Hey my lovely readers! This is the sequel to THE DAUGHTER'S CURSE.
Please note that this is NOT EDITED, because no one has accepted the job :( However, I shall post these so you all can enjoy and ahve questions answered, as well as more questions to ask.
CONTENT WARNING: Dark themes, mental illness and abuse
Chapter 1- Reunion
Dae's POV
Dust. That's the first thing that I breathe in. I start coughing and move my hands to cover it up, but I find that my hands are tied behind my back. This alarms me.
What happened? I think to myself. I move my feet to find my ankles also bound by rope. I stick my tongue out, or try, only to find a weird cloth in my mouth; a dusty gag. I try to open my eyes, finding that someone put a blindfold over them.
Then it hits me like a ton of bricks. The dance; meeting Martin's new boyfriend; getting that text from Aelix; and finally, getting abducted by Ugene. I remember him placing a cloth over my mouth and nose, a weird powder entering my lungs, hearing Patrick's voice, then passing out.
I hear footsteps coming towards me. I just realize that I am lying down on my side against a wall. The steps sound like they are coming down a hall. I hear a door open and close soon followed by multiple sets of footsteps coming toward me.
"So how long does the sleeping powder last?" Ugene asks. I hear his foot tapping impatiently.
"It depends on how much powder you put on the cloth." Patrick replies.
"When is the truck coming?" Ugene asks. I can feel his eyes on me, checking for any movement one doesn't do when sleeping.
"Anytime now. The truck is going to be a lot easier- less security than the airport"
They took me into an airport? How did they get on the plane? I think
"I have to say, I actually was surprised that my sister could fit into your suitcase" Ugene sounds impressed. Patrick chuckles.
"She is a small one, isn't she?"
"Yet so important to master Ares plan..."
Pat cuts him off with shushing. "Remember, the code names! Aaron Warrell is going be quite pleased. You do remember your role, Ugene?"
"Take her, break her, and remake her. Simple" he sounds bored.
Break me? Physically or mentally?
"Well, the fate of all Dionysus should kick in soon, so the breaking part will be easy." pat pauses.
"What part of the fate did you get?"
I hear some shuffling, and then Patrick says:
"Ah, so you got the drug part..."
A gross smoke enters my nose causing me to start breathing through my mouth.
"Yup. I hope that Diana gets the drug part as well- seeing that she is immune to alcohol intoxication, that wouldn't have any effect on her. Although, if she gets the insanity part, it could get interesting..."
Ugene trails off. I feel something blow against my face, and soon breathe in smoke. I cough earning a snicker from my brother.
"Pat, did you know that Diana can create drugs at the snap of her fingers and is immune to human drugs? I find it fascinating!" Ugene's footsteps come closer. I flinch a bit when he grabs my wrists and holds my hands up.
"Cigarette please" he orders. Sure enough, I create one. Patrick shifts to, I'm guessing, cross his arms.
"Huh. That might come in handy." I hear a small buzz, like a phone, and Patrick orders:
"Put out that cigarette, grab her and let's go- the truck is here!"
Patrick's steps recede, I hear a sizzling noise, then arms around me bridal style. I get lifted off the ground and the slight motion of bouncing must mean that Ugene is jogging. He must have placed my head near his face because I feel him breathing. It smells like mint and smoke.
"I know you might be still sleeping and not able to hear me, but I want you to know that I won't let anyone else harm you," he whispers into my ear. If it was Aelix, Cole, Ammon, Derrek, or even Ajax or Mark I would believe them. But I don't believe Ugene.
"Mom is going to meet you in a few hours, along with her husband, our step-father. Now little sister must not run away because it's useless to try to run back to camp- we are in Denver Colorado," I feel him kiss my forehead and with a bucket of will power I suppress the urge to shiver.
"And there is no way your friends can find you!" Ugene sounds happy, but not like regular people happy. I mean evil-sadistic-devil kind of happy.
Ugene stops jogging. Judging by what I feel, he just hoisted himself into a truck. He sets me down on the floor, but puts my head on his lap. Someone else gets in, the doors shut, and the engine starts.
"Patrick, is there any way to wake her up early?" Ugene asks. He starts stroking my head. He takes out my hair elastic, freeing my curls. Then my brother starts brushing his fingers through it.
"One second..."
I hear him snap his fingers.
"Huh. Hypnos' sleeping powder must have worn off. Diana is sleeping naturally," Patrick emotionless tells Ugene. Ugene shakes me violently.
"WAKE UP!" he yells in my ear. The blindfold is lifted. I act like I have just woken up- trying to yawn but finding the gag; attempting to stretch but discovering that my hands and feet are bound. Although I don't have to act horrified when looking down and seeing that I'm not in my dress anymore. I am in grey short-shorts, a grey tank top, and grey converse. Ugene smirks. I move my mouth, wanting to talk but am being held back by the gag. Ugene takes it off.
"What do you want from me?" I ask. Ugene smiles his devil smile.
"We want you and your powers to be on our side. And by bringing you home, we will train you properly and you will attend school with me," Ugene informs me.
"First of all, I will never join you. Second, how am I going to do well in school when I have ADHD and Dyslexia?!"
"Patrick has created a potion to help with the ADHD and Dyslexia. It has one catch though..."
Ugene pulls out a suitcase from under the seat.
"Roll onto your stomach," My younger brother orders. I shake my head 'no'. This only gets me in trouble; Ugene pins me to the ground and flips me so that I am on my stomach. I feel a stinging sensation in my back that soon turns into a throbbing pain.
"There- now read this," Ugene throws an envelope at me. I reluctantly pick it up and open it while getting into a sitting position.
"This is my birth certificate?!" I say in amazement and awe. It has:
Name: Diana Agatha Summers
Mother: Wanda Agatha Summers
Father: MIA
It has other stuff on it, but those are the only things I can pay attention to. I know that Dionysus left before I was born, but I have always thought that I was an Envis.
"So who was my adopted mother?"
Ugene shrugs, so Patrick answers.
"She was your aunt. It just so happened that she had a miscarriage one month before you were born. Since Dionysus already had so many boys, and he thought you were one, he made a deal with Aaron Warrell that you would be a part of his experiments. Luckily you got Dionysus blood instead of Ares or mine. Anyways, Wanda didn't want you going to some random person's house so she made a deal with them both that she could have you back when she wants. Since her cousin had the miscarriage, she gave you to her," he explains.
"Why was Envis mean to me?" I ask quietly but still audible.
"She was jealous of her cousin."
I yawn- despite how long I've been asleep. Ugene looks at me with concern.
"Is little sister tired?" he inquires with concern. I shake my head, not wanting to be vulnerable. Then again, I am tied up.
"Really? You look awful," Ugene unbuckles his seat belt.
"Gee, thanks," I dryly remark but then yawn again. Ugene moves so that he is lying next to me. Since the space in the back is so small, he makes it so that I am partially lying on top of him, and so that I have to cuddle into him for comfort.
"You can go to sleep if you want- I don't mind," Ugene whispers while stroking my hair. A blanket floats to us from the front. I have to admit, I am tired despite the 'nap' I had. I give-in to him.
"Any funny business and I swear Ugene I will find a way to snap you in half!" I say with as much vigor as I can. Ugene chuckles.
"Alright sissy, no funny business. Scouts honor" he does the scout sign. I try not to laugh at the thought of Ugene being a Boy Scout.
Ugene places a kiss on my forehead; I shiver.
"Are you cold sister?" Ugene asks with a genuine concern- it startled me a bit. Without any answer from me, my brother pulls the blanket up over us. I close my eyes and truly sleep.
When I wake, the truck is parked. I find that Ugene isn't by my side, and I am untied. I sit up with a new sense of alert; this is my chance to get away! I quickly check to see if Ugene or Patrick is near. I sigh; the coast is clear.
I stretch a bit before jumping over the seats to the doors. Unfortunately, I have a slight tendency to be a bit clumsy. My foot slams against the car alarm, and I fall into the joystick, my side screaming in pain. Looking down I see why; the gear shift has some spikes. I take the covering out of my side, but don't find any blood. It hurts like heck, I let out a scream of frustration, and it gets drowned out from the car alarm. MARM MARM MARM. Oh crap; I just blew my cover! I think while sitting back on my knees. I go to open the door on the passenger side but it opens before I can. I lose my balance and fall out of the truck. A hand grabs my upper arm and pulls me up in a not-so gentle manner.
The alarm suddenly stops. I look to see Ugene staring down at me.
"I go to the bathroom for FIVE MINUTES and you manage to hurt yourself and cause the alarm to go off!" Ugene tries to look pissed, but ends up laughing his head off.
My side and knees start to throb. Ugene and Patrick lift me up and I know that they are going to throw me into the back. I try to fight them, but the both of them together against me is hard. I still try, but they work together to somehow pin me to the seat. My brother pins me down with his body while Patrick ties up my legs and arms. After that, they hoist me up over the seats. Ugene comes back, ties me to the chair back here, and then sits in the passenger side. As if nothing happened.
"Patrick?" I say. It pains me to know that he is an evil demigod and that my mom actually dated him. I mean my aunt. Patrick is just about to start the car, and looks back at me.
"Why?"
He smirks. Pat turns, puts his key in ignition, and smiles at me through the mirror.
"In due time- but first you must be hungry- you haven't had any food since the day of the dance," as if on cue, my stomach rumbles.
"You got a beast in there" Ugene chuckles. I roll my eyes at him.
"Ugene, please feed her- that's partially why we came to the gas station," Patrick orders. Ugene hops over the seat with a bag in his hand. Before offering me food, he grabs a bottle of wine, opens it, and pours some on my skinned legs. He pours a bit on his hand then applies it to the part of my rib cage that got bruised and slightly indented. I recoil at his touch and Ugene looks at me funny. He doesn't speak on it; just grabs the bag of food with a disappointed gleam in his eyes.
"What would you like to have? We got yogurt, pudding, gummies, cookies, and some juice."
I glare at him but answer yogurt. He takes out a cup of yogurt, a spoon, looks at me and smiles menacingly.
"What?" I spit at him. He puts some yogurt onto the spoon. Ugene moves it like an air plane.
"Here comes the plane!" he says in that annoying high pitch voice that mothers use when trying to get their child to eat. I try to grab the spoon from him, but am reminded that my hands are tied. Ugene makes plane noises with his mouth, and tries to force the spoon into my mouth.
"If you untie my hands, I can eat myself," I remind Ugene, slightly annoyed.
"Only if Pat puts a spell on you so that you will stay in your seat unable to move anything but your arms, mouth and diaphragm," he looks at Pat "but I also want to bond with sister, so he won't do that."
Ugene looks at me with an evil gleam in his eye.
"So are you going to let the plane in for a landing?"
I don't know if it is because I am tired from constantly retaliating or because I am super hungry, but I let Ugene feed me. The yogurt is peach passion fruit-my favorite- and pleases my stomach. After I finish Ugene puts away the yogurt container and spoon, then just sits and glares at me. After a while, I start to get creeped out.
"Why are you staring at me?" I ask paranoid. He smirks.
"I don't know anything about you... So let's play a game!" Ugene looks at me like I am a new toy that he got for Christmas.
"What game?" I ask cautiously.
"So every time that you don't answer a question, I will take off a piece of clothing of yours. This will be fun!"
I look at him in horror.
"First question- what's your favorite color?"
Seems easy and not too bad.
"Purple," I tell him.
"What's your favorite food?"
"Pizza"
And it goes on. He asks me easy questions- like what my favorite movie/book, favorite singer/song- it isn't until he starts asking super personal questions that I start not wanting to answer.
"What's the farthest you have gone in a relationship?"
I am reluctant to answer, but I do.
"French kissing"
Ugene smirks.
"What size are your clothes?"
I shoot him a suspicious glare.
"Why do you want to know?"
"well, you currently have no clothes at the house," Ugene smiles.
"Medium pants, large shirt, size 7 shoe," I tell him. He makes a 'keep going' gesture.
"I told you my sizes, therefore answered your question," I firmly state. Ugene gets in real close.
"Not everything- looks like I am going to have to check" he smirks while his eyes rake my body. He reaches out his hand and a deep evil laugh erupts from inside him. Just before his hands reach me, I kick him as hard as I can in the crotch. Looks like he forgot to tie my legs to the chair. Ugene falls to the ground in pain muttering a word that sounds like 'duck'.
"We are here!" Patrick announces before turning off the ignition. He glances back at us. Patrick chuckles, his eyes going from me to doubled-over Ugene. I smile in satisfaction.
Patrick decides that he should escort me to the house instead of Ugene, seeing how our last encounter ended with me defeating him. Patrick grips my upper arm with an iron fist, something that I'm surprised he can do. Then again, he IS a child of Hecate. Anyway, he practically drags me up the rest of the driveway, up the front steps, and before entering the house, Patrick spins me to face him.
"I have to warn you, your mother is a bit..." he struggles for the word "how can I say this?"
"A bit over excited to meet her daughter?" Ugene offers. He stands as if he has to go pee; I give off a little chuckle.
"A bit is an understatement," Patrick says. He knocks on the big white door to the mansion of a house. We wait for two maybe three minutes until the door swings open. I am too shocked to even gape at the woman standing before me. She has short, shoulder-length curly black hair. She is Sandra's height, has yellowish-brown skin like Martin, piercing green eyes, bright red lips, and she looks as if she works out. She is wearing an apron and has a bit of unidentifiable substances staining it. She is wearing jeans and a graphic tee. She looks at Patrick with a hopeful glance.
"Is this my daughter?"
Patrick nods. She looks me up and down.
"You sure do look like your father don't you?" she laughs "and what on earth are you wearing?"
"We picked her up from a dance at the camp I told you about. We didn't have any other clothes than her current ensemble" Patrick reminds her. She laughs again.
"Right, right I remember now! Come in, come in," she moves so that we can get by. When I enter the house, I gawk; it's like those houses that you see rich people in movies.
"Ugene, good gods, are you having urine problems again?" I hear my mother say. I chuckle a bit.
"Now Diana," Patrick says next to me. I look at him "there aren't enough bedrooms for you to have one so you will sleep in the basement. We have a blow-up mattress, an empty bookshelf, and a dresser down there currently. Until you go shopping, you will have to wear either your mother's clothes or Ugene's. Martin's and mine wouldn't fit you," Pat explains
I look at him skeptically.
"This is a mansion Patrick, how are there no rooms?" I ask. He smiles menacingly. He swiftly walks over to an intercom system. Patrick pushes the button, and says:
"guys and gals, your long lost cousin is here."
Just like a herd of elephants, footsteps vibrate from the stairs. A big group of people emerges from the stairs. They stop and stare at me, sizing me up. I look at the group; it isn't just kids, its adults too. One of the guys my age steps forward.
"You're Wanda's daughter?" he asks. He has the infamous black curly hair but is 6ft 4' and looks like he does a lot of sports. All I can do is nod. He approaches, puts his hand out to shake, but when I go to shake his hand, he pulls me in to a hug. He lifts me out of my high heels, carries me into a more open area, and I soon find myself on the bottom of a dog pile. I can just breathe.
"Welcome back to the family," one of the closer ranged ones says.
"Thanks" I wheeze out.
"Come on guys, you're crushing the poor girl!" I hear my mother say. I then notice how I am BURIED, that's how tiny I am.
"WELCOME TO THE FAMILY!" they all cheer. With some effort, they all get off of me and the last two help me up. I brush off the wrinkles in my dress; five cousins come over, grab me by the arms, legs, and waist, pick me up and carry me up the stairs. I hear some complaints from the male cousins but none actually follow us.
"Where are you taking me?" I ask the girls. They laugh. "I can walk you know!" that doesn't help my situation. They finally set me down on a bed and without my consent, strip me down to the undergarments. I self-consciously pull a blanket over myself. The girls cast a strange look to me but then go on to doing what they are doing. Two are looking through the dresser, two are taking measurements of me and the last is guarding the door. The two measuring don't do anything that I don't approve of.
"So what is your shirt and short size?" One of them asks. She looks like a younger version of my mom but with some tattoos and a totally different style. I tell her; she measures my arm and leg.
"She probably will fit into Lana's clothes" she says.
"Really? She looks too skinny and short to fit into her clothes," one of the girls at the dresser says.
The other girl who is taking measurements pulls out my braid (which I am surprised at how well it held) and measures the length of my hair. She has the green eyes but has bleached blonde hair and a soft face.
"Your hair is really long. I could play with it all day," she tells me. I look at the group.
"Can you, um explain why you girls ambushed me like this?" I ask.
"We assumed that you were like us. Then again, you haven't been with us. Our family is a very... Comfortable and relaxed family. Hell most people downstairs wouldn't mind if you went downstairs like you are now."
"Some would even prefer it," one of the girls says from the dresser. They all chuckle while I gulp nervously.
"Anyways, Quincy, you wouldn't mind offering some clothes to Danielle here, right?" the bleach blonde says to the other girl measuring. This girl is the definition of punk. She has a skull necklace, a leather jacket, an eyebrow and nose piercing, some ripped up jeans, and a shirt that says "death by society" on it.
"It's Diana," I correct her. Quincy smirks at me.
"If she can find anything she likes."
The two girls smile at each other before giving me a bathrobe. When we open the door, a group of male cousins are there. Not expecting them, I scream and jump back a bit. They all laugh.
"Man, not used to the family!" one of them calls. I flush a deep red while allowing the group of girls to lead me down to another room. I choose a suiting shirt that says "too cool for normal" and a pair of purple skinny jeans. They decide to straighten my hair.
One hour later, my mother calls up.
"Supper family!"
The cousin I have come to know as Paige (bleach blondy) goes to the door.
"Almost done straightening Diana's hair!"
"Why ARE you girls dolling me up?" I question.
"So that you can feel welcomed into the family, silly!" the younger version of my mom, Lizzie, says.
Yeah, being molded into a cousin that fits your standard is definitely making me feel welcomed into the accepting family, I almost say but decide to keep my mouth shut.
All of the male relatives gawk when I come downstairs, especially Ugene. They quickly snap out of their trance and all sit in the dining room. The table isn't big enough for everyone, the reason I am now sitting on the couch with Paige, Lizzie, Lana, Quincy, and some of my male relatives. My mother made some sort of Italian pasta that allows me to stuff my mouth. Just before I can take my second bite, Ugene comes over and scoops up my plate. I object and follow him into the kitchen.
"Hey! Ugene, I was eating that!" I angrily exclaim. He dumps it into the garbage.
"I know; you were eating when you weren't supposed to. Bad sister!" Ugene turns back to me. I swiftly walk up to him so that I am face to face (which is more like face to chest) with him. I swiftly backhand him and make for the door down the hallway. A rush of adrenaline surges through my body; I swing open the door and race out onto the sidewalk. I look from left to right, looking for a way out. I see the car. I run up to the car, look inside to see a wonderful sight: Patrick left the keys in. I hop to the front seat just before a pack of family members come rushing out. Ugene's pissed off face is the last one I see before pulling the car out of the driveway.
I laugh hysterically while driving away; I did it! I escaped!
They are terrible at keeping someone captive, I think while turning out of the neighborhood.
After about 5 minutes on the road, the 'check engine' light starts flashing. Groaning, I pull into the nearest gas station to fill the tank. I don't see him until he is a meter away. I feel my muscles tighten, not having loyalty to me anymore. Patrick picks me up and throws me into his own car with a tear running down his face.
"Diana, why? Now you have our whole family wondering what the heck you were doing!" he yells.
"Could you alter the mist so that they heard me say I was going out for a jog or something?" I ask weakly. Patrick thinks about this.
"I suppose... Since your mother is a mortal, I could alter the mist and then explain that you were feeling overwhelmed. Actually I could tell everybody that!" he looks at me with an impressed look on his face.
"Well thinking Diana!" the drive back is really awkward. Patrick keeps looking at me with sideways glances. It is really bugging me.
"What?" I snap at him. A vial of blue liquid appears on my lap; I feel him release my arms from the spell he has on them.
"Drink that liquid and I will let you go for a run, so that it is partially true," he looks at me with a begging expression.
"Why?"
"I don't want to lie," he painfully admits. I practically piss my pants laughing.
"Since when does the great all-mighty Patrick Nealson who can capture the most powerful Dionysus kid NOT want to lie?" and then it clicks. "You truly love Ugene, Martin and I's mother, don't you?"
He looks at me with a pain in his eyes that I haven't seen him show... Ever. I don't know if it is because I feel bad for him, or because I really just want to go for a run, but I down the liquid. Patrick smiles.
"Thank you, Diana. I promise I won't hurt your mother," Patrick looks relieved.
"Patrick, I have a question for-," I start.
"Go ahead," he cuts me off. I pause of a few seconds
"The family in there... That's moms side right?" Pat nods.
"Yeah, why?"
"That's not my real question but I was just making sure. My question is: how long are they staying and how often are we going to see them?"
Pat thinks about this.
"A few of them are home schooled so the ones who go to actual school are going home tomorrow. But when they leave, you still won't have a room," he tells me.
"Kay, thanks." I look down at my limp body. I gesture to it. "Can you...?"
Pat shakes his head, his black hair moving with it. Now that I think about it, Patrick could pass as my biological father.
"Right," he makes a wave movement with his hand and then puts his hand out like he is going to pass me something. A black smoke emits from his palm, spreads over my body until I can feel my limbs and move them. I get out of the car. Looking down, I notice that he put me into some of, what looks like Ugene's workout clothes. The muscle shirt could be a very skimpy dress on me and the shorts are just staying on because of the elastic. Just before I bolt off, I lean into the car window.
"What was that blue liquid?"
Pat smiles.
"It is like a reverse GPS; it tells me where you are."
Then I bolt. I sprint down the medium sized street, past a few really big properties, some with dogs, others with cute little white fences, and woods in the background. I run up to the end of the street, come to a three way intersection, and turn left. The road here has houses on the right and woods on the left. I get so distracted by the woods and how much it reminds me of home that I don't notice the guy standing at the end of the street until I trip over his cane. I quickly recover.
"Sorry!" I say before helping him regain his balance. When he looks at me, I almost scream. It is an exact replica of Dionysus when I first met him but without all the scratch marks.
"Jesus girl watch where you are going!" the old man yells at me. I say sorry a bunch more times before running down a different street. I used to hate running when I was little, thought it was too much work and effort. Now it helps me clear my head. I run all around the neighborhood, feeling free yet constricted. I run into a nearby forest to do some training- Patrick can only track me with the liquid, not see what I am doing. I find a sturdy enough tree branch on an old looking tree to do the ab workout I overheard Ajax telling Sandra about. Usually, there would be someone in the tree to make sure you didn't fall, but I don't care right now. I don't have a watch so I do tree sit ups until my abs hurt, sweat makes it look like I have been in a water-gun fight, and my hair isn't straight. It is getting dark now so I decide to head back to the house.
"Patrick? Can you hear me?" I yell into the woods. For a few minutes, nothing happens. I doubted it worked, until a black smoke surrounds my body. When it clears I can see the house in the distance.
"It's a part of the tracking spell, I can hear you in case you get in any trouble," I hear his voice in my head, sort of like Voldemort does in the seventh movie.
That is a good thing and a bad thing, I think whilst walking towards the house.
When I get inside, everyone stares at me.
"Sorry, just needed some air," I tell them. All the adults accept my lie and same goes for most of the kids.
"Come sister, you can borrow some of my clothes," Ugene harshly says, loud enough for people to hear. He grips my upper arm tightly as he pulls me along behind him. Once we get into a room, he grips both of my arms and pushes me forcefully against the bureau. I fall to the ground, sweat and blood mixing together on my shirt. Black spots dance in my vision and I curl up into a ball.
"Try another move like that, and the consequence will be much worse," Ugene hisses at me.
I whimper; he smirks. I don't cry out in pain like I would normally. My theory is because my body is too exhausted and knows that they are going to abuse me- Aaron Warell, Aka Ares did and he is their master.
Ugene picks me up into his arms- I don't struggle against him, figuring out the odds for my escape being less than his odds of pinning me down or something- and sets me onto the bed in the room.
"Why are you doing all of this?" I ask up to him, my voice tiny.
"I can't tell you, private business" he says nonchalantly. My brother throws some clothes at me.
"Until you can get your own clothes, you will have to use mine. Lana, Quincy, and Elizabeth are leaving tonight," Ugene says as if the matter bores him. He looks at me. "Come on, get moving!"
When I do move, it is very slowly. I am apparently too slow because Ugene comes over and helps me, uttering something about me being weak. Once I get into the bathroom, Ugene leaves, I sigh and lock the door. It's a small bathroom without a window, with the essentials, and a rug near the sink. The tub and the sink are on the left, the bathtub that is also a shower on the right in its own little cot. The room is ocean themed. I quickly jump out of my clothes, wring them out and put them in the hamper. I put the setting on shower.
The cold water running down my hot body feels so good and relaxing that I allow my mind to wonder. It wanders to my friends at CHB, my dead aunt, Martin, Mark, and to my brothers. I think of the way Aelix's eyes light up when he looks at me; how Joselyn is skilled in the art of fighting, is a very powerful daughter of Hades; how Eva is the level-headed calm, smart, tactical one who always has your back; of Sandra and her knack for music, healing, and being a light in the darkness; of Kacey and how she runs the camp with almost no sign of emotion; Martin and Mark, Derrek, Dionysus, Cole, Ajax, and Ammon. I think of how secretive I was at first with them, how quickly they trusted me, how I broke their hearts when I freed the army, of my time in the hospital. I think of my rough past. I think of my rough present-day. And I also think of what my next move is. I could act like I like it here, like I want to stay here- at least until my friends find me. I could go totally against them and find a way to escape. I could to a mixture of both, pretending I like it here while trying to come up with a plan. Suddenly, as if hit by a train, a memory comes to me...
"Seems legit. It was bound to happen," Pollux sighed "Well, that's the Fate of every Dionysus kid" Pollux still hadn't put me down, and I stopped squirming.
"What Fate?"
"Every Dionysus kid either descends into madness, have an alcohol addiction, be a party addict, or a mixture of any of them."
What if my fate hits while I am here? Will it be the downfall in my escape plans? I turn off the shower, dry off, clothe myself and tie my hair up in a braid. That's enough thinking for one shower.
When I re-enter down stairs, everyone is looking at me again. I awkwardly walk over to the couch trying to look like nothing happened, and check out the channel.
"What's this show?" I ask. There is a blonde girl on the screen who looks around 28 talking to a little brunette guy who looks around ten years old.
"This is Once Upon a Time" Paige tells me. My question and Paige's answer seems to have broken whatever barrier of awkwardness. Everyone goes back to whatever they are doing. I get really captivated by the show. I find out that it is about a 28 year old girl named Emma who finds out from her given up son that there is a village called 'Storybrooke' and is all of our favorite fairytale characters stuck in our world without a memory of who they are, and that she is the only one who can break the curse due to the fact that Emma is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming.
I personally find it intriguing and can relate to it; we both had curses that only we could break.
"Did you like it?" Paige asks. I am so stunned that all I can do is nod. She giggles.
"Ok everyone, off to bed!" my mother says. All the teens groan while getting up. I notice how they all migrate downstairs. I approach Patrick.
"So about my room..."
"Your room will be downstairs. Upstairs we have my room, Wanda's, Martin's which is currently being occupied, Ugene's that he is sharing with some male cousins, the gym, the other TV room, the four closets, and three bathrooms. Down stairs we have the sleeping area for everyone and the games room. You will have a designated air mattress and when everyone leaves it will be your room," Patrick explains. I sigh but don't say anything. Before heading down stairs, I go upstairs. My mother and her cousins come over to me.
"I've missed you my girl," my mother says before embracing me in a hug. For a second I don't hug back.
"Mom, why did you give me up?" I ask, trying to mask all of my cooled up emotions.
"My sister, your aunt, had a miscarriage around the time you were born. She was absolutely heartbroken. I however had just had you, at age 19. I wasn't ready for a kid then. You weren't exactly an accident but I wasn't trying either, just so you know. I gave you up because I had to. And now I'm a successful surgeon at the local hospital," she tells me.
"Surgeon?" I ask. We pull away.
"Yes. Why does that surprise you?"
So Ugene knows how to get medical supplies from mother. I guess that shouldn't surprise me.
"I was just shocked; I would peg you as a surgeon," I tell her the truth.
"Anyway is that all you came up here for?"
"No, I was wondering if I could borrow some pajamas..."
My mother laughs.
"Of course"
When I finally get downstairs (everyone upstairs thought that I needed a welcome hug from each and every member) I find my spot near the corner. I step over my cousins 'beds' to get to my 'bed'. As soon as my head hits the pillow, I fall asleep.
Although sleep comes at a price.
"Diana!"
"Wake up sweet heart!"
"Diana, sweetie, breathe!"
Multiple hands are shaking me awake. Many voices are speaking to me but I can't figure out why. So I stay on that line between slumber and awake.
"Perhaps we should call 911?" someone suggests.
"How about getting Ugene or Patrick?"
I try to wake up, not wanting their wrath, but find I can't. I feel myself going unconscious but I don't know what from.
"She's slipping away! Someone do CPR!"
I feel constricted, not in control of my body anymore. Suddenly I feel someone's lips on mine and that constricting feeling goes away. I start coming back to the awake side of that line as the lips are against mine, breathing air into my lungs. I feel something pounding against my chest.
My eyes flutter open. I am met by curly black hair, the feeling of someone's hands pressing down then letting go multiple times.
"She's breathing!" Someone exclaims. The pressure against my chest stops and the person whose face was near mine moves. All eyes from the basement are on me. My mind flashes back to when Aelix came to help with the nightmare I was having, my heart to aching at the memory. There are two guys around my age close to me. They help me sit up because I can't move my legs, or most of my body for that matter. I am bombarded with questions.
"Are you okay?"
"How do you feel?"
"Why were you screaming?"
"Do you need to see a doctor?"
One of the two guys closest to me hands me a glass of water. Without answering any questions, I devour the water.
"Could someone tell me what happened?" I ask hoarsely but somehow am heard by everyone. They go silent.
"You mean you don't know?" one of the guys says. I nod.
The one I vaguely remember as Zane (really big into sports, brother of Lana) is the first one to talk.
"Well Rylen and I were the first to hear you scream. We dashed across the room to see what was up and we saw that you were thrashing and screaming in your sleep. You kept screaming for Aaron Warell to leave you alone and not hurt you anymore. Suddenly you stopped breathing. I started waking people up, not knowing what to do. You started to breathe again so Rylen, the rest of the family and I waited to see if anything would happen. You stopped breathing but this time for a longer period of time. Aunt Rose suggested doing CPR which was what Tyler and Rylen did. Tyler did the mouth to mouth while Ry did the compressions," Rylen touches me on the shoulder lightly.
"Are you okay?"
I nod.
"You sure? Because what just happened isn't exactly the definition of okay" the guy I am guessing to be Rylen asks. I notice that his voice is very nasally.
I nod again. I don't want to talk to these people; I don't want to be here. If I were at camp, this would be very different. I might not have even dreamt of the times Aaron/Ares was torturing me.
"Are you going to talk at all? Don't you want help?" Tyler asks cautiously as if not wanting to hurt me. I shake my head 'no' before putting my head in my knees. Tyler gets up.
"Okay everybody, give the girl some space!" he makes sure everyone leaves before coming back over to Zane and me. He sits next to me.
"Can you please tell us? We won't do anything that you don't want us to like the girls did. That wasn't a very welcoming introduction into the family," he tries to get me to look at him but I don't comply.
"Please?"
I sink into the covers, wrapping them around me as if they can protect me from the nightmares, flashbacks, ridicule, and monsters. Beneath those covers, I break down into tears. Someone hugs me whilst I cry, but it soon ends
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN DIANA STOPPED BREATHING?!" I hear Ugene yell from upstairs. I hear quick footsteps- coupled with multiple curse words- come across the ceiling and start down the steps. I dry my eyes so that Ugene doesn't have something else to yell at me. When the footsteps reach the bottom of the stairs, I expected the boys to scurry away, Ugene to come over and beat me almost to death. Instead, Tyler and Rylen don't leave.
"Is she...?" Ugene's high pitched, heartbroken and worried tone surprises me.
"She is alive, just a bit shaken up from the nightmare she had," I hear Tyler explain. I hear footsteps get louder and then whoever is hugging me stops. I curl up even deeper into the covers but soon find that I am not alone. Ugene tries to wrap his arms around me; I recoil and scream at him.
"Shh shh Diana, it's alright. I'm not going to hurt you," he says. He is lying. He wants me to believe that I won't get hurt. The covers now serve no protection and I have backed up into the corner. Ugene blocks my only means of escape. I don't dare meet his eyes.
"Diana, I'm not going to hurt you right now; you are clearly having some sort of mental trauma that I want to help you with," he takes a few steps closer. I shake my head, not able to formulate letters into words. I feel one of his arms slip under my legs, another behind my back, and am brought closer to him. Ugene smells of smoke and French toast, an odd combination. Ugene cradles me in his arms and I can't help it; I start balling my eyes out into his chest.
"I'll protect you from those monsters inside your head," my brother tells me.
"How... Can you... When the... Monster is... You?" I sob into his chest.
Ugene doesn't have an answer to this. I look to see that his eyes are alternating from green to red. They settle on a weird purple color and look down at me, lovingly.
"What do you mean I'm the monster in your dreams?"
"You keep appearing in my nightmares, over and over again," I sob. The look in his eyes tells me that he is hurt by this statement.
"What am I doing in your dreams?"
I suddenly want out. I squirm as a way of getting out but I don't get very far.
"What am I doing in your dreams?"
I huff loudly before answering.
"I am at one end of a rope, my friends at the other, kind of like a tug-of-war. You come up behind me and start snapping off body parts then giving me new ones. My friends don't notice. Then once everything has been replaced, I get pulled toward my friends." I pause allowing it to sink in "that's not the only one..." I whisper. Ugene knows that demigod dreams mean something.
"Have you ever had a dream that didn't involve me beating, ripping, or hurting you?"
I shake my head 'no'.
"Well I won't do any of that now," he places a kiss on my temple. Ugene chuckles.
"It's funny how I'm younger but I am comforting you. Isn't this supposed to be the other way around?"
Suddenly my nose isn't feeling open. I sneeze causing Ugene to chuckle.
"Looks like you caught a cold. Try to not have to have mouth to mouth each morning," his eyes switch to red. "I mean, I wouldn't mind giving you mouth to mouth," Ugene looks down at me perplexed.
"Can you put me down?" I softly ask.
As soon as I am on my feet, I fall to the ground. There are pins and needles in my feet.
"My feet are asleep" I can hear how nasally my voice is and it startles me. I sneeze again.
"Do you want a reactine?" Ugene asks.
"It won't work, remember? I only get whatever side effects there are," I sniff.
"I'll find something," Ugene says thoughtfully before helping me up.