The Rebellion
Sea Hawk and Adora had a late breakfast that morning, and as soon as they were finished, they went out onto the main deck, holding hands. At that point, they heard a crewman call out, "Bright Moon Harbor right ahead!"
Seaworthy was at the mouth of the Singing River, which led directly to the Kingdom of Bright Moon, so it wasn't a long journey at all. Adora went to the railing and looked ahead, and Sea Hawk came up beside her and put his arm around her waist.
It wasn't too long before they were docking the ship at the harbor. Adora, dressed in a hooded cloak that went to her ankles, gazed around, noticed how desolate the place looked. Of course, that was to be expected in any kingdom the Horde had taken over. She was glad that she was with her husband and his crew.
"Get this ship back to Seaworthy, Sven," Sea Hawk ordered as he took Adora's hand. He was dressed in a similar cloak.
"Aye-aye, sir," said Sven.
"Why Seaworthy?" asked Adora.
"I don't want the Horde to see my ship here," Sea Hawk explained. "We can make the trip back there ourselves after we get this done."
"Do they know who you are?" Adora asked.
"Yes, the son of the ship captain they killed seven years ago," he replied. "I strongly resemble my late father. He tried to help the rebellion. I was sent threats that if I did so, I could expect a similar fate."
"I didn't know," Adora said softly.
"Yeah, well, I didn't want you to think of me as a coward."
"I don't think you are. But sooner or later you'll likely have to fight them."
"I know," he sighed.
Sea Hawk and Adora walked through the city of Bright Moon for a time, hand-in-hand. To their right and off in a short distance stood Castle Bright Moon, which Adora knew was currently a Horde base. Adora wasn't sure if any of the robot troopers that occasionally patrolled this city would recognize her, or if any of them had even been programmed to recognize anyone. All around, people still went about their business, though everyone and everything seemed subdued.
"What a depressing place," Sea Hawk murmured.
"That's because the Horde runs it," Adora said.
"Does the Rebellion even have enough people to take over the castle?" Sea Hawk whispered, keeping an eye out for any Hordesmen, and making sure he wouldn't be overheard by any Horde allies or sympathizers.
"I have no idea, Hawk," Adora whispered back truthfully.
"Why don't we stop at the Laughing Swan Inn over there?" Sea Hawk suggested. "Let's get something to eat."
"All right," said Adora.
The two of them went into the inn. Off in the corner sat a young man wearing a hooded cloak; such cloaks seemed to be standard wear around here. Adora's heart skipped a beat when she saw two men wearing Horde uniforms. She didn't recognize them and hopefully they wouldn't recognize her. "Hawk," she whispered uneasily as she gently elbowed his ribs.
"Do they know who you are?" he whispered.
"I doubt it; I've never seen them before," she whispered back.
"Don't worry, I'm here with you." He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Just relax and don't act out of place."
A heavyset, graying man wearing an apron made a sweeping bow in the couple's direction. "Welcome to the Laughing Swan Inn. How may we serve you today?" he asked in a gracious tone.
Sea Hawk and Adora gave the innkeeper their order, and he seated them not too far away from the solitary young man in the corner, whose back was to the wall. The inn's staff was certainly friendly enough. Adora felt sorry for them, though, as they obviously had to deal with the Hordesmen who patronized the inn.
Soon their lunch arrived, and the two ate and talked together. Adora noticed that her husband was keeping an eye on things, and she smiled to herself. Sea Hawk was very protective of her, which she found endearing.
"One of those swabs is headed this way," Sea Hawk muttered, barely moving his lips. "I'll handle this."
One of the two Hordesmen wobbled up to the table where Sea Hawk and Adora were sitting, a tankard in his hand. "That's a pretty woman you got there," he grinned.
"She's my wife," Sea Hawk told him, apparently hoping that the Hordesman would take the hint and back off.
"Care to share?" the Hordesman asked. Behind him, at another table, his companion was snickering, obviously enjoying the show.
"Nope," Sea Hawk replied, casually going back to his lunch.
"I'd like to share her with my buddy there," the Hordesman continued.
Adora was tensing up. Her heart was pounding.
"Sorry, buddy, but this woman is mine and there are things I just don't share," Sea Hawk told him. "So take a hike."
The Hordesman reached out to grab Adora by the shoulder, whereupon Sea Hawk stood up straight and pushed him back. "What part of 'no' do you not get?" he asked.
The second Hordesman stood up, ready to help his buddy take on Sea Hawk. That was when Adora noticed the young man also standing up and throwing off his cloak, revealing that he had brown eyes, red hair, and a moustache.
"You'll be sorry you dared to defy the Horde," said the second Hordesman.
The young man stood next to Sea Hawk. That was when Adora noticed that he was wielding a bow, and on his back was a quiver full of arrows. "You'll be sorry you started bothering honest citizens," he told the Hordesmen.
A fight ensued. Adora sat still and watched as her husband and the stranger fought the Hordesmen. The other customers cleared out in a hurry.
The Hordesmen fled the inn, having been defeated. "You wait until Hordak hears about this!" the second Hordesman yelled.
"Tell him Bow sends his regards," the young man replied cockily.
"Thanks for helping us, friend," Sea Hawk told the young man as they shook hands. "I'm Jeoff Blithe, known as the Sea Hawk, and this is my wife Adora."
"I'm Bow," said the young man. "I'm a rebel."
Sea Hawk and Adora looked at each other. "We were headed for the Whispering Woods ourselves," Adora told him. "I have some information about King Micah and Queen Angella. I was a Horde slave but I managed to escape."
Bow raised his eyebrows. "They disappeared over a year ago. Come with me to the Whispering Woods and you can tell us what you know. We'd better hurry, because those two may well come back with reinforcements."
The archer led the couple outside. "I was getting some supplies," he said as he led them to a horse and wagon. "You two can ride in that wagon."
Sea Hawk and Adora got into the wagon and sat on a wooden crate together. Bow went to lead the horse. "C'mon, Arrow," he said. "Let's hurry up and get to the Woods, before more trouble arrives."
After a relatively short ride, the horse and wagon stopped at the entrance to what seemed to be a huge forest. Sea Hawk and Adora got out of the wagon. Bow was standing there with a small device in his hand.
"I need to scan each of you, then program the shield to let you in," he explained. He pointed the device at Sea Hawk. A faint yellow beam came out and lasted for a few seconds. Then Bow pointed the device at what seemed to be just air, and the same beam came out. He repeated the process with Adora.
"You're now clear to enter," Bow grinned.
The air seemed to shimmer briefly as each person passed through the barrier. Bow led the couple to a wooden building. "This is where we keep our maps and plot our strategies," he explained. "My fiancée, Princess Glimmer, should be in here."
Adora smiled. "Congratulations, Bow," she said.
"How long have you two been married?" Bow asked as he reached for the door handle.
"Since yesterday," Sea Hawk replied.
"Newlyweds," Bow grinned. "Somehow I kind of figured that."
Sea Hawk and Adora went into the building. A young woman about the same age as Adora sat at the wooden table, and she had pink hair. She looked up as the newcomers came into the building. "Bow, who've you brought with you?" she asked.
"This is Sea Hawk and Adora. I helped them teach a couple of Hordesmen a lesson. And Adora says she knows about your parents," the archer replied.
"They disappeared," Glimmer said, looking unsure about the whole thing.
"I was a Horde slave. Hordak abducted me from my home six months ago," Adora explained as she and Sea Hawk sat down across from Glimmer. "I saw them in a secret dungeon. I talked to them. I was told that your childhood nickname was Sunshine."
Glimmer's huge blue eyes were shining with yet-unshed tears. "It was," she said.
"I also have a set of keys I lifted off a guard," Adora added, reaching into the deep pocket of her cloak and producing the key ring. "I think they're the right ones." She gave them to Glimmer.
"How did you manage that?" Bow asked.
Adora told Bow and Glimmer about her abduction, and how she had escaped from Catra only yesterday. The rebels were all ears as they listened to her story.
"I had heard about a 'sister world' quite a while back," said Glimmer. "Supposedly my ancestors were somehow related to the royalty on the other world." She grinned. "Looks like we're really distant cousins!"
"I'd heard rumors about the Horde creating a gate to another world," Bow put in. "Around a year ago. Makes sense-they were trying to conquer another world."
"Here I was about to lecture you on calling undue attention to yourself, but I think I'm going to let this slide," Glimmer told Bow with a grin.
"How are we going to get your parents out if it's as carefully guarded as Adora says?" Sea Hawk asked. "And how are we going to find a gate-maker?"
"It's going to take a bit of time," Bow admitted. "You and Adora-and your crew-are welcome to stay here. We should be safe. The Horde has yet to defeat this technology. We have a few scientists here who are constantly working at improving things and trying to stay a few steps ahead of Horde science."
"Eternia seems to be a lot more advanced, though," Adora noted.
"That's probably because Hordak doesn't permit the people to have any technology beyond a certain point-that way he stays a few steps ahead of the people," Glimmer pointed out. She got up. "Allow me to show you two to your quarters."
Whispering Woods had small wooden buildings scattered throughout. Sea Hawk and Adora were given one that had a bedroom, a bathroom with a shower, and a small living room. Meals were in a kind of mess hall that was in a clearing. In good weather meals generally took place outdoors as well as in the mess hall.
"Not a bad set-up," Sea Hawk said as he and Adora sat down on an old couch in their "new" living room that night after dinner. "Gives us a bit of privacy." He put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her.
Adora leaned back and enjoyed this moment with her husband. He might be something of a rogue but he really seemed to care about her. Marriage to him had really not been her only option-it had been her easiest, all things considered. She didn't have to be on the run, fearful that she'd be recaptured and subjected to all kinds of abuse.
"I think we should give the bed a test run," he whispered in her ear. He then got up, pulled her to her feet, and threw her over his shoulder.
"Hawk!" Adora protested laughingly as he carried her into the bedroom. He might be a bit rough-edged but when it came to her, he could actually be quite loving and gentle.
The next day, Sea Hawk's crew, having been given a message from Whispering Woods, arrived at the woods, and a few rebels "processed" them, as the term was. While that was going on, a meeting was taking place in the map building.
Adora was working with a couple of the rebels in creating a map of the Fright Zone. After six months as a prisoner in the place, she'd learned her way around. She also had a good memory, which proved to be extremely useful in creating the map. There were some rooms she wasn't familiar with, as they'd been off-limits to her, but she was giving the rebels something to work with.
"I think you're the only Horde slave I've ever known that actually escaped," Bow remarked as he looked at the map that had been drawn so far.
"It was only because of the tree landing on the transport," Adora reminded him.
"And we have your husband to thank," Bow added. "You could've wandered out there and been recaptured."
"I actually wanted to stay out of this…but Sven's right, sooner or later I would've been forced to fight," Sea Hawk told him.
"There's really no such thing as neutrality here," Glimmer sighed as she studied a map.
Bow looked thoughtful. "It looks like that secret dungeon is directly underneath this field near the Fright Zone," he said. "Do you suppose there's any way we can dig in?"
Adora shook her head. "No. Not unless you have something that can dig through cement or rock."
"What if you returned to the Fright Zone?" Glimmer asked.
"I'm supposed to be with General Woods," Adora said. "Unless I tell them I'd been wandering around after the accident with the tree."
"No way," said Sea Hawk. "I'm not about to put my wife in danger like that."
"You know where guards are posted and everything," Glimmer said to Adora. "Do you know of any secret passageways?"
"Yes, a few," said Adora. "I managed to explore a few without Hordak knowing." She pointed to a spot on the map she'd drawn. "There's a secret entrance right here."
That afternoon, Adora, Sea Hawk, Bow, and Glimmer set out on their rescue mission. Bow had a variety of trick arrows in his quiver, and Sea Hawk had his photon cutlass, which he'd acquired after his father's death. Glimmer had her own bow and arrows; she was becoming quite a skilled archer, thanks to Bow teaching her. Adora would be their guide.
Bow had a wagon hitched up to his horse Arrow. He sat on the wagon's seat while the others sat in the wagon itself.
Adora led her husband and new friends to the secret entrance. A small stream coming in from the Singing River ended here, and a gate could be seen about ten feet above their heads. "How do we get in?" asked Bow, a thoughtful look on his face.
"Like this," Adora said quietly as she pressed a well-disguised button.
Immediately a spiral metal staircase seemed to pop out from beneath the gate. The bottom step came to a rest near where Adora was standing. "I kept my eyes and ears open all the time, always looking for a chance to escape," Adora explained as the group ascended the steps. "There's a passcode you have to enter at the top. But it keeps changing. Hawk, your photon cutlass can cut through things."
Sea Hawk pushed a button on his cutlass, and the blade's color went from white to red. "Yes, it can," he said. "Are there any guards around, once we get in?"
"In the next room," Adora replied.
"This cutlass can stun, too," Sea Hawk informed Bow and Glimmer.
"Pretty handy weapon," Bow remarked.
"And quieter than an explosive arrow," Glimmer added.
At the top, the group could see what was on the other side of the gate. Immediately on the other side of the door a staircase led into the chamber, which, like the rest of the Fright Zone, was dark and gloomy. A light glowed red from an adjacent chamber.
Sea Hawk slashed at the gate, cutting it open. That was when an alarm sounded. "Oh, great," he commented as he pushed the button. The blade's color changed to blue. "Bow, Glimmer-you get to the dungeon and get Micah and Angella out of there, since it's in the chamber after this one. Adora, stay with me. This will at least provide a distraction." The group headed down the staircase, ready to fight.
A couple of guards came into the chamber. "Hey-isn't that Adora?" one of them said, clearly surprised to see her.
Sea Hawk slashed at them and stunned them. Bow and Glimmer, unnoticed by the guards, took off running in the direction of the dungeons.
"I think more may be coming," Adora told her husband.
"Let's head towards the dungeons. We need to keep those guys away from Bow and Glimmer," Sea Hawk said as he took Adora's hand.
The two of them went into the next chamber, saw more guards coming their way. The next chamber after that had the dungeons. Sea Hawk and Adora's intent was to keep the guards from going into the dungeon chamber, to give Bow and Glimmer a chance to free Glimmer's parents. Adora had made very sure that her friends knew the right brick to push.
Since Adora was currently second in line for the throne of Eternia, and had been groomed to become Queen in the event Adam died without heirs, she'd been taught how to fight. She put her skills to use while her husband used his own fighting skills and his cutlass to take out the guards. It felt good to be able to fight back for once! Before she'd been alone and vastly outnumbered. Her fighting wasn't quite up to par right now due to the starvation she'd endured, but it was still effective. One guard tried to grab at her, but a good kick in the right area convinced him it wasn't worth the trouble.
The guards lay on the floor, scattered about, stunned by Sea Hawk's cutlass. At that moment, Bow and Glimmer emerged into the chamber, Micah and Angella with them. For the first time, Adora noticed that Queen Angella actually had wings; then she recalled that some Etherians had been victims of Hordak's genetic experiments, and this also affected the victims' children and grandchildren.
"We can't thank you enough, Adora," King Micah said, his voice rather weak. Both of Glimmer's parents looked filthy and underfed.
"Let's get out of here before there are more reinforcements," said Bow. "Better yet-" He aimed an arrow above the entrance to the adjacent chamber and fired. The arrow exploded, causing a small cave-in. Any guards would have to dig through the rubble to get into the chamber the rebels were in, and that would take a while.
"Were there any more prisoners?" Sea Hawk asked.
"Live ones? No," Glimmer sighed.
The group hurried up the staircase and out the gate. One never knew if reinforcements would be coming from the outside. Bow got on the wagon seat and the others hurried up and climbed into the wagon.
"Bow, there are soldiers coming!" Glimmer cried as she pointed.
"Good thing I have another explosive arrow," Bow commented, clearly in his element; he seemed to be something of a daredevil. He quickly fired off the explosive arrow in the direction from which the soldiers were coming, then snapped the reins. "Let's get out of here, Arrow!"
Back in Whispering Woods that evening, King Micah and Queen Angella were lying down in the infirmary tent. A camp doctor had said that the two would be fine, after a lot of rest.
Adora and her friends were sitting around the campfire. "Once my parents have recovered, they're going to want to take Bright Moon back from the Horde," said Glimmer.
"It may take some time," Bow cautioned her. "In the meantime, we can work on some strategy."