Teela stood on a balcony near the throne room and looked out over the kingdom she had sworn to protect. She certainly tried to carry out that duty without any hesitation or reluctance. When Eternia was in trouble, she did everything she could to protect it. A tear slipped down her cheek as her thoughts drifted to Adam: she failed. She failed not only Adam but all of Eternia. Adam was the future king. What would have happened if he had died yesterday? The entire kingdom would have been shaken to its very core, and the king, queen, and people would have had no one to blame but her. His parents would have been devastated, and it would have been her fault. It was her duty to protect the prince. That was supposed to be her number one priority.

As Teela wiped the tear away from her cheek, she heard someone step behind her. She knew it wasn't her father because he was still talking to the king and queen about his latest invention Orko had destroyed, so she prepared to whirl around and demand whoever it was to leave until she heard his voice: "Hey, Teela."

Almost instantly, Teela engulfed Adam in a huge and tight bear hug.

"Whoa," he said only half-jokingly as he slipped his arms around her waist and also held her tight. They stayed that way for what seemed like forever. Adam simply enjoyed the moment and was content holding Teela for as long as she allowed him to.

Teela clung to Adam not only because she was so glad to see him awake and okay but also so she could hide her face until she was ready to face him. As soon as he had wrapped his arms around her, tears had pooled to her eyes, and she knew she couldn't let him see them.

Eventually, she took a deep breath, wiped her face, and pulled back from the embrace. She looked into his eyes and stared for several seconds until she suddenly slapped him somewhat hard on the arm and berated, "What were you thinking yesterday, running off like that and getting hurt? What happened?" She slapped him again and asked, "Do you have any idea how worried I was last night?"

He grabbed her hands and held them in his so she couldn't slap him anymore, even though she wasn't really hurting him. He smiled and said, "Sorry, Teela. I, uh, didn't do it intentionally." Then his smile faded and he asked as he let go of her hands, "You saw me last night?"

She gulped and nodded. "Yes, it's something I'll never forget. Father was helping you walk through the halls, and you were about to pass out. You were barely keeping your eyes open, so I helped him get you to your room. You scared us all, Adam." She wrapped her arms around him again.

Adam smiled as he once again wrapped his arms around her. He laughed softly and said, "Maybe I need to get hurt more often for all this positive attention that I'm getting."

She immediately stepped back and exclaimed, "What!" She raised her hand to slap him on the arm again, and the prince playfully flinched.

"I'm just kidding; I'm just kidding," he exclaimed, waving his hands in front of her.

She lowered her hands and said softly, "Don't joke about something like that, Adam. Never again."

Adam grew serious. He saw that she was clearly upset and his efforts to make her smile were not working. "I'm fine, Teela, seriously."

She looked towards the floor and nodded, still trying to reign her emotions in. Finally, she looked up and smiled. "Well, you're just going to have to prove to me how fine you really are. Are you up for a combat lesson?"

He sighed playfully and said, "Eh, I'm all of a sudden feeling very lightheaded and tired. I think I should go lie down."

Teela folded her arms across her chest and exclaimed menacingly, "Adam!"

He chuckled and said, "Lead the way, Captain." He looked back at the green tiger behind him, who had watched everything silently. "Come on, Cringer."

=)=)=)

Randor and Marlena stood outside with Man-at-Arms as Adam and Teela strolled by them a few feet away.

"There he is," Duncan said with a relieved smile. "He looks ten times better than he did this morning."

"Yes, he does," replied Randor and Marlena simultaneously.

Randor wrapped an arm around the queen and asked, "Where do you think they're running off to?"

Man-at-Arms laughed and guessed, "Knowing Teela, probably a combat lesson. She probably won't rest until she knows Adam is okay and her best way to assess him is when he's fighting."

Randor also laughed and said, "Your daughter is a fine soldier, Duncan: the best in all of Eternia. She does her job well. I could not ask for a better bodyguard for my son." He paused for a second and decided he should also assess his son’s health so he added, "Let's go watch the fun."

They reached them just in time to see Teela handing Adam a shield and sword, then she went to pick up her own.

Adam watched Teela leave as he secured his shield in the proper position. He could feel the strain the weight of the shield was putting on his arm muscles. "Okay, so I'm not a hundred percent yet," he thought to himself. He swung the sword and a soft gasp escaped his lips as he felt his muscles pull. He looked as Teela headed back towards him and whispered to himself nervously, "Oh, boy."

Teela reached him, smiled, and said, "Okay, Adam, prepare to defend yourself!"

Adam quickly raised his shield and sword as she swung at him. As Teela's sword connected with his shield, it sent little tingles and an intense straining sensation down his arm. "This is not good," thought Adam. He swung his sword at her to make her back up and instantly regretted that decision. Stretching his arm out had caused it to cramp. Almost immediately, he dropped his shield and grabbed his arm in pain.

Teela was in the process of swinging and barely stopped the blade in time from striking the prince’s arm. "Adam!" she screamed as he dropped to his knees and started rubbing and moving his arm frantically. She tossed her weapon to the ground and was also on her knees before him in an instant.

Before he knew what was happening, he was circled by people. He looked around and saw the worried faces of both his parents, Man-at-Arms, Teela, and Cringer. He rubbed his arm a little more which was still tingling and got to his feet. "I'm okay," he said quickly. "My arm just cramped on me. I guess I should have stretched before I began sparring with Teela."

He quickly walked away, but Randor was quick on his heels. "What's going on, Adam?" he asked as they got out of hearing distance of everyone else.

Adam stopped, looked down at the ground, and shook his head. "Nothing's going on, Father." He turned around and looked at him. "My arms are sore, sorer than I thought. I guess I'm not ready to take on the Captain of the Guard yet." Adam smiled lightly, but it quickly faded since his father only stared at him in response.

Randor reached out and squeezed his shoulder. "And, why are you so sore? What happened yesterday?"

Adam's eyes widened slightly before he said softly, "I already told you that I don't remember. Cringer and I…"

"I don't believe you, Adam," Randor said firmly.

Adam backed up astonished, because never before had his father openly doubted him. "What?" he asked, sure he had to be hearing him wrong.

"Son, I find it difficult to believe that you can't remember anything that happened to you, yesterday. There had to be a point where something was happening before you 'blacked out.' What are you hiding from me and your mother?"

Adam looked down and said, "I don't know what I'm supposed to say. I'm telling you everything that I can, and if you don't accept it, then what is there left for me to say?"

"The truth," the king answered demandingly.

Adam looked up and insisted, "I'm telling you all that I can, Father."

"What does that mean, son? Does that mean that you're telling me all you can because you can't remember anything, or you’re protecting something or someone and you're only telling me what you can to keep your secret?"

Adam looked down and whispered, "When did you start suspecting that I keep secrets from you?"

Tears came to Randor's eyes and said, "When I realized you were lying to me."

Adam immediately looked up and saw his father's tears. He closed his eyes and wished wholeheartedly that he could make all his father's worries disappear. He wished he could tell him, and he was so scared his father was about to discover the truth. The Sorceress never said one way or the other, but he had a feeling something horrible would happen if his father knew who he really was and how it was affecting his life. He had to do something, anything to get his father off his back.

Shockingly to both of them, Adam grabbed his father's hand and pleaded, "Father, you have to believe me! You know I would never keep anything from you unless it was absolutely necessary. I won't say that I haven't kept things from you. What person doesn't have secrets? But I will say this:  I've never kept anything from you that should be known. I really don't know what happened between the time I blacked out yesterday until now, Father. I really don't." Unshed tears swarmed to his eyes and he tried to let the honesty in his statement show there. He was telling the truth. He just wasn't going to tell Randor when he passed out or why. “Please let him buy this,” he thought, desperately.

Randor, finally feeling a little hesitant about his conclusions, hugged his son close to him. When they finally pulled back, he said, "Then, I guess we need to find out what did happen."

"What?" His father's statement startled him.

"The Prince of Eternia was unconscious yesterday and whatever did happen has left him in pain. I want to know why, and I'm sure you do, too. I think we need to find answers."

Adam gulped and asked, "How?"

"It's been years since I've been to Grayskull and I think it's time I…we paid the Sorceress a visit. She's the one who contacted Man-at-Arms to come to get you, so she knows what happened."

Randor looked over at Man-at-Arms and the others who were watching them. He walked over to them and said, "Duncan, Teela, get the AttakTrak ready. We're making a little trip."

"Where to?" asked Teela.

"Castle Grayskull," he answered simply.

Man-at-Arms looked at Adam and they both exchanged a worried glance. Adam walked over to him and whispered, "What are we going to do? Father is going to confront the Sorceress about what happened to me yesterday."

Duncan looked back at Randor who was talking to the queen. "The Sorceress can handle herself. I'm sure she'll come up with something."