A/N: I'm sure a few literary critics will notice the shift in the POV in this book, from omniscient narrator to third-person limited. If it bothers you, I apologize, but it's something that I wanted to play around with as a writer, and this happens to be the story I'm currently writing. It also fits better with where the story goes. Unfortunately, I've already posted the first five chapters with the other POV style, and I don't have time to go back right now and change them. After all, this is just for fun. :-) If it were a paid book, I'd go back and fix them before it was published...but it's not, so I probably won't. ;-)
As He-Man had half-expected, Zoar was making her nightly flight, and had not even returned to Grayskull. When he contacted her, she changed direction and in less than a half-hour was on the balcony with him. Having settled comfortably on the railing, she began communicating telepathically with him.
'I know you feel you have made a decision, He-Man, but there is something more you should know.' She shifted her weight a bit uneasily.
He-Man frowned, feeling the pressure of having to make a decision returning to his shoulders. "What?"
'There is another option. It is risky at best, and may not even work, but I feel I must tell you. I can attempt to cast a spell that would wipe Adam from everything—from the memories of others, from even the history books.'
He-Man stared at her, stunned. "You can do that?" He had of course known her power was incredible, but this seemed too magnificent of a task for even Grayskull.
'I can attempt,' she corrected him, and he could hear not only the uncertainty, but the contempt for the idea in her voice. 'It is one thing to do it with a baby, who has had little impact on history or people's memories, but quite another to do with an adult of twenty-four years who has touched others on so many levels.'
"Then why even bring it up?" He-Man asked with another frown.
'I simply felt you should know all of your options.' She cocked her head to one side, her sharp eyes picking out his features in only the light lent by Eternia's two moons. 'It does not change your mind.'
He-Man shook his head. "No," he answered slowly, "I don't think so. That much of a deception…I don't think I could live with it."
Zoar screeched her approval, though He-Man still sensed some uneasiness coming from her. 'Very well, He-Man. Bring your parents to Grayskull tomorrow.'
"What about Teela?" He nearly held his breath. Teela wasn't supposed to know his secret until she took her mother's place as the Sorceress of Grayskull. He knew that, but he could not bear to keep this from her any longer either. The image of her sleeping on Adam's bed, hugging a pillow, would not be pushed from his mind.
Zoar fluffed up her feathers in agitation. 'I do not like to see my daughter distraught as she has been. I can foresee no danger to her destiny by knowing the truth about you. But you must keep my secret. She still cannot know I am her mother.'
He-Man nodded, relief flooding him. "I understand."
He-Man's stomach was tight with knots the next morning as he approached the breakfast table. He made sure Battle Cat had some food, then took his seat-Adam's seat-and waited quietly as the others filed in. As they ate, he remained silent, trying to figure out the right time to speak up. Teela gave him the opening he needed.
"So He-Man, are you going to tell us where Adam is today?" she asked slightly sarcastically.
"Actually, yes," he said calmly, hiding the pounding of his heart. "But I'll need you to come to Grayskull with me."
"You want me to drop what I'm doing with the Guard and go to Grayskull just to find out where Adam is?" Teela demanded huffily. "Can't you just tell us?"
He-Man smirked slightly. "Teela, you wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"I'll go anywhere you want to find out where my son is," Randor said firmly. "Duncan, I hope you don't mind me asking this, but please handle my schedule for the morning; re-schedule any meetings that you cannot attend to."
"Of course, Sire," Duncan answered with a slightly concerned glance at He-Man.
"We can work around your schedule, Your Majesty," He-Man protested, again taken aback at how worried his father was.
"No," the king insisted. "More than anything, I want to know where Adam is."
"All right." He-Man hesitated ever so briefly, then asked Teela, "Are you coming with us, Teela?"
"I don't know what for," she said in exasperation, her eyes narrowed in anger. "He's probably been off playing games and having fun or something."
Her father protested her disrespect as He-Man caught her eye. "I wish that were true, Teela," He-Man said sadly, letting her see the full depth of his emotions.
"All right," she relented, worry creasing her brow once more. "I'll go."
"Thank you, He-Man," Marlena said. She got up and kissed him on the cheek, taking advantage of the moment to whisper in his ear, "I suspect this won't be easy, but I'll stand by you through it all."
"Greetings to you all," the Sorceress said warmly. She picked up on He-Man's anxiety immediately, though he was sure his face remained outwardly calm. 'It will be all right, Adam,' her voice echoed in his mind. 'I think you are doing the right thing.'
"Hello, Sorceress," Randor said, glancing around. His face dropped; he must have been hoping that Adam would meet them there.
He-Man nodded once to the Sorceress, then turned as Teela demanded, "So where's Adam?"
They all stared He-Man expectantly. He opened his mouth to tell them the truth, as he had so many times in his daydreams and hopes, but all that came out was, "I, ah, that is, Adam…" His voice trailed off. They'd never believe him, and for a moment he thought of backing out of the whole thing. The respect that Teela and Randor held for him was matched only by their lack of respect for Adam. How could he possibly confess that he had deceived them all these years, that he and Adam were one and the same? As the silence lengthened, Teela's face grew impatient, Randor's confused. He-Man looked to the Sorceress, silently pleading for guidance, and for help.
"I will show you what happened to Adam," the Sorceress said, motioning to the magic view screen, moving forward on their agreement from the night before. "It began several years ago…"
He-Man wordlessly watched his parents and Teela as Adam appeared on the screen, led by Duncan. True to her word, Marlena literally stood by He-Man as the Sorceress in the magic window greeted Adam warmly, then proceeded to tell him about the special destiny intended for one man. Her voice echoed throughout the chamber as she explained that that one man would claim the Power Sword, and become He-Man, champion of goodness and defender of Castle Grayskull.
Teela glanced over at He-Man, a mixture of confusion and excitement on her face. Randor reached up to stroke his beard, his brow furrowed. His mouth dropped open as the Sorceress on the screen informed Adam that she believed him to be that hero. Teela's eyes widened so far it was a wonder the rest of her face did not disappear.
He-Man cringed inwardly as Adam laughed. "You've got the wrong guy, Sorceress," Adam's voice echoed throughout the castle. "I'm no hero. I don't even like fighting. Ask anyone."
Randor flushed red with embarrassment, and he ducked his head. Teela shook her own head disdainfully and crossed her arms. Marlena, however, reached over and grasped He-Man's hand, smiling up at him proudly. "I knew it," she whispered. "I knew it was you."
"As you know, Skeletor attacked that very night, on Adam's eighteenth birthday," the Sorceress reminded them. "And Adam did something that others would later ridicule him for—he ran. But he did not run from the battle as many believed. He ran to Grayskull, to fulfill his destiny, to save his loved ones."
Randor's head jerked up at her words, his eyes fastened to the screen. Teela stood as if frozen.
As the Sorceress spoke, images matching her words appeared. Adam crouched next to the Teela on the screen, his hands wrapped around a broadsword, then suddenly bolted for a sky sled as Duncan went down. Then Adam was standing outside the castle in the pouring rain, calling out to the Sorceress as lightning flashed all around. The jawbridge opened to him, and the Sorceress handed him the Sword of Power.
Teela and Randor watched in growing disbelief as the Adam on the view screen raised the sword and became He-Man in Eternia's darkest hour. The screen faded to black, but neither Teela nor Randor moved.
He-Man had expected an outburst, but there was only a heavy silence as the screen went black. He straightened his shoulders and explained, "I can only become Adam again by visiting Trolla, which reverses Grayskull's magic. But if I do that, then I can never be He-Man again. There are too many threats to Grayskull, to you, to our people. I can't take that risk."
Teela swallowed several times and blinked hard, then pinched herself. Randor cleared his throat, then spoke. "Play it again," he said, still staring at the screen.
His voice faded, and Randor half-expected the Sorceress to argue, but she simply complied with his wishes. She showed only Adam's transformation into He-Man, but that was fine with the king. That was what he had needed to see—what he still needed to see.
Randor turned to He-Man…to his son. The very idea was hard to come to terms with. He had the irrational wish to watch the transformation on the view screen over and over until he had accepted it—twice could hardly be enough to believe that the son he had thought of as irresponsible was actually the hero he had respected as much as, if not more than, any other man on the planet.
Marlena raised an eyebrow expectantly, and He-Man looked nervous for the first time Randor had known him. He knew they were waiting for a response, but Randor was full of so many emotions he could barely sort through them all. He was shocked, of course. Embarrassed that he had never made the connection himself and that he had frequently harbored poor opinions of his son. Relieved that Adam was all right. Angry that Adam had kept this a secret from his own father. And proud. Prouder of Adam than he had felt since the boy took his first steps.
Teela began laughing, a slightly desperate tone to the sound. "You almost had me." She glanced around. "So really, where is Adam?"
Randor looked at her in surprise. That idea had not occurred to him. He frowned darkly. It would be a trick in very poor taste indeed.
"This isn't a joke, Teela," He-Man said, obviously surprised by her reaction.
She shook her head, rolling her eyes. "You didn't grow up with him, but I know better. This is exactly the kind of prank he used to pull on people all the time. He'd convince them-"
"I'd convince them I was a peasant boy," He-Man broke in, meeting her gaze. "I messed up my hair, put on the oldest clothes I could find, and picked on some servant I hadn't met before. I told them I was hiding from a bad man, and they would help me hide, and go find Duncan or one of the guards. By the time they came back, I was dressed properly, cleaned up, and hadn't the slightest idea what they were talking about."
Teela's mouth opened slightly. Randor swallowed hard, struggling to wrap his mind around the truth. Because unlike Teela, he believed it. Maybe it was because as Adam's father, he wanted it to be true. He wanted to have another reason to be proud of Adam, to stand firm when others questioned whether he was worthy of the throne.
"As hard as it is to believe, Teela, I am Adam," He-Man assured her softly.
"You were thinking of keeping this a secret permanently?" Randor broke in then, his voice dangerously quiet as he continued to mull over everything.
He-Man nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty. Knowing my secret puts you in more danger," he said.
"How's that?" Anger was winning, and the words were bitten off. Randor took a deep breath. He could handle government issues with tact and patience; surely his own son, He-Man, deserved no less.
"If any of our enemies suspected that you knew anything about me, they wouldn't hesitate to try to force the information out of you," He-Man said matter-of-factly. "If they knew that you were anything more to me than the king, they wouldn't hesitate to use you to get to me."
Randor felt a rush of warmth that his own son had been so concerned with his safety. Hadn't that been the reason he had assigned Teela as Adam's bodyguard, because he feared for his son's safety? Still, the sense of betrayal was too strong to ignore. He shook his head angrily and half-turned away.
He-Man's delirious statements from a few days before echoed through Teela's memory. It made sense, suddenly, why he had babbled about wanting to tell them something, and about Cringer. Her thoughts were interrupted as He-Man's words registered in her mind.
"Wait. So you don't think we can keep a secret?" Teela snapped. She was experiencing the same emotions as Randor, but pain was thrown in—hurt that her best friend since diapers hadn't trusted her, that her closest ally hadn't trusted her.
"It's not that, Teela," He-Man replied, his voice level. "The more people who know, the greater the chance someone slips. Just something as simple as calling me Adam within earshot of one of Skeletor's spies would reveal the truth."
"Who does know?" Randor demanded hotly.
"Besides Cringer, Duncan, and the Sorceress, just Orko," He-Man admitted.
"And me," Marlena interjected firmly.
Randor's face flushed. "You knew and didn't tell me?" he practically yelled.
"I suspected," Marlena corrected him. "I didn't know for sure until He-Man returned without his sword and said Adam had suddenly left. I've watched him carefully during the last two weeks, Randor, and if you had as well, you would have noticed the similarities. He sits the same way Adam does, he cracks jokes the same way, his mouth tilts the same way when he's upset, he puts others before himself the same way…I could name a dozen different things." She crossed her arms and glared at her husband, who was speechless for a moment.
Teela heard what Marlena said, and with every statement, she mentally nodded. The similarities were laughingly obvious now. But there was another thought that she couldn't get past; one that made her fists clench. Her mouth opened and closed rapidly in a fish-like manner as she tried to get her voice to work. "Orko? You trusted Orko?" she finally asked, incredulous.
"No, Orko found out by accident, when he saw me transform," He-Man corrected her. He smiled slightly. "That's how Cringer found out too, actually, and he wishes he didn't. Right Cat?" Battle Cat growled in agreement.
"That's Cringer?" Randor asked, his mouth dropping open.
"No, that's Battle Cat," He-Man said, his voice lowering again in sadness. "Cringer and Adam are gone, Your Majesty, and I don't think we'll ever be able to bring them back."
"I don't understand," Teela said, shaking her head in frustration. "Are you or are you not Adam?"
"Grayskull's magic changes my body and my abilities," He-Man informed her. "But it's still me, Teela. I'm still Adam. But other than the people in this room, Duncan, and Orko, no one can ever know that."
Teela stared into his blue eyes, and saw Adam there for the first time. Although irrational, it somehow made her deny what he was saying all the more. She shook her head almost wildly as words began tumbling out. "No. It's not possible. What you said before…Adam must have told you that. You can't be both Adam and He-Man. This has to be a joke."
He-Man's eyes darkened in frustration and he took a step towards her, looking at her intently. "How many times did Adam disappear right before I showed up, Teela? Have you ever seen us together?" Teela knew the answers immediately, without even thinking about it—she had never seen them together. Hadn't Ram-Man commented on that very thing less than two weeks ago?
He-Man kept her attention as he shook his head, his voice getting louder as he spoke. "But if you still need proof, then let's go back to the palace. I'll show you every nook and cranny where we hid from your father when it was time for our lessons, the rooms my mother let us explore when it was raining and we were bored, my favorite spots to hide from you when it was time for a lesson, even though I knew you'd find me-"
"All right!" Teela cried out, her eyes welling with angry tears. "You've made your point!" One hand clenched into a fist as she glared at him. "How could you? How could you deceive us all this time? How could you let us worry about you for the last two weeks? You self-centered, egotistical jerk!" With that, her fist flew through the air as Marlena gasped.
He-Man caught Teela's fist easily, regret written all over his face. On some level she registered that his grip was firm but gentle; he hadn't even come close to hurting her even though she'd been ready to slug him. "I'm sorry, Teela. I didn't mean-"
"I think you should all calm down, and I suggest the three of you give some thought as to what Adam has been through these past two weeks," the Sorceress interjected. Teela dropped her hand, staring at the Sorceress in surprise. She had actually forgotten the woman was even present.
He-Man let go of Teela's fist warily, taking a step away from her. She turned her glare back at him as the Sorceress continued speaking.
"As worried as you have all been about Adam, you at least had He-Man's assurance the prince was safe, as indeed he was. In the meantime, however, He-Man has had to struggle with one of the most difficult decisions of his life. He never told you who he was because he wanted to protect you. As he watched you all worry, he not only had to come to terms with the loss of his own identity, but he had to decide whether to tell you the truth. He had to choose between your emotional health and your safety."
"Which is why I chose to do this here," He-Man acknowledged. "Knowing who I am puts you in danger, and there are many things it does not change. If-"
"What do you mean?" Marlena interrupted, her eyes narrowed.
"Your Majesty," he began, then, at Marlena's glare, he amended, "Mother, I can't stay at the palace. My presence there puts you in danger as well as me. Part of the reason that I have been safe from Skeletor all these years is that he didn't have a clue where to find me."
"If he knew you were at the palace, he could attack you at any time," Teela murmured, more to herself than anyone there, but He-Man nodded.
"Exactly."
"But-but where would you go?" Randor asked.
He-Man looked at his father with sympathy. As king, he was of course used to dealing with rapidly changing situations, but apparently even he was starting to near his limit. He-Man sighed internally. He could relate all too well.
"He would be safest here," the Sorceress said quietly. "Skeletor could track him down at will without Grayskull's protection."
"The two of you here, unchaperoned?" Marlena asked with a raised eyebrow. "I trust you both would act responsibly, but it still seems inappropriate."
He-Man had been staring at Teela and Randor, but at Marlena's words, he looked at her, confused by her meaning. He of course knew his position as Prince of Eternia meant that he had to be careful of his reputation, but he couldn't even count the number of times he had been alone with the Sorceress before.
"There is that to consider," the Sorceress acknowledged with a sad smile. "I'm afraid I have no solution to that. I sense that you all are overwhelmed right now. I suggest you head home and give yourselves time to think things over."
"But first you should know that if you decided you would rather not know I'm Adam, the Sorceress can wipe that knowledge from your memory," He-Man said quietly, almost wishing they would take him up on the offer.
"Why on Eternia would we not want to know?" Randor said incredulously.
"You're safer not knowing the truth, Your Majesty," He-Man pointed out. "It's something you need to think very carefully about."
"I don't need to think about it at all," Randor countered harshly. "And I don't want you moving out. I won't even hear of it."
"Your Majesty, please," He-Man said softly. "I can't put you in any more danger. I should have moved out already."
"Stay at least a few more days," Randor said desperately. "Give us a chance to figure out what to do next, as a family."
Randor's words melted Marlena's heart, and she knew they had melted Adam's resolve as soon as they were spoken. She didn't have to see her son's nod to know it.
"All right," He-Man said reluctantly. Marlena could tell, though, that he was also relieved and touched by his father's request.
Without another thought, Marlena stepped forward and gave He-Man a strong hug, as she had wanted to do for the last two weeks. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, and her heart knew it was Adam she held. "I'm just glad you're all right," she said firmly. "The rest of this will eventually work itself out."
He-Man gave her a small, lopsided smile as he returned her hug, and she thought he had tears in his eyes as he pulled away. "I hope so."
"I think we ought to get back to the palace now," Marlena suggested. "The Sorceress is right; we all need time to process this." She gave He-Man one more squeeze.
In contrast, Teela and Randor barely said good-bye. He-Man watched them go with a heavy sigh. He shook his head at Marlena's inquiring glance.
"Battle Cat and I will catch up with you later," He-Man said.
It was probably just as well, Marlena reflected as she left. Teela and Randor were not going to be pleasant people when they came out of the stunned stupor they had fallen into.
As Marlena had expected, there was a long silence in the attak track as the three of them rode back. Finally Teela spoke. "Forgive me, Your Majesty, but do you feel as stupid as I do?"
"Completely," Randor admitted candidly. "When I think that we never saw the two of them together…"
"That Adam always had 'something to do' whenever there was trouble…" Teela added, her face reddening.
"Both of them always seemed to know what was going on, and simply said the other told him…" Randor continued, shaking his head.
"That He-Man always showed up wherever Adam had been, even when there was no reason for him to be anywhere near the place we were…" Teela growled under her breath. "How did we miss it?"
"And how did you figure it out?" Randor demanded with a sideways look at his wife.
Marlena shrugged. "Perhaps Grayskull's magic did not affect me in the same way, since I am not Eternian. Besides, as I told you, I wasn't sure until this week."
"I can't believe he deceived us all this time," Teela groused. "Playing up the part of the pampered, clumsy, lazy, fun-loving prince. How could he lie to us like that?" The palace bay came into view, and Marlena could see Duncan waiting for them.
"When I think of all the times he embarrassed our family by missing meetings or running late, and he didn't have the decency to tell us the truth of the reason!" Randor ranted back to her.
"He should have told us the truth from the beginning," Teela agreed, her eyes narrowing. "All that garbage about protecting us…ha! This is Adam we're talking about. He probably couldn't stand being the noble He-Man for more than a few hours at a time, that's the real reason he didn't want us to know. He didn't want us to expect too much from him!"
Marlena rolled her eyes heavenward as they came to a stop inside the bay. She caught Duncan's eye as they alighted from the vehicle and shook her head slightly, causing him to frown in confusion. 'Of course, I never told Duncan that I suspected the truth,' she thought with regret.
"Where's He-Man?" Duncan asked hesitantly.
"Don't you mean Adam?" Teela snapped as she climbed out of the attack trak.
"Well, I would like to know where Adam is as well, but I wasn't expecting him to return with you. I was expecting He-Man," Duncan said evenly, with a warning look in his eyes. "Perhaps you'd like to talk about it in a more private room?"
All three of them caught on and fell silent. They followed Duncan to Randor's study, one of the few places that was protected both magically and technologically.
"I am very disappointed that the man who swore his allegiance to me more than thirty years ago kept such a huge secret from me," Randor said the second the door was shut. His brown eyes glittered with anger. "How could you let me look like such a fool?"
"A fool?" Duncan repeated.
"Yes! To not even know that it is my own son who has saved us time and time again! The number of times I chastised him, criticized him…" Randor clenched a fist in frustration. "When this gets out, I'll be the laughingstock of Eternia!"
"Did Adam say he wanted it to get out?" asked Duncan, obviously stunned.
"Well, no," Randor admitted, "but he is the heir to the throne. How can we possibly keep it a secret?"
Duncan blew out a breath. "I don't have the answer to that, Sire, but Adam has enough to deal with right now. He doesn't need the pressure of his responsibility to the throne added to his burden."
"I'm sure he's considered it already, knowing him," Marlena supplemented. "But Duncan's right, that's not what's important right now. Helping He-Man deal with the fact that he is no longer Adam is what is important. And I'm ashamed of you two." Her glare took in both Teela and Randor. "After all he's been through, all he's put up with from you two, all you're thinking about is how it's affecting you. What about Adam?"
Randor drew a hand over his face. "You're right; I'm being selfish." He shook his head. "I'm just so ashamed of the way I've treated him, Marlena. And I feel as if it's too late to make it up to him."
"It's never too late, dear," Marlena countered.
"I feel the same way," Teela said, her earlier rancor fading. In its place a profound sadness came upon her face. "And I have even less of an excuse than you, King Randor. I grew up with him, I was his bodyguard—I was with him so much more than you in the last few years. And I never saw it. Just like he said, I never stopped judging him long enough to see who he really was." She covered her face with her hands. "Do you think he'll ever forgive us?"
"Of course he will," answered Marlena, rolling her eyes again. Randor and Teela were in such shock that their emotions were dancing around like a dandelion seed in a hurricane. 'I can't wait until Adam gets home,' she thought to herself, now wishing that he hadn't left her to deal with the two of them. 'Maybe he can straighten them out.'
"Well, it didn't go as badly as I thought it might," Battle Cat said, breaking the long silence. "I thought for sure Teela would manage to deck you."
He-Man smirked at that. "She almost did," he reminded the tiger. "She was pretty furious."
"So what now? Are we moving to Grayskull?"
"Do you have a better idea?" He-Man asked hopefully.
"Move to a different wing in the palace," suggested Battle Cat.
"Maybe that would work," He-Man mused. The palace came into view. He-Man's legs tightened unconsciously around Battle Cat, and the tiger growled slightly to let his partner know. "Sorry, Cat." He swallowed hard. "Let's go see how they are."