When they first started training, Elizabeth had been fully prepared for endless arguments against him until she could convince him to take her seriously, but James had been surprisingly committed to the task from the very beginning. Which allowed her to discover rather quickly where the reputation that spread amongst his men came from.
Although she had to admit that his approach was very efficient, she also had to wonder sometimes whether he was trying to force her to desist.
To say he was not a particularly insouciant teacher, was an understatement. It made her curious if it was similar to the way he trained his soldiers or if he was being tougher on her. Ultimately, she refused to voice anything that might sound as a complaint.
Unlike how he usually taught her advanced navigation, laying down with her, having a drink and laughing. The methods he chose for teaching her swordsmanship were much different.
The early mornings, the boring repetitive movements, the gruelling drills that didn´t end even after her muscles burned and she became out of breath... it wasn´t always very fun. But if he was trying to make her desist, she would not concede, even if he wasn't, she would not let him see her struggling.
So she endured it all without making a fuss. And, as a result, she saw the rapid improvement with each day that passed.
His committed, strict nature and his demanding perfectionism, made him a very bold critique, so she knew it was not just her ego making her think so when James started praising her.
But there were also the few times when he seemed to completely forget about his own words altogether. He had been very clear about her getting distracted while he was training her, but the level of his expectations for discipline seemed to become much lower when it was him the one getting her distracted.
The first time he did it, she´d had all her attention focused on getting her fingers to adjust around the hilt in the way he instructed, without allowing the shift of the weight to force her guard lower.
As she fiddled with her grip, he had suddenly stepped right behind her, wrapping his hands around her wrists without any warning. She had found herself instantly distracted by the unexpected way that his body had engulfed hers, to the point that she stopped listening to anything of what he was saying.
Her mind had wandered for only a moment, but it was long enough for him to notice, resulting in one of his hands travelling down her side and resting on her hip, giving it a short squeeze and bringing her awareness back to what she was supposed to be doing.
"What?" she asked, trying to look back at his face, although she couldn´t really move much in their current position.
"I asked you not to allow your grip to slacken, Elizabeth" his voice sounded completely immersed in the lesson, so -at first- she couldn´t tell if he was doing it on purpose.
But she knew his actions had to be deliberate when she felt his hold around her tighten and his face move even closer while his thumb brushed the inside of her wrist. He never held her this closely with decent intentions in mind.
"The sword will get knocked right out of your hand" he pointed out shaking her wrist with a some strength, which made her hand reflexively tighten her grip with force, probably much more than strictly necessary.
She turned to the side so he could see her scowl, but his eyes were staring straight ahead with a look of concentration as he fixed her grip.
Marvelous! Was she truly the only one getting aroused by this?
"Are you listening to me, Love?" he asked against her ear, sounding like he was in the best of moods.
The shudder that ran down her back as his breath hit the spot behind her ear and his front pressed even more firmly against her back was embarrassingly obvious.
"I´m trying to, but I do not believe this is the appropriate way one should be taught the fine art of swordsmanship, Sir"
His lips twitched against her hair as he admitted with amusement coating his voice "Oh, it most definitely is not," although that did not stop his hand from sliding even further down her front, leaning his head against hers he concluded carefreely "but you are much too special for the traditional way."
The vibration caused by the movement of his lips against her ear made her moan softly.
"You asked me to take this seriously" she reminded him, feeling a little out of breath for some reason.
"I did" he concurred with a nod "But… I had no idea how appealing this would be" he confessed, letting his mouth slid down to her neck, placing a wet kiss there and letting out a hum of pleasure when she twitched in his arms.
Unexpectedly, one of his leg moved in between hers, pushing her front leg from behind while the hand that had been resting on her flank sneaked down to the inside of her other leg, dragging it back until it bumped against something solid. The only thing that prevented her fall was his entire body pressed completely against hers.
"James" she chided, making sure he could hear her annoyance clearly, but he acted like nothing was amiss.
"Keep your stance wide, otherwise you´ll lose stability"
The path of his hand as it came back up to rest on her lower abdomen, just made her situation a whole lot worse. She tried to shift away from him, fighting to keep inside any new sound that might alert him of her predicament, but as soon as she did his arm locked around her middle to keep her in place.
"You're being annoying," she complained, shoving the back of her shoulder against his chest, unable to hide the small whine in her voice "and unjust."
"That is highly possible" he admitted easily.
"Stop hindering me then" she ordered, letting out a small squeak when his tongue moved languidly up her neck.
She was seriously considering stomping on his foot when he chuckled in her hair and finally withdrew from her.
The loss of his warmth was a little regretful, but she pivoted in place and scowled at him.
He ignore it and instead moved a loose lock of her hair back into place, intertwining his fingers inside her hair. "I´m terribly sorry" he offered, not sounding the least bit so while his eyes shined with mirth.
"No, you´re not"
"No, I suppose not"
He was fortunate she liked him as much as she did, but she was still going to make him pay for his cheek.
She thought she was making very decent progress. James had praised her many times, so she knew it was not simply her own assessment. And even if his praise was rather flat, she was sure he tried his best to. Beside the way he would praise her form for being 'note worthy' with a completely contemplative expression was incredibly endearing.
But even so, it had taken a little bit of convincing and some significant nagging until he eventually agreed to become her sparring partner. And she discover that it was much more entertaining than practicing on her own while he watched, especially whenever he caught her staring and he would drop his guard and smile at her in adorable confusion.
In spite of her lack of experience, she was able to recognize quite quickly that his swordsmanship skills were commendable. She didn't know why it hadn't occurred to her before, but as the commander of Port Royal it should have been more obvious that James had to be quite proficient with a sword. So, even if he was objectively better than her and an especially challenging opponent to defeat, she liked crossing swords with him.
James was clearly not an advocate of wastefulness, every movement he made was restrained and calculated with impeccable precision, so much so that it was sort of hypnotizing. His straight back and elegant posture were nothing less than perfectly graceful, but that did not make his attacks any less dangerous, and somehow that made him even more attractive in her eyes.
Although she did have the faint suspicion that he was trying to impress her, she rather liked it.
But for someone who professed his unconditional love to her so frequently, he was perfectly capable of being ruthless to her when he set his mind to it.
"Don´t swing so forcefully with just the strength of your arm. You have to bring the power all the way up from your feet, and then to your abdomen, transferring it all the way to your arm" he instructed, pushing down on her sword with his.
He still wouldn´t allow the use of real swords but after getting acquainted with his strength, she could not complain about it anymore, nor deny how much fun she had. The thrill she felt every time she made him fall back or whenever she landed a hit on him was indescribably exhilarating driving her desire to defeat the opponent in front of her, especially one as skilled as James.
"Don't lower your arm immediately after every time you lock your sword either, if you don't keep your guard, you´re going to get hurt" he warned her, right before his hilt landed on her wrist with enough force to make her lose her grip.
None of that changed the fact that it hurt like the devil whenever she got hit.
"Oww" she growled out, looking at him with a frown "Hey! I'm your wife, you´re supposed to treat me with the utmost kindness!" she reminded him grouchily, gyrating her wrist in an overdramatic fashion while turning her back to him in indignance.
"But I recall you ordering me to treat you like a serious opponent, didn´t you?" he challenged her, and when she turned her head to look at him, he displayed a confident smirk, twirling his sword lazily around his body "You banished me from the room the last time you decided I had not put in enough effort."
He was right, she had done that. And then she spent the night regretting having done it.
"I did" she muttered grumpily, squinting and covering her eyes when a beam of light reflected into her eyes.
The sun was strong today and they had been practicing for hours, now she was completely drenched and exhausted.
"I'm taking a break" she declared with a note of childishness she couldn't hide, walking away from him and towards one of the big trees on the back of the garden, dropping to lay down on the grass under the shadow. Closing her eyes, a sigh of satisfaction escaped her at the immediate sensation of coolness that penetrated her back thru her thin, wet shirt.
An even bigger shadow set over her once James followed her. "Are we finally done for the day?" he asked with a sigh of tiredness, sitting down next and letting his back rest against the trunk.
She hummed in affirmation, staring smugly at him as he dried the beads of sweat that rolled down from his temple to his chin with the edge of his sleeve.
When he noticed her eyes on him, he looked down and smiled "I was only trying to protect myself from your fierce attacks."
Rolling on her side, she placed her head on his thigh and declared magnanimously "You´re forgiven" hiding her face against his stomach, using him to protect her eyes from the annoying brightness.
His hand moved to her hair moving it away from her face and massaging her scalp slowly, adding playfully "That's so kind of you."
She nodded, her eyes still closed "You´re fortunate that I love you."
"I know. I'm most grateful, my Lady." his hand moved from her hair down to her back, stroking it in a way that was making her sleepy "Let me look at your wrist" he asked, but did not wait for her answer, taking hold of her arm and bringing it up to his face, examining the place he hit her on.
She opened her eyes briefly to follow his gaze. The spot where she got hit was a little red but it honestly hadn't hurt all that much.
He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the reddened spot.
She closed her eyes and let herself enjoy his caress.
"I almost had you" she declared confidently from her perch on his back.
"Right" was his dismissive response, making her laugh.
"I did!" she insisted, putting some distance between their bodies while still keeping her grip on his shoulders, feeling in an incredibly good mood. "If I hadn´t stepped on that rock I would have won that. You know it!"
James face turned to look at her over his shoulder as he readjusted his grip on her legs and pulled her back to his body. "I'm certain you would have." he agreed with a bit of condescension, doing nothing to dampen her mood.
She kissed his cheek and smiled against it at that, refraining from laughing again. "You are such a terrible loser"
Lately the weather had started to quickly descend into the cold season. Resulting on most of the people in town sequestering into their homes and James having a lighter workload, which suited her perfectly, since that left them a lot of free time together to spend in the most unladylike and inappropriate of manners.
The day had been lovely from the moment the sun rose, and so she had made it her mission to convince him of accepting a friendly duel, dragging him outside as soon as he accepted.
She´d had him cornered and the perfect opportunity to claim victory was in sight, but then she´d gone and stepped on a bloody rock as she rushed forward to land the finishing strike, twisting her ankle and ending the fight in a most undignified manner.
"And you like to cheat" he accused her grumpily, crossing the threshold of the back door porch and continuing to make his way thru the corridor and to the stairs. The temperature was cozier inside and she sighed in contented relief, relaxing further against his back.
Some time ago, Elizabeth had started to worry that James would find it tiresome to entertain her whims with such frequency and so, she had made attempts to temper her enthusiasm. Eventually realizing she had no need to when she noticed that -as her skills progressed- his attacks became more and more advanced even while his demeanour shifted into playfulness.
Initially she had felt somewhat perplexed, not knowing whether he was taking her seriously or not. But, as she observed him start to show increased interest in their sessions instead of losing it, like she feared he would, she understood it was because he was enjoying their activities as much as she was.
And duelling against him truly was fun. He was clearly the better, more experienced one of the two, but the challenge of beating a superior opponent, watching him struggle to keep her at bay as her movements became faster, her reactions quicker and her attacks stronger... it made her blood rush to her head with anticipation.
The memory of the enticing, proud smirk he had gifted her the first time she won against him -even as he tried to regain the air he lost from the hit she landed squarely on his side- still made her stomach flutter nervously.
The rare taste of victory was becoming more and more frequent and the feeling of true power that came with it was inebriating, making her yearn for even more of it.
He had even started to allow the use of real swords every so often, but she learned that, as he had told her, it required a lot more precise, controlled movements. It was demanding in a new way, but she put every effort in being careful because she did not want to slice his forearm open... again.
"It was not cheating!" she corrected him promptly, moving her face right next to his "It was a tactical move."
"You kicked dirt into my face, then you tripped me and then you charged at me. All of that after you had already completely lowered your guard and declared surrender."
"Did I?" she asked innocently, humming against his skin.
"You even offered me a kiss of victory." he reminded her, sounding disbelieving.
"You need to learn to be less straight and more cunning, Dear" she told him boldly "You are too honourable, any dishonest men will seek to take advantage of that" she was pretty proud of how insightful her words came out, playing with the fabric of his shirt as he continued to move.
"Hmm" was the only response he gave her.
"Fights aren't always meant to be fair" she insisted peaking at his face.
He was keeping his eyes facing forward but there was a faint smile on his face now "You´re so full of wisdom, aren´t you?"
"Fine then," she relented with an exaggerated sigh, resting her chin on his shoulder so she could look ahead "Perhaps we could shake on a draw" she mused out loud.
James' lips twitched before he finally became unable to hold a loud burst of laughter at her insistence, making her bounce against his back.
"Just admit it. I'm good" she purred near his ear as her hand dug inside the collar of his shirt, lightly scratching at his chest.
"Oh, you most definitely are, better than simply good. And quite fierce and fearless as well" His voice was mirthful, answering with carefree ease, but his tone was so devoid of any ridicule that her chest tightened with happiness "You could put most of my men to shame."
She knew she was good, but hearing him say all that with such calm certainty and genuine admiration made her feel shy, heating her face with disproportionate embarrassment.
He was not the type of men who would say things he didn´t really mean, especially empty praise, so her delight could not be tempered at his words, so she hugged his neck even tighter and gave his cheek another kiss, pleased with herself.
"You should fear me then" she whispered in a playful threat, making him smirk slyly.
"I do." he told her, bumping the side of his head lightly against hers.
She responded to his rib by biting him on the shoulder, making his step falter just before he could reach the second story.
"It´s not wise to do that while I´m going up the stairs, Love" he warned a little more seriously, readjusting his grip on her tights more securely before continuing his ascend.
Once he had her safely placed on the bed, he kneeled at her feet, gently taking off her boots "Is it hurting still?" he asked, carefully lifting her injured ankle.
She shook her head nonchalantly, leaning back on her hands and looking down at her foot. It only felt a little swollen, and when she tried circling it around a little she felt a mild jolt go up her leg, but it didn't hurt particularly bad. "It´s bearable" she decided looking at him with a reassuring grin.
He nodded but examined her ankle more carefully, rolling it back and forth in all directions before convincing himself that she was alright "It's not broken, but you should rest for a couple of days."
That was his way of telling her he would not be training with her for the next few days at least.
"I´ll be fine, it truly doesn't hurt much"
Standing up from his crouch, James leaned over her, kissing her forehead "I'm sure it will. Still, you need to rest it"
She paused, contemplating her next move while she stared with pursed lips at the offending appendage. The finality of his words made it clear she would be forced to find something else to entertain herself with in the meantime.
The moment he turned to walk towards the door, she grabbed onto his forearm. "Where do you think you're going?" she questioned with dissatisfaction.
"To find the maids so they draw you a bath, and then I'll order someone to go fetch the physician" when he tried to pull away and she wouldn´t let him he let out a small sigh "You need to get cleaned up and proper treatment."
Then he tried to move once more without success, only this time she yanked his arm back with enough force to make him fall backwards on top of her. He barely managed to catch himself before his full weight fell completely on her.
"Elizabeth" he chided her with a soft frown.
"James" she answered, mimicking his tone.
Their faces were only inches apart from each other´s and it was distracting her. Her hand moved without her permission so her fingers could brush his straight nose, it felt a little cold to the touch.
His eyes closed lazily for a second, basking on the gentle strokes of her fingers.
"Do I really scare you?" she asked suddenly, feeling upset by her own words but not allowing it to show on her face.
When his clear eyes opened back, she stared at them with determination, waiting for his answer.
"Sometimes" It was just one word, but the sincerity in his eyes as he said it made her a little sad.
"Why?"
"Because... you see the world in a way that I can´t always understand."
His confession was surprising to hear and she didn´t really understand what he meant by it, but before she had the opportunity to speak, his smirk returned as he added "Besides, I´ve fancied the beautiful daughter of the Governor for long enough. I remember what was the fortune of the first heedless idiot that dared try to court you, and it was most discouraging."
Elizabeth jolted at the reminder of what had happened so long ago, her cheeks and neck setting ablaze. "That was not intentional!" she defended, feeling only slightly mortified.
His smirk grew even bigger and his eyes crinkled at the corners as he argued back "You poured wine on him."
"Yes! but I did not know there was a lit candelabra behind him."
"You set him on fire, Elizabeth"
"It was only his wig!"
"And his coat."
She shoved his chest mildly at his continuous replies against hers, convinced he was trying to embarrass her as much as possible.
Putting on a dignified expression she maintained her poise as she reasoned "Alright, but I was seventeen, and he was completely without manners."
His eyes narrowed slightly, leaning his head to the side in thought "His eyebrows never did grow back, did they?"
The ridiculousness of the question set her in a fit of giggles that he followed immediately after.
Once she calmed down enough, she spoke again "Shouldn´t I have been the one scared? I´m younger than you and your normal demeanour has always been intimidating." she informed him, rubbing the spot between his eyebrows that would crinkled whenever he frowned.
"And you confuse me as well, I can´t understand why you never told me of your feelings before... everything else happened."
His pretty smile fell as he confessed "Because I wanted to offer you something better than a mere Captain, now I realize that was mostly just my pride, but.." she offered him an encouraging smile, but his smile in return was resigned and melancholic as he courteously added "you would not have been interested either way."
She grabbed firm hold of the back of his head, using it to bring his face closer "If you had kissed me sooner, I probably would have."
Her words succeeded in distracting him, his eyes acquired a curious glint that replaced the sadness "Is that so?"
She pushed his head until she felt his lips graze hers, softly breathing against his mouth "I´m interested now, am I not?"
She did not care to wait for his answer, instead her hand tightened around the fine strands of his hair, keeping him in place as her lips brushed his, opening her mouth and leaning her face to the side so she could deepen it more comfortably. He followed her lead without objection, sliding his tongue against hers languidly and allowing her do as she pleased.
"I need to send for the physician" he eventually mumbled against her mouth.
She ignored him as her mouth moved to his jaw "My foot is fine" she promised, pulling away abruptly so she could show him a cunning smirk "More importantly, what about my reward for beating you?"
"You did not…" he started to argue looking almost offended, but then halted in the middle, appearing to think of something before sighing in defeat and bumping her forehead with his. "What would you like then?" he asked her instead, looking ready to acquiesce with whatever she was about to ask.
There were few things lately that she enjoyed more than training with him, and he would probably argue against anything that involved walking or moving around much, so her options where very limited at the moment. Still, she could think of quite a few things that wouldn't even required them to leave the bedroom, so she promptly forgot about her thwarted victory and focused on a different goal.
Humming happily, she allowed her leg to hike up his side suggestively, dipping her hands inside his shirt at the same time "For starters…" her nose caressed his "How about you? "
His expression promptly transformed into one that she recognized all too well by now, the one that promised she would be uninterested in anything besides him for the foreseeable future.
"Gladly" he acquiesced easily, eyes lit with anticipation and desire.
She stared at him with a big, toothy smile, grabbing onto his collar and bringing his lips back to hers.
When his arms wrapped around her, she reflected for a moment about how much she preferred him over swords.
Note: I appreciate you all letting me know! still not getting any stats of traffic at all, but oh well. As long as it´s not because you all suddenly hated it, I´m good, haha.