Chapter Text
She was her grandfather’s grandchild through and through.
Though first appearances… and second ones may leave one to believe Dryl’s Crown princess was nothing like the current Consort of Queen Entrapta, her adoptive grandmother, those who knew the two better knew how alike the two of them were. Were it not for Void spending all of his waking, free time with his daughter, there was no doubt she and her grandpa would be fused at the hip.
For as long as the Avian could remember, she had held strong admiration and love for her grandfather. Of course, she was extremely disappointed when she was old enough to learn what he had done to Etheria in her childhood, but he still was her hero through and through, even though he had, and for some still was, Etheria’s scourge, the villain of everyone’s stories.
And today, that admiration would be shown to the whole world.
Or, well, the people who’d deigned come to witness her undertaking the Quest of Queens of the kingdom of Dryl.
As she kept on working on the project before her, sparks of soldering illuminating her mask, Primrose went over the details of the Quest in her head again, in preparation.
She could never be too prepared.
***
They felt wildly unprepared.
As the bots and few ceremonial planners hurried around them in a dizzying panic, and the sounds of the crowd piling up outside, the instructions and warnings about the traps, and the buzzing of robots rose up around them, Maxime was reminded of Glimmer’s own coronation day years ago, in which she had been her witness, alongside Bow.
Back before their friendship soured.
But this was hardly a coronation day. Her niece was, they had assumed, born eighteen years ago, but as Hordak and Entrapta discovered after numerous testing on the young child, her body and mind aged slower than the regular Etherian. Whether it was a trait of her people, the Avians, or exclusive to Primrose, they couldn’t tell, due to how reclusive this race of Etherians was, even more so than the Dryl kingdom. But the Royal Dryl couple had deducted that a year for Primrose was an Etherian year and six months.
Which was why the girl, who should have been eighteen years old today, was actually twelve.
Of course, her adoptive father was borderline ripping his whiskers out with worry at the prospect of sending his daughter off into a magical Queen Quest when she was barely old enough to learn algebra in the Etherian school system (or at least she would have been, were Hordak not homeschooling her). Entrapta had thought that telling him the details of the mission in advance would reassure him, but for some reason, hearing about the possibility of his daughter being pinned against poisonous cave-dwelling creatures was not soothing his nerves at all.
As Maxime tried to direct a few Plumerian party planners through the maze that was the Crypto castle, the looming aura of Hordak felt itself known to her not long before she head his footsteps coming up to a stop behind her. As the poor faun people ran off, the avatar of She-Ra turned around to face her former boss and enemy, raising an eyebrow with a smug smirk.
“ Need anything? “
“ Have you seen Primrose? Entrapta needs to see her, but I haven’t found her anywhere. “
“ Have you checked the labs? I thought she was working on her gun again. “
The expression on his face informed the woman that he was not aware of the gun.
***
Entrapta let her shoulders drop and a heavy sigh leave her as she straightened out the dress laid down on her bed, eyeing it with sorrowful eyes.
It had taken her a while to dig the purple garment out of it’s metallic box, but she’d finally found it; the ceremonial dress all aspiring heirs to the throne of the Dryl kingdom had once worn to their quest. She’d worn it once, and so did her mother, and her grandmother before her, and today, her grandchild would wear it.
Entrapta never considered herself a very emotional person. Or at least, not someone who’s mood could easily be brought down, but in that moment, she felt a little squeeze in her heart at the sight of the plum fabric on her bedsheets.
Family life had been different from what she’d imagined. By which she meant she never imagined it at all: she’d always thought she’d be child-free. And, in a sense she was: outside of Primrose, which was her grand daughter, not her daughter, she never had to raise any children: the ones she now had were all adults when she married Hordak, and subsequently became their adoptive mother.
She didn’t know how to feel about that. On one hand, she’d never been happier than with her newfound family, including the clones. On the other hand, she felt like she was somehow… betraying other women, who had remained child-free. She felt like she was a manifestation of “every child-free woman still wants children in the end” rhetoric she’d heard time and time again from out-of-touch people who insisted that without children, women were useless. She’d insisted her whole life, from childhood to adulthood, that she did not want children. And yet, there she was, with three of them, and a granddaughter.
She hoped Primrose, at least, would not have to conform to the idea that all women, especially Queens, needed to have children.
But before she could dwell on it any longer, Entrapta was suddenly brought back to reality as the door to her quarters opened, and her husband came inside in a hurry, his ears lowered in panic.
“ Starlight, I can’t find Primrose. “
“ Have you checked the labs? “ she asked, raising an eyebrow as she turned to him. It wasn’t like Primrose to disappear.
“ I did, but she’s not in our lab! I thought- “
“ Hordikins, did you check her lab? “ Entrapta interrupted him, a slight grin coming onto her features.
The expression on his face informed her that he had not before he told her himself.
“ Well, no, but Maxime mentioned her working on a gun and I figured she tools she’d need for a gun would be in the main laboratory- “
“ Darling, go check her private lab, “ the Dryl Queen insisted, a slight giggle in her voice. “ She’s probably working there to keep away from all those noisy guests. “
She propped herself up using her hair, kissing him affectionately on the cheek, revelling in the blush coming upon her husband’s face. Hordak, on the other hand, tried to save face a little, coughing awkwardly into his hand and looking at the garment on their bed.
“ Is that… ? “
“ It’s the dress, yes. Not as fancy as Bright Moon’s ceremonial robes, but the Dryl family was never really concerned with fanciness, more so practicality, “ Entrapta explained, walking up and over to the bed, grabbing the dress by the shoulders and holding it up to Hordak for him to inspect. “ The only reason it is a dress and not overalls is because back when the concept of Queen Quests was first invented, Etheria was still grappling with gender norms. Were it not for that, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t have been a dress. “
“ You’ve never struck me as someone who follows traditions, “ Hordak began as Entrapta set the dress back down onto the bed, straightening the fabric once again. “ If you think this dress is unsuitable for this mission, why would you have Primrose wear it? “
“ Mostly to avoid a scandal, “ she admitted with a sigh, barely containing a groan that would make Mermista proud, the idea of which soured Entrapta’s expression a bit. She found herself secretly hoping that the Mermaid Queen had sat this one out. “ If it was absolutely unsafe, I would have said to Despondos with this dress, but at least the skirt is not too long, and it allows quite some mobility. I guess we gotta say thanks to my great great great great grandma, ” she joked, looking up at Hordak, who simply smiled affectionately at her. Stars, he loved that woman.
“ Well, if you need me, I’ll be in Primrose’s lab, “ he said, straightening back up and walking towards the door. “ Hopefully nothing catches on fire in the meantime. “
Entrapta waved him goodbye with a smile, before turning back to the dress, using a pigtail to scratch the top of her head, just before her wielding mask.
She could have sworn there was a circlet that came with it.
***
After a few minutes walking, Hordak finally made it to Primrose’s private lab, and knocked on the door, announcing his presence. After only a few seconds, the familiar, sing-songy voice of his grandchild made itself heard, though muffled, through the metal door.
“ Come in! “
As he pressed the button by the side of the door to open it, as the door had no automatic opening system, and walked in, he found himself surprised to see the little one hunched over her desk, seemingly working on the gun everyone had told him about.
It did not take him long to reach her, as the laboratory was quite small: Primrose preferred to work in her grandparents’ lab most of the time, and the sole reason she had a separate one was for her to work on more private experiments, or to work without the interruption of others.
As soon as he reached her, Hordak peeked over his grandchild’s shoulder, taking a look at whatever she had been working on.
He let out a choked gasp.
Laid down on the desk was a small replica of his laser gun, which he had used to breach the Sea Gate, and which Catra had destroyed mere hours before Prime’s arrival.
The thought of Prime was like an onslaught to his mind, sudden memories flooding him and taking breath away. Images, pictures of past memories, past lives he’s lived- the atrocities he commited- his pain at Prime’s hands- the suffering he and his brothers endured-
He only came back to himself as he heard a voice calling out to him, muffled as if underwater, and felt a small hand gently taking his own.
The return to the present was as sudden as leaving it was, and he took a sharp inhale, looking around him, grounding himself. He was safe, he… Prime was still dead. He was in Primrose’s laboratory.
Primrose.
The child was still looking up at him, her hand still carefully wrapped around his own, her fingers barely circling his palm as she held him. It seemed she had noticed his sudden… was it a panic attack? Whatever it was, he forced a small smile on his face, which he knew she wouldn’t believe, but it was a force of habit, and tried to make himself reassuring.
“ I… recognize this model. “
“ Oh! Yes, it’s- I found your old documents on a prototype you made during the war, and modified it a bit, “ the girl started explaining, looking back down to the gun, presenting it to him and explaining her process while still holding his hand, her free one gesturing around the gun.
“ This one is smaller, since I’m not as strong as you are- with your exoskeleton that is -and I powered it wayyyy down. It’s still lethal, but since I don’t plan on breaching any barriers- “ she continued, giving him a glare that was half-disappointment, half-teasing, “- it’s not nearly as powerful. Just enough to make sure nothing in the mines gets any ideas. What do you think? “
The Hordu raised an eyebrow, then leaned over a bit, inspecting the weapon on the desk. It was impressive that she managed to recreate his former weapon at all, but for some reason, the fact that it was Primrose that did it did not surprise him too much. It was about the same amount of surprise he’d be in if Entrapta had done the same feat.
Etherians kept on surprising him.
“ It’s impressive, especially for someone your age. What’s powering it? “
“ Oh! I’ll show you! “ the girl exclaimed, excitement barely contained, making the older man slightly chuckle.
With her free hand, she pressed down slightly on the diamond-shaped cover on top of the gun, which popped back up with a “click” after she removed her hand, allowing it to be removed, which Primrose carefully did, exposing a small piece of First One’s tech. Of course.
“ Grandma’s idea, “ the girl simply said.
“ I would not have thought otherwise, “ the clone replied, standing back up again, still holding his grandchild’s hand. “ Speaking of, she asked me to tell you she wants to see you in our quarters. She has something to show you before the Quest begins. “
“ Oh! “ Primrose exclaimed, putting back the piece of the gun she had just taken out, then slightly pushing the gun back towards the end of the desk, against the wall. A habit she had, to prevent things falling or rolling down desks and tables, especially when there was a risk that Imp would just and make it tumble.
Her hand in his, the girl looked up at her grandfather with a bright smile, nodding. “ Lead the way! “
***
“ Say, I did not think to ask, but why are you building a gun? “ Hordak asked as they walked down the corridors that had been thankfully cleared of traps. For the most part.
“ Oh! Well, per the rules of the quest, I have to create something to take with me down to the mines, “ Primrose explained, dodging an axe as it swung down from the ceiling. Entrapta really needed to clear that one. “ So I made something to defend myself with! “
“ I was under the impression that you were a pacifist, “ the man replied, raising an eyebrow in confusion. Did his adoptive daughter, Nullia, succeed in her attempts to bring Primrose over to the side of violence, after years of failing?
“ I am! “ the girl replied matter-of-fact, looking up at him. “ But if something down there attacks me first, then I’ll have to defend myself! I’m a pacifist, Dadak, not a pushover. “
To that he gave out a low chuckle, temporarily taking his hand out of hers to ruffle her hair, making the child giggle before she hurriedly took his hand back in hers.
As they arrived at their quarters, the automatic doors, which had been left unlocked, opened for them, revealing the lab partners’ bedroom. As the two of them walked inside, Entrapta hurried into the room from the door leading to the main lab, using her pigtails as legs before lowering herself over to the two of them.
“ Oh, Primmy, you’re here! Great, come over there, I’ve got to try that on you! HORDAK TURN AROUND! “
She spoke so fast Hordak barely understood what she had ordered before lilac hair grabbed him and forcefully turned him around to face the door he’d just entered in. But before he could say anything or even blink, Entrapta continued with her rapid pace:
“ No, nevermind, stand outside the door and make sure no one comes in! “
“ But you can lock it- “
And just like that, the poor man was unceremoniously manhandled outside of his own bedroom, right by the door, where he now had to play guard until his wife allowed him back inside.
He used to be a warmonger.
***
“ Well, now that that’s taken care of!- “ Entrapta began, turning around to her grandchild, who reflexively stood back in a panicked pose as her grandmother turned her attention to her, “- let’s get you dressed up! “
“ Uh- wha- “
“ Less speaking, more dressing! Put this on! “ Entrapta exclaimed, unceremoniously grabbing the dress Queens of eld before them had adorned at their own coronations and throwing it at the confused child, who barely had the time to react and grab it before it hit her in the face.
“ Uh… Grandma? “
“ Yes? “
“ It uh… I don’t think it has wing holes… ? “
“ Oh don’t worry, I made some! “
“ Oh you- Wait excuse me you what?? “ the girl seemingly relaxed before her grandmother’s words hit her like a skiff. “ Grandma- that dress has been this way for generations- you made holes in it?? “
“ If my calculations on your orientation are correct, that’s the last time anyone will wear it, “ Entrapta simply said, shrugging. And of course, she wasn’t about to tell the poor girl what those calculations were, exactly, or what the results were. “ Even if it wasn’t, I put your comfort during a perilous mission about what dead people think. Now hurry, put it on! “
Poor Primrose looked at her grandmother with her mouth agape, the words still swirling in her head. What calculations?? What did she mean by “that’s the last time anyone will wear it”?? But as she started to calm her heart’s furious, frantic beating, she looked at her grandmother with a confused expression.
“ Grandma, uh… turn around? “
“ Oh right, sorry! “ the woman exclaimed, turning around, propped up on her hair, and used her gloved hands to cover her face, barely containing her excited cackling.
After a few minutes fiddling with the dress and struggling to pull her wings through the wing holes in the back, Primrose smoothed over the fabric of the skirt, standing now in the middle of her discarded clothes. “ Ok, it’s on! “
Entrapta hurriedly turned around, still on her hair, a wide grin on her face before coming to a sudden halt. For maybe the first time in Primrose’s life, she saw her grandmother with a surprised expression on her face, then… something she couldn’t pin-point?
Lowering herself back on her feet, the Queen of Dryl walked over to her grandchild, eyes gradually growing more sparkly with unshed tears in her eyes.
Without a word said, she hesitantly raised her hands to the girl’s face, holding her cheeks in her gloves, a small smile finally cracking up on her face as her eyebrows furrowed in a sad, yet… happy expression.
“ Hordak! Come in! “
It only took the Hordu a few seconds before coming in, and then he, too, came to a halt.
“ O… Oh. “
“ W-What? “ asked the girl, growing worried. “ Do I look silly? Oh stars grandma what did you do? “
“ No sweetie you- “ Entrapta began before the words died out in her throat. She sniffled, then comically inhaled strongly, as Hordak walked next to her and laid a supporting hand on her shoulder.
“ I think your grandmother is trying to say you look beautiful, Primrose. “
To that, little Primrose’s heart soared. But before she could thank her grandmother, or even hug her, the woman broke out in just-as-comical wailing, throwing herself to her grandchild and holding her in an embrace with the force of ten owl-bears.
“ Grandma-- Grandma I can’t breathe- “
All she got as a response was more wailing.