Magic of Etheria

Chapter 23 | Forge of the First Ones

Catra looked back toward me with her ears pinned back, clearly bothered by the thought of something bad happening. 'But what if-'

'The Princess Entrapta and She-Ra are indeed correct,' the Elder stated, interrupting Catra before she could start listing the ways it could go wrong. 'There are centuries old guardian robots within the Forge. However, they have been powered down for a considerable length of time. Their prime directive is also to protect to Forge, not to harm those who wish to activate it.' He pulled put a small circular device from his pocket that seemed to be attached to his jacket with a chain and observed it for a moment. It must be some kind of timepiece, as there was no way to know the time of day from below ground. 'The alignment is almost upon us. If you are ready, Adora, the time is now. I believe you know how to open the door.'

I took a deep breath and nodded, pushing down my worries about robots and resolving myself to tackle the task ahead. I turned back to look at the door once again. That word sticking out more than usual, like it was trying to draw me in and whisper its secret meaning to me. Obviously, no whispers came. It was just a word on a door. Or a squiggly pattern of lines and shapes to everyone else who can't read it. I knew it must be important somehow, but it would have to wait. Perhaps I could find Bow's dads and see if they know anything about it...

'Elder and I will be keeping an eye on you from the control room!' Entrapta added eagerly, hiding the pad in her hair and hoisting herself of the ground to rest on those purple stilts. 'As soon as the Forge is activated it has to be turned on so that it can be in a constant state of refining, otherwise it will steadily lose power.'

'Good luck, Adora.' The Elder smiled and turned to leave, starting back in what I guessed to be the direction of the control room. Entrapta followed close behind, speaking at him and asking more questions about possible uses of etherium and its applications.

It was just me and Catra now, standing next to each other in front of the door. 'Okay, I can do this.' As I stepped forward, Catra didn't. She let go of my hand and stepped back, her tail wrapping around her legs as she hugged herself with ears low. I felt my brows crease together as a wave on confusion washed over me. Was she not coming?

'I know what you're going to say. Don't worry about me, Adora. I'll wait here. You have your hero moment.'

'Catra, that's nowhere close to what I want. You're a terrible mind-reader. I want you with me, by my side. I won't feel safe unless you're there with me.' I let the truth spill from my mouth. I can't imagine ever going into a situation like this without Catra ever again, though her anxiety about it is understandable. The last time we were in a First Ones temple together, it didn't end brilliantly after all.

I felt a wave of relief wash over me as her ears perked up once again and let out the breath that was caught in my throat. She looked at me for a long moment, apparently stunned. 'Adora... are you sure? What if I... What if I endanger you again?'

Fighting down conflicting feelings is something I've become somewhat of a master at over the years. On one hand, I wanted to keep her safe and would love nothing more than to keep her out of harms way. On the other, I love her an incredible amount and trust her completely. She has, after all, been training with her magic and at least has a better understanding of how it works. 'Come on,' I said, reaching my hand out towards her, 'I'd feel safer if you were with me.'

'You... you really want me with you?'

The answer to that one is simple, blindingly sappy, and will forever be true. 'Always.'

Despite the corny grin on my face, a sweet little smile appeared on Catra's as she reached out and took my hand, her tail swaying happily behind her as she wrapped herself around my arm. We stood there, just looking at each other for a moment. It may have been longer than a moment, I'm not always entirely sure when I'm lost in those eyes. Before I knew what I was doing, my hand was caressing her cheek and my lips were on hers. She kissed me back gently, squeezing my arm and sighing softly.