Glimmer's coronation is the last thing Adora needs in her last month of pregnancy.
Set during S4 E1
Rly long… like… rly rly long.

"People are starting to arrive. I can't believe this is really my coronation day… Me! Queen Glimmer. Ugh. It sounds so weird,"

Adora shifted on the chair, wincing softly. "Queen Glimmer. Queen Glimmah. Ka-ween Glimmer! Yeah, that's going to take some getting used to," Adora snorted, rubbing her stomach. It felt oddly tight… maybe the portal shit was finally catching up to her… it had been two weeks, and this was the first time she'd really breathed.

Even if it was Glimmer's coronation.

"I just... never thought it would actually happen," She looked down. Adora grunted softly as she pushed off the chair, waddling over to her friend's shoulder. She grabbed it softly. "Hey, don't worry. You've got me and Bow beside you all the way. We'll make sure this day is perfect," Glimmer nodded, grabbing Adora's hand. "Yeah, you're right. We've got this. Do I look okay?" Adora smiled. "Like a queen," She teased.

The doors burst open with a bang; revealing Castaspella, in all her dishevelled glory. "Here you all are! What are you standing around for? The guests are starting to arrive! Come on! There's so much to do!" Adora shuffled over to the door, propping it open for Bow and Glimmer. The latter groaned as she walked through the doors.

Before she could walk too far away, a hand was on her shoulder. She winced softly, turning. "Are you ok, Adora? You seem… off, today," Bow asked hesitantly. Ignoring the question, Adora replied with: "I'm worried about Glimmer," Bow raised a brow. He puffed slightly, ignoring the way Adora avoided the question.

"Must be hard celebrating with Angella being gone…" He said. Adora rubbed her stomach again as it grew tighter. Maybe it was the constant standing? Bow noticed. "It's her coronation. This should be a perfect day for Glimmer," She said. Bow gestured to a chair. "Can you sit? Being on your feet this much at eight months pregnant can't be good for you," Adora rolled her eyes as Bow led her to the chair. She sat, exhaling in relief. Her stomach no longer felt quite as tight, and her feet stopped pounding in time with her pulse.

"We'll make it perfect. All we have to do is keep her mind off–" She continued.

"-Angella?" Bow interrupted gently.

Adora's eyes filled with tears as her heart grew heavy. Despite Angella not having any relation to her whatsoever, Adora still felt like she was the closest thing to a mother she'd ever had… but in helping Glimmer try to process everything, and keeping herself healthy enough to finish the final month of her pregnancy, Adora had… somewhat… neglected… her own need to process Angella's death.

She shook her head. "Off everything, yes," Her stomach grew tight again, catching her off guard with a grimace. Bow narrowed his eyes. "Up. We're going to the healers," Adora protested as he hauled her off the chair. "Nu-uh. Don't wanna hear it. You're my friend, my very pregnant friend, and something's not adding," He said, covering her mouth. Adora humphed.

"So why are we here, today, Adora? More broken bones?" Amalthea, the head healer, teased as Adora waddled into the room. Bow followed up the rear. She eased onto the bed, huffing. "Worry wart over there made me come," She gestured with her thumb. Bow crossed his arms. Amalthea snorted as she washed her hands. "And why is that?" She put some gloves on. Adora shrugged. Bow coughed pointedly. Adora ignored him. Bow sighed. "Something's wrong with her. She keeps touching her belly with a grimace," He said. Adora side-eyed him as best as she could. Amalthea chuckled. "It's more than likely just regular muscle pain," She moved to the bed. "It's common in the final trimester, the final month most of all," She reached for Adora's belly, lifting her shirt up. "When are you due, Adora?" She asked.

Adora shrugged. "I can't remember. Um… around Christmas… was when I was told," She rubbed her neck. Amalthea hummed as she pressed in varying places. Adora only gasped in slight pain when she pressed near the bottom. Bow flinched forwards, reaching for Adora's arm. Amalthea muttered to herself as she pushed around the bottom of her stomach. Adora fisted the paper on the bed, wincing and gasping softly. It hurt… Amalthea didn't use to be this rough...

Amalthea sighed lightly, pushing away. "Just seems like muscle pain. Baby's not fully dropped yet, so I doubt it's labour," She paused. "Though… sometimes the water can break before baby drops," She mused. Adora shook her head. "Nope. No waters have… uh… broken yet," Amalthea nodded. "Yeah. Just sounds like muscle pain then. Just take it easy for a few days. Come back to me a week if the pain goes away. If it doesn't, come back to me in three days," She took her gloves off. "It could be pre-term labour," She said.

Adora swallowed thickly, rubbing a hand on her bump. "Is that bad?" She asked. Amalthea wrinkled her nose. "Yes and no. We don't know what She-Ra's genealogy is yet. For all we know, a biological child of She-Ra might take less time than a usual forty-week pregnancy. Or even longer. Some animals are pregnant for over a year," Amalthea said cheerfully. Adora deadpanned her as Bow snorted. "I would cut the kid out myself," She said. Amalthea chuckled. "I'll have you in for checks every three to five days until you have the baby, just for monitoring purposes," She smiled. Adora took a breath, glancing at Bow. "Told ya it was all good," She rubbed her bump. "We're fine,"

"What do you think? I wanted to do something special for you!" Adora watched from her chair, one that Bow had vehemently forced her to sit in, to "rest the muscles like Amalthea said!"

She felt stupid.
And ridiculous.
And stupid, did she say that?

Glimmer groaned into her hands. "This is going to be awful," She moaned. Adora eased herself up, shooting her middle finger at Bow, waddling over to Glimmer. She put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "I can make more!" Frosta's eyes were wide with excitement. Glimmer hesitated, but smiled at the twelve year old nonetheless. "I appreciate the idea. But I need someone for a very important job to, uh, greet the guests," Adora smiled reassuringly at the Ice Princess. "Oh, you need a bouncer! I'm on it! Bouncer!" She ran away, encasing her fists in ice. "Wait, I didn't say bouncer…Okay," She sighed. Adora snorted, resting her hand on her bump.

She'd become very touchy with her baby in the last two weeks. Maybe it was a last ditch attempt by her body to form a connection. She'd been trying incredibly hard to not feel one, just in case the war went south and she lost the baby. Adora could cope with a lot: losing the one thing her body could do without being special? That'd ruin her.

Castaspella rushed over, shouting. "Glimmer! I need your opinion on color schemes!" She displayed two pieces of fabric. Adora winced softly as her stomach grew tight again. Bow was by her side in an instant, glaring. "Ok, ok, I'm sitting," She gestured to the chair. "Bring it to me?" She asked with a shit-eating grin. Bow narrowed his eyes. "You gonna stay in it? Or do I have to get the wheelchair?" Adora narrowed her eyes, pointing threateningly. "You dare… and I will break your legs,"

"Uh...blue? What about purple?" Glimmer asked.

Bow narrowed his eyes further. Adora made a snapping gesture with her fists. Eventually, the archer sighed. "Fine, Jesus," He skulked off. Adora chuckled triumphantly.

"Adora!" She turned. "Move the ice sculpture to the side!" Casta barked. Adora hesitated. "Chop chop!" She clapped her hands. Glimmer exhaled, "Aunty, she's pregnant. She can't move an ice sculpture!" Adora made a sound. "Well… I could as She-Ra…" Glimmer spun to glare. Adora shrunk in on herself. "Fine, fine. I won't,"

Adora grinned from her position on the wall. Bow had agreed, that so long as she was sitting somewhere, it classed. She felt less stupid sitting on a wall than in a chair. "Hey! I think it's all really coming together, don't you?" She elbowed Glimmer softly in the side. Glimmer groaned into her hands as chaos descended before them.

Frosta's ice began to break, Swift Wind whined about singing and Perfuma sobbed on her knees.

"Yep, it's gonna be perfect! What else we need to do, Bow?" She elbowed the archer on her left. Her hands moved to her belly, rubbing in circles. It still had its moments of growing tight then not, but it wasn't quite as bad if she was sat.

That's a lie. It grew steadily worse over the day, but not to the point where she was outwardly in pain yet.

Bow groaned. "Still don't know what the lantern is for! This is all so official and confusing. And it says Glimmer needs to wear some ceremonial robe. But I don't know where to get that!" He cried into the scroll. Glimmer smiled softly. "Maybe if we all looked together-" but Adora was already jumping (read, sliding) off the wall and to the ground. Her feet throbbed painfully. She nearly wobbled, but corrected herself at the last second. "Don't worry! We will find it!"

"But–"

"The two of us will find it for you!" She grabbed Bow's arm and began to haul him off. Castaspella shouted for Glimmer, but Adora's mind was elsewhere.

She was thinking about what Amalthea said. Maybe the baby was part She-Ra… or… whatever made her magical. It would explain why the baby kicked harder than Adora had thought… and why she'd grown so quickly. A splash to her side made her jump. Adora glanced to Mermista: whose hands were in the air suspiciously. Adora pulled the sword off her back with a grin. "It's okay, we will handle everything. You go have fun!"

"Well, it took some searching, but we finally found the Royal Coronation Robe!" Adora twisted in the chair, wincing slightly through her teeth. Filtering through the words in her brain was hard. Being raised as a weapon with no social skills was a downfall sometimes.
For example: Glimmer, right now, looked anything but poised and graceful.

"Wow, Glimmer! You look… Um…" Words failed her, so she stopped talking. Castaspella approached the young Queen with her arms out stretched. "Oh, my little Glimmer. I'm so proud of you. I know you're going to make such a wonderful queen…" As Glimmer melted into the hug, Adora's heart ached painfully. The only maternal care she'd received in her life was from Angella. Many times when Adora had woken from nightmares and either paced about the castle, or sobbed painfully in her bed, Angella had always somehow known. She'd be there within twenty minutes, tea in one hand, tissues in the other, and a packet of her favourite biscuits between her legs. Aside from Angella's care, the closest form to love she received was a shoulder pinch and chin grab by Shadow Weaver when she'd done something wrong.

"Hey, um, Adora, can I talk to you real quick?" She blinked back into reality as Bow grabbed her arm. "I don't know where the lantern is! Glimmer can't do the quest without it, and she can't be queen without the quest! I've doomed the entire kingdom!" He exclaimed outside Glimmer's room. Bow's spiralling made Adora's already overloaded mind spiral.

So she did the only thing she could.

She grabbed the archer by his shoulders, and shook him violently. "Bow, calm down!" Bow blinked. "We just have to find the lantern, and Glimmer will be none the wiser. It has to be around here somewhere, right? This day is going to be perfect!" She hissed. Ok, she may be going a little insane with it all, but if she rested for more than thirty seconds, her mind would go down one of three routes.

1) She'd spiral about Amalthea's theories of the baby.
2) She'd focus too much on her pain and give into the thoughts and abandon Glimmer on her big day.
3) She'd realise how much she missed Angella and collapse into a sobbing mess on the ground.

She rubbed her stomach again as it grew tight. It grew tight quickly. The sudden tensing caught her off guard as she inhaled sharply. Bow's head whipped to hers. "You're cramping," He realised. Adora rubbed the underside of her belly, where it hurt the most. She shook her head, breathing out sharply through her teeth. "No," She groaned. She pressed her fingers into the small of her back, pushing to try and alleviate the pain. "Amalthea said it's not pre-term labour," She groaned again as the tightness passed. She breathed out softly, but kept her hands pressing into the small of her back.

Bow crossed his arms. Adora rolled her eyes. "Fine! I'll go back! Jesus, leave me alone,"

She began to walk back to Amalthea's when Adora saw the last person she ever wanted to see.

"There's no need to be alarmed," Adora sneered. "I'm a guest now. Can't you tell?" Adora glanced to the guards, both of which held their weapons tightly. It would appear, despite Glimmer obviously thinking otherwise, nobody else in the palace trusted Adora's childhood abuser. She stepped back, placing a hand on her bump. "My, you look ready to welcome the child," Shadow Weaver cooed. Adora, if she were a cat, would've hissed and clawed her face. Instead, she settled for a menacing glare, pulling her sword out by her side. She pointed it at the woman. Shadow Weaver had the courtesy to take a step back, the white slits in her eyes narrowing. The guards shifted uneasily. Adora looked the disgraced Horde commander up and down. "Let me make this clear, right here, right now," She said.

"You will not come near my child. AT ALL," She hissed. "If I find out you have so much as breathed in the same room as they have, I will have your head," She spat. The guards shifted as Shadow Weaver took another step back. "I see your temper has not lessened in the years you have spent here," She said.

Adora shouted, pointing the sword further forward with a jolt. "I mean it, Shadow Weaver. I may not have been able to stop the abuse you put me through as a kid, or stop you being near me… but I can sure as hell stop you doing it to my child," Shadow Weaver's slits narrowed. She folded her hands within the sleeves of her gown. "And, to satisfy my curiosity, would you know?" Adora scoffed, sheathing her sword. "Because you drain the room when you're in it," She hissed.

Adora turned on her heal and began stalking away.

"Please, convey my best wishes to our new queen!" Adora froze, back to the sorceress. "I hope you two are still close. Power changes people!" Adora continued walking.

Despite Castaspella talking through the rules of the coronation, Adora's mind was so far away, she was practically in Horde territory. Since talking to Shadow Weaver, over six hours ago, the pains in her stomach had grown stronger and slightly more frequent. Where they'd been once every fifty or so minutes, they now verged on every thirty minutes. Sure, it wasn't a lot, but it was still enough to stress her out enough. She was at the front with Glimmer and Bow, desperately trying to maintain her poised and composed figure.

In short?

Her stomach hurt, and she couldn't show it.

"-Adora, She-Ra, Princess of Power," She turned to Casta with a smile. Bow elbowed her side softly.
You ok? His eyes asked. Yeah. I'm ok. Adora responded. "safety to emerge as Queen of Bright Moon,"

Mermista moved the waterfall apart, and in the trio of fighters went.

It was silent; so Adora decided to break it.

"So, quest! Heh. We're good at quests," She rested a hand on the underside of her belly with a soft exhale of breath as another wave of tightness took hold. "Can we just do this, please? I don't want to think about flowers, or colours, or stupid decisions. And we're bad at quests," She grumbled. The tightness passed, Glimmer mooded off, and Bow huffed softly.

"Wow. I can't believe these tunnels have been underneath our feet all this time," Bow marvelled. Adora pressed softly on the underside of her stomach, hoping to loosen the muscles. Because that's all it was… muscle pain. "So, how deep down do you think we are?" She asked out of pure curiosity. Glimmer spun with a growl. :Okay, what's with you guys? Stop acting like this!" Adora glanced at Bow. "Like what?" She asked. "Like- Like- Like this!" Glimmer sputtered, her cheeks lighting up in red. Adora reached for her hand. "Glimmer, we're just-"

Glimmer shrugged her off. "Whatever. None of this even matters!" She tossed the lantern into the darkness. "Let's just get this over with," She mumbled, stalking ahead. Adora took up the rear, shaking her head. Bow gasped. "Wait, look!" The tunnel gave way to a massive hall; alight in purple balls of energy. Marble lined the floors and walls in a soft pink. It was beautiful and very...

Angella.

"I think- I think this is the Chamber of Queens!" He gushed. Adora's eyes caught a mysterious thing at the back of the room. "Look!" She poked Bow's shoulder. He gasped. "That altar. I read about that in the scroll. I think it's for the lantern," Glimmer huffed and began to walk forwards. Adora's arms lit up in warning mere seconds before something very heavy, and very big, thumped behind. She froze, turning very slowly. She swallowed thickly, all feelings of her stomach pain fading immediately into the back of her mind. "Is this part of the quest?" She asked aloud.

The monster roared loudly, biting at them. Bow screamed. "Teeth! Giant Teeth!" The beast launched at them, sending a shockwave of force. Adora was quick enough to fall into a (semi-failed) tuck, landing oddly on her knee. She hissed softly, grabbing it. "The lantern!" Glimmer screamed. Adora gasped as Glimmer charged at the monster. "Glimmer!" She ran at her friend, tackling her from the side. They rolled into a small crevice, too small for the monster to fit in. She panted, spinning to glare at the archer. "The scroll didn't mention a giant angry monster living in the tunnels under Bright Moon?!"

Bow rubbed his neck. "Come to think of it, I might remember some mention of a Bright Moon guardian that we'd have to subdue," Adora glared. "Bow!" She snapped. Bow flapped his hands in a panic. "It was confusingly worded!" Adora scoffed to herself, spinning in a circle. "We need to get out of here. Come on, teleport us out!"

She knew it was stupid, incredibly so, to teleport this far into her pregnancy. Especially if she'd been having those odd tightness spells all day… nothing stressful could happen.

Glimmer whined, shielding her face from some debris. "I- I can't teleport!" She cried. Adora glared. WHY wouldn't she recharge!? It'd kill her! Bow, the intelligent one of the two, grabbed Glimmer's shoulder. "What? Why not?" Glimmer sobbed softly. "Recharging would mean taking the Moonstone's full power for myself. It would mean... admitting that she's really gone,"

Oh.

Adora settled onto her knees, somewhat relieving the pressure on her feet. "Everyone is already acting like she doesn't matter. It's like no one remembers her. No one cares. We're having a coronation because she's gone, and everyone is acting like it's a fun party and it's not," The young Queen broke down into tears. Adora shuffled over, grabbing her in a hug. Bow cried softly, the emotional sap.

"Of course it's not. I just thought talking about it... About her…" Feeling her own eyes sting with tears she didn't deserve to shed, Adora shook her head. "It hurts. I'm supposed to take care of you, Glimmer. It's the last thing she asked me to do. I wanted to make today perfect. But I…" She trailed off, sniffling quietly. Bow joined the hug. "We just don't know what to do," Glimmer rubbed her nose. "I don't know either. But maybe we can still figure it out. Together," Adora rubbed her shoulder sympathetically. "Whatever path you choose, we'll always be there, right beside you," Glimmer laughed wetly. "Even if that path leads to a giant crystal monster?" Adora wiped away a tear from Glimmer's face. "Especially if the path leads to a giant crystal monster,"

Bow nodded. "Nothing we can't handle. We're great at quests," Glimmer laughed for the first time since the portal incident. Adora felt a smile crack at her lips. "Then come on. Let's do this,"

She ran out of the cave. Adora unsheathed her sword, only hesitating slightly. She took a deep breath. "For the Honour of Grayskull!" The transformation was quicker than usual. She shot up three feet, her dress burning away to the tight sleeveless shirt, skintight shorts and red cape. She shifted the sword, pointing it at the beast.

Huh. She thought, charging. The pains weren't as bad as She-Ra...

Bright Moon's guardian roared loudly, snapping at her form. Adora grunted as she dodged out of the way. Despite being She-Ra, she was still slower and heavier. She swung the sword at the beast, moving forward as it moved backwards. She wasn't trying to actually hit it, just trying to drive it away from Glimmer. Bow shot a few smoke arrows at its head. It screeched lou-

"Hey! Over here!" Glimmer shouted, brandishing the lantern. Adora made a dash for the alter. "Run!" She cried, sliding to her knees, avoiding a swipe from the beasts tentacle. "No. I'm Queen Glimmer of Bright Moon, and you will leave my friends alone!" The room lit up a bright purple. Adora cried out as it blinded her. She stopped, shielding her eyes. The beast stopped charging.

Adora let go of She-Ra.

The second the powerful, magical warrior disappeared back into the sword, all the pain hit her like a truck. She fell to her knees (fully in control: obviously) grasping at the underside of her stomach. It still wasn't quite enough to drive her into admitting she openly hurt, but it was definitely creeping there. The entirety of her stomach was unbelievably tight, cramping and un-cramping and cramping and un-cramping again and again and again. She cried out softly under her breath, trying to massage the hurting muscles. Her belly was also… lower? Like.. a lot lower? Maybe it was her stupid eyes seeing shit.

Yeah… that must be it.

"-kay, Your Majesty?" Bow's voice asked. Adora stayed kneeling as the two conversed. Glimmer nodded, descending down the staircase. She held a hand out. Adora took it, despite her stomach pounding. Glimmer didn't seem to notice as she grinned. "As long as you two are with me, I am. Now come on, let's get out of here,"

"This place looks amazing!" Glimmer gushed. Adora stood to her side, smiling, quite literally, through the pain. They'd been allowed to freshen up after the quest, so they all showered. Adora's stomach pains had only grown closer together. Like… a lot closer together.

Like… every seven… no, scrap that, she breathed through another cramp, six minutes, closer. Frosta grinned, grabbing Glimmer's hands. "We wanted it to be perfect for you!" Frosta was probably the only person who knew what it was like to rule without being gifted it. Her parents had died in the war too. Mermista's dad retired, as did Perfuma's. So the elder two Princesses didn't really know how heartbreaking it probably was to put on a face for the public whilst grieving the untimely loss of your parents.

Perfuma giggled. "So we worked together to finish!" Mermista slid into the conversation with: "That was my idea," Adora snorted, rubbing her stomach. Four minutes to go until more pain.

Castaspella smiled softly from behind Glimmer. The Queen sighed shakily. Adora nodded with a smile as best as she could. It was probably wobbly as fuck, but it'd have to do. Adora's mind was in about ninety-billion different places at the same time.

Glimmer approached the podium, tapping her wine glass. The room quietened down. "I'm here today because Queen Angella… my mother... sacrificed herself to save Etheria. We can't let her bravery be in vain," All heads in the room bowed in mourning, Adora included... (even as she battled through another cramp… to be fair, bowing her head helped hide the tears)

"But there's so much we still need to do. Hordak is still in power, and we know there's an even larger Horde army out there somewhere. We can't let them win. It's time for us to take back our home. Together we will push out the Horde, once and for all!" The room erupted into cheers as the party continued.

Adora held on as long as she could. Her cramps grew to every four minutes, lasting for a minute each time. She knew she was in labour… maybe. Around midnight, despite the party still going on strong, she pulled a slightly inebriated Bow aside. "Hey, I'm going for a walk!" She shouted over the music. Bow narrowed his eyes. "You ok?" He shouted back. Adora nodded. "Yeah! Just feel stuffy in here!" She bit her cheek. "I'll see you in the morning!" She shouted, smiling. Bow grinned sloppily. "Ok!"

Adora made it just into the Whispering Woods when the pain became blinding, forcing her to her knees. She grabbed a fist of the Earth, sobbing pitifully. Something inside of her was screaming for her mother, yet, she'd never known her. The only feeling Adora had of her was a warm tingle in her heart. Aside from that? Nothing. No pictures, no clothing, fuck all.

And that made everything worse.

She cried into the ground, groaning as the pain washed over her. It was definitely labour. On the walk over, she'd pissed herself about five times. Though… looking back… it wasn't piss. It didn't smell like piss, and didn't feel like she'd pissed either. Must be her waters. The contraction left, leaving her fucking dead-to-the-bone exhausted. She simply sat there for a minute, catching her breath and finding the will to move.

If she was in labour (which she is) she'd need water, right? To… to clean the baby when it came out? Truthfully, Adora had no goddamn clue on how to deliver a kid, never mind one that was coming out of her. She began to walk, letting the woods (hopefully) guide her to a river. Another contraction ripped through her body. She groaned into a tree, grabbing it tightly. PANTING… Um… Angella had ran through some breathing exercises with her before she…

Adora began to pant quickly and swiftly. In, out, in, out, in, out, in, out, in, out, in, out. She groaned through her teeth, squeezing the bark tightly. It splintered beneath her fingers. The contraction left, and Adora kept walking. She walked and walked, only stopping to pant through a contraction. There was a strange… thing… building in her body. Like… like she needed to go.

Adora kept walking until a particularly strong contraction took her off guard. Something in her body was screaming at her to push. So she did. It burned. Crying out as she bore down, on her hands and knees, she felt something shift.

Holy shit. She was really about to be a mother!

She panted quickly, only having a minute before the contraction and urge to push was back. Thinking quickly, Adora unravelled her leather belt from her middle and put it in her mouth. She bit down on it, hard. She grabbed a fist full of the Earth and pushed.

Two more times she did this before a swooping feeling overcame her body, and something slimy screamed in her hands. She brought them out from her soiled dress, sobbing. Her baby lay in her arms… her… her daughter. Adora fell to the ground, clutching her newborn daughter tightly to her chest. Thinking fast, she ripped a chunk off her dress, wrapping the baby up tight. She stopped screaming. Adora didn't leave too much time in this stage: she could fawn over her daughter when they were safe and clean.

Because the woods weren't exactly as clean as a medical bed, were they? Adora tried standing, but her legs shook too much. She lowered to the ground, tears streaming from her eyes. She looked over her daughter, wiping away some… something from her slightly red eyebrows. Adora inhaled deeply.

Swifty? I need you to come and get me.

Adora shuffled into the castle slowly. Her innards very much felt like outards. Her mind was running on autopilot as she shuffled to the room she'd been to so many times before. She kicked it with her foot. Her daughter began to fuss, so Adora gently began to bounce her. Woah. She thought with wide eyes. WHERE did that come from?

The door swung open with a grumble. "Who, in the living hell-?" Glimmer broke off with a shrill gasp. "ADORA!" She cried. Adora's chin wobbled. "I-I didn't know where else to go," She mumbled around her tears. Glimmer held her arms out. "Come. Give me the baby. I'll take her. You need to sit down," Adora initially pulled away. But Glimmer was right. Adora felt very unwell standing upright. "JULIET!?" Glimmer screamed. Adora's daughter cried slightly at the sound, so she bounced her softly.

Glimmer's gentle hands took over. Juliet was by her side. "Jesus. Adora, are you ok?" She asked. Juliet and Adora had an odd relationship. Whilst they respected the other's role: they often trained together, early pregnancy and before. So they considered the other good friends. "Juliet, get the healers here, now," Glimmer nodded to the swaddled baby in her arms. "Tell them she's had the baby,"

Glimmer guided Adora in softly. "Here, lie on the bed,"

Yeah. Since Adora kept sneaking in, Glimmer had moved her bed to the ground, to save the blonde trying to navigate the floating stairs. Adora stayed silent, feeling about a billion different things. She sat on the bed, thankful it was soft. It still hurt, but not as much as the forest floor had. Glimmer moved about the room, wetting cloths and cleaning the baby's face. Adora simply watched in silence. Eventually, Glimmer laid the baby on the bed, still wrapped in Adora's torn dress. She made a make-do barrier to stop her from moving.

"Adora?" Glimmer asked softly. "Are you ok? Are you in pain?" Adora sighed shakily. "Um… I-I don't know," She looked at her swollen belly. "It-it still feels like there's something in there," She whispered. Glimmer nodded. "Have you had the placenta yet?" She asked. Adora blinked. "Um… what?" Glimmer nodded again. "Ok. The healers are gonna be here soon. They'll help you, and the baby," She said, every bit the Queen Angella once was.

Adora felt tears leak out of her eyes. Aware of how stupid she looked, but also how little she care (because she'd just had a baby - god fucking damn it) Adora held out her arms in request for a hug. Glimmer obliged, hugging her softly. "Well done," She whispered, and it was only then, did it really set in.

She was a mother.