"She's waking up," she heard someone say. She blinked open her eyes to see Man-at-Arms' concerned face gazing down at her, full of fatherly love. She wanted to throw her arms around his neck and give him a big hug, but she couldn't move.
"What happened?" she said. Her voice came out as a whisper.
"You overtaxed yourself." That voice belonged to Adam. She couldn't turn her head to see him, but she could feel the slight pressure as he squeezed her hand encouragingly. She sensed love from him as well--hot and passionate. It nearly brought tears of joy to her eyes.
A bird cried out from another part of the room. Love poured from it, more than anyone else, comforting and reassuring. "Yes, Zoar," Man-at-Arms said. "We'll tell her. Don't worry."
"Tell me? Tell me what?"
Her father knelt down beside her bed to bring his face on a level with hers. "You gave us all quite a scare, young lady, using your powers like that. None of us knew they would awaken quite so soon. Something must have triggered them."
"Powers? I don't have any powers!"
"You do, they've simply lain dormant your whole life. You inherited them from your mother. When she entrusted you to my care, she made me promise not to reveal her identity, for your own safety, until your powers grew strong enough to protect you."
Teela's mind spun. She had known that Man-at-Arms was keeping her mother's name secret, but not the reason why. Suddenly her whole world had changed. "Who am I?"
The falcon, Zoar, cried out again. Her father smiled. "You are Teela, Lady Grayskull, daughter of the Sorceress."
She let that information fill in the niches of her life. When she had been trapped in the Abyss, she could have sworn she heard her mother call out her name. Why not? She was right there, all along.
Then there was the time Teela had been chosen--against all logic, she had thought--to defend Castle Grayskull when the Sorceress had mysteriously vanished. And the quest she had made to discover her mother's identity left her no more knowledgeable than before, yet still satisfied, as though she carried the answer somewhere inside. It would have been simple for the Sorceress to wipe her memory.
"It's true," Adam put in. He reached out and gently turned her head so she could see him, his fingers caressing her cheek. "She'll teach you how to use your powers so you don't wear yourself out like this in the future."
The light streaming into the room--had she slept through until morning?--seemed to strike him strangely. He had a fuzzy aura, a golden nimbus surrounding him. She had noticed an identical glow before, briefly, but it took her dazed mind a few moments to place it. "He-Man?" she asked, bewildered.
He drew back, startled, but didn't release her hand. He exchanged glances with her father. Finally he shrugged and gave her the shy smile that always made her heart flutter. "He draws his strength from Grayskull, Lady Teela. You would have found out sooner or later."
"Did you say...Lady Teela?" She caught and held his eyes.
She heard her father stand. He cleared his throat. "I'll go tell the king and queen you have awakened. They'll be pleased to hear you're all right. Zoar...?"
Teela could feel the breeze created by the mighty falcon's wings as it used them to balance its jump to her father's outstretched arm. Then the door closed behind the pair. She returned her attention to the young prince beside her. Now that they were alone, she could distinguish that the loudest voice floating in her head was his. Telepathy. How convenient. "If I weren't so tired," she said, "I'd have a bone to pick with you."
He raised his eyebrows. "Oh?"
"Yes. You should be ashamed of yourself."
"And why is that?"
"For one thing, not trusting me to take care of myself. You would have been roasted several times over if it weren't for me, and you know it--this isn't one-sided rescuing going on here! You don't have to shelter me. Danger is part of my job description."
"I'm sorry, Teela, I just couldn't--"
"Furthermore..." she interrupted. She paused to take a deep breath. "You've had me completely at your mercy for several minutes now and you haven't kissed me yet. What's your excuse?"