The Diary of Angella

A/N: First upload! I've had this sitting in the abyss of my computer for some time now. Please feel free to rate and review! I may or may not choose to continue uploading diary entries depending on certain episodes. This particular chapter is from "The Secret of the Sword" when Queen Angella was captured and has only just returned home to re-tell the tale.

Disclaimer: She-Ra: Princess of Power is property of its respective owners. I own nothing!

The 18th day of the seventh month

It has been three long months since I have been able to return to this aging book of mine, but the story that I have returned to tell is one without happiness. I have only just regained the throne in glorious Mizar, the home to the ever-shining Castle Bright Moon.

I remember the battle as if it were only yesterday. Mizar had little influence by the Horde at this point, leaving my people in peace. However, news was spreading quickly to my chamber that Hordak was advancing on nearby kingdoms in an effort to leave Castle Bright Moon surrounded. I had known for some time that Hordak would come for my home, as Bright Moon serves as a beacon of hope to all those that opposite his cruel dictatorship. I never expected him to attack so suddenly, and it was a mistake I promised not to make again.

Hordak's ambush on the castle came at the dawn of the eleventh day of the fourth month. I had been staying up much later to keep watch on the kingdom, of course opposing the requests of my dearest daughter, Glimmer, and what I knew would be those of my fair husband (Heaven's blessings be upon him), Micah. They warned me of exhausting my energy; that it would be needed on the day of the attack. I could not sit by and sleep while Hordak lay just beyond the mountaintops.

Impatience, however, would be our downfall.

At dawn, Mizar was stormed by Hordak's robot soldiers and Force Captains. Of course, among them was the evil ruler himself, waiting for the moment that he could join the battle and ultimately finish his conquest of Etheria. Castle Bright Moon was his target the entire time, but Hordak knew that attacking us head-on right away would be foolish. Instead, he chose to tear down this planet one village at a time, hoping to strike fear into our hearts. He was only somewhat successful; So long as the glory of Castle Bright Moon stood strong, Hordak knew he would never succeed.

On this day, however, he had planned his attack so perfectly. He knew that my magic was weakened by my exhaustion, but he was wise enough – or, perhaps, desperate enough – to take on our forces when he was sure that I would be without my greatest power.

The troopers first came forth on the ground, led by Mantenna, and quickly stunned any of the villagers that made an effort to fight alongside our forces. They were ill-prepared; then again, as were we. The ground below the castle was suddenly filled with the sounds of battle, red laser beams being thrown in all directions. I sent out some of our own soldiers on the ground to meet them in the villages and temporarily hold them back.

Soon, the skies were filled with Batmeks. Beams suddenly pounded the castle shields. I was already within the throne room at this stage receiving new information brought forth by our Intel groups. Catra was among the opposing air force, attempting to make way for Hordak to advance. Our soldiers were already at the cannons blasting the aircrafts out of the sky as fast as possible. Still, some were more evasive than others and continued their mission on attempting to lower the shield around the castle. They were slowly gaining in numbers and I could feel the strain during every minute of the battle.

Coming in behind the troopers were the Destructo Tanks, led up by Grizzlor and Leech. They were quickly demolishing as much of the villages as they could, eventually making it possible for storage trucks to come in and capture whatever prisoners they could get their greedy hands on. They intended to take as many of my people as possible, leaving the few remaining to flee or fall in the battle.

As soon as Intel informed me of Hordak approaching the battlefront, Glimmer came to my side and immediately asked to go out into the battle. I could not allow my own daughter to join the battle. If, Heaven forbid it, Castle Bright Moon were to succumb to the force of the Horde, she would be among the captured. I refused to allow her to leave. As my daughter, however, she was as stubborn as I am sure I would have been. She argued with me over the matter until I agreed, but only if she would agree to let me accompany her.

Glimmer almost begged me to stay within the castle in order to maintain our force-field and other defenses, as I was the only one that could ensure it to hold. Of course I knew this, but the time for simple defenses was over. Hordak was just beyond our gates and it was time to take on an offensive strike. If we were to fail on that day, Bright Moon would surely fall, and with it the light of Etheria. With my opposition, I could see objection in my daughter's eyes and silently prayed for her forgiveness. She reluctantly agreed to this and soon ran to the balcony with me where we immediately took to the skies.

I shouted loudly over the raging battlefield for my soldiers to be strong and that all of Etheria was counting on their success. In that very moment, I felt adrenaline coursing through my veins in a way that it had not in many years. All of the shouting and explosions suddenly became deafened to my ears. I knew what must be done and I set myself off to it.

From the skies, alongside my daughter, my hands brought forth the strength of the castle to send back as many of the troopers that I could. Following close behind our flight path was Catra, and I swear that I heard her cursing on her microphone and threatened to blast my wings out of the sky. All I could shout back was a dare for her to try, and before she could gain on me my daughter sent a blast of her own magic to send Catra away.

We both laughed cheerfully and continued on in our quest to drive back the soldiers. However, our cheerfulness lasted but a short time. Not long after we advanced, I heard a shout from the ground that sounded like Hordak and followed was a screech that I remembered all too well.

I yelled for my daughter to join the ground soldiers in driving back the tanks with more hostility than I had intended. She looked to me with concern, and yet again I shouted for her to go.

In my sight soon was Hunga, the leader of the harpies on Talon Mountain. I demanded to know what she was doing in the kingdom, but I already knew her answer. She was taking the opportunity to aid in Hordak's advance, and she was not about to let me pass without a spar between her and I. Gayla, her sister, approached as well and the two attacked me in an unfair fight of two against one.

One magical blast after another, we exchanged many blows to one another and almost crashed into the ground with the amount of fighting going on. Just as I began to prepare for a final strike on the two of them, there was a split moment of which I hesitated.

From the ground, I heard Glimmer scream in what sounded like panic and fear. I shouted her name frantically and looked down to spot her, only to see her being pushed back by more troops that had just arrived.

We were losing… Oh, how we were falling suddenly short in numbers from the amount of troopers overwhelming us! I could not believe what I was witnessing. It was the most amount of attacking forces than what I was even aware that Hordak had.

This hesitation cost me greatly. From behind I felt Gayla immediately grab me and hold me as tightly as she could, keeping me steady to face the scepter that was raised towards my breast by Hunga. She shouted at me something almost inaudible with the screech of her sister in my ears.

There was a flash. Then nothing. In what felt like an eternity later, I heard the distant voice of my own daughter, but even that sound was soon taken away from me as I submerged into unconsciousness.

When I awoke again, for a moment I almost believed that everything that happened was merely a dream, but alas it was much worse than that; it was a nightmare. My fears had come true.

My surroundings were that of a sectioned area of a mountain, and nearby was an empty throne. When I attempted to sit myself up from the cold ground, I felt a sharp pain in my back that led me to cry out. My wing had been injured, leaving me unable to fly. From within my body I called upon my magic to heal the wound… but it was no use. I realized moments later that a collar was placed around my neck to restrict my magic use. I reached to pull at it as best I could, but as soon as I did I was approached by the very scum that stunned me.

Hunga laughed. Oh, how she laughed at me. In my weakened state, I was bruised and beaten. She told me that I was her prisoner and proceeded to throw the skin of a fruit in my direction. I threatened her, warning her that I would get free and see to it that she would be brought to justice at Castle Bright Moon.

That is when it hit me. What of the fate of the castle? Was Hordak successful? I demanded answers from Hunga, and her response was a laugh, an evil one, in my face.

I knew. Somehow I knew, even if I did not want to believe it. Castle Bright Moon had fallen to the Horde. I could only hope that my daughter escaped the smoke and debris to the Whispering Woods. She had been forming a small rebellion for some time within the magical forest, slowly gaining followers to attack Hordak's troops when wrong was done to the people of Etheria.

Until I could arrange my escape, I would be Hunga's prisoner, and this arrangement would last for three months. However, my situation could have been much worse. Instead of arranging me to be sent to Hordak, as apparently he knew I was being held captive, he permitted the harpy leader to keep me as her trophy. A trophy! I wanted so badly to tackle her and show her of my strength, but even I knew I would not last long. The collar at my neck purposely drained what little energy and magic I had. Being trapped on Talon Mountain was better than being a slave to the Horde, but I suspect that Hordak knew it would be dangerous to have me as his slave. I would have too many followers for his comfort, and potentially lead an uprising against him. He knew this and allowed me to fall into clawed hands instead of taking me for himself.

In the three months that I remained captive, I must admit that I felt so pained to be away from my kingdom. I did not want to imagine where my daughter was, or who she was fighting. Being separated from my husband many years ago was a difficult enough choice, and now, without my daughter, I felt truly stripped of my family.

As a queen, I should not cry. For the people to see their very leader cry, it shows uncertainty, and that is not the message I like to convey. However, for many nights, even I found tears flooding from my face that would always be turned away from my captors. The only thing that was granted to me was food and occasional walks along designated areas. I was watched at every movement, but there was at least one place where I could be at ease with the storm in my mind. Nearby us was a small peak over the rear of the mountaintops, and it allowed me to bathe in the sunlight or moonlight whenever my heart was aching beyond my sanity. It would be my sanctuary in this newfound nightmare.

Each night, I silently prayed to the heavens above that my daughter would be safe on her journey and that Castle Bright Moon would rise again. I vowed on my life that I would fall in battle before I let Hordak take away the hope of our people, of Etheria.

This tradition continued for three months, and many times I was made the fool of Hunga and her sister. They purposely threw words of doubt at me, attempting to break my spirit in any way that they could. For them, Castle Bright Moon's downfall was a great feat for them, as our people have been fighting since the arrival of the Horde. The harpies were the first to turn against us, and because of this I exiled the harpies. If they were to ever approach my home ever again, they would be taken directly to me so I could send them back from whence they came. That was my decree, and of course Hunga responded accordingly with an attack on us. We drove them back, but it only worsened our relations.

As the weeks passed, I continued to pray and hope for my daughter and her friends until, one day, my prayers were finally answered. News had spread quickly to Talon Mountain that two individuals, He-Man and She-Ra, were approaching on a rainbow-winged unicorn. They were coming to my rescue, and oh how joyous I felt! I could not help but smile at this, and Hunga did not take it lightly. My determination was yet again restored and hope filled my heart. In order to throw the incoming rescuers off, Hunga had Gayla hold me yet again to tie my wrists and gag me to keep me hidden. They decided it was not worth risking my loss to them. The sister harpy carried me over to my peak just behind the throne and sat me there, warning me to keep myself quiet. She proceeded to inform me that they were preparing for an all-out attack on the approaching party, and all I could hope for was that they were successful.

An eternity passed in my mind. Would they drive back the harpy sisters? Still, I continued to hope and pray. For the honor of Bright Moon, I would one day return to my throne and resume my fight against Hordak in whatever way I could. I vowed that Etheria would be freed one day and that I would rescue my people.

My prayers were finally answered.

Landing in front of me was He-Man himself. He instructed me to hold my hands out and promptly freed the bindings at my wrist. Upon removing the cloth that was silencing me, he had told me of Hunga's defeat and, a moment later, was able to break the collar at my neck that was restricting my powers.

At that moment, I stood to my feet and embraced the magic that was yet again coursing through me. I felt the wash of warmth and happiness as the glow of my self-healing magic was restored to my body. The aura around my body felt so comforting in a way that I wanted to hold on to it for longer, but it faded only a few moments later and left me revitalized from the ache of captivity.

He-Man then informed me of my daughter, and how cheerful I was! My dearest daughter was successful in making it in her flee to the Whispering Woods! As a mother, I wanted to cry, but instead I held my stature and took flight at first moment of opportunity. I followed behind He-Man and She-Ra as fast as possible, desperately wanting to embrace my darling Glimmer again and hold her ever so tightly.

When we landed within the rebel forest, indeed my wish was granted. The two of us cried in near silence. That day was one of the greatest days of my life. Even without my kingdom, one could say that I felt as if I were the happiest mother on all of Etheria.

In the hours to follow, She-Ra and He-Man agreed to aid our battle against the Horde by offering to drive them out of Castle Bright Moon and restore my family to the throne. I almost wanted to believe that they could not do it on their own, but in time to come I would be proven wrong. Indeed, they were able to successfully reclaim our great castle and rescue our people in the villages.

Castle Bright Moon was no longer under Horde control, and power soon was restored to the castle at long last. Our people cheered and feasts began in honor of such a great day. I knew that hope would return to Etheria with knowledge that I had returned home and that She-Ra beat Hordak back.

On this day, we won a great battle in a long war. At least it meant that Etheria was not without hope and that, one day, we would even win back Etheria in the name of the people and not the Horde.

Although I am still being haunted by my actions and captivity, I still maintain my strength and cherish every moment I have with my daughter. I refuse to allow Hordak to separate us ever again like that, and on that refusal I can at least rest somewhat easy.

May the blessings of our heavens forever watch over us in every step we take towards this war and guide us when we most need it.

Until next time.