King Randor stood before Castle Grayskull and stared at the building with a look of contempt. This was the first time he had ever scrutinized the castle despite seeing and knowing of its existence for most of his life. The truth was it had been inconsequential to him when he had been a young man. He had always known a powerful sorceress lived there who was on the side of good, but she had kept to herself so he hadn’t bothered her. It wasn’t until the Horde had shown its face on Eternia that he had gotten to know the Sorceress. She had sent for him, told him a powerful force that could take over the entire planet was coming. She had informed him that he alone could prevent the rule of evil at that time. And, he had believed her. He had trained with his soldiers, he had come up with new battle strategies with Man-at-Arms and the other upper-ranked officers of his guard, and he had sent some of his best men to guard Castle Grayskull.

He had fought a supposedly unwinnable war and won. He stood with his men and fought on the frontlines just like a commoner who had volunteered to be part of the Royal Guard. He led them—and the entire planet—to a victory.

The Sorceress of Grayskull said recently that he would learn Adam’s secret when he deserved to know.

He had protected that castle and driven the Horde from the planet. He had lost a child for a very long time because of that war. Adora might not have been taken if he had been there with his family like a king normally would have been. How could he not deserve to know after everything that he had done and lost for Eternia? Besides, had he not made an effort with Adam? Had he not accepted the wishes of the Sorceress and not insisted on Adam telling him the truth? Had he not backed down when thoughts of attacking Castle Grayskull entered his mind when he thought the Sorceress had kidnapped his children? Wasn’t he a good ruler? Didn’t the people of Eternia say he was the most faithful, dependable, devoted, and greatest king on the planet? Didn’t they and the other monarchs say how relieved they were that he was the High King of the planet instead of someone else?

How could he not be worthy of this knowledge? Why didn’t he deserve to know? He strived to be a good man. Yes, his behavior recently had been completely unacceptable and unflattering to a man of his standing, but wasn’t a person allowed to make mistakes? Was it not understandable that this situation with Adam would drive him a little crazy given the circumstances? How could the Sorceress hold that against him? The truth was if there had been no secrets, he wouldn’t have acted in such a manner.

Randor shook his head as he studied the castle again.

When he had fled the palace the night before, he had only intended to go for a walk to clear his head, to wrap his mind around the fact that he was the only one out of his immediate family and friends who didn’t know Adam’s secret. He found it unbelievable…and completely unacceptable. That’s why he was at Grayskull. He wanted to see the Sorceress.

=)=)=)

Teela and Man-at-Arms walked to the table and sat down awkwardly as they watched the queen, Adora, and Adam watch them.

“Good morning,” said Man-at-Arms, softly, trying to allay the tension he felt even though he didn’t know its cause. He glanced at his daughter and noticed her worried brow. She was staring at Adam, but the prince was staring at him. “Adam?” he questioned.

Adam sighed in response and said, “Father is missing.”

“What?” Man-at-Arms said, immediately standing. “What happened? Do you think Skeletor is involved?”

“No,” answered Marlena sadly, “he’s purposely avoiding us.”

Duncan looked from one royal to the other as he sat down, unsure of what he should say. When his eyes settled back on the prince, Adam explained, “Father and I were discussing what had happened with Teela last night—I assume you already know.” At Duncan’s nod, the prince looked at Teela briefly and his cheeks immediately flushed to a rosy hue. He then looked back at Man-at-Arms and continued, “He wondered what we had been discussing. I made the mistake of telling him it was one of those topics I couldn’t discuss with him. He got angry that Teela knew my secret and he didn’t. Then, shortly thereafter, I believe he discovered Mother knew, as well. He had questioned whether Mother and he were the only ones who didn’t know the secret and then suddenly he was avoiding her touch and storming from the room. It’s the only explanation I can think of.”

Man-at-Arms nodded as he thought about the situation. He could understand why Randor would be angry. He could even understand why he would feel the need to get away from everyone. And, truthfully, he had known and feared that would be his reaction for quite some time. Randor was the King of Eternia after all, and Adora and Adam were his children. It had to be devastating to learn that almost everyone close to him knew a very important part of his children’s lives that he didn’t. At least Randor was an understanding man, despite his sometimes volatile temper—other kings might have had them brought up on charges of treason. Everyone who knew of their secret and didn’t tell the king was in breach of their oaths of loyalty to him. It was the thing that made him hate keeping Adam’s and Adora’s secrets the most. It made him break a promise to his king.

“Maybe we should give him some time to cool down,” said Man-at-Arms finally. “The king has every right to be upset, don’t you agree?”

Adam nodded, as did Marlena and Adora. “I just hope,” replied Adam, “that he doesn’t take it out on Mother. It’s not her fault. It’s not anyone’s fault really. We do what we must to protect Eternia. Father, of all people, should understand that. Besides, Mother did her best to make him find out on his own.” He flashed his mother a glare and then grinned. He was glad he was able to joke about it now. For a while there, he thought he’d always be angry when he thought about her actions—he hoped his father wasn’t thinking along those same lines now.

Teela, who wanted to see Adam’s reaction to her now that they had kissed one another, grabbed his hand across the table and interjected, “I’m sure he will understand after he’s been given time to feel his emotions and then think about everything rationally. I know he loves all of you, but he simply hates being left in the dark. I know how he feels.”

Adam immediately smiled at Teela and gave her hand a little squeeze before bringing his up so that their hands were now palm to palm. He intertwined their fingers and stared at their hands almost in fascination. It wasn’t until he looked up again that he remembered they had an audience. “Oh!” he gasped and snatched his hand away from Teela’s. He blushed as he looked at Man-at-Arms quickly to gauge his reaction.

Duncan smiled at Adam and said, “I think a lot of us need time to think and get used to recent developments. I, on the other hand, have already adjusted quite well.” He then winked.

The prince immediately relaxed—he now knew he had Man-at-Arms’ approval to court his daughter. He still wanted to ask officially, but it was good to know ahead of time that Duncan had no qualms about their possible union. He glanced back at Teela, who smiled at him with a faint blush. It was very rare that he saw her in such a state and it was beautiful. He glanced to his mother and sister and they merely smiled at him, as well.

As the kitchen staff came out to bring them their food, Adam stretched his leg out to tap Teela’s under the table playfully. The response was immediate and it made Adam laugh loudly: she had reared back and kicked his shin somewhat soundly. As Teela glared at him, ironically with a smile, the others watched with interest, trying to figure out why Adam was so amused.

=)=)=)

As soon as King Randor decided he was at Castle Grayskull to see the Sorceress instead of being there to simply think, the drawbridge lowered. He turned around to make sure no one else was approaching. When he saw no one, he knew this was a clear invitation by the Sorceress. Taking a deep breath, he entered the castle and followed a light which led him to the throne room.

The Sorceress stared down at him and she immediately stood as he came to stand in the center of the room. “King Randor,” she acknowledged.

“Sorceress,” he said in greeting.

After a few moments of intense and awkward silence, the king sighed and said abruptly, “I have always known I’m not perfect. I’ve always known I have many flaws that could be detrimental to my kingdom and the planet if I weren’t careful…and until recently, I thought I was doing a good job of being a decent man and a noble ruler.” Randor looked down at his feet as he shook his head slowly. He then glanced back up at the Sorceress and continued, “But I suppose you think differently and maybe you’re right. Maybe I haven’t been the best father I could have been. Maybe I could have done things better…but we’ll never know. The only thing that I do know for certain is that I love my family, the people, and this planet. I always thought that fact was evident to everyone, but I guess it wasn’t. I have been deemed in your eyes unworthy to know what is happening in my son’s life. I wish I knew why.” The king fell silent and stared at the Sorceress patiently.

“Your love has never been in question,” said the Sorceress softly as she walked down the steps to stand in front of the king. “And, no one denies that you are a good man and the greatest king this planet has ever had.”

Randor frowned as tears came to his eyes. “Then why am I unworthy? What have I done to be so excluded?”

The Sorceress walked away and went to her mirror. She waved a hand in front of it and Randor walked beside her to look at it as the glass shimmered brilliantly with many different colors. “It’s not what you have done,” she answered. “It’s what you haven’t done.”

The king stared at the mirror and a sob escaped him as a scene from his past played before him:

King Randor paced in the outer room of his bedchambers. Man-at-Arms was seated on a bench and watched the king display his obvious anxiety over what was going on in the next room. As if the pacing weren’t bad enough, the monarch cringed every time he heard Marlena scream. When he heard a particularly long yell, the king sat on his hands beside Duncan and squeezed his eyes shut.

Duncan grasped him by the shoulder and said, “Your wife is fine, Sire. It shouldn’t be much longer.”

Randor opened his eyes and frowned as he stated, “You’ve been saying that for the past three hours.” He looked at the door and said, “I can barely keep myself from running in there.”

As soon as those words left his mouth, Randor heard the sudden sounds of a baby crying. Immediately the king and Man-at-Arms sprung to their feet. They both grinned at each other and after listening to Duncan congratulate him, Randor whispered, “Praise the Ancients…”

But his words were unexpectedly interrupted by the sounds of a second set of baby cries happening simultaneously with the first. Man-at-Arms and Randor turned to look at one another with widened eyes. “T—two cries!” exclaimed the king.

Almost ten minutes later, a midwife came out and said with a smile, “Your wife wishes to see you, My Lord.”

Quickly, Randor rushed into the room and paused within the doorframe. He stared at the scene before him in a state of awe. Marlena was in bed—obviously the sheets had been changed and she had been allowed to get in one of her usual nightgowns—and beside her were two babies wrapped together in a small blanket.

Randor shook himself, breathed deeply, and walked into the room. He went to Marlena’s side and smiled as he reached out towards his wife and children. Marlena took his hand as her husband continued to stare at his offspring.

“Twins, Randor,” stated Marlena, happily. She grinned as she added, “You have a son…and a daughter.”

Tears slipped down his cheeks as he sat on the edge of the bed. “They’re beautiful, Marlena,” he whispered. “They look just like you.”

The queen laughed and said, “I don’t know. I think our daughter resembles me the most, but our son most definitely takes after you.”

“My son,” whispered Randor. “My daughter.” The words seemed so surreal to him. He turned to Marlena and asked hurriedly, “Which is which?”

With laughter, the queen replied, “Our son is on the right and our daughter is on the left next to me.” Randor stared at the children and moved his hand to touch their cheeks softly. After several seconds of watching her husband stare lovingly at the babies, she said, “The midwife said I should feed them as soon as I felt up to it. I think I’ll feed one now.” She paused after she unbuttoned the top of her nightgown. “Which do you want to hold first while I feed the other?”

He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter,” he whispered but Marlena knew better. She smiled as she said, “Well, ladies go first, so I’ll feed our daughter. You can take our son.”

The king immediately grinned as Marlena unbundled the twins and handed his son in a smaller blanket to him.

The king quickly rose and sat in a chair near the bed. He stared at his son and whispered, “You and I are going to have such a great time getting to know one another. I’m going to teach you how to play chess, how to fish…” He paused and then continued, “…and how to run a kingdom.” He looked up at Marlena, who didn’t seem to be paying attention. He looked back down at his son and spoke softly, “But don’t let that intimidate you. I promise I’m going to be the best father and teacher you could ever wish to have.”

“And, I have no doubt that will prove to be true,” interjected the queen.

The king looked up again, blushed, and chided, “I thought you weren’t listening.”

“How could I not?” she asked with a grin as she tried to memorize the sight of her husband holding their son. After a moment’s hesitation, she asked, “So, do you have any ideas as to what we’re going to call him?”

Randor beamed as he continued to gaze at his son and stated proudly, “Ever since we found out you were pregnant, I’ve thought about what I would like to name the baby if it turned out to be a boy.”

“Did you make a decision?”

He shrugged as he glanced at his wife and said, “Well, I do want your input on this, dear, but I’ve been thinking about all those stories you told me about your planet.”

“And?” asked Marlena as she stared at him with wide and somewhat impatient eyes.

“I kept going back to that story about how the first Earthling was supposedly made.” He avoided Marlena’s eyes and chose to only look at the baby in his arms. “Who was born first? Our son or our daughter?”

“Our son,” she answered.

Randor nodded, feeling confident at the chosen name when he heard her answer. “Our son is the first of his kind. He’s the offspring of an Earthling and an Eternian. I can’t think of a better suited name than Adam.” He took a chance of looking up at Marlena to gauge her reaction. “What do you think? Is it too much to name him after Earth’s first man? I just thought it would be symbolic…”

Marlena reached a hand out and placed a finger over his lips. “I love it,” she whispered, touched that Randor gave so much thought into their son’s name and Earth. “And, what about our daughter? Do you want to name her Eve?”

Randor smiled. “Absolutely not,” he answered. “I adore her too much to stick her with that name.” He wrinkled up his nose in distaste.

The queen laughed and exclaimed, “I agree.” She looked down at the baby feeding and continued softly, “Sometimes on Earth when people have twins, they give them similar names. You know, they start with the same syllables or letter. I don’t know. Amanda? Ashley? Audrey?” At Randor’s still wrinkled nose, she laughed again and expostulated playfully, “You are so picky! What? Do you adore her too much to give her those names, as well?”

As the king nodded good-humoredly, Marlena looked thoughtfully at her husband. “You adore her,” she whispered.

Randor heard her words and gave her a curious look as he agreed, “Yes, I do adore her.”

Marlena smiled suddenly and suggested, “How about Adora, then?”

“Prince Adam and Princess Adora,” said Randor proudly as he tried the names out. “I like it—it’s perfect.” He stood and leaned over to kiss Marlena and Adora. He then placed a kiss on Adam’s cheek as he sat back down. “We’re going to be a happy family, Adam,” he whispered as he winked at Marlena.

The images in the mirror faded away and Randor brought his hands up to wipe the tears from his eyes. He glanced at the Sorceress and asked, “So, are you saying I broke my promise? That we weren’t a happy family?”

The Sorceress answered simply, “No, you were happy.” She waved at the mirror again and another scene from the past appeared.

=)=)=)

The doors opened and everyone sighed in disappointment as they stared into the empty throne room. There was no trace of the king, and courtiers and visitors from other kingdoms were already lining up outside to speak to him. As Adora, Queen Marlena, and Man-at-Arms walked into the room, Teela walked up and stood beside Adam in the entrance. She grabbed his hand and held it softly.

“Hey,” she whispered, squeezing his hand firmly for a second but not looking at him.

Smiling, he squeezed her hand back and replied, “Hi.”

Teela turned her eyes to him briefly and then looked forward again. “I guess your father’s disappearance means I don’t have to worry about meeting with him this morning.”

Adam nodded as he continued to hold her hand and agreed, “Yes, I guess that’s true.”

Teela also found herself nodding as they both stood there silently. After almost ten seconds of neither saying anything, Teela turned to face Adam and exclaimed, “This is ridiculous!”

The prince looked worriedly at her, but before he could question what she meant, she gave him the answer.

“We have been friends practically our entire lives and now a couple of little kisses have rendered us speechless. Isn’t that silly?”

“Yes, I suppose it is,” said Adam with a soft smile.

They looked at one another again and both blushed.

As Adam looked into the throne room and noticed his mother’s look of despair, he pushed Teela to the side where no one could see her and he yelled into the room, “Mother, I’m going back to my bedchambers. I think I’ll take Father’s place today and help you, if you don’t mind, so I want to change into something more appropriate.”

At Marlena’s smile and nod of approval, Adam immediately took Teela’s hand and said, “Come with me. We can talk privately after I change my clothes.”

=)=)=)

Adam stepped out of his lavatory in clothes Teela rarely had the pleasure of seeing him in. It almost seemed to be a mixture of his normal outfit and his father’s rolled into one: he was still wearing his white undershirt but instead of his pink tunic he wore a red one, and instead of his purple tights and fur, he wore blue ones. He pulled the outfit together with his normal black belt, but there was one thing that stood out from his normal attire aside from the colors. He wore a sleeveless robe that was a darker shade of blue that matched his father’s. Because of the cut, you could see the slight sleeves of his red tunic and the rest of his outfit. She had to admit the whole ensemble suited him.

“What do you think?” he asked as he walked across the room. He had noticed her scrutinizing him so he figured he might as well get her opinion.

“It’s nice,” she answered.

“Really?” he questioned.

Just as Teela was about to reassure him again, her words got stuck in her throat as Adam opened a drawer and picked up a crown. It was a simple large band of gold with no points. Its shape signified that he was merely a prince and not a king, but it was still stunning. It was a darker shade than King Randor’s, and she had no doubt that was done intentionally because of Adam’s hair color.

As Adam placed the crown on his head, he turned to her and asked, “Do I look like royalty for a change?”

Teela swallowed roughly and replied, “You always look like royalty, Adam, but yes, you look…” She paused. “…like the future king of Eternia.”

Adam nodded with a brief smile as he walked over to his bed and patted the space beside him. “Come here, Teela,” he said softly. “Let’s talk.”

“About what?” she asked nervously as she obeyed her prince’s wishes.

As she sat beside him, Adam grabbed her hand and repeated what she had said to him last night, “I think you know.”

Teela looked down at their joined hands and let out a shaky breath.

=)=)=)

Adam knew Teela was nervous and the truth was he felt the same way, but he had to get things out into the open. He couldn’t keep thinking about Adora’s and his father’s doubts. He had to know where he stood and now was the best time to find out.

“Teela,” he whispered as he looked around to draw courage. Soon, he looked at her and stated firmly, “I need to know how you feel.”

“About what?” she mumbled, still looking down. She knew what he was asking, but she had a momentary doubt in her conclusions about him. What if he was preparing to let her down gently if she admitted to having feelings for him?

Adam brought his hands up to each side of Teela’s face and made her look up at him. “I need to know how you feel about me…and He-Man,” he answered.

Teela furrowed her brow in confusion. Did he want to continue their discussion about her thoughts of He-Man now that she knew he was really Prince Adam or was he asking how she felt about them romantically as two different people? “What do you mean?” she asked.

Adam breathed deeply and said, “I want to know if you like He…” He stopped. He couldn’t ask her that way…whether she liked Adam or He-Man. That would be insulting, especially since he thought and hoped she loved them as one person. He shook his head lightly in frustration and said quickly, “I want to know if the kisses from our cowardly Prince Adam meant anything to you.”

Because Adam still had his hands on her face, she couldn’t turn away. All she could do was look at him, so she did and answered firmly, “Yes, they did.”

Adam grinned and admitted, “Good, because they meant something to me, too.” He looked towards the door and knew he had to hurry this along. He needed to get back to the throne room soon so he and his mother could start the court proceedings without any delay. He looked back at Teela and didn’t quite know what to ask next. Should he ask her out to a private dinner? Should he ask if she would be okay with him asking for her father’s permission to court her? Instead, Adam did what he wanted to do all morning. With his hands still around her face, he leaned in and kissed her chastely.

Immediately, Teela brought her hands up and wrapped her arms around Adam’s neck and pulled him to her so she could deepen the kiss. She pulled lightly on his bottom lip with her teeth and moved her lips against his slowly. Before she could try something else, Adam stood and leaned over her as he ran his tongue over her lips seeking entrance. As she opened her mouth and dueled with him for a little bit, the chronometer on his wall chimed to let him know it was the beginning of the hour. Adam immediately pulled back.

Breathing roughly, he whispered, “Wow!”

“Yeah, wow,” she whispered back, also catching her breath.

Adam leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I have to get to court,” he said sadly. He looked into her eyes and questioned, “But we’re good, right? This is…what we want…isn’t it?”

Teela smiled and nodded. “Yeah, it is.”

Adam immediately grinned and kissed her on the lips again for several seconds before pulling away. “I have to get to court,” he repeated again and walked quickly out of the room.

Teela lay back on the bed and smiled for a moment before she got up to follow her prince back to the throne room.