Codependency

Part 8 // I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

"Catra, where are we going?" Adora stared wildly at the halls she hadn't seen in days.
"You are going to a holding cell, where I don't have to deal with you." Catra growled.
Adora's heart thudded in her throat.
"No! No, you can't put me somewhere and leave. Please." She held Catra's shirt tight.
"Be quiet, already! You're too much. This isn't how I thought it would be."
"Just tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it but please don't leave me alone!" Adora felt despair creeping into her stomach.
Catra let out an angry laugh.
"You won't be alone. I'll put you in a cell next to that princess we caught, and maybe then you'll start acting the way I want."
Adora implored Catra to reconsider her decision for the long walk to the cells, but Catra ignored her.
"I don't want to be near any princesses! Not until I'm back on the field kicking their-"
Catra shoved Adora in front of her.
"Your wounds have mostly healed, I have places to be, and you were right before. You should have been in here."
Adora saw the open space of the prison section loom in front of her as they passed through the entrance. A guard stationed by the doorway saluted Catra as they went by. The cells were reinforced with Horde tech that could hurt you if you tried to break through it, Adora remembered. Each cell was big enough to stand and take a few steps in, translucent on every side and presenting in a semi-circle around a platform in the center of the colossal room, where beyond, the metallic floors fell away into the dark depths of the compound.

It was agony realizing that Adora wouldn't even be able to look forward to Catra's company after hours or days of being alone anymore. As Catra turned down towards a set of cells, there was a movement beyond the transparent screen of one of them. A peaceful looking woman with pale yellow hair sat close to the doorway of her cell, taking in the sight of Catra handling her prisoner.
That's a princess. Adora's failure of a memory informed her.
"Adora!" The woman exclaimed, looking like she'd seen her parents come back from the dead.
Great. This one knew her.

"Don't leave me here, Catra!" Adora shrieked as Catra shoved her into the cell beside the princess'.
Adora tried to stand and turn, but Catra had already activated the electric force-field. Adora slammed a fist onto the screen anyway, resulting in a jolt of shocking pain down her body.
"No! Catra!" Adora stared intently through the screen at the figure that was walking away, it's tail frazzled and lashing.
"Catra!"
"Adora?"
Adora refused to look over. She punched the wall harder, and it singed her knuckles.
"Adora, please look over here! It's me!" The girl in the next cell pleaded. "It's Perfuma!"
Adora finally turned to glare at the princess.
"Leave me alone, princess." She spat. "Catra!" Adora yelled through the screen again.
The woman who called herself Perfuma spoke.
"Adora, what has happened to you?" Her voice was gentle and full of genuine concern. "You're hurt!"
Adora ignored her and paced to the back of her cell. She walked around the far side of her cell, avoiding the princess as much as she could.
"She can't do this. She can't do this."
"Please, talk to me." Perfuma begged. "We've been so worried. Glimmer had gotten all of us together to plan your rescue, but I ended up getting caught instead. I do not know what's happened to the rest of our friends..."
Adora stomped hard, and a frustrated grunt escaped her throat. Glimmer, another word that hurt Adora's head but meant nothing to her. She slumped down in the middle of her cell and drew her knees close to her chest.
"What did they do to you?" Perfuma inquired, obviously looking over Adora's various bandages. "Oh, Adora..."
Adora snapped her head up to chastise the princess.
"Stop saying my name. Stop acting like I'm your friend. You are a princess. We will never be friends."
Please let Catra be nearby. Let her hear this.
Perfuma looked taken aback, as though she had expected Adora to be thrilled to see her.
"Dearest She-ra, it's me. Of course we are friends. I won't hurt you." The girl murmured soothingly.
Adora's eyes blazed with fury.
"Don't say that name! Don't say my name- don't speak to me! I won't fall for princess sorcery!" Not again.
Perfuma's gaze glistened with worry and sadness.
"I do not know what the Horde has done to you, but I assure you that it will be okay. Glimmer will find a way to rescue us." She promised.
Adora put her face down into her knees and sulked.
I left Catra for one of these... princesses? Shame gnawed at her belly.
I wanted Catra to hurt me, but I didn't want her to leave. Why is nothing I do to appease her working?
Perfuma tried talking to Adora a few more times, but Adora refused to hear it. Rather, she wanted to ignore it, but the mash of names and terms rang bells in Adora that she couldn't avoid. Adora was just about tired of hearing it. Eventually, the princess went silent, but Adora could feel her eyes still on her.
Adora turned her back on the other prisoner and lay on the hard floor, letting sleep claim her.