Against Nature Chapter 21

Adam tapped his fingers on his knee nervously as he sat beside his uncle. They were on their way back to the palace and his mind kept replaying what his uncle had called their "practice runs" for the big discussion with his father. While in the 360 Restaurant, they went over possible scenarios of what might happen when he walked into the throne room that very same day. And, he had to admit King Stefen impersonated King Randor quite accurately. Despite his uneasiness, he had laughed at his uncle several times because the king was so uncannily like his brother. Sometimes when he scrambled to figure out what to say to his "make-believe father," he had almost believed he was really talking to the King of Eternia! He was that good.

Adam smiled briefly at his uncle and felt a wave of gratitude toward the monarch. Stefen had really helped him out, and he had a feeling he would continue to need that support from this moment forward since both his father and Man-at-Arms would likely be angry with him for a while. They just didn't understand and he doubted that they would any time soon.

He took a deep, cleansing breath to attempt to calm his nerves. Despite going over multiple possibilities of what might occur once he stepped foot inside the palace, he was still filled with anxiety at the prospect of standing up to his father...but he realized he had put himself in this situation, so he had to face whatever lay ahead. It might not be easy, but he believed his father would at least appreciate that his son had finally stood his ground on something…even if he might not like that Adam was doing it with him and not Skeletor or someone more deserving in the king's opinion.

He shook his head for what seemed like the thousandth time that day. He didn't know how he was going to get through this. He could only hope that his uncle had predicted his father accurately, so he could rely on the loose script he had rolling around in his mind repeatedly.

"Adam, you need to calm down," he heard his uncle say and he quickly snapped out of his thoughts.

"I can't help it," he replied; "Father isn't going to be too happy with me today, and I'm not looking forward to the confrontation. It's going to be ugly."

The king glanced at Adam briefly as he drove and stated soothingly, "Just stay relaxed and remember what we went over at the 360. Also, remember that I'll be right there beside you for moral support."

Adam blew air out from his lungs slowly and quipped, "Yeah, well, maybe you should talk to my father for me."

Stefen chuckled and replied, "Oh, believe me, Adam, I might have if I wasn't so out of favor right now with my brother. Remember, he just rescinded my banishment."

The prince rubbed his eyes wearily and blurted, "Well, I might be the one to get banished this time!"

"You don't seriously believe that, do you?"

Adam met his uncle's stare and frowned. "No, I don't," he admitted. "I just don't like confrontations with my father. I never have. I'm not very good at them."

Stefen reached out a hand, placed it on his shoulder, and squeezed him comfortingly. "Every young man goes through this eventually. Fathers and sons do not always see eye-to-eye on everything, and they don't always like each other's actions and opinions. Confrontations occur. It's a part of life, and you must realize you're a little behind everyone else in this department. I honestly believe you've succumbed to your father's wishes more than you should have and for a far longer time than most."

Adam shook his head and questioned, "How could you know that? You haven't been here to observe my interactions with my father…"

The king interjected, "Yes, but I know my brother and I think I'm getting to know you quite well. You don't like to rock the boat, Adam, so you do whatever you can to appease everyone. Sure, you do small things that gets on some people's nerves from time to time, but those things had never been anything that stood out to everyone until now…and that's so wrong on so many levels. It's not your fault, though—it's Randor's. You should have already done things and been places that you clearly haven't. You should be accustomed to how the public reacts to royalty, and you plainly weren't at the restaurant. You have been sheltered far too much."

"That isn't completely his fault!" He felt like he had to defend his father. "I can take personal responsibility for that one. I chose not to go to public places, because I don't like to be treated as though I'm above everyone else."

"But you are!" Stefen cried firmly. He stared at his nephew in disbelief for a few seconds before anger surprisingly grew towards his brother. Adam could plainly see the emotion on his uncle's face as he continued to speak. "You wouldn't feel so awkward in these situations if Randor had taken you under his wing like he should have and shown you what was expected of us! When you become king, Adam, you won't be able to avoid the masses like you can now. You will have to go out in public and your people will expect you to accept their doting on you or you'll risk offending them. You surely don't want that, do you?"

The prince grimaced and mumbled, "No, I don't." He turned away and stared out the window to see many of his people watching them go by with obvious interest. Some merely stared, but others waved energetically, and even more bowed. They obviously knew the Prince of Eternia was in the vehicle, and they unknowingly confirmed King Stefen's words: they were expected to act a certain way and likewise, they expected him to act in a certain way. It was like a vicious cycle, but no one besides him seemed to mind it. Maybe King Stefen was right that he should have been exposed to the public more to get used to all the hype and expectations.

King Stefen looked over at his nephew and sighed as the silence in the AttakTrak grew. "I don't mean to upset you," he said to fill the air. "I just want you to understand why this discussion with Randor is so important." He paused for a moment thoughtfully and shared, "Even Dal and I have butted heads, but it doesn't make me love him any less. In fact, on some occasions, it made me respect him a little more. It takes guts to stand up to a father or a king…and I know I shouldn't say this as Dal's father, but I'm going to anyway. If he can do it, Adam, I know without any doubts that you can, too."

Adam smiled a little as tears filled his eyes. He blinked them away swiftly so they wouldn't be seen when he turned to look at his uncle. "You have that much faith in me and belief that this is the right thing to do?" he whispered in awe.

"Yes, I do," Stefen affirmed as he reached over and patted Adam's knee lightly several times. "But let's drop this discussion for now. I don't want you to work yourself into a tizzy before we even get there."

He nodded and asked casually, "Well, what would you like to talk about, uncle?"

Stefen eyed him for a moment with what seemed to be indecision and then sighed. "There is one thing I want to get off my chest, but I'm not entirely sure if you are the appropriate person to talk to about this."

Adam stared at the king for a moment curiously before replying, "Well, I'm not going to force you, but I will tell you that I'd never betray a confidence. You listened to my problems and I'm more than willing to return the favor."

King Stefen stopped the AttakTrak and studied Adam closely. The sincerity in his nephew's eyes was obvious. After a moment, he nodded and replied, "Okay, I'll share, but for reasons that I will not disclose, I won't name certain people. Are you okay with that?"

"Of course," he immediately replied.

=)=)=)

Stefen pulled over to get out of the road, so he could talk without any distractions. He knew this was a very delicate matter to discuss, especially since his audience was Adam. He couldn't slip up, and he'd have to be vague but say it in such a way that the severity of the situation would still be obvious. It would be hard to pull it off, but he felt like sharing his problem with someone and he knew he couldn't do it with anyone else at the palace. It was Adam or no one.

He cleared his throat and, without looking at Adam, said, "There are certain things that have happened recently that I've shared with your father but haven't shared with you. Before I came to Eternos, I discovered that Liana was having an affair, so that's why I'm here. I left Dyperia and I don't think I'll ever go back."

He heard his companion gasp, but he didn't look at him or give the boy any time to speak. Instead, he continued, "I will admit it upset me greatly but not for all the reasons you might think. I'm just going to say it outright: I didn't love Liana when I married her, but I did grow to love her. I loved her because she was my wife, my queen, and the mother of my son…but did I ever fall in love with her? No. I suppose that's what makes this situation bearable. I'm profoundly disappointed, but I'm not brokenhearted, if that makes any sense."

Finally, he turned to look at the prince, and he watched him nod sympathetically. Adam grabbed his hand and squeezed tightly for a moment.

Stefen didn't comment on his nephew's actions. He merely continued with his tale: "I came to Eternos with the idea of reacquainting myself with my old life. I wanted to cut loose and live for the day again. I've achieved that to a certain degree, but I find myself wanting other things than that now." He looked away again and explained, "I have a…friend here in Eternos and like Randor, I hadn't seen him for many years. Despite that, our friendship has picked up where it left off…well, for the most part. There have been a few misunderstandings and bumps in the road, but we resolved them." At this point, he paused for such a long time that Adam felt the need to prod him.

"Uncle?" he questioned, touching his arm lightly. "Is there a something going on with your friend that's causing you problems?"

Stefen awoke from his stupor and nodded at him briefly. He then looked away again—he couldn't look at Adam while he discussed this since the prince was far closer to the story than he would realize. Breathing deeply again, he stated abruptly, "My friend has a girlfriend."

He looked at Adam and watched the boy raise his brow questioningly. "And?" the prince asked as he held his palms up with a shrug to indicate that he didn't see what the problem was.

He turned away again and explained, "I never really met my friend's girlfriend until recently. I knew of her, and the few times that we had spoken to one another, it had been on a view screen and my…friend was always present." He then sighed and revealed, "Despite knowing that it's wrong, now that Liana is out of the picture, I find myself wanting to move on…and something that I can't explain is pulling me to my friend's…girlfriend. I don't want to feel this way, but I can't control it and I can't deny it. It simply is, Adam."

The prince remained silent for several moments. He looked down at his hands and seemed to debate with himself. Eventually, he replied, "That's quite a problem, uncle. I think that beats my situation, hands down."

He nodded. "Yeah, just my luck."

Adam looked up and asked softly, "What do you want to do about it?"

He chuckled, but there wasn't much humor in it. "I want to…have her. I want to be with her, but that's going to ruin my relationship with my friend, and my friend is very important to me. But I've already kissed this woman and…"

Adam immediately threw his hands up. "Whoa, hold on!" he exclaimed in amazement. "You've kissed her already?"

"Yes," he replied with a few nods. "And, like I was saying, the electricity that I felt was intense. I might have been able to withstand her pull if I hadn't kissed her, but I did and now I can't get her out of my mind."

The prince shook his head and asked, "Well, what happened with the kiss? Did she kiss you back? Does she want to have a relationship with you?"

He stared at him and admitted miserably, "No, she pushed me away instantly and slapped me pretty hard. She's a lot stronger than she looks and definitely more spirited…but I like that. Anyway, she doesn't want a relationship with me. She loves my friend."

Adam was confused. "Then, doesn't that solve your dilemma? If she doesn't return your feelings, then you must move on. It might be hard, but you have no other choice."

He shrugged. "I don't know, Adam," he whispered so softly that the prince had to strain and lean towards him to hear him. "It might be wishful thinking, but part of me believes she merely reacted that way because she felt like she was supposed to. I felt such chemistry when we kissed that I can't imagine her having not felt it, too. What I really want to do is pursue and woo her. I want to win her, like Ashlyn wants to do with you."

Adam stared at his uncle with a blank expression. "But what about your friend? Whether you win her or you don't, you're jeopardizing your relationship with him. Ashlyn's situation is not the same was yours. She isn't friends with Teela and I'm not dating her. So, you have to ask yourself if this slim chance that you can win her is worth losing your friend."

"It would be if I got her."

"I didn't ask that," the prince argued lightly. "Is this slim chance worth the loss of your friend regardless of the outcome? Because that's all you have: a slim chance. She has made her feelings known loud and clear when she slapped you, so it's likely your friend will find out that you're chasing after her and that won't be pleasant for you, I don't think."

Stefen contemplated his nephew's words and then sighed. "You know, you're very insightful, Adam, when the problem doesn't involve you directly."

"So, I've been told," he replied. "But, are you going to answer the question?"

King Stefen stared ahead of him for several moments before he finally said what was on his mind: "I don't want to lose my friend, but despite that I want to be closer to her. I want to be in her presence and become her friend. Who knows? Maybe she will grow to have feelings for me. It's possible. After all, my friend is…kind of snobbish and to my advantage, I know how to live a little. He doesn't…at least, not anymore."

Adam thought about his uncle's words for a moment and offered the acceptance the king so obviously wanted to hear. "Well, they aren't married and I assume no kids are involved, so maybe hanging out with her and seeing if anything develops is okay. She has every right to change her mind about who she wants to be with at this point."

Stefen immediately turned his head away from his nephew and thought, "If only you knew."

=)=)=)

Duncan stood with Teela in his workshop and tried to keep a calm demeanor for his daughter. But, the truth was he was in the same mental state she was and he actually wanted to express the emotion far more than she currently was:

Teela was pacing back and forth frantically and would stop every so often to look around the room before pacing again.

He knew what was bothering her without having to be told: Adam.

He couldn't speak for her, but he had multiple feelings towards the prince right now and none of them were good: first and foremost, he was almost overwhelmed with worry. Adam had already demonstrated that he left common sense at the door when he was with Ashlyn. The boy had climbed up a building that was falling apart and everyone had the audacity to act like they were surprised when Adam had almost killed himself when climbing down. He should have never been up there in the first place! Adam was supposed to be the voice of reason when he was with a group. He usually was, but now he was following this girl's every whim…and that led to the next emotion he felt: anger. He was angry that Adam had told Ashlyn his secret after everything they did everyday to conceal it! And, he was deeply annoyed that because of Ashlyn's influence, Adam had been willing to stay out all day and make most of the Guard search for him while he had a good old time as He-Man! He also hated the fact that Adam would allow himself to be put in this situation in the first place. The lad had always held a maturity that was far beyond his years and for Adam to pull back from that so suddenly, it disappointed and angered him…

And yet, maybe that was part of the problem. When this whole thing with Stefen started, Duncan had come to the sobering conclusion that Adam was utterly alone. Sure, the boy had his loved ones around him constantly, but they didn't know him. Not really.

And, yes, he knew Adam, but he was a father figure to the prince. He knew Adam found it difficult to tell him all of his inner thoughts, what was troubling him personally, and things like that. Not to mention, Adam surely couldn't cut lose and hang out like a normal twenty-year-old with him. So, what had Adam done when he realized what he was missing out on in life? He found people who would do these things with him. First, it had been King Stefen, but that had come to an abrupt end thanks to King Randor. Now, it was Ashlyn. He found himself wishing Adam had stuck with Stefen. After all, Stefen wouldn't have put him in life-threatening situations intentionally. Ashlyn seemed to get her kicks out of doing the wrong thing all the time. The girl drank, did drugs, and climbed up unstable buildings just for fun. That's all he knew about the girl, but it was enough.

And, unfortunately, Adam loved it. He could understand the appeal since he had been raised a prince, and therefore, Ashlyn's life had a freedom that his did not, but that did not make his actions excusable. Adam was rebelling right now, but it was about to cause him a lot of problems not only with him, but with his mother, his father, and Teela. He looked at his daughter who was still pacing and wondered how Adam was going to handle it all, much less everyone else.

=)=)=)

Her feet were killing her.

But she wouldn't tell her father.

Ever since Teela had become the Captain of the Guard, she wore these boots with her uniform. When she had first shown her father what she had intended her new uniform to be when she had been promoted captain, he had looked at it disapprovingly. She remembered his words like they were uttered yesterday:

"Don't you think you should wear shoes without a heel, my daughter? As captain, you will have many tasks that might keep you on your feet all day. And, I suppose I should go ahead and tell you, I recommended you to be Prince Adam's bodyguard. You're going to be mighty busy, so you need to choose your footwear wisely."

In her defense, most of the time, her boots didn't bother her. They only did today, because she had been out searching the city for the better part of the morning, and now she was pacing her father's workshop. Despite the pain she was causing herself, she couldn't stop, and she knew she wouldn't be able to until Adam was back safely in the palace. Supposedly, King Stefen had found Adam and was bringing him home, but she couldn't help but ask herself what condition he was in. After all, Adam had fallen off a building that very morning, and he was out with a person he had gotten drunk with before. Who knew what they might have done today!

And, if the prince was hurt or intoxicated, King Randor would have no one to blame but her. She had failed in her duty to stay at the prince's side today. Yes, Adam had run from her, but he wasn't the first charge to try to ditch a bodyguard. It happened all the time with others…but it had been so unexpected with Adam. Usually, he didn't run away unless danger was imminent, and everyone understood that she was busy at those times rushing into the danger, so they didn't expect her to keep tabs on him. After all, she would be handling the threat; therefore, Adam would be quite safe. That was usually considered a job well done.

Her actions today were anything but that. Besides failing to stay at Adam's side, she had also been insubordinate to her superior. She had yelled at Adam and embarrassed him in front of Ashlyn. She knew it was entirely possible Adam had run away with the floozy to save face in front of his subject.

"Nice job, Teela," she berated herself as she wiped away a small tear from the corner of her eye that had developed for some unknown reason."Why didn't you just fling him into her arms literally without all this hassle? That's precisely what you accomplished today, anyway."

She knew the answer to her question, but she didn't want to admit it to herself.

Oh, she could tell herself repeatedly with no problem that Ashlyn was only after the throne and that Adam would be an unsuspecting and unfortunate victim of that quest. She could even tell herself that's why she yelled and reminded Adam that he was forbidden to see Ashlyn. She had wanted to protect him! That was her job, after all!

And yet, she knew that wasn't quite accurate. Yes, she believed Ashlyn was nothing but trouble, but the truth was she simply didn't want Adam and Ashlyn together. It didn't matter if Adam had been forbidden from seeing her or if the girl was probably after him for his crown that he seldom wore. Those things didn't matter at all, really.

She couldn't voice why they didn't matter, even inside her head…but she knew the words. She felt them deeply. It was the same reason why she didn't literally throw Adam into Ashlyn's arms.

Teela quickly dismissed those thoughts from her mind. She didn't want to think about them right now. She didn't want to face them. As she turned to glance out the window to see what time of day it was, she noticed Micah had walked into the room.

"Man-at-Arms, Captain," he said as he saluted them both.

"Lieutenant," she greeted. "Do you have more news on Prince Adam?"

He nodded once and answered, "King Stefen radioed again to tell us that they would arrive shortly. I've already told King Randor the news and he asked me to tell you and Man-at-Arms to go to the throne room. He wants you both present when Adam arrives."

Her heart jumped into her throat. She knew Adam was going to get into trouble for his actions, and honestly, she didn't want to see it, because she knew she had a hand in it. She was the one who told the king what he had done. Yes, it was her duty and obligation…but he was her friend and she couldn't help but feel that she had ratted him out to his father. Would he forgive her for that, on top of forgiving her for embarrassing him? Or would the king's punishment and her involvement push them even farther apart?"

"And, into Ashlyn's arms again," she thought to herself as she grinded her teeth together.

As Micah walked away, Man-at-Arms slipped a comforting arm around her shoulders and led her to the throne room.

=)=)=)

I actually wanted to get further along than this and into Randor and Adam's "talk," but my dinner is ready and what I have above turned out longer than I had anticipated, so as usual, I'm posting as is. I'll get back to it soon. I hope everyone is still enjoying this story!