Adam stood in the lavatory looking at his mirror as he heard his father slam the door shut. He had turned on the shower hoping it would get his room's occupants to leave, but it had done more than that. It allowed his father the opportunity to be brutally honest about his opinion of his son.

Adam stared at his reflection as the tears gathered and glistened in his eyes and then quickly slipped down his cheeks.

"A horrible prince." Those were the words his father had said. He had expected to hear "foolish" and "lazy." Those words had become inextricably intertwined to Adam's title for quite some time, now. It no longer fazed him when anyone uttered them. He used to think it was a sign that he was doing his job so well that no one would ever possibly mistaken him for Eternia's Champion. Now he began to realize that maybe he put on the act a little too well.

Inevitably, his thoughts turned to his father's accusations, and Adam quickly found his self-pity turning into anger. He could understand his father calling him lazy and foolish, but he couldn't fathom for the life of him how his father could even believe for a mere second that he was running around at night with various women doing only the Ancients knew what. Sure, he flirted with ladies in court, but that was all it ever was. Nothing ever came of it, and he thought his parents knew that.

As Adam finished getting undressed, he realized just what this morning's events had done. His father had almost turned his mother against him:  he could still feel the sting of her slap across his cheek. He didn't know if it was really still hurting or if it was an emotional burn that would be there for some time to come. Also, his father had undoubtedly caused a rift in his relationship with Teela. She had looked so devastated when she realized what his father was accusing him of.

"How can I blame her?" thought Adam as he crossed the room to the sink to grab a cup and sip some water to soothe his dry throat. It must have come as quite a surprise to the Captain of the Guard that her charge and best friend was supposedly a womanizer. Of course, that didn't fully explain her reaction. Under the circumstances, he would have thought a verbal lashing, or perhaps even a physical one, would have been her preferred method of getting through to him. That's what she had always done in the not-so-distant past when he did something she didn't like.

Regardless of Teela's reaction, he knew he needed to talk to her and set the record straight. He couldn't stand the thought of Teela believing that he was capable of such acts. "Especially not her," said Adam aloud as he set his cup aside and stepped slowly into the shower.

=)=)=)

Man-at-Arms sat down in Adam's favorite green chair and buried his face in his hands as he waited for his prince to come out of the lavatory.

It was a fine mess he and Adam had gotten themselves into. He knew they had to do something to cease King Randor's suspicions, but he didn't know what, and that fact terrified him. The truth was that the mere thought of Randor getting on his case, and Adam's, terrified him more than having to face Skeletor in one-on-one combat. And, it wasn't that he was scared of Randor or what he might do to him. He just didn't like lying to Randor any more than he had to. He had sworn his allegiance to the king a number of years ago, and recently, it seemed like all he did was break that oath as if it meant nothing to him.

Also, he was afraid of what this whole situation was doing to Adam. It was obvious to him, especially last night, that Adam was worn out and not as well as he pretended to be. He had his suspicions that Adam's condition was slowly but surely getting out of control, but the boy kept adamantly denying it. Of course, exhaustion wasn't the only source of the prince's malady. He obviously wasn't over the injuries that have plagued him since he stopped the orb at Grayskull. And, without a doubt, as Randor had noticed himself, he had suffered injuries at the WidgetCave, as well. The image of He-Man getting pummeled by numerous energy bolts came to mind as he remembered getting up off the cave floor to help the lad.

Also, he had to take into account that Adam wasn't nourishing himself like he should, which could be a reason why he wasn't healing like he normally does. It was then that Duncan realized that with all the emotional upheavals he's been through, Adam had managed to skip a number of meals throughout the past few days alone.

He looked at the door to Adam's lavatory and whispered, "He isn't handling this well at all."

=)=)=)

Queen Marlena stood in the mist of the Royal Kitchen as cooks and servants bustled around her preparing the morning's breakfast. Everything smelled wonderful and absolutely delicious, but the pleasant aromas assaulting her nostrils were the last thing on her mind. Despite Chef Alan actually giving Marlena a glare for seemingly peeping in on his preparations, the queen quickly scooted past him and went to a cabinet where the pitchers and glasses were contained.

As she took the items and moved to the sink to fill it with water, Chef Alan approached her. "Your Majesty?" he questioned uncertainly.

Before the proud chef could get another word out, Marlena said quickly, "Oh, don't worry, Chef Alan. I will be out of your way soon. I'm just getting this…" She trailed off. She didn't want everyone in the palace to know what had happened earlier. She had a suspicion because of the two guards and maids present at the time, it was going to be told throughout the palace by the day's end, but she wasn't going to help it spread faster. "…for a friend," she finished.

As soon as she filled the pitcher full of water and dropped several cubes of ice in it, she quickly left to get it to her son.

When Marlena opened Adam's door, she was surprised to find the room empty, except for one startled Man-at-Arms.

When Marlena entered and closed the door, Duncan stood up and said to his queen's unasked question, "He's in the lavatory getting cleaned up."

Marlena nodded, sat the pitcher on a nearby table, and hesitantly walked around the room. Eventually, she settled on the edge of Adam's bed and asked, "Where's Randor?"

Man-at-Arms looked to the floor and said, "I don't know. I assume he's either in the dining room or his office. He told me to send for him when Adam was out of the shower and feeling better."

The queen's jaw dropped as a mixture of shock, hurt, and anger overcame her. "He didn't feel things were important enough to stick around?" she asked.

Before Duncan could even form a coherent answer in his mind, the bathroom door opened to reveal Prince Adam wearing nothing but a towel tied at his waist.

Adam had heard his mother's question through the shut door and when he finally set his eyes on her, he simply shook his head and answered, "Why would he stick around? I'm not important to him. He thinks I'm capable of such horrible things and that I'm a horrible prince. He doesn't want to be here…" Adam's eyes lowered to the ground before he added in a whisper, "And, I don't know if I want him to be here either."

Marlena quickly rose to hug her son, but Adam quickly lifted a hand to stop her motion. "I just want to get dressed," he said softly. "I don't want to talk about it. I just want to forget it ever happened."

Duncan and Marlena gave each other worried glances before Duncan said, "I'm afraid that's not possible, Adam. King Randor still wants to speak with you, and given that what happened this morning had so many spectators, I doubt it's going to be something easily forgotten."

Adam walked hurriedly over to his closet, grabbed another set of his customary garb, and shook his head as he mumbled to himself. He felt so angry he just wanted to hit something. He heard his mother coming to stand behind him, and he mentally prepared himself for his mother's heartfelt pleas to talk this out and to forgive his father. The truth was—and he was ashamed to admit this to himself—he actually felt relieved to have a legitimate reason to be mad at his father that everyone could know about. Anger was a much better friend than sadness, and given this morning's events and words, it had to be one or the other. Anger was so much safer.

Adam was just about to turn around to excuse himself back into the lavatory to get dressed when he heard his mother let out a loud gasp. He quickly turned around to see his mother staring at him with bewildered eyes and tears slipping down her cheeks.

"Mother?" he asked quickly eliminating the few feet between them.

Marlena lifted a shaky hand to his side, almost to his back. She looked up into his eyes as she asked, "What happened?"

Adam's look was one of bewilderment, but his questions were quickly answered when she asked, "Where did those bruises come from?"

Adam shook his head and actually smiled at his mother sadly. "I don't know. I guess I got them during the explosion at Grayskull." He pushed past his mother and headed back to the lavatory.

This was the first time Man-at-Arms got a good look at what Marlena and Randor had seen on their son. He found himself gasping, as well. The boy's lower back was covered with a dark black and purple mass. It didn't look like a bunch of small bruises clumping together. No, it looked like one massive bruise which was caused by something with a lot of force. He knew it could only be as a result of Skeletor’s and Evil Lyn's energy bolts. There was no way Randor nor Marlena would ever believe a sparring lesson with Teela or the explosion at Grayskull several days ago caused this.

As Adam shut the door, Duncan's mouth went dry when Queen Marlena turned to face him. She looked incredibly sad, but he could see she was trying to keep it in check. "Okay," she said in a shaky but strong voice, "Duncan, you and I need to have a little chat. There will be no Adam, Teela, or Randor…just you and me. Let's go."

Duncan watched as Marlena left the room and he quickly gave one last look to Adam's lavatory door before obediently following his queen.

=)=)=)

Teela didn't know where she was going but she ran as fast as he could until her legs could take her no farther. When she finally looked around, she noticed she was in one of the Royal Exhibits which featured various artifacts from Eternia's past. The one that stuck out the most was the Rainbow Explorer which had brought King Randor his wife and the planet its queen.

Usually when Teela stared at the alien craft, a feeling of awe came over her as she remembered the queen's impeccable flying skills that had taught her very much that appearances were deceiving. She would never have guessed that Queen Marlena was such a skilled pilot. Normally, these thoughts made her smile but as she stared at the Explorer now, all she felt was a numb sadness. Even though the ship was his mother's, at that very moment, it only served the purpose of reminding her of Adam.

Teela walked over to the ship and sat down underneath it. She brought her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. To say she was shocked was a minor observation. What she had learned today had shaken her very core. She would never have suspected Adam was capable of doing the things he was obviously doing. "So, that's where he goes all the time?" she thought miserably. "When we're in trouble and Eternia is seemingly heading towards certain doom, is he rushing to another woman's arms to be there with her come good or worse?"

Teela tried hard to push those thoughts aside. Why did she care so much about Adam's actions, anyway? This was only another example of Adam making a fool out of himself. She really shouldn't be surprised…

"But I am!" she wailed.

Abruptly, she stood up and kicked the footing of the Rainbow Explorer. "I swear I could HATE him," she screamed to no one in particular. Then, as a few tears slipped down her cheeks, she realized she really couldn't hate him and that's what was hurting her so much. He was her best friend and over the course of their years together, she had grown to care for him very deeply. But how deep did it go?

Teela had never allowed herself to answer that question, much less even ponder it. If she was honest with herself, she would admit that she loved it when Adam was around. She had said as much to her father when he had asked her one time if she thought things were more pleasant when Adam was around. She had truly meant it when she said yes, but she had also meant it when she told him in the same breath that he had better not tell Adam she said such a thing aloud. She didn't want him to know. But why did she love it so much when Adam was around, she found herself asking.

There were a number of reasons and all of them just didn't fit in with everything she had learned today. The Adam she knew would never treat a woman in such a manner.

"He's never even had a girlfriend for crying out loud!" she said aloud. "I'm the closest thing he's ever had…"

Teela silenced as she realized what she was saying. Sobs tore through Teela as she finished her thought internally: "I'm the closest thing to a girlfriend he’s ever had." Sure, he flirted with courtiers and tried to impress them, but she could tell he was never serious with any of them. He just enjoyed talking to them because they would allow him to have fun and goof off.

Teela wiped her eyes when she realized these other women were possibly giving Adam something she hadn't and that's what caused all of this.

"I've lost him," she whispered.

Teela almost clamped a hand over her mouth at such a thought. Since when did she ever "have" the prince in the first place? But of course, who was she trying to fool besides herself? She knew her feelings for the prince went further than mere friendship or sisterly love even though that is all she ever claimed in the light of day. It was then that Teela realized that at the end of the day, that's why she had run away from what was happening around her in the hall. She didn't want to hear how Adam had been finding comfort, friendship, and pleasure with someone besides her. She reminded herself of all the times women had flirted and flaunted themselves in front of the prince and all she could ever manage was a stern glance at these women while Adam wasn't looking. She wouldn't dare reveal her true emotions, but if she had, it was possible Adam wouldn't be in the predicament he was in now.

Teela looked one more time up at the Rainbow Explorer and couldn't believe how much her life was being changed in the span of a few days. First, she learned she was a horrible bodyguard and friend. Then, she learned that Adam was actually doing things to put himself in danger. And, now, she was learning that she had lost him to women who probably didn't deserve or even know him. They probably only want him because he's a prince.

Like King Randor, Teela wanted to be mad at Adam, but once again, all she could feel was a numb pain which told her that she had some fault in what had transpired. If only she had been open with Adam. Why was it so awful to admit she had feelings for her charge, the prince? For such a long time, she thought the reason was because she had feelings for He-Man. That was a very real reason for Teela, but it wasn't just He-Man that kept her from admitting her feelings…

Teela closed her eyes as she realized just what the problem was:  it would certainly cause a scandal and the whole kingdom would be talking about it. She honestly didn't know if she wanted to go through all of that. It wasn't that she cared about what other people thought…but what would her father say? Better yet, what would his father say? It didn't matter now, anyway. Adam didn't want her; he wanted these women he had been parading around with.

At least the situation settled a debate that had been subconsciously going around in her mind for years now: Adam or He-Man? It was clear He-Man, as always, had won the battle.

=)=)=)

Queen Marlena led Man-at-Arms to her sitting room outside her and Randor's bedchambers. Once they arrived in the room, Duncan stood there silently, waiting for the onslaught of questions he knew the queen had for him.

Marlena, however, stayed silent for several seconds as she tried to clear her head of all the emotions she was feeling right now. She felt anger at Randor for accusing their son of basically having concubines and for treating him in such a manner. She felt angry at herself for actually believing Randor for a split second. She was also angry at Duncan because she had no doubt in her mind that he did know what was going on, and she was mad at Adam for not being more open with her in the first place. She knew he had a suspicion that she knew one of his bigger secrets—she made sure he did on the last day of last year’s Royal Jousts. Of course, she didn't only feel anger. She also felt sad and incredibly guilty, but she had to stay the course.

Marlena raised her eyes to meet Duncan's and said, "There was a time when I thought you were our most loyal associate."

Duncan flinched at these words and quickly said, "But I am, Your Majesty."

Marlena stood in front of Duncan and with pleading eyes she whispered, "Then, why do you repeatedly lie to me, Duncan? I'm not blind. I'm quite aware that my husband can be quite unobservant of such things because his mind is always on the kingdom, but I do pay attention, and I know you do, too. I've known for quite a while that Adam has been hiding something from me and Randor…well, from all of us. I always knew, probably just as long as you, but I never said anything at first just in case it was a figment of my imagination. Instead, I watched Adam for a while trying to confirm my suspicions. Eventually, I did. But over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed a bigger and more frightening change in Adam. It’s like there is something else going on now. He has been growing more and more irritable. If we were on Earth, I would think he was hanging with the wrong crowd and that they were teaching him perhaps how to behave in such a way. Teenagers go through such stages there…"

Duncan cut Marlena off by saying, "He's irritable because he has a lot going on in his life. He's a crown prince, his father is constantly getting on his case about how foolish and irresponsible he supposedly is, he's constantly having to deal with the Captain of the Guard getting on his case, and now both of his parents are questioning him all the time…He wouldn't be a mortal if all of this wasn't finally getting to him."

To this, Marlena pivoted around and went to sit in a chair across the room. Once she sat down, she looked up at her husband's oldest friend, bit her lip deciding to bite the bullet, and replied, "I think I always knew that, Duncan. I guess I was just being selfish. At first I thought I was doing it for Adam, getting everything out in the open."

Duncan walked across the room to his queen and knelt before her. "What did you want out in the open?"

Marlena sighed and explained, "I was tired of Adam not trusting me. I knew a part of the secret—the biggest part, I suppose—but I grew tired of him being so secretive and not letting me in. I wanted to know more simply because there was so much I didn't know. He's my son…I have a right to know. Where does he run off to all the time when he leaves the palace? Is he always running off to go on dangerous adventures? Does he ever go simply to relax with Cringer? Does he prefer his other life over the one he has here and that's what keeps pulling him away when we want to spend time with him? Given all these questions, I had to get Randor involved. I knew he would do his best to get down to the bottom of things. Besides, I wanted him to wake up and notice Adam. Of course, I never knew it would go so far…"

Duncan reached out and grabbed her hand. "My Queen," he whispered, "Adam doesn't have any other life. What Randor has accused him of is not true."

Marlena ripped her hand away from Duncan who still wasn’t getting it and said, "At first, I believed Randor because it fit with recent happenings so well and it seemed like Adam was admitting to it, but I was fooled for only a few mere seconds. I know Adam isn't misbehaving with courtiers, Duncan."

"Then, by the Ancients, what are you talking about?" Duncan asked, clearly getting irritated.

Marlena sighed and answered, "I'm talking about Adam's life as He-Man."

If Marlena had been on Earth, she knew she would have been able to hear the countless ticks on a clock as Man-at-Arms let her words sink in.

After a few gurgled attempts to say something came from Man-at-Arms, he finally cleared his throat and exclaimed, "You know? You couldn't possibly…what was with all the questioning and accusations?"

Marlena sighed and said, "I already told you. I knew that part of the secret, but I was tired of not knowing everything. Where does Adam run off to all the time? Every time he leaves the palace, I know it's not with you to go on some battle against Skeletor. When he does leave and I know he hasn't been in battle, why does he return so tired?  My concerns and resentment over not knowing my son as I should increased over the past couple of weeks. I noticed him getting more and more tired and irritable. It started to concern me, so I originally thought it would make things a whole lot easier for us all if…" She trailed off.

"If everyone knew?" asked Duncan unbelievingly with a hint of anger.

"Not everyone," defended Marlena. "Just me and Randor. Perhaps even Teela."

Duncan immediately covered his face with his hands and rubbed his eyes with his fingers. When he finally removed them and looked at Marlena, he said loudly, "My Queen, forgive me for having the audacity to speak to you in such a way, but I can't help it:  you're clearly not that naïve, so I can't fathom for the life of me that you couldn't figure out everything you wanted to know if you found out the big piece of the puzzle. You're right. Adam isn't always with me fighting Skeletor when he goes out, but there are more things that go wrong on Eternia than Skeletor that needs He-Man's help and attention. The boy just about never gets a break wherever he goes. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out!"

Tears slipped down Marlena's cheeks as she heard Duncan's verbal lashings. “But I want to know what those things are. I want to know what he’s going through.”

Duncan ignored her explanations and continued almost to himself, "I can't believe you pretended this whole time not to know and even got Randor involved! I can tell from today's accusations that you haven't told him. I praise the Ancients for that, but nonetheless, what you have done is wrong and horribly foolish. Do you realize what you have put your son through? Do you realize what you're doing to your family?"

"I know now!" Marlena cried as her words to Randor last night came back to haunt her: "I should have never made an issue about Adam's bizarre behavior, his constant disappearances, and the fact that he's keeping a part of himself closed off from us. Things were fine. We just pretended nothing was wrong, and it worked." She shook her head and said to Man-at-Arms, "I didn't mean for things to turn out like this. I feel so incredibly guilty, Duncan. I almost told Randor the truth last night, but I stopped myself. I knew there had to be valid reasons as to why he and I were never told the secret in the first place. After I heard Adam admitting to having a secret earlier and saying he was trying to protect us, I knew I had to make this right. I knew I had to talk to you."

Man-at-Arms actually snorted at the queen before he questioned, "Why? Do you think I will help you tell Randor? I hope you realize this is a secret that I have sworn to the Sorceress I would protect. It would only make things worse for Adam…"

“No, I don’t want you to help me tell Randor, but I wish you would understand that I thought we had a right to know. I want to know the dangers my son faces. I want to be able to know when my son gets hurt and why he's covered in bruises like he is today. Randor has as much right to know as I do…But more than that, I want to fix the pain I have caused these last few days. I truly believe Adam, Randor, and I can resolve this He-Man issue once everything has settled down."

Duncan repeated, “Once everything has settled down? We have to resolve things before that can happen.” He shook his head. “Despite the fact that I now know what's going on, I still don't know how to resolve anything. How am I going to get Randor off Adam's back? Now he's suspicious of me! I always feel bad about lying to you and Randor, but now it's ten times worse because I know he knows that I'm doing it. Before, I could just shrug it off and say it's my duty, but now my actions are constantly being thrown in my face. I know I am betraying Randor since I took an oath of allegiance to him. But I…"

"I'm sorry," cried Marlena, interrupting him. She wiped her tears away and asked, "Do you think it would do any good to tell Adam? I know he might be angry with me for purposely instigating all of this with Randor, but if you think it will help him at all to understand what’s going on, then I will. And, at least, then, he can have the option to open up to me."

Duncan glared at her for a second and replied, "I guess you're getting what you wanted after all."

Marlena shook her head. "I know I was being selfish, but my intentions were good."

Duncan sighed and then after a few seconds said, "I know they were. He is your son, and I know it was probably torture to know that your son was purposely keeping things from you. You already knew one secret and you wanted to know the rest. I know if the same thing was going on with Teela, I would do anything to find out what it was. It's just that things are so out of hand now."

"But we'll fix it," Marlena said hopefully but confidently at the same time.

Duncan nodded and said, "But first, we do need to talk to Adam."