Duncan awoke to the stirring of his wife next to him and was startled for a moment until it registered where he was.
"Good morning," his wife said.
"Morning?" He felt a flutter of panic at the sunlight peeking in through the window. "What time is it?" He tried to orient himself to the room again as it had been so long since he'd spent a full night in it. Finally, he spotted a clock on the wall. "It's after seven. I should have been back at the palace by now. I have things to do." He threw the covers off himself and fumbled for the clothes he'd removed the night before and hurriedly pulled them on.
"You're leaving already? I had hoped we could talk some more about revealing the whole truth."
"I told you already I need time to think about it. This will cause a huge upheaval in my life. I thought you understood that."
"I do, but I thought maybe if you slept on it, you'd have changed your mind."
"Slept on it or slept with you?" he snapped. "Besides, what would it really change when I know you'll still refuse to leave your fortress to be with me?"
"Duncan, you know that I-" she broke off knowing her words would break his heart again.
"So, you don't deny it. I have to go." He hurried out the door before she could say another word and tried to come up with an excuse to tell the king for his absence as he knew the royal family would already be gathering around the breakfast table where he should be.
Breakfast was filled with chatter about the prior night's gala, recapping everything that has happened and complimenting Adam on his bravery in confronting Skeletor head-on.
"You were quite heroic," King Stefan praised him.
"Thank you, Uncle Stefan," Adam beamed.
"I'm rather proud of you myself, Son," King Randor said admiringly earning him an approving smile from his wife.
Queen Marlena, seeing that the heaps of praise was starting to make Adam uncomfortable, changed the subject. "So, has anyone seen Duncan this morning? It's not like him to be late for breakfast. He's usually the first one down here."
"I haven't seen him," Adam replied with a shrug.
"Nor I," the king answered. "You're right. It is rather strange that he's not here."
"Teela, did your father say anything to you after the party last night?" the queen asked.
"No, but to be honest, I was saying goodnight to Adam after the event and then went straight to bed because that ball was exhausting." She frowned though as she wondered where her father was. This wasn't only strange behavior he'd exhibited since she'd learned that he was her birth father and was married to her mother. She still wondered about his mysterious appearance at Castle Grayskull yesterday.
"Perhaps that's all it is. Maybe he just slept in since he was tired from the gala."
"So, Adam, are you and Teela all packed and ready to leave on your tour?" the king inquired.
"Yes," Adam confirmed. "All that's left is to load everything up in the Attak Trak."
"But I thought you'd be taking a Wind Raider," Randor responded in confusion. "There is some rather rough terrain you'll have to cross on your tour. Wouldn't it be easier to just fly over it?"
Duncan hurried into the room still in his pajamas. "I'm so sorry I'm late," he apologized as he walked behind the king and queen to get to his normal seat at the table and began the cover story he'd devised when he'd overslept in his wife's arms. "I was up late patrolling the grounds to make sure Skeletor wasn't still lurking around after his appearance at the ball last night."
"Smart thinking," King Randor said with a nod to his friend.
"Dad," Teela said. "Did you know your pants are on inside-out?"
"What? They are?"
"Yes, look! The stitched part of the seam is on the outside instead of the inside."
He looked down at his pajama pants and saw that she was right. He laughed nervously as the memories of the prior night flooded through his mind, but then quickly covered by saying, "How silly of me. I just must've been so tired after the party and all that patrolling that I didn't even notice when I put them on last night."
"Sure, that could happen to anyone," Adam chimed in.
"So, have I missed anything?"
"Adam and I were just discussing why he and Teela decided to take Attack Trak on their tour instead of a Wind Raider."
Duncan piped up, "Adam and I discussed this after Skeletor made a pest of himself last night."
"I thought you just said you were patrolling the grounds last night."
"I was, after Adam and I had our talk. In fact, it was Adam who suggested patrolling the grounds to make sure Skeletor was long gone and that he didn't leave any of his warriors behind to stir up trouble. Right, Adam?" He met the prince's eyes across the table, silently begging him not to betray his lies.
Adam had no idea what Duncan was up to, or what kind of secrets he was keeping, but since the older man had kept his secret identity hidden for six years, Adam felt obliged to return the favor. "Oh, right, I did. Because we all know it's not like Skeletor to just stop by to drop an idle threat and run without actually trying something more sinister."
"I seem to recall that when you and Teela were saying goodnight, you didn't seem particularly concerned about Skeletor's taunts last night," the king argued.
"I wasn't worried because I knew Duncan was working late to keep watch. I mean, he's been doing his job for years and taught Teela everything she knows so shouldn't we be able to rest easy knowing that?"
"Of course," Randor nodded. "Duncan is quite skilled at his job." He turned to his old friend and asked, "While we're on the subject, may I ask your reasoning for changing Adam and Teela's tour vehicle?"
"Of course. Adam and Teela will be visiting five kingdoms in four days, two of which are in the Vine Jungle where there's been some unrest between kingdoms in recent years, we thought Trak's armored shell and artificial intelligence would offer more protection in case that started up again and even in the more peaceful kingdoms, if Skeletor tries to attack them during their tour."
"Also," Adam added, "It's designed to travel over rough terrain and its cargo area is large enough to carry at least two Sky-Sleds if we need them. Besides, didn't you take it on your last tour?"
"And I ended up being nabbed by Beast Man when he disabled it. That's why I worry." King Randor explained. "Perhaps it's better if you stick to the original plan and take a Wind Raider."
"And what if Skeletor shoots it out of the sky as he did a few days ago?" Adam countered. "At least if we take Trak, we'd have the Sky-Sleds as backup transportation and wouldn't be left stranded as you were."
"Hmmm…you've really thought this out, haven't you?"
"Yes, Father, I have." He'd also thought of his father's lecture on being more discreet and thought changing vehicles would give him and Teela a little more privacy to be themselves without risking disgracing the kingdom by appearing too intimate with one another.
"I guess it's all settled then," Randor conceded. "But before you leave, Adam, I do expect you to sit in on the meeting this morning with the other leaders of Eternia. It's time you learned to take on a more active leadership role."
"Yes, Father," he agreed without argument. He had nothing else to do anyway since Teela would be leaving soon to do more lessons with her mother.
"Oh, and Teela, Dear," Queen Marlena nodded to her future daughter-in-law, "If you don't mind, I would like a moment of your time before you go to Castle Grayskull this morning."
"Of course, Your Majesty," she agreed, but shot Adam a questioning look.
He shrugged in response and answered, "Don't look at me."
"It's nothing for you to worry about. I just need to discuss some ideas for her wedding attire, a little girl talk, if you will."
"But Teela was telling me last night that her gown was already planned out and being put together," he argued.
"There's more to it than just her gown, but that's not for you to to concern yourself with." She gestured to the future princess. "Teela, if you'll join me, please."
Teela nodded and followed the queen down a labyrinth of corridors that led to the royal vault where the crown jewels were secured. "Oh my!" Teela gasped as she looked at all the beautiful things on display: gold coronets like the one Adam had worn last night, exquisite jewel-encrusted crowns and sparkling tiaras.
"They're lovely, aren't they?" Marlena commented as she reached for a gold tiara set with an oval-shaped sapphire. "But this one is my favorite. Randor had it made especially for me to wear the day I become his queen. I had thought to save it for Adora, but since she's constantly fighting to free her home planet and doesn't show much interest in her legacy as a princess, I don't think that's appropriate any longer."
"It's beautiful," Teela crooned as she eyed it.
"I was thinking you should have it to wear on your wedding day."
"No, I couldn't. Not if it was meant to be passed down to your own daughter."
"You are as good as my own daughter. It sounds terrible to say, but as much as I love Adora, you growing up here has made me feel closer to you than to her."
Teela nodded in understanding. "It doesn't sound so terrible. I suppose it's like me and my mother. I want to have a close relationship with her, but I feel closer to you because I didn't grow up with her, just as Adora didn't grow up with you." She took a deep breath and continued, "But while I think it's very sweet of you to say, I still wouldn't feel right keeping a family heirloom, especially if I'd be taking something from Adora."
"Let me assure you, you wouldn't be taking anything from Adora when she doesn't even know it exists or really much at all about her family history. And make no mistake, I'm not giving it to you, it's a loan," Marlena explained. "We'll have one commissioned just for you of your own design to suit your tastes, but I worry there isn't enough time for it to be ready before your wedding."
"That's really not necessary. I don't need anything fancy."
"But you must have one for special events."
"I know. Adam told me that. I just-" She felt a little overwhelmed by the queen's kind gesture. "Even just borrowing the one you wore on your wedding day doesn't feel quite right to me."
"Let me tell you about a wedding tradition we had on Earth then and maybe that will convince you." Marlena explained about brides having something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. "It may sound silly, but it's considered to be good luck to do so. Now this tiara would represent three of those things in one as it's twenty-four years old, has a blue stone set in its center and it would be borrowed from me."
"And my wedding gown would be something new," Teela added.
"It would mean so much to me if you would consider wearing it when you wed my son to carry on not only a family legacy, but also an Earth tradition that I didn't get to observe on my wedding day. And maybe someday, we can even pass it on to my unborn granddaughter." She gestured to the rest of the collection and said, "Unless there's another here that you like better."
Deeply moved by the queen's sentiment, Teela shook her head and smiled. "No, this one is perfect. I would love to wear it."
"Good, now let's see how it looks on you."
An hour later, Teela was entering Castle Grayskull on cloud nine after her conversation with her future mother-in-law.
"You're in quite the good mood today," her mother commented and then added in a light, teasing tone, "I hope it's not for the same reason you were so distracted yesterday."
"No, not at all," Teela answered as she explained what had happened with the queen, but she left out the part about feeling closer to the queen than her own mother as she didn't want to risk hurting her feelings. "I'm just so happy that she sees me truly being a part of the royal family."
"Things certainly appear to be falling in line nicely. I'm very happy for you, my daughter, but we must get to work now. We only have a short time to do so before you must leave on your tour."
"I know. I just can't believe all this started just because Adam and I were trying to keep each other warm when we were freezing from that stupid storm."
"Hmmm…there's something we could work on today and it's a rather simple spell."
"I don't follow you," Teela replied in confusion.
"You mentioned being cold during that storm so I was thinking since you and Adam often find yourself in precarious situations, perhaps a spell to generate heat would be appropriate. With Skeletor's threat against you last night right before you embark on your tour, it might come in handy as it can be used offensively as well."
"Great idea," Teela gushed. "How do I do that?"
"First, you must use the skills you've already learned of reaching out with your mind, only this time, try to connect to the Spirit of Grayskull."
Teela shook her head with a skeptical look in her face. "It's one thing to connect with you because you're my mother or with Adam when he's my lover, but connecting to old King Grayskull himself is something else entirely. I don't know if I'm ready for that."
"Of course you are, my dear. You've already done it before that day you took over for me when I was stuck in that other dimension and you handled yourself quite well."
"But that was in an emergency situation and I also found out that day that I'm terrible at scrying."
"It was only your first attempt at scrying and like anything else, it takes practice and I was told that you did master it enough to know that Skeletor was about to attack the castle. And you were quite skilled early on at connecting with the Spirit of Grayskull and this time, I'll be here to guide and to ground you if you need me. I have every confidence that you can do this."
"I guess I want to try it by myself first. I have to learn to do this alone anyway since I won't have you there once I'm the Sorceress in the future."
"I understand. Just focus, let all your other thoughts go except for connecting to the power."
While Teela was learning new things with her mother, Adam was attempting to do the same with his father, but found that he was bored stupid by all the talks of planetary resources and trade agreements. He knew these things were important, but it was all just so dull in comparison to his other duties. Of course, no one at the table knew of his secret missions as He-Man.
His interest was suddenly piqued when his uncle brought up a question relevant to him personally. "I would like to bring up a topic that has been bothering me regarding Prince Adam's engagement. While no one can deny that Teela is a fine young woman and it's quite clear that she and Adam are well-suited for one another, I have to ask you, Randor, about the suddenness of their upcoming marriage."
Adam exchanged a worried glance with his father, remembering his lecture about discretion. Had King Stefan already begun to suspect that Teela was pregnant? He had to quash that idea now. "It's like my father said during his announcement yesterday," Adam began, sticking to the cover story King Randor had invented. "We have been seeing each other for quite some time now, but we didn't want to make a big deal about it because we thought it might overshadow my sister's return to the family. Besides that, it was so new to us and a little challenging to transition from being lifelong best friends to being romantic partners. We just wanted to do things in our own time to figure out what we were feeling for each other was simply the closeness of being friends for so long or if it was something deeper. Now that we have, we just want to start building a real life together."
"I understand that part and no one who has seen you together can deny how deeply in love you are with each other, Nephew," King Stefan turned his attention to his older brother and continued, "But we're also hearing rumors in Dyperia that you coerced them into marrying before they were ready with an ancient marriage mandate. My queen, Viola, has been beside herself thinking you might to the same to our son, Prince Dal since he's only two years younger than Adam."
"D-don't be ridiculous," King Randor stammered nervously as the other royals chimed in their concerns for their own children.
"With all due respect, Uncle Stefan, I'm afraid you're mistaken. I have wanted to marry Teela for some time now, but felt that the timing was just never right to tell her how I truly felt about her and to ask her to marry me; first due to finding Princess Adora and reuniting her with our parents, and added to that, the numerous times I've traveled to Etheria to assist her in her battle against the Horde." That was at least the truth and not part of the king's story. Despite all his strict rules, Adam still felt the need to defend his father.
"Then where did these rumors come from?"
"Do you always believe idle gossip and rumors? I mean, you saw how Skeletor was last night when he showed up here just to be malicious and you know quite well how he believes the throne of Eternia should be his. Has it not occurred to you that he might have started that rumor himself in an attempt to divide the kingdoms, thereby making it easier for him to seize control if he were to turn the other world leaders against my father?"
"I suppose that could be true," King Stefan admitted. "I know you won't understand this until you and Teela have a family of your own, but if you knew how protective a mother is of her child and the kind of lecturing I've been hearing from your Aunt Viola about this whole situation and her worry for Prince Dal, you wouldn't be so quick to dismiss my concerns."
"I can understand your concerns a little. I know how worried my mother has been ever since my sister chose to return to Etheria to be a resistance fighter, but you said yourself that you can see how in love Teela and I are; we just want to make it official, to begin a new life together and have a family of our own as soon as possible."
"A family? You've discussed having children already?"
"Of course we have," Adam smiled, pleased that the little seed he'd planted took root in his uncle's mind so that it wouldn't come as a shock once her pregnancy was announced. "Don't you think a couple who's getting married should discuss such things? The advantage I have in marrying my best friend is that we can openly and honestly talk about anything and everything. I hope my cousin is lucky enough to find that kind of love for himself someday."
"Well said, Son," King Randor said proudly, thankful that his son was willing to help him save face in spite of how angry they had been at each other just a few days ago. "I feel you're well on your way to becoming a great king in the future."
When the meeting broke up and the other leaders of Eternia were on their way to their respective kingdoms, King Randor and his son were left alone together and an awkward silence ensued for a moment before Adam finally spoke up. "So, Father, I was wondering something about this tour. Do you think it would be possible for us to take Cringer with us?"
The king raised an eyebrow. "Why in the world would you want to do that?"
"Well, I've been spending so much time with Teela lately that I haven't been paying as much attention to him as I usually do and I've been feeling a little guilty about it."
King Randor nodded in understanding. "I'm pleased to see that you're beginning to see how difficult it can be to be forced to split your focus among many responsibilities."
Adam laughed dryly and thought, You don't know the half of it. "It is difficult, but I believe I'm up to the challenge," he replied confidently.
"I'm glad to see this new and improved attitude and I would like to see it extend to your tour. Unfortunately, that's also why I don't think it's a good idea to take Cringer with you. I know you love your pet, but it's well known how cowardly he is for a tiger and since you just showed last night that you are not as cowardly as you've appeared to be in the past, having him there when you're trying to make a good enough impression on the other kingdoms to dispel that reputation may have just the opposite effect if they associate his timid nature with you. I mean, you named him Cringer for a reason, didn't you?"
"Of course, Father, I understand." No Battle Cat if we get into trouble, he mentally noted, very glad now that they would have the Sky Sleds with their laser guns should something happen.
"That's it? No argument?"
"No, you're absolutely right. Taking a scaredy-cat tiger with me would just make me look worse than I already do and I don't want to backtrack on the progress I've made." Adam smiled and gave his father a nod, happy to know that he was finally beginning to earn the king's respect simply by being himself and not living the pretense he'd held onto for so many years. He felt he could get used to it and vowed never to present himself as the spoiled, lazy, cowardly Crown Prince again.
After Teela had returned from the castle and Adam had left his meeting, the pair met up as planned in the courtyard. "Oh, boy, am I glad to see you," Adam said as he greeted his fiancée with a kiss.
"Did you have a rough time in the meeting with your dad?"
Adam explained to Teela about his uncle's concerns and concluded with, "But I think I smoothed things over and my dad even said he was proud of me for a change."
"That's great!" she replied enthusiastically. "I know how much that means to you. Speaking of Dads, what was going on with you and my dad this morning at breakfast?"
"I don't know what you mean," he answered evasively.
"Yes, you do. I know very well that he wasn't patrolling the grounds last night because I had already put a security detail on that task before we went to bed while you were talking to my dad about taking Trak on our tour. And every one of those guards reported to me early this morning before breakfast that they hadn't seen a thing, including my father patrolling with them."
"Look, I don't know what he was up to, I swear. I just saw this look in his eyes begging me to cover for him when he was telling his story. How could I refuse when he's covered for me with my father more times than I can count?" He shrugged and suggested, "Maybe he just had too much to drink at the party last night and was hungover and too embarrassed to admit it because he never does stuff like that."
"Maybe," she said doubtfully. "Or maybe it was a different kind of hangover, like the one that kept us in bed so late that our parents came looking for us the morning after that storm."
"You think he was out having sex with some random woman? That doesn't sound like him either."
"Well, I sure don't think he spent the night here because when I left to go to the castle this morning, I noticed that his Sky Sled was parked in an entirely different spot than it had been. And no, I don't think it's a random woman. I think it's my mother."
"Wait, what? That's crazy! I mean, I know they're both your parents because he adopted you and she gave birth to you, but do you really think they're having some kind of clandestine love affair?"
"Oh, Ancients!" She exclaimed. "That's right, you don't know because everything has been so hectic, I never got a chance to tell you. He's not just my adopted father; he's my birth father. He told me the day we decided to get married and my mother confirmed it."
"But I thought your birth father was killed in the Great War."
"So did I, but he wasn't. That whole story was a huge pack of lies invented by my parents to cover up the fact that they've been married, but separated for years."
"And clearly my parents don't know or he wouldn't have wanted me to cover for him this morning."
"No, and he asked me not to say anything to them because he's lied them all this time letting them believe he's a bachelor and my mother is a widow."
"This explains so much. I always wondered why the Sorceress would give her baby to some strange soldier she'd just met and I have suspected for a long time that he had some kind of feelings for her with the pining looks he would give her like the looks I used to give you. So, you really think he spent the night at the castle with her and just doesn't want anyone to know?"
"Yes, and there's more. Remember yesterday when we arrived at the castle, we saw his Sky Sled there for no apparent reason?" Adam nodded. "Well, he didn't so much as look at me when he left."
"He didn't say anything to me while I was outside waiting for you either."
"And my mother was very evasive about it as well and when we were practicing my telepathy, I accidentally tapped into her memories of being with him, but more than just the images of what happened; I felt the way she felt and I think she's still in love with him even though she denies it."
"And I already told you I think he's in love with her, so why do you think they're separated if they still love each other?"
"I don't know because neither one of them will talk about it, but what I do know is that when I had that vision of you and I being separated in the future and you raising our children alone, she warned me to be very careful not to repeat her mistakes. But how can I know what mistakes not to repeat if I don't know what they are?"
Their conversation was interrupted by Queen Marlena, dressed in her flight suit, calling Teela's name. "Are you ready to get those Sky Sleds loaded?"
"Oh, sure," Teela replied.
"And Adam, you're supposed to be meeting your father down by Trak's Bay to get it loaded up."
"Right!" He gave Teela a quick kiss as they headed their separate directions; and couldn't help worrying that this wouldn't become a habit for them as it had for Duncan and his wife or Teela's vision might just become their future.