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CHAPTER 12
Man-At-Arms was never so on his guard as he was this night. While the streets of Eternos still bustled with merchants packing their wares away and people rushing to their cottages for the evening, he kept a steady eye on the empty palace courtyard.
Empty except for the 30 members of the Royal Guard standing near the gate.
He took a deep breath and sighed. There were 200 more guardsmen stationed around the other entrances and outside the palace walls. If the people of Eternos hadn't noticed the obvious change in security, they would soon.
And then there could be panic. With panic came chaos, and chaos would make this city an open target for an attack.
"If the Horde doesn't pick us off then, Skeletor will certainly try," he thought to himself.
Nonetheless, the royal family had to be protected at all costs and Man-At- Arms knew all too well that if Hordak were to make a return appearance, he would most certainly head for Randor.
Or elders forbid, Adora.
He focused his gaze from the courtyard to the sky and watched as the stars began popping out one by one. He allowed his mind to wander and he found himself wondering about his discovery the previous night in his workshop.
"There was another person there, a woman," he thought as the realization brought a mixture of emotions including anger and excitement. "She knows where Hordak took the boy, I'm sure of it. But WHO is she?"
Man-At-Arms resolved to try the memory projector again that night and the next night and the night after that until he could reveal the identity of the mysterious third party that witnessed the prince's abduction.
In the meantime, security was the issue and he would be damned if a member of the Horde would set foot inside the palace walls again.
He heard the footsteps approach but instinct told him who his visitor was.
"I hoped I'd never see this day arrive, my friend."
King Randor folded his arms and leaned against the balcony wall. Once a strong warrior himself, he had faced up to his family calling and became more than a warrior king but the wisest diplomat in Eternian history.
He had made many tough calls in the past but all of them were for the greater good of his people. Man-At-Arms admired him for that.
"How is the Queen?" Man-At-Arms asked gently. He had heard of her nightmare from one of the guards who had heard her screaming. The poor lad had the queen's chamber door slammed in his face by the king when he responded to her cries. Man-At-Arms felt sorry for him on some level but knew he would have done the same thing in Randor's place.
"She is better, for now, anyway. She's gone for a stroll in the garden to quiet her thoughts," the King sighed.
Man-At-Arms looked at him quickly with great concern but Randor read his friend's thoughts and put his hands up.
"With all this fuss about the Horde, its stirred up many bad memories for her," he explained. "She's worked so hard to try to get past our....loss....that she feels out of control now that everything is flooding back. I had to let her have some time to herself, to breathe and get a grasp on reality."
He turned and put his elbows on the wall.
"In all honesty, I know how she feels, Duncan," he said in slight despair. "A part of me died that day. I don't know if I could relive it again and keep my sanity."
Man-At-Arms nodded and returned his attention to the courtyard. On some level, he knew how his friends felt and yet, on another, if it had been Teela, he wondered if he would ever be able to survive it. But now, another concern tugged at Duncan's heart.
"Will you tell Adora?" he asked the king.
Randor sighed again and rubbed his eyes. It was a question he had dreaded his entire life yet he always knew that his remaining child and heir had the right to know about her sibling. If the Horde was to assault Eternia again, her life would be in danger and she had to know why.
"She deserves to know the truth about what's going on, Duncan," he responded. "In order to properly have a full grasp of the situation, she must understand the severity of it. But do not doubt that I have many reservations about telling her. Unfortunately, it must be done."
With that Randor straightened up and put his hand on his friend's shoulder.
"We try so hard to shield our children from heartache and despair only to hand it to them on a shiny silver platter in the form of the truth," he said. "I don't know how she will take it, but what she does with the knowledge will be up to her."
He turned and started to walk away, but then paused.
"Have you informed Teela?"
Man-At-Arms dipped his head a little and nodded.
"Yes," he whispered. "She has been sworn to secrecy though. She knows it is not her place to inform the princess on this matter. But as an officer of the guard, I felt she needed to have all of the information at her disposal."
Surprisingly, Randor smiled at his friend's confession.
"Your daughter is a very gifted young lady," he consoled. "I have faith in her abilities and I know she would never do anything to harm Adora. I trust her as much as I trust you old friend."
With that, Randor returned to his throne room where he would order for his daughter to be brought to him.
Man-At-Arms also turned to leave, but his patrol would take him down into the palace grounds where he would check to make sure the queen was in no danger.
His mind consumed with the events of the day, he didn't even notice the shadow that lurked around the palace walls or that one of the guards had been suddenly pulled into the bushes.
********
Teela sat quietly in the security central command room deep inside the palace. She thought about everything that had transpired that day and it made her more tired than she already was.
She did not envy Adora this night but her heart broke for her friend. She knew that with threat of the Horde, the King and Queen would have no choice but to tell her. If they didn't, she wondered if she herself could look them in the eye again.
"Imagine keeping such a secret from your own child for all of their life," she thought disdainfully to herself. "How could they do such a thing?"
She sighed and sat back in her chair. She knew Adora's world would soon be turned upside down by the revelation and part of her wanted to hate the King and Queen for the pain they were about to inflict upon her lifelong friend.
But then common sense got the better of her and she scolded herself for passing judgment on the two people who had shown her as much affection and compassion as her own father had.
"It's not your place to think such things Teela," she thought. "What would you have done had you been in Queen Marlena's place."
Still, she knew Adora hated being kept in the dark and she wondered how the news would go over.
She damned the Horde for doing this to her friends. If she had known earlier that day what she knew now, she would have left that Horde spy in the street.
"Filthy, no-good bastard," she thought as her face flushed red. "If I ever get a chance at that horrid creature again, I'll make him wish he never set foot in Eternia."
But something tugged at her chest, as if the thought of hating the stranger was wrong in some way. This bothered her more than anything.
Her father's instructions pushed through the thoughts in her mind and she slowly snapped back to work mode. She watched the palace monitors diligently for signs of anything out of the ordinary.
Her gaze fell upon the garden monitor as she watched the Queen sit on a bench. Her face was in her hands and her shoulders were shaking. Teela's heart broke for her and she fought the urge to go console her.
She noticed quickly that the Queen was not alone as she watched her father approach. While she could not hear the word they were speaking, she could only guess the topic of their conversation.
On another monitor, Teela watched her best friend enter the throne room and swallowed hard as the King excused the guardsmen stationed there. She didn't need audio to know what was about to happen.
She watched King Randor walk toward his daughter and try to embrace her as he spoke. Adora's facial expressions changed from adoration, to confusion, to sadness and finally to anger, all in the span of mere minutes.
"Poor Adora," Teela whispered as she wiped a tear away from her eye. "I hope she's strong enough to get through this."
She continued to watch as Adora pushed her father away in one monitor and as Man-At-Arms embraced the Queen in another. And as Adora and Man-At-Arms left the monitors, Teela's heart sank further.
"Their lives are being blown apart," she thought. "And there's nothing I can do to help them."
And as it had happened many times before, Teela felt disconnected from her loved ones for once again, she was outside looking into their lives.
CHAPTER 12
Man-At-Arms was never so on his guard as he was this night. While the streets of Eternos still bustled with merchants packing their wares away and people rushing to their cottages for the evening, he kept a steady eye on the empty palace courtyard.
Empty except for the 30 members of the Royal Guard standing near the gate.
He took a deep breath and sighed. There were 200 more guardsmen stationed around the other entrances and outside the palace walls. If the people of Eternos hadn't noticed the obvious change in security, they would soon.
And then there could be panic. With panic came chaos, and chaos would make this city an open target for an attack.
"If the Horde doesn't pick us off then, Skeletor will certainly try," he thought to himself.
Nonetheless, the royal family had to be protected at all costs and Man-At- Arms knew all too well that if Hordak were to make a return appearance, he would most certainly head for Randor.
Or elders forbid, Adora.
He focused his gaze from the courtyard to the sky and watched as the stars began popping out one by one. He allowed his mind to wander and he found himself wondering about his discovery the previous night in his workshop.
"There was another person there, a woman," he thought as the realization brought a mixture of emotions including anger and excitement. "She knows where Hordak took the boy, I'm sure of it. But WHO is she?"
Man-At-Arms resolved to try the memory projector again that night and the next night and the night after that until he could reveal the identity of the mysterious third party that witnessed the prince's abduction.
In the meantime, security was the issue and he would be damned if a member of the Horde would set foot inside the palace walls again.
He heard the footsteps approach but instinct told him who his visitor was.
"I hoped I'd never see this day arrive, my friend."
King Randor folded his arms and leaned against the balcony wall. Once a strong warrior himself, he had faced up to his family calling and became more than a warrior king but the wisest diplomat in Eternian history.
He had made many tough calls in the past but all of them were for the greater good of his people. Man-At-Arms admired him for that.
"How is the Queen?" Man-At-Arms asked gently. He had heard of her nightmare from one of the guards who had heard her screaming. The poor lad had the queen's chamber door slammed in his face by the king when he responded to her cries. Man-At-Arms felt sorry for him on some level but knew he would have done the same thing in Randor's place.
"She is better, for now, anyway. She's gone for a stroll in the garden to quiet her thoughts," the King sighed.
Man-At-Arms looked at him quickly with great concern but Randor read his friend's thoughts and put his hands up.
"With all this fuss about the Horde, its stirred up many bad memories for her," he explained. "She's worked so hard to try to get past our....loss....that she feels out of control now that everything is flooding back. I had to let her have some time to herself, to breathe and get a grasp on reality."
He turned and put his elbows on the wall.
"In all honesty, I know how she feels, Duncan," he said in slight despair. "A part of me died that day. I don't know if I could relive it again and keep my sanity."
Man-At-Arms nodded and returned his attention to the courtyard. On some level, he knew how his friends felt and yet, on another, if it had been Teela, he wondered if he would ever be able to survive it. But now, another concern tugged at Duncan's heart.
"Will you tell Adora?" he asked the king.
Randor sighed again and rubbed his eyes. It was a question he had dreaded his entire life yet he always knew that his remaining child and heir had the right to know about her sibling. If the Horde was to assault Eternia again, her life would be in danger and she had to know why.
"She deserves to know the truth about what's going on, Duncan," he responded. "In order to properly have a full grasp of the situation, she must understand the severity of it. But do not doubt that I have many reservations about telling her. Unfortunately, it must be done."
With that Randor straightened up and put his hand on his friend's shoulder.
"We try so hard to shield our children from heartache and despair only to hand it to them on a shiny silver platter in the form of the truth," he said. "I don't know how she will take it, but what she does with the knowledge will be up to her."
He turned and started to walk away, but then paused.
"Have you informed Teela?"
Man-At-Arms dipped his head a little and nodded.
"Yes," he whispered. "She has been sworn to secrecy though. She knows it is not her place to inform the princess on this matter. But as an officer of the guard, I felt she needed to have all of the information at her disposal."
Surprisingly, Randor smiled at his friend's confession.
"Your daughter is a very gifted young lady," he consoled. "I have faith in her abilities and I know she would never do anything to harm Adora. I trust her as much as I trust you old friend."
With that, Randor returned to his throne room where he would order for his daughter to be brought to him.
Man-At-Arms also turned to leave, but his patrol would take him down into the palace grounds where he would check to make sure the queen was in no danger.
His mind consumed with the events of the day, he didn't even notice the shadow that lurked around the palace walls or that one of the guards had been suddenly pulled into the bushes.
********
Teela sat quietly in the security central command room deep inside the palace. She thought about everything that had transpired that day and it made her more tired than she already was.
She did not envy Adora this night but her heart broke for her friend. She knew that with threat of the Horde, the King and Queen would have no choice but to tell her. If they didn't, she wondered if she herself could look them in the eye again.
"Imagine keeping such a secret from your own child for all of their life," she thought disdainfully to herself. "How could they do such a thing?"
She sighed and sat back in her chair. She knew Adora's world would soon be turned upside down by the revelation and part of her wanted to hate the King and Queen for the pain they were about to inflict upon her lifelong friend.
But then common sense got the better of her and she scolded herself for passing judgment on the two people who had shown her as much affection and compassion as her own father had.
"It's not your place to think such things Teela," she thought. "What would you have done had you been in Queen Marlena's place."
Still, she knew Adora hated being kept in the dark and she wondered how the news would go over.
She damned the Horde for doing this to her friends. If she had known earlier that day what she knew now, she would have left that Horde spy in the street.
"Filthy, no-good bastard," she thought as her face flushed red. "If I ever get a chance at that horrid creature again, I'll make him wish he never set foot in Eternia."
But something tugged at her chest, as if the thought of hating the stranger was wrong in some way. This bothered her more than anything.
Her father's instructions pushed through the thoughts in her mind and she slowly snapped back to work mode. She watched the palace monitors diligently for signs of anything out of the ordinary.
Her gaze fell upon the garden monitor as she watched the Queen sit on a bench. Her face was in her hands and her shoulders were shaking. Teela's heart broke for her and she fought the urge to go console her.
She noticed quickly that the Queen was not alone as she watched her father approach. While she could not hear the word they were speaking, she could only guess the topic of their conversation.
On another monitor, Teela watched her best friend enter the throne room and swallowed hard as the King excused the guardsmen stationed there. She didn't need audio to know what was about to happen.
She watched King Randor walk toward his daughter and try to embrace her as he spoke. Adora's facial expressions changed from adoration, to confusion, to sadness and finally to anger, all in the span of mere minutes.
"Poor Adora," Teela whispered as she wiped a tear away from her eye. "I hope she's strong enough to get through this."
She continued to watch as Adora pushed her father away in one monitor and as Man-At-Arms embraced the Queen in another. And as Adora and Man-At-Arms left the monitors, Teela's heart sank further.
"Their lives are being blown apart," she thought. "And there's nothing I can do to help them."
And as it had happened many times before, Teela felt disconnected from her loved ones for once again, she was outside looking into their lives.