Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter one of "To the Sea." I can't believe I got a review for the prologue. I didn't think that would happen, but I'm happy it did. I want to thank the reader who reviewed. As for other readers, don't hesitate to review. I'd love to hear your ideas for this fic. Anyway, this chapter introduces Adam, Teela, Cringer, and Lizzie. There is some Adam/Teela and Cringer/OC as well. Stay tuned for chapter two.
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Chapter 1: Stormy Night
Rain poured on the Royal Palace of Eternia just after midnight in the midspring. Trees dipped and swayed in the wind. Some branches looked about ready to break off. Lightning flashed through and forked across the sky. A thunderclap came right after that. Another one came a second later. It was louder than the other one was. Another bright flash of lightning came, as did another thunderclap.
The wind grew stronger. The rain started to blow sideways in which it splattered on the sides of the palace. This included the window to Adam and Teela's fourth floor room. Lightning flashed once more. It brightened up the sky a little bit. Adam stood close to the window with his arms behind his back. He peered over his shoulder at Teela, who lay asleep on her side facing the window. She had her arm next to her face.
The prince shifted his attention to Cringer and Lizzie, whom both lay next to the bed on their stomachs with their heads on their paws side by side. Lizzie resembled Cringer, except she was smaller and lacked the fluffy fur he had around his neck. Her right eye contained a scar that started above it and stopped below it. Her right front paw had a circular scar just above it. Her snout had fewer whiskers than Cringer did.
Adam couldn't help but smile. He loved how peaceful the trio looked, especially Teela. He thought his girlfriend appeared to be an angel, which the opposite of her usual demeanor. He remembered every time he sneaked into her room to check on her after difficult battles with Skeletor and his minions. He wanted to make sure she was all right due to being worried for her. She caught him three times, but she was never mad at him. She was grateful for being so caring.
He returned his attention to the window. The rain became straight as the gust of wind subsided. A lightning bolt forked across the clouds. Another one struck the ground miles away from the palace grounds. Two loud thunderclaps came one after the other. He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly. He opened them when a hand touched his shoulder. He turned to see her standing next to him. He smiled at her.
"Hey, Teela," he said.
"Hey yourself, Adam," she answered as they glanced at the window. "You can't sleep?"
"I actually woke up and saw the storm was raging. I thought I'd watch it for a while," Adam whispered, sighing contently.
"It's that time of year again," Teela said, wrapping her arm around his. "It will continue well into summer. That means tornadoes for the plains."
"Mother said tornadoes were very common on Earth. The United States get them more than any other country does. The strongest tornado was the 1999 Moore tornado. Its winds got up to three hundred and one miles per hour. It killed thirty-six people," Adam explained.
"Eternian farmers have very sharp instincts. They know when a tornado is coming," Teela pointed out matter-of-factly.
"Unfortunately, even they can be fooled by the appearance of one. The 1925 Tri-State tornado is one such example. It was described as a rolling fog bank. It killed six hundred ninety-five people. In those days, weather forecasters were forbidden to use the word tornado in a forecast. They feared it would generate panic," Adam commented, taking a deep breath.
"I can understand not wanting to generate panic, but so many lives could have been saved if tornadoes were allowed to be forecasted," Teela muttered, shaking her head in disbelief.
"I know," Adam agreed. "Even if they were allowed to do that, there was no guarantee the tornadoes would not have caused so many deaths."
"That does make sense," Teela murmured.
"It is as rare for Eternia to experience violent tornadoes as it is on Earth," Adam responded matter-of-factly. "No tornado has had anywhere near as many deaths here as the tornadoes did there."
Lightning flashed through the sky once more. It was bright enough to turn it daylight very briefly. A thunderclap sounded rather loudly. Another one came, this time being quieter.
"Our fathers are heavy sleepers. They could sleep through tornadoes," Adam said with a wry smile.
"Few people can sleep through any kind of storm. The same goes for animals," Teela murmured.
"Cringer and Lizzie have no problem sleeping through storms," Adam said, looking over his shoulder at the tigers along with her.
"They snore sometimes, but it isn't bad," Teela responded as they turned back to the window.
"Cringer would hide under my bed during storms when he was a cub. The thunder scared him badly. He has no issue with sleeping through a storm now that he is used to it," Adam pointed out.
"Lizzie has never had a problem with storms," Teela replied honestly. "It is nice your tiger fell in love with mine."
He chuckled while giving a shrug. "Who would've thought Cringer would find love at his age?"
"He is actually not old," Teela commented with a laugh. "That's not to say older tigers can't learn new tricks."
"What trick would that be, standing on his head?" Adam joked and scratched his ear.
She laid her head on his shoulder. "Something like that."
Adam pulled his arm out of Teela's grasp and slipped it around her shoulder. He rocked her from side to side. She tried to hold back a contented sigh, but she couldn't help herself.
"It doesn't feel like four years since our relationship began. It feels like only yesterday," Teela said, pressing her lips together.
"That battle with Skeletor and his goons in Kila was really brutal. I never thought you would be seriously injured," Adam commented, cringing quite a bit.
"There is a first time for everything," Teela admitted and sighed heavily. "Father was about to be ambushed by Evil-Lyn. I pushed him out of the way as she shot an energy beam from her hand at him. I was hit directly in the stomach and sent flying backward. The last thing I remember was hitting my head on a boulder."
"You had a nasty gash on your forehead from the impact," Adam replied, his body shaking a bit. "I even feared you had suffered a brain injury. Thankfully, a scan revealed there was none."
"I am lucky I did not get a scar from that," Teela pointed out. "I would not have cared, though. I can live with one."
"You can't live without your head," Adam said and emitted a long exhale.
"That is true," Teela agreed.
"Anyway, I refused to leave your side, except to get something to eat or drink. I could not keep my feelings for you hidden anymore. I had to confess how I felt. When Father told me he overheard my confession, I thought I was going to get the old lecture about doing things for the 'good of Eternia.' I was shocked to hear he was proud of me for finding love on my own. He admitted he should have never tried to push me to marry a princess. I felt so grateful to him for that," Adam explained, a smile forming on his face.
"When Father told me about your confession of love, I realized I felt the same way. I had to tell you," Teela said, slipping her arms around his waist.
"The biggest surprise was Father telling me his great-great-grandfather fell in love with his bodyguard. I had no idea this had happened before," Adam said, his voice showing amazement.
"You learn something new every day," Teela commented with a smile.
"The best part is almost no one living here objected to our relationship. Can you imagine the people staring at us with disdain?" Adam wondered.
"If they did, we would just pay them no mind. How they feel is not important. How we feel is," Teela whispered, her voice showing gentleness.
"You got that right," Adam said, hugging her tightly.
The lovebirds looked up as another lightning flash lit up the sky. The rain blew sideways in another gust of wind. A loud thunderclap came right after. Adam pressed his lips together.
"I am really looking forward to seeing Ellie," he said happily.
"I am too," she agreed. "She was fun to play with when we were kids."
"She had the biggest crush on me," Adam commented, chuckling to himself. "She always talked about wanting to date me when we were older, though Father told her I needed to marry a princess." He gave a shrug. "Look how that worked out."
"Who could resist having a crush on you? You were handsome as a boy. You are even more handsome as a man," Teela said truthfully.
Adam breathed deeply. "I have no doubt she is aware of our relationship. It was announced to the rest of Eternia not long after it started."
"Do you think she still has a crush on you?" Teela asked curiously.
"I have no idea. Father never mentioned her having any previous boyfriends. If she did, I believe she wants to tell us about them herself," Adam suggested.
"That is quite possible," Teela said and cleared her throat.
"One thing I really liked about Ellie is she never hesitated to defend Cringer from the other kids' taunts," Adam said.
Teela groaned embarrassingly. "That was not one of my finest moments."
"It shouldn't be," a male voice said.
Adam and Teela looked down to see Cringer and Lizzie standing close to her. Cringer moved his tail from side to side. He sat down and curled it around his body. Lizzie mimicked his movements. They raised their eyebrows.
"You and Lizzie couldn't sleep any longer, Cringe?" Adam wondered.
"We heard you two talking and decided to be with you," Cringer responded and emitted a soft huff. "Anyway, you were at your meanest when I first came to live with you, Teela. You never hesitated to scare me silly."
"That's all in the past, Cringer. We're good friends now," Teela said, giving him a wink.
"Yeah," Cringer agreed and glanced at Lizzie, who licked his cheek and placed her forelimb around him. "I have someone in my life just like Adam does."
"The difference is Lizzie cannot speak," Adam replied.
Cringer shook his head. "Who the hell cares? She is a great girlfriend."
Adam smiled. "So is Teela."
Adam kissed Teela's temple. They and the tigers looked out the window as the rain turned straight once more. Cringer bit his lip while twitching his tail a tiny bit.
"I hope Apollo and Lisa like Ellie," Cringer commented.
"We do too, Cringer. They are such good kids," Adam added.
"They are growing up so fast. I remember when we saw Mina at one year old on Etheria. She kept pulling on Sea Hawk's beard and Mina's hair," Teela said, a small laugh leaving her mouth.
"Apollo did the same with Bow's mustache and Adora's hair six months ago," Adam said.
"Babies are trying to test their strength at their age. It is nothing unusual. At least they never pulled on my tail," Cringer said in relief.
"It's not just Apollo and Lisa we hope will react well to Ellie. We hope Spirit and Arrow will too," Adam murmured honestly.
"I recall how hostile Arrow was to me when I first met him. Though he knew Adora, he would snap at her whenever she tried to get close to him during her early days with the Great Rebellion. He even nearly bit her once," Teela said, wincing somewhat. "Who could blame him? He hated all the times she attacked his owner while she was Force Captain of the Horde."
"But he warmed up to her. He is close with her now," Cringer answered with much happiness.
"A horse has an excellent memory. It never forgets cruel or kind owners," Adam said.
"Kind treatment makes beautiful animals and people. Bad treatment ruins them," Teela whispered, blinking twice.
The quartet watched the rain splatter against the window. A bolt of lightning forked through the sky.