Work Text:
White…
Cold…
It was freezing. The cold stung. Despite the heavy purple and blue coat, despite the many layers she wore underneath, despite thick earmuffs and mittens, Glimmer was cold. Her face was exposed. The cold was biting at her. She didn’t feel like there was much she could have done about that. Sure. Maybe she could have brought a scarf. She had a ton of them back in Bright Moon. Probably more than half of them had been knitted by Aunt Casta. But Bow and Sea Hawk weren’t going to cover their faces. Heck… Adora wasn’t even wearing any extra clothing or coverings, opting instead to just be She-ra for the whole mission.
She claimed that being She-ra kept her warm, far warmer than any of the coats or layers she and Bow (and even her mother, who had really taken Adora under her wing after the Battle of Bright Moon). Bow had asked her outright if her refusal to wear any extra layers or a coat had anything to do with her trying out a few fighting forms while wearing a coat but finding that her movements stiff. Adora attempted to fight the accusation but wasn’t convincing. Instead she fell onto old arguments that She-ra was powerful and since that form provided her enough warmth, why waste it? Glimmer found herself envious of that power…
“How is she?” Bow poked his head into Adora’s room.
She was still out, resting in bed. Her breathing had gradually gotten better. It was less shallow now than it had been. Glimmer leaned over in her chair, reaching out to touch Adora’s forehead; hot to the touch, it felt like it was burning. It was slightly damp and slick. She frowned, her brow furrowing in concern.
“Still about the same,” Glimmer sighed as she leaned back into the chair. said with a sigh, leaning back into the wooden chair. She had brought it to Adora’s room earlier; a simple, plain wooden chair from her mother’s study. She hadn’t left Adora’s room since they had brought her here. She hadn’t wanted to leave Adora’s side, and neither had Bow. He left a bit ago to give her mother a short report about the mission.
The furrow in Glimmer’s brow deepened as she continued to watch Adora. It had been hours since they had returned from Snows. Hours since Adora had passed out. A medic, a woman by the name of Meeks, had already seen her. She had looked over Adora thoroughly, but she had actually been able to treat Adora. Any scrapes or cuts she had sustained from the fight in the Snows had already healed. Her healing ability was amazing! Once again, Glimmer found herself envious of it.
The door shut gently. There was the faint thump of Bow’s boots as he came to stand beside her. He didn’t say a word. He didn’t have to. He was worried. Worried about Adora. Worried about the chip. That stupid, stupid, chip. She could have sworn that they had destroyed that chip back in Dryl. In fact, she knew they had!
…
…
…Right?
Red, glowing lines began to snake their way across Adora’s skin. Her face and her hands. Glimmer blinked and–
”Catra, what did you do?!” Glimmer demanded angrily.
Red vines had spawn out of the Sword. They spread quickly, covering Adora’s arms and face. Her eyes now shone red, a menacing and ominous glint was in them. A harsh scream tore from Adora’s throat. She ran towards Glimmer, sword in hand–
Bow placed a hand on her shoulder. She adjusted in her chair, so she could be closer to him. At least as close as she could be. She leaned into his side, tucking her head under his arm. Her gaze never left Adora though. Slumbering. Or perhaps, just plain unconcious Adora.
It had been hours since they returned to Bright Moon. Mere seconds after she poofed them inches outside of the palace gates, Adora’s knees buckled, she wrapped her arms around her torso, and nearly rolled into a ball on the floor.
Adora had collapsed.
Bow frantically called for a medic. He sprinted to the infirmary, because nearby guards weren’t moving nearly fast enough! Glimmer made a mental note to talk to her mother about the guards’ slowness in helping Adora. Especially in helping Adora. She was She-Ra! She was the Face of the Rebellion! The Hero of Bright Moon! (And eventually Etheria!). She had already done so much for them! And yet–
”Oh please. You don’t have the guts,” Catra taunted. She was on the ground. Adora stood before her, the Sword of Protection inches away from her face.
Okay. Adora had this. Catra wasn’t a threat now. And Glimmer doubted that Adora would actually kill her. She could handle this. She could–
”Why don’t we try something new?”
A weird, loud, ebbing noise filled the Northern Reach. Glimmer knew she had to help Adora.
…And yet…
And yet, she had failed Adora. In fact, it felt as if Bright Moon had let Adora down…
…Again…
Adora hadn’t received the warmest of welcomes when she defected. And even after everything she had already done. Sacrificing (or rather, attempting to sacrifice) herself to free Glimmer. Fighting her own friends (and the closest people she had had for family before stumbling upon her and Bow in the Whispering Woods a…)...
Wait.
How long had it been since Adora had joined them?
Glimmer thought back. Months. A year? More than a year, she realized. Sure, they had accomplished some things. The Princess Alliance was back. The Rebellion wasn’t dying anymore. It wasn’t growing that much now either. It seemed as if sometime ago, sometime after the Battle of Bright Moon, things had stalled. Sure, Adora was growing stronger. Every day it seemed as if she had discovered some new power or ability as She-ra. Bow had become stronger as well. She had noticed a gradual change in him. Some of the lower level soldiers had begun to seek him out for advice and usually, if she or mother, or General Juliet weren’t available or pressed for time, and needed one of them for something, she would send them to Bow.
“Are you okay?” Bow asked. His voice was soft and gentle. She could feel his concerned gaze on her. She was still watching Adora. The slow rise and fall of her chest as she breathed.
“Y-yeah…” Glimmer replied. Adora and Bow had grown so much, while she hadn’t. She had stagnated and it could have nearly killed them all today–
”I know you’re still in there, Adora!” Glimmer pleaded amid poofs . Adora wasn’t lost. The same thing had happened in Dryl. All she needed to do was separate Adora from the Sword.
She couldn’t help Adora. She couldn’t separate her from the sword. She spent so much time dodging Adora’s frenzied swings. She wasted so much magic! She almost got them all killed.
”Shouldn’t you keep better count or something?”
Sea Hawk’s chiding echoed in her head.
“Glimmer?” Bow broke through her memories, through her thoughts.
“He was right,” she sighed, slumping into her chair. If they had died today, the Horde would’ve taken Adora, and a disk-infected She-ra could have (no… it most definitely would have) broken the Rebellion. Etheria could have fallen today.
“Sea Hawk,” Glimmer answered. She felt numb as she replayed the conversation in her head. For years, her mother had gotten onto her about her constant reliance on magic and her low reservoirs. She needed to strengthen them. She needed to–
“Glimmer,” Bow said, moving so that he stood between her and the bed. He knelt down, so that they were on eye-level. He slipped his hand off of her shoulder, and took one of her hands in his.
“You did great today,” he continued. His voice was firm. His gaze was unwavering. “What Sea Hawk was…” His voice faltered. He closed his eyes and sighed and then opened them again. There was a look of intensity in his brown eyes.
“Sea Hawk is right. We do need to find a better way to keep tabs on your magic. But… We survived today. Adora’s,” he stopped, peered over his shoulder at the still slumbering Adora and then met Glimmer’s gaze once again, “As far as we know, Adora should be okay. I mean, we’re gonna stay here and keep an eye on her, and make sure.”
He took a breath and then continued again, “Today has been… a lot… for all of us. You did so much today, Glimmer! If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have gotten Adora back.”
“I just feel like,” Glimmer began. Her frustration over her lack of growth built up. She wanted to tell Bow everything then. How frustrating it was to see the Rebellion stagnate like it was. How she wasn’t pulling her weight compared to him and Adora. As the Princess of Bright Moon and heir to the throne, she should be doing more! She should be–
“I understand,” Bow said gently.
Wait. What? He did? How? Bow released Glimmer’s hand and rubbed the back of his head.
“I mean. Everything picked up so quickly at first. But now… Now, it’s been the same thing for months. And it’s even more frustrating because you and Adora are doing so much on the side while I–”
“Wait! You and Adora are the ones who have actually been doing things! I haven’t done–”
“What do you mean?” Bow asked, an eyebrow raising in confusion. “You’ve been attending a lot of extra meetings with your mom. And you’ve been in constant communication with the Princess Alliance.”
“Yeah, but that’s not actual work, it’s–” Glimmer interjected.
“I’m pretty sure it is, Glim,” Bow countered, “Plus, you’ve grown so much as a leader.” A faint smile was on his face.
“What?” She blurted out.
“I mean, you actually look at a situation now and come up with reasonable tacticalplans. Like the old Glimmer would’ve just been teleport in, fight, and ask questions later. Sure, you always did your best to help everyone, but your ‘plans’ last year weren’t always great. We were winging it so much. You’ve grown, Glimmer. Be proud of that!”
Glimmer bolted out of the chair and embraced Bow, wrapping him into a tight hug. After a moment of surprise, Bow hugged her back.