The Palace Guard's training sessions were exhausting. We trained at least four hours every day.
Luckily I had this quite athletic and well-trained body, which is why I was not lacking in stamina or strength.
Sometimes being a muscular guy had its perks.
Most of the time, the training sessions were more fun than I would have thought at first.
But today... today our trainer had it in for us.
Presumably he had once again quarreled with his wife. He was happy to take his anger and frustration out on us.
"GET IN A LINE! YOU WILL DO ONE ON ONE BATTLES! NO WEAPONS!!!" he yelled just as we finished our thirty rounds.
Everyone just groaned in annoyance, but finally surrendered to their fate.
"YOU!" His finger pointed at me, to my displeasure.
"YOU FIGHT WITH ARMON! THE OTHERS ARE WATCHING!" He ordered harshly.
Armon was the tallest of us newcomers. With his height of almost two meters he towered over me by a whole head.
I swallowed hard once. This wasn't going to be an easy fight.
"That's unfair. Chris just got out of the hospital wing a few days ago, and now he's going head-to-head against the biggest and strongest here. The poor man certainly doesn't stand a chance." I heard a comrade from the line murmur pityingly as I stepped onto the dueling area with slightly trembling legs.
My comrade was probably not entirely wrong here. Armon was indeed taller and stronger than me. And since we were both supposed to be fighting unarmed, it was going to be especially difficult for me.
I had no shield to defend myself, nor a sword or whip with which to launch a skilled attack.
But what the others didn't know was that up to now I've almost always had to fight against stronger opponents. As a woman you were often at a disadvantage if you had to fight a man who was taller.
Fortunately, I still remembered most of the locking techniques and throws from my self-defense course.
That would probably benefit me in some way. I was just able to suppress a small smile.
I put my legs a little wider than hip width and bent my knees slightly. Then I raised my hands - ready to fight.
I noticed how the atmosphere changed after that. Everyone was now watching intently. Almost expectant.
I kept a close eye on my counterpart. Studying every of his movements and every emotion on his face.
It was always better to let the opponent come to you. To see what the other person had in mind first.
So i waited. Awaited his attack.
Armon rushed towards me with an impressive roar and raised fists.
He looked more like a wild animal than a soldier. His attack had no discernible tactics.
I ducked his first punch and then landed a direct hit with my fist in his throat.
Armon gasped in surprise and staggered back, gasping.
Meanwhile, the audience held their breath.
Then I put him under pressure by closing the distance to him. I tripped him and put him on the ground with a quick technique.
By suddenly grabbing his face and thus blocking his view, I also deprived him of any opportunity to react.
Armon ended up lying on the floor beneath me. With my hand on his neck, I denied him any opportunity to fight back. My other fist was raised menacingly - ready to punch him.
"I Won." I said simply.
It was more of a statement than a shout of joy. Then I got up and released Armon from my grip.
When I looked at the other trainees, all I saw were wide open eyes and mouths.
Shortly thereafter there was already a crowd of people around me.
"Wha-"
"How did you do that?!" Jon asked enthusiastically.
"I think this technique comes from judo... or was it jiu-jutsu? I don't remember exactly." I tried to remember honestly.
"What is that?" Amadeus asked curiously.
Amadeus was one of the most annoying of my comrades. He was way too curious for it to be good for him.
However, I couldn't entirely blame him either. After all, he didn't see something like this every day. It must have seemed strange to the others too.
But now I had gotten myself into this dilemma. Now I had to talk myself out of it somehow.
After all I couldn't tell them that I came from another world. They probably wouldn't believe me anyway
"Ah, damn it. Forget it. These are special techniques of self-defense ... from my country." I tried miserably to talk my way out of it.
"Which country do you come from? I've never heard of such techniques." Amadeus asked, ruffling his red, curly hair.
"..."
Damn.
I had no idea of this world.
Accordingly, I knew nothing about the countries here. I bit the inside of my cheek thoughtfully. Another good excuse would probably not come to mind so quickly.
"Don't be so rude, Amadeus. You know he lost his memory while saving Jon's life." One of the others unknowingly came to my aid.
"Oh, was that you? That was really brave of you." Amadeus said with respect and admiration.
"Th-thank you." I replied shyly.
Actually, I didn't deserve such praise.
After all, I wasn't the woman who actually saved him. Or should I say... the man?
I still couldn't quite believe that I was actually a boy now.
"Chris is kinda cute, don't you think?" one of the others asked mischievously.
I blushed instantly.
"Uh w-what?!" I asked, completely overwhelmed.
"Yes, that's right. If he were a woman I would have tried my luck with him a long time ago." agreed another one.
"Guys please … please stop this." I tried to defend myself.
However, I sounded rather subdued and weak. I was incredibly embarrassed.
"Oh come on, Chris. We're just having a little fun." Amadeus teased me and poked me in the side.
"Hey, stop teasing poor Chris. He saved my life, after all."
I hadn't even noticed that Jon had joined us in the meantime.
"But you act very feminine sometimes. I have to say that. You'd better watch out, because the prince is-"
"What about the prince?" A stern voice suddenly cut through the air.
All heads suddenly turned to said voice.
"C-Commander Braven!" They all yelled out in unison.
Nobody saw him coming. Accordingly, everyone was quite surprised.
"You'd better be careful what you say about the royal family in the palace and the surrounding grounds. The walls can have ears." Commander Braven warned us with a solemn look.
A little shiver ran down my spine immediately.
"Understood." They all answered together again and saluted respectfully.
Commander Braven was a handsome man. There was no other way to describe him.
He was tall, with broad shoulders that gave him a protective air.
The fact that he was already in his mid-thirties didn't play a major role. The little wrinkles made him even more attractive in my opinion.
He aged like a fine wine.
The scars on his body and face did not disfigure him at all. They made him look bold and majestic. Like a hero.
He was battle hardened. You could see that immediately.
Rows of women must have been at his feet. And I was one of them.
Or rather... one guy, who was at his feet.
I did everything he said. I always tried to do my best just to impress him.
But a praise was rarely heard from Commander Braven. It was really grueling.
Still, I was the only one who got praise from Braven every now and then. And that already made me happy.
We would hardly become more than a commander and a subordinate here in this life.
I sighed sadly once.
Why did fate have to be so unfair to me?