Chapter Eighteen

Duncan paced the throne room of Castle Grayskull, his face contorted in an angry scowl. Occasionally he would glare over at Teela. She was leaning against the windowsill, looking oddly self-assured. Both she and the Sorceress categorically refused to tell him why Prince Adam and Princess Adora had gone to Etheria.

"They would not want you to know." Teela stubbornly declared.

"All will be revealed at the right moment." The Sorceress murmured in that annoyingly cryptic manner she had.

Their responses made Duncan want to hurl something- his helmet, perhaps- across the room. He had known something was amiss the minute the tracking devices placed on all Stridors revealed that his daughter and the twins were at Castle Grayskull, since the innocent excursion that Adora had proposed at breakfast should not have involved a visit with the Sorceress. His trepidation had turned to anger once he reached Castle Grayskull and learned that Randor's children were on Etheria.

"You realize, of course, that you could lose your position over this." Duncan said to Teela.

She shrugged. "I think King Randor will understand."

"Well, I don't!" Duncan turned on his heel and stalked over to his daughter. "Why did you not go with them?"

"They did not want me to."

"And that stopped you?"

Teela rolled her eyes and was about to fire back when the Sorceress stood. "They are ready to return," she announced. She strode to the center of the room, raised her arms, and opened a portal. Duncan frowned. Why were there three figures emerging?

The portal faded, and Adam and Adora stood in its place. An older woman stood between them. She was blinking rapidly, clearly trying to adjust to the change in light. The woman was holding the twins' hands, something they did not seem to mind. In fact, the prince and princess were smiling happily, looking as if they had just invented this woman.

Duncan glanced at his daughter. She was grinning broadly. He stepped closer to the woman, scrutinizing her carefully. She had stopped blinking and was now looking at her surroundings. She smiled uncertainly at Teela. Then her eyes fell on Duncan, and her smile widened.

"Hello, Duncan." The woman said softly. There was something familiar about her voice, but the man could not place it. His frown deepened. Who was this woman, and how did she know his name?

The woman then saw the Sorceress. She bowed deeply, rose, and smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

The Sorceress nodded. "Welcome back to Eternia, Your Majesty."

"'Your Majesty?'" Duncan repeated. He took another step and gasped as he noticed the auburn braid that fell down the woman's back, the green eyes that looked slightly haunted. Could this possibly be…

"Marlena?" The warrior whispered.

The woman nodded, and the two embraced in the manner of old friends. "Randor is going to be overjoyed to see you." Duncan confided in her ear.

"I hope so." Marlena said, pulling away.

After bidding farewell to the Sorceress, the group made their way to the Royal Palace. There was some debate over travel arrangements, since neither Adam nor Adora wanted to leave their mother's side, and Duncan and Teela were anxious to protect the reunited trio. Skeletor had not been heard from in four days, when he had been defeated by He-Man and She-Ra, but one could never be too careful. Luckily, Duncan had traveled to Castle Grayskull in the Attak Trak, a land vehicle that could easily seat seven people. So they left the Stridors and traveled to the Palace, where they learned that King Randor was still meeting with the Royal Council. Adam and Adora were all for interrupting the meeting, but Marlena stopped them.

"I've waited eighteen years, so I can certainly survive another two hours. Besides," she looked self-consciously down at her attire, "I'd really like to freshen up."

Adora nodded understandingly. "Of course. You can use my room."

Adam groaned. "That'll take forever."

Marlena arched an eyebrow at her son. "Do you really think I need that much freshening up?"

"No, of course not." Adam flushed and hastily tried to correct his faux pas. "It's just that, well, girls always take a long time to get ready…" He trailed off when he saw that Adora and Teela were glaring at him.

Marlena laughed gently and advised, "Quit while your ahead."

The queen and princess went up to Adora's room, where Marlena reacquainted herself with the luxury of a long, hot shower. When she finally emerged from the washroom, wrapped up in a robe Adora had found for her, she found that her daughter was gone. A stunning gold dress was draped across her bed. Marlena was running her fingers across the delicate fabric when Adora returned.

"That's one of the gowns Father had made for me." The princess explained. She walked over and placed two gold hair clips beside the dress. "It's too long for me. The seamstress did that on purpose. She said that I'm supposed to wear heels with it, and I just didn't have the heart to tell her that I hate wearing heels. It should fit you, though, since you're a little taller than I am."

"Thank you."

Marlena had not taken much care with her appearance in a long time, since the last thing she had wanted was to look attractive to her captors. Now, however, she dried her hair instead of twisting it into the wet braid that she had worn for the last eighteen years. The small pots of lipstick and eye shadow felt odd in her hands, and in the end she decided against the cosmetics in favor of a more natural look. What he sees is what he gets, she thought as she used the clips to pin her hair up at the sides. She returned to the washroom to slip into the gown, then came back out and studied herself in the full-length mirror.

Adora watched her mother carefully, noting that Marlena looked slightly overwhelmed at what she was seeing. "You look really nice," the younger woman said sincerely.

"Thank you." Marlena smoothed down the skirt. "It's just so odd to see myself without that black uniform." Equally strange was the soft cloth on her skin, the plush carpeting beneath her bare feet. You had all this once, she reminded herself. Suddenly everything- the gown, the room, the light streaming through the curtains of the large window- seemed too bright, almost surreal. Marlena was suddenly afraid that this wonderful world would fade away, and she would find herself back in the dark halls of Hordak's lair. She closed her eyes.

"Mother?" Adora rushed forward and caught Marlena's arm. She gently guided her mother to a sitting position on the bed. "Mother, are you alright?"

"It's just so much, all at once." Marlena whispered. "It feels like a dream."

"But it's not a dream." Adora embraced her mother tightly. "The nightmare's over."

Marlena nodded. "I know." She forced her eyes open and put her arms around her daughter. "I'll be fine."

"If you're not ready to see Father yet…"

"No." The queen pulled away and met her daughter's worried gaze. "I need to see him. Only then will I know that the nightmare really is over." She patted Adora's hand reassuringly, then looked at the rustling curtains and smiled wistfully. "And I think I know the perfect spot for a reunion."

King Randor dropped a large stack of papers onto his desk and sighed. He rubbed at the headache that had formed at some point during his meeting with the Royal Council. Duncan, lucky man that he was, had been able to leave right after demonstrating the new weapons that he had invented. Randor, however, had no choice but to stay for the entire session, which had lasted from just after breakfast to just a few minutes ago.

It was not that the members of the Royal Council were unpleasant, because they weren't. They were, however, suspicious of anyone who they felt might be a threat to the future of the realm; and that, unfortunately, appeared to include Princess Adora.

"How do we know that she has truly abandoned the ways of the Horde?" Councilman Theron had asked. The other council members had verbalized their agreement with the elderly man, and Randor had spent a great deal of time trying to convince them of Adora's sincerity. Even now he knew that some of the Council had left unconvinced, but he realized that there was nothing else he could say to them. He could only hope that in time, the Royal Council would be able to look beyond Adora's past.

Randor wandered to the window and looked out into the garden, a sight that always calmed him. It was late afternoon, a time when most in the Palace were preparing for dinner, so he was surprised to see a woman standing in the garden. Randor watched curiously as she slowly walked the circumference of the fountain. The gold gown she wore swayed as she walked, as did the mass of red hair that fell down her back. Occasionally she would look toward the garden entrance, as if waiting for someone. Randor idly wondered who she was. He was certain he'd never seen her before, but there was something about the way the sunlight tangled in her hair that caused his heart to stir.

Noises from the hallway made him turn from the window. He heard excited whispering, and then his children were standing in the doorway. Both wore mysterious smiles, and one of Adora's hands was curled into a fist, as if she was holding something.

"Hello, Father." The twins said in unison.

Randor laughed and ushered them inside. "How was your excursion?"

"It was… interesting, to say the least." Adam responded.

"Did you see much of the kingdom?" Randor asked Adora.

"Um… not really." She looked down at her hands.

"Oh?" Randor frowned, disturbed by something in Adora's tone of voice. "Why not?"

The princess looked her father straight in the eye and answered, "Because we went to Etheria instead."

"What!" Randor walked briskly around the desk and stared incredulously at his offspring. "Why would you do such a thing?"

Adora laid a hand on Randor's arm. "Father…" she tried to soothe him. He caught the hand in his own, a frantic gesture that mirrored the alarm on his face.

"Do you understand the danger you put yourselves in?" He squeezed his child's fingers. "What if Hordak had found you? What if he had taken both of you?"

Adam spoke up then. "But he didn't, Father. We never went near the Fright Zone."

Randor threw up his hands at that. "But why did you go to Etheriaat all?" He demanded.

Adora tried again to explain. "It was important…"

"Nothing is that important!" Randor turned on his heel and stalked back to the window, visibly fuming. How could his children be so calm about what they had done? How was he supposed to punish them for this? They were adults, after all. Adora had lead entire armies, for Ancients' sakes! What was he going to do: send her to her room? The king slammed his fist against the windowsill and looked out at the garden, searching for some answer amongst the flowers.

The woman was still there. She now sat on the fountain wall, idly twirling a ronsa flower between her fingers. As Randor watched, she slipped the blossom into her hair. She turned her head and looked into the fountain, then leaned back and began to trace large circles onto the water's surface. Next she stood and shook the water off her fingers. She tilted her head and studied the fountain for a moment, considering. Then she stepped up onto the wall and began to slowly walk across the marble.

Randor suddenly found it rather hard to breathe. He gripped the windowsill and stared at the woman, transfixed by the hauntingly familiar poise with which she moved.

"Father?"

He forced himself to look away from the window and at his daughter. She had joined him behind the desk. Her cheeks were flushed with excitement.

"Is there someone in the garden?"

"A woman," Randor answered. A ghost, he thought.

Adora held out her clenched hand and uncurled her fingers. "This is for you."

Randor's brow furrowed when he saw what Adora was offering him. He took the item from her and held it up. Two rings dangled from a worn strip of cloth. Both rings were pure gold and small in circumference, as if made for slender fingers. The smaller of the rings was a simple gold band, similar to the kind a husband and wife might exchange at their wedding. The larger ring, though… Randor drew a short, sharp breath. The larger ring bore the Eternian crest in the center. Symbols were etched around the band, ancient emblems of power and protection. There were only two such rings in existence, as had been the case ever since the rings had been forged for the first king and queen of Eternia. Randor was presently wearing one of the rings. Marlena had been wearing the other when she and Adora were taken. Randor now noticed that the cloth from which the rings hung might once have been an emerald green, and that auburn strands of human hair were tangled in the knot that held the ends of the cloth together.

It seemed to Randorthat an eternity passed before he was able to form words, to force the crucial question from his lips. "Where did you get this?"

Adora's close-lipped smile turned into a grin as she answered,

"From the woman in the garden."

Marlena stepped down from the fountain wall and sighed. She stared into the pool of water, squinting, trying to find the carefree woman she had once been. It was impossible. She finally conceded defeat and wandered over to a bench that sat under a large tree.

The scent of the flowers, the gentle breeze, and the soft babbling of water might have been relaxing if Marlena had not been so nervous. She placed a hand on her quivering abdomen, closed her eyes, and took long, deep breaths through her nose. She lifted her face to the sun and let the warmth wash over her. For the first time since returning to Eternia, she allowed herself to feel the fears she had been trying to deny.

What if Randor did not come? What if he did not believe that she was still alive? She had given Adora her rings and asked her to present them to Randor, partially because she knew that her children wanted to participate in the reunion, and partially because she feared that Randor would not accept the truth unless he was presented with undeniable proof. He might still doubt, though.

Even if he did believe that Marlena was alive and waiting for him, there was no guarantee that he even wanted to see her again. What if he hated her for leaving him and Adam, for failing to protect Adora from Hordak's manipulations and Shadow Weaver's spells?

An agonizing thought came to mind, causing her to moan softly and breathe rapidly. What if Randor had remarried? She shook her head violently from side to side, causing the ronsa blossom to shift in her hair. Surely her children would have told her if Randor had another wife. Surely they would not leave her unprepared for that fact.

What if Randor no longer loved her? What if they had grown too far apart to ever be able to fully reunite? They had, after all, spent more time separated from one another than they had ever spent together. Surely Randor would have changed in the last eighteen years; Marlena certainly had. She no longer saw herself as the strong, confident, and hopeful woman whom Randor had married. There were parts of her soul that were frozen, portions of her psyche that had been wounded beyond repair. What if she and Randor were no longer compatible?

Marlena leaned back and let her head fall so that the sun warmed her throat. She missed the weight of the rings that had only recently been nestled in the hollow of her throat; she felt almost naked without them. It was odd, Marlena thought, that she had endured so much physical and emotional torture over the years, yet had never felt more vulnerable than she did right now, safe within the walls of her home.

Someone was watching her. She could feel eyes on her, but kept her own closed for a moment longer. Then she lifted her head, dug her palms into the rough surface of the bench, and forced her eyes open.

A figure stood in the entrance. She would have recognized him even without the prominent crown he wore. His eyes were intent on her face, and he was perfectly still. He appeared to be waiting for her to make the first move. She pushed herself to a standing position and began to walk toward him. She could feel herself going numb, could almost hear her emotions shutting down. A defense mechanism, she knew; one at which she was exceptionally skilled. Marlena had learned long ago that if she could not feel emotional pain, then she could not be hurt by it.

Randor watched her begin to move. He wanted to rush forward and gather her into his arms, but he feared that doing so would frighten her. Despite the proof of the rings in his pocket, he was still not entirely convinced that she was not a ghost, and he was afraid that she might disappear if he moved too quickly. So he walked slowly forward, never taking his eyes from her face.

They met in the center of the garden, stopping two feet from one another. Anyone who saw the man and woman at that moment might have mistaken them for statues, so still and so quiet were they. Husband and wife took stock of one another, each trying to judge what the other was thinking, both unwilling to speak for fear of breaking the spell.

A breeze raced across the garden just then, blowing through the trees, ruffling Marlena's hair and uprooting the ronsa flower nestled there. She followed with her eyes the blossom's rapid descent to the ground below, then looked back at Randor. Strands of hair clung to her cheek. Randor reached out and brushed the hair away, an automatic gesture that made his fingers tingle with the thrill of physical contact. He continued to move his fingers across her cheek even after the last stray tress had been tucked away. Marlena turned into the caress, warming his palm with her breath, planting soft kisses into the cup of his hand. Encouraged by this, Randor moved his hand to the curve of her skull and held his breath as he gently guided her head to his shoulder. He did not exhale until Marlena's face was buried in his shoulder and her arms were twined around his neck. Then he began to weep. As his body was racked by tears, he pulled Marlena closer, desperate for the feel of her body against his. He rubbed circles into her back with one hand, and stroked her hair with the other. Her body trembled violently, and he did not understand why until he felt her tears seeping through the fabric of his tunic.

Marlena cried without sound. Her soul was thawing, and the walls she had built around her fragile psyche were crashing down. She pressed closer to Randor's body, craving his touch the way an addict must crave their drug. She could feel his fingers brushing against her scalp, tangling in her hair. She stepped on the ronsa blossom, crushing it, setting free its strong, sweet fragrance. The scent drifted up to Randor and Marlena, and a floodgate of memories opened for both of them. For a second they were young again; for a brief eternity they were the only two people in the world, and their world was perfect.

They stood that way for a long time. When they finally moved, Marlena lifted her face to Randor's. He bowed his head and kissed her temple, near her eye. He slowly brushed his lips down her face, kissing away the trail of tears. He finally reached her mouth and covered it with his own. The kiss was long and tender. Each could taste the other's tears.

It was Randor who pulled away first. Marlena watched as he slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out the ribbon and rings. He untied the cloth and let the rings drop into his palm. He took Marlena's hand into his own, raised it to his lips, and kissed her fingers. Then he slipped the wedding band onto one of her fingers. "My wife," he whispered. He lifted her other hand, kissed it, and slipped the Ring of State onto another finger. "My queen."

They moved back into an embrace. Neither spoke. They held each other instead, gently swaying as one, while above them the leaves rustled in the breeze, clapping their approval.