Chapter Text
Teela led her new student Ileena out to the Royal Guard practice grounds, heading for the physical training mats in a far-off corner. Glad that none of her Guardsmen required them at present, as she wanted to tackle Ileena’s known confidence issues one-on-one.
Both women sat down at one of the stone benches lining the area, removing their boots and tiaras. “Need to lose your wings, Ileena. I like them, but they could end up jammed in somebody’s eye. Which would be useful against an actual enemy, but not so much when you’re practicing.” She reached into the fold of her uniform and pulled out two leather hair ties, handing one to her partner “Pony up.”
Barefoot and with their hair pulled back in ponytails, teacher and student walked out to the middle of the mats. Teela looked the blonde maiden up and down. As a military officer and bodyguard, she had a finely-tuned ability to read people. To assess their likely strengths and weaknesses, to scan their body language for signs of temperament and intent. Usually she employed this technique in battle against an enemy. Today, that skill was being put to a more positive use: helping her friend to realise her own strengths as an individual.
“Alright Ileena, for your first outing, we’ll keep it simple. For the duration of the exercise, I am not your friend, I am your opponent. Your goal is to wrestle me down and pin my shoulders to the mat. Try your best to stop me from doing the same to you. We will grab holds, use tackles, reversals, evasions, but no strikes. No punches, kicks, elbows or knees. Understand?”
“Yes, Captain” the trainee meekly replied. Teela had seen that look before, shoulders and head sagging, a picture of intimidation. A softer approach was needed.
The redhead moved behind her friend and leaned over her shoulder. “Hey, talk to me. You’re shaking, what’s wrong?”
Ileena exhaled. “I…I know I sounded sure in front of the Prince. But now that I’m here, now that I’m actually going to do it, have a chance to make you proud of me…I’m scared.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being scared sometimes. But Ileena, you’re braver than you give yourself credit for. As for making me proud? You did that awhile back, when you stopped Jarvan. You had no training, no experience in combat, yet you chased down a powerful wizard and held him long enough for He-Man to take over.” Teela put hands on both of Ileena’s shoulders. “Let’s try something. Just close your eyes…take a deep breath…let it out.” She felt some of the tension leave Ileena’s body as she did so. “Now, think back to that moment. What made you go after him? How did you feel?”
Ileena’s face conveyed a mixture of anger, frustration and shame. “I looked at him and I saw the man who used me. Turned me into a liar, a beggar and a thief. Because of him, I put everyone in danger. When I saw that he had restrained He-Man and was trying to escape…” Her voice became more determined with every word and she clenched her fists. “I had one thought in my head: I couldn’t let him get away or he would just come back to hurt my father, you, everyone else. I didn’t know what I would do if I caught him and I didn’t care what he would do to me. I had to stop him…I had to…I had to…”
“Ileena, look at me.” The blonde maiden opened her eyes and looked back at her friend. “What you’ve just told me? That’s the most important part of being a hero. It is certainly what I’d look for in a potential Guardswoman. To put the protection of others above your own safety, to push down your fears and act in spite of the danger.” Teela reached around and put a hand on Ileena’s stomach. “The fire is already inside you, we just need to give you the tools so you can use it”. She then withdrew her hand and walked around to face her friend once more. She could see a cautious hope in the young trainee.
“So, are you ready?”
“I..think so.”
“You only think so? Ileena, you need to be sure.”
“I mean, I’ll give it everything I’ve got but…I don’t know how I’m going to beat you. You’re the absolute best.”
The Teela of two or three years ago might have bought into such hype. But if her many adventures across Eternia had taught her anything, it was to acknowledge her shortcomings. “Oh, I don’t think so, there’s always somebody better. The moment I start believing no-one can beat me is the moment that somebody will.” Teela paced up and down on the mat, hands behind her back. “Ileena, I’ve heard you say that you want to be like me. Let’s examine that. Why? What makes me so great in your eyes?”
“For one thing, you’re so strong, you have big muscles.”
Teela flexed her bicep, showing solid definition “So I do, but strength isn’t everything. I’ve taken down opponents twice my size because I was faster than them. From what I’ve seen, you’re quite the athlete. Maybe you’ll be fast enough to get the better of me. So, what else?”
“Well, umm, you’re not afraid of a fight. You’re always rushing into battle.”
“My father has a word for that, he calls it “headstrong” and maybe he’s right. I do tend to jump into a fight without a good plan sometimes, and I lose my temper too easily. Maybe you’re more cautious and can keep your cool under fire. Maybe you’ll fight defensively and take advantage of my mistakes.”
Ileena was still unsure. “But if everything I know about fighting is what you teach me, then you’ll be able to defend against everything I try.”
Teela put her hands on both of Ileena’s shoulders, looking her straight in the eye. “There’s one lesson that’s more important to learn than any physical move: you need to think for yourself, develop your own style of fighting. Today is less about teaching you and more about testing you. When I put you in a hold or try to take you down, of course I’m not going to tell you how to get out of it. You’re going to think your way out of it.”
“I am?”
“You are. Tell me, when the forces of evil come, do you want to stand by my side, weapon in hand, and protect the people we love?”
Ileena looked at her teacher with absolute conviction “More than anything.”
“I want that too. But in order for you to survive when that day comes, you need to defeat me here in training first. You need to find the things you can do that I can’t. Think of something that I’ve overlooked. That mindset is what you’ll need to beat me and I have a feeling that one day, you’ll use it to save both our lives.”
Teela took a step closer, clasped the sides of Ileena’s face and leaned in close to drill her message home. “Ileena, I’m not looking for another soldier to stand guard, I have plenty of those. I don’t need someone who is just going to be another me…I need you.”
Releasing her hands and stepping back, Teela could see the smouldering embers of Ileena’s confidence had been fanned into a raging fire. Her head was held high, her back straighter, her shoulders square. A look of determination on her face.
“So I ask you again…are you ready?”
Ileena responded with a smile “You’re going down, Teela.”
“That’s the spirit!”
Her pep talk having had the desired effect, Teela turned to the practical matters. “So, you need to keep your balance and know your footwork. Start by standing like this, left leg forward, knee bent.” She shifted into the stance and Ileena followed suit. “Now, key things to remember for close quarters fighting: when your opponent is using force to drive you back, or knock you down. You want to resist and then find a way to push back against them, it’s instinctual. When you take a step in any direction, always go heel-toe and when you’re going in close towards your opponent, rock up on the balls of your feet so your weight is forward and you can push off, like so.” Teela did a couple of mock lunges to demonstrate. “Don’t try to plant your feet flat when resisting a pushing force. At best, you'll start sliding back. At worst, you’ll be off-balance, you’ll fall backwards and hit the ground. Out there, in a real fight, you end up on your back and you’re done for. Only plant flat when you want to resist being pulled. For that, you bend both knees and ground yourself, like so.” Teela shifted into the new position. “You follow me so far?”
Ileena tested out both stances. “Understood.”
“Good, now to put it all into practice. Prepare yourself.” The two women moved into the stance Teela had instructed. “We’ll start with a test of-”
Ileena suddenly yanked down her armour dress. Shocked, Teela couldn’t help but look down at her friend’s exposed breasts and that split-second was enough for Ileena to tackle her. More enthusiasm than skill. Nonetheless, Teela’s back hit the mat with a thud. Before she could mount a defense, Ileena was laying on top of her, holding her wrists. The blonde looked down with a grin “How was that for a surprise?”
Teela had a tendency to be a sore loser, but she was so impressed by her pupil that all she could do was grin back. “Points for creativity, but you better cover up before someone sees you.”
“Oh, right.” Ileena let go of Teela’s wrists and sat up on her knees, reaching to pull up her brazier. Quick as a flash, Teela popped up, wrapped her arms around Ileena’s waist, spun to the side and slammed her onto the mat, holding the topless maiden’s wrists down. “Now we’re even.”
The two women were breathing hard, looking into each other’s eyes and for just a moment, there was a palpable tension between them. Shaking her head to clear out the temptations that had suddenly entered her mind, Teela released her grip and stood up. “Alright, seriously. You need to sort that out, before Adam comes along.”
Ileena adjusted her dress and got back to her feet. Teela went back into instructor mode, hands behind her back. “Now, there’s a lesson to be learned there. What was it?”
“Uh, expect the unexpected?”
Teela stopped. “You know, whoever came up with that saying should have been punched in the face. It doesn’t make any sense. No, the lesson is this: every move you make feeds ideas to your opponent. You used your body to distract me, and it worked. But I was able to turn it around and use your modesty to gain the advantage. You must always be prepared for your opponent to use your own tactics against you.”
“So, I probably shouldn’t try that trick again?”
“Not on the palace grounds, no. But keep it in the back of your mind, it may come in handy someday. Matter of fact, it gives me an idea for the future.”
Ileena was curious “What idea is that?”
Teela grinned. “Not now. Only after we’ve had a few more training sessions and built up your focus. If you want, I’ll arrange it so we can go in a closed-door session and spar with no clothes on at all.”
Ileena couldn’t help the blush rising on her cheeks. “W-why would we do that?”
“Because your enemy will look to attack when he thinks you are vulnerable. You may have to defend yourself when you’re bathing in a lake or if the privacy of your bedroom is invaded. He’ll come at you because he thinks he can use your state of undress to control you. All of those tactics ultimately derive from fear. What I’m proposing will get the fear out of you. If you can keep your focus and fight just as well as when you’re dressed, then nobody can use your body against you, the way I just did, ever again.”
Ileena considered. “I…would like that, honestly. I’m game whenever you are.”
“We’ll see. For now, no more distractions, no more surprises. Just an old-fashioned test of strength. Resume fighting stance.” The two combatants squared off again. Teela put one hand out. “When we lock hands, you try to overpower me. Give it everything you got and don’t stop until somebody gets pinned. Ready?”
Ileena reached out and interlaced the fingers of her left hand with Teela's right. “Alright, let’s do this.”
The two slowly brought their other opposing hands together. Once the fingers locked, arms tensed, knees bent, shoulders met each other and the battle was joined…