Chapter Two- A Secret and a Destiny Revealed
"Teela, the time of your special destiny has arrived," the Sorceress declared.
"My special destiny?" Teela repeated.
"Yes. The time has also come to know your mother."
Excitement welled up inside the young woman. She had wanted to know her mother for years and now the moment had finally arrived.
"Please, Sorceress. Tell me who my mother is."
"I…am your mother, my daughter."
"You? Why did you never tell me?"
"It was necessary to keep it a secret. If any of our enemies knew you were my daughter…"
"They would use me to get you to surrender Castle Grayskull."
"Correct."
"That plan wouldn't last long. He-Man would rush to save me." The thought of He-Man reminded Teela of what she had seen earlier. "Mother, I saw Adam become He-Man before coming here. Why didn't he tell me?"
"For the same reason why I never told you that I'm your mother.
"And now for the other reason I called you here. Skeletor is planning to unleash an unusually powerful spell on Grayskull; one that I alone cannot defeat. The time has come for you to take my place as the Guardian of Grayskull."
Teela was stunned at this pronouncement. "Me? Become the Sorceress?"
"Not right away, my daughter. For now, I will teach you magic so that together we can defeat Skeletor's spell. Afterwards, you will indeed take my place and I will continue to instruct you, though I will have no magic."
Teela returned to the palace some time later with magical knowledge swirling within her head. She silently repeated everything she had learned, knowing that in a few hours or days she would need to use it to defeat Skeletor. The Sorceress didn't know the exact nature of the spell the two of them would face nor how long it would take Skeletor to learn and test it. Obviously, their enemy would test it before using it on Grayskull; anyone would test a new weapon or magical item to make sure it didn't backfire in some way.
She also wanted to confront Adam over what she had seen, but the Sorceress cautioned her against such an action. She did tell her that Orko and her adopted father, Man-At-Arms, knew Adam's secret. Teela decided not to confront the prince. Instead, she decided to give Adam a training lesson as soon as she found him.
About fifteen minutes later, Teela and Adam faced one another armed with a sword and a shield each. As they fenced, Teela realized something that she hadn't before: Adam's sword was the same one that He- Man used. I can't believe I never noticed that before. How could I have been so naïve? The two of them continued to train for an hour before a weary Adam started to walk away.
"Adam, where are you going? We just got started," Teela scolded.
Adam gave a weary sigh. "I'm done for the day."
"Now, come on Adam. I know you can do more. There's a reserve of strength and energy inside you that you haven't tapped yet. You need to tap it now. I won't be able to be your bodyguard forever."
Adam whirled around and stared at her. He was surprised to hear Teela speak like that; it was almost as if the Sorceress was speaking through her. He considered her words before raising his sword and shield. "Okay. You say I have an untapped reserve. Well, let's tap it."
Teela smiled as the two continued the lesson. That plan worked perfectly. She had been bursting to say she knew the prince's secret, but refrained from saying it out loud- at least in the blunt sense. By saying he had a hidden reserve, she hinted she knew his secret and that she would soon be fulfilling her destiny as the new Sorceress of Grayskull- not that he was aware of that. She showed him new maneuvers that she felt he was ready to learn. He actually seemed eager to learn these new moves and as he practiced them, Teela could almost see He-Man before her instead of the prince. I was so oblivious to so much, but now my eyes are open and I see everything differently. I wonder when Skeletor will attack. Will it be soon or not for some time?
A glowing jewel lay behind a protective shield that thus far no one and nothing could penetrate. That was something that Skeletor intended to correct. The jewel wasn't magical; it was simply rare and valuable. It was the shield that he wanted to bring down- with the spell that he and Evil-Lyn had practiced for two days until the chant was word for word perfect in their recitations. Once the spell was in their minds, Skeletor burned the page so that the spell would work. Now, he and Evil-Lyn stood before the jewel's shield. Skeletor held out his hand and Evil-Lyn put her hand in his.
They began to chant and a bright red beam shot from their joined hands and struck the shield which sparked and flared as it fought back against the beam. The Evil Warrior continued to chant and the beam grew brighter and wider. The shield sparked furiously before it dissolved in a loud explosion that sent Skeletor and Evil-Lyn onto their backs. Skeletor was on his feet first and he approached the jewel, his hands outstretched in case he came into contact with the shield. There was no resistance as Skeletor reached the jewel and held it up in his hands.
He laughed. "We did it, Evil-Lyn! The spell works! Let us rest for tomorrow we will conquer Grayskull!"
His laughing image faded from the Window of Spirits. The Sorceress spread her arms. "The time has come. Skeletor will attack tomorrow. I must summon Teela now so that we too can prepare." She transformed into Zoar and flew out of the castle.
Teela was practicing her fighting skills as well as her agility when she heard a sound overhead. Teela looked up to see an orange falcon circling overhead: An orange falcon who looked like the costume the Sorceress wore! Again, Teela marveled at how oblivious she had been to not have caught on before.
Teela, I need you at Grayskull. Skeletor will be attacking tomorrow.
The young woman realized that the Sorceress had just spoken to her through telepathy. She kept her focus on the falcon and said, "I hear you, Mother. I'm on my way." She headed to the landing pad and jumped onto a Sky Sled while Zoar flew back to Grayskull. Teela arrived at the castle at the same time as the falcon and flew her Sled inside and landed it next to the drawbridge as it cycled closed. She rushed to the throne room in time to see the falcon turn back into the Sorceress. She smiled at her daughter for a moment before adopting a business-like tone.
"The time has come. Skeletor has tested his spell and is ready to use it. From what I've managed to learn, he and Evil-Lynn will both chant the spell that will strengthen their magic that would overpower my own. The knowledge I have taught you will be of tremendous use as it will unlock your own magical energy and will lend itself to me in order to defeat both Skeletor and Evil-Lynn."
"What's to stop them from using it again?" Teela asked.
"Our combined power will overwhelm them and the spell's chant resides solely in their minds now. The chant will be wiped from their minds due to the immensity of our power."
Teela was amazed at her mother's knowledge of the spell. How did she learn all this? Perhaps, she soared over Snake Mountain as the falcon. It certainly sounded like a great way to gather information.
"Now, let us practice and prepare for Skeletor's attack. Tomorrow, when Skeletor comes, I will contact Adam through telepathy so that He-Man and Battlecat can help to drive Skeletor away after we defeat him."
Telepathy. I would love to learn that handy skill. Perhaps, Mother or the Spirit can teach me, the young woman thought as she followed her mother into the laboratory to continue their practice and begin preparation for battle.
"Sorceress, this time I will conquer Grayskull!" Skeletor declared the next day. "Your magic is useless now. Even He-Man can't save you!"
"No, Skeletor," Sorceress replied calmly from the window. "You won't succeed. Not now or ever."
"That's what you think. Evil-Lyn." The blue-skinned villain held out his hand and Evil-Lyn placed her hand in it. They raised their joined hands and began to chant.
Teela, out of sight, knew that was her cue. She slipped her hand into her mother's and chanted the words she had been taught to lend her magic to help the Sorceress. She felt a bit light-headed as her magic flowed out of her, but she shook it off and continued the chant.
Sorceress felt strong magic flow into her while Teela chanted out of sight. Their powers were melding together and she prayed it would be enough. Yes, she had sounded confident when relaying the plan, but she had been concerned that Skeletor would triumph.
Sorceress raised her hand and it glowed with a brighter yellow than normal. The glow intensified and she saw her enemies drop their hands and use both hands to shield their eye from the light. Sorceress concentrated on the spell she needed and the light in her palm shot out and hit Skeletor and Evil-Lyn with enough force to knock them on their backs. At that moment, He-Man came charging up on Battle Cat which caused the evil warriors to flee.
She felt Teela's hand slide out of hers and she turned in time to catch her daughter as she slumped down. She scooped up the semi-unconscious young woman and carried her to her bedchamber. She laid her on the bed and was about to leave when Teela murmured, "Mother."
"Hush, my daughter," said the Sorceress gently as she stroked her hair. "Skeletor has been defeated and you need to rest; lending your magic to me has exhausted you. Sleep now and when you awake, we will start the transfer of guardianship."
Teela nodded and dropped off to sleep, knowing that her destiny was finally here.