Prologue: The Sword

The day Adora became a Force Captain should have been the best day of her life. Instead, it became one of the worst.

Everything was going well at first. Adora received her badge and her first assignment, but of course, Catra couldn't be happy for her. Catra never thought of the greater good. Shadow Weaver had been clear that Etheria needed someone strong and focused on leading the Horde to victory. Catra was strong, maybe even more so than Adora was, but she was undisciplined and lacked focus. Catra wasn't cut out for a leadership role. At least not until she grew up.

One day, Catra and Adora would rule all of Etheria, now united and peaceful, and they could finally be equals just as they both wanted. But that couldn't happen until Catra was an adult and outgrew her childish fixations. Until then, Adora would stay unhappily ahead of her, the symbol of her superior rank driving a divide between the friends.

Catra acted strangely around Adora that day. She claimed she had a weird dream and it was throwing her off, but Adora thought it was something more. Catra seemed scared, especially when she saw Adora with a Force Captain badge. She turned white like she'd seen a princess and dashed off to their secret tower. Adora knew what would cheer her up, though.

That's how they ended up on the skiff, problems forgotten. When they were alone, they were equal. Adora always saw Catra as an equal, even when the rest of the world didn't. Here, sailing through the Whispering Woods in a reckless and oh-so-Catra way, they stood on level ground. But that was only in private. In the barracks, on the training course, in front of their superiors, standing before Shadow Weaver, one of them had to be a step above the other. In the Horde, everyone wanted the same thing, and only one person could have it. That was just the natural order. Adora was the best in her class and Catra couldn't share that with her. Catra had to stay on the rung under her.

She should have known Catra would resent her for that.

After the skiff crashed, Adora found Catra on the ground. Her heart stopped as she dove to her friend's side and the beating only restarted when she heard Catra breath. Adora didn't understand the way her heart skipped a beat when Catra's eyes opened and their faces were inches apart. Adora ignored it like she did whenever her body reacted strangely to Catra's presence. It was happening more and more recently.

"Adora, what happened?" Catra blinked groggily and her eyes darted around like she was looking for something.

"You drove the skiff into a tree," Adora remembered Shadow Weaver's words, how Catra had to work harder to prove herself and one day join Adora on top. "I'm not even surprised since you failed driver's education twice last year. You really should put more work into your studies."

"Oh, not this again." Catra sighed.

"All I'm saying is that these skills have real-world applications. You really should know how to drive." Adora shrugged.

"I didn't even crash it. I was driving, you grabbed the rudder, I fell out, and-" Catra stopped. "Where is it?"

"What?"

"The Sword?" she sat up, Adora scrambling back to avoid bumping heads. "It was right here."

"There's no sword, Catra," Adora said. "Are you alright?"

"It was there," Catra stood up and pointed at a pile of bushes. "It glowed, and when I touched it, I heard someone talking."

"Was it the Headless Princess?" Adora whispered, suddenly afraid. Those stories Shadow Weaver told her always started with hearing voices.

"No, idiot." Catra rolled her eyes. "The voice was talking about….. balance."

"You were probably just dreaming Horde slogans. 'The Horde brings unity. Unity brings balance. Balance brings peace.' All those mantras we memorized as kids." Adora reasoned.

"Right," Catra muttered. She let Adora led her by the hand back to the Fright Zone and let herself be herded into bed with the other cadets. Adora didn't think about what Catra had said in the Woods. Not until she woke up and Catra was gone.