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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…

Chapter Text

Prince Adam proceeded at a leisurely pace from the Palace, across a courtyard towards the enclosed physical training area, having decided to surprise Teela by showing up for his training session early. 

His mind began wandering as he walked up the pathway, palace guards snapped to attention and saluted as he passed.   

Teela’s words from an hour ago kept repeating in Adam’s head, gnawing away at him. That she felt confident in her newfound desires for women enough to tease him on the subject, should have been a sign that all was going well.  Their friendship was repaired and certainly they had a new shared interest.  Given enough time and a little more respect in his approach, she might even be inclined to grant his original suggestion of indulging in passion with another woman in his presence.

But something was wrong.  Instinct often alerted Adam when a situation seemed too good to be true.  Usually a prelude to some plot by Skeletor or the other forces of evil that plagued Eternia.  While clearly this was nowhere near as extreme, that old gut feeling told him that he ought to be worried.

It struck him that the idea of being absent from this latest training session had aroused no ire from Teela, something he honestly couldn’t remember happening before.  While the Captain of the Guard would do her duty and stand by her commitments to the Crown Prince.  Teela’s light-hearted, almost nonchalant response implied that she would be quite content if he didn’t show up, leaving her to spend more time breaking in her new trainee Ileena.

Sweet, brave, beautiful Ileena,  On the one hand, Adam was happy that she would have the chance to live her dream, of standing side-by-side with the woman she looked up to.  But on the other hand, no amount of training could prepare her for the warrior’s life she had chosen.  Even as He-Man, with all the power of the universe at his command, Adam had seen things that were straight out of a nightmare. 

On the subject of warrior women, he cast his mind back to Teela’s relationship with Huntara.  During her two week stay at the palace, the imposing, intense Silaxian rarely left Teela’s side, except when the Captain’s duties demanded it.  His friend seemed relaxed, more self-assured, almost in awe of her devoted protector.  Whose eyes seemed like they could burrow into a person’s soul and whose stoic, emotionally guarded nature meant that sometimes Adam couldn’t be sure if she wanted to kiss Teela or punch someone’s lights out.

But then Huntara left Eternia.  He had seen Teela go through the whole spectrum of emotions during their shared upbringing, but this was new.  In the days following her companion’s departure, she could best be described as stiff, quiet, formal.  Going through her routine with an air of detachment, so as to hide her feelings.  When he asked her what had caused them to part ways, she replied in an unusually soft voice “She has her oaths, Your Highness, and so do I”.  

‘Your Highness’?  The use of his royal title had Adam truly concerned.  The one time he had become frustrated and dismissed her by rank, she took it as the worst form of disrespect.  Even Cringer wasted no time in taking him to task over such behaviour. Adam suspected that Teela was hiding a lot of emotional pain behind that mask of formality.

She had spoken to her father, able to confide in him as she always could.  When Adam had later discreetly enquired, Duncan replied “She’ll come back to being the friend you know, Adam.  But give her space, let her get there on her own time.  What she is going through right now is something I’ve experienced in my own life.  A pain that I sincerely hope you never have to feel.”

Teela’s liaison with Huntara may have started as a noncommittal fling, but by the end, had blossomed into love.  Without knowing the details, it was clear to Adam that their parting had left her heartbroken.  Days passed, and it seemed that Teela was back to something approaching her normal self.  When she was granted permission by the King to bring Ileena to the palace for long-term training, she was excited to have her friend back in her life.

Friend …

That was what the little voice inside was trying to tell him.  Now that Teela had known a woman’s love, was she looking at Ileena differently now?  Certainly the blonde maiden had an obvious crush on her idol, had done for years. What if they did decide to pursue a romance of their own?

Adam had known Teela all his life, and it was no secret they cared about each other deeply. He thought that one day they would be able to figure things out and be more than friends.  But ever since taking up the Sword of Power, the need to hide his secret and protect those he loved meant showing a totally different persona to his best friend.  One who didn’t care, who didn’t take anything seriously.  Inept, cowardly, indolent.  It pained him to see the look of disappointment on her face, hear her angry words, know that with every lie told and every promise not kept, her respect for him as a man died a little more each day.

Now it seemed, his own words had pointed Teela’s heart away from him. Only now did he begin to understand the mistake he had made.  Not only by disrespecting her and reducing her love life to his personal fantasy material, but underlying that was the arrogant assumption that she would never look to someone else for genuine affection.

Well, he thought, that all changes now.  Duncan and the Sorceress may not approve, but if Teela figured out the secret as a result, then so be it.  He was going to show her the same Prince Adam that Etheria knew, the aspects of himself that made her willing to follow He-Man into danger. Teela would see that he did take the defence of the Realm seriously, that he could step up.  That the man she spent years trying to make him into was there all along.

As he approached the PT area, the path took him past the boundary wall on his way to the open iron gates that flanked the stone archway, welcoming trainees and veterans alike to the open-air courtyard filled with training mats, obstacle courses and wooden practice dummies.

He could hear the sound of grunting, short yelps, flesh slapping on flesh and raised voices. Sounds as commonplace as birdsong when the training facilities were filled with Guardsmen honing their skills or young men barely out of their teens, going through their physical tryouts to become cadets.  Except this time, it was the voices of two women that Adam recognised very well.

“No, no, no, that’s no good!  Harder!  Faster!”

“How about…this!?”

“Oh yeah, that’s it!  Don’t stop!”

“Had enough yet?”

“Not on your life, girl!  Keep it up!”

Hearing those words sent Adam’s imagination into overdrive, but didn’t help his mood any.  Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself and walked into the enclosure, ready to face what he assumed he would find…

To his relief, he found both women engaged in a serious, intense grappling contest on the mat.  Ileena on her back, legs in an open guard position, Teela was on top of her. Gritted teeth, a visible sheen of sweat on their skin, both sets of hands locked, struggling and straining. Teela was trying to force Ileena down for the pin and the blonde maiden was fighting desperately to keep at least one shoulder up. Alternating back and forth between arms as the mentor sought every advantage and the pupil looked for some way to tip the balance back in her favour.

So engrossed in their battle, neither noticed Adam walk up to the edge of the mat until he cleared his throat and announced himself.  “Teela?”

Breaking her focus, the redhead relaxed her grip,  “Adam?”.  The distraction was enough for Ileena to bring her feet under Teela’s midsection and launch her head over heels, landing on the mat with the wind knocked out of her.  Wasting no time, Ileena then planted her hands behind her head and using them to push off, flipped backwards and landed astride Teela’s midsection, holding her wrists down for the pin.  Breathing hard, the experienced warrior looked up at her protégé and saw no mischievous smile this time.  Ileena was focused, with fire in her eyes. She was here to fight, not have fun.  She had fully embraced the mindset that would be needed to survive contact with a real enemy and seeing that made Teela’s chest swell with pride a little.  Still, best to reign her in for today.

“Time out, Ileena, that’s enough for now.  Ease down…ease down.” 

Ileena’s expression softened, she released her grip on Teela’s wrists and moved over to sit on the mat beside her teacher, who also sat up and tried to catch her breath.

After a few seconds, Teela looked up at the new arrival who had caused her to lose. “Well, look what Cringer dragged in.  How come you’re so early, Adam?”

“I thought I’d surprise you and get our sparring session started ahead of schedule.”

Teela stood up.  Still a little out of breath, she reached up and wiped the sweat from her brow. “You’re right, that is surprising.  But what’s that expression the Queen used: ‘never look a gift horse in the mouth’?  I certainly won’t.”

Adam gave a little playful rejoinder.  “Are you sure?  Seems like Ileena’s worn you out.  We can always do this another day.”

She responded with a smirk.  “Nice try, Adam, but you’re not going anywhere.  If you’re here early, that must mean you’re finally ready to take my lessons seriously.  You don’t get to back out now.  Just give me a minute, there’s something I need to do.” 

Teela offered her hand and Ileena accepted, being pulled to her feet and then immediately brought in for a hug.  The redhead rubbed her protege’s back for reassurance while murmuring encouragement in her ear.  “You did good today, Ileena, you did good.  You made me proud, just like you wanted.”

Almost trembling with emotion, the trainee whispered back “Thank you, thank you so much.”

Teela pulled back from the hug and smiled.  “No, thank you .  I expect the best and you gave me the best.”  She then pointed to the bench where their boots and tiaras were neatly laid.  On the wall behind was a marble basin into which water flowed from a lion’s head statue.  “Get some water from the fountain, have a seat and watch carefully.  This is now the ‘show’ part of the lesson.”

Ileena nodded to her mentor, then turned and bowed respectfully.  “Your Highness.”

Adam waived off the formality.  “Woah, Ileena, you know me, we’re all friends here. Titles are only something you need to observe when my parents are around.  Just call me Adam, like Teela does.”

“I’ll try, Your High-...I mean, Adam.”

“You’re telling her to imitate me?  You’re going to regret that when she’s the one throwing you all over the place.”  Ileena put a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.  

Adam shot a wink to the blonde as he put out the bait that hooked Teela every time.  “Well, at least I know that she’ll win with some humility.”

“Ooo, that’s it, mister.  You’re going down hard for that!”

Ileena settled in to watch the show as Adam moved on to the mat and Teela backed up to give him a fair amount of distance.  “Last chance to change your mind, Teela.”

Instead of rising to the challenge, the Captain turned and addressed her student.  “You see, Ileena, this is what I was telling you about.  A new opponent comes on to the field.  You’re tired, you’re sweating, you’re beat up, you’re not properly dressed for battle.  None of that matters, you have to start all over.  The people you’ve sworn to protect are counting on you to keep going.”

Without warning, Teela ran forward into a front handspring manoeuvre which she turned into a flying kick that Adam barely dodged.  “Hey!  What are you doing!?”

Barely had the words escaped his lips than he had to jump to avoid a roundhouse leg sweep  “Element of surprise, Adam, look it up!”

Dodging and weaving, very much in retreat, Adam tried to play defense.  Blocking as best he could while Teela tried to light him up with punches and palm strikes.

“I thought you were teaching me a lesson, not beating me up!”

“I’m teaching her a lesson - about how to beat people up.”  From the sidelines, Ileena watched with rapt attention.

“You said no spectators.”

“She’s earned it…and you’ve earned this!” Teela charged and shoulder-tackled Adam full force, knocking him to the mat.

He looked up to see her standing over him, offering a hand.  “Try to do better, my Prince.  Set a good example for our student.”

Wary, he took the hand and was surprised that she merely helped him to stand, instead of throwing him across the courtyard.  “ Our student?”

“Of course.  The sooner Ileena learns the ropes, the sooner the two of us can protect you.”  She leaned in close.  “That is why you couldn’t wait to get started, isn’t it?”

Adam was a little flustered  “Well, I, uh…”

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’”.  She moved back to the centre of the mat, fists raised in a fighting stance. “Let’s go another round.”

Adam puts his hands up, begging off.  “Can you at least give me a chance to get ready?”

Teela smirked.  “What’s the matter?  You said you wanted to get physical with two women.”

“Is that what this is about, what I said to you before?  I apologised for that, I thought we were good.”

“I said I forgive you, Adam.  I never said I would go easy on you.”

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.

Chapter Text

Another scheme of Skeletor’s foiled, yet He-Man was not his usual confident self. Having answered the call from his sister, he had travelled to Etheria and then joined She-Ra on a journey through space to liberate the Hive: ten thousand peaceful Bee People looking for a planet to colonise. They had been enslaved and forcibly turned into an army by Skeletor and his henchmen.  Only the scout Sweet Bee, who He-Man had met on his last visit, managed to escape and reach Etheria.  With the help of a crystal pegasus and a strange living meteor called Comet Cat, they had freed the Bee People and sent Skeletor packing. The stirring words of She-Ra convinced the Hive to change course and make Etheria their new home, after all. 

He-Man, She-Ra and a delegation from the Hive were now at the main rebel camp, deep within the Whispering Woods. The Twins of Power stood apart from the main group, weary after the day’s events.  She-Ra was already contemplating what the Hive’s arrival would mean for the Great Rebellion and their struggle against the Horde.

“Once enough of the Bee People are trained, we can start making plans to go on the offensive. We can begin liberating the town and villages bordering Brightmoon. Drive the Horde out of the neighbouring provinces, one at a time.”

He-Man was hardly enthusiastic. “They came here to live in peace, not be thrust into a war.”

She-Ra’s voice took on the hardened tone she had used before. A reminder that while he merely policed a criminal gang, she was effectively a General leading an army, “That is true of everyone in the Rebellion, brother. Like the Bee People, a tyrant took that choice from us. We will all need to fight if we’re going to take that choice back.  I know it sounds harsh, but for the villagers who live in fear of being dragged from their homes and thrown on to a slave transport because Hordak decided to double their taxes on a whim? They would probably welcome a couple of Bee brigades standing between them and the nearest Horde outpost.”

He-Man sighed and hung his head “You’re right, sis. Sometimes I take it for granted how fortunate we are in Eternia.”

She-Ra softened her tone as she could sense her twin was troubled. “He-...Adam, what’s wrong?  I’ve never seen you in such a mood after handing Skeletor a defeat.”

“I don’t know if I should even be thinking about it right now, given what happened today. It’s…a personal matter.”

She put a supportive hand on his shoulder. “Adam, you just gave ten thousand people their freedom back. You’ve more than earned the right to attend to your own feelings. Now come on, tell your sister what the problem is. I don’t want to send you home miserable.”

“Call it ‘an affair of the heart’.”

She-Ra instantly understood what that meant.  “It’s Teela, isn’t it?”

A solemn nod was the confirmation. “The warrior woman, Huntara, came to stay at the Palace for a few days. I saw them together, and I saw how Teela reacted after Huntara left for space.  For days afterward, her actions seemed hollow, like she was going through the motions to hide a great sadness.  I could tell they had a very special connection.  Now for the last several weeks, Teela has spent all her time training our friend Ileena to be a warrior. They sleep in the same room, eat together. spar together.  They’ve become very close.”

“And are they…?”

“I don’t know.  But the way things have gone lately, it is probably inevitable that they will.”

Seeing his forlorn expression, she said nothing and let her brother get it all off his chest. “Don’t get me wrong, whatever makes Teela happy, that’s the most important thing. But as Adam, I grew up with her and as He-Man, we’ve fought for each other and shared so many adventures.  I guess I always assumed that we would be together someday.  Yet another thing I took for granted.  Now I may have missed my chance to tell her how I feel.”

“Because she is seeing other people right now?”

Another nod “All because of my stupid, disrespectful words. When I encouraged her to…”.  He shut his eyes in pain. “I never considered that I’d be driving her away from me.”

She-Ra looked out at the campsite, feeling somewhat contemplative herself. “You know, we were both born to privilege. Our whole lives were planned out from the moment we were conceived. What was expected of us, what we were “destined” to be. I can see how easy it would be to expect life to follow the plan. I sometimes wonder what kind of person I would have become if…” A shadow passed over her face. “If I hadn’t been taken. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the heart doesn’t care about destiny or expectation. It can lead you in some unexpected directions during the journey, even if the destination ends up the same.”

“I don’t know if it will be the same, sis.  I’m not just sure anymore.”

She tugged on his arm and directed his attention towards the campfire on the other side of the clearing. “Look over there. Bow and Glimmer.”

He-Man saw the pink-haired princess and the master archer sitting on a log bench together, warming themselves at the main campfire. Holding hands while Glimmer rested her head on Bow’s shoulder, a contented look on her face.

She-Ra explained. “A short while after your last visit, they finally admitted that they love each other and I’ve never seen them happier.”

“And I’m happy for them, sis.” Though his tone didn’t sound very joyful. “But what they have…that’s what I fear I may have lost.”

“You miss my point, brother.  Do you think Bow was Glimmer’s first?  She has had a fair number of dance partners in the time I’ve known her, myself included. It doesn’t mean she loves Bow any less, nor does it mean that what she shared with me or any of the others wasn’t real either.”

“So you’re saying…there’s still hope for me and Teela?”

“All I’m saying is that nothing is guaranteed when it comes to love. Teela’s heart may lead her to you in the end, it may not. All you can do is just keep being the good man I know you are. In the meantime though, perhaps you should follow her example.”

He-Man was surprised. “You mean, I should see other women?”

“The choice is yours, Adam. But if you want my advice, just relax. For the time being, don’t worry so much about who you want to grow old with and be open to what someone is willing to give you here and now.”

He gave it some thought. “I guess it couldn’t hurt.” He started looking left and right around the clearing. “I thought I saw Frosta here earlier. I’d like to talk with her.  If she still feels the same way about me as before, then.I’m ready.”

In an instant, the consoling confidant was replaced by the teasing sister. “Why He-Man, I knew you were brave, but I didn’t know you had that kind of courage.”

That put a wry grin on his face. “I was just caught a little off-guard, sis. But I’m prepared this time.”

She smirked “Sure you are.” Then her expression became more sincere and she patted him on the back. “Just know that you don’t have to worry about me getting in the way this time. If you can handle the chill, then she’s all yours.”

“I can handle it, sis. And thanks for everything.”

“Anytime, brother.”

“Now I just need to find her.”

At that moment, Mermista happened to be walking by. She-Ra called out to the mermaid princess. “Mermista, have you seen Frosta anywhere?”

“Oh She-Ra, I saw her walking off into the woods with Sweet Bee.”

The golden warrior was alarmed “Uh-oh, this is not good.”

He-Man was confused “What’s wrong, sis?”

“Brother, all that time you were making eyes at Sweet Bee - not that I blame you - you probably didn’t notice that Frosta was incredibly jealous. Now that her rival is back, who knows what she might do.”

“You’re right, we should probably have a look around. Just make sure things are peaceful.”

As the twins started to move towards the treeline, they could hear Mermista chuckle to herself “I don’t think there will be anything to worry about, She-Ra.”

“What did she mean by that?”

“I don’t know, let’s just find them.”

As they got further away from camp, She-Ra spotted something strange about a cluster of bushes up ahead.

“Is that smoke?”

He-Man sniffed. “I don’t smell any smoke.  Steam, maybe?”

“Hmm.” She-Ra zeroed in on the bushes. As she got closer, she could see that it was definitely steam wafting up to the treetops.  There were also scents that assailed her nostrils.  One she was quite familiar with and in the right circumstances, could drive her wild with arousal: a woman’s sweat.  The other scent was pleasant enough, but strange that the two should be competing so strongly.  It smelled like…honey.  All of a sudden, the bushes jostled and there was the sound of hushed laughter.  It couldn’t be, could it?  Those two?  Knowing this would be a shock to her brother, She-Ra contemplated leaving the steaming bush to remain a mystery.  But she had to be sure and besides, if not her, He-Man might go looking instead.

Readying herself for what she might find, she peered over the foliage “Is someone cooking back here?”

All of a sudden, Frosta popped up into view, adjusting her dress which had slipped perilously low on her svelte frame. “Oh She-Ra, it’s you. You startled us.” The Ice Queen was visibly sweating and the steam was in fact rising off her body.  As if she had stepped out of a sauna into the harshest winter.

The blonde warrior raised an eyebrow and asked a question she felt fairly certain she already knew the answer to “And just who might ‘us’ be?”

As if in response, Sweet Bee rose up out of the bushes, her headband skewiff. Both women had obviously kiss-swollen lips and smeared lipstick on their faces.

Frosta recovered from the surprise and assumed her usual confident pose. “When I heard the Hive were back on Etheria, I felt it was my duty to come and extend the hand of diplomacy.” She put an arm around the smaller Bee woman’s shoulder, who reciprocated with an arm around the Ice Queen’s waist. 

She-Ra couldn’t keep the amused look off her face “Diplomacy, eh?  Is that what it’s called now?”

Sweet Bee spoke in that demure, shy tone of hers “Is something wrong, She-Ra?”

“Err, why would there be something wrong?”

“You and He-Man appear to have been searching for us.”

The Princess of Power looked back to see her brother’s mouth agape, a shocked look on his face.  She then addressed the question.  “The last time you were here, Sweet Bee, ‘there was a very…tense situation.  We just wanted to make sure everything was alright.”

Frosta was in good humour as she looked back on her past behaviour. “Things did get a little heated, didn’t they?”

She-Ra smirked and waved away the steam drifting towards her. “Seems like they’re heating up tonight, as well.”

Frosta and Sweet Bee looked at each other with mischievous grins and chuckled. The insectoid girl clearly wasn’t as innocent as she seemed.  

The ice empress explained. “After Sweet Bee left, I thought about it and realised that anyone who can get me that hot can’t be all bad.  When I heard the Hive was here to stay, I wanted to come and talk to her.  Turns out she can teach me a thing or two about how to cool down.” And with that, the bee girl turned her back to the sweating ice Empress and her wings buzzed excitedly, fanning the steam away from Frosta.

She-Ra was delighted to see former rivals reaching an accord. “Well, if the two of you are happy, then we’ll leave you to your…’diplomacy’.” She then leaned in and spoke softly to Frosta. “We’ll cover for you if anyone asks back at camp. Since you’re out here, why don’t you treat Sweet Bee to a Walkabout?”

The Ice Queen’s eyes lit up. “Oh She-Ra, thank you.  That would be just wonderful.”

The Bee girl asked earnestly, “What is a ‘walkabout’?”

Frosta turned her affectionate gaze back to her new consort “I’ll explain it when we’re alone again. You’ll love it, I promise.” The happy couple linked arms and walked off deeper into the Whispering Woods.

She-Ra turned her attention back to He-Man, who was once again forlorn. “I’m sorry, brother. Not off to a good start.”

He sighed. “No, but hardly surprising.”

“I have an idea. Get your rest tonight and in the morning, I’ll fly you to Mystacor.  I’m sure Castaspella will be delighted to see Prince Adam again.”

“You don’t need to go to all that trouble for me, sis.  Especially if it turns out to be another disappointment.”

She put a reassuring hand on his shoulder “You won’t be disappointed, Adam, trust me. I know the word gets thrown around very loosely, but Casta is a friend. No more, no less. Ever since that day Bow and I helped her reclaim Mystacor, I’ve only seen her interested in one person and that’s you.  The real you.  Not He-Man and not the version of yourself you show to everyone on Eternia. After all, you don’t really believe that trip you took through her magic pool was an accident now, do you?”

That particular memory did raise a smile out of him. “Well no, but I didn’t want to say anything.”

“You’ll be in safe hands with Casta, Adam, I know you will.”

“I trust you, sis. If nothing else, at least it’ll be a fast ride home.”

“There’s no rush. Meanwhile, let’s just go back to camp and get some sleep.”

As they started back, He-Man had one last question. “Err, sis. If you don’t mind me asking, what is a “walkabout’ anyway?”

She grinned as the question brought back happy memories. “It’s something that couples and even some close friends will do from time to time. They’ll leave camp at night and when they’re far enough out, that’s when they’ll start the Walkabout.”

“Which is?”

“In no particular order: they shed their clothes, take a stroll in the moonlight and do what lovers do. The magic of the woods has a way of ensuring that they don’t get lost, nor are they discovered.”

He-Man quietly took this news in.  “Umm, dare I ask how you know all of this?”

She-Ra shot him a wink “Now now, He-Man.  What happens in the Whispering Woods, stays in the Whispering Woods.”

Chapter Text

A lone Wind Raider soared through the sky, leaving Eternos City behind.  Teela at the controls, Ileena riding in the passenger seat.  Once they were clear of the city’s airspace and into the open skies, Teela set the autopilot, giving herself some time to contemplate both the unusual mission ahead of her and recent events.  

Over the past few weeks, teaching Ileena had been night and day compared to her attempts to teach Adam.  Bolstered by Queen Marlena’s acceptance of her into their extended family, the previously timid blonde had thrown herself into every aspect of training that had been put in front of her.  Their one-on-one sparring sessions were becoming incredibly competitive, and Teela was starting to eat as many losses as she gained wins.  Ileena’s physical changes were starting to show.  Though still possessing a slender and athletic frame, her arm and shoulder muscles were developing, a sign of her growing strength.  The midriff-baring outfit she sometimes wore showed off tight abdominals. Though for this journey, she had her more appropriate armour dress on.

In addition to sparring with Teela, Adam often turned up to provide Ileena with a different dance partner.  While she thought it too soon to have her student mix it up with fully trained Guardsmen yet, as she herself regularly did during her ascent to Captain.  Teela felt that allowing Ileena to test newly learned techniques on Adam would be safe enough, as he would sooner live with being thrown on his face rather than get rough with a girl.  That the Prince was showing up and taking an active hand in training was a pleasant change of pace.  Though Teela suspected he was looking to impress both women, whatever got him away from his nap time and kept him on time was fine by her.

As promised, Ileena’s training had expanded beyond hand-to-hand combat.  Queen Marlena had begun showing her the basics of operating a Sky Sled at low altitude, with a view to taking her further into the air once she had mastered the controls. 

Meanwhile, supervised training in basic ranged weapons was also underway.  Archery was, understandably, a work in progress.  Ileena could doubltess hit a medium-sized target in the field, but asking her to shoot an apple off someone’s head would have fatal results.  That said, she was proving adept in the use of spears and javelins on the target range, her throwing arm packed a deceptive level of power and accuracy.  Ileena’s proficiency in each weapon would need to be assessed and certified by Man-at-Arms before she would be permitted even supervised use of deadlier weapons such as blades and blasters.

She had also picked up a strong desire to learn about Eternia’s history, its many cultures and species.  But even so…

“Thank you for allowing me to come along, Teela.  I’ve been in the Royal Library almost every day and I’ve never heard of this Arcadia.”

Teela’s attention turned from her student’s progress to the mission ahead of them.  “Nor had anyone else, until a couple of years ago.  Back then, the Arcadians were isolationists.  Their city was kept hidden from the rest of the world by an invisible force dome, powered by a mineral called Arcalite.  It was a society ruled over by Queen Sumana, where women lived above ground and enjoyed a utopia, while men were enslaved in the Arcalite mines beneath the city.  The only man I saw on the surface was the foreman, Ananda.”

Ileena was appalled.  “That’s horrible!”

“Sure was.  It all came to an end when Adam and I stumbled across the force dome.  We split up to find a way through and both ran into Sumana’s warriors.  My skill at defending myself earned me a trip to see the Queen, while Adam earned a one-way trip to the mines for the crime of being male.”

Ileena had become quite fond of the Prince during their sparring sessions.  Mostly because he didn’t act like royalty if he could help it, but more like the brother she never had.  “Poor Adam.”

“I know, but it turned into a blessing in disguise.  While he was down there, he saw that the mines were about to collapse and take the city with them.  He tried to get the word out through Ananda, but the Queen wouldn’t listen to what a man had to say.  Even though I had a hard time convincing her, she finally listened to me and woke up to the danger, just in time for tremors to start shaking the place apart.  The men and women of Arcadia worked together to stabilise the mines, and with some last minute help from He-Man, the city was saved.  Afterwards, the Queen decreed that men and women were equal in their nation and took Ananda as her King.”

“Aww, that’s sweet.  I always enjoy a good love story.”

Teela briefly tensed up at hearing her beautiful friend talk about romance.  “Anyway, a couple of days ago, King Randor received a request from Queen Sumana to send an envoy for an initial visit ahead of fully normalising relations between Arcadia and Eternos.  Should open the door for full trade.  To the surprise of everyone, she specifically asked for me.”

“You must have made quite an impression on her last time.”

“You could say that…I started a fight in her throne room.”

Ileena’s jaw dropped.  “You what!?”

Teela shrugged.  “What?  Don’t look at me like that, she was trying to have me locked up.”

Her friend was incredulous.  “And now you’re going to see her as King Randor’s representative!?”

Teela’s dryly responded. “I know.  Scary thought, isn’t it?”  

“Does the Captain of the Guard normally do diplomatic work?”

“No and I think we can all agree: I’m the last person you’d want for the job.  But times are changing.  Now that Adamis visiting Adora on Etheria so often, and Clamp Champ is now installed as their dedicated bodyguard, the King and Queen want to use the experience I’ve gained from travelling all around Eternia for special missions.”

“Is Adam going to be alright?  I know the Horde rules Etheria.”

“Not to worry, he’s got Adora watching out for him.  I don’t know if you’ve been told what happened after she was abducted as a baby?”

“No, I thought it best not to ask Queen Marlena anything she wasn’t willing to tell me on the subject.”

Teela nodded sagely. “Smart girl.  Hordak took her to Etheria and raised her as his own “daughter”, though it wasn’t an upbringing I would wish on anyone.  From the moment she was old enough to raise a sword or hold a blaster steady, she was expected to learn how to use it…quickly.  She became one of the Horde’s most efficient officers in the oppression of the Etherian people.  Until Adam somehow found a way to break the spell that made her serve evil and helped her to realise who she truly is.  Now she uses everything the Horde taught her to fight against them.  She has vowed that she won’t make Eternia her home until Hordak has been driven off Etherian soil.  I have no hesitation in saying that Adora is the toughest person I’ve ever met.  Believe me, Adam is in safe hands.”

“That’s good.”  Ileena thought for a moment.  “Do you think…?  Is that why the Queen said that I’m part of the family, and is teaching me how to fly?  Because I remind her of Adora?”

“Well, you’re blonde, so that helps.”  Teela shared a grin with her companion at the little joke.

“But seriously though, she did a lot to teach me when I was young.  Even now, if she has a lesson for me, I will sit and I will listen.  What I’m about to say is just what I personally believe, don’t take it as fact.  But for as happy as our Queen is to have Adora back, the awful truth is that the simple joy of a mother raising her daughter was taken away forever.  And none of us can get that back for her, no matter how much we want to.  I think she takes any opportunity to mend that hole in her heart, by sharing her knowledge and experience.  First with me, now with you.”

“So that makes us all her daughters, then?  We’re all Princesses?”

Teela raised an eyebrow.  “Ileena, I would be honoured to be Queen Marlena’s daughter simply because of who she is.  But I could never be a Princess.”

“I’m just kidding, Teela.  I couldn’t be a Princess either.”

“Oh, I don’t know.  You’re beautiful, you’re sweet, you’re smart, you certainly have a quick wit about you.  I’m sure you would make a fine princess for somebody.”

“Somebody.  Yes, somebody…” Ileena suddenly turned away blushing.  Teela didn’t respond, hoping to hide her own blush.  For a while, the only sounds were the roar of the Wind Raider’s engines and the wind whipping past.

Teela tried to get the conversation moving again.  “So that’s why I chose you as my second on this mission.  To give you a headstart on seeing Eternia up close and personal, something the library can’t give you.  Plus you seem to have a talent for winning over royalty, so I think you’ll have an important role to play.”

Ileena had a mischievous look on her face. “What role is that, keeping you from starting any more fights?”

Both women laughed, alleviating the prior tension.

Two hours into their flight, Teela re-engaged manual control and sent a message over the Wind Raider’s radio “This is Eternos Five-Zero-Four-Five calling Arcadia Defense Control.  Requesting permission to enter Arcadian airspace, do you copy?”

A calm, steady woman’s voice replied.  “ Roger Eternos Five-Zero-Four-Five, request granted.  Standby for escort and proceed to the Royal Palace, Queen Sumana is expecting you, over and out .”

Ileena picked up on a surprising omission.  “Isn’t the King expecting us, too?”

“Should be.”  The familiar gut instinct told Teela something was wrong, making her instantly uneasy.

Within a couple of minutes, a pair of twin engine patrol craft flanked the Wind Raider, piloted by Arcadia’s warrior women.  Upon drawing level and seeing Teela in the Wind Raider, the warriors bowed their heads and the passenger of each vehicle crossed her arms over the chest: the standard Arcadian salute.

Ileena was astonished.  “And people say I worship you, Teela.  Here, you’re like a…what’s that term Queen Marlena told us about?  A ‘rock star’, she called it.”

Teela concentrated on her flying, a little uncomfortable.  “I might enjoy it more if I had been allowed to bring my sword or my freeze rays with me.”  She tapped at her wrist.  “These are just regular bracers.  Diplomats are forbidden from carrying weapons of any kind.”

“Are you expecting trouble?”

“In this line of work, trouble has a way of finding us, and I don’t like being unprepared.  Keep your eyes peeled, Ileena, the city is just over the ridge.”

Sure enough, as their party cleared the hills, Arcadia lay before them.  To Teela, the towering buildings and spiralling bridges that connected them were a familiar sight.  But the city had sprawled since her last visit, with whole new suburbs consisting of one-storey structures spreading out over the valley.

As they flew overhead, Ileena took a look over the side.  The new developments below resembled slums: basic stone structures, with smoke from open fires visible.  “Teela, I know this is my first visit, but I’m going to guess all of this wasn’t here last time.”

The pilot shrugged, trying to stave off the nagging unease. “To be expected when the surface population doubles overnight.”

Ileena took another look down and her brow furrowed.  “If this is all for the men, then maybe things aren’t as equal in this city as we've been told.”

Teela was getting the sense of deja vu.  “Maybe not.”  With the Royal Tower coming closer, she gave last minute instructions to her student.  “I’ll get to the bottom of this when we meet Queen Sumana and King Ananda.  Now Ileena, just bow and salute when I do and don’t speak out of turn.  Oh, and definitely don’t try to kiss the ring.  It's not just jewellery, it’s a weapon.  The amount of power running through it will burn your lips off.”

If that was meant to put the young trainee at ease, it didn’t work.

The metallic sliding doors to the elevator opened to reveal Queen Sumana sitting on her single throne.  A familiar sight, which was precisely what deepened Teela’s anxiety.  No sign of King Ananda now, nor any sign that he had ever been there.  Ileena glanced at her teacher, who gave a short, sharp shake of her head and grimaced out of the side of her mouth.  Warning her student not to ask the question that was on both of their minds.

One of the warriors lining the throne room announced.  “My Queen, the diplomatic mission from Eternos.”

Flanked by a guard on either side, envoy and companion walked up the carpet and stopped in sync with their escorts.  Both lowering their heads and giving the Arcadian salute.

The Queen commanded “Both of you, stop.  Rise.”

Teela and Ileena lifted their heads in bewilderment.  Sumana rose from her throne and walked towards the visitors.  As she came closer, Teela noticed the monarch looked rather haggard compared to when she last saw her.  With pronounced bags under her eyes, Sumana seemed to have aged at double the rate of everyone else.  Yet another sign that something was terribly wrong with this picture.  

“Teela, my friend.  In Arcadia, you bow to no-one.”  The queen then bowed and gave a salute of her own.  All of her warriors followed suit.

The envoy was taken aback.  “Uh, thank you, Your Highness.  But I’m not sure I deserve this.”

The Queen was amused.  “Ah, you have become so modest since last we met.  It is because of you that this city still stands.”

Teela sheepishly tried to brush off the accolades.  “Well, I mean, I helped, certainly.  But it was Prince Adam who discovered the danger and tried to warn everyone.”

“I heard him, yes.  But I listened to you.  That is why I asked you here to view Arcadia’s progress towards joining the rest of Eternia.”

“I must confess, Your Highness, I’m not sure why I was chosen.  As I proved on my first visit, I am ill-suited to be a diplomat.”

The memory prompted a smile from the Queen.  “But you have my respect, Teela, and that is worth far more than the hollow platitudes of trained functionaries.  In any case, this is merely an exploratory visit, for you to report the state of our city to your King.  We’ll leave the details to our respective negotiators.”  Sumana then turned and stood before Ileena, who felt the familiar nerves returning.  “And who is your second?”

Teela made the introductions.  “Your Highness, this is Ileena, daughter of the sage Zicran.  My student in the profession of arms.”

“Student, you say?  Tell me, young Ileena: has Teela yet furnished you with a lesson in insolence?”

The blonde maiden turned red with embarrassment and stuttered out.  “No, that is, uh, I mean, Your Highness, I…”

Meanwhile, Teela looked down at the carpet and bit her bottom lip to stifle herself.  Perhaps it was wrong of her, but she found Ileena to be adorable when she became flustered like this.

Luckily, Queen Sumana had a similar feeling and put a hand on Ileena’s arm.  “A joke, young one.  It was thanks to Teela’s insolence that we are all standing here today.  I am certain you make your teacher proud.”

Teela provided the words that her companion needed most at this moment.  “She does, Your Highness.  She does.”

Sovereign, soldier and student stood upon the Royal viewing balcony, looking out over Arcadia.  Teela and Ileena were both standing at opposite ends, looking down at the beautiful city.  As Queen Sumana approached, Teela was reminded of the last time she stood upon this balcony.

“I am certain you saw the expansion of the city during your flight.  Unfortunately, with our metal and stone shortage, we have had  to build new, simple houses for the men as quickly as possible.  Hence why I hope Eternos can be of assistance and a trade deal can be negotiated soon.  Perhaps you would like to tour some of the new housing areas?”

Teela nodded.  “We would, Your Highness, and I will relay your needs to King Randor.”  She then became more solemn.  “But there is something else…I wish to apologise for what I said when I last stood here.”

The Queen wouldn’t hear of it.  “Nonsense, Teela, your words saved us all.”

The warrior-turned-diplomat spoke quietly as she looked out over the city.  “Nonetheless, I said that without men, Arcadian women had no love.  Recent events have shown me how wrong I was.”

“Ah, you have since come to know a woman’s love, I take it?”

Teela nodded sadly.  “A fellow warrior, the most special person I’ve ever known.  Our time was short, duty separated us.”  She then looked skyward.  “She is now travelling the stars, bringing evildoers to justice on other planets.”

Queen Sumana stood beside the wistful warrior and rested her elbows on the balcony ledge to speak frankly.  “Will she return to you?”

“Neither of us can say.  Before she left, she asked me not to wait, to move on.”

“And if another lady should win your heart, would you take her in your arms?”

Teela’s eyes started drifting towards the blonde woman on the other side of the platform, before quickly darting back as she mentally chided herself again, hoping Sumana wouldn’t notice.  She smiled sadly.  “If that is where fate leads me…then yes, Your Highness, I would.”

The Queen smiled back.  “Just as well you’re not Arcadian, as I would have no army.  They would be too busy lining up to ask for your hand.”  Teela and the Queen looked over to the guards by the elevator door, who were both standing at attention with eyes front.  Their expressions were impassive while blushes formed on their cheeks.

Teela chuckled, then sobered up as she prepared to ask the question that had been nagging away at her.  “Your Highness, you celebrated my impertinence earlier, but I’m afraid I must subject you to it again.”  She took a deep breath and prepared to broach the subject that could mean the end of her short-lived tenure as a diplomat.  “Where is King Ananda?”

Sumana’s face fell and she looked away.  “A year ago now…he was overseeing a construction project in a new part of the city.  I told him a King shouldn’t be getting his hands dirty like that, but he insisted.  Said that those men had been his brothers down in the mines.  There was an accident…he was crushed…I lost him.”     

Teela put a hand to her mouth, shocked.  “I’m sorry, Your Highness, I didn’t know…”

The Queen raised her head and smiled sadly, trying hard to keep her royal facade from breaking.  “That is alright, Teela, you couldn’t have known.  We Arcadians are isolationists no longer, but it is still not in our nature to spread such news far and wide.  With our limited supply of stone, I decided the best way to honour him was to use it for a few more houses than to erect a statue.”

Teela bowed her head in remembrance.  “I barely knew him, but…he was a good man.”

“He was.” Sumana put a hand on Teela’s shoulder.  “So you see, Teela.  You are a soldier and I am a sovereign, but we have something in common: we both loved them so deeply and lost them so soon.”

“Beg your pardon, Your Highness, but Huntara is still alive.  My loss is nothing compared to yours.”

“You are saying that to be respectful, Teela, and that is appreciated…but I know that your heart feels differently.”

Stunned by the news of Ananda’s death and feeling the truth of the Queen’s words as memories of her departed love tugged at her aching heart, Teela turned and went back to looking out over the city mournfully.  “Ileena and I will tour the city in a while, Your Highness.  I just need a moment.”

“Of course, if you will excuse me.”  Sumana then went over to the other young woman on the balcony, who also seemed lost in reflection.

“Enjoying the view?”

Ileena was startled.  “Oh, Your Highness, I…my mind was elsewhere.”

“Anywhere in particular?”

The maiden looked a little guilty.  “I was just…looking at them down there.”

She pointed and the Queen followed her gaze to see two women in their finest summer dresses sitting on a bench in the main plaza.  Looking at each other with a degree of love and devotion that was obvious even at this distance, they drew together for a kiss.

Sumana once again leaned on the balcony ledge, speaking to Ileena in confidence.  “A beautiful sight, are they not?”

Ileena sighed.  “They are.”

“Much has changed in our city, and some of our ways are better off being consigned to history.  But those two lovebirds down there prove that some of our traditions are still worth celebrating.  Perhaps you look at them and see what you desire for your own future?”

Ileena looked over at her idol on the other side of the viewing platform, with a gaze full of obvious longing.  “I do.”

“Does she know?”

“What?  I mean, no, Your Highness.”

“I think you should tell her sooner rather than later.”

Ileena became nervous, trying to keep her voice down so Teela wouldn’t overhear. “I-I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because Teela has given me so much.  Sure, I did a good deed for the Eternian Royal Family once, but she appealed to them on my behalf and now I’m living in their Palace.  I count a Prince as my friend, a Queen as my flight instructor.  I’m learning how to fight from the greatest warrior I’ve ever known.  I can’t ask her to give me any more.”

“But are you not simply looking to give back?  To repay her kindness towards you?”

“Maybe, but…I don’t even know if she’s interested.”  Ileena began fretting, as she often did when her emotions ran high.  “And what if she isn’t, and I ask her, and that makes everything weird between us and she doesn’t want to train me anymore.”

Queen Sumana put a hand on Ileena’s shoulder to calm her.  “How long have you felt this way about her?”

The troubled young woman looked out at the cityscape once more and sighed.  “A long time now.  Since we first met, I think.  I’ve often said that I wanted to be just like her, but the truth is…deep down, I just want to be with her, in whatever way I can.”       

“So your feelings are not driven by a desire to repay debts, but rather you suppress them because you feel indebted to her?”

Ileena nodded.

Queen Sumana leaned in close and lowered her voice.  “My dear, take some advice from this old widow.” Ileena immediately looked at the Queen in surprise.  “Yes, it is true.  I have loved and I have lost, just as Teela has.  Have you been told of her…Huntara, I believe the name was?”

“Not directly, but I heard things.”

“Our experiences are not quite the same, but I know what is in Teela’s heart right now.  Yes, I miss Ananda every day.  Sometimes the pain can be overwhelming.  But I know that if I had let my status as Queen stand in the way, if I had not taken him in my arms and let him into my heart, my regrets would feel a thousand times worse than the pain.”

Ileena looked down and drummed her fingers on the balcony ledge, trying to keep her own emotions in check. 

The Queen continued.  “She tries to hide it, but these eyes are too observant.  I think Teela does share your feelings to some degree, but like you, she suppresses them.  She thinks only of what she can give to you, and shuns the thought of asking for anything in return.  In doing so however, she fails to see that which you would freely offer.  You are both good souls, I would hate to see you miss a chance to be happy.  Obligation separated her from the love she had.  It would be a terrible tragedy if obligation prevented her from knowing your love in the first place.  So please, young Ileena, I implore you: find a way to tell her.”

Ileena took another look at the woman she would do anything for, pondering the Queen’s words.  “I’ll…I’ll think of something.”

Of all the challenges she had expected to face on the day that she said Good Journey to her father and home village, this one was proving to be the most complicated.

Chapter Text

“Somehow, I think I liked it better from the air.”

Teela couldn’t help but privately share Ileena’s sentiment.  They were walking down one of the main “roads” of Arcadia’s new housing areas.  In reality, said road was a little more than a dirt track.  As they had departed the limits of the old city, they passed the haze and smoke of blacksmiths working their forges and the loud hustle of merchant’s stalls.  Men and women did business and socialised like any other city on Eternia.  Some were already couples, and expecting children.  The picture of an egalitarian society that both Teela and Adam had expected to flourish after they left Arcadia in the Attack Trak years ago.

But now the two women were further out, amidst what were frankly slums: hastily built stone dwellings lining the dirt road.  No other women could be seen, especially not patrols by Sumana’s warriors.  The men they did pass on the street kept a wide berth and wouldn’t look them in the eye.  Others shut their wooden windows or ducked behind doors and alleyways as the two women approached.  Above all, there was a palpable sense of fear hanging in the air.  It was not only the men feeling that fear either.

Ileena leaned in and quietly spoke to Teela.  “Have you seen enough yet?  I want to get out of here.”

Teela tried to be reassuring.  “Just a little longer, then we’ll go.  We need to find out what’s going on around here.  It seems like the men of Arcadia have traded the mines for the gutter.”

All of a sudden, they heard a voice hissing at them.  “Psst, you with the red ‘air.  Over ‘ere.”

They turned to find an old man, bald with a long, white beard, dressed in ragged robes, beckoning to them from the open window of his squat, stone house.

Uneasy, but hoping to get some answers, Teela and Ileena cautiously approached him.  “Umm, can we help you?”

He eyed the strangers, while also darting his head back and forth like a cornered animal, expecting an ambush at any moment.  “I remember you, the foreign woman and ‘er Prince.  Helped get us out of the mines and let this old man have his last years in the sun.”

Teela was unsure of his motive for speaking to them, but played along.  “That’s right.”

He took another look down both ends of the street before continuing.  “You did me a favour, so I’ll do you one and give you a warning.  You come from the old city?  Get back there now, run if you have to.  Women aren’t safe ‘ere, not even foreigners.”

The two outsiders looked at each other, apprehension growing.  Still, Teela put a brave face on.  “Not safe?  I am the Captain of King Randor’s Royal Guard.  Facing down danger is my business.”

He sniffed derisively.  “Royal Guard, eh?  Unless you got a regiment of ‘em ready to march down the road, then you still got no chance if the lads catch ye.  If they do, death won’t be the worst thing that’ll happen to ye, just the last.  And ain’t no-one gonna help ye out ‘ere, no matter ‘ow much ye scream.  Just like all the others.”

Ileena was on the verge of a full-blown panic.  “Teela, let’s go.  Now.”

“We will, but we’ll go back with the full story.”  Teela turned back to the old man.  “You say women have been attacked and killed?”

“And worse before the killin’ ‘appens.”

“Who by?”

“The lads…the gangs, I mean.”

Teela felt the anger rising every time she heard his euphemisms.  “‘Lads’?  Bunch of vicious thugs, you mean.  And all the other men around here turn a blind eye and a deaf ear, is that what you’re saying?”

The jaded, cynical old man just shrugged in the face of these horrors happening on his doorstep.  Whatever righteous fury he might have had in youth burned out long ago.  “A blind eye means not bein’ found carved up in an alley like the girls.  You think the lads’ll go easy on any of their brothers who try to stop ‘em?”

The situation in Arcadia was turning out worse than Teela had feared.  She adopted a more conciliatory tone.  “How did this happen?  When I left this city before, I thought the men and women of Arcadia were supposed to be equal.”

The old man scoffed and spat into the dirt, narrowly missing Ileena’s boot.  “Equal?  Ye really think them fancy ladies in their frilly dresses would give up any of what they had to help all of us?  Ye really think the soldiers who kept us underground would dirty their shiny uniforms on our behalf?  Some of the young, ‘andsome boys who catch a girl’s eye, like our dear old dead King?  They can have some coin and a piece of what they helped build, but only if the girls want to give it to ‘em.  The rest of us…?”  He spread his arms out to indicate the squalid surroundings.  “The lads didn’t like women telling ‘em what they could and couldn’t have, so they gang up and any woman they find, they take everything.  ‘Er money, ‘er jewels… ‘er virtue.  Then they make sure she don’t go back to the old city telling no tales.  Couple days later, they find what’s left of ‘er in one of the alleys, or dumped in the river, lookin’ like somethin’ out of a butcher’s shop.”

Both women felt sick to their stomachs.  Ileena’s head was on a swivel, checking every door and alley.  Teela tried to press the old man for more information.  “Has no-one tried to get word back to the authorities about what’s going on here?  Not even to Queen Sumana?”

“Sumana?  Feh.”  He spat again.  “She’s too busy crying over ‘er King to notice, just like she didn’t notice when the city was about to come down on our ‘eads.  Up ‘er own arse back then, up ‘er own arse now.  Besides, the men in these parts fear the gangs as much as the girls do and word spreads quick.  The lads will sniff out a grasser and make an example of him.  Besides, what do you think will ‘appen if Sumana does get off ‘er throne to do somethin’ about it?  ‘Er warriors will come with the sword.  You’ll ‘ave a bloody war on these streets.”

Teela took all of this in.  “So they do this to any woman who comes down here?  No-one is exempt?”

“Only one that I know of: the white-haired woman of magic.  Comes and goes through ‘ere on ‘er way to do tricks for the villages.  The lads leave ‘er be ever since…”  He beckoned them closer and lowered his voice.  “One of ‘em tried to ‘ave a go with ‘er.  Word is she used ‘er spells to turn ‘im into a slug and then stepped on ‘im.  The lads are too scared of ‘er to try anything.”

Ileena was practically shaking.  “I wish this magic woman was here now.”

“So do I” Teela responded, having a pretty good idea who the white-haired mage was.  Realising that nothing more could be gained from the old man, she looked at her worried friend and nodded.  Both backed away from the dwelling as they urgently scanned their surroundings for potential attackers.  “Ileena, we’re getting out of here, double-time.”

The old man put his arms out to reach for the handles of his wooden windows.  “Now you got the idea, just get back safe.  Oh, and you didn’t ‘ear any of this from me, right?”  Without waiting for an answer, he swung the windows closed and disappeared from view.         

Teela and Ileena both walked quickly back in the direction they came, towards the relative safety of the old city.  Eyes darting to and fro, anxiously keeping a look out for anyone in the shadows.  They had barely gotten a few blocks from the old man’s dwelling when they heard a woman’s voice scream  “No! Noooo!” and came to a dead stop.  From an alleyway up ahead, a young lady with long, auburn hair took off running with a look of pure animal terror.  Fleeing towards the old city, holding up her long blue dress that was torn at the shoulder.  Seconds later, six men in the ragged vests and tunics that marked them as former miners burst out of the alley in pursuit.  One of them was heard to yell  “Get the bitch back before she finds a patrol!”

Teela suddenly snapped into action.  This wasn’t going to happen on her watch.  “Ileena, come on, after them!”.  Officer and trainee started running after the gang, trying to keep them in sight as they rounded a bend in the road.

Ileena spoke her fears aloud.  “This is it...my first real fight…”

Teela kept her student focused.  “Remember your training…and stay together…we’ll get through this…and we’ll save her.”

“Hope so…”  Internally, leena’s mind was racing just as fast as the rest of her.

Up ahead, the Arcadian woman’s breath practically seared her lungs as she willed her legs to move faster.  The only coherent thought in her mind was to make it to some of the Queen’s soldiers.  She looked back to see her attackers still on her tail and closing fast.  She looked forward and barely stopped herself as she almost collided with a woman with a bob of white hair, wearing a green dress with a high collar and cape, carrying some kind of staff.

The stranger caught the woman in her arms, concerned.  “What is it, girl?  What’s wrong?”

The terrified and breathless Arcadian could only get out.  “Th…they’re coming!”

The white-haired woman was confused.  “Who?  Who is coming?”  Then she looked up and saw the mob of vicious-looking men approaching.

“I see.”  Her eyes suddenly blazed with purple energy and she spoke to the Arcadian with a firm voice.  “Get behind me…and don’t look.”

Not knowing if she should be more afraid of the woman in front of her than the men she was trying to escape, the Arcadian complied and hid behind the sorceress’ cape.  Equally frightened and awestruck by this display of power, she could not tear her eyes away from the conflagration about to unfold.

The mage raised her wand staff and three bolts of lightning struck the ground.  From pools of magical energy, a trio of Serpintaurs rose and took shape.  Miniature compared to the real things, the natural enemies of dragons, but still larger than most humans.  They hissed and spat menacingly at the men, who stumbled to a halt.  The ones at the back turned to make a run for it, only to be confronted by Teela and Ileena, who had caught up.  

The nearest two charged at the women, while one ducked into an alley, unseen by the melee.

Teela dodged punches so clumsy and telegraphed, her opponent made Adam look like a prize boxer in comparison.  While Ileena dropped low and hit a leg sweep that took her attacker off his feet and sent him crashing on to his back.  In doing so, she had left herself open as the largest of the men was now standing above her, wielding a wooden club. 

He reared back, intending to smash her skull in.  

Out of desperation, Ileena reached up, grabbed him by the crotch and twisted… hard .  He instantly dropped the club and let out a short, strangled cry of pain.  Doubling over with his hands grabbing at the source of his agony.  

With his head now in range, Ileena lashed out with a palm strike to the side of his face, which put him down for the count.  She grabbed the discarded club and cautiously rose to her feet, as the swarthy, skinny man at the head of the mob looked left and right between her and the magical serpents, deciding which was the easier opponent.  

He turned to Ileena and an evil smile spread across his scarred face, as he pulled out a miner’s knife.  

She jumped back just in time and his wild slash found nothing but air.  Before he could close the distance, two of the Serpintaurs bit down into his shoulders and lifted him off the ground.  

He screamed in pain and fear as the mage conducted the symphony of destruction with her wand staff.  The magical snake creatures reared back and flung the man towards a nearby hay cart, its side panel smashed to smithereens as he crashed through it and landed unconscious in the hay pile.  

Teela had already put her first opponent down and now finished off the second with a knee to the gut, then an elbow to the back as he doubled over.  She didn’t know that the remaining man was still hiding in the alley behind her, his hatred overriding the rational instinct to escape the carnage visited upon his brethren.  

He charged into her back with his shoulder, catching the warrior by surprise and sending her tumbling to the ground.  Dazed, she rolled over and when she looked up, she saw death: the man had pulled a laser pistol from his vest and was aiming it at her. 

 “Lights out, foreign slut!”

Ileena’s eyes widened in horror and with a burst of adrenaline, she threw the wooden club like a javelin.  It struck the man’s arm, causing him to drop the pistol, which discharged into the nearby stone wall, leaving a scorch mark.  

He clutched at his limp arm. His face contorted in pain, though not quite out of the fight.  But as he took a step towards the prone Teela, a magical energy blast hit him square in the chest, sending him flying halfway down the street.

All heads turned to the white-haired mage, who had dispersed her magical beasts and was now levitating above the ground towards the mob, arms outstretched, crackling energy blazing in both of her hands and arcing over her head.  Her face contorted into a vicious snarl of hatred and her voice sounding almost demonic, she spoke to those men still conscious, some of whom were starting to rise again.  “Begone and trouble these women no more!  Or I will skin you alive and feed your so-called manhood to the rats!”

Thoroughly beaten and afraid, those men who had their legs under them ran back the way they came, while others limped or crawled.  

Ileena draped Teela’s arm over her shoulders and lifted her friend back to her feet, the two of them cautiously maneuvering themselves behind their unexpected ally.  The mage floated back to the ground and dispersed her magic.  

The trembling Arcadian woman ran into her saviour’s arms, who was caught off-guard and seemingly didn’t know how to provide comfort to someone in distress.  Eventually settling for putting an arm around the woman and gently saying.  “It’s alright, it’s over.  They won’t hurt you anymore, I swear it.”

Ileena, still supporting Teela and getting her breath back, asked.  “You saved us all...thank you.  Who are you?”

The white-haired woman spoke up.  “I am called Majestra.  Captain Teela here knows me.”

“You do?”

“We’ve met.”  Now that she had recovered her wits enough to get a good look at the mage, Teela knew exactly who this woman really was.  But though she had questions, the Captain decided to table them for now and just be grateful for the timely assistance.

Majestra turned and pointed her wand staff at the air.  A purple, swirling portal appeared.  “This will take us all back to the centre of the city, I suggest we depart.”

Ileena was sceptical, having been snared by the promises of sorcerers before, asking Teela.  “Do you think we should?”

The mage gestured to the knife wielder in the hay cart, and the one-armed gunman, both of whom were beginning to stir.  “Would you rather take your chances with these scum?”

Teela nodded to Ileena.  “Go, get the girl through.  I’ll cover you.”

Ileena did as she was told and guided the Arcadian woman through the portal, as Majestra trained her wand staff at the men, in case they hadn’t had enough.  

Just as Teela went to walk through, she stopped and addressed the woman she knew was lurking under a false image.  Softly and sincerely, she said  “Thank you…Evelyn.”

“Majestra” was unsurprised that the clever Captain had seen right through her.  Without averting her eyes from the potential enemies still on the street, she responded, “You can thank me by getting a move on.  I'm sure you would rather have me for company than these worms.”

Taking the hint, Teela stepped through the portal and disappeared from sight.  

The sorceress known to the rest of Eternia as Evil-lyn backed up into it and the portal disappeared, leaving the wreckage of battle behind.

Chapter Text

Later in the day, Teela, Ileena and their unexpected ally ‘Majestra’ had made it back to the high-rise apartment belonging to the traumatised Arcadian woman in their care.  Helping her to bathe and get into nightclothes, they learned that her name was Adrianna.  An aspiring painter, portraits of her previous works were hung on the walls.  An easel set up near her living room’s balcony held her latest work: a panoramic view of the cityscape from her windows.  Once she felt able to talk, she explained that having spent her entire life within the confines of the force dome, she went to explore the world beyond, hoping to gain some artistic inspiration.  She had been given no warning as to the horrendous conditions in the men’s slums.  Once they had arrived back in the old city, she baulked at the suggestion of going straight to Sumana’s warriors and pleaded for her rescuers to just take her home.  Majestra used magic to repair the torn dress and held Adrianna close, pretending to be a couple as a means of avoiding attention while the quartet moved through the inner city streets.

Teela shook her head as she contemplated the day’s events.  With only the military possessing air transports, the civilian women of Arcadia were effectively under siege, and those who would otherwise be good men were held hostage to possible retribution from vicious gangs like the one that nearly ended them all.

What a mission this was turning out to be.  Teela noted that once again, she was going to have to open Queen Sumana’s eyes to the problems of her city.  Hopefully this time, the monarch would listen before things got any worse.

She turned away from the balcony and approached Ileena, who was sitting at Adrianna’s kitchen table.  The young trainee had been quiet and subdued ever since escaping through the portal.  Carrying out any instructions her teacher gave with a minimum of words.  The Captain’s heart went out to her friend, who had been dragged into combat far earlier than had been anticipated.  While ultimately, it was an experience that could not be avoided if Ileena wanted to pursue the life of a warrior, Teela had hoped her friend could have faced such a scenario with more preparation and support.  While Ileena had acquitted herself commendably, even saving Teela’s life, the Captain couldn’t help but feel guilty for putting her in that position.  She put a hand on Ileena’s shoulder and offered a supportive smile.  The blonde looked up and tried to offer a smile in return, but Teela could see the turmoil in her eyes.  If in the wake of this violent experience, Ileena wanted to cancel her training and return to a peaceful life with her father, Teela would make the arrangements without question and ensure that no-one would speak ill of her brave friend.  They would need to sit down and have a serious conversation once Adrianna’s welfare had been attended to.  

Speaking of which, Teela walked to the open doorway of Adrianna’s bedroom.  The lady of the house was laying down atop her bed covers.  ‘Mejestra’ sat on the bed next to her, holding the young woman’s hand and gently caressing it.  Though shaken by her experience, she looked up with fondness, perhaps even reverence, at the magician who had resolutely stood her ground against monsters in human form.  Who had terrorised and threatened the young artist whose only crime was wanting to see the world.

Teela leaned on the door frame with her arms folded, contemplating the woman she knew by another name and another face.  While she was glad to see that her former nemesis and one-time lover Evelyn had embraced using her powers for good, and was grateful for her help, doubts lingered.  The last time she had adopted the persona of ‘Majestra’, it was to infiltrate the Royal Palace and kidnap King Randor.  Turning Teela into a frog with the power of the Shaping Staff along the way.  Given that history, the fact that she was using a disguise that once aided her evil deeds gave cause for concern.

Adrianna looked up at the woman she regarded as her hero.  “Will you…stay with me tonight, Majestra?  I don’t want to be alone.”

The mage responded quietly and sincerely.  “If that is what you wish, my dear.  I will stay as long as you want me to.”

Alarm bells ringing in her head, Teela cleared her throat.  “Majestra, I need to have a word with you… now .”

The disguised magician sighed and began to turn away, at which point a shivering Adrianna bolted upright and grabbed her arm.  “Please don’t go.”

‘Majestra’ offered a smile and covered the young woman’s hand with her own.  “I’ll just be in the next room.  I will return, I promise.”

Teela looked back towards the living room.  “Ileena?  Could you keep Adrianna company for a while please?”

“Of course.”  Her student entered the room and sat down on the bed as Majestra turned and followed Teela into the kitchen.

The magician pulled up a chair and sat down, having known this conversation was inevitable, but not exactly looking forward to it.  Teela stood, waiting for a reaction.  After much contemplation of the tablecloth pattern, the disguised Evil-lyn sighed and raised her head.  “I am…grateful you did not expose me.”

The warrior’s response was gentle, something Lyn was not expecting.  “After our last meeting, I owe you that much.  In case you’re wondering, our special 'encounter' in the forest remains a secret.  When my business was also Huntara’s business, nobody wanted to ask questions.”

“Another thing to be grateful for.”  Evelyn paused again.  “I’m sorry that she left.  I saw how deeply the two of you loved each other.  You deserved to keep that.”

Teela was taken aback.  “Thank you, I’m…surprised to hear you say that.  I thought you might have been jealous.”

“Once upon a time, I might have.  Now I merely lament the fact that we spent so long as enemies, when we both wanted to be quite the opposite.  Not that it matters, really.  Even if we had reached an accord sooner, I wasn’t capable of being what you needed, nor did I deserve what you would have given in return.”

“In some respects, you're right, Evelyn.  When I look back, there’s a part of me that wishes there could have been more between us than just an afternoon at the lake.  Certainly would have enjoyed it more than having to fight you all the time.  But I think you're underestimating yourself.  Maybe you and I were not meant to be, that doesn't mean you're incapable of loving someone.”  A wry grin spread on her face.  “For what it’s worth, I treasure everything you did give me.”

The disguised mage grinned back  “You’re welcome.”  She then lowered her head once more.

Teela decided to steer the conversation back to more current topics.  “So…never thought I’d see it.  How do you like being a hero?”

‘Majestra’s’ expression soured.  “Don’t start with that.  I’m no hero, I just have some standards.”

“The way she looks at you, I think Adrianna would beg to differ.”

At the mention of the redheaded artist, Majestra softened.  “She might not think so highly of me if you hadn’t appeared and started a brawl.  Left to my own devices, there would have been no fight, only summary executions.”

“Well, if there had been, I can honestly say I would shed no tears for them.  I would for you, though.”

“Save your lamentations.  What you saw today was me defending one of the few lines that I did not cross long ago.”

“Speaking of executions, I heard things about you.”

“What did you hear?”

“You’re gaining quite a fearsome reputation out in those slums.  They say that one of those men tried to attack you as well, and you turned him into a squished slug.”

The mage chuckled.  “Is that what they say about me?  My dear Teela, you shouldn’t be so quick to believe the rumours that men spread to protect their pride.  Yes, I was attacked, but no, I did not kill him.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask.  What did you do to him?”

That familiar, malevolent smile was back.  “I used a spell that everyone at Snake Mountain feared.  The same one that ensured they kept the contents of their loincloths to themselves any time you or another woman were taken prisoner…I instantly turned him into a eunuch.”

Despite knowing that she should feel no sympathy for the supposed victim, Teela still grimaced.  “Evelyn…”

The former Evil-lyn brushed off the concern.  “What?  He can get it back, if he finds a sympathetic sorcerer with sufficient skill.  Personally, I would prefer he remain ignorant of that fact.”

Another moment of quiet passed as Teela collected herself.  “So, if you’re doing good things these days, or at least trying not to be evil, then why the disguise?  Arcadia was shut off from the rest of Eternia until recently.  They don’t know you, at least not in the way that everyone else knows you.”

Lyn sighed.  “I find it easier.  People are a lot more accepting of Majestra than they would be of Evil-lyn.”

“I hear you go out to the surrounding villages.  Putting on magic shows?”

“Yes, much like the one I put on for your King…though with less kidnapping involved.  Mostly I do it to increase the options for potential bed and board if I need to call on them.  Though strangely, when I see the impressed faces and hear the applause of the villagers…it soothes me.”

“You mean making people happy soothes you.”

Lyn looked away, blushing.  Never comfortable with being on the defensive, she tried to throw off her verbal sparring partner, gesturing to the bedroom door.  “Your companion in there…new girlfriend?”

Now it was Teela’s turn to blush.  “My student, Ileena.”

“That’s not a ‘no’.”

The redhead became flustered.  “She’s my friend, alright?  She is looking to follow in my footsteps.  Everything you saw, I taught her.”

“Not everything, she fights dirty.  Definitely didn’t get that from you.” Lyn then proceeded to describe what she witnessed, adding.  “I like her, she may outlast us all.”

Teela became contemplative.  “As of today, I owe her my life…and I owe you as well.”

Evelyn brushed it off.  “I told you before: Eternia is far more interesting with you in it.  Thankfully your girlfriend - sorry, your ‘friend’ - understands what it takes to keep you in it.”

“Which is?”

“Honour may get you into a fight, but it won’t help you survive.  Your Ileena seems to know that, perhaps she is the one who could teach you .”

“Possibly.”

Lyn drummed her fingers on the table impatiently.  “If that is all, then I’ll get back to Adrianna.”

Teela snapped back to attention, reminded of why she dragged the magician away in the first place.  “No, that’s not all, Evelyn.  I heard you agree to spend the night with her.”

“Your point?”

“What if she wants you to stay another night, and the night after, and the night after?  What if she wants to give you food, clothes, money?  What if she wants to share…other aspects of her life?”

“And what if she does?  Do you begrudge me for accepting that which is freely given?  Do you not believe that one good turn deserves another?”

“Normally, I do.  But to whom is she giving those rewards?  That is the question.”

Lyn became evasive.  “Does it matter?”

Teela pressed on.  “Of course it does.  You want to do good deeds while wearing a disguise?  Fine.  You want to protect people and then accept rewards when they’re given?  No argument here.  But you can’t do both.  Otherwise, you’re just deceiving people and taking advantage of them like before.  I don’t believe that’s who you are anymore.  You’re a good person, Evelyn.  You proved that to all three of us today.  But if you keep this facade going, you’ll be tarnishing all the good you did.  The cause you fought for will have been dishonoured.”      

As the truth of Teela’s words hit home, the disguised mage was unable to look her in the eye.

“I know the real reason you hide behind ‘Majestra’: you’re afraid.  Afraid to let the world see the woman I got a glimpse of years ago.  You spent so long amongst Skeletor and his evil gang.  Angry, bitter, resentful, lashing out, causing pain and suffering wherever you went.  But you changed, you broke away and today you decided to put your life on the line for another.  Yet at the same time, you’re clinging to the past like an old blanket.  Using the face of someone who never existed to convince yourself that the actions you take are not coming from your heart, from the person you truly want to be.”

Irritated, ‘Majestra’ looked up.  “So what’s your big solution, Miss Morality?  Should I climb up on the highest mountain peak in Eternia and yell out that I’m ‘Good-lyn’ now?”

Internally, Teela had to admit she wouldn’t mind seeing that.  “Nothing so dramatic.  Simply go back in there, show Adrianna your real face, tell her your real name and let her make an informed choice about whether or not she wants you in her life.”

‘Majestra’ gave voice to the unspoken part of Teela’s speech. “And if I don’t, you’ll do it for me.”

The warrior didn’t deny the accusation, but pressed on.  “Look, if I had been stranded in the desert with any of the other Evil Warriors, do you really think I would have tried to reach out as much as I did?  Do you really think I would have taken as many risks to make peace with anyone but you?  You were always better than them, better than you ever thought yourself capable of being .  Right now I’m doubting you, yes, so prove me wrong.  Let go of your past, let ‘Evil-lyn’ die, let ‘Majestra’ die.  Let the world know Evelyn Powers, the way I know her.”

The challenge hung in the air for what seemed like an eternity, before the mage sighed and gave Teela a rueful smile.  “For someone who doesn’t deal in magic, you certainly have me under your spell.”

The warrior shrugged.  “It’s the red hair, right?  You can’t resist.”

Evelyn chuckled.  “No…no, I can’t.  Alright, I’ll do it.”  She then wagged a finger.  “But if she kicks me out of here as a result, I’m never letting you hear the end of it.”

“I’ll take that deal.”

The mage spoke seriously once more.  “I know you will have to report to Queen Sumana when you get back.  If it will help ensure that no more women in Arcadia suffer the same fate Adrianna was threatened with, then tell the Queen what you will of my involvement.  The same goes for when you report to your own King and kin.  Do not keep any secrets on my behalf.  I care about you far too much to see you ruin your life over me.”

Teela was pleasantly surprised to hear her friend make such an admission, one that had eluded her last time.  “I understand, and thank you.”

“Hold on, there’s more.  If Randor would listen to what I have to say, then tell him this: Eternia is large enough for people to leave each other alone.  I will not trouble Eternos, provided Eternos does not trouble me.  If he should send his agents after me, well…you’ve seen what happens when I am provoked.”

“I’ll do my best to make him see it your way.  But he is my King, so no promises on whether he agrees.”

“That is all I ask.  Now…”  Evelyn rose from the chair and turned back towards the bedroom door.

Teela stopped her. “One more thing.”

She turned back, annoyed  “What now?!”

“If you do this and it all works out fine, then Ileena and I will take our leave.  If we’re not back at the Palace soon, Queen Sumana will probably send her warriors out to search for us.  I don’t think you or Adrianna want that kind of attention, so…”  Teela extended a hand.  “Good Journey Evelyn.”

The former villain contemplated the hand, then took it and followed through into a hug.  “Good Journey Teela…my friend.”

The friend grinned and gave her a pat on the back.  “There it is.  Feels nice to say the word, doesn’t it?”

Evelyn smirked unseen on Teela’s shoulder. “It does, but ‘girlfriend’ sounds even nicer.  So tell blondie before something else happens.”  

Having gotten a slight bit of satisfaction from having the last word and making Teela squirm over her obvious attraction, Evelyn opened the door and walked back into the bedroom.  Ileena vacated the edge of the bed and stood behind Teela, who was again leaning on the door frame.  The white-haired mage resumed her previous perch.

Adrianna reached out to hold her hand.  “I knew you’d come back.”

“Of course, my dear.”  ‘Majestra’ took a deep breath as she prepared to take the biggest gamble of her life.  “Adrianna, I’m afraid I haven’t been entirely honest with you.  Before you make any decisions about keeping me around, you need to know the truth.”

The redheaded artist sat up.  “Whatever it is, Majestra, it can’t be that bad.”

“Can’t it?” The magician replied, then took the plunge.  “My name is not Majestra.”

“Of course it isn’t, entertainers often have stage names.”

“No, my dear, you don’t understand.  The person you see does not exist, nor did she ever exist.  It is an illusion, a magical disguise, that I use to hide from those who would rightfully be in fear of my true face.”

Adrianna reached down and gave the magician’s hand a squeeze.  “Today, I’ve had plenty to be afraid of…but I know I have nothing to fear when you’re around.”

‘Majestra’ let out a breath.  “Close your eyes, what I’m about to do next can be rather blinding.”

Once Adrianna and the other onlookers had complied, the mage clicked her fingers and with a flash of light, Majestra was gone and Evelyn sat in her place.  Teela opened her eyes to see that she had changed her look since last they met.  Wearing a navy blue, sleeveless coat over black leggings.  The crown was gone, Evelyn’s once close-cropped white hair was now long and spilling down her back.

Adrianna regarded her curiously.  “So, who are you really?”

“My real name is Evelyn Powers.  But for several years now, Eternia has known me - with good reason - as Evil-lyn.”

The mage closed her eyes, waiting for the yelling and the screaming to start.  Instead, Adrianna leaned forward and planted a quick, gentle kiss on Evelyn’s cheek.  Stunned, she put a hand up to her cheek and opened her eyes to find that Adrianna, for the first time since this ordeal started, was smiling.  Evelyn thought it the most beautiful sight she had ever had the privilege to behold.

“I see no evil here.” Without another word, Adrianna moved in for a tight hug, placing her chin on Evelyn’s shoulder.

The former villain returned the hug.  As she did so, the emotional defenses she had spent years building, to hide any potential weakness from both heroic enemy and evil ally alike, crumbled.  Tears flowed freely down her face and soon dampened Adrianna’s shoulder.  Aware of her friend watching the whole affair, Evelyn turned her head to the side and mouthed the words Teela never expected in all her years of battling the ruthless witch.  “Thank you.”

The warrior simply responded with a warm smile, then turned to Ileena and silently gestured towards the front door.  The two of them left the apartment as promised, leaving Evelyn and Adrianna to start a new chapter of their lives.

Teela and Ileena quietly headed for the elevator and the end of the hallway.  The teacher tried to reach out to her student.  “What did I tell you?  We got through it and we saved her.”

“We sure did.”  Ileena replied in a subdued voice.

Teela tried again, concerned.  “Hey, talk to me.  Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, I guess.”  Though Ileena didn’t sound very convincing.  “I just want to go home.”

Teela suspected this was coming.  “You want to go back to your father?”

Ileena was confused.  “What?  No, I want to go home.  Our home.”

Teela wasn’t sure, but that answer gave her a little hope that they would not be parting after all.  “Don’t worry, we will.  As soon as I give my report to Queen Sumana.  Don’t know how I’m going to explain all this to her.  Some diplomat I turned out to be, wouldn’t be surprised if she wants us gone as soon as possible.”

As they reached the elevator, Teela pressed the button, the doors slid open and both of them stepped inside.  Ileena mused.  “So much for me keeping you out of fights.”

Teela smiled as the doors closed.  Then as the elevator started its long descent to ground level, she turned to her comrade in battle.  “Ileena…you saved my life.”

The blonde looked away, trying to act nonchalant.  “That’s what I signed up to do.”

“When we get back home, I’ll need to report to King Randor.  I plan on telling him everything you did and will recommend you be given an officer’s commission in the Royal Guard.  It would probably have to be provisional at first, maybe an Ensign.  But as soon as I can leverage it, I will push for you to be a full Lieutenant.”

Ileena’s head suddenly shot up and she gripped Teela’s shoulders, eyes wide.  “Teela, please, I beg you.  Tell the King what you must, but please, please don’t make any decisions about me being in the Guard until I’ve finished my training!”

The Captain was taken aback by her friend’s impassioned plea.  “You mean…you do want to continue after everything that happened today?”

“Not only do I want to, after today, I have to.  All the stories we heard growing up.  About evil, about men of violence.  It all sounded so distant, didn't it?  Something that happened to other people far away, or in the distant past.  But twice now, I have seen real evil and I can’t just go back to my village and hide away from it.  I have to do my part to stop it.  I was thinking for a long time in that apartment about why I want this.  To be taught by you is my dream, but using your lessons to protect people?  That is my calling.  Maybe I’m a little crazy, but…I feel like this is what I was born to do.”

Teela smiled.  “You’re not crazy for feeling that way, Ileena.  At least, no more crazy than I am.  But if that is how you feel, why would you turn down an opportunity at rank?”

“Because I almost lost you today!”  The fear and upset was evident on Ileena’s face.  “There were a hundred different things those thugs could have done, we were just lucky they picked the one thing I could defend you against.  If they had gone with any of the other ninety-nine options, I wouldn’t have known what to do and you would be dead!”

Teela tried to calm her friend.  “Close calls like that happen in our profession, Ileena.  It’s the danger we all have to live with.”

“But you get through them because you know what to do. There is still so much I need to learn.  If I get into the Guard-”

Teela insisted.  “When you get into the Guard-”

Ileena was equally adamant.  “If I get into the Guard, it has to be because I have the skills to match the rank.  I need to know that I’m one of the best, because you made me the best.  If the King did make me an officer right now and something happened to y-” She quickly corrected herself.  “To the person I was ordered to protect, because I was left standing there not knowing how to defend them…I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”

Teela could see that what she thought would please her friend had now brought her to the verge of tears.  “Ileena, I’m sorry.  You’re right, I shouldn’t have jumped ahead like that.  If it comes up, I’ll make sure the King knows your wishes.  I just felt that you should be rewarded, that’s all.”

Ileena looked into the redhead’s eyes with absolute sincerity.  “Knowing that you’re safe is the only reward I need.”

A smile spread across Teela’s face and she opened her arms.  “C’mere.”

As they stepped in towards each other, Ileena thought that the moment she had dreamed of for years had finally arrived.  Her head tilted, her lips slightly parted, she closed her eyes and moved forward to…

…feel Teela’s chin coming to rest on her shoulder.

Opening her eyes, she saw that the redhead had wrapped her up in a big hug.  A welcome embrace, but not the kind Ileena was hoping for.  “And having a friend like you is all the reward I need.”    

The sound of the elevator doors opening onto the street provided a welcome distraction, allowing Ileena to pull back from the hug and step out onto the pavement without letting Teela see the disappointed look on her face.

Oblivious to what nearly happened, Teela put a hand on her shoulder.  “All that said, if King Randor decides to give you some kind of medal or citation, please just accept it…for me.”

Ileena looked at the woman she would follow to the ends of Eternia.  “For you…I can do that.”

They started walking towards the Royal Palace.  There was a notable tension in the air as the sun set over the city.  The Arcadian Guard appeared to have doubled their patrols.  What few citizens were still outdoors hurried to get off the streets.  Keeping a low profile, the two women kept to the shadows, hoping to slip through unnoticed.

“Ileena, I get the distinct feeling word has gotten out about what we did.”

“Guess this makes the second time you forced the city to wake up to its problems.”

Teela let out a weary sigh, “And your first time.  Just wish Arcadia could get its act together without relying on us to come in from out of town.”  

Feeling the need to lighten the mood, Ileena brought up something she had kept quiet about until now.  “So… Evil -lyn, huh?”

“Yeah, long story and not always a pleasant one.  Though it looks like it might have a happy ending, after all.”

“I hope so.”  Ileena couldn’t help but tease.  “One of the most notorious evildoers in Eternia and you talked her into becoming a heroic protector?  What was it you told Queen Sumana about not being a diplomat?”

Teela had a wry grin as she delivered the counter-riposte.  “What was it the Queen said to you about insolence?”

Ileena shrugged.  “Hey, I learned from the best.”

“Something you didn’t learn from me, though.  Evelyn told me that she saw you hitting below the belt during the fight.”

Ileena was unrepentant. “You told me I needed to improvise.  I just imagined that each man before me was Jarvan and the rest came to me naturally.”

Teela raised an eyebrow “Are you going to picture him the next time you square off against a man?”

“Oh no, I’m past thinking about him now.”

“Good, because King Randor and Queen Marlena want to be grandparents someday.  That won’t happen if your sparring sessions with Adam get too rough.”

Ileena’s face turned red with embarrassment.  “Teela!  Adam is my brother in all but blood, I would never do that to him!”

Teela put an arm around her friend’s shoulders as they walked.  “Glad to hear it.  Now, for Zoar’s sake, don’t let him know that!”

The two of them laughed away their troubles as darkness fell on Arcadia and the end of their mission was in sight.  They had left Eternos as friends and would now return as sisters-in-arms.  An innocent saved, the guilty punished and a former enemy turned away from the darkness, towards the light and possibly towards love.  All in a day’s work, Teela thought to herself.

Chapter Text

Fireworks of all colours shrieked and exploded in the night sky above the city of Eternos, watched by lords and ladies and assorted guests on the high landing of the Royal Palace, just outside the Throne Room.  The Captain of the Guard was also present, keeping watch over the ground situation.  

Though she had been offered a few days leave after her harrowing experience in Arcadia, Teela felt the need to remain alert.  After yet another brush with death, the warrior and bodyguard wanted to regain the sharp edge that had been dulled as of late, due to what she saw as complacency.  The reassurance of freeze rays worn on her wrists, dozens of loyal Guardsmen monitoring the perimeter and if all else failed, she knew of the emergency weapons cache hidden on this level, a secret known only to the Royal Family and Guard officers.  Perhaps it was a little paranoid to be contemplating such matters at a party, but Teela wanted her ability to see danger coming working at peak efficiency. 

The purpose of all this pageantry was to celebrate the return of Princess Adora to Eternia for a short visit.  Even though Teela knew Adora well enough that she would prefer to keep her presence low-key, King Randor did always love a good party.  The celebration also served another purpose, as the Palace welcomed a delegation of Cat Folk from the Vine Jungle, sent by King Paw.  While relations between the secretive felinoids and Eternos had previously gotten off to a rocky start, King Randor hoped a bit of old-fashioned socialising would bring the Cat Folk into the alliance against Skeletor.  Certainly, Teela was hoping to see one fierce feline in particular, to whom she owed a great debt.

Her mind drifted back to two days prior: the end of the Arcadia mission.  After leaving Evelyn and Adrianna, she and Ileena managed to make it back to Queen Sumana’s palace without further incident.  In the meantime, word had spread across the city.  Of the two foreigners and the woman of magic, who had beaten one of the most vicious gangs terrorising the men’s slums and sent them packing.  Sumana’s warriors had gone on full alert, the old city tense, braced for the possibility of riots.  The Queen herself was horrified to learn of the assaults and murders visited upon women venturing into the slums, and angered to learn that an invited diplomat she respected and a second she had quickly grown fond of had been subjected to such violence.  She was prepared to have a battalion of her Guards launch a manhunt and find the perpetrators.  Teela, mindful of the old man’s warning that such an action would incite a bloodbath, advised the Queen against using military force in the slums.  Though she too found the idea of those vile criminals escaping justice to be abhorrent, Teela knew that for the moment, it was necessary to avoid the good men of this city turning against Sumana’s rule and rising up in possible revolution.

Commending both women for their actions, Queen Sumana provided a written endorsement of Teela and Ileena in representing Eternos.  With their patron’s blessing, the two visitors cut their stay short and immediately flew home in the Wind Raider that night.

King Randor had listened to the Captain’s report in his office.  She had kept her word to Evelyn and fully disclosed the mage’s involvement.  Whilst her sovereign was rightly sceptical regarding the former Evil-lyn’s change of heart, he agreed with Teela’s advice that a cautious “hands-off” approach was the best way forward.  Less of a peace treaty and more of a ceasefire agreement.

Regarding Ileena’s part in saving both Adrianna and Teela’s lives, the King acceded to her wish not to be given a formal position early, and would not raise the subject in the trainee’s presence, but he told his subject in confidence.  “Mark my words, Captain: on the day you deem her ready, if she will accept the offer, I will proudly welcome Lieutenant Ileena to my Royal Guard.”

Earlier in the evening, King Randor had presided over a ceremony giving Ileena public recognition for her bravery.  She was duly awarded the Eternian Medal of Gallantry, the highest citation that could be given to a civilian.  As an honour, it was considered to be second only to its military equivalent: the Eternian Star of Valour.

For the hero of the day, she had returned from the mission changed.  No longer smiling or laughing, remaining quiet and serious, a haunted expression in her eyes.  The past two nights’ sleep had been interrupted by Ileena bolting upright in the extra bed that had been moved into Teela’s quarters.  Waking from horrid nightmares in a cold sweat, crying out her friend’s name.  Each time, Teela was immediately up and out of her own bed to comfort her roommate.

Even though Teela had suggested taking a couple of days to rest and recharge, Ileena was driven to continue her training with an intensity that belied her obvious emotional turmoil.  

The day before this party, an alarming incident occurred when she attacked a wooden training dummy with a seemingly unending series of strikes, letting out a primal scream of rage.  Teela had to interject before Ileena broke her bones on the inanimate enemy.  When the red haze had cleared, Ileena was once again apologetic and clearly distraught by her loss of control.

Now the teacher watched her student from across the landing.  Ileena’s heroics had attracted a plethora of potential male suitors among the Royal Court, the Masters and off-duty Guardsmen.  All of them finding excuses to make conversation with the young blonde, who seemed coolly disinterested with their attempts to woo her.  Teela worried for Ileena’s mind state.  Concerned that while she may be gaining a future Lieutenant, she was losing the friend who was such a pleasure to be around, who could make her laugh, who was filled with such enthusiasm for anything they did together.

Her attention was drawn to Ram-Man walking up to her.  “Hey Teela, ya mind if I go talk to Ileena over there?  I was wonderin’ if she had any plans for tomorrow.”

Teela grinned at the short, but powerful warrior. “I’m her teacher, Rammy, not her chaperone.  You two want to talk, be my guest.”  She then leaned in and spoke softly.  “But just remember: any man breaks her heart and I break his head.”

He patted the top of his reinforced helmet.  “Heheh, good thing I always got protection.”

“I’m serious, Rammy.”

“Oh, I know y’are, pal.  I’ll be the whachacallit, the perfect gentleman.  Wish me luck.”  And with that, he left to make his move.

No sooner had one conversation ended than one began as Queen Marlena approached her Captain.  “Teela.”

The officer stood to attention and gave a salute.  “Your Majesty.”

The monarch shook her head.  “At ease, Captain…”  She opened her arms and smiled warmly.  “Come here.”

Teela stepped forward and accepted the hug.  Marlena held on to her hands with a look of motherly concern.  “I read your report on the Arcadia mission, are you alright?”

The bodyguard kept her professional air and brushed off the danger, despite how she felt inside.  “A close call, Your Majesty.  No worse than the others.”

“You did well, saving that girl.”  Marlena glanced over at Ileena.  “Both of you.”

Teela sheepishly admitted. “We…did have some help, Your Majesty.”

“So I understand.  Evil-lyn sincerely fighting on the side of good, who would have thought?  Did you have any idea this might happen?”

“A little bit of intuition and a little bit of hope, Your Grace.  When the two of us were stranded in the desert, fighting to survive, she allowed me to see who she truly was, even if she didn’t mean to.  Evelyn made a career out of putting on a disguise and ‘pretending’ 

to be nice.  But for all those years, I think the person she was lying to the most was herself.”

Marlena nodded, then turned her attention back to the woman who reminded her so much of her own daughter.  “How is Ileena holding up?  Ever since your return, I have noticed she seems troubled.  Once again, she has proven her courage.  But getting mixed up in such violence couldn’t have been easy for her.”

Teela sighed.  “I’m afraid not, Your Majesty.  We haven’t spoken about it, but from what I can observe, Ileena is experiencing the same thing all fighters do after going into combat for the first time.  She now knows the fear, the chaos, the split-second decisions that can mean the difference between life and death.  If she’s anything like I was after my first action, then her mind is running through all the ways it could have been worse, and they’re gnawing away at her.  It may take time, but eventually she’ll reach the point of just being glad that it wasn’t worse”

The Queen’s heart went out to her student.  “Still, I think it best if I find an opportunity to speak with her.  That usually cheers her up.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.  I know she’ll appreciate it.”

“I understand she has a guaranteed place in the Guard waiting for her.  Do you think she will accept?  Apparently she insisted on not being awarded a rank for what she did.”

“Ileena believes that her deeds so far have been the result of luck rather than skill, and she would sooner have skill than rank.  She cannot bear the idea of letting anyone down by being put in a position she is not prepared for.  I was surprised when she begged me not to recommend her to the Guard immediately, but after thinking about it a while, I realised that she’s right.  The King has agreed to wait until her training is complete before making any offers, but…”  She looked at her student with pride.  “When that day comes, I hope she will accept, because I think she will make for an exemplary officer.”

Marlena looked at their protege, who was listening to Ram Man’s awkward attempts at asking her out on a date.  “I know she will.  She has the best teacher anyone could ask for.”

Teela blushed at the compliment, then remembered a pressing matter.  “Your Majesty, have you seen Prince Adam?  There is something I need to discuss with him.”

Mention of her son brought a wry grin to the Queen’s face.  “He’ll be along shortly with Adora and a friend of hers from Etheria.  Apparently my son has become very close with her during his latest visit.  A lady of magic who is a Queen in her own right, I believe her name is…Castaspella.”

“I see.”  Teela remained impassive, not wanting to comment on Adam’s love life in front of his mother.

Marlena leaned in and nudged Teela.  “Perhaps there might be some competition for Adam’s affections in the near future, do you think?”

The redhead looked away, uncomfortable.  Marlena picked up on it immediately.  “Teela, is something wrong?”

“How can I put this, Your Majesty…” The Captain picked her words carefully.  “The Prince shall have my sword, and if need be, my life, for as long as the House of Randor requires it…and Adam will always be my friend.  But if a lady should seek to court him, she will not need to consider me competition.”

“Oh.”  Whether the Queen was disappointed or relieved to hear this news was hard to discern.

Teela then leaned forward with a slight smirk.  “That said, if any such lady should toy with his heart, she had best steer clear of my right hook.”

Marlena chuckled.  “That’s all a mother can ask for.”  Her attention was diverted by applause from the assembled guests.  “Here they are now.”    

Sure enough, the crowd parted to reveal Princess Adora walking side-by-side with her brother, who in turn was escorting Castaspella, Queen of Castle Mystacor, on his arm.

“Mother!”  Adora immediately ran ahead and hugged Marlena.  “I’ve missed you and father so much!”

Marlena beamed with joy.  “We’ve both missed you too, my little girl.”  She then led Adora off in another direction, the partygoers standing aside to allow access.  “Now before you get sidetracked, come along and tell your father what you’ve been up to.”

Teela smiled at seeing the family reunited once again, then straightened to attention as the Prince and his date caught up.

“Hi Teela, I’d like you to meet Castaspella.”

The Captain extended a polite hand “Pleased to meet you.”

Castaspella met the handshake, with a twinkle in her eye “And I am pleased to meet you, Captain Teela.  Adam has told me so much about you.”  She then gave an adoring look to the Prince.   “I understand I have you to thank for making him a man...”

Adam began stammering.  “I, well, that is, uh…”

Casta’ then clarified with a wink.  “With your training, I mean.”

The Captain grinned.  “I do my best, glad you appreciate it.”  She then sobered up as she addressed Adam, who was trying to hide his face.  “Your Highness, I need to speak with you alone for a moment.  It’s official business.”

Glad of the chance to get some separation and collect himself, Adam made his apologies.  “Uh, by all means, Captain.  Casta, will you excuse me?”

“Of course, my handsome Prince.  But don’t take too long, I’m sure you want to introduce me to all of your wonderful family.”

“Uh, sure, right.” 

Adam hurriedly followed Teela as she marched over to one of the open-air corridors that fed into the landing directly from the kitchens, stopping at a stone column while waiters moved back and forth past them.  “Thanks for bailing me out, Teela.  Casta is very charming, but she can come on a little strong sometimes.”

She couldn’t resist teasing him.  “Don’t tell me that Prince Adam, whose famous charm has captured the hearts of maidens across Eternia, has met his match?”

“I didn’t say that, I just mean, well…never mind.”

“It’s alright, Adam, I’m just kidding.”

“I’m surprised you and Casta got along so well.”

Teela arched an eyebrow.  “Why is that surprising?”

Adam rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.  “Well, I guess…I thought you might have had a problem with me seeing her.”

Teela chuckled.  “Adam, you’re being silly.  Why would I get mad about you courting one of Adora’s friends?  After all…” She gave him a wry grin.  “I did that first.”

He relaxed and returned the grin.  “You sure did.”

Teela then recomposed herself to deliver the grim report.  “Adam, the reason I wanted to talk to you alone is because while you were away, I was given some bad news.  I know a party for your sister is not the best place to tell you such a thing, but we seem to spend less and less time in the same room these days.”

He moved to reassure her.  “It’s alright, Teela.  Probably best to get the bad news out of the way before everyone starts drinking.  What’s wrong?”

She let out a breath and began her tale.  “While you were on Etheria, your father assigned me to be a diplomatic envoy to Arcadia.”

Despite his foreboding, Adam was amused.  “You?  A diplomat?”

“Don’t start, mister, we already made those jokes.  Anyway, Ileena and I went to see Queen Sumana…”

“Oh, how are she and Ananda doing?”

“That’s just it…” Teela put a hand on his shoulder, hoping to provide some comfort as she dropped the bombshell.  “Adam, there was an accident a year ago…King Ananda…he’s gone.”

Stunned, the Prince lowered his head in remembrance.  “Oh no.  He was a good man, I was proud to know him.”  He then leaned forward and hugged Teela, who accepted the embrace and gave her Prince a supportive pat on the back.  “Thank you for telling me.  I’m just glad he lived to see the day where all Arcadians are equal.”

Her face fell as she realised she would have to deliver the other bad news.  “About that…”

“What?  What is it?”

“If I told you the details, then it really would spoil Adora’s party.  Suffice to say, there’s a reason your father just gave Ileena a high honour for bravery.”

Concerned, Adam couldn’t help but press his friend for answers. “Is she alright?  What happened?”

“She’s…well, she will be fine….eventually.  I’ll tell you tomorrow, okay?  All I can say for now is that while there were good men in those mines, there were some monsters too, and while they’ve stepped into the light, they’ve brought some of the darkness with them.”

“I see.” Adam’s expression reflected a rising guilt for his role in upending Arcadia’s status quo.  An illogical guilt Teela knew all too well after her firsthand experience of the horrors unleashed by their actions.  Or rather, as she reminded herself, by Queen Sumana’s inaction.  “I know what you’re thinking, Adam.  Same thing that’s been on my mind for the past two days.  It’s not your fault.  Despite what’s happening in that city now, we found a system of cruel slavery and tore it down.  We were right to do that.  There’s nothing more you or I can do to help the Arcadians right now.  It’s up to them to do their part.”  She tried steering his mind to happier thoughts.  “So just enjoy the party, introduce Castaspella to your parents.”

He shot her a slight grin, his good humour returning.  “And I thought our run-ins with Skeletor were terrifying…”

Teela burst out laughing.  “Oh come on, Adam!  I’m sure the King and Queen will love her.  You two go on and have a good time, just know that I want this to work out for you.”

Adam looked at her shyly, probing to see if there were any lingering feelings.  Some sign that he might be causing more harm than good by courting another woman.  “Are you sure, Teela?  I know you haven’t always thought well of women who have been interested in me.  If…if seeing Casta is going to upset you, then tell me truly and I won’t take it any further.”

Teela spoke softly, knowing her answer might be a little hard for him to take.  “I know what you’re referring to.  There was a time when, apart from your mother and sister, any woman who so much as looked at you fondly would make me so jealous.  When the Queen told me you were escorting Casta here, I half-expected the same old routine to start.  But when you introduced her just now, I didn’t feel any of that.  Maybe I’ve changed, maybe I’ve gone to a different place lately.  Is the change for the better?  I don’t know, I’ll let others decide.  But when I see you and Castaspella together, I am honestly happy for the both of you.”

Adam reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.  “Thank you, Teela.  One way or another, I needed to be sure how you felt.”

She was curious as to why he had raised the matter.  “Does it bother you that I’m not getting jealous anymore?”

Wide-eyed, he held his hands up, pleading off.  “Oh no, nothing of the sort.  I’m sure a lot of men would love the idea of women being ready to fight over them, but it would bring me no joy.  However this relationship goes, I wouldn’t be able to continue seeing her if it upset you.  It does matter to me that I have your blessing.”

Teela gave him another hug, touched that he valued her opinion that much.  “Adam, the only thing that would upset me is if you were to upset her. I know I bust your chops a lot, but I truly want you to be happy.  Now you better get back to her, my Prince.  Shouldn’t keep a lady waiting.”

“No, better not.”

As they started to walk back to the landing, she had a rather prurient thought.  “Have you told Cringer yet?”

“Told him what?”

“That he’s going to have to find somewhere else to sleep tonight.  Your room is going to be…occupied.”

Adam’s cheeks burned, turning the same colour as his shirt.  “What makes you so sure?  Maybe it won’t be.”

Teela grinned.  “Trust me, Adam.  I’ve been with a woman before, I know that look Casta is giving you.”

He turned a bright crimson.  “Teela, I know I have this image that I’m Zoar’s gift to women, but the truth is…Castaspella is just so strong-willed, so self-assured, so beautiful.  She’s everything I want in a woman, but…when I’m around her, I get nervous.”  He looked at his best friend, embarrassed.  “I’m guessing you didn’t have that problem.”

Teela sympathised with a situation she was intimately familiar with, “On the contrary, Adam.  When I first met Huntara, I was practically quaking in my boots.”  

He stopped walking, surprised by her admission.  “You were?”

She turned to look at him sincerely.  “I was.  You know me, I don’t admit to being afraid often. When you make a connection with someone who wants you that badly, it is scary, but it’s a wonderful kind of scary.  Just do what I did: trust her and allow her to take the lead, then something special will follow.  You had a front-row seat to witness how Huntara changed my life, Adam.  If Castaspella wants to do the same for you, and I believe she does, then I want you to have that.  You just need to be brave and rise to the occasion.  Casta said that I made a man out of you?  Then show her just how much of a man you are.”

“I’ll do my best, Teela.  If nothing else, I have plenty of experience with a woman putting me on my back.  Hopefully the landing will be softer this time.”

Teela smirked.  “Don’t tell her that, she may take it as a challenge.”

The two lifelong friends laughed as they headed back to the party.

Chapter Text

Adam returned to Castaspella’s side, buoyed by Teela’s pep talk and ready to face the somewhat daunting task of introducing her to the King and Queen of Eternia.  The Captain had resumed her place overlooking the festivities, keeping a careful watch on Ileena who was now engaged in conversation with Lord Stratos and his wife Delora.  Teela felt at ease knowing her friend was spending time around a committed couple, given how many single men had been lining up to proposition the young trainee during the evening.

She noticed that Adora had returned and was making a beeline towards her, arms open.  “Teela!”

“Adora.” The Captain met the hug, glad to spend time with her spiritual ‘sister’.

“Are you doing alright?”

Teela played down recent events.  “Had a skirmish a couple of days ago, but I’m doing fine.”

“Good to know.  Is there a place we could sit?  I need to talk to you.”

“Sure, over there ought to do.”  The two of them walked over to one of the stone benches ringing the landing, close to the wide balcony that overlooked the whole city.

Adora waited till her friend was comfortable, then turned to her. “I wanted to see how you were feeling since we last spoke in Brightmoon.  I heard Huntara came to stay with you for a while.”

Happy, yet bittersweet memories flooded Teela’s mind.  “Yes, she came to live with me at the Palace.  We were together for two weeks before she went back to Silax.”

“Was it everything you hoped for when you came to Etheria?”

Teela smiled sadly.  “And then some.  I know it was just supposed to be a short fling and she made me promise not to wait for her, but…”  She then looked up and gave Adora her full attention.  “I love her.  I will always love her, even if I meet someone tomorrow and we happily spend the rest of our days together.  She never said the words, because that’s not her way…but I know that she loves me just as much.”

Adora put a hand on Teela’s shoulder.  “Then you truly understand.  Back in Brightmoon,  I know I made it sound as if us Rebels are just seeking comfort with each other in the middle of a horrendous situation.  There is some truth to that, but even if two of us spend only one night together, we will love each other for the rest of our lives.”

“Sounds right to me.  I came to Etheria looking for the full experience, and I got it…”  Teela reached up and gave Adora’s hand a squeeze.  “I sure got it.”

A moment passed before Teela remembered.  “Stupid me, where are my manners?  I should have asked this before anything else.  Adora, is everybody in the Rebellion alright?”

Now it was the rebel leader’s turn to look away.  “We’re as alive and healthy as when you last saw us, Teela.  But we’re all anxious about what’s going to happen soon.”

“Is the Horde making a big move?”

“No, we are.  We’ve received reinforcements…ten thousand of them”  Adora explained about the Hive.  “Once they’re ready, we’re going on the offensive, to liberate Etheria one kingdom at a time.  Please don’t tell mother and father about this, they get worried enough as it is when they hear about me being under fire.  I made a point to visit you all now because soon, we won’t be the little Rebellion everyone knows, hiding in our magical woods.  We will be an army, marching to war.”

The lifelong soldier nodded with grim understanding.  “Not a word from me.”

Adora continued.  “I’m going to try and have a good time while I’m here, but all the same, I’m worried.  We’re so close now to what we’ve always wanted: to drive the Horde back to the Fright Zone and then tear it down.  But every Trooper smashed into junk, every machine destroyed, every outpost levelled, every inch of territory taken will be paid for with Etherian blood.  That prospect makes me sick to my stomach.  Yet at the same time, I know that the consequences of not doing it are that eventually the Horde will grind us down and complete their takeover of Etheria.  This is the only way forward, but I know that we’re going to lose friends before it’s over.”

Now it was Teela’s turn to offer the comforting hand.  “But you have She-Ra, surely that counts for something?”

Adora tensed up.  Maintaining her secret identity as the Princess of Power was something that weighed heavy on her mind.  Lying to those she cared about had never sat easy with her, even as she accepted that such secrets were necessary.  She took comfort in her trips to Eternia, because no-one asked her about She-Ra here, they were only glad that Adora was back.  She hated having to bring the lie home.  But through that illusion, she expressed her own self-doubt.

“I don’t know, Teela.  Even with She-Ra, we were never able to do something like this.  We’re all grateful for her help, and we know she won’t do anything to let us down.  But she can’t be everywhere, she can’t save everybody…” Adora shuddered.  “Nor can I.”

Teela leaned over and hugged her friend, who returned the affectionate gesture and let go of a ragged breath.  “Thank you, I needed to get that out.”

“Anytime.”

Hoping to take Adora’s mind down a more pleasant road, Teela brought up the other visitor from Etheria.  “I had a chance to meet Castaspella this evening.  Do I get the impression you’ve been playing matchmaker, Adora?”

The princess was unabashed.  “In Casta’s mind, the match was made long ago.  I just gave my brother some advice, encouraged him to loosen up a little.”

Having not seen the man that Adora knew, Teela was sceptical.  “That implies that he’s ever been anything but loose.”

“You’d be surprised.  When he’s around my friends, especially ones who are interested in him, he can be wound tighter than an alarm clock.”

Teela thought back to the conversation she had with Adam moments ago.  ”I’m starting to see that now, but I think it will be good for him to have a real relationship, as opposed to when he would cavort with chambermaids and tavern girls.  I’m sure the King and Queen are hoping that Casta will become part of the family before too long.”

Adora turned her gaze to the other long-haired blonde, who commanded most of the attention on the landing.  “Speaking of which, could you please tell me about Ileena?  Mother is very fond of her, almost as if she were my sister.  I’d like to know more about her.”

Teela then spent the next several minutes relating her friendship with Ileena, their exploits since training started, and once Adora assured her that it couldn’t be worse than what she dealt with on Etheria, the details of the Arcadia mission.

“I can see why mother likes her, I do too.  If she were Etherian, I’d want her on our side.  So, what is the Captain’s verdict?”

Teela lowered her head in contemplation.  “Simply put, I owe her my life, Adora.  I think calling her my student is almost doing her a disservice.” She then looked at the Princess with all the conviction she could muster.  “Ileena still has a lot to learn and she knows it.  But in her heart and mind and by her actions, she is a warrior.  She is my sister-in-arms and I will go into battle with her any day.”

Adora let out a low whistle.  “High praise indeed.  I can’t wait to meet her properly tomorrow.  Come to think of it, I’d like to help her training while I’m here.  Do a bit of sparring, give her a new opponent to test herself against.”

“Are you sure, Adora?  You and the rest of the Rebellion do so much fighting as it is.  Asking you to do more in the middle of your family vacation?  Doesn’t seem right.”

Adora moved to reassure her friend.  “I understand where you’re coming from, Teela, but don’t worry.  There’s a world of difference between fighting for my life against the Horde’s robots and getting a little rough with a friend.  To me, that’s not fighting, that’s playing.”  She then had a mischievous look.  “Besides, what’s the worst that could happen: I end up on my back with a beautiful woman pinning me down?  That’s not a bad place to be.”

Teela raised a flirtatious eyebrow.  “Since you put it that way, maybe after you’re done with Ileena, you and I should go a few rounds.”

Adora was never one to back down from such a challenge.  “Anytime, Teela.  As long as you don’t mind me being on top of you.”

Teela would give no ground in this impromptu contest.  “Maybe I don’t.  Maybe that makes me the true winner.”

Both held each other’s daring gaze for a moment before cracking up with laughter.

After a moment to let the frivolity subside, Adora gauged Teela’s response to her next line of enquiry.  “That’s what you think of her as a fighter, but what do you think of her as a woman?”

Immediately, Teela tried to hide her blush.  “I, uh, I’m not sure what you mean by that, Adora.”

The Princess smirked, glad her instincts were proving correct.  “Oh yes, you do.  Every spare moment, you’re finding reasons to glance at her and it’s not out of any sisterly concern.”

Embarrassed, Teela continued to evade the question.  “I’m not exactly sure what you want me to say.”

Adora pressed on.  “Just say how you feel when you look at her.  I mean, don’t you think she’s pretty?”

Before she could stop herself, Teela took the bait.  “She’s more than pretty, she’s beautiful.  That golden hair, those eyes, her smile.”

Adora reeled in her catch.  “Uh-huh, and what else?”

The redhead became more excited as she extolled Ileena’s virtues.  “She’s smarter than her years, she’s able to make me smile or laugh right when I need it.  She brightens up my day just by the way she throws herself into everything we do.  She’s so humble and owns her faults, even if I think she’s being too hard on herself.  There’s this thing she does that’s so cute, when…” Teela’s enthusiastic praise ground to a halt as she realised.  “Alright, I see where this is going.”

Adora sported a knowing grin.  “I thought so,”

Teela continued to try and deflect.  “Ileena and I are just friends.” 

“So you are, but you clearly want to be more than her friend.”

“With respect, Adora, I think you have an overactive imagination.”

“Sometimes I do, but I'm pretty sure I’m right on this one.”

“You were pretty sure about me and Adam.”

“True, but I never saw you react to Adam the way you react to Ileena.  In fact, there’s only one other person I’ve known to bring this kind of passion out of you.”

Teela was wide-eyed as the implication registered, “Adora, are you comparing-?”

“I am.  Face it, Teela, you’ve got it bad.”

The Captain of the Guard was uncommonly flustered.  “So…what?  Are you looking for some kind of confession, Adora?  Do you want me to say that every time I look at her, I wish I could run my fingers through her hair, and hold her and kiss her and…all the rest?”  Voicing her deepest desires aloud made Teela realise it was pointless to hide her feelings no longer.  Weary, she gave up pretending,  “Then yes, I do.”

“So why don’t you let her know that?” Adora suggested as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“I can’t”

“Why not?  After all, I’ve been told the two of you are very close.”

Teela’s head shot up.  “Who told you that?”

She followed Adora’s eyes to another part of the landing, where Adam was introducing Castaspella to his mother.

“Oh, right.  Well, I can’t go saying anything to her, it would be wrong.”

“How so?”

“I’m her teacher, Adora.”

“But you just said-”

“I know, I know.  She has looked up to me for years, to follow in my footsteps has been her dream.  I called in my favours with your parents and made that dream a reality.  I brought her to live at the Palace and started to give her the same level of training that my father gave me. Obviously when we train, I have expectations and she always meets them.  But I can’t pressure her into feeling like she has to oblige my personal desires, like she has to repay everything I’ve given her.  That would be abusing my position, it would be immoral.”

Adora considered what she had just been told.  “So, let me see if I’ve got this right.  To take someone you’ve personally trained into a life-or-death fight against a bunch of murderous thugs is perfectly fine, but taking her in your arms afterwards would be crossing the line?  Hmm, guess I must not be a very moral person, then.”

Teela was aghast.  “Adora, how could you say that?  You’re the most moral person I know.”

“Not by your logic, Teela.  Those women you met in Brightmoon, the ones you admire so much?  I’ve trained many of them in personal combat, to give them a solid foundation if their special powers should ever fail against the Horde.  I’ve led them into more battles than I care to count, and sometimes - just sometimes - when it’s over, one of them will give me the hint that she wants to share a bed with me.  When she does, I don’t hesitate and you know why: because there’s a good chance that the next day, one or both of us may not come back to anyone’s bed.”

“But that’s different.  On Etheria, you’re at war.”

Adora countered.  “Seems to me that the only difference is that we wake up every day knowing that danger is right around the corner.  Whereas on Eternia, that danger can spring up around you with no warning,”

Seeing her friend was conflicted, Adora softened her tone.  “Look, I don’t mean to suggest you have anything other than honourable intentions, but there is such a thing as being too moral for your own good.  I’m sure it was a smart idea to maintain boundaries when you first took her on, when it was all fun and games on the practice grounds.  But after what the two of you went through, it makes no sense to let your position hold you back from pursuing what’s in your heart.”

Teela finally looked at Adora, agitated.  “So what do you want me to do about it?  Walk up to Ileena and kiss her right in front of everybody?!”

Adora chuckled softly.  “Sure would liven up this party, but no.  You’re around her every day.  More than anybody, you’re going to notice how she feels and who she might be interested in.”  The rebel leader took a glance at the subject of their discussion.  “All I’m encouraging you to do is look for the signs, and if it is you she wants, then tell her that you feel the same way.”

Teela was still undecided.  “I don’t know, Adora...”

The Princess took a different approach  “Why do we do it, Teela?  Hmm?  Why do you and I wield swords and blasters and put ourselves in harm’s way, when we could stay home and wear pretty dresses instead?”

“Because we want to protect the people we love from the men, monsters and machines that we know are out to hurt them.”

“Exactly.  Now Ileena wants to do the same, but for who?  You’re teaching her how to fight, but maybe you are the one she wants to fight for .”

“Adora, why are you so adamant about this?”

“Because you’re my family, Teela, and though I don’t really know her yet, Ileena is my family too.  If being together would make both of you happy, and I have a feeling that it would, then you shouldn’t let some self-imposed standard hold you back.  Tonight, you declared Ileena to be a warrior and my father hailed her as a hero.  If her idea of a hero’s reward is to -as you put it - hold you and kiss you and all of the rest.  Would you deny her, when you want the same thing?  Would you break her heart, and break your own in the process?  That doesn’t sound very moral to me.  In fact, that would be downright cruel…to both of you.”

Teela looked down at the floor of the landing in silence for a few moments, before letting out a deep sigh of relief.  “Thank you, Adora.  Everything you’ve said tonight…there’s been a little voice in my head telling me the same thing for a while now.  I was just too stubborn to listen.”  She finally looked up at her friend and was able to smile.  “I guess I needed to hear it from someone I respect.”     

Adora gave her friend a pat on the back.  “Just follow your heart, Teela, and you won’t go far wrong.”

Her conscience finally clear, the redhead looked over at Ileena, who was only half-listening to a one-sided conversation from Mekaneck.  For the first time in weeks, Teela was able to look at the woman who made her heart skip a beat, the way she truly wanted to look at her, without guilt or self-reproach.  She softly replied.  “I will…somehow.”

She then let out a quiet chuckle as if contemplating a private joke.  Adora was curious “What?  What is it?”

“I was just thinking…Adam and Casta, me and Ileena.  You’ve done so much to play matchmaker for us.  I appreciate it and I can tell Adam does too.  But I wonder…who is going to make a match for you?”

Adora lowered her eyes.  “I don’t know if that is a luxury I can afford, Teela.  Not now with what the Rebellion faces.  For a while there, I thought I had that special someone…a pirate captain.”

Teela was impressed.  “A pirate?  Why Adora, I didn’t know you were such a bad girl.”

The blonde grinned briefly, but then her mood turned melancholy.  “We haven’t seen each other in some time, and if I do see him again, I doubt we’ll just pick up where we left off.  Even when we were together, it was clear his first love will always be the Twelve Seas of Etheria.  I’m just too much of a landlubber for it to work.  But don’t worry, Teela.  My love life may be rather unconventional and certainly would shock my parents if they knew what I was getting up to, but...”  Adora had a twinkle in her eye as she finished with.  “I’m not lonely.”

The two friends quietly soaked up the ambience of the party atmosphere for a while, until Adora’s attention was caught by a group of felinoids wearing heavy robes, approaching King Randor.  “Oh, Eternia has Cat People too?”

Teela explained.  “Yes, the Cat Folk of the Vine Jungle.  We didn’t start off on the right foot with them, made some ignorant mistakes, but we’re trying to strengthen ties.  Your father has invited their delegation to stay overnight in the guest quarters.  They get to experience the party tonight, then sit down for talks tomorrow.  As a matter of fact, I was hoping they might have brought-”

Teela cut herself off as a loud purring was audible behind her.  She looked back, delighted to find who she expected.  “Ah, there you are.”

Kittrina, sultry spy and fierce warrior in the service of King Paw, was crouched on all fours on the parapet lining the landing.  Once spotted, she leapt onto the bench between the two women and with her typical disregard for personal space, wrapped her arms tightly around Teela while sitting in her lap.

“My purrrfect partner, I’ve missed you.”  Without further ado, Kittrina repeatedly rubbed the sides of her face against Teela’s cheeks, purring and trilling, accompanied by her tail swishing back and forth.

Well used to the flirty feline’s physically close form of friendship, Teela giggled.  “I’ve missed you too, Kittrina.”

Adora watched this display of affection with amusement, until something in the centre of the landing caught her eye.  She saw Ileena staring right at them, an irritated scowl on her face.  She then spun around, pointedly turning her back on the source of her consternation.  Adora looked over to see that Teela was none the wiser to what just happened and quietly murmured to herself.  “Uh-oh, trouble.”

Once the felinoid had finished, Teela made the formal introductions.  “Kittrina, may I present Princess Adora, daughter of King Randor and Queen Marlena.  Adora, this is Kittrina, warrior in the service of King Paw.”

The cat girl clambered off Teela to turn and still crouched on the bench, bowed before the daughter of her hosts.  “Your Highness, I am at your service.”

The Princess chose the less formal approach, reached out and shook Kittrina’s hand.  “Nice to meet you, just call me Adora.”

“Pleased to meet you as well, Adora.  My duty is to keep a close eye on royalty, but none of them are as pretty as you.” Kittrina kept hold of Adora’s hand, turned it over and leaned down to gently kiss her knuckles.  The Princess was caught a little off-guard, but quickly recovered.  “Why thank you, that’s quite the compliment.”

Teela interceded.  “Adora is more than a Princess, Kittrina.  She is the leader of the Great Rebellion on Etheria, fighting to overthrow the Evil Horde who occupy the planet .”

“Rowrr, sounds like a rather exciting life.”

Adora modestly played down her role.  “It has its moments.”

Interested in the blonde rebel, Kittrina shuffled closer on the bench and leaned in.  “Do you live in a big palace like this one?”

“A Queen is among my closest allies, so I’m an occasional visitor to one, but mostly I live in the Whispering Woods.”

“The woods?”  Kittrina’s tone became even more suggestive than usual.  “So you have a lot of experience with the wild side of life?”

Adora could see the feline’s game and was happy to play it, replying with a soft voice and a doe-eyed expression.  “I’ve learned a thing or two.”

“Do they have any cat people on Etheria?”

“Oh yes, She-Ra stumbled upon their underground city a year ago.  Magicats, they’re called.  Good friends of ours.”

Teela was confused.  “But I thought there was a cat woman you fight all the time.”

Adora clarified.  “I get along great with all kinds of cat people, it’s Catra I have problems with.”  She explained to Kittrina.  “She’s part of the Horde, oppressing the Etherian people.  She is especially nasty and vicious.  She wears a mask stolen from the Queen of the Magicats to transform herself into a cat form in battle.  Without it, she is just as human as I am.”

Kittrina’s hatred for those who pillage sacred relics flared up  “Rowrrr!  In that case, give her a good swipe across the nose for me.”

Adora admired the cat girl’s spirit.  “I’m sure the chance will come sooner rather than later.” 

Kittrina then leaned in, her voice once again low and seductive.  “I’m expected to sleep in the same quarters as the rest of my people, but I’m sure I can slip away at some point.  Tell me, Adora, will you be having company tonight?”

The Princess’ voice was equally low and husky, her eyes heavy-lidded, ready to meet Kittrina’s flirtations with her own.  “Well, I did come to Eternia with a friend, but I’m fairly certain she has…other plans this evening.  So if you’re looking to stop by, my door will be open for you.”

Kittrina’s ears twitched, her lips inches away from Adora’s and closing in fast. “Purrrfect.”

Deciding she had better intervene before her two friends caused a scandal in front of the Royal Court, Teela cleared her throat.  “Kittrina, sorry to interrupt, but since you’re here at the Palace, I was hoping I could interest you in a proposition.”

The cat girl turned to face her old friend, but had lost none of her sultry demeanour.  “Normally I would love for you to proposition me, Teela.  But I think I’m spoken for this evening.”

The redhead chuckled: Kittrina was incorrigible.  “No, not that kind of proposition.  We have an alliance of men from all over Eternia - Masters of the Universe, they’re called - who come together and fight evil.  I want to bring more women on to the team and you’re on my shortlist.  Perhaps we can discuss it tomorrow?  It would mean you and me having more adventures like we did before.”

The feline warrior was intrigued.  “I think I would like that.”

A shrill, scratchy voice called out from elsewhere on the landing.  “By the whiskers of Saz!  Where has Kittrina gone?!”

Her ears perked up.  “The ambassador is looking for me, duty calls.  Teela, I’ll come find you tomorrow.  Adora?”  Kittrina turned to the Princess and grinned like the Cheshire Cat from Queen Marlena’s books.  “I’ll see you later.”

Teela put a hand on her friend’s arm.  “Just one thing before you go.  If you are planning to call on Adora tonight, please, please use the door.”

The Princess was bemused.  “Why, what were you going to do instead, Kittrina?”

Teela answered for her.  “She’s planning on climbing the outside wall and coming in through the window.”

Kittrina looked back and winked.  “You know me so well, my friend.”

Adora found the idea charming.  “Sounds very romantic.”

Teela didn’t share the sentiment.  “It won’t sound romantic to the Guards of the Night Watch.  If they spot you, the entire Palace will go on alert.  So please, Kittrina, be discreet…for me.”

“For you, my purrrfect partner, they’ll never know I was there.”

The shrill voice called out again.  “Kittrina!  Rowrr, front and center!”

“Gotta run.” The agile cat warrior leapt off the bench seating and disappeared into the crowd.  Adora watched her go while slightly chewing on her bottom lip.  She realised Teela was giving her an amused look.  “What?”

“In the last few minutes, you’ve flirted with me, volunteered to get physical with Ileena and now you’ve agreed to a late night rendezvous with Kittrina.  I may be risking my military career by saying this, but…Princess Adora, you are absolutely girl-crazy.”

The Princess giggled.  “You noticed, huh?  Don’t worry, Teela, your career is going to be just fine.  As for what you said…one of us is girl-crazy, the other one is crazy about a girl.”

Teela smiled, looking out towards the center of the landing, oblivious as to why Ileena was deliberately facing away from her.  “I sure am, Adora.  I sure am.”

Chapter Text

Later that night, a hush descended over the Royal Palace of Eternia.  The party had wrapped up an hour ago and all members of the House of Randor retired to their respective chambers.  Adam invited Castaspella to his room for a nightcap and her eyes lit up at the prospect.  Teela couldn’t help but be delighted at seeing her reaction and could have sworn she saw magic swirling around those blue irises, brightening their hue.  Bidding her Prince and his lady a good night, she met Adam’s questioning look with a nod of approval.  For as many ups and downs their friendship had endured over the years, she was proud of him this day.  The new couple walked inside for what was definitely going to be a sleepless night, for all the right reasons.  With Casta otherwise engaged, Adora had returned to their shared guest room alone.  Though she made no secret of the fact that she was expecting an after dark visit from a certain frisky feline.

With all of her protectees seen safely to bed for the night, the Captain had one last duty before she herself could call it an evening: brief the Lieutenant in charge of the Night Watch and officially hand over command of the Royal Guard.  Ileena had accompanied her through all of these tasks.  Now that the life of a military officer awaited her, it was vital that she maintain the same hours as her trainer,  As Teela had explained.  “First rule of the Guard: you don’t get to end your day until the Royal Family ends theirs.”

The pair walked down the corridors slowly and in silence.  Ileena was making a point to keep her eyes forward.  Teela glanced at her student, who seemed strangely preoccupied.  Her mood was sullen, clearly irritated by something.

Speaking softly so as not to disturb the surreal silence of the Palace, the redhead tried to engage her friend.  “I was talking with Princess Adora quite a bit tonight.  She likes you and wants to go a few rounds on the mat with you, help out with your training.”

Still not casting so much as a glance towards Teela, the blonde replied. “I would be honoured.”  Ileena’s words sounded hollow and perfunctory, as if the significance of Adora’s endorsement hadn’t registered.

The pair rounded a corner and continued into the next corridor before Ileena broke the silence.  “So…you and the catgirl…”

“Kittrina?  What about her?”

“I didn’t realise the two of you were going steady.  When should we expect the wedding invites?” In all their years of friendship, Teela had never heard Ileena have a cross word with anyone.  Now, her tone was sarcastic and mean-spirited. 

“Wedding inv-?  What are you talking about?”

The normally gentle, sweet girl then became downright spiteful.  “I was about to ask Snout Spout to turn the hose on her, it looked like she wanted to start rutting with you on the landing floor.”

“Woah, hold it right there!”  Shocked and appalled, Teela grabbed the arm of her recalcitrant student and stopped her mid-stride.  Keeping her voice low to avoid waking anyone, but still forceful. “That was completely uncalled for!  What’s gotten into you?”

Like a petulant teenager who had been called on the carpet for her misdeeds, Ileena looked away.  “I didn’t like the way she was crawling all over you.”

Though she normally preferred to employ a kinder, encouraging style with her trainee than she did with regular Guardsmen, Teela saw that an old-fashioned dressing down was needed here.  “Well, let me set you straight.  Kittrina is my friend, I haven’t seen her in nearly a year.  Yes, she gets very close quarters and touchy-feely with the people she cares about.  She’s a cat, that’s what they do.  I’ve made a lot of allowances for her for one simple reason: when our Wind Raider was shot down over Snake Mountain and I was knocked out, she saved my life.  So if letting her sit on my lap and rub her face against mine is all she wants in return for her loyalty and friendship, then I’m certainly not going to tell her ‘no’.”

Ileena’s jaw dropped.  The realisation that she had insulted someone who had kept Teela from harm took the wind out of her sails.  Almost instantly, she was visibly filled with regrets.  Still looking away, but now out of shame.  “I…I didn’t know, I shouldn’t have said any of that, I..I’ve been so horrible.  I apologise…to you and her.”

Teela put a hand on her student’s shoulder and seeing the remorse in her expression, spoke in a more conciliatory manner.  “Apology accepted.  Listen, to say we’ve both had a rough time of it lately would be an understatement.  I know you wanted to get right back to training and I wanted to get right back to duty, but clearly it’s not doing either of us any good.  Once I finish my rounds tonight, what do you say we take a couple of days off?  Just relax, get our heads clear.  If you do want to get physical with Adora, just have fun, you won’t be under any pressure from me.  Sound good?”

Still unable to look the redhead in the eye, Ileena simply nodded.  “Okay.”

“Tell you what, since she’s here for a while longer, what do you say to meeting Kittrina tomorrow?  Help you get used to her ways.  I’m sure she’ll love to be your friend as much as she is mine.”

“After the way I’ve acted, it’s the least I can do.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it.”  Teela gave her friend a nudge.  “Maybe this time, I’ll be the one who has to pry her off you .”

A ghost of a smile formed at the corner of Ileena’s mouth at the little joke, then quickly faded.

Teela could see that something was still bothering her friend and was determined to get to the bottom of it.  “Other than that, did you enjoy the party?  You’ve certainly become very popular around here.  Almost every bachelor in or around the Palace was lining up to ask you out.”

“And several married men, too.” Ileena pointed out in a flat voice.

“How do you know they’re married?”

Ileena shrugged.  “I was raised by a widower.  I know what it looks like when a wedding ring has recently been removed.”

Teela was at once impressed by her student’s observational skills and appalled at the attempts to involve her in marital infidelity.  “Don’t tell me Stratos-”

Ileena shook her head.  “Oh no, Lord Stratos was an absolute gentleman and not just because Lady Delora was standing right there.  They truly do love each other…” She had a distant look as she contemplated the carpet pattern.

“I think I know who these married men are.  Some of them thought they could pull that stunt with me when I came of age…until I knocked a couple of them into the dirt.  Do you want me to have some words with them?”

If the blonde student had heard the question, she gave no response, seemingly lost in reflection.

Concerned, Teela tried again, “Ileena?”

At that moment, Ileena decided that she could remain silent no longer.  She visibly let out a deep breath, steeling herself for the task ahead.   If her mentor’s reaction to the truth turned out as bad as she feared, then she would find a way to live with the consequences.  Queen Marlena said she had guts, now was the time to prove it.

She raised her head to look at the woman who was her everything “That’s alright, Teela.  If they try anything like that again, I will talk to them.  I’ll tell them their wives don’t have anything to worry about.  There’s only one person around here that I’m interested in, who I want to share myself with.”

Not quite catching on, Teela flashed a wry grin.  “Oh really?  If you don’t mind me asking, who is it?”

Ileena took a step forward and looked deep into the redhead’s eyes.  “Isn’t it obvious?”

“Not to me, it isn’t.”

Deciding to take the chance, Ileena reached out for both of Teela’s hands and cradled them in her own, her thumbs caressing the slender fingers.

Teela looked down at this tender act, then at the blue eyes filled with longing.  Realisation dawned.  “I mean, it wasn’t…” Then a broad smile lit up her face.  “Until now.”

Breathing a sigh of relief once she saw that her gamble had paid off, Ileena felt the need to get everything off her chest.  “For about as long we’ve known each other, I’ve had these feelings for you.  I’ve always been grateful to be your friend, but at the same time, I dreamed that we could be more.  I kept quiet about it because I was scared that if I said something, you might not want to train me anymore, or even send me away from the Palace.  But then…Arcadia…”

Teela nodded grimly at the significance of that single word.  She returned the affectionate gesture, taking hold of Ileena’s hands.  “You don’t need to worry.  I made a commitment that I would train you to the same standard that others trained me, and I'm going to see that through, no matter what.  Tell you the truth, Ileena, ever since your first day here, I’ve felt the same way about you.  I started to notice how beautiful you are, how sweet you are, how much you care.  I realised that I’m absolutely crazy about you.  But I felt that as your teacher, it would be wrong to make a move as then you might feel I was pressuring you to repay me for…”  She looked around the extravagantly decorated corridor.  “All of this.  But then, as you say, Arcadia changed everything.  I may have given you a lot of things since you came to live with us, but now I owe you a far greater debt…I owe you my life.”       

Ileena smiled, her mood brighter than it had been for days.  “You know what, Teela?  Since it causes us nothing but trouble, why don’t we just forget about who owes what and call it even?”

Teela grinned back.  “Works for me.”

The two of them looked down at their intertwined hands for several seconds.  Even though they had confessed their feelings and were relieved to find their affections were returned, both women were strangely nervous about making the next move.

At last, Teela spoke.  “So…those things you said about Kittrina…”

“I was jealous of her…sorry.”

Teela’s hand migrated to Ileena’s arm.  “It’s alright.  When it comes to jealousy, I have no room to judge anyone.  Not that I want you to be jealous or anything, but it is strangely flattering, in a way.”

“I guess.”  Despite being forgiven, Ileena was still slightly embarrassed.

Something else occurred to the redhead.  “Wait a minute, those nightmares you’ve been having, calling out my name…”

Ileena nodded, in visible pain as she recalled the terror of her dreams.  “It wasn’t because of anything happening to me.  We were back in the slum and they were…doing things to you…and I couldn’t stop them.  You were screaming and I was begging, pleading with them to do it to me instead, if they would just leave you alone…but they just kept on…and you kept screaming…and I couldn’t save you…I just wanted you to be safe…”  Silent tears rolled down her cheeks.  

Teela closed the gap and brought her companion in for a hug, Ileena’s head resting on her chest.  “It’s alright, it’s alright.” She murmured over and over.

Feeling better for the emotional release, Ileena raised her head to sheepishly smile at her paramour, who reached out and carefully wiped the tears from her face.  “Now you know why I haven’t been any fun since we got back.”

“Ileena, there’s something else I need to tell you.  Something I told Adora back at the party and what you’ve just said reaffirms it.”  Teela put her thumb and forefinger under Ileena’s chin to hold her full attention, looking deep into her eyes.  “As far as I’m concerned, you’re more than just my student.  You are a warrior, you are a protector and most importantly…you are my hero.”

The blonde warrior was in awe of such praise from the woman she had idolised for so long, yet a part of her felt she didn’t deserve it.  “I am only what you have made me.”

Teela shook her head.  “Not so.  My lessons give you part of the puzzle, and you’ll need them to form the whole picture, but the most important part…” She touched two fingers over Ileena’s heart.  “Has always been right here.”

Overwhelmed, Ileena said nothing and let the moment speak for itself.  Teela then leaned forward and whispered in her ear.  “Thank you…for everything.”

As she withdrew, Ileena’s mood changed.  Looking at Teela with naked desire, biting down on her bottom lip.  “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

Ileena then tilted her head, her eyelids heavy, as she moved slowly forward, inch-by-inch, towards Teela’s lips.  “Since your schedule just got a little lighter, there’s something I want you to teach me…something that has nothing to do with fighting.”

Teela likewise began moving inexorably forward, her voice low and husky, coming ever so closer to her new lover.  “That’s a lesson I would be honoured to give…but…”

Concerned, Ileena halted her advance.  “But?”

“A couple of very special women taught me a lot of things in a very short time, but I’m still just a novice.”

Relieved, the blonde resumed her approach.  “That’s alright, I’m sure we’ll have a lot of fun figuring it out together.”

The pair of them were now practically nose-to-nose, each able to feel the other’s breath.  Teela threw out one last quip before taking the plunge.  “Don’t think this means I’ll go easy on you in P.T.  I’ll have to drive you twice as hard from now on.”

“Worth it.”  With no more words, Ileena closed the gap and pressed her lips against Teela’s.  The kiss she had seemingly waited a lifetime for.  She wanted to take this moment and never let it go.  So she didn’t.  Pressing Teela back to the wall, hands reaching to the sides of her face, Ileena followed one kiss with several, one after the other in rapid succession.  

Teela began to feel overwhelmed as the tip of an eager tongue made its presence felt.  She heard a moan come from Ileena’s throat.  A furtive plea, one she couldn’t deny even if she wanted to.  Teela parted her lips to welcome her partner in…and instantly felt like she was being devoured.

Huntara’s kisses had been slow, assertive, confident.  Making Teela feel secure enough to cede control and let her more experienced lover take the lead.

Right now, Ileena’s kiss was just the opposite.  Frantic, inquisitive, eager and desperate all at once.  As if this were a moment long dreamed of, that she thought might be taken away in an instant.  It took Teela a couple of seconds to realise that a couple of days ago, it very nearly was taken away…forever.

Needing air and separation, she put a hand to Ileena’s chest, pushing her back slightly to break the kiss.  “Ileena…stop.”

The blonde was wide-eyed and breathless, worried that she had made a mistake.  Teela responded with what she hoped was a reassuring look.  “Slow. Down.  I know I gave you a scare the other day, but I’m not going anywhere.  You said you wanted to be taught…let me guide you.”

Still unable to speak, Ileena simply nodded.

Wrapping one arm around her waist and the other going to the back of her neck, brushing through that long, golden hair, Teela slowly manoeuvred the both of them around so that her partner was now pressed against the wall of the corridor.  Taking control, the redhead moved in for a simple kiss on the lips.  Savouring the taste, drawing it out for as long as possible, before slowly retreating.      

She smiled seductively.  “See?  Like that.”

More such kisses followed, as she felt Ileena relax in her embrace.  Sensing the time was right, Teela probed with her tongue and Ileena’s lips gladly parted to allow entrance.  The two of them fell into a slow rhythm as Ileena came to understand the elegant, sensual dance taking place inside her mouth was far more enjoyable than her wild, fearful efforts.  Allowing herself to melt into the kiss, she stopped thinking and let the warm fog of pleasure settle over her mind.  Feeling bold, Teela’s hand slid down behind Ileena’s thigh and pulled her leg up to hip height, the arms of her beautiful lover wrapped around her neck for support.

“Teela…”  Despite being deeply immersed in a haze of passion, she would recognise that stern reproach anywhere.  Teela broke off the kiss and flew back from Ileena.  Both women were stunned to see Man-at-Arms standing a few feet away with a dour look on his face.  “I’m very disappointed in you, my daughter.”

The two of them stammered out explanations.  “Father, I-I can explain.”

“Man-at-Arms, sir.  Don’t blame Teela for this, it’s my fault, I started-”

He held a hand up to cut them off.  “You’ve heard me tell Prince Adam over and over again: there’s a time and a place to do your courting and the corridors are not that place.  I don’t want to see either of you picking up his bad habits.”

Both Teela and Ileena suddenly felt like kids all over again. 

“Sorry, father.”

“Sorry, sir.”

“I should hope so.  Remember, the two of you are heroes and heroes should set a good example.”  He nodded towards the corridor behind them.  “Now go on, do your duty and hand over to the Night Watch.  Come on, Captain, snap to.”

Officer and civilian hurriedly turned to leave when they heard.  “Oh and one more thing.”

They cautiously turned back.  The strict facade of Man-at-Arms had given way slightly to Duncan, allowing them to hear a small degree of amusement and a hint of pride in his tone.  “Once duty is done, both of you enjoy the rest of your evening, just…be a little more discreet.”

The two women nodded and set off down the corridor once more.  Once they had rounded the bend and were out of sight, Ileena spoke in a hushed voice, barely above a whisper.  “That was awkward.”

“It was, but look on the bright side: at least we know my family accepts my new girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend.”  To Ileena, hearing the redhead call her that felt pleasantly surreal.  “Now there’s a word I can get used to.”

Teela grinned.  “So can I.  After this is finished, do you still want to continue the lesson?”

Ileena gave an earnest reply.  “More than anything.”

“Remember, you’ve still got a date with a Princess lined up.  Shall I tell her you’re too tired?”

Ileena smiled at the playful remark.  “Not a chance.  I’ll still have enough energy left to make Adora sweat, so long as you don’t consider it cheating.”

Teela shot her a sultry glance.  “It’s not cheating if I’m there to watch.”

The two partners in adventure and passion chuckled softly as they headed for their last stop before bed.

Meanwhile, as he walked towards his own quarters, Duncan couldn’t help but shake his head and grin at what he had just witnessed.  “That’s my girl.”

The End…and a New Beginning.