Chapter Text
Lyra's Private Study
Halfmoon Castle
Halfmoon
Subtheria
Three Years After Catra's abduction
"It's high time to make it official, Lyra. Hell, it's past time, and you know it." Lenio leaned back in his chair, nursing a mug of amber rum. "He's been Royal Sorcerer for three years and hasn't gone yet. That needs to change."
Lyra sighed. She hadn't put it off on purpose! She'd thought about it plenty, even discussed it with Aster and Cloudfoot. But she hadn't made it happen. She had plenty of excuses, too.
Aster's advice had been to give Akrash time to settle into the royal court and learn his duties - and give the older, most suspicious people time to see he wasn't like his parents. And she did want to avoid comments from those same people. There were only so many social and political battles she could fight at any one time, and Akrash's appointment had come with more than his share of those. It was the worst sort of guilt by association on top of the guilt he harbored for what he thought his role in the nightmarish coup had been.
He had done plenty to distance himself from his parents. His refusal to accept their lands and titles and remain noble had caused a stir. (Lyra had sold off what she could and put their assets in a trust for him. She hadn't told him yet.) It had insulted the traditionalists, confused the expansionists, exasperated her own royalists - and then he'd turned around and joined Catra's new progressive faction without pausing to catch his political breath!
And Catra had managed to neatly re-brand and subsume most of the royalists into her own faction, leaving Cloudfoot, Percival, and Askar the only notable royalists who were still conceivably able to make any kind of policy impact. And as Lyra had easily aligned her faction with Catra, anyone who was more royalist than progressive amid the citizens defaulted to Catra anyway. Her daughter had handily charmed enough of Halfmoon to become a political powerhouse in a matter of months, leaving everyone else to maneuver against her to retain not just power, but relevance!
(Lyra was very proud. So was Cloudfoot. Percival was just amused.)
It had only gotten worse since Akrash and Kittrina had started working against Imoh. His traditionalist faction, including Trisham - the Finance Minister - had spread a variety of rumors about Akrash's relationship with Kittrina. It didn't help he was often seen with her and helping with Isha. They were a formidable duo, and it was hard for even the traditionalists to claim Akrash was still loyal to his parents when their own rumors were based on him being in Kittrina's pocket. (They had tried to hint he had 'corrupted' her to the side of his parents' sedition, but Kellam and Varlaine had been traditionalists before their treason.)
Akrash hadn't made it easy on them. He deferred to Aster in matters of magic, was openly Catra's loyal partisan and Lyra's faithful retainer. He'd given up his title, lands, and money. He'd nearly been killed protecting her during the coup. So nasty rumors he was trying to use an illicit affair to sleep his way back into power was really all they had left.
And despite his patience, his forbearance, his loyalty, she had yet to ensure he was allowed to visit the Spirit Ember - as was not just his right, but his duty as Royal Sorcerer. It wasn't fair to Akrash. He hadn't asked her about it, but he had to know it was part of his job. One of the rights of his job.
It was rapidly becoming something she would have to deal with.
To say nothing of Catra's Ascension, and the rituals associated with that - and Lyra wasn't sure if anyone had told Catra yet. She was prickly enough about the concept of 'adulthood' being tied to age and after how they had completely failed with her first birthday in Halfmoon, Lyra was - worried.
The Ascension ceremony came with a lot.
Especially since Catra had learned of her imprint with Adora so close to her two year anniversary of losing her. (Her daughter would never be okay on that anniversary. Not unless a miracle happened and she got Adora back. She was terrified of what would become of her daughter the longer they were apart.)
She had delayed the ceremony - first, because she wanted to let Catra to complete her tunnel project, but the plague had extended the delay. Recovering from the plague had meant everyone was far too busy for ceremonies of state, but not she was getting questions about when it would happen, from people she couldn't afford to ignore.
Catra had proven herself during the epidemic; there was no reason she shouldn't have equal power to Lyra.
"It's not fair to him, Lyra." Lenio tapped her desk. "He's more than done the job. He deserves a Confirmation ceremony."
Lyra waved at him.
"He has. And he does deserve it! I'm not arguing, Lenio, I'm not. I'm thinking it through." She held her glass of wine and looked over at Cloudfoot, Askar, and Percival. While her Royal Council was supposed to be her advisors, she was almost always at odds with about half of them. Most of her best advice came from the four gathered in her study. They had spent dinner discussing the ramifications of both Catra's tunnel and the fishfolk attacks (especially in light of recovering from the epidemic!), but Lenio had quietly brought up Akrash when drinks had been served.
His timing hadn't been accidental. Catra had to go back to the Lost Temple too. And Lyra needed to invite Kittrina with them. It was well past time she went; even without any magic of her own, she deserved an Introduction to the Spirit Ember.
(She had never asked or hinted, but Aster had reminded her about it often enough it was very loud in her mind right.)
It was also a rare night when Aster, Kittrina, Akrash, and Catra weren't with them to discuss things. It was safe to talk about the younger generation and safe to remember things. To mourn and grieve.
They had done their share of that, too.
She missed her Cyrus. She missed his pragmatic wisdom. His creative solutions. His refusal to adhere to any standard of propriety when it came to his wife. She very much wished she could sink into his arms right then and cry for their daughter's broken heart.
"He does have a point, Lyra." Askar's voice rumbled softly. "…and I wouldn't be doing my duty if…"
"I know. Kittrina needs to go down there, too." She sighed. "I have not forgotten."
Lenio was right. Akrash had done his job and more. He often covered for Aster - and she was sending Aster to Qadia more and more as trade increased and as more and more people were moving back and forth every month. It was a good thing for Halfmoon, a very good thing, but it kept Aster away from his job as Chair of Sorcery. Akrash managed those duties, his duties teaching sorcerers and all of the thousand magical details for the royal family. He'd had to work closely with her, and he'd shown not just a refreshing humility, but a sharp humor and a depth of knowledge and skill she respected.
Lenio's eyes bored into her until Lyra sighed and threw her head back - along with the rest of her wine. "Fine! Fine. I've been putting it off, because the politics of it are going to be a pain in my tail, and I don't want them right now. Things are complex enough with Imoh still pushing for Catra to get married, shoving his traditionalist reforms onto every Council meeting, and Catra's initiatives for contact with the surface. Taking a polarizing figure like Akrash down to the Lost Temple is bound to create headaches I really don't want. Which is why Aster suggested we wait in the first place."
"Phagh." Lenio set his mug down. "Aster wasn't wrong. We needed to wait, but there will never be a good time. Aster doesn't see the importance of it. He's a skilled sorcerer, but he doesn't have the heart for it like my boy does. He makes a fine Chair, but he doesn't understand why a Royal Sorcerer needs to meet the RuneStone. I know I needed my Confirmation, when I held the job."
Akrash really did need to visit the RuneStone. Lenio was right - it affected every aspect of magic in Halfmoon and it was tied to the royal family he served so faithfully. He was operating with a blind spot in his knowledge and a lack of understanding and it wasn't fair to him to keep asking him to do so.
"Politics can be managed." Cloudfoot, sitting on Catra's favorite couch, puffed contentedly on his pipe. "It is Catra's Ascension, where she gains equal authority to her majesty. There are rules we can exploit."
Askar rolled his eyes. "That drivel of 'witnessed by an enemy?' Sounds like a great way to ruin something else for Catra. I'm not in favor, but I know I'll be outvoted on this one."
Smoke drifting around Cloudfoot's face, he grinned. "Oh, but think! The Queen takes both princesses and the Royal Sorcerer down there, takes Aster and perhaps one or two from the Council - Imoh, perhaps? Haverisk, given his recent turn. And mind you, make a production out of it without making it look like you're making a production of it would be something the people would be glad of. It is very much something reassuring, those old traditions being observed. Continuity in the face of the plague and growing hostilities with the fishfolk. Imoh would have to behave, or risk losing all his credibility! I would also suggest inviting Kelara. I know Catra will hate it, but it is a ceremonial duty. I am sure we can convince the priestess to leave things be for one night. And with her there, your majesty, you could stand as witness for your daughter."
There was rough sympathy in his voice, because he knew what Catra felt about ceremonies, but he wasn't wrong. This wasn't just tradition or long-delayed necessity, it was a political opportunity. It would be important to the people of Halfmoon - a return to normalcy.
And it would be happening just after Catra's nineteenth birthday.
And a chance for Lyra to act as a mother to her daughter, not as a Queen to her Princess. She liked that idea and was wiling to risk Catra having to deal with Kelara for the chance.
But she wasn't sure she wanted to expose Catra to Imoh for that long. She wasn't sure the stress of dealing with the RuneStone combined with Imoh's usual commentary wouldn't result in a murder. Especially this close to such an emotional time for Catra.
Askar grunted. "Okay, but why bother with Imoh and Haverisk? I get the priestess. It's adjacent to her sphere of influence and looks good to people who care about that sort of thing. And why push for this now, Lenio? Not arguing, but we're talking about most of the power structure of Halfmoon visiting an underground temple and the RuneStone."
Cloudfoot puffed out another ring of smoke. "It's quite simple. Inviting them along to see the rituals means the royals aren't ignoring them. It makes them feel powerful. It will steal some of their political momentum, because once the invitations are made, there will be a brief period of time in which they will want to behave better than normal for fear of losing the chance. If Imoh crosses any lines with Kelara as witness, he will lose every bit of momentum he has."
Askar sighed. "And with Lyra going, it will create a massive security concern. Who is going to be in charge up here?"
"You are." Lyra kept her voice soft. Cloudfoot was right. Lenio was right. This had to happen. Soon. "You are related by blood to Kittrina, making you - technically - the only one who can be right now. It will be for only a few hours, but the laws on succession make it your job. I will be the one to explain things to Catra, and ask if there is anyone she wants to bring."
"She will bring Kesi." Percival, sitting next to his husband, cradled his mostly empty snifter in his palm. "She has few close friends. Akrash. Kittrina. Kesi. Given the choice, she will bring Kesi, whom Imoh hates for being both in the cave culture and good at her job. Her guards as well - the twins. It will be quite a procession."
Askar growled. "No. I'll not remain up here when all of you are going down to the Temple! I am the General of the Armies! Your safety is my sworn duty, and I will refuse to be kept from it again! And it will be the first time my granddaughter meets the RuneStone. By law, I have a right to be there as her witness!"
Lyra groaned. "Who is supposed to run my kingdom while we're dealing with ancient rituals and political chicanery?"
Percival reached up and brushed the back of his hand across Cloudfoot's cheek. "My husband will, as Minister of State. The old laws are clear. He will hate every moment of it, but it was his plan."
Cloudfoot leaned into Percival's hand, but slumped. "Perce, you - he's right, your majesty. By law, I would stand as regent for the duration. Hopefully, a short duration."
"Just a few hours, Cloudfoot. I trust you. This is - necessary, I know. It's going to be a whole thing. Fine. We're doing this. The two of you set it up, and I'll talk to her in the morning. But Askar was right, Lenio - why now?"
She turned back to the old doctor. He'd been a fixture her entire life. Eternally old and seemingly eternal, he had been the Royal Physician, the Royal Sorcerer, and the Chair of Sorcery when she'd been a child. He had passed the Chair to Aster when she'd married Cyrus, and retired from his other positions a year after Catra had been taken. The position of Royal Sorcerer had been passed between a number of sorcerers since, usually as a political appointment, while Dr. Arashu had filled the Royal Physician's slot.
Arashu had been Haverisk's pick, and at the time, Lyra had been too grief-stricken to argue it. And he had done a decent job of it before Catra's arrival and his abject failure at doing the primary job of a Royal Physician - taking care of the royal family.
Akrash had been Royal Sorcerer longer than any of the others had, and was the only Royal Sorcerer since Lenio she had been willing to take to the Lost Temple.
"Beyond no one else being able to understand why someone has to speak for him about a Confirmation? I'm naming Akrash my successor as Royal Physician - officially making him my second. I'm telling you first, but I'll tell him in the morning. He's more than qualified. Studied medicine and magic at Mystacor. He's studied medicine and magic with me since returning and years before being taken from me, and he's a full journeyman. By the time I'm ready to retire again, or old age kills me, he'll be a master. And the last time I left it in the hands of the Council, they mucked it up but good and assigned an ambitious moron to take care of my people. I won't have it again."
Lyra stared at him in shock for a long moment. Askar was laughing softly, shaking his head, and a small cloud of smoke drifted around Cloudfoot's ears. She'd known Lenio had been close to Akrash - then Gideon - as a child. While Kellam and Varlaine plotted and schemed, he'd been mostly left to his own devices. They'd had him taught by tutors, and then later the Temple, but she'd learned he had been mostly taught and watched by Lenio.
"Your successor?"
"Hmm." Lenio sipped at his rum. "My successor. My heir in every way, though he's not ready to hear that. In every way that matters, that boy my son, Lyra. He wanted so badly to be a healer, not a warrior. Not a ruler. Not - whatever else those cowardly traitors wanted to make him into. Followed me around, and learned every scrap I would teach him. What they did to him, the way they raised him. I tried to give him - to be someone for him. He was so damn bright. So eager. He wanted to heal. To be - If I hadn't been…if I'd only been able to…"
He drank the rest of his mug in two fast swallows, and Lyra's heart broke for him. Lenio had lost his wife when Halfmoon fell to the Horde, and both of his sons in the war that followed. He'd lost all of his family in the years since, leaving him the last of what had been a family of sorcerers and doctors. Somewhere in the city, there was a large house that had been empty since he'd moved back to the castle when she'd begged him to come out of retirement to care for Catra.
And he'd come. She'd called, and he'd come and he'd taken back up his old position without hesitation, healing the years of damage and neglect done to her child. She'd been so guilty about disturbing his retirement - mostly spent teaching in the Hall of the Lost Temple. But he had thrown himself back into his duties with a passion and dedication she was immensely grateful for.
Hearing the catch in his voice, the anger there. The guilt over having not saved Akrash from Kellam and Varlaine on that terrible night. It was likely he'd been tending her fathers or one of her sisters when they'd taken their son and fled, defeated by Askar and Halfmoon's loyal forces. Her youngest sister had been a combat sorceress and fought and died fighting Varlaine.
Lyra understood having no one left.
But to learn Lenio thought of Akrash as his -
She also understood having a child returned to her after so very long. She knew how Lenio felt and she wouldn't ignore that. Or his request.
"I assume you're coming down there with us?" It was a gentle as she could make the offer. She didn't want to presume. She also didn't want to take his chance to be there for - and with - Akrash away from him.
He nodded slowly. "Yes, if he wants it. I'll offer and let him decide. My boy's a skittish one, now, after what they did. Always worried one of us is going to suddenly remember who bore him, and decide he deserves all the blame heaped upon him, despite him having been a child when they betrayed us. They had him controlled in ways I'm just now starting to understand. Magic and manipulation. That Castaspella, the sorceress who took him in, adopted him - she did right by him, Lyra. Loved him and taught him and gave him as much of a home as she could, but Halfmoon calls to its own. He needs to see the RuneStone. Needs to touch the magic at our heart and know it accepts him. It might not help, not right away, but - "
He shrugged. Shook his head. "It will matter. He's a damn fine man. A damn fine healer. A scholar, with a true heart for his people under all that sass and self-hatred. He needs to know Halfmoon is still his, too. He deserves it."
"He does." Cloudfoot held Percival's hand, and Lyra saw the anguish on his face. Neither one of them had paid much attention to Akrash as a child, seeing him as an extension of Kellam and Varlaine, as many did. All of them had wondered, after, when they could think through their grief, if Akrash had been a willing participant or a trapped child.
It had been too late, but they knew now.
Cloudfoot bowed slightly. "And I will stand my watch while you do what you must, your majesty. So that our princesses, our sorcerer, can do what they must. And so we can forward our causes for Halfmoon's future."
It wouldn't be the first time Cloudfoot had taken Lyra's place, but it was never a task he relished. Usually, it was more administrative, because she was out in the field fighting the Horde. But this time, with her fully out of contact on the secret path to the Lost Temple, if anything happened to the rest of them, he would become Regent until Isha was old enough to take the throne.
It was sobering.
To obey traditions with meanings and purposes lost in time, to make people feel safe by adhering to rituals none of them were sure of - they would have to leave Halfmoon all but unguarded.
It was true - they had tens of thousands of other warriors. Thousands of sorcerers. Great generals and heroes from several wars. And Cloudfoot would be a wise ruler who would know his purpose and place.
But the traitors were still out there, and part of Lyra feared they would emerge from the Lost Temple to find another terrible night had passed and she would have to fight for her homeland.
Again.
At least this time, her daughter would be with her.
Lyra flipped through her calendar on her tablet. "Two days. Objections?"
There was a murmur as the others checked their devices, and it was quickly agreed.
"I'll talk to Catra in the morning."
She really didn't want to. She didn't want to ask something else of her daughter. It seemed that's all they had done since Catra returned. Ask her to do more and more things she didn't want to do or didn't understand.
She had just endured her nineteenth birthday, and while it had gone better than her seventeenth, the bar wasn't very high. She had done the bare minimum for her eighteenth birthday, and barely allowed more for her nineteenth. To say nothing of Catra still trying to come to terms with her imprint with Adora - and what Rogelio had told her about it.
Catra was devastated.
For the first few weeks, Catra had walked around in a daze. She did her duty and was still a good princess, a good leader for her people. She was just distant and numb and quiet.
Sad. Achingly sad.
She had slowly come back to herself. Little by little. Small things to honor her Adora. The Vanguard. Other things Catra had done. Things Catra had asked her to do for her Adora, desperately hopeful someday those things would matter - and she had, gladly. Percival probably knew by virtue of his position, but most of Catra's actions were likely secret.
How had she been so foolish? She hadn't made sure Catra knew about imprinting?! She hadn't realized what Adora meant to Catra? All of the signs were there. Everything Catra had told her about her and Adora screamed it, but because Adora wasn't a magicat, she hadn't figured it out.
She should have.
She, of all people, should have. She had been imprinted to Cyrus and losing him and Catra at the same time had nearly killed her. If not for Askar and Cloudfoot and Percival, she might very well have given up and let herself become truly bereft.
Nothing had mattered but what had been taken from her, and for years she had turned her grief into rebuilding Halfmoon after the night of treachery and turned her rage upon the Horde.
"Oh fuck. It's her. Run!" was a common cry when she took the field. Now, with her Catra back in Halfmoon, her drive to fight was less (but not gone. She would need to remind the Horde she still existed, soon.) Her attention had been on Catra and her people.
She was - happy, again.
Catra had none of that. She had come to Halfmoon without the other half of herself, and then been told 'you must rule here,' despite being raised to hate and kill monarchs of any stripe. Forced to learn magic. Forced to become everything she had never wanted to be. She had risen to the challenges, time and again - but again and again, they pushed Catra to do more and more she didn't want to.
They had accidentally taken away her identity as a soldier, and she'd fought the Horde for her people, anyway. She'd redefined herself as a warrior. She wore her armor and her weapons and presented herself as a warrior of Halfmoon - always.
Lyra had stopped trying to argue about her armor after seeing how broken Catra had been after her seventeenth birthday.
As Lyra stood, setting her wine glass on the dumbwaiter to send it to the kitchens, she resolved to make sure Catra's tunnel project didn't get shut down or otherwise sabotaged by Imoh. She had already proven it was something Halfmoon needed, and it was the middle ground between what the traditionalists wanted and what the expansionists wanted.
And it was important to her daughter.
Catra had managed to find a solution the rest of them were too stuck in the mud to see, and it was one of her major focuses.
She deserved the win.
She deserved a lot more than Lyra - or Halfmoon - had been able to give her.
Catra's Suite
Halfmoon Castle
Halfmoon
Subtheria
Three Years After Catra's abduction
"Catch her!"
Lyra started as the cry came out of Catra's rooms just as she opened the door. She'd sent a message, so she knew they were expecting her.
She didn't expect Isha to be crawling for the door at a very high rate of speed. Magicat kittens got mobile very fast and were not slow on all fours. Catra had been a legend not just for being fast, but for her ability to climb very young.
With instincts born of motherhood and battle, Lyra stepped to one side, dipped, and caught Ishara as she tried to race out of Catra's rooms, scooping her up and into her arms with laugh. "Up you go, No wandering the castle for a few years yet."
Isha mewled piteously, glaring at the Queen of Halfmoon with frustration. She leaned her head back and let out a piercing, keening yowl of unrepentant anger as Lyra carried her back into Catra's rooms.
"You know," Lyra tapped the kitten on the nose gently, "most people who scream at me like that get put in jail. You're cute enough to get away with it, though."
Isha mewed loudly at the indignity, biting at Lyra's finger.
Kittrina jumped up from her place on the decidedly and (unusually) cluttered floor, dancing through a landscape of boxes, cards, wrapping paper, and a veritable sea of stuff. Catra's loyal and adventurous cleaning bot, Stabby, was valiantly attempting to contain the debris. (Lyra had no idea how, but the little bot looked right put upon and excited at the same time. Bots weren't supposed to have emotions, much less mixed emotions, and she decided she just wasn't going to think about it too much.)
"Oh. No. She's not getting away with it. She is going to baby jail until she stops trying to escape. She hates Mondays worse than Catra, because she doesn't get to see Akrash. He's doing the Royal Sorcerer office hours thing, and Isha and I are specifically uninvited. Mostly because it's his moping hours, the melodramatic boy that he is."
She took her kid from the Queen and deposited her in a sealed playpen, where Isha decided to flop onto her back and throw an epic temper tantrum, complete with shredding some of the toys and blankets in the playpen. Her yowls of outrage and frustration filled the room, but Lyra, wincing at the sound, realized Kesi and her daughter seemed mostly nonplussed by the entire thing.
Catra glanced up at her, pointed to her ears, and smirked. She wiggled her fingers and runes danced in the air around them. Lyra laughed softly, shaking her head. "Nicely done, my heart. But there is an easier way."
She pointed at Isha and muttered a soft incantation. "It reduces her maximum volume, but still lets us hear her. Let's Momma get a break from the noise, too."
Lyra whispered another spell, dismissing the spell on Catra and Kesi that had probably all but deafened them. Given how Catra hated to be in a position to be caught unawares. She could only guess at what kind of a menace Isha had been.
Isha scowled as she realized she was no longer yowling as loud. Offended and outraged, she turned her back on Lyra with a huff, stretched, and started clawing her blankets again.
Kittrina let out a long, slow breath of relief. "Fires below, your majesty. Thank you. She is - well, she gets grumpy when she doesn't get Akrash time or Aster time early in the morning. I'm just Momma, so I don't count." She rolled her eyes, and shrugged.
Lyra smirked. "Yelling at the top of one's lungs when one doesn't get to run amok is a family tradition." She looked right at Catra.
Catra looked back at her, unrepentant.
Lyra gazed around the room and noticed her daughter, Kittrina, and Kesi were all still in their pajamas, and the room was covered in Catra's birthday gifts. She raised an eyebrow.
"Do I want to ask?"
"Yes. Yes, you do." Catra almost growled, her tail thumping angrily on the ground. "See, this is entirely your fault, Momma. You could have told them I didn't want gifts this year. You could have told them to send other people gifts in my name! But no. You announced when and where to give me gifts for my stupid birthday, and now I have piles upon piles of things I do not want to sort through, write thank you notes for, and figure out what to do with. So, I am taking today and doing all of it. All. Of. It. It is all I am doing today. No audiences. No other duties. Nothing but this. Rogelio is getting to patrol the Dark Lake with Ariel and the Vanguard, but without me. Because I have presents to thank people for."
Lyra had to admit Catra's Vanguard and the Irregulars had done good work finding and sealing a lot of tunnels, mapping many others they hadn't known were there and stopping some of the crime and drug trade in that part of the city. They had also kept the fishfolk's growing aggression from affecting too much - but their fishing fleet had to go out with soldiers or Irregulars on most of the boats.
She grimaced at the piles of gifts. She had tried to cut down on how much Catra got, but it was her first birthday since the epidemic, and it was well known Catra had not only run the kingdom during Lyra's illness, but had managed to source medicines and supplies and had been attacked bringing them in to Halfmoon. Her daughter was once again a hero to the people - their warrior princess - and many wanted to show their appreciation.
In a way her daughter didn't appreciate.
Lyra winced. It was time to deliver the bad news. "About audiences…tonight, you have to be there, my heart. I am sorry, but - I have announcements you are going to hate that you have to be there for."
"Whatever. I'll be there." Catra shrugged and flopped back. "Fine by me. But today is the only day I'm dealing with this. Anything not sorted will get tossed out in a giant box in the Crescent Market with a 'Free to Good Home!' sign, and whoever doesn't get a thank you note doesn't get a thank you note. You can have one or the other. Not both."
Lyra wanted to tell her daughter that's not how it worked, but Catra knew. It would probably fall to Kesi and the staff to sort things and have Catra sign things and approve things later. Catra always got like this when she had to deal with a lot of things that were ostensibly 'hers' - and she did her best to make as many of them 'not hers' as fast and efficiently as possible.
Kesi looked up grimly, tablet in hand. "We had to negotiate with her to get this much, your majesty. She is more angry about the gifts this year than last year, and she is more angry about the thank you notes this year than last year. We convinced her a pajama party with people she likes and snacks and the right to say her honest opinion of any of the gifts out loud was her best chance to avoid fallout from court and the general populace. Of course, Catra is Catra, and she is handling the gifts from anyone not noble first."
Catra groaned, her ears back. "I have more important things to do than send people thank you notes for things I didn't want or ask for! No one should be buying me things! I'm a princess. I'm rich. And I'm fully capable of deciding what I need and want for myself!"
Lyra wished there was a way to show her daughter the gifts weren't a burden - but Catra didn't understand their meaning or importance because of how she'd been raised. Her daughter had been raised in a terrible, alien environment, and even after three years, was still learning to cope with and understand the world she'd been drug into.
Kittrina shrugged. "Can you blame her? How many nobles have sent her dresses, jewelry or other clothes in some attempt to get her to stop wearing armor? Or invitations to come sit for portraits, or other such? It's - they used her birthday as a game, which is politics for you, but I'd be annoyed too. What's wrong with a gift certificate she can give to her lovely cousin to go spend on her behalf?"
"I am right here. I can hear you tattling to my mother on me." Catra threw a ball of wrapping paper at her. "Your noble sacrifice in my name is noted. But, I do like some of my gifts! One of the Crescent Market crafters sent me a dragon bone dagger. Well, a knife, really, but - dragon bone! His family has had the bone for like, four or five generations, and he carved a bunch of stuff from it for his mastery, and sent me one of the daggers. It's beautiful!"
Catra held up the dagger from where she lay on the floor - elegantly and carefully carved with a beautiful curve and sharp enough Lyra could see the edge from where she stood. It was a karambit-style knife, which Catra had shown a preference for.
"It is beautiful, my heart, but - this is obligation. You have to do both the audience and the gits. There is always the day after tomorrow. I would say tomorrow, but you will be very preoccupied by preparing for your Ascension ceremony. Which, you will not be alone for, since I know you prefer these ceremonies to be group work. I have arranged for Kittrina to see the RuneStone, accompanied by Askar, and for Akrash to be Confirmed, accompanied by Lenio. I will accompany you, but you are allowed one more."
Catra did not bother to sit up. Still playing with her new knife, she turned her head, peering through piles to look at her mother. "Which one is my Ascension again? The one where I'm invested with equal authority to you, or is it one of the stupid ones that mark some milestone that doesn't make sense?"
Lyra sat down in front of the couch, leaning back against it. If they were all on the floor, she would be too. Catra was right to ask - Imoh had all but demanded Catra perform ancient ceremonies that hadn't been practiced in decades or centuries, some of which required she announce her intent to marry and produce an heir, or otherwise honor traditions Halfmoon had phased out long before they'd been forced underground.
"No. It is not one of Imoh's resurrected rituals; the Ascension is investing you, as a Crown Princess who is of age and who has proven herself able, with equal authority and power as the monarch. While I will technically outrank you, there is nothing you will not have the authority to do in the name of Halfmoon or our family. And you have proven yourself. And as I said, you are allowed to bring one more with you to stand at your side."
If Lyra hadn't been watching for it, she wouldn't have seen it; the brief second of shock and wonder that raced over Catra's face. The expression of both joy and fear that followed, before being replaced with the resignation and exhaustion she seemed to carry since learning of Adora's fate.
It still surprised her, after all these years, when something as simple as telling her daughter she had done well created such powerful reactions. Had her life truly been so devoid of it?
Catra, still lying flat on her back, pointed at Kesi. "If you want to come, you can. I'd like you there with me. Please. And Rogelio."
Lyra winced at the last one, but she wasn't going to win that fight, and given she was inviting Haverisk, Imoh, and Kelara - three of Catra's favorite people - it wasn't worth arguing with her about it. They had asked Catra for so much already, giving her that wasn't a problem.
And she wouldn't let it be a problem for anyone else, either. "Very well, my heart. Both are welcome. However, Cloudfoot will be ruling as Regent when we are in the Temple. I had thought to have Rogelio guard him. The bad news is the ritual must be witnessed, not just by those close to you, but by those who stand opposed to you. Aster will come as the Chair of Sorcery, and we will be inviting Lord Imoh, Duke Haverisk, and High Priestess Kelara."
She waited.
Catra sighed and groaned. 'The best audience ever! If Imoh tries to marry me off tomorrow night, I cannot vouch for my good behavior. Not after - "
She stopped talking, and Kittrina nodded slowly. "Yeah, no. That's fair, your majesty. Him being there is fair, but - he's got to keep his mouth shut about it. For once. Or I might hit him."
"I was giving 'stabbing' some thought. I have a really nice new knife!" Catra finally sat up, meeting her mother's eyes calmly. "I won't listen to it this time. I've been patient. And if he touches me, he bleeds. Simple as that. But if Cloudfoot's going to be up here and Askar is going to be down there, I'll leave Rogelio to guard Isha and I'll call the twins in for Cloudfoot."
Lyra breathed out a sigh of relief - and so did Kittrina. "That seems wisest, my heart. Thank you."
"Rogelio might not like the magic fire rock anyway. Not sure I trust it with him, to be fair. Well, Kesi, are you up for a long walk into the magic rock temple? Maybe keep me from stabbing Imoh?"
Catra looked over at Kesi, who was sitting in shock. Her hand was paused halfway to her tablet.
"Kesi?"
Her seneschal swallowed, her eyes wide. "Catra. Did you. Did you just. Invite me. To go down and watch you commune with the RuneStone? Because that's what I thought I heard you say. That I would be going with you, to the Lost Temple, and would be standing at your side while you connect with the Spirit Ember."
Catra nodded slowly. "Yeah. Yeah, that is what I said. This is one of those times where something is a much bigger thing than I know, isn't it?"
Lyra smiled and pulled out her tablet and began sending orders to Percival. She would be here with her daughter, for the rest of the day. Everything else could wait. Catra needed help with the gifts, and she rarely got to spend as much time with Catra as she wanted to.
"Especially for her, my heart. The RuneStones are a deeply important part of her faith, and her great-grandmother - the highest ranking member of her faith - is going to be there. This isn't just something someone not of the royal family almost never gets the chance to see, but it is a spiritual experience."
Catra flicked her tail at Kesi. "Then I'm glad I asked, because you would never tell me on your own this is important to you. Whatever you need, Kesi. Okay?"
Kesi swallowed hard and nodded. She wasn't quite able to speak yet.
Lyra did her best not to squirm. "I know this isn't something you want to do, but…"
She hated saying those words. Again. To her own child! What had they given Catra that she wanted? Everything she asked for, someone told her no. Lyra was going to have to find a way to fix that, or she might lose her daughter again, piece by piece instead of being stolen from her.
Catra sighed and jumped to her feet. "This is one of those princess things. I get it. I don't like it. I'll do my best, but magic. Imoh. Other irritating people. I'm wearing my armor, And I'm not putting up with the normal crap. I'm doing the ceremony, but I get to fight back this time. I have achieved your magic number, right?"
Lyra nodded slowly. "You have. You are an adult in the eyes of the law. Once this ceremony is complete, you will be my equal in authority in Halfmoon. I will speak with Imoh and Haverisk. I will speak with Kelara. I cannot promise anything, my heart, but I will do my best for you. You have my word. And yes. You can fight back this time. It's past time they learned you have been held back from striking back at them by me and Cloudfoot."
Catra scowled. "Fair enough. You, I trust, Momma. Them, I don't. And Kesi - you tell me what you need to make this what you want it to be? I mean it. Whatever it is, you can have it."
Kesi smiled up at Catra as she hopped over piles of presents and trash. "Thank you. Again. You - you're too good to me. So much - so much has happened since I met you!"
Catra flopped back down on the ground and laid her head in Lyra's lap. She smiled down at her daughter, running her fingers through her hair.
Where had her daughter's purr gone? Catra had once had the loudest purr. Lyra hadn't heard it once since Catra had come home. Not once in three years.
She looked over at her daughter's friend and steward. "We ask much of you, Kesi. Too much, sometimes. The least we can do is share with you the things we have and the experiences we have. You walk with us through fire, you walk with us through fights. You walk with us through pain. If we can give you even a moment of joy, then we wish to be with you while you walk through it."
Kesi looked down at her hands, her tail curling around her wrist. "Thank you, your majesty. I…just, thank you."
Kelara had gone before the RuneStone many times, but had never tried to commune or connect with it - likely because of a tenet of her faith. The priestess would spend most of her time standing and watching, but Lyra would warn the High Priestess to give her daughter space.
She'd heard about their conversation - from both Kelara and Catra. She would make sure Kelara respected Catra's boundaries, especially because she assumed the magic inside Catra was from Adora. She would also have a word with Imoh and speak to Lenio about Haverisk. The duke was terrified of the physician, though she'd never learned why. (Failing that, she could set Askar on them. He wouldn't mind scaring - or actually hurting - either of them.)
In the year Rogelio had been there, he and Catra had gone through a very strained, strange reconnection to build the relationship they had. The first weeks had been Catra and Rogelio arguing bitterly, blaming each other, and somehow reconciling.
Lyra didn't understand. She never could. They had been through things in the Horde under Shadow Weave she could scarcely imagine. But she was glad he was there, because between him and Kesi and Kittrina, Catra had stayed grounded. And Melog had not left Catra's side. Even now, the Krytian was as small as she had ever seen them, curled up near a pile of unopened gifts.
Lyra smiled down at her daughter. These were the moments she had hope they weren't going to destroy her. When Catra came to her, laid in her lap, seeking - and willing to accept - comfort.
Catra had fallen asleep. How much sleep was her daughter getting? From the look Melog gave her, shaking their head - however much it was, it wasn't enough. Not nearly enough.
Lyra was the only one who Catra wanted affectation from. The list of people allowed to touch Catra was very short, and even then, most of them could only do so briefly.
And not always.
Lyra, determined, gestured to Kesi. "I am going to help you get through this today. And if we cannot finish today, then you and I and Percival will finish later this week. I won't make her do more. Dealing with things stresses her more than fighting for her life, and while that confuses me, I - I can't make myself make her do it."
Kesi smiled at her, and Kittrina started gathering up some of the trash, ignoring Stabby's irritated bleeps in her direction. Lyra had no idea what he was saying, but she was sure it was rude.
"For her, things aren't beautiful for their own sake. When we took her shopping, she shopped for friends. For other people. Everything she bought was a piece of art, but all of it had a function. Just having stuff doesn't make her happy. New things don't make her happy unless she knows what something is for. It's strange to me, who buys things just to see if I'll like them, to try them out, or to change the decor of our rooms. Aster laughs when I do it, but he helps so much with it. It's one of our things."
Lyra was glad to see the soft, happy smile on Kittrina's face.
Aster was hard for her. He was the last of Cyrus' family, but the two of them had never gotten along particularly well, especially since she had turned his courtship offer down just days before she'd met Cyrus.
But he would always be important to her, because he had been important to Cyrus.
He was a good husband and a good father and had found his true love - something she had worried about, especially after the girl he had thought would be his forever, an herbalist named Zaura, had committed suicide by walking into the lake and drowning herself - made her happy. Cyrus, if he could look in on the world of the living from the Stars Above, would be proud of his cousin.
Aster had mourned Zaura for a long time. He hadn't been there when she'd done it. He'd been captured by the Horde at the time.
"Our job, ladies, is to sort through as much of this as can. Three piles. Things Catra will never want to see or deal with. Things we should ask her about, and things we think she might actually like. Everything else gets put aside for re purposing, donation, or storage. It will not be listed under her name, just under 'royal birthday gift.' When the once a decade inventory gets done, she won't have to bother with any of it. Let's get as much done as we can while she sleeps."
Kesi smiled and reached for the pile of unopened gifts.