Chapter Text
Only seven days had passed after Horde Prime’s defeat when I saw the first workers start rebuilding the castle of Brightmoon. I had never seen the inside before when we arrived with Adora, Glimmer and Bow, to find a little rest after the events and, maybe, organise what was left of Etheria after the war.
The place is too beautiful for words, but also too fancy. I guess growing up in the Horde made my taste very martial, because Adora later admitted that although she got used to it, there was still some things that were still beyond her comprehension. I could understand the need for a private room, especially after years trying to sleep at an ear reach from the snores of Rogelio; but other things, like the absolute necessity of a cascade in the bedroom for example, were a permanent source of bewilderment for me.
What they called “the spare room” (which I learnt later was made a prison when necessary – and made me laugh too hard for Glimmer’s susceptibility) was set to be my room, but my frugal nature was very uncomfortable in such a splendid inside, so I simply moved my bed in Glimmer’s room, next to Adora’s. Such a place is made to sleep after all (and sometimes to sulk). The only thing I regretted was that the spare room had the advantage of not having a cascade, but seeing Adora enjoying the one at Glimmer’s was making up for it.
The main building of Bright Moon castle was a millenary facility with magic reinforcements sealed in its very structure, so it had not very much been affected by Prime’s bombings. There was a few marks of a brief Horde occupation on the outside, such as banners, a few paintings, and of course the chipping of most of the inhabitants who stayed after Glimmer’s crew abandoned the place; but it was unlikely that the army of clones actually used it: they usually chose to sleep in the light vessels they came with. Like me, they deemed the place as too fancy.
I do not have a very clear memory of the first few days after defeating Horde Prime. I recall seeing most of the clones retreating to their ships, some of them fleeing in messy ranks. The first time, I could not help but rejoice at the sight of these white bastards screaming from panic after what they have done to me; sometimes, they were even followed by a group of angry locals harassing them into going away. I saw a few savage acts that are still printed in my brain.
But then, I recalled Wrong Hordak, and me, and how deep the brainwash could be. It made me pity them, and the victory started having a sour taste. Most of them escaped Etheria during the first days, and their fate was unknown, but a few did not make it to the ships and remained hidden in remote regions around the Fright Zone or any place conquered by the Horde. Only a handful were actually reached by Hordak and Wrong. I believe they left to Dryl with Entrapta, but their situation was not entirely clear when we all parted.
The truth is that the first few days at Bright Moon were spent in a massive party, with everyone just coming and going to every place to rejoice with all the people they had ever known. Adora had always been the social one, so I saw a lot of faces I could hardly recall, although I am starting to get a grip on the most frequent names. The fact that I used to be an enemy was not much noticed in the confused collective euphoria of the moment: they saw Adora, hugged everyone, and drank for the victory before going back to their kingdoms, principalities or republics or whatever piece of land they lived in, for they were not only rulers but also farmers, commoners, nobles, artists, shopkeepers and thieves.
It was a blessed oblivion, as I could not care much that she was sometimes stolen from me by a stranger, for she always took my hand again and came back to me and held me and kissed me. More than a few times, some old parent of a random princess cheered at the sight of every couple, and pushed us to drink with them at the health of our young love; and when all this frenzy became too much, we went to the bedroom and with her body against mine I was at the top of the world, and then I woke up in her arms after the only dreamless nights I have ever slept. It took a while for the steam to fall down, and some of its optimistic mindset stills fuels every Etherian heart when everyone, at their own pace, realises that our future is left to be invented. A future I never hoped I would be part of, but I was; and a future which I never expected people to actually want me to be part of, but here I was.
And there comes this seventh morning, when Adora as usual wakes up long before me and cannot help but make herself busy. She has thus disappeared, and even Glimmer has not followed me in my late morning sleep. I am alone for the first time since our victory.