Disclaimer in one: Please oh please don't sue.

CHAPTER 26

"Huh?"

Most of the time, Teela was a woman known not only for her excellent fighting capabilities, but also her sound advice and rousing speeches of encouragement. In those times, she knew what the right thing to say was and was able to express it with great aplomb.

This, however, was not one of those times.

"Run that one by me again?" she asked with enough caution in her voice to disguise the great amount of confusion in her head. She looked at the man standing in front of her with skepticism. It seemed like minutes ago he was pointing a sword at her Captain's throat and spewing vile things at the King. That was a foul man who had nothing but hate in his eyes.

And though physically, while everything else seemed to be the same, the darkness behind his once icy stare was gone. Teela didn't know how to interpret what had replaced it but it was much more pleasant to look at.

She knew the truth about him and now it seemed he had some questions that she could help answer. Still, something wasn't right and it bothered her so much that she inadvertently started reaching for her sidearm again.

Damas noticed her movement and normally, he would have tackled her and fought tooth and nail for the weapon. Or so he thought. But this time he took a step back and put his hands up in a retreating gesture.

"I know it sounds insane," he said pleadingly. "If it were any other time or place, I'd have thought I'd gone mad and had myself locked in a dungeon until the notion had passed. But the power of this…..thing…..well, it's too strong. I have to believe there is something here for me to find."

Teela began to understand what he was saying and started to ease from her position. Seeing her relax, Damas slowly put his arms down and began to approach her.

"Why now?" Teela asked eyeing him carefully. "And how do I know this isn't some Horde trick?"

Damas nodded and stopped less then a foot from in front of her. Teela's face flushed with heat and she prayed she wasn't blushing but something told her her face was as red as a Tarkian beet.

Damas reached out and took Teela's hand. She looked down and for the first time noticed how delicate her hands really were, especially when enclosed in such a strong hand that had no doubt held a sword as much as she. Her breath caught in her throat as Damas pulled her hand closer to him and then, ever so gently, turned it over palm up.

Then the legendary General of the great Hordak's Army did something he never did before: He surrendered his weapon.

Teela scolded herself, she was so caught up in his closeness and touch that she hadn't even realized he had drawn his own sidearm. She could hear her father yelling at her now that she could have been killed. But instead, the man folded her fingers over the cold steel of the laserblaster with her own hand and took a step back without saying a word.

"I'm unarmed m'lady," he said seriously. "You can make me your prisoner and take me back to the dungeons of your palace or you can help me find the answer to my previous question. My fate, at this point, is entirely in yours hands."

Teela contemplated what he was saying. After a few seconds of looking at him and looking at the weapon in her hand, she made her move and pointed the laserblaster at him.

Dejectedly, Damas put his hands up in the surrender sign, but then Teela surprised him again as she swiftly and smoothly threw the gun into the abyss. As they watched it fall away, Teela dusted her hands off and approached Damas.

"I may live to regret this and so help me, if this is a trick I will rededicate my life to destroying yours," she said sternly. Then she softened. "Now that that's out of the way, I'll reintroduce myself."

She took his hand in a firm grasp.

"I'm Teela," she said with a smile. "And if I'm correct, which I usually am, your name, your real name that is, is Adam, Prince of Eternia."

The General's face went pale.

"A-aadam?" he stuttered. "A prince?"

Teela nodded and motioned for her new friend to follow her.

"How is it that you know that?" he asked, just as perplexedly. "How do I know it's not a trick?"

Teela cocked her head to the side and tried to give him an answer. This would be the difficult part.

"Well," she said, looking for the right way to explain. "I….um…..you see…."

"I think there is a person that can better explain this to you than us."

Teela looked quickly to the direction from which the voice came. Damas looked in the same direction but as he did, he took a defensive stance in front of Teela, as if he expected to be attacked.

Instead, Teela put her hand tenderly on his back and walked around him toward the speaker.

"It's okay," she said as she grabbed his arm and pulled him along. "And she's right."

Damas hesitantly followed Teela's lead and approached the person who previously addressed him.

She-Ra examined the man in front of her, taking in every detail of his face, his movements, and his voice. But it was his eyes. They were the same as hers, as their mother's, and that struck her. She fought back one urge to throw herself into his arms and another to slap him silly for the pain he had caused their family in the last few days.

But restraint had come to be her area of expertise. She knew that this man was her own blood, who was taken from her and robbed of his heritage and of her love. More so, she knew that this man had a destiny as great as hers and that the time had come for him to be reunited with the life he was supposed to have had.

But some things had to come later. Right now, she was Eternia's defender first, scorned sister second. She would deal with the latter when the time was more appropriate.

"I think the Sorceress would be better equipped to explain things, don't you Teela?" She-Ra said with little hesitation.

Teela frowned a bit. She had never been inside Grayskull and she had never spoken to the Sorceress directly. Somehow, she got the feeling that today wasn't going to be any different. She suddenly had a premonition of being sent back to the palace, alone.

And she really hated that.

"Adam," she said flatly. "This is She-Ra. One of Eternia's greatest defenders."

Damas nodded and slowly extended his hand to her, which she quickly took. In those few moments, a silent, unseen connection between two siblings occurred, even if one was not yet aware of it, but it would be the start of one of the greatest bonds in the history of their world.

"Your highness," She-Ra said with restrained happiness as she bowed her head. As she spoke, the jawbridge to the castle began to lower.

"Welcome home, my dear brother."

The General glanced quickly at Teela who, despite now having a saddened look on her face, nodded approvingly. He then faced the warrior woman again.

"I don't know about this whole 'Highness' thing yet," he said calmly as he looked at the now open door to the castle and then back to She-Ra. "But please, call me Adam."