Scarlet Betrayal

Bow blinked staring up at the sky, he lay down on the unmistakable grass floor of the Whispering Woods. He stared up at the light breaking through the canopy confused on how he got to his current situation. The last thing that he remembered is that they were in a cave in Dark Edge and he was being attacked by the metal insects. He also remembered being in great pain, but in the moment, he felt just fine. Confused he sat up and looked around at his surroundings, his eyes falling upon a tall menacing figure.

Dressed in scarlet red armor etched in frist one's writing, the stranger stared at him through an alarming mask and helmet. It gave off a familiar glow has a snow-white cape hanged from its armored shoulders like broken wings.

Bow let out a scream "Gaw!' He quickly reached for his clever and notched an arrow to his bow "Don't come any closer I'll shoot!" He said pointing his weapon at the stranger in a warning.

"Bow, hold on!" A familiar voice echoed out of the armor as the stranger held up their hands.

Bow watched as they veil of shimmering light enveloped the stranger as it morphed into a more recognizable form.

Zed shifted the crown on his head awkwardly "I'm still figuring the crown's transcendent properties work." Then clumsily looked at Bow as if he wanted to say more.

Bow blinked several times before jumping to his feet "Oh my gosh!" He looked at Zed and all "Have you been turning it on and off at will?"

Zed looked embarrassed before answering "Yes? I'm not entirely sure how it works." He wasn't sure what triggered the crown to cause him to metamorphose, beyond his desire to simply do so.

"Do you feel smarter?" Bow asked, the crown being the Crown of Knowledge he expected something in the other teen's intellect to have changed.

Zed scratched his head as he looked at the ground "Not really." Then took the headpiece off and handed it to Bow "Do you want to try?" Zed handed the crown to him once again.

Bow almost laughed but also was still quite touched that Zed was trying to give the crown to him "What! I don't think that's how it works, if it's anything like Adora being She-Ra it's…" Before he could fully explain what, he knew about the Sword of Protection his voice trailed off as another glowing figure approach them out of the brush.

Adora shining brightly as She-Ra was approaching them a frightening expression on her face. Behind her trotted Swift Wind with Glimmer on his back.

Even though Bow was happy to see that his two friends were all right, something wasn't right.

"Bow I need you to get over here. Now!" Adora pointed beside her with her sword her eyes never diverting from Zed's direction.

"What's going on?" Bow looked around confused.

Glimmer waved him over "Come on Bow Swifty will protect us! Zed's not who you think he is." The glittering haired Princess emphatically tried to make him understand.

"I don't get it what's?" Zed is the crown back on his head, sensing how the girl's hostilities seem to be only directed towards him.

Without a command or thought he had metamorphosed back into the imposing red armor to form. The light from the armor rivaling that of She-ra for dominance over the area.

"Zed?" Bow watched the other young man transform once again, the tension in the clearing becoming too much for him "Come on guys, we got the crown we won!" He said trying to de-escalate the growing aggression between his friends

Adora finally looked at Bow fully fearing grief obvious on her face "No Bow, we lost. Isn't that right Zed?" She turned to look at the redheaded teen with fury in her eyes "Or would you rather be addressed by your full title High Prince of the Evil Horde!"

"Ha, ha, ha!" Bow forced out a laugh not willing to accept what he had just heard "You know this really isn't a place for a joke like that."

Though the tension didn't break, nobody joined in to laugh with him. Bow's unwillingness to perceive the danger of the person he was standing next to only seem to make everything worse.

Zed looked down at him, underneath the superior and powerful form he shook. He had expected events like this to occur, though he always thought it would be on his own terms. "Bow, I'm sorry." Despite the conviction in his words he knew it wouldn't be enough.

With an extension of the crown's power the Horde Prince summoned up a bright flash of light stunning and blinding everyone around him. Then hastily made his way into a densely covered part of the words.

Before Bow could recover from the light. Glimmer was already trying to pull him up upon the winged horse. "Com'on Bow!" She gave a paranoid squeal "We can help track him down from the sky!"

Them young man shook his head and threw himself away from her "Let go! I'll find him! There must be a mistake! " He looked at his two friends

Glimmer gave the disapproving "Listen, he is the son of the person that gives Hordak orders. You just can't talk to him!" The worry in her eyes only deepened seeing how even that piece of information wasn't swaying him.

Adora grabbed his shoulder as She-ra her angelic like a present sense given authority to her words "Remember how indoctrinated I was Bow! Zed grew up in the heart of the Horde, I wouldn't be surprised if he was bottle-fed their rhetoric." She did her best to try to reach Bow, to make her understand that Zed had been raised by the worst of the worst when it came to the Horde "Plus, with the crown he's too dangerous to wander around free even if he could be redeemed."

Bow pulled himself away from her "I don't believe you!" He gripped the side of his head trying to think "He's different!" Hedy truly been oblivious to all the warnings signs? No. Zed couldn't be the same person that the two princesses were saying he was "I thought at least you'd understand." He said to Adora before running off in a random direction in the woods.

He moved through the thicket of trees and brush in spite of the voices of his friends trying to call him back. It felt like he was split into two, and he was running from one part of him while after another. He didn't understand how he could have been so blind about Zed, yet there was so much that he had seen that was contrary to everything he knew about the Horde. The redheaded boy knew about music and singing, something that Adora didn't know about. Zed found a way to deal with the dread harpies in a peaceful noncombative nature, something that Bow knew would've been frowned on in the Horde.

Sure, there was Kyle but, the blonde cadet was to skittish and felt of self-doubt. Zed on the other hand seem to blindly accept danger in a way Bow found endearing.

A thick mist started to gather in the woods but it made no difference, he was already starting to have trouble tracking down the other boy as it was. The moment he felt like he needed to take a different route to locating Zed, he saw the redheaded teens outlined in the distance. Even though he could not see the glowing light of the crown he knew for certain that out the head was the Horde Prince.

Without a second to lose he readied his bow and arrow and took aim at him. In that moment to be so easy to take Zed down and drag him back to Brightmoon. He could put him on trial for all the heinous deeds the Horde has done and may be the rebellion could use him as leverage in order for the horde to leave their planet for good. Yet as each logical thought passed over his mind the more Zed became clearer in his sights.

He thought now that he had time to think maybe the other young man would've changed. That somehow his appearance might've changed to reflect who he was. Even so, Zed still appeared as the same person he had met in the Laughing Swan Inn. With his brightly colored hair, and white gray eyes, the same face that would scrunch up to resemble a baby bat when he got grumpy.

Unwillingly Bow lowered his arrow, he couldn't bring himself to hurt his friend even now. Then not trying to hide the sound of his footsteps he began to approach him.

Zed looked at him with an expression that resembled concern "You should of took that shot." He said to Bow.

Then with a swift movement Bow smacked the top of the Zed's head with his weapon.

"I deserved that." Zed groaned wrapping the top of his head.

"How! How could you!" Bow shouted at him not caring if the princesses or any other creature heard him.

Zed looked him in the eyes and said gently "Please calm down, my gallant darling."

The redheaded teens words seem knock Bow off balance for a brief moment "W-why did you call me that!" His face felt hot weather from anger or something else he didn't want to think about.

Zed's tone didn't change "I've been calling you that this whole time, because that's what you are." He looked at Bow within endearing expression "That night in the Inn, you saved me and I have a feeling despite what you know now you would've done it all again."

Bow knew he was right. Even if there was a way to turn back the clock a few days, he wouldn't let that out himself in front of all those villagers. It made Bow hurt to swallow that realization because he was sure if Adora or Glimmer were in his shoes they would do the opposite.

"I was never going to tell he who it was, maybe tonight or the night after, I was just going to plan to slip away with the crown." Zed confessed

"And go back to the Horde! Yeah, I'm sure you've got a cushy bed waiting for you there!" Bow tried to summon up all the will he had to make it seem like he hated the other male.

Zed let out a sigh "Let's not talk about the Horde."

Bow wished that the other boy would just raise his voice at him "No! We are going to talk about it!" He tried to keep his mind focused on all the atrocities the Horde had done to his home "Starting with how you're so…so."

Zed gave an easy smile at Bow's unwillingness to complete the question "Soft? Gentle? Not a blood thirsty tyrant?"

"Yah." Zed's blunt answer knocking the fire out of Bow's words.

"I'm not a cadet like your friend, I spent my life training to fight on a different type of battlefield." The Horde Prince explained his eyes half lidded, uninclined to elaborate on his answer.

Bow shifted, as he asked "Do you like being the heir to the Horde?"

"No." Zed then narrowed his eyes at him even more "And don't use that as an invitation to make me want to join you either."

"If you would just listen." Bow said his voice beginning to rise.

"No! That line of conversation will only end badly for us." Zed snapped at him turning away from him

Bow grabbed his shoulder tightly fearing that he would try to run away again "But don't you understand what the Horde's been doing!"

"Of course, I do!" The redheaded whipped his head to look back at him "Yet unlike you I understand why they embrace the title of evil!" His fist tensed and relaxed "But what about you!"

Bow shook his head "What do you mean?"

"Have you ever questioned how this world operates? And who is hurt by it?" Zed was now the one asking the questions "Do the people who are harmed by your system of things deserve such discomfort?"

Bow shook his head, his whole life he believed that the people who are made unhappy in this world where the results of the horde's here any. It never occurred to him that it would be the that the life he was trying to protect would be the one causing anybody any pain. Then not like a traitor underneath his own skin his mind immediately went to the Dread Harpies. He'd only known them as uncaring monsters and yet their angry streaks were fueled by some past event that involved Brightmoon. Within a breath his mind then turned to Dryl where before he had shown up their people consider themselves incapable compared to their Princess.

"You clearly have thoughts and opinions that are pushed aside to keep your friends. What if you had a thought of opinion that could affect another's welfare! Would you keep your mouth shut then!" Zed continued his voice shaking

"No, I'd!" Bow stopped himself seeing the pained look on the other young man's face.

Zed stared at him his eyes welling with tears "I like you Bow! So please can we not talk about this anymore, you can't convince me to be on your side. I wouldn't dream of convincing you to go to mine." His job clenched as his face tented with color

"Because I'm your…" Bow's voice cracked family occurring to him why the other teen was trying to push away certain subjects. Zed, just like Bow didn't see him as an enemy.

A small rivulet of tears went down the prince's cheek before saying "Let's just not make her parting anymore bitter than it has to be." Then shrugging Bow's hand off his shoulders he went over to a bush covered and then sleeves and pulled out two identical woven boxes.

Bow looked at the objects Zed was holding in his hands "What are those boxes?"

"Our last trial, before we part ways." He answered "When you put the crown of knowledge on my head. A voice told me I was worthy of it because I got the blessing of a descendent of the first King." He gave the condensed version of what had happened when he was under the crown's influence.

"How?"

Zed shook his head his expression softening "I know your brighter than that Bow." Then stated "You are related to King Jared, therefore according to the laws that govern this planet you have more right to the Crown of Knowledge than I do."

Bow's eyes widened unsure how to react to the news. If what Zed you said was true then according to ancient Etherian law, as long as he wielded the crown he would have to be treated like royalty. He would be lying if he didn't admit to himself that the thought was extremely appealing.

"So, I'm giving you a choice, in one of these boxes is the Crown of Knowledge, and the other is a surprise." Zed placed the two boxes in front of Bow "No matter what you pick I'm returning to the Fright Zone, but if you pick the box of the surprise. I promise to keep my adventures with secret from Hordak and his men."

Bow looked at the boxes at his feet and then back up to Zed "What if I make my choice and then get my friends so we can chase you down?"

Zed shrugged and then gave a tired sigh "Then I would have to fight you."

(AN: Well, the metaphorical train is hurtling fast into the station now only about one or two chapters I have planned left for this story. Any feedback or comments would be greatly appreciated and if you have any questions don't be shy to ask them. Also, big think you to everyone who is engaged with this fanfiction so far and thought it was good enough to either follow our favorite.)