Disclaimer in one.
**SF: Hey, I got your note and wanted to elaborate a little. What you're thinking of are the "Twiggets," they were in the She-Ra series. The "Widgets" were small people in the He-Man series. Hope that clarifies a little (. Also, I'm not really confining myself to the old series or the new series. I am trying to utilize both and create a little from imagination just for the heck of it. Thanks for the review! Hope you like the next chapter.
CHAPTER 13
The heels of Adora's shoes clicked loudly as she waked at a brisk pace through the palace corridors.
She had just received her father's urgent summons and was making her way to the throne room. If wasn't often that her father summoned her for an urgent matter, but none the less, she knew whatever he had to tell her was of great importance.
She nodded her head as she approached the numerous guards standing in parallel lines in front of the throne room. They all bowed and two opened the enormous doors for her.
Graciously, she thanked them and entered the spacious ornate room. Large portraits of past kings and queens hung majestically on the golden and red walls.
Adora always admired the great knowledge the rulers of the past had and she hoped that someday, she would be as wise as they were in their rules of the land.
Then there was that part of her that felt stifled at the idea of sitting on a throne day after day with no action to keep her distracted from dull politics. Not too mention that fact that she would not be allowed to rule alone.
She winced slightly every time her father brought up the subject of arranged marriages. It was not only tradition, in his eyes, but a royal protocol that he expected Adora to follow.
Quite frankly, she found it unfair. While her mother always emphasized love, her father demanded a choice that would be beneficial to the kingdom. At first, he was unrelenting about the subject, bringing suitors once and maybe twice a month. They would stay for a week or so, long enough for Adora to know without a doubt that she had no interest in them whatsoever, and they would leave at the queen's dismissal.
Adora knew very well that if it wasn't for her mother's insistence that Adora be allowed to have some say in her future husband, her father would have had her married off years ago.
She chuckled inwardly at the thought of explaining her constant disappearances and sleeping with the Sword of Protection under her pillow to a husband.
The thought was funny and alarming at the same time. She didn't want to be coddled, watched or have to explain every minute of her day to someone else. Furthermore, she wasn't ready to give up her secret responsibility, although sometimes she wondered if there wasn't more to life out there.
As she got closer to the throne, she caught the eye of Kalen, the Captain of the Royal Guards. He bowed, as did everyone else in the room, but did not smile. In fact, he hadn't smiled at her since she had broken off their secret romance late last year.
She wanted him to smile at her, but she quickly looked away. She hated not seeing the same affection in his beautiful brown eyes that he used to have for her. They had been so close for so long, having grown up together as well as the fact that he had been her bodyguard, a position he relinquished to Teela out of a broken heart.
She still cared very much for him, and she was sure her father would have approved, but she had a duty to fulfill. Until the land was rid of the evil that had befallen it, she would always choose her duty.
Still, the time she spent wrapped in his strong arms lingered in her mind.
When she almost tripped on the stairs leading to her father's throne, she snapped back to reality. King Randor looked bemused but concerned at the same time. Adora smiled lovingly at him and he stepped down and approached her.
"Why does he look so sad?" she wondered as she bowed in front of him. Etiquette was etiquette after all.
She knew he was worried and by the extra security around the palace, she suspected she knew why. But if it came down to it, she was fully prepared to go into battle to protect her home against an unfamiliar enemy.
That didn't mean the look on her father's face didn't concern her though.
"You sent for me father?" she asked sweetly, hoping she could do something to change the expression on his face.
Randor merely nodded and hugged her tightly. She squeaked as he released her and let out a little chuckle.
"You always hug me like you'll never get to do it again," she laughed.
Randor only smiled slightly and turned away from his daughter.
"Well, if I do, I suppose it is because I want to protect you from the tragedies of life," he said sadly.
Adora frowned as she wondered what he meant by that. But the king continued.
"But even as king, I cannot protect you from every sadness, every horror that life will throw at you," he said. "Elders known I have tried for many years. But I feel I have failed you, princess."
If Adora wasn't worried about her father before, she was now. Confusion swept over her and she cleared her throat.
"Failed me?" she asked. "I don't understand what you mean, father."
Randor's blue eyes lowered and suddenly it appeared to Adora that the floor was more interesting than her. After a long pause, Adora placed her hand on his arm.
"Please tell me," she begged. "Does it have to do with the Horde?"
The king looked up at her quickly and sighed heavily. Adora persisted.
"Please do not try to shelter me father," she implored. "Duncan told me of the atrocities of the Horde. I am confident we will be ready for them if they try anything."
Randor took his daughter's hands and stared at her. Adora was shocked to see tears forming in his eyes. She opened her mouth to reassure him again, but he shook his head and cut her off.
"Adora, all I've ever wanted to do is shelter you," he said slowly. "When you were an infant, I made you that promise that nothing would ever harm you while there was breath in my body."
Adora's eyes started to fill up with tears too as her father continued.
"And in my effort to protect you from harm, I feel I may have created the thing that would harm you the most," he faltered a little and then regained his composure. "When you were born, the greatest gift was bestowed on me by the gods themselves. But my fortune was short lived. The Horde stole a part of me that has left a hole in our family for too long. I see now that my prolonged silence has kept the hole open and bleeding over all these years."
Adora stepped back a bit, frightened by the confusion she felt over her father's admission. Despite his weary state of mind, Adora felt there was something she didn't know, something she needed to know, and if it was something her father had trouble coming to terms with, it had to be something very important.
"Father," she said. "What hole? What did the Horde steal? What are you talking about?"
Randor took a deep breath and looked directly into his daughter's eyes, identical to his own.
"I'm talking about Adam," he said with as much strength as I could muster. "Your brother."
**SF: Hey, I got your note and wanted to elaborate a little. What you're thinking of are the "Twiggets," they were in the She-Ra series. The "Widgets" were small people in the He-Man series. Hope that clarifies a little (. Also, I'm not really confining myself to the old series or the new series. I am trying to utilize both and create a little from imagination just for the heck of it. Thanks for the review! Hope you like the next chapter.
CHAPTER 13
The heels of Adora's shoes clicked loudly as she waked at a brisk pace through the palace corridors.
She had just received her father's urgent summons and was making her way to the throne room. If wasn't often that her father summoned her for an urgent matter, but none the less, she knew whatever he had to tell her was of great importance.
She nodded her head as she approached the numerous guards standing in parallel lines in front of the throne room. They all bowed and two opened the enormous doors for her.
Graciously, she thanked them and entered the spacious ornate room. Large portraits of past kings and queens hung majestically on the golden and red walls.
Adora always admired the great knowledge the rulers of the past had and she hoped that someday, she would be as wise as they were in their rules of the land.
Then there was that part of her that felt stifled at the idea of sitting on a throne day after day with no action to keep her distracted from dull politics. Not too mention that fact that she would not be allowed to rule alone.
She winced slightly every time her father brought up the subject of arranged marriages. It was not only tradition, in his eyes, but a royal protocol that he expected Adora to follow.
Quite frankly, she found it unfair. While her mother always emphasized love, her father demanded a choice that would be beneficial to the kingdom. At first, he was unrelenting about the subject, bringing suitors once and maybe twice a month. They would stay for a week or so, long enough for Adora to know without a doubt that she had no interest in them whatsoever, and they would leave at the queen's dismissal.
Adora knew very well that if it wasn't for her mother's insistence that Adora be allowed to have some say in her future husband, her father would have had her married off years ago.
She chuckled inwardly at the thought of explaining her constant disappearances and sleeping with the Sword of Protection under her pillow to a husband.
The thought was funny and alarming at the same time. She didn't want to be coddled, watched or have to explain every minute of her day to someone else. Furthermore, she wasn't ready to give up her secret responsibility, although sometimes she wondered if there wasn't more to life out there.
As she got closer to the throne, she caught the eye of Kalen, the Captain of the Royal Guards. He bowed, as did everyone else in the room, but did not smile. In fact, he hadn't smiled at her since she had broken off their secret romance late last year.
She wanted him to smile at her, but she quickly looked away. She hated not seeing the same affection in his beautiful brown eyes that he used to have for her. They had been so close for so long, having grown up together as well as the fact that he had been her bodyguard, a position he relinquished to Teela out of a broken heart.
She still cared very much for him, and she was sure her father would have approved, but she had a duty to fulfill. Until the land was rid of the evil that had befallen it, she would always choose her duty.
Still, the time she spent wrapped in his strong arms lingered in her mind.
When she almost tripped on the stairs leading to her father's throne, she snapped back to reality. King Randor looked bemused but concerned at the same time. Adora smiled lovingly at him and he stepped down and approached her.
"Why does he look so sad?" she wondered as she bowed in front of him. Etiquette was etiquette after all.
She knew he was worried and by the extra security around the palace, she suspected she knew why. But if it came down to it, she was fully prepared to go into battle to protect her home against an unfamiliar enemy.
That didn't mean the look on her father's face didn't concern her though.
"You sent for me father?" she asked sweetly, hoping she could do something to change the expression on his face.
Randor merely nodded and hugged her tightly. She squeaked as he released her and let out a little chuckle.
"You always hug me like you'll never get to do it again," she laughed.
Randor only smiled slightly and turned away from his daughter.
"Well, if I do, I suppose it is because I want to protect you from the tragedies of life," he said sadly.
Adora frowned as she wondered what he meant by that. But the king continued.
"But even as king, I cannot protect you from every sadness, every horror that life will throw at you," he said. "Elders known I have tried for many years. But I feel I have failed you, princess."
If Adora wasn't worried about her father before, she was now. Confusion swept over her and she cleared her throat.
"Failed me?" she asked. "I don't understand what you mean, father."
Randor's blue eyes lowered and suddenly it appeared to Adora that the floor was more interesting than her. After a long pause, Adora placed her hand on his arm.
"Please tell me," she begged. "Does it have to do with the Horde?"
The king looked up at her quickly and sighed heavily. Adora persisted.
"Please do not try to shelter me father," she implored. "Duncan told me of the atrocities of the Horde. I am confident we will be ready for them if they try anything."
Randor took his daughter's hands and stared at her. Adora was shocked to see tears forming in his eyes. She opened her mouth to reassure him again, but he shook his head and cut her off.
"Adora, all I've ever wanted to do is shelter you," he said slowly. "When you were an infant, I made you that promise that nothing would ever harm you while there was breath in my body."
Adora's eyes started to fill up with tears too as her father continued.
"And in my effort to protect you from harm, I feel I may have created the thing that would harm you the most," he faltered a little and then regained his composure. "When you were born, the greatest gift was bestowed on me by the gods themselves. But my fortune was short lived. The Horde stole a part of me that has left a hole in our family for too long. I see now that my prolonged silence has kept the hole open and bleeding over all these years."
Adora stepped back a bit, frightened by the confusion she felt over her father's admission. Despite his weary state of mind, Adora felt there was something she didn't know, something she needed to know, and if it was something her father had trouble coming to terms with, it had to be something very important.
"Father," she said. "What hole? What did the Horde steal? What are you talking about?"
Randor took a deep breath and looked directly into his daughter's eyes, identical to his own.
"I'm talking about Adam," he said with as much strength as I could muster. "Your brother."