Thank you for the encouragement and positive reviews. I plan to complete this story by the end of 2017.

Chapter 11

"Absolutely not!" shouts Randor indignantly. "You will behave like a gentleman, and we will go through with your engagement and marriage properly. I won't have any more of this sneaking around! If you can't keep your clothes on, then I'll have no choice but to..."

The irony is a bit much, even for me. But I won't cut down my husband in front of others.

Teela, on the other hand, has no such qualms. She jumps up and rips into Randor, "Then perhaps you should have set a more virtuous example for us, Your Majesty. Or have you already forgotten how quickly you seduced and married your queen? And you're wrong, Adam is a gentleman: he respects me and he only did what I requested, and, and…" Suddenly she realizes what she just said. Nervously, Teela touches the Star of Eternia on her finger.

Duncan looks like he's going to faint, so I guide him toward an armchair. His face is drained of color and his lips are white. He sinks down on the seat, leans forward like he's trying not to get sick, and covers his face with both hands. He didn't sleep at all last night, and I don't think he slept much the night before that. Stress is getting to him, and these antics aren't helping.

Randor starts, "I - how dare you -"

But Teela pulls herself together and continues, "I hadn't thought of it before, but Adam is right. We should be married as soon as possible. If we schedule a royal wedding in advance, Skeletor's team will surely crash the party like they did last night. He is injured at least for today, so we should take the opportunity while we still have it. Besides, today I can still pass a chastity exam - in case there are any questions about our motives for a quick wedding." She tosses a flirtatious glance back at Adam, who is enjoying the whole scene a little too much, and she adds, "I may not be able to pass the exam tomorrow."

I have never seen Teela like this before. I suppress the urge to laugh. My mind is racing. We have the treaty ceremony followed by a banquet in the early evening, but we could insert the wedding right before the meal. So we already have a meal, musicians and a guest list. The musicians would have to arrive an hour earlier, to accommodate the change in program. We would need flowers, formal gowns and a cake. I can pull a pair of wedding rings and a tiara for Teela out of the royal vault. The men's dress uniforms need to be cleaned after last night. Ugh...the ballroom is destroyed. We'll have to do everything in the throne hall and the formal dining hall. It'll be a bit of a squeeze, but it's doable.

Randor, Teela and Duncan are slinging verbal volleys back and forth. It only takes a second for everything to be arranged in my head. "Yes," I say aloud.

All eyes turn to me. Adam asks, "Mother?"

"Yes, we'll have the wedding today at 5:30 immediately following the treaty ceremony. Randor will officiate in the throne hall, and we'll push the banquet half an hour later, and we'll -"

Randor's face becomes a new shade of red. "What? You're agreeing to this madness after everything that's happened since last night?"

I answer, "Please, darling, apply your powers of logic. You will see that this is the best path."

I take my husband's hand, and I pause while looking into his eyes. As I do so, his features begin to soften. He'll agree to it just for me, even if it's not what he wants. That's true love. I continue, "You and Duncan will take charge of Adam today. Don't let him out of your sight! Cancel your appointments. I imagine you gentlemen will need to confer in private today. Write the marriage contract, order the flowers, get your dress uniforms fixed up and attend the treaty ceremony as planned. Teela will remain with me to prepare."

Duncan blusters, "She's my daughter! She should -"

"No, Father, my place is with the Queen," says Teela calmly. "Let's go, Mom." Part of me thinks I could never have predicted this change in Teela's demeanor, but part of me thinks she was always this way: Regal. She takes my arm, and I guide her toward the bookcase.

"Mom?!" exclaims Duncan, hurt, angry, confused and exhausted. He's already having a shitty day, and it's not even 7am yet.

I look back over my shoulder to see the panic on Adam's face as Duncan and Randor stand over him. He has some explaining to do! I chirp, "See you at breakfast!" And then I shut the door behind us.

Teela snaps sarcastically, "Any more secret passageways I should know about?" She drops my arm.

Ah, teenagers. So I answer pointedly, "Yes, lots of them. I'll show you around after you marry my son. And don't worry, we won't interrupt you and Adam after the ceremony, because we want the palace stuffed full of grandchildren."

Teela gulps and looks down, saying, "I'm sorry, I - I- " I put both of my hands on her shoulders and say, "Never apologize for love. You have nothing to be ashamed of." Teela hugs me, and I can't see if she's crying or just really embarrassed or feeling some other emotion.

I decide to re-direct her. "Come, darling, we have important things to discuss. Rell is now your personal assistant, and she has everything for you in the solar."

Within a few minutes, we're both in daytime dresses, combing our hair together and doing make-up. I've sent Rell to find Sasha, who was supposed to have the day off. Teela admits that she's shaken by the violence caused by her emerging powers - that's why she sought solace in Adam's arms this morning. I get it. Randor and I certainly comforted each other this morning, too.

"Teela, darling," I say, "Your ring was in my possession for twenty years, yet I never realized that it was capable of magic." I take her hand and look at the Star. I can feel it vibrating ever so slightly. "I already know that you used the ring to create an electromagnetic pulse. Now tell me what happened to Beast-Man and Evil-Lyn at the battle." Her aquamarine eyes are filled with anxiety, but there's also a fire. The thrill of battle is alive and well inside her.

She begins slowly, "I - I was in the right flank, and somehow I was separated from the other masters on rocky ground. Evil-Lyn shot an energy blast that grazed my shoulder and knocked me down. As she approached me, I knew, just knew, she was going to make a kill shot. I held up my hand and told her to stop, but she kept coming closer. I don't know how, but a bluish-greenish beam just jumped out of my hand, from the Star. It left a fist-sized hole in Evil-Lyn's chest, and then it hit Beast-Man in the throat - he was standing right behind her."

"It must have been a shock to you, darling," I say while stroking her forearm. But I need to prod her for more information. "There were no witnesses?"

"No, I was sort of hidden by a boulder, and it happened so fast. Evil-Lyn died instantly, and I knew I had to dispose of her body. In my mind I imagined a furnace. I don't know how it happened, it was so weird - I reached out to lift her, and before I even touched her body, it just started disintegrating into ashes. No fire. Just straight to ashes." Teela can't even look at me - the trauma is too fresh.

But I push further, "And her magic staff?"

"Ashes."

"And Beast-Man?"

Teela gulps. "Ashes. He was bleeding out, but still alive. I went over to try to help him - he grabbed my ankle, so I reached down...same thing happened. He watched his arm crumble away, and then his whole body, and finally his head. Gone. I'll never forget the look of horror on his face. Don't tell anyone, Marlena, please. Please, don't tell."

Gently, I say, "I won't, Teela. But you did this world a service. Think of all the people Beast-Man raped or murdered. Think of the animals that he abused. Think of what he was planning to do in the future - you stopped all of that. Thank you." I have one arm across her shoulders, and I use my other hand to tilt her face toward me. She needs a human connection.

Teela doesn't say anything more. But there's still so much I must tell her while we're still alone.

I begin, "Teela, I need to talk to you about your magical ability. I don't understand magic or how you came to have it, but I've observed you for some time. I think you're a lot more powerful than the Sorceress of Grayskull or Skeletor."

"What? How?" Teela is surprised and disturbed by this.

"The Sorceress has never been able to deactivate machines, and Skeletor has never been able to read minds - you can do both and more," I continue. "I think you can do anything that your mind can see, or, with your telepathy, anything that another person's mind can see. All I had to do was tell you about the electromagnetic prototype last night, and you did it. I think you also have the ability to drain magical energy from other creatures or things."

"Why are you telling me this? And how do you know this?" she asks. Good questions.

"Teela, I've seen you disrupt Orko's magic over and over again. Poor guy never stood a chance. I built a device that I call the Pandora's Box - it collects magical energy from any source. You could be a living Pandora. It works at the subatomic level, basically it's an endothermic reaction that - "

"Yes, I - uh - Marlena, why are you telling me - " She is really confused and upset now.

"Because, darling, this is how we erase Skeletor's mark from the planet. First, we go after the sources of his power: Snake Mountain, his henchmen, his havoc staff. Then when he's vulnerable, we can remove his magical abilities. Technically, he's already dead - only his magic keeps him alive. I need your help, Teela."

"You're using me - as a weapon?" There's the quick temper that my son adores. Honesty is the only cure.

"Yes and no, Teela. I once taught you how to play chess: the queen's job is always to protect the king. Always. I can't do this without you - you've already done so much. But you are just one part of the team. I am asking out of love. Love for you, for Adam, for Randor, for our people. That is the truth."

I need to drop this now. She has enough information. I get up to put away our hairbrushes and cosmetics.

Teela is pondering everything. "You really think I could?" she asks.

I turn around and say, "I'll prove it. Using only your mind, pick up this hairbrush and put it away."

I hold out the hairbrush and drop it. Teela follows it with her eyes, and it doesn't hit the floor- the hairbrush stops mid-air, then wobbles slowly back up toward the vanity. The drawer opens a crack, stops and then opens too fast. The hairbrush drops inside the drawer and it shuts. Teela looks at me, amazed.

Before she recovers, I quickly say, "There's a bowl of pink and orange flowers next to my bed. Teleport one of the orange blossoms to my hand this instant." I turn my palm upward and wait.

Teela closes her eyes. She whispers, "I see it." Opening her eyes, Teela looks at my outstretched hand, and the orange flower materializes out of thin air.

Smiling, I tuck the flower into Teela's hair and say, "If you can think it, you can do it. Now we're late for breakfast, darling. Let's go."