She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is produced by Dreamworks Animation Television, and both She-Ra and He-Man are owned by Mattel. With that said, Enjoy.

Chapter 23: Surprise!

It was around 2:00 in the afternoon when our trio finally made it back to the Palace and so far nothing had gone too terribly wrong. Since their brief but heated confrontation, neither Adam nor Bow had said more than a few words to the other. If Adora suspected that something was amiss she hadn't mentioned it yet, but for the whole ride back, there was this intense feeling of awkwardness that hung over the group like a dark cloud. It was as if there was an invisible powder keg hovering over them, just waiting for someone to set it off.

Anyway, the gang had landed their craft on the northeastern parapet of the castle and were making their way along the walkway that led to the throne room.

Adora, still excited by the prospect of one of her closest friends meeting the rest of her family, took the lead while Bow and Adam covered the rear.

"Come on, guys. We're almost there." The Warrior Princess said delightedly as they neared their destination. "Come on. What's the hold up?"

It was then that she noticed that not only were her two favorite people lagging behind, but they were also avoiding eye contact.

"What's with you guys? You've been acting weird ever since we left that tavern."

"It's nothing, Adora." Bow said, attempting to ease his friend's troubled mind. "We just had a little too much to eat. That's all."

"Yes, Dear Sister. Just a bit of indigestion. Nothing for you to worry about." Adam added casually. "You just hurry on ahead and we'll catch up."

"Well… okay." She replied, not sounding totally convinced, but obeyed her brother's wishes just the same.

Once she was well out of earshot, Adam turned to Bow and shot him a stern look.

"Listen, Archer. I'm only gonna warn you about this once. When Adora introduces you to our parents, no political stuff. Got it?" He said in a hushed but serious tone. "This is an important night for my sister and if you do or say anything to ruin it for her, your last words will be muffled by your own ass. Is that clear?"

"You don't scare me." The Noble Archer replied with a stern look of his own. "If anything happens to me, Adora will never speak to you again. So just back off."

Adam wasn't backing down, but Bow was still feeling pretty sure of himself, until he fully processed everything the young Prince had just said.

"What's so special about tonight?"

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ADORA!" went a chorus of voices just up the hall; instantly answering his question.

The boys hurried to rejoin Adora at the end of the hall where, much to Bow's astonishment, they found a large crowd of people waiting for them; most of them young, attractive females around their own age. But there were also a number of older men of varying size and species, dressed in what appeared to be some sort of formal lightweight armor. And at the very center of the room stood a man and woman the Noble Archer recognized all too well. King Randor and Queen Marlena; the supreme rulers of Eternia and Adora's formerly long-lost parents.

Somehow, he just knew this was going to get awkward.

"Wha… What is all this?" the Warrior Princess asked in a shocked but delighted tone.

"It's your birthday party, of course." Adam answered pleasantly as he put his arm around her shoulder. "Well, I suppose technically it's our birthday party, but I've already had eighteen and you've never even had one. So I very generously offered to step out of the spotlight this time and let this day be all about you."

"You mean…"

"That's right. All the attention. All the presents. All for you. And speaking of presents, I took the liberty of adding a few names to the guest list. Specifically, that group of girls we helped rescue from those goblin slavers a few weeks back. As I recall, several of them said they'd do just about anything to repay you for bringing them home."

"You're the best brother ever!" Adora exclaimed, overwhelmed with joy as she embraced Adam in a tight but loving hug. "Bow, isn't Adam just the best?"

"Yeah… he's something alright."

"What's with you?" she asked confusedly, before a sudden realization dawned on her. "Oh… now I get it. Adam told you about the party back at the pub and you've been trying not to tell me this whole time. That's why you were both acting so weird."

"Yup, that's exactly right." The Noble Archer said awkwardly. "That and only that is why we've been acting so weird. You got us, Adora. You're just too smart for me."

XXX

(48 Minutes Later)

The party was in full swing and for the most part everyone was enjoying themselves; especially Adora. As if being the center of attention and getting tons of presents weren't enough, the Warrior Princess had nearly died of ecstasy when the palace chef wheeled in a life-sized ice cream cake modeled after her She-Ra form. And now to top it off, she was being fawned over by several attractive young women close to her own age. Yes Sir, Adora was having a truly wonderful time.

But Bow on the other hand was not.

Granted, the party itself was quite lovely and the She-Ra cake was delicious, but the guestlist, at least in his own opinion, was full of undesirables. Aside from the 'special guests' invited by Adam, the room was mostly filled with royalty from allied kingdoms; nearly all of whom King Randor had helped into power through acts of intimidation and violence possibly too severe even for the Horde. Across the room he saw Kings Dactys and Ceratus chatting pleasantly amongst themselves. A pair of thieves and butchers lauded as heroes and saviors by the community. He remembered how sick he felt when he saw Adora hug them and affectionately call them her 'uncles'.

Then there was King Randor himself; the Grand Opportunist. The lowly soldier who took advantage of a crisis to rob and pillage and make himself King. Boy, it really turned his stomach to know just how much Adora idolized this man. It reminded him about when they first met and she was still singing the praises of the Horde. If only she knew the truth.

But could he tell her? I mean, the Horde was one thing, but this was her father. Her family. The one thing she'd wanted all her life. Adora might act tough, but she was really very sensitive. And this sort of revelation could be very devastating for her.

But on the other hand, Adora was one of his closest friends, and she deserved to know the truth, no matter how hard it might be for her to hear.

Well that settled it. He was going to talk to her about this right away, regardless of the consequences. And with that in mind, the Noble Archer made his way across the crowded room until he reached his target.

By the time he found her on the opposite side of the room, his friend was sitting in the middle of a long, ornate couch, surrounded by seven beautiful young women of varying size and species. The ones sitting closest to her were taking turns feeding her forkfuls of ice cream cake while those on the ends just giggled and blushed like schoolgirls.

"Hey, Bow. Some party, huh." Adora said casually upon finally taking notice of him. "Oh, but where are my manners? Allow me to introduce my VIP guests for the evening. This is Princess Felina of Felis Qadi, Princess Violet of Andreenos, Princess Iolande of Aquatica, Princess Carrina of Sunternia and of course the lovely ladies I rescued from those nasty slavers, Hazel, Elenore and Wilhelmina. Girls, this is Bow, one of the greatest warriors on all of Etheria."

The girls all politely said hello. Two of them even winked at him. But at the moment, the Noble Archer had more important things to think about.

"Nice to meet you all." He replied; blunt but polite. "Adora, can I please talk to you for a moment? In private?"

"Sure, buddy. No problem." Adora replied, before standing up. "Ladies, if you'll excuse me for just a minute, I'll be right back."

The 'VIPs' all blushed and giggled, but courteously allowed them to leave. Before long, the two friends were in a secluded alcove a short distance away; still visible to the other party guests but otherwise alone.

"So, what's on your mind?" the Warrior Princess asked casually.

"Several things." Bow answered uneasily. "First off, I'm a little worried about you. I think you're getting a little too comfortable with your new role as a princess."

"What do you mean?"

"Well… you're not acting like yourself. The Adora I know would never try to seduce seven girls at once."

"Whoa! Back up a second, Chief. I was not 'seducing' those girls. They all just happen to be into me. And can you blame them? I mean, look at me. I'm gorgeous. And anyway, it's not like I was gonna try to sleep with them all at once. Maybe just one or two. You know, if they're into that. But if I had to choose, I'd go with Hazel. She's a real cutie, and she's got a real nice butt. Don't you think?"

"Are you drunk?"

"No! Hic. Hic. Okay, maybe a little. But I've only had about three… or four glasses of wine, so it's cool. I have like a super high tolerance."

"Clearly."

"Look, will you stop being such a judgey judge guy and just relax. I wanna get back to Etheria and stop the Horde as much as anyone, but we can't do anything about that right now. So can you just pretend that everything's okay for one night and just have fun at my party? Please?"

"Sigh. Okay, okay, but there's something else I need to talk to you about. It's about your dad…"

"Oh my gosh! I totally forget to introduce you to my parents. Oh dude, I am so sorry. Come on, I'll take you to 'em right now."

"What? No, Adora, wait…"

"No, come on. It'll be fun."

And with that, the inebriated Princess took him by the hand and before he even knew what was happening, the Noble Archer was dragged clear across the room to face the last two people he ever wanted to see.

The King and Queen.

"Mom! Dad!" Adora said excitedly as they reached their destination.

"Hey, Kiddo." Said Her Majesty warmly.

"Enjoying the party, Sweetheart?" asked His Majesty pleasantly.

"And how! This is the best birthday I've ever had! It's also the only one, but whatever. Anyway, Mom, Dad, there's someone I'd like you to meet."

"Oh~ I already know who this handsome gent is. You're one of the heroes who helped free my daughter from that awful Horde. Put 'er there." The Queen said playfully as she extended her right hand for him to shake. "Oh, what am I doing? Come here you!"

And with that, the older female pulled Bow into a tight but affectionate hug that nearly knocked the breath out of him. This lasted for about a minute until she finally let him go.

"Cough. Cough. Nice… nice to meet you, Ma'am."

"Glad to hear it. So, when are you planning to propose to my daughter?"

"What! No, I don't… we're not…"

"HA! I'm just kidding! I already know you're gay."

"What! No, I'm actually not…"

"HA! Got you again! Seriously, what is it like to be that gullible?"

"Ugh…"

"Darling, stop teasing the poor boy. He's obviously had a long day." The King said in a calm but good-natured tone. "Sorry about that. She does this sort of thing every time she meets someone new."

"It's fine. It didn't bother me that much." Bow replied, partially lying. "Although I'm beginning to see where Adam gets it from."

"I choose to take that as a compliment." The Queen said teasingly. "But in all seriousness, welcome to Eternia. I hope that little bit of unpleasantness in Arcadia hasn't soured you on the rest of our fair planet. I assure you, most women around here aren't nearly as crazy or hygiene deficient as those Amazonian husband hunters."

"I try not to base my opinions solely on first impressions." He replied politely. "But in all honesty, Ma'am, Sir, I'm eager to get back home as soon as possible. So I'm not really in the mood to party."

"Good man." The King said proudly. "Even after being zapped halfway across creation, your mind's always on your duty. That's the mark of a good soldier. Well, you have my word that we've got some of Eternia's best and brightest working on the problem. We'll have you back home soon enough. And when you return, you'll have the armies of Eternia at your back. We'll fix those Horde jokers just like we did in the old days."

'That's exactly what I'm afraid of.' The Noble Archer thought silently.

"But in the meantime," Randor continued. "You're more than welcome to stay here at the Palace. We can put you up in the old Astronomy Tower, provided Orko doesn't object to having a roommate."

"Where is Orko anyway?" asked Adora out of the blue. "I figured he'd be here doing magic tricks or something."

"I believe he said he was going to visit your friend Shadow Weaver over at Castle Grayskull. He should be back soon." Answered the Queen pleasantly.

That one innocent statement had raised at least a dozen questions in Bow's mind, but before he could even attempt to articulate even one of them, a small, vaguely goblinlike figure dressed in red suddenly appeared before them in a puff of smoke.

"Surprise!" the strange creature shouted excitedly. "Did somebody mention my name?"

"Orko, there you are." The Warrior Princess said delightedly. "I was worried you were gonna miss my party."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Adora." the creature replied affectionately. "And boy, have I got a present for you."

End Notes:

This one's a little shorter, but I hope you liked it just the same.

Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next one.

Peace.