As always, thank you to everyone who reads and reviews~ you are appreciated! Today (April 14th) it has been 3 years since my husband, Paul, passed away... exactly one week after our 20th wedding anniversary. This chapter is dedicated to him; I know we'll see each other again in heaven some day. Enjoy...

"How is Teela?" Man-At-Arms heard his wife ask him the moment he stepped into the throne room of Castle Grayskull.

"Resting," he replied, wiping a hand over his face tiredly. "Gerald gave her some fluids intravenously and he's going to keep her in the infirmary at least overnight to monitor her and the baby, but otherwise she and the child are both fine."

The Sorceress breathed a sigh of relief and moved into her husband's arms. "Thank the Elders," she said softly. "I've been so worried."

Duncan nodded and kissed her lightly. "Why didn't you just look in on her yourself?" he asked in confusion as he glanced towards the mirror she used to monitor Eternia.

"I was occupied with watching Skeletor until just before you arrived," she told him. "He and his minions are gathering at the edge of the vine jungle and I'm trying to figure out what they're up to. They made camp for the night and have settled in to sleep so I felt it was safe to stop watching for now. I'm worried he may have discovered another hidden artifact to try to use against the defenses of the castle."

Duncan sighed heavily. "Let's hope not," he said shaking his head.

"Let's," she agreed and began to lead him towards her private living quarters. "Did you sit with Teela all day today?"

"No," he replied. "After Gerald assured us all she and the baby would be fine, I spent the rest of the morning helping Randor and Marlena field questions from the nobility since news of her collapse had spread like wildfire through the palace. After lunch I checked in on Teela and Adam and then I had to speak with Thraen, the new captain of the royal guard, about some issues I've noticed that need to be handled. After that meeting, I went back to work on a new invention that I am hoping will improve the palace defenses; so far it looks very promising. Then towards the end of the day Garian wanted to speak with me about an idea he and Orko have come up with to try and better protect the palace from being spied on by our enemies magically or electronically. I told them that whatever they want to do, they have to make it possible for the Guardian of Grayskull to be able to look in on what's happening there."

"I'm glad you thought of that," she told him. She closed her eyes for a moment when they reached her suite and in a flash of light she was changed into a long, silky gown with a matching robe and Man-At-Arms' armor had disappeared and he was wearing a comfortable pair of dark blue lounge pants and a matching sleeveless tunic. Taking a seat on the sofa, she held her hand out to her husband and smiled when he sat beside her and pulled her close.

They sat together in silence for a while, just relishing the opportunity to be together without the clamor of duty and obligation.

"How are Teela's lessons with Garian coming along?" Teela'Na finally asked quietly. "I have avoided looking in on her during her training because I don't want to interfere and I'm afraid that if I don't like what I see I may be tempted to intervene."

Duncan chuckled softly at this and kissed the top of her head. "She is coming along quite well, actually," he told her. "She has a tendency to lose her temper and destroy everything in the room, but she is learning to control that."

"I was like her when I was young, too," she told him. "It took me many years of being Grayskull's guardian to learn patience and control."

"I told Garian I believe a lot of her anger may be hormonal at this point because of the pregnancy," Duncan told her. "He said that she has learned to tap into the power from Adam and is becoming extraordinarily powerful as a result. When she does focus her power, she is quite a force to be reckoned with. She doesn't destroy things when she's angry accidentally; she knows exactly what she's doing and she does it well."

"Oh dear," Teela'Na said with wide eyes. "I hope that she at least confines it to things that won't be missed terribly if they are destroyed."

"I cleared out their training room of anything of value," Duncan answered wryly. "If Garian needs anything extra with him, he puts a protective spell on it to keep her from being able to destroy it and he makes her restore or re-create the items she destroys in the room now."

Teela'Na bit her lip and then started chuckling. "Oh dear," she laughed.

Duncan grinned down at her and then sighed. "The biggest worry now is that Adam is concerned that she may try to fight Skeletor and his crew if they attack the palace again. He's told her he wants her to stay out of it and remain hidden, but she has trained her whole life to be a soldier and it's hard for her to sit on the sidelines while others fight."

"She knows that she would be endangering her child if she tried to fight," Teela'Na said worriedly. "I hope that she wouldn't do that."

"I think that has been the only thing keeping her out of it so far," Duncan agreed. "But if she felt someone was in danger and she knew she could help, especially Adam, she may not take that into consideration."

Teela'Na sighed and nodded, snuggling closer to him.

"Are you tired?" Duncan asked her softly.

"Not really," she answered. Smiling, she moved so that she could more easily reach his mouth and drew him to her for a long, loving kiss. When they broke apart, she looked into his eyes and gave him a seductive grin before standing and taking his hand, pulling him to a standing position and leading him to the bedroom.

Duncan grinned at her and pulled her back into his arms the minute they were in the bedroom standing beside the bed and kissed her again. He trailed kisses down the side of her neck, sweeping her long red hair out of the way so he had better access to the creamy expanse of her neck even as he undid the sash of her robe and pushed it off of her.

Teela'Na sighed softly and ran her fingers through his hair as he kissed her neck and she smiled when he pushed the bathrobe off of her. She began pushing the tunic he wore up and pulled it over his head so that she had access to the muscular expanse of his chest.

Duncan pulled back to look into his wife's eyes and he smiled tenderly at her. "Do you have any idea how much I love you?" he asked as he gazed amorously into her eyes.

"At least as much as I love you," she replied with a tender smile of her own. "Make love to me," she breathed against his lips.

Duncan pulled her lips to his and lifted her into his arms before placing her on the bed and doing as she asked.

Later, as they lay cuddled together both sated and happy, Duncan kissed her forehead. "What was your life like before you became the Sorceress?" he asked quietly. "In all the years I've known you, you've never spoken of it."

Teela'Na sighed softly. "I was a simple village girl," she told him. "Our village of Noella was quiet and peaceful and we were happy. My father was the village blacksmith and my mother was beautiful and quiet and I had two older siblings; a brother and a sister. My parents had me late in life so by the time I was born my brother and sister were already grown and married."

"So you grew up as an only child?" he asked.

"More or less," she sighed. "My parents were older and my mother died when I was only fourteen. My father died a year later so my brother and his wife took me in. Our village was attacked by an evil sorcerer who had brought an invading alien force to take us all captive. They were a Horde scouting party and I'm sure they would have taken us all as slaves before bringing more troops to invade Eternia."

"Ancients," Duncan breathed. "I thought the first time the Horde invaded was when Hordak attacked and King Randor's forces and I defeated them."

Teela'Na shook her head slightly. "No… but that was the first time since the scouting party that attacked my village that the Horde had come back to Eternia," she told him. "With the help of an old man in our village, who was being held prisoner with the rest of us, I learned about a castle that would appear to those in need and I managed to escape. When I finally found the castle, the previous Guardian met me and she told me that I could have all the power I needed to help my village, but that in exchange I would have to give up the life I had known and take her place. She had been the Guardian for a long time… though I don't know for sure how long that actually was. I accepted the terms and entered the pool. When the castle accepted me, I was transformed into Zoar and became the Sorceress… I went back to my village and defeated the invaders and sent the evil sorcerer back to his prison zone and I have been the Guardian ever since."

"How long between the time your brother took you in and the time you became the Sorceress?" Duncan asked her, hugging her closer.

"Just over a year," she told him. "I was still sixteen when I came to Grayskull."

"So young," Duncan murmured.

"Hmm," she agreed with a small nod. "The first few years weren't too bad though," she told him. "I was learning to use my powers and I did a lot of studying in the library. I watched my siblings and their children, but I had to sever all contact with them because they could not know that I was the Sorceress of Grayskull and I had no way of explaining to them why I had suddenly disappeared."

"That had to be hard for you," Duncan said sympathetically. "To leave everyone you knew and loved to live all alone here in the castle."

"It was," she said quietly. "But I learned to be content because I knew that it was my choice that had saved them from a life of slavery to the Horde. I still look in on my great-nieces and nephews from time to time."

"Your great nieces and nephews," Duncan exclaimed in surprise. "How…" he trailed off, not wanting to ask her how old she actually was.

Teela'Na smiled. "I am much older than you think," she chuckled. "The magic of Grayskull has kept me young, but I have lived longer than you would have guessed."

"Well, it doesn't matter to me how old you are," he said kissing her forehead. "You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen and I love you more than life."

She hugged him tight and kissed his chest. "I love you, too."

They just lay there holding one another until sleep finally claimed them and Duncan awoke early the next morning to discover he was alone in the bed. Rising and taking the time to make the bed, he went through his morning routine of using the latrine, showering and shaving before he dressed for the day and put on his armor. Then he made his way out to the throne room and found his wife standing before the mirror she used to watch the outside world with a frown of concern on her face.

"What is it?" he asked as he moved to stand behind her.

"Skeletor has discovered a portal just inside the vine jungle," she told him. "Even he does not know where it leads, but he is preparing to explore it to find out."

"Should I take He-Man and go stop him?" he asked, his brows knitting in concern.

"I don't believe so," she told him. "I will contact one of you if that changes. Breakfast is in the kitchen whenever you're ready to eat."

Duncan kissed her cheek in thanks. "Did you eat?"

"Yes," she replied absently as she continued to watch Skeletor and his minions on the viewscreen.

Duncan smiled slightly as he made his way to the kitchen and hurriedly ate his breakfast before heading back to the throne room to kiss his wife goodbye. "Any change?" he asked.

"No," Teela'Na replied with a slight shake of her head. "I did take a moment to look in on Teela though; she's still sleeping and Gerald has given orders that she be allowed to rest for as long as she needs to this morning and then she's to be given more intravenous fluids before he decides whether or not to release her this afternoon. She and the baby are still doing well."

"Good," Duncan replied, pulling her to him for a kiss. "I need to head back to the palace; contact me if something needs to be done about Skeletor and I'll let Adam know. Otherwise, I'll see you tonight."

Teela'Na agreed and watched him walk out of the throne room before turning her attention back to the viewscreen.