Battle Wounds || Jasper Hale {2}

Chapter 20

A loud thump sounded as Ellie hit the ground, pain radiating through her body as she tried to get back to her feet. Training with Dawson was proving to be harder was proving to be more difficult than she had realized. He was incredibly strong on his own, but when he used his powers, it was like trying to stop a hurricane.

She didn't want to push the blame for her defeat off on her separation from Jasper, but even the simplest of tasks was becoming tiresome. Sooner or later she was going to have to admit to her loss and let someone know she was struggling.

"Are you sure you're trying your hardest?" Dawson smirked, offering a hand to the blonde emissary. "I didn't even hit you that hard."

"I'm doing the best I can," she groaned, taking his hand. She hated to admit it, but it was getting harder to take a hit which was quite unfortunate seeing as she still had a lengthy amount of time left at The Academy.

"I assume I don't have to remind you that my brother is one hundred times stronger than I am,"  he led her to a chair near the journal. "You're going to have to try harder if you want to survive."

"Don't worry," she forced a smile, taking a seat in the chair. "I'm not going to quit. Jesse won't win again. Even if I die trying."

Dawson watched her, wary of the words she was saying. Her death was not something they were working toward, but he had to admit that she was looking worse for wear. There were purple smudges under her eyes, and she was quite pale. It was abnormal for any emissary to get sick. There had to be something else going on. "Are you feeling alright?"

While she knew she needed to say something eventually, she didn't want to say anything about her problems just yet. Ellie forced a smile and nodded, "I'm fine."

He didn't believe her, but he wouldn't force it out of her. She would tell him when she was ready. In the mean time, he would keep training her. It was vital that Ellie DuPree survived. "If you're sure."

He picked the journal up from the table and moved to his desk, opening a drawer and locking the leather bound book within. He lifted his gaze back to Ellie who was watching him curiously, her lips parted ever so slightly, and shook his head. It wouldn't do any good to put too much strain on her if she was feeling ill. Letting his gaze trace over her face, he wet his lips and said, "Why don't you go rest for the evening? We'll pick back up after your lessons tomorrow."

Ellie narrowed her eyes, wishing she could read his closed mind. There was so much that she didn't yet know about the individual in the room with her, and part of her was afraid to get to know him. If he was even the tiniest bit like his brother... She didn't want to think of the consequences. Lifting her tired body from the seat, she nodded and moved toward the door.

"Oh, and Eleanor?" Dawson called, causing her to look back at him. "Please, stay out of trouble."

Ellie nodded and exited the room, expecting to find Harmon sitting in the corridor, bored out of his mind. Instead, she found him huddled in a corner talking in hushed whispers with Guillermo. She would have tried to listen, but as soon as she entered the hallway, the whispers came to a stop, both men turned to look at her with narrowed eyes.

Guillermo have Harmon a look that Ellie couldn't read and said, "Do what you must," before stalking down the hallway, leaving Harmon to face Ellie's questioning gaze on his own.

"Do I even want to know what that was about?" Ellie asked, coming closer to the sandy haired emissary, her eyebrows raised.

"Probably not," Harmon shrugged, attempting to look nonchalant with his answer. He grimaced in disgust when he actually looked at Ellie. "You look like death. What happened in there?"

Ellie gripped the bridge of her nose and sighed. She couldn't tell him. It wouldn't be wise, but she wanted to confide in someone. Harmon just couldn't be that person.

"Just a little remedial training," she lied, closing her eyes and rubbing at the spot between her eyebrows. "I'm falling behind the others, and I needed a little extra help."

Harmon settled his eyes on her, seeing through her lie. He raised his eyebrows, "You could have just asked me. It's not like I have anything better to do."

Ellie scoffed before rolling her eyes, "Like I'd ask you for anything."

A sly grin tilted his lips, "That's your loss."

Ellie shook her head and released another sigh. She couldn't deal with this today. She turned and began walking down the hall in hopes that she could spend a few minutes resting before dinner. Harmon's voice broke her thoughts.

"Wait up!"

Slowing her stride, Ellie let him catch up to her and ignored the scowl forming on his face.

"I'm not sure why Felicity puts up with you," he muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"I often wonder the same about you," Ellie retorted, tugging her black jacket closer to her.

Harmon watched her, his eyes narrowing in suspicion, "Are you cold?"

Ellie shook her head and frowned. Harmon was watching her too closely. She would have to be more careful in the future. "I don't get cold anymore."

Her statement only made Harmon look at her harder, confusion clouding his eyes. "Why wouldn't you get cold anymore? I mean, we are in Canada."

Ellie rolled her eyes, "I thought you were an emissary."

Harmon scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest, "Of course I'm an emissary."

"Then you would know that the colors I bear signify that I'm in the vampire sector," she stated, matter of factly. "You know, blood sucking and deadly cold. I think I'm covered."

"Then why would you —"

"That's not important," she said, turning down the corridor to their room, hoping beyond hope that Felicity would be there to occupy her exceedingly annoying shadow.

Harmon released a frustrated huff. Ellie's stubbornness was going to be the death of her. If he could just get her to open up and trust him, he could help her, but the likelihood of that was dwindling with every day. Granted, he could try to be more likable and win her over, but that just wasn't who he was.
Shaking his head, he followed her into their room and watched as she promptly flopped face first onto her bed, a loud groan echoing through the tiny space. A sigh slipped past his lips. This was beginning to get pathetic.

"Listen," he said, bringing a hand up to scratch the back of his neck. "I don't know what, exactly, is going on with you, but you're in a place where you can get whatever help you need."

A muffled response was heard from Ellie, and Harmon tried to suppress a tiny smile. "I didn't understand a word of that."

Ellie lifted her head up, "I don't need any help."

She then dropped her head back down onto the mattress.

"Look," he snapped, tired of her lies. "I know we don't get along, but I wouldn't lead you wrong. You can trust me."

Ellie released a long breath into her mattress. She wished what he was saying was true, but it simply wasn't. Even if he wasn't shady occasionally, it would never happen. If she couldn't trust the one person who had been tied to her very soul, how could she trust anyone else? The answer was easy. She couldn't. She didn't know if she would ever trust anyone again, but she wouldn't burden him with that.

She cleared on her face of any emotions and rolled over to face the sandy haired emissary. Forcing a smile onto her face, she lied, "I'm fine. Honestly. I'm just tired." She threw her feet over the edge of the bed and stood. "What do you say we go find Felicity? I'm sure she's ready to escape that awful Victoire by now."

Harmon sighed but nodded. Maybe today wasn't the day to get her to trust him, but that didn't mean that tomorrow wouldn't be. He wouldn't give up on her. No matter how much he didn't get along with her, he would keep trying. Because more than he disliked her, he didn't agree with what was being planned for her. So even if he had to compromise his place within the facility, he would make sure that nothing horrible would happen to her. He would fight for Ellie, even if no one else would.