Subterfuge Chap 4
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*Flashback - While Prince Adam is recovering from exhaustion
Man-At-Arms was warned by a worried Teela that prince Adam had collapsed and was now resting quietly in his room after the royal physician pronounced him suffering from exhaustion. He knew he must set out to castle Greyskull to seek out the sorceress. This was going too far; the prince could not go on like this. He needed more support. Now that Teela was behind him he could see a strength returning to the boy he hadn't seen in five years, but the constant attacks he knows have taken its toll on the youth.
As he prepped the wind raider to leave a servant came running through the door out of breath. "His majesty requests your presence immediately Man-At-Arms."
He sighed, here it goes. "Very well." He nodded and headed to the throne room ready to incur the wrath of his sovereign.
"Ah Duncan, a word if you please." The king did not look as mad as the warrior thought he should. He approached slowly. "My son is exhausted, dehydrated, and has not been taking meals properly. He's now sleeping restfully in his room." There was no question there so the warrior politely nodded and released a breath in relief that his young friend was well. "I assume you know why my son was in this state."
Duncan steeled himself for the king's ire not denying anything but not offering information either. "You will have to ask Adam yourself your majesty."
King Randor sat back in his throne looking thoughtful and slightly offended, "I'm also of the belief he is in this state due to his duty to this kingdom is that correct sir?"
Man-At-Arms blanched in shock, this was the closest the King had ever gotten to Adam's secret. How in Eternia did he discover Adam's intense sense of duty to the crown? The warrior only nodded, not trusting his voice.
The man on the throne stayed eerily silent for another several breaths. "I want you to continue to monitor his activities Duncan. Make sure he takes better care of himself. Report back to me if he does not. That is an order. Am I clear?"
"Yes sire, I will." Duncan was profoundly confused.
"If he does not comply, let me know and I will put him under house arrest until he gets the rest he needs." The king finally showed righteous anger. "And tell that boy to do everything in his power to be at dinner every night. I don't care what he does during the day, but I want to see him alive and healthy in that chair, every night." Duncan's eyes were wide. "Some things are going to change around here my friend, and I believe it has to start with me."
The warrior swallowed hard, "Sir may I speak freely?"
The king nodded, hoping his friend would confirm his suspicions. "Your son, has a lot on his shoulders lately, and if I may sire, it would help if you showed support. He loves you and he loves this kingdom…so don't change too much. He just needs to know you are on his side, that you believe in him, and that you trust him."
"Duncan, I want to put a few concerns to rest regarding my son." The warrior nodded skeptically. "Is my son lazy?"
"No, your majesty, not at all." Man-At-Arms was visibly uncomfortable but answered truthfully when asked a direct question like this. He had never directly lied to his sovereign.
"Was he ever a playboy?"
"No, your majesty."
"Is he out goofing off all day?"
"No, your majesty."
The king winced and berated himself for his thoughts and treatment of his son throughout the last couple of years. "Thank you, my friend, it seems it has been a while since I have shown much interest in my own son. I am only now learning he may be a stranger to me."
Duncan tried not to react to that statement, instead diverted, "Perhaps this is an opportunity to regain the closeness you once shared. I believe he would be hard pressed to hide from a loving father wanting to re-connect."
The king thought, the closeness he yearned for with his son was currently a closeness Duncan and his son shared…. "Thank you, Duncan, I will think on the matter. You are dismissed." The warrior, surprised at the dismissal, quietly walked out the door.
The King wandered to his office and sat down in quiet contemplation, wondering what the next steps would be to re-connecting with his son. He knew the boy, no the man, was now heavily educated in leadership, critical thinking, warfare, and could probably run the kingdom blindfolded. Having supposedly read every weekly report coming out of his office. But what did the boy do for fun? What was he interested in? He had only ever seen his son interested in sleeping, or fishing or chasing girls, which upon reflection he'd never actually seen the prince goofing off.
He decided to make every effort to encourage his son to open up to him and trust him with his feelings. Breakfast tomorrow will be different.
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*Breakfast, the next day.
The king planned to have all Adam's favorite breakfast items ready and was prepared to wait all day until the boy awoke.
"Hello mother, father. Sorry I missed breakfast the other day."
The boy looked sheepish and wary, obviously expecting a lecture.
It's time to show him the lectures are over, "It's fine son, you obviously needed the rest."
He could see Adam was confused but looking well rested and back to his old self. "Well son, I'm off to see some delegates from Nethrolepis that have been waiting on me this morning, you have a good day, now. Try to take it easy." He gently squeezed Adam's shoulder as he walked past and felt the involuntary flinch. He tried to keep the smile on his face, but his heart broke at his son's reaction to a kind gesture from him.
He gave his son a quick affirmation before he headed to his throne room to shed some quiet tears. How did this distance between he and his son progress so far?
By mid-day the king was completed with most if not all his morning duties and decided instead of holding court all afternoon, he would have reduced hours today. He submitted a note to a court aid and went looking for his son. The first place he looked was with Man-At-Arms, but the soldier was busy arguing with Orko, the Trollan magical jester from another dimension, about the best way to hunt a dangerous Eternian manticore which had been seen in the outskirts of the kingdom.
Teela was his next target for where to find Adam, but her normal location in the open-air practice salle was unoccupied. She was always there leading some sort of cadet demonstration or honing her battle skills. After asking the maids and palace workers he went to check some other private practice workout rooms just in case. He heard Teela's shouts and grunts coming from one of the rooms. The door was locked.
Baffled and instead of knocking, he reached for his palace master key which opened any lock in the castle, half worried he would find Teela and Adam in some sort of compromising position. What he saw when he slowly opened the door took his breath away. Adam and Teela were in an all-out no holds barred fight with practice swords. Their swings were so fast and powerful he had had trouble seeing how they were even able to block them. Sweat was dripping off Teela in rivulets, and Adam had this stoic look on his face. As if he was resigned to fight but was neither exerting himself nor enjoying himself.
Adam's sword came down one final time across Teela's right eye in an arc, she barely blocked in time, and at the same time the man took a booted foot and swiped the front foot out from under the captain. She went down onto the mat with a yelp dropping her sword in the process!
"You need to be aware of what's happening above and below you."
She knelt to stand and took a helping hand from her beau. "Arg, you're right. I didn't even see that sweep coming I was so focused on your riposte! Let's go again if you're up to it. I mean, after last night." She bounced up into a ready position and the prince sighed and nodded.
"I told you I'm fine now Tee, I heal quickly. Alright, once more until I know you got it." He moved to a ready position as well. "I wouldn't want you getting hurt when you go out fighting Skelator and his goons." He let out a small grin.
"Very funny Adam, I've been doing this a while ya know. I can take care of myself."
"And you've been injured a couple of times…. maybe we can reduce that." The prince started with a fast strike and expertly maneuvered her into a defense position. She blocked easily and turned her body to use the big man's forward momentum to her advantage mixing a bit of martial arts in with her fencing technique. He noticed her change in tactics and spun out of her throw hold at the last minute coming up with a backhand strike with his non-sword hand which she barely blocked in time.
They traded blows for the next couple minutes when the prince suddenly came down with a high strike to the head using his practice broadsword, which Teela used two hands to block, creating an opening for a smaller practice dagger he had hidden somewhere in his belt. He used his left hand and laid it gently across Teela's exposed neck during the opening, her eyes going wide feeling the object pressing at her throat. She stopped again in defeat.
"Another subterfuge," She sighed.
"Don't' worry Teela, you got further this time. You paid attention to my legs as well, so a sweep would not work again. You forced me to do something different and change tactics. Soon I won't be able to catch you off guard! I'm proud of my tough girl." Teela smiled coyly and placed a hand on the Prince's chest while standing on her toes to give him a small kiss on the side of his lips. The man's arm went around her waist to pull her in a tight hug he hadn't been brave enough to do before they started courting. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and kissed where he held the practice knife to her throat, unhappy knowing this training was a necessity and looking forward to the day it wasn't. He slipped his tongue past her lips to gently sweep through her mouth in a deep hot lazy kiss. She moaned slightly.
Once they were done with the long kiss, the prince turned towards the towels on the wall and froze when he caught sight of his audience.
The king still in a state of shock of everything he'd seen whispered, "Well done son."
The prince actually blushed, "Thanks." He looked at Teela very uncomfortable now, trying to hide the evidence of how she had affected him from his father, "We were just practicing."
"I see. Well don't let me stop you." The strong man before him looking like a stranger. The prince was wearing a white practice jacket over broad shoulders, soft black oversized hakama pants, and was barely breaking a sweat. His pink tunic and purple leggings were folded neatly on a bench. The king thought absently that the pink and purple outfit was completely unsuited to his son, this is what he should be wearing. He looked so much more mature and capable.
"Uh, I think we are finished for today, Dr. Samuels told me not to overdo it." He turned to Teela, "Thanks for the lesson Teela. See you tonight." He grabbed his pink tunic off the bench.
"Did you need me for something father?" He said softly as if expecting an angry retort.
"Nothing pressing, I took a few hours extra for lunch today and was wondering if you would join me for a stroll around the castle grounds. That is, if you do not have any else scheduled. I wanted to make sure you were feeling better. I was worried about you son." The king took in the boy's skeptical expression.
"Ah, no. I don't have anything going at the moment, let me get cleaned off. I'll be right with you." He went towards the showers still confused and a bit embarrassed.
A quick shower and a few minutes later had the men walking down an outdoor corridor along one of the palace gardens. It was such a rare sight to see the two men walking and talking amicably together that most of the palace staff stopped and stared open mouthed.
As they walked Randor asked the prince his opinion on many things, "Son, I realize I haven't been the most attentive father I could be, and I want to make up for that. Your health scare yesterday showed me I have not been as involved in your life as I should be. So, I wanted to start by apologizing for jumping to conclusions and asking how you are doing in your life at the castle."
Adam was still skeptical but kept silent, secretly hoping his father and he would at last be growing closer despite the careless, clumsy and clueless act he'd shown him for the last five years. But he was not sure how to answer the question.
When his son did not speak the king continued, "I had a meeting with delegates from the Kingdom of Netholepis this morning. They want to enter a trade agreement with Eternia for Photanium ore; they have consulted with the scientists on the planet Phantos and were able to confirm a treasure trove of Photanium ore has been found on their planet. When He-Man helped Queen Elamora free her people and the mine from Skelator's enslavement on Phantos, she promised Eternia a lower price on any order for Photanium ore forever as thanks." The King noted Adam staring ahead as if lost in thought, so he continued.
"Now that Nethrolepis is selling Photanium as well, there is no longer a monopoly and they are looking for friendly trade agreements from stable and wealthy kingdoms. I need to figure out a way to politely decline their offer, retain a solid relationship with both Nethrolepis and Phantos, and do it without starting a war with two very powerful kingdoms which will now be in a bidding war."
The prince furrowed his brow, "Doesn't the kingdom of Netholepis mine fire jewels as well? I think I read that somewhere in a palace report years ago. Man-At-Arms is working on a new ray fuser and the fire jewels he got from the sorceress have been used up. The fire ray in He-Man's bracer holds the last of our fire jewel powder. Why don't you ask to trade fire jewels instead? That would keep a trade relationship going with them, but not offend Queen Elamora."
The King looked impressed, "That a great idea son, I'll look into it. I vaguely recall that report about fire jewels as well." They walked in comfortable silence enjoying the scenery. The King breathed in a full breath around his son he had no idea he'd been holding for years.
"How is the courtship with Teela going?" The young man blushed so hard the king thought he might have overstepped.
"It's…well. We are taking things slow and getting to know one another again." He paused, "I want to make sure I am what she wants, not what she thinks she wants. I know she'd been interested in He-Man for a while there and I need to know that she…well, likes me for me." The men stopped.
"Adam, listen to me. He-Man will never have the relationship you have with Teela. He can't. Why do you think I don't try to seek him out? Any relationship or friendships he makes puts those he loves in danger. We don't know where he lives, how he knows when we are in danger, or even his first name. We can only be thankful he shows up to help when he does, because one day he might not. He-Man knows this and I'm sure Teela's thought about this too. You are more real to her than he can ever be, you know her better then he could ever imagine, and from the looks of things, she's discovering you are more like her hero than she or I thought."
Adam didn't say anything. "I used to think He-Man was the prince everyone wanted, the son you thought you should have had."
"I never thought that son. I love you for you just as Teela does. I just wished you'd had more interest in running the kingdom and taking my place one day. But I see now that I just should want you to be happy. Now I understand you do not openly show much of yourself, that you do care for the kingdom and you have an amazing capacity to love. I am coming to realize you and Teela would be amazing monarchs one day son."
The prince looked down. "Maybe I can't run a kingdom…not yet anyway, not until Eternia is safe."
"What do you mean?" The king did not expect that response.
"Nothing, forget I mentioned anything."
"Hmmm, well then what do you want to do in the meantime, you don't have to be king right this instant?" The monarch was using his diplomacy skills to find an alternative, to compromise. "Would you like to travel? Attend a university in another land? Learn music? Anything son, I just want you to be happy. If being king one day does not appeal to you, then I would never force it upon you. You know that right? I can always appoint a successor."
Adam was taken aback, "No father, I do want to be king, I love this kingdom, but there are a few things that have to happen first."
"Tell me what you need son and I will make it happen for you."
The youth looked panicked and uncomfortable, "I uh, well. How did we start talking about this anyway? I thought you wanted to talk about my relationship with Teela?"
"No, my boy, no more prevarications, I'd like to know what you want. What can I give you that I haven't been?"
Their eyes met and in a moment of complete clarity Adam pulled himself out of his carefree slouch to stand tall and stated simply, "Trust," and walked away looking contrite for the way he just treated his father.
The proud royal found a nearby bench and sat. "Trust" he whispered confused. Of course, he trusted his son, why wouldn't he not? He thought back to the night before and Adam's explanation of his exhaustion and as to why Teela was in his room. He hadn't believed a word of it until his boy lied about being inebriated. He put his head in his hands.
"Oh Ancients, when did I stop trusting my boy?"
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Adam found Cringer in the kitchens begging for scraps of food. He ruffled his fingers through the fur on his head, eliciting a low purr from the feline. "Hi Cring, steal any more bagels?"
"The chef is being stingy with the pastries for dinner. But I'm staying here until he trips over me and drops one or kicks me out. What's wrong? There have been no battles today, it's a good thing! I'd be worried if there were more after the last one almost….well."
"I know. Here's hoping."
"Maybe some fishing would clear your mind? Keep you from worrying, and fill my empty tummy." The cat pushed his head in his master's lap looking hopeful.
The prince looked worriedly out a window at the palace. "I don't know, something tells me to stick around this time. I don't think the attacks are over. Who knows what skull face has planned."
Both friends left the kitchens with "negotiated" pastries and headed to the throne room once Adam heard his father has resumed his court hours. He felt horrible for berating his father for not trusting him when all along his carefree and irresponsible prince act, was to inspire less trust. He should explain himself to his father better, but how, and keep his secret?
He entered the back of the throne room in time to see a stunned Evil-Lyn with an energy whip wrapped around the King. Man-At-Arms was busy dealing with Beastman and an angry Teela in a fierce battle with Trap Jaw most likely getting him back for ruining her favorite sword. The crowd was trapped silently in fear. Evil-Lyn crooned, "Ah, it's the bumbling prince Adam, nice of you to drop by."
Adam had a moment to think. Run away and turn into He-Man or stay and try and rescue his father at only human strength. Teela made his decision for him.
"Adam, go!" She yelled over the battle.
The king and his son locked eyes. The king nodded and mouthed, "I trust you." The prince didn't hesitate, he fled as fast as his feet could carry him around the corner to a desolate hallway and called on the power of Greyskull. Now as He-Man, he went back to the throne room and shoved his shoulder through the door as his father and Evil-Lyn was pulled through a dimensional gate and Teela was defeating Trap Jaw.
He-Man shouted and leapt for the king, "No!" He missed his father's outstretched hand.
"You'll have to do better than that He-Man." Trap Jaw taunted as he lunged backwards into the portal after a nasty blow from Teela. He-Man debated for two seconds before jumping in after him. Beastman jumped towards the portal bringing up the rear trying to scratch the warrior from behind with his talons while Man-At-Arms tried to pull him off He-Man. The portal closed abruptly leaving Beastman in Eternia with Man-At-Arms and bringing Evil-Lyn, King Randor, Trap Jaw and He-Man to snake mountain.
Skelator's laugh was the last sound heard in the throne room. Duncan and his daughter looked at each other in disbelief while Beastman snarled in Man-At-Arms choke hold.
Duncan spoke, "What in Eternia do we do now?"
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