The Power in You

Chapter 3

Lexie was frantic. Calliope NEVER disappeared. A few minutes of fresh air was one thing, she didn't want to bother Calliope if she needed some space. But a few minutes turned into a few hours and... Lexie was ready to tear down the fright zone to find Calliope.

She had been lying in bed for a few hours, staring up at the ceiling, trying to figure out where Calliope could have gone. Had she been kidnapped? Eaten by a wild animal? Fallen into a hole? The possibilities were endless and while she knew that Calliope was just as skilled as she was and could handle herself... she couldn't help but feel very protective of the other girl. They had always looked out for each other, through thick and thin. Lexie even...

She shook her head, driving the thoughts away from her as her eyes began to water. She couldn't bring herself to name the feelings she was having over her lost friend. She tossed and turned for the remainder of the night until dusk when she slipped out of her bunk before the rest of the cadets awoke and started getting ready for the day.

As the other cadets started rousing and getting ready, she made her way towards Horror Hall for breakfast. Not that she needed to eat, she had a saved ration bar for Calliope for when she returned that she could have munched on. But she couldn't bring herself to eat Calliope's share. She was stopped at the entrance of the hall by a force cadet.

"Senior Cadet Lexie, you've been assigned to a task force to take down a rebel town on the outskirts of Elberon. Report to the main entrance in an hour for preparations," they told her and she nodded numbly as they walked away.

She took a couple more steps forward before stopping again, her breath hitching. If Calliope comes back, she won't know where I've gone, she thought and she turned around to make her way to the lockers. She stopped in front of Calliope's and opened it, feeling around the back for the necklace she kept pinned back there. Lexie always loved the gentle curves of the treble clef and enjoyed how the pendant rested against the hollow of Calliope's throat when she did wear it, which was rare.

Lexie proceeded to tie the necklace around her own neck and rummaged around some more until she found a scrap piece of paper and something to write with before scrawling a note out for her friend.

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Calliope did not know what she expected when she entered the kingdom of Brightmoon but it wasn't the overwhelming familiarity of the place to come crashing down on her like a bundle of bricks. Her breath caught as she gazed up at the castle and she paused at the doors where Adora was already entering, blinking up at the amazing structure. Adora turned around, noticing that she wasn't being followed anymore, and chuckled softly.

"I felt the same way when I first came to Brightmoon. Come on, I'm sure everyone is waiting for us!" Adora urged, gently tugging on Calliope's arm as they continued into the palace.

Suddenly, Brightmoon guards were surrounding them and Calliope's eyes widened at the spears pointing in her direction.

"Whoa! Guys, she's come to pledge her allegiance to the Rebellion! We need an audience with Queen Angella!" Adora told them, pushing one of the spears away from her. Calliope could feel something building inside her, her nervousness creeping up her throat as she whirled her head around.

"Please, stop..." she whispered softly, to no one in particular but the guards suddenly lowered their spears, looking confused at one another. Adora's eyes widened, confused as well as her shoulders relaxed.

"How did you-?" A burst of sparkles surrounded them, cutting Adora off and another woman was suddenly standing beside her, all purple and glittery.

"ADORA! What took you sooooo long?! Wait, who is this?! Ahhh, horde spy!" the other woman screeched, causing the guards to raise their weapons again.

"Glimmer! This is Calliope, she's come to pledge her allegiance to the rebellion and apparently has some really cool powers cause she told everyone to stop and they lowered their weapons until you came by and freaked out! Could you please chill?" Adora asked, exasperated.

Glimmer took in the situation for the first time and made an 'oh' expression on her face before asking the guards to lower their weapons, to which they obliged. She then bounded over to the newcomer and squished her face between her hands.

"Hi! I'm Glimmer, Adora's best friend! It's so nice that you came to join us! You need to meet my mother, she'll love having more people join our cause! Come on!" she said and grabbed Adora's hand as she teleported them to the throne room.

Calliope collapsed to the ground on her hands and knees, heaving as Adora patted her back reassuringly.

"Sorry!" Glimmer said, making her way over to the angelic being that was her mother. "Mom! Adora brought home a friend!"

Calliope started to calm down and picked up her head and made eye contact with the Queen of Brightmoon and felt her whole body freeze. Queen Angella stared down at her with a mixture of recognition and confusion as she made her way over to them.

"Adora, what did I say about bringing back strays?" the Queen questioned, breaking eye contact to look at her. Adora rubbed the back of her neck, having the decency to look ashamed.

"Sorry, I found her outside of the Crystal Castle and couldn't help myself. She looked so helpless and confused."

"I am not helpless but I am confused," Calliope supplied, finally standing to her feet. "You look... familiar. This all feels familiar."

Queen Angella nodded in agreement. "You remind me of a woman I used to know. You have her eyes."

Adora and Glimmer looked between the two of them, now the ones confused as to what was happening. Calliope pressed a hand to her heart, feeling it skip a beat at the words.

"Who am I? I always felt... different from everyone else. I've always felt this... thing inside me that's tried to burst out. You know me. I can see it in your eyes."

"We thought you were dead. We thought everyone had died..." Queen Angella sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "We didn't even think they would have taken you. Of course they did, it would have been easy to train you up and use your power against us..." she mumbled mostly to herself.

"Mother, what are you talking about? Who is she?" Glimmer asked, stepping forward.

"Who am I?!" Calliope called out loudly, allowing her voice to fill the space for the first time since she was small and it took everyone aback, feeling the power of her words. Angella paused, eyeing the girl with new regard.

"Princess Musa of the Kingdom of Musica was a dear friend of mine. And was your mother," Angella said softly.

Calliope took a step back, shock creeping through her body from the news before everything went black.