SHE-RA AND THE PRINCESSES OF POWER
"VICES"
CHAPTER 2: Forgive and Take.
Shadow Weaver attempted to regain her composure, but in the process only ended up breaking down further. She couldn't quite understand why - or how. It just felt like...a dam burst inside of her, and a cavalcade of emotions were now rushing through.
She curled up at the side of the lake, emotions overwhelming. Not just sadness, but anger, guilt, and...pride? Excitement? It was very unusual. Lost in her own thoughts, she fell asleep and there she lay until the break of dawn. She was woken up by a sensation she hadn't felt in ages..Sunlight. On her skin. On her face. It felt...refreshing in a way she couldn't quite express.
Using her cane as a lever, she managed to hoist herself back onto her feet and continue her trek. Slow and steady, it was nearly midday by the time she actually made it to Castle Brightmoon. Amazingly, they still hadn't thought to station any guards outside of the castle, only inside. This allowed her to simply waltz on into the castle.
Well, this didn't last for long as a guard stopped her a few steps inside. Very tall, and dressed in armor so reflective that it was nearly blinding. "Halt! Castle Brightmoon accepts no solicitors. State your purpose or you will be ejected immediately." Their voice was loud, serious, but carrying a slightly...young, and inexperienced vibe.
The side of Shadow Weaver's face curled into a smile. "I need to see King Micah - I'm his prisoner, after all."
The Guard seemed to wince. They had heard through the grapevine that the castle was holding a prisoner, but their position was on the bottom floor - and the prisoner was located upstairs, so she had no details. But if she was telling the truth, what were they doing outside the castle? But if they didn't at least report it, they could be in a world of trouble…
They took a deep breath, commanding "Follow me." The entire walk was slow, her tortoise-like pace making a minute long trot take closer to half an hour. But, with patience, and great difficulty, they eventually made it to the throne room. "King Micah?" The guard asked, slightly frustrated. "What is it?" He smiled back, his face as jovial as ever. "There's someone claiming to be a prisoner...and they just barged in." The guard sounded exasperated, as Shadow Weaver did indeed slither in the room.
Micah's expression dropped from one of joviality to one of disgust. Sitting up from his throne, he stepped closer to Shadow Weaver - recoiling from her rotten scent, covering his nose.
Shadow Weaver narrowed her eyes in frustration, but she waved it off. Respectfully bowing forward as far as she could without falling over, "King Micah, do you not recognize your tutor?" with a sly smile.
"Light Spinner?" Micah's eyes widened as he focused on Shadow Weaver's face. Disfigured, falling apart...but somehow intimately familiar. "No, Shadow Weaver…" He corrected himself.
"How are you still alive? I was told you had perished in the Whispering Woods." His tone was one of shock, confusion, and slight annoyance.
"I would like to know that as well." Shadow Weaver stated, matter of factly. "I assumed I'd perish as well. I can only guess that She-ra had something to do with it."
"She did release a healing wave, but I thought that would only heal the plants…." Micah grew suspicious and turned around, scribing a quick spell.
"I can only assume that...Perhaps it was her will for me to survive." Shadow Weaver sighed.
"I can't imagine why she would want that." His voice was soaked with venom, aggressively whipping around to face her and tossing out a combined truth and anti illusory spell. "Now, State your purpose, you're lucky I don't have my guards throw you on a one-man ship to Beast Island."
She frowned. "Hostile, But…. I can't exactly blame you. I wouldn't exactly trust me either at this moment. But what would Adora think of your decision? Don't you think she'd like to have a word with me, first?"
Micah sighed, facepalming. "Fine. You can have the spare-room until Adora, Glimmer, Bow, and Catra come back. Then I'll let them decide what to do with you. Be gone." He gestured to the guards, who promptly grabbed Shadow Weaver by the arm and escorted out of the throne room.
Forcibly down the hall, they weren't gentle with her - They didn't want to spend the next half an hour on someone who was slower than erosion. They picked her up by the arms and dragged her down the hall, tossing her into her, uh…'cell'.
It was just as she had left it. Including behind a loose tile, a little treasure chest she'd kept a bottle of Moonshine in.
Pulling the cork out, and putting the bottle to her lips, she was going to have a long night.