Chapter 3
Adam awoke to see Teela's frightened face hovering over him, his leg throbbing. "Oh, no," he groaned. A moment later, his father's face replaced Teela's.
"Adam!" he said. "What happened? Son, did they hurt you?"
"Am I," Adam asked, pausing to grunt slightly as a movement caused the pain in his leg to grow, "on another stretcher?" He could see Orko flitting around over his father's shoulder like an agitated bumblebee. A very protective bumblebee, trying to look all directions at once.
"Yes, son, we're taking you to the infirmary so that Dorgan can look at your leg."
Adam grimaced. "It really hurts."
"What happened to your cast?" Teela demanded.
Adam thought about all the little bits of plaster that must be littering his closet floor and closed his eyes. Maybe he could get Orko to clean that up for him later.
"Randor, Teela, don't ask him any questions now," exclaimed his mother, running up. "Can't you see he's in pain?" Cringer, looking worried, butted Teela out of the way so he could walk alongside the stretcher. Adam reached out to scratch the cat's head, then brought his hand back sharply to his side as a spike of pain shot up from his calf.
After that the trip back to the infirmary was silent. Adam clenched his teeth. How was it that his leg hurt more now?
When they reached the infirmary and Dorgan, Adam got his answer. Dorgan had been the healer for the royal family for as long as Adam could remember. As he spoke, Adam began to feel disconnected from his body. He shook his head, trying to clear it. No one had given him any medication, yet, had they? "The prince has rebroken his leg and re-traumatized all the muscles and tendons around the bones. Given the trauma that was already there, his injury is now much worse." Adam's mother had taken his hand again, and she patted it as the healer spoke. She seemed to be sitting in a fog.
"Duncan," his father said. Adam turned his head, trying to see him, but his vision was blurring. "How could this happen?"
"I'm not sure, your highness. The guards below the windows were taken out early in the fighting -"
"How are they?" his mother interjected.
"Recovering, your highness," said the healer. "Prince Adam, please take these pills."
Adam tried to push the hand away. "No, fuzzy 'nuff already."
"Does he have a concussion?" demanded Randor in alarm. His face seemed to come closer and then recede again. Adam watched it curiously as it rippled like water in a pond.
"No, your highness. He's taking a fever. It's not uncommon with injuries such as this. Prince, Adam, you really must take these pills." His father helped the healer get the pills into him, and Adam sighed.
"Do you suppose that one of the robots might have gotten inside?" Randor asked. "Taken him from his room?"
Teela spoke, her voice sounding oddly subdued. "I'm sorry, your highness, it's my fault. I shouldn't have left him alone."
"No!" Adam said, as firmly as he could. "Not your fault. He-Man - had to help -"
"He's delirious!" Man-at-Arms said, sounding alarmed. Adam blinked. Was that what was wrong?
"I think you should have this conversation elsewhere, Randor," his mother said. "Teela, don't worry, it's not your fault." There was the sound of feet moving, then the door closed. "Orko, you too. He doesn't need entertained, right now, and I'll stay with him." There was a brief pause as the door opened and closed again. Then his mother leaned close and said, "Now, Adam, go to sleep."
Sleep. Now that sounded like a good idea.
Evil-Lyn smiled. Her plan was working perfectly. Tri-Klops had been the first one of her ham-handed colleagues to make any sort of move against the royal palace. She and Beastman had slipped in amid the chaos of the attack, and singled out the two people she had targeted. Now Lady Asala and her maidservant lay bound and gagged in the lady's bedroom, and she and Beastman had new forms. Evil-Lyn gave him a sidelong look, amused. Not that he liked his new form.
"I'm tiny!" he complained in the sweet little voice, looking down at the petite form of the pretty maidservant. "How am I supposed to kill the prince like this?"
"And I was just thinking that blond hair suited you," Evil-Lyn said. Beastman growled in soprano, which sounded distinctly odd. "It's not as though you've lost any of your strength, fool. You only look harmless."
She eyed herself in the mirror. This Lady Asala was a simpering creature with honey brown hair and hazel eyes.
"Evil-Lyn, I -"
"You must call me 'Lady Asala,' Phoebe," Evil-Lyn said. "That is the maid's name, isn't it?"
"I don't remember," Beastman grumbled.
Evil-Lyn rose and went into the bedroom. She loosened the gag on Lady Asala's mouth. "What is your maid's name, again?" The girl's eyes were wide with terror. She didn't seem able to speak. "Come now, what's her name?"
"F-Fenella."
"Ah." Looking at the two of them, she realized that she couldn't risk either of them getting their gags loose. She raised her arms and summoned her power. "Useless girls, whose terror freezes," she intoned. "Peaceful dreams and slumber take you. Forget for now the plight that seizes. Sleep till charming prince doth wake you."
Both the women sighed and fell deeply asleep. "That should hold them," Evil-Lyn murmured. "And since we'll be doing away with the only prince around, however charming, it should hold them a good long time." She threw her head back in delighted laughter.
Adam lay back, eyes closed, listening to his father speak. "I've got four guards now, outside the windows, and the guard outside the door will come inside if Teela feels the need to - to -"
"Yes," said Man-at-Arms, quickly, to save the king from embarrassment.
"Is there anything else we should prepare? Do you think we should have someone else in here, in addition to Teela?"
"No, Randor, I think that's sufficient."
"I'm not sure. . ."
Adam wrinkled his brows and groaned at the thought of just how over-protective his father was getting. And his mother. And even Man-at-Arms!
"Adam!" his father exclaimed, coming over to kneel by the bed. Adam opened his eyes and looked into the worried face of his father. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, but I don't want to have a zillion people around me all the time." Cringer's head popped up on the other side of the bed. Adam put his hand on the cat's chin and scratched absently.
"No, no, I understand, son, but if Skeletor's after you. . ."
"How is that any different than normal?" Adam asked, feeling the drugs running away with his tongue again. "Skeletor's always after me. He never lets up. Just one plot after another." Cringer's head shifted under his hand, and his worried eyes appeared next to Adam's face. With an effort, Adam closed his mouth.
His father looked alarmed. "No, son. I - you -"
Man-at-Arms put a hand on Randor's shoulder. "I think the medications may be making him a touch paranoid, sire. Don't put too much credence in his ramblings."
Randor took a deep breath and sighed. "It will be all right, Adam. We will deal with Skeletor. You just concentrate on getting well."
"It'll be easier to concentrate if I'm not surrounded by people."
"I understand, Adam."
The door opened and Teela came in, followed by Adam's mother and Orko. He gave them a faint smile. Then a servant came in behind them and started setting up a camp cot in the corner. "What's that for?"
"I'm going to be sleeping in here, for awhile," said Randor.
Adam blinked. His father was coming unhinged.
Randor smiled down at him, tousled his hair and stood up. "All right, Duncan, shall we assess the rest of our security precautions?"
Man-at-Arms nodded and they left the room. His mother looked down at him. "Adam, are you all right?" Adam shrugged. "Are you hungry?"
"Not really. These medicines make me feel kind of sick at my stomach."
"You need to eat."
"Maybe some soup or something," Adam said. "I'm okay, Mother, really. I just want to stop being stuck in bed."
She smiled at him sympathetically. "I'll have the cook send you some soup."
As the door shut behind her, Orko floated uncertainly by the door. "Is there anything I can get for you, Adam?"
"Thanks, Orko, but no," Adam said.
"Are you sure?" Orko exclaimed, his fingers busily wiggling. "How about a drink!" A glass of juice popped into the air to float before Orko. "Or another pillow?" A pillow popped in to join the juice. "A game?" A chess board and all the pieces appeared. The air in front of Orko was beginning to be a little crowded. Adam, speechless, looked apprehensively at the floating objects. "How about a book?" A flock of large, heavy, leather-bound tomes appeared, floating over Adam, who gazed up nervously.
His voice cracked as he said, "Orko? Are you sure you can hold all of those up?"
"Huh?" The confusion in little Trollan jester's voice didn't fill Adam with confidence.
"Orko!!!" Teela cried. "I don't think I can catch all of that if you drop it!"
"Um. . ." Orko said, his voice quavering. Adam gave Teela an alarmed look. "Give me a minute," the jester added.
Suddenly, all the hovering objects began to swirl together, like a tornado, growing ever faster.
Teela's voice joined Adam's in a yell. "Orko!!!!"
There was a splash as the juice flew out of the glass and splattered across Orko, then, with a sudden pop, all the items vanished into thin air. Teela, her eyes snapping with fury, took two steps toward Orko, who suddenly flung the door open and disappeared through it. Adam sank back against the pillows, breathing hard. Teela walked over and made sure the door was shut. Then she walked back over by the bed and stood gazing down at him with an odd look on her face.
"So, what kind of smart remark have you been saving till everyone else left?" he asked dispiritedly.
Teela shook her head, looking worried. "I'm sorry, Adam, I should apologize. I thought you'd gone off to hide somewhere, or something, during the fight." She shrugged. "I-"
Adam could feel himself reddening. Clearing his throat, he interrupted her. "Do you think your father will let us off knowing about the Pelian wars?"
Teela looked thoughtful. "I don't know - probably."
Sighing, Adam looked over at the books. History beat Teela insulting him by apologizing. It was bad enough knowing what she assumed, he didn't really want to hear about it. "So let's surprise him by our diligence."
Teela blinked. "You must be really bored."
Because the medications blurred his vision, he couldn't read, so Teela sat beside the bed, reading aloud about the imbecilities that led to the Pelian war.
Hours later, he and Teela were having a mild disagreement. "Yeah, but Teela, if Lord Tevin hadn't led the charge against the -"
"It wasn't Tevin who made the difference. It was Kepral -"
Randor and Man-at-Arms burst in through the door suddenly. Man-at-Arms made a beeline for the bathroom while Adam's father hurried to the window. Cringer came running out from the bathroom where he'd been sleeping on the bath mat and flung himself under Adam's bed. Teela and Adam shared a confused glance.
"What is it, Father?" asked Adam in some alarm.
Randor's chest heaved. He took a moment to regulate his breathing, then said, "There was another attack, this time through the sewers."
"Yes," Man-at-Arms agreed, emerging from the bathroom. He shook his head at Randor, who looked measurably relieved. "Merman and Clawful led a troop of sea snakes into the palace cellars. We weren't sure that someone hadn't slipped in to come upstairs."
Teela got a sick look in her eyes. "Snakes? What if they're just in the pipes, waiting?" she asked.
Adam glanced up at her, shocked by an imagination that thought of such things. Randor's alarm returned, and he glanced at Duncan.
"I'll find some way to clear the pipes," Man-at-Arms said, then left the room rapidly. Randor stayed, standing between Adam's bed and the bathroom.
Adam lay back, trying to stay calm. Snakes in the pipes. Eeuw! After a few moments, he shook his head. He was not going to let this get to him so much. He had to change the subject.
"Father," he said. "Can you settle a disagreement?" Randor blinked in surprise and looked down at him curiously.
"Teela says that Kepral made the key contribution in the Battle of Argen Tor. I think it was Lord Tevin."
Randor looked contemplative for a moment. "You're both wrong. It was Captain Berevor. He led the Turanian advance and broke the enemy resistance." Adam shook his head. His father would know that.
He sheathed his sword and, pulling up a chair, straddled it and favored them with an interested glance. "You're studying the Pelian war?"
After a moment of surprise, Teela eagerly started peppering him with questions. Adam stared at her with a look of betrayal. How could she encourage his father to tell war stories? And not just any war stories, but really old war stories!
Within ten minutes Adam had forgotten his dismay in his fascination.
Evil-Lyn looked into the cell that held Tri-Klops in amusement. He looked at her in surprise, then flung an energy beam at her. It bounced off the air between two of the bars and hit him in the face. He fell to his knees and growled, "Aah! Force field!"
Evil-Lyn cackled. "Oh, Tri-Klops, that was priceless, do it again! Do it again!"
He looked at her suspiciously. "Who are you?" he asked.
She gave him a slow, crooked smile. "Who do you think?" she asked archly, fluffing Lady Asala's soft hair.
"Evil-Lyn?" he said incredulously.
"I have to thank you for opening the way for me. And just to repay you for your help, I think I'll let you out."
"How considerate," he said.
She sent a small spike of power into the lock and it clicked open. "Merman's already made his attempt and failed, so don't feel too alone. Though he, of course didn't get captured. And here I always thought that you were smarter than him."
Once he was clear of the door, he sent another blast at her. With a small gesture, she created a flash of purple energy that deflected the bolt back at him. He fell back to his knees.
"Ooh! Force field!" she cried with a grin. "I'm doing you a favor. Now you have another chance! I'd run along if I were you. I've got the guards seeing and hearing no evil for the moment, but it won't last forever." Laughing, she walked off, leaving him cursing on his knees.
"Well," Randor said, getting up. "I think that's enough for today. Adam's beginning to look a little glazed."
Adam smiled at his father. "Adam's beginning to feel a little glazed," he admitted. Randor reached out toward him, and Adam hunched. "Not the hair," he said. Teela giggled.
Randor laughed and squeezed his shoulder. "Sorry, son. Sometimes I forget what it's like to be sixteen." Then he gave Teela a nod and turned toward the door. "I'll be back in a couple of hours," he said. "At bedtime."
He opened the door, and, gasping, slammed it shut again. It burst inward in a flurry of wooden shards to reveal Tri-Klops glaring in. Another bolt from his yellow eye sent Randor flying backwards. The king screamed once as he fell and hit the floor with a resounding thud.
Tuned up 02/02/09 with help from Delora2047