Cost of a Crown (Book 3)
Two Heirs
Chapter One: Both Alike, But Different
Nobody stopped her when she collected all of Skeletor's bones from the site of his final defeat. In fact, He-Man looked on, watching Evil-Lyn for a moment with an expression of sympathy, almost pity. Seeing her claw through kicked up dirt or shards of broken rock, tears trickling from her eyes, as she searched for Skeletor's remains.
Until Beastman came up to her and placed a paw on her shoulder. He knelt down next to her, but from the angle, He-Man couldn't see if he was trying to console her, or also helping her look for his bones.
For one inexplicable moment, He-Man felt the compelling need to console them. Not for the death of Skeletor, that he would not apologize for and, in fact, if the evil sorcerer were resurrected, He-Man would not hesitate to destroy him again. But for their pain. As evil as Skeletor's minions were, as many crimes as they committed against Eternia, they were still people and Skeletor was… one of them. He-Man was Eternia's defender, but he was not without empathy. Even empathy for the most undeserving.
Then Teela took his hand, and he turned from what remained of Skeletor's loyal followers.
"It's over. Adam." She told him. "Let's go home."
With a nod, He-Man allowed her to lead him away.
He did not see Evil-Lyn succeed in collecting all of Skeletor's bones. Even the very tiny ones. The patellae of the knees, all the broken fragments of his skull after He-Man smashed it in, even the tiny bones of the inner ear that one needed a magnifier to fine among the rubble.
He also didn't see her carry Skeletor's bones from the field of battle.
It didn't matter. Nothing came of it.
…
She brought them to Anwat Gar, to the Cave of Saryn. Where Keldor's mother had died so many decades ago. To the cursed pool of her blood that would never dry, the stain of Miro's betrayal never erased. It was in this pool of his mother's blood that Evil-Lyn had brought Keldor all those years ago when his face was injured in battle and he was dying. She bathed him in the viscous fluid, washing his wounds in his mother's blood and created Skeletor.
If the power of the pool could save him once, then it could save him again. She was sure of it!
Evil-Lyn had collected every last fragment of his remains. Even the tiniest of bone shards or burned flesh. She laid his remains in the pool of his mother's blood.
And waited.
When nothing happened, she waited longer.
When nothing continued to happen, Beastman came up to her again.
"It'll work!" She insisted. "We just have to be patient. It worked before!"
"He was still mostly alive before." Beastman reminded her.
"And it didn't really work before anyway." Trap Jaw added, coming into the cave to see what was taking so long. "When Skeletor emerged from that cursed pool the first time, whatever was left of Keldor stayed there."
"You're wrong!" She insisted.
Both Trap Jaw and Beastman exchanged a look. They were not wrong, and they both knew that she knew it. The Skeletor that they spent the past twenty years serving was not the same man as Keldor, the deposed Prince they pledged their loyalties to and wished to one day see on the throne. They might have once inhabited the same body, but Skeletor and Keldor were not the same person.
Did Evil-Lyn even know which one she was trying to revive?
She loved Keldor. She was his Princess, and if he had ever become King, she would have been his Queen. She was the mother of his son. And for the shortest of times, they were a happy family.
Then he was injured in battle and became Skeletor, and the change in him frightened Princess Evelyn so much that she feared for her child's safety. While Skeletor was distracted, she spirited the baby away from their camp and gave him to Mighty Spector, a time traveler who promised to return her son to her at a time when Skeletor would no longer be a threat.
Well.
Skeletor was no longer a threat.
"Let's go home." Beastman suggested.
"Just a bit longer." Evil-Lyn insisted. "It'll work. It has to work!"
They all looked back at the pool of blood. But its surface remained placid and still. Not a ripple to betray something moving beneath. No body rose from it.
Skeletor was gone.
Keldor was long gone.
No version of either of them was coming back.
Finally, Beastman just picked Evil-Lyn up and threw her over his shoulder. Carrying her out of the cave since she refused to leave under her own power.
"Stop! Put me down! I have to wait for him! He's going to come back!" She protested, kicking against Beastman's chest. "There won't be anyone here when he's revived. He'll be all alone!"
"He's not coming back." Trap Jaw told her.
Together, the two of them juggled Evil-Lyn, who did not stop struggling until their vehicle was already over the ocean. Crossing the Gnarl Sea on their way back to the Dark Hemisphere and Snake Mountain.
Skeletor was gone. His bones laid to rest with his mother's. A lack-luster funeral for one of the most infamous names on all of Eternia.
…
Evil-Lyn was listless for days after.
Tri-Klops would hear her steps just wandering the corridors of Snake Mountain, sometimes stopping at the lookout in the snake's jaw to watch for Skeletor's return.
Trap Jaw would see her in the throne room, looking up at the empty throne as if confused as to why he wasn't sitting in it.
She was in denial. Convinced that he could come back. That he would emerge from that cursed pool of his mother's blood and find his way back to their seat of power and reprimand all of them for not remaining with him until his resurrection was completed.
As the days dragged on into a week, and then a second week, Evil-Lyn's denial gave way to rage.
Why wasn't Skeletor returning to them? Why wasn't Skeletor returning to her? What had He-Man done to him in that battle, that rendered the already mostly undead sorcerer completely dead? How dare he! How dare He-Man take Skeletor from her!
It wasn't fair!
It wasn't fair that she had to lose him twice!
And then He-Man just went off back to Eternos, happy as he pleased. Turned out he was Prince Adam all along, and he married his plucky sidekick and became King. The absolute nerve! How dare He-Man, or King Adam as he was now called, have the nerve to be happy when Evil-Lyn was suffering!
But she would show him! She would get her revenge!
All of Skeletor's best plans were her own ideas anyway. She would continue what Skeletor started. The complete ruin of the House of Miro, the House of Randor, and now the House of Adam! She would destroy them all! For what they did to Keldor. For what they did to Skeletor. For what they did to her!
Over the course of many schemes, her motivation changed from blind rage to an odd kind of bargaining. Maybe if she made Adam suffer as much as she suffered, then Skeletor -or maybe even Keldor!- would come back! Maybe if she could capture King Adam, she could exchange his life for Skeletor's life.
Maybe if-
But, as with before, they never could defeat He-Man, or King Adam and Evil-Lyn's bargaining gave way to a depression that seemed to settle over all of Snake Mountain. Even the lava flows seemed subdued.
Evil-Lyn took to staying up late, sleeping in, and taking long naps during the day. She forgot to eat sometimes and had to be reminded by Beastman (who also found himself having to bring her food in her room and make sure she ate).
Everyone was a little listless.
Trap Jaw took to spending a lot of his time away from Snake Mountain. In the Burning Sands marauding the gas miners, or sailing between the Dark Continent and Anwat Gar. From one of those trips, he brought back a Gar woman with him and introduced her to everyone at Snake Mountain. (Evil-Lyn immediately forgot her name.) But he seemed to be moving on from Skeletor.
Everyone else seemed to be moving on.
Tri-Klops went back to the Science Tower he used to protect and became its master. Spending much of his time developing better communications devices, data sharing applications, and -of course- improving his own prosthetic vision aids.
Mer-Man went back to the Sea of Rakash to rule over his own people.
Waspus went back to the Mystic Mountains to live as a hermit since his original Queen and hive were both long gone.
Everyone else seemed to have accepted Skeletor was gone, and they were getting on with their lives.
And Evil-Lyn didn't even blame them. Not really. Some afternoons when she would first wake up to start her day, she wished she could share some of their acceptance. She wanted to move on too. She just… didn't have the motivation. Evil-Lyn had been living for Skeletor and the memory of Keldor for so long that she didn't know how to do anything else anymore.
It was approaching a year since Skeletor's final defeat.
Then one morning -evening, it was actually evening, but Evil-Lyn was now calling any time she woke up 'morning'- then one evening Mighty Spector appeared.
He just materialized in the middle of the throne room, with no sound and only the slightest of flashes of light to announce him.
Beastman noticed him first.
He also noticed that Mighty Specter was carrying a bundle in his arms. A swaddled blanket wrapped around a tiny squirming body. One arm pulling itself free of the swaddling to flail aimlessly and register his displeasure about the journey they'd just taken. One tiny, slightly pudgy, baby arm that was covered in jewel-blue skin. When Beastman sniffed the air, he recognized the bundle's scent.
It was the baby. Keldor and Evelyn's baby. The one they had just before he became Skeletor.
"As promised, I'm here to return Princess Evelyn's son to her." Announced Mighty Specter, sounding a bit like he could not get the baby out of his arms fast enough. Even as an infant, Keldor's son was a stubborn and misbehaving mess. "At a time when Skeletor is no longer a danger to him."
Skeletor was no longer a danger. For real. Mighty Spector's reappearance with the baby confirmed it.
Skeletor was not coming back.
Beastman didn't know if he was relived or disappointed by that news. He was always Skeletor's most loyal servant. But it wasn't Skeletor he was loyal to, not really. It was the memory of Keldor that he remained faithful to. Keldor was the King that he chose. The King he wanted. But Skeletor was not Keldor. Keldor had been gone for years.
But Keldor's son and heir was now returned to them. A Prince, and heir to the kingdom that should have been his father's.
Beastman didn't know how to describe the feeling that climbed up into his throat.
When he finally managed to speak, it came out as more of a tight croak. "It's been so long, Evil-Lyn won't believe he's hers unless you are the one to place him in her arms."
Mighty Spector nodded, understanding, and allowed Beastman to lead him through the corridors of Snake Mountain.
Evil-Lyn was not in bed, but she was still in her pajamas. Standing in the kitchen of Snake Mountain, eating chocolate and hazelnut spread directly out of the jar and not caring that some of it dripped on her clothes. Stopped caring about her appearance long ago. She had stopped sheering her hair short in the past year, and it hung around her face in a messy white mop.
Evil-Lyn looked up when Beastman entered, seeing only his massive bulk in the doorway and nothing behind him.
"Oh, was this yours? I thought you couldn't eat chocolate." She held the jar of spread out to him.
Chocolate was something that could cause a lot of problems for members of the Beastmen race, starting with severe stomach cramps and ending in possible death. Beastman did not accept the offered jar of chocolate spread.
"Mighty Spector is here." Beastman announced instead.
For half a second, it looked like Evil-Lyn didn't understand. She just stared at him. Then she remembered the last time she saw Mighty Spector and her eyes went wide. "Do not play with me, Raqquill! I will end you!"
In answer, all Beastman did was step aside to reveal Mighty Spector behind him.
And held in Mighty Spector's arms was a blue-skinned baby struggling to get out of his swaddling.
Evil-Lyn let out a gasp that was little more than a squeak, her hand flying to her mouth in surprise. She honestly never expected to see her baby again. It had been over twenty years. He should be a grown man by now. But he didn't grow into this time naturally. He was brought here by a time traveling warrior and remained an infant.
So that she could raise him at a time when he would be safe from Skeletor. That was the promise Mighty Spector made to her. Evil-Lyn had all but given up on him ever making good on his promise and ever seeing her baby again. She was old enough to be his grandmother now.
The jar of chocolate and hazelnut spread slipped from her hand as she crossed the small kitchen space to get to Mighty Spector, shoving Beastman (whom was twice her size) to the side as she moved. "Let me see him!"
Mighty Spector passed the baby to her, and Evil-Lyn held her child for the first time in over twenty years.
She cooed at him, and readjusted the swaddling.
Opening the blanket, Evil-Lyn examined her child. Inspecting him to make sure the baby was being returned to her in exactly the same condition he was in when she handed him off to Mighty Spector. If the mysterious time traveler had harmed even one of the tiny hairs on her son's still mostly baled head, she would kill him. She already lost the boy's father -twice- she was not to be trifled with when it came to the wellbeing of her son. When she was satisfied that her baby was, indeed, as healthy as the day she entrusted him to Mighty Specter, she rewrapped the swaddling blanket and hugged him to her.
Seeing that his work here was done, Mighty Spector moved to leave.
Beastman stopped him for a moment. "Do we owe you anything for this?"
"That's the thing about time travel." Specter informed him. "I've already received the payment I'm going to get from doing this."
Beastman was not exactly the smartest of Skeletor's minions and he didn't fully understand what Mighty Spector was trying to tell him. But he did assume, "We'll be seeing you again?"
"Probably." Spector admitted. He glanced around the kitchen, looking for a calendar on the walls. But there was none. That was fine. He knew what date it was. "In about eighteen years, give or take."
He did not elaborate on that statement. There was another muted flash of light, and Mighty Spector was gone.
Beastman looked back at Evil-Lyn. Rocking her child and cooing at him softly. She looked happier than he'd seen her all year. In fact, she looked happier than Beastman had seen her in twenty years. He turned to leave as well, and give Evil-Lyn some time along to re-bond with her baby.
But he paused in the doorway when she spoke.
"My son will be the King that Keldor should have been." She announced.
Crossing his arms, Beastman did not know how to remind her that they lost to He-Man. They were not in a position to conquer Eternia and place the King they wanted on the throne.
"We still retain control of the Dark Hemisphere." She continued, talking more to herself, or perhaps the baby. Not actually speaking to Beastman. "It'll take time. We'll need to build up our power again, and my son will have to grow up a bit before he can take the throne. I can act as his regent until then. But my son will have everything his father ever wanted for him!"
…
After the defeat of Skeletor, Adam succeeded his father as King of Eternia. He married Teela, his former Captain of the Guard, who had taken over the role and responsibilities of Sorceress of Castle Grayskull.
As King, Adam's first act was to move the capital from Eternos to Castle Grayskull so that he could continue to rule Eternia and still be with the woman he loved. Together they worked on repairing the damage done by the decades long war between Skeletor and He-Man.
Teela remained at Castle Grayskull balancing the magical forces of the planet that were thrown off by Skeletor's evil. Using the access to the well-spring of power at the planet's core hidden under Castle Grayskull. While Adam traveled the planet, cleaning up any last remnants of the evil faction, or even just independent villains like Count Marzo that refused to concede that he had lost.
Adam defeated Marzo all over again, this time trapping the evil sorcerer inside his own Amulet of Avarice. He did not return home from that fight empty handed.
It was a year after the final defeat of Skeletor, when King Adam and Queen Teela formally introduced their son, Dare, to the public and the infant was instantly beloved by the people.
Prince Dare grew up within the walls of Castle Grayskull. Surrounded by the ancient lore of Eternia, he became a fan of the older stories of previous heroes and champions who carried the Power Sword. Heroes besides his dorky old dad. He-Ro was a particular favorite of his and Dare liked to play as him when he would play Masters and Monsters with his toys.
Adam did make sure to teach his son the importance of diplomacy and trying to work out problems before things escalated to violence. Sure it was fun to play fight with your toys, but most real people were not made of plastic or stuffed with polyfibers.
While Adam made sure his son understood the value of peaceful solutions over hostile ones, the Masters made sure their Prince could defend himself if peaceful measures failed. Dare was trained in axe, shield, mace, long spear, and -of course- sword.
But for the most part, Prince Dare lived a sheltered life. He never saw any active combat in his young life, and he certainly was never exposed to any real mortal danger.
In fact, he was already into his late teens and approaching his coming of age day when Dare even caught an inkling that the whole of Eternia might not be as peaceful and harmonious as his life in the capital lead him to believe.
"I can't believe you're not worried about Skeletor's son coming into his power!"
Dare was just walking down a corridor when he overheard Clamp Champ's raised voice. The words colored with tension and accompanied by the distinctive THUNK that implied a fist hitting a table.
Curious, Dare rarely ever saw the Masters argue openly with his father, he crept closer to listen in. Dare had heard of Skeletor. His father's greatest enemy. One of the most evil villains to ever threaten Eternia. Possibly even worse than King Hiss or Hordak (although, that was debated). Dare didn't know Skeletor had a son.
"I didn't say I wasn't worried." King Adam corrected; his voice was also raised in frustration. Apparently, this conversation had already been going on long enough for tempers to rise before Dare blundered upon it. "I said I wanted to wait and see. Skeletor's son is just that: his son. Not Skeletor himself. There is no reason to assume that he'll be anything like Skeletor once he comes of age and takes control of the Dark Hemisphere."
Inching his way around the door, which was cracked open, allowing him to hear the conversation in the first place, Dare peaked through the opening. Inside, his father King Adam, Clamp Champ, his mother Queen Teela, and Orko stood (or hovered in Orko's case) around a hologram of Eternia. The projection was split almost perfectly in half divided along a vertical meridian that followed the remains of the old Mystic Wall which was torn down long before Dare's time. The Dark Hemisphere marked in red, one pulsing dot showing where Snake Mountain was, and dark-capital city of Droom which had sprung up around it within the past two decades.
They looked almost like they were preparing for an attack. …or planning an attack. Dare didn't know which possibility concerned him more.
Clamp Champ turned his attention to Teela instead, appealing to the Queen to please talk some sense into the King. "You're the Sorceress, that's gotta come with some kind of foresight or clairvoyance. Haven't you had any visions about this?"
Dare hand to angle his body as he peered through the crack to get a clearer view of his mother. Queen Teela was always more hot-headed and excitable than Adam, and this time was no different. She also looked frustrated and angry with this conversation. But when she answered it was to say, "Visions are given to me by the power sealed in this castle, and it's up to the castle to decide when it wants to bestow them on me. I can't just call up spoilers for the future when I feel like it. That being said, the warnings I've gotten have not been about Skeletor's teenaged heir."
"What have they been about." Orko asked Teela.
But his question went unanswered as King Adam spoke again. "Look, Evil-Lyn has been ruling the Dark Hemisphere as his regent these past eighteen years, and -not counting a few revenge attempts shortly after Skeletor's defeat- hasn't bothered us at all. Things have actually been almost peaceful. There is no reason to assume that things will change once the heir takes his throne. I believe their better nature will win out in the end."
There was a brief pause as everyone in the room just stared at Adam. As if he were the dumbest person on all Eternia.
"Their better nature?" All three of them, Clamp Champ, Teela, even Orko all echoed in disbelief.
"You actually think people who chose Skeletor have a 'better nature'?" Teela demanded, sounding every bit the hot-headed Captain of the Guard she used to be. Being the Sorceress did bring her more wisdom, and age had softened out her courser edges, but Teela was still Teela. She was opinionated and not shy about sharing her opinions. …or calling Adam out on his naivety or stupidity.
"Yes." Adam insisted with a nod. "I do. Because I have seen how they legitimately care about each other. I have seen how they grieve when one of them is struck down. You were there, you saw Evil-Lyn clawing in the dirt to collect Skeletor's bones. She loved him. And anyone who's capable of love is not completely evil."
"Ugh." Was all Teela had to say to that. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against a wall, a signal that she was exiting this conversation. Adam had decided that his version of reality true and was not going to listen to anything anyone else had to say to the contrary.
"Okay, fine, you're skeptical of that reasoning. I get that." Adam continued. "Fine. We'll take 'love' out of the argument. How about this, to spite the fact that they are our enemies, they do share some of our same values. When Evil-Lyn and Skeletor's remaining minions started
building up their own country in the Dark Hemisphere, they could have changed the age of adulthood. They could have lowered it to whatever disturbing number they wanted and filled their land with child marriages, or, they could have raised it to keep the heir from coming into power longer so Evil-Lyn could retain control. They didn't do either of those things. They kept the age of adulthood eighteen, same as us. Because they share our same values."
"That's setting the bar for their 'better nature' really low." Clamp Champ pointed out. "The bar is basically on the ground."
Before Adam could reply, Orko let out a laugh. "Yeah, but when Skeletor was in charge, the bar of in Eternia's core!"
Dare couldn't help but laugh at that as well. Letting out a very wet snort as he tried to stifle the sound. He clapped a hand over his mouth, realizing that even muffled, he was too loud.
Sure enough, everyone in the room looked to the door, noticing for the first time that it was cracked.
Adam was the one to open it fully. He looked down at Dare and tapped his chin, as if decided what to do with his own teenaged son on the threshold of adulthood. He seemed to come to a decision, and stepped aside with an open arm, inviting Dare in.
"Welp, you're about to come of age too." He announced. "Why don't you come in and give us your opinion, Dare."
"Oh. Um." What kind of opinion did they expect him to have about a person he only just now learned existed and a situation he never before had reason to consider? "Skeletor's son is, like, my age, right? Well, if I became King next month, I wouldn't want to start any wars. That's… a lot." Even to his own ears that explanation sounded lame. "What I mean is, King is a really huge job and Skele-kid would be new to it. I wouldn't wanna make any big decisions that I can't take back. He probably doesn't either."
Adam smiled, liking the Prince's assessment, and agreeing with it.
"Except this teenager has had Evil-Lyn whispering in his ear his whole life about revenge for Skeletor." Clamp Champ insisted. "He'll still have her in his ear once he's King, and Evil-Lyn has wanted to destroy you-" he said pointedly to Adam "-since you killed Skeletor. This Skele-teen isn't going to be a King, he's going to be a puppet. Evil-Lyn will use him as a rallying point for all Skeletor's old followers and pick up the same war right where we all left it off almost twenty years ago."
This time it was Teela's turn to laugh. "Sorry. I don't disagree, per say. But, have you ever known a teenager to do what their parent says?"
Dare flushed with embarrassment. He could not help but think his mother was actually talking about him when she said that and he quickly ran down a mental list of everything he was supposed to have done today to try and figure out which was the one his mother was trying to vaguely remind him of. (In truth, Teela was talking about herself and her own teenage years.)
"Which is another reason why I think we should wait and see." Adam repeated, using a tone that implied a conclusion. The King was done with this conversation. If the King was done, then the conversation was over. Wait and see was his decision. "In truth, none of us really know anything about… Skeleteen."
Not even his given name.
…