i just might love you (a hosie royalty au)

Part 9 "Your eyes are far too telling."

A/n: new cover :)
***

Josie was now facing Hope with a sword clutched tightly in her hands. They had been like this for what felt like hours to her, when in reality it was more like ten minutes.

When Hope deflected yet another swipe with the flick of her wrist and a sidestep, Josie let out a frustrated sigh.

"As you can see, I'm hopeless." She said, wiping the sweat from her brow and letting the tip of her sword touch the ground. Hope simply shook her head, staring for a moment too long before answering.

"There was a point in time when I felt the same about myself." She smiled, the tip of her sword twitching anxiously as she held it up. "So I'll let you in on a secret."

Josie perked up at this, her shoulders relaxing minutely, only to slump further when her face morphed into a frown.

"You couldn't have told me this secret when we started hours ago?"

Hope laughed freely at the brunette's words, her empty hand reaching up to push loose strands of hair back into place.

"I had to understand what I was dealing with, give you time to show your strengths and weaknesses."

"They can't be that hard to figure out." Josie chuckles, her shoe scuffing at the dirt as she looked up at Hope with a bemused smile.

"Your eyes are far too telling." Hope starts, Josie briefly wonders if they're talking about swordsmanship or not. "Uh, I mean you look where you're about to strike, making it easy to deflect."

Josie cringes.

"Where else am I supposed to look? How will I know where to swing?"

Hope sheathed her sword and stepped towards Josie, raising her eyebrows as her hands hovered near the other girl. Josie nodded, holding her breath as Hope lifted up her arm and directed her into a better stance. One foot slightly in front of the other, elbows bent.

"The sword should feel like an extension of your body." Hope said softly, a crinkle forming on her forehead as she concentrated. "You should be aware of where it is without having to look."

"Well that's easy for you to say." Josie's response is breathy as Hope steps away, she forgot to breathe. "I bet you've been training with a sword your whole life."

Josie beams at the laugh that escapes Hope, it's quick and low but there all the same.

"I know my way around more than a sword." She rocks back and forth on her heels for a moment, her right hand resting on the hilt of her weapon. Hope has this far away look in her eyes as her gaze fixes itself over Josie's shoulder, causing the brunette to look behind herself in panic. But there's nothing there, and when her eyes meet Hope's again the other girl is smiling.

"Since you will be up against a lot of people that are stronger than you, there's really no chance that you can overpower them." Hope continues on, walking slowly around Josie in a circle. It's a little unnerving, both the action and the intense look in the auburn haired girl's eyes. Josie holds her sword up, unsure of Hope's plan but aware that she shouldn't let the girl out of her sight.

"So you're saying I don't have a chance?" Josie pouted, the tip of her sword dropping a little. Hope stopped walking, eyeing the brunette from head to toe as if to measure her worth. If Josie shivered she blamed it on the cold.

"You do have a chance, technically, though it's small." Hope says carefully, a single eyebrow raised at the other girl. "Since you're not stronger, you have to be smarter. Use your opponents strength to their detriment."