The Conflict
"Bow!" Bow heard the voices of his two friends call out in unison above him.
To the left of him he could hear Adora voice more clearly "Bow where are you!"
Then faintly, so closely Bow was sure if he stood up, he would be able to see here "Please I don't want to lose you…" Glimmer whimpered for him.
Bow didn't stand up, despite how their voices begging him to show himself cut him deeply. He just sat there staring at the two woven boxes in front of them, his thoughts always pulling him away from making a decision.
Swiftly he reached out to take one of the boxes and then stopped himself. His eyes starting up to look at Zed who sitting across from him.
The redhead is stared at Bow with equal parts distress and interest, as if Bow's decision would answer a question that had been plaguing him. "You know, your friends are waiting." Zed said before crossing his arms.
Bow wanted say something to the other boy, to try to convey that to spite their stubbornness everything was all right. He couldn't work up the will to talk to him however, he was deeply anxious about what the other type of battlefield Zed was referring to. Words? Thoughts? Could it even the confession of that just been a massive lie in order for the Horde Prince to attempt to escape.
Though Bow could feel the deep down if the Horde wanted to play mind games with the rebellion, they would've picked Adora or somebody more powerful to mess with. This painful tangle that the two were in now was just some strange creation of fate.
Swallowing the lump in his throat Bow asked "Bow could you at least tell me which one has the crown? It would make my decision easier." Then dropped his hands to his lap.
Zed simply shaked his head letting out a small rumble before saying. "You don't need me to tell you which one has what."
Bow nodded, he could sense the power of the crown coming from one of the boxes. It was so tempting to take that box and split. Free part of them told him that the crown was the right option, apparently if Zed were to be trusted it was his birth right.
With him wielding the crown and his best friends beside him, they could make quick work of the Evil Horde. Even so, what an outcome like that truly be possible? If so, what would happen to Zed then?
"If I don't pick the crown, can I trust you?" Bow asked, Zed had everything to gain from retelling his experience to as many Hordesmen as he could.
Zed got up from his sitting possession moving so he was only standing on one knee lowering his head to Bow "On my future as the supreme leader of the Evil Horde. If you make the correct choice Hordak and anyone who swears loyalty to him will learn nothing of our adventure." He said in a regal detached tone.
"No." Bow crossed his arms looking away.
Zed looked up at him with a dejected look "What? What is not good enough?"
Bow glared at him, not accepting his promise "Swear on our friendship!"
The prince's shoulders slumped "I think you just enjoy watching me grovel." He let out a sigh
Bow looked at him from the corner of his eye "Well. I'm sure there's a lot of people would kill to have the Prince of the Horde grovel before them." His mouth up turned slightly and a smirk
Zed rolled his eyes before saying "If you must torture me." Focuses gaze completely on the ones sitting across from him, lights shining underneath his somber eyes "I swear on the tears I shed for you, on the warmth I felt when I comforted you on the cave and as I held on to you in the darkness. I will never speak of word of what transpired between us, no matter what choice you make." His tone was genuine as he never broke eye contact with Bow.
Bow felt a shiver shoot up his spine "Okay that's enough." He stood up feeling very awkward "Any sappier and I can make candy out of your words." When Bow asked the other teen to make a Bow on their friendship, he didn't expect to Zed to go that far!
Zed gave the mock expression of pain as he pounded his chest with a fist "Oh, Bow how your words slice my heart with a corrosive blade!" He said over dramatically before laughing.
Bow laughed at Zed's melodramatic's, the break of tension being enough to let him clear his thoughts. Then picked up one of the boxes off the ground, leaving its twin on the ground for Zed.
Zed's expression fell as he got to his feet "So, that's the choice you're making?" He said disappointedly picking up the second box.
"Yup." Bow answer gripping the box he held tightly "So, you're going to go back to the Horde then?"
The other young man gave a slow nod "I honestly wish our paths didn't have to diverge." He confessed.
Bow fought the urge to say to say something untrue, or to convince him that everything would be okay if he joined the rebellion. "Be careful these woods mess up your sense of direction." Was all he could manage to say, even though laughter what they had been through in the caves. He was definitely sure that Zed would find a way out.
Zed nodded and simply said "Thanks for the warning." Then turning and starting to walk.
Bow waited there for several minutes, hoping that Zed would turn around. Eventually he accepted that he let Zed walk away, then began to head in the direction he had last heard glimmers voice. With one hand trying to balance the box he pulled out his scanner and started heading for a sizable power signature. If Adora was still powered up a She-ra there would be a strong chance that it was her. Stumbling his way into the clearing where his scanner is that the signature was, you noticed that his friends weren't there buddy familiar light blue mare.
Bow's eyes lit up with joy at the side of the horse "Arrow!" He ran over to her wrapping his arms around her neck.
Arrow looked down at Bow sniffing him and nuzzling him gently.
Bow patted her side "You're such a good girl. Let's go home." He said before climbing on her back.
"Hiya!" A trio of voices shouted as they pounded out of the brush.
Bow and his steed it turned to look at the source of the voices to see Swift Wind and his two friends looking like they were ready to attack. Though their faces lit up with happiness seeing Bow.
"Bow! Thank goodness you're all right!" Glimmer shouted with relief.
Adora looked around still seeming to be on edge "Where's Zed?" She asked him.
"I lost track of him." Bow answered.
"He got away!" Adora looked at him in disbelief, but she appeared too tired to say anymore.
"Don't worry, I have a feeling he won't be much of a threat anymore." Bow tried to comfort them gently patting the lid of the box.
Glimmer rubbed her shoulders nervously "Let's go home, we can figure out what we're going to tell mom later." being drained of her magical powers she was in in no condition to try and advocate that they look for the other teen.
"Hey." Bow thought of something to try to lighten the mood "Bet you guys can't reach Castle Brightmoon before I do."
Adora scoffed at the idea "You're kidding?"
"Meet you guys there!" Bow said with a smile before Arrow galloped off in a flash.
"Think I got a chance, with something like that."
The two girls rolled their eyes and giggled "Let's go." Adora said as Swift Wind took off flying the above the trees of the with whispering words. Gazing down at Bow and Arrow as they dart and gallop underneath them.
Meanwhile Zed continued to walk within the whispering words, never diverting from a straight line despite what sites and signals indicated that he wasn't making any progress at all. Then feeling like an extreme weight had been forced to against his chest he collapsed to his knees and doubled over. Then feeling a great deal of shame, he began to sob, his mission was over yet he felt no pride in what had occurred. He was breaking, he needed to return to the freight zone as soon as possible. Back to the Horde and the rules that he had been discarding the past few days, or else he would surely lose himself.
"They all cry here." A small voice whispered to him.
"Who said that!" Zed shouted his head swiveled around, quickly getting to his feet.
"The Hordsmen that come into the Whispering Woods, always cried before they die." A low animalistic howl punctuated the soft voice. "They cry for themselves, but you were crying not just for yourself."
Zed reached down for his multi tool, only to realize that it was long gone. From under darkened branches and deep within nearby bushes pairs of shining golden eyes began to appear. "What are you!" He called out gripping his box tightly, where every he looked there was at least one pair of eyes staring at him.
From the heavy underbrush a lithe girl with bronzed skin and a curly mane of hair crawled out to face him. As she stood up to massive lupine creatures on their fours matching her height joining beside her. "I am Princess Allegra, former princess of the Green Islands." The girl said then gently stroking one of the massive wolfs ghostly for "These are White Fangs, I owe my life to them."
Zed stared at the girl between the two massive wolflike creatures, two massive tusk like things protruding from their muzzles giving them a permanent snarl. "You're a child?" Was all he could say at the sight of her.
The feral looking girl pursed her lips narrowing her golden animal eyes at her "I'm not a child I'm twelve years old." Allegra continued to play with the massive wolfs for as she spoke to him "You should be grateful I am here, if I wasn't the woods would kill you."
Zed looked down at the girl questioningly "Don't you know who I am? It would benefit everyone if I were gone." His eyes fell down to the box in his arms.
The feral Princess stomped her foot "That is not true! I want you very much to live." She then she leaned towards him cupping her mouth as if she was telling a whisper "I saw you talking to Bow, you're not like the others who enter here."
Zed shook his head this young girl being a contradiction to everything he knew about the planet so far "Why you want me to live?"
Allegra smiled up at him smugly "Because one day you will rule the Horde. You must return and help your people take over Etheria." She pointed at him as if her words had control over him.
Zed let out a laugh long and hard "You are mistaken that's not my role here."
With a slightly disappointed look on the young princess looked at the two creatures beside her before saying "Come with me, I'll take you out of the woods." Before she leapt into the foliage, the forest around Zed seeming to shift as the creatures she kept as companions moved with her.
The Horde Prince did his best to keep off of her but, the small girl jumped and moved fluidly through the plants "You are Princess, aren't you? You understand of the Horde wins you might not keep your title." He asked her more to keep track of her then to discern her bizarre of logic.
Allerga stopped looking back at him "Can I tell you a story, I think it might be helpful for you." She said softly.
Zed looked at the younger girl and at the shadows of the creatures called White Fangs. Then starting to get more curious about her situation gave a small nod.
"My father King Arbor, was a good ruler before the Horde showed up." She said as she continued to lead him through the maze of trees "When the evil horde began to expand their territory on the land, he did not stay calm." She looked back at Zed with an expression he didn't recognize, but was strangely reminiscent of some of the faces Bow would make "He built a massive wall and a thousand warships, all just to keep the horde away."
At this point in the princess's story Zed had no qualms with the King's decision. Most of the hardest civilizations for the Horde to conquer were the ones that realized their intentions early.
"He feared because the Green Islands was a kingdom without a runestone, that he would not receive aid from the Princess alliance until it was too late." The feral Princess stopped looking at the ground sadly "He was right, and seven years ago the Horde launched a massive attack on the capital of The Green Islands."
"Did he lose?" If her family did fall to the Horde, it made sense to Zed that she might favor them.
"No with naval tactics and great luck he was able to save the Green Islands but, in the ensuing chaos he lost to me." The Princess's gaze was distant as she moved swiftly through any obstacle that occurred "During the battle I had had gotten lost and boarded one of the warships. That ship was hit by a Horde missile and sank to the bottom of the Growling Sea."
Zed tilted his head "Yet you survived? You could've returned at any time."
"I wanted to at first." She forlornly before perking up "You see my eyes? Do you know when I was younger, they were blue?"
Zed shook his head, despite her regaling her life story to him he really didn't know much about her.
"When I washed the shore some White Fangs fond me. They like to me and made me the ruler."
Zed covered his mouth to suppress a chuckle.
"Don't laugh it's true!" The younger girl blast of embarrassment "Over the entire planet there is about a total of two thousand different packs of White Fangs, each pack has a minimum of six of them." She tried to him "If they need to show me something I can see through their eyes, I'm just as strong as them to and just as fast!"
Seeing how distressed she was, Zed became more in line to believe her "How could that be possible."
Allerga gave the shrug "I don't know really, I think it must be how other princesses feel when they connect to a runestone."
At this point the smaller girl had mentioned the room stones twice, Zed took note of it as appeared to important to how the planets hierarchical systems came in the place. If the ordeal he had went through for the promise of an extremely powerful First One's artifact was in the example it wouldn't surprise him if other nations on the planet had their own form of First One's tech.
Even though she could see that that he was deep in thought Allerga continued her story "So, a lone Fang managed to travel to The Green Islands. With his help I spy on my father, and he is a scared paranoid man. He's driven everyone close to him away and commands every ship that is not from the islands to be sunk. All the islands are not in good health and the people are starving." She looked up at him expectedly "I didn't want to go back to that place, I didn't want to live under the rule of a man like that. So, I hide here and from the trees I watch the Horde."
"You think the Evil Horde is going to save your people." Zed almost felt guilty for the young princess's naïveté. While the Horde had been known to gain favor by freeing the slaves and forcing their masters until lifelong servitude, it wasn't a tactic used often and not at the cost of other atrocities occurring.
"Yes, there the only ones that can." She nearly jumped at his answer "It would also be a fitting punishment to the She-Ra and all the other kingdoms who sat by and let it happen for seven long years."
Zed let out a sigh, the Horde would eventually reach her father's kingdom. Though when the day finally comes it will definitely not be the liberation and revenge that she seemed to desire.
"Yet, the Horde isn't going to win." She looked at him disappointedly
"Why?"
"Because you not in charge." She crossed her arms and pouted.
Zed reached out and ruffled the tangled mane atop her head "That is funny." He chuckled and then looking up in the distance he saw the end of the woods in the beginning of a sandy desert.
Allerga followed him as he continued to leave the whispering Woods , the pack of White Fangs becoming more visible in the sparse foliage "If you come back from wherever you're from, and you have a choice in what happens to Etheria." She stated up at him her animal eyes glittering with hope "Come back here for me. I want to help you." She clasped her hands together.
Zed turned to look down at her and stated coldly "Don't wait for me." Then seeing her expression fall continued "Also, if you have the chance to be your own hero be it."
The small Princess opened her mouth to say something only for eyes to get suddenly wide "Duck!" She screamed pushing him behind a tree. Nearly a breath after they hit undercover something hard and metallic lodged itself in the wood of the tree.
Princess Allerga clasped her hands around Zed's freehand not wanting him to leave his hiding spot.
Zed squeezed her clasped hands before a White Fang came between them "Stay down." He whispered his dull gray eyes staring into her bright ones "I can't guarantee my return. Yet, if I do all look for you." Then slowly moved around the tree to see what hit it.
To his confusion it was one of his own service medals, a shadowy aura dissipating from it and into the tree. Instinctually he put the medal on and looked off into the horizon, in the distance the trace of skiffs was growing ever closer. With one glance over his shoulder he saw Allerga and the pack of White Fangs slinking deeper into the woods.
Taking a few steps out on the sand Zed waved to the skiffs clutching the woven box tightly. Then watched in waited as the skiffs approached him.
"Well, well, well." Catra crooned as she stared down at Zed "Who are you?"
Zed stared up at her for a brief moment readying himself, if he wanted things to return to the way they were he would have to start doing a whole lot of pointless talking and lying.
(AN: Princess Allegra like everything else I used in this fanfiction is a Canon She-ra character. I just reinterpreted her in regards to the show's new lore. If you have any concerns or want to know what exactly I changed about her she appears once in the original cartoon in the episode called "wild child". While I did have to change quite a bit about Zed I wanted to stay as close as I possibly could with Allegra, since she is a princess there is a stronger chance that she might show up in the new show.)