Okay, so I'm horrible and haven't updated in a while. I'm sorry. Some of you PMed and asked me to update this story, so here it is, especially to you navywife2! Congrats on the baby, and I'm so glad that everyone is doing well. This isn't a long chapter, but I hope it will suffice. I've been insanely busy with work and some classes I'm taking, so my brain and inspiration have been all over the place recently. Regardless, I love writing this story, so I'm hoping this short chapter will tie everyone over until I have more time to write, which is very soon! (My spring break starts Friday! Woot! LOL.)

Teela's Visitor Chapter 55

Adam extended his arm to his wife and she immediately took it as they followed Man-at-Arms from his bedchambers. He couldn't help but stare at Teela every so often as they walked.

The truth was he was a little worried.

He could tell that Teela was nervous about being a mother—he would admit to himself that he had known that to be the case for quite some time, even before A.J.'s conception—but he also knew there was nothing he could do about it. After all, even if he decided out of the blue to tell Teela that the Sorceress was her mother, would that really solve anything? It was possible it could make things worse for his wife. It certainly would strain the relationship he had with the Sorceress if he revealed her secret before she was ready.

He sighed a little. "Secrets," he thought to himself with a shake of his head. "They can certainly lead to heartache and pain." He knew that better than anyone and in that moment, he wanted nothing more than to run to Castle Grayskull and insist that the Sorceress tell her the truth about her parentage. At least Teela would then learn that her mother really had cared for her all these years. She would know that her mother had watched her grow up literally; she would know that her mother had been a constant presence in her life; she would know her mother had never missed an occasion, never missed a birthday and had sent her presents…

He smiled a little as he remembered Teela recounting her old belief that the Sorceress was a goddess-like figure that bestowed presents on everyone. He knew the Sorceress was lucky—very lucky—that her daughter hadn't pressed too hard on the fact of why she was so special. The fact that she believed it was because she would one day help He-Man to protect the castle…It almost broke his heart, because he knew Teela couldn't be the only one in pain here.

"Are you all right?"

The voice interrupted his reverie and he saw his wife staring at him with concerned eyes. Man-at-Arms adorned a similar expression. It was then that he noticed they were in front of the throne room doors and they were about to make their appearance in court before his father's big announcement.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, knowing that he needed to be thinking more positively so his mood would fit the occasion. After all, he was about to become an engaged man to the masses. "Yes, I'm fine!"

She squeezed his hand and asked, "Are you sure?" When he simply nodded, she frowned and whispered, "Adam, I promise I'm all right about A.J. I love our son already and I will never regret conceiving him. You know that, right?"

He looked down for a moment and chastised himself. Now he knew he was making her worry that he was questioning the love she had for their child. He looked up to see her opened lips and widened eyes. He nodded at her and spoke with all the sincerity he could muster. "Of course I know that, Teela. I never doubted. I realize I was a little lost in my head a moment ago, but I assure you I wasn't thinking about our earlier discussion. To tell the truth, I was thinking about the Sorceress and other things related to Castle Grayskull."

She lifted a brow and questioned, "Now? Of all times?"

He chuckled, because now he realized how odd that sounded. He let out a couple of puffs of air and mumbled, "What can I say? I am Eternia's Champion. My head is all over the place most of the time, and trust me, I've learned over the years as He-Man that usually all these things going on in my life are connected, so it's good that I'm so scatterbrained." He flashed her his quirkiest smile.

As suspected, she gave him that laugh he only heard when he was up to his usual antics to make himself appear carefree or fatuous.

=)=)=)

To give the appearance that it was going to be a normal afternoon court session, Prince Adam and Teela simply followed Duncan into the throne room after he opened the door. Because their relationship was still so new, they received a bit more of attention than they usually had in the past. Everyone seemed to turn towards them in one large mass to greet them by nodding, waving, or mumbling incoherently.

When they made their way to the throne, the mumbling increased and Adam knew they were now being gossiped about. He wondered if the maids' news had already spread throughout the kingdom. They knew the suite across from his parents' rooms was being prepared, so they might be able to guess their big announcement before the king even uttered a syllable.

Once they were standing in their normal spots, King Randor addressed the court. As usual, his father didn't start with the big news. He wanted to get business out of the way first, and Adam understood why: once everyone knew about their supposed engagement, it would be nearly impossible to get the king's ear about anything else, so he wasn't hurt about it all. Besides, it gave him and Teela a moment to get used to the current atmosphere. He couldn't quite place why, but he could tell something wasn't quite right. The room was filled with the same people it always was. There were no unusual visiting diplomats that threw everyone's equilibrium off. He looked around very carefully to make sure he spotted no signs of Skeletor or any other signs of danger. When he was sure nothing was evident, he told himself he was being silly, turned to Teela, and whispered, "Ready to get this over with?"

She nodded hurriedly. "Yes."

He smiled softly and asked, "Why is that? Feeling the need to stake your claim…"

Before he could finish the tease, he was interrupted by Roldan, his father's head chancellor of the court. He was the one who handled the things that weren't brought to his father's attention or the things the king simply did not wish to handle. "Is it true?" he asked in a disbelieving tone. His right brow was arched so high it almost reached where his hairline should have been if he had not been balding.

Taken aback by the abruptness of the question, Adam merely questioned, "Is what true?"

He pressed his lips together firmly and released a lot of air from his nose. Roldan then gestured his head towards Teela slightly. "You two. I know the king announced your courtship recently, so why am I already hearing about an engagement and your suite being cleaned out?"

Adam stared at him for a moment and then shook the stupor from his mind. "I'm sorry, Chancellor, I'm confused. I'm not sure why you're approaching me about this whether it is or isn't true. Also, I'm surprised that you sound a little upset by the news."

Roldan crossed his arms and exclaimed as softly as he could, "Of course I'm upset, Prince Adam! You know as well as I do that the Royal Family has an image to uphold, not to mention my duties have been interrupted all day having to address this nonsense. I simply wanted to confirm that it isn't true, so I can ask the king to make an official announcement to stop all of the madness circulating throughout the kingdom. It's already made its way onto the streets of Eternos."

Adam glanced at Teela and she was looking right back at him with a lifted brow. "Uh, I wouldn't advise that," he whispered even softer.

Roldan ceased all movement and asked, "Why?"

Adam closed his eyes for a moment, debating with himself, and then replied, "My father has an important announcement to make soon, so you should wait on that."

Roldan's jaw immediately dropped. He looked back and forth between the prince and Teela several times before he turned to the throne and called out, interrupting the proceedings, "Your Majesty, may I approach you? I need to discuss a matter of upmost importance with you."

"Yes, Chancellor. You may ascend the throne," King Randor answered with a wrinkled forehead. Adam could tell his father was just as confused as he had been. Usually, Roldan stayed quiet and never interrupted while the king ran things.

As Roldan moved to his parents and his father stood up, Teela grabbed his arm and hissed, "Adam, why would he be upset about our engagement?"

He sought to reassure her. "I don't think he's upset about our engagement, per se. I think it's more of a case that he's thinking it's a lie, so he wants to do damage control. Roldan is in charge of handling how things appear to the masses on the political front, among other things. I'm sure when he learns that it's true, he'll be okay with it, not that we need his approval, of course."

He watched with interest as the chancellor and king began to speak spiritedly with one another and move their hands frantically every so often. Then, with a shocked expression, Roldan spun and looked at Teela before the king grabbed him to make the chancellor face him again.

"Okay," Adam said, watching this for a moment more, "maybe there is something else going on, here."

Teela slipped her fingers through his and he tightened his hold on her. He smiled and shrugged. "Regardless, it's not going to change anything. You're my wife."

Teela bit her lip for several seconds before muttering, "Yeah, but I don't want to be the cause of any problems."

Quickly, Adam looked at her and reassured her, "You won't be. I'm sure he's just perturbed about the fact that he didn't know ahead of time."

She nodded as Orko floated over to Adam. The Trollan had his eyes glued to the throne, so he literally floated right into the prince's head.

"Orko!" Adam complained softly.

He snapped his attention to Adam and exclaimed, "Oh, gosh! Sorry, Adam! I wasn't paying attention!"

The jester looked back at the throne and Adam remembered that Orko had incredible hearing, so he could hear what was being said. "Is there something going on that I should know about?" he asked.

Orko glanced at Teela hesitantly before he floated to Adam's ear and whispered, "Get her out of here, Adam."

He widened his eyes immediately and without hesitation turned to Man-at-Arms. "Take Teela to my bedchambers and stay with her!"

"What?!" Teela and Duncan asked simultaneously, clearly confused.

At that same moment, the king pointed at Adam and gestured for him to join their conversation. He whipped his head towards Duncan and ordered, "Just do it, okay! I'll be there soon to let you know what's going on!"

Without any more words, Man-at-Arms grabbed Teela and pulled her from the throne room. She complained the entire way, but Adam didn't pay attention. Already, as he ascended the throne, his mind was coming up with forty million reasons why his father would want to speak with him currently and why Orko would want him to make Teela leave the room. He knew regardless of the answer, he wouldn't like it.

=)=)=)

Yes, I know. Extremely short chapter, but I wanted to get it out! I'm actually rather excited about what happens next, but I don't have time to write it just yet. But like I said earlier, I will soon! Let me know what you think, if you're so inclined!