Show Me Your Moves (EA, Edge of the Maze)

[Ali ibn Farid]

Ali knew the railing was sturdy. The temptation to push her up against it was certainly there, but...

"Kidnapped?" Frown lines creased Ali's forehead. "Yes, of course I'll train you." The frown deepened. "What happened? Are you alright?"

[Soraya al-Menjari]

"I am unharmed, yes. It happened this morning not long after sun up, pretty close to where you and I ate lunch yesterday. Three cloaked women ambushed one of my father's bodyguards and myself. They managed to get him away from me and carry me away into the sewers... fortunately I had friends nearby and they came after me. They injured the one who had me, but she committed suicide before they could ask her anything. The other two got away when everyone went after me."

[Ali ibn Farid]

Well, that was certainly a lot to take in. Ali crossed his arms, stroking his chin thoughtfully with one hand. "All women. Coincidence, or something else? Killing herself rather than answer questions. And the sewers..." A lot of questions, but precious few answers. At least, nothing that came immediately to mind.

After a moment, he shook his head. "The important thing is that you stay safe. If I can be of aid, you have only to ask. The disguise is good." He nodded. "Carry the knife... and yes, if you would like to learn a few things about slipping out of someone's grip, I would eagerly show you."

[Soraya al-Menjari]

A small frown, "Considering I might not have gotten into the situation in the first place had I been able to slip away from Joab, let alone the woman carrying me like a sack of cabbages..."

She shook her head, "As to the rest, I hired a private detective to look into the matter. Hopefully he's had some luck..."

[Ali ibn Farid]

Ali winced sympathetically, moving over to the padded area. He unbuckled his sword, leaning it with great care against the training dummy. "We can focus on escapes. If you can get away, you can run. You can scream. If you can't do either of those, you can get to your knife."

He looked back at her, nodding. "Good. If he needs any help, well, pass my name along to him. I've had some practice in that sort of thing. And..." He nodded to his sword. "I'm not afraid to use that, not for a good cause."

[Soraya al-Menjari]

"I probably won't see him until later tonight; I suppose I can pass along your offer if he needs more time looking into things."

Standing up off the railing Soraya stretched laguidly, almost catlike. "Mmmmmf. Now, what do you need me to do then for this lesson?"

[Ali ibn Farid]

Watching that stretch, Ali took a deep, steadying breath.

He cleared his throat. "Come over here." He gestured to the padded area, taking a step back to make room for her. "First, let me show you some simple wrist-grab escapes. It's probably the first thing someone who thinks that you won't fight back will try. That's good."

Twisting this way and that, Ali did his own stretches. "So, come here, and I'll grab your wrist, and tell you what to do."

[Soraya al-Menjari]

Sora nodded and trotted over, slipping off her sandals before she got on the mat.

"A good start; I was originally grabbed by the wrist, after all."

She held out a hand towards Ali trustingly.

[Ali ibn Farid]

A firm nod, a hint of a reassuring smile, and then Ali grabbed her wrist. His grip was firm, but not tight, commanding without forcing.

"This is the basic way most people who think they're stronger than you will try to restrain you." He said, keeping his hold firm. "The key is, twist your forearm along the line of my forearm. That pushes off against my arm, and it exerts force right where the gap in my fingers is." He demonstrated with the other arm, bending it at the elbow.

He gave her another reassuring nod. "Go ahead. Try it."

[Soraya al-Menjari]

The terminology was a bit confusing, but the demonstration helped a little. It would become clear to Ali that as energetic and in shape as the princess actually was, she didn't have much in the way of strength. That, combined with her hesitation, meant not much force at all was exerted.