A/N: Sorry for the delay. While the main scenes were/are written, there are some additional scenes that needed (and still need) to be written, and it's taking a lot longer than I expected. My busy season is upon me, so now I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update. Thanks to LittleLlamaGirl for the consultations and Candi for beta reading.

Lost in thought, He-Man stepped into Grayskull's kitchen only to freeze at the sight of the tense couple seated before him. "Duncan!" he exclaimed nervously. His mentor looked over, expectation on his face. He-Man shifted his gaze to the room's second occupant, the Sorceress. "Er…good morning, Duncan, Sorceress." He wondered if he should make a run for it now. The hallway behind him suddenly seemed very inviting. He took a step backwards, about to give in to the impulse.

The Sorceress waved him in, an unreadable look on her face. "Get your food and sit down, Adam."

"Yes ma'am," he answered meekly, thinking he should have run. He didn't have the fortitude to resist her commands yet, which irritated him, but that irritation unfortunately did nothing to help his willpower.

He had not seen the Sorceress since he had woken up nearly two hours ago. The more time that had passed without seeing her, the more anxious he had become. Now his anxiety was getting the better of him. Adam had not felt this much trepidation and shame in her presence since the day he had returned to Grayskull, his figurative tail between his legs, and admitted that if she was right, if he was destined to be He-Man, then he would accept that destiny to save his family and his people.

All of the food was still warm and cooked to perfection; she must have used magic. He-Man swallowed hard, wondering how long they had been waiting for him and if she had told Duncan what had happened. He took his seat, picked up his fork, and proceeded to pick at his food, even though just a few moments before he had been famished.

"So, Adam, what are your intentions towards my daughter?" Duncan asked in a friendly tone.

Well, that answered the question as to whether the Sorceress had told him. He-Man met his mentor's eyes uncertainly. Duncan's tone might be relaxed, but there was an unmistakable challenge in his eyes. "Ah…I really don't have any, Man-at-Arms."

Duncan raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Oh really?"

Realizing how his response might have been interpreted, He-Man felt his face grow hot; nevertheless he held Duncan's gaze. "That kiss was a mistake," he said firmly. "Teela and I are friends. That's all."

"You don't really expect us to believe that you don't harbor any feelings for her beyond friendship, do you?" the Sorceress asked in plain disbelief.

He-Man looked at her steadily. "I do expect you to believe it, because it's true," he confirmed. "What Teela and I are experiencing now—it's just a physical reaction to all the changes in our lives lately. It's natural that we would want to find comfort in each other, simply because we've known each other forever. It's nothing more…it's not love." He looked from one to the other, understanding dawning as he took in their disappointed faces. "You both thought…that she and I…"

"We had hoped the two of you would get together someday," the Sorceress corrected.

"You hoped? Then why the anger last night?" he demanded, his mouth speaking before his mind had fully processed it all. "I've never seen you so upset."

"Because what was about to take place was far more than a simple kiss or a declaration of love. And besides the reasons you are well aware of from our discussion," she said calmly but with an iron undertone, "there is the fact that she is still my daughter. And this is still my home."

He-Man ducked his head in understanding. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "You're always so placid and even-tempered that sometimes I forget…" He broke off, searching for the words.

"That I'm a person?" the Sorceress asked, her mouth twitching slightly.

"That your emotions can run just as deep as anyone's," he corrected her with a slight smile of his own. He fumbled as his thoughts turned back to what she had said. "You really both held hopes that she and I…" he said, still so bemused by the idea that he couldn't even finish the thought.

The Sorceress smiled fully now. "We love you both very much, and you are already like a son to us, Adam. Why are you so surprised we had hoped you and she would end up together?"

"Well, for one thing, even if I did feel that way about her, if I'm King of Eternia and she's the Sorceress of Grayskull, there's a bit of a logistical problem," Adam commented dryly, his head spinning with this new understanding, so much so that he wasn't tempering his words as he normally would. "For another, being stuck as He-Man means no family for me, and besides, I don't-"

"Hold on," Duncan interrupted, leaning forward. He put one arm up on the table. "What do you mean, no family for you?"

He-Man shoved his plate away and cocked his head to the side. "The Sorceress gave Teela up because it was unsafe for her to raise a child here," he pointed out quietly. "Here, in the heart of Castle Grayskull, one of the safest places on Eternia. How can I contemplate having a wife and children as He-Man? I am no less of a target, and as king I will be even more of one."

"So you are still planning to take the throne?" the Sorceress asked, raising one eyebrow.

He-Man did a double-take. "I have a choice?" he asked rhetorically. "It is my responsibility, my duty, just as much as being He-Man is. Being stuck as He-Man does not change that responsibility."

"You do realize that would require you to reveal who you are to the general population," Duncan stated, studying He-Man, one hand stroking his chin.

"I know," Adam replied, dropping his gaze for a moment and idly noting the deep red color of the dinner plate. "It opens a new realm of problems, particularly because of the danger it will pose to Adora. It may very well force her to live as She-Ra. It is something I wanted to discuss with her before mentioning it to anyone else. But I wanted to let her settle in and get used to things on Eternia before I brought it up."

"I have thought all along that it would be the right decision for you to take the throne," the Sorceress said slowly, "though I tried not to influence you in that decision. I am curious, Adam. What made you reach that conclusion?"

"My time on Etheria," He-Man admitted, pulling his plate back to him. He picked up his fork and began shifting food around again. "I can't hide here in Grayskull out of fear. There are things we can do to make the palace safer for both me and those around me. My place is with my people." He met Duncan's gaze and gave a small, lopsided smile. "I must be where I can do the most good."

"I applaud your sense of duty and dedication," Duncan said. His brow furrowed. "But getting back to a family-"

"As both king and He-Man, I wouldn't have time for them. Besides, it would be too dangerous to them," He-Man said firmly. "If we do reveal the truth, it will be with Adora and my parents understanding the risks and being part of that decision. But I won't, I can't, risk an innocent child's life."

There was a short silence. He-Man pushed at his defenseless food again, finally taking a bite but not really tasting it.

"It is my fault for teaching that to you," the Sorceress eventually said, her voice a bit faint. She stood and came around the table to sit next to He-Man. She reached out and grasped his hand. "Adam…" she paused, looking to Duncan, as if for help.

Man-at-Arms cleared his throat, drawing He-Man's gaze, although the Sorceress still held his hand tightly. "The Sorceress and I have always put our duty before anything else," Duncan said, his eyes and voice belying his uncertainty. "And that is what we taught both you and Teela to do. But the fact is, Adam…we have been talking…and…perhaps we were wrong."

"Wrong?" He-Man asked blankly. "How could you be wrong? What could be more important than your duty to the people of Eternia?"

"Perhaps love is more important," the Sorceress replied softly. "And truth."

Now it made sense to him. He-Man shook his head slightly. "You're just upset because Teela's angry right now, Sorceress," he said, trying to comfort her. "Just wait a while. It will all work out. She'll calm down."

"Adam, each person in this universe has a special destiny," the Sorceress said, standing and crossing her arms about her front so that her wing-like cape covered her body. Her actions quieted his words and forced him to give her his full attention. "Sometimes that destiny requires that duty stand over love, but other times, and in fact more often than not, we must be open to the love that comes to accompany us on our journey as we perform our duty." She looked at him with tears standing in her eyes. "I forsook that blessing, Adam. It may have saved Teela's life, or it may have been a mistake to do so. Either way, I cannot change it. But your choice is ahead of you. You do not have to follow the same path."

Teela sat in the garden, trying to absorb its tranquility. "If only," she murmured softly to herself. If only it were that simple. She knew at some point she would move past all the hurt and anger. Sometimes she wished she could do it more quickly. Unfortunately, her temper didn't subside nearly as quickly as it flared. And she had a lot to be angry about. Every time her more rational side began to do as Adam had suggested, to look at things differently, her more emotional side brought forth a memory that raised her ire all over again.

"Mind if I join you?"

Her head jerked up at Adora's tentative question. The princess, clothed in a soft blue frock that closely matched her eyes, looked so hopeful that Teela couldn't refuse. She wasn't sure she wanted to refuse anyway. "Of course not." She moved to the side of the stone bench. "Did you have a nice time with your parents so far today?"

Adora nodded. "Yes, but it still seems like a dream. I keep expecting to wake up and find myself back in the Fright Zone."

Teela smiled sympathetically. "I bet. Where are your parents now?"

"Father got called into an emergency meeting. Mother's getting ready to for us all to go see A—I mean, He-Man at Grayskull." Adora tilted her head. "Aren't you and your father going with us? I thought you were pretty much part of the family."

Teela shrugged. "We might have under normal circumstances but I've been avoiding my father since this morning. I'm still too upset to talk with him. I don't want to say something I'll regret."

"Sometimes it helps to talk things through, though," Adora pointed out, even though her face said she understood.

"I know," Teela agreed, "but…" She hesitated, feeling almost disloyal in what she was about to say, but she felt a strong kinship with Adora, so she said it anyway. "The truth is, Adora, I've never taken the time to make many close friends. And the ones I've shared everything with are the ones who are all involved in this whole…thing." She circled the air with a hand to indicate her meaning.

"I'd be happy to listen," Adora offered. "I know our situations are different, but they're similar enough that I do empathize strongly with what you're going through."

Again Teela hesitated, but Adora's quiet presence was comforting, and she needed that right now. "I feel so mixed up," she finally said. "I feel joyful that I finally know who my mother is, that she's alive, but I'm so angry over all that she voluntarily missed out on. I mean…well, for instance, I told Adam about my first kiss, not my mother."

"You mean Adam wasn't your first kiss?" Adora interjected, clearly surprised. "I had the feeling you two had been through just about everything together."

"Well…we have," Teela agreed, her cheeks growing warm at the memory of the passionate kiss she had shared with He-Man only the night before. "But he wasn't my first kiss. We never saw each other that way. We were like brother and sister."

"Were?" Adora repeated, one eyebrow raised.

"Are," Teela hastily amended, sure she must be bright red by now. How on Eternia had she gotten into this conversation with Adam's sister, of all people? The only one worse would be his mother! A second later Teela was silently thanking the Ancients as Mekaneck entered the garden and made straight for them. She gestured towards him with a slight nod, and Adora closed her mouth on whatever she had been going to say. The two women stood together as he drew near. "Hello, Mekaneck. Have you met Princess Adora yet?"

"No, I haven't," he said with a huge smile. He took her hand and raised it, bowing his head slightly at the same time. "I'm thrilled to meet you, Your Highness."

"Oh, please call me Adora," the princess returned, looking slightly baffled at the strange handshake. Teela smirked. She doubted anyone in the Horde had ever treated Adora like a lady of the court. "I'm not used to being a princess yet."

Mekaneck straightened up, still grinning. "Well, that's a good thing. Adam's not too formal with the Masters, so they'll all appreciate you being the same way." Adora grinned back at him, looking pleased with his observation. "You know," he continued, "I remember when you were taken. I must have been about twelve years old, I guess. It was a sad day for the entire kingdom." His smile faded. "Little did I know that I would one day understand the king and queen's pain on a far more personal level."

"Mekaneck's son Philip has been missing for quite some time now," Teela supplied softly to Adora.

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Adora said, her eyes looking suspiciously moist. "Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help."

"Thank you, Princess," Mekaneck replied, striving to make his voice lighter. "I must say you already have. Your return gives me hope. If you can find your way home after so many years, there is still hope for my Philip."

"That's right. And as long as there is hope, you mustn't give up," Adora encouraged him with a sweet smile.

"Speaking of hope and disappearances," Mekaneck's tone grew even more serious as he turned to Teela. He crossed his arms, bracing himself for a negative conversation. "I've heard rumors that Prince Adam has now disappeared. Is that true?"

"Sort of," Teela hedged. She hastened to explain as Mekaneck's mouth tightened with worry. "We do know where he is. He's just not, um, accessible to anyone except his family."

"Is he all right?" he demanded, now frowning fully. "He's not ill or anything, is he?"

Teela bit back a laugh that threatened at the absurdity of the idea. She'd never seen He-Man sick except when Skeletor had poisoned him last month. But she understood Mekaneck's worry over Adam, having experienced that herself rather recently. "He's perfectly fine, Mekaneck. I promise."

"Well good." The warrior sighed with relief, comforted by her words. "He's a good man. I'd hate for anything to happen to him."

Teela felt a swell in her chest at his words. Mekaneck was right. Adam was a good man. As confused as she felt about everything else concerning him, she knew that was still true.

He-Man finished a two-hour afternoon workout under Orko's watchful eye; the Trollan had come to visit for a couple of days, which Adam took to mean that Teela had no intention of returning anytime soon. Adora and his parents were due in soon for a visit, which was a good thing; he was already frustrated at being confined to the castle, and restless from his conversation with Duncan and the Sorceress. Perhaps Adora or his parents could tell him how Teela was doing. He didn't dare ask the Sorceress to show him in her view screen.

Still seated on the weight bench, he took a long swig of water and stared out of the window mindlessly for a moment before Orko's voice broke into his thoughts.

"I can't believe you had a sister all this time." Orko paced in the air. "It might have been nice if someone had told you!"

He-Man gave him a wry grin. "Like I told them I was He-Man?"

"Well that's different!" his small friend exclaimed. "You were trying to protect them!"

"And they were doing the same for me," He-Man said with a deep sigh. "Maybe we were all wrong, Orko. But we did what we thought was best. Now we have to deal with the consequences, which in this case means that Teela's pretty much furious with each and every one of us. And we have a lot of trust to rebuild with each other."

Orko scratched at his head. "But why is Teela-"

"So you are not angry?" the Sorceress asked, entering the room as she abruptly interrupted Orko.

Orko drifted higher in the air out of surprise, but He-Man merely shrugged. "I was a bit upset, but not angry," he admitted. "I'm not sure I can look at any of you the same again, though. Especially you and Duncan. Who knows what other secrets you might be hiding?" He tried to lighten his voice to a teasing note as he spoke. It wasn't just Adora on his mind. It was also the hidden hopes they had harbored for him and Teela.

She smiled sadly. "I assure you, Adam, Adora was the last secret of any importance to you."

"Not really," he disagreed. "Teela still doesn't know she's-" He broke off with a glance at Orko. "I'm tired of hiding things from her," he re-stated, knowing she would understand what he meant.

The Sorceress said nothing for a moment, but she looked as if she agreed with him. Orko looked from one to another. "Aw geez. You mean there's another secret around here?" he asked in disbelief. "It's getting so a guy doesn't know who to trust anymore."

"You can trust us to love you, little buddy," He-Man said with a slight smirk. "But I'm afraid you'll have to accept all our faults—or at least live with them. And we're a pretty overprotective bunch, which means we tend to have a lot of secrets."

"Speaking of being overprotective," the Sorceress chimed in, "how are you feeling?"

"You mean am I still having urges to go crumple Skeletor into a tiny ball and drop-kick him to Etheria so Hordak can play with him?" He-Man asked innocently, winking at Orko, who chuckled at the mental image.

The Sorceress raised an eyebrow. "I guess that answers my question."

"Yup." He-Man rose to his feet and stretched.

"Well perhaps I can at least break the monotony of being here in the Castle. I have something for you."

"You do?" he asked in surprise.

"Oh goody, I love presents!" Orko cheered. "Even when other people are opening them."

The Sorceress smiled at Orko's enthusiasm. "Yes," she replied to He-Man's question, holding up her hands. "It will not turn you back into Adam, but it will offer you a familiar weapon to wield." She wiggled her fingers, and a replica of his sword appeared in the air, floating before him.

His face lit up, causing her to smile in delight. "Thank you, Sorceress!" He grasped the hilt and tested the weight carefully.

"Wow, it looks just like your old one!" Orko exclaimed.

"It will repel magic just as well as the Power Sword did," she informed him. "I am sorry it took so long to create, but Duncan and I had to work on it together. It is made of photanium, and as you know the last shipment was delayed. I also had to cast the necessary spells on it as it was being molded. Now it is as close to your sword as Duncan and I can make it. There is no way to separate the magic from the sword, and as far as I know, only She-Ra's sword is stronger."

He-Man gazed at it for a moment, a grin on his face, then sheathed the sword as she left the room. An inner tension relaxed at having a familiar weight in his scabbard again.

"Oh boy, I bet it's good to have that back again," Orko said, unknowingly echoing Adam's own thoughts. "Even if it can't turn you back into Adam."

He-Man's mouth lifted in a half-smile. "You know, Orko, after a month, I'm sort of used to being He-Man all the time now."

"You are?"

"Yes. You know all those things they used to say about Adam? For the first time, they're actually true." He-Man let out a big, mock yawn and stretched his arms above his head.

Orko scratched his head. "You mean being lazy?"

He-Man grinned. "Yes. I haven't attended a single meeting at the palace, and let me tell you about the fishing on Etheria…"

The conversation at dinner was light-hearted, but something niggled at Marlena's conscience as she observed her family. He-Man—or rather, Adam, she reminded herself once again—cracked a joke that sent Adora into peals of laughter and had Randor clapping a hand over his mouth in a vain effort to retain control of his own mirth.

Marlena smiled, loving the easy banter around her, but then she realized what was bothering her. Adam was acting as he always had when Teela or Randor had been hard on him—he put more effort into making others laugh, as if by bringing them joy, he could forget his own sorrows. Her smile faded as she studied He-Man closely. If it weren't for years of observing Adam's behavior, she wouldn't have caught it. There was nothing on his face or in his voice to give him away. Perhaps she was merely imagining it…or perhaps Adam was more upset about them keeping Adora a secret than he had let on. Marlena silently berated herself. She should have made time to talk with him today before they had arrived, to find out how he was doing.

'Adam's inner turmoil has little to do with you or Adora,' a voice said in her mind.

Marlena sat up straight and blinked hard. She recognized the Sorceress' voice, but to say it was unsettling to have a voice in her mind was an understatement.

'I apologize for the intrusion, Queen Marlena, but the unguarded thoughts of all those within Castle Grayskull are sometimes too easy to read. It is like having an open book on the table before you. I did not mean to upset you; I simply wanted to assure you that He-Man is not angry with you. He has another matter on his mind.'

'Um…thank you.' Marlena tried to project the thought outwards, but she wasn't sure if it was heard. She shook her head slightly and tuned back into the conversation around her.

"…that's how Cringer found out you were He-Man?" Adora was asking in disbelief. "Why didn't the Sorceress tell you he could change into Battle Cat?"

He-Man shrugged. "Until that day, I hadn't really needed him. Maybe she wanted me to learn to manage on my own powers before relying on him. I was sort of a…" He turned to Marlena. "What was that expression, Mother?"

"A bull in a china shop?" she asked dryly.

He-Man and Randor chuckled. "Yes, that's it."

"I don't get it," Adora said, perplexed. "What does that mean?"

"A bull is a large, powerful animal back on Earth," Marlena explained. "Most people believed it to have a lot of strength and practically no finesse. China were beautiful, delicate plates that were often hand-painted. A bull in a china shop would destroy everything—completely unintentionally."

"So you had problems controlling your strength?" Adora asked, surprise coloring her voice.

He-Man nodded. "Oh yes. I didn't get much warrior training as a teenager because I had so much other learning to do—histories, cultures…I spent a lot of time studying. And as Adam, I was pretty much a klutz."

Randor cleared his throat and crossed his arms, one eyebrow raised.

"Okay, I embellished that a bit to help keep my secret," He-Man amended with a smirk at his father, "but not as much as Father would like to think."

Sensing they were about to delve into delicate territory, Marlena swiftly changed the subject, grasping at the first thing that came to mind. "I saw you and Teela in the garden earlier today, Adora. Are the two of you getting along well?"

"Oh yes," Adora agreed, a smile lighting her face. "She and I understand much about each other. When I talk to her, I feel like I'm talking to a long-lost sister."

As Adora spoke, Marlena's attention was caught by He-Man. At the mention of Teela, he had blushed slightly. His face had reddened even more as Adora talked.

"Well, she was like a sister to Adam as they were growing up," Randor commented.

"Although I always thought one day she would be more," Marlena added, mainly just to see Adam's reaction.

She wasn't disappointed. His gaze flew to her face, his mouth dropping open. "What?"

Inwardly, Marlena was dancing with joy, but like the queen she was, she merely waved her hand airily. "Oh, you know how mothers are, Adam. We always dream our sons will end up with girls we actually like."

"Oh." He-Man seemed unsure still, but he relaxed slightly.

Marlena took a deliberate bite of food, trying hard to keep her sense of triumph from showing. Apparently sending the two of them here to Grayskull had been more successful than she had thought.