Chapter 4 : A New Prince

Teela was shocked beyond words. What that man had said couldn't be true. Adam was the one and only son of king Randor. If it was not true, the king would not have been so cruel Adam since he had reached his sixteenth birthday. The young man who had named himself Miro was at least four years older than Adam! Teela looked at the prince and his mother, and saw the same shocked expression that Teela was sure she was wearing.

'All of this is a nightmare!' she thought. She turned to look at her father, and and saw a knowing look on his face. He believed the young man! It was not possible!

Without a word to her husband or his son, the queen left the room. Adam wanted to follow his mother, but his father stopped him from doing so. King Randor asked his two sons and Duncan to come with him to his study. With a resigned sigh, Adam followed his father, but not before he glanced at Teela. The young captain didn't need her power to understand Adam's silent plea, and she nodded her head to make him understand that she would do what he wanted. Adam smiled at her and followed his father. Miro looked at the captain and smiled, too. But contrary to Adam's smile, Miro's smile frightened her. She shivered underneath his gaze. There was something dark in him, of this Teela was sure. She didn't want to spend time with him, and she really hoped that it was all just a joke. But she knew that the king was sure that this son was his real son. The pride she had read in the king's mind left her no hope of it all being some mistake. The king wanted to have this Miro for son, and the idea made Teela sick.

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After having leaving the room where her husband had let his first son introduce himself without any warning to her or her son, the queen had gone to the garden. She had hid the turmoil she felt in the best way she could muster. But now she let the shock take it's full effect on her. Never before would she have thought that her husband would have done something so cruel to her or Adam. Of course she knew that her husband was not pleased by their son's actions, and she had tried more than once to make Randor see that his yelling would do no good with Adam. She knew her son, and she knew his secret. She understood that it needed to stay a secret, lest her life and the life of her husband be jeopardized. But, often than not, her husband had gone too far with Adam. Teela, too, was too mean to Adam. Marlena had planned to talk with the young captain, but she could never find the right time. Skeletor and the other villains didn't have leave them with much time to discuss such things, and the queen regretted it. Adam needed as much help as he could get, and Marlena was sure that if Teela was nicer to Adam, her son would be spared a lot of stress. She was not blind. She had known for a long time that Adam had feelings for Teela. Of course he had hidden it, he was just a teenager. And for some time the queen had thought that Teela shared Adam's feelings. But when He-Man had made his first appearance, Teela had been meaner to Adam.

'What a pity,' mused the queen, 'that the girl doesn't see that she is still in love with my son. He-man is only a more powerful version of Adam!' The thought led her again to her husband's first son, and she couldn't help but let her tears fall.

Teela had searched for the queen almost everywhere when she finally spotted her, crying in the garden. The captain understood Adam's fear, and she came to the queen.

Teela coughed quietly to alert Marlena to her presence, not wanting to startle the queen.

"Are you all right, your majesty?" asked a very worried Teela.

"Yes, I am," the queen said sheepishly. But Teela could sense Marlena's thoughts, and knew that she was lying.

"No, you are not," Teela stated, and sat down beside the monarch. "I can see it. Please, your majesty. Talk to me."

"Why must I?" retorted the now-angry queen. Upon hearing the harshness to her question, Marlena paused, and sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm not angry with you, but you are the first one I've spoken to since... after hearing this news. It's shocking."

"You are angry with me, I know it," Teela said softly. "But I promise you that I will change."

"How did you know?" asked Marlena, slightly stunned. "I thought I was better at hiding my feelings than that."

Teela shrugged.

"Of course you are. I just read your mind," she blurted. Marlena blinked, dumbfounded.

"You what?"

Teela stared at the queen, unsure of how to answer. The cat was out of the bag, and she didn't know what to do. She wanted to take her words back, but she knew it was impossible.

"Please, your majesty," Teela begged, "forget what I just said."

Marlena was confused. "Why? Surely your father knows about it."

But Teela was already shaking her head.

"No, he doesn't," she countered. "I want to keep it a secret. I'm sorry, but I can't explain why."

"Don't worry, my dear." Marlena was understanding of Teela's predicament. "I will keep your secret. I won't tell a soul about it, not even your father."

Relieved, Teela sighed. "Thank you, my queen."

They were quiet a moment.

"Why have you come here?" Marlena asked at last. Teela knew what she was referring to.

"Adam asked me to. He is really worried for you."

"Why didn't he come?"

Teela looked away from the queen, scowling at nothing. "Because the king ordered him to accompany him, my father, and this 'Miro', to his majesty's study."

Marlena was quiet a second. "So, my husband wants to recognize this boy as his heir, too."

Teela was shocked. "What?" she gasped. "No! Adam is the only heir to the throne of Eternos, no one can take his place!"

"You have a lot of faith in him," said the queen with a smile. "But it stuns me a little."

"I know," Teela said sheepishly. "I was so mean to him for so long. I don't know why he didn't refuse to spend time with me today. If someone was so cruel to me for so long, I would not forgive him, no matter how regretful he was."

"That's just not the way Adam thinks."

"I know. He's too nice for his own good. That's why I..." Teela trailed off, thinking.

"You what?" prompted Marlena, voice gentle. Teela shook her head.

"Nothing important. But you don't have to worry about me. How do you feel?"

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That night, Teela couldn't sleep, again. The story the queen had told her played constantly in her mind. She knew that the king, the queen, and even her own father had had lives before she was born, but she couldn't put together what the queen had told her with what she knew about the king. She had always believed that the king loved his wife deeply, but now Teela was unsure. She wanted to talk with someone.

...No, that wasn't true. She wanted to talk with Adam.

She left her bed and put on some clothes. Then she exited her room, and walked to Adam's door. She had her hand poised to knock on the door when she heard someone coming. Teela hid in a corner, and saw Miro open the door of Adam's room. Teela wondered why Miro would want to go see Adam so late in the evening. She was shocked beyond words when she saw the door of a previously unused room open and a sleepy Adam looking into the corridor. Without thinking, she came to him and asked him why he was sleeping in the other room and not in his own room. At first Adam didn't want to look at her, nor answer her.

But after a short time, when he understood that there was no way she would let the subject drop, he explained to her that, as the oldest son, Miro needed to sleep in the heir's room. That was why Adam had moved his belongings from his old room to this new one this evening. The despair in her friend's voice broke her heart, and, without thinking, she hugged him. It didn't matter to her that a guard or a member of the royal family might see them. Adam needed her more now than he had ever needed her before. When she heard him cry she led him into his room and closed the door behind them.

After a long time, Adam's tears stopped, and he look at her with some shame. But she just smiled at him. She knew that Adam had needed this sort of relief. She was not angry with him for crying on her shoulder. But she needed a way to change the subject, so she asked him what had happened after the king had left with them. She could see that Adam didn't want to answer this question, so she let the subject drop and hugged Adam again. After a short time, she felt him becoming uncomfortable, so she let him go. Adam asked Teela how his mother was. Teela didn't want to lie to him, so she told the truth. She could see that Adam was saddened by what he heard, but he was also grateful that she didn't lie to him. That was why he told her about what had happened in the study.

The king had come directly to the point. He had said to Duncan and Adam that from that moment on, Miro was one of the princes of Eternos, with the same rights and duties as Adam. He had also said that, as the eldest, Miro needed to sleep in the royal heir's room, which led Adam to find a new room in the royal wing. Duncan had tried to make the king change his mind, but Randor had said that after having seen the way Adam had acted since his coming of age, he would be more happy to have a son of whom he could be proud. He had also said that if Adam continued the path he had taken for three years, then Miro would be the future king of Eternia.

After that, Adam had left the room without looking at anyone. He had gone to his bedchamber and moved his belongings to his new room. He was so down then that he had, for the first time, seriously considered killing himself. But the thought of his mother and the memory of his great day with Teela had kept him from acting on those urges.

Of course, he didn't tell any of this to Teela, thinking that she didn't need to worry about him. When he had finished his story, she took him in her arms once more, and he could swear that he felt some tears falling from her. They had fallen asleep like that. It was only when she had woken up at dawn that Teela had remembered that she hadn't had Adam tell her about the story of King Randor and his first wife. But now was not the time, so she let Adam sleep and left his room. Little did she know that Miro had seen her leaving Adam's room at dawn.

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To be continued.

Thanks to my beta reader for the excellent job she's done with my story. I try
to post the next chapter last week. Please don't forget to review. Stephanie.