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The Horde soldiers had retreated hours ago. The castle was quiet as the sun dipped below the horizon, bathing the war room in a soft orange glow. Glimmer was the only one at the table, the only one studying the intricately carved pieces that represented the rebellion’s forces. She didn’t need to be here. They’d won the day. Her family and friends were safe. Most of them, like Mermista and Perfuma, had refused the invitation to stay the night at the castle in order to check on their respective homelands.
The princess left the war room and shuffled along the dimly lit corridors. One room with a slightly opened door revealed Spinnerella sitting at a vanity, staring at her reflection, as Netossa stood behind her and brushed her hair in slow, methodical motions. They both looked dead tired, like they could fall over from exhaustion at any moment. Yet they continued until Spinnerella’s hair was free of knots and tangles. Glimmer watched as Netossa set down the brush and placed a soft kiss to the top of her wife’s head, making the other princess smile.
Glimmer blushed and moved on, feeling as though she just watched something not meant for her eyes. But the small domestic gestures and comforting routine reminded her of Adora. It suddenly occurred to her that she hadn’t seen the newest princess since minutes after the Horde melted back into the forest. Everyone had been swept up in the celebrations and Glimmer had lost sight of her.
She rushed back to her room, only to find it empty save for Bow sleeping on one of the cushioned window seats. Glimmer flashed over him, almost landing on top of her best friend.
“Have you seen Adora?” she asked, loud enough to jar Bow from whatever dream he was having.
The archer shouted in alarm, flailing under the blankets for a moment before he caught sight of who had woken him.
“What?” he asked, eyes still cloudy from sleep.
“Adora. Blonde hair, big sword, didn’t know what a horse was until a week ago.”
Bow rolled his eyes. “I know what Adora looks like. And no, I haven’t seen her. I immediately raided the kitchen and then passed out here after the battle. You’re the first person I’ve seen in hours.”
Glimmer looked around her room anxiously. There were piles of clothes scattered around her floor, and her vanity table was covered in cosmetics and hair products (half of them Bow’s). Nowhere in the mess was any sign of the sword of She-Ra.
“Adora hasn’t been back here,” she whispered to herself.
Her heart started to beat a little faster. Where could she have gone? How could no one have seen her? Why wouldn’t she at least tell Glimmer where she was going?
“Check the stables,” Bow murmured, already falling back asleep. “She likes talking to the horses.”
Glimmer ran out the door and down the hall, not even bothering to thank Bow or apologize for interrupting his nap.
The stables were located at the back of the castle, near the entrance to the kitchen. Glimmer remembered early morning rides with her parents. At those hours, there were always people milling around the palace grounds, either doing their jobs or trying to get a glimpse of the royal family. Now the yard was deserted. There was barely any light left in the sky and Glimmer had to squint down at her feet to make sure she didn’t trip on anything.
The stable door was propped open and the princess could hear a soft voice coming from inside. Glimmer peeked inside and found Adora stroking the face of a chestnut-colored mustang. Her clothes were torn and her face had streaks of dirt and blood smeared across it, and she seemed to be favoring one of her legs over the other. But she was still standing, the sword of She-Ra strapped to her back like usual.
“Adora?” Glimmer said from the doorway.
The other girl jumped slightly and her blonde ponytail whipped her in the face as she turned her head. Now that she was staring directly at Glimmer, the princess could see her friend had been crying, her tears cutting through the dust and grime on her cheeks. Her eyes were distant, like only her body was here and her mind was a million miles off.
“Hey Glimmer,” she said, her voice raspy and rough. “Do you need me in the war room?”
Glimmer cocked her head. “Adora, you’ve been out here for hours. Everyone is either asleep or still celebrating.”
The blonde warrior nodded. “Oh. Guess I lost track of time. Did I miss anything important?”
Glimmer shook her head and took a few steps forward. “I was worried about you. Nobody has seen you since the battle ended and I wanted to know if you were okay.”
Adora looked at her with a blank stare. Her hand fell from the horse’s face and she looked down at her boots. “I think I was bleeding earlier.”
Glimmer reached out and took her hand, leading her out of the stables and back towards the castle. Adora didn’t object, just obediently followed the princess to her room.
This time, the creak of the door was enough to awaken Bow. He looked as though he was about to shoot some sarcastic remark when he noticed the state Adora was in. With one look from Glimmer, he swallowed his retort.
“Hey there, Adora,” he said in the soft voice he only reserved for when Glimmer was mad at her mother. “How ya doing? Have you eaten anything yet?”
Adora just shook her head. Bow murmured something about going on the hunt for some snacks and left the two girls alone.
Glimmer didn’t know where to start. The girl in front of her was a mess of matted hair, dried blood, torn clothes, and dirt.
“Why don’t you go take a shower,” the princess suggested, ushering Adora towards the large marble bathroom. “You’ll feel much better after you’ve cleaned up.”
“Will you wait here?”
The request jarred Glimmer. Of course she would stay here. Did Adora expect her to just leave her alone in this state?
She nodded and carefully shut the door. Once she heard the water begin to run, Glimmer began sifting through her drawers to find something comfortable that might fit Adora. She settled on a pair of dark grey sleep pants and a long-sleeved purple shirt. She had just finished laying them out on one of the cushioned window seats when the water in the bathroom shut off. A minute later, Adora sheepishly peeked her head out of the door.
“What’s that thing you sometimes do with my hair when it’s wet?” she asked. “With the three sections and the weaving.”
Glimmer giggled. “You mean a braid?”
Adora blushed. “Yeah. Can you braid my hair?”
Glimmer scooped up the outfit she had hastily put together and scurried into the bathroom. The air was thick with lilac-scented steam. Adora had wiped away a small space in the mirror so the two of them could see their reflections. Adora herself was wrapped in a fluffy white robe, but she gratefully accepted the clothes Glimmer handed her.
With all the blood and dust washed away from her skin, Glimmer could see her friend’s wounds weren’t as bad as she had originally thought. The scrapes were minor and the bruises few and far between. Glimmer let out a small sigh of relief as she rifled through the first aid kit she kept in her bathroom.
She stopped when Adora laid a hand on her wrist. They had touched each other before, as friends and when they first met, but this was different. It was softer, more than a platonic touch.
“Can you do my hair first?” she asked. “I like it when you play with my hair.”
A small blush had risen on the warrior princess’s cheeks, and Glimmer could feel her own face beginning to flush. She nodded and abandoned the roll of gauze in her hand for a hair brush. The water had not been able to undo all the knots in Adora’s hair and Glimmer muttered a soft apology every time the blonde girl winced in pain. Soon her hair fell in a damp, golden curtain around her shoulders. Glimmer silently began separating Adora’s hair and weaving it into a tight braid.
Neither of them spoke for a long time. Adora just stared at her reflection and occasionally picked at the scabs on her arms and hands. If Bow were here, he would swat her hand away and admonish her for not letting them heal properly. Adora would quickly hide her hands under her thighs and Glimmer would remind him of how he used to pick at his scabs all the time. Then the three of them would laugh and everything would feel normal.
But tonight wasn’t normal. Tonight, Adora had fully severed herself from the Horde, from the only family she’d ever known, from Catra. That fact was dawning on her, Glimmer could tell.
“Can I stay here tonight?” Adora asked, breaking through the silence. “I… I don’t want to be alone.”
Glimmer’s head moved in a nod before she could get the words out. “Yeah of course.”
Adora’s shoulders visibly relaxed and she let her eyes flutter closed. Glimmer tied off the braid with a piece of stretchy ribbon. “What do you think?”
Adora tilted her head from side to side, trying to see as much of her new hairdo as possible. “I love it!”
She turned in her seat to face Glimmer, beaming at her. Glimmer’s heart skips a few dozen beats. That smile had been directed at her before but now it was different. There was a kind of softness behind it, a vulnerability that Glimmer had never seen from her.
Without thinking, Glimmer leaned down and quickly pressed her lips against Adora’s. It wasn’t even really a kiss, in her opinion. If she had fallen down and their faces had smacked together, that would have been more of real kiss.
As soon as she pulled away, Glimmer had an apology ready to go. It died on the tip of her tongue when she saw Adora blushing.
“You smell really good,” the blonde girl said softly, the blush spreading down her neck and to the tips of her ears. “Like sugar cookies or something.”
Glimmer could have kissed her again, properly this time, right then and there, if the door hadn’t opened and Bow hadn’t announced himself.
“There are like five whole pans of brownies downstairs!” he squealed. “I snagged us one. And whipped cream, of course, because I’m not a monster. There’s also some fruit because we can’t have She-Ra getting soft and lazy now, can we?”
He froze when he noticed the two of them staring at him through the open bathroom door.
“Did I interrupt something?” he asked.
Adora shook her head. “Not entirely.”
She winked at Glimmer, which made Glimmer’s stomach do somersaults and bubble and rise up into her throat and all those other things your internal organs are supposed to do when a cute girl smiles at you.
The two of them joined Bow on the window seat he had vacated earlier. It was still laden with blankets and pillows and they made themselves a makeshift fort. They dug into the brownies and laughed and pointed out constellations until the stars began to disappear with the rising sun.
Adora was the first to succumb to sleep. Her head fell onto Glimmer’s shoulder and soon after she was snoring softly. Bow followed shortly after, and Glimmer tucked him into bed before teleporting herself and Adora up to her bed.
She had meant to just leave the blonde girl there and find somewhere else to doze off. But before she could move out of Adora’s grasp, the girl pulled her in closer.
“Stay,” she murmured, still half asleep. “I’m safer with you here.”
Glimmer wasn’t entirely sure how sound that logic was, considering Adora was the one who could transform into an eight-foot-tall warrior princess with the help of a magical sword, but she decided not to think about it too hard. Instead, she pulled the fluffy blankets over the two of them and fell asleep in the arms of her princess.