Throne of Hearts (girlxgirl)

Chapter 6

Castle Armory. Silva, Ahigarth

Rhys

After five days of training with Lord Commander Sir Weston Gray—I felt thoroughly exhausted. 

Now, don't get me wrong, I know I'm a good fighter. Jax is an excellent fighter and has trained me well. But this man is a Knight who trains people for a living, and the man means business. He worked me hard, pushing me past my breaking points only to build me back up with new knowledge and skills. 

It's hard work, but I feel stronger and more prepared than ever. He has never once made any reference to me being a female and trained me as he would train any other soldier. I was grateful he didn't treat me differently. Considering the angry looks some of the other Kett soldiers have given me, his acceptance was a blessing. Sir Weston is likely a few years over fifty, but the man is built like a boulder, and very fast. The man could move, and more times than I'd like to admit he's put me on the ground with one fast strike.

Today was no different. Since early this morning, Sir Weston and I have been going back and forth in the training pit. Earlier, he spent time teaching me new techniques and maneuvers, and now he was making me put them into practice against him. 

I squared up, ready for hand-to-hand combat with the large Knight. I positioned myself using the proper stance he taught me. My hands were up, defending my face, and my feet were spread to hip width to maintain perfect balance. I knew this fight was a test, I could read it in the man's body language, and I damn well wanted to pass. 

I wanted to strike, to take him down, but I still hadn't found an opening yet, and I needed to be careful about my attack. Sir Weston's face was blank. He gave nothing away while his eyes tracked my every movement. I watched him closely, examining everything about the man. I needed to find his tell. His tell would be that small barely perceivable thing his body would do unconsciously to give him away before he strikes. 

I'm not proud to admit it, but it took getting hit at least ten times before I finally noticed it. 

There's the smallest tick on the Knights face each time he lunged toward me. A barely perceptible twitch on his upper lip. For the next three attacks, I watched for the tick, and sure enough, it happened every time.

Let's do this.

I kept my eyes on his face, but out of the corner of my vision, I watched his body language. I counted, one, two, three, four...five, and lunged. I swung wide, aiming for his jaw, leaving myself open for his counterattack on purpose. Right before he lifted his arm to block the blow, I saw the tick and knew he was preparing to strike back. But this time I knew he would attack, and after hours of fighting the man, I had a good idea how he would counter my attack. 

My arm connected with his forearm, the punch doing nothing to move the man, and he twisted his body toward me. Unfortunately for the Knight, he failed to notice my other arm aimed at his stomach. As his leg shifted, a move he would use to take my feet out from under me, I hit him right in the gut, low in the belly, surprising him. Sir Weston grunted, and his movement became unbalanced just long enough for me to follow my first punch with a foot, kicking out to hook my foot around the back of his knee and jerk forward. The movement was slightly awkward, but it did the trick. I hit the weak spot on the back of his knee, and his leg crumpled beneath him, forcing him into a kneeling position. He recovered long enough to reach out in an attempt to grab me, but I saw it coming. I slipped out of his reach and moved around him in one swift turn.  I pressed my foot into his back and forced the Knight down, his face flat in the dirt. 

With a disgruntled grunt, Sir Weston tapped the ground, signaling the fight over. I eased off immediately and held a hand out to help the man to his feet. The look in his eye when he looked up at me should have told me to back away quickly, but of course, I didn't listen. The moment he grabbed my hand, I was yanked down while he popped up with little effort. I grunted as I hit the ground, the dry dirt clouding around my body from the impact. But despite the dirty trick, I laughed heartily.