Pure Intentions? Chapter 15
After resting for the afternoon, Prince Adam and Teela made their way to the dining room for a quick lunch. Seeing Prince Esker, Adam walked up to him giving him a heartfelt greeting. Introducing Teela, Adam stood tight lipped as he watch Esker rake his gaze appreciatively up Teela's curvaceous body. Adam was thankful that she was fully covered in her fatigues. He didn't want to have to watch the young prince stare at his bodyguard's body had she been wearing her white uniform. Adam swore that he would have to convince Duncan to force Teela to change uniforms. "Why did she have to wear so little clothing, anyway', he thought. Quickly bringing to mind his own outfit as He-Man, he dismissed his query knowing that Teela needed the freedom the uniform afforded to fight better.
He was glad when Princess Janice entered the dining room with her father and they all sat down at the dining table. With their meal served and consumed, Adam and Teela left the dining room for a quick tour of the Palace. Adam was awed at all the upgrades he noticed throughout the building, ideas he was sure belonged to Princess Janice.
Looking at his timepiece, Adam noticed that it was time they returned to their rooms. Upon agreement with Teela it was decided that he would dress in Prince Esker's rooms, thus giving Teela and Maggie freedom to prepare for the masquerade ball in their room. They made this decision at Prince Esker's request who wanted alone time with Prince Adam. Teela agreed to the arrangement as she knew that Adam would be protected by Prince Esker's bodyguards.
Thus Teela found herself dressing for the masquerade ball, her long flame colored tresses piled in loose flowing curls on top of her head. On her face she wore a tri-colored mask of gold, black, and white which hid her features, but not her eyes. Teela wore a floor-length midnight blue taffeta gown. The dress was off-shoulder with a low V-neck opening draping from her collarbone down towards her ribcage. It fit her tight across the body down to her knees. From there it extended out, ruffling into two tiers the bottom one edged in dainty black lace. A matching ruffled-lace covered the opening on her chest.
The ballroom was decorated in the Royal Morainian colors of maroon and gold. Teela walked into the room and found a seat by the veranda to sit on. Due to the ball being a masquerade there were no assigned seats. Rather the guests were to be seated by order of arrival. Off course Teela timed it so that she was one of the first guests to arrive. This gave her ample time to assess the room for any dangers. She knew that the Morainian guards were assigned to this task, but she took her job protecting Adam very seriously. Plus she thought an extra pair of eyes wouldn't hurt.
Assessing that the room was not hiding any dangers, she sat at her seat and waited until more people arrived. Soon hundreds of people swarmed the ballroom, some seated around her some already dancing to the melodious tunes. Teela was unable to tell who was who beneath their masks. She wondered if Adam had arrived. Part of her itched to contact him on his communicator to ensure that he was safe; while part of her wanted to trust that the Morainian guards were enough.
Before long the herald asked all the guests to find their seats as they would be treated to a special presentation by the Morainian palace guards. Her curiosity picked, Teela watched as musicians carrying various instruments entered the room followed by men dressed in traditional Morainian folklore clothing, consisting of maroon pantaloons topped with matching colored vests sporting gold buttons in a diagonal over white long sleeved dress shirts. Teela noticed that each man had a dagger securely attached on the material swathed across their waists. Their heads were covered by maroon headscarves. All the men sported full facial hair.
The men made a straight line behind the musicians. With the first stroke of the tympan, the dancers raised their arms to the side clasping each other by the shoulders. When the lyre and lute player started stringing the harmony the men began a slow shuffling movement of their legs. As the music's pace quickened so did the dance movements. At one point, the men were kicking their legs high into the air, slamming their booted feet on the marble floor the sound resembling that of ricocheting bullets. Teela recognized it as a traditional war dance of the Northern Eternian peoples.
Amazed she watched as the lead dancer began an intricate set of dance figures, leaping into the air as he lifted his knees kicking his legs into the air while slamming his hand on his knee, heel, toe in various alternative sequences while sometimes turning his body around 360 degrees. The dancer's movements took on an acrobatic form, stunning all his spectators. Suddenly, he withdrew his dagger lunging on the ground and thrusting the point of his sword forward a loud war cry torn from his lips. The dancer's movements were so profound, Teela felt as if the dagger pierced her heart. Thunderous applause filled the room at the man's show of athleticism and masculinity. With the dance over, the men exited the dance floor.
Teela a huge aficionado of dance totally enjoyed the performance. She was extremely impressed by the lead dancer who stood a head taller than his companions. The healthy sexual woman in her, appreciated his broad shoulders that tapered into a trim waist, his body accentuated by long muscular arms and legs. This man was the epitome of 'tall, dark, and handsome'. Teela acknowledged an immediate physical attraction to him, particularly when he lunged with his sword, the man's actions instantly reminding her of He-Man on the battlefield. As she contemplated her attraction to this stranger, Teela noticed a shadow falling over her.
Looking up she stared onto the form of the man she was just ogling. She would recognize him anywhere as he was the tallest man in the room. She saw the man had his hand out extended to her palm up, in a gesture typically associated to asking a woman for a dance. Beguiled by his presence and performance, Teela placed her hand into his as he raised her off her seat and pulled her straight into his embrace. He smelled of sandalwood and musk, the scent tantalizing her senses. Staring at him, she took in his high pronounced cheekbones and strong slightly pointy chin. His lips were obscured from the upwards curly mustache and trimmed beard that adorned his face. Raising her eyes, she took in his piercing light blue eyes. Eyes that at that moment were deeply gazing into hers.
Wordlessly, she allowed this stranger to twirl her around the dance floor as they danced a mesmerizing waltz. Never had Teela felt so swept up off her feet. Carelessly, she allowed him to lift her off the floor, bend her backwards, and spin her into a million dizzying turns. Breathless, she allowed him to escort her back to her seat at the end of the song. Only then did she notice the strand of golden-blonde hair peeking underneath the man's wig.
Adam, her heart sang with a pang as she recognized his very unique hair color.
This man who captivated her with his masculinity was no other than the Prince she was supposed to be protecting. Before the man in question turned to leave, she pulled on his shirt sleeve making him sit next to her. "Where did you learn that traditional dance, Adam?", she asked him breathlessly.
"Sshh, no one knows it's me under this wig." "I don't want to reveal my identity", he told her. "But to answer your question, as Heir Apparent to the High Throne of Eternia I take it upon myself to know about the culture and customs off all the lands in the Kingdom that I will rule one day", he answered her before standing up and leaving her. Adam's answer shocked Teela. This was not the aloof Prince she knew him to be, the one who adamantly refused to dance in front of patrons at balls given by his parents.
The rest of the night flew at a blur for Teela who remained seated until the final reveal of all of the guests from their masquerade. Looking around she noticed that she couldn't see the disguised Adam in the room. Wondering where he disappeared to again, she returned to their rooms. Just outside the door, she saw Adam leaning nonchalantly up against the door apparently waiting for her. She noticed that he had changed into a black tuxedo, his apparel very different than that of the splendid dancer.
Upon entering their shared suite, they both changed into sleepwear. Teela wore a light-blue flannel pajama set with wide leg bottoms. She noticed that Adam was wearing loose gray cotton sweat pants with an oversized matching long sleeve t-shirt. This was the first time she glimpsed him in his pajamas in a very long time. He was adorable, she thought. Without much conversation, they lay down to sleep.
Teela knew that Adam was very uncomfortable on the chaise. Both his arms and legs hung over its edges due to his extreme height. Served him right, she thought for making her feel uncomfortable because he had not requested two separate bedrooms for them. When Teela saw that for the majority of the trip they would be sharing suites, she thought that at least she would have her own bed. She did not expect to have to share a bed with the Prince.
If Teela did not suspect that Adam was He-Man, she would not have a problem sharing the bed with him. He was right, they often slept in each other's room well into their teenage years. In the past, Teela didn't have many friends so unless she was having a sleep over with Adam, she hadn't participated in this teenage rite of passage. It was one of the reasons why they were always so close. She knew that Adam kept her around because she was brutally honest with him, something his peers often lacked. All those who wanted to hang out with Adam typically wanted to do so because of his social standing. Between them there was no distinction of rank or bloodline. Having grown up with the Prince, it didn't faze Teela that one day he would be King.
Slightly opening one eye, she tried peaking in his direction. Before she had time to move, Teela was struck in the face by a flying throw pillow. "You suck!", she heard him state. Unable to hold back any longer, Teela let out a loud laugh the noise reverberating in the bedroom.
Clutching the thrown pillow to her chest, she watched as Adam stood up from the chaise. Without preamble he jumped onto the bed. Grabbing the thrown pillow out of her hands, he plumped it up before slamming his head down on it.
As soon as he was comfortable, Teela pushed against his thighs with her bare feet attempting to throw him off the bed. Opening one eye, he stared at the part of his body where her legs touched him. Mutely, he grabbed her legs pushed down with his strength and immobilized her movements. In an extremely serious tone he stated, "I'm staying in the bed." His tone did not leave any room for argument.
Deciding not to test his limits, Teela reclined on the pillows harrumphing her displeasure. Turning on her side, she felt him do the same. Grabbing the quilt with both hands, she tugged the covering over her body leaving him mostly exposed.
"Teela", he growled. Turning onto his other side so he was now facing her, he did the only thing he could think of so that they were both covered. Slipping an arm underneath her shoulders, he tugged on her body until he brought her closer to his, spooning with her despite her very valiant struggles not to be moved. With reflexes that surprised Teela due to their speed, he pulled up the quilt covering both of them. He then wrapped his free arm around her, keeping her immobilized against his chest, his hips nestled tightly behind her curved derriere his nose buried within her fragrant hair. "Sleep Teela", he directed.
His actions made her loose her cool. How dare he think he could just order her about? And how could she sleep feeling his manhood pressed snuggly against her bum? Before she gave him a piece of her mind, she felt a presence pushing against her back.
"Whoa, you two will strangle someone with your movements", they both heard.
Jumping apart at the unexpected voice they watched with open mouths as Orko materialized in the bed between them. "Hello", he stated in his cheerful voice. "Surpriiiiiise, Adam."
Bolting upwards, Adam turned his gaze toward the bed. Sure enough there was Orko. 'Who invited him?', he thought. Rather than voicing his question aloud, he squinted his eyes as he looked accusingly at Teela.
Sitting up, she gave him a dazzling smile before flipping onto her stomach and covering her head with a pillow. She would not address his unvoiced questions. Staring at her back, Adam did the only thing possible to get answers. He asked Orko directly, what he was doing there?
Teela hoped the magician wouldn't reveal that it was she who asked him to accompany them. Orko surprised her when he answered, "I invited myself, Adam." "You know it's not a trip without me."
Adam instantly knew that this was why Teela was so jumpy in the Attack Track. He had a feeling she knew all along that Orko would join them. He would ask her about it; however, at a later time. For now, he let her think that they trumped him. Actually Adam thought, Orko's presence may be a blessing in disguise as he could definitely use the magician's assistance when he needed to disappear to become He-Man. With these thoughts, he laid himself down to sleep. It was going to be a long night, especially now that Orko was there to cock block him. Orko had to appear just when he had Teela exactly where he wanted her.
Before falling asleep, Adam felt Cringer join them on the already cramped bed. So much for his tact at seduction. In the morning, he would ask the palace staff to bring in a few more beds within this suite.
A/N: If anyone is interested in knowing more about the folklore dance I'm mentioning below it's an amalgamation of Greek folklore dances mainly: 'Pentozali' and 'Kotsari'.
Donalbain: I hope this was the EXACTLY right moment for Orko to appear that you had in mind.
AdTeeFan: Yes Teela is getting her payback for He-Man…
Kakerot Bardockson: Does he ever!?, a devious smile on TheSorceressQueen's lips.
To everyone else who has read and reviewed, thank you so much for your very inspiring reviews and support.