Chapter Text
Princess C'yra, heir to the throne of Half-Moon after Queen C'yra II.
When Catra was a young girl, her mothers, C'yra and Luna, had always told her that she would be crowned Queen after C'yra had stepped down. She would be ruling the kingdom of Half-Moon with their help. However, now that they're both gone from this world, Catra no longer wanted the title of Queen.
Every day, she longed for the hugs that they would give her, the voices that she would hear nagging her every day. Catra hugged herself tighter.
One of the best memories she had with them was when they had given her the nickname Catra, people would always confuse her with her mother, C'yra since they both had the same name. God, she really missed them a lot.
"When I find that son of a bitch murderer, I'll tear them apart myself," Catra vowed.
A great tremor overtook her as a tear tickled her cheek and her lips began to quiver. She felt emptiness in her heart. If her mothers were here now, they would be consoling her.
Her room door swung open and in came her Aunt Cassia. Her aunt was temporarily taking over the throne now until Catra turned eighteen. Catra did have her suspicions that Aunt Cassia was connected to the murder especially since she had been weirdly joyful after learning that the throne was hers for now.
"C'yra, darling, I have something to tell you!" Aunt Cassia squealed.
"What is it, Auntie?"
"You're going to be marrying Prince Adam of Eternia!"
Catra's eyes widened. She had heard of Prince Adam before but never actually met him. She had also heard of Prince Adam's sister who had escaped the castle a while back because she was supposed to be Queen but her parents decided to pass the throne onto Adam instead. What was her name again? Adora, was it?
Either way, she knew why her aunt had arranged a marriage for her. If she married Prince Adam, she would be moving to Grayskull Castle in Eternia because their kingdom was larger, while her aunt could continue ruling Half-Moon in Etheria. Catra was turning eighteen next year and she knew how desperate Aunt Cassia was to keep the throne to herself.
"What- But Aunt Cassia, I'm not even into guys. Plus, I'm only seventeen!" Catra protested.
"Well, I'm sorry, darling but the marriage has already been settled. Your wedding is in two days." Aunt Cassia left her room.
The whole scenario replayed itself in Catra's head. She couldn't believe it, her aunt had arranged an entire marriage for her without her consent! She lay down on her bed, completely in shock. She cried herself to sleep that night.
_______
Catra woke up in the dead of night, she rolled around in her bed, wanting to go back to her dreams in order to escape reality.
Finally, after being unsuccessful in trying to go back to sleep, she sat up on her bed with her head leaning against the headboard. She sighed.
She started thinking about how Adora ran away from her castle. She couldn't help but agree with Adora's actions. Imagine working hard your entire life, giving yourself extra restrictions just so you could be the perfect queen for your people, only for your parents to give the throne to someone else without a valid reason.
What point was there to stay in the castle and watch someone take your dreams away from you? Staying in the castle meant that there were plenty of rules to follow while running away would mean freedom. (Despite, having to hide so no one would find her, of course.)
Catra wasn't going to marry Prince Adam and she knew it. She didn't even care about being queen any longer. Her duty now was to escape this marriage and find her mothers' murderer.
So she dressed herself up in the most casual way, packed her bag, and off she went.
Obviously, Catra wasn't going to jump down from her window, she wasn't stupid. Her room was on one of the highest levels in the castle and even if she made it downstairs, there would be royal guards on their night shift. So the only possible way now was to go out through the secret passageway her mom - C'yra had found when she was a little kitten, she then told Catra about when Catra was a kitten. Hopefully, she would still be able to fit through it.
A slight creaking sound could be heard as Catra opened her room door. It seemed as though a dark shadow was looming behind her as she walked through it.
She remembered that the passageway was in the library which was a level below her.
The staircase winded upwards in a magnificent spiral, each step spreading out precisely from its central core. "What if I fail to do this and get caught?" Catra grew anxious. It felt like her mind was stuck in a loop of anxious thoughts. She was tense and worried, unable to focus on anything else. "No, I can do this!" she later affirmed.
Walking down those steps made Catra realise just how many memories she had inside these castle walls.
Before finally reaching the level of the library, she sighed through her nose.
As she walked inside and towards the secret passageway that was hidden behind a gigantic painting, she started to rethink everything. "Maybe I should just go back..." she thought with a heavy heart.
Subconsciously, she had already moved the painting and crawled in despite her thoughts. Of course, she felt guilt. Now, Catra wasn't the type to usually cry over things but when it came to separation, that was a whole new kind of situation. She was parting with her home now... her home...
After what seemed like forever, she finally made it out of the passageway. It took far longer than Catra had remembered.
The passageway led her underground and into the Whispering Woods. She recalled her grandfather, King Cyrus II, telling her tales about how no one would be able to make it out of the woods alive after going in. "But those were just children's tales, I'm sure. I'm not afraid of some trees and bushes." Catra ventured, brushing off his words.
The Whispering Woods seemed eerie, yet magical. A butterfly flew around her, landing on her shoulder. Surprisingly, its wings seemed to be glowing.
Catra's eyes dilated. As a Magicat, she had always fancied bright and sparkly things.
She lifted a finger, trying to poke the butterfly's wings. To her dismay, it flew away before she could even find out what its wings felt like.
"Awh..." the Princess droned.
Catra kept walking and walking. She had been strolling around in a straight line but she swore that it felt like she was walking around in circles considering that she had seen that rock an hour ago.
The brunette's ears twitched. She had heard a noise... a humming sound. Was there someone else here?
She sniffed, hoping to be able to track down whatever (or, whoever) was making that sound.
It didn't take long for Catra to find out where the sound was coming from.
She pushed some leaves away in order to get a clear sight. It was... Princess Adora? Catra's eyes widened before she rubbed them, making sure that they weren't deceiving her.
Princess Adora was dressed in a white, long-sleeved blouse that reached just above her knees. Her blonde hair was let down and she had a flower crown. (Plus, if Catra was honest, that blouse was doing Adora some justice, the cleavage it was showing was making her gay-panic.)
Adora was watering her plants when Catra came over. She seemed to have gotten a shock when she saw the brunette as she flung her watering can away. "I uh... I'm A... Amelia! Yeah! Hi, I'm Amelia!" the blonde babbled. Guess she must've recognised Catra and thought that she was going to make her go back to Eternia.
"You're terrible at acting, Adora." Catra snorted. "Chill, I'm not gonna make you go back to Eternia. I ran away from Half-Moon." the brunette Princess explained. Adora's facial expression made it obvious that she seemed like she thought Catra was lying to her, meanwhile, Catra was standing there looking at Adora, unsure of what to do.
Catra noticed the cottage house behind Adora and assumed that it was her place. The walls were pale yellow and the roof was navy green. There were a bunch of pink flowers and the house looked absolutely cozy. It was definitely smaller than the castle but it was large enough for at least 3 people to live in comfortably.
It was only then that Catra realised that she had never decided on where she was going to go after running away.
"Could I stay at your place for now? I never really thought of where I was going to go after I ran away, I'll move out when I find my own place, I promise," she asked. Adora looked reluctant to agree but after she saw the bag, Catra's clothes, and how genuine she looked, her conscience started kicking in and she had no choice but to agree. "Fine, you can stay," she sighed.
~~~
We Live More Than Once
They say that we live only once.
I don't believe that's true
As we become different people
Depending on what we go through.
From the day that we arrive on earth
We grow, develop and change
So how can we remain as one
When nothing stays the same?
Some people are enchanted by babies
Seeing magic in all that they do.
Of course, you also lived as a baby
But that's no longer you.
Yesterday's you has gone away
But do not mourn for her
For you're all you can be today;
She's just the girl you were.
-Ms Moem