Author's Note: This story takes place after the events of "Year One: June" It ties into "Preludes and Beginnings," "The Day That Nothing Happened," "The Elfsong of Eternia," "The Crossroads of Destiny," "Prophecy & Change," "Just Another Day," "Liberty and Valor," "Manifest Destiny," "Roots," "Deus Ex Machina," "My Blue Reflection," "The Last Battle," "The Return to Eternia "A Winter's Heart," "The Shroud of the Horde," and "Across All Worlds." These characters don't belong to me.

August

"Mothers and Daughters"

Part One

In every way, Teela was just not having a good week. Adam was noticing this and in the very beginning, had blamed it on the embarrassment of being a Centaur and trotting around the City of Wisdom (granted, for a whole 5 minutes). But then, when her aggravation continued unchecked, it became apparent it wasn't just that.

So, Adam blamed it on it being 'that time.' But Adam, who had known Teela very well (until she started going to the City of Wisdom, and even then, she was home on most weekends), started to suspect it wasn't just 'that time.' In fact, Adam was starting to realize that everyday was just getting worse and worse. And whatever it was she was angry about, she was taking it out on Adam.

"Ancients, Adam! Why are you so damn lazy?!" she shouted to him during their late morning training session.

"I'm not being lazy, Teela! It's 97 degrees! It's hot!"

Teela scoffed. "Some excuse!"

"Excuse?! Teela, have you looked at yourself! You're sweating as much as I am!"

"Don't start with me, Adam," she argued.

"Oooh no, Teela. You're the one that started this!"

"Are ever going to stop complaining?! Ancients, Adam, would it be so hard for you to just shut up and do what I say!?"

"Maybe because I'm a little sick of listening to you!"

"You NEVER listen to me! You think I like to train you?! I am so tired of having to bust your lazy ass! So just stop complaining and do what I say!"

"Fine, fine. Whatever you say . . . horse-butt. Thanks for trotting in here. Do you need a manure scooper?"

There was a flash of incredible fury and embarrassment in her eyes. She smacked him right across the face.

The sound echoed throughout the courtyard. A few of the various guests, workers, and even Man-At-Arms heard it. Adam and Teela stood there, stunned at the action. For a full few seconds, no one moved. Man-At-Arms slowly started to walk over. Just as he did, Teela's turned and ran.

Adam just stood there, hand on where she smacked him. The cheek was sore and throbbed.

Duncan was right by his side. "Adam?"

"Whoa."

"What just happened? I heard the two of you arguing . . ."

"It, uh, just . . . got out of control . . ."

"You okay?"

"Uh, yeah. Fine."

Duncan considered his next action carefully. Scold Teela? Scold Adam? Maybe even putting the two of them together was a bad idea. Especially now, since Adam has his responsibilities as He-Man.

"I'll talk to her," Adam said then. "Apologize . . ."

"Let me talk to her first, Adam."

He walked across the courtyard and within minutes was outside Teela's door. His fist met the wood frame, but he didn't a response.

"Teela! It's your father!"

"Leave me alone!" she yelled back, quite obviously sobbing.

"Let me in, Teela."

"No . . . just please leave me alone! I'll talk to you later! I promise!"

Duncan grunted and turned away.

"I guess I just don't know what to do," Duncan complained some hours later. He was sitting with Randor and Marlena on a small lounge balcony. The sun was starting to sink, casting orange and gold light across the landscape. Randor poured Duncan a drink and handed it to his old friend.

"Thank you," Duncan said. "I just wish there was something I could do or say to her that would make her tell me what's bothering her."

"She won't talk to you?" Marlena asked.

Duncan shook his head. "Not at all. She locked herself in her room. Cancelled, well, everything scheduled today . . ."

Randor sat down, a drink in his hand. "You know what it could be?"

"Hm?"

"Well, isn't her rite of passage coming up? Could be she's feeling down because she won't have a mother to go through it with her."

Duncan sighed loudly and set his drink down. "Damn it. That is it. I'm sure of it. It's this month, too."

"You forgot?" asked Marlena.

"I guess so. With everything going on with Skeletor and the Heroic Warriors, it just got lost . . ."

Marlena didn't say anything. She sipped at her drink a little. She hadn't forgotten. Ever since learning about the tradition, she tried to imagine what she and Adora would have done had Adora not been taken from her. The female rite of passage was based on survival skills. On the month before halfway through the seventeenth year, mother and daughter were to go out alone, separate themselves from all civilization, and with only limited supplies, live off of nature for two days and two nights.

Had Adora been with Marlena (or if she was even alive, for that matter), the event would have taken place the next May. Unfortunately, that would not be so.

Not for the first time, Marlena saw a striking similarity between herself and Teela. Teela, who had lost her mother shortly after her birth. Marlena, who had lost her daughter only a few days after she was born. In same ways, they were two parts of a whole.

"I'll do it," Marlena then said, surprising herself. "I'll take Teela out into the wilderness."

"What?" Randor questioned.

"I'll take her out. Duncan, you can't do it and unless one of you can think of someone else that's older and female that she can do this with, I'll do it."

"I don't know, Marlena. There's a security risk," Duncan told her.

Marlena sipped her drink a little bit more. "I'm aware of that. Just have Captain Tares and two or three guards stay a mile away from us. If there's danger, they can come running."

"Marlena . . ." Randor began.

She grabbed hold of his hand. "Randor, listen to me. Teela means a lot to me. I want to be there for her. I knew her mother. Teelana was a wonderful person, God rest her soul" – an Earth phrase she hadn't dropped yet – "and I certainly can't take her place. But if I can try and, I don't know, ease this time for her, I want to. Plus . . . I'll probably never have a chance to do this with Adora."

Randor considered the words of his wife very carefully. It was obvious she meant every one. He nodded slowly. "Okay."

Marlena smile broadly and turned to Duncan. Duncan nodded as well.

"I'll make the arrangements, then," Marlena then said.

Two days later, a Wind-Raider being piloted by Captain Tares of the Royal Soldiers went flying out over the Plains of Perpetua. Flanking it were a pair of Sky Sleds, each one manned by a Royal Guard. Teela looked over at the queen, feeling quite uncertain just as to how she was supposed to feel right now. She was very flattered and very honored at the queen's gesture, however, she couldn't help but interpret it as sympathy. And sympathy just wasn't something Teela was a fan of.

Teela looked to Captain Tares, the successor to Captain Decker. He was a quiet man and known to be very by the rules. She knew for a fact that Tares and her father didn't get along very well – the two often quarreled over security precautions in regards to the king, as well as how the matter of Skeletor and the Evil Warriors was to be handled.

The summer sun was high in the pale, hazy sky. As they landed on top of a small plateau, Tares looked to the queen and her charge. He was chosen for this mission specifically because of his need to over-protect the royal family.

"Your majesty," Tares said to them. "We will be stationed here. I recommend you go no further than that riverbed there."

He pointed to a small drop about a mile away. They had done numerous fly-overs before they landed. To the west was the riverbed. Just north of it was a number of hills and huge rocks. There even looked to be a cave in that area.

"Commanders Ediz and Riika will be positioned here. I'll be taking a half-way point between your campsite and here." Tares then handed her a beacon. "Press this button if there's trouble. I'll be at your location instantly."

He then looked sternly at Teela. "Lieutenant Teela, I will be counting on you to keep the queen safe despite her distant from us."

Teela stiffened, her back straight, her legs together, hand to her forehead in a salute. "Yes, Captain."

Marlena rolled her eyes. "Captain Tares, understand the circumstances of this trip."

"This is no trip, your majesty. It's a mission."

"For you. Understand your role then, Captain, and let Teela and I do our business."

"Yes, your majesty."

Teela and Marlena walked off, then. Tradition dictated that they carried a length of rope, a knife, and a flint. Protection necessitated that they also have two communicators, the beacon, and a pair of laser rifles.

"So what should do first, Teela?"

Teela pulled her hair back in a ponytail. "Scout our camp area, then construct our shelter. We'll want something easy to make, but secure and safe from the elements. It has to keep us warm and dry."

"Suggestions?"

The young soldier looked out a small cropping of trees. "Let's check that out. See there's anything we can use."

Marlena nodded and followed Teela. They went near the riverbed. It was mostly dry, but there was a weak stream running through it. More importantly, though, there was a huge rock coming out about twenty feet from where the riverbed began to slope. It was quickly decided that this was where they wanted to build their shelter.

After signaling Captain Tares in regards to their exact location, Marlena and Teela journeyed to the small tree cropping. They began to gather up large branches to take back to their rock.

As they gathered these branches, Teela turned to Marlena.

"Your majesty - "

"Not today, Teela. Today, you can just call me Marlena."

Teela paused. "Yes, your – er, Marlena," she responded and felt very strange saying her name like that. "I just wanted to apologize for slapping Adam the other day. It was wrong of me."

Marlena nodded. "Yes, well . . . I don't approve of it. But, I'm certain her deserved it."

"He didn't."

"It's alright, Teela. My son has been . . . troublesome. I am starting to wonder if Randor's pride in He-Man might be stealing some of Adam's thunder, as it were."

Teela shrugged. "Maybe."

The two of them dragged two huge branches back to the rock.

"To be honest, I don't think Adam's really been himself lately. He's been even more sloppy and lazy than usual. I'm certain you've noticed it."

"Yeah. I don't know, your – Marlena. It's been hard to talk to him, really. But I haven't exactly kept my cool with the prince, either. I want to go easier on him, but it gets so frustrating."

Marlena smiled. "It's all right. Maybe it's just a phase he's going through."

"I never went through a phase like this," Teela grumbled.

"Heh, that's because your father had you trained since birth." She laughed a little. "I can remember not long after you and Adam were born, you actually kicked Adam."

"Really?!"

"Yes. And then he started crying. And then you started crying. I had to pick you both up to get you to stop."

Teela smiled and laughed a little. But it didn't last long. This woman, carrying back these branches to their makeshift camp, was more of a mother than her own. There was a pang of sadness from deep within Teela. She didn't say anything.

They went to work setting up the shelter. Marlena told stories about her space travels to Teela, to which Teela listened intently. As the afternoon sun started to sink closer into the evening, the pair went about looking for food.

Teela gathered some berries and nuts, as well as some small game rabbits. She was a little surprised when Marlena had told her that rabbits were an Earth animal as well.

Marlena didn't trust the river water and instead, got water from a nearby cactus, where water often pooled and was filtered by the plant itself. Teela had never known that and remembered to note that for future reference.

After starting up a fire, roasting and eating their meat and enjoying their small meal, the two bedded down on thick leaves. Moonlight seeped through the gaps in the branches above them. The fire was to remain lit.

"Marlena?" asked Teela after a few long moments of silence.

"Yes, dear?"

"I was wondering if you could tell me about . . . my mother."

Marlena smiled. "Of course, dear. What would you like to know?"

Teela paused, then slowly began to answer. "Was . . . what was she like?"

Marlena turned and looked up at the star field that was seen through the gaps. "Very kind. Warm, beautiful. Quiet, though. Very quiet. She kept to herself, but once you started talking to her, she would open right up. Teelana was an amazing woman. She made your father so happy. I've never seen him like that since."

"Would be she be proud of me?"

"Oh yes. Oh very much, yes. When she was pregnant, she practically glowed. Her time spent with you was so short, but it was joyous. She would have been so very proud of you." When Marlena said that, her mind went to Adora.

Teela eyes started to tear up. She turned from the queen and looked out at the fire. "Thank you."

The next morning, they awoke with the sunrise. They checked in with Captain Tares, then decided to explore the area a bit. Tares acknowledgment was tense. They went to the trees again and poked around for some more berries and nuts. As noon arrived, they snacked on said berries and nuts. Afterwards, they journeyed to the cavern they had seen from afar.

". . . I just couldn't tear that tiger from him! I didn't have a choice but to let him keep it. Plus, when Cringer started talking, well, that was it right there. And we could never Cringer to leave Adam. He was just too fearful of the world."

Teela laughed. "Poor Cringer. Afraid of his own shadow. Hey . . . take a look at this."

Teela had spotted a small key sitting on the ground at in front of the back wall of the cavern. She picked it up. Right as she did, the communicators went off. Teela and Marlena ignored it and Teela pressed the key against the wall. Suddenly, the wall vanished and they found set of stairs going down.

"What do you think?" asked Teela.

"It's very strange. Do you want to check it out?"

Teela nodded. "Yeah, sure."

They started down the stairs and were soon standing in a massive, empty chamber. The ceiling glowed with luminous rocks.

"Wow," Teela said, impressed.

"We should head back," Marlena said then. She was starting get a bad feeling.

The pair started back up the stairs. Suddenly, Marlena halted. She turned and pushed Teela back. "Back down the stairs."

"YOU!" came a shout from the cave.

"Marlena?!"

"Now."

Teela turned and ran down the stairs. Marlena ran up . . . and came face-to-face with Trap-Jaw and Tri-Klops.

"Well, well, well . . ." Trap-Jaw said, jawing clanking.

"Hello gentlemen," Marlena greeted. "What can I help you with?"

"Your two Royal Guards are stunned and your Captain is injured," Tri-Klops said, pulling out his sword. "But can you guess what we're doing to do to you?"
"I can guess, but I don't think you surrendering yourselves would be right."

"That's a good answer," Trap-Jaw said.

Trap-Jaw's robotic claw reached out to Marlena, but the queen acted fast. Her knife sliced through two large cords on the arm. Tri-Klops was on the move, though, one of his concussion beams striking Marlena. She went flying back.

"Take her!" Tri-Klops commanded. Trap-Jaw's claw arm was replaced by a rope lassoed the queen. Marlena struggled against it, but there was no use.

"Let's go."

Tri-Klops led the way with Trap-Jaw right behind him, holding Queen Marlena tight.

"I told you coming out here for target practice was a good idea," Trap-Jaw chided. "Now look! I got that bitch that got me captured all those years ago!"

"Skeletor will award us for this."

They were halfway to the Land-Shark when two laser beams struck Tri-Klops' visor.

Teela came running, holding two laser rifles. Trap-Jaw was just turning to take care of her when Marlena slammed her head into Trap-Jaw's face. The mouth and jaw hurt, but it had the effect she wanted. His sprang back. Teela took two shots with the laser rifle, disabling the robotic arm.

Marlena went rolling free.

Trap-Jaw recovered and went towards his enemies. Tri-Klops had likewise stood up.

"Teela, run."

"No, your majesty. I have my orders to protect you."

"Then we'll fight together," Marlena stated, smiling and taking a knife and laser rifle from Teela.

Neither had to. Five laser beams came slicing through the air. He-Man and the Heroic Warriors arrived on the scene.

"How - ?!" Teela shouted.

"We've been monitoring the area," Man-At-Arms said. "Sorry."

Needless to say, Tri-Klops and Trap-Jaw went for a retreat.

Hours later, the entire group reconvened at Eternos. Ediz and Riika recovered quite nicely. However, the injuries Tares had taken forced him to step down as Captain. Until a better person could be decided upon, Man-At-Arms was doubling as Captain. Teela was quickly promoted to Captain.

Teela and Marlena were forced to finish their rite of passage in the fields of Eternos, which was fine by them. They built a new shelter, found new food, and again, were laying under branches, looking through the gaps of a shelter at the stars and moons above.

"Teela?"

"Yes, Marlena?"

"Your mother would have been particularly proud of you today."