Bow's knee had locked again, his boots killing him after so much time on his feet. He shifted his weight the other foot and watched the rain pour down outside the war tent. The slice of the rebellion camp he could see through the flaps was gray and depressing. It said a lot about what it was like at this meeting that he'd vastly prefer to be out there right now.

"Don't be foolish, Micah. If you plan on going with Adora and the others to get your daughter back." Like he wasn't standing right here? Shadow Weaver had a way of saying "the others" like Bow was something stuck on the bottom of her boot. "You'll be leaving the rebellion venerable without any… competent leadership."

"How dare you!" Castaspella lept up from where she was sitting on the small chest that was the only seat in the cramped room. At least they hadn't tried to fit the entire alliance in here this time. Just what King Micah considered his top generals: Juliet, Castaspella, Adora, Bow and… Shadow Weaver for some reason. Though considering how hostile everyone in the room was towards her, the old sorceress might have invited herself. "I am the Head Sorceress of Mystacor, I have run—"

Shadow Weaver laughed, a sound without any real mirth. Next to him, Adora tensed. "You know as well as I that role is merely for show. The teachers and the guild are the ones that really run things up on Mystacor. The so-called head sorcerers are little more than figureheads, a token title given to placate those with an overinflated sense of their own importance. Do you honestly think as weak a sorceress as you would ever hold the title if your brother were not who he was? If Angella had not been—"

"Enough." Micah's face was pure steel. He held himself like a soldier and a king, very different from the strange man they'd first met on Beast Island what had to be… shoot, nearly a week ago now, right? Maybe more? They'd been on the run for so long days blurred together.

"There! You see!" Castaspella sat back down triumphantly. There was only one seat in here and she'd had it for hours. Would it kill her to let someone else sit down for a little bit? Adora was leaning against a tent pole and looked about ready to fall over from sheer exhaustion. "Micah trusts me! He has faith in my abilities as a sorceress and a leader so you should—"

Shadow Weaver loomed and, powerless as the former teacher was, Castaspella leaned backward. "That is because Micah was not here to witness the disaster the last time you were called upon to display some actual leadership. When Bright Moon, when your only niece, newly orphaned, needed your leadership, what did you do? You ran away!"

"Wuh… I… How dare…" Castaspella sputtered. "You don't get to talk about Glimmer!"

"Don't I?" Shadow Weaver spread her arms, oozing charm like an oil slick. "At least I was there for her. Tell your brother! Tell him how his only daughter was grieving and you stayed just long enough to pose for pictures at the coronation party and then ran away when the poor girl needed you most. Tell him!"

"Surely you couldn't have expected me to abandon my duties as… I stayed as long as… She was being difficult, Glimmer, so moody and rude and…" Castaspella was getting shrill. "I would never abandon my niece!"

There was a long weighted silence where no one said anything. Adora exhaled, her fists clenched at her sides. Juliet shifted, suddenly fascinated in the ground. Bow focused on the sliver of rain until the drops went out of focus they were just a dull curtain over everything.

Finally, Micah stepped forward. "Shadow Weaver, I think it's time for you to leave."

"Very well." Shadow Weaver glided towards the tent opening. "But ask yourself this, Micah. Why do you think it was I who had to teach your daughter magic and not your sister? Someone had to be there for her. I was the one who stayed."

Shadow Weaver left the tent, the air tense in her wake.

"Well, she's lying, obviously! That's what she does! Evil woman, I don't know why we keep her around if you ask me…" Castaspella was babbling, fussing with her hair. She clearly took what had just happened as some kind of victory. But as Micah's eyes held doubt as they shifted to the corner where Bow and Adora were standing.

They exchanged a look, both knowing exactly what that meant. King Micah would seek them out later, to get their version of the story. It was the real reason Bow was included in these meetings even though he was hardly at the same level as the others. Between Shadow Weaver's manipulations and Castaspella's… well… Casta-ness, they'd become the only people the king fully trusted.

It wasn't just because they'd been the ones to find him on Beast Island. King Micah knew, ironically from his sister, that they were Glimmer's closest friends and advisers and Queen Angella had held them both in high regard. Apparently, the opinions of his wife and daughter, even when neither of them were here, counted higher with Micah than his sister's.

It was flattering in a way… but a lot of pressure. Especially now.

Bow exhaled and shifted his weight again. He liked Castaspella. She was Glimmer's aunt, after all, and had never been anything but kind to him. Shadow Weaver on the other hand was maybe the only person he'd ever met that he truly hated. The last thing he wanted was to give Shadow Weaver any credit but it had never sat right with him how Castaspella had bailed on Glimmer after she became queen, left him and Adora alone to pick up the peices. He didn't want to lie but he also couldn't look King Micah in the eye and side with the woman who betrayed him, who tortured his daughter over his own sister.

Adora pushed off the pole she'd been leaning on to come even with him. From the look on her face, she just as worried about that conversation as he was and expected him to deal with it. He was supposed to be the one who was good at conflict, at smoothing over every situation with a pep talk and a smile, but he was so tired of running and fighting and running again that right now all he wanted to do was explode at all of them. He just didn't have it in him.

Sorry, Adora. But this one is all yours. I've got somewhere else to be.