Duncan ran through a sword kata in the courtyard. The mild breeze occasionally misted a refreshing spray from a fountain over him. The prince's tiger, Cringer, napped beneath a nearby table. Hard as it had been for him to believe, the huge animal with fangs and claws was actually more afraid of him than he was of it. It turned out that the tiger was the dream version of his fears.
He had met many aspects of his personality during his stay at the palace. The gruff, canny warrior, Man-at-Arms--Teela's foster father--was also named Duncan. Coincidence? Surely not! The bane of Man-at-Arms, Orko the Trallan, could be none other than his sense of humor. The funny little hovering alien magician always seemed to get the best of the warrior, and the warrior loved him for it, despite his bluster.
The king was his self-confidence, pride, and authority, the queen his calm, logical rationality. He had several interesting conversations with Queen Marlena, in fact, because only she could talk to him about the "real world." She was an astronaut from Earth, she said, so she could reminisce with him about places she'd visited.
Three characters he had heard discussed, but had not yet encountered, fascinated him. One was Skeletor, his evil side. From the descriptions, Skeletor was the cowled figure he had glimpsed briefly at the beginning of this wild fantasy. The skull-faced terrorist shouldered the responsibility for bringing him here, which had intriguing ramifications in his interpretation scenario.
The second was the mystical Guardian of Grayskull, the Sorceress. She no doubt represented his spirituality, and possibly his feminine side. Teela had gone to consult with her about sending him home. The Sorceress was apparently obligated to remain inside Castle Grayskull, or else she lost her powers and turned into a bird. Did he really keep his feminine side under lock and key?
The last was Eternia's elusive hero, He-Man. The name pretty much said everything; no subtlety here. He-Man was his heroism, strength, masculinity, and goodness, all rolled up into one neat package. Curiously enough, no one could give him any substantial information about the most famous man on the planet, other than that he wielded a sword, rode a giant cat, and appeared when needed.
One ominous thought nagged. If He-Man embodied Duncan's good qualities, why had the hero been so conspicuously absent?
He brought his kata to an end just as Adam walked up. The prince sat on a bench next to his pet, an unreadable expression on his face. "You're very good with your sword," he commented.
"Thank you. It comes from practice."
"Is that what you showed Teela yesterday?"
"Not exactly. Why?"
The prince crossed his arms and a harsh edge entered his voice. "Captain Teela is my friend. We have only your word that you are who and what you claim. If you ever do anything to hurt her or betray her trust, you will wish you had wound up in Skeletor's clutches."
Duncan blinked in surprise. For the first time, he was actually forced to consider the happy-go-lucky Adam as dangerous, and it gave him quite a shock. Adam meant what he said, and he had the power back up his threat. Then Duncan wondered what he would think if a complete (and rather handsome) stranger spent an entire day with the woman he loved, doing the one thing she enjoyed most.
Yep. He would be jealous, too. "Take it easy," the Highlander said. "I'm not poaching, if that's what you're worried about."
Adam's expression shifted to one of confusion. "I don't understand. No one has taken you hunting."
"Poaching on your territory. It's a figure of speech that means 'trying to take your girl.' I only want to make the captain into a better teacher."
Adam shook his head in denial. "You're mistaken. I have no romantic interest in Teela. We're just good friends."
Duncan had to grin at that. "Any fool can see you're head-over-heels in love with her. If you want my advice, you should stop admiring her from afar and make your move. Besides, she must be getting rather lonely, since she actively discourages other men who try wooing her. She only has eyes for you. She couldn't stop talking about you yesterday."
The prince sighed and relaxed his aggressive posture. "I can't do that to her. It wouldn't be fair. She'll forget me, eventually. It's for her own good."
Duncan nodded, recognizing the appearance of the typical Immortal's dilemma. Richie, whom Adam represented, had gone through a similar trial not long ago when he considered settling down with a mortal woman. "Because of your lifestyle. Because you're royalty, and she's not."
"No, because I--" He broke off suddenly. "Yes. That's it, exactly."
Now Duncan smelled a rat. His subconscious was offering him an unparalleled opportunity to get to know the inner workings of his mind, and it had just revealed a tantalizing hint of something deeper. He determined to get to the bottom of it.