Acéin
Chapter 5: Memory
Rating: R for violence and scenes that may be deemed disturbing by some readers.
Disclaimer: Only those characters that have never been seen before are mine, all others are properties of Mattel and Mike Young Productions.
I am so sorry this has taken so long to come. Things had reached a block but seem a mite better at the moment.
Dark greens and midnight browns blurred past his vision, his breath puffed out in great white clouds in the frigid air, making his lungs burn and his sides ache. As much as a child of nine could, he ignored the pain and kept running, as fast as he could, as far as he could. Knowing that if he slowed, that if Fand and Medraut found him, they would surely kill him. If they found him and caught him, he knew his foster parents would beat him, to the death this time instead of leaving him with only bruises and cuts. He would rather die free in the cold than return to them.
If he could just reach the Mystic Mountains, if he could make it Avion, he would be safe and out of their foul hands but he had to reach that far first.
They were aware of his absence by now surely, without doubt; he had to keep his ears open for anyone following but it was so difficult with the pounding rush of blood in his head and his laboured breathing seeming to encompass the whole of his senses.
He hurt. Inside and out, body and mind and soul, he hurt, he ached. He was tired of always hurting, of being hit, of always having to be hungry and tired and cold. He wanted safety.
When something struck his shin and sent him crashing to the hard, frozen ground― a tree root mayhap― his head hit a stone and blackness descended over the world. Only to be finding himself lying cold and damp on the snow covered ground with his arms bound tight enough to cut off the circulation. If his circulation could remain in such freezing conditions as these. His fingers were numb and aching when he flexed them.
Trying to move, trying to pick himself up, he found he could not, the bonds too thorough and tight in their application. He recognized the tethering, and the cottage and forge just twenty yards away. Fear and resignation flared in his young heart and mind. They had him. Fand and Medraut had found him. He was going to die.
From the wooden door to the forge, his burly foster father, Medraut, calmly walked, uncoiling a long whip of black that even at nine years of age, he knew well. He was to be whipped. As those first large flakes of snow fell from the grey heavens, the whip was brought down.
Lurching into a sitting position, a sharp, startled gasp wrenched from his chest, Mekanek awoke with a sudden violent jerk and brought a shaking hand to his eyes. His breathing was harsh, his body drenched in sweat, the nightmare memory still assailing his mind. Gods that had been so real, too real, it was as if he was living that day again. Even his back stung slightly from the remembered crack of the whip that long ago day.
In the present, it was his chest that hurt and for a moment, he focused on that very real pain to take his mind from his childhood and will his trembling body to calm down. It was not an easy task even had he not been in pain. Why could he not forget his past? Why did it have to visit him in his dreams when before they were a safe haven?
His black hair was damp with sweat when he ran his still shaking hands through the unruly mass and was surprised when even that movement hurt. What happened to him? There was a battle was there not?
Yes there was, against Skeletor and his henchmen in the Evergreen Forest. How much time had passed since then? He had little to no memory of the end of the battle or anything after that. It was all fog and agony. Why did he hurt so much?
Sucking in deep breaths― quickly stopping that when the pain flared to the unbearable― he took his hand away from his face and looked around for the first time at the darkened room where he lay in. Where was he? It was dark, the drapes that had been drawn completely made it impossible to tell what time of day it was, the shadows distorting what might be a familiar room. Actually it was a very familiar room.
This was not a hospital room; in fact, it looked like his bedchamber. Why wasn't he in the hospital?
He had no way of knowing the answer to that, all he knew was that he was hurting, hurting so badly now he wanted to cry. The pain he had focused on earlier was growing worse until it was all he could focus on. Pain had such a horrible way of clearing the mind.
After some time, feeling like an eternity with agony seeping into his mind, the pain ebbed for a moment, he knew not for how long the respite would last. Mekanek closed his eyes and breathed thanks to the gods and goddesses.
Why was it so dark in here? The drapes should not block that much light, if it happened to be daylight out.
Moving before he fully thought out his actions, Mekanek placed first one then the other foot on the floor, finding a thick rug beneath his bare feet he did not remember owning, and stood. Bad idea. Instant regret flooded his newly returned consciousness as dizziness threatened to take it and brought him back down to a sitting position with a blanket-muffled thump, a hand holding his head as his vision swam sickeningly.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Oooww. Shoulda tried that a bit slower, he thought with a groan. On his next attempt, he followed his advice and stood again very slowly, a deep moan and feeling of weakness breaking from his clenched jaw and washing over his battered body. But he did manage to stay upright even though he swayed unsteadily as a greater bout of dizziness swept him.
It took more out of him than he would have believed, or admitted to himself or anyone, to walk the short distance to the window. Now he was truly as weak as everyone believed and could not hide it. Of what use to the Defender's cause was he like this? Far less than he ever was before, that is what. Something was to be done about that as soon as possible, he must get back to fighting form as quickly as possible, he had to work harder than ever to make up for this and whatever time he had wasted in unconsciousness.
Just as he was going to draw back the curtain, his trembling hand stopped short as he heard voices. An even greater pause was given him when he thought he heard his name mentioned. What had he done now?
"Have you told him any of this?" Duncan's voice was easily recognizable as was the burr of the response.
"Not yet. The time's never seemed right…"
Man-At-Arms and Stratos' voices faded from hearing as they passed his window and out of range. Despite the fact that it was probably not overly important or simply none of his business, Mekanek found himself curious as to what they were talking about and what he had not been told.
Probably doesn't matter, he thought while pushing the drapes― they seemed heavier and thicker than they should be― aside to look out. He may have been mildly curious as to what time of day it was but he wanted fresh air more since he was not a man who favoured staying indoors for extended periods of time.
He found himself nearly blinded by the setting sun as it dipped below the horizon, painting the fields and forests in molten gold and midnight black and turning the Partholon River into a glittering trail of diamonds. He loved this view. It never ceased to calm and ensnare him whatever time of day it was, but today he could not stand long enough to enjoy it. He had to sit down before he collapsed, even now his legs were beginning to buckle and his entire body was shaking as if from exhaustion.
How long would he be like this? What good was he to the team if he could barely stand?
Something had to be done; he needed to work harder than ever before to make up for his failures and whatever time he had lost, especially after his showing at the last battle. He needed to get back to fighting form as quickly as he could.
Maybe he was useless now; he certainly had been in the battle. He was so sick of being useless to everyone. He needed to try harder.
The sound of his bedroom door clicking open and quietly creaking on its hinges drew his attention from his increasingly depressive thoughts to the blonde boy and red-haired girl framed in the doorway. They smiled widely upon seeing him up and about.
"Hey, Mek, you're awake!" Adam's wide smile broadened into a grin as he and Teela walked into the dimly lit room. "How're you feeling?"
He tried to smile but the grimace of pain that instead spread across his pale features wiped the teenagers' faces of all emotions save concern. The prince backed up a step and turned to his friend.
"I'll go get the healer," he said quietly but not so quietly that Mekanek did not hear.
"No, no, there's no need to bother them. I'm fine, it was just a twinge," he lied to belay their fears. He could deal with the pain now that it was starting to fade since he was sitting and resting. Besides that, he did not want to frighten the children or anyone else.
Adam relaxed visibly though Teela looked far less convinced. "You don't look very fine, are you sure you're okay? You're awfully pale. And shouldn't you be lying down? It's only been a sennight since―"
"A sennight?" He asked incredulously before smirking ruefully, "Gods, no wonder I'm so weak…"
A new voice entered the room then, "And I'm sure a chest full of broken ribs, getting run through with a sword, multiple concussions, and Elders know what else, have nothing whatsoever to do with it." Queen Marlena said from the doorway. She wore a gently teasing smile as if he was a younger brother but it did nothing to fool him as to her seriousness and worry. "Teela is correct, you should be lying down. Rest is the most important thing you need right now. You can torture yourself on the training field once you've recovered and the healer decides it's safe."
Mekanek scowled at her, "With all due respect, I don't think I should be wasting time doing nothing when another attack could occur at any moment."
The queen matched his scowl with one of her own, "You'll help no one by killing yourself and that's exactly what you'll end up doing if you don't allow yourself time to heal. I don't want to have to force you but I will if you push it."
A sardonic snort escaped him. "How do you plan on doing that? I'm not exactly a little boy you can play nurse to anymore."
"Perhaps not, but I believe Randor is perfectly capable of subduing you."
"Now that's just playing dirty."
During this rather amusing argument, Adam and Teela looked from first one then to the other of the two adults in surprise. They had never really heard Mekanek speak in any manner other than highly respectful to the queen. Now they sounded like brother and sister, much like Teela and Adam themselves were often accused of acting. It seemed so odd to them, never knowing this thing about two people they loved.
The blonde prince suddenly perked up, spying something unexpected when Mekanek raked a hand through his ebon locks. "You're Elven?" He asked of the tall warrior.
Clear violet eyes in the sun regarded him now in something akin to amusement and a smirk played at his lips. "If you want to call me that, yes. I'm Tylwyth Teg."
"The Fair Family, Elves of Light," he said in awe and smiled. "Wow."
A short laugh escaped from Mekanek then while Marlena arched an eyebrow at her son. Teela merely snorted in amusement.
"I thought you knew that," she asked.
"No, I thought he was human," the boy said uncertainly, scratching his tousled head, "I mean, I've never seen you without your helmet on so I wasn't really sure what you looked like." He shrugged then, sheepishly grinning in embarrassment. He hoped he had not offended the older man, he had always heard the Teg were a very proud people, rivalling even the Avians.
Mekanek grinned, "That's alright, Adam. There's probably a lot of people who don't know."
"Why?" Teela asked suddenly. "Why do you keep your helmet on all the time?"
Tilting his head to one side, he thought for some time before answering, "It is less… troubling for the people if they didn't know. We're always on alert of some sort anyway so it's also best to remain prepared, besides, you could ask the same of Stratos."
"Stratos is hardly ever here," Marlena pointed out, taking a seat in a chair near the bed, "he has his own kingdom to look after. And he has been known to wander around without his helmet. The last time you had yours off was when you were sick and had no say in the matter."
He leaned back slightly, a smirk lighting his features, "'Bout like now?" A puzzled expression crossed his features then. "Where is my helmet by the way? And my armour?"
The two teenagers passed a look of trepidation between them before Adam took it upon himself to answer. "We don't know. You didn't have them on when we found you."
"We think they might have been taken," Teela added.
The older man cocked an eyebrow at them. "Trophies, huh?" A sardonic snort escaped his lips, "Glad to know I'm good for something―"
"That's not funny, Wulfric," the queen fairly growled.
It was an odd sound to hear from his mother. In fact, the prince was fairly certain he had never heard her growl before, at least not at anyone beside himself. And where did this 'Wulfric' thing fit in? Was that truly Mekanek's name?
"Wasn't meant to be," the spy answered, nonplussed by the queen's tone. She narrowed her eyes at him while he merely frowned at her. "Seems pretty near the truth actually. I wasn't able to help the others one damn bit in the battle because Tri-Klops and Beast Man decided to use me as a punching bag and there was nothing I could do about it," he finished with a grumble, crossing his strong arms over his bandaged chest which caused him to wince.
Adam watched the man who was as much an uncle to him as his real ones or any of the Defenders and realized he had seldom seen Mekanek so angry with himself. There was no reason for him to feel this way, the Defenders were all giving their best and still had been frighteningly near ultimate defeat. It still scared him to think of how close they had been to death that sennight ago.
"None of us were doing that great," Teela said in an effort to make him feel better. "Until He-Man showed up, we were all little more than walking bulls-eyes for those creeps…" She paused then, biting her lower lip like she always did when she was overly upset or nervous, before she blurted, "You scared the hell out of us. I was terrified you weren't going to come back."
The words seemed to make the spy uncomfortable but a widening of his eyes was the biggest response he gave. They surprised the prince, he had heard nothing of her being scared when just a few years ago she would have crept into his room at night and told him everything. Yet, she had said nothing. Had things changed so much between them from what they once were? Is this what growing up does? Or is it the war's fault for their separation?
No, he knew what had happened. He-Man happened, the Sorceress happened. Damn her for handing him that accursed sword and ruining his life, his relationships with family and friends. He longed so greatly that things could return to what once was. He wanted his life back.
He had some idea how Mekanek must feel right now, though the Defender was angry and depressed for entirely different reasons. It still hurt that Teela did not talk at all to him for whatever reason she had, but he could not hold it against her after everything he was keeping from her.
Again he silently cursed the Sorceress, throwing in Man-At-Arms for good measure.
This story will get to the meat of the plot (which seems to be getting lost) within the next few chapters so I pray thee stay and read on when next a chapter appears. I will try to get it out with a bit more haste.