactly what that meant. It was a simple concept, Good behaviour would be rewarded and bad would result in punishment, but Y/N couldn’t help but push the mark a little, though she knew the pain she’d have to withstand as a consequence. In all honestly, she did it purposefully, knowing full well of the result. She felt very little these days, mostly letting her mind get away from her. The pain, whilst excruciating, allowed her to at least feel something. She knew where the room was, it was down in the lowest floor of the hospital, though that did nothing to mask the horrifying screams that often came from it. She had to be escorted to the room, because that’s what Harlow demanded it be done. Y/N wasn’t sure why, though she was never really told much anyway. As she waited outside the room with the large white door, she noticed how a musty smell hung in the air of the hollow hallways, and her mind drifted back to the man she’d met earlier that day. Was it so crazy to believe in such a theory? Perhaps, but she’d decided that she’d play along just as an excuse to be able to speak to the man who’d made her laugh, and completely captivated her. She couldn’t help but think that he was impeccably handsome, and the fact that some people thought he was insane wouldn’t change the fact that she’d continue to get to know him. They called her crazy too, so she supposed there wasn’t much difference between them. She’s broken by her thoughts as the large white doors swing open. There, with a twisted smirk on her red painted lips, stands Nurse Harlow.

“Miss Y/L/N. Please, come in.” She steps back to allow Y/N to enter, and Y/N sits in the familiar metal chair that sits in the centre of the room. She knows the procedure by now. She would sit down and Harlow would probably mock her about something or other, attempting to belittle her, though it never really effected Y/N. Then her hands would be cuffed to the chair, and the metal reinforcements would latch onto the sides of her head and she’d be given something to bite down on. The dial controlling the amount of bolts of electricity being sent to her brain would be cranked up, not enough to emit long lasting damage, but enough to cause unimaginable pain. And Harlow would laugh as it happened , watching almost happily as the juice hit Y/N’s brain, her screams filling the air. She must get some kind of sick kick out of it, Y/N thought.

Nurse Harlow looks down at the clipboard in front of her, as other nurses strap Y/N’s hands down. She tuts, shaking her finger at Y/N disapprovingly. “Swearing, again, Y/N? You should know not to use such foul words,” She cackled. “But I suppose, with all those voices trapped in that small head of yours, you just can’t help yourself.”

It was Y/N’s turn to laugh now, as for the first time in a while, she really took in Nurse Harlow’s appearance. She was of a small frame, though her head appeared to be quite out of proportion with her shoulders. Her head was just abnormally large. Her thin, red and wispy hair looked like straw, and a cyan blue colour eyeshadow sat on her eyelids, which had been applied terribly. She giggled, and Nurse Harlow scowled.

“Why are you- what’s so funny?” She demanded, and Y/N took a deep breath from her giggles.

“You— You really are The Queen Of Hearts, aren’t you?” She giggled again, at how she really did resemble the fairy tale character.

“Shut up– Shut up!” The nurse yelled, and Y/N’s laughter slowly died down when a harsh slap sounded through the room, and Y/N could feel her cheek burning from the contact. That was going to leave a mark. “It would appear, Y/N, that you’ve been spending too much time with Jefferson. He was here earlier too, and I suspect he’ll be back soon. If he continues to spit such ridiculous theories..” She trails off, and Y/N sneered at her. “Dear Y/N, It would seem his theories have corrupted you.” The Nurse snarled, waving for her assistant to come. The assistant places something for Y/N to bite down on in her mouth as the metal clamped around her skull. And then the juice started flowing.

Stumbling down the hallway, she’s guided by a rough hand on her arm that pulls her around each winding corner. Her guard allows her to steady herself against him as he speaks. “Would you like to go down to the free time room, Y/N?” His voice gets lost amongst others inside her head, though she manages to nod her head and allows him to drag her faint and hazy body through to the large room. He places her down onto the chair and leaves her to her own mind.

‘What’re you doing Y/N? Hurting yourself just to feel something? You’re psychotic.’

“No, no. I’m fine.” She grips her hair in her hands, holding her head.

‘Perhaps that’s why you’ll believe that madman’s ramblings. So you’ll find an excuse for your pathetic existence-?’

‘And developing silly feelings for him? Do you believe he could ever want you?”

“Please. No more.” She whispers to herself, lost inside her own head. She calms herself down eventually, and the voices get drowned out, leaving as well. She looks up from her seat, to see the hatter himself sitting in the chair he’d now deemed as his, across from her.

“Does that happen a lot?” He asks, as he twiddles his thumbs.

“What?” She asks, her once erratic breathing finally returning to a normal pace.

“The voices. What do they say?” He seems genuinely interested, and she finds it odd, though she replies hesitantly.

“It’s mostly just self-degrading thoughts. They tell me what I don’t want to hear.” She mumbled, leaning back in her chair, resting her heavy head on her hand. He opens his mouth to speak, but she decided to change the subject. “So tell me, Hatter. How’ve you been?”

“Well, Dear Alice,” He sounds sarcastic, though serious when he refers to Y/N as Alice. “I’ve figured out something else.” He smirks, and Y/N raises a an eyebrow.

“Oh? Do tell.” She asks, giggling a little, once again intrigued. Without looking, he points a sturdy finger to the left of him, and Y/N follows it, and finds herself looking at a young boy. He must only be around the age of 15, sitting alone, facing the wall. There’s nothing distinctly wrong with him, nothing that she could instantly pinpoint. As she’s about to ask why Jefferson pointed towards him, the kid turns around, and that’s when Y/N eyes land on his face. A bloody smile has been carved into his cheeks, from the corner of his lips to his ear, leaving the flesh rather jagged as it attempted to heal itself. She wasn’t shocked, there were many people who came here with problems of self mutilation. She looked back at Jefferson, and urged him to continue.

“The kids name is Tom. Really freaky guy, and that’s coming from me.” He chuckles, shaking his head. “He’s supposed to of done that to himself before murdering his mother and sister in cold blood. They caught him, and sent him straight here.” His eyes lock on Y/N’s, and his tongue darts out to wet his dry lips. “But D’ya wanna know who he really is, Doll?”

She smirked, recognising that he wanted her to answer. “With a smile like that? I’d bet he’s the Cheshire Cat. Does he speak in riddles too?” Her tone was slightly mocking, though knew how serious it was to him.

“Don’t mock me, Dear.” He smirked too, his signature look, “But yes, he is The Cheshire Cat indeed. You’re getting rather good at this.”

“Yeah, Well.” She tilted her head to the side as she spoke the next question. “Did you get called to visit Harlow today?”

He nodded, his demeanour suddenly changing. “I really hate that woman, with a passion. The Queen was always cruel, but I never—“ He stopped mid sentence as he noticed the angry red mark on her cheek, that he really hadn’t noticed until now. He reached forward in his seat, his fingertips gently touching the marks. “She— She hurt you?”

Y/N nodded, and watched as his teeth clenched.

“How dare she lay her hands on you. I’ll fucking kill her, I swear I’ll-“ He seethed, but was cut off by Y/N placing her own hand over his. He was very protective over her, perhaps because of how he believed she was his Alice.

“I’m fine, Jefferson. Really.” She held his hand comfortingly, and he nodded, though he was still furious.

“I know, love. I’m sorry. It’s just you’re mine— my Alice— and I can’t let anything hurt you.”

Over the next few weeks, Y/N and Jefferson became practically inseparable. Whenever he got the chance, he’d sit with his beautiful Alice and speak with her, ask her how she was. Every free-time they had resulted in fits of laughter and loving touches. She had undoubtedly fallen in love with him, and he with her, though he’d repeatedly claim that she —Alice — had loved him all those years ago when they’d been back in Wonderland together. And though Y/N didn’t remember the life he claimed they’d lived together, she merely thought of it as a privilege. She felt privileged to have been able to fall in love with him all over again. The pair loved each other as much as they could in the hospital where if they got too hand-sy for the guards liking, they’d be separated for the day. Sometimes, Jefferson would manage to escape from his room, running up the staircase to her room, where she’d be able to hear him calling for her outside as he was dragged away again, yelling that he loved her as she giggled. He’d do it a thousand times and face Nurse Harlow’s punishments if it meant he could hear her melodic laugh. The pair where a nuisance to the hospital staff, to put it simply.

One evening, they sat in the free time room, Y/N laughing at some silly joke Jefferson had made, holding one another’s hands. That’s as much as the pair where allowed to touch, though that never stopped Jefferson from attempting to steal a kiss before being pulled away by the staff, unhappy that he still hadn’t kissed you. He promised himself he would one day.

“Jefferson?” Y/N asked, and he looked at her.

“Yes, Doll?”

“Can you tell me about our lives together, before the uh— the curse?” She sounded silly, she knew she did. But to him, oh, to him it meant the world. It meant everything that she wanted to know of their lives together.

And so he explained. How she’d fallen down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. Confused and scared, he’d offered to help her, just a lonely Hatter looking for company. He told of how he’d fallen in love with her. How she returned his feelings, and decided that she’d stay in Wonderland with him. He’d usually be elsewhere during the day, tailoring clothes for others to pass his time whilst you awaited his return.

“And one day, well, one day you weren’t there when I came back.” He sighed. “I searched everywhere for you, I—I thought you’d left me.” He looked down, away from Y/N.

“What happened?” She asked, her voice small.

“Someone from the village told me That they’d caught word that you’d lost your way in the forest and had ended up in the Queens castle gardens. Her men had caught you, brought you to her, but you’d managed to escape.” He looked up, an almost proud smile on his face as She laughed, moving onto her next question

“And Why do you always wear that scarf around your neck?” She asked, suddenly finding that she’d never actually seen him without it. She’d seen him without his hat a handful of times, though he was extremely protective of it, but never without his scarf.

He seemed hesitant, though he supposed she’d see why eventually. Letting go of her hand, he unwrapped the scarf from his neck, letting it fall onto his lap with a smile.

She didn’t react how he’d expected her to. She hadn’t yelped and backed away, nor had she called him hideous and left him. Instead, She reached her hand up to gently trace the scar that wrapped itself around his neck.

“Where’s this from?” She asked, eyes searching his.

“The Queen Herself. Cut off my head back in Wonderland.” He said quietly, staring off into the distance, seemingly in a sort of trance. “She wanted information on you, To know your background and all I knew about you after you’d escaped her men, when you painted the white roses in her garden red, Alice. And I couldn’t— I wouldn’t — I would never put you in harms way,” he looked at Y/N, and tears began to form at the edge of his eyes.

“Hey, Hey. Jefferson. It’s okay. We’re okay.” She attempts to console him, but her attempts fail, and he stands up, beginning to nervously pace the area that their two chairs sat in. He was mumbling the same words over and over again, though they were so quiet, Y/N couldn’t comprehend them.

He giggled, which soon turned into almost animalistic laughter, as he doubled over, howling in his chuckles. This caught the attention of the guards in the room, who moved to restrain him. He thrashed around in their arms, absolutely erratic, attempting to leave their harsh grasp, still cackling as he looked at Y/N. Though Y/N wasn’t afraid, and she watched, rather amused by his outburst. One of the guards stabbed a needle into Jefferson’s arm, and as the sedatives began kicking in, he heaved one last chuckle, and spoke once more. This time, Y/N heard it loud and clear. The same sentence, repeated, over and over.

“Off with his head.”

[themugcollector]

Alice in Wonderland (and other places) part one

I’ve started and new story called ‘The Girl from the Tower’ on Fanfiction.net (but I’m not sure how to add the links)

I thought you guys might appreciate the Alice in Wonderland parts...

...

Alice met many new people on her travels after escaping the tower, some were kind like her Papa; others were mean like Mother Gothel. Alice got through with confidence, a positive attitude and big smile. Where that didn't work she just ran away as fast as she could. She was getting good at running.

It took months until Alice found someone who had even heard of the curse of the poisoned heart.

Dinah, the woman in the know, was leaning on a bar in a tavern. She was clearly drunk, (Alice had learnt about drunkenness during her first week free from the tower), but she was telling her how she knew of guy who knew guy who had heard of someone going to Wonderland to cure a poisoned heart. The only way to get to Wonderland was to wait by a certain tree in the woods and follow a white rabbit. It had to be the right rabbit mind. The woman in the tavern assured her she would recognise the rabbit when she saw it.

Excited and nervous at the thought of finally being close to a cure Alice found the tree and sat beneath it.

…

It was hot day and as she sat Alice felt herself getting sleepy. Just as her head was starting to nod, Alice caught a flash of white in the corner of her eye. It was a white rabbit… but was it the right one? As she watched the rabbit stopped, pulled out a pocket watch, considered it and then hopped away. Now Alice may not know much about rabbits but one consulting a pocket watch should certainly be considered unusual.

She leaped to her feet and chased after it.

Beyond a fallen log a wide golden circle appeared, the white rabbit disappeared through it and without a second's thought Alice dived in after him.

…

Falling through a portal was not an unpleasant sensation, the fall feels at once endless while at the same time very quick.

With a thump Alice landed at the other end in a heap of leaves and dried sticks. She wasn't hurt and jumped to her feet in an instant searching for the rabbit. There was no sign of him. Instead she was in a tall dark room filled with doors. Alice tried the nearest door handle; the door was locked. She tried every door, but they were all locked. Alice started to panic, had she trapped herself in a prison worse than her tower? Was she trapped in a dark room with no way out?

She tried to find a phase of her Papa's that would help calm her, but the only phrase that came to her was 'Never give up, Starfish.'

"Easy for you to say, Papa." Alice muttered under her breath but she made herself stop and consider the room. She realised there was one feature she had missed. In the middle of the hall was a glass table. On top of it was a small glass bottle, the label tied to it read 'DRINK ME'. Alice looked around for more information. Then she trod on a piece of cake that was sat on the floor. The cake now flattened, had been dotted with currants; but the pattern, if there was one, was unrecognisable.

Looking down at the cake however drew Alice’s attention to something else. There was a shaft of light coming from a tiny door not much taller than the skirting boards. It was so small she hadn't noticed before. Looking closer Alice spotted a small golden key in the lock, someone had clearly been through it before her. Maybe this was the way the rabbit had gone? Kneeling, Alice peered through the doorway, it led to an overgrown garden maze, all tall hedges and spindly weeds. It may have been a beautiful garden once, but it had clearly seen better days.

Alice knew she had no chance of following - her head wouldn't fit through the doorway let alone her shoulders. But what tools did she have to help her?

Alice weighed in her hand the 'DRINK ME' bottle and the fragments of cake. Could they hold the magic to get her through?

Not liking the idea of biting into a cake she’d just squished under her boot, Alice took the cork from the bottle and sniffed the contents instead. It smelt of a strange mixture of toffee, cherry, roast turkey, custard, pineapple and toast. The bottle wasn't marked poison so cautiously Alice took a sip. The drink tasted just like it smelt.

At once Alice felt herself getting smaller, shutting up like her Papa's telescope. More confident Alice took a larger swig until she had shrunk just enough to fit through the door.

…

Beyond the door was indeed a maze. The hedges were too tall to see over and there were finger posts all over unhelpfully pointing the way, 'This way', 'That way', 'Wrong way', 'Up'… The only one with an actual destination on it read 'Tea Party'. As tempting as the thought of tea and cake was to Alice, her desire to follow the White Rabbit was too great. She picked another finger post to follow, the one that read 'Up'. After all Papa always said the best view is always from the top. She should be able to find a way out of the maze and maybe spot the rabbit from a higher vantage point.

With some difficulty Alice climbed up the fingerpost and clambered onto the top of the hedge. The view was amazing. To her right stood a grand palace surrounded by a garden of red roses, each tower topped with a large red heart; on her left a vast checkerboard or fields, the squares reminding Alice of her old chess board. What drew Alice's attention however was the vast body of water between the two.

"Is that the ocean?" Alice gasped.

The white rabbit forgotten Alice raced towards the sea - the source of all her Papa's tales, the site of all his adventures. She ran awkwardly along the top of the hedges, leaping the gaps over the paths, scrambling to keep her feet on the springy surface.

The maze ended abruptly, and Alice found herself stumbling onto a low rocky shore. Beyond was a sandy beach and the sea. She kicked off her boots and raced across the sand. She waded up to her knees into the salt water laughing with delight as the waves pushed and pulled at her legs. This was the closest Alice had felt to her Papa in the longest time.

"Papa!" she cried to sky, "I've found the sea!"

There was a hollow cough behind her. Startled, Alice turned and saw for the first time she wasn't alone.

"Congratulations." said the curious creature watching her, "Have you been looking for it long?"

The creature, a cross between an eagle and a lion, was vaguely familiar to Alice from one of her story books. It was a Gryphon. There were more people and creatures with him. Two looked quite human, the others were a walrus wearing a suit and cravat and then… well it looked like a bizarre cross between a man and a cow but with the shell of a tortoise. Alice had no clue what that was.

"I said, have you been looking for it long?" repeated the Gryphon.

"What?" asked Alice confused.

"The sea?"

"My whole life." said Alice, wading back to the shore.

"Well then congratulations are in order." said the Gryphon. "Although I would think it was a hard thing to lose being as big as it is."

"That all depends on how long she's been looking." said the strange cow-turtle-man-thing joining them. "How long has a 'whole life' been for you, young lady?"

"I'm seventeen years and one hundred and thirty-seven days old." said Alice boldly, but honesty forced her to add, "But I've only been able to look for one hundred and thirty-seven days."

"There you go." said the turtle-man, "Why in one hundred and thirty-seven days I could have found a thousand oceans."

"I doubt that." said the Gryphon, turning to his companion.

Sensing an argument brewing Alice felt she should interrupt.

"Hello, my name is Alice." she said brightly and held out her hand, "It is a pleasure to meet you both."

"Oh, how polite." gushed the turtle-man, "I do like politeness."

He shook Alice's hand with his cow-hoof hand,

"I am the Mock-Turtle. I used to be a real turtle. It is a very long and tragic story…"

"Oh don't get started on that." grumbled the Gryphon. "I am the Gryphon." He shook Alice's hand in his large lion paw. "Please note my name is Gryphon… I don't want any one calling me a Griffin… They are so common in comparison."

"Well, Mr Gryphon, Mr Mock-Turtle, delighted to make your acquaintance."

"So polite." cooed the Mock-Turtle approvingly, "Let us introduce you to our friends."

Alice retrieved her shoes and let them lead her up the beach to the others in their group. They were sat around a large checked blanket laden with food, she had clearly interrupted a picnic.

"Don't mind the Walrus and the Carpenter," said the Gryphon, waving a paw at the man and the suited walrus who were both sobbing loudly into handkerchiefs. "They used to love oysters. Once massacred a whole beach worth of babies. They got food poisoning so bad now they can only eat bread and water. It upsets them so. Especially when they see all these cakes and sandwiches and pies and pastries when we picnic together."

Alice wanted to point out it was a little mean bring them on a picnic if they couldn't share it with everyone else, but she was distracted by the last figure on the beach.

It was a woman, probably the most beautiful woman Alice had ever seen. Admittedly in the last few months she'd only met about nine or ten other women, mostly barmaids or farmer's wives. This woman looked like the queen of the fairies in one of her story books. She had long straight dark hair, dark skin and dark sad eyes filled with a sorrow that almost matched Alice's own when she thought of her Papa.

"Alice, let me introduce you to Cecelia." said the Gryphon

Alice wanted to curtsey to such a regal looking woman but settled on offering her hand.

"Pleased to meet you."

The beautiful woman gasped in horror and grabbed Alice's left wrist; turning it so she could see the spiral scar.

"The curse." she cried. "You poor child, the curse of the poisoned heart…!"

…

[kathyprior4200]

Princess Frosta fanfiction (Seasons 1, 2, and 3)

 Season 1

  A young girl, eight years old, stood at attention as the crowd watched. She had short dark blue hair and wore a dark blue dress with white fur covering her shoulders and her wrists. The front of her dress was decorated with seven short icicles carved into diamond shapes. Her round dark eyes met a dozen other eyes in front of her.

“Today,” announced Frigid, a blonde general of the guards, “is a day of both celebration, and mourning. His Majesty King Freeze led several of our strongest men into battle against the Horde on the edge of the Kingdom of Snows. Their leader, Hordak had attempted to invade our kingdom and steal our wealth and resources. King Freeze held Hordark off…but gravely, didn’t make it.”

The crowd muttered in low voices and several younger individuals gasped.

A tear threatened to fall from Frosta’s eyes, but she held it in. She couldn’t afford to be seen as a weak child during her coronation.

As an only child, Frosta had always known that she would become a ruler someday. Both her parents had taught her etiquette and rules early on. After observing weekly meetings with the king and the council, she could recite the anthem and the names of the other kingdoms with her eyes closed.

Despite all the formalities, Frosta still had time to closely bond with her parents in the late evening. She remembered the warm smile behind her father’s dark beard as he watched her practice her ice magic in her bedroom. When she had accidently froze a butler against the wall who had arrived to her room, her father showed her how to melt the ice surrounding him.

“Frosty, you must always be careful,” explained her father. Frosta rolled her eyes at her silly nickname, but smiled all the same.

Frosta remembered the subtle reassurances from Queen Iceis, her mother.

“Follow me,” she had said to her daughter. The two royals entered a hidden passage that led to a dark cave. They both stopped at a ledge.

A young Frosta pointed at something glowing from above. “What’s that?”

“The Fractal Flake,” the queen explained, the light briefly illuminating her long black hair. A large snowflake-shaped crystal hummed with power and stayed in place. She could feel the pulse from the gem similar to how she felt her heart beat.

“This gem has powered our kingdom for hundreds of years,” said the queen. “Its power has been used by kings and queens of the past to protect our land, as well as replenish their power. There will come a time, when it will be your turn to assume the throne. When you do, the crystal’s power will be transferred over to you, amplifying your power.”

Frosta’s eyes filled with both wonder and concern. “I know I’ll be able to do it…but what if I cannot?”

“You will,” said her mother. “There is a reason why we have taught you how to stand your ground so early. It is to best prepare you in case the inevitable comes.”

Frosta tried to pronounce “inevitable” and asked what she meant.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” said the queen. “Now, let’s be off to dinner. The food-tasters should tell us reports on the food when we arrive.” Frosta wrapped her arms around her mother in a hug. Shortly after, she returned the embrace.  

 Frosta didn’t know how fast time could fly by, until now. How could her mother’s clear ice blue eyes sparkle with happiness at her, only for them to roll back into her head, days later. Iceis’ pale white skin became sheer white as her body struggled to fight off a mysterious poison that had entered her veins. Medics and healers rushed into the queen’s chambers, doing all they could to heal her. All the meanwhile, Frosta looked on in fear from the distance, feeling ever so small and vulnerable.

“Definitely poison, alright,” stated a food taster, lifting his nose up to the silver wine chalice the queen had drunk out of. “The Horde must have slipped some in when they arrived with barrels of wine and fish for us.”

“We gave away our weapons to them for nothing,” spat a guard. “But surely, they would want us on their side. It must have been a mistake.”

But the queen’s pained gasps and coughs suggested otherwise. No longer able to stay in one place, Frosta rushed over to her sick mother. Her mother’s hand was ice cold, yet the young princess did not let go.

“My time is almost done, Frosta…” she stuttered. “Remember all the things I have taught you…”

“Mother, please…I’m not ready…”

“You are ready…you must be ready,” said her mother. “Make sure that all your subjects are well cared for. Enforce the rules when necessary. Be strong as a glacier, sharp as ice…but remember to be soft as snow at times.”

“I…I will make you proud, mother,” mumbled Frosta, her eyes turning red.

Iceis squeezed her hand tighter. “Oh, Frosty…you already have…”

Her head turned to the side and her hand went slack in Frosta’s.

“No! No! Mother!” cried Frosta. One of the guards tried to pull her to the side, but she screamed and sobbed loudly. It was the only time when she did not care when she acted like a child. It was even harder to get back into her responsibilities the next day. That was the day when the calls of war were heard.

It was the last time she would ever see her father’s face.

 Frosta’s thoughts were interrupted when she felt something hard being put on her head. It was a small ice crown.

Who would have imagined Frosta being crowned on her birthday…and her feeling like the world was already weighing down on her.

Another man with brown hair stood by her side and spoke. “By the power vested in me, I hereby crown you, Frosta, Princess of Snows.”

The crowd clapped politely, while a few other people looked at her with pity and disbelief in their eyes. Frosta stared at them icily, daring them to challenge her.

‘Don’t underestimate me because of my age,’ she thought. ‘You have no idea what I can accomplish.’

“Happy Birthday, Your Majesty!” called several teenagers as Frosta climbed down the stairs and walked toward the snack bar. For the rest of the day, she was bombarded with gifts from other kingdoms and endless requests of joining the Rebellion.

“Bright Moon needs you, Your Majesty,” said a messenger of Queen Angella who had been sent to her kingdom. He wore armor and the white garb of Bright Moon. A small insignia, a crescent moon, was pinned to his chest over his heart. “The Horde have almost destroyed the Whispering Woods and the Meadowlands. They could be up to something else!”

Frosta ignored him and popped a frost covered fish egg into her mouth. “Not interested. Being involved with the rest of Etheria has only caused problems for our kingdom. It would be beneficial if the Rebellion and the Horde could solve their problems like real adults. I suggest you do the same.”

The messenger looked aghast. “But the princesses…”

“Nope.”

Frosta walked away, leaving a bewildered messenger behind.

A strong burly man walked over to her later on while she was chewing a ball of dark chocolate candy. “The Horde and I have the best technology in the land. With our people and your kingdom ruling together, all of Etheria could be ours!”

“Not today,” Frosta replied with a wave of her hand. “Have a nice evening.”

Desperate to get away from the crowds and noise, Frosta headed back toward the council room.

“Scribe Chiller,” she ordered. The black haired writer looked up from her seat. “Yes, Your Majesty?” she asked.

“I want you to create a new law for this kingdom. Call it the Neutrality Treaty. We will not be involved with the Horde nor the Princess Alliance anymore.”

“Yes, Princess,” she nodded, not daring to question Frosta’s orders.

For months afterward, Frosta felt safer and more secure in her icy palace. The rules and regulations that had formerly confused her, now served as a good way for her to escape her troubling thoughts.

 Soon enough, the hidden pain of the loss of her parents and the ever increasing stress of her job made her perfectionistic.

 The rules had to be followed by the book: no cracks were to be evident in the ice walls and floor. All the beds had to be carefully made and smooth. The food had to be meticulously decorated and prepared. And for Snows sake, nothing on the plate could be touching each other!

Some people may have been put off by Frosta’s perfectionism and her antisocial ways. The more traditional nobles and several jokesters called her derogatory things like “youngster,” “ADHD Autistic Anarchist” and “Lost Frost.” But she didn’t care much anymore. How could she? Sharp comments weren’t going to penetrate her stone cold stance. There was no point in pretending like everything was fine and dandy when she still felt that hollow loneliness each and every day like a gaping hole.

Frosta lived by the rules and her role, day by day, only letting her emotions flow freely in her bedroom when she cried herself to sleep. In the back of her mind, she hoped to have her father and mother appear by her side once more. She imagined them saying that there hadn’t been a war. That they had made peace with the Horde and that they would live safely in Snows for the rest of their lives. Certainly, she could enjoy herself and become queen at 16, the traditional age where she would be shown proper respect.

But just as quickly as they came, her hopeful thoughts faded away in a cold blast.

 It wasn’t long before Frosta was almost twelve years old. Her kingdom had kept to itself for a long time. They had more than enough resources to keep busy and stable.

 The day came when Princess Frosta put together a rule list for the Princess Prom event. The sooner she got this event over with, the better. Already, the scribe was working on dozens of other copies to send out across the land.

“All Princess Ball: Winter Wonderland.” Was written in elaborate script at the top of the scroll. The rules were listed below.

“Rules:

No weapons allowed in the palace. Castle guards are the only ones permitted to carry weapons.

No use of magic powers for harm or fist fighting. Any form of violence will not be permitted.

For the chefs: All food must be prepared properly (fish and meat frozen with the right amount of ice power).

All guests must wear formal attire: (dresses, suits, ties, etc.)

Any princess may bring a plus one individual with them to the event

Princess Frosta is eleven and ¾ years old. No one is allowed to mock her or make any comment on her age or experience.

 The day of the prom arrived. A guard stood by a table, confiscating weapons from the guests. Adora was very reluctant to let go of her sword. Snow and icicles wrapped around the columns in the hallway. On and above the double doors were stain glass snowflake designs. The ballroom was shining with rows of icicles arranged in rows. People from all walks of life were dancing under colored strobe lights and pop music. A chandelier of long icicles hung from the high ceiling. A small band of beautiful women were playing string instruments on top of some stairs in a corner. An array of fruits and exotic food were positioned on ice covered shelves, made to be preserved throughout the night. There were small sandwiches, wrapped hotdogs, cookies, and cupcakes with wintery designs and colors. A large jelly-like sculpture was positioned at the edge of one table.

A line of guests walked up the steps to Frosta, who was sitting on her blue and white throne. The people bowed and greeted her, and they were then escorted back down the stairs by guards. Frosta didn’t particularly enjoy the moment; for her it was just another chore, albeit a necessary part of the ancient traditions. It was then that Adora and princess Glimmer arrived to the front. Adora bowed and Glimmer curtsied.

“That’s Frosta?” Adora whispered to Glimmer. “But she’s like…ten!”

A collective gasp came from the crowd as they heard Frosta’s age mentioned out loud by Adora.

“I’m eleven and three quarters,” said Frosta coldly. If she could, Frosta would have told her to shut the hell up.

“Revered hostess,” said Glimmer. “We come under the ancient rules of hospitality, bringing greetings from Bright Moon.”

“And She-Ra” added Adora.

“You are welcome under the rules of hospitality,” Frosta stated. “Leave conflict at the door. Enjoy the ball.”

Glimmer tried to remediate the situation and Adora started to say something about the Rebellion but Frosta had enough. The two princesses were moved along by Frosta’s guards down the steps.

Later on, during the party, Frosta went over by the snack bar, wanting to be left alone. She observed the light orange jelly and the fruit on the table. However, she noticed out of the corner of her eye, Adora walking over to her from her right.

Chatting with this disrespectful blonde stranger was the last thing on Frosta’s mind.

“Revered hostess,” said Adora with a bow. “I’ve come to apologize. I was so rude.”

“Yes, you were,” Frosta replied bluntly.

Then she turned back to Adora. “But you’re only an honorary princess. You can’t be expected to know better.”

Changing the subject, Adora looked around at the magnificent walls of ice and the vast architecture of the place.

“Your kingdom is beautiful. I’m honored to be here.”

“Thank you,” said Frosta, not looking at Adora.

Frosta sighed in annoyance, knowing why Adora had decided to speak with her. “And now I expect you’re gonna ask me to join your Rebellion?”

“You know about that?” asked Adora.

“Of course I do,” Frosta replied. “Princesses talk, you know.”

Just then, one of Frosta’s guards came over with a tray of food. He offered some to the princesses.

Frosta looked at the tray with disapproval. “The snow peas and the cookies are touching. Do it right.”

The guard left.

“Princess Frosta, the Rebellion needs you,” Adora pleaded. “Your kingdom is powerful. Your alliance could defeat the Horde.”

“The Horde hasn’t threatened us here,” stated Frosta. Despite several mishaps, the Horde had kept to themselves thanks to the Neutrality Treaty. Not even the Horde soldiers could get into the kingdom back when she lost her parents.

“Because the Kingdom of Snows is so out of the way,” Adora added. “Joining the Rebellion is your best bet.”

At this point, the ice princess was getting frustrated at the sight of a stranger telling her what her best choices were.

She had heard comments like that quite often in the castle, especially after the death of her parents.

“Are you sure you know what’s best for you?”

“You’re too little to run a kingdom! Do you even know what you are doing?”

“Maybe she’s too scared to associate herself with the outside world. Not doing what is best.”

The truth was, no one knew what was best for her…except herself. She certainly wasn’t going to let another person test her like that.

Frosta spoke. “The Kingdom of Snows has defended itself well for thousands of years. We do not need your help or your rebellion.”

She turned to Adora. “Please continue to enjoy the ball.” She left with her guards by her side.

Frosta was sitting back on her throne, doing her usual routine of meeting and greeting her guests. She was about to go into another state of boredom when she saw two guests that stood out from the crowd: Catra and Scorpia from the Horde. Catra was wearing a fancy maroon suit, while Scorpia was wearing an elegant black dress and red gem earrings.

“Revered hostess!” called Adora in concern.

‘Not this again,’ thought Frosta.

“They’re from the Horde!” Adora yelled, pointing at the two villains.

‘So what?’

“Hostess,” said Catra. “Princess Scorpia was invited per the rules of this ball. Rules which I personally have utmost respect for.”

“You do not!” shouted Adora to Catra.

“Princess Adora!” said Frosta sternly. “The rules state clearly that all princesses are welcome.”

“They’re up to something. I can feel it!”

“That’s enough!” Frosta reprimanded. “You look at me and see a child, but I have worked too hard to gain respect, only to throw away because you feel they’re up to something.”

It was quite clear that Adora had no evidence to back up her statement.

“The All-Princess Ball is neutral. I will not dishonor that legacy,” finished Frosta. “Scorpia is a princess. Princesses get plus ones. They. Stay.”

Adora grumbled in defeat and deviance.

After the guests left, pushing Adora and Glimmer below the stairs, Frosta grumbled, “Teenagers.”

The guests were all scattered around the ballroom now, eating food, and chatting with their friends. With no more people to greet and the time drawing near, Frosta stood up and announced, “It is my solemn duty as hostess to announce, it is time for the first dance of the ball.”

The crowd flooded toward the dance floor, laughing and pairing up in couples. Frosta watched and saw Adora and Catra dancing…and arguing at the same time. The dancing remained uninterrupted…until Adora suddenly pushed Catra into an ice structure, breaking it. The music stopped and the crowd gasped.

‘I knew Adora was trouble,’ thought Frosta.

Frosta stomped over and with a raise of her hands, entrapped Adora in a cage of ice.

Frosta glared at Adora. “The Princess Ball is a ceremony of unity. Violence is strictly forbidden.”

“You don’t understand…” started Adora.

“I understand perfectly,” spat Frosta. “In accordance with the rules set down over the centuries, I hereby revoke your invitation. You are to leave my kingdom and never, ever…”

A sudden loud explosion interrupted Frosta’s reprimand. Then a series of crystal bombs went off one after the other. Guests screamed and ran away in a panic. The food and plates crashed to the ground and crack appeared in the walls.

“Remain calm! Stop!” ordered Frosta to the crowd. Frosta knew what she had to do next. There was no time to stop the mysterious intruders. She had to keep her kingdom safe. She ran off, flanked by two of her guards.

Frista raced down the hall toward the secret passageway.

“Help get everyone out of here. If you see the intruders, freeze and restrain them.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” said the guards.

Frosta opened the ice covered door, which blended in well with the rest of the ice wall from a distance. Heart pounding, Frosta ran in the dark, searching for the beacon of light. Finally she found it: the Fractal Flake. She stopped, took a deep breath and raised both of her hands.

In several seconds, the falling debris that had threatened to fall on the guests froze in mid fall. Slowly, the castle started to amend itself. The roof closed back together, a light fixture flew back up into place and the large star structure outside the palace was fitting itself back together. Frosta strained herself and grunted with effort. If she was going to risk collapsing or even death protecting her kingdom, then that’s what she would do.

Once the palace was fully repaired, Frosta gasped for breath and fell to her knees on the cold ground.

How did all of this happen? Here was an event that only happened once a decade, which was supposed to be harmonious and secure. Seeing the two sides in harmony would have strengthened Frosta’s confidence of her rule.

Now, everything had fallen apart.

Frosta had lost her parents. She had lost her sense of security and safety.

And now…though she was reluctant to admit it, she had lost her trust in the Horde.

She wiped away some tears that had fallen down her face.

‘I have failed you, mother, father,’ she stuttered through her sobs. ‘I almost failed my kingdom. What am I supposed to do now?’

She clenched her fists and stood up. “I…I must go back outside. Tend to those who may be wounded. Reassure the public.” She remembered some advice from her father: “Professional in public, playful in private.”

Maybe…perhaps maybe…this Adora person was right after all.

But would joining the Rebellion really be her best bet? Even if it meant going against her centuries long tradition of neutrality? Her Neutrality Law was, in fact, nothing new. Her parents made a similar law, as did her grandparents and the ones before them. It was expected of a ruler to be partial and logical…never to fight unless the enemy invaded first.

Which of course, they had.

With one last surge of energy, Frosta stood up and raised her hands once more. This time, huge towers of ice rose up from the outside and encased the palace like a triangular shield. Now her kingdom was more isolated and insulated than ever.

She now felt safe…but never had she felt more alone.

She made her way out of the chamber and was met with one of her messengers, a young man named Frigid. “Your Majesty, no one appears to be hurt after the bombs went off. There were reports of two men in blue coats taking away Princess Adora’s comrades.”

Another messenger came over, this time a woman with dark hair, Glace.

“We think that Bow and Glimmer have been taken away by spies. They disguised themselves as our guard!”

“And the Horde must have set off the bombs. That scorpion princess was suspiciously nowhere to be seen…”

“Alright, I understand,” said Frosta holding up her hands.

She cleared her throat. “Strengthen the defenses. Search the castle for any other intruders. See to it that all weapons are observed and stored away.

“Yes Princess,” said Glace. The two messengers wandered off to their duties.

 Days and weeks passed. Frosta sat in with the council, going over document after document. She wore her usual blue coat, tan pants, and blue boots. She was about to sign a Treaty from the Horde when she felt a strange uncomfortable feeling in her stomach.

It wasn’t from hunger nor was it cramps. It was the everlasting feeling of fear and dread. Even her hands had begun to shake of their own accord.

“Excuse me for a moment,” she said. Frosta walked fast out of the room, leaving the council members in confusion.

When Frosta felt the Fractal Flakes power diminish, she knew that something was not right.

It felt like another, much darker power was trying to corrupt it. Although it felt far away, she knew that the force could grow increasingly closer. It was a feeling of dread that she couldn’t seem to let go of.

Her fears were further confirmed when she saw a pale blue light shine up into the dark sky. She knew what it was: a distress beacon from BrightMoon!

Perhaps it was the time for her to do something different.

Perhaps it was the time for her to take action and go outside her comfort zone.

Making her way into her office, she came across the Neutrality Treaty that she had meticulously put together…and threw it out of a nearby open window.

The wind blew away the documents and Frosta felt a weight lift from her shoulders. Her previous life of rules and solitude had blown away.

If the Rebellion truly needed her help, than that is what she would have to do.

“Princess?” asked one of two guards, who were standing outside her door. “Are you alright?”

“Go back to your positions. Don’t let anyone know I’m gone. If I don’t come back…”

“You’re leaving?” asked one of the guards.

“To help save the Rebellion. I sense that something bad is happening.”

“But the Neutrality Treaty…”

“Is henceforth disregarded!” she declared. Frosta never believed that those words would ever leave her lips.

Her guards stood in frozen shock. They wondered if Frosta had lost her mind.

Which, due to the events, she most likely had.

“If I don’t make it, tell the people that I left this world with honor,” she finished, managing to make her face emotionless.

“Princess, wait!” the guards called with concern.

But Frosta jumped out the window and shot long sheets of ice from her hands as she fell.

The ice rose from the ground and created an icy path that Frosta slid down and across. She moved gracefully as if she were wearing ice skates instead of her blue boots.

Red lightning flashed across the sky, lighting the world in a blood red glow. The sight made Frosta’s hair stand on end.

‘No time to back away now. I must do what is right for my kingdom.’

She slipped over the Whispering Woods…or what was left of them. The majority of the ground was frozen below. As she came up to the palace of BrightMoon, she saw quite a sight.

Horde tanks were firing green blasts at the castle. One of the blasts fired by Catra made impact with the large stand that held the Moonstone upright. It stared to crack in half and threatened to fall, bringing the Moonstone to its doom under the lake. With a quick flick of her wrist, the stand holding the gem was encased in ice.

She proceeded to blast more Horde soldiers away with her powers.

Adora and the other princesses looked happy to see her.

Frosta flipped through the air and landed in front of She-Ra. “I hope I’m not too late,” she stated.

“No, you’re right on time,” said Adora.

For the first time in a long time, Frosta smiled. Then feeling impatient with Glimmer teleporting again and the group reuniting, she said, “Let’s do this already,” holding her staff in front of her.

Feeling a new energy within her, Frosta fought alongside the other princesses, forcing the Horde to retreat. She shot blasts of ice from a long staff she carried in her left hand.

Soon, the Moonstone brightened up the world, healed Glimmer and made things right again. When Frosta joined the other group of princesses who gave She-Ra extra power in rainbow waves, Frosta had never felt such happiness before. She glowed in a blue aura, with Perfuma and Glimmer on either side of her.

With victory for the Rebellion, Glimmer shook Frosta hard with glee, which she did not expect nor appreciate. Later, Frosta found herself cheering with Perfuma after the rainbow of power had been unleashed. “We did it!” both of them cheered. “We defeated them together! Isn’t this wonderful?” She happily hugged Perfuma and she hugged her back.

‘So this is what friendship is like,’ Frosta thought. For the first time in a while, Frosta truly felt like a kid again.

‘Mother and Father would be proud of me. If only they could see me now!’

As Frosta said her goodbyes and skated back to her kingdom, she did not know what the future would hold for her. In the back of her mind, she knew that the Horde was still out there. They would stop at nothing to conquer the land of Etheria along with the whole world. Now, she realized that her kingdom would be included on their list.

Her visit back was met with celebration and some apprehension. There were still people who could not accept a mere child ruling their kingdom but they were few and far between. The castle was now fully cleaned, repaired, and routines were set back in order. It was the same as it usually was.

Only this time, Frosta made plans to interact and travel with the Princess Alliance and help out in any way possible. Even though at times, she still had high expectations of other people.

No matter what the future would bring, Frosta would meet it head on like an unyielding glacier. To herself, she had the audacity to thank the Horde for what they had done. For without their involvement, Frosta would not have grown stronger and more resilient. Their attack at the Princess Prom made her want to defeat them more than ever before. It was a peculiar surge of adrenaline that she formerly, was not allowed to feel.

Being with her friends was…freeing. Weird, no doubt, but also freeing.

Frosta smiled as she hugged Perfuma.

“Yeah! We did things together! Isn’t this wonderful?”

 Deep down inside herself, Frosta knew she had made the right decision. She would not just honor tradition…she would expand upon it, alter it to better her kingdom for the good of her people. It was a daunting task for such a young girl who was so used to routine…but then again, she was one not to be underestimated.

One thing was certain…her memories of her new friends would stay frozen in her mind for a long time.

  Season 2

 Time had passed since the Rebellion had been victorious at the battle for Bright Moon. Frosta had grown more light-hearted and friendly with the other princesses. She was more than happy to accompany them on their journey. She liked to imagine herself in large ice armor smashing through the Horde's robots and creating ice weapons from her hands. After being secluded in her ice palace and having to learn her responsibilities for four years as a ruler, she felt a new thrill of freedom with the others. She felt like she had made friends at last. In contrast to her previous cold and distant attitude, she has been shown to be reckless and wants to prove her strength in order to impress the others. She had learned how to be professional back at the castle, but around the other princesses, a different side of her appears...one that is enthusiastic, though socially awkward. Due to her traumatic situation at a young age, and being the youngest princess, she did not have a normal childhood. However, Adora and the others show her that it's never too late to make friends and step out of one's comfort zone once in a while.

   Frosta smiled as she pounded her ice covered fists against one of the Horde bots that had been swarming the frozen forest. Frosta knocked one robot aside and gasped as another one flew at her.

“Got it,” said Mermista, stopping the robot with a wave of water and tossing it to the side. Bow lodged an arrow in the robot, causing it to explode.

Perfuma arrived on the scene, vines trailing in her wake. “Sorry, Frosta,” she said, feeling bad that she had accidentally flung the robots high into the air before.

“Wow, flower princesses can’t aim,” said Mermista with a playful grin.

“I-I’m working on it!” Perfuma stuttered.

 “Look out!” cried Frosta as another robot appeared.

“Got it!” called Glimmer. The pink and purple haired girl teleported herself and the bot up into the pink sky. She kicked the robot down to the ground, where it exploded in a stream of smoke.

“Thanks for dropping in,” said Glimmer with a grin.

Frosta appeared by Glimmer’s right side and let lot a loud laugh.

“Dropping in, because you dropped him from the sky. Good one.”

Frosta slapped Glimmer playfully on the back, resulting in a glare from her. She rubbed her arm in pain, since Frosta’s ice hands had hurt. Glimmer wondered off in search of another bot, Frosta eager to follow.

 Glimmer noticed another wondering bot and summoned a thin purple staff from purple light in her left hand.

“How’d you do that?”

Glimmer noticed Frosta and shouted in surprise.

Frosta showered her with questions. “Can you teleport anything you want? Like a cannon? I can make ice cannonballs.”

“What? No. Just the staff. It was my dad’s…Ugh. Actually, I was sort of in the middle of something here. Do you mind?”

A purple beam emerged from Glimmer’s staff but with a shout, Frosta had impaled the bot with a large ice spike.

“It’s more effective if you hit their core processing unit,” Frosta explained.

“Ugh. I know,” said a frustrated Glimmer. “I was about to…”

“Hey. There’s another one. Let’s get it,” interrupted Frosta. Glimmer groaned as Frosta hurried off.

Eventually, all the bots had been defeated.

Adora, Bow, and Glimmer walked down the hall at Bright Moon castle, Glimmer’s home. The other princesses had also arrived to the Rebellion’s base and were waiting inside the council room with Queen Angelina.

 “You should have seen it,” Glimmer exclaimed. “With the Moonstone super-charged, I’ve been so much more powerful. I took out, like, at least five bots,” she bragged.

Bow rolled his eyes from behind her. “Just like the day before, and the day before that.”

Glimmer turned around and looked at him. “So? What are we supposed to do? Not fight? We have to protect the woods. The Horde is going to keep taking ground until it regrows.”

“I know,” said Bow. “But how long can we keep this up?” He faced Adora.

“Did you learn anything from Light Hope?”

“Uh…” Adora smiled nervously and pointed at her sword in her other hand. “Getting way better at transforming my sword. Look.”

The sword morphed into a golden water pitcher.

“A pitcher,” said Bow with a nervous chuckle as Adora gave a small thumbs up. “That’s so useful.”

“We can picnic once the woods regrow,” said Glimmer.

“We should turn it into a dagger,” said Frosta eagerly from behind her. Glimmer screamed.

Frosta continued.  “See me take out that bot with daggers?”

“Where did you come from?” asked Glimmer.

“I’ve been here the whole time,” she stated.

Glimmer narrowed her eyes at Frosta. “Well, we have to go. We have an important meeting.”

“The war council?” Frosta asked. “I’m heading there, too.” She winked and whispered, “Better, hurry, you’re gonna be late.” She hurried down the hall, went into the room and took her seat.

Glimmer’s eyebrow twitched as Bow said playfully, “Do we have a new addition to the Best Friend Squad?”

“Shut up,” she replied with a sigh.

  The council meeting was about to go underway.

Perfuma went up to Mermista. “Sorry, heh, I think that’s my chair.”

“Yeah, don’t you find it helpful to shift perspectives, sometimes?” Mermista asked, clearly not giving up her seat.

Perfuma’s eye twitched and she hummed, sitting down on her knees with her hands together, trying to calm herself. Glimmer, Bow, and Adora entered through the doors.

“Aunt Casta! You made it,” said Glimmer.

The woman beside Angelina smiled, her hair in black braids. “I wouldn’t miss it, dearest. The first war room of the new alliance. How exciting.”

Angelina glanced at her sister. “Shame you couldn’t be there where the alliance was formed.”

“I knew you’d bring that up…”

“We have a great deal to discuss,” said Angelina cutting Castaspella off. “Please take your seats.”

Frosta took her spot next to Glimmer and smiled. Glimmer grunted in response.

 Frosta listened as Swift Wind and Glimmer reported on territories taken by the Rebellion or the Horde. Bow came up with a plan to capture one of the Horde bots for the possibility of using it against them. After a while, the queen rose from her chair. “Glimmer, take your patrol out and capture a bot for Bow to study and carry out his plan,” ordered Angelina.

Frosta stood in front of Glimmer, making her flinch. “Commander, I have ideas to improve. First we should all have code names. I’d like to be Frostbite. And you can be Sparklebomb. Second…”

Glimmer cut her off. “Oh uh, Frosta. I need you to stay back and help Spinnerella and Netossa guard the castle. Great, thanks.”

She vanished before Frosta could get any words out.

With the council dismissed and the mission in place, Frosta decided that she was going to help Glimmer and the others. There was no way she’d stay back and miss all the good fighting. As quietly as she could, Frosta followed the other princesses out the door and toward the frozen forest.

 “Okay,” said Glimmer, pacing back and forth as the others stood in a line. “We’ll split up to cover the most ground. “Adora, Bow and I will go east. Mermista and Perfuma, you go west. Swift Wind, cover the sky and tell s when there’s a bot nearby.”

“And remember, we want an intact bot,” Bow added.

“What if it’s just like, a little waterlogged?” asked Mermista.

Perfuma chimed in, “And also covered in ferns that secrete corrosive poison?”

Frosta jumped out from behind the white Pegasus. “Or what if it’s totally smashed by my ice hammer?” She formed an ice hammer from her hand.

“Frosta!” gasped Glimmer. She sighed and walked fast toward her.

“You’re supposed to be defending the castle with Netossa and Spinnerella.”

Frosta crossed her arms, already tired of being told what to do.

“I know I ignored orders, but, no offence, those orders were wrong. You need me here.”

Glimmer put her hand son her hips. “You can’t just go running off whenever.”

“But I did,” said Frosta. “And I’m here now. And I’m not going back.”

“Fine. You can be in Mermista and Perfuma’s patrol.”

“I’m going with you.”

Glimmer leaned in, angrily. “Don’t push your luck.” She stomped off, Frosta glaring behind her.

 Frosta wondered off with Mermista and Perfuma and, using her soft padded boots, snuck out of sight. She soon noticed Adora, Bow, and Glimmer fighting off a larger robot that looked more advanced than the previous ones.

It wasn’t long before the group was surrounded by four of the new robots. Now was her chance.

Frosta jumped with her ice fists ready and landed on top of one of the robots.

She hit the top part of the robot that held the purple lit camera.

“Frosta!” yelled Glimmer. “Do you even listen when people tell you things?”

“What?” asked Frosta, still attacking the bot.

Glimmer waved her staff. “Get away from that bot!”

“It’s the bot you should be worried about!” Frosta replied. A metal claw picked up Frosta by her jacket and flung her over a cliff.

“Frosta!” Glimmer cried as the ice princess screamed and fell. Teleporting, Glimmer grabbed hold of Frosta in midair and teleported them to another area before they both hit the ground hard.

“There you are. We’ve been looking everywhere for you,” said Perfuma, arriving on a vine.

“Yeah. Everywhere,” Mermista deadpanned.

Frosta stood up and rubbed her nose, while Glimmer rubbed her head.

“That was incredibly stupid!” Glimmer scolded. “You could’ve gotten hurt, or gotten one of us hurt!”

“I was just trying to help,” said Frosta.

“This is serious, not a game,” said Glimmer. “You need to stop getting in our way.”

Frosta stared at Glimmer, stunned. Tears fell from her eyes as she ran off.

“Frosta, wait,” pleaded Glimmer, but she had already left. Frosta climbed up a rock overlooking the land and sat down. So apparently, her friends thought of her as nothing more than a burden. She had wanted to make friends and not feel as lonely as she had for countless years.

Frosta could hear Glimmer’s feet from behind her. Frosta turned her head. “Come to yell at me more? I just wanted to be your friend.”

“By ignoring us and throwing yourself into danger?” Glimmer asked.

“Sorry, I don’t know how to act.” The next words she said were painful for her to hear. “I’ve never had any friends before.” She turned away, head in her arms.

Glimmer teleported next to her and sat down. Frosta looked up at Glimmer, with a sad look on her face.

“I was eight when I took over the throne. Kind of hard to make friends when everyone is your sworn subject.”

“I know how you feel,” said Glimmer, empathetically. “I didn’t have any friends before Bow and Adora.”

“You?” Frosta asked, surprised. “Figured everyone would wanna be your friend.”

Glimmer chuckled half-heartedly. “Yeah, definitely not everyone.”

Then glimmer added, “And I’m still learning how to be a good friend, too.”

They both went silent for a moment, staring at the ground. Gathering her courage Glimmer turned back to Frosta. “I’m sorry I yelled. It’s just…I guess you remind me of…me.”

Frosta was not expecting to hear that. Being more of an introvert and not having the same carefree personality as Glimmer, comparing herself to the Brightmoon princess would be the last thing she would consider.

Glimmer continued, “And I can do really dangerous stuff sometimes.”

“I remind you of you?” asked Frosta, her eyes big and shining.

Glimmer nodded. Then disgust crept into her voice. “Ugh. And I even sounded like my mom when I yelled at you. Please don’t make me to that again.”

“Deal,” said Frosta with a small smile. Frosta held out her hand. Glimmer was about to shake it, but Frosta briefly held it back. “Does that mean we’re friends?”

“Yes,” Glimmer answered. “And we…I could really use your help.”

Relief filled Frosta and she stood up. “You want me to come back? I knew we’d make a great team. So should I do ice hammers or daggers? Your right, one of each.” An ice hammer formed in her left hand and an ice spike from her right.

Glimmer laughed nervously and rolled her eyes, deciding to go along with it. The two of them climbed down and hurried after the others.

 Frosta noticed the robots crawling toward the crystal tower and shot some ice underneath their metal legs, causing them to skid.

“Ice of you to drop in,” she said with a laugh.

Glimmer teleported her to safety to avoid an incoming laser. Both girls barreled into the bot and Frsota banged a large dent in it with her ice fist. “Showed you, bot face.”

 Catra charged at the last remaining robot, landing a punch, which sent it back. Glimmer blasted it back with her magic.

“You ready, ice princess?” asked Mermista.

“Yeah,” Frosta replied.

Mermista shot water at the bot, pushing it back against a cliff.

Yes!” Frosta said as she froze the water.

Perfuma held the bot in place with vines.

Bow held a piece of tech in victory and the princesses cheered.

The princesses watched in amazement as auras outlined their bodies and the forest magically grew back to normal. Frosta’s aura was dark blue.

“Whoa. Did we do that?” asked Frosta, looking around.

The answer was a clear yes.

Frosta laughed and hugged Glimmer.

 Later, the girls were back at Bright Moon castle. Frosta relaxed as Glimmer brushed her short blue hair.

“So, we’re okay now the woods are growing back, right?” Frosta asked.

“Light Hope says there’s still a lot to fix, but at least it won’t be as easy for the Horde to attack us.”

Frosta looked at Glimmer. “Thanks again for saving me, you know, after that bot threw me off the cliff.”

“Friends stick together. No princess left behind,” replied Glimmer. Adora held Frsota’s hand and the three of them laughed.

 During another day, Frosta and Mermista met with the others during a battle plan.

“Mermista said you were playing. We wanna join,” said Frosta.

“Ugh. We’re in the middle of a very serious planning session,” sighed Adora.

“We have lots of ideas for plans,” Perfuma added.

“Aren’t you on watch right now?” Glimmer asked.

Adroa groaned. “But only if you’re serious…”

“I’m sitting next to Glimmer!” Frosta said joyfully as she sat down.

“I have ideas,” Frosta said. “Staring with we punch them!”

One by one, all the members fantasized battle plans, each with their unique twists. In Bow’s fantasy, Catra turned into a purple mountain lion.

“Wait, she can do that?” Frosta asked.

“No,” said Bow. “But I ran out of figures and only have this left, so she can now.”

Perfuma then began talking about using a plant golem to take down the tower.

Then Mermista fantasized about having She-Ra’s powers, holding a trident and calling herself “Sea-Ra.”

 Frosta interrupted Perfuma. “The Winter’s Bane needs no help from a plant.”

Frosta imagined herself in full body ice armor similar to a transformer. The enemies were frozen in her ice. Frosta spoke in a dramatic voice.

“My enemies know me as Frostbite Winter’s Bane. My friends call me Bane. That is, if I had any. But no one comes close to the Winter’s Bane! She’s got a board sword that enhances strength plus three. Her finishing move is the Snow Strike.”

She pointed to a sketch of her character.

“What’s that pink blob?” asked Mermista.

“Her sidekick, Glimmer.”

The group continued talking, with Frosta adding her own ideas. “Frostbite uses Snowstrike to encase the tower in ice, then crack it, kapow!”

 “Frostbite smashes the wall!” Frosta exclaims.

“The ice armor cracks as you hit stone,” Adora says.

 The group then began talking about Catra.

Frosta disagreed with Perfuma and said, “No, no, no, she’s more like ‘I love ruining parties.’”  She imagined a drunk Catra holding a glass of wine, with sunglasses.

Adora soon began worrying that the Horde would defeat them and was about to give up. Her friends gave her words of encouragement.

“The Winter’s Bane stands with you. Also, me, Frosta stands with you. I can’t tell if we’re still in character.”

  The princesses soon launched their improvised attack on the tower, Perfuma staring with her plant golem. Frosta encased the cannons in ice.

“Yay, Frosta!” cheered Perfuma.

Frosta’s arms, hands, and chest were covered in ice armor. “This is colder than I thought, but not a problem.”

She charged through the line of Horde robots, knocking them over the wall with her ice fists. “Snow Strike!” She knocked two robots down and then a third.

“Huh?”

One of her hands was free from the ice, but water splashed on it, making ice appear again.

“Thanks, Mermista!” Frosta called.

“You mean Sea-Ra, Princess of the Oceans!” She conjured up a wave that splashed throughout the tower.

Adora, Mermista, Perfuma and Frosta yelled their battle cries.

“Charge!”

“I am Sea-Ra!”

“Plant magic!”

“The Winter’s Bane!”

The princesses were soon glowing and knocked off Scorpia and the other Horde soldiers. The Rebellion swiped down the red Horde flag and cheered.

  Season 3

Perfuma, Mermista, and Queen Angella analyzed the holographic map on the round table in front of them. Over toward the back of the chamber, Frosta stood by a map, sticking another smaller map into place with an icicle. Netossa and Spinerella watched intently. They were all trying to come up with another way to defeat the Horde.

 Mermista gasped and fell backwards out of her chair, when an exhausted Glimmer and Bow appeared with Huntara.

“You’re already here. Perfect,” said Glimmer nervously.

Mermista picked herself up. “Yeah, where have you been?”

She glanced over at the lavender skinned warrior. “Is this some new She-Ra form?”

“No. This is Huntara,” Glimmer explained. “She’s the leader of the Crimson Waste. Or was.”

Huntara observed the map with fascination and swiped at the image with her hand, a child-like expression on her face. Swift Wind arrived and pushed her out of the way.

Glimmer continued. “Uh, we don’t have time to get into it. We need to get to the Fright Zone.”

“The world doesn’t stop just because you aren’t here,” Angella warned. “We have been planning our attack on the Horde.”

“That’s a relief,” added Bow. “Because Catra kidnapped Adora.”

Everyone gasped, including Frosta, Netossa, and Spinerella, who turned around.  

“The Horde has Adora?” Angella asked.

“Which also means they can open a portal because they have her sword,” Glimmer explained.

“What? I don’t understand…”

“There’s no time.”

“Glimmer, slow down…”

“We need to get to the Fright Zone now,” Glimmer spoke in urgency.

“We?” asked Angella. “You are not going anywhere until you explain.” She stood up and unfurled her white transparent wings. “Glimmer, outside. Now.”

Frosta continued observing her maps, as Glimmer and Angella walked outside, the doors closing behind them.

 When their conversation was over, Frosta and the others rushed from their hiding spot behind the doors. Several of the princesses whistled innocently, like they had not been eavesdropping.

 Later on that night, Perfuma, Frosta and Mermista used their powers to hoist themselves onto the raised platform. Perfuma got up using vines, Mermista via a rising wave of water, and Frosta, via ice.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Mermista asked.

Glimmer summoned her staff into her hand. “Don’t try to stop us. This is the only way to save Adora.”

“We’re not trying to stop you. We wanna come with you,” Perfuma said.

Mermista smirked. “We could do the whole “you can’t come with us, it’s too risky” thing…”

Frosta stepped up. “Or you could just accept that we are coming. Because we are.”

Shadow Weaver spoke from behind. “A larger group will be a disadvantage. I won’t…”

Mermista interrupted her, pointing at her. “We’re calling the shots. You’re gonna have to make that thing bigger, weird, scary lady.”

Reluctantly, Shadow Weaver complied.

“Quickly now,” she urged.

She spread out tendrils of dark purple magic from her hands and down below, the complex circle of symbols and shapes lit up.  Shadow Weaver made another symbol in the air, identical to the symbol on the ground. She extended her hand through the small hole, beckoning Glimmer to take it.

After a brief hesitation and a deep breath, Glimmer’s hand grasped hers.

The moment their hands touched, dark purple power swirled around the area, the energies of the Black Garnet and the Moonstone converging. It wasn’t long before all the group members were transported into the heart of the Fright Zone.

 “We did it. I did it. Oh that was amazing,” Glimmer exclaimed, jumping for joy.

“Hmm,” said Bow in thought. “Kind of figured Hordak’s sanctum would be way scarier and not so empty.”

“Yeah no,” Mermista added. “Decorating is not their strongest suit.”

“We aimed for Hordak’s sanctum, but obviously, we missed,” said Shadow Weaver. “We’re not far. Stay behind me. And try to be quiet.”

The door opened to reveal a blue skinner reptile humanoid, holding a blue cup in his hands. All the princesses and Bow turned around. The Horde cadet dropped his cup in shock, spilling the rocky and sloppy contents on the ground.

“We have to go,” called Shadow Weaver, pushing a button and opening a metal door.

“I’ll hold her off,” said Perfuma, before Mermista, Bow, Glimmer, and Frosta hurried after the sorceress.

As the group ran, the door ahead opened up, revealing Lonnie and Rogelio. Glimmer stood, conjuring balls of glittery light in her hands. Frsota already had formed ice fists around her hands.

Lonnie pulled a lever, sounding the alarm before pulling out a stun weapon. Rogelio roared and charged.

Mermista walked forward, pulling water from beneath a sewer grate to the right. “My turn. I didn’t almost drown in these sewers for nothing.”

Frosta strode forward. “I want in.”

She waved her hand and Mermista’s water turned into shards of ice. Mermista fired them at Rogelio and Lonnie, catching their hands and legs in ice.

“We’ll keep them busy. Go,” Mermista called. Mermista and Frosta stayed behind to fight off incoming soldiers while Glimmer, Bow, and shadow Weaver disappeared down another corridor.

  She-Ra walked through the portal. In one strike of her sword, she broke it and the machine collapsed.

“Adora!” shouted Glimmer and Bow, both running over and embracing her in a hug. All of their eyes shone with tears.

“See? We told you, you could do it,” mentioned Glimmer.

“Who hoo!” Frosta cheered. “Yes, we did it. We did it.”

Frosta ran over and hugged Adora as Perfuma and Mermista also joined in.

“Touching as this is, we need to go,” Shadow Weaver cut in. “Now.”

She held out her hand. Glimmer stepped forward and took it. The others let go of Adora and took their positions. The black power swirled around them, transporting them back to the raised platform where the Moonstone resided.

Everyone laughed and shouted with joy; Perfuma even hugging a stiff unamused Shadow Weaver.

“We did it,” said Bow, lifting Glimmer up and carrying her around.

“Did we do it?”

“We did it,” Glimmer assured. “I’m probably going to be grounded for the rest of my life, but reality is back to normal.” Bow gently put Glimmer down.

“Speaking of which, I guess I should go find my mom. Maybe she’ll be so happy to see me that she’ll forget about grounding me.”

Adora slowly walked over to Glimmer, head lowered, and silent.

“Adora, what is it?” Glimmer asked in confusion.

Adora transformed out of her She-Ra form and embraced her in a somber hug. Glimmer knew then what she was telling her.

Adora started to cry. “Angella, she…she stayed behind. She…she saved us.”

Tears pooled in Glimmer’s eyes. Frosta and the others gathered around, comforting Glimmer and Adora.

  Season 4

Glimmer, Adora, and Bow followed Castaspella down the hall. Castaspella explained the process of Glimmer’s coronation.

“So the ceremony begins with the Ritual Quest, followed by your first speech as queen. And most importantly, the whole thing ends with a Grand Ball!”

Adora gasped. “Oh, there’s a quest! We’re great at quests.”

Castaspella continued, “The Quest of Queens, in which Glimmer will forge her connection to the Moonstone. The Moonstone’s power has been balanced between you and your mother since you’ve been born, but now, with her…her absent…”

“So, about that quest!” Bow cut in. “We’re great at quests, right?”

Castaspella cast a spell, a blue circle design in the air, which a scroll appeared. She tossed it over to Bow.

“Yes, it’s in the scrolls. Secret ritual, witnesses, light, etcetera, etcetera. Oh, and you’ll need this.”

She threw an elegant lantern into Bow’s arms, the interior glowing with a white flower against light blue.

A shirtless man with wild white hair arrived with a large bouquet of red and pink roses, nettled in green.

“Are those the flower arrangements?” Castaspella asked in amazement. “Glimmer, what do you think?”

Glimmer mumbled awkwardly raising an eyebrow. “Oh uh, they’re, uh, fine?”

“You’re right, they’re awful!” said Castaspella. She turned to the man. “Burn them at once. Also, you’re fired.”

The man sobbed into the bouquet and ran off.

“Aunt Casta, you…” Glimmer began.

“Don’t you worry about a thing,” said Castaspella, touching Glimmer’s nose. “In addition to being a powerful sorceress, I am also a legendary party-planner. This will be a coronation for the ages! Glimmer, take us to the terrace!”

Glimmer merely sighed and walked on.

“Oh, we’re…we’re walking, are we? Great. We can use the exercise.”

  Glimmer, Bow, and Adora stood outside in the castle grounds, Frosta across from them. Frosta had made something for Glimmer’s coronation as the new queen of Bright Moon.

“What do you think?” Frosta asked Glimmer. She presented a grotesque ice sculpture of Glimmer and Frosta with strong muscles, looking angry.

“I wanted to do something special for you,” she explained.

Glimmer lowered her head. “This is going to be awful.”

But oblivious Frosta wasn’t paying attention. “Awful inspiring, right? I can make more!”

Glimmer held up her hands and gently placed hers on Frosta’s. “I appreciate the idea. But I need someone for a very important job to, uh, greet the guests.”

Frosta jumped into the air in excitement. “Oh! You need a bouncer?”

Frosta smashed her newly created ice fists together.

“I’m on it! Bouncer!”

She happily ran off.

“Wait, I didn’t say bouncer,” Glimmer began, but the ice princess had left.

“Glimmer!” called her aunt. “I need your opinion on color schemes.”

“Uh…blue?”

There was an awkward silence.

“What about purple?”

“Excellent choice,” said her aunt. “Isn’t this fun? Soon you will have to make many decisions just like your mother…”

Adora and Bow rapidly shook their heads.

“That is, uh…chop, chop, everyone! Adora, move the ice sculpture to the side!”

Adora walked off, grunting with moving the heavy blocks of ice.

“We still need flower arrangements!” called Castaspella. “Where’s that florist?”

“You fired him,” said Glimmer.

“Oh, right. Perhaps you’d like to do the flowers, Glimmer?”

Glimmer looked toward Mermista, who let out a long drawn out yawn.

“You know, I bet Mermista would love to do the flowers! Right Mermista?”

Mermista spoke with sarcasm. “Wow, how did you know? Flower arranging is my passion.”

“Ah, wonderful!” said Castaspella. “Now let’s talk stem length.”

Perfuma cried out loud, “What? No! Why?” Her giant dark pink flowers wilted as she sank to her knees, upset of her position being taken.

Swift Wind turned to Glimmer. “Is now a good time to talk about my song for the coronation? I will require a stage and oats for the backup horses.”

Frosta created a thick wall of ice between them and the horse flew off.

“Stop bothering Glimmer! Bouncer!”

“Hey!” said Adora, sliding over. “I think it’s all really coming together, don’t you?”

Adora led her over to Bow.

“Yep, it’s gonna be perfect! What else do we need to do, Bow?”

Bow held a long scroll on his hands.

“Still don’t know what the lantern is for! This is so official and confusing. It says Glimmer needs to wear some ceremonial robe. I don’t know where to get all that!”

“Maybe if we all looked together…” Glimmer suggested before Adora cut in.

“Don’t worry! We’ll find it!”

“But…”

Castaspella interrupted. “Glimmer, you’re needed in the Dining Room to choose the napkin folding technique! I’m thinking swans. What do you think?”

“Uh…”

“You’re right, it’s a terrible idea. I should just fire myself.”

“Aunt Casta, no…”

A gush of water then soaked both of them.

Glimmer pulled a starfish off of her and Castaspella threw away a vine of seaweed.

“Mermista! Vases!” Castaspella yelled.

Mermista stood in a large puddle of water and seaweed. “Don’t stifle my creativity!”

“Ugh. Please.”

“It’s okay. We will handle everything,” said Adora, transforming her sword into a mop. “You go have fun!”

Bow scooted away.

Glimmer sighed. “Fun. Right.”

  After Adora arrived from inside the castle later on, Frosta walked over to her.

“Adora, I’ve been freezing anyone trying to sneak in, but I’m running out of space to put them.”

She mentioned to Sea Hawk frozen in mid-run.

“Unfreeze him right now!” Adora demanded.

Frosta nodded and ran off.

Perfuma snuck over to where Mermista was busy putting things together.

“Mermista, um. Flowers are sort of my thing.”

Mermista had put coral, starfish, shells, and seaweed onto a large rock.

“Uh, it’s art and it’s what Glimmer wants. New queen, new era.”

Frosta then noticed Perfuma and Mermista fighting over Mermista’s sculpture and pushed the two girls apart by their faces.

“Stop fighting! You’re ruining Glimmer’s big day! Bouncer!”

Bow walked over. “Okay, has anyone seen a sacred lantern?”

“Yeah, there,” said Mermista, pointing to Swift Wind, Adora’s self-centered and valiant steed. The horse had the lantern hanging from his horn.

Bow sighed and walked over.

“Oh!” said Adora. “We’ve been looking all over for it! Thanks, Swifty.”

Swift Wind held it out of arms reach, attached to his horn.

“And I’ll present it to Queen Glimmer. Then she’ll be all, “Swift Wind, why don’t you sing the coronation song you made up?”

Swift Wind then sang obnoxiously. “Queen Glimmer, it’s your day. We’re all excited for you.” Bow and Adora wrestled with the winged stallion. Frosta went to check on Sea Hawk, and he was still frozen.

Mermista and Perfuma stood close to Glimmer.

“Glimmer, can you please tell Perfuma to stop questioning your wise judgement?”

“What? I’m not…”

Frosta interrupted Glimmer, grabbing hold of her face.

“Where do you keep the blankets? Sea Hawk is whining about being frozen.”

“Why did…”

Glimmer,” said her aunt, cutting in. “The quest is due to begin. Where’s the latern?”

“I have it!” called Swift Wind. “And now, my song!”

Perfuma argued with Mermista. “Everyone knows Glimmer would be happier with me on flowers!”

“Glimmer disagrees,” Mermista deadpanned.

“Glimmer, your guests are waiting,” Castaspella reminded her.

As Perfuma and Mermista argued, Frosta yelled, “Everyone, stop bothering Glimmer! She has a ton on her plate.”

Swift Wind belted out more off-key words, “Till the end, until I die, of course.”

 The commotions, the noise, the pressure, the loss of her beloved mother…

 It was all too much for Glimmer.

 “Everyone, just stop!”

Glimmer’s yell was so loud, that the ice Glimmer head broke off and rolled to her feet. Everyone gasped.

Castaspella put a comforting hand on her niece’s shoulder. “Glimmer, we will fix all of this.”

Glimmer walked over to Bow and held out her hands. Bow handed her the lantern.

“Let’s just get this over with,” said Glimmer, before walking away.

 Glimmer made her way over to her room and sat sadly on a round lavender cushion. She stared at her hands, and watched a few sparkles appear around her hands. Glimmer remembered how she recently looked at the shimmering MoonStone high above on the golden stand. Her body has glowed and sparkled pink, like the stone was calling to her.

But to take all the power for herself, and her mother not being here…

Glimmer had been fine with the shared power she possessed for all her life. The sudden changes were hard, shocking…heartbreaking. For Glimmer, receiving her mother’s power felt overwhelming. Could she be prepared to be Queen of Bright

Moon, even with Angella not around to guide her?

 Her thoughts were interrupted when Bow, Adora, and Castaspella entered the room.

“Well, it took some searching, but we finally found the Royal Coronation Robe!” said Bow.

 Adora held a white sheet in her hands. She walked over and draped it over Glimmer. Glimmer glared at the heavy thing on her.

“Wow, Glimmer…” she began. “You look…um…”

Adora held a thumbs up, staring at the way too big robe.

Glimmer gave a nervous smile, then looked downcast.

Concerned Castaspella made her way to her niece.

“Oh, my little Glimmer. I’m so proud of you.”

She tenderly touched her cheek.

“I know you’re going to make such a wonderful queen.”

In an attempt to cheer her up, Castaspella continued, “Almost time for your quest! Give me a tick and this robe will fit like a dream!”

“Of course,” sighed Glimmer, sitting down on the cushion. “The quest we still don’t know anything about. But it’ll be fine. Castaspella will fix the robe, Bow has the lantern, and I’ll have you guys by my side the whole way.”

   Later on, a nervous, sad, but determined Glimmer walked between the woodland man creatures, across the white bridge and over to Bow, Adora, and her aunt. A banner with a golden symbol of the MoonStone stood proudly over to the left. Her ceremonial robe now fit her perfectly. It was white with a golden symbol of a crescent moon pointed upwards on the back. The waterfall curtain behind them fell with barely any noise; the water reflecting sunset colors of light orange, pink, and blue from the top to the bottom.

 Glimmer held the lantern in both shaking hands. She walked over with determination and then turned to face the crowd.

Castaspella opened up her scroll and read aloud.

“We are gathered here today to witness the crowning of Queen Glimmer of Bright Moon as she completes the Quest of Queens and begins her reign as our new leader. She will be accompanied by two witnesses, Master Archer Bow, and Adora, She-Ra, princess of Power.”

Mermista closed her eyes and opened the curtain of water with her powers. Perfuma, Sea Hawk, and Frosta stood with her to watch in their fancy Princess Prom gowns.

Castaspella continued. “Let the light guide you and go forth in peace and safety to emerge as Queen of Bright Moon.”

Glimmer, Bow, and Adora stepped in, and the watery curtain closed behind them.

   Later on, the sky had turned dark. When Glimmer emerged from the Chamber of Queens, triumphant in her quest, the hall was all set up for the party. Frosta had made two new ice statues of Glimmer and Queen Angella holding hands. Perfuma had created vines of green with flowers in them that hung from the top of blue and purple banners on either side. Glimmer cried tears of joy.

“This place looks amazing!” Glimmer exclaimed, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Perfuma, Mermista, and Frosta arrived in the same gowns they wore to the previous Princess Prom.

“We wanted it to be perfect for you,” said Frosta.

“So we worked together to finish,” added Perfuma.

“That was my idea,” said Mermista.

“Glimmer,” said Castaspella. “It’s time.”

She mentioned to the golden throne high up. Smiling, Glimmer walked up the floating golden round steps and up to the throne.

She took a deep breath, having planned what her speech would be.

“I am here today because Queen Angella, my mother, sacrificed herself to save Etheria. We can’t let her bravery be in vain. But there’s so much we still need to do. Hordak is still in power, and we know there’s an even larger Horde army out there somewhere. We can’t let them win. It’s time for us to take back our home. Together, we will push out the Horde, once and for all!”

The crowd cheered and stood up in an ovation, fists and hands in the air. Frosta and Perfuma hugged each other as they cheered. “Yeah!” cheered Bow and he and She-Ra hugged.

 Glimmer smiled at the ice statue of Angella, the ice face smiling and eyes closed…at peace. Seeing her sweet angelic face, Glimmer knew her mother would be proud.

One stormy night, Frosta sat with the other princesses in one of the chambers of Bright Moon castle. She had a bored look on her face, arms crossed, next to Perfuma who stared off into space. Other sin the room included Mermista, Sea Hawk, Perfuma, Flutterina, Adora, Bow, and Glimmer. Glimmer stood facing the fire in the fireplace. Mermista sat on the couch next to Sea Hawk who was lying down, tired.

Glimmer turned around. “I called you all here to discuss what happened today. The mission to retake Dryl was a complete disaster. We barely made it out. I wanna know why.”

Bow spoke up. “The Horde knew we were coming. They were ready. How do they keep doing this? We thought they were tracking Adora, but she wasn’t even there today.”

Mermista then slammed her hands down on the table. “Isn’t it obvious? There’s a Horde spy somewhere in Bright Moon.”

Outside, the sky lit up white as thunder rumbled.

“And no one is going anywhere until we figure out who it is.”

Thunder crashed again.

Mermista,” said Glimmer, “It’s very unlikely that there’s a spy…”

“We need to investigate,” Mermista cut in, pacing back and forth. “I’ll be the lead detective since I’ve read every single Mer-Mystery book.”

“Mer-what?” asked Adora.

Mermista moved over behind the couch dramatically. “Mer-Mystery. It’s only the best undersea mystery novel series ever. There’s 18 of them. It taught me everything about solving mysteries.”

She leaned in, and said louder, “Murder mysteries.” Sea Hawk fell down on the couch in shock.

Perfuma raised her hand. “Um, but no one’s been murdered.”

“Yet!” added Mermista, moving between Frosta and Perfuma, making Perfuma flinch. “First, we need to question the suspects.”

“Who are the suspects?” asked Frosta.

“Everyone is a suspect,” stated Mermista.

“Everyone?” asked Bow. “Is anyone else sweating? I’m sweating.”

Glimmer sighed. “This is a waste of time. We know that the Horde is pulling their troops back for something big. That’s what we should be investigating.”

“No, Mermista’s right,” said Adora. “And it can’t be me the Horde’s tracking, since, once again, you used me as a distraction today. A spy is really the only thing that makes sense.”

Glimmer crossed her arms. “Maybe they didn’t fall for the distraction because you’re a bad actress. And who would the spy even be, anyway?”

“Heh,” said Adora. “How about the Horde officer who’s living at…I’m sorry, being held prisoner at Bright Moon? Shadow Weaver has actual spies. We met them.”

“Shadow Weaver does seem like the obvious suspect,” said Mermista. “Which means it definitely isn’t her. It’s never the obvious one. Like in Mer-Mystery: The Pearl Who Knew Too Much. You think it’s the pearl, but it’s not.”

“Spoilers!” cried Perfuma, flinching again.

Mermista pointed off in the distance. “It’s time to interrogate the castle.”

Lightning and thunder crashed once again.

“How are you doing that?” Frosta asked.

“I practice at home!” Mermista answered dramatically as thunder boomed again. Glimmer facepalmed and groaned.

A black skinned guard sat on the couch in front of Mermista and Perfuma. Mermista slapped her hands on the table. “Where were you when the murders happened?”

“The what?” asked the guard.

Mermista slapped her hands again, Perfuma winced and shook her hand.

“Don’t think you can get away with it,” added Perfuma. She turned to Mermista. “Although, there still aren’t any murders, Mermista.”

“Yet.” Mermista planted her foot on the table.

“I sincerely do not have time for this,” stated the guard.

“According to a bunch of other people…”

“Witnesses!” yelled Perfuma. “…you weren’t where you were supposed to be at the battle for Dryl.”

“I followed the plan exactly,” said the guard.

Perfuma planted her foot on the table causing the flower shaped head lamp to shake. “A likely…sorry, a likely story!”

“Admit it,” said Mermista. “You were slipping away to warn the Horde of our plan. Just like in Mer-Mystery: Secret of the Abalone. That one’s really good. You should read it.”

Perfuma took notes on her scroll of paper: “Maintain scowl,” “Hit the table,” “Secret of the Abalone.”

The guard moved the spotlight away. “Look, this is what happened. “On approach to Dryl, Glimmer filled me in. She-Ra would lure away the Horde. Team A, Frosta, Bow, and Flutterina, would scout ahead. Team B, Sea Hawk and Mermista, would guard the exits. Team A indicated the coast was clear, and we converged on their signal. That’s when Frosta ran into us and said, “We haven’t finished scouting.”

Team A sent the all clear. If you wanna know what went wrong, ask Bow.”

“Okay, I confess, it was me” he cried.

Frosta stared back at him in her chair. “We’re not even interrogating you.”

“I mean, if I am the spy, it’s an accident. I think. Can you be an accidental spy? Do I have an evil alter-ego? Or was I brainwashed and I’m just realizing it now?”

A shirtless man sat next to Bow. “So, like, are you guys still questioning me or…”

Bow took the spotlight and held it up to his face. “It all goes back to what happened in Dryl. Everyone was in position, and I was using my new tech to look for remaining Horde soldiers. But then, my goggles glitched and I don’t know what happened. I started to see double. That’s when the other team came in way too early. I tried to signal everyone to fall back, but my tracker pad was missing.”

“Whoa,” breathed the shirtless guy.

“Don’t you see what this means?” Bow asked. “Either I lost my tracker pad at Dryl, and that gave the Horde vital information, or I did it on purpose because I am the spy, and I gave the signal and I didn’t even know.”

The shirtless guy stared into Bow’s eyes. “You’re blowing my mind.”

“Bow!” called Frosta. “You aren’t the spy!”

Bow’s voice rose up in panic. “You don’t know that! It all makes sense. Who else could it be?”

 “Ah,” Sea Hawk sighed happily, propping his feet on the table. “I love recounting the epic tales of my exploits. My heroic exploits.”

Mermista groaned out loud, Perfuma sitting next to her on the couch. “It definitely isn’t Sea Hawk. Why did you even bring him in?”

“You said everyone was a suspect,” mentioned Perfuma.

“Exploits for the ages,” Sea Hawk began. “Narration. I was supposed to be guarding the door. But Perfuma relieved me of duty so I could join the fight. I advanced through the courtyard, avoiding the booby traps, risking my very life, just like in Mer-Mystery: Serpent of the Sea.”

“Wait, is that were my book went?” asked Mermista. “Sea Hawk, I’ve been looking for it.”

Sea Hawk continued his story. “That’s when the clouds parted, and the moonlight illuminated my dearest Mermista in the distance.”

“Moonlight?” Mermista sighed. “The battle happened this morning.”

“I made my way over to her when…we were ambushed! My sole aim was to protect Mermista from the Horde. Thinking quick, I took on the 40 or 50 Horde soldiers surrounding us, and saved Dryl.”

“We lost Dryl, and you punched, like, one guy before Glimmer got us out,” Glimmer said with a laugh.

“Exactly 100 guys!” he countered.

Both woman facepalmed. “Wait, wait,” said Perfuma, “I was with the General the whole time.” She leaned in and glared at Mermista, crossing her arms. “And why weren’t you with Sea Hawk, Mermista?”

“Because Frosta waved me over, but disappeared before I could reach her.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense. She was with Bow, and then Glimmer, and the others were…”

“Who wants to watch me do some squats?” Sea Hawk asked, beginning his exercise.

Mermista then proceeded to shove him out of the room.

“I bet Adora and Glimmer don’t shove suspects out the door.”

 Mermista opened the door, the other princesses behind her. “There you are. Why are you just standing around? This isn’t Mer-Mystery: The Case of People Who Just Stood Around, the sequel I wrote right now about all of you.”

“Who is even left to question?” asked Glimmer.

Later on that night, several other people were questioned.

“I think I saw Mermista with Bow’s tracker pad,” said an elfish man standing with Entrapta’s baker and servant.

“Wait, you guys have been here the entire time?” asked Bow. Perfuma and Mermista stood with him.

“Tiny scone?” asked the baker, holding up a small desert.

During another interrogation, Mermista, Frosta, and Sea Hawk talked with one of the guards. “I can’t believe you read those too,” said the guard. “Mer-Mystery: The Maltese Otter is my favorite.”

“Ugh, that one’s so predictable,” groaned Mermista. “I saw that twist coming a mile away.”

Swift Wind was next and he did a pose on the table along with a neigh.

Mermista, Perfuma and Adora rolled their eyes.

“Swift Wind, you weren’t even there,” stated Adora.

“I told you how I took out 100…no 150 guys right?” asked Sea Hawk.

Mermista groaned again, frustrated.

Bow them walked over to the front, tears in his eyes and held out his hands. “You have to arrest me for everyone’s safety. Otherwise, my evil alter-ego might do it again.”

“Bow, knock it off,” Glimmer demanded.

Swift Wind posed again with a mace in his mouth.

“Still no,” said Adora. “And put that back.”

Mermista took a look at the other people coming in for the interrogations.

A group of people, one with three eyes…

“It’s not them,’ said Mermista.

A bunch of fauns and a dark skinned lady with bull horns…

“No,” said Perfuma.

Netossa and Spinerella in fancy clothing, holding a bouquet of flowers. Two butlers standing awkwardly to the side.

“No,” stated Glimmer.

The shirtless guy came forward. “Okay, dude, I think, like, maybe She-Ra did it.”

“Hey, we already questioned you,” Frosta reminded him.

“Oh yeah, I came back for the tiny scones.”

“I made a fresh batch,” said the smiling baker as the guy popped one into his mouth.

“Fizzy beverage?” asked another server.

“If you just lent me the book, then I’ll show you who done it,” said Mermista to Sea Hawk.

“We should interrogate him again,” argued Perfuma.

“Happened in Pearl in the Window,” Mermista mentioned.

   “Adora! Glimmer!” called Bow.

Frosta opened the doors to Glimmer’s darkened bedroom, spotting Adora and Glimmer. “Where have you guys been?”

“The communication panel in the war room has been severed,” said Perfuma with concern.

All the princesses made their way to the room and sure enough, the holographic map had a hole in it.

“When did this happen?” Adora asked.

“I don’t know,” replied Mermista. “We were passing by the room when we saw it.”

“Wait, we saw you run out of here two minutes ago,” Frosta accused.

“Uh, what are you talking about?” the mer-woman asked. “I was with Perfuma.

“Could the storm have done something to cause this?” Perfuma suggested.

Glimmer then glanced down at a broke tracker pad on the floor in a puddle of water. “This wasn’t an accident. It was sabotage.”

  As it began to rain outside, all the members met once again in the chamber sized living room. Everyone remained seated in the same positions as before, but with Glimmer standing by the fire again.

 “The General is working on restoring communications. In the meantime, there’s a backup device in the dining room, should we need it.”

Mermista closed the doors. “All of us knew we were trying to unmask the spy. And we were the ones who made the plan to take back Dryl. We’ve ruled out all other suspects. Which means the only person the spy could be is one of us.”

Perfuma gasped.

Frosta stood up on her chair. “Perfuma let the Horde take the doors.”

“I wasn’t there,” she argued. “Wait, your team was the one who told us to come in, and you led Mermista way.”

“I did not,” Frosta snapped.

“Trying to throw the blame on someone else, huh, Frosta?”

Frosta pointed at Mermista. “If Mermista knows so much about mysteries, she’d probably know how to plan the perfect crime.”

“And there was water by the tracker pad,” Perfuma mentioned, glaring at Mermista.

“Water that could’ve been melted ice,” Mermista replied, pointing at Frosta.

Bow cried again. “It’s probably me.”

“It’s not you, Bow!” Frosta shouted.

Mermista countered, “Or maybe it is, like in Mer-Mystery: Salt-er Ego.”

“It couldn’t be me. I was busy fighting at least 200 soldiers,” Sea Hawk bragged.

 Frosta later witnessed Double Trouble revealing their true intentions.

 Frosta watched the simulation of the planet blowing up in boredom, sitting at the holographic map table.

“So how do we stop it?” Frosta asked.

Frosta yawned. She closed her eyes and accidentally banged her head on the table startling herself awake.

“Maybe we should continue this in the morning? Not that I’m up past my bedtime. I don’t have a bedtime. I can go to bed whenever I want.”

Frosta rubbed her eyes when she saw Scorpia sitting on Emily.

“Horde soldier!” yelled Frosta as all the princesses got ready to attack.

Frosta jumped into the air. “You ruined Princess Prom!” she shouted, landing on the ground with an ice fist, where Scorpia had been standing a moment earlier.

Frosta sent out a sheet of ice, causing Emily and Scorpia to slip and fall to the outside.

 Scorpia was tied up and she told her story.

Frosta led Scorpia to a comfortable spare room with her ice spear.

“Hang on. I get to stay here?” Scorpia asked.

“This is the only other spare room we have. But don’t go thinking it’s a sleepover. We’re guarding you.”

 Frosta later asked, “How strong are your pincers? Can you crush things or just cut?”

“Oh you know, they’re good for general pinching. And cutting through basically everything.”

“Really?” Frosta asked, excited. “I gotta try that.” She created ice claws from her hands.

“Oh, are you…are you crying? Is it because I made ice pincers? I’m sorry. That’s your thing. I get it.”

“No it’s not that,” said a sad Scorpia. “The Horde always told me I was different, that I wouldn’t fit in with you all. But you’re making me feel like the opposite of not belonging, which I guess is belonging?”

“I used to feel that way too,” Frosta explained. “And then I met Glimmer and the others and I realized that none of us fit in. We’re all different, but that’s okay.”

“That might be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me,” said Scorpia.

“Well don’t get used to it,” Frosta said, serious again. “You’re still our prisoner.”

She created her ice spear and walked off, but then stopped.

“But I’ve got first watch, so I’ll be up if you wanna talk more.”

Scorpia smiled.

  Later, Bow and Adora snuck out of the castle.

Frosta opened the doors.

“What’s happening?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.

“Uh…you’re asleep,” said Bow. “Yeah, you’re asleep. This is a dream. A dream.”

“Yes, the flying unicorn dream,” said Swift Wind. “Classic.”

“I know what you’re doing,” said Frosta. “And you better hurry.”

“You’re…you’re not gonna stop us?” asked Adora.

“I didn’t join the Princess Alliance just to fight. I joined to save people. And the Horde, even after everything they did…they’re people, just like us. I’ll cover for you, but you have to go now. Everyone will be up soon.”

Bow and Adora nodded in thanks, jumped onto Swift Wind and flew off.

Frosta looked on, hoping they would be alright.

   Frosta became superpowered and fought with Perfuma against the Horde bots. Perfuma glowed green, Frosta glowed blue, each shooting out plants and ice respectively.

Frosta, Perfuma, and Scorpia yelled in pain as their powers were used. They huddled together until the pain was over. Frosta was last seen with Perfuma, looking at the sky, now filled with stars.