Disclaimer: DOn't own He-man.

Soooo, here's chapitre dix. It's just a little bit drama-ish for me. I'm not really much for drama, although it really seems to suit He-Man

surprisingly well. You probably won't think it's that dramatic anyway. Hope it is enjoyed. I would like to thank everyone who

reviewed on the last chapter. It made me feel a whole lot better about it, and a whole lot more inspired to type more. So thanks

everyone!!

CHAPTER 10 – Humiliation

Adam groaned and rolled over . . . and groaned again. He felt like one big, sore, bruised muscle. His arm grazed over his stomach and he jerked violently.

"Ouch!!" he exclaimed wide-eyed. He groaned yet again and plopped his head back onto the pillow with force.

"Ow!" Man, Skeletor really did a number on him this time. He considered using the sword, but decided against it. He was familiar enough with Greyskull's methods to be cynical about it being worth the effort. The sword didn't seem to think that sore muscles and bruises or fatigue were worthy of its attention. It was great for near-fatal injuries, but seemed to be little better than nothing, otherwise.

Adam's door opened a crack, revealing a green eye in the new opening. He regarded the eye bemusedly, and then his door was flung wide open to admit his very concerned fian- Oh man, he hadn't asked her yet! What was he supposed to call her, he wondered.

"Adam, you're awake!" Adam regarded her confusedly.

"So are you", he stated unsurely. Teela regarded him bemusedly for a moment.

"I'm usually up by mid afternoon, Adam." Adam's eyes widened.

"Mid afternoon!" he exclaimed and shot up in bed, only to fall back into it abruptly with a yelp of pain. The black flowers were dancing in front of his eyes again, he noticed, feeling that the whole situation was somehow comical, although he wasn't really sure why he thought so. The flowers dissipated, leaving in their place a pair of exotic green eyes, peering at him with an expression not unlike concern.

"Adam", the roaring in his ears subsided and he began to hear her. "Adam, are you alright?" Teela turned and held up her comlink and contacted her father.

"Father, Adam's awake and appears to be in considerable pain." Her bright eyes shone in concern.

"I'll be right there, Teela", Man-at-Arms' voice echoed back over the connection.

"Teela", Adam began, "What are you-" Adam stopped talking as he suddenly recalled his frantic charge through the palace last night, when he'd passed his lovely captain, who had likely followed him and either seen him collapse, or the afterimage of said collapse. Great. How was he going to explain that? Adam slowly and carefully sat up in his bed, wincing at the pain that seemed to radiate from his torso's midsection. The fiery pain located there seemed to exceed his hurts elsewhere. Teela turned back to face him and jumped to help.

"Adam, let me help you!" she exclaimed, helping him swing his legs over the side of his bed. Adam waved her away, annoyed at being so dependant.

"If you really want to help me," he said, a mischievous grin appearing on his handsome face as he braced himself against the bedpost, "then how about a kiss to make it all better?" He waggled his brows at her and Teela quirked an eyebrow at her beloved as her father came through the doorway.

"If you tell me what you were doing last night, I'll consider it", she told him succinctly. Duncan glanced between them briefly and curiously. Adam gulped nervously. He felt that Teela was becoming more and more suspicious of him. Duncan shrugged at the curious exchange and shoved Teela out the door amidst many protests. He turned to face his charge after closing the bedchamber door.

"How do you feel, Adam?" he asked seriously. Adam chuckled and winced. He favored Duncan with a strained smile.

"Oh, you know, like I got hit by a majorly magnified blast from the havoc staff for half an hour and then got pummeled through a small mountain. You know, the usual." Duncan frowned as he observed Adam.

"I can ask Dorgan to give you something . . . " Adam grimaced in distaste.

"No drugs, Duncan. Now help me up. I want some breakfast."

After asking Duncan to wait outside, Adam changed his shirt, opting today for a long-sleeved tunic. He felt rather sour. He was cold, and it made him feel like an invalid. The fact that it took him so long to effect the change made it worse. He decided that shirts were best left untucked, that his pants were decently clean, and that his vest was today unnecessary, and he called Duncan in to help him into his boots. The bending part of that process sounded distinctly unpleasant at the moment, he thought, his eyes resting on his tender stomach contemplatively.

q

Teela drummed her spoon rapidly on the table and glanced over at Randolph, feeling that irritating urge to tuck that hair behind his ears again. Wasn't he coming? She was sure he hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday. Maybe he didn't feel well enough. Teela snorted at that thought. Adam had always been an impossible invalid. It took a lot to pin him to a bed. King Randor, Man-at-Arms, and Dorgan, to be exact.

She looked idly over at Cringer, who had been expulsed from the royal bedchamber and was forlornly draped over the marble floor near the fireplace. She regarded him with sympathy. She knew all about that.

The king and queen were still absent, having left the palace to attend a conference of the, as yet new, alliance against Skeletor two days ago. She doubted that her father had informed them of Adam's collapse. He was rather tight-lipped about such things, she had noticed. She found this attitude about the prince's welfare rather suspicious.

She looked around the table again and sighed. She and Randolph were the sole occupants of the dining room, and he didn't seem to be any more inclined to speak than she did. She sensed that he was as concerned as she was. She turned her forlorn and slightly irritated gaze toward the dining hall entrance upon hearing a sound of men talking in that direction, which, it became clear as the noise drew nearer, was Adam and Duncan. Adam's steps were a little unsure, and his legs shook slightly, but he was smiling widely. Man-at-Arms followed him closely, and Teela guessed that Adam had firmly refused his offer of assistance.

"Hey, guys!" he greeted them cheerfully. Randolph's head shot up and he smiled widely upon perceiving Adam standing there.

"Da-Adam!" (Never obvious, is he?)

Adam leaned in what he fancied was a nonchalant manner upon the dining room wall, trying to look casual instead of weak-limbed. Maybe he should have tried the sword, anyway, he reflected. It wouldn't have hurt in any case. Man-at-Arms crossed over in front of him, standing close-by. Adam sighed. Man-at-Arms sure made it difficult to look 'cool', as his mother would say. Earth customs certainly were peculiar.

A serving girl entered, carrying a tray bearing a tureen of some vegetable soup and a stack of dishware. As she set the plates out, she turned questioningly to the two on the wall.

"Prince Adam, Man-at-Arms, will you be dining here this afternoon?" she asked timidly. Adam nodded vigorously.

""Yes, Miriam", Man-at-Arms told her. Miriam finished setting the lunch service out and served the soup, leaving the tureen on the center of the table. Retrieving her tray, she started to leave for the kitchen.

"Mmm, good soup!" Randolph exclaimed, already half-way through his portion. Miriam blushed in pleasure and looked back as her feet continued moving forward. As a result, the young girl tripped over Man-at-Arms' ill-placed feet and accidentally launched her tray into the prince's stomach with some force, in her attempt to catch her balance.

"Oh my!" she exclaimed, quickly removing it.

Adam's world narrowed to a single, horrid corridor in the space of half a second. A roaring rose in his ears louder every second, accompanying the rising wave of pain and nausea that rapidly overtook him. Adam clapped his hands viciously over his mouth, making use of every ounce of willpower he owned to restrain himself from vomiting. A tear trickled from the corner of his eye, unnoticed.

"I'm so sorry, Prince Adam!!" Miriam frantically apologized to the prince. Daring to raise her eyes to his face, she gasped fearfully. The prince's eyes were dilated and staring, sweat was trickling down his temples and his hands were clenched so tight over his mouth that his knuckles were bone-white. 'What have I done?!' she wondered frantically. Man-at-Arm's gripped the prince's shoulder hard.

"Adam?" He turned to the girl and laid a hand on her shoulder and she looked fearfully up into Man-at-Arms' kind eyes.

"Don't worry, Miriam. He won't blame you. I need you to go and fetch Dorgan." Miriam nodded and scampered off to find the prince's physician.

"Adam", Duncan repeated, shaking the prince's shoulder gently, attempting to draw him out of whatever was going on. Teela and Randolph raced over in alarm, leaving their suppers unheeded on the table.

"Father, what's wrong with him?" Teela demanded, worry evident in her voice.

"I don't know, Teela", Man-at-Arms grimly told her, "We'll have to wait for Dorgan."

Teela turned her gaze to Adam. The girl had hit him in the stomach. That section should bear first investigation. She reached out and lifted his tunic, wondering if he was injured there. Both she and Randolph gasped in horror. Adam's front torso and left side were encompassed by a deep abnormal black.

Adam's throat was working overtime, swallowing and re-swallowing, and Teela realized that he was trying not to vomit.

"Oh, Adam", she whispered as her eyes became damp.

Dorgan made his entrance scant minutes later.

"What seems to be the problem here?" he asked, eyeing the scene with his characteristic keenness. "Miriam tells me that she shoved a serving tray into the prince's midsection. Let's take a look, shall we?" He inspected Adam's torso and made a noise midway between a gasp and a disapproving tsk. He turned his keen eyes on the prince's face, which had not yet relaxed.

Adam felt the nausea slowly dissipate, and the pain recede somewhat. He swallowed a few more times and felt it safe to remove his hands. He panted heavily and registered the presence of his friends with dismay. He nearly groaned. 'Way to make a show, Adam.'

Dorgan had already arranged for a mobile chair, which was now being brought into the dining hall. Adam caught sight of it.

"Oh, no", Adam stated, still panting, "I'm not riding in that thing. -pant, pant- I'm not an invalid." Dorgan eyed him severely.

"Do you think I don't know that that wall at your back is the only reason you haven't keeled over, yet?" Dorgan raised an eyebrow. Adam blushed in embarrassment.

"Get into the chair, Prince Adam", he ordered.

Adam sheepishly wobbled over to the device with the assistance of Man-at-Arms, and plopped into it unceremoniously.

"Wait a minute" Teela said, her damp eyes suddenly clouded with suspicion in the stead of compassion. She abruptly gripped Adam's forearm tightly. Adam yelped and his eyes smarted. Teela dropped it, satisfied.

"That's all I wanted to know", she said.

"Huh?" said Adam, rubbing his arm a little resentfully.

"You and I will talk later, Adam", she told him, somewhat menacingly. She kissed his cheek and walked off down the expansive hallway. Adam blushed with pleasure and concernedly watched her exit the room.

"What was that about?" he wondered aloud, catching Duncan's eye, who shrugged.

"Adam", Randolph's cheerful face was marred by a frown as Adam was being transported out of the room, "I'll be talking to you later, as well."

"Alright, alright", Dorgan said huffily, "But for now, no talking!!"

Adam sighed. "Come on, Cringer", he said. "I assume you don't need to scold me about anything." Cringer purred as Adam scratched his head, thrilled to be allowed near his master again. Dorgan issued a long-suffering sigh.

"If you must take your pet with you all sorts of inconceivable places, you must, I suppose." Adam grinned tiredly at the testy little man as he was transported through the palace's pillared corridors.

Ah, finis pour maintenant! Est-ce que vous il aimez? Let me know what you think! I successfully refrained from calling Dorgan 'the

irascible old healer'!! It was a close thing, though. Thanks for the lovely reviews. You've all been very kind.

-Burp.