Work Text:
Catra hit the ground hard. Her hand scraped over the rocky ground and her sword clattered away out of reach. She found herself on her back with her lip split open where Bow had struck her with his bow.
Bow stood over the woman, nocked an arrow, and aimed it at Catra’s heart. “It’s over, Catra,” he said.
Catra was well aware that it was over. Everything was over. The Rebellion had hit from all sides at once. They were already storming the walls of the Fright Zone. All around her she heard the sounds of battles, battles the Horde were losing, and the destruction of Horde troopers. A tank exploded close to her right.
“You’ll have to kill me,” she said. “Do you think you can do it?”
Bow’s grip on the string tightened. His aim remained steady and true. All he had to do was release the arrow and Catra would die. Of course he could do it. This was war. He didn’t have time to take her prisoner, and if he did, she would be torn to pieces by the Rebel army. Killing her now would be a kindness.
“I’m sorry it’s come to this,” Bow said.
“I told you all those years ago I’d meet up with you,” said Catra. The day they met, before the Great Rebellion was even born.
* * * * *
Bow stepped out of the cool autumn night and entered a tiny pub at the edge of a town nestled in the forest. Near his head hovered Kowl. One look around the pub was enough for the flying creature. “I don’t like the looks of this crowd at all,” Kowl said. “They’re all skin and bones.”
Bow closed the door. “Come now, Kowl,” he said. “The Horde’s been burning their fields for months. These people no longer have the crops to feed themselves.” He took a seat at the bar, and ordered an ale for himself, and a tumbler of mead for Kowl.
“It’ll take more than hungry stomachs to stave off the Horde,” Kowl said.
“Unfortunately, I agree with you,” said Bow. “If only we could convince Queen Angella to extend her protection to these border villages.”
“Bright Moon has it’s own problems with the Horde,” said Kowl.
The bartender set down the drinks. “I notice you carry a harp, archer,” he said. “Would you play a song for us?”
Bow looked at the bartender, then glanced around the pub. Several pairs of worried and weary eyes met his gaze. Bow offered a sympathetic smile and unslung the harp from his back. The instrument was quickly tuned, and Bow sang a sad, slow song about the Princess of Bright Moon and the Glimmer of hope in dark and troubled times.
Sitting further down the bar, alone and drinking a goblet of wine, Catra was in her own little world. Hordak had offered her a ludicrous position. Force Commander of the Horde. She would lead the troops into battle – which these days meant slaughtering resistant farmers and burning villages – and report to the Force Captain, someone named Adora. The pay was outstanding. Not only was there gold to be made, but she’d get her pick of slaves, for whatever entertainment she could desire. And she’d be in a position of power.
The problem was Catra wasn’t fond of the idea of working under a Force Captain, but then, she wasn’t above eliminating someone in the way of a promotion. Hordak was another thing entirely, however. She couldn’t exactly assassinate the leader of the Horde on Etheria and expect to take his place. And then there was that sorceress Hordak kept at his side. She could prove to be a huge pain in Catra’s side.
Her only other options were to try to carve out a piece of Etheria for herself, and battle the Horde, Bright Moon, that Ice Queen in the north, and a number of other little factions for control, or take the first transport off this accursed planet and find someone else to conquer. The only transports coming in and out, however, were controlled by the Horde. She didn’t like the idea of booking passage with them after refusing their offer of employment.
Only after Bow’s song came to an end and the patrons half-heartedly applauded did Catra even realize there had been music in the pub. She turned in her seat and let her gaze drift over the man at the bar. Strong, powerful, an archer as well as a musician if his belongings were any indication. Whoever he was, he was far more man than any of the other locals Catra had met since she’d been here. “You play well, musician,” Catra said in a sultry voice.
“Thank you, Madam,” Bow said with a smile. Catra felt his eyes roaming over her body, her curves accentuated and her flesh teasingly revealed by her little red dress. She didn’t mind in the least. Let him look all he liked. Men who wanted her would be more willing to follow her.
“Name’s Catra,” the woman purred.
“Nice to meet you, Catra. I’m Bow, and this is my friend Kowl. What are you drinking?” said Bow.
Catra peeked into her empty goblet and slid it across the bar to the bartender, though her eyes rested on Bow’s gaze. “Apparently the only wine left in stock,” she said while the bartender refilled her cup.
“Do you live around here?” Bow asked.
Catra shook her head and felt her glossy black hair brush at her shoulders. “No, I’m from… away. But I’m thinking of taking a job here,” she said.
“Kowl and I are heading to Bright Moon,” said Bow. “You’d be more than welcome to join us.”
“Planning to join the royal army, are you?” Catra asked.
“I’m hoping I can be of some help to them,” said Bow with a smile.
Catra moved down the bar to sit next to the man. She casually brushed her fingers along his arm as his eyes lowered to drink in her curves once again. She sipped her wine, giving Bow time to admire her. “Have you ever thought about joining the Horde army?” she asked.
“The Horde?” Bow asked, quickly looking up into Catra’s eyes. “I would never join such a ruthless band of thugs!”
“They do have superior numbers and technology,” Catra said.
“What they lack is heart and pride and integrity,” said Bow. “As long as there are free people on Etheria, they’ll never win this war.”
“You’re very passionate,” said Catra. She cupped Bow’s face with her warm fingers and studied his eyes. “Perhaps I will accept your offer and accompany you to Bright Moon,” she said. She might as well see what both sides had to offer her. She could always betray one for the other later.
“I’d like that very much,” Bow said.
Catra ran her fingers through Bow’s shaggy hair, and guided his head toward hers. She tilted her head, but just before her lips met his, the door of the pub crashed open. Catra and Bow turned to see what the commotion was.
Standing in the doorway, with a group of troopers behind him, was Mantenna. The bug-eyed creature shouted, “Surrender in the name of the Horde and no one will be harmed.” The troopers filed in and approached the patrons.
One old man stood up and threw a defiant punch at a trooper. His hand broke on impact with the trooper’s helmet. To add injury to insult, the trooper shot the man point blank. The other men of the village offered no resistance after that and allowed the Horde troopers to escort them outside the building.
Bow, on the other hand, nocked an arrow and sent it flying at the trooper heading his way. The arrow pierced the trooper’s helmet, knocking it over with a crash. Sparks flew from it’s shattered face.
“You’ll pay for that!” Mantenna shouted.
Catra stared in shock at Bow. “What are you doing?” she asked.
Bow reached for another arrow, but lazer fire from a trooper gun blasted his bow out of his hand. He and Catra quickly had a dozen guns pointed at their chests. Kowl had taken refuge behind the bar and was staying out of sight.
“Surrender, prisoners,” Mantenna said.
“I’d rather die than become a Horde slave,” said Bow.
“That can be arranged,” said Mantenna. “Ready your weapons, men!”
“Wait!!” yelled Catra. “Don’t you know who I am?” she said.
Mantenna held up a hand to halt the troopers. Catra inwardly cringed as the bug-eyed freak studied her. “No,” he finally said. “Should I know you?”
“I’m the new Force Commander, you idiot!” she shouted, exhibiting all the confidence she held. “And this is my lover! How dare you threaten us?”
“Hordak didn’t tell me there was a Force Commander in this village,” said Mantenna.
“Of course he didn’t!” Catra yelled. “We were preparing the village for your arrival, but now you’ve blown our cover!”
“I’ll have to confirm this with Hordak,” Mantenna said.
Catra sighed and lowered her voice, though she sounded more dangerous speaking softly than when she was yelling. “Very well. I’ll come with you,” she said. She turned to Bow, grabbed him, and placed a deeply passionate kiss on his lips. Catra was pleased that Bow reciprocated.
“Go,” she said to Bow. “I’ll meet up with you later. Take your friend with you.”
Bow studied the mysterious woman’s eyes for a long moment. Was she sacrificing herself for him? Was she really a member of the Horde, and if so, why was she letting him go? He decided now wasn’t the time for answers. They would come, eventually. “Come along, Kowl,” he said. Finding his friend peeking from behind the bar, Bow looked back at Catra, but she had already turned her back to him and was leading the Horde out the door.
* * * * *
“I’m glad it had to be you,” Catra said. She tasted blood on her lip and wiped it off with the back of her hand. “It’d be embarrassing if I were killed by, say, Mermista.. or Glimmer.”
“It’s not too late to join the Rebellion,” Bow said. “Help us capture Hordak.”
Catra slowly, sadly shook her head. “No. She-Ra would never believe in me. And even if she did, the other Rebels would demand my head. I would.”
Bow slowly lowered his weapon and looked away from the woman helpless on the ground. “There’s a ship about two miles back there. Take it and go,” he said.
Catra stared up at Bow. She didn’t like being at anyone’s mercy, or in their debt. Her lips curled in a slow smile despite herself. She slowly got to her feet, retrieved her sword, and walked away.
“Hey Catra,” Bow said. She didn’t turn around to look back. He didn’t either. “Try to stay out of trouble out there.”
“You too, lover,” she replied.