"You wanted to speak with me?"
Ellie kept her eyes trained on the floating miniature solar system spinning in orbit around Dawson's office. This was one of the few rooms that she had never been in on the campus, and she had to say she hadn't expected it to hold so much magic. Dawson, while he held similarities to his younger brother, had always given Ellie the impression that he was simple. So to see the floating baubles and twinkling stars sporadically throughout the room was a gentle reminder that not everything was always as it seemed.
Dawson watched as Ellie's eyes twinkled with the miniature stars his coven leader had so generously placed in his office. A small smile stretched across his lips at the thought of the girl everyone feared, the girl who held so much on her shoulders, allowing herself to innocently gaze upon the stars. She was much more than any of them would ever realize, and his brother did not deserve even an inkling of the time he took from her. "Yes, I have a proposition for you."
Ellie glanced at him, careful to not let it last too long. The last time she was in a room alone with a Knight, she had been manipulated into nearly killing a whole town. She was intent on keeping herself guarded with this one. "Which would be?"
His smile dropped minutely at her suspicion. He didn't want her to fear him. He would never treat her as his brother had. "I want to offer you the opportunity to train under my tutelage."
Ellie raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to the side, "I'm already training with Guillermo and the others."
"Yes, I'm aware," he said, wetting his lips. "But there is no one on this earth, other than yourself, who knows my brother as well as I do."
His words resonated in her mind. They were the truth. Jesse never let anyone close to him, but what did that have to do with training? She crossed her arms over her chest, her full attention now on the dark haired emissary in front of her. "What can you offer me that I don't already know?"
Dawson's smile returned to his face as he reached into his desk before extricating a small leather bound book from its depths. "We found this hidden within the darkest depths of the Loch Ness, guarded by the beast herself." He held it out towards her.
"What is it?" she asked, wrapping her long fingers around the worn binding.
"It's his," he said, his frown reappearing, darkening his features. "A journal detailing his every thought during his time with you."
"How did youâ"
"The freshwater mermaids of the lake owed Anastasia a debt," he shrugged, watching as she flipped the book open to the first page.
"Eleanor looks just like my dear Annie. It seems destiny pulls us together once again," she read aloud.
The words were haunting, and they confused her more than she cared to admit. The whole reason he had pursued her was because she looked like someone else. This left so many questions. If she hadn't looked so much like this Annie, would he have never put her in the situation he did? Would he have walked on by or tried to make a meal of her?
Ellie shook her head. There was nothing that could be done about it at this point. He had picked her to torment, and he wouldn't stop until he got his way. That's how he had always been. Whether it was here or elsewhere, he would always find her, but she would not let him win. No one else would die except for him. Lifting her eyes to Dawson, she asked, "When do we start?"
"It took you long enough in there," Harmon huffed as Ellie walked out of the office. "What did Sir Thinks-He's-In-Charge want?"
Ellie rolled her eyes, wishing that Harmon would just leave her alone. She already had enough to worry with without having to think of Harmon and his attitude. "It doesn't concern you."
"Well, technically, it might," he said, shrugging his shoulders, not really caring for what she had discussed with the person who had made sure he remained locked within the facility. "We are kind of tied to each other for as long as Anastasia wants. So it could very well concern me."
Ellie wanted nothing more than to knock the growing smirk off of his face, but she needed to choose her battles wisely. Harmon was not her enemy. He wasn't even close to the vile monster that was Jesse, but at the same time, that didn't mean that she had to divulge her every secret to the emissary. Some things were better left unsaid, and her training sessions with Dawson were something that she currently placed in that category. "When the time is right, you'll know, but until then, it's nothing to worry about."
"Spoken like a true diplomat." Harmon gave a hollow chuckle. "Maybe you'll take Anastasia's seat at the council one day."
She shifted her eyes to him, not wanting to even think of that possibility. "Like that would ever happen."
"True," he grinned, easily keeping up with her lengthening stride. "Why put you on the council when they could have a real emissary?"
Ellie clenched her fists and scowled before rounding on him. "I'm just as much of a real emissary as anyone else in this academy," she jabbed him in the chest with her pointer finger, "and nothing you say is going to change that."
Harmon laughed and lifted his hands in surrender. "Easy, Tiger. I'm only messing with you."
Ellie growled and gave him a light shove. "You're ridiculous."
She then crossed her arms over her chest and continued on her way down the hall with Harmon. She didn't like how he was playing with her mind. Too many people played with her mind, and their games were getting old. She needed something new in her life, and there was no way that she was going to find it in this blasted building. She had too much to worry about here. Not that she didn't have to worry on the outside, but at least there were plenty of distractions.
One of them being, her ever growing need to see Jasper. They idea alone made her stomach roll, but as much as she didn't want to see him, she knew she would have to eventually. He was her tether, and while she hoped no one else could see the effects that their separation was having on her, she could certainly feel them. She was tiring faster more than she was willing to admit, and her reaction time was slower than normal. She could only hope that the idiot came to his senses soon, or she would have to pay him a very angry visit, and he would not come out unscathed. Granted, she had no intentions of letting him come out of the situation completely intact. He would pay dearly for letting her hurt. She just hoped that she would make it to the next time she saw him.
"Ellie!" Harmon called, causing her to snap her head toward him.
"What?" she frowned, narrowing her eyes at him. If there was one thing this imbecile was good at, apparently, it was interrupting her thoughts. "What could you possibly want from me?"
"This hallway is restricted," he said, lifting a brow. "We're not supposed to be down here."
"What are you talking about?" She furrowed her eyebrows. "We're on the hall back to our new room."
Harmon shook his head, looking at her as if something was wrong. "We passed that hallway three lefts back."
Ellie rolled her eyes before pinching the bridge of her nose. "Why didn't you say something then?"
"I did," Harmon scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "You just weren't listening. You'd think with ears as big as yours you might hear a thing or two, but no, the princess is just too good to listen to what anyone else has to say"
"Can you shut up for just one minute?" Ellie snapped, rubbing her temple before looking at her surroundings. This was, indeed, not the hallway they were supposed to be on. Instead this hallway had all of the doors closed off, sealed with magic far as Ellie could tell. So why had she let them traipse through the restricted area? Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she said, "Let's just get out of here."
"Finally," Harmon sighed, turning on spot, ready to get out of the area. Anastasia would kill him if she found out they were exploring the restricted hall. "That's the smartest thing I've heard come from your mouth."
As he walked, Ellie followed, but she couldn't help but wonder why this lone hallway was off limits to the emissaries not holding a seat on the council. What were they hiding in the depths of the manor that they didn't want people to find out? Ellie wasn't sure, but she knew one thing. Before her time was up at the academy, she would find out.
A/N: What do you think is in the restricted hall?