Chapter Text
“Ahhh, this is amazing!”
Ileena sighed in contented relief as she lowered her sore, tense body into the main pool of the ladies bath house, next to Teela.
Built beneath the Palace, stone columns and archways framed the underground structure, beneath which pools of steaming hot water were inset between the ancient flagstones comprising the floor, tiered steps under the water line allowing bathers to sit in comfort. As with many aspects of life on Eternia, the ancient and the primitive worked hand-in-hand with modern technology. Thanks to the Eternium-powered generator under the city, the water could be kept permanently heated by adjustable electronic controls and LED lights set into the floor of the pool provided the main source of illumination. Though it resembled more of a cave than a room, dimly-lit with steam filling the air, the two young women found it provided a relaxing atmosphere compared to the hustle and bustle of the palace above.
“So, you’ve had your first real taste of what my training is like, of what it takes to be on this level. Having any second thoughts right now?”
Ileena shook her head. “None. There’s no going back for me, I’m addicted.”
Teela gave her a look. “Ileena…”
Her protege realised what she had said and was suddenly her old, apologetic self. “Oh, sorry. Poor choice of words.”
Teela gave a reassuring smile. “No, it’s alright. I know what you mean. Even now, after I’ve been doing this for so long, getting on the mat with someone still gives me that rush.”
Both had literally let their hair down after their long afternoon of intense physical competition.
The teacher took note of her student’s newfound confidence and the changes it brought. Teela’s earlier suggestion of conducting a private sparring session in the nude to strengthen fighting focus, inspired by Huntara’s fearless example, had left Ileena momentarily mortified. Now she happily shed her clothes for a communal bath without batting an eyelid. Good, the Captain thought. The life her friend sought had no place for the squeamish or the easily embarrassed.
On the subject of changes…
“Before you get too relaxed, let’s see that arm of yours. I bet we’ve given your muscles quite the workout.”
Ileena grinned, brought her right arm up and flexed. Her limbs were still slender and lithe, but she could definitely feel the tension within them.
Teela brought a hand up out of the water. “May I?”
“Go right ahead.”
She gripped Ileena’s bicep, feeling it all over. “Oh yeah, that’s definitely starting to tighten up. A few more weeks of this and they’ll be hard as steel, like mine.”
Teela flexed her own arm to demonstrate. “Go ahead, Ileena, get a handful of that.”
The blonde was happy to oblige. “Wow, it is hard, and so much bigger than mine!”
“Don’t worry about the size, what matters is how solid it is.” Teela then relaxed and lowered herself deeper into the pool, almost up to her neck. Ileena followed suit. “You’ll need some strength in those arms, if you’re going to be ready for what comes next.”
“Which is?”
“Today was more freeform, to get you in the right frame of mind. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be teaching you in a more traditional way. Showing you moves and the correct technique to make them effective. Something as simple as throwing a punch can go wrong if you’ve not been taught properly. A lot of what you saw me do to Adam, you’ll start learning how to do yourself and slowly but surely, you’ll develop a moveset of your own. It will take time and practice, but once I see that your hand-to-hand skills are developing well enough, we’ll expand the scope of your training and get you started on the archery range. Then spears, javelins, staffs, anything that can be thrown. You never know when you might be too far away and the only thing that will save a comrade’s life is to grab whatever’s handy and hurl it at the enemy. We need to make sure your aim is true and there’s enough power in your throwing arm.”
Ileena responded with quiet determination “I’m ready.”
The redhead put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “I know you are. But that starts tomorrow. For now, let’s just enjoy the rest of the day”. And with that, Teela leaned back and closed her eyes, as the warm water soothed her aching muscles.
Even though the pool was large enough to seat twenty women, the two of them were practically shoulder-to-shoulder. That suited Teela just fine, as she never realised just how much she craved this level of physical closeness until that last morning with Huntara, when they shared a bed for the final time. She was happy to have those sensual experiences again, even if Ileena was just a friend.
Just a friend?
At the start of their training session, there was a moment after they first exchanged pins. Teela was looking down at the beautiful blonde, who had deliberately exposed herself for a distraction that won her the first fall, her dress pulled down to her midriff. Gazing up at her idol with a doe-eyed expression. Looking back on that moment, Teela wondered what it would have been like if she had let go of Ileena’s wrists and lowered herself down, ran her hands through those gorgeous golden locks and discovered whether those sumptuous lips tasted as sweet as-
No.
Teela’s eyes flew open and she tried not to make any sudden moves. Hoping that if Ileena saw the blush on her cheeks, she would assume it was due to the heat. Teela chided herself for having such thoughts about her friend. By allowing the young woman to leave her small village in the Northern Territories and come to the Royal Palace of Eternos to receive training in the profession of arms from no less than the Captain of the Guard, she had been granted an incredible amount of privilege. While in the Captain’s mind, Ileena had earned every bit of that privilege through her courage and dedication. She was the student and if her teacher started making romantic advances, Ileena might feel the need to reciprocate out of obligation, instead of genuine desire. Teela would not do such a thing to anyone, much less a woman she cared so deeply for. It would be a shameful abuse of her position. She vehemently reminded herself that as much as she might be attracted - no, clearly she was attracted - Ileena was her friend. No more, no less.
Luckily, it was the focus of her affection who steered Teela’s mind on to more mundane topics. “How long have these baths been here? The way it stays hot all the time, it's like something out of the future.”
Teela possessed a keen interest in Eternia’s history, one she was happy to share. “In their most basic form, they’ve been here as long as the Palace, so we’re talking centuries. The heating system, though? That was put in by Dekker, who was Man-at-Arms before my father, during the reign of King Miro.”
“For all that work, it doesn’t seem like they get used much.”
“You’re not wrong. All residents and guests in the Palace have showers or personal baths available, so I rarely see others in here when I come to have a soak. I’m told it was a lot busier back when there were plenty of women in the Guard.”
That surprised Ileena. “I thought you were the first woman in the Guard.”
“No, just the first in a long time.”
“What happened to the other Guardswomen?”
“The Horde invasion happened, around the time you, me and Adam were born. Did your father ever talk about it?”
“Only once.”
“Same as my father. I’ve learned more through reading about it in the Royal Library than I have from any first-hand accounts. The Horde invaded Eternia with their army of robots and machines. All of our world’s kingdoms united to drive them out, but it was a very bloody, very costly victory. Not only for the Royal Guard and the regular army, but for ordinary citizens who suffered in Horde-occupied territory. In the aftermath, it was felt there was a need to repopulate Eternos. Any Guardswoman who wished to start a family, whether through bearing a child herself or through adopting one of the many orphans left by the war, were granted an immediate honourable discharge and a subsidy by King Randor. After the horrors they had endured, many took up the offer. Those that stayed simply aged out, retired and were replaced by men There was no reason new women couldn’t sign up, there had just been a cultural shift. It was seen that motherhood was the greatest act of service for the Realm.” Teela paused in her history lesson and looked sadly down at the water, reflecting on her own past. “I sometimes wonder…is it because of the Horde that I am technically an orphan? The man I call ‘father’ has always been there for me and being adopted shouldn’t make any difference. But still, I can’t help thinking about my birth parents, since I know nothing about them. I’ve never met my mother, but I’m sure in my heart that she’s still alive. Did something happen to her during the war and that’s why she couldn’t raise me?”
She suddenly became aware of a comforting hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Ileena with concern on her face. “My mother died when I was very young. I barely knew her, my father raised me by himself. Well, I say that, the rest of the village helped where they could, but…I saw the other children my age with their mothers and I knew…I knew what I had lost.”
Touched by the gesture of empathy, Teela reached up, gave Ileena’s hand a squeeze and offered a warm smile, receiving one in kind.
Letting the moment sink in, the two women went back to resting for a few seconds before Teela resumed her lesson. “I guess if there is anything to take away from what I’ve just told you, it's that there is more than one way to serve the Realm. It’s admirable that you want to join the Guard, but however that goes, just remember that there are other options that still involve the two of us sticking together. You could become one of the Masters.”
“Masters?”
“Short for ‘Masters of the Universe’, you’ll meet plenty of them around the Palace. They can best be described as an alliance of men with special skills and abilities, some of them in the conventional military structure, some not. Some of them, like Stratos and Buzz-Off, are Kings and Lords of their own respective peoples. Whatever their background, they come together to defend Eternia from major threats. Skeletor certainly, but he is not the only concern. King Randor is officially in overall command, my father usually leads the team in the field. Though when there’s danger and he appears, we all defer to He-Man.”
Ileena took all this in. “I see…are there any Mistresses of the Universe?”
“Just me, technically. Though I can’t say I care for that title.”
“Still, there should be more women on the team. If it means fighting by your side, I would join in a heartbeat.”
“And I plan on giving you everything you need so that can happen, regardless of your formal station.” Another lull in the conversation, before Teela had an idea. “Come to think of it, there are a lot of women I’ve met on my travels around Eternia who are skilled and brave - warriors, mages, spies, a singer. I’ve even heard that the young Princess of Morainia is a phenomenal strategist. Many of them have pledged to help us in principle already. I think it’s about time we devised a means to bring them together in an alliance.”
While she was glad that her suggestion was helpful, Ileena was puzzled by one thing in particular. “A singer? Well, I guess an army needs someone to lift its spirits.”
“Oh, her voice will do more than lift your spirit. It kept a city safe from a demon for years and could probably move mountains if she put her mind to it.”
“Sounds like someone I’d love to meet.”
“I hope you get the chance to meet all of them. We could probably fill up this pool if they were all brought together.”
“Hmm, that would be a fun party.”
The pair chuckled, then settled back in to enjoy their bath.
A quiet calm descended over the bath house as both women shut their eyes and breathed steadily, letting the heat open up every pore. Before too long, they heard a gentle but familiar voice utter. “Oh. Well, this is certainly a nice surprise.”
Teela’s eyes flew open in alarm as sure enough, Queen Marlena was standing by the edge of the pool. Bereft of her crown, wearing only a simple green bathrobe and a towel embroidered with the Royal Seal draped over one arm.
“Your Majesty!” Both young women were both wide-eyed with embarrassed panic, Teela quickly snapped a salute, Ileena following her example. The Captain looked left and right and realised that if she followed her instinct to stand to attention, she would end up flashing her sovereign. Giving up, she sheepishly explained. “I would stand, Your Grace, but….”
Marlena raised her hand in reassurance. “As you were, Teela, as you were. Don’t mind me, I just came in for a nice soak.”
Ileena nervously spoke up. “D-did you want us to leave, Your Majesty?”
The Queen looked concerned. “Why? Are you starting to prune?”
“N-no, we only just arrived.”
Marlena smiled, much less formal than she presented herself before her subjects. “Then please, stay a while. I would be glad to have some company.”
She walked over to a line of coat hooks, mounted on a wooden rack that was bolted to the far wall, where two towels were already hanging. Marlena then added her own towel next to them and with no qualms about onlookers, unfastened her robe, slipped out of it and placed it on the hook next to the towels. Standing naked and unconcerned, with her back to the royal bodyguard and her trainee.
Teela and Ileena averted their eyes out of deference, heads bowed and looking at the water. They heard the bemused voice of their Queen, using Earth terms they didn’t quite understand. “Now ladies, I know this old girl has seen a few more miles on the road, but I don’t look that bad, do I?”
Teela was apologetic. “Not at all, Your Majesty. it’s just…well…”
Realising she was putting a subordinate in a bit of a bind, Marlena was sympathetic “This goes against everything you’ve been taught.”
“Pretty much.” Was the awkward response.
“Perhaps I should explain. The King and I have an understanding: there are certain places I can go at certain times, where I can take off the mantle of Queen and become who I was before, even for just an hour. The bath house is one such place. The Lords and Ladies of the Court would call such behaviour “slumming it”, but I prefer to think of it as remembering where I came from. Certainly during my early years on Eternia, those same Lords and Ladies didn’t want me to forget what I was: an alien and a commoner. But I wore those names with pride.”
Seeing that her audience was still looking away and decidedly uncomfortable, she shifted gears. “My point is that there’s no need to worry, we’re all grownups here. Feel free to look at me as you would any other woman coming in for a dip.”
Relieved to be given the ‘all clear’, Teela and Ileena both slowly raised their heads to cautiously look up at the woman who, shorn of all royal finery, still radiated with grace as she carefully navigated the steps leading her into the pool. While she did her best to only look at her idol’s face, Teela couldn’t help but admire Marlena’s body as she descended into the water. Even with an extra two decades “on the road” as she put it, which included giving birth to twins, Teela thought the Queen to be stunningly beautiful with a trim figure, moving with an elegance that didn’t seem real. When speaking with Ileena about the experience in private later on, both agreed that to be allowed to gaze upon such a sight was an absolute privilege.
Stepping on to the floor of the pool, Marlena positioned herself opposite of the two watchers and reclined on the shelf seating. Letting out a contented sigh. “There we go, much better.”
Teela suddenly felt that as strange as sharing a bath with their monarch was, they may as well try to make it a pleasant experience. “I guess some official introductions are in order: Your Majesty, this is Ileena, daughter of Zicran. She just went through her first day of basic combat training with me.”
Marlena gave a welcoming smile. “Pleased to meet you, my dear. How are you finding the experience so far?”
“A challenge, certainly, Your Majesty. But one I’m determined to see through to the end.”
“Do you aspire to one day be a part of the Royal Guard?”
“I do, Your Grace. But I’m trying to focus on the journey and not think too much about the destination.” She bowed her head, slightly embarrassed and a little ashamed. “The last time I did that, I caused a lot of trouble for everyone at the Palace.”
“Yes, when that sorcerer Jarvan took advantage of you. I remember,”
Ileena’s head shot up. “You do? I-I mean, you do, Your Majesty?”
Marlena’s kind tone tried to ease the young woman’s nervousness. “I do, and please, there is no need to correct yourself on my account. If it comes down to a choice between the two, I would much rather someone speak to me with genuine respect than hear my titles in every sentence. As I alluded to earlier, there was once a time when it was the other way round. Just let your words flow naturally.”
Ileena hunched her shoulders apologetically. “Sorry.”
“You’ve nothing to be sorry for, Ileena, then or now. I remember what Jarvan did, I remember learning about what he did to you. I also remember hearing about how you captured the man who wanted to kill my husband. Thanks to you, he is still in the prison mines serving out his sentence. That is why Randor and I agreed to let you stay with us.”
Ileena was shocked. “Y-you did? But I-I thought Teela brought me here.”
Marlena shook her head. “The Captain of the Guard has many privileges, but allowing a civilian without a title or formal Guard rank to live at the Palace and receive private training is one only the King could grant. When Teela brought such an unusual request before us, we agreed that it was the least we could do to repay you.”
Marlena leaned forward and extended a hand. “You’re a brave woman, Ileena. You did a great service to our family that day, and I know you will use what you learn here to do great things for the Realm in the future.”
Ileena leaned forward to accept the handshake. “Thank you, Your Majesty. I don’t know if I’m really that brave, though. Not like Teela and the other warriors here. I was just a silly girl who ran and jumped on a man’s shoulders, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing.”
“You’re too hard on yourself. Even for warriors who have trained their whole lives to defend Eternia, fighting the forces of evil takes courage, certainly. But it takes an incredible amount of courage when you don’t know how to fight, but you act to defend your loved ones all the same. No matter what happens, I have every confidence in you.”
Upon receiving the Queen’s endorsement, Ileena felt as if she were ten feet tall. “I won’t let you down.”
Both Teela and Marlena were glad to see their work to build up the young woman’s self-esteem was paying off. “I know you won’t. As my old instructor at NASA used to say…” The Queen cleared her throat and then did an imitation of a Southern American accent. “‘Girl, you can read about it, you can practise all you want, but ain’t no thing gonna get done if ya ain’t got guts’” She then returned to her normal voice. “And you, Ileena, you’ve got guts.”
Mystified, the blonde looked down into the water and put a hand to her stomach. “Guts? Am I putting on weight?”
A huge grin spread on Teela’s face and Marlena chuckled. “Nevermind, I guess it got lost in translation.”
The mention of NASA prompted Teela to make another introduction. “Ileena, you know the Queen of Eternia. But may I also introduce Captain Marlena Glenn of the starship Rainbow Explorer, the greatest space pilot of the planet Earth.”
The young aspirant from a remote village became appropriately starry-eyed. “Space? Other planets?”
Marlena was modest about her past “In another life, long ago. The stars were my home, until fate brought me to Eternia. Now I mostly stay grounded, though I can still get behind the controls of a Sky Sled or the Talon Fighter when the need arises. The Rainbow Explorer is in the city museum, you should go and pay a visit when you have a chance.”
In awe of the woman sitting across from her, Ileena nodded so fast she was seemingly in danger of her head falling off. “Oh I will, Your Majesty, I will.”
Teela started getting excited as she hyped up the Queen’s accomplishments. “You should have seen it, Ileena. Skeletor captured the King, Prince Adam, myself and my father and held us outside of Snake Mountain, demanding that the Guard surrender. Instead, the Queen busted her ship out of the museum and led the Guard in an all-out assault on Skeletor’s forces. It was the most incredible flying I’ve ever seen!”
Ileena was equally caught up in the enthusiasm. “Wow, sorry I missed it.”
On the other hand, Marlena herself seemed rather melancholy. “I thank you for your sentiment, Teela. But I do not look back on that day with pride, only sadness.”
Her two excited fans were astonished and looked at each other in confusion.
Marlena continued. “Yes, it is true. The Rainbow Explorer has weapons, but those were only for me to defend myself. As the name suggests, my ship was meant to explore space, as was I. We were never meant to become instruments of war, Skeletor took that choice away when he kidnapped my family.” She cast a look at Teela to indicate she didn’t just mean blood relatives, then turned back to Ileena. “If there is one piece of advice I could give to both of you, that I hope you never forget, it is this: do what must be done to protect others. Be swift, be resolute, do not hesitate. But once your task is complete, set aside a moment to lament the fact that it had to be done in the first place. Those that succumb to a lust for battle are truly lost. Resist the temptation to enjoy fighting for its own sake.”
Ileena was concerned. “Not even what we did today?”
The Queen raised an eyebrow. “Why, what did you do today?”
Teela quickly answered. “Just basic hand-to-hand in the P.T. area, Your Majesty. Freestyle wrestling, along with some of those judo techniques you taught me some time ago.”
Marlena was relieved. “Oh, I see. You enjoy a spot of roughhousing with a trusted friend? That’s quite alright. In fact, if that was the most violent thing anyone did, this world would be a much better place.”
Both Teela and Ileena breathed a noticeable sigh of relief.
Marlena waited a moment, then resumed. “Don’t let what I have said dissuade you from pursuing any path you wish. I chose a life of peaceful space exploration because I had that option. The part of my world I was raised in had not known war landing directly on its doorstep in several generations. If it had, I am sure I would have put aside my dreams to travel amongst the stars and signed up to defend my country. One of the lessons I had to learn when adjusting from my old life on Earth to my new life here was that no-one is exempt. Whether your hand holds the sceptre, the sword, the ploughshare or the quill. Each is as noble a calling as the other, but all come with an understanding: tyrants such as Skeletor and Hordak will not spare you because you did not fight. A lesson that was brought home to me when…” Marlena looked away, her expression pained. Haunted by the memory of a mother’s worst nightmare. “When they took my baby girl from me.”
Ileena looked like she wanted to ask a question. Seeing it, Teela put a hand on her friend’s shoulder and shook her head. A warning not to pry into this moment of traumatic reflection.
Marlena recomposed herself and was able to smile once more as a much happier memory restored joy to her heart. “But by some miracle, Adam brought her back. You haven’t met her yet, Ileena, but hopefully you will when she is next able to visit. My daughter, Princess Adora: leader of Etheria’s Great Rebellion against the Horde.” The pride was loud and clear in her voice.
Ileena nodded respectfully, “It would be an honour to meet the rest of your family, Your Majesty.”
The Queen smiled and with five simple words, gave the young woman something she could have never dreamed of when she left her village. “ Your family, Ileena. Your family.”
Beaming with pride, Teela put an arm around her friend’s shoulders and gave a celebratory hug. Ileena bowed her head slightly and grinned, too happy for words.
The conversation having run its course, all three reclined and sank lower into the pool once more. After a few moments, Ileena had another question.
“Umm, Your Majesty? Could you please tell me about Earth?”
Marlena Glenn of New York was more than happy to oblige. “Of course…where to start?”
And so the two natives of Eternia listened to stories of the strange world in another galaxy that had been the birthplace of their monarch. Both speaker and audience spent so long in the heated pool that they did indeed all end up ‘pruned’, but felt they had come away from the experience having gained something priceless.