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The Heart of Halfmoon

The Growling Sea

Etheria

Two and half years after Catra's abduction

Ariel walked out on deck as the morning light grew. She padded out of her cabin, staring up at the riot of colors blended across the sky, yellows and oranges and purples blurring together as the bright blue of a nearly cloudless sky.

She was wearing clothes Kesi had picked out for her; it felt strange to wear anything else now. In what felt like no time at all, her identity had become saturated with Kesi. With cave culture. With Halfmoon. Her earrings had been Kesi's, just a day before. She had the blanket she'd stolen from Kesi draped around her; it still smelled like her and felt like the ghost of her touch.

It wasn't the same as waking up in her arms. Or holding her.

Imprinting. Magic. A greater love than I've ever known, a people I only vaguely knew - and everything I ever wanted I found underground.

The deck was smooth and warm and dry under her bare feet - the magics the shipwrights of Halfmoon had built into Sea Hawk's new ship were incredible. She knew a lot of naval vessels used by Bright Moon and Salineas had the same kind of enchantments, but most of the cargo vessels didn't.

This had the magics of both a cargo vessel and a military vessel. It had enchantments the magicat sorcerers had made up just for Sea Hawk's ship; the Heart of Halfmoon was important to them, because it was their connection back to the world above.

The world had forgotten Halfmoon - if it had ever known them. Ariel stared up at the billowing copper sails. Was the world ready for Halfmoon? The emergence of a lost nation, with a monarchy and a royal line and a RuneStone. Magical traditions and a history going back to before the First Ones?

It was a culture as fully realized as Bright Moon's. As ancient as Mystacor or the Scorpioni. But forgotten. It was sad to know the people she loved - her brother, her girlfriend - were almost myths to most of the surface. Frightening to know many would be afraid of what they represented. And hopeful she was standing on the precipice of a new era.

She walked along the deck, feeling it sway under her, the breeze brush over her skin, the light almost too bright after a month underground. She missed the security of it; ensconced under the world, protected by stone and magic. As safe as she was in the clouds of Mystacor.

I've turned into such a spoiled brat.

A girl raised in work camps was craving the safety of her hidden strongholds. Akrash would never let her live it down. (It was fair. She still teased him about his panic when she found out Mystacor floated high above Etheria.)

Magic hummed around her, reacting to her as she walked. The magicat sorcery buzzed around her, the enchantments whispering the songs of their complexity and endurance, tied into the endless magic of Etheria.

Heart of Halfmoon was a work of art.

Sea Hawk could sail the mighty ship on his own - for the most part. The journey from Halfmoon back to Salineas wasn't going to be bad, but she knew Sea Hawk would eventually need a crew. Which might be harder, mostly working for a secret society.

He'd figure out a crew. (And she might do some recruiting for him in Mystacor. She knew a couple of sea witches who would love to sail with him and find out about Halfmoon. And get the chance to frustrate the Horde.)

She looked back up at the sky, wrapping her blanket around herself. The air was sharp and cool - it always was on this part of the Growling Sea. Or so Sea Hawk had told her. (Her Captain was a strange man. Full of knowledge. Experience. And joy. But she wasn't sure he wasn't insane.)

The storm the day before had been incredible - the raw fury of it as they sailed atop the water had taken her breath away. She had used simple magics to wrap a shield around the boat, keeping them from getting rained on or knocked over by the terribly powerful winds.

Sea Hawk and somehow steered the ship so the winds pushed the ship farther and faster. They had made a lot of progress overnight - she could smell the difference in the ocean.

Which was something she was getting used to. Weeks after imprinting on Kesi and her senses of smell and hearing increasing exponentially, she was still startled by scents - like the ocean being different on open water than near Catra's Cove.

I went to Seaworthy to negotiate better prices for Mystacor on basic staples, and I'm coming home with a magicat girlfriend and knowing secrets Mom has been hinting at for years.

Ariel knew her mother had her theories. Casta's arcane calculations - far beyond what most others in Mystacor could follow - proved to her there were other RuneStones. Casta had often argued the Spirit Ember hadn't been destroyed at Mount Candila - and that there might be other RuneStones, somewhere. Or other great nexuses of magic.

Most people thought she was a little crazy. Ariel was bringing back proof. How much was her little excursion going to change?

She knew she'd been impulsive, following a suspicious magicat around Seaworthy. But her brother had been gone for two years. She knew her mother would know if Akrash had died, but there was no telling what kind of trouble he was in. He had mentioned jail as a possibility when he'd decided to go. (She hadn't talked to him for several days before he left. Because why risk himself? He deserved better.) When she'd heard the strange magicat and her lizardman friend tell the Captain they were from Halfmoon -

She couldn't resist finding out why they were stealing medical and potion supplies.

At first it looked and felt like just a criminal operation. Steal the supplies, sell them on the black market. They used local criminals. They hijacked a ship! Being told 'there's an epidemic' had felt like a convenient excuse.

But Sea Hawk had pressed her. "Fair lady! With your might and magic you may well take our hard won bounty from us! But I fear for you! For once you know we were true and in your anger, you struck down the hope of an entire people…it is not a burden you should bear, for your heart is bright. Give us time to prove ourselves, and if we prove the villains you think we are - then destroy us with a clear heart!"

He hadn't known, but knowing her brother's people - maybe even her brother - might have been sick had been the deciding factor. She was very glad she listened to the doubts Sea Hawk had planted.

Sea Hawk was right where she left him - standing at the helm, steering the ship. He had changed clothes and she saw a plate with the remnants of breakfast next to him. She tugged her blanket tighter around her and made her way up next to him.

"It's easier to sleep in a bunk than the cargo hold. I'm pretty well rested. Do you need to take a break?"

She couldn't really pilot the ship, and she knew it, but she was also fairly sure he could show her how to keep them on course and not capsize. (Probably with a song.)

Sea Hawk laughed softly. "I did try to tell you as much on our way to Halfmoon. I am glad you slept well! The bunks they gave us are delightfully comfortable. I slept for several hours last night. The spells on the ship kept us on course and safe."

Ariel rolled her eyes. The captain was never going to let her forget her refusal to come up from the hold and join them on the run from Bright Moon. She'd been pissed off at being basically kidnapped (even if she did it to herself!) and terrified of where they were going and what they were doing.

She hadn't started actually believing them about needing medicines to save a sick people until Sea Hawk had all but begged her to cast preservation spells. Sent down food. And water. And a bed.

Every night, he'd opened the hold and sang and told stories. She heard the lizardman talking, though she couldn't understand him, but she'd heard the magicat - Elara - talking too. About her wife, so recently dead of Cave Fever.

All three had sung, sitting around a lantern. Sea Hawk had sung shanties. Rogelio had sung hunting songs. And Elara had sung mourning songs.

It had only taken her a few days to realize she had been wrong. Her desire to follow Elara and find out what a magicat was doing in Seaworthy had led her to interfere in something important. She could have ruined everything. She almost had - because she had been about to burn her way through the hull of the ship when she realized they were heading for open water.

She'd also started to hope it would lead her back to Akrash.

She'd done her best for them, casting her strongest protective and preservative spells on their precious cargo and - to a certain extent - keeping watch over it. A quiet penance and way to deal with her fear.

She hadn't stopped being afraid until she'd collapsed into Kesi's arms. It had been fear and desperation driving her to take control of the train. Wanting to help Akrash. Help Akrash's people.

And because a part of her had wanted to be connected to Halfmoon. Desperately. To share that part of her brother with him.

As long as she'd known her brother, part of him was tied to Halfmoon. Part of him had never left - could never leave - Halfmoon. He carried more guilt for what had happened than he ever deserved, and he had long since paid any debt he might have owed them.

His parents had been horrible; they had forced him into so much. He hadn't done anything, but fear of them had kept him silent.

She knew he carried guilt for that, too. Not that she didn't understand. Her guilt for what she had almost done to stop the medicine run had been one of the things driving her magic as she'd controlled the train.

But Akrash had been a child, under the eyes and control of powerful, ruthless, and terrible people. She had been an adult making stupid decisions.

She could remember every minute of controlling the train. She had never felt closer to magic than she had for those few hours; her sense of self had faded in and out, and there was only the chant, uttering and changing the spell as the train moved, letting the magic race and rage through her.

She remembered the pain, the exhaustion. She remembered Sea Hawk singing to the cadence of her chant. Rogelio drumming. Catra whispering to her.

She had felt more a part of something in those few minutes than she had at any time in her life. She had felt more connected to the world, to people.

She had been doing something important. Meaningful.

And it hadn't faded when she woke up in the infirmary. She had met - such amazing people in Halfmoon. Her brother had been there. The girl she would fall in love with. An old doctor who saw her brother as his son. A princess who smiled at her through tears and the ache of loneliness and who wanted her to be happy. A Queen who thought more about her people than herself - so much like her aunt Angella it hurt.

Now, her fate, her life - her heart - was tied to Halfmoon. Her path to and from Halfmoon was Captain Sea Hawk, who was so much more and less than she thought he was. He hummed to himself as he steered the ship.

He was now an integral and important part of her life - a friend who had earned her respect.

Catra had used him, Ariel knew. Sea Hawk knew, too. He had used Halfmoon and Catra - but under all of it, there was a core of shared belief and shared desire to fix what was broken in the world.

Ariel knew the world had come close to breaking Catra.

Ariel knew. Kesi knew. How could they not? Catra's tears had been for the other part of her heart, lost somewhere in her past. Probably in the darkness of the Horde. She could only imagine the loneliness Catra felt was far worse than what she felt without Kesi, a mere day apart…

Catra was stronger than anyone Ariel knew.

"This time, I want you to teach me how to sail. So I can help when I'm aboard ship. I think I'll be doing a fair bit of traveling with you, Captain."

Sea Hawk smiled. "But of course! We are mere days away from Salineas at this speed - a bit more than a week. Plenty of time to learn!"

Ariel winced. Another week. Travel time to Mystacor - even teleporting from Salineas, it would closer to four months since she had been home. Two months longer than she was supposed to have been gone.

She was going to be in a lot of trouble. Her mother was going to kill her. Even with the vid message from Akrash and the letter from Princess Catra. And the documents from Queen Lyra. And the vid message from Kesi.

(And the secret message - a vid from Lenio for Casta. She hadn't dared watch it, as much as she wanted to.)

She sighed. "Thank you, by the way. For being willing to take me back next time you go."

She would have found her way back. Somehow.

They'd made so many plans. Akrash and Lenio were going to let her study at the Hall of the Lost Temple. Kesi was going to take her to services at the High Temple. She was going to help Akrash (whether he wanted her to or not) and she was going to wake up next to Kesi.

Every morning. In a giant bed in a castle. In rooms where the closets already had clothes for her. Where the kitchens knew to send up cream for her tea and cheese with her meals. The Queen had talked about naming her an ambassador!

How weird was that?

"Ahh, fair lady! Who am I to stand in the way of fated love? It is against the way of the adventurer to stand between lovers! Why, the fates themselves would bend their wills against me and the seas might well rise up and swallow me! Be assured, lady sorceress, when I return to Halfmoon, so shall you - and to she who has your heart! You have the word of Captain Sea Hawk!"

Ariel blushed and hated it. How did he do that? Somehow turn a dramatic and sincere statement into a way to both tease and reassure? The man was a menace!

She walked forward to the railing, leaning over it to watch the ocean speed by below them. The waves seemed gentle and soft this far out, but she could only imagine how deep the waters went or what lived beneath them. The water stretched out on all sides of them, an endless expanse of blue and white, reflecting the colors of the rising daymoons.

"I already miss it, you know. And her. I felt - at home there."

She already ached to go back. To Kesi. To Akrash. To the cave culture - they'd welcomed her like no one but Casta ever had. They'd folded her in and she'd luxuriated in it. No one had been afraid of her. Of her magic. Of her mother. Of her.

The first few days had been - intense. Cave culture magicats were insanely close to each other. She'd never been hugged by, cuddled by, or offered affection so freely by so many people. She'd never felt so comfortable in her own skin or with her own power.

She'd never felt as needed as when she'd gone with them to help Halfmoon recover. She'd spent her magic recklessly, learning construction spells and wards and the day to day magics they used. She'd comforted sick children while her brother had treated them. She'd helped Akrash and the Queen reinforce the wards.

She'd stood next to her brother and General Askar and Princess Catra as they'd had tense 'talks' with the fishfolk about the attack along the Princess' Path. She'd stood there, staff in hand, letting lightning crackle around her eyes, and reminding them what she had done.

Part of her felt immense guilt for their deaths. They would have killed her and Catra and the rest. She had killed a lot of them. But Akrash had told her; they had taken children before. This was a quiet, building war.

And it wasn't her first battle.

But standing on the shore of the Dark Lake, realizing she was protecting Halfmoon. Her brother's people. Kesi's people.

For once, her power had meant something.

"I have never felt so welcome in a place I have never been." Sea Hawk smiled and stared out ahead of them, his eyes on the vastness of the seas. "But like you, I dread what my absence will have wrought. I have missed my lovely Mermista with all my heart since I left Salineas last, but she knew I would be gone weeks or months. Not nearly half a year. I fear her temper will be - quite fierce. But our love is strong! She will forgive me! Eventually."

He checked his instrumentation and tapped something into the map. "I look forward to going back to Halfmoon, too. Being welcome in a place - is something I have missed far more than I knew. I am at home at sea, and I am at home with Mermista. But I am rarely welcomed. There, who and what I am - we did a good thing, lady sorceress. Knowing I will be welcomed back is a great comfort. I will do my best for them, as I always have, but knowing - knowing I am a citizen of the world below and a man of the seas…it has done things to my heart. A steadiness I have missed since my home was lost to me."

Ariel turned. "Your home was lost?"

Sea Hawk was exuberant and dramatic and had a presence that filled a room. There were places where he would be 'too much.' Considered a braggart and a liar and worse. She knew different, now, but if she had met him in another way, he might have irritated her and she might have dismissed him out of hand.

Something about herself she would have work on.

Sea Hawk smiled. Wistful and sad and full of memories.

"My home is far from here. Islands unheard of anywhere in Etheria. I sailed through a storm of magic as a younger man, seeking adventure- on a proud quest for the good of many. Instead, I found great peril and my noble quest - and 'twas noble, indeed - led me into the roar of winds and the crash of thunder summoned by dark arts wielded by a soul as dark as Hordak himself. Caught in the cold of the unnatural rain, assailed by winds, I could not hold my course. Through the storm I sailed, pursued by the hounds of perdition, seeking my blood and the news I carried. The world blurred around me, and I could not see the moons or the sky. And I was lost at sea. When the storm cleared and I saw the skies once again, I was on new waters. In a place I did not know, and my skin burned and tingled from the magic I had survived. I found land and I discovered a new people. Bright, but beset by evil. Strong, but tired. Etheria became my home and I learned her seas. I learned to love her people as I loved my own. Though, where I am from, I was known as a man of honor and purpose and even my habit of setting my ships aflame was seen as charming. Here, I am often a joke. Dismissed."

Ariel turned around to face him, crossing her ankles and leaning back against the railing. Magic whispering to her as it sometimes did, vibrating through her. He was telling the truth - but he wasn't telling her everything. He didn't want to tell her everything, and as curious as she was, she could never push him. She respected him too much.

"The magicats saw you, Captain. And that steadiness is purpose. You have your Princess and now you have your purpose. A whole nation knowing you are their man and will find and get them what no one else will - or can."

Sea Hawk smiled, and his whole body lit up. "You are right, of course. Who else but Sea Hawk could do what I will do?"

Ariel sighed. "You realize…with this ship, with what you're doing, we're going to be spreading the news of word of Halfmoon? Kesi told me about how their secrecy protects them, but how Princess Catra wants to reveal them to the world. Are we doing the right thing, being their representatives? Telling people about them? Or are we inviting more trouble to them?"

Sea Hawk turned the ship ever so slightly. "I don't know. I don't. Princess Catra seems to want us to tell them of Halfmoon, but you might be right. I shall be circumspect. I shall not lie. I shall tell any who asks it the tale, but I will not offer if I am not asked. We will not hide them, but we will not advertise them, I think. Of course, I will regale my lovely Mermista with the tale at my earliest opportunity!"

That was a better answer than anything she had come up with. And she could appreciate his devotion to Mermista. The way his eyes lit up when he talked about her.

She hoped the princess was worthy of her captain.

"You're the captain, Captain. I'm following your lead. I'm going to go home and tell my mother I'm moving out - to a whole new country, deep under the world. It will be a long time before I'm back on the surface long enough to make a difference outside of Mystacor. You will be carrying this burden alone."

Sea Hawk shook his head. "I may have the burden, but I am never truly alone, Ariel. I am a man of the sea, and with the waters below me and the skies above me, I am always a part of the world in a way few will know. I will be fine, I promise. Now! Allow me to teach you the ways of the sea!"

He had taught Rogelio and Elara by singing. She was almost looking forward to finding out how that worked.

Almost.

The Heart of Halfmoon

The Sea Gate

Salineas

Etheria

Two and half years after Catra's abduction

The Sea Gate loomed ahead of them.

The Heart of Halfmoon slowed as she angled towards the magical barrier between most of the seas and the populated coasts of Etheria. The towering rocks and the reefs and shoals of the ocean around the coastal waters of Etheria left only a few safe passages. And all of them were behind the Sea Gate.

After nearly a week aboard the Heart of Halfmoon, she couldn't call herself a sailor yet, but she knew the basics of deep water sailing. Sea Hawk - despite the shanties - was an adept teacher and a very skilled sailor. He had taken her on a tour of the ship, where she had discovered how much work Halfmoon's crafters had put into the ship.

There was a lot more technology than she'd expected - all of it integrated with the magic in ways she wanted to study. There was even a stowaway! A small cleaning bot -a round, disc-shaped thing with a knife inexplicably bolted to it - was chasing a rat around the cargo hold.

Sea Hawk told her it had been on board at Bright Moon and stayed on board during the refit.

(Ariel had no idea where the bot or the large rat had come from. She wouldn't have bet on the rat winning.)

They had blazed through the Straits of Serpentine, Sea Hawk expertly maneuvering their ship through a graveyard of shipwrecks, reefs and - sea serpents. One had come close to their ship, but Sea Hawk had managed to avoid it. It had followed them for a short time, but the Heart was too fast for it to catch up, and Ariel was absolutely certain she would have been able to fend it off.

She wasn't the combat sorcerer her brother was, but she had her tricks.

Magic came so easily to him; once he knew a spell, he barely had to think to cast it, arcane words coming out fast and smooth, his power precise and controlled in a way only their mother could manage. She was a lot sloppier. Less disciplined, less expert with her touch. She couldn't improvise like he could, either. She couldn't change spells on the fly. It took her weeks of work and practice to learn what he got the first try, and while he was no good at creating new spells, her creativity didn't serve her as well as his ability to improvise.

Her spellcraft with the train was more his area of expertise than hers!

The Sea Gate rose above them - it was massive, almost too large for her to wrap her head around. The rocky spires making up the sides of it jutted up from the ocean like grasping arms, forming the apex of a triangle. Shimmering lines of light wove through it, creating planes of magic, forming an impenetrable arcane barrier.

Sea Hawk frowned and sighed. "I worry. The Gate has been weakening for years now, even before King Mercia retired. I know Mermista worries too, but it is an artifact of the First Ones, from long, long ago. I wonder if it will soon fail and the Horde will have a clear path to my lady's kingdom."

That was terrifying. Salineas was a major hub for commerce. Only Seaworthy came close to it, and it was half the size. Losing Salineas to the Horde would be a major blow and might turn the tide of the slow moving war in the Horde's favor.

"The monarch of Salineas is also known as the Keeper of the Gate - because they alone have the power to open and close it. It's a powerful responsibility, and why most monarchs don't travel far from Salineas. Mermista takes her duty seriously - though she would tell you otherwise."

The magic shimmered and dropped as they approached - and the waves suddenly lifted higher, lapping at the hull of the Heart, splashing up to wash the deck with sea foam and salt water.

Only the Heart was assailed by the high, churning waves. The rest of the sea was calm and gentle.

Sea Hawk smiled and looked up. "Hello to you too, my lovely princess. I've come home."

As they passed through the gate, the massive stone plinths looming overhead, Ariel saw her - Princess Mermista. She stood on a rocky platform above them - she didn't look anything like the Princesses Ariel had met. Catra had been in armor and a long coat, carrying a staff across her back. Perfuma had been in a beautiful dress in shades of green and brown, her tanned cheeks and twinkling eyes making her look more like a sprite than a ruler. Glimmer was bright and sparkled even in the dark, but she carried her authority like a hammer and swung it with impunity.

Mermista had gravitas. There was a sense of distance about her, but it was clear she was fully aware of - and comfortable with - her authority.

(She was amazed she had met so many princesses. Three in Halfmoon alone! She had met Perfuma when she'd come to Mystacor, and she'd practically grown up with Glimmer.)

Ariel was shocked to see her there. She was dressed in teal and yellow, her dark blue hair tied back in an elaborate ponytail and she held a trident in her fist. As the Heart passed by her, a wave rose up, the water twisting and curling with a low roar.

Mermista stepped onto the water and it carried her down to the Heart, where she stepped lightly onto the deck with a toss of her head.

"New boat. Fancy. Steal it from anyone I care about?"

Mermista stood on their deck, hand on her hip, eyes narrowed at Sea Hawk. Ariel noticed she smelled like the beach - like hot sand and salty waves, and cool air under the moon.

It really was going to take a long time to get used to smelling everything.

Mermista glanced at her. Rolled her eyes and turned back to Sea Hawk.

Sea Hawk turned, taking his hands from helm. He swept into a deep bow. "My dearest Mermista, I have such a tale of adventure and heroics to regale you with! Harrowing escapes! Plagues! And secrets from far below the world!"

The princess crossed her arms. "It'd better be good. You missed a gala you were supposed to be at, and I got in a fight with Peekablue's bouncers. Again. And where's the ship I gave you? I told you not to set it on fire!"

Ariel blinked. They certainly didn't sound like a couple - but when she looked closer, she saw it. Mermista's face wasn't as impassive as she first thought. The Princess wasn't mad. She was worried. Scared.

"The Dragon's Daughter III awaits me in Seaworthy, my love! This is the Heart of Halfmoon, lovingly rebuilt by a group of grateful magicats and, erm - borrowed by necessity from the Bright Moon Navy! I did pay them for it in precious gems, but we needed a vessel large enough to carry medicines to a dying people!"

He fell to one knee, his hand outstretched in desperate supplication.

Ariel took pity on her poor Captain. It wasn't entirely his fault. It wasn't hers, either, but she could corroborate his story.

"Umm…your highness? It's all true. I was there! He really did transport medicine to a place called Halfmoon and save a lot of people. I stowed away and, well, I'm here now?"

That wasn't what she'd meant to say, but Princess Mermista was a lot more intimidating than the other Princesses. Even Catra hadn't been that scary when she'd first met her. Of course, Catra hadn't commanded a massive, ancient magical artifact and used magic to drop onto their ship.

"Ugh. And who are you?" The princess raised one eyebrow at her in a piercing, judgmental, and dismissive way that Ariel both suddenly wanted to make herself matter to the Princess - or shove her overboard.

"Ariel. Daughter of Castaspella of Mystacor. The Captain here was kind enough to offer me a lift home - and has offered to take me back to Halfmoon so I can visit my fiancé there."

Okay, so the fiancé part was a stretch. She and Kesi had mused about marriage, but they hadn't really talked about it. They were imprinted, so they were bound to get married, right? Or something like it?

"Sorceress. Great. Just don't be annoying, okay? I'm not in the mood for it."

Ariel sighed. "Right. Don't be annoying. Got it. Whatever that means."

(She was really starting to wish Sea Hawk would go back to piloting the ship. Because - they were in the harbor now! And no one was at the helm. This is why he needed a crew!)

"It means don't be annoying." Mermista huffed. She looked down at Sea Hawk. "Stand up already and steer your ship before it runs into something important or expensive."

She reached down and pulled him to his feet, and Sea Hawk jumped forward as she did, wrapping his arm around her waist and dipping her like they were dancing.

"I am glad to be home, my dearest!"

She smiled at him. "Yeah, yeah. Don't drop me. Steer the boat, Captain. It looks expensive and pretty. Would hate to chip the paint."

Sea Hawk, without letting of his princess or looking away from her, reached out with one hand and guided the ship neatly onto course for a slip. Somehow. As if the man could feel where to go, just by the way the water moved.

(She wouldn't be surprised. He seemed to have a special relationship with the ocean.)

"Will this big boat fit there?" The Princess slowly stood back up, her face very, very close to Sea Hawk's. "That slip was made for a ship a lot smaller than this. If you break it, I'll make you sleep on the couch for at least a week. Starting tomorrow night. You know that."

Sea Hawk's laugh was soft and breathy. "She'll fit. The Heart is a nimble lady! And it is the only slip you let me use, on account of it being fire resistant."

"For good reason, you pyromaniac." Her hand was under his jacket now, against his hip and her leg was between his. Her nose brushed against his cheek. Her trident was still held in her other hand - pointed at the Sea Gate.

Ariel felt the ripples of magic from the trident - from the Sea Gate - and from whatever ancient, massive power source it drew from. She heard the sizzle of energies as the shield on the Gate re-established itself.

"The fires I set are nothing compared to the fire of my love for you."

"Uh huh." She nodded. "Sure. That line, after you've been gone so long? Ugh. Try again, pirate."

Sea Hawk cupped her cheek with his hand; his eyes locked with hers. His face was soft, a small smile curling his lips. "I have come bearing gifts for you, oh princess of the seas. Clothes and jewels like you have never seen. Ancient knowledge, and artifacts of a lost people - a people who send you their gratitude and their greetings."

Mermista smiled but was still trying to scowl. "Gifts. Like I can be bought?"

Ariel realized there might be a problem when Sea Hawk kissed Mermista - the kind of slow, gentle kiss that promised to turn into something much more. She heard the Princess gasp, and she heard the near sob as she broke away from the first kiss.

"About time you got home."

She kissed him the second time, a hint of desperation in it. Of relief as her fear started to fade. He was there.

She had an ache in her chest - and missed Kesi more than she thought possible.

But Ariel was sure there was about to be a problem. No one was steering the ship. And it was heading right for the slip - with nothing to stop it. And it was starting to drift slightly off course.

Mermista didn't notice. Neither did Sea Hawk. They were lost in each other, breaking apart for short breaths before kissing again. His hand was still on her face, and Ariel (already) knew better than to mention the water on Mermista's cheeks.

She had missed him. She had been worried. And he was trying to make it up to her and reassure her all at once, while they sailed for their dock.

She opened her mouth to try to get their attention. To say something. Then stopped. Not only was that probably very much something Mermista would consider 'annoying,' she was fairly sure Sea Hawk would tell her to do it herself.

"Oh, sod it." Ariel stepped away from them, raised her hands and reached out with her magic. She didn't have a spell for this, but what else was new? She could improvise - again.

Akrash is so much better at this!

She chanted under her breath, arcane words shaping power she gathered as she negotiated with the magic to wrap around the ship. To both push and pull. To move it just so. To slow it this much.

The words dropped into the air around her, a crystalline, sharp-edged structure, guiding the magic as it agreed to move the ship for her without the normal framework of a cast.

Rings of light and runes snapped into being in front of her as magic answered her, the hastily constructed spell igniting around her.

Copper ghostlight wrapped around the Heart of Halfmoon, helping it coast into the place it was meant to go.

The ship moved, floating into place neatly, stopping just where she wanted it to. She tied off the spell, letting it fade. She sighed and let the magic go - amazed at how different magic had become.

She felt them now - the ley lines. The pulse of magic in Etheria itself. The ebb and flow of energies around her, swirling and never ending; glowing and thriving with life and majesty.

The energy of a world.

It was overwhelming and beautiful and threatened to bring tears to her eyes each time she felt it.

Since her spell on the train, she had been so much closer to the magic; it had come to her easier, listened to her whispers, flowing with her instead of against her. It was something she'd never thought to have. Something she'd never known she wanted until she had it.

Akrash had promised to teach her to reach out and touch the ley lines. Use the power there - to become the kind of sorceress she'd never dared dream of becoming.

Mermista pulled away from Sea Hawk long enough to look back at her. "Very not annoying. Good for you. Someone will escort you to the palace and get you a room or whatever. We'll meet you for breakfast, I guess. Maybe."

Ariel blinked. "Breakfast?" It was only midday.

Mermista smirked and reached up to tug Sea Hawk's ear. "Breakfast. He has a lot to make up for and some apologies to get off his chest."

Ariel could only stare as the Princess of Salineas drug Captain Sea Hawk, the Hero of Halfmoon and daring adventurer, off his own boat by his ear.

He was grinning and threw her a thumbs up. "Don't worry! Just remember the shanties! You can get her tied up and docked!"

Chapter Text

Mystacor

Bright Moon

Etheria

Two and half years after Catra's abduction

Her daughter was home.

Her daughter was home.

She'd known Ariel was alive. Just like she knew Akrash was alive. She would know if her children died. And then she would use every mystic art at her disposal to find out how - and deal with it however she needed to.

That morning, Ariel had teleported in from Salineas, materializing in a bolt of lightning right in the central courtyard and Casta could tell she'd been on a journey. Her red hair had fallen loose around her bare shoulders; she'd had a small smile on her face, the kind that said she knew something everyone else didn't.

She'd been dressed oddly, even for her. (Ariel's fashion sense had changed since Akrash left and she'd started trying to redefine herself. Casta had been patient with it. She was fully aware being the daughter of a Duchess and the High Seat of Mystacor wasn't easy and gave her plenty of room to figure out who she wanted to be.)

Tall, red leather boots that went up to her knees. A very short crimson skirt trimmed in gold. A gold top that was more like a strip of shimmering dark gold fabric elaborately twined around her neck and throat, crossing over her breasts and around her back where it was tied in an intricate knot. A satchel of dark brown leather hung at her hip, and her staff was in her hand, faint wisps of lightning still crackling around it.

Her ears were pierced several times. As was her navel and there were piercings along her hips - two on each side.

Her girl had looked happy. Nervous, but happy. She didn't look self-conscious. Or embarrassed. She looked confident.

Casta had run down and greeted her girl with a hug. It had been four months. She was supposed to have been gone two! She knew Ariel had done her job, because the last shipment of supplies had come with new pricing, but none of her contacts knew where her daughter had vanished to!

Holding her daughter again - she was whole for a moment. She had one of them back! (They were her children. She'd always known they'd leave Mystacor, at least for a while. She would never force them to inherit it. Angella could just pick someone else when Casta stepped down. Her children got to live for themselves.)

Having them gone was so much harder than she'd ever imagined. Her life was emptier. Quieter. Less than it had been.

(Maybe she'd ask Angella about having Glimmer come visit and study again. She'd say no, like always, but - asking would only hurt a little.)

After some tears and a bit of well-earned scolding, Casta had gotten the entire story out of her.

As soon as they'd gone up to Casta's study, Ariel had kicked off her boots with a groan. "They fit perfectly, but I am not used to wearing shoes anymore. They're murder aboard ship and no one wears shoes in Halfmoon."

She'd flopped back in her favorite chair, like she'd done since she'd first started coming into Casta's study to rant and complain about whatever it was had upset her. It was both startlingly normal and surreal.

Casta had stared at Ariel. Halfmoon? Aboard ship? Halfmoon?

Akrash. Ariel had gone looking for her brother! And from the look on her face, Ariel had found her brother - and come home with news.

Casta hadn't believed Akrash's tales of an underground kingdom at first. It had taken her almost two months to start believing and then another year to get the whole story out of him. As much of the history as he remembered. (Her son had such a keen memory!) And for years after, he would drop tidbits here and there without realizing he'd done it. Casta had written them all down in a book she wasn't sure she would ever share. She wasn't sure about the wisdom of telling the world about Halfmoon.

Or the wisdom of hiding it. She'd much rather let them make the decision for themselves. It wasn't her business, after all. Well, not completely her business. Her son was from there - and back there. Now her daughter had visited. So it was a little her business.

Everything Akrash had told her flew in the face of what she thought she knew. (Very exciting, really. Finding out the truth instead of guessing.)

The kingdom of the magicats had fallen! Their forests burned. The few remaining were scattered. They were, for all intents and purposes, a lost people - one of the first and greatest tragedies of the Horde invasion.

Casta knew far less about Halfmoon than she liked. They'd been on the far side of the Empire of the Nest - which, until the Horde, had been considered the single greatest threat on Etheria and the most hostile power to the other nations.

How many wars had been fought against them? She could never remember if it was five or six. (Some people said seven, but Casta didn't count the last conflict aa war as much as a set of skirmishes when the first Emperor had risen to power.)

It wasn't easy to cross the Empire to get to Halfmoon. A few traders did. A few sorcerers had visited. But Halfmoon had been isolated, and many wondered if they had been an unofficial protectorate of the Empire.

It made sense no one this far east of the Horde knew the truth of what had happened to Halfmoon.

But her daughter was talking about Halfmoon. Not 'the ruins of Halfmoon' (somewhere she could certainly imagine her impulsive daughter running off to explore, if given the chance), but 'Halfmoon.' With a hint of culture? (Shoes weren't popular in Plumeria, either. Which she'd always thought rather silly. They lived in a forest.)

Casta set her teacup down. "Halfmoon."

Ariel had grinned. "Halfmoon. You know. Underground kingdom. Full of magicats."

Casta's hands were still shaking. "Akrash?"

Her daughter wasn't sobbing inconsolably. He had to be okay, didn't he? He was smart. Powerful. But he wanted so badly to redeem himself for things that hadn't been his fault. He was so good at getting himself in trouble.

Not for the first time, she regretted letting Micah talk her into being the Duchess. If she hadn't been, she could have gone with him! She should have gone with him. Or made him take Ariel. Or maybe hired a few exceptionally dangerous mercenaries. She was sure someone she knew would have connections. (For her son, she would have asked Angella. If Akrash had let her.)

Ariel nodded, crossing her ankles. When had her daughter gotten a tattoo on her foot? The artistry was superb. She'd never seen metallic copper ink before, though.

"He's fine, Mom. He went to the Horde. Rescued the magicat princess - Catra - from Shadow Weaver. Lied his way into the Fright Zone. Lied his way out. Got made Royal Sorcerer by Queen Lyra. He's also a healer, there. He's - yeah, he's good."

Casta let out a breath she felt like she'd been holding for more than two years. Her son - he was okay. He had done it! He had made it! And Royal Sorcerer! Obviously, this Queen Lyra was a wise woman. A good ruler.

"Ariel, dear. Please do your poor mother a favor and tell me - how did you end up in Halfmoon?"

Ariel's smug grin didn't do her heart any favors. She looked entirely too self-satisfied.

"Well, I'm kind of an idiot? But how else would I meet the perfect girl?"

Casta reached for her teacup. She could break into the brandy later. Didn't her children know they were going to make her go prematurely gray if they kept getting in trouble?

But oh she was proud of them. Royal Sorcerer. And she knew whatever Ariel had gotten herself into - it had mattered.

Her kids knew what they were doing. She'd made sure of it.

Mystacor
Bright Moon
Etheria

Two and half years after Catra's abduction

Casta sat cross-legged on her bed, her tablet in her hands. The room was dark, lit only by the screen. A small collection of crystals in her hand. Two letters; one from a princess, one from a queen.

The first crystal is the one she knew her daughter would ask about in the morning. She was deeply curious about the girl her daughter had fallen in love with. About this magical imprinting business. She couldn't deny the changes in Ariel - her sense of smell. The way she moved! Her magic.

Or how happy her girl was.

(Ariel was going back to Halfmoon as soon as this Sea Hawk person was ready to leave Salineas. Casta was going to make sure she didn't go back empty handed. She would send her with books. With ingredients. With restorative potions! If her child was to be an ambassador, she would come bearing gifts!)

Casta put that crystal into the tablet first. It took a second for the software to catch up, to read the magicat crystal. But eventually, the message played.

The girl on her screen was lovely. White fur, with pale grey stripes on her cheeks and forehead. Her ears had more piercings than Ariel's, but like Ariel, her earrings were thin, delicate loops. She was sitting on massive bed, a pile of pillows behind her, staring at the camera.

She was dressed very similarly to Ariel, but she wore a copper torc around her neck, and she held her tail in her hands.

"Umm…hi? Miss Castaspella. Ma'am. Um. Oh wow, I don't know what to say here, Ari!" The girl turned her head and Casta heard Ariel's soft laugh off to the side. "What if I say the wrong thing and she hates me? I'm so not good with parents. Are you sure she wants to hear from me? My parents didn't want to meet you, so maybe we're pushing this on her?"

Casta frowned. Why wouldn't her parents want to meet Ariel? Was it a species thing? She hoped not. People like that were awful.

"Be yourself! The gorgeous, sweet girl who caught me before I fell. Tell her your name. Tell her about yourself. She won't hate you! She's not scary, I promise. She's the nicest person. Period. And she definitely wants a message from you."

Her daughter knew her well! She got so many messages - requests for aid. Political machinations. Status reports. So few people sent her messages wanting to talk to her. Her niece did, but Glimmer was a dear. Her friend Bow sent updates about his inventions; he was as smart as they came.

But a message from her daughter's love? Of course she was thrilled!

The magicat made a soft mewling sound and she saw her daughter climb into the bed behind her. Ariel slid her arms around Kesi's waist, pulling her back against her. Kesi leaned her head back, nuzzling against Ariel's cheek, a soft purr barely audible.

Ariel nuzzled her back, her eyes half closed. "Hi, Mom. This is Kesi. I love her. She's not going to be good at this, but - I want her to talk to you a bit. For you and her. I'm going to go annoy Akrash for a bit while she does."

She kissed Kesi gently before sliding off the bed. "Just talk to her."

Kesi turned to watch Ariel leave, then stared at the screen. "I'm Kesi. I'm the Seneschal to Princess Catra Dr'iluth. I - I'm in love with your daughter. And I think I'm kind of sorry for that, because I think it means she's coming back. I said I would go with her, if she wanted, but she doesn't want me to leave what I've built for myself here. She's - she's kind of amazing."

Casta smiled, nodding. "My daughter most certainly is amazing. You're off to a good start, Kesi."

Of course Ariel would want to go back to Halfmoon! There was new magic to learn. Her brother was there. And she felt needed and wanted there. As if Casta would stop her!

She'd have to start digging into the First Ones' portal magics. See if she couldn't build one to Halfmoon. She'd need to go visit, after all.

Kesi wiped her eyes. "I never should have been, you know. The Seneschal. I'm a cave girl - part of a subculture here in Halfmoon. We want to stay in the caves, not go to the surface. We want to dress for the caves and embrace who and what Halfmoon has become. There's a lot more to it, obviously, but I'm the only cave girl the royal family sees or hears. Not because they don't care! Don't think that!"

She looked down. "I'm proud of that. My job. But a cave girl, the Seneschal to the crown princess?! When Queen Lyra told me she'd chosen me, I almost passed out! I was a steward before, but I'd helped Catra - I mean, the princess - with something and she liked me. And the Queen and the rest, they don't treat me differently. It's like they all want me there! It's kind of unreal, some days. Other days, it's the best feeling in the world."

Casta smiled. She saw it. The fierce pride and confidence the girl had, but the fear she somehow wasn't enough. That she was an imposter. A Horde-raised soldier rescued and told she was now a princess would be able to understand and connect with that.

This Queen Lyra was already living up to her good first impression.

"We were dying." Kesi swallowed back a sob. "We were! No one wanted to say it! No one wanted to admit it or do anything about it! Except Catra sent people out to get medicines and Ari came back with them. She saved an entire train, saved my princess! She rode up on the cargo train, glowing and chanting and - I couldn't look away!"

Kesi smiled. "She was like a beacon of hope. The traitors couldn't stop her. I was there, waiting for them. To make sure Catra, you know, ate and drank something and didn't kill herself trying to save us all. She's not good at self-care yet and needs some looking after."

Casta laughed. That was the fond exasperation of a long-suffering royal retainer. It appeared this Catra was every bit the kind of princess her niece could grow into. Ariel had told her the story - taking over the magic of the train and holding the spell for hours while they traveled underground.

It was an amazing feat. Absolutely staggering in its complexity and immensity, and she'd told Ariel so. Her daughter wasn't half as proud as she should be!

"Good thing I'm good at that, because Ari's as bad as Catra! Did she tell you? She climbed off the train, told Doctor Lenio to see about someone else, and then got all cute with me. Trying to hide she was about to pass out. Which, she promptly did. Right into my arms. Scared me half to death! Two days in the infirmary to recover, too!"

Kesi was shaking her head.

Casta frowned. No, Ariel had definitely left out the part where she passed out and spent two day in an infirmary. If she wasn't certain Akrash had made sure his sister was okay, she would be far more worried. As it was, she needed to have the self-preservation conversation with one of her children. Again.

"I was already kinda smitten." Kesi was sheepish. Embarrassed. "She was so brave. And pretty! And nice. And she called me soft! That's - well, it's a compliment here."

Oh yes. The girl was definitely blushing. She was utterly adorable. Well, maybe she could weaponize it and get Ariel to take better care of herself.

"We - well, we imprinted. Ari said she'd explain it to you before you saw this, but - it's love. It's magic love, I guess? Two people who could and would fall in love on their own, the magic of it makes it more. Makes it stronger. Changes each of us. I mean, I can eat cheese now! Which, wow, I did not know what I was missing. Catra was busy with things and Akrash was being the Royal Sorcerer, so I kinda stayed with her in the infirmary. Doctor Lenio had me help with other patients, because he could, but -"

She shrugged helplessly. "How could I not love her? She's - she a genius? I'm sure you knew that."

Casta did know Ariel was a genius. She was proud of Ariel's skills and knowledge, and everyone being so worried about her new spells needed to calm down. No one had ever been seriously hurt, and Ariel had created some magnificent new magic.

She definitely liked this girl.

And the packet of information Halfmoon had sent on imprinting had been helpful. She'd read through it several times, and she was going to cast a couple of diagnostics on Ariel before she left and hopefully once she could portal to and from Halfmoon, she would be able to cast some diagnostics on the two of them.

It was fascinating, but based on what little she knew, she figured it had something to do with the magicats connecting to ley lines as they did. It made sense; the magic could sense sympathetic energies and naturally wanted to tie them together.

"She went out into the city with me! Helped us help people. Helped people get back home from the clinics and hospitals. She went with the delegation to threaten the fishfolk into not helping the traitors again. Catra said they saw Ariel and freaked out - she'd already defeated one of their attacks, and they seemed to know what a sorceress of Mystacor was."

Casta huffed. If they were smart, they knew. The fishfolk were a vast, varied, and numerous people, but she knew their cultural education was good. They would know about Mystacor.

Ariel wasn't a sorceress to cross, as several Horde sorties on villages under their protection had already learned. And of course her daughter, just out of the infirmary, went and found more work to do.

Casta admitted she might have not set the best example about not overworking.

"I'm really bad at this. Talking to you, I mean. I know so much about you! Kesi and Akrash talk about you all the time, but you don't know me, and I'm not super close to mom? She hates my job. Not because she hates the Queen or anything. She just wanted me to go into business with them, and I'm absolutely no good at it! I hate it and we argue about it all the time!"

Well, that just wouldn't do at all. Kesi was happy in her job and obviously good at what she did, to have her position so young. When Casta visited Halfmoon, she would have to have a talk with Kesi's mother. Surely, she didn't realize what she was doing?

(Casta hoped for ignorance. She really did.)

"Umm…yeah. I don't know what else to say. I love her. And I'm glad she stowed away on Sea Hawk's ship. She's ever bit the hero he is, even if she won't admit it. So...thank you for saving her all those years ago. Thank you for letting her be her. I just - I - thank you. I promise I'll keep her as safe as she lets me."

This was the girl who made her daughter smile. Who had filled her with confidence. And light. And joy.

She was perfect. Casta would make sure she knew. If her own mother wouldn't tell her, then she would.

Casta reached out and touched the screen where the face of her future daughter-in-law was staring at her. She'd have to send a message back. Maybe a sweater? Or a scarf. A scarf would be better.

"You're very welcome, Kesi. And thank you for loving her."

Mystacor

Bright Moon

Etheria

Two and half years after Catra's abduction

Casta took a few minutes to finish her message to Kesi. She'd had quite a few things to say to the girl, not the least of which was to stop doubting herself.

From what little she could glean from the message, both Queen Lyra and this Princess Catra were good people. Kesi seemed to think they were both worthy of her loyalty, and since Kesi was in love with Ariel, she had good judgment about people.

She saved Akrash's message for last. She knew it would be long. Akrash tended to ramble to her, and she didn't think he'd spare her many details of his two and a half years in Halfmoon.

Her boy had always been open with her. More with her than anyone else. It was the third crystal she was most curious about. Ariel had told her not to worry about who it was from, but that it was about Akrash and she wanted to watch it.

She treated herself to a glass of brandy before she opened the next message. The good stuff; her daughter was home and her son was safe! She plugged it into her tablet, and this time, it bleeped at her. A rather large set of files had transferred to her.

But the vid started a second later.

The man was obviously older - a lot older. His fur was more gray than ginger, but his eyes were bright and clear, and his face was as expressive as his ears.

"I'm Lenio. Nice to talk to you, Castaspella of Mystacor. Akrash says he's told you about me, so I'll spare you the ramble. Suffice it to say, I wanted to talk to you about our boy."

Too many emotions to name welled up in her chest. Our boy. Lenio had welcomed Akrash back! He'd told her facing Lenio scared him more than any other part of going back to Halfmoon. She knew Akrash thought of the doctor like a father - and he'd damn sure been a better father than Kellam!

(If only those two cowards hadn't run off when they'd come looking for her son. If they hadn't run as soon as she'd appeared, she would have saved Halfmoon some grief and wiped them from the face of Etheria. What they had done to him! They'd best live in hope someone else found them first. Because she was looking for them.)

Her magic flared at the thought of them.

But this meant Lenio had lived up to Akrash's memories. Welcomed him back.

"You, madame, did a damn fine job taking care of him. Raising him into the man I knew he could be. Damn fine job. He came back to me healthy and far more whole than I could have hoped for. I don't know if - ah, Fires Below! That boy is my son! In every way that matters, Akrash is my son. I wish I could have done more for him. Wish I could have gotten him away from those corrupted mongrels."

"You gave him the skills and the hope and the strength to recover from them, Lenio," Casta whispered, taking a sip of her brandy. "You did so much for him."

She didn't know a lot about magicat culture, but she got the feeling calling Kellam and Varlaine 'corrupted mongrels' wasn't euphemistic equivalent exchange for foul language. She was fairly certain it was the kind of language you didn't use in polite company. Well, it was fine. She happened to agree with him. The doctor seemed a wise and learned man.

Lenio sighed. "I tried, you know. Argued with the kings about taking him from them four different times. The night of the coup, I went after Varlaine as soon as I'd pronounced the kings dead. Chased her through half the damn city and I nearly had her twice. I didn't know I'd chosen the wrong one to chase. Kellam had our boy and got away with him. He's told me about the cliff. About Mystacor. You. His sister."

Lenio shook his head, ears drooping. "I failed that night, I am so damn grateful you were there. That you saw him for who he was, not what they wanted him to be. And I met your daughter. Stubborn, just like Akrash. Ariel's a good one, too. In love with our Kesi, which - good for them! You have nothing to worry about, Castaspella. Kesi's a good girl. Smart. Talented. Compassionate. She'll do right by your daughter."

Casta choked out a laugh. "You, sir, can call me Casta. We apparently raised a kid together. And you didn't fail. They did."

Lenio had done a good job with Akrash. She'd seen it in him. He relied on Lenio's teachings of magic, and Lenio had kindled the desire to heal in him. Nurtured his compassion. His curiosity. His joy. Akrash had spent a lot of time learning healing at Mystacor, and she had finally convinced him to sit for his Mastery right before Kellam and Varlaine had shown up!

(She hadn't ever told him, but she'd planned to send him to Angella. He was so close to Glimmer, and her court could use both a sorcerer and a healer. And he could teach Glimmer!)

"They didn't tell me the first time he came back, can you believe that? Let me stay retired. I did, you know. Retire. After they took him and Catra from us, I was done with it. Lyra was a wreck and not a single one of them gave her enough time to grieve, no matter what I did or said! I was so angry I couldn't see straight, and I was looking for traitors with every patient, wanting to truth spell the lot of them until someone told me where Akrash had been taken. So I retired rather than get arrested. It wasn't until he came back with Catra that they brought me in and told me! After Catra was half dead and had been treated by an absolute failure of a healer. A political appointee as Royal Physician? What was the damn Royal Council thinking, forcing that useless cretin down Lyra's throat?"

He threw his hands up in inarticulate frustration, his voice a low growl. He shook his head.

"Lyra, of course, once she realized Arashu had failed to take care of Catra and Catra had given him some scars to remember her by, called me back to work. Good thing, too. Bypassed the Royal Council and came to my house herself. Asked me with tears in her eyes, as if I wouldn't have come as soon as I heard. As if I'd let any hack take care of that girl after the Horde had her for so long. As soon as I had our princess stabilized, I went and found Akrash. Told him I was glad he was back. That I never blamed him and it wasn't his fault. That I was proud of the man he'd become. He told me you've been telling him that for more than a decade. I don't know that's he listened to either of us, but we'll keep saying it until he does."

We. Casta sniffled. She'd raised two children. Two teenagers. Broken and hurt and scared and in possession of great magical power and skill. But raising them had never involved a 'we.'

(Her brother would have adored them both. He would have been a doting uncle. A good teacher and role model for them both.)

While she couldn't remember the last time she'd been attracted to anyone (and Lenio was far too old for her) the feeling of not being alone was profound.

Even though they were so far apart.

"I'll never stop telling him. Even once he believes us, Lenio. So that he never forgets."

She was again impressed with Lyra. Ignoring this Royal Council (who she suspected were useless politicians) to get someone like Lenio to take care of her daughter? It's what she would have done.

"Took him awhile to believe I didn't blame him, but we got there. We work closely together. Him as Royal Sorcerer - one of my old jobs - teaching me Mystacoran magic and healing. You've got some really solid research going there, by the by. Send some back with Ariel. Especially the stuff you've done with healing plasma burns. Might help us with lava burn victims. Right. Got him back in training here. Had him sit a Mastery in the Hall of the Lost Temple - our school for magic and medicine. Had him sit his healer's exams, too. He's a journeyman now, but with a bit more experience, he'll be a Master a bit younger than I was."

The pride in his voice was evident. He was smiling and his eyes were practically glowing.

(She jotted down a note to put together the books and data on the plasma burn research. Healing the damage from Horde weapons was important.)

"Passed his Mastery beautifully. You taught him well, Castaspella. So very well. Not even those hidebound idiots worried Akrash is going to turn on us - phagh! How stupid can you get? - could argue his skill. Same for his healer's exam. Near perfect score, and I'm not sure he was wrong about the last question. Magical ailments need magical remedies, no matter how good an antivenin is. Anyway! You can be damn proud of him, madame. He's done so well here. He's an excellent Royal Sorcerer. Covers for our Chair of Sorcery when he's off being an Ambassador to Eternia, and does that job well, too. He's often the guardian for our youngest princess and it likely to apprentice her when she's old enough - as Royal Sorcerer's it his job, but he'd do it just because he loves that kitten."

Eternia?! Casta paused the vid and stared off into space for a minute. Eternia? The legendary secret world the First Ones had sent so many too during their wars? It was real?

She'd had theories, of course. They were about well received as her theories about the Spirit Ember still existing (she was right about that. Akrash had told her everyone in Halfmoon knew about the Spirit Ember) and her theories about magical nexuses. Maybe even a hidden RuneStone!

She would have to dig into her research later. She hit play.

"I've named him my successor here. Sorry. I know you probably wanted him back, and Catra's working on ways to get us in touch with the surface, but he's too good at what he does. He'll be Royal Physician when I step down. Someday. As long he wants it, the job is his."

Casta settled back, sipping her brandy. When Akrash had gone back to Halfmoon, she'd known he wasn't coming home for more than a visit. His unfinished business wouldn't let him, not as long as they'd accepted him back.

(And she'd always planned on finding a way to visit Halfmoon. Now, that was more important than it had been. Both her kids would be there! And a whole new library to read through! Maybe she should ask Angella to name her replacement. Retire to Halfmoon. Be with her kids and study the things she'd never had access to before. It was - a nice thought. A very nice thought.)

Casta smiled. Her son. Royal Sorcerer. Royal Physician. Everything he'd wanted - and bringing her proof of Eternia, to boot. He was a good boy, that one. She'd never convince anyone else she was right about any of it until Halfmoon revealed itself, but she knew she was right and that was enough.

It's not like the Horde knew about Eternia, after all.

"I almost didn't recognize him! He changed a lot about himself. Fur color. Face shape. But his eyes gave him away! I can't imagine how painful it was to do to himself, and I can't imagine the emotional pain he went through to want to change himself. To become Akrash. I am glad you were there for him through it. He's told me - you took care of him after he did it. And helped him rename himself. Helped him recreate himself. Thank you for that - I think it helped him."

She shuddered. That had been a terrible week. Something - she didn't know what - had sent Akrash into a spiral a couple of years after she'd brought him home. She'd come into his room, feeling a surge of magic - to find her son, claws dug into the stone of his wall, leaning against it, chanting through gritted teeth as he used magic and will to remake himself. Change himself.

She knew better than to stop him or interrupt him; the consequences of a bad cast were too terrible to think about. When the spell was finished and the changes were running their course, she'd held him while he endured unimaginable pain, barely making a sound.

There were no painkillers strong enough to help him. No medicine to ease it. Not the way he'd done it.

She'd held him when he'd finally passed out, knowing there was nothing she could do for him until he woke up. How much had he hated himself, hated what Kellam and Varlaine had wanted him to be, that he had wanted to change himself that much?

And then she'd held him when he'd cried, grieving for the part of himself he'd killed to become Akrash. She'd called one of their healers and made them treat him in his room. Refused to explain herself or him.

He'd never managed to put on much weight after that - and he'd been a skinny kid to begin with. She hoped Lenio had more luck than she did at getting him to eat.

She'd never once scolded him for it. Never once got upset about it. Or told him how much he'd scared her. She'd given him as much support as she could and been the clingiest mother. A week after he'd recovered, she'd called Angella for the first time in a while and forced her sister-in-law to let their kids meet.

Akrash needed more family. More support. More people affirming who he had become, without knowing who he'd been.

Glimmer and Bow had done that.

Oh, she missed her son. But she was unspeakably proud of what he had done. Who he was becoming.

"I could go on for hours about our kid, and I did. There's a few more messages from me buried in those files. And some things I think you'd want to see. There's a vid of Lyra naming him Royal Sorcerer. A vid of him vaccinating a whole mess of kids. A few vids of him with Isha - Princess Kittrina's kid. She's his best friend, and he watches her kid a lot. Kitten adores her uncle Ack. Ah. Hold one. Wait a minute here. I think I can show you - yes."

He grinned and panned the camera, showing her just outside his office door. Her son, dressed in the most garish pastel blue robes, was sitting on the ground, several children standing in front of him. The kids were in hospital gowns and looked drawn, exhausted.

Akrash was passing out cups of glowing, pale blue potion.

And she heard her son's voice for the first time in years. "All right. I know, it tastes bad. It tastes real bad. But it fixes Cave Fever. Just like the shots you got this morning. We're all going to drink it together, all at once, okay? If you get it all down, I have bribed Miss Kesi to bring us snack food. But only if we all take our medicine."

One of the kids, looking at the potion dubiously, looked back up at Akrash. "Even you? Were you sick?"

Akrash nodded. "I was! So I have to take my medicine too! Ready? One." He lifted his cup. "Two." He brought it to his mouth. "Three!"

They all swallowed back the bitter restorative, making faces and noises - hisses, and mewls and yowls. Akrash shook his head right with them.

Lenio turned the camera back to himself. "Noble kids who got sick. He made them all get up and walk around, get their strength back now that they have a few doses of antibiotic in them. Then had them take the restorative. Kesi is bringing sweets and some fried fish bites by later, because Akrash told her she couldn't make kids sad. He did have Cave Fever, by the way. He caught it the way most doctors do - treating patients. But he got through it fast and was able to take care of Isha when Kittrina went down with it the same time the Queen did."

Tears ran down her face. Her son. He was so good with kids. Maybe one day he'd give her a grandkitten of her own?

But the kids trusted him.

He was a doctor. A healer. He had a place with his people! (And if they ever changed their mind, well - he could just come home. He'd always have a place with her.)

"I won't lie to you, Castaspella. It's been hard for him, here. The Royal Council - well, there's a lot of rumors that he's still a traitor, as if the evidence in front of them isn't enough. As if him having been a child during the coup weren't enough! Imoh spreads rumors about him having an affair with Kittrina - as if she weren't married and imprinted on Aster! But he's got his friends, too. And he's got me. I'll get my claws in Imoh one of these days and that regressive, repressive mangy shit-sniffer will end up regretting going after our boy. I promise that."

Lenio settled back in his chair. "Now, let me tell you about Catra's birthday and Akrash visiting the High Temple…"

Casta smiled. Her son wasn't alone there - and he had someone to help guide him. It was more than she could have asked for.

Mystacor

Bright Moon

Etheria

Two and half years after Catra's abduction

It was very, very late at night when Casta got through watching Akrash's ceremony - she would save the others for later. She wanted to hear from her son.

She needed to hear from her son.

She put the last crystal in the port and Akrash's face appeared. He was smiling and wearing another absurd set of robes - this time, purple! His ears were up and he looked so relaxed.

She was going to tease him so much. He'd never been a fan of the black robes of Mystacor, but he was certainly branching out further than she had expected. But purple looked good on him.

"Hi, Mom. Stars, I miss you. I never thought - I never thought I'd be gone this long. Or that so much would happen. I'm going to come back for a visit, I promise. I will. Now that Catra has Sea Hawk running cargo for us and we have the tunnel and the beach. I'll come home for a bit. Make Ariel do my job while she makes heart-eyes at Kesi. Ugh. Those two are - she's the worst she's ever been!"

Casta laughed, sniffling. Akrash had always been so impatient with his sister's many great loves and intense crushes. She fell in love easily and out of love hard. Akrash had usually been the one to catch her, and she knew more than he thought she did.

The few of Ariel's ex partners he'd had words with had complained to her, after all. She'd made sure they understood she was a lot scarier than her son. Only one of them hadn't, but she'd heard as soon as Akrash had spoken to him, he'd left Mystacor quite fast. Last she'd heard, Khedir was with the Horde.

"That's because it's real this time, Akrash. Be nice to your sister. She's had a hard time, what with getting herself kidnapped."

Casta pressed her fingertips to the screen. He was smiling! He looked - good. Healthy. Too skinny, but he was always too skinny.

There was a crash behind him. He looked up and rolled his eyes. "Just a second. Sorry! Kitt's off being a princess and Aster is negotiating with the fishfolk in the Dark Lake. Her majesty wanted new boundaries after the attack on Catra's train - " His voice trailed off as he got up and darted out of view. "A bunch of us - me, Catra, Ariel, Askar, and Lyra went and scared them."

His voice was distant. "They're terrified of Ariel and Catra. For good reason, too! Both of them have, in the past six months, taken down attacks by them. Aster is trying to keep it from being war."

There was a lot of rustling noise, a few faint yowls of protest. Then -

"Gotcha! Come here and say hi to my mom."

There was a trilling mew and Casta was treated to the most adorable sight she'd ever seen. Her son was carrying a ginger-furred kitten in his arm as he sat back down. The tiny girl was flicking her tail in annoyance at being captured, but she was clinging to his chest and pressing her cheek against him.

She was purring!

Her heart was going to explode. It was too much! He looked so comfortable with her.

"Mom, this is Princess Ishara Dr'iluith, third in line for the throne of Halfmoon, also known as Isha the chaos gremlin who just killed another bookshelf trying to scale it to the roof. My own fault, I guess? I used a spell to let her cling to the roof safely once and now it's her favorite thing. Ever. Except chewsticks."

At the last word, the kitten looked at him and said - something. She could tell it was words, but she didn't know the language.

Akrash sighed. "You're going to drool on me again if I give you one, aren't you?"

Isha blinked up at him and purred softly. Her eyes were wide and her ears were up and she reached up a single hand, making grabby motions. She repeated a trill and more words and Akrash dropped his head.

"That 'please' face should be illegal. It's a weapon." He dug around in his robes and pulled out a stick, giving it to her. He ran his hand over her face, a soft blue-white glow tracing over her jaw and he winced. "That tooth might need to be looked at. Got it."

The kitten grabbed the chewstick and shoved one end in her mouth, gnawing it with determination and diligence. She glanced at the camera and made a sound - more words.

"Yeah. Ack's momma. My mom. Castaspella. She raised me. Taught me magic. Saved me from bad people."

The kitten leaned towards the camera with a mrrp, the chewstick hanging out of one corner of her mouth. Akrash saved the camera from being knocked over by the chewstick and laughed.

"I am her official babysitter. Often. Kitt trusts me, for some reason. And Isha is too cute to say no to. She gets me every time, but the chewsticks are good for her. She has a swollen gum - might be an infected tooth. Poor thing. I'll take her down to the infirmary later and take a closer look, see if we need to do anything about it. Most magicat kittens get at least one. Anyway, I'm making Ariel take this message to you. It's got some attachments - a vid of me getting named Royal Sorcerer, a couple of other things. I even, against my better judgment, sent you the press vid of me vaccinating a line of kids. I know you like those sorts of things."

Casta nodded, blinking away more tears. "Seeing my son being given what he deserves? Seeing my son living the purpose he always wanted? Yes. I want to see all of it."

Lenio had sent her the same, but knowing Akrash had thought to send them - that was special. He didn't understand, but he knew it was important to her. He was trying to share as much with her as he could.

And of course the other Princess trusted him with her daughter. Akrash would never let any harm come to a child. Any child. She watched him adjust Isha and saw what he meant about the drool; the kitten was dribbling all over his shoulder.

"So, yeah. I'm here. And it's not as terrible as thought." He shrugged. "Most people still think I'm going to try to take over the place and act like I'm half a heartbeat away from assassinating someone. Admittedly, there's a couple of Royal Councilors who tempt me. Often. But I let Catra make all the threats. She's scarier than I am, anyway."

He stood up, picking up his tablet in the hand not holding the kitten. "How about a tour of my place? Once Isha falls asleep, I can tell you all the parts I can't say in front of Isha. Queen Lyra insisted I live in the royal residence wing, so it's Bright Moon fancy. My place in the Hall of the Lost Temple was fine. Not sure why she felt I needed to be here. I don't mind, though. The beds aren't giant pillow poofs, though, and made for claws, so aunt Angella should take a note. No accidentally shredding someone's mattress and getting feathers everywhere. No waterfalls, either, though I have a bathtub big enough to swim in…"

Casta hugged her knees to herself as she watched her son show her his new world and started making plans in the back of her mind.

Her children were both going to be in Halfmoon. And it sounded like she would get along with this Queen Lyra.

It had been a while since she'd made any new friends. And a sea voyage could be fun! Surely, she didn't get seasick anymore?