Warnings: Mild violence

A/N - To FantaCWriter: Thank you. I did do well on my finals and now, I'll have another semester of them to look forward to. ;)

To everyone else, thank you for the kind reviews.

O tempered steel, O dagger sharp as death,

Soft breast of woman warms thy gleaming blade,

And woman's hand directs the fatal blow!

Anonymous (Excerpt from the Sisters.)

A smirk grew on Skeletor's face as he emerged from his hiding place, located behind the throne in a secret chamber. He could sense that all the Masters had vanished from Snake Mountain. However, he cautiously glanced over the area, not wanting to find any surprises. Satisfied, he sat at his throne, waiting for his minions to show themselves as well. Evil-Lyn ventured from the shadows, moving toward the center of the throne room.

"Where are the others?" Skeletor inquired.

"Probably still cowering somewhere," Evil-Lyn answered, shrugging her shoulders. "I can't blame them, though. He-Man was storming around, practically destroying anything in sight, and cursing your name. I could hear it from where I was hiding. He was desperate to get his hands on you. I'm surprised. Your throne survived the ordeal."

"Excellent," Skeletor chuckled. "My plan is going smoothly."

Evil-Lyn's eyebrow raised in confusion. "Your plan was to send He-Man into a murderous rage?"

"Precisely, dear Evil-Lyn," Skeletor replied. "He-Man will stop at nothing to get at me after what I did to Teela. He'll want to rush into battle, and when you're enraged and make hasty decisions, you often make mistakes. He'll be back soon, and I'll have a trap waiting for him. I doubt he will come with the other Masters. No, this will be too personal for him. His anger will be the end of him."

"His anger may be the end of you," Evil-Lyn muttered.

"What was that?!" Skeletor snapped, eyes blazing red and raising his staff in her direction.

"Uh, nothing," Evil-Lyn stuttered.

Skeletor snorted and lowered the flaming weapon. "I can't help but wonder how poor, little Teela is doing."

"I can find out," Evil-Lyn murmured, closing her eyes.

Her hand raised in the air, forming a purple light in the palm of her hand. A moment passed, the light faded, and she opened her eyes with a gasp, griping at her wrists. A sneer soon formed on her face.

"It seems Teela is attempting suicide," Evil-Lyn snickered. "I could feel the girl cutting into her wrists."

Skeletor sighed, "What a shame. I was hoping to enjoy her company again. Oh well. One less Master for me to worry about, perhaps; if she succeeds in doing it." A low laugh came from him. "Go and gather the others. I want to inform them of my plan."

"Very well," Evil-Lyn answered. She turned to leave, but stopped. "What of Man at Arms? Have you forgotten that it's his daughter you raped? I'm certain he will want to kill you as well, along with He-Man."

Skeletor grinned, "If he comes, then the others can deal with him. He's not as strong as He-Man. I'm sure he can be easily taken care of."

*

The pain was unimaginable as Teela drove the knife into her flesh. A warm, trickle of blood was staring to ooze from underneath the steel. Gritting her teeth, Teela pressed the blade in harder, piercing deeper below the skin. She bit down, hard, on her lip to keep from crying out. The agony only intensified, creating burning sensation that ran up her arm. When she felt resistance from the bone, the girl started to slide the knife downward, creating a long gash. Red was filling her vision. It was spurting all over.

The room was starting to spin and she clenched her eyes shut, trying to fight off the dizziness. Switching the knife in the other hand, Teela stabbed at the other wrist. It punctured roughly, and she couldn't keep from crying out this time. Tears were streaming down her crimson cheeks.

"Teela?" came her Man at Arms' voice. "I heard crying— by the Gods!"

The girl's eyes flashed open to view her father gazing down at her in shock. His eyes were wide and his mouth gapped open. She glanced at her body, realizing what a mess she was. Blood was stained all over her nightgown and began to pool onto the floor.

Man at Arms rushed to her side, tearing some of the bed sheets, and forcing the cloth over the bleeding wounds, applying fierce pressure. Teela made no effort to struggle. It was pointless. Her father's strength was far superior than hers. Everything around her started to become dark and the voice of her father slowly drowned out.

She was still conscious, but drifting off into trance. Others were in the room; she could feel them grabbing her arms and legs, hauling her onto the bed. It must have been the healers. The scent of herbs was overpowering. A shudder ran through her body as something, small, and sharp was inserted into her flesh around the gash on her right arm. They were stitching her back up. A stinging sensation coursed through as the thread wove into her skin.

A grunt came from her as she lashed out violently, attempting to knock the healer away. This wasn't what she wanted. She wanted to die; not live. However, a sudden force took over her body, making her lie still. The feeling was warm, comforting, and all pain seemed to evaporate.

Keep still, Teela.

"Who is that?" Teela groaned. "Sorceress?"

Relax. Sleep. Allow them to mend your wounds. Please, sleep, dear Teela.

"Nothing can mend my wounds," Teela wept. "They run deep inside my mind and soul, leaving nothing but scars. There is nothing that can heal that. It hurts so much. My heart— it hurts."

— Rest, Teela. I know it must hurt, but you have to sleep now.

There was a hint of sadness in the voice. Teela trembled as the darkness took over.

*

An hour had passed since Adam received word of Teela's attempt at taking her life. His face was badly bruised from where she had struck and the blood had crusted under his nose. He was back in her room, though, gazing down at the girl's pallid face. Her wrists were heavily bandaged, but a light speck of blood was forming around the cloth. His eyes burned with tears as he knelt near the bed, rubbing her palm gently in his. Man at Arms and the healer were behind him.

"It was a good thing you found her when you did," the healer stated. "She could have lost a lot more blood. She should be fine, though she will be weak for the next few days. The stitching should hold. However, someone must stay with her at all times. If she wakes up, she may try to tear them out and that wouldn't be hard to do, since they're fresh. Keep an eye on her." He placed a vial on the bed stand. "Mix the contents of this vial in water when she wakes up and give it to her. She will probably be in pain."

"Yes, thank you, so much," Man at Arms whispered.

Once the healer left, he crouched next to Adam. The boy gazed into his eyes, blinking back the wetness.

"It's my fault," Adam whimpered. "All of this— my fault."

"Don't say that!" Man at Arms snapped. "This wasn't your doing!"

"But it was!" Adam wailed. "I could have prevented all of this from happening! I should have been able to reach her! I'm He-Man!"

"Even so, you and the rest of us couldn't have reached her in time," Man at Arms pushed. "Skeletor's hordes were too much for us— "

"We've managed to beat them in the past without much trouble!" Adam yelled, storming away from the bed and griping at his hair. "I saw her fall from the blast! I could have helped her, but I thought she could take care of herself! I thought she would just get right back up again like she normally does." Tears trickled down his face. "Why didn't I help her?! I could have stopped this from ever happening! It's my fault for what Skeletor did to her!"

He collapsed to the floor, breaking out in fits of sobs.

"Why didn't I help her?! Why didn't I help her?! Why— "

Man at Arms was quickly at his side, trying to comfort the boy, but what he did, did not seem to ease the prince's torment. The vision of Skeletor entered his mind. He realized how the Lord of Destruction must be gloating; how he was probably laughing at He-Man; at Teela. The boy's eyes narrowed with a steaming rage. His fists clenched and his teeth bared under his lips, letting out a snarl. Skeletor. He would make certain the vile demon pay for Teela's torture with a painful death. The boy jerked away from Man at Arms and bolted for the door.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" Man at Arms called after him.

"Snake Mountain!" Adam growled back. "He-Man and Skeletor have some unfinished business!"

"What?! No! Adam! Wait!" Man at Arms shouted. "Don't go alone! Don't go rushing foolishly into battle! Skeletor will be expecting that! Adam! Come back! You can't fight properly in that state of mind!"

The boy had disappeared from his sight. He couldn't go after him; he had to stay with Teela. Man at Arms fiddled desperately with the plate on his forearm, trying to get a communication through to the other Masters.

To be continued.