Silvia tossed and turned in her narrow bed. Hordak had promised her that she would be allowed to decide what to do with the Duke of Popjen and his family when sentences were announced for the nobles of Orkan tomorrow. It was a special reward, he had told her in his gravelly voice, for faithful service in bringing over the rebels and then helping defeating the Orkan nobles' forces. Her body thrummed in anticipation, and morning could not come soon enough. She'd decided on the perfect fate for the Popjen family long ago and her fantasies finally were about to come true.
She drifted off at some point but woke before the dawn light appeared through her small window. She flung off her blanket, pulled on her belt, vest, and boots, and hurried down the halls to the throne room, pausing only briefly at a washroom on the corridor. Even at this early hour, the throne room was buzzing with activity. The Orkan nobles, their clothes filthy and visible skins covered in cuts, bruises, and burns, already stood dejectedly along the wall in the back, their hands and ankles chained together. Two Horde troopers walked up and down the line, occasionally striking the odd one who appeared to be nodding off or falling over or who still had the willpower to look defiant. They smelled, Silvia thought, wrinkling her nose as she walked by them. She was sure that more than one had soiled their garments at some point, and they certainly had not had access to fresh clothes – or even enough water to wash the ones they had – for many days.
She finally reached the part of the line where the Duke of Popjen stood with his children. Everything about the Duke sagged – his face, his shoulders, even his legs. He looked small without his fancy high shoes and hat, Silvia thought. Not even so tall as her. She wondered how much longer he'd be able to keep standing, as gravity seemed to be winning against whatever strength his body still had. The young man next to him - his son - was visibly nervous, his eyes darting around the room, his hands twisting, his feet tapping. His sister was on his other side, bruises marring her formerly flawless skin. She'd put up more of a fight than her father or brother. Lady Ang also was looking around the room but, unlike her brother, was doing it warily. Other cousins and extended Popjen family members were further down, but they interested Silvia far less than those three. Her mouth curved into a cruel smile as she strode past and joined Mantenna in the gallery, grabbing a piece of fruit from a basket near the front bench as she passed. The nearest noble in the line was staring at the fruit basket not even noticing (or caring?) that a line of saliva was rolling from his mouth down his chin. As the man's eyes slowly shifted to her and the fruit in her hand Silvia bit into the gogun with gusto. The man's mouth hung open to reveal several broken teeth. Silvia slowly took another bite, making sure her enjoyment was obvious, even though the gogun was only of average quality. Today was going to be fun.
She had finished the fruit and thrown the core to the drooling noble – who risked a Horde trooper's wrath to quickly scoop it up and nibble and suck at it with his broken teeth, in the end eating even the seeds –before Scorpia, Leech, and Grizzlor finally showed up, to Silvia's relief. (Mantenna was such a nervous wreck he'd agree to anything she said, which had stopped amusing her months ago.) The group passed the time making wagers about which noble would cry first, and if anyone would attempt an escape.
Another hour, then Shadow Weaver floated in, accompanied by Adora. They took their usual places on the first bench. Adora was openly interested in the nobles and asking Shadow Weaver lots of questions about them. Silvia wondered again about the relationship between Hordak and the blonde child. He obviously had great interest in her training, but from what Silvia had gathered from Hordak's oldest compatriots, Adora was not his child and had appeared seemingly from nowhere as a toddler. Silvia watched the girl's excited gestures for a few minutes, then shrugged. It was no concern of hers.
Finally Hordak appeared, preceded and followed by columns of Horde troopers. Everyone in attendance rose and watched as he ascended the steps to his throne. Silvia, who was still learning to read him (a difficult thing to do, given his face was a skull), decided that his bouncy step means he was in a good mood.
His voice confirmed her guess. "Former nobles of Orkan," he started in a voice that was positively gleeful, "You are here to learn your sentences. I would say it's been a pleasure to have you as my guests but, well, I can't wait to empty my dungeons for the next group. I hope you enjoy wherever your journey takes you!" His cackle echoed through the room.
Mantenna stood and walked to the base of the stairs to the throne. "W-w-where is the Duke of Kamjet and his family?" he asked, and a Horde trooper pushed them forward. Mantenna called a rebel from the group that had been waiting in a tunnel on the opposite side of the room from Silvia's bench for testimony. After hearing about the Duke of Kamjet's practice of conscripting workers for the Energy Mines and the deadly cave-ins that resulted from the Duke's obstinate refusal to listen to the mine engineers and insistence on mining every vein to its end, Hordak turned back to the Duke.
"So, it seems that you fancy yourself quite the expert on energy mining," Hordak began conversationally.
The Duke, a fat man who still carried himself with an air of superiority despite recent events, nodded. "What the rebel failed to tell you is all the extra energy we extracted. And many tunnels did not collapse. Sometimes a calculation of risk and return is needed."
Hordak nodded. "Well, because you're obviously an expert on energy mining's risks and returns, we can put you and your family to good use." A few family members perked up at the words, then Hordak laughed. "All of you will be spending the rest of your lives in those mines, chasing the veins to their ends! Guards, take them to their new assignment!"
Before Kamjet family had much time to react, the troopers started pushing them toward the door. Silvia nodded with satisfaction. Hordak already was proving a better leader than the Orkan king ever was.
Mantenna continued calling nobles and witnesses forward. Only in a few cases were executions called for – instead, most of the nobles were sent to the Energy Mines, but a few who had tried to escape instead were sent to Beast Island, which was as good as calling for an execution.
Finally, the Popjen family was called forward. "T-t-testifying against you is S-s-silvia, formerly of Popjen Castle Town."
Silvia stepped forward and Hordak motioned for her to speak. She did so for many minutes, talking about the over-taxation and the filthy streets and how the Duke's son was known to roam the town streets in disguise and have his guards kidnap any pretty girl who caught his eye and bring her back to his rooms to await whatever his pleasure happened to be. About how that had happened to her own sister, who three days after vanishing was deposited on their doorstep a bloody mess. About how her sister was bed-ridden for weeks and could find no suitors, as she was damaged goods. About how her father had gone to beg the Duke for justice at the next festival day and for his troubles received a beating from the Castle guards that left his vision blurry and gave him sharp headaches until he died a year later. About the comment the Duke's daughter made at that festival hearing, that Silvia's sister should be proud that she had attracted a noble's attention and she needed no compensation beyond that.
When Silvia finished, slightly breathless, Lady Ang was staring at her with narrowed eyes. "Did you witness any of this with your own eyes?" she spat.
"I saw what your brother did to my sister and what your father's guards did to my father with my own eyes," Silvia retorted.
"Do you have proof it was my brother? That the guards acted on the Duke's orders?" Lady Ang started, but then Hordak interrupted.
"I grow tired of this conversation. Silvia, before you pass sentence, I wish to give you a gift."
Silvia tensed. Hordak was not known for gifts and when he showed generosity, it usually was to create a moment of false confidence before a swift reversal that ended with the giftee left worse off than before and Hordak laughing uncontrollably. What had she done to anger him? She'd been careful to hide any ambitions beyond serving Hordak and the Horde. She quickly gathered herself and bowed to Hordak. "Whatever it is, I am sure it was wisely chosen, O Great One."
"Shadow Weaver!" he called, and the robed shadow drifted forward. Silvia tried not to flinch as Shadow Weaver came within arms' length. Shadow Weaver inspired even more dread in her than did Hordak.
"Here, my dear," Shadow Weaver cooed, pulling a red object out of her robe and handing it to Silvia. Silvia turned it over. It looked like a stylized sculpture of some animal's head, with shiny green eyes. The red material was stiff but had some flex. What on earth was it, and why was Hordak giving it to her?
"Well, put it on!" Hordak said, interrupting her thoughts. So it's a mask, she suddenly realized. The festival masks she was accustomed to were large, flat, painted affairs with holes for the eyes and mouth. This piece was exquisite compared to those.
With a moment's hesitation – Shadow Weaver still was hovering near her with a definite air of anticipation, which amplified Silvia's fears that something bad was about to happen – Silvia raised her long black ponytail and slid the mask down onto her forehead and then, with a last trepidatious glance at Hordak, down over her eyes.
The sudden surge of magic (after being around Shadow Weaver for over a year, she knew what magic felt like) caused her to panic and start pulling at the mask but she heard Hordak bark "keep it on" and she dropped her hands. A moment later, they no longer felt like her hands as her fingers shortened and swelled and purple fur and claws sprouted from them. At the same time, something happening with her shoulders and spine that made her lurch forward, so that she landed on her hands – no, paws, she suddenly realized. When the strange magic sensations left her body, she flexed her differently aligned muscles and felt stronger than she'd ever been. She ran her tongue across her teeth and noted they were sharp, very sharp. And a tail! She had a tail! She swished it angrily, for fun. She turned back to the Popjen family and saw shock and fear on all their faces. Based on her perspective, her head now was even with their torsos. She could only guess from the paws and tail and the sharp teeth that she was some kind of large and deadly cat. Rather than feeling frightened at being trapped in this form, she felt freer than she ever had.
"Well, Silvia, would you like to see what you can do in your new shape?" Hordak asked from behind her.
To her surprise, she was able to answer. "I would love to." Her voice came out as a feline growl, but the words were intelligible. Her former plans for the family seemed silly in comparison to what she could do now.
She leaned back on her haunches, then sprang forward onto the Duke's daughter, ripping out her throat in one fluid motion. She executed a turn to the Duke and did the same to him. The Duke's son had the misfortune of being the subject of some experimentation with her new claws, so he took a little longer to die. As she turned from his still-twitching body to the remaining family members she bared her teeth. "I will let the rest of you go with just a small reminder of what happens when you harm others," she purred, then slashed an upper arm of each, leaving a set of shallow but bleeding claw marks.
"Excellent!" Hordak was so excited he was standing. "Now remove the mask!"
Silvia reluctantly used a paw to push up the mask and found her human form restored a minute later.
Hordak rubbed his hands together with glee. "Your combination of ruthlessness and mercy shows that you are a most suitable addition to my captains. But I think you need a new name, one more suited to your new abilities…"
"Catra," Silvia surprised herself by speaking up so boldly, but she knew he liked literal names and she did not want Hordak to give her a name that involved a form of the words kitty or pussy.
"Yes," he murmured before proclaiming more loudly "Yes! Welcome, Captain Catra, to the Horde!"
Catra tried to look grateful rather than triumphant as she bowed low before Hordak and offered her effusive thanks. The first two steps of her plan – topple the nobles, then ingratiate herself into the Horde – had worked. It would be a long trip to her end goal but for now, she was on her way.