Disclaimer: I do not own She-Ra or its related characters. All is the property of Noelle Stevenson, Dream Works Animation, Netflix, NBCUniversal Television Distribution, Filmation, Larry DiTillo, and J. Michael Straczynski.

Inconvenient Arrangements

Chapter Twenty-Four: An Old Report

Hec-Tor stood with Entrapta in a corridor of the palace in Brightmoon. Their part in the search was over and Adora was found, they could return to Dryl. But Hec-Tor wanted to wait just a bit longer to make sure Randor was alright. Nothing too terrible had actually happened, but, Randor had lost one family member already and Adora's running away had stirred up some bad memories.

Currently, Randor was behind a door, in a room just off the corridor in which Entrapta and Hec-Tor stood. And he was delivering a very loud lecture to his daughter on just how stupid the stunt she pulled was, how much she worried him, did she even know anything about the Whispering Woods? What if something terrible happened to her? But, dad, I found the legendary lost Sword! And don't even get me started on the dangers of legendary lost artifacts!

Hec-Tor's ear twitched every now and again as he caught Randor using language that was definitely unbecoming of a King.

"How much longer do you think they'll be?" Asked Entrapta.

"Unclear." Hec-Tor readjusted his posture. Something must have gotten into his armor while in the woods. Some pollen or irritant of some variety. He itched all over and more than one joint felt tight. As soon as they got back to Dryl he would have to take everything off and clean it, lubricate it, and sterilize it. "When we return to our own castle-" he had not yet started calling it 'home' "-may I use your lab?"

Entrapta looked up at him, noticing that he was not standing in his usual pose of military parade rest and instead bending, and straitening, and re-bending his elbow, eyes focused on the joint. "Of course!" She lifted herself up on her hair, getting closer to his upper body. "Is it your armor? Would you like me to give you an upgrade? We can try those new adaptations I mentioned back on Monstron."

"That will not be necessary." Hec-Tor assured her.

He was raised to be self-sufficient and not bother others with his defects. He would continue to do that.

Entrapta looked like she was about to argue. But whatever she was going to say was cut off when the door to the room finally opened and Adora stormed out, looking all kinds of pissed off. She offered her uncle a piercing glare, as if she personally blamed him for her father finding her and preventing her from getting away from her marriage. Then she ran down the corridor to an entirely different room and slammed the door.

Randor stepped out after her, looking all kinds of exhausted. He was holding the Sword Adora found in one hand, and another bottle of wine in the other.

"How are you?" Asked Hec-Tor.

Randor took a long sip from the bottle before he answered. "Better than I was when we lost my brother. I swear, that girl is shaving years off my life. I wish she could be more like her brother."

"Adam is like you." Hec-Tor asserted, never having actually met the boy since he was an infant. "Adora is like Keldor. He did not take well to being told what to do either."

"Can you blame her?" Asked Entrapta. "Nobody likes being told what to do. People want to make their own decision, and they should be allowed to. Especially about their own lives. When you lock someone in a room, they'll just find a vent."

Randor looked her up and down, giving Entrapta a more critical examination than he had before. At Princess Prom he was at a party and meeting so many new people from all over Etheria, it hadn't clearly registered in his mind who Princess Entrapta of Dryl was exactly. In the woods, he was too preoccupied with finding his daughter to really care. But now that Adora was safe and he could start calming down, Randor could note and appreciate just how different from his brother Hec-Tor's new spouse really was.

Keldor was always a very passionate person. Passionate and intense. Perhaps, sometimes, he was a little too intense for someone like Hec-Tor. Randor recalled the reception party after his coronation when Keldor picked Hec-Tor up, pressed him against a wall, and grinded over their clothing. (Which was a totally normal thing on Eternia and, in fact, they were not the only couple –or group- doing it.) But, Hec-Tor just seemed… a little uncomfortable with such an explicit public display.

Entrapta seemed more like the type to respect a person's personal and social boundaries. To ask before shoving them against a flat surface and making out, and if they said 'no' then waiting until they were in a less public space, or more in the mood. At least, she seemed that way to Randor.

He missed his brother, but he also cared about his brother-in-law and decided that Entrapta was probably the better partner for him. And they couldn't dwell on Keldor forever. Eventually, people had to move on. It was good that Hec-Tor appeared to be moving on with Entrapta. Randor approved.

He didn't say any of that out loud, however.

Instead, Randor asked, "How will you punish your servant, Catra, for trying to run away with my daughter?"

"Punish her?" Entrapta looked genuinely confused by the question. "For what? Helping someone? Should Angella and Micah punish that boy, Bow, too?"

Randor frowned, not liking that answer.

Hec-Tor cleared his throat, drawing the other man's attention. He pointed to the Sword. "What will you do with that, Randor?"

He had to set his wine bottle down of the floor to lift the Sword in both hands. It felt so heavy to him. Not heavy with the weight of the metal it was made of, 'heavy' of a more magical variety. Like the weapon did not belong in his hands and it was making its displeasure of being held by one who was not its Chosen known. Clearly, Randor was not one of the Chosen Ones meant to wield the Legendary Swords.

"You know, it's funny." He said. "My whole life, I was always taught that you actually had this Sword."

"Me?" Hec-Tor raised one bald brow, confused.

"Not you, personally." Randor clarified. "I meant, your Empire. The Horde. The Sword was lost in one of our battles with the Horde, before we joined the Empire, and we always just assumed that it wasn't lost it was taken. We thought you- the Horde took it after the battle. In fact, I used to think that Keldor's marriage to you was our father trying to broker for the Sword's return. I never imagined it was actually so close to home. All that time…"

Hec-Tor scratched at his neck near the collar of his armor. That did not actually answer his question. But that was fine, he supposed. Hec-Tor had no vested interest in an ancient heirloom that had been rusting in an old wood. Probably getting dull and warped. It would hardly be a weapon any more. It belonged in a museum. Perhaps he'd take Imp to see it one day. He should learn a little of the history of his other father's people.

Randor cleared his throat, as if remembering that there were other people with him in the hall than just himself and the Sword. "I'll take it back to Castle Grayskull. The Sorceress will place it in the vaults next to its twin. The Swords should be together."

"What about Adora?" Asked Entrapta. "Are you still gonna force her to do something she clearly doesn't want to do?"

Randor heaved a sigh. He lowered the Sword and picked his wine back up, taking another long sip. "That actually depends on Angella and Micah. They may very well decide to break off the engagement thanks to this little episode. We'll just have to wait and see." He shrugged, refocusing his attention on Hec-Tor. "Either way, I'll be returning to Eternia soon. This might be the last time we see each other, so I'll say good-bye now."

Hec-Tor offered his hand for Randor to shake.

Randor hugged him instead.

…

Back in Dryl, in the lab, Entrapta watched her spouse clean his armor.

His shoulders bare, his ports plugged with sterile plugs. The backless gown he wore exposing the bones of his shoulders when he moved. A few vertebra poking out when he bent forward. His skin was so thin and the discoloration made him look so pale, the flesh was almost translucent and even in the dim light of the lab, Entrapta could see the outline of his under-developed muscles.

He really was a fascinating specimen. Entrapta was only expecting to get near limitless resources and funding from her contract with the Empire. She was not expecting her spouse to be so interesting.

She liked his body.

Entrapta wanted to examine it again. More thoroughly than she had on their wedding night. And she wanted to do more than examine it. She wanted to do much more than just examine. She wanted to taste and to touch –with her hands, not just her hair- and she wanted to feel it.

In the privacy of her lab, where she felt most comfortable, or perhaps a bedroom where he might feel more comfortable. Without the prying eyes of an audience to make sure the act was completed.

Flicking her hair, Entrapta snapped her mask down over her face to hide her intense blush. She didn't know how to broach the subject with him. Hec-Tor always seemed so very formal. Even with her, his wife, whom he had already slept with once already. And sex was always a sensitive subject for most cultures, and individuals. Entrapta just didn't know how to communicate what she wanted without scaring him off.

Hearing her mask clank down over her face, Hec-Tor turned around, forming his own assumption. He already noted before that she covered her face when she was feeling uncomfortable.

"I apologize for invading your Sanctum like this." He said. "I assure you, I am almost done. I will be out soon."

Ooh, he called her lab a 'sanctum' that was so classy!

Mask still over her face, Entrapta shook her head. "You didn't 'invade' anything. I've been trying to get you in my lab since before we got to Etheria. I'm the one who keeps offering to upgrade your armor."

"I appreciate the offer." He told her. "But I will not distract you with my own defects. You should focus on your work for the Empire. I will focus on mine. Together we'll serve our purposes."

Mask still over her face, Entrapta looked away. There had to be more to their marriage than just the cold and clinical service of a purpose.

…

Before turning in for the night, Hec-Tor stopped in his office to make sure the shipment that was supposed to be sent out before Randor interrupted really did get shipped out.

He took one look at his desk and froze.

There, sitting on top of the desk and a little off to the side, was a single, lone datacard.

Hec-Tor picked it up and saw that it was one on the search for Keldor. But the search for Keldor was ended months ago. On the eve of his wedding to Entrapta. There wouldn't be any new updates on it. Hec-Tor marched from the room.

He found Grizzlor. His Lieutenant's shift had ended and he was asleep in his own suite in the castle, but Hec-Tor used his administrator privileges to let himself into the room to wake him. The lights flicked up with an unnecessary dramatic flair.

Grizzlor jerked awake.

"Huh? Wha-? Wha's goin' on?" He slurred, still half asleep. Grizzlor was always collected and professional –when he was on duty. At the moment, he was not on duty and he was no collected and professional. He sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and blinking against the lights. "Your Highness? Is something wrong? The Eternian-?"

"What is this?" Hec-Tor shoved the datacard in Grizzlor's face.

It took him a moment or two staring at the label on the datacard to recognize it. "That. Oh." He yawned, and stretched. "I found that when Mantenna and I were going over the ship. It had fallen behind the bed in your quarters. I didn't get the chance to return it to you until recently. We were all so busy."

So, it was an old card. Not a new update. Of course it had to be old. The search was ended. There would be no new updates. Ever again. Looking at the label on the card again, Hec-Tor felt immeasurably stupid. It was dated just a few days after he stopped reading the cards. If he had just taken a moment longer to read the label more critically, he could have saved himself the embarrassment of waking his Lieutenant when he was off duty and resting.

"Oh." Was all the Prince said.

Then he left.

Grizzlor flopped back down in bed with a sigh and pulled the blankets over his head. He was too sleepy to get up and turn the lights back off.

…

Feeling immeasurably stupid, Hec-Tor went back to his own room intent on getting some rest of his own. He was already tired before the debacle with Adora began and he was even more tired now.

Tossing the datacard onto his bedside table, Hec-Tor did not even bother taking his armor off before he crawled into his own bed, intent on going to sleep.

But he could not sleep.

He rolled over, and rolled over again. Tossing and turning. Thinking about how they almost lost Adora today. Without any note, or explanation. And how it felt so similar to Keldor. Both he and Randor felt it. Every moment of the search for Adora felt like the early days of the search for Keldor –just on a smaller scale. They found Adora. But they never did find Keldor.

Sitting back up in bed, Hec-Tor snatched the datacard from his bedside table and shoved it into his datapad.

He was expecting it to say 'no new leads' or 'forces continue to search' same as every other datacard before and after it had said. There never was any development in the search for Keldor. Hec-Tor didn't even know why he was checking.

That was why it took his brain so very, very long to register the veritable wall of text that looked back at him from the datapad's screen. Not a one-line update. Not a disappointing apology. Not a short assurance that they were still looking. But an actual report. A report with dates, and locations, and details. Hec-Tor blinked at it. He checked the date one more time. This datacard was old. Only a few short weeks after Hec-Tor had given up on reading the cards. Which would explain why he never saw this report before. He was just shoving them all in a drawer by that point.

Breathing in deep, Hec-Tor braced himself for what he was about to read. He didn't know if it was going to be good or bad. But it might finally give him the answers he and Randor never got.

'Imperial Date: 03-12-3456

'Working off a hunch, I decided to take my investigations to Eternia. Prince Imperial Keldor was originally an Eternian Prince by birth and he never forgot his origin or his culture, continuing to dress in Eternian clothing and fight along side the military as Eternian leaders do. Eternia seemed the place to search.'

Hec-Tor scoffed.

They searched Eternia. The moment Randor learned of his brother's disappearance, that was the first place he searched. His own back yard.

Maybe it was a good thing Hec-Tor never read this report before. This investigator was an idiot. He hoped they fired them. If they hadn't fired them already, then Hec-Tor was going to fire them after he got some rest.

He was about to turn off the pad and got to sleep, but a couple words near the bottom of the screen caught his eyes. '…a place the locals call Snake Mountain.'

Hec-Tor remembered Randor sharing with him that he saw a Gar he thought could have been Keldor and followed him, getting lost near a place he called 'Snake Mountain'.

Scrolling past the paragraphs explaining their thought process and investigation techniques, Hec-Tor skipped ahead to that part.

'Imperial Date: 03-16-3456

'My inquiries delving deeper into Prince Imperial Keldor's past lead me to the Dark Hemisphere of the planet, to a place the locals call Snake Mountain. Previously, it was the seat of power for an enemy faction known as the Snake Men and lead by megalomaniacle ruled dubbed King Hiss. It was also said to be the site of Prince Imperial Keldor's first significant battle victory, at the age of fifteen.

'There is a fortress in Snake Mountain. Abandoned many years now, after the defeat of King Hiss, but locals who live near the border of the Dark Hemisphere say there has been activity in the old ruin. Activity which appeared to begin not long after the Prince's disappearance. Taking into account travel times between Horde World and Eternia, it is possible for these activities to be connected to the Prince's disappearance.

'I have managed to procure a floor plan for the abandoned fortress and hired a guide to take me through the Dark Hemisphere to Snake Mountain.

'Perhaps my next report will provide out Prince with the answers he seeks.'

Hec-Tor dragged his finger up the screen, but the text did not scroll. The file ended there. That was the whole of the report. That was all there was. The first real report on the search for Keldor that Hec-Tor had seen in years –literal years- and it ended on a cliffhanger. What did the investigator find at Snake Mountain? Did he find anything at all?

The next report would have already been scrubbed by data processing back at the Imperial palace on Horde World. There was no way for Hec-Tor to pull up the next report. He drummed his talons on the side of the datapad. There had to be a way to find out what the investigator learned.

All imperial investigators were required to stamp their reports with ID numbers. Hec-Tor copied the ID number of the investigator and opened up a different app on his datapad, searching through the database of Horde personal. It took a long time to pull up the record of the one he wanted. The archine was huge. They had a lot of people working for them. They were called 'the Horde' for a reason.

Hec-Tor yawned. He really was tired.

Finally, the personnel file he wanted pulled up. Hec-Tor was expecting to use the file to connect a call to the investigator directly so that he could question them about what they found at Snake Mountain. He was disappointed to see the large, red, [DECEASED] stamp projected across the file.

Of course.

Of course he was.

The files were scrubbed and the investigator was dead and could not be questions. Of course that was the case. Hec-Tor didn't know why he allowed himself to hope that something might be different. That something might have changed. Was it Adora? Because she was found so easily and so fast. Did it give him a new hope on some unconscious level?

When had the idiot died? Could he at least had some time to gossip to his co-workers about what he might have found at Snake Mountain? Maybe Hec-Tor could interview them.

He paused, staring at the date of death.

Imperial Date: 03-17-3456. The day after their report was submitted. The day they were supposed to have gone to Snake Mountain.

Whatever actually was at Snake Mountain, it killed them. They might not have found Keldor. But they did find something. Maybe it wasn't Keldor. Smugglers and pirates also made their bases in abandoned fortresses in remote areas. There was no reason to assume that it was Keldor. The investigator found something and he was killed for it, but that did not mean he found Keldor.

But, Snake Mountain was a place of significance for Keldor.

So, what if it was…?

Hec-Tor called Mantenna, whom was on duty at the moment. "Prepare a shuttle for me." He ordered. "I will be leaving for Eternia as soon as I am rested."

"Yes, Your Highness." Came back his Lieutenant's acknowledgement. "May I ask what-"

Hec-Tor ended the call before Mantenna could finish the question. He really was very tired. This was probably a terrible idea. But he was too exhausted to care.

They found Adora today. Maybe he could find closure for Keldor tomorrow.

…