Never say I am not a man of my word. In this case however I doubt the person involved imagined I would follow through on the request.
So new lass I met through Roosterteeth community had a request for a picture as a Disney Princess, as I lack any and all drawing ability (aside from abstract) I rejoined with an offer for fan fiction and it was requested. I had to think on this a bit and was given permission to go beyond Disney as quite frankly….I do not possess the ability to live in that world. Even so, there are worlds I am QUITE comfortable in.
Eternia has changed since the defeat of Hordak at the hands of He-Man and the small band of heroes known as the Masters of the Universe. Greyskull stands solid as its darkstone and Eternos heals from the many wounds of the war with the Horde. Adam and Teela have wed and are Crown Prince and Princess with Adora still retaining her royal status while staying in the deep oceans past the Sea of Rakesh with Sea Hawk, now an Admiral in the Eternos Navy. Much has happened in the 20 years since, not least of which was the discovery that the Snakemen were far from extinct.
She could see them through the Vine Jungles namesake. The steaming jungle and demoralizing sunlight though the leafy green boughs and the dark trunks all around her. She was wearing camouflage perfect for this work, but also quite possibly useless with the abilities of her prey.
The Snakemen had a colony out here and she had finally found them. Normally she would have called the palace and informed the Masters to come and take care of it, but it seemed nature was taking care of that for them. Even from here through the view finders she could see that the scales on most of them were mottled with some kind of disease. As if their bodies were being consumed while still living.
"If only Father could see this he would finally know-" she did not get to finish the sentence.
"That you will be grounded until you are a spinster if I or your mother have anything to say about it." She felt the lick of the tiger that was always with him and she grimaced as she turned her body away from the ridge to find her father standing before her.
To look at them it would not be obvious they were related, while both of fair features, the man was blonde while she was very brunette, but one look at the eyes would dispel any doubt. They had the same eyes. Stubbornness was prominent in the glacial eyes of the man but the amber eyes of the young girl were just as steely.
"Father you see them right there, they are alive just as rumors said!" She flung her arm behind her, like him she was in very good shape from years of training with the guard, chiefly the former Captain of the guard, her mother.
"Taylor, you are very much my daughter but I was hunted by the best so trying to sneak away from the palace, no matter the reason, will not negate the grounding." The smirk on his face was too relaxed, even with his normal attire of red vest and slacks with the furred boots, he was ready to fight. The broadsword on his back had never been drawn even in practice in her memory, but she had seen him fight many times and the Masters all respected him deeply.
Even so, she had serious doubts about his abilities as a warrior and soon to be King if he allowed a mortal enemy live on his doorstep and so near Greyskull.
"It is you human Prince Adam," the raspy voice was followed by much coughing but her father only looked up in sympathy to the creature that had come up on them. Taylor felt her blood freeze in her veins as she tried to think of a way to not seem caught off guard.
She turned and found a barely standing green and gold scaled Snakeman. His scales were falling off of his tail completely and most of his clawed feet were equally stripped bare. The flesh beneath was mottled and clearly he was in pain. Cringer growled deep in his through, but her father held him back.
"It is getting worse I take it?" Shock flowed in her veins at the familiarity of his voice. Father knew what these things were and he was on speaking terms with them. The golden eyes seemed cloudy but could still see clearly. It nodded its head and sat down on a root nearby. Others lingered but a few kept moving about daily chores that would be needed for a village in the jungle. The Vine Jungle would reclaim its world if not constantly maintained.
"Half our numbers are too weak to rise and the rest are like me. Barely able to care for them," he looked so tired and in pain. A twinge of pity flowed through her heart, but Taylor remembered the stories of King Hsss and Cobra Khan very well. Even so, no one deserved this.
"Very well, I will leave you to it then, my offer stands if you wish to take it," Taylor knew her father very well and knew his kind heart. He would break open the world to save someone in need if he could. She saw the first flash of pride in the golden eyes though.
"We dug this hole for ourselves human Prince Adam, we may not be allowed to continue but we will not take charity or be made into a display." There was a flicker to the side of his eyes then and a change she could almost make out in the reptilian face. "We thank you for letting us keep our pride however." With that he rose slowly and the rest melted back to the village. One or two collapsed but the rest barely moved it seemed.
Taylor was about to speak when she saw something she had never seen on her father's face before….rage. Pure unabated rage. Mother often mentioned it was something dangerous to anger him, but she had never seen the most annoying courtier at the palace cause it.
He turned and began the trek out of the jungle. Hanging her head that all her careful planning to escape the palace to prove the rumors would result only in her grounding heavy on her heart, it was not until an hour had passed that she noticed where they went. This was not the way back to the wing raiders or any other possible sky sled she knew of. Worse her father was quiet, deathly quiet. She had never seen this side of him.
For the first time Taylor could appreciated he had been through the terrible wars of Etheria and Eternia against the Horde. This was not the kind father that had indulged and played with her as a little girl, nor was this the strict teacher of the training room, this was a fully blooded warrior that had faced impossible odds and lost many friends facing an enemy.
She was actually afraid of him!
The jungle suddenly parted and Taylor felt her jaw drop as her raven locks were kicked up by the wind of the abyss. Legend stood before her for the first time, Castle Greyskull. The drawbridge was down and a woman she had never seen before stood there. She was covered in a cloak of feathers, that then proceeded to become wings! It was the Sorceress of legend!
"Welcome Prince Adam and your daughter the Princess Taylor. It has been too long my friend!" The surprises today were getting a bit much for her as she saw a legend welcome her father with a hug and a smile! Cringer happily purred and licked a an arm to get attention from her as well which she easily, and seemingly by habit supplied.
"I wish it was never a disaster that always brought me Sorceress but they are almost beyond help and Eternos even if Dorgan was there likely could not save them now." The bitterness in his voice and his whole attitude were different now. Who was this man? Where was her father in there?
Light laughter brought her back to the Sorceress as she noted the golden staff in her hand that had not been there before.
"Apologies for my manners young Princess, it would seem your father neglected to remember you were there in his rush to save the Snakemen," on the final word her voice and face became leaden. The legends spoke of their assault but whatever else it mentioned apparently that had been either forgiven or in the case of the current crisis overlooked.
"Could someone tell me what is going on exactly?" Taylor felt she had been quite patient until now and her father grasped his sword in one swift motion. The bulging eyes of the Sorceress were her only warning as something even more miraculous occurred.
"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!" the hilt twisted open and the world exploded in blue lightning that seemed to be absorbed by both her father and Cringer. She watched as Crown Prince Adam and Cringer seemed to fade into the most legendary heroes of all Eternia. "I HAVE THE POWER!"
The incantation ended and there before her stood He-Man and Battlecat. The massive form of the hero left her breathless and suddenly she blushed a VERY deep red.
Full throated laughter came from the Sorceress now, and suddenly Taylor remembered one of the gifts she had in legend, to read minds.
"Even if I did not, the thought was plain on your face and you are definitely my granddaughter," That was it, it was too much. The world just was ridiculous! The mirthful look on the Sorcerous was not helped by the bashful look on the hero every one looked up to.
"I just wanted to save time, we have little left i think to save the Snakemen," He-Man was not fully there, determined, resolute, and unshakeable. For a moment she forgot he was also her father and blushed again.
Business swept them all inside the Castle as Taylor tried to cope, she still made sure to listen to the problem though.
"I think you are right He-Man, the issue is King Hsss maintained his people after Serpos was sealed as Snake Mountain, even in that dormant state the snake God's power needed a vessel to work through. Without King Hsss or Serpos, Eternia is rejecting them," there was barely a tinge of sadness in her voice, yet pity was there.
So the magic of King Hsss allowed the Snakemen to procreate and exist and without him Eternia is now trying to kill them off? That seemed too farfetched and unnatural to Taylor, she was an expert on the natural world and it did not act vindictively like that.
"Is it my fault Sorceress?" the worry in He-Man's voice gave Taylor pause. The legends say he defeated Hordak and healed Eternia of the Dark Hemisphere over 20 years ago. Wait that meant her father was the savior of them all?!
"No, your power cannot destroy or only restore and heal as we have seen. I suspect it is the lack of natural procreation and life cycle that is the issue here, the normal genetic variety is not present in them and the magic is eating them alive because of the lack. They are dying by their own power and inability to adapt." Taylor was now very intrigued by the problem. The Snakemen were created by Serpos and there were no females it seemed.
The whole species was created by a dark God and sustained later by the King it seemed. Now that both those were gone the natural aspects were incompatible with the magical, Eternia's natural cycle of life was not compatible with them! The chance to study them would have been amazing!
"Is there nothing we can do for them?" The forlorn tone in the great heroes voice brought Taylor back to the conversation. She saw her father clearly then. The man who would talk to the cook and royalty the same, to him all life was important. For the first time she truly appreciated him. He had all this power but saw all as worth his time and attention. He could literally always have his way but was concerned with protecting them all.
Pride welled in her heart and she felt it was much more amazing being here. The ancient stone corridor was neat and tidy, as if cleaned recently. Suddenly Taylor could hear more voices ahead of them from a doorway that had a soft glow to it.
"Casta! Madam Raz!" 2 more names out of legend did not really faze her at this point, but it was still interesting to meet them. The homely old woman in an overly large had reminded her of Orko, not least because she knew that broom might turn into anything in a moment, whether it was useful was on the whims of fate more than magic. Castaspella of Etheria was just as lovely as the stories said, a rival to her mother some said for He-Man. Man-E-Faces was on Etheria living with her now though, probably with the 3 children they were known to have.
"Ah, Adam it would seem you have let your daughter finally into your world, will your son be following?" He-Man looked a little uncomfortable but he quickly brought all up to speed on what they had seen. The group stood before the golden throne of the Sorceress trying to see if they could save this species they had once fought so fiercely.
Taylor watched them and felt hard pressed not to step out to find her wind raider and head home. Battle cat lay quietly in the corner napping and she felt about as useful. Still the problem was interesting, to save the species you would have to somehow incorporate the natural cycle of life back into them that was taken by Serpos. Science would take decades but would magic have an answer?
Taylor watched and remembered so many stories of He-Man from a different perspective. The legends she had grown up with were swirling in her head when she suddenly came back to one.
"Why not do for them what you did for Eternia?" the conversation stopped and all stared at her, Madam Raz kindly, Castaspella seemed to have forgotten her, the Sorceress intriuged and He-Man just plain surprised. No one rejected it outright but no one seemed to understand either.
"What do you mean exactly child?" Casta's choice of words irritated her, but Taylor wondered why her father had not thought of it before.
"I just mean He-Man, I mean….ahem, I mean he healed a whole planet, why could he not restore something to the Snakemen?" understanding flooded all their faces but He-Man was the first to lose hope.
"Unfortunately I still am healing Eternia, even as we sit here I can feel that power churning against what Hordak did centuries ago, it is not available to me at the moment." Hope dimmed but she looked at his sword and wondered.
"What about the power of Greyskull? Can it not do something?" Hope bloomed again, but this time the Sorceress was the one to dash it.
"While the power is great, it cannot do what you ask, nor could Prince Adam's I think. The Snakemen were created by a God, not born of anything on Eternia, just made manifest. There is nothing to restore. What you are suggesting is we add something…" suddenly she grasped her jaw in thought. He-Man and all waited on bated breath.
"By the Ancients, it could be done but it would require someone willing to live the consequences." The Sorceress was looking at He-Man but then she looked at Taylor as well. She beckoned her forward and Taylor stepped up to the dark wooden table.
"What did you think of?" Happy to be inspiration, Taylor was truly curious to know what the Sorceress had thought of.
"The power of Greyskull flows in your veins as well as it does He-Man, you were not chosen but the latent power to wield it is there. It may be possible to introduce a serum of magical origin that will fundamentally change the Snakemen as we know them, but by doing so…" The green orb looked into amber deeply here. "You will become the mother of an entire new race."
The room was deathly silent. He-Man made no move to deny or support this idea, he looked at Taylor and waited. Madam Raz seemed to have somehow become entangled in her broom and Castaspella looked a little ill.
Save them by having them become part of my bloodline? Can I do that? The stories played in her head of all their atrocities and deeds over the years, including the ancient confrontation with King Greyskull. The flash of what she had just seen also burned, a dying people, by inches, trying to hold onto their pride till the end.
There will come a time when you will feel the weight of being a royal Taylor. You will know the terrible moment because lives will depend on your choice. Worse, you will find that you may need to let people die so others can live or to save those you would rather let die because justice is not yours to define, but to be seen in the moment. Personal grudges and prejudice cannot cloud your judgement in that moment.
Her grandfather's words suddenly came to her. King Randor spoiled his grandchildren but when it came to lessons he was often the most instructive to her. Her father had nodded hard as Randor had spoken and now the moment was here. Live of not just the Snakemen, but potentially all future generations would be affected by her choices. She closed her eyes and remembered one other instance in her life.
A small village had been overrun by bandits. The Masters had come to help them rebuild and a vile prisoner had been mouthing off from his cage at them. The man had once been a native of the village and had been mistreated to his mind by the successful members. Now he was caught and going to pay for his crimes yet He-Man had never looked at him in rage or vindication.
He let him be judged by his peers and the man paid a severe penalty but once done became a very productive and vocal member in resolve the bandit issue in that area.
"I will become the template to save the Snakemen." The words seemed to flow and the weight was on her shoulders but Taylor never regretted them. He-Man smiled wide and embraced her while the Sorceress and Castaspella immediately prepared to make the serum that would change a species entirely.
Days passed but now Taylor was on the same ridge watching as He-Man arrived at the village in the Vine Jungle. He was greeted with defeated looks of the very few left standing. They assumed their ancient enemy had come to destroy them at the very end. He instead calmly began helping each and every Snakeman drink the fluid he had brought.
Taylor watched in amazement as each glowed with the same sheen of blue that transformed her father. The mottled scales began to fade and the whole village began to emerge. There were changes however. Once, where nothing but Snakemen where, now about half were clearly female, with a disturbing trend to mimic her features save it was all reptilian.
Taylor smiled as she saw the newly confused species stare at He-Man.
"Prince Adam has faith you will have a place here, you are not alone and as long as you do not threaten Eternia I will stand by you as well," with that he swung onto the saddle of Battlecat and with a roar, rode off to the waiting sky sleds. Taylor watched a little longer then slipped away herself. History would only remember He-Man coming to save the Snakemen, but it was Princess Taylor that allowed all that came in the future to come to pass.
The Fate of Greyskull was still to come, but now there would be hope in Eternia's darkest hour.
This is a bit of fiction I inserted between two of my creations, Champion of Greyskull and Fate of Greyskull. I hope it is acceptable to the "Princess" of the story.