Disclaimer I do not own she-ra and the princesses of power and I am not making any money by writing this story. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter.
Thoughts will be in Italics
Catra hated water, it was a stereotype associated with cats and people had often made fun of her over it but then again, she was willing to take a few whispers from her crew after the twelfth time she had been splashed by a wave. Avoiding the water was not the only reason she had hidden herself away in her room on the ship. Sitting on her bed Catra froze and unfroze a cup of water staring deep into the liquid and ice as if it had all the answers to her questions and problems.
Besides the rough waves and avoiding getting splashed again Catra was also avoiding her mother. She meant well with her lessons on magic, but Catra really felt frustrated with herself with how slow her progress was and her own lack of talent or power when it came to magic. The small stuff was easy, but she lacked speed and power in even the small amount of magic she had managed to learn. She didn't want to disappoint her mom with her own failures, and she didn't want her to see how much her lack of progress was affecting her.
Beyond her issues with magic Catra had also noted that her mother had been acting strange since she had been reading through the list of prisoners of Beast Island and the background information on them. While there were a few Horde prisoners on the island a majority of its current residents where Rebellion political prisoners if any of them had managed to survive this long. What had Catra worried was what was possibly going on in her mother's head.
What if I didn't do a good enough job with her memories? I used Angela as the base for mom's creation, what if some part of that dammed queen is still in there somewhere? What if she leaves me like Adora did? The last thought was a nightmare Catra didn't want to face. It would destroy her if she lost her mother someone, she had built to care about her. "No mom wouldn't do that, and I'll make sure the rebellion can't take her from me." Catra whispered to herself as she tried to calm herself down. She needed to keep her cool and pull off this mission properly not wanting to incur Hordak's wrath.
Catra's brooding was interrupted by a particularly rough wave rocking the ship hard enough that the recently unfrozen water in her cup splashed on her. "When I get back, I am making sure not to get mission that needs me near the ocean again for a while." The magic cat muttered as she dried herself of deciding she should go look for gym on the ship to try and exercise her frustrations and worries away. While she was worried about her mother being taken from her though another darker part of Catra's mind comforted her with the fantasy of rubbing Adora's biggest failure in her face. Catra smiled as she imagined the look that would be on her former friend's face and how she would struggle to explain what she had seen to Sparkles. "You may have taken Adora from me, but now I get to take something from you sparkles." Catra got a few odd looks from crew members as she giggled with a dark glee, but she didn't mind as she maned to get her mind to ease up a bit as she imagined the anguished look on Adora's face.
Demona's POV
Watching Catra run off after her latest failure in her magic training hurt quite a bit. Catra for all of her hard work had never gotten the support she needed, and her fear of failure only made things worse. If I could get my hands on Shadow Weaver, I would end her for what she did to my girl. Demona realised that Catra had a very big self-image issue when she felt she was not living up to other's expectations of her. Failure was harshly punished and any small success she had managed to claim was looked down upon and mocked.
Catra failed to see her own capabilities and it hurt Demona that her little girl couldn't see how amazing she was. Catra even with her own small magic reserves managed to learn magic rather quickly even if she lacked the power the princesses, Shadow Weaver or the average guild member showed. I wish you wouldn't compare yourself to these people Catra. They've been studying magic for years and you've only been at it for several weeks now. You can expect results immediately or to have the same power as a princess. Once we are done with this mission, I'll have a sit down with you and explain why you don't need to feel less because you can't accomplish something immediately or you aren't perfect at something.
Feeling she had a game plan of how to help her daughter Demona started to read through the list of the prisoners on Beast Island to sort out who would be worth the risk to bring back alive and who would need to be put down. She and Catra had gone through the list several times though they had been interrupted by poor weather making reading and planning nearly impossible, Catra getting seasick and being stuck in her cabin for a whole day or the headaches that had started plaguing Demona. Most likely just a bit of guilt. Some of the names on this list are people I met or knew while I was undercover and got them sent to the island in the first place. Though the pain always feels worse when I look at this King Micah.
Demona honestly didn't know why she felt like she was forgetting something when it came to the king. She had been a lowly maid in the castle and barely had any contact with the royal family and yet she felt like something was missing, that she had a connection to the man she had no memory of yet felt she should. Demona was honestly a bit worried someone had used magic to alter her memory, or a more calming yet still alarming thought was she had altered her memories herself. "I'll ask the man himself once we get to the island. His answers will determine weather we kill him or bring him back. Though if we did bring him back, he would be a good hostage to use against the young queen of Bright Moon and if the notes on the man's history was accurate it would be a good way to mess with Shadow Weaver using her old prize student as a way to show not only the Horde's superiority over the Rebellion but Catra's superiority over Shadow Weaver.
Making some final checks on the list Demona left to look for Catra to try and help her daughter feel better. Maybe some snacks will help improve her mood. I'm sure she would also enjoy the idea of holding this win over her old tormentor… I really need to apologise again for leaving her in the care of that monster.
As Demona searched for her daughter and Catra plotted on how to hurt those that had hurt her the small Horde fleet came into visual range of Beast Island. Even though everyone present knew they were on a mission and not being imprisoned on the island yet most of the crew and soldiers present were terrified. This was the one Horde Prison that had never really needed guarding though no one knew exactly why. The fact that to this day there had never been a successful escape only increased the legend of the prison island and why it should be feared. "LAND HOE!" the voice of the captain boomed as the docks of the island were in range. "15 minutes until we make landfall. Everyone prepare and get ready because I don't want to be here any longer than we need to be. Make sure the mages set up a proper perimeter because the moment I see a monster the fleet will be leaving as fast as it can. We can't risk losing the boats or we will be stuck here."
The captains voice boomed over the intercoms of the ships making sure all the Horde soldiers present heard the message. Catra hearing the message dragged herself out of her room eventually meeting up with Demona as the two went to meet up with soldiers they had brought with to plan the defence of the docks and plan to hunt down the prisoners of the island. Demona smiled as she saw Catra seemed to be in a better mood having calmed down from emotional break. Demona was unable to see the darker thoughts consuming her daughter knowing they would be running into Adora and her friends on this mission. Catra herself did feel better noticing that her mother showed none of the judgment or disappointment she would usually receive from her other trainers or Shadow Weaver when she was unable to show progress or succeed even if she had only just started learning something.
While neither mother nor daughter knew what the future held for them, they both knew how important this mission was. They could both tell that their future was on the line depending on how this mission went as the daughter planned on how to hurt her enemies and the mother planned on how to save her daughter from herself and heal the wounds on her heart and mind. Just you wait Adora, I know that sparkles sent you and this time you'll be the failure and I get to be the hero for my side.
Oh, Catra once we get home, you'll see you don't need to be perfect for me. My love isn't conditional. I'm not Shadow Weaver and you don't need to be sacred of me leaving you if you are successful 100% of the time. I'm sure you'll see that you have friends worth a lot more effort than this Adora like that nice Scorpia girl or maybe even that Lonni girl. I'll make sure my little girl gets the love and care she deserves.
Plans set in motion mother and daughter prepared to free or execute the Horde prisoners before the Rebellion could get their hands on anyone willing to help them against the Horde.
