Ship's Core (CaptainSwan fanfic)

Five

Hook stared at me with his fierce blue eyes. He held his sword in his hand, and I held mine in my own, ready to fight.

I made those intimidating faces that I had been practising in mirror, hoping to keep him somewhat distracted, if only for a second. He kept throwing me his one-eyebrow-raised smirk. I knew he was trying to keep me distracted, (which was partially working, I will admit) so I focused on his eyes and body stance, hoping to predict his next move.

He wasn't going anywhere so I took offence, stepping forwards as he stepped back, our arms firmly swinging back and forth in order to protect ourselves. The clang of the swords rang in my ears, a sound that I had so dearly missed from duels. 

We did this for some time, our surrounding audience oohing and aahing every time someone almost lost balance or our swords pushed against each other desperately. It was hard, but nowhere near the limit I could've pushed myself to. If Hook was trying to tell me he was a good swordsman, he wasn't doing a great job.

After some time, he surprised me by pushing forward and taking offence. I struggled to keep a tight grip on my sword, using my full arm rather than just my wrist to hold and control the sword.

Hook continued smirking. He knew what he was doing.

I felt beads of sweat form in my hairline as I struggled to stay strong, holding my grip tight.

I decided to try to get out of defence, and I stepped forward so that our swords collided sideways in front of our chests, and our faces were just a few inches apart.

As I pushed myself further, determined not to let him beat me, I noticed Hook's carefree amused smirk slowly vanishing, to be replaced by a look of concentration, with a hint of fear.

His ghastly breath penetrated my nostrils.
"Woah, have you ever though of chewing on a mint leaf every once in a while?" I commented, still firmly pushing my sword.

He furrowed his brows and clenched his jaw tight as he stared into my eyes, trying desperately to intimidate me.
I used this to my advantage. Now, it was my turn to smirk.

I raised my knee and kicked him in... um... well... where the sun don't shine. His face was priceless. He groaned loudly in pain and gave up, weakening his hold on his sword. I used this time to push his sword out of his hand brutally with the holt of mine.

As it slipped from his fingers, he yelled;
"Bloody Hell!"

The clank of his sword falling onto the wooden floor boards was the last sound to be heard for a good thirty seconds, besides the sounds of Hook and I panting loudly.

After that, men began to cheer loudly and surround me, blocking my vision of a defeated Hook. All the men had great smiles and surprised eyes. Before I knew it, one of the taller men had lifted me up and placed me on his shoulders, like I weighed nothing more than a small bag of feathers.

I began cheering along with the men, holding my sword up high in the air.

I saw Hook standing outside the crowd, looking defeated. I knew it was childish, but I stuck my tongue out at him. Sometimes being childish can frustrate people at just the right times.

I patted the shoulder of the man I was sitting on, and he gently brought me down again. As soon as my feet hit the ground, I pushed my way out of the crowd to meet Hook. The crowd fell quiet almost immediately, though a few whispers still remained. 

"So," I said, pleased with myself. "I guess you've to take me home now."

"What makes you think I'm actually going to do it?" he asked vainly.