Teela's Visitor Chapter 7
If there had been a time in his life when he had been more embarrassed, or possibly even more terrified, than he was now, he couldn't remember when it was. And, he knew that fact had to be showing on his face clearly, because Teela was staring at him worriedly.
"Adam?" she questioned, touching her fingers against his cheek so that he would make eye contact with her. "What's wrong?"
He didn't answer her. He merely stared because at that moment, the Sorceress began speaking telepathically. "You must hurry to Castle Grayskull immediately! Skeletor is on his way to attack the castle!"
Adam continued to stare at Teela as he felt the Sorceress' presence recede: he didn't know what he was going to do or say. Here he was with Teela on his lap and they had just been making-out hot and heavy. How could he leave without sending the message that he objected to what they were doing?
She was obviously growing impatient with his silence, because her voice grew a little sharper: "Adam, tell me what's wrong! Did I…?"
He quickly shushed her as he searched his mind frantically for an answer to give her. He then looked deeper into the forest and replied, "I think I heard Cringer yelling." He pretended to listen carefully and then nodded. He stood as he held her tightly and set her on her feet once he got to his. "I'm sorry, but I have to go check on him! There's no telling what kind of mess he's gotten himself into."
"I didn't hear anything," said Teela unsurely, "but I'll help you look for him."
She started to take a step forward, but Adam brought his hands to her shoulders and exclaimed, "No! No! Uh, you should pack up our food. I'm sure he's just gotten himself tangled in some vines or something. I'll be back soon."
He didn't wait for any rejection of his ideas. He ran deeper into the forest and berated himself silently for not coming up with a better excuse, but what else could he have said? "I really do need to find Cringer, and I can't tell her that Castle Grayskull is under attack, because she would want to come and I wouldn't be able to change into He-Man." His shoulders slumped as he scoured the land for his tiger. He wasn't upset that he couldn't seem to find him; instead, he was upset because he knew he wouldn't "be back soon" and Teela would think he had abandoned her. Not to mention, he didn't know how she would react to that belief, but he had a feeling it wouldn't be good…and it might be the end of their relationship.
He squeezed his eyes shut and stopped running. For a brief second, he wanted to turn around and go back to Teela. Surely, the Sorceress could handle Skeletor just once on her own, but he forcibly stopped those thoughts as soon as they began. He was the one who was supposed to protect the Sorceress and the castle—it was his job. He had to protect Eternia at all cost or he wouldn't even have a chance with Teela anyway. They'd all be dead or enslaved. He didn't have any other choice.
Luckily, when he reopened his eyes, he saw Cringer running to him happily. It was one less thing he had to worry about doing in this short period of time. "Adam," the tiger exclaimed, "I-I found a whole field with butterflies right over…"
He almost interrupted the cat to tell him that it was time for He-Man and Battlecat. But instead, he thought maybe he could try to placate Teela and her fury with a believable excuse for his departure. "I need you to do me a favor, Cringer. I need to go to Castle Grayskull, because Skeletor is about to attack. Can you go to Teela and tell her—uh, I don't know—that a woman approached us saying she needed help from a member of the Royal Family immediately so I went with her?"
At his friend's astonished look, he explained, "Well, it's not really a lie! The Sorceress does need me! I just don't want Teela getting mad at me for fleeing! I don't have the excuse of running away from danger right now…and besides, I don't want her to see me that way anymore! I can't be the cowardly prince—Adam has got to be a better man than I have been! She deserves more from her…whatever I am. He-Man's had my best qualities for far too long and I need to show her who I really am as much as I can! I can't start doing that by running away when we started kissing."
Now, the tiger looked amazed at the news that they had been kissing. The prince sighed, ignoring his response. "Please, Cringer, if you've got something better to tell her, then tell her but I have to go now. He-Man is needed!"
The tiger nodded and responded, "I'll tell her, but she's going to be m-mad that you ran off without her being there to prot-t-tect you."
Adam pulled out his sword, looked at Cringer before changing into He-Man, and replied, "I know, but being mad at me for that is better than the alternative."
=)=)=)
He-Man didn't know what Skeletor had been up to, but he hadn't achieved whatever it had been. When he had shown up to Castle Grayskull, the Sorceress and he had taken care of Skeletor, Beastman, and Trap Jaw in record time. They had merely spat antagonistic words at one another, and he had basically thrown them around. Once in a while, the Sorceress had gotten involved when he was about to be hit from behind, and at those times, she used her magic to throw the person into a nearby mud pool. Within no time, Skeletor had called the retreat and threatened that there would be another time. As usual.
He stood on the drawbridge now and waved at the Sorceress. He wanted to hurry up and get back to Teela, because only the Ancients knew how she responded to the excuse Cringer had given her…and he wanted to get to her as quickly as he could to calm any hostilities that might have developed. Now that he knew it was possible for him to have a future with Teela, he wanted to do everything in his power to make her happy…and that meant no longer being the Prince Adam that he had been for so long now. He wanted to make her proud, and he wanted to be honest with her…
"And, we must discuss that," he heard a voice say. Once again, the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull showed him she could read his thoughts.
Sighing, he focused his attention on her and said aloud, "You know, I never thought I'd find myself saying I hate any of your abilities, but recently…it's been happening."
"I know," she replied sadly, "but we are at a crucial crossroad in your life, He-Man, so I need to be aware of what's going on at all times. You need to be more cautious about what you decide right now, so I'm paying more attention to you personally than I usually do. If your future changes for the worst, I need to be aware of what decision you have made that caused such a result, so I'm monitoring you and your thoughts on a regular basis. I do not mean to cross any boundaries, but we must understand what our roles are in regards to the protection of Eternia and Castle Grayskull. Yes, my job is to protect this castle's secrets whereas yours is to protect this castle and the planet as a whole…but our jobs are also to protect each other. If either of us fails, the other will soon thereafter. That's why I…know so much about your personal life right now."
He-Man looked down at the ground nervously. He didn't want to question if she knew what he had been doing and thinking when she contacted him earlier, but not knowing was driving him crazy. He groaned and she interrupted him before he could speak.
"Maybe we should discuss this in the castle," she suggested.
He realized abruptly that he was outside—which really showed what mind frame he was in right now—so he nodded and stepped inside as soon as the drawbridge lowered. He changed himself back into Adam before he approached the throne room. Why he felt the almost overwhelming desire to do so baffled him and he supplied himself with a few possible answers: first, he didn't want to be He-Man during this discussion because in that form he felt obligated to do whatever the Sorceress told him to do and second, in this form, he was the prince and in the hierarchy of the planet, she did not have the right to tell him to do anything.
He sighed and shook his head at the autocratic thought. That wasn't him at all—he never liked playing the "prince card," but he was afraid of the discussion they were about to have. Did she know what she had interrupted earlier? Would she demand him to keep his hands off her daughter? She would have every right to do so, but what if she went further and demanded that he leave her alone all together? What if she demanded that he maintain the status quo in his relationship with Teela? After all, he had merely thought about wanting to be honest with Teela and the Sorceress had immediately suggested that they talk about it. He didn't want things to remain the same with Teela! He wanted to be a better man for her and he wanted to include her in everything that he had been going through. But what if the Sorceress forbade it? Coming in as the prince instead of Castle Grayskull's…warrior made him feel slightly better, even if he wasn't at all sure that he could make himself use his social status as a means to get his way. He knew he probably couldn't.
He rubbed a hand warily over his eyes and sighed yet again. He walked into the throne room and the Sorceress was already seated high above him.
"You looked troubled, Adam," she stated. Her words didn't hold any recriminations or reproaches—it was merely an observation.
"I am," he agreed simply. He didn't know where this conversation was going to go, so he allowed her to lead him.
"I think I know what's troubling you," she stated calmly, "and I can understand the emotion. I am Teela's mother, and I have a feeling if we don't address things more candidly than we did earlier, we're going to continue to find ourselves in this awkward situation again and again."
The prince quickly agreed by nodding and looked up to her. He admitted, "I don't like feeling that you're my opposition or that I have to hide anything from you…but I also don't like that you do know so much. And, on that end, I hate guessing what you do or don't know. I might end up telling you stuff that I didn't want you to know when you didn't in the first place. This is just completely…frustrating."
The Sorceress laughed and walked down slowly from her throne. "There are ways to know, Adam."
He scoffed a little and replied, "I don't want to ask you. That's just embarrassing, and…"
"No," she interrupted. "There are other ways to know. Adam, have you ever questioned why Adora seems to have more abilities than you when she's She-Ra?"
Her question startled him. It seemed to come out of left field. He coughed a little to try to alleviate some of the discomfort he felt at discussing this topic. He replied, "I'll confess that it has crossed my mind. I have wondered why she can do things that I can't."
She didn't seem surprised by his answer. Instead, she reassured him, "There are many things you can do that she can't, as well. You both have different missions, if you will. Your abilities mainly come from your strength. You are the castle's fighter, so to speak, whereas She-Ra is a protector of the innocent, not that you don't protect others, too. You do."
He shrugged. "So, what's your point? What does this have to do with our current predicament?"
"My point is there are things you can do as Adam and He-Man that you have not opened yourself up to. Because you hold the Sword of Power, you naturally assumed that everything you do is tied to your strength and you never looked beyond that. When your sword combined with the Sword of the Ancients, I thought at that time you might look deeper to see what changed in your abilities, but you never did. Adora didn't know anything about this castle and I didn't tell her about her sword like I did with you, so she was more open to things."
"So, can I heal people and talk to animals like my sister can?" he asked disbelievingly.
She chuckled. "No, you can't, but you stated a moment ago that you hated having to guess what I do or do not know. In other words, you want to know when I'm present in your mind. Just like you can reach out to me with your mind instead of with your sword like Adora does, you can do other things with your mind. For example, you recently discovered that you can block my telepathy. Well, another thing you can do is tell when I'm in your thoughts without my having to speak to you. I suppose that knowledge would help to allay your fears when it comes to Teela. You would know when I'm present and could cease doing any actions or thoughts that might be embarrassing to you."
Adam breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, that would be helpful," he agreed. "Can you teach me to do this?"
She nodded. "I will do my best. I can't really show you how to do it. You must simply want to do it, and we must practice it so you can get used to the sensations."
"Okay, so let's do this," he replied before he closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He concentrated and waited to see if he could feel something. When he felt nothing, he opened his eyes.
She smiled and informed him, "Trying to feel me when you expect it isn't going to help us. After all, you were doing it to block me earlier in the day. It's easy to feel me when you sit silently and wait for me to show up, knowing that I will. We must do it when you're unaware of when it will happen."
"Okay," he said, slowly, contemplating her words, "so how can we do that?"
"By distracting you."
"And, how will we do that?"
"Well, we can discuss my knowing what you were thinking and doing with Teela earlier or we can discuss whatever else is troubling you."
He gasped as he felt his cheeks grow hot.
"And, no," she continued calmingly, "I wasn't spying on you at that particular moment. When I contacted you, though, I read your surface thoughts and I knew the situation you were in. It happens quite instinctively on my part, but I didn't have the knowledge beforehand and I didn't seek it out."
He was relieved to hear that she hadn't spied on him and Teela intentionally, but he was now uncomfortable with the knowledge that she had a front row seat for one of the most intimate moments in his life. "Kill me now," he thought.
The Sorceress replied, "No, I'm not going to kill you. I'm just going to remind you of what I said earlier: you need to proceed carefully in this relationship. Even though I cannot see your future at this time, I have a feeling that if Teela and you…make love before she discovers your secret, she will not take it so well. After all, she will feel like she slept with a stranger. She might feel betrayed."
Adam nodded consistently as he stared at the ground. He thought to himself, "Well, that's an effective way to tell me she doesn't want me to sleep with her daughter," he thought. But he knew regardless of her motives she was right. "Does this mean I can tell her who I am?" he asked hopefully despite already knowing what her answer would be. Then, he jumped as he felt something push into his mind. He didn't know how to describe the sensation, but it felt…unsettling. He looked up to question silently if the feeling came from her.
The Sorceress smiled and nodded. "You didn't feel me a moment ago, so I decided to do something else. I purposely entered your mind a little more than I usually do, so you would feel a bigger reaction. Now, I'm going to do it like I normally do. It will feel the same but on a smaller scale. Ready?"
He nodded and the Sorceress began speaking again.
"As for your question, no, unfortunately, you cannot tell Teela at this time. I don't feel comfortable with you making such a big decision until I can see the future again."
Adam frowned and asked, "But what if this is why you can't see the future? What if I need to make this decision in order for you to see how things turn out?"
The Sorceress seemed to think about this and then replied, "It's possible, but I highly doubt it since my ability to see your future stopped when you two admitted your feelings to one another, not when you started to question if you should tell her your secret. Besides, I believe since your relationship is so new, she might not be able to control her reactions to the news right now. I think we should give the both of you a chance to relax into your new roles in each other's lives before we complicate things."
"Yeah, and that's assuming that she still wants to court after I left her in the forest today," he stated before he felt a slight prod in his mind. He grinned instantly in success despite his troubles. He then announced, "I felt you."
"Good," she praised. "Let's practice it a few more times to be sure you got the hang of it."
He nodded in agreement and then asked, "Then, can you tell me about more of my powers and we'll practice those too, right?"
She shook her head.
=)=)=)
He didn't call anyone to come to pick him up. Adam wanted to walk all the way back to the palace from Castle Grayskull, so he'd have time to think. And, he did have a lot to contemplate:
First, he was nervous about how Teela would react when he showed back up. Would she be angry or understanding? He hoped it was the latter, because he didn't want to hit a bump in their relationship so soon, but he knew that might be inevitable. With a sigh, he then thought about the Sorceress' revelation that he had more powers than he knew about. In just one day, he had discovered he could do a lot more with his mind than he had first thought (and as Adam, not just He-Man!)…but the thing that was so frustrating was that she refused to tell him about any of the others! Just like he had discovered on his own that Cringer could turn into Battlecat, he had to discover his other abilities, as well. He groaned in frustration. How in the world would he be able to figure them all out? He didn't see how it was possible. And, why couldn't she just tell him? And, finally, he acknowledged that despite her showing him how to feel her presence, he was still nervous about her watching him and Teela. After all, what was stopping her from watching them in her mirror? He knew she sometimes did that, and she would probably do so at this time when she felt keeping tabs on him was so necessary. He wouldn't be able to feel her when she was watching him that way. He groaned at his paranoia. Maybe she would avoid doing it that way since she knew he was so sensitive about it.
With these thoughts churning in his mind over and over again, Adam wasn't aware of anything else until he walked inside his bedchambers. He had been on autopilot. When he sat down on his bed and lay back, he closed his eyes for several minutes to both rest and try to forget about everything for a brief moment.
When he reopened his eyes, he was surprised to find Teela standing over him. "And, where have you been?" she asked softly. He had expected her to sound more fierce and angry since he had left her behind as he went on a supposed mission.
He swallowed roughly as he sat up and replied, "Did Cringer tell you what happened?"
She nodded and said calmly, "Oh, he told me some lie about you needing to accompany a lady who needed help from a member of the Royal Family."
His jaw immediately dropped. "Teela!" he exclaimed. "That's actually the tru—" His words were stopped by Teela kissing him soundly on the lips.
When she pulled back, she pressed their foreheads together as she whispered, "Ancients, Adam, you make me feel like I'm some kind of lecher who is out to steal your innocence!"
Once again, he found himself goggling at her. "What?" he gasped in bewilderment.
She instantly pulled back and stared at him intently. "Listen, Adam, I know what happened today in the forest. I…was a little aggressive and I scared you. You thought I wanted to go farther in our relationship than you're ready to go right now, so you made an excuse to get away. I'm not mad—I understand the reaction. Just…next time tell me instead of running away when it comes to matters like this." She grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. "I am willing to go as slowly as you want. Remember, I'm just as new at this as you are."
He frowned as he shook his head. "Teela, you've got this all wrong! I'm the one who pulled you into my lap. Believe me, I didn't want to stop. I want you badly…" Then, realizing what he was saying, he added, "I mean, I do want to go slowly. I don't want to rush into things, but I wasn't scared of what we were doing." He smiled and pulled her to him. He arranged her legs so she was straddling him again like she had been earlier. He then leaned his head back, brushed his lips against her ear, and whispered, "I love you sitting like this, I love exploring your body, and I love discovering new things every time I do."
"Oh yeah?" she questioned, her voice getting deeper with obvious desire from resuming their earlier embrace. "What new things have you discovered?"
He grinned and brought his lips to the center of her throat. He kissed her there and sucked on it slightly, just once, to get her to moan. He didn't repeat the action, because he didn't want to give her a hickey in such an obvious location. Instead, he stated, "I discovered that you're very sensitive at the center of your throat and when I touch you there, it drives you crazy."
"That it does," she whispered back huskily.
In response to her voice, he ran his hands down her sides and settled them on her bare thighs. He looked down and smirked devilishly. "Oh, I do love your uniform."
She couldn't help it. Teela laughed and replied, "Yeah, I bet you do. I'm showing a lot more skin than you are."
He raised his brow slightly and asked, "Do you want to even things up a bit?" At her questioning gaze, he said, "I'm not implying that we do anything besides…explore, like we've been doing."
She nodded and just as Adam was about to unbuckle the belt around his tunic, she stopped his motions by putting a hand over his. He looked at her worriedly, and it was on the tip of his tongue to apologize, but she spoke. "Let me do that," she ordered.
Relief and desire filled him at her words. "Gladly," he agreed. He dropped his hands to her waist and watched as she unbuckled him and then pushed his tunic from his shoulders. She seemed to smack her lips softly as she stared at him in his tight-fitting t-shirt. "Do you want this off, too?" he asked.
She nodded at the same moment that she started pulling on the hem of his shirt. He lifted his arms so she could pull it off of him, and once his top half was completely bare, she whispered, "Your body is so gorgeous, Adam."
He smiled and said softly, "I'm glad you think so. I just wish I could make the same observation about you."
Teela looked down at her uniform and stated matter-of-factly, "If I wanted to return the favor, I'd practically have to take my whole uniform off."
He paused and resisted the urge to run his eyes down her uniform. He didn't want her to know her words made him imagine taking it off of her at that very moment. He closed his eyes, pulled her close to hug her, and replied, "It's okay. I'm happy with things as they are." He then pulled back and met her lips with his. They brushed against one another softly and paused in their actions every so often to gaze at one another.
After several moments of repeating their actions, Adam felt something hard shift between them. He pulled back slightly and watched as Teela pulled the outer armor from her leotard. His jaw dropped in shock, but as soon as she rubbed her entire body against his without the hindrance of cold metal, any thoughts he might have had fled. He crushed her body to his with his hands and then used his thigh muscles to scoot back on the bed. Without pulling his lips from hers, he shifted his legs, turned their bodies, laid Teela on her butt, and then pushed her onto his pillows.
He paused to gaze at her. At that moment, he realized he was living a moment from one of his fantasies: Teela was in his room and on his bed with only her leotard and his tights and fur-pants between them. And, best of all, she was looking at him wantonly, like she truly wanted him. He leaned over her and kissed her again briefly. When he pulled back, he realized one thing was different from his fantasies that he had in the past, so he asked, "Can I take your hair down?"
When she nodded, he took off her headpiece and the bobby pins that held her hair up. When her locks tumbled down her neck, he moaned, laid his body over hers, and whispered, "You are so beautiful, Teela. I can hardly believe that you're here and that you're real." He kissed her chastely one more time before he pulled back and said, "I know we keep finding ourselves in situations like this, but I hope you know this isn't just a physical thing for me. I…" He stared into her eyes and paused. It was too soon to tell her.
She leaned forward and met his lips with hers again. "I know what you mean. I feel the same way," she agreed softly. As Adam smiled and ran his fingers through her hair, she reached up to her shoulders ands started pushing her leotard down her arms.
Adam moaned at the sight and pulled back slightly to lay half on top and half to the side of her. He watched her actions with interest, and just as she was about to reveal her breasts to him for the first time, he wondered worriedly if she would regret even this when she found out he was He-Man.
=)=)=)
I know, not the best update in the world, but I feel it's pretty good after having a long car ride back home, lol. What can I say? I felt like writing. I hope you enjoyed it.
