Marlena stood in her bedchamber staring at her reflection in the mirror. So many thoughts were plaguing her: she thought about Adam's constant disappearing and behavior over the past few weeks. She thought about Randor's disapproval of Adam during those times and even before. Eventually, her thoughts drifted to Randor and Adam’s trip to Castle Grayskull. She wondered what she would find out when they returned. As sad as it was for a mother to say, Marlena didn't believe Adam when he said he didn't remember anything that had happened yesterday. She knew her son well enough to know when he wasn't being honest. She had years of practice catching the subtle signs: he would stutter and look around elsewhere while trying to find a suitable and rational explanation.

"He's been doing that a lot over the last few years, far more than I'm accustomed to in recent weeks," she thought to herself.

That's what was really bothering her. She had always known since Adam had matured that he had secrets he had to keep hidden. She had accepted that fact a long time ago. That's why she never really questioned Adam on his whereabouts when he left and reappeared. The last month or so made her rethink her decision—she began to notice that his disappearances were becoming more frequent than she liked and his tiredness was becoming much of a concern.

She remembered the one time she had questioned Adam on his tardiness to dinner. He had been missing all day and no one in the palace had seen him. She hadn’t heard about anything of importance happening anywhere on Eternia that day, so when he finally showed up offering his apologies to them, and especially to Orko for interrupting his latest magic routine, she actually asked him where he had been. The response she received was the one she had expected, but it nonetheless saddened her. He stuttered and talked such nonsense that wasn't even remotely coherent and then silenced as if he offered up some truly vital information and didn't have anything else left to say on the matter. She had glanced at Randor, who clearly thought their son had been off having "fun" again and told Orko to continue with his show.

She didn't know what was worse. Was it Adam's constant running off without a word to anyone or was it Randor's blindness to the situation concerning their son? Oh, he was well aware of it now because she pointed it out to him, and now it was consuming his every thought. But did that really make up for his lack of understanding and patience with their son? Did it make up for the fact that he didn’t notice before she pointed it out to him in the first place? Did it make up for the fact that Randor did not know who their son really was?

As much as she hated the notion, Marlena couldn't help but wonder if Randor was why their son had become so withdrawn recently. Did he run off and hide every little thing from them because he was worried about what his father would think? She knew it was possible. Every time Randor chastised Adam for his tardiness, clumsiness, or whatever else happened to be the case, she noticed Adam's ever constant response of lowering his head and closing his eyes almost as if he were submitting and accepting his father's words as gospel towards his character.

She shook her head and finally walked away from the mirror to the window so she could look outside. She immediately gasped. Randor, Adam, Cringer, Duncan, and Teela were climbing out of the AttakTrak—they were back from Castle Grayskull.

Marlena quickly ran out of the room and headed towards the courtyard. She couldn't wait to reach them and possibly find out what was going on with her son.

=)=)=)

Randor let out a great sigh of relief as he watched Adam and Teela exit the AttakTrak. He was glad that the Sorceress, once and for all, put a stop to all the worries he had about Adam's whereabouts yesterday and whether he was lying to him or not. He had the impulse to hug him, but before he could, he noticed Marlena running from the palace.

"You're back!" she yelled to no one in particular.

Adam looked at her and replied jokingly, "Yes, and you're acting like you haven't seen us in years."

At Adam's words, Marlena stopped her feverish pace and looked around at everyone sheepishly. "I'm sorry," she said, softly. "It's just that…"

Adam laughed wholeheartedly for the first time she had heard in ages. He walked over to her, hugged her, and whispered, "No need to explain. I'm glad you're happy to see me."

Marlena hugged her son tightly and peered over at Randor who had a big toothy grin on his face. She smiled as she pulled back and said, "So I take it everything's good, then? No need to referee between you and your father?"

Adam gave her a confused look and said, "Since when have you ever played referee between Father and me?"

She chuckled and said, "You know what I mean. Well?"

He nodded and said, "Everything's fine."

"Good to hear," she said beaming a smile at him.

Adam smiled back and they suddenly heard a large rumble, almost like a growl. Adam laughed and said, "Um, excuse me. I haven't eaten since you brought me that lunch this morning. I'm starving."

"Thank Goodness," Cringer piped in. "I'm starving, too."

The queen laughed and said, "Run along and get ready for dinner. I had the kitchen staff keeping it warm until you arrived home."

Adam immediately walked towards one of the palace's entrances with Cringer following close behind.

Marlena smiled and finally made her way to Randor. "He seems like the old Adam, so full of life and carefree. I can tell he's still a little tired and sore, but I know he'll be okay." She looked into her husband's eyes and asked, "So, did the Sorceress tell you what was going on with that dear son of ours?"

Randor smiled as he grabbed his wife's hand and started walking towards the palace. He was glad he was the one giving her the news: "Yes, it turns out Adam was telling the truth about yesterday. He really doesn't remember what happened. Skeletor was up to some of his old tricks again and sent a magic orb to destroy Castle Grayskull. Luckily, He-Man stopped and destroyed it. There was some kind of explosion and unfortunately Adam was in the range of it…He-Man is awfully sore, too. Skeletor attacked Grayskull while we were there and you could tell He-Man was in pain while he was fighting. He was trying to hide it, of course. I hope Skeletor didn't notice."

Marlena nodded and seemed stunned when she asked, “He-Man was in pain, too?” When Randor nodded, she breathed deeply to calm herself and continued, “What else did you find out?"

Randor paused in his movements, looked at her, and questioned, "Was I supposed to find out more?"

She sighed. He obviously didn't make the connection that was right there in front of his face. He was going back to being unaware and unobservant. He had found out what supposedly happened yesterday, so he was already forgetting about the larger picture. She would have to remind him yet again. She frowned and replied sadly, "No, I guess not. You went there to find out what happened yesterday. It's just that I was hoping she would tell you about all the other times, as well."

"The other times?" he asked.

 She opened her eyes wide as she stared at her husband and said in louder voice, "Randor! You know as well as I do that this isn't the first time Adam has run off! You said so yourself that Man-at-Arms admitted to helping Adam when he was in trouble in the past without our knowledge."

He shook his head quickly and looked behind him to see Man-at-Arms and Teela following in the distance. He shushed the queen and whispered, "I never said Duncan admitted to it. I just said he didn't deny it."

"Same thing," she replied adamantly. "Regardless, the point is that despite what we do know for certain now, we're still no closer to knowing what is going on with our son, Randor. Doesn't that bother you?"

He thought silently for a few seconds before nodding and saying, "Yes, it does. I was just so happy to learn that he was telling the truth about yesterday that I forgot about the larger picture. I guess I'm going to have to talk to him again."

"Do you think talking to him will get anything done?" she asked doubtfully, as they resumed walking to the dining room.

Randor's face became one of stone and he said firmly, "I can't just stand idly by and do nothing. I have to try."

=)=)=)

Randor and Marlena walked into the dining room with Teela and Man-at-Arms following a few feet behind. Adam was already there and as soon as he saw them, he chuckled and said, "Hey, for once, I beat all of you!"

Teela laughed at Adam's expression because he seemed genuinely pleased with himself. "Never mind the fact that we're having dinner later than usual because of him," she thought to herself. She shook her head as she sat down and looked at everyone else. Her father's lips were slightly upturned, so he was obviously thinking along the same lines she was. She, then, looked at the king and queen and paused. They weren't grinning. In fact, they looked kind of worried.

She cleared her throat and asked, "Is everything all right, Your Majesties?"

Instantly, Marlena and Randor tore their gazes away from Adam, just as everyone else looked at them.

"Yes," Randor said, softly. "Everything is quite all right. Why do you ask, Captain?"

Teela shrugged and said, "Oh, I don't know. Forgive me for putting you on the spot. You just seemed troubled."

He nodded and said, "I've had a lot on my mind recently."

Adam quickly entered the conversation. "Is there anything I can do to help, Father?"

Randor turned his complete attention to his son, who was obviously concerned, and said, "Probably."

Despite the fact he had offered to help, Adam was surprised at his father's response. His father did frequently include him in matters of the kingdom because he was the prince, after all. He would one day rule, but when it came down to concerning matters, his father never wanted his help. He preferred Duncan's help or even He-Man's help. Prince Adam was never on the totem pole. This immediately told him this was a personal matter. He lowered his head and looked down at his plate as the kitchen crew came out to serve their meal.

Randor stared at his son for several seconds before asking, "Well, are you going to ask me how?"

Adam looked up and smiled at the attendant who served him his plate. He, then, looked at his father and said, "I'm sorry, Father. I just got the impression that it was a personal matter and that it was something…" He paused to look at Man-at-Arms and Teela. "…that you might prefer to talk about in private."

Man-at-Arms immediately nodded at Adam's assessment while Teela's brow furrowed.

As for the king, he opened his mouth to respond when suddenly Orko appeared at the center of the table. "Good evening, ladies and lords," he said, happily. "Even though we're having dinner later than usual, I thought we could still use a little magic."

Adam watched as his father turned away from him to watch the Trollan try to perform his latest tricks.

=)=)=)

The next morning Adam woke up and was thankful he didn't have any surprise visitors in his room. He turned over and looked down on the floor beside his bed. Cringer was sleeping and snoring softly. He smiled, sat up, and said, "Come on, Cringer, it's time to get up."

Cringer opened one lazy eye and said after a yawn, "Ah, come on, Adam. Can't we just sleep all day?"

He laughed and stated, "We did that yesterday."

"No, w-w-we fought Skeletor yesterday. That's hardly sleeping the day away" was his reply.

Adam shook his head. "And, how would I explain my laziness to everyone? Maybe you can get away with sleeping all day, but I can't, especially not right now."

He crawled out of bed, rolled his neck around a couple of times to get the kinks out, and then quickly went to his wardrobe to put on his common attire. Once he stepped out of his room fully dressed, he saw Teela walking down the hall towards the throne room. "Teela!" he yelled as he ran towards her, smiling.

Teela kept walking even as Adam reached her.

"Good morning," he said, with a soft smile.

She glanced sideways at him but kept walking silently.

Immediately, he frowned and touched her shoulder, stopping her forward progress. "Teela, what's the matter?"

Finally, she turned her head and looked straight at him. "Nothing, Adam. What makes you think something is wrong?"

"Let's see, the fact that you were ignoring me and now you're snapping at me. You always acted like this when we were kids and you were mad at me for something I had done. Don't tell me you're still angry at me for getting hurt. It wasn't my fault. If we can blame anyone, let's blame He-Man. He's the one who made the orb explode."

Teela gawked at her childhood friend and repeated in a shrill voice, "Let's blame He-Man!"

He shook his head and exclaimed, "I'm only kidding, Teela!"

Teela stomped off and snapped, "That's some sense of humor you have, Adam! I don't find that funny one bit. He-Man doesn't deserve any of the blame for you getting hurt. It's Skeletor's fault and maybe even yours, because you were the one who put you in the vicinity…"

"Teela," he started, walking after her quickly.

"Oh, never mind, Adam," she snapped at him. "I'm not even mad about that, anymore."

He ran in front of her, stopped her by grabbing her shoulders again, and asked, "Then, what is it? What did I do?"

She slowly left his grasp, walked to a nearby window, and looked outside. He followed her. "Teela," he pushed softly.

She sighed and said, "You didn't do anything, I suppose. It's just that I thought we were friends and that you trusted me. I am your bodyguard, after all. You trust me with your life…I guess I was just surprised to learn that you don't trust me with what's going on in it. I got so mad…"

He shook his head quickly and said, "Wait, I'm confused. We are friends, Teela. What in the name of the Ancients, are we talking about?"

She stepped in front of him with a stubborn expression adorning her face. "Yesterday, when your father wanted to talk about whatever was troubling him, you stopped him because Father and I were in the room. Do you have any idea how that made me feel? It made me feel like I wasn't supposed to be there or welcomed. If that's the way you feel, Prince Adam, all you had to do was say so. I won't attend anymore dinners or…"

He quickly stopped her rant by putting a large finger to her mouth. "Teela, you are more than welcomed at the dinner table. I didn't mean to make you feel that way. It's just that…" Now, it was his turn to sigh and look out over the kingdom. He looked back at her and said, "Maybe you've noticed that things have been a little stressed with me and my parents recently."

Her hard expression melted as she replied, "No, not really. I know they are concerned because of your latest mishap, but we all were."

He shook his head and said, "Well, that's not all that's going on."

She rubbed Adam's arm and whispered, "What is it, Adam? Talk to me."

He smiled and stated somewhat sadly, "We haven't really talked about our real troubles with each other since we were kids."

"I know," she agreed, “and I think it's something we should resume. I always find myself wondering what's going on with you, especially recently. I mean, you are my best friend, and it's odd that I don't know what's going on in your head half the time anymore."

Adam laughed and replied, "Teela, you're my best friend, too, but I never knew what was going on in your head even when we were kids, so I don't expect that to be changing anytime soon!"

She chuckled softly and pushed on his shoulder playfully. "Come on, Adam, talk."

He did as asked. "Basically, the reason why I told my father we should talk about whatever was troubling him in private was because I knew it more than likely dealt with me…and well, I didn't really want to talk about it."

"What do you mean, and what makes you think that?"

He sighed and answered, "Recently, my parents have this weird notion that I'm hiding something from them. They question where I go and why I'm so tired all the time. This has been me for years, and they've never suspected anything before, so why now?"

She nodded and answered, "Well, you have been disappearing more frequently recently. I've wondered where you've been running off to myself. But of course, I know you. Monkey business is your specialty and number one pursuit."

"Why don't you tell my parents that?" he asked bitterly.

"Why don't you?" she countered. "Just tell them the truth and they'll get off your back. It's not that hard of a situation…unless you're ashamed of your actions. In that case, you need to change, Adam. You have to admit you should take a more active role in the kingdom and not goof off so much."

He wanted to get mad at her. He did take an active role in the kingdom, and monkey business was most definitely NOT his number one pursuit or priority, but that was what he led everyone to think. How could he get mad at her for believing what he wanted her to? He sighed and replied, "If it were only that easy, Teela."

"Of course, it is! Just stop running off so much. Fun is all well and good, but we have more serious things to do here. The well-being of Eternia and your people should be your number one priority. Maybe if you start showing a change for the better in these areas, your parents will get off your back…and so will I."

He looked at her sadly and said, "If only…"

He was interrupted.

"Adam," they heard a voice say behind them.

Adam and Teela turned around to see the king and queen walking towards them.

Adam took a deep breath. His parents had impeccable timing. He replied, "Good morning, Mother. Good morning, Father." Teela immediately echoed the greeting.

"Good morning," Randor said cheerfully. He looked out the window and said, "Today is a beautiful day…a perfect day to just walk around and talk." He then looked at the Captain of the Guard and said, "Teela, would you please excuse us? I need to speak with the prince. I didn't have the opportunity last night since he ran off to his chambers so quickly after dinner."

She nodded and said, "Yes, your majesty." She leaned close to Adam and whispered, "Just tell the truth and then tell them you will change." She then walked off and headed towards her father's lab.

Adam watched Teela leave feeling like he was being left alone on a battlefield with no help in sight. "You want to talk to me, Father?" he asked softly when Teela disappeared around the corner.

Randor nodded and replied, "Yes. I wanted to continue the conversation we started yesterday."

Adam swallowed and said, "Father, I thought the Sorceress straightened this all out. I'm not hiding anything from you…"

"Yes, we know that you're not hiding anything about what happened to you two days ago, but we have more questions about other times," Marlena interrupted, tired of walking around the issue and getting straight to the point.

Adam widened his eyes. His thoughts were clearly written on his face: You, too, mother?

Randor stepped in front of Adam, blocking his view of his mother. "Adam," he said in an authoritative tone.

Adam immediately shook his head and said, "Look, I already know what you're going to say. You're going to preach to me that I should take more of an interest in the kingdom and that I should grow up. You'll say that I should spend more time learning how to run things incase something happens to you. You'll even say I should spend more time sparring with Teela, so I can defend myself if the need ever arises. You'll then question me about where I run off to all the time when I say I was out having fun. Am I right?"

Randor nodded and answered, "You are."

Adam also nodded and continued, "Yes, we've been over this many times. I will be ready when my time comes to sit on the throne, Father. I know you disapprove of me having my fun, but I do it because I know when I become king, I won't have that luxury anymore. You're always so busy and I just want to have a little freedom before I'm tied down to all the responsibility I will one day have. Don't you understand that?"

"I do understand that, Adam," said Randor. "I just have the feeling that something else is going on here."

"Like what? What else could possibly be going on here?"

"I don't know, Adam," Marlena piped in. "That's the whole point. I've been watching you for a while now. You're always so secretive about where you run off to. Even now you're not really talking about it. In fact, you NEVER do. You run off constantly, not just during battles, and you always come back claiming you were out having fun. But, where are your friends during those particular times? Who do you have this fun with? It isn't Teela. It isn't Man-at-Arms for the most part."

"Cringer!" he answered defensively.

"What could you and Cringer be doing that is so fun that it's worth all this hassle…that it's worth our suspicion?" asked Randor. "What is so fun that it makes up for the fact that people call you a coward, uninterested, and not a very good prince?"

Adam's head popped up with that last statement. "Do you think I'm not a good prince?"

"I didn't say that."

"Then what's all this?" Adam yelled loudly, surprised at his own outburst, but he kept going. He held his arms wide and asked, "Are you hounding me because I'm an embarrassment to you and Mother? What I do is MY BUSINESS, not yours. Just because I'm an embarrassment as a son and prince to you, it doesn't give you the right…"

"Doesn't give me the right?" questioned the king angrily. "Young man, I am your father, so it gives me every right to worry about you and wonder what you're doing and if you're safe. It gives me every right to question you on your whereabouts and what you're doing with your life. I have every right because you will inherit my throne and responsibilities."

Adam looked at them and breathed in deeply. He closed his eyes and whispered angrily, "I'm here, aren't I? I'm not dead or hurt. If I was putting myself in danger, wouldn't you have had an inkling before now? Wouldn't I have needed you for help?"

"Not if you’re getting that help elsewhere from someone who is obligated to protect you," answered Marlena softly. "Like Man-at-Arms. He's a trustworthy man and a great friend. I've noticed that you two have become very close over the years. You're together a lot, more than he and Randor are." She touched Adam's shoulder and said, "He's very loyal. I know from experience that if you ask him to keep a secret, he'll do it. How do you explain the fact that when your father questioned him if he had ever helped you when you were hurt without our knowledge that he didn't answer? If this had never happened his answer would have immediately been no. So, we ask again, Adam, what's going on with you?"

Suddenly all of the anger drained out of Adam as he stared at his parents sadly, "Do you trust me?"

Randor looked him in the eye and with tears in his eyes answered, "I do and I want to, but I'm starting to wonder how can I trust someone who doesn't trust me?"

Adam immediately looked down and said, "I see," before walking as quickly as he could down the corridor, away from his parents.