A Dream's Reality

Day 4 – Hand-to-Hand Combat

Today I was going to be training with Lyall in the training grounds, this time it was hand-to-hand combat. Yet again, I felt pretty nervous about this. I’ve taken martial arts classes before but never followed through in moving up through the different belts. So I only know very basic moves and even those are probably not too good.

I walked into the training grounds to find Lyall sparring with someone I’ve never seen before. I watched in awe their swift movements that looked so graceful. My eyes tried to keep up with the quick movements when both guys noticed me. Lyall turned to greet me when his sparring partner took advantage and swung at him. I covered my eyes and squeaked in surprise, not wanting to watch Lyall get hit. But I heard no impact. I slowly removed my hands to see that Lyall had dodged and pinned the other guy to the ground. Lyall helped the guy up before walking over to me.

“Sorry about that, Queen Celeste. I just wanted to get some sparring in before our training.” Lyall bowed slightly in apology, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead. His long brown hair was twisted in a bun and his glasses were off, showing his pale blue eyes. He really is handsome… He looked so mature. I blushed and quickly shook my head.

“No, it was really amazing watching you spar Prince Lyall and err, what is your name?” I looked towards the other guy with curiosity. He had very short black hair and warm brown eyes. He quickly bowed with a red face.

“I’m so sorry milady. I am Onai, Master Lyall’s sparring partner.” He seemed to be embarrassed and I giggled.

“Mr. Onai, please don’t apologize. It’s really okay. And call me, Celeste.” I smiled kindly and he stood up straight with wide eyes. Lyall started laughing and I gave him a confused glance.

“Mister? Onai isn’t an old man! He’s the same age as me!” Lyall continued laughing and Onai’s face turned to beet red. I never heard Lyall laugh like that.

“A-ah, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to call you old, Onai.” I bowed slightly in apology, feeling embarrassed at my thinking he was older.

“N-no it’s alright, milady. I mean, Celeste.” He blushed again, probably feeling awkward at calling me by my name. Lyall was just smiling at our exchange.

“A-anyway, you guys were truly amazing. I’d love to watch you guys spar again!” I said honestly. Onai’s face remained red and Lyall’s turned slightly pink.

“Thank you, Queen Celeste,” Lyall spoke softly. “But Onai must be on his way, we have our own session to start.” I felt a little disappointed that I couldn’t watch more and Lyall seemed to notice. “Another day for sure.” I smiled happily and nodded.

“It was nice to meet you Onai!” I held out my hand to shake his and he accepted it shyly.

“R-right. The p-pleasure is all mine, Celeste.” He smiled shyly before whispering to Lyall and heading out. Lyall’s eyes widened at whatever Onai said but then he turned to me and smiled. Onai looks harsh and mature, but he’s actually very shy. How cute. He seems to be really close to Lyall too.

“Alright, Celeste. Why don’t we get started?” I nodded slightly, feeling all the nerves come back to me. Lyall noticed and patted my head gently. “Don’t worry, you’re in capable hands. I would never hurt you.” Lyall looked at me seriously before showing his usual kind smile.

“Yes, I know. Thank you, Prince Lyall.” I gave him a big smile and he grinned. I luckily remembered a ponytail today and twisted my thick blonde locks into a bun. Lyall moved the stray hair from my face before turning around and walking towards the middle of the grounds. I blushed at his sudden action but followed his lead.

“Now, let’s get you into a proper stance before we start trying any actual moves.” I nodded at Lyall as he came close to me. “Feet apart left foot forward. Bend your knees slightly.” He knelt down and moved my feet where he wanted them. My skin tingled at his warm touch. He stood back up, looking at me. “Now hold your hands in front of your face and keep your elbows in.” I did as I was told, but once again he moved them around till he was satisfied. He was so gentle I felt like I was a delicate doll. “Fists closed around your thumbs.” I nodded, already having done that before. “Good.”

He stepped back and studied my stance. I felt awkward under his intense gaze and tried to hold in place the stance he put me in. He nodded in approval before smiling.

“So this is good?” I asked, wanting to make sure it was right so I could remember it.

“Perfect. Let’s try a basic jab with your right arm. It’ll look like this.” He quickly got into the same stance as me and thrust his fist forward. F-fast… I looked at him in awe, hoping to see more of his movements. But to my disappointment, he got out of stance. “When you move to punch, extend your right arm with the back of your hand facing upward. Your elbow will be pointed outwards and slightly lower.” He carefully extended my arm, showing me the position it should be in when I punch.

“A-ah, alright” I nodded, feeling bashful at Lyall’s gentle touch.

“Okay, now try slow jabs for now.”

I did what I was told and began thrusting my fist forward slowly. I continuously did this while Lyall instructed me on my stance and the position of my arm. He would sometimes move my arm for me to show me what to do, but I already got the hang of it.

“Let’s try you trying to hit my palm.” My eyes widened at his words. W-what? “Don’t worry, I won’t get hurt. You’ll still be doing slow jabs. Besides, I have two older sisters and one younger sister who all acted like bullies.” He laughed at his own words and looked nostalgic. I want to learn about his sisters...

“Oh. I-I’ll try.” I felt really nervous about hitting his hand. Even though I knew it definitely would not hurt, I still worried. I also didn’t want to miss. That would be so embarrassing. The first few tries were barely anything, as I stopped myself before hitting his hand. Lyall coaxed me sweetly and calmed me down so I could focus.

I started actually hitting his hand and he told me to try putting a little force into it. With the adrenaline rushing through my body I didn’t feel nervous and went for it. I heard a loud smack and instantly felt bad. I quickly grabbed his hand without thinking and examined it.

“Are you alright?!” I asked Lyall softly, looking at him with worried eyes. His eyes widened and his face turned pink but then he shook his head.

“I’m fine, Queen Celeste. Please do not worry about me at all.” I felt sad at his words, knowing I couldn’t just not worry at all.

“Prince Lyall, I don’t want you or anyone to be harmed. Especially by me. So please allow me to worry just a bit.” I gave him a small smile, still checking his hand.

“Alright, Queen Celeste. Thank you for worrying about me.” He spoke softly and removed his hand from my grasp to ruffle my hair, messing up my now crazy bun. “Let’s head back to the others.” My cheeks flushed a bit and I nodded happily. I pulled my ponytail out and shook my hair to make it look a little better.

We walked together to meet the others while chatting about our session and the sessions to come. I was feeling pumped about learning to fight on my own and knew that Lyall would be a great teacher. He has been a great teacher.

~~~~~~~~~~

Lyall’s POV:

Today I was going to start my first training session with Queen Celeste. I was a bit excited to teach her how to fight, as hand-to-hand combat has been a passion of mine. I thought it was a good idea to warm up with my best friend and sparring partner, Onai. We were the same age and have been friends since we were children, my mother, Ula, took him in and he became my personal servant. But he was much more than that, like a brother. We’ve been close ever since. Especially since I only lived with girls.

Once Queen Celeste entered the room, both of us stopped sparring and looked in her direction. Onai took this as a chance to get a hit but I quickly dodged it. Queen Celeste had covered her eyes and squeaked, probably worried I would get hit. How cute. I pinned Onai to the ground and he groaned in defeat. Queen Celeste looked at us in awe and I smiled. After helping Onai, I walked over to greet her.

After I bowed I noticed she was staring at me intently and couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed. I wasn’t necessarily in the best state to great the Queen. When Queen Celeste asked for Onai’s name he quickly became shy and blushed red. Heh. He’s always like that around pretty girls except for my sisters. He’s always rough with us. Although I disliked when he called me ‘Master’ in front of other royalty. She giggled at his shy reaction and called him ‘mister’. I busted out laughing, surprising even myself.

I told Queen Celeste that Onai and I were the same age. Both of them got extremely embarrassed, their faces turning red. I could only laugh more. I know they will get along well. I smiled happily at the thought.

When she praised both of us on our sparring, I couldn’t help the slight blush the crept up my face. Onai gave her a shy goodbye before coming and whispering in my ear. “She sure is something, huh Lyall? Don’t be too rough with her.” My eyes widened at his words, Onai knew that I had always been extremely interested in the Divine Elemental.

Queen Celeste looked nervous about her session and I tried to calm her down with a pat on her head. It seemed to work. But then I just looked at her and instinctively moved some stray blonde hair from her face. Compared to my hot skin, hers felt slightly cool. I began instructing her on how her stance should be, guiding her with my hands. Her skin is soft… She blushed at my touch and I smiled to myself. I tried to be as gentle as possible, afraid my strength might break her. I took Onai’s words to heart.

Once I approved of her stance, I decided to at least get her started on a simple jab. She watched in awe when I showed her an example and I smiled. To get excited over a simple jab. Once again I guided her gently to get her arm in the right position. I had her start with slow punches, guiding her every step of the way. I hope I’m not being too bossy. I told Queen Celeste to try hitting my palm and her eyes widened in worry. I reassured her, thinking of my three sisters: Kana, Jei, and Minsi. I laughed, remembering how much they all acted as bullies towards me and Onai. Onai would always get frustrated. I felt nostalgia hit me but quickly shook out of it when Queen Celeste said she’d try.

She was awkward at first before I tried my best to calm her down. Once she got the hang of it I asked her to try hitting my palm with a little more force. To my surprise, she seemed okay with it. That was until she heard the smack. She quickly grabbed my hand and looked at me with worried eyes. W-what? Her green eyes are like orbs. Beautiful. I felt embarrassed and blushed. She spoke so softly.

I tried telling her not to worry about me. I wanted her to worry about herself, she was way more important. She surprised me again by asking me to allow her to worry with a soft smile. I felt my blush deepen and gave in, ruffling her blonde hair. Queen Celeste seemed happy and in turn, it made me happy as well. I know I will enjoy these sessions with her a great deal. I also want her and Onai to meet again. I hope I can show her my real ability soon.