Alianna receives her first quest from Reyna.
She should've said no.
The clock stopped ticking forever ago.
How long have I been up?
I don't know.
I can't get a grip, but I can't let go.
There wasn't anything to hold onto, though.
If Alianna had understood, when she had been asked to go and retrieve the golden pendant, that what she was really being asked to do was literally climb a mountain and run from danger, topped off with being trapped in a town they weren't allowed to leave (Alianna still remembered to question Reyna when they got back), with a crying partner that was really the reason everything was so difficult in the first place, she would have said fuck no.
But she hadn't understood. That was why she had ended up in a rickety little boat (really, it was too nice to call the piece of driftwood that, but Alianna felt a strange sense of sympathy for the rotted piece of wood that was the only thing keeping her from being dragged into the water below and felt as though it deserved an official title (she named it Convenient)), getting tossed about by the vengeful waves of the ocean while her best friend laughed her head off in hysteria while sobbing in terror simultaniously. Alianna was not pleased with her situation.
She had trusted Reyna enough. Trusted her enough that it seemed reasonable when the words honor and glory and retrieval mission were spoken. No words passed through her lips about the dangers this mission would hold, as if she purposefully kept that information hidden in fear that Alianna would reject the quest. The whole situation just reminded her of a television ad, where they gloss over the problems of the product. That was just screwed up.
In the beginning, when the fiasco had barely begun, Alianna was wishing she had never been born. Usually it took a few months into a project before the prayers for oblivion started.
She secured her rain jacket tighter around herself before hunkering down further, trying in vain to ignore the feeling of icy seawater sloshing around her legs and soaking her jeans and dress-curtain, clenching her jaw until it veins popped and her teeth felt like they were about to shatter to keep her teeth from chattering. Her nails dug into the soggy wood, curling under the pressure she put on them until her joints creaked. Damn, wet jeans were a pain in the ass. They were going to be a bitch to walk around in when this was all over. (That is to say, if they got out of this alive.)
The argument could be made, of course, that worrying about something as trivial as the state of her clothes was nothing but an exercise in pain and futility. Alianna had pitched that argument to herself a few minutes ago, actually. However, it gave her something to focus on to prevent her from having an anxiety attack or going crazy with worry. She couldn't just enjoy the feeling of being tossed about by the waves and be pleased with the high that came from the adrenaline rush; she'd leave that shit to nutjobs like Claudia, who seemed to have a penchant lately for thriving off of the near-paralyzing thrum of fear.
This whole quest stood out as a lousy investment, even from the start. Your average demigod had bad odds of survival, but paired with this quest (or any quest in general, really) and there were no odds at all (the number of demigods that never came back from little adventures like this spoke for itself). The sensible thing would have been to question the assignment more. The sensible thing, in fact, would have been to refuse the quest outright and return to bed, cuddled up with three blankets and remain blissfully unaware of the terror and chill that currently gnawed at her bones, their combined efforts making her shake so hard she feared she would jump right out of her skin.
The sensible thing didn't seem to have anything to do with it, though. (Claudia pointed out that she wouldn't know sensible if it slapped her in the face. Alianna retorted by saying that Claudia wouldn't know sensible if it stabbed her in the heart, but regretted her choice of words when the golden-haired girl gained a thoughtful look on her face. Alianna cursed her graphic imagination.) For reasons completely unknown to Alianna, she had accepted anyway, running from street to street with her best friend while the two of them tried to figure out a way to get to the Athens in Greece.
She had accepted immediately, with no second thoughts, and was therefore screwed.
But she was getting ahead of herself. That was the end of the quest, not the beginning.
All things considered, the quest had gone off reasonably well compared to how it decided to take a major nose dive near the end. Her disgust for public transportation had reached a new level when her hand brushed the unidentifiable sticky thing underneath the bus seat, found something that looked suspiciously like a condom tied to the railing next to her head, and a middle-aged man sniffed her hair (she decided to let go of all the times that people accidentally brushed against her butt or groped her after the number reached seven), but they still were able to hop on a plane and take it to Evia.
The people on the second-class plane were questionable (the man speaking in low tones into his cell phone while he pulled his hat low over his head to cover his face, the woman trying to discreetly light a cigarette), but left her alone for the most part, so the trip wasn't all that bad. Claudia had pulled out a well-worn deck of cards and they chatted about war game consistency and their mutual hate for Octavian and whatever, even getting into a heated debate about what the best way to kill him and skirt by with minimal discipline from Reyna, only stopping when a flight attendant came by and said, "I'm sorry, could you please keep it down? We have received complaints from other passengers."
And then, blushing all the way down to her shoulders, Alianna sputtered and apologized, Claudia awkwardly throwing her two cents in every few words, repeating her like a selective echo.
So in addition to everything else, they walked off of the plane with everyone thinking they were part of some sort of murder conspiracy or a weird-ass cult. Alianna made a mental note to not take that flight back to America.
"Hey, Alianna," Claudia said, getting her attention as they walked along a port. Her hair was a mess - tangled and frizzy, being blown about by the wind. Alianna doubted that hers looked any better. "We should get hot chocolate when this is all over."
They were looking for a boat, or, better yet, someone with a boat who could take them to the Athens, but were so far having no luck. They had jumped right on the task after snatching a quick snack from a quaint little cafe-like place before going on their way, despite Alianna's insistence that they should at least rest until the next morning before continuing on. It definitely wasn't because she didn't feel prepared. There was absolutely no vertigo that nearly swept her off her feet when thinking about what would happen if, by an off chance, she didn't complete this quest. Nope. None at all.
On a different note, the promise of hot chocolate really did sound good right now. The air was cold and both hers and Claudia's ears and noses were pink from the chill.
Alianna gave Claudia a smile in response to her idea, grimacing when she had to swipe a lock of hair out of her mouth. "Sounds good."
Claudia popped her knuckles with her thumbs, looking out over the port. "I would kill for some super-caffeinated hot chocolate right now."
Alianna suppressed a laugh and raised her eyebrows at her best friend. "I didn't know that was a thing."
"Oh, it is," Claudia reassured, giving her a crooked, dimpled smile. "And you need to try it. It's like coffee in disguise. But not. It's not-coffee coffee."
This time Alianna did give a short laugh. "That doesn't make sense."
"Maybe not to you." Before Alianna could get away, Claudia had trapped her in a headlock, rubbing her knuckles against her wild hair while Alianna squawked in protest and tried to bat her away without luck. "You're just a kid."
Then Alianna did get away with a well-placed elbow to the gut. "I'm not a kid," she protested, trying and failing to flatten her horrifically tangled hair. She winced and stopped when her fingers pulled on a particularly thick knot.
"Right," Claudia said, sarcasm coating her voice. "Because eleven is such a mature age."
"You're only thirteen!" Alianna said, cheeks alight with an angry blush. "Quit acting like you're an adult! You're still a kid, too."
Claudia pulled on her cheeks in response, sticking out her tongue. Before Alianna could swat at her again, she danced out of the way, let go of her face, and grabbed the beads from her pocket, putting them around her neck.
"Not with this on," she cooed, batting her eyelashes.
Although Alianna couldn't see it, being a demigod and immune to the Mist, the jewelry Claudia had been gifted with allowed her to look the desired age to mortals. As far as they knew, a twenty-something year-old woman and her "little sister" had bought the plane tickets and boarded the plane to Greece.
It was godsdamn creepy.
"Come on, Audi," Alianna said, giving the older girl a playful shove. "You know that thing gives me the creeps. Take it off."
The legacy of Apollo blinked at her. "Take it off?" She spoke in the way that said she had an idea, which really couldn't end well for either of them.
"Take it off," Alianna repeated, feeling a twitch developing in her brow. "It's weird to see old men hitting on you." Her nose wrinkled when she recalled the many older men coming up to her shy friend and trying to flirt with her, ignorant to the fact that the blonde girl was really a young teenager.
The grin that Claudia gave her looked absolutely predatory. "Exactly."
A look caught between confusion and disgust warped Alianna's features. "What?"
Without bothering to answer, Claudia turned on her heel and marched away with a confident sway of her hips - a walk that did not belong to any young teenage girl. (Big sisters can be so mean sometimes, Alianna reflected. And weird.)
There were a few people out on the port in the windy afternoon; most of them middle-aged men (or older) with muscled arms and mean scowls.
Alianna did her best to pick up her pace and stay in stride with Claudia as the older girl went up to a fisherman with dark, suntanned skin that was pulling his anchor from the water. Claudia fixed the green knitted scarf wrapped around her neck and did her best to straighten her hair before speaking up.
"Excuse me," Claudia said, voice shaking just slightly with nerves. The legacy of Apollo was a terrible liar, but out of the both of them, Alianna had to admit that the older girl was better when it came to things like this. While Alianna could distract people or find a scapegoat when she was in trouble, Claudia was able to sweet-talk people into getting things she wanted.
The man looked up, doing double take at the disguised teen (who was currently tucking the beads underneath her scarf) before straightening in attention. A shiver of revolution crawled down both girl's spines. The man looked like the typical sailor, if albeit neater in appearance. A short, black beard, weathered hands, and a hard appearance.
"My sister and I need a ride," Claudia said haltingly over the wind, confident posture withering with each passing moment. "To the Athens, and, er, we don't have a boat, per se, and, um, I was wondering, if you-" Claudia's voice broke and she cleared her throat, subtly nudging Alianna in the side for backup.
Taking the cue, the young girl looked up at the sailor with big doe eyes that did wonders on foster parents and adults at the orphanage when she had been in the system and the same ones she had been advised to use on suckers.
"Could give us a ride? Maybe?" Claudia was a ball of anxiety by the time she had finished speaking, twisting her fingers together in front of her.
The man's face looked oddly confused, thick brows furrowed together in bafflement.
"Uh, please?" Alianna tacked on awkwardly, the word tasting sour on her tongue.
The man muttered something that sounded like, "Tea?"
Both girls were dumbstruck and silenced in a moment of absolute confusion, slowly processing the man's answer.
"Huh?"
What he said next sounded remarkably like, "Tea less?"
"Aw, man!" Claudia whined while Alianna hissed out a series of curses. "He doesn't speak English!"
"Endligh?" the man asked, looking thrown.
"Okay, okay, let me try again," Claudia said, waving her arms in an attempt at defusing the tension.
Alianna gripped fistfuls of her hair, fingers finding purchase in the knots, resisting the urge to rip it out of her scalp in frustration. Because of course the biggest problem they would have would be a language barrier. The problem was so simple, which was why it was so infuriating. It was hard to say whether she would rather deal with a blood-thirsty monster wanting to roast her on a stick or a man that was their only chance of getting to their destination that couldn't understand them.
Stepping forward, Claudia put a hand to her chest, speaking slowly. "I need a boat," she gestured to his ship, "to get to the Athens." Her hand gestured vaguely to the turning water before doing the wave with her hand; a poor miming attempt that both girls hoped the man would be able to decipher.
"Athí̱na?" the man repeated slowly.
Claudia smiled widely. "Yes!" Her expression suddenly dropped. "I think."
Alianna felt a bit of hope swell in her chest, but halted the feeling in case this was just a giant misunderstanding born due to miscommunication.
The man scratched his scalp. "Af̱tó eínai polý."
Alianna stared until he shrugged, saying, "Ópoia kai an eínai i̱ ómorfi̱ kopéla thélei."
"Is that a yes?" Alianna asked, mostly speaking to herself. Claudia shrugged helplessly.
The man muttered more words to himself that the pair didn't understand before saying something impatiently and gesturing for them to get on.
"Yes!" Alianna cheered, first-pumping. "We're on!" She rounded on her partner, a glare on her brows. "If something bad happens, I'm blaming you."
Claudia offered her a sheepish smile. "Fair enough. But, hey! At least I got us a ride, right?"
Alianna decided not to comment and turned her eyes to what was going to be their ride, really examining it for the first time. The boat was big, but not exactly cruise ship material, seeming to be stuck between the motorboat phase and a small pirate ship. At least it wasn't a dingy little rowboat like the one that was back at camp. She couldn't imagine travelling in that. A large part of her doubted that the camp's boat could even sail twenty feet under the weight of a single person before it sunk.
All things considered, it was surprising that they could even secure a ride this decent.
Following the man aboard, the two girls listened to the man chatter in the language they couldn't understand. Eventually Alianna got bored and sat on a chair that resided on the upper deck, leaning her cheek against the polished railing. She normally slept on trips, but since she had stayed up on the plane taking to Claudia, she didn't get the nap she had been planning on taking. The steady lull of the waves, warm sun, and muttering attempts at conversations from Claudia and the sailor were more than enough to send her mind into a hazy fog, fatigue finally catching up with her. She was only eleven, after all, and travelling so far with such a weight on her shoulders was a heavy burden.
Before Alianna even realized what was happening, she was asleep.
Fire. Consuming, burning, pain, pain, pain -
Pink and orange and yellow and blue. Wasn't fire supposed to be red? Beautiful sparks flickered, twirling and creating patterns as they sparked in the air.
Someone was screaming. She knew that voice. Claudia. Claudia was screaming. Why was she screaming? Alianna couldn't think properly. The fire hurt too much. It licked at her skin and grabbed at her clothes with urgency. Somehow Alianna knew that she couldn't go forward, even if she tried. With the hazy fuzz of dream-thinking, she simply accepted this fact without question.
Cool hands rested on her shoulders, the touch feather-light, bringing a small relief from the pain that thrilled over her skin. A voice whispered gentle words in her ear; words that she somehow understood, yet didn't comprehend. Like the person was not only speaking in a different language, but backwards as well. But she should know this strange, backward language, shouldn't she?
Smoke that wasn't there before appeared in thick clouds of black, blocking her airway as she inhaled, sending her into a coughing fit that rattled her lungs.
Breathe, breathe, she still couldn't breathe - !
Alianna shot up, choking and sputtering.
"Hey, you okay?" Claudia asked, quickly running over. Alianna could hear her sneakers slapping against the deck before the older girl knelt by her side, but little else registered in her panicked, hazy mind.
"Fine, fine," Alianna said after clearing her throat, cracking her eyes open. Her vision was distorted, blurred with reflex tears. It turned everything into colorful blobs with no distinct shape that held no meaning. It was a little disconcerting.
"Must have been some dream," the older girl muttered, sounding worried and shaky.
Alianna took a moment to straighten up and catch her breath, heart fluttering erratically in her chest. A frown tugged her lips downwards. Her skin felt warm and her throat itched.
"I can't remember," she confessed, blinking rapidly to clear her vision. A single tear slipped from the corners of each of her eyes, helping to clear her vision.
Claudia frowned, gnawing on her lower lip. "I guess there's nothing we can do about it, then..." the older girl trailed off uncertainly. "Just tell me if you remember anything, okay? It could be important." Claudia's voice sounded strange; rough, like she had been chugging sand while Alianna had been asleep. Her pale face was stained with tears and stands of hair were stuck to her cheeks.
Alianna let out a strained laugh, an uncomfortable look pinching her features. "It was just a dream, Audi."
"Demigod dream," Claudia corrected immediately. She rubbed her pink nose with a gloved hand. "They always mean something. It might even help us on our quest. So if you remember anything -"
"I don't," Alianna snapped, crossing her arms. "If you would just fucking trust me for once -"
"Calm down," Claudia said, holding up her hands in a gesture of surrender. Her eyes were lined with exhaustion. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that, okay? I just thought that there was something that freaked you out and you didn't want to tell me -"
"So you thought that I wouldn't be strong enough to handle a dream?" Alianna spat, bristling. "Or if something did freak me out, you thought that you would just push it until I cracked? That was your master plan?"
"I'm sorry," Claudia said again. "I'm sorry. I didn't handle that well at all. I wasn't thinking right." Claudia gazed meaningfully into Alianna's dark eyes. "I'm sorry."
Alianna sighed, deflating, and brushed her black hair from her face. "I'm sorry too," she grumbled reluctantly, cringing.
Claudia tried to smile at her, sending her a weak version of her thousand watt smile.
"Where's the captain?" Alianna looked around, noticing a distinct lack of a ratty sailor on board. "And where are we?"
The ship was docked on a port that looked like it had come out of Pirate of the Carribean. Large war ships painted with seals lined the port, less common than the smaller fishing boats that bobbed in the water. All were old-fashioned and completely wooden, which was strange in itself. When she turned, she saw people behind her that were draped in togas that walked leisurely, laughing and joking with each other. A town lay behind them, with large houses close together, made of what looked like clay, most of them colored an off-white with reddish shingles on the roof. No one spared the demigod duo a second glance.
To be certain, Alianna looked down at herself, and, sure enough, she was still wearing her jeans, lace-up boots, ratty blue jacket, and orange gloves. Nothing like what the other people there were wearing. Alianna wondered why she didn't look strange to them. Maybe this was some weird tourist attraction or they got a lot of visitors, so this wasn't anything new. It was strange, but the sun beating down on her was hot, (that definitely took precedence, being something she could control) so she looked up at Claudia with accusing eyes while she peeled her gloves off.
"What is going on here?" she hissed.
Claudia looked scared and suddenly appeared a lot younger than her actual age. Alianna dimly noted that the beads were gone from around Claudia's neck and were being held in her shaky hands.
"I - I did - it was an accident," she said, nearly sobbing. A cold weight settled in Alianna's chest when she had the revelation that Claudia was honestly scared to the point of tears.
"He had me to by the wheel," she blubbered, lower lip trembling. "And he went to the other side of the ship to pull the net up that he had dropped. Then it was weird, cause I felt all warm -" burning, burning, burning "- and then it got really still and quiet and there was no wind or anything and a rafter fell and crushed him! It shouldn't have been able to fall!" Claudia paused to gasp and sniffle. "I was running to go and see if he was okay, but I passed out at the wheel. I woke up just before you did." Claudia put her forearm over her eyes dropping the beads onto the ground and choked on her sobs as tears raced down her cheeks. "I went to see him again, but he was - there was so much blood - he was dea -" Claudia choked on her words, unable to finish.
Alianna felt numb. Sure, she had heard of people dying all the time. As a demigod, death was a constant factor that followed her like a second shadow. Either you died in training or war games or had an unlucky run in with some monster or vengeful god. Very few lucky enough to live long enough to die of old age. A demigods chances of survival were cut in half compared to a normal persons. But that was it. It was just there. It had never directly affected her life in any specific way. It was a lot like cancer. People get it and she knew that (and gods, it was terrible watching people deal with it) but no one she knew well had ever gotten it.
The sailor was a stranger in every sense of the word. He was just some guy that had been kind enough to offer them a ride. But the fact that he died and he was still on the ship was more than a little jarring. It made the situation more real. It made the quest scarier and more impactful in the way that this was no longer just some retrieval mission. Someone had died. A mortal had died.
"I woke up just before you did and I heard you having a fit in your sleep. You kept muttering 'no deal' and then you woke up. But -" Claudia paused, gasping and hiccuping, but continued before Alianna could cut in. "Now it's my fault that we are lost and that man died in front of me." Claudia stopped there, shaking and shivering as she moved her arm to cry into her gloveless hands.
Guilt punched Alianna in the gut like a steamroller. She had been so short with the older girl when she had woken up, even though Claudia hadn't really done anything to deserve her anger. (Alianna was emotionally driven, but getting mad at her best friend made her feel like a terrible person.) Although Claudia might have been trying to hide her fear earlier, the way Alianna pushed at her ruined her efforts. Swallowing thickly, the eleven-year old choked out the biggest lie that had ever passed her lips.
"It's okay."
Nothing was okay, though. Shaking hands pressed into her thighs as she tried to hide how terrified she was. They were in a place neither of them could recognize, a dead man laying not twenty feet away from them. Alianna didn't know how to steer a ship or get it going and she doubted Claudia did, either. They were fucked.
Claudia seemed to recognize that Alianna was lying because she cried for awhile longer before finally dropping her arms, eyes red and face splotchy. She wiped at the snot dripping from her nose, sniffling and hiccuping. But she was doing her best to pull herself together, so Alianna waited patiently, silently. Both girls were shaking and had pale faces. No more false words of comfort fell from Alianna's lips. (The thought of choking out another, "It's okay," was enough to make her green in the face and bile rise to the back of her throat.)
"Let's get off of this ship," Alianna said stiffly after a brief period of silence, forcing herself to stand.
Claudia was shaking as she pushed herself to her feet, knees knocking together and lower lip captured between her teeth to muffle her whimpers. She swiped her arm underneath her nose again, sleeve wet with tears and snot.
Neither girl said anything as they stepped off of the boat and onto the deck, but Claudia reached out and grabbed Alianna's hand tightly, looking for comfort. Alianna gently squeezed Claudia's hand in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. (Neither girl mentioned the other's shaking or sweaty palms.)
People were starting to take notice of them as they walked towards the city. Concerned glances were thrown their way, as well as a variety of wary faces.
"Art thee alright? Thee appeareth to beest depress'd. What troubles thee?" a woman asked, a bread basket tucked underneath one arm. She had a friendly expression on her face, dark, curly hair pulled to the back of her head in a loose bun. An honest-to-gods toga was draped around her, colored off-white. Bronze bands encircled her arms and waist, glittering under the sunlight. (For some reason, the strangeness of the woman's words barely registered in Alianna's mind.)
Before Alianna could say a word, Claudia moved to speak, but all that came out was a sob.
The woman gasped in surprise and people began to gather around the trio, dressed in similar outfits as the woman in front of the demigods. Alianna squeezed Claudia's hand.
"O - our c - ca - captain i -" Claudia paused, breath halting in her chest. "On th - on the ship -"
Thankfully, the people around them seemed to get some idea as to what Claudia was trying to say because soon orders were being told and select few began scrambling around, three going to the ship the two girls had come from. Thank the gods for fast-reacting adults.
"Someone recieveth my bastard brother, Cleitus. That gent is washing his troubles by the riverside," the woman said. She moved forward, placing a gentle hand on Claudia's shoulder. "Hush now. We wilt receiveth thee two taken care of. All wilt beest well in time." She looked at Alianna, their dark eyes matching in spirit. "Would thee cometh with me?"
Working her jaw, Alianna nodded. She didn't trust herself to speak without embarrassing herself at the moment. (A small part of Alianna's brain that wasn't being overloaded with panic was wondering why everyone here was talking like they were in a Shakespeare novel.)
The gathered crowd slowly departed under the woman's order and Alianna followed after her, leading Claudia by the hand.
Her heart went out to her older friend. Claudia got attached to people easily and deeply cared about everyone, stranger or no. Although she acted like a complete dork sometimes and often liked to pretend that she didn't care, this was the same girl that had cried during Toy Story. Claudia wasn't as tough as she liked to pretend she was. Alianna just feared that the sailor's death would haunt her friend forever. (No, it wasn't even a question. Claudia would never forgive herself for not being able to save a life that couldn't be saved in the first place.
The woman led them down winding roads, seeming to sense the need for silence as they walked. A few people looked over at the trio curiously, but no one else approached, which Alianna was endlessly grateful for.
Just a few minutes after, they reached a fairly large house. The woman ushered them in, and Alianna noticed the odd absence of doors and clear glass. Columns supported the house, tall and white and proud. They walked up a small series of marble steps before they reached the inside,
"Sitteth down hither. Mine sirrah wilt beest hither to in but a moment," the woman told them, gesturing to a wooden couch-thing that reminded Alianna of pool chairs. It was cushioned and the stitches were surprisingly intricate. Several different seats were positioned throughout the room. (Alarm bells were frantically ringing in her mind, but she had no idea how to address the problem. Besides, what would she do if she asked and this was just some weirdo town that really liked old English?)
Alianna did as she was told, still holding Claudia's hand, and dragged the older girl to the seat.
"I am Agatha," the woman said immediately upon their seating. "I has't the responsibility of tending to travelers. What art thy names and from where do you hail? Your words art unknown to me."
Alianna blinked, taking longer than she would under normal circumstances to process the woman's words. She glanced at Claudia from the corner of her eye, taking note of the despondent, glassy-eyed look on her face. It looked like she was going to be doing most of the talking.
"I'm Alianna," she said in a robotic way, jaw feeling stiff and tongue heavy. "This is -" she hesitated only a moment "- my sister, Claudia." She gently bumped shoulders with the blonde girl and tried to pull their hands apart, but Claudia gripped her hand tighter, so Alianna let it be. "We're from San Francisco."
The woman - Agatha - stared at them with narrowed eyes and pursed lips. "I have not heard of this San Francisco. Is it far hence?"
Alianna blinked owlishly. Just how far behind was this town? Or was this a joke? A weird, giant joke where people wore togas and sandals and lived in weird houses and spoke weird English.
She let out a nervous laugh, the sound coming out harsher than it was meant to. "Wow, seriously? We're, like, pretty famous. Not as famous as New York, but famous."
"I have heard of neither of these residences," Agatha informed them, looking thoughtful.
If that wasn't a red flag, Alianna didn't know what was.
"Uh, America?" she squeaked. "Land of the free?"
When Agatha shook her head, Alianna's heart sunk and a feeling of horror flooded through her veins.
"I very much doth not knoweth what thee art speaking of. How far has't thee traveled? Maybe tis just a small town, unheard of by mine city but well known from whence thou hast came."
"Rome," Claudia said, speaking up for the first time. Her voice was hoarse from crying.
Agatha and Alianna looked at the blonde in surprise. The younger girl had no idea where her sister figure was going with this. (Her brain was a bit dazzled by the words the woman was speaking.)
Claudia looked up, making eye contact with Agatha. "We... escaped from Rome. The Roman Empire. We were travelling."
Agatha straightened, shifting in her seat. "I see. And these robes thee art wearing. They cometh from thy homeland?"
"Yes," Claudia confirmed, keeping eye contact with the woman. "We are meant to retrieve something near here, but got lost. We aren't allowed to go home without it."
"What is this item? And wherefore doest t forbid thee from returning home?"
Claudia smacked her lips together, pausing to think. "A necklace - er, pendant. It's very precious to our family. It's silver, with something like gold sand contained in the middle, we have been told. It's supposed to be guarded by a gray monster."
Surprise colored Agatha's face. "Is t Panasilas's Pendant thee speaketh of?"
"Hold on," Alianna said, leaning forward. "You know what it is?" How did she even know about it? Were they near the Athens? Was this woman a demigod? Or a legacy? Or...
"What exactly is it?" Claudia asked. "Do you know?"
The woman nodded. "I knoweth the story well."
"Can you tell us?" Alianna asked, eager.
The woman pursed her lips, looking unsure.
"Please," Claudia added. "It is just a story. We can do no harm. Will you please humor us with the tale? It could be our key to getting home."
Claudia had given it her best shot to use fancy wording, so Alianna didn't make a sarcastic remark. (When in Rome, do as the Romans do, after all.)
With some hesitation, the woman nodded. "Hark to mine words with care and knoweth that all things which pass through mine lips art mine own.
"A boy, but nine summers born, once lived here for ten and five seasons. The young knave arrived here alone, nothing with him but the clothes which cradled his form as a mother doth cradle a babe. The fair knave was crying, swearing vengeance at the the gods above and cursing their names with every breath. We hath given that gent a lodging to stayeth, for the knave hadst no home. That knave hath stayed hither, with me, at which time I wast but a motley-minded young wench. The knave accepted that which we hadst hath given that gent, coming to groweth fond of our small city. As the knave hath grown older, that gent hath decided to leaveth to findeth his mother, against the wishes of mine father and mine husband and brothers, and mine very own wish. From the time that gent hadst first arrived, that knave hadst been sprouting stories of how the gods hadst unfairly cursed his mother, who hadst prayed to those folk in that lady greatest moment of needeth. That gent oft refused to pray with us, not offering any tribute to the gods, whom 'did not deserve his forgiveness or false praise. ' twas at each moment the same, with no explanation as to wherefore. No one wast so cruel in heart to demand the bastard knave's thoughts.
"His necklace that gent hath left behind, in way to recall the time that gent hadst hath spent with us, and as a gesture of gratitude. twas quite quaint, but t could not compare to the beauty that gent possessed on his own. His visage wast more pleasing to the eye than the petals of a flower or a maiden's visage or the bright rays of the sun. This gift of his, though, is that of which thee seek. But hark closely, for this tale is not yet ov'r.
"A time anon, a most terrifying beast, skin gray as that of the dead, came in the darkest hour and swept it away, stole the jewelry from this very house ere taking foot and fleeing into the mountains southway. I knoweth not whither t resides now; only that tis thither. Poorest Cleitus, mine brother, madeth an attempt to retrieve t from the beast, but wast bested and hath left for dead. By the gods' grace, that gent madeth t back ere mine brother perish in the mountains.
"The city mourned the loss of the knave's gift and of the grievous wounds mine brother hadst hath taken. For many seasons we hath passed about the streets and seas, content, yet not joyous. Twas not until ten and four days ago that mine people beganeth to feeleth joy once again. This day hath been the most joyous day we has't hadst thus far."
The two girls took time to process the story, foreheads creased in thought. Claudia peeled her hand away from Alianna's, taking a moment since they were stuck together with sweat. The strange words confused the young girls, and Alianna started to consider the possibility that she shouldn't just be considering the where of their location but the when.
But from the story, basically - from what Alianna understood - a boy came into this tiny city/town awhile ago, homeless and motherless (the dad wasn't mentioned, but Agatha did call the boy a bastard, so she went ahead and assumed that the dad skipped town like the stereotypical father before the boy was born). He stayed with Agatha and her family, leaving when he was old enough to go to search for his missing mom, but he left a pendant behind for them to remember him by. A farewell gift of sorts. Then a gray monster came and took it from the house for no apparent reason and going into the mountains to hide. Months (years, perhaps?) later, this town starts getting happy again, and then, well, that's it. That was the end of the story. (Alianna made a mental note to thank the gods for the (what she had previously thought was) countless hours of studying Shakespeare in English class.)
"So the pendant belongs to a boy?" Claudia clarified.
"That is so," Agatha agreed.
"Why would this - Pen - Pel -"
"Panasilas," Claudia corrected.
"Panasilas took it?" Alianna continued, not missing a beat, a scowl on her brow. "That doesn't make any sense! Was it magical or something? Did it have creeper-attracting powers?"
Neither Agatha nor Claudia were able to get a word in before a hysterical man's voice came from outside, getting closer as he spoke.
"Agatha, mine sister no more brain than stone! I wast toldeth that we has't guests that cameth hither on a ship with a ghost captain that vanished by the wind!"
The first thing Alianna thought when she saw him was that he definitely sounded how he looked.
He matched Agatha in hair and skin and facial shape, but he had broader shoulders, muscled arms, and a crazed look in his surprisingly gray eyes that was more wild than the untamed mop of hair on his dead. His robes were falling from his shoulders and it was soaked on the bottom with (what Alianna guessed was) river water. When his eyes latched onto the two girls, they filled with an expression Alianna couldn't identify.
"Dearest gods," he whispered to himself, falling to his knees. To Alianna's alarm, tears filled his eyes before spilling down his cheeks, flowing in thick rivers.
"Doth mine eyes deceive me? Strange girls, in pair, cometh to visit this faraway city in desires of finding shelter."
"Thee fartuous fool. Receiveth thy robes from the ground, lest thee filthy thy garments," Agatha said, sounding both exasperated and embarrassed at once.
"Leaveth us alone, sister. Alloweth me has't word with our visitors and beckon those folk to a tale ere those women lay to rest. The sun wilt setteth upon the mountain in but a short time. Wend, prepare for the night."
Alianna didn't understand all of the words the strange man spoke, but got the gist of it, just like she did with Agatha's story. He wanted his sister to leave the room to talk to the two of them, and she didn't really fancy being alone in the room with another teenage girl and a crazy man. (And he was crazy, no doubt. The look in his eyes didn't belong to any person who claimed to be sane.) (Plus, the guy was crying. So either he was really happy to have visitors, or someone wasn't all there upstairs.)
"Very well, clotpole," Agatha said (try as she might to hide it, Alianna could detect fondness in her tone). "Fare thee well, young children," she said, addressing the two girls. Standing, she straightened her robes. "Cleitus shalt attend to thy needs from hereon. Pleasant evening, Cleitus."
"The same to you, sister."
The man and the girls watched Agatha leave the room, with eagerness and fear, respectively. It wasn't until they could no longer hear her sandals slapping against the marble flooring that the man spoke, voice soft and reverent.
"Thee art dressed strangely," he noted, eyes wild before scanning their faces. He locked eyes with Alianna. "Thee, mistress - thy eyes art different than mine own and thy cousin's. From whither doth thee hail?" He didn't allowed them a chance to respond before he rambled on. "We art different to thee, art we not? Thee doth not recognize our customs or robes."
"How did you know?" Alianna asked, more than a little weirded out by the crazy man who had started crying again after she spoke.
"I has't waited long, for many seasons that doth not changeth, for someone to cometh and taketh mine body form the mortal plane. The gods has't gone deaf to mine pleas, not giving ear to mine cries and wishes for death. Sev'ral times hast a blade hath pierced mine heart and ceased mine breath. Sev'ral times hast I drowned mine body in the water and waited to beest hath carried hence by the most wondrous cloak of death, but nev'r hath this cometh upon me. Coequal mine own mother, Athena, hath ignored mine weeping. None awaits me in hence gods-abandoned city."
Alianna's breath stuttered to a stop in her chest and she could feel the blood leave her face.
Athena. They were in Greece. Ancient Greece.
She didn't know how it was possible. It shouldn't even be possible. But there were too many coincidences falling into place for this to just be a coincidence. The weird way of speaking. The houses. The fact that they believed in a Roman Empire. The belief in Greek gods.
Somehow, she and Claudia had traveled back in time.
A cold feeling washed her skin, like bathing in ice water.
"How?" she whispered, shaking. "How did we get here?"
"Your mom is Athena?" Claudia parroted the man, eyes wide.
"Yea, and she shall be until I take my last breath, but nay do I thinketh upon her any time," Cleitus said, still crying. "Didst the gods sendeth thee? Has't thee cometh to end mine suffering?"
"I -" Alianna worked her jaw, trying to speak correctly. "We - we came here on a quest. To retrieve a pendant. We hadn't even heard of this - I've never heard of anything like this before -" her voice cracked, so she abruptly shut her mouth with a snap, pressing her lips together.
Cleitus looked hopelessly lost. "Thee art not hither to breaketh the curse that hath befallen this city?"
"What curse?" Claudia asked, sounding just as panicked as Alianna felt.
They had gotten themselves into some deep shit. Normal quests didn't even compare to fucking traveling back in time to an ancient Greek city. They were so, so fucked. Alianna doubted that even Octavian could have predicted what they would meet when they went on their quest.
"Every day, for countless days hath passed, at sunset, just as the sky darkens, the day beginneth anew." His face was haunted, with broken eyes and deep lines etched into his skin that came from frowning and glaring. It resembled the terrible, dark pictures from World War II of the Holocaust victims. A shattered look, one that could never be fixed, even with time.
"None hither age, none has't any needeth of more knowledge," he continued, voice just as broken as the look on his face. "None knoweth that the day beginneth again. And I cannot warn those folk, for none wilt recall what I has't hath said. Every day, the people doth as those gents has't for countless days now, with mine own soul being the one to recall. And I cannot leaveth, for I has't hath tried, and nothing cometh of t. As soon as mine foot breaketh the border, I findeth mine self in mine house, back at the beginning of mine day once more."
A large sense of dread spread, encasing Alianna's heart in long fingers. She had been wrong. They hadn't traveled back to the past. The past had never ended.
"Wow, wow, wow," Claudia squeaked. "You mean that time repeats here?"
"'fraid so," Cleitus confirmed. "As so, none has't seen this city with new eyes, save thee. Forever I was believed to be alone."
The first visitors in this town, since B.C. times...
"Why?" Alianna asked, feeling nervous sweat bead on her temples and run down her back. "Why - why us? There must be some reason. We - we can't have been the first people to come here. Even if this place was demigod exclusive, you, Claudia, are not a demigod. And there had to be more before us. More demigods that could have - must have passed by. Why are we the first ones to actually get in, without looking for it?"
Silence weighed heavy on the group, shrouding everything in tension.
Someone (something) had wanted them in. They (it) had led them here.
The quest. The necklace.
How had Reyna even heard of the necklace, if it was in a town that should never had any contact with the modern world for thousands of years?
Alianna had some serious questions for Reyna when (if) they got back.
Claudia swallowed. "S-so after sunset, no one here will remember us?"
Cleitus grimaced. "I know not," he confessed. "Before thee, I hadst been true to mine actions and thoughts. But nev'r ere has't visitors hath happened upon this town, as I hath said, and neither hath any been of godly blood."
"Great," Claudia said, sounding hysterical. She gave a short, high laugh. "So no one will remember us in the morning. I'm really excited for that. How are we supposed to fix that, exactly?"
Cleitus spoke, his voice was heavy with seriousness and desperation, "Thee must breaketh the curse. Wend to the mountain southward, for t shalt has't the answers for thee."
"How do you -" Alianna began but was interrupted by someone speaking, their voice echoing off of the marble interior.
"Cleitus?" Agatha stepped into view, wearing the same thing she had been the last time the girls had seen her. Morning light streamed through the pillars.
"Who art thy guests?"
Well, that answered the question on whether anyone would remember them or not. (That would be a no, by the way.)
"Travelers passing through, to the mountain, lief sister," Cleitus said, eyes wide.
"Didst thee giveth those folk food or drinketh?"
"O ye hold no faith in mine actions. Mine words wast as such, but those gents refused mine offering. Quick travel is their hope."
Agatha gave them a smile, completely oblivious to who they were.
Alianna tried to imagine what it would be like to go through this every day, without end, no one believing you. Trying some days, trying so hard to get someone to believe you, but no one does. Having people dismiss your actions as crazy, or say that you must be sick, and that you'll be okay tomorrow. Only for tomorrow to never come. And have today repeat, again and again, until you start to believe that you are mad. And finally, two people show up. Two people that can save you.
Alianna didn't know how Cleitus knew about the curse. She didn't know about how he knew that whatever was in the mountains could save him. But she was willing to trust him. Just this once, without question.
"Ah, yes, Claudia, my... cousin?" She couldn't remember what story they had started out with.
"But -"
"We really must be going," Allianna said, hooking her arm with Claudia's. "Thank you for your hospitality."
"What's wrong with this place?" Claudia muttered to herself, loud enough for only Alianna to hear.
"Uh, southward, so -"
Cleitus pointed to his right.
"Ah, yes, south. Thank you so much and we'll probably see you again soon."
Claudia had stopped struggling and had apparently decided to just go with it. Thank fuck.
"Thee wilt not stay but another hour?" Agatha asked, looking worried for them.
"No, I'm afraid," Alianna continued to ramble. (Gods, she was being as bad as Claudia.) "We really have to go. Okaythanksbye!"
"What's wrong with that place?" Claudia parroted her question from earlier.
"I think that guy was right," Alianna said, squinting up at the sun. Not a cloud in the sky. Just like yesterday. Or was it technically today?
"What is causing it, though?" the legacy of Apollo asked, gnawing on her lower lip. She kicked loose stones from the path as they walked. "I mean - I've never even heard of something like that before. A curse that turns back time every single day for thousands of years. That's super powerful. And no one knows it but that one guy. Everyone else just thinks he is crazy. It's so weird."
That was a legitimate question. Alianna had been wondering that herself from the beginning. Absurd, the entire situation seemed to be. (The "curse" in itself was unnatural, leaving a gross feeling crawling over her skin every time she thought about it.) But the question was why.
"Why would someone even do that?" Alianna wondered aloud, speaking to herself as much as she was to her companion. "Like, what would you get from it?"
There was literally nothing to be gained. Alianna couldn't think of any god or goddess that would do something like this because it was pointless. The town was small, quaint. It was filled with almost overly kind people, always ready to help others with little questions asked. Even the frustrated, helpless, crazy man had been kind enough to direct them to the mountain where the pendant was supposed to be loc -
Alianna froze.
"What?" Claudia asked, pausing. She blinked owlishly, drawing attention to the way her green eyes practically glowed under the sunlight.
"What if it's the pendant?" Alianna hissed, face stressed.
Claudia gasped, raising her eyebrows. "The pendant?"
"Just think about it," Alianna insisted, raising her hands. "There's nothing special about this town. Literally. It's super ordinary. But the only thing that's magical about it is the fact that they know about the gods and everyone knows about this magic pendant. The land isn't cursed - not by itself. It would need a conductor. Something to channel that energy."
Claudia looked thrilled that they were so close to solving this mystery. She was nearly bouncing where she stood as she ran her hands through her greasy hair. "And this pendant is cursed for some reason, so it turns back time every night after sundown!"
Alianna snapped. "That's right! But why just after the sun goes down?"
"That must have been when the curse was activated!" Claudia answered quickly, excitement making her speak faster. "It's way different than the cliche midnight thing, but it also makes the rest of the night skip!"
"We lose all night," Alianna added, nodding. "Ugh! But we still don't know why. Who would do this?"
Claudia snapped her fingers rapidly, a wide grin stretching her cheeks. "The boy!"
"The boy?" Alianna echoed, confused. Then she gasped. "The boy from the story?"
"Yes!" Claudia practically squealed. "Think about it. He left it for them, but why? It's ridiculous. There was no reason to. It sounds like an expensive possession that an orphan boy could do a lot with. He could have sold it for a lot of money, but he didn't. And then this monster comes to take it and the day starts repeating."
"But it wasn't right away," Alianna pointed out, poking holes in Claudia's building theory. "She said that a lot of time passed before the people were happy. And why would a curse make the town happy? Like, if you were going to curse a town, wouldn't you, I dunno, curse them? This thing just keeps repeating the same day of their lives. And a good one."
Claudia chewed on her thumbnail, looking sulky that her theory was shot down. "Well, what if it had to be activated at a certain time?"
Alianna raised her eyebrows. "How do you mean?"
"What if you had to activate it on the day that you wanted cursed?"
"So you think that this curse-caster was just an idiot that happened to set the spell on the wrong day?"
Claudia shrugged. "It's possible."
Alianna's eyes widened as a sudden idea hit her. "What if they're still in the town?" she hissed.
"Huh?"
"Think about it! If the caster was someone who lived here, wouldn't they be someone from the town? What if it wasn't someone who wanted to curse the town to have a terrible day repeated, but someone who wanted a good day to be repeated!"
"You think that someone wanted a good day to never end, so they cursed a town?"
"Well, I've heard of dumber things!" Alianna enthused. "Remember the story? That lady said that everyone had been sad for a really long time because of that boy, right? What if they were worried the town would go back to its super depressed state, so they cursed the day to repeat to be happy?"
"Endless happiness," Claudia breathed. "Ignorance really is bliss."
"But who would do it? Every person in this town knows about magic. It's not a secret here like it is in the modern world. People use it to catch their freakin' fish! And would the caster even know that the day is repeating?"
"Let's just check out the mountain first," Claudia offered. "We're almost there, anyway. If nothing is there, we can head back into town and interview some of the people. I'm sure we'll be able to find the caster."
"There's just one thing," Alianna said, face lined with worry.
"What's that?"
"Well, there's more than one thing, but still. The monster."
Claudia paused, surprised, and Alianna let her words sink into the blonde's head for a moment before plowing on.
"Why would the monster take it? Even if the boy did curse the town - and I'm not saying he did - how would he get the monster to take the pendant for him to curse this town? And it sounded like everyone loved him here."
Claudia's eyes widened and she grabbed Alianna's shoulders. "That's it, Li!"
Alianna suppressed her annoyance at the sudden nickname in favor of listening to the older girl blabber on.
"The boy cursed this town because he loves it!"
Alianna's mouth dropped open.
"He wanted them to be happy, so he cursed the town to repeat on the best day they had since he left! It wasn't a stupid plan! No one can remember they are cursed, so they're happy!"
"But someone does remember," Alianna emphasized. "That guy. Ceiling."
"Cleitus."
"Cleitus remembers. Why? He's certainly not happy. He thinks he's nuts. No one believes him, no matter how many times he tries to convince people when the day repeats again."
Claudia frowned, leaning back. "Oh, yeah. Maybe he had a grudge against him or something?"
"Maybe," Alianna allowed, unconvinced. "But I think we should just hang onto our theories right now. Like you said: let's go up the mountain, and if there's nothing there, we'll go back to investigate the town."
"Yeah," Claudia agreed. "Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Good plan."
A moment of silence passed before Claudia spoke up again, sounding shy. (Damn straight she should. She could probably sense Alianna's wish for silence.)
"How... How did Reyna know?"
Alianna felt cold. (A feeling she had felt a lot recently, despite the warm sun beating down and the strenuous exercise they were doing.)
"I was wondering that too," Alianna confessed, tucking her long, black hair behind her ear.
For another moment, the only sound was the sound of their shoes crunching on the dirt path as they walked forward.
"I don't know," Alianna nearly whispered. "I guess we'll just have to ask when we get back."
Claudia didn't say anything else, and neither did Alianna; the two were lost in their own thoughts, and both wondering if they would ever leave the rewinding town.
"Wow," Alianna breathed. Warm air washed over her, bathing her in a sensation of home.
The cave was big, with colored crystals that lit up the inside in brilliant shades of pink, yellow, blue, green, and white. Polished but jagged mirror-like rocks covered the walls of the cave, distorting reflections like mirrors in a fun house. There was no darkness, or sickening feeling, or evil creature waiting to eat them up (as Alianna had secretly feared they would find).
Instead it was comfortable, brilliant, magical. Alianna wondered if Cleitus had found this place and that's why he knew they could come here to break the curse.
"There," Claudia whispered, tugging on Alianna's sleeve and pointing forward.
Hanging against one of the jutting pieces of crystal was the pendant.
A delicate-looking silver chain was strung through a clear container, no bigger than Alianna's palm, with brilliant golden sand inside. While everything in the cave glowed, this piece of jewelry practically radiated with light and magic. It felt warm, comforting. Nothing like the slimy, oppressive curse she was expecting.
And it was just hanging there, not twenty feet in front of them. It might as well have a sign saying "GRAB ME" pointing at it. It was easy.
Too easy. Too simple.
Because, dammit, a demigod's life was never easy. This quest, when Alianna really thought about it, was easy.
Sure, it had been awkward and uncomfortable at times. Terrifying, definitely. Someone had even died. But as soon as they got into this little, locked up city, everything fell into place. They walked straight into the house of the one (the only) person that could - would - be able to help them. He had even directed them right to the mountain, where they needed to go.
Suspicion reeked from every action, and Alianna couldn't help the thought that maybe - just maybe - the thing, person, god, whatever that allowed them to come here (because Alianna wasn't stupid - something had let them into the city and could have just as easily turned them away) wanted them here. But, well, why? Not to diss on herself or Claudia, but there really wasn't anything special or unique about them - not compared to some people out there.
"Let's go get it," Claudia said, stepping forward.
"What? No!" Alianna grabbed her arm to stop her, an incredulous look on her face.
"What?" Claudia had the audacity to look surprised.
"You can't just go over there and grab it!" Alianna hissed.
Claudia's eyebrows were steadily climbing towards her hairline. "And why not?"
"It could be trapped!" Scenarios ran around in Alianna's brain, a thousand miles a minute. "The monster could pop out and grab you!"
As soon as the words left her lips, a blush rose to her cheeks. Gods, that sounded so immature. What was she, two?
Thankfully, Claudia didn't comment any further on her word choice, other than her dorky, "Aw, you care about me!"
The tips of Alianna's ears felt hot. "Just - just let me -" she scrambled the few steps to the mouth of the cave and picked up a loose stone on the ground. As soon as she was back to Claudia, she threw the stone in the direction of the pendant. The two girls watched as it sailed through the air before it hit the ground, bouncing and skidding across the rocky flooring. More heat flooded Alianna's face as seconds passed with no noise. Sneaking a glance at the girl beside her, she was not surprised (well, kind of. At least she wasn't laughing) to see her mouth in a slant with lips pressed thin, eyes wide, and eyebrows raised.
"So…" Claudia drawled. "What did you think was going to happen?"
Alianna sputtered, trying to make a recovery. "A - a trap or - or -"
"Hoo-kie," Claudia said, suppressing a grin. "I'm glad you care, Anna." (Once again, Alianna ignored the nickname.) "But I think if the monster was going to come, it would have already."
Claudia had a point. But there were just so many places the cave branched off and turned inside - especially by the pendant - where something could be hiding, waiting to surprise them. It was hard to not be worried.
"You can stay here," Claudia offered, shooting Alianna a crooked grin that did wonders to calm her racing nerves. "Keep a lookout and all that. I'll just skip right over and grab the thing we came for, and then we can go."
Alianna rung her hands, feeling nervous sweat bead on her body once again. "I - I don't know. I have a bad feeling about this."
And she really did, although it was being wonderfully repressed by the homely, magical feeling of the cave and the reassuring voice of Claudia. But it was still there. Cold, sharp, and gnawing at her insides. Something is wrong, it whispered.
"It'll be okay," Claudia reassured. "We're only a few feet apart."
Alianna hesitated for a moment, faltering under the kind, happy smile Claudia was offering her. Pride was also a factor that came into play, as her embarrassing words from earlier (sounding like a whiny little kid as she begged Claudia not to go forward) sprung to her mind. Straightening, she cleared her throat and nodded.
"Yeah. Okay. Uh, sounds like a plan."
"Great!" Claudia slowly moved forward, looking teasingly at Alianna all the while. "Here I go." Another several steps. "I'm almost there." Just a few feet from the cave wall. |
"No scary monsters coming out to get me yet."
Alianna was getting annoyed at Claudia's teasing, but knew it was for her benefit, so she didn't say anything. (She would never admit it, but Claudia's attempt at using her dorkiness to lighten the situation was actually working.)
Claudia paused by the pendant, doing a show of looking around for any monsters, then turned to Alianna and beamed. "Safe!" she cheered.
Alianna laughed, ignoring the worrying pit forming in her stomach. "Okay. Just grab it and we can go now, alright?"
Claudia mock-saluted her, reached forward -
Wrong, wrong, wrong! Stop her!
Her hand grabbed the chain, pulling it loose. A look of surprise twisted her features. The sand in the pendant gave a soft pulse and Alianna swore she saw Claudia's eyes glowing gold as she looked towards her with wide eyes.
Then fell to the floor, dead to the world.
"Claudia!" Alianna screamed, dashing forward.
She dropped harshly to her friend's still body on her knees. Claudia's eyes were closed and Alianna couldn't see her breathing. When her shaking fingers were pressed to her neck, she was relieved to find a pulse. It was faint, but there.
"Claudia!" Alianna repeated, shaking her friend. "If this is a joke, this isn't funny!"
It was a stupid thing to say, and Alianna knew that. Claudia would never seriously scare her like this. Sure, she liked to pull pranks, but nothing like this. Never like this.
A stinging started behind her eyes, but she couldn't even find it in herself to care. Tears leaked out of her eyes, running down her cheeks and dripping off her nose and chin.
"Claudia, get up!"
She didn't even twitch.
The next several minutes continued like that. Alianna slapping her friend, shaking her, yelling threats and pleas, trying to get any response she could. Her sobs escalated to screams when Claudia stopped breathing. She couldn't find a pulse.
"Please!" she shrieked, not knowing who she was speaking to. "Please, no! She's my sister! I'll do anything! Please! Don't let her die!"
The room exploded in golden light.
From the pendant still clutched in Claudia's hand came lines of golden mist, weaving upwards to slowly form an image. Alianna watched with wide eyes, still crying, as it slowly formed a short, slim figure, as tangible as mist.
It was a boy.
No taller than her, with hair that blew in invisible wind. His whole being constantly rippled as though he was underneath water. He was nothing more than a vague shape, floating above the pendant. Alianna could see where his eyes, nose, and mouth were supposed to be, but they were simply a darker gold than the rest of his face. He had some fine details when he turned a certain way, but they disappeared and were replaced with others in different places when he moved.
"Anything?" his voice was carried, echoing around the cave, somehow being unbearably loud and whispering quiet all at once. Masculine but with a feminine quality that came to boys that had never gone through puberty. Going everywhere and nowhere. Harsh and quiet. Opposites, squished together and twisted into his being.
Alianna sniffed, mouth open in awe. "Huh?"
"Would thee doeth anything for thy sister?" the boy asked, image wavering. His golden robes swished around his legs as though he was underwater. "She lady is family, right? I would doth anything in mine power for mine family." His voice turned sad and he turned his head towards the mouth of the cave, where Alianna had Claudia had entered.
A realization struck her, leaving her feeling fuzzy and completely buzzed. She tightened her grip on Claudia's hand, which she had been grabbing since she had been reduced to pleas.
"You're the boy, aren't you?" It was phrased like a question, but it wasn't one. She already knew. "You used to live in that town, but you left when you went to go and look for your mom. You are the one that cursed it."
"Yes." He paused. "Yes." Another pause. "And no."
Alianna was thrown. "No?"
"I didst not curse mine home," he said, looking Alianna in the eye. "But I am the conductor for this curse which hath been wrought upon mine city."
Alianna frowned, confused. "Then who did curse it?"
A raspy voice spoke from behind her, nearly making her jump out of her skin.
"It was I."
Her mouth dropped open in horror when she turned her head to look at who had spoken, a scream forming, but never making it past her throat, where it was lodged in terror.
The creature was hideous, and in a distant part of her mind, Alianna guessed that this was the "gray monster" that had stolen the pendant in the first place.
It had gray skin, like faded stone, that looked too small for the skeleton it was holding together. Skin was pulled taught over protruding joints, eyelids shut over bulging eyes, nose pressed flat, and lips pulling the jaw open. The spine looked to be too long, and it hunched over, arms bent towards its chest. Its eyes were a dull yellow, with no pupils, and the inside of its mouth was completely black. A long, equally black tongue lolled out of its mouth, dropping to its chin, where it ran across its bottom lip and coated its chin and jaw in what looked to be black goop. Completely naked, but lacking any genitals, the monster looked like a poster child for starvation and poverty. She could clearly see each of its protruding ribs, and nearly the outline of the spine through the other side, almost as if it had no internal organs.
It would be in Alianna's nightmares for a very, very long time.
When it spoke next, it addressed the boy.
"I assume that the children art hither on account of the deal?" it rasped, shuffling its legs so that its knees were facing each other.
The boy nodded delicately.
The monster gave a harsh, rasping sound, like rocks scraping together over stone. Almost as though it was trying to laugh, but didn't know how.
"I should has't known."
"You made the conditions," the boy said, almost as though he was lecturing the thing. And... was he speaking modernly now? Or almost?
The monster rasped again. "So I did." It looked Alianna in the eyes, sending chills down her spine. "Twas I who cast the curse upon mine city, to giveth those folk everlasting happiness. The terms could only beest broken at which hour I hath decided so. Thee may taketh the pendant, and depart from this place."
Alianna tried to speak, shivering in terror. "M - my - my si - sister -"
"I can save her," the boy said in his strange voice. "For a price."
"D - deal."
The boy tilted his head. "You don't want to know what the price will be?"
Alianna felt more tears slip down her face. She hadn't even noticed when she had stopped crying and started again.
"I don't care."
Was that another ripple, or was the boy smiling?
"Very well. I shall heal your sister." He looked up at the monster, eyes crinkling. Alianna could definitely see a smile now. "Time to go home, Panasilas. It's over."
The boy shone brightly, and Alianna had to throw her forearm over her arms over her face and let go of Claudia's limp hand to block out the light. It only lasted a moment, before it faded, taking the glow of the crystals with it, and leaving the cave bathed in complete darkness. The only source of light came from the sand in the pendant, which gave off a faint, golden glow.
Alianna felt Claudia shift beside her and her heart soared in joy.
"Ngh... Gods, my head. What bull did I get run over by?" She paused. "Ali?"
Alianna felt along the group, finding Claudia's hand and gasping it with her own. Claudia squeezed her hand back. Happy tears ran down her cheeks, leaving her lightheaded from all of the crying she had been doing.
"I'm here." She swallowed, pretending that her voice hadn't cracked when she had spoken. "I'm right here."
Claudia sighed. "Thank goodness." She shifted, sitting up, and put the pendant around her neck like she was wearing a necklace. It lit up her torso and the bottom of her face. "Where are we? What happened?"
A sudden wave of deja vu hit Alianna. It was just like their conversation back on the ship when they had first gotten there, but positions reversed.
"We're still in the cave," she whispered, unable to do much more. "I think -"
Something cracked, cutting her off. Both girls stopped breathing for a moment.
"What was that?" Claudia asked shakily.
The cracking came again, louder this time. It didn't stop, either.
"Something's break -"
The floor beneath them disappeared.
Alianna screamed as she tumbled through the air, twisting and spinning uncontrollably. The sensation of falling while being unable to see when she would hit the floor was paralyzing. Adrenaline frenzied through her veins, leaving her hyper-aware of every sensation. The wind tossing her body, her shortened breaths. Her heart was beating so hard she thought it would explode. She clenched her eyes shut, doubting that she would be able to see anything even if they were open anyway.
Without warning, two arms wrapped around her from behind, pulling her arms to her chest. Claudia could feel the pendant pressing against her spine. Claudia's body curled forward, forcing Alianna to as well. Suddenly they flipped, and the wind was no longer blowing against Alianna's face, so their backs would be to the ground.
It all happened in less than three seconds.
The duo did hit something, but it wasn't the hard ground Alianna had been expecting. She recognized the oppressive force, loud slap, and the feeling of water flooding her nostrils and ears from when she had jumped off the high dive at the public pool when she was in the foster system. They had fallen into water.
Claudia's arms released her, and she swam towards what she thought was the surface frantically, eyes open and searching for light.
After what seemed like minutes but was in reality only a few seconds, Alianna broke the surface of the water, gasping for air as her lungs heaved with exertion. Her thick, dark hair hung in her face, obscuring her vision.
Claudia came up from the water just after her, spewing water from between her lips and taking in great gulps of air. She let out a hysterical laugh, and shouted, "It worked!"
"What worked?" Alianna demanded.
Claudia gave Alianna a wild grin, opening her mouth, before her face dropped as she spotted something behind the younger girl.
"What?" Alianna gasped, tired from the emotional trauma and swimming. Her mind was still struggling to comprehend the events that had to have been the most difficult things she had experienced in her short eleven years of life.
Turning, the blood froze in her veins when she saw what Claudia had seen.
It was definitely the town they had been staying in before, several meters away, only now it was decimated. The buildings were crumbled to ruins, looking as old as they were supposed to be. There was no ports anymore. Only a few ships were left standing, but before the girls' eyes, they too fell apart, falling to the water in loud splashes. It was like watching something age thousands of years in fast-forward. The people were already gone.
Alianna felt like crying as she watched, but no tears came from her eyes. (The people were dead, now. As they should have been many, many years ago.) Gray clouds gathered ominously overhead, obscuring the sun, and leaving the town bathed in a sad gray.
A rotted little rowboat drifted in the water near them, and neither girl had to say anything before they were swimming over to it as fast as they could. Alianna grabbed the lip of the boat, feeling splinters dig into her freezing skin. Peachy.
Claudia climbed aboard first (somehow finding the strength to haul herself up) before helping Alianna aboard.
"Thanks, Convenient," Alianna slurred, patting the wood and feeling it bend underneath her fingers.
Well, that was reassuring. They were going to die out here.
(After finally completing the quest, they were going to drown because their boat was a piece of shit. Great.)
Rain began to pour down and Alianna zipped up her jacket, teeth chattering and shaking down to her bones.
Silence blanketed the duo, neither having enough will to start a conversation.
For the second time on the entire quest, Alianna fell asleep.
When the boat nearly capsized, Alianna awoke with the start.
"Glad you're alive!" Claudia shouted over the wind and rain, hunkered down between the seats.
"What the hell?" Alianna shouted, flailing. Water splashed from over the side of the boat and onto her lap.
Claudia was laughing and crying in hysteria, and Alianna remembered that Claudia was terrified of storms.
Well, fuck.
She dug her nails into the sides of the wood, clenching her jaw and trying pretend she wasn't freezing her ass off.
They were so going to die.
When the next wave came, they actually did capsize. Not that Alianna was really all that surprised. More horrified then anything.
The duo tumbled into the sea with a shriek, and the water that rushed around Alianna's ears was more than enough to disorient her. But, by a gods-given miracle, she found the surface, coming up with a gasp. Throwing her arms forward, her nails hooked into the wood of the boat as she heaved herself onto the bottom of the ship and the only part that was floating. Claudia was already there, splayed out on the surface with her eyes shut tight and shaking hard enough to be jerking.
Alianna really thought they were going to die, out in the sea, alone.
Fuck. Her clothes were wet, gods dammit.
And then she saw the ship lights.
She stayed awake just long enough to weakly signal for help and be pulled up onto the deck of the metal (gods bless) machine. She faced a very familiar bearded man and mumbled a few incoherent words.
And then she passed out.
The hospital was warm, but far too white in Alianna's opinion. The glaring color of the walls, bed, and floor hurt her eyes to look at, and everything smelled like anesthetic.
Groaning, she turned her head, her eyes meeting a pair of green ones she had never been so happy to see in her life.
"Hey," Claudia greeted, giving her a weak smile.
She was tucked into a bed next to her, an IV in her arm with white fluid dripping down into the tube. She looked tired, but still radiant. Like Alianna, she was also wearing a hospital gown. But a metal chain hung around her neck, disappearing into the collar of the gown.
"What... what happened?" Her eyes widened as she remembered a familiar face. "That man - !" She sat up, eyes wide and heart monitor beating quickly. "He - that was the captain! He's supposed to be dead!"
Claudia's smile turned wobbly and two tears leaked out of her right eye. "I saved him, Ali."
"What?"
"I - that boy - the one from the story - he explained everything to me," Claudia said, propping herself up on her elbows. Her voice was picking up tempo, as it usually did when she was excited about something. "After I touched the pendant, I saw a boy standing in front of me and you were gone. I didn't know what to do. But then he told me that the monster was a gray thing that was a person from the town that wanted everyone to be happy forever! But as a price, everyone forgot them, and they had to live in the mountains, alone. Cleitus remembered because he was the only one that had fought or seen the monster - person - Panasilas -" Claudia tumbled over her words. "But he couldn't do anything to break the curse because the boy said that no one outside of the city could break it! So I asked how, and he asked if I -" Claudia paused, sniffling. "He asked if I wanted to bring the sailor back. And I said yes. But he said that I would have to make a trade."
A cold weight settled in Alianna's stomach.
Claudia stopped breathing... The boy...
"What did you trade?" she rasped. Then, louder, stronger, "What. Did. You. Trade?"
Claudia couldn't stop crying. "A life for a life. I - he said he wouldn't collect it now, but he would give me time to say goodbyes -"
No.
That couldn't be.
She had saved Claudia. Hadn't she?
She had to have.
Claudia had stopped breathing until Alianna made the deal.
A slow breath was released from Alianna's lips.
Claudia would be okay.
"It's okay."
And it was.
Everything was okay this time.
They were going to go home, safe.
She was safe. Claudia was safe. They were both alive.
Smiling, Alianna laid back down and closed her eyes, listening to Claudia babble until she fell asleep, this time in peace, with the help of the hospitally-administered drugs in her system.
"Run!"
"No, I'm not leaving you!" Claudia was crying. Why was she crying? Alianna couldn't see.
Fire. It surrounded her on all sides, blocking any escape route. Licking at her skin, singing the hairs on her arms.
"Run! Save Alianna!"
"But you're -"
"I'm already dead! Run!"
"Jaco -"
"I said leave!" he shrieked. "I'm dying, Claudia! I might as well be dead already! We both know I'm not going to make it!"
The fire in front of her was put out, just enough for Claudia to slip through and grab her before running out.
And, for some reason, hanging there in the state of half-consciousness, Alianna remembered a nearly forgotten quest, with a nearly forgotten deal.
I saved Claudia, she thought hazily, eyelids dropping.
People screamed around her, running into battle and away from it. Blood dripped from the cut on her forehead and into her eyes.
But Claudia still made a deal for a life.
She remembered, weeks ago, when Claudia had brought up the quest they had done months ago. She had been in tears, worried and crying.
"It doesn't have to be my life," Claudia had said. "It should be my life. He said that he could take someone close to me. Why? I thought he was nice! I thought he was saving me back then! But he was taunting me, Ali! He said that he wouldn't kill me! I should die! I made the deal! I don't want to lose you! You're my little sister!"
She wasn't dying. She knew that.
I hadn't even thought of Jacob.
She never got to say goodbye to her other best friend, brother in all but blood.
And she would never get to.