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The Crypto Castle was chaotic. Not only that but Entrapta had disabled many of the booby traps so the workers and servants would have no issues preparing for festivities today. There was quite a bustle of people walking in and out of kitchens.
Normally, so much commotion would have put her at unease. Entrapta disliked having to deal with directing so many people but instructions had already been laid out so really today was a walk in the park when it came to running her Kingdom. And the chaos of so many busy people was a surprising delight for Entrapta. The Princess of Dryl did not hold such Festivities often. Either way such festivities were usually reserved for birthdays or major holidays. However since Entrapta only recently returned to Dryl it seemed some of the inhabitants had wanted to celebrate. After the wave of shock from the realization that others wanted to celebrate her outside of obligation had passed, she gave the idea the green light. She was honored to be seen with such respect by the newcomers.
The population had actually increased upon its inception to the Etherian Horde despite resulting in some of its original inhabitants to flee. The newcomers at present were composed of members of the original Etherian horde while others had migrated from small villages. Entrapta had to admit, after Prime’s defeat it had stung seeing the coinciding of people fleeing Dryl as their Princess returned to her home kingdom. Etheria was free of its greatest danger it had ever faced. Yet she couldn’t help but feel as if some Etherians were trying to flee from her.
Though, there might have been other reasons for such a migration out of Dryl. Of course she had not been alone in her return home as she had been accompanied in her newfound arrival by-
“Demons!” One of the bakers cursed as they uncovered an empty tray to set up a table of desserts.
“That little creature ate a whole platter of tiny cupcakes! I’m sure without a doubt they are hiding in the vents now…”
Entrapta cocked an ear to this. She quickly strode over towards the cursing baker, on limbs of hair, landing the dessert maker a face of shock. The baker gulped, unsure what to say as the purple haired princess placed herself directly in front of him. She looked at him stoically.
“I didn’t eat those.” Entrapta said matter of factly. Her voice carried no hint of malice or of taking insult to the bakers words. The baker could not quite decipher her tone. He did not realize that she simply wanted to clear things up on her behalf.
Another baker, one table over, was prepping a tray full of cupcakes when Entrapta interrupted.
“If you don’t mind I would like to try one of these though.”
“Of course Princess.” The second baker replied a little wide eyed as he watched her hair snake it’s way to his table to then gingerly grab a miniature cupcake.
“Thanks!” She said gleefully.
She returned near the original baker who looked a little nervous now.
“A-Apologies Princess Entrapta. I want to clarify that my outburst was not in reference to you.” Entrapta licked the frosting of her cupcake as the baker continued. “I was actually referring to the little flying creature-I mean flying boy!”
“Oh!” Entrapta exclaimed clapping her hands together. “That makes sense too! Him and I are alike that way.” Entrapta turned around rapidly, leaving the baker with brow raised and perplexed.
He asked the neighboring pastry chef. “What did she mean by “they are alike that way?” His co baker simply giggled in response and pushed his cart heading towards the kitchen again.
Some people had left Dryl but Entrapta tried to think of it as a blessing.Entrapta meandered through the main hall using her hair as she moved around through the crowds. Some of the workers asked her questions directly and occasionally she would inquire about certain tasks. At one point she climbed into the vents to supervise the set up from a birds eye view. Direct communication with staff seemed more favorable among them however. She tried to have a balance amid her interactions. Entrapta hoped her kingdom’s people could be a little flexible with her because she was twisting and bending for them. She wanted to be a leader for Science foremost but she was cozying up to the idea of being a more prominent leader for her people. She had worked alone for several years but she was just now realizing she didn’t have too. There were people that liked her. There were people that wanted to live in Dryl. There were people that chose to move there just as there were people that chose to leave. Entrapta wanted to, had to, show them who she was.
Being a Princess of a kingdom on Etheria, was not easy. Entrapta had hopelessly believed being a princess would get easier as she grew. That it would make sense and she would know exactly what to do and how to “behave”. As an adult this should all be second nature right? But maybe this wasn’t easy because she had believed in someone else’s concept of what a Leader and Princess were. So maybe she should stop trying to follow someone else’s blueprint. She would be herself and there were people that would appreciate her for that.
Entrapta was going to make her way back up into the vents for a breather when a familiar figure appeared in the entryway of the hall, catching her eye. They were nowhere near her but their effect on her was instantaneous. Heart rate raised, eyes brightened, worries lifted all just from drinking in Hordak’s presence. She wanted to run towards him and melt into his arms but something held her back. The crowd and distance but also her shock?
She stayed frozen in place in shock of his appearance. He…was wearing his old armor and tabard. Where had he found it? How did he get it back? She thought it would have been lost to Prime’s illuminating wrath.
She couldn’t stop herself from gawking at the way her specially crafted and tailored armor once again adorned his body. There was something so magical about seeing him this way…again. This was Hordak. This was the Hordak she had lost and for a second time she felt a rekindling in her heart at knowing he was back in her life. He had worn that the last time they had worked together as lab partners. At recalling that lovely dubbing she was whisked away back to their Sanctum days.
Those days held a special place in her heart despite how long ago and how short of a time they were. Back then it did not seem that those moments could be so fragile. She did not realize how delicate it was until it suddenly broke. Perhaps the situation was still fragile? She had no clue where to begin in asking her friend, her best friend, such an emotionally intimate question.
After Prime, everything had happened so fast. Entrapta feared Hordak would slip from her grasp again, lost to her forever this time. With a wave of new inhabitants on the planet in the form of clones he could very well have hidden among them. No one would suspect a thing. Except Entrapta. At least that’s what she liked to believe. She wanted to believe that they had something rare and hard to find within the depths of the universe. So much so that she would be able to tell him apart from millions of genetic copies. Entrapta was a Lady of Science above all else but she was also an Etherian. Magic and the fantasies of happy endings were contagious around here.
If he hadn’t decided to live amongst the clones in hiding then perhaps Adora, she -Ra would retract her declaration of mercy upon him. He might be banished or given a lengthy punishment. It didn’t seem likely with She ras history… but Entrapta didn’t want to risk Hordak slipping out of her life again.
None of these things seemed especially likely. But again, she couldn’t risk a possibility. So Entrapta had told him he could stay with her. Before he could give a definite answer she was dragging him along home.
So to reiterate everything had happened so quickly. They missed each other it was true but having him live here was very odd for him for sure. He wasn’t in service of anything while under Entrapta’s kingdom and that felt strange. When first stranded on Etheria he was still under the service of the galactic horde in his mind. So he had not been truly free until now.
Despite all this freedom, he had never before felt this distant and restricted from Entrapta as he did now. There didn’t appear to be anything tangibly significant to impose such feelings in him. They were just there.
Meanwhile, Entrapta simply wanted to pick up where they left off back in the Sanctum. While Hordak instead, wanted to pick up from the beginning of their encounters. These thoughts had not been shared with each other at this point.
She soon realized he hadn’t noticed her from across the hall. He seemed tense as the workers swiveled around him. A few gave him nervous grins but for the most part they all kept busy not seeming to be fazed at the presence of the ex warlord. He seemed to be squinting at the crowd of people for a few seconds until a little frown settled on his lips. Nothing unusual there. He must be annoyed, a natural response to a crowd Entrapta would say. Suddenly his face changed however. His brow relaxed and his frown dropped into a slight gape. His hand raised to his chest a finger reached out to tap on a familiar gem. Worry seemed to be etched into his mannerisms now. Is he concerned now? Entrapta questioned.
“Ah, he’s looking for me!” Entrapta jumped in excitement as she rushed through the crowd of people that filled the distance between herself and Hordak. Hordak had already turned around to leave as Entrapta hurriedly made her way towards him.
She had not realized how fast she was going until she almost crashed into a taller woman holding a platter. She smiled sheepishly as she helped the woman steady the platter and herself again via her purple tresses. “No accident here.” She added as she turned to continue on her way quickly but also carefully this time.
When she got to the entryway leading out of the hall she called for him. He stopped in his tracks just before heading up a staircase.
“Entrapta?”
“I’m sorry…Did you want to see me? I understand if you still need some space I probably shouldn’t have assumed.” Entrapta said panting.
Was she out of breath from the energy exertion or from her nervous excitement. She did not want to look overtly fidgety so she tried folding her arms. But that didn’t work so she put them on her hips, then in her hair, then behind her back, until finally she threw her hands up in the air for no reason at all. Hordak didn’t seem at all wigged out by her mannerisms despite her newfound concern about it. All their time apart she had forgotten how it was never something he had been bothered with.
He was wearing a small smile now content with her presence alone. Entrapta didn’t notice because of how her hands felt out of place on her body at the moment.
“I did want to see you.”
Entrapta dropped her hands and played with the fabric of her baggy pants now.
“Okay. So now that you’ve seen me is that all you wanted or?” Entrapta tried to sound nonchalant to avoid being pushy.
“I suppose that was not a clear statement. I was hoping we could share some time together…in close proximity of one another.”
Entrapta noticed his voice faltered at the end of his statement. She was too overjoyed to say a word about it. She drew closer to him as she raised herself higher with her hair to look him straight in the eyes. Balling up her hands into fists from excitement she exclaimed, “I was hoping we could too!”