You might accuse me of rambling in this essay, and I would agree with this criticism. Yet I find it justified to address you with a personal tone, Your Majesty. I learned this long ago: people are more easily swayed by roses than their thorns.

❂❂❂

Shadow Weaver's head spun as she crossed the room to give Adora mashed pumpkin for dinner. Never mind that she had a concussion. She couldn't afford to rest. "Ma-ma?" Adora inquired as Shadow Weaver spooned the food into the baby's mouth. Her daughter gurgled and spat it out; Shadow Weaver suppressed impatience.

Adora giggled a bit, as if laughing at her. Shadow Weaver gripped the spoon and shoved the food into the child's mouth. Damn it, just eat! Why did she have to be seen as weak, even when she was doing everything right? Why?

Of course, this insurgence wasn't the first. Four years ago, Force Captain Jibril had stirred up a coup to take the position of second-in-command from Shadow Weaver. The reason? He suspected her true identity as Emeth Light Spinner – the only citizen besides Micah who'd chosen to stand against the Horde in the Battle of Illuras.

They'd managed to quell the coup before it began, but Carmen paid the real price. Shadow Weaver had earned the distrust of her soldiers until she found convenient ways to dispose of them on the battlefield; Carmen had earned a heinous deflowering from Jibril, a month in a mental hospital, and a pregnancy in which only one of her children survived.

Shadow Weaver wanted to scream in frustration. Why had the soldiers rioted? Was there something she could do to keep them from ousting her?

Was she doomed to die here?

Her vision went black as she tried to put Adora in her crib. The last thing she felt was her body thumping to the floor.

✧✧✧

As Carmen neared her lady's quarters, Li'l Miss Adora's screaming reached her ears. The baby seemed panicked, judging by her crying. Carmen bit her lip and charged in, finding Adora on top of Shads' chest. The older woman was passed out.

Carmen gasped, tears filling her eyes. Through the panicked haze that floated in her head, she steadied herself harshly. Please, don't lose yourself. Pick Adora up an' stop worryin'.

Carmen took a deep, shuddering breath, and picked the baby off the ground. Adora continued screaming, a noise so loud Carmen saw spots. "Awright," she said softly. "I know I ain't your mama, but I'm here for ya." Raiya's name, the two-year-old was heavy. Carmen was barely able to take her to her mama's bed and lay her down.

"Carmen?" a rough voice called from the doorway. "You alright?"

"Beck?" Carmen called, relief flooding through her. "Help me get Shads to the lower levels. Doc's gonna wanna tell her what to do...she got a nasty concussion, and she passed out..."

Beck strode in and placed a hand on Carmen's shoulder. "'Course I'll help, Carmen. I'll take her. You go get your kid from the nursery."

Carmen sniffed, looking at the ground. "Thanks. Couldn't ask for a better friend."

Beck smiled at Carmen. Then she called for a bed to be brought up.

✧✧✧

In the infirmary, Beck looked upon the unconscious Shadow Weaver, who was lying on her cot. The medics had injected her with several vials of liquid moondust – why that instead of medicine, Beck was unsure – and the older woman's hair was waving at the tips as though a gentle breeze was blowing through the air.

She chewed on her fingernail; Carmen scratched the back of her head. "I gotta go an' do border check here soon," she drawled softly. "I can't stay here an' take care of her."

"Thought that was the entire reason you live in her quarters," Tara muttered.

Carmen glared at her. "Ain't the time, Tara. Go off and do your weird li'l trainin' session with the cadets, yeah?"

"Look, kid. I'm just trying to help you out here. I'll go take your shift - Cobalt and Grizz'll be fine if I change posts for an hour or two."

Carmen's mouth dropped open. "You'd do that...for me?"

"Yeah," Tara said with a shrug. "Or maybe Beck can do it."

Beck bit her lip. "I can't," she said. "I'm not trained in border patrol. But Carmen -"

"Nah. Can't leave her." The felinetta flicked her tail; she was quite a bit more stubborn than Beck gave her credit for. "Why can't'cha cover my post so Tara can go do her teachin'?"

"I..." Beck crossed her arms, huffing a bit. "I want to stay with you. You're under a lot of stress. Plus, our second-in-command is hurt – we need to help in case she needs something."

Tara walked toward the door. "Well, while you two're doin' that, I'm gonna do border patrol...I guess." She walked out of the room, and Beck and Carmen were alone.

Why is she having such a hard time functioning? Beck wondered. It was almost as if Shadow Weaver was subsisting on moondust. Biting the inside of her cheek, she leaned back. Shadow Weaver's voice reminded her of something Nell had once shown her when they'd still been friends. But she couldn't call it to mind, and it frustrated her deeply. Something wasn't adding up – why would the most powerful sorceress the world had ever seen faint so suddenly, so profoundly?

"Carmen?" Beck asked.

"Yeah?"

"Did you know Shads before you two ended up here?"

The felinetta tilted her head. "Why're you askin'?"

"Just...curious."

Carmen shifted a bit. "Shortly before. We were goin' to the same place. Her hair was right soakin', and she gave me new clothes after Clerbélia was sacked. I pleaded with her to be her servant, since my ol' master'd died..." she shrugged. "Rest is history."

"Really?" Beck asked. "But what about that coup?"

Carmen's face turned red-hot. "Uh...not gonna talk about it." She looked away. "It ain't a happy story..."

Beck sat for a moment silently. She knew the rumors surrounding the little felinetta living in Shadow Weaver's quarters. Supposedly, the little girl was just one of her wards, but she bore such a stark resemblance to Carmen that most people knew it was her biological child. But Beck couldn't imagine her friend being interested in procreation, nor could she picture Shads breeding her with a male.

"Sorry," she said finally, looking down and knitting her eyebrows as Shads opened her eyes.

Carmen gasped and grabbed her mistress in a hug. "You're awake!" she cried.

"Carmen..." Shadow Weaver gasped. "Can't...breathe..."

Carmen giggled sheepishly and let go. "Sorry. Shads, Beck an' Tara helped me. You're okay 'cause of her!"

Shadow Weaver looked at Beck with those piercing blank eyes. "I am...indebted to you," she said softly. "Where is Adora?"

"In the nursery," Carmen said. "Once they check up on you again, you'll be in prime shape to skedaddle."

"No," Shadow Weaver said. "Go find her and bring her here. She must eat."

"I can feed her –"

"No. I will feed her." Shadow Weaver's voice was thicker than blood, and sterner than Hordak's when she said that. She terrified Beck, and there was something about her that radiated ice-coldness despite the room being relatively warm.

"Awright," Carmen said, heading for the door. "Beck, can ya stay?"

"Um...sure." Beck swallowed, looking at Shadow Weaver, whose fists were tightly clenched. She was a terrifying woman, that much was clear. And Micah needed to know about this possible weakness before a disaster like Dryl happened again.

You're not invincible, darling, she thought as Shadow Weaver lay back.

And I will find out who you are.

✧✧✧

Weeks later, Micah sighed as he checked his holo-pad. Zeka had only been able to provide him with small tidbits of information so far, including the available ranks. Cadet, Lieutenant, Force Captain, Commander, and Lord. From what Shadow Weaver said, she was the commander.

Please. I need to know her weakness. Dryl had closed its doors to visitors following the heist, and Talyn had told him – rather angrily – that the power source stolen held electrical power to rival the Black Garnet's. The thought of what the Horde could do with a device that complex scared Micah.

His holo-pad beeped, and when he accepted the call, Zeka answered; Micah could barely see her face. "Where are you?" he asked.

"I'm in a broom closet," she whispered. "I've been promoted to Force Captain by Hordak himself."

Micah's mouth dropped open. "So our plan worked?"

"Went great," Zeka replied. Micah could tell she'd been practicing her Crimson Waste accent – more clipped than her normal speech. "Also...I discovered something. Beck had to take Shadow Weaver to the infirmary after you slammed her head on the floor at the ball. The doctors said she couldn't charge on the Black Garnet, or else she risked her head not healing properly."

"Charge? So that means..." By the moons...

"Yes," Zeka whispered. "She seems to be a princess."

Micah frowned. "How, though? She's not a Scorpion – certainly not an heir to the throne, either. The only one of the Tropicil royalty who still lives is Princess Scorpia, and she's just a kid."

Zeka sighed. "Don't know how it works. She seems to have a weak connection to it. I'm no sorcerer, but that's how she's able to heal so quickly. That's also why she can shoot red lightning at people. She's taking the runestone's magic and...translating it into sorcery somehow."

Micah gripped the holo-pad, trying to process the news. "Is that all you have to say?" he asked Zeka softly.

"That's the gist," she said. "I'll report back once I have more info on Shadow Weaver." With this, she signed off, and Micah lay back.

Shadow Weaver...is a princess? But the more he thought about it, the more impossible it seemed. Hordak was intent on removing the old royalty. He'd killed King Sketála, Queen Hilya, and their four children. Meaning somehow, without being a princess, Shadow Weaver had managed to forge a connection to a runestone.

There was only one person experienced enough in magic to comment on this possibility: Madame Arvina of Mystacor. He would need to visit her after he was done with his mission, and get answers about his foe's mysterious power.

❂❂❂

Did you know...

- The more I wrote Zeka's character, the more she came off as morally gray to me. You'll see what I mean by this in chapters to come.

- Carmen struggles with feeling like she must approve of her lady's actions, but I also tried to show genuine love and care between them - at least initially. Some people may see this as disrespectful considering the sort of person Shadow Weaver later became, but I don't agree. Shadow Weaver canonically isn't abusive to everyone, so I think I can do whatever here.

Tell me what you think...

- Is going to Arvina a good idea? Why or why not?