Queen Marlena walked into the dining room and immediately looked down at the floor when her eyes met with Man-at-Arm's questioning look. She knew he had probably been hoping mother and son would come to breakfast together after their talk. She had a feeling that wouldn't happen for quite some time now.

Very slowly the queen made her way to her usual seat beside her husband. When she sat down, Randor grabbed her hand and held it as he settled a cold stare on Man-at-Arms. "I take it since you're here that Adam is okay. I thought I told you to send for me when he was feeling better."

Man-at-Arms winced at the hostility he heard in his king's voice. He could tell just from the look in Randor's eyes that he was not in good favor at the moment. Duncan cleared his throat to give an explanation when Queen Marlena spoke instead.

"Duncan left the room shortly after you did, dear," she explained. "I needed to talk to Adam alone about a few things." She met Randor's gaze as he turned to her. Tears welled up in her eyes and she whispered, "I don't think Adam will be coming to breakfast this morning." Abruptly, Marlena turned forward and stared down at her plate.

Randor let go of Marlena's hand and quickly brought his hand up to Marlena's chin to guide her eyes to his. "What's wrong?" he whispered.

After Marlena kept her silence, the king furrowed his brow and asked loudly, "Do I need to talk to that boy of mine again? By the Ancients! First, his laziness and cowardliness; then his attitude; and now, he's upset his mother…"

Unable to hear her husband badmouth Adam for another second, she yelled out, "STOP, RANDOR!"

Randor's and Duncan's eyes fell on the queen and neither uttered a syllable. The look she settled on Randor almost broke his heart. Her eyes showed a raw pain that he never saw there before; it startled him, but more than that, it scared him. "Just stop it," she whispered softly.

At that moment, the servers came into the room, but Randor couldn't turn away from his wife. Ignoring the presence of the kitchen staff in the room, he said, "Marlena, please, tell me what's going on. Clearly you're upset, and I know it has to do with Adam. He's been the cause of most of the trouble around here lately."

Hearing those words, Marlena’s tears began to fall. It was just too much. "None of this is his fault," she cried out through her tears. "It's mine."

Randor's eyes immediately widened when he heard his wife's confession, even though he had no idea what she was referring to. How could she be at any fault? "Marlena?" he questioned.

Marlena looked at Randor and replied, "He's leaving us because of me. He says he'll come back, but I'm not so sure. I never saw him more hurt than he was today. This is my fault." She quickly pushed her plate away before any of the staff could serve her and dropped her head to the table. She used her arms to cover her face so no one could see her.

More than slightly confused, Randor wrapped his arms around his queen. He was about to coax her to sit up and talk to him until Randor noticed the looks most of the kitchen staff were flashing their way. He suddenly realized his entire family had been putting on quite a show for numerous people that morning. They would surely be the hot topic in Eternos and probably the neighboring kingdoms today. He stood and ordered, "I want everyone out of this room…now."

Almost immediately, the kitchen staff set the plates and bowls of food on the table and left the room as quickly as possible.

Duncan stood also prepared to leave the room. He doubted Randor would want him to stay since the king now believed he was lying to him and keeping secrets when it concerned Adam. He was ashamed to admit it but a part of him actually wanted to be mad at Randor. How could Randor accuse him of lying to him and keeping secrets? Hadn't he proved his allegiance to him years ago? Hadn't he already proven that he was his friend?

Of course, as quickly as these thoughts entered his mind, the horrible truth hit Duncan with such clarity that he realized it was useless to be mad at the king. "He's right," he thought to himself, regrettably. "I am lying to him and I am keeping secrets. Why should I be mad that he's finally catching on? The king is not a dumb man. I should have known this would happen sooner or later."

He wished it would have happened a lot later. What a time for the king to suddenly smarten up! Of course, most of this was thanks to Queen Marlena. She wanted the king to be more aware of their son and what was going on around him. He felt the irrational desire to congratulate her on a job well done, but he knew such sarcasm wouldn't help matters. She was clearly very upset about something, and from what little she did say, he knew she was upset about Adam. What had happened after he left the room? What left her so upset that she couldn't control her tears?

Duncan was walking across the room to leave the dining room when he heard the king's gruff voice behind him bark out, "Why are you leaving? Afraid that I'm going to send more questions your way?"

Man-at-Arms quickly turned back and met the king's eyes. The stare Randor had settled on him was cold, very cold. Duncan sighed and answered, "I thought you wanted me to leave the room so you and the queen could talk alone."

Marlena lifted her head, looked at Randor, and then at Man-at-Arms. "A fine mess I've made out of things, huh?" she said aloud.

Randor quickly turned back to his wife and asked, "What mess have you made? Marlena, nothing that has happened is your fault."

Before Randor could get another word out, Marlena quickly rested a finger on her husband's lips to hush him. She decided it was time for the truth to come out. It was now or never.

=)=)=)

Adam slipped out into the courtyard, determined to make a clear getaway before his mother, or anyone else for that matter, tried to stop him. He never thought he would ever find himself running away from Eternos.

"I'm not running away," Adam told himself silently. "I'm just going away to clear my head. There's nothing wrong with that."

He immediately ran to the wall that surrounded the enormous palace and followed it to one of the openings which led outside of the palace grounds. As soon as he came to the opening, he sighed thankfully, grateful to make such an easy and quick escape.

"Going to meet up with one of your mistresses?" a small voice behind him called out.

Adam quickly turned around to find Teela standing there in a state he had never seen her in before. Her usually neat and combed hair which she had tied into a bun was now coming loose and falling out. Her eyes were red and puffy, probably from crying for a long time. He knew he had to squelch his impulse and response to feel guilty, because if he showed that emotion on his face, only the Ancients knew how she would interpret it.

Despite being desperate to leave the palace, he took a step towards Teela and said, "I don't have any mistresses. You know me better than that, Teela."

Teela's face wrinkled and Adam was sure she was going to burst into tears. Instead, she took a calming breath and said coolly, "I thought I did, but I just realized today that you're a complete stranger to me."

Adam closed the distance between them, and Teela tried to abruptly move away, but he grabbed her shoulders and held her firmly in place. "This is all one huge misunderstanding," he said, desperately trying to convince her. "The truth is I'm not having sex with anyone, Teela. The king was wrong. I'm not going out at night and meeting ladies; I would never do such a thing. Please, Teela…you have to believe me."

Teela was looking down at their feet, but as Adam went silent, she raised her eyes to meet his. "I want to believe you, but where would your father get such a notion? And, you were practically admitting it in the hall."

"We were having two different conversations," Adam exclaimed, suddenly angry. "I thought he was accusing me of something else. Never in my wildest dreams did I know he would think I was capable of doing such horrific things. I had no clue that he knew so little about me. Well, I guess I did, but I never knew it was that bad."

Teela's eyes widened at Adam's words and she opened her mouth to speak, but Adam put a finger against her lips and whispered, "You're my best friend, Teela. We practically grew up together…you have to believe me."

Teela slowly stepped back and Adam let his hands drop from her shoulders. He told her the truth, and if she still wanted to walk away, then he would have to accept that. Immediately, Teela walked to a nearby fountain and sat down. She looked where Adam stood and was startled at his posture and the look on his face. She had never seen him look so worried and so defeated. Of course, even a carefree prince couldn't be unaffected by today's accusations.

"Adam," she said firmly, “come here."

Adam looked around the courtyard to assure no one was coming and went to stand in front of Teela. "I don't have much time," he said and quickly glanced back at the opening.

Teela's brow furrowed and Adam immediately knew she believed him and now she was going to berate him for worrying her and whatever else was on her mind, in true Teela fashion. He prepared himself for the attack, even though he wanted so desperately to hug her for believing in him.

Teela sized Adam up and down from her seated position and asked, "And, where are you off to in such a hurry, then?"

Adam looked guilty, then, and immediately, Teela stood in front of her prince. "I believe you, Adam. I don't really know why I believed the king's accusations. I guess because it seemed like you were admitting to them, but now that I know that isn't the case, I know something else is going on."

Adam shook his head, but before he could utter a word, Teela held up her hand to silence him. "You were admitting to something. We just don't know what it was. You said so yourself, you were having two different conversations. If I am to believe that you are not sleeping around, then I have to believe that part of the story, as well. What are you hiding, Adam? You can tell me; you know you can trust me."

Adam never wanted so desperately to tell somebody his secret. He opened his mouth, but the words just wouldn't…couldn't come. He shook his head and whispered, "I can't tell you."

"Can't or won't?" asked Teela angrily. "Adam, the entire palace seems like it's turned upside down and it's because you refuse to tell your parents, my father, and me what's going on. I think things would be easier for you if you would just tell us the truth and let us in. It has to be something pretty major for you to keep this from everyone. We can help you with whatever it is. Surely, you know that, Adam."

Adam nodded. "I do know that, Teela, but I can't tell you." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he reopened them, he saw that Teela had her arms folded across her chest. He knew she was not going to take no for an answer. He sighed. "I would tell you if I could. The Ancients know I would, but I can't. I can't deny any longer that I have a secret thanks to my mother and my father's accusations, but that doesn't change anything else. I'm still who I am, and I still have a responsibility."

Teela was bristling. She couldn't believe Adam was still refusing to fess up. "Yes, you do have a responsibility," she spat. "You have a responsibility to your people to be honest with them. You have a responsibility to your friends and family to let them in to help you. Don't you see that? You always want to help others, and I find it ironic that you're unwilling to do the same for us."

Adam merely dropped his gaze to the ground and whispered, "Can you just be happy that I'm not a pervert and forget that today ever happened? I just want things to go back to how they used to be. Go back to thinking I'm the useless, cowardly, carefree prince."

The words had been almost inaudible, but Teela did hear them. She was prepared to yell at him more until she saw the sudden upheaval of his chest and his abrupt turn.

Adam started walking away to the opening with a clear determination to reach it. Teela looked back to see if he was running from anyone. She was the only one in the courtyard. Her heart jumped into her throat and then she yelled, "Adam, wait!"

Adam stopped as he reached the opening but didn't turn back to face her.

She ran to Adam and ran her hand across his back as she went around his body to face him. She dipped her head underneath his to catch his eyes and saw the tears streaming down his face. It broke Teela's heart and she immediately engulfed him with a huge hug. She even shed a few tears of her own.

"What's all this?" she cried. "Why are you leaving, and why are you crying? What's going on, Adam? Please, tell me."

Adam wrapped his arms around Teela and held her tightly for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, he pulled back, met her watery gaze, and said, "There are so many things I want to tell you, and inevitably, one day you will find out, but that day is not today, Teela."

He said it with such finality that a shiver ran up Teela's side. For once, she knew she couldn't bully Adam into doing what she wanted him to. She licked her lips and pondered what would be so important that Adam would hide a part of himself from her…from his parents.

She stared into his blue eyes for several moments before asking, "Do you promise you'll tell me one day and before we're both old and dying?"

Adam gave a small nod. "I know I can promise you that, and I do," he whispered and then gave her one last hug. He then pulled away and headed out of the palace walls.

Teela followed him and said, "Where are you going? I'm not going to hound you, for now. We can talk about anything else that you want."

Adam looked back and said, "I'll take you up on that offer later, but right now, I need to be going."

"Where to?" she asked again.

"I might as well be honest at least about this," Adam thought to himself.

He smiled at his childhood companion and said, "To Castle Grayskull. I think a trip back to Etheria to see my sister has been long overdue, and I really need to talk to her."

It was very clear to Teela that Adora knew whatever secret Adam was hiding. She nodded at Adam and said, "As long as you're talking to someone, I suppose."

Adam nodded and asked, "Watch Cringer for me?"

"You bet," she replied with a small and sad smile. "Don't stay gone too long."

"I won't," he said, but before he could turn around, Teela ran to him and hugged him again.

Adam laughed and said, "What's with all these tears and hugs? Surely, this is not the Captain Teela who gives me a hard time every single day of my life."

Teela pulled back, playfully slapped at his arm, and said, "I honestly don't know why I'm acting like this. What can I say, Adam? You drive me crazy."

Adam smiled and Teela returned the sentiment with a dazzling smile of her own. Before Adam could turn away to leave, Teela grabbed his neck, pulled his head close, and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

Adam had a really hard time pulling away. This was the closest he had ever felt to Teela and he had wanted that closeness for so long, but right now, he needed to get away. He needed to talk to someone who understood his situation. Adora would certainly be surprised by the actions of all three members of her immediate family, he suspected.