The remainder of the tour passed without incident, but King Randor had noticed the cool demeanor his son had had toward him since his return. Adam hadn't spoken to him other than what was required to complete his royal duties and even then, it was in clipped phrases.

Determined to end the standoff between them, he poked his head inside Adam's open bedroom door and saw him absentmindedly stroking Cringer. "Adam," he said to get his son's attention causing Adam to jump. "My apologies, I didn't mean to startle you.

"No need for apologies. I was in my own world." He was still thinking hard about what had happened in Targa and how his father has been so quick to believe the worst of him and he was trying to decide if he should tell the whole truth about himself. On one hand he thought it might help his father understand him better, but on the other it could just mean another lecture for being deceitful.

Sensing Adam was still hesitant to speak to him, he added, "Well, I would have knocked, but your door was wide open."

"I've been keeping it that way on purpose so you can't possibly accuse me of something else I haven't done," Adam responded bitterly. "I mean, I can't get in trouble just petting Cringer, right? Or am I showing him too much affection as well?"

"Not for me," Cringer replied lazily as he soaked up the attention he was getting.

Randor stepped further into the room. "You're still angry with me."

"No, why would I be angry with you," Adam replied sarcastically and finally unleashed his feelings. "Are you here to drop another royal mandate on me?" He changed his tone to mimic his father's stern voice. "Find a wife, Son; produce a royal heir, Son…No, not like that. Adam, what were you thinking? Be more discreet, Son. Don't kiss your girl too much, Son." He shifted back to his normal voice. "What's next? Once we're married, are you going to start giving me 'advice' on how to make love to my wife even though I already know what she likes in bed?"

Randor sighed at this turn in the conversation. "Listen, Son, if it's about what I said the other day regarding you and Teela-"

"Did you know it turns her on when we're face to face so that she's looking into my eyes when I'm inside her? Or how she likes to hear me whisper her name when I'm about to-"

"Come on, Adam, stop this! This is hardly an appropriate topic of conversation."

"Do you think it's appropriate for you to try to control every aspect of my life, even those that should be private?"

"Perhaps you'd like to know what your mother likes in bed."

"Ugh, Dad! Stop!"

Randor laughed. "I wasn't really going to give you any details. I was just trying to make a point."

"I get the point, but it missed the mark because I don't butt into your private life like you do mine. I don't try to police what's going on behind closed doors in your bedroom. If you and Mom want to tear each other's clothes off or dress up in each other's clothes or swing from the chandelier, it's none of my business, but you seem to think that every single thing I do with Teela is yours, even when it's something as innocent as a goodnight kiss."

Randor sighed in frustration again. "That's not what I was trying to do. I was trying to keep Teela's reputation from being tarnished."

"It's a little late for that now, isn't it? I mean, she's already pregnant."

"But only a few people know that, not the entire kingdom and not one of us who know would expose that truth before an appropriate amount of time has passed beyond your wedding day."

"Do you think that matters? People aren't stupid. They can do basic math. What are we going to do, make up some transparent story about a premature birth once the babies are born?"

"That might not necessarily be an issue since Teela's carrying twins. Years ago, when we learned that your mother was carrying twin babies, I tried to learn everything I could about twin pregnancy and birth because I wanted to do everything I could to help her through it when I knew it was likely to be harder on her body. One of the things I learned is that twins are very often born earlier than a single child. So, there's your explanation if anyone questions it."

"But won't that make it even worse? Won't that mean they're born way too soon into our marriage?"

"Not enough to make a difference. Unlike your mother and me, we didn't have the Sorceress telling us we were expecting the very same day we conceived. Even with all the modern technology we have, science still hasn't found a way to detect pregnancy that early without some magical intervention. We didn't know we were going to be parents until she was three weeks along and didn't know there were two of you until almost three months later. It's only been a week and Teela's not yet showing any signs or symptoms of pregnancy. She's not even far enough along to have a missed her normal cycle yet. If not for the magical influence of the Sorceress, you wouldn't even know you're going to be a father for at least another week or two at the very earliest and the two of you will be officially married by then since the wedding is only six days away. When twins are almost always born early you shouldn't have anyone question it. After all, we're planning your wedding in such a hurry, there is only going to be a two-week difference to begin with. People will just assume that it was a honeymoon pregnancy as long we wait long enough to announce it for regular science to detect it."

"Teela thought that too." Adam nodded and breathed a sigh of relief to have confirmation of it. "I guess that makes sense. It just makes me grateful that the Sorceress had that same vision Teela did and was able to tell us what it meant or we might have delayed planning a wedding. Who knows, Teela might have also made me wait longer to get an answer to my proposal and then we'd really be in trouble."

"And that's why I said what I did about discretion while you were on your tour. On that note, it might interest you to know that I confirmed your story with King Garn about what occurred in Targa and how Marius began the dinner with insulting you and Teela as well as your mother. He has been dismissed entirely and banished to the dark side of Eternia so you've been given a reprieve for now, but still, the wrong move in front of the wrong people could be disastrous for your public image and Teela's. Palace gossip here is nothing as we can keep that contained within these walls, but it's quite another thing for it to get around all of Eternia that you've been sneaking into her room at night."

"But I didn't-"

"I believe you, but you have to understand the seriousness of the situation. She's going to be your queen some day and the people have to be able to look up to her and respect her as a leader. That's not going to happen if people think she trapped you into this marriage with her pregnancy just so she could land a prince."

"That's not what happened!" Adam protested loudly. "Why do you have to keep talking about her as if she's some common whore like you did the day you learned she's pregnant and you accused her of seducing me?"

"I'm not," the king said quietly. "Nor do I believe this was some cunning trap on her part or that she seduced you. I admit that I was angry that day and I shouldn't have said that about her. You both say that your love affair began by mutual agreement and I believe you. I'm just trying to warn you that that's how people might perceive her if you're not more careful. Aside from being a prince, you're young and good-looking to the point that you've had many young women swooning over you and some even blatantly throwing themselves at you and you've rebuffed them all."

"So now you suddenly believe me about the farm girl? That nothing happened?"

"I should have taken your word for it from the beginning and I apologize for that. I realize now that things are not always what they appear to be."

"Thank you for that, Dad. And you're right, women do seem to be all over me, but I've always wondered how much of that really had to do with me and how much is just because I'm a prince." It was even worse as He-Man with his bigger muscles and tanned skin combined with his heroics. "That's why I was so determined to prove to Teela that I was worthy of her. She's the one and only woman I've ever been close to who always saw me as just Adam, flaws and all, and was not simply swooning over the Crown Prince of Eternia. More than that, she challenged me as an equal and wasn't afraid to stand up to me and put me in my place when I needed it despite me being a prince."

"I understand. I was there once myself with women determined to be my queen. Like you, I had more than one dalliance with a willing woman, but I wasn't interested in any of them beyond that."

"You never told me that."

"Because it's not something I'm particularly proud of, using desperate women just to satisfy my own desires. In fact, I was quite ashamed of myself, much like you were ashamed of your fling with Princess Rhea."

"Yeah," Adam nodded in understanding.

"But your beautiful, stubborn, fiery mother came quite literally crashing into my life and she didn't care that I was a king. She cared that I was a good person and saw me for who I am beneath the crown. But I'm afraid it's not all 'happily ever after' as it is in fairy tales. Now that you've chosen your intended, a few people are already questioning why you chose the tomboy-ish Captain of the Guard when you could easily have your pick of any woman in the kingdom."

"You're so lucky you didn't have to deal with all of this when you married Mom."

"What makes you think I didn't?"

"Wait, no. Adora and I were born more than a year into your marriage, so I know you didn't have an unplanned pregnancy to deal with."

"I didn't mean that particular situation, but because I took the throne so young due to my father's disappearance I was under constant scrutiny including even more pressure to marry and produce a royal heir even though I was only sixteen when the crown passed to me. People were panicked when King Miro disappeared and worried that there wouldn't be another competent leader if something happened to me and that the crown might pass to Keldor, which would've been nightmarish, plunging Eternia into the kind of dictatorship Etheria has become under Horde rule."

"But everything worked out just fine for you."

"Not at first," He explained. "How do you think it looked when I did find my bride and she was not Eternian, but Terran when, much like you, I could've chosen any maiden on the entire planet who'd have been quite happy to be my queen? As if that weren't enough, she'd already been living here at the palace with me for about a year when we married. I'm sure you can imagine how much tongues were wagging."

"I had no idea," Adam commiserated with his father. "So, that's why Marius said what he did about Mom. He must have grown up around those who were the busybodies of your time who thought you and she were already sleeping together."

"I'd say you're right; I imagine his family were among those who disapproved of my marriage to my queen, but kept silent in public while gossiping behind our backs. During that time when I was planning my own wedding I believe the one thing that kept it from being worse is that I was already the king and had established myself as a leader by the time I met her. You have it much harder because you haven't. Sure, you've been on several diplomatic missions with me at your side and a handful on your own, and you have shown great improvement in attending to the duties required of the Crown Prince recently, but that's not enough to build a stronger, positive image of yourself."

"I think we both know that people see me as a big goof," he sighed.

"There's more. I told you how stunned people were when I chose to marry an Earth woman. That decision of mine also makes it more difficult for you because it means you're only half Eternian, which makes some question your right to rule as their future king at all because you're also half-Earthling."

"Like Marius calling me a half-breed and he's not even the first to ever say it," he nodded sadly. "But there's nothing I can do to sway anyone's opinion on that. I love Eternia. It's my home and always has been. I was born and raised here. I've never even seen Earth except in pictures." He couldn't tell his father he'd actually once been quite close to Earth when helping the two astronauts save it from a deadly meteor because he'd done that as He-Man. He remembered marveling at the beauty of the planet his mother had come from. Of course, he'd only seen it from space, but it was still a wonder to him. He shook off those memories to get back to the point. "Eternia is my home and always has been. I know this planet better than anyone!"

"As much time as you and Teela spent running around and exploring as children, you definitely should and I don't question that one bit." Randor took a deep breath and continued, "As for your childhood companionship, I'm afraid that could also pose a problem."

"How can that be? Isn't it better that we were friends first? That's why we know each other so well."

"Of course it's great that you were close friends first. As you told my brother it just makes your relationship stronger, but at the moment with your upcoming wedding being all anyone's talking about, all eyes are on you and the image you project to the public is paramount. Where the trouble lies is that you and Teela have lived under the same roof your entire lives, which makes some question how long you've been sneaking around together in a romantic sense just as people questioned your mother living here even though we slept in separate rooms until we were married. Since we made your engagement public and created that elaborate backstory to explain having the wedding so soon, I've even heard some talk among the guards that suggests I only promoted her to captain five years ago because of her secret romance with you and I'm afraid that's my fault for spinning that web of lies about you two keeping your relationship quiet. Now, some are taking it farther than I ever intended it to go."

"But that's ridiculous! She worked hard to earn that spot and she's been in that position since before she and I got together."

"I know that, but not everyone does. Look at it from an outsider's point of view. You've lived together, grew up playing together, we hardly ever saw one of you without the other close by, she's been your personal bodyguard, you've had private training sessions with her for years and now the palace guards are gossiping about you being seen waking up in her bed instead of your own and the housekeeping staff about finding her torn underwear under your bed."

"I understand what you're saying, but I also want you to understand where I'm coming from. I've loved her for as long as I can remember and it took me way too long to find the courage to tell her that. Now that I have and we're really together, it's incredibly hard to be away from her. I just want to start living my life with her full-time. I found I've already grown accustomed to falling asleep with her in my arms and her beautiful face being the first thing I see when I wake up. It feels natural, like it was always meant to be."

"I've been there. I felt the same way about your mother. Even though we didn't have the benefit of being lifelong friends as you and Teela do, something between us just naturally flowed from the moment we met as if we were always meant to be together."

"Why can't people just mind their own business? I mean, why should they care who I sleep with or who I marry or if I got my girlfriend pregnant before our marriage? None of that has any bearing on what kind of king I'll be in the future."

"I know that better than anyone, but unfortunately, it's just an unpleasant part of being in the public eye. People are going to always be watching you and your actions."

"It almost makes me a little jealous of Adora since she doesn't have to deal with any of this," Adam complained.

"Would you prefer to be in a constant battle as she is?"

I already am, he thought. His father had no idea how many battles he'd fought against Skeletor and his minions to keep Eternia safe or for that matter, or just how frequent his trips to Etheria to help his sister battle Hordak had been. He felt that just that alone, fighting to keep his people free, and aiding in the attempt to free their sister planet was enough to make him worthy to be the future king, but of course, those were things he couldn't share, not if he hoped to still continue to do so.

He couldn't help wondering how he'd make that work when he was the king some day. It was one thing for goofy Prince Adam to disappear for a few hours because he was already known to be that way, but how would he manage it when he sat on the throne and was under even more scrutiny? Would he ever have a moment alone to even transform into He-Man and save the day and what would people think if their king just vanished for awhile? Could he be both Eternia's king and its champion?

"No, of course not," Adam answered instead of trying to explain his complicated life to his father, which had grown even more complicated since he'd learned he was going to be a father. "I fought hard enough just to free Adora from Hordak and I've been there several times since then so I know exactly what kind of world she's living in, but sometimes I wonder what it might be like, how she and I might both be different if I'd been the one kidnapped as a baby instead of her."

"What are you saying, that you wish you hadn't grown up here with us?"

"Not at all," He shook his head. "I love my life here. But with her being a girl, I wonder if it would be different. She'd be the known heir to the throne and would be the one everyone's watching. I can't help wondering if you would be putting this much pressure on her."

"Technically, she should be the heir to the throne since she's the first-born," Randor pointed out.

"She is? I never knew that, but I suppose there are a lot of things I don't know since you never bothered to tell me I even had a sister." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them. Who was he to judge his father for keeping secrets when he'd been keeping his own? Deep down he knew his parents had kept their secrets for his own good, just as he did by never revealing the fact that in addition to being heir to the throne, he was also heir to the magical legacy of King Grayskull and as such, was Eternia's mysterious champion, He-Man. He wondered if his father would be as hurt by learning his secret as he has been upon learning of Adora's abduction and the lies surrounding it.

"Yes, she is older than you by about seventeen minutes," the king confirmed. "And you already know why we didn't tell you. We thought it would only hurt you to know she was out there somewhere when we didn't have the first notion of how to find her."

"But maybe if I'd known, I could've found her and reunited our family sooner." He stared at the wall for a moment lost in his thoughts, but then finally spoke again to ask, "So, if she's the actual heir to the throne, why am I the one who will inherit it? She's a princess just as much as I'm a prince and she's older."

"Can you imagine how hard that would be for this planet? It's one thing to have a prince who's seen as a bit of a goofball because you can learn and mature over time, which you already seem to be doing since your engagement and learning that you're going to be a father. They weren't thrilled that I became king at only sixteen when my father disappeared, but I earned their trust because they knew me just like they know you and no matter how they see you or how much they gossip about you, you have a natural charm that makes people like you. Your mother and I made a grave mistake in keeping Adora's birth a secret from everyone, but now it's too late to remedy that. It might be different if we'd recovered her as a child, but she's a grown woman and even though people know of her now, they don't actually know her because she chose to stay on Etheria and only visits here occasionally. While I commend her for wanting to free her planet as it's the only home she's ever known, if we were to change the heir apparent now from you to her, not very many people would be likely to accept it, much like they didn't want to accept an Earth-born queen when I married your mother. I honestly believe the only reason your mother was finally accepted is because they knew and trusted their king. So, as much as you may not like it, it has to be you."

Adam shrugged. "I know and I'm not saying I don't like it. I mean, I don't like the idea of you being gone, but I've always known that the throne of Eternia was my legacy and I accept that responsibility. What's really bothering me is that I don't like feeling as if I can't do anything without being judged. It's just something I've been thinking about since I found Adora and even more since Teela and I got together. You know, what if Adora took over and I could just live a normal life with my own family instead of dealing with all the pressure that goes along with being the Crown Prince? But I guess it doesn't really matter because I don't think Adora wants to be Queen of Eternia anyway. She barely even acknowledges that she's a princess. She's perfectly happy just being the leader of the Great Rebellion."

Randor nodded. "She's quite a skilled leader from what I hear, but you are as well, Adam. I don't tell you that often enough. It took a great deal of courage for you to free your sister from the influence of the Horde and for that, I'm quite proud of you."

"Thank you, Father," Adam smiled. "That means a lot to me. I know I've caused you a lot of grief over the years, but I've always wanted nothing more than to make you proud of me. There's…um…there's something you should know that I've been-" He broke off abruptly wondering if this was the right time to tell his father the truth since they were being so open with one another. He wanted to confide in his father so badly, but he thought of Teela's reaction and how it didn't take her long to also figure out Adora's secret identity. Surely his father would be just as astute. He wasn't stupid, after all. He ran through his mind all the ramifications of what he was considering doing. Would Adora still be able to do her job effectively as She-Ra if her secret was exposed? It might not make a difference since they were on different planets, but still he couldn't help feeling uneasy about it. As he'd told Teela, it was Adora's secret to share or not share with those she trusted and even though she now knew where she came from, she didn't share the same bond with their parents that he did having been raised far away from her family. He sighed.

"Yes, Adam?" his father questioned when Adam had suddenly become silent.

"I-I-" No, he decided. He couldn't do it, not without discussing it with his sister first, especially when he was the one who'd told her she shouldn't share her secret with their parents. "I…well, with all the drastic changes in my life right now, I have to admit that I-I'm a little nervous."

"You're not getting cold feet about the wedding, I hope?"

"No! Not about the wedding. I've never been more certain about anything in my life. I can't wait to marry Teela and truly begin our life together. What I'm nervous about is being a father," he confessed. "I'm just so worried that I'll be a disappointment to my children like I've been a disappointment to you or that I'll let Teela down when she needs me." Also, he was worried that with the dual legacy of the throne and the power of Grayskull being passed to his son and the legacy of the Sorceress to his daughter, that he'd end up putting too much pressure on his own children as he felt his father did to him. What if he made them feel they were never good enough as his father inadvertently did to him?

Randor sighed at this topic coming up again. What else could he do to convince his son that he wasn't a disappointment? "You're not a disappointment to me, Son. You never have been."

"But aren't I? Isn't that was this whole marriage mandate was about? I came in after being out all night and because I wouldn't tell you where I was-" More accurately, he couldn't tell where he'd been. What would his father have said if he'd told him he'd just taken a magical portal as He-Man into Etheria where he and his twin had been battling Horde troopers until dawn? "Then the thing with the farm girl… Well, you, you just instantly assumed the worst of me, accused me of whoring around with loose women, lectured me on being more responsible and how a prince can't have an illegitimate child, then you hit me with that archaic law."

"Well, I'd still like to know where you were all night that first time, but for what it's worth, I admit that I was wrong in trying to force this marriage law on you and it should interest you to know that I have now abolished that ridiculous law. It was a mistake for me to attempt to control you that way, one I already apologized for."

"I appreciate that, Dad, and I accepted your apology. As for where I was, I still can't tell you that, but please trust me when I say it was nothing you'd disapprove of in any way. And the other stuff? Well, what if I'm no good as a father? What if I make just as big a mistake or an even bigger one? How would I live with myself?"

"I understand your concerns, Adam. I was nervous about becoming a father too and worried that I'd do the wrong things for my children, but it's not something you can spend too much time dwelling on or you'll make yourself crazy. You just accept your mistake for what it is and do your best to move on and not repeat it. Do you honestly think I don't know what that's like? When your sister was abducted, I felt like the biggest failure as a father ever because I couldn't protect my own daughter."

"Wow, I guess I'd never thought of it from your perspective, but what could you have done differently? The way the Sorceress told it, the palace was invaded by both Skeletor and Hordak."

"I don't know," Randor replied. "I've spent a lot of time beating myself up over the loss of your sister. Skeletor and Hordak broke into your nursery, attacked your mother and stole Adora away before I even knew what was going on. If it hadn't been for Duncan, he'd have taken you both while I was out fighting off Horde troopers with the guard instead of protecting my family. I've carried the weight of that guilt ever since then, always wondering if I'd been there beside your mother instead of in battle, Adora might have been saved."

"You shouldn't blame yourself, Father. As king and the leader of the troops, you felt it was your place to be in the fight alongside them to protect the planet. That's what a leader does." He reflected on all the times he himself had been forced to choose between saving lives versus driving Skeletor off the planet once and for all and he'd always chosen the lives of innocent people first. "If it had been me, I might've made the same decision myself. You probably saved countless lives that day, not only by being on the ground in that battle, but by presenting yourself as the leader of your troops. That's commendable, not something you should feel guilty for."

"But it cost me my daughter," King Randor said sadly, "And nearly cost me you as well. I know I'm hard on you, my son, but it's only because I want you to be prepared for whatever might happen. I want you to be a better king than me."

"What do you mean? You're a great King."

"I could have been better in the past though." He told Adam the story of the war as he'd told it to his wife, hoping Marlena was right and that it would help his son to understand him better.

"After the war ended, we thought we'd driven the Horde off this world for good, but we were wrong. None of us expected them to return three years later, much less that they'd try to take my children and I don't want you to have to go through what I did that day and always wonder if you made the right decision."

"I understand, Dad" Adam replied with a nod. He only wished he could make King Randor realize that he truly did understand as he made life-or-death decisions on a regular basis. He vowed to himself to pay a visit to Castle Grayskull so he could speak with his sister as soon as possible. He needed to be able to share everything with his father.

"Adam," Teela called as she walked through the open door, but then stopped short when she saw the king there. "Oh, sorry, Your Majesty. If you two are in the middle of something, I can come back later."

"No, I think we were done," the king replied. "Weren't we, Adam?"

"Yeah, I can't think of anything we didn't cover," Adam replied. Except one, he mentally added.

"Well, then I'll just leave you two lovebirds alone to say goodnight and Adam, remember what I said about discretion."

Adam sighed. "I will, Father," he reluctantly agreed.