Chapter 36

Ana stepped out of room to find Elliot whistling a cheerful tune to himself in the hallway. He greeted her with a grin and walked out of the woman's dormitories in a lightness that seemed incongruous to his large personality.

"You seem to be in a good mood." Ana laughed softly, his contagious mood catching up to her.

"Just finished the last day of hell week. I'm going to sleep so much, I won't wake up until it's dark tomorrow."

A pang of sympathy and guilt hit Ana. She saw first hand how hard the Wahren's were working, especially the legacies. She hadn't seen any others, but she noticed both Khai and Elliot had lost weight this past week. Their faces had grown gaunt from the strain of training all day, but they didn't let the exhaustion reach their spirits.

"Thank you for showing up to train me Elliot. Khai tells me how difficult your training with Commander Vinther is. I can imagine how much you want to rest after the day you've had, so I really appreciate you taking the time to help me."

Elliot playfully feigned offense. "You insult me Ana! Do you think I'm so weak that I can't handle a little extra training?" He flexed his arms and pretended to blow some dust off of his muscles. "A hundred Vinthers couldn't bring me down."

Ana shook her head lightly, smiling at his show of strength. "What're you going to teach me today?" She asked.

Elliot was about to speak when he suddenly paused to think. "Does this hurt anymore?" He asked, as he abruptly grabbed her hand to inspect her wound.

"No. In fact Maeve saw at it at lunch this morning and said it was healing really well."

He snapped his head to meet her gaze with wide eyes. "You saw Maeve at lunch?"

"Mhmm! We even plan on going to Monserrat tomorrow to shop for Natalie's party." Ana's excitement leaked out of her voice as she smiled at him.

His signature half-smile crept up on his face as he listened to her. "If Maeve says you're okay, then let's try something new today."

He led her through a series of hallways that Ana hadn't seen before. She was beginning to realize that the academy was massive enough for her to get lost if she wasn't careful. Taking a mental note to study the academy map carefully, she followed Elliot curiously.

Ana squinted her eyes to adjust them as she stepped from the bright hallway to a large dimly lit boxing gym. A faint stench of leather and sweat emanated from the room. At it's center, was a large ring surrounded by ropes and posts. The rest of the room had heavy bags, speed bags at equal intervals. The far end held neatly arranged jump ropes and weights for strength training.

While Ana slipped out of her loose t-shirt and proceeded to secure her hair into a tight braid, Elliot walked over to a cupboard to pick out some boxing gloves for her.

Setting the gloves aside, he had her do a quick warm up to get her heart beat up and then went to grab a wrap.

"I'm going to wrap up your palm with a thick layer, but I still want you to go easy on your right hand. Can you remember not to punch hard?" He wrapped her up while eyeing her with an apprehensive gaze.

Ana gave him a reassuring nod. She could tell that there would only be a faint scar on her palm by the end of the month. After wrapping her hand much thicker than necessary, Elliot helped her with the boxing gloves and examined the fit.

"How do they feel? This is the smallest size they have. We'll stop if you feel like they don't fit well."

"They fit well, don't worry. Let's begin."

He held his hands at a level she could reach and asked her to throw a few punches at them. When he was sure that she wasn't in any pain from punching harder every time, he proceeded to teach her.

Elliot walked Ana through the basics of boxing, demonstrating the proper stance, footwork, and a few beginner punches. Stressing on keeping her guard up, chin down and moving her feet, he had her practice the jab, cross, and hook on the focus pad. Ana was listening attentively and trying her best to mimic his movements. He stepped in to offer feedback and correct her whenever he needed to, but otherwise watched her quietly.

As Ana got the hang of it, she surprisingly started to enjoy herself. Her breathing became heavy, and sweat was pouring down her face. But she didn't feel tired, she felt energized. The faint burn in her muscles didn't bother her, she now knew that it was the type that came from pushing herself to her limits.

"Wow! This feels amazing." She was panting as they took a short break, but she felt exhilarated.

"You're feisty. I can see it." Elliot grinned as he offered her a bottle of water. "How's your hand doing?"

Ana ripped the velcro of the glove with her teeth and gently tugged her hand out of it. Everything seemed perfectly fine, she didn't hurt herself at all. She held it up for Elliot to examine.

He let out a blunt sigh. "I was a little scared when you got carried away with the punching. Khai would throw me off the chapel if your hand got worse while training with me."

Rolling her eyes at him, she took a sip of water as she watched him pick up his phone. She saw him type something and lightly snort at the screen.

"So, who are you going with to Natalie's party?" She asked.

His lips curved into a small smile as he shrugged his shoulders. "I might fly solo this time and see who I meet there." He winked at her playfully.

Ana chuckled softly and put her glove back on, ready for another round.

"Okay, okay! We should stop now Ana. That's enough." Elliot grasped her tiny shoulders and carefully pulled her back as she fiercely punched the boxing bag, her small frame seemingly exploding with energy and anger. He was surprised by the intensity of her movements and the raw emotion behind each strike. At first, he had been entertained by her enthusiasm. But when he noticed the angst behind her strikes, he couldn't help but feel concerned, wondering if there was an underlying cause for her aggression.

Ana was completely absorbed in the power she felt as she punched the bag, her mind consumed by thoughts of retaliation. Images of her lying on the ground, facing Sean and his cruel gaze as he repeatedly kicked her stomach, repeatedly flashed through her mind. The image of herself crawling and begging for mercy was a constant reminder of her vulnerability and pain. The sound of Sean breaking her ribs echoed in her mind like a relentless whip, fueling her anger and need for retribution.

When Elliot pulled her away from the punching bag, she found herself resisting, still lost in her need to fight back. It was only as his distant voice grew clearer, that she slowly came back to reality, gasping for air as she tried to calm her racing heartbeats. She realized that she had been so lost in her rage that she had lost track of where she was.

"Breathe, just like that. Take deep breaths." He gently patted her back as he brought a bottle of water close to her.

Ana blinked, trying to focus on her surroundings. She looked around the dimly lit room and then moved her eyes to Elliot's concerned face. She gulped some water and nodded as she looked up at him, trying to reassure him that she was okay.

She didn't realize that she was sitting on the floor until she saw that he was crouched down next to her. Her picked up her right hand and carefully pulled out to glove to check if her wound opened up. He exhaled in relief when he didn't see any fresh blood.

"Damn it, Ana. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." He muttered.

Ana shook her head in defiance. "This was a great idea. I needed that. Thank you Elliot, really." Her voice was still shaking from the adrenaline, but her thoughts were never clearer. She was getting stronger, she was healing, and most importantly, she was no longer afraid.