From The Moon Goddess

Chapter Three

- Ella's P.O.V -

standing at one side of the mat and Henry in front of me at the other side of the mat Henry was bouncing on his heels pumping his fists as i stretched out my body as quickly and as safely as possible while flexing my fingers as i felt the comforting hug of my wraps around my hand "ok guys its time" called Emerson as a yawn escaped his mouth i stepped forward at the same time as Henry did and our match began we circled each other and tested each other by throwing a few soft punches Henry not really wanting to hurt me and me testing his skills, i saw Henry smirk thinking that i could only give out girley punches and decided to strike i saw him trow his right fist as he stepped forward into my space and i flanked left dodging his first real punch slapping it out of the way as i moved he threw a left jab aiming for my ribs i tried to step back but wasn't fast enough as he connected the air left my lungs at the impact knocking me to the floor " i told you she couldn't fight dad she only has that outfit to play dress up" remarked Henry making my anger rise towards him as he stood smirking at my body on the floor it only took me a moment to stand up " looks like she isn't done yet son carry on" smiled Emerson as he stood their with his arms crossed over his chest i let out a shaky breath as i decided to stop toying with Henry and give him a good run for his money stepping forward i jabbed left catching him unaware and connecting with his right shoulder for a fraction of a second he stood shocked before recovering and charging at me attempting a combo of a one two three only for me to block every hit and return them to him making him stumble back having a gap between us a charged jumping at the last possible moment giving him a superman punch to the face landing it on his jaw making him land on his back with me sitting on his chest,

Henry tried to land a few jabs getting visibly annoyed that i had him pinned with my weight to the floor while Emerson remained silent on the sideline as Henry threw his right fist towards me i gripped it under my arm and twisted my body to that i had him in an armbar with my left thigh crushing against his chest Henry was pinned and after hearing his cries of pain as a applied pressure to his arm he tapped on my calf with his free hand "do you give?" i asked applying a little more pressure making him cry out with a painful "yes" from him i released his arm and rolled away before standing up and backed away to the edge of the mat watching him carefully get up rubbing his shoulder "you cheated" whined Henry "no i didn't you tapped out i won" i replied calmly as i tried to catch my breath " no you didn't you played coy with me that's cheating ...tell her dad" he continued turning to his Emerson to back him up and call him the victor of the match " Ella? ... why did you play coy?" asked emerson stepping forward " because its the best form of defence when against an arrogant opponent" i replied shrugging my shoulders " exactly Ella didn't know what you was capable of Henry so she studied you and learned your style rather quickly i might add... you lost Henry get cleaned up then go tidy up" replied Emerson looking at Henry sternly " but dad..." Henry began but was cut off before he could complain any more " maybe next time you wont underestimate your opponent" smiled Emerson as he watched his son stomp his way up the stairs grumbling to himself in defeat before Emerson turned back to me " are you tired? " he asked all i could do was shake my head while thinking he might change his mind about letting me use his gym equipment " good go grab some water and come back and i'll help you work out for a while " he smiled i did as he asked and headed upstairs for a bottle of water.

- Emerson's P.O.V -

I had watched as Ella studied Henry and allowed him to land a hit to her ribs then i saw something i had seen many times in her mother, determination it was a powerful motivation although it can be destructive at times in my line of work it has made many a man blind and even killed some of them now i had a real problem do i bring Ella into the world of hunting or keep her in the dark about it and train her to defend herself just incase of an attack on our home this isn't a decision i can make lightly maybe i should go talk to Marcus see what he thinks about it " i'm ready Emerson" came Ella's musical voice braking me from my train of thought.

we trained for two hours before Ella laid on the floor panting unable to move she was a good fighter a little out of practice but she had some potential and that was a good thing it meant i could set her up with a training schedule and she wouldn't need my constant supervision like Henry does although he had been training for years to join in when it came to my hunts he was air headed at times and didnt like structure or schedules the amount of times he had been laid out on the couch watching some crap on tv when he was meant to be training was more than i could count on both hands and all he could say was that he was tired, i had even brought him on a hunt in the hope he would see how hard it was but he still didn't catch on to why training was so important Ella however i had a feeling she would be different and with a little luck her training and the ass whooping she gave Henry might get him off his ass and get in down hear training "you did good today Ella go get washed up and rest a little while i fix up supper and then you can call it a night and get some sleep i know you haven't been sleeping well i smiled as i offered her a hand to help her up Ella took it and stood up looking ready to fall to sleep where she stood before she nodded and headed up the stairs i busied myself putting some of the equipment back before heading upstairs to make a call

Emerson : " hey markus you busy tonight i could do with your advice on a matter"

Marcus : "hey man no i'v not got anything on tonight if you want me to come over ill bring the beer"

Emerson: " yeah sounds like a plan, hey Mark just promise me you will keep what we talk about to ourselves and don't freak out when you get hear"

Markus : " you know what we talk about stays between us but what could possibly freak me out?"

Emerson: " you will see when you get here man ill see you soon"

Markus put the phone down and i started searching for Henry. "Henry get your lazy ass in here now! " i yelled loud enough that it would of scared the birds out of the trees closest to the house Henry came thundering down the stairs asif hell itself was chasing him " dad what's wrong" he asked panic written all over his face " you haven't cleaned up thats whats wrong you lost so get to it now before markus gets here" i snap irritated lacing my voice " i thought you was joking dad why do i have to clean up when that's Ella's job" he sulked making me more and more annoyed with each word that came out of his mouth hearing Ella's name made me snap and i couldn't help myself for weeks he had had this notion that Ella was here to clean and cook and at first i thought it was a joke so i joined in not expecting Ella to do any of it but Henry was serious and obviously had no respect for the opposite s*x i reached out and grabbed his left ear dragging him the rest of the way down the stairs " boy i am only going to say this to you once get the notion out of your head that a woman's place is at your feet and clean up this house and the next time you make a snide comment to your Cousin about cooking or cleaning i'm going to beat your ass so bad you will with you was dead do i make myself clear ?" i practically yelled threw gritted teeth henry simply nodded and i let him go with a slight shove i knew i was being rough with him but he ha no idea what Ella had been threw and i pray every day that he wont have to until he is alot older and hopefully wiser and Ella deserved respect and understanding no matter what type of upbringing she had.

I watched as Henry scurried away and began to clean up while trying to rub his now red ear all the while i stood and scowled at him, after a few minutes i left him to it to go and start supper when Henry had finished he came into the kitchen and sat down at the island " why are you so soft with Ella but hard on me its not fair" he asked trying to keep the whine out of his voice i was somewhat thankful for that since Ella arrived he had began whining about everything Ella did and it grated on my nerves to no end " son you are a young man you are 19 years old and you have me Ella is 17 in a strange place with no parents and a cousin who does nothing but bullies her makes snide comments about how she was raised and the fact she is a woman and should keep house for us, that isn't why Ella is here she's here so she is safe, Ella is family Henry and we take care of our family no matter how distant they are i really need you to stop this stupid behaviour and help her feel comfortable it isn't a case of me taking sides or choosing one over the other i am hear for you both and if you stopped acting like a child you would get the same treatment from me that Ella does " i breath out a large sigh and look at him sitting there thinking really hard before he to let out a sigh and nodded his head " i've been a right s**t haven't i dad i didn't mean to make her feel bad or be mean to her i just wanted her to toughen up and stop moping around all day every day its depressing" he reasoned " Henry,... how would you feel if you had lost me when you was 17 and got sent to live with some stranger and their child only to be treated the way you have treated Ella?" i asked hoping he would catch my drift and give up trying to win me over to his side of the argument i watched as Henry sat thinking about what i had said before realization shone on his face and he put his head down " id be devastated and scared and confused dad i cant even imagine what i would do without you here with me teaching me to hunt Ella must feel so alone dad what can we do though? " he asked finally finding his humanity to his relative " we be here for her the best we can and eventually in her own time she will come out of her shell and feel like a part of the family" i say softening my voice as i hear footsteps on the landing above us " now set the table for 4 people and try and be nice to your cousin" i say before turning to get the crock pot of stew from the oven " she isnt my cousin dad she's your cousin's kid" he replied as he stands up " she is your cousin once removed dumb ass now go" i chuckle as he wiggles his head around and exits the kitchen to do as i have asked when their was a knock on the door followed by Ella shouting she would get it "wait El..." to late as i reached the kitchen door i see Markus standing there with his mouth wide open and Ella looking like a cat with a canary in her mouth " uncle Markus!" she squealed and threw herself at him wrapping her arms around his neck.