Chapter Text
A lone Wind Raider soared through the sky, leaving Eternos City behind. Teela at the controls, Ileena riding in the passenger seat. Once they were clear of the city’s airspace and into the open skies, Teela set the autopilot, giving herself some time to contemplate both the unusual mission ahead of her and recent events.
Over the past few weeks, teaching Ileena had been night and day compared to her attempts to teach Adam. Bolstered by Queen Marlena’s acceptance of her into their extended family, the previously timid blonde had thrown herself into every aspect of training that had been put in front of her. Their one-on-one sparring sessions were becoming incredibly competitive, and Teela was starting to eat as many losses as she gained wins. Ileena’s physical changes were starting to show. Though still possessing a slender and athletic frame, her arm and shoulder muscles were developing, a sign of her growing strength. The midriff-baring outfit she sometimes wore showed off tight abdominals. Though for this journey, she had her more appropriate armour dress on.
In addition to sparring with Teela, Adam often turned up to provide Ileena with a different dance partner. While she thought it too soon to have her student mix it up with fully trained Guardsmen yet, as she herself regularly did during her ascent to Captain. Teela felt that allowing Ileena to test newly learned techniques on Adam would be safe enough, as he would sooner live with being thrown on his face rather than get rough with a girl. That the Prince was showing up and taking an active hand in training was a pleasant change of pace. Though Teela suspected he was looking to impress both women, whatever got him away from his nap time and kept him on time was fine by her.
As promised, Ileena’s training had expanded beyond hand-to-hand combat. Queen Marlena had begun showing her the basics of operating a Sky Sled at low altitude, with a view to taking her further into the air once she had mastered the controls.
Meanwhile, supervised training in basic ranged weapons was also underway. Archery was, understandably, a work in progress. Ileena could doubltess hit a medium-sized target in the field, but asking her to shoot an apple off someone’s head would have fatal results. That said, she was proving adept in the use of spears and javelins on the target range, her throwing arm packed a deceptive level of power and accuracy. Ileena’s proficiency in each weapon would need to be assessed and certified by Man-at-Arms before she would be permitted even supervised use of deadlier weapons such as blades and blasters.
She had also picked up a strong desire to learn about Eternia’s history, its many cultures and species. But even so…
“Thank you for allowing me to come along, Teela. I’ve been in the Royal Library almost every day and I’ve never heard of this Arcadia.”
Teela’s attention turned from her student’s progress to the mission ahead of them. “Nor had anyone else, until a couple of years ago. Back then, the Arcadians were isolationists. Their city was kept hidden from the rest of the world by an invisible force dome, powered by a mineral called Arcalite. It was a society ruled over by Queen Sumana, where women lived above ground and enjoyed a utopia, while men were enslaved in the Arcalite mines beneath the city. The only man I saw on the surface was the foreman, Ananda.”
Ileena was appalled. “That’s horrible!”
“Sure was. It all came to an end when Adam and I stumbled across the force dome. We split up to find a way through and both ran into Sumana’s warriors. My skill at defending myself earned me a trip to see the Queen, while Adam earned a one-way trip to the mines for the crime of being male.”
Ileena had become quite fond of the Prince during their sparring sessions. Mostly because he didn’t act like royalty if he could help it, but more like the brother she never had. “Poor Adam.”
“I know, but it turned into a blessing in disguise. While he was down there, he saw that the mines were about to collapse and take the city with them. He tried to get the word out through Ananda, but the Queen wouldn’t listen to what a man had to say. Even though I had a hard time convincing her, she finally listened to me and woke up to the danger, just in time for tremors to start shaking the place apart. The men and women of Arcadia worked together to stabilise the mines, and with some last minute help from He-Man, the city was saved. Afterwards, the Queen decreed that men and women were equal in their nation and took Ananda as her King.”
“Aww, that’s sweet. I always enjoy a good love story.”
Teela briefly tensed up at hearing her beautiful friend talk about romance. “Anyway, a couple of days ago, King Randor received a request from Queen Sumana to send an envoy for an initial visit ahead of fully normalising relations between Arcadia and Eternos. Should open the door for full trade. To the surprise of everyone, she specifically asked for me.”
“You must have made quite an impression on her last time.”
“You could say that…I started a fight in her throne room.”
Ileena’s jaw dropped. “You what!?”
Teela shrugged. “What? Don’t look at me like that, she was trying to have me locked up.”
Her friend was incredulous. “And now you’re going to see her as King Randor’s representative!?”
Teela’s dryly responded. “I know. Scary thought, isn’t it?”
“Does the Captain of the Guard normally do diplomatic work?”
“No and I think we can all agree: I’m the last person you’d want for the job. But times are changing. Now that Adamis visiting Adora on Etheria so often, and Clamp Champ is now installed as their dedicated bodyguard, the King and Queen want to use the experience I’ve gained from travelling all around Eternia for special missions.”
“Is Adam going to be alright? I know the Horde rules Etheria.”
“Not to worry, he’s got Adora watching out for him. I don’t know if you’ve been told what happened after she was abducted as a baby?”
“No, I thought it best not to ask Queen Marlena anything she wasn’t willing to tell me on the subject.”
Teela nodded sagely. “Smart girl. Hordak took her to Etheria and raised her as his own “daughter”, though it wasn’t an upbringing I would wish on anyone. From the moment she was old enough to raise a sword or hold a blaster steady, she was expected to learn how to use it…quickly. She became one of the Horde’s most efficient officers in the oppression of the Etherian people. Until Adam somehow found a way to break the spell that made her serve evil and helped her to realise who she truly is. Now she uses everything the Horde taught her to fight against them. She has vowed that she won’t make Eternia her home until Hordak has been driven off Etherian soil. I have no hesitation in saying that Adora is the toughest person I’ve ever met. Believe me, Adam is in safe hands.”
“That’s good.” Ileena thought for a moment. “Do you think…? Is that why the Queen said that I’m part of the family, and is teaching me how to fly? Because I remind her of Adora?”
“Well, you’re blonde, so that helps.” Teela shared a grin with her companion at the little joke.
“But seriously though, she did a lot to teach me when I was young. Even now, if she has a lesson for me, I will sit and I will listen. What I’m about to say is just what I personally believe, don’t take it as fact. But for as happy as our Queen is to have Adora back, the awful truth is that the simple joy of a mother raising her daughter was taken away forever. And none of us can get that back for her, no matter how much we want to. I think she takes any opportunity to mend that hole in her heart, by sharing her knowledge and experience. First with me, now with you.”
“So that makes us all her daughters, then? We’re all Princesses?”
Teela raised an eyebrow. “Ileena, I would be honoured to be Queen Marlena’s daughter simply because of who she is. But I could never be a Princess.”
“I’m just kidding, Teela. I couldn’t be a Princess either.”
“Oh, I don’t know. You’re beautiful, you’re sweet, you’re smart, you certainly have a quick wit about you. I’m sure you would make a fine princess for somebody.”
“Somebody. Yes, somebody…” Ileena suddenly turned away blushing. Teela didn’t respond, hoping to hide her own blush. For a while, the only sounds were the roar of the Wind Raider’s engines and the wind whipping past.
Teela tried to get the conversation moving again. “So that’s why I chose you as my second on this mission. To give you a headstart on seeing Eternia up close and personal, something the library can’t give you. Plus you seem to have a talent for winning over royalty, so I think you’ll have an important role to play.”
Ileena had a mischievous look on her face. “What role is that, keeping you from starting any more fights?”
Both women laughed, alleviating the prior tension.
Two hours into their flight, Teela re-engaged manual control and sent a message over the Wind Raider’s radio “This is Eternos Five-Zero-Four-Five calling Arcadia Defense Control. Requesting permission to enter Arcadian airspace, do you copy?”
A calm, steady woman’s voice replied. “ Roger Eternos Five-Zero-Four-Five, request granted. Standby for escort and proceed to the Royal Palace, Queen Sumana is expecting you, over and out .”
Ileena picked up on a surprising omission. “Isn’t the King expecting us, too?”
“Should be.” The familiar gut instinct told Teela something was wrong, making her instantly uneasy.
Within a couple of minutes, a pair of twin engine patrol craft flanked the Wind Raider, piloted by Arcadia’s warrior women. Upon drawing level and seeing Teela in the Wind Raider, the warriors bowed their heads and the passenger of each vehicle crossed her arms over the chest: the standard Arcadian salute.
Ileena was astonished. “And people say I worship you, Teela. Here, you’re like a…what’s that term Queen Marlena told us about? A ‘rock star’, she called it.”
Teela concentrated on her flying, a little uncomfortable. “I might enjoy it more if I had been allowed to bring my sword or my freeze rays with me.” She tapped at her wrist. “These are just regular bracers. Diplomats are forbidden from carrying weapons of any kind.”
“Are you expecting trouble?”
“In this line of work, trouble has a way of finding us, and I don’t like being unprepared. Keep your eyes peeled, Ileena, the city is just over the ridge.”
Sure enough, as their party cleared the hills, Arcadia lay before them. To Teela, the towering buildings and spiralling bridges that connected them were a familiar sight. But the city had sprawled since her last visit, with whole new suburbs consisting of one-storey structures spreading out over the valley.
As they flew overhead, Ileena took a look over the side. The new developments below resembled slums: basic stone structures, with smoke from open fires visible. “Teela, I know this is my first visit, but I’m going to guess all of this wasn’t here last time.”
The pilot shrugged, trying to stave off the nagging unease. “To be expected when the surface population doubles overnight.”
Ileena took another look down and her brow furrowed. “If this is all for the men, then maybe things aren’t as equal in this city as we've been told.”
Teela was getting the sense of deja vu. “Maybe not.” With the Royal Tower coming closer, she gave last minute instructions to her student. “I’ll get to the bottom of this when we meet Queen Sumana and King Ananda. Now Ileena, just bow and salute when I do and don’t speak out of turn. Oh, and definitely don’t try to kiss the ring. It's not just jewellery, it’s a weapon. The amount of power running through it will burn your lips off.”
If that was meant to put the young trainee at ease, it didn’t work.
The metallic sliding doors to the elevator opened to reveal Queen Sumana sitting on her single throne. A familiar sight, which was precisely what deepened Teela’s anxiety. No sign of King Ananda now, nor any sign that he had ever been there. Ileena glanced at her teacher, who gave a short, sharp shake of her head and grimaced out of the side of her mouth. Warning her student not to ask the question that was on both of their minds.
One of the warriors lining the throne room announced. “My Queen, the diplomatic mission from Eternos.”
Flanked by a guard on either side, envoy and companion walked up the carpet and stopped in sync with their escorts. Both lowering their heads and giving the Arcadian salute.
The Queen commanded “Both of you, stop. Rise.”
Teela and Ileena lifted their heads in bewilderment. Sumana rose from her throne and walked towards the visitors. As she came closer, Teela noticed the monarch looked rather haggard compared to when she last saw her. With pronounced bags under her eyes, Sumana seemed to have aged at double the rate of everyone else. Yet another sign that something was terribly wrong with this picture.
“Teela, my friend. In Arcadia, you bow to no-one.” The queen then bowed and gave a salute of her own. All of her warriors followed suit.
The envoy was taken aback. “Uh, thank you, Your Highness. But I’m not sure I deserve this.”
The Queen was amused. “Ah, you have become so modest since last we met. It is because of you that this city still stands.”
Teela sheepishly tried to brush off the accolades. “Well, I mean, I helped, certainly. But it was Prince Adam who discovered the danger and tried to warn everyone.”
“I heard him, yes. But I listened to you. That is why I asked you here to view Arcadia’s progress towards joining the rest of Eternia.”
“I must confess, Your Highness, I’m not sure why I was chosen. As I proved on my first visit, I am ill-suited to be a diplomat.”
The memory prompted a smile from the Queen. “But you have my respect, Teela, and that is worth far more than the hollow platitudes of trained functionaries. In any case, this is merely an exploratory visit, for you to report the state of our city to your King. We’ll leave the details to our respective negotiators.” Sumana then turned and stood before Ileena, who felt the familiar nerves returning. “And who is your second?”
Teela made the introductions. “Your Highness, this is Ileena, daughter of the sage Zicran. My student in the profession of arms.”
“Student, you say? Tell me, young Ileena: has Teela yet furnished you with a lesson in insolence?”
The blonde maiden turned red with embarrassment and stuttered out. “No, that is, uh, I mean, Your Highness, I…”
Meanwhile, Teela looked down at the carpet and bit her bottom lip to stifle herself. Perhaps it was wrong of her, but she found Ileena to be adorable when she became flustered like this.
Luckily, Queen Sumana had a similar feeling and put a hand on Ileena’s arm. “A joke, young one. It was thanks to Teela’s insolence that we are all standing here today. I am certain you make your teacher proud.”
Teela provided the words that her companion needed most at this moment. “She does, Your Highness. She does.”
Sovereign, soldier and student stood upon the Royal viewing balcony, looking out over Arcadia. Teela and Ileena were both standing at opposite ends, looking down at the beautiful city. As Queen Sumana approached, Teela was reminded of the last time she stood upon this balcony.
“I am certain you saw the expansion of the city during your flight. Unfortunately, with our metal and stone shortage, we have had to build new, simple houses for the men as quickly as possible. Hence why I hope Eternos can be of assistance and a trade deal can be negotiated soon. Perhaps you would like to tour some of the new housing areas?”
Teela nodded. “We would, Your Highness, and I will relay your needs to King Randor.” She then became more solemn. “But there is something else…I wish to apologise for what I said when I last stood here.”
The Queen wouldn’t hear of it. “Nonsense, Teela, your words saved us all.”
The warrior-turned-diplomat spoke quietly as she looked out over the city. “Nonetheless, I said that without men, Arcadian women had no love. Recent events have shown me how wrong I was.”
“Ah, you have since come to know a woman’s love, I take it?”
Teela nodded sadly. “A fellow warrior, the most special person I’ve ever known. Our time was short, duty separated us.” She then looked skyward. “She is now travelling the stars, bringing evildoers to justice on other planets.”
Queen Sumana stood beside the wistful warrior and rested her elbows on the balcony ledge to speak frankly. “Will she return to you?”
“Neither of us can say. Before she left, she asked me not to wait, to move on.”
“And if another lady should win your heart, would you take her in your arms?”
Teela’s eyes started drifting towards the blonde woman on the other side of the platform, before quickly darting back as she mentally chided herself again, hoping Sumana wouldn’t notice. She smiled sadly. “If that is where fate leads me…then yes, Your Highness, I would.”
The Queen smiled back. “Just as well you’re not Arcadian, as I would have no army. They would be too busy lining up to ask for your hand.” Teela and the Queen looked over to the guards by the elevator door, who were both standing at attention with eyes front. Their expressions were impassive while blushes formed on their cheeks.
Teela chuckled, then sobered up as she prepared to ask the question that had been nagging away at her. “Your Highness, you celebrated my impertinence earlier, but I’m afraid I must subject you to it again.” She took a deep breath and prepared to broach the subject that could mean the end of her short-lived tenure as a diplomat. “Where is King Ananda?”
Sumana’s face fell and she looked away. “A year ago now…he was overseeing a construction project in a new part of the city. I told him a King shouldn’t be getting his hands dirty like that, but he insisted. Said that those men had been his brothers down in the mines. There was an accident…he was crushed…I lost him.”
Teela put a hand to her mouth, shocked. “I’m sorry, Your Highness, I didn’t know…”
The Queen raised her head and smiled sadly, trying hard to keep her royal facade from breaking. “That is alright, Teela, you couldn’t have known. We Arcadians are isolationists no longer, but it is still not in our nature to spread such news far and wide. With our limited supply of stone, I decided the best way to honour him was to use it for a few more houses than to erect a statue.”
Teela bowed her head in remembrance. “I barely knew him, but…he was a good man.”
“He was.” Sumana put a hand on Teela’s shoulder. “So you see, Teela. You are a soldier and I am a sovereign, but we have something in common: we both loved them so deeply and lost them so soon.”
“Beg your pardon, Your Highness, but Huntara is still alive. My loss is nothing compared to yours.”
“You are saying that to be respectful, Teela, and that is appreciated…but I know that your heart feels differently.”
Stunned by the news of Ananda’s death and feeling the truth of the Queen’s words as memories of her departed love tugged at her aching heart, Teela turned and went back to looking out over the city mournfully. “Ileena and I will tour the city in a while, Your Highness. I just need a moment.”
“Of course, if you will excuse me.” Sumana then went over to the other young woman on the balcony, who also seemed lost in reflection.
“Enjoying the view?”
Ileena was startled. “Oh, Your Highness, I…my mind was elsewhere.”
“Anywhere in particular?”
The maiden looked a little guilty. “I was just…looking at them down there.”
She pointed and the Queen followed her gaze to see two women in their finest summer dresses sitting on a bench in the main plaza. Looking at each other with a degree of love and devotion that was obvious even at this distance, they drew together for a kiss.
Sumana once again leaned on the balcony ledge, speaking to Ileena in confidence. “A beautiful sight, are they not?”
Ileena sighed. “They are.”
“Much has changed in our city, and some of our ways are better off being consigned to history. But those two lovebirds down there prove that some of our traditions are still worth celebrating. Perhaps you look at them and see what you desire for your own future?”
Ileena looked over at her idol on the other side of the viewing platform, with a gaze full of obvious longing. “I do.”
“Does she know?”
“What? I mean, no, Your Highness.”
“I think you should tell her sooner rather than later.”
Ileena became nervous, trying to keep her voice down so Teela wouldn’t overhear. “I-I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because Teela has given me so much. Sure, I did a good deed for the Eternian Royal Family once, but she appealed to them on my behalf and now I’m living in their Palace. I count a Prince as my friend, a Queen as my flight instructor. I’m learning how to fight from the greatest warrior I’ve ever known. I can’t ask her to give me any more.”
“But are you not simply looking to give back? To repay her kindness towards you?”
“Maybe, but…I don’t even know if she’s interested.” Ileena began fretting, as she often did when her emotions ran high. “And what if she isn’t, and I ask her, and that makes everything weird between us and she doesn’t want to train me anymore.”
Queen Sumana put a hand on Ileena’s shoulder to calm her. “How long have you felt this way about her?”
The troubled young woman looked out at the cityscape once more and sighed. “A long time now. Since we first met, I think. I’ve often said that I wanted to be just like her, but the truth is…deep down, I just want to be with her, in whatever way I can.”
“So your feelings are not driven by a desire to repay debts, but rather you suppress them because you feel indebted to her?”
Ileena nodded.
Queen Sumana leaned in close and lowered her voice. “My dear, take some advice from this old widow.” Ileena immediately looked at the Queen in surprise. “Yes, it is true. I have loved and I have lost, just as Teela has. Have you been told of her…Huntara, I believe the name was?”
“Not directly, but I heard things.”
“Our experiences are not quite the same, but I know what is in Teela’s heart right now. Yes, I miss Ananda every day. Sometimes the pain can be overwhelming. But I know that if I had let my status as Queen stand in the way, if I had not taken him in my arms and let him into my heart, my regrets would feel a thousand times worse than the pain.”
Ileena looked down and drummed her fingers on the balcony ledge, trying to keep her own emotions in check.
The Queen continued. “She tries to hide it, but these eyes are too observant. I think Teela does share your feelings to some degree, but like you, she suppresses them. She thinks only of what she can give to you, and shuns the thought of asking for anything in return. In doing so however, she fails to see that which you would freely offer. You are both good souls, I would hate to see you miss a chance to be happy. Obligation separated her from the love she had. It would be a terrible tragedy if obligation prevented her from knowing your love in the first place. So please, young Ileena, I implore you: find a way to tell her.”
Ileena took another look at the woman she would do anything for, pondering the Queen’s words. “I’ll…I’ll think of something.”
Of all the challenges she had expected to face on the day that she said Good Journey to her father and home village, this one was proving to be the most complicated.