Disclaimer in Chapter 1

CHAPTER 22

"I won't let you succumb to this madness. Please, I implore you to be sensible this time."

Adora's eyes narrowed and her face flushed hot with anger. Despite her feelings for the captain, as intense as they were, nothing put her off more than to be ordered by someone who she considered her partner.....her equal. She never took orders from anyone, save her parents, Duncan and the Sorceress and even then, she knew what they asked of her was for the greater good.

But not this again. She didn't have time for such childishness.

She had not seen him follow her and she had finally noticed his presence in the woods in the nick of time. Her sword was drawn and the words she had spoken so many times before to invoke the magic that gave her strength in so many ways, were caught in her throat.

She spun and stared at him, dropping her arm and her sword to her side. This was an old argument, one she was tired of having with him.

"You are not in any position to order me to do anything. Do not make me remind you of your rank," Adora spat. "In both our public and private lives."

Her words stung him and she regretted them the second they left her lips. She softened a bit as she watched him let out a sigh and look away. It was a defense mechanism she had learned too well about him. He could stare the most monstrous of all creatures down in any fight, hold his head high even as the most vile phrases are shouted in his ears, but when any type of scolding came from her mouth, it cut him to the core.

And she knew it. She was his one weakness.

But that was beside the point. Time was of the essence. She had a duty, not only to the world she protected, but also to her family. She owed it to her parents, to Duncan, to find out the truth, whatever it may be. Everyone she held dear deserved some kind of closure.

In her heart, she hoped it wouldn't be definite closure she would provide them, but that which had left a gaping whole of misery in their family bond all of her life. While she had been spared the suffering, they lived each day with the accursed knowledge that the greatest battle they had ever had was lost each day that her brother was taken.

If she had to move all of the heavens and hells in the universe, she would bring him back. She knew in her heart that he would help fill that void in her parents...in her.

But she wouldn't be able to do that if she had every step watched by the person she loved above all others.

"I didn't mean that," she said looking away. "But you can't shelter me from this."

Calen opened his mouth and closed it again, rethinking his decision to speak. Adora approached him and caressed his cheek gently with her hand.

"You cannot protect me from the world," she whispered. "I have seen too much. Teela is right, I believe it in my heart. My brother is here and this is my chance to save him. Please, if you love me, don't stand in my way."

He stared into her eyes and grasped her hand firmly in his.

"It is because I love you that I stand here," he said softly. "I have to consider the possibility that he can't be saved. He has spent too much time away from Eternia. We....you are as foreign to him as any other stranger and we don't know how he'll react, even in the face of the truth. He has already struck out violently against your mother. I won't....I can't let him take you down too."

Adora sighed and pulled away, but she kept his gaze, never once blinking.

"You have my heart Calen, you always will have it," she said. "But never, ever, put me in the position to choose this way again. This situation is not applicable to an ultimatum. For someone who claims to love me so, I would have thought you would have known me better."

He stiffened his back, she had driven in the knife deeper.

"I know you better than you think, Princess," he said through gritted teeth. "Whether you will ever choose to confront your own demons, even the ones you don't think I know about, is up to you. But I won't spend the rest of my life watching you kill yourself over them."

His tone and the look in his eyes alarmed her. But urgency pulled at her senses. With one last glance, she spun on her heels and dashed away, leaving the captain where he stood.

"Damn him," she muttered as she ran, silent tears forming in her eyes.

So engrossed in her thoughts she never once considered that the whole argument had been carefully watched.

Skeletor rested a scaly finger on his chin and chuckled to himself.

"This is almost too easy," he hissed the doomseeker turned its projection off and flittered away.

He glared at his minions who stood silently by, waiting for their finals orders. The plan was set, the pawns had played perfectly into his hands.

Skeletor knew Adora would be the key to Damas' downfall. Her desperate loyalty to a man she had never met was all too predictable. It was sweet irony to the dark overlord. Yes, the princess would ensure that his plan would work perfectly, that is if the prima donna prince played his part.

He turned to his soldiers and with a wave of his hand set his plan into motion.

"You know what to do," he growled. "I expect perfect execution this time, no mistakes or else."

From the air, Teela could see all that surrounded the palace. The afternoon air was light and the warmth of the sun felt god on her skin. She was grateful to be on reconnaissance duty, it allowed her to escape the whispers and stares she was receiving back at the palace.

"They think I've gone mad," she thought bitterly to herself. "It doesn't take a genius to put the pieces of this puzzle together. They refuse to see it because it's not comfortable for them. That or because they refuse to listen to a woman."

She scolded herself for having such thoughts and rolled her eyes in frustration. Her father forbade her to tell the king and queen of her notion. Especially after Adora took off without a trace. Calen, who she knew was upset with her outburst and would probably assign her to street duty for the next several sunrises, had followed the princess, most likely in an attempt to sooth her. He was probably the only one that could.

"Those two should just get married and get it over with," she thought, partly in sarcasm and partly in honest observation.

She hadn't wished to hurt any of them. But she knew what she knew. Her father had always instructed her to trust her instincts and this time, her instincts was screaming inside her mind, her heart and from the deepest recesses of her soul. She had never been so sure of anything in her life. It was as if she had known the prince her entire life even though up until a few days ago, she never even knew he existed.

Her instincts also told her something very clearly: She couldn't give up on him, not when she felt so much. In fact, the crazy stir of emotions that were raging inside her, seemed to be steering her in a calculated way. As if every move she made since her discovery was not random in a random way.

It was lunacy, even she knew, but something told her to follow what her mind and heart were telling her.

The static of the radio broke her concentration and soon she heard her father's voice.

"Teela, come in."

She picked up the received and prayed she wasn't going to be lectured about something.

"I'm here, go ahead father."

There was a pause and finally Man-At-Arms' spoke again.

"I believe you."

Teela smiled.

"Thanks, Dad," she said confidently. "I think I'm going to head towards Grayskull. I've got a gut feeling."

His response was quick.

"Be careful and report back with any findings."

She changed her direction and clicked on the radio one last time.

"Will do."

The windraider arched in the air and Teela started in a new course, in more ways than she knew about.