The Power in You

Chapter 1

Growing up in the Horde is the worst, Calliope thought with a sigh as she made her way through the corridors to the locker room. Everything was dreary here, the walls crumbling around her as she turned another corner. Calliope stopped outside the locker room for a brief moment, straightening her shoulders and making her face stoic as she entered, joining the other cadets before training.

She quietly greeted everyone and went to her locker, opening it to reveal a mirror on the door, her equipment and spare clothes settled inside. She reached all the way to the back and touched the necklace that was taped to the backside of the locker, the only thing she owned from her family, whoever they were. It was a simple pendant, shaped like a treble clef (as if she knew what that was, they didn't have music in the Horde) but she enjoyed tracing the curving lines of the pendant to keep her relaxed.

Calliope started changing into her combat uniform as Lexie snuck up behind her and snaked her arms around her torso, tickling her exposed stomach quickly. Calliope flinched away, giggling as she pulled out of Lexie's arms, pulling up her pants.

"You were almost late!" Lexie snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. "Do you know how much trouble we would have been in? And do you know how boring training is when you're not there!" She whined.

Calliope rolled her eyes and turned her back to her, pulling her shirt over her head and strapping on her armor as Lexie went to work on her hair. Calliope had annoying long hair that was white on one side and black on the other, with the front bangs with the opposite colors. The curls fell her back and passed her ass, making sitting, sleeping, and training an annoyance when it was down. Shadow Weaver had gotten so mad at it when she was younger, she sheared it all off with a pair of rusty scissors, only for the annoying curls to have, magically, sprouted back out curlier and thicker than when they were cut off. Shadow Weaver never tried to cut them off again but managed to get the other children to bully her about being a princess for years afterward, making her a target in training.

Lexie had stood by her side the whole time and would fight anyone that came close to her best friend. The taller girl had long, jet black hair that she always kept tightly wrapped up on the top of her head and would do the same for Calliope's hair for training. Unlike everyone else, Lexie loved Calliope's princess curls and hated her having her hair up unless necessary so she could play with the heterochromatic hair.

Calliope's deep blue eyes met Lexie's brown eyes in the mirror and gave her a small smile as they both finished up their tasks before training. The girls had been inseparable since meeting each other as toddlers and could communicate through eye contact and small gestures since Calliope hated to talk around others.

"You knew I wasn't going to be late and risk us getting punished..." Calliope whispered, turning to help Lexie fasten a loose harness. Things in the Fright Zone had been tense since a Force Captain had defected and joined the rebellion. Lexie smiled and linked arms with her as they were called to the simulation room.

"I know! I just like giving you a hard time, Callie!" Lexie chuckled, unlinking their arms and standing at attention at their spots as they are briefed on their simulation missions.

______________________________________________________________________________

"I'm so beat!" Lexie sighed loudly, falling over on a bench in the locker room dramatically. "The She-Ra simulation is so hard to take down! It's not fair!" She turned on her stomach, putting her chin in her hands and pouting at Calliope, who rolled her eyes at her.

"She-Ra's not supposed to be easy to take down," Calliope whispered, taking off her shirt and throwing it at Lexie's face. Lexie squealed, falling off the bench, causing Calliope to chuckle. "Let's go shower, Lex. I'm tired too," Calliope muttered, shimmying out of her pants as she headed towards the showers, Lexie hot on her heels.

They turned on separate shower heads, cold water cascading on them. The other cadets soon joined and talking and laughter soon filled the shower room. Calliope slowly relaxed under the water as Lexie rambled on about who knows what. She pulled her hair out of the tight bun and let it flow down her back, soaking up the freezing water.

"Hey, Princess!" one of the other girls called out, drawing Calliope's attention. Lexie growled softly beside her, glaring at the other girl. "Isn't there a castle you're supposed to be sparkling in?"

"Lay off, Terra! Don't make me kick your ass again!" Lexie growled. Calliope put her head down, staring at the floor. Terra sneered at Lexie, taking a threatening step forward.

"Why do you always defend her? Can't she speak for herself? Come on, princess! Speak! Oh, that's right, you don't talk. Because your voice is as sparkly as your hair!"

It was true. Calliope's voice was melodic and soothing, especially her singing voice. Ever since the haircut incident, it was just another piece of ammunition to use against her. Calliope only talked and sung by herself or around Lexie.

Lexie lunged and took Terra down, punching her in the face. Terra screamed, trying to defend herself but Lexie was a highly-trained warrior, top of their ranks, and never backed down from a fight. A couple of the other cadets managed to pull the two apart and Terra groaned, blood gushing from her nose and mouth.

Lexie stood up and wiped the blood off her busted lip, spitting the bloody saliva in Terra's direction before going over to Calliope. She reached out to grab Calliope's hand but Calliope jerked back, looking up at her with tears in her eyes before leaving the shower room to change. Lexie followed after her, pulling on her clothes too.

"Callie! What's wrong?" Lexie asked, confused. Calliope pulled on her shirt and glared at her, hot tears running down her face that took Lexie back. Calliope never showed her emotions, it shouldn't be done in the Fright Zone if you don't want to be considered weak.

"Is it what Terra said? You know she's all bark and no bite! Callie, come on," Lexie tried again to grab her hand, gripping tightly as she tried to jerk away again.

"Aren't you ever ashamed of being my friend?!" Calliope said, louder than her usual whisper, which took Lexie by surprise, again.

"Of course not! It's the two of us, always. It doesn't matter what they do to us or what they say as long as we have each other. Why does that make you mad?"

"Because what if they're right?" Calliope said in a whisper. Lexie looked around before pulling Callie out of the locker rooms and down the corridor. Calliope followed, confused, as she was led out of the building and to the edge of the whispering woods. Lexie turned to face her, face contorted with concern.

"Don't say things like that in there. If they have any suspicion, you know what they'll do to you? What Shadow Weaver will do? You're not a princess, no matter how pretty you are," Lexie smirked, brushing the hair away from Calliope's face. "And I am not ashamed to be your friend. You are just as strong as I am. If you put your mind to it, you could kick Terra's ass as well and she knows it. They all know it."

Callie sighed and leaned her cheek into Lexie's touch, loving the warm feel of her hand. Lexie stepped forward, leaving little space between them as she pressed her forehead against the shorter's girls. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes before Lexie pulled away, running her head down her arm as she started towards the buildings again.

"We're gonna miss dinner. Don't want to miss out on those ration bars!" She giggled, turning to face Calliope.

Calliope smiled, her face tingling from the contact they had. "I'll be there in a minute, I just need some fresh air. Save me a bar?" Lexie nodded before ducking inside.

Calliope huffed out a breath of air, patting her burning cheeks in embarrassment. When she finally calmed down, she turned to head back to the fright zone but stopped when the most haunting melody echoed in her ears. She twirled around quickly and stared into the whispering woods, as the sound echoed from there.