Chapter Four

"Broken Ties"

Day Four:

The long shadows of the Skeletor's great army stretched far across the lands of the Fertile Plains. Panic was growing, tension filling the land as the army marched slowly to the Royal Palace and the city of Eternos. The air was violent and war was brewing.

It was in morning of this fourth day as Skeletor marched back to his tent, that the stakes grew higher for. The temperature was high despite the time and the hazy skies. The great army of darkness was settled beneath large cliffs at the edge of the Desert.

"Skeletor," Locus addressed when Skeletor entered. He stood next to King Hiss, who was studying a map laid out upon one of Skeletor's tables.

"What is it?" Skeletor questioned.

"We have a complication," King Hiss returned. "He-Man and She-Ra have a plan."

"What kind of a plan?"

Locus stepped towards Skeletor. "They have found a way to restore Procrustus. She-Ra is serving as the surrogate mother."

"What?!" spat Skeletor. "How did you learn of this?"

"The Spirit of Evil sensed it late last night. The pregnancy is accelerated."

Skeletor turned his back and looked away. His head shook beneath his hood. "Where are they?"

"The Harmony Sea, but we can't get an exact location," Hiss answered.

Skeletor paused in thought, then turned back to his companions. "Send one of our Robotic Sentries to Snake Mountain. Tell it to seek out Ninjor."

King Hiss perked an eyebrow and leaned forward curiously. "Ninjor? Who is Ninjor?"

"A weapon. A living weapon. Given to me by Count Marzo five months ago, I have kept him secret from all. Even you."

"Will he do the job?" demanded Locus. "Will he kill She-Ra and the babe she carries?"

"Yes. Yes, he will."

Locus nodded, as if that was all the satisfaction he needed. He excused himself and left the tent. When King Hiss saw that the dark wizard was gone, he turned back to Skeletor. "He is blinded by his faith in the Spirit of Evil."

"He is not alone," Skeletor replied. He felt at ease with King Hiss now, as their alliance had begun into a part of Skeletor's mind thought of as friendship. That part of his mind, however, screamed differently as soon as he thought it. Friendships were for the weak. Those feelings were leftover from those damnable children and their Earth holiday.

"How do you mean?" asked King Hiss.

"More than half of the leaders of the army out there are only a part of this because of the Spirit of Evil's influence. If not for him, then none of this would have been possible," Skeletor returned and walked towards a map. "Once Eternos is razed to the ground, we shall have trouble. This I know. Too many of our factions distrust each other. Have you not seen it? They bicker during the meetings. I know they will stay with us as long as it takes to get to the Palace, but shortly afterwards . . . I have no doubt there will be trouble."

King Hiss examined Skeletor with curiosity. Could the overlord of evil be on to him? "When did you realize this?"

"Not long ago. There has been a change in plans. We shall withhold our Evil Warriors, and keep them here. If anyone turns against us . . ."

"We'll have a team ready to take them down. Quite brillant, Skeletor," Hiss said complemented thoughtfully. How very convenient it was to have Skeletor spell out his entire plan to the first that would betray him.

Skeletor looked deeply at the map. "We are ahead of schedule. One day more and we shall be at Eternos. We must march through the night, do you agree?"

Hiss nodded. "Yessss. I will send word to begin the packing. Two hours, and we should begin moving once more."

"Excellent," Skeletor breathed. "Now, leave me. I must be alone for a few moments."

Once King Hiss left the tent, Skeletor sat down upon his makeshift throne. He put his head into his hands pensively. Sensing his masters distress, Panthor walked over to him. Skeletor grabbed hold of Panthor's violet fur as a terrible sadness filled him.

"What is happening to me . . .?" Skeletor wondered remorsefully.

Panthor looked up at Skeletor with great compassion. Skeletor began to stroke Panthor's head, his blue hands running across the thick purple mane. Panthor purred and Skeletor found himself in a bizarre daze. His eyes lost focus, and everything began to blur. His body felt numb.

A memory, clouded in darkness, came out from the back of mind.

Keldor was panting as he made for a nearby balcony. He shoved the doors open, pulled out a rope and cast a spell on it. It came to life and wrapped around the railing, then went tumbling down into the fog-entrenched city.

"KELDOR! STOP!" roared Randor as he made for the balcony. "STOP IMMEDIATELY! IF YOU DO THIS, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO COME BACK!"

Keldor grabbed hold of the rope and stood on the railing. An eerie smile came over him. "Haven't you heard, dear brother? I've been banished. It seems Eternos and its royal family has turned its back completely to me."

With that, Keldor leapt off the balcony, sliding on the rope as he disappeared into the fog.

Skeletor tore himself from that memory, but his thoughts of it still lingered. Any sadness that rested upon his soul began to burn away, replaced by anger. No . . . not angry. Fury.

"He let me fall," Skeletor muttered, rage building in his voice. "They abandoned me. I tried to show them my worth, and they abandoned me." His voice grew louder. He stood now, his chaos staff in his hand. "THEY LET ME FALL!"

Panthor stepped back, sensing his master's power and anger and agreed with it. His darkness renewed, and blood boiling with unforgivable rage, Skeletor stormed out of his tent. Outside, a nasty wind was gathering.

"Faster!" he roared to those around him. "PACK FASTER! WE RIDE! WE RIDE TO VICTORY AND VENGENANCE!"

***

Randor ran along the corridor, paranoia taking his mind with every step he made. Who was loyal to him? Who wasn't? He knew not. The latest report indicated that Skeletor's army was now ahead of schedule and would arrive tomorrow morning.

Surely, the power of the Spirit of Evil was with them on this journey of death and destruction. It was pushing them forward, empowering their every footfall and strengthening their speed.

At last, the King of Eternos entered into the Throne Room. Once he passed the doors, he stood in shock at the sight before him. Stephan, his younger brother, stood there, admiring the thrones that shined in the dim sunlight from the window.

"Randor," Stephan spoke to his brother. "Our defenses are building. The reinforcements from West Eternos are standing side-by-side with the troops of your own."

"Yes," choked Randor.

"I brought many numbers. Far more than Johanna," Stephan said. He walked closer to Randor. "When the battle ends, it will be my forces that save Eternos."

Randor nodded slowly, hand on the helt of his dagger.

"Do you not agree, my brother?" Stephan questioned.

"I . . . yes. I agree."

Stephan smiled wide and clamped his hand onto Randor's shoulder. "Ha ha! The battle will be met and ended with our sword strokes, Randor!" Stephan laughed, and exited the empty Throne Room.

Randor shivered in fear. The betrayal was near. He could feel it. He could taste it and he could see it. It was looming on the horizon . . . just like Skeletor's army.

***

She-Ra felt in amazement as the Ancient within her kicked the sides of her womb. "Wow," she muttered, hands planted firmly on her gravid belly.

"What is it?" wondered SeaHawk, stepping over.

The female champion of Grayskull was larger now, her stomach pressing against her white and gold costume. Luckily, the power of Grayskull adapted to her changes, because she had so few other clothes with her. And changing into Adora was out of the question with SeaHawk around.

"Procrustus is kicking," She-Ra said with a small laugh.

At four days, She-Ra appeared to be at a little over five months. Still on schedule, which was good. She-Ra wanted to have children, but pregnancy would have to wait until the war on Etheria was over. She was glad this was accelerated and wouldn't be the full nine-ten months (Eternian pregnancies are slightly longer than human).

She reached out and took SeaHawk's gruff hand and placed it against her belly. "Do you feel it?" she questioned.

"Yeah . . . it's weird."

She-Ra laughed again. "You try heaving it around all day and all night," she told him, pushing on the chair to stand up. SeaHawk took both of her hands and helped pull her up. It was a bit too much and she tumbled against him.

"Oh!" she gasped, her body coming right up against his.

"Oh, are you okay?" he asked.

She smiled. "Yeah. Trust me. I'm nearly invulnerable, making this the safest womb in the universe."

SeaHawk patted her belly. "If you say so," he returned. He kept his hand there, and She-Ra continued to lean against him. Her eyes suddenly locked onto his own and the attraction they had danced around during this trip was clear. There was pause that seemed to last long minutes as they pair were contact.

"Hey . . ." She-Ra said hotly, her thin, but well toned arms reaching around SeaHawk's waist.

"Hey yourself," he replied, being pulled irresistibly close to her beautiful face.

His other hand reached back and he ran his fingers through her lovely blond hair. She breathed, her warm breath reaching towards his lips. They leaned, at last, and shared a passionate kiss.

At that moment, there was nothing but the two of them, connecting in a deep and intimate way. There was no Procrustus, no Spirit of Evil, and no Harmony Sea . . .

SeaHawk broke first. He pulled away from She-Ra's grip. "No," he protested quietly.

"What?" asked She-Ra, confused.

"This - this isn't right. I mean, She-Ra . . . I like you. I really do. But . . . I guess I . . ."

She-Ra stepped towards him, concern filling her blue eyes. "What is it?"

He laughed a bit. "I . . . it's Adora. It's going to sound stupid, but ever since I met her, I . . . I haven't been able to get her out of my mind. We've been to a lot of ports, my mates and me, and there have been a lot of women throwing themselves at me. But whenever I'm with them . . . I keep thinking about her."

She-Ra shook her head and walked towards this wonderful man. She wrapped her arms around him in a strong hug. "It's okay," she told him. "I'm sure she appreciates it."

SeaHawk nodded and took She-Ra's hand. "Thank you."

She-Ra smiled at him, but couldn't deny the words within that called out. I love you, she said silently. A flash to tell him her secret and to tell him her feelings filled her mind, but it was pushed away immediately. Now . . . now was not the time for that.

The two stood together, hand-in-hand and gazed out upon the waves as the dimmed sun began its descend to the horizon.

Little did they know what entered the water then and from that moment on, they were being hunted.