The Chronicles of Kyle

Chapter 2

"Please don't hurt me!" Kyle cried as the guard practically dragged him into the castle, "I didn't even bring a weapon! I want to join the Rebellion!"

"We'll let the queen decide about that," the guard said shortly.

Kyle was half running, half walking, and half tripping over himself as he tried to keep pace with the tall, intimidating woman who had a firm grip on his arm. He almost ran into her as she abruptly stopped in front of a pair of large, decorated doors. Kyle was in awe as he gazed around the castle of Bright Moon. Nothing in the Horde had ever been so... pink.

"Come on!" The woman said as she opened the door and roughly pulled Kyle inside.

An oval table surrounded by ornate, golden chairs sat in the center of the spacious room. The walls were covered in murals of people who must've been important for some reason or another. Trying not to be noticed by the group of people seated at the table, Kyle ducked behind the guard's arm, but it was too late. Several pairs of eyes had already locked onto him.

The guard took a step towards the table, pulling Kyle along behind her, "I apologize for interrupting, Queen Angella, but I found this Horde boy lurking by the-"

"Kyle?" a voice piped up in disbelief.

Kyle's head snapped towards the disturbance, and he saw someone rising from her chair and staring at him in bewilderment. "Oh, uh... Hi, Adora."

A tense silence fell across the room as no one could seem to think of anything to say. Kyle looked down at his shoes in an attempt to avoid eye contact with anyone.

"I found this boy by the castle gate," the guard spoke up, "and he claims he wants to join the Rebellion."

Kyle could feel the stares burning into his soul.

"Adora, do you know this young man?" A different voice broke the silence.

Glancing up, Kyle was relieved to see that all the eyes were now on a slender woman with long, pink and purple hair. She was seated at one of the most decorated golden chairs with a slightly taller, vacant one by her side. This must be the queen.

"Yes..." Adora said uncertainly as she took her seat again, "he was in my cohort when I was working with the Horde."

"And do you have any reason to believe that he would truly defect from the Horde, or is this another one of their traps?"

Adora looked at Kyle quizzically, "I'm not sure... He's not exactly the guy Hordak would choose for a secret mission to infiltrate the Rebellion, but that could be a strategic choice. We're more likely to trust him because he looks so..." Adora gave him a once over, "weak."

Kyle shrugged and smiled meekly.

"Oh, yeah! Kyle!"

Kyle froze. That was definitely Bow's voice. Bow, the one that Kyle betrayed the Horde for. Bow, the one that said he'd be Kyle's friend. Bow, the one who watched him get thrown over the edge by Sea Hawk and didn't come back for him. There he was. Smiling at Kyle from the table of princesses.

"I remember you!" Bow said cheerfully, "best friend Kyle!"

"Best friend?" A voice piped up incredulously, "since when are you making friends with people like him?"

"Wait... Best friends?" Kyle questioned. Wasn't this the same guy who left him in the Horde and never talked to him again? Kyle didn't know much about friendship, but he was pretty sure it wasn't like that. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but feel a little hopeful. Maybe he'd find friends in the Rebellion after all!

"Glimmer, he helped us find you when we were captured by the Horde!" Bow explained, "He was in charge of guarding me. He said nobody ever talked to him, so he wanted to be my friend, and he told me where Shadow Weaver was keeping you. It's really because of him that we got you out!"

Glimmer cast a suspicious glance at Kyle.

"Is that true?" Adora asked.

Kyle shifted nervously, "yeah... Nobody ever talks to me or thinks I can do anything in the Horde, so when Bow asked where his friend was, I wanted to prove that I could do the right thing."

Should he mention that he would've joined the Rebellion earlier if he hadn't been thrown away the moment Bow got out of his cell? Would that help his case or make it seem like he was blaming the Rebellion? Before Kyle could make up his mind, the queen spoke again.

"Well, we're going to have to discuss this," she said, "it's quite a big deal to accept a former Horde member into our ranks. We made an exception with Adora, but that's because... Well, she's She-Ra. Take Kyle to a secure room while we finish our meeting."