A/N: I figured a short update was better than none, since it's been a while.
Marlena watched He-Man carefully at breakfast the next morning. He didn't seem to eat automatically, but carefully thought about each action he was about to take. She'd never seen anyone be so wary of each decision, and it was completely unlike him. She noticed a few small things he did that were similar to Adam's habits. Her son hated onions, and immediately pushed them to the side. In fact, Chef Alan didn't even put them in Adam's food anymore. He used onion powder instead. She brought herself back from her musings as He-Man hesitated, but eventually ate the omelet around the onions, careful not to eat any. She noticed, too, that he glanced at Battle Cat in an apologetic matter.
"I believe the chef is bringing out a dish for Battle Cat," Marlena said off-handedly, pretending to pay attention to her plate. "He's used to doing it for Cringer anyway."
"Thank you," He-Man said, dipping his head respectfully. He returned his focus to his own food, a glass of Adam's least-favorite juice in front of him.
Marlena held back a smirk as He-Man picked up the water and ignored the juice in front of him. She continued to watch him. Just like Adam, he quickly surveyed the entire table when he had finished. He waited until the last person had finished, then glanced expectantly at the king. When Randor stood, He-Man did as well, getting up on the right side and gently picking up the chair to put it under the table silently. Adam did that the same exact way. It was what he had been taught to do. They were all small things, but Marlena held onto them tightly, hoping against hope her suspicions were right.
"Hey, He-Man!" Ram-Man called.
He-Man grinned as he changed directions and headed towards his friend; he couldn't help it. Ram-Man's good-natured kindness had that effect on him. "What's going on, Rammy?"
"Uh, I'm just gettin' in some practice," the short warrior said, indicating a makeshift brick wall he was about to ram into, headfirst.
"That looks a little too easy for you," He-Man joked, recalling the collapsed cave entrance Ram-Man had burst through only the day before. His smile faded.
"Yeah, but that rock pile yesterday was solid, so I'm takin' it easy today," Ram-Man said confidentially.
"I see," He-Man said with a light chuckle.
"What're you doin' here? Are we expectin' an attack?" Ram-Man asked, his tone suddenly worried and his eyes crossed in concentration.
"No, Rammy," He-Man assured him. "I'm just visiting for a while, helping Man-at-Arms out while Adam's gone."
"Where's Prince Adam?" Ram-Man asked.
He-Man realized he should have had an answer for this; it was a question he was bound to get a lot. "I'm afraid I can't tell you, Ram-Man. You know…" He allowed his voice to trail off as he shrugged.
"Oh, one of dem secret royal things," Ram-Man said, nodding inside his helmet.
"I doubt that," Teela snorted, walking up behind He-Man. "Unless it's a rendezvous with his latest fling."
He-Man's temper flared, but before he could respond, Ram-Man scrunched up his nose. "What's a ron-day-voo?" he asked, pronouncing the word carefully.
"A secret meeting," Teela explained succinctly. "I can't believe that Adam, running off yesterday when he should have been staying to help, and then just disappearing completely! He makes my blood boil!"
"And you do the same to him," He-Man muttered under his breath.
"What?" Teela asked sharply.
"So what's wrong with Adam being at a secret meeting?" Ram-Man asked, his hands up in the air to show his confusion.
"Nothing if it's for an official reason, but his never are," Teela retorted. "He's always with some girl, or fishing, or off having fun-"
He-Man had had enough. If he stayed, he was bound to say something he shouldn't. So without a word, he turned on his heel and strode away.
He-Man's abrupt departure took Teela by surprise. "What's your problem?" she called after him. He-Man didn't answer, and Teela looked to Ram-Man in confusion. "What did I say?"
"Well, you weren't talkin' nice about Prince Adam," Ram-Man said thoughtfully.
"So? What would He-Man care about that? It's not like he and Adam ever see each other," Teela mumbled, half to herself.
"But he's still the prince," Ram-Man pointed out logically. "An' I thought he was your best friend. You should be nicer ta him."
"I-" Teela's voice caught in her throat. Rammy was right. She hadn't been kind to Adam lately, and it had affected the friendship they had once shared. After all, if they were still best friends, wouldn't Adam have told her where he'd gone?
He-Man skipped lunch, choosing semi-solitude instead, just to have some time to think. Battle Cat followed He-Man quietly, the two partners recognizing each other's sense of loss and shock, and content for the moment to just be together. They settled down on a riverbank, watching the water below rush by.
"If we went to Trolla and turned back into ourselves, would we become He-Man and Battle Cat again when we returned to Eternia?" Battle Cat suddenly asked.
He-Man's brow furrowed as he reflected on the idea. "I doubt it. Going to Trolla breaks the magic that makes us He-Man and Battle Cat. For the magic to work again…" His voice trailed off and he sighed heavily. "I can't take the chance that it wouldn't work, even if I thought it would, Cat."
"Oh." Battle Cat shifted positions and stretched out. He-Man leaned back against him and watched as a fish leapt up out of the water, only to be snatched in mid-air by a fisherbird.
"Our lives have changed as suddenly and irrevocably as that fish's life was ended," he said, half to himself. "I'm sorry for losing the sword, Cat."
"It's not your fault," Battle Cat growled. "You did everything you could."
"What are we going to do?" He-Man asked rhetorically. "I can't leave the throne without an heir. Maybe I should tell them."
"I'm with you, whatever you decide," his partner said firmly. He-Man's mouth twisted into an appreciative, lopsided smile, and the two lapsed back into silence, each lost in their own thoughts.
Orko had planned on practicing a new trick that day, but since He-Man wasn't at lunch, he thought that the hero probably needed some cheering up. He flew over to He-Man's room in the early afternoon and knocked, entering quickly.
"Hey He-Man, want to see my new trick? I'm not really good at it yet, but I'd like to try it for you," Orko said. He stopped short in the middle of the room. He-Man stood at the window, one arm up on the wall as he gazed out over the palace grounds. "Are you okay?" Orko asked worriedly, floating over next to He-Man.
"We'll be all right," He-Man answered, glancing at Orko in appreciation for his concern. "It's just going to take some getting used to."
"Want to see my new trick?" Orko asked again, anticipation making his voice even higher than usual. Adam always wanted to see his tricks. Orko knew the prince was usually just being nice, but even if the trick went wrong, Adam almost always laughed in a good, kind way. He never growled like Duncan did.
But today, He-Man shook his head. "Not right now, Orko."
"Oh. Okay," Orko said sadly. He thought He-Man looked a little numb, but he didn't know what to do for his friend. Maybe Adam just needed time alone. Yet he paused before leaving, needing to ask the question. "What are you going to do, He-Man?"
He-Man shook his head. "I don't know what to do. I can't endanger my family, but staying here does exactly that."
"You're not going to leave, are you?" Orko asked worriedly. He couldn't imagine the palace without Adam. The last day had been hard enough, since everyone seemed to be a bit on edge thanks to Adam's sudden disappearance.
He-Man shrugged lightly in answer to Orko's question. "I don't know," he repeated.
"Let's go fishing and forget about it for a while," Orko suggested, but He-Man shook his head again.
"I appreciate you trying to help, Orko," he said gently, "but I just need some time to myself."
Impulsively, Orko threw his arms around He-Man's neck and gave the hero a hug. He-Man raised one hand and patted the blue Trollan on the back.
"I'll check in with you later!" Orko called over his shoulder as he flew out.
He-Man smiled slightly as Orko soared out of the room. He had good friends. He glanced down at Battle Cat, who was sound asleep without his armor on. No one could mistake him for Cringer.
"Does it matter anymore?" He-Man muttered aloud. "Whether I admit I'm Adam or not, my presence puts everyone in the palace in danger. Once Skeletor knows I'm here, he'll stop at nothing to get to me." He sighed. "And," he added under his breath, "if Skeletor knows who I am, he'll go after my family instead of me. Still, they're the king and queen. They've always been targeted by Skeletor." He turned back to the window again, his body motionless as he gazed outside. In spite of the logic of his thoughts, he couldn't quench the fear that rose inside of him whenever he thought of Skeletor using his parents to get to him. 'I have to protect them. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to them.'
"How're you doing?" Duncan asked He-Man later that afternoon in the workshop. Duncan knew that the hero had deliberately skipped lunch, sneaking some food from the kitchen instead. His absence had not gone unnoticed, but Duncan simply informed the king that He-Man had other duties to attend to. Looking at Adam now, however, he knew his young charge had simply not felt up to facing his family and Teela again.
He-Man shrugged in response to Duncan's question. He hadn't slept much the night before or even that afternoon with Battle Cat. His mind had been too full of the memory of watching the sword disappear, but he didn't want Duncan to know any of that. "Adam was supposed to help his father this morning," he said instead. The sense that he had let Randor down again was keen. Duncan would understand that.
"Well, that's one benefit to all this," Duncan said, trying to be optimistic. "You won't have a dual schedule to maintain anymore."
"Yeah," He-Man said lowly. He hesitated, then added, "Teela was talking about Adam this morning. She thinks he's having a secret rendezvous with some courtier." He avoided Duncan's eyes as he spoke.
"Maybe she's jealous," Duncan suggested in jest, hoping to lighten He-Man's spirits.
He-Man's alarmed gaze flew to his face. "What?!"
"Just kidding," Duncan said, chuckling, both hands up. He studied He-Man, who hadn't even cracked a smile. "You're really hurt by what she said, aren't you?"
He-Man shrugged, averting his face again. "It's what I led her to believe all these years. Why would it bother me?"
"Because you grew up with her, and of all the disapproval you have had to deal with, it is hers and your father's that have been the hardest," Duncan pointed out wisely.
"Yes, but that's how it has to be," He-Man replied matter-of-factly.
"Even now?" Duncan asked casually.
He-Man didn't answer. Instead, he shook off the sense of loss he had been feeling all day and changed the subject. "What's on the agenda for the rest of this week, Duncan? I can't spend another day brooding like this."
Man-at-Arms had been ready for this. He knew Adam, who had always had too busy of a schedule in spite of what everyone had thought of him, was going to have trouble suddenly just waiting for Skeletor's next attack or the next natural disaster, when He-Man would be most needed.
"You wanted to figure out a way to defeat Skeletor," he reminded the hero. "And the palace defenses are lacking. I also want to test a few inventions I've been working on." He grinned at He-Man. "If you think you can keep from breaking them."
He-Man returned Duncan's grin with a half-hearted one of his own. "I'll do my best," he promised.
When He-Man managed to avoid dinner again that evening, Teela knew she had to search him out. She found him sparring with Fisto. She paused for a moment, enjoying the sight of the two well-muscled warriors, both their skill and the play of their muscles as they strained against each other. Of course He-Man won; but he let Fisto have a good workout in the process. Not seeing Teela, who stood in the shadows of the western wall amid a few trees, the two of them crossed the training yard to grab towels and some water.
"Thanks, Fisto, I needed that," He-Man said to his friend before taking a long swig of water.
Fisto rubbed one shoulder. "You're welcome, but I think you owe me a massage at the royal spa," he joked. "You really had some pent-up frustrations to work out!"
He-Man's guilty gaze zeroed in on Fisto's shoulder. "I didn't hurt you did you, did I?" he asked anxiously.
"No, no," Fisto assured him. "Just gave me the hardest workout I ever had." He caught Teela's eye. "Even harder than Captain Teela," he said with a jerk of his head. He-Man turned to see her approaching, her step hesitant. Fisto apparently caught the tension between them and decided to retreat. "Catch you later He-Man, Teela." They both returned his farewell call as Teela drew near and stopped.
"I want to apologize," Teela said, her face more uncertain than He-Man was used to seeing. He said nothing, but waited, motionless. Teela cleared her throat uncomfortably. "I was wrong to throw out those accusations about Adam. I should have kept my opinions to myself. He's my prince, and I should show more respect. I'm sorry."
"He deserves more of your respect," He-Man said, his tone harsher than he had intended. He couldn't help it; he was disappointed in her apology. "I know Adam better than you think I do, Teela. He's not the lazy coward you've pegged him as. If you really were his friend, you would know that."
Teela stared up at him, her eyes wide in disbelief at his chastisement. As they stared at each other, her eyes slowly filled with tears.
He-Man groaned and pulled her into his arms; he never could stand to see her cry. "Now I'm the one who owes you an apology," he said. "I'm sorry, Teela. I shouldn't have spoken like that."
Teela's arms slowly went around him. "No, you're right," she whispered.
They stayed like that for a while, neither speaking. He-Man slowly grew aware of how well her body seemed to mould itself to his, how soft her skin felt, and he randomly wondered when she began smelling so sweet.
Finally Teela drew away. "I'll think about what you said," she told him softly, then she disappeared into the night.