The All Princess Ball was not going according to plan. Adora had fumbled her first impression with Princess Frosta, and then failed to repair the damage afterwards; if anything, Adora's failed attempt at diplomacy had further entrenched Frosta in her neutrality. Then Catra showed up as Princess Scorpia's date, and Frosta accepted their presence in the name of tradition and neutrality over all of Adora's warnings. Adora glared at Catra from the ice cold floor of the ballroom that Frosta's guards had unceremoniously thrown her and Glimmer onto.

"Really, Adora," Catra tutted as she walked over. "I'm shocked. We're not breaking any rules. Didn't you read the invite?"

"I know you're plotting something," Adora growled. "From now until the second the ball ends, I'll be watching you. Wherever the two of you go, I go."

Catra exchanged glances at Scorpia and flashed her a feral grin. "Hey Scorpia, want to go find a make-out closet?"

Adora's mouth dropped open as Catra walked away arm in arm with Scorpia, who could barely contain her excitement. Catra turned back and winked at Adora as they walked up a staircase and out of sight.

"There is no way she was serious about that!" Adora pushed herself off the ground and grabbed hold of Glimmer. "Scorpia isn't her type at all!"

Glimmer straightened her dress. "So what, you think she was doing it to rile you up?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out. Come on!"

Adora raced up the stairs and looked around for any sign of them. The upper level was empty except for Entrapta, who was leaning against the railings observing the party and taking notes.

"Hey, Entrapta!" she called out. "Did you see anyone come up here?"

One of Entrapta's pony tails pointed down a narrow hallway. It was smaller and less well furnished than the rest of the castle; evidently it was a service passage for the servants. Adora crept down it searching for suspicious activity. Judging by the marks left on the rug, a woman of Scorpia's size had walked through here right up to a utility closet.

Adora groaned. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Uh, Adora?" Glimmer looked back nervously. "Shouldn't we go get help?"

"We may not have time." Adora put a hand on the doorknob. "Just be ready to go teleport for backup if we need it."

She swung the door open and stepped inside with her fists raised to see Scorpia leaning against a set of cupboards in the back of the closet.

"Where's Catra?" Adora walked up to Scorpia and glared at her menacingly.

Scorpia responded by looking up.

"Hey Adora." The door slammed shut behind them as Catra let herself down from the ceiling and landed right between Adora and Glimmer and the door.

"Um, Adora?" Glimmer backed away from Catra until she and Adora were next to each other. "Is now a good time to leave?"

Adora responded by throwing a punch at Catra. Catra bobbed her head to the side and slid up right in front of Adora.

"Come now, Adora. You're not going to dishonor the sacred traditions of the All Princess Ball with violence, are you?" Catra shook her head. "To think of the scandal if the great She-Ra was banned from the All Princess Ball for breaking the sacred custom neutrality!"

Adora lowered her fists. "Alright. I'm not going to fight you, but I'm not leaving you unsupervised!"

"Suits me just fine," Catra purred as she brushed past Adora and smacked her with her tail.

Scorpia reached past Glimmer to take hold of Catra and planted a deep kiss on her lips. For the second time that evening, Adora's jaw dropped open in shock.

"Y-you're not going to get rid of me that easily," she said while blushing furiously. "I'm staying right here!"

"Oh well, it was worth a shot," Catra shrugged. "So you'll be joining in, then?"

"What!?" Adora stared at the two of them. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"No, it's part of the rules." Catra grinned fiendishly. "If you're in the make-out closet, you have make-out or get out."

"There is no such rule!" Adora looked over at Glimmer. "Right?"

Glimmer touched her index fingers together nervously. "Uh, officially? No…"

"... there are unofficial rules?"

"Oh yeah!" Scorpia nodded vigorously. "Tons of unofficial rules! There's rules for Truth or Dare, Spin the Bottle, triathlons when appropriate, sleepovers… all sorts of things!"

Glimmer sighed. "Yeah… it's the end result of centuries of teenagers getting together to party. I didn't tell you because I didn't think it would come up."

Adora bit her lip. "And breaking the unofficial rules would be… bad?"

"Well… it probably won't do you any favors with Frosta." Glimmer tugged on Adora's arm. "Come on, let's go."

Adora dug her heels into the floor. "So, let's say I wanted to stay here. What exactly would I—"

Catra launched herself out of Scorpia's arms like a rocket and knocked Adora down onto the floor.

"Aww, looks like you're mine now, Adora," she chuckled as she went in for a kiss.

Adora froze as her heart pounded against her chest. Catra's fur tickled her skin while as soft lips pressed against her own. Her vision swam and her mind grew fuzzy while her lungs screamed for air, but Catra refused to let go.

Then, as suddenly as it had stopped, it was over. Adora gasped for breath as Catra watched her with her mismatched eyes. She placed a firm hand on Adora's shoulder and looked back at Scorpia.

"How are you holding up, Scorpia?"

Scorpia wrapped her tail tightly around Glimmer's waist and was doing her best to pry Glimmer off of her. "The little one's certainly aggressive," she panted.

Glimmer bopped her on the head. "I have a name, you know!"

"Right, sorry Glimmer." Scorpia cleared her throat. "This isn't how this evening was supposed to go, but I'm fine with this if you are."

Catra stroked Adora's cheek. "What do you say, Adora?"

Adora's heart started racing again. "Uh… I think I should make sure you stay out of trouble?"

"Good choice." Catra kissed her again. It was softer this time, and she let Adora set the pace.

Adora put a hand on the back of Catra's head and pulled her in closer as her other hand reached down to stroke Catra's tail. Catra purred against her chest in response and pressed her claws into Adora's shoulder.

"Ow, Catra! Watch it!" Adora winced.

Catra laughed and planted a kiss on Adora's neck. Her fangs grazed Adora's skin, then suddenly dug into her flesh.

Adora promptly grabbed Catra by her hears and pulled her head back. "What was that for? You're going to leave a mark!"

"Sorry, guess I got carried away." Catra ruffled Adora's hair. "You want to give me one?"

Adora rolled her eyes. "And end up with a hairball? No thanks."

The door then flew open with a bang. Adora pushed Catra off of her and looked up to see Frosta standing in the hallway, accompanied by several of her guards. She wrinkled her nose as she glared down at the four of them.

" Teenagers. "

The party was a disaster in every sense of the word. Frosta's aggressive indifference to Adora had turned into outright dislike if the comments she made about "stupid hormone addled adolescents ruining her ball" were any indication. Catra had ruined any chance of the Kingdom of Snows joining the Rebellion.

Adora slumped down on a couch in a secluded lounge. There were no shortage of party goers who had heard Frosta's outburst and worse, seen her as she was escorted back into the ball. Her messed up hair and clothing were embarrassing, but bruise on Adora's neck made it clear to everyone what has been going on.

The next time she saw Catra, Catra was going to pay.

"Hey Adora."

Catra draped herself onto the couch and grabbed onto Adora's bun. "Your hair's loose. Gimme a sec."

Adora swatted Catra's hands away. "Haven't you caused me enough trouble today?"

"Are you still worried about what Frosta said?" Catra scoffed. "It happened. It's in the past. Relax a little."

"I can't relax, I need her help to defeat the Horde!" Adora pointed a finger at Catra. "This is some sort of plot to sabotage the Rebellion, isn't it!"

Catra smirked. "Plot?"

"How else do you explain what happened?"

"Obviously, you were unable to resist my sheer animal magnetism," Catra purred.

The pun drew a loud groan from Adora. "Stop. Catra, you're better than this."

Catra leaned back against the sofa and settled into a comfortable silence. The distant sounds of the party filled the space between them.

"I can't believe Scorpia was your first kiss!" Adora blurted out suddenly. "Did it mean so little to you that you'd do it just to get back at me?"

"Hm?" Catra raised an eyebrow. "Don't be silly. You were my first kiss. We kissed plenty of times after you read those trashy novels Rogelio hides in his locker."

"That doesn't count! We were ten and just practicing what we thought adults did."

"Well then I guess you should have stayed in the Horde!" Catra crossed her arms. "You know, it's pretty rich that you're getting on me for throwing away a kiss when you threw away everything you've ever had after spending five minutes with the enemy!"

Adora threw up her hands. "Catra, I had no choice! I told you that I couldn't be a part of what the Horde is doing!"

Catra looked down at the floor. "You could have come home and told Shadow Weaver you got caught." Her voice wavered. "We could have worked something out."

"I..." Adora hesitated. "I wanted to leave the Horde. I never wanted to leave you. I asked you to come with me, didn't I?"

"And lose everything I ever had?" Catra looked at Adora with tears in her eyes. "Everyone loves you. You can start over with the Rebellion no problem; I bet people bowed to She-Ra when they saw her. I can't do that; no one likes me, and I've had to fight for everything I ever got in life. I'm not going to burn it all just so I can be your sidekick."

Adora grabbed onto her shoulders. "Catra, you are not my sidekick! You're my friend and I care about you! I wanted you to come with me so you could be safe!"

Catra brushed off Adora's grasp. "Well, I'm doing fine now. I'm Force Captain and I'm going to take over Shadow Weaver's place any day now."

"And then what?"

"Well maybe I'll replace Hordak too," she said quietly. "Then I'll be on top, and no one can ever hurt me again."

They stared at each other for a moment before Adora reached out for Catra's hand and held it softly. "I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"Because I didn't realize that you need more than protection. You need to be in control of your own life. And I guess that's not something I can give you."

Catra leaned in and hugged Adora. "Don't be too hard on yourself. We were kids and you did the best you could."

Adora sighed and nuzzled Catra's neck. "Growing up sucks."

"Totally."

The alcove Adora found was removed from the party, but far from private. Glimmer and Scorpia were crouched behind a bannister on the stairs overlooking the lounge and watching every move beneath them.

"Oh my god, they're cuddling together!" Glimmer whispered. "They're so adorable!"

"My best friend's having a romance!" Scorpia squealed. "I'd give anything for a camera right now!"

Bow coughed pointedly behind them. "I'm sorry, what are the two of you up to?"

Glimmer nearly yelped in surprise, but Scorpia quickly put a claw over her mouth. "Woah there! Where did you come from?"

Bow crossed his arms and glared at Scorpia. "I saw you sneaking after Catra and Adora from the ballroom."

"Hey don't look at me like that. I'm just making sure my friend's alright. Tell him, Sparkles!"

"You know that's not my name," Glimmer snapped, before turning to Bow. "Yeah, we're just spying on them. Want to join?"

"With Scorpia?" Bow frowned. "You tried to throw me into a turbine."

Scorpia chuckled nervously. "Uh, my bad. Guess I got a bit carried away. Can I make it up to you? Apology? Hug?"

Bow looked her up and down. "You know what? I'll take that hug."

They approached each other cautiously. Scorpia held out her claws and Bow reached around her waist as she pressed him into her chest for a good minute before letting go.

"There we go! Are we friends now?"

"That depends." Bow held up Scorpia's gemstone belt. "What are you doing with heat bombs?"

Scorpia froze on the spot. "Uh… in case I got cold?"

Glimmer groaned. "Scorpia…"

"Alright, you got me!" Scorpia threw up her claws in frustration. "We were originally going to use the bombs to cause a distraction and steal Adora's sword."

Bow pointed at Scorpia dramatically "See? You can't trust the Horde!"

"Ok, look I can promise you that planting bombs is the furthest thing from my mind right now." Scorpia pointed over the railings. "I mean, just look at them! They're so good together! I think Catra's having a really healthy bonding experience!"

Bow kept his front to Scorpia as he maneuvered over to the railing. He gazed downwards briefly before he snapped his head back to face them with a furious blush on his face.

"Ok, that is pretty good," he admitted. "But I'm keeping the heat bombs."

"That's fair enough," Scorpia said. "Just try to keep anyone else from coming here. The last thing we need is... " she trailed off as she realized Bow and Glimmer were both looking over her shoulder. "Entrapta's behind me, isn't she?"

"Shhh, ignore me," Entrapta whispered. "Don't let me throw off the delicate social dynamic of enemies interacting on neutral ground!" She circled them, then climbed up a pillar next to them. "And wow, what an interaction! I heard their yelling all the way over in the ballroom and figured there's be tons more data over here! This reconciliation is fascinating!"

Glimmer grabbed onto Entrapta's overalls and pulled hard. "Get down from there before you give us away!"

"Too late!" Entrapta announced gleefully. "They're coming up!"

"Everyone get behind me!" Scorpia threw out her claws and pressed everyone back against the pillar. "I'll hide us with my scorpion camouflage powers!"

"You're thinking about chameleons!" Glimmer said as she struggled to escape. "We need to get out of here now!"

"Black Garnet shadow powers go!" Scorpia closed her eyes and strained her muscles to no effect whatsoever.

Catra walked up to them and raised an eyebrow. "Ok, seriously: what are you people doing?"

"Would you believe… we got lost on the way to the bathroom?" Bow offered tepidly.

Adora rolled her eyes. "Come on, guys. None of you were being particularly subtle up here."

"Fascinating," Entrapta breathed into her recorder. "The subterfuge has been laid bare! Will feelings be hurt? Will bonds break?"

"Okay… well, you guys have fun." Adora put her arm firmly around Catra's waist. "We're going to find a dressing room and freshen up before the dance."

"Seeya!" Catra winked at them as Adora led her away from the group.

Scorpia waved goodbye to Catra as she disappeared, which allowed the rest of the group to escape from behind her.

"Alright," Bow said. "I seriously need to know how any of this got started?"

Scorpia grinned. "Oh, I told Catra that there were a bunch of unofficial rules she could use to prank Adora with. Like how if Adora followed her into a make-out closet, she'd have to join in or get kicked out."

Bow furrowed his brow. "Are there?"

"Of course there are. Glimmer, back me up!"

Glimmer nodded. "Yeah, there are. Centuries of unwritten tradition intended to help people get along and have fun. It's a kind of magic, really."

"Look, I'll be frank: I've never heard anything of the sort."

Scorpia and Glimmer exchanged glances.

"What," Scorpia scoffed. "You think Glimmer and I planned an elaborate ruse to get Adora and Catra together so they'd get to resolve their issues with one another in a healthy and constructive manner?"

Bow blinked. "Did you?"

"What? No, that's crazy talk." Scorpia waved her claws around dismissively. "You know who would say that? A crazy person. Which is what you sound like."

Bow ground his palm against his forehead. "Ok, that's enough! Do the two of you have some sort of secret Princess back-channel for communicating with each other or not?"

"Don't worry about it." Glimmer grabbed onto Bow's arm. "Let's get back to the ball and have some fun. Things have been weird between us and I want to end the night on a high note!"

"That's, uh good to hear. I was really worried that you weren't taking things well. Glad to see I was wrong." Bow glanced at Scorpia. "Even if you have odd taste in new friends."

"We're friends? Awesome!" Scorpia clapped her claws together. "Wow, I am doing super well at this ball thing!"

She knelt down in front of Glimmer so that they were eye to eye. "Hey, uh, Glimmer. I want to ask you something."

Glimmer looked at her oddly, but nodded anyways. "Sure?"

"Ok, so I know it's maybe not the best idea to talk politics on a first date or anything," she said, "But we're both Princesses and we're going to lead our kingdoms — or would they be principalities? — well, we're going to need to rule them, make alliances, sign treaties, and everything, right?"

"So I've been told."

"And the way I see it, this war can't go on forever. Either the Horde or the Rebellion will in the end and there'll be some sort of treaty to end the fighting."

"That's how it usually goes."

"Great! So, just throwing it out there — no pressure or anything — would you consider marriage an acceptable offer as part of a peace treaty?"

Bow stared. Glimmer's jaw dropped open. Entrapta took notes furiously.

"Where's all of this coming from?" Glimmer finally managed to ask once the shock had worn off.

Scorpia scratched the back of her head awkwardly. "Oh well, you know, I do have to do Princess things and plan for the future of my kingdom. Plus, uh, the list of suitable marriage candidates is really short in the Horde since no one else would really bring anything significant to the table, you know?"

"Alright, I guess I can see that." Glimmer took hold of Scorpia's claw and shook it. "Sure, I'll consider it a viable item for peace negoations."

"Oh wow, that is such a relief." Scorpia laughed. "I am really hitting it out of the ballpark tonight! Alright, I'm going to fill up at the buffet table. See you on the dance floor!"

She scuttled off, leaving Bow and Glimmer behind.

"Again," Bow said. "What just happened?"

Glimmer shrugged. "Just another day in the glamorous life of a Princess. Getting away from this sort of thing is why I keep sneaking out with you."

She grabbed onto Bow's arm. "Come on, let's get you back to Perfuma. I think we've been away from the party long enough."

There was something relaxing about the way Catra wove Adora's hair around the butterfly hairpin. The dressing room was private, quiet, and comfortable. The outside world might as well not have existed.

"I gotta say, it's a shame you couldn't come as She-Ra," Catra said. "She has better hair."

"Would have saved me a visit to the tailor's too," Adora chuckled. "Want me to do your hair?"

Catra hugged her from behind. "Nah. I'm perfect the way I am."

"Mmm." Adora leaned into the hug. "I wish we didn't have to go back out there."

"Yeah. Me too."

"Do you ever wonder what things would be like if the Horde had never come? Or if they had never found us?"

"I used to daydream what things might be like. Sometimes I'd be a thief, or an outlaw, or a princess. But I stopped a long time ago. Fantasies distract you from what you need to do in real life." She planted a quick kiss on Adora's cheek. "Plus I'd have never met you otherwise, and you're pretty cute."

Adora looked at herself in the mirror. She was older than she remembered, and seemed more tired as well. "I guess we have to play the cards we're dealt."

"It's working so far, even if this wasn't exactly what we wanted."

"I suppose we'll only know when it's all over. There's still a war going on, you know, and the Rebellion needs Frosta's aid. Not that there's any way she'll join us now."

Catra smirked. "What makes you so sure?"

"Because every time we've met, I've ended up shoving my foot so far into my mouth that I've probably given myself athlete's tongue?"

"Oh Adora," Catra sighed smugly and ducked a slap from Adora. "Sweet, simple, naive Adora. You were doomed from the start because you can't see things from her point of view. Frosta's a princess; that means she has to put the needs of her kingdom above all else. The Horde doesn't have any interest in the Kingdom of Snows, or at least it's so far down the list of priorities that the Kingdom of Snows is better off staying neutral and biding its time."

Adora untangled herself from Catra's arm and turned around to glare at her. "So what? You think I should give up?"

"No, what I think you should do is change your approach." Catra put a foot on a nearby stool and adopted a dramatic pose. "Fortunately for you, I have a plan!"

"Please tell me it's better than your plan to throw a tea party for Lonnie."

"Shut up!" Catra huffed. "It's not my fault that she was allergic to chamomile! Anyways, I was originally going to have Scorpia bomb the palace while I stole your sword so I could prove to Hordak that I'm better suited to be his second in command than Shadow Weaver."

Adora smacked her forehead. "Seriously?"

"Relax, we called it off. Anyways, what I could still do is cause some sort of massive scandal by stealing stuff from the guest check-in vault. It'd be a huge diplomatic incident and Frosta would have to respond."

"That is dishonest, dishonorable, and despicable."

"Aww, thanks babe." Catra winked. "Does that mean you're in?"

"No. It's not ok to steal other people's things to provoke Frosta into joining the Rebellion."

"Ok, well, what if we went back to the original plan and I made off with your sword? That'd still be pretty big, and it wouldn't be stealing per-se." Catra stroked her chin. "Really, it's the perfect crime. You check out the sword at the end of the night, we kiss goodbye, I steal the sword from you, then I make a dramatic getaway while you chase me. This breaks the neutrality of the ball, upsets a lot of influential guests, and forces Frosta to sanction the Horde. I get all the glory while Shadow Weaver looks bad. I see this as an absolute win for everyone involved."

"That's a great plan," Adora said. "Except for the part where it ends with the Horde having my sword."

"Oh please, like they'd be able to do anything with it. Just sneak back in and grab it after the ball." Catra rolled her eyes. "What, did you forget the layout already? Do you want me to draw you a map?"

"There's no guarantee I'd be able to get the sword back. Can you give me something to bargain with if we can't steal it back?"

Catra shrugged. "I don't know, take Scorpia maybe? She seemed to enjoy Glimmer's company. The two of them were practically inseparable."

"That's, uh, certainly one way of putting it. Do you think she'd go for it? I mean, she'd pretty much be a hostage."

"Probably, if I asked her. We're apparently best friends. Besides, being a hostage is kinda her job."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"She's a Princess of a vassal state Hordak's keeping in the Fright Zone. I always figured she was collateral to keep her family in line. If anything, spending time with you guys would be a vacation for her."

"That… that's horrible!"

"Alright, so we're agreed? I steal the sword, you make a scene about how I betrayed your trust, Scorpia stays with you, and you come into the Fright Zone a few days later to take the sword back?"

"And then we release Scorpia?"

"Eh, make it seem like she broke out while you were gone. It'll earn her some extra favor with Hordak."

"This is a disturbingly well conceived plan for something you just whipped up."

"What can I say?" Catra purred. "You just have to learn to read people."

"And if it works, then what? Do we go back to trying to kill each other like civilized people?"

"We let the cards fall where they may," Catra shrugged. "Maybe we'll be enemies. Maybe we'll be friends again. But for now, let's just enjoy ourselves." Her ears perked up as the music stopped. "Come on! We don't want to be late for the dance!"

As they raced out of the room, Adora felt truly happy for the first time in a long while. The future was uncertain and fraught with peril, but things were coming together. No matter how much darkness clouded their lives, there was still hope that something good would come of it all.