I'm trying another long story! For some reason, I was inspired by my desktop background (which is the same as my avatar on my profile. I'm a really bad sucker for fantasy art). Yes, this is another one of those Artemis-and-the-Hunters story, but it'll be different, as they go on a sort of quest and all. Enjoy!
By the way, I used an Italian/English translator, so the Italian will be very rough. For all you Italians out there, feel free to correct me. After all, I'm Chinese, not Italian. o_o
Rose's POV:
"Rosa? Svegliare! State andando essere in ritardo per la scuola!" my mother shouted in Italian from downstairs.
"Coming, Mamma!" I shouted back as I grabbed my backpack from my neatly made bed, brushing a comb through my long, silver-blond hair. I ran down the stairs and strode into our sunny kitchen, all whilst pulling on a blue jacket.
"Rose, you are going to be late for school," she repeated, this time in English with a slight Italian accent. She eyed me with her light gray-green eyes that always reminded me of winter in a forest.
I sighed. "I know, Mamma." I settled down at our tiny kitchen table, grabbing a few pieces of my mom's specialty Sicilian cannoli and biting down into the flaky crust to get to the sweet cream inside.
"It's almost spring break, bambino," my mom said. "What do you wish for us to do during that week?"
"I don't know," I said half-heartedly. I didn't have any friends at school; everyone was always intimidated by my wintry air and sharp, ice-blue eyes. I had started seventh grade in a new school, hoping to meet some new people, but the same always happened, so we obviously could cross out the option of hanging out with friends.
"Do you think we should go to New York City?" my mother asked suddenly. I was a bit taken aback. New York City? We lived in Vermont, which was pretty far from Manhattan. And why that particular place?
"I don't know. Why?" I asked, stuffing my mouth with another golden cannoli as I zipped up my backpack and shoved my white Nike sneakers onto my feet.
"Oh, no reason. I just thought that it would be… Well, safer for you," Mamma said airily. Safer for me? I ran through a list of potentially harmful dangers to me; the slippery rug in our bathroom, the desk in ELA with gum stuck to its bottom. Not very hazardous. I was about to question her when she interrupted.
"Aye! Il bus è qui!" my mom exclaimed. "You had better get going, Rose. Ms. Mendoza doesn't like to wait, remember?"
"Yes, I know, Mamma!" I yelled back. "Vederli nel pomeriggio!" I said my farewells and headed outside onto the bus, Ms. Mendoza ranting about how students like me were a bad example to the sixth graders. My mother trailed behind me outside onto the front yard.
"Ciao, bambino!" my mother shouted, waving to me. I took a last glance at her, her light brown hair fluttering in the playful wind of spring, her strange eyes, and her white blouse over a light blue dress. I don't know whether this was an illusion or not, but she seemingly lowered her head and whispered, "Be safe, my little one. Maggio i dei li proteggono da danno."
I didn't have time to figure that out because she disappeared back into our little cottage and the bus chugged towards Northport Junior High.
***
All day, I was thinking about those words my mother had said. Be safe. May the gods protect you from harm. What did that mean? I was so distracted, I bumped into someone and I looked up.
It was a not bad-looking boy, a little bit taller than me with my willowy frame. He had dark brown hair, forest-green eyes, and looked slightly relieved somehow, like he'd finally found something.
"Whoops. Uh, I wasn't looking where I was going. Sorry," I muttered, bending down to pick up my scattered books. The guy beat me to it, handing me the books. "Thanks."
"No problem. I'm Jay Brooks. What's your name?" he asked. I had seen him around sometimes, hanging out around the lunch room by himself.
"Uh, Rosa d'Inverno Rizzo," I said hurriedly, checking out my watch. 10:43. Only two more minutes before I had to get to class.
"Is that seriously your real name?" Jay asked skeptically. I was getting slightly peeved by this unnerving dude.
"Yes, that's my real name. It's Italian for Winter Rose, okay? Rose for short. Look, I've got one minute to get to band, and it's all the way down the hallway. Nice meeting you, Jay," I said, hurrying down the corridor.
"Wait! I'm going to band, too. Um, do you mind if I walk with you?" Jay asked. I shrugged nonchalantly and we sprinted down the hallway and made it into our separate rooms just before the bell rang.
"Just in time, Rosa," our band director, Mrs. Wilkinson said. "Take the seat by Nina and we'll start practicing for Region auditions." She straightened her white skirt and tucked a stray lock of amber hair behind her ear.
I sat down next to Nina Patel, the second-best flute player after me. She smiled warmly at me, her golden brown eyes friendly.
Mrs. Wilkinson tapped her stand to get everyone's attention. All chatter died down, and it was completely silent until she said, "Turn to page sixty-nine in your practice book. It should say 'Pachelbel's Canon' by Johann Pachelbel. Sight read until measure forty-five for me, please."
The rest of the forty-five minutes went by quickly, seeing as I loved playing the flute. Our notes swirled around in almost-perfect harmony and consonance.
The bell rang, but Mrs. Wilkinson tapped her stand again with her pencil, holding up her hand. We all froze in our assorted positions, some of us half-off our chairs and others just about to turn the knob of the door and charge through it.
"Dismissed!" We ran out of the door, and I was almost immediately greeted by Jay, who was lounging around the doorway of the percussion practice room, holding two worn-out drumsticks in his hand.
"So, you play the flute, eh, Rizzo?" he asked, eyebrows raised.
"Yeah. And don't call me Rizzo. You barely know me. I barely know you. So quit pestering me, and let me get to my next period!" I half-snapped at him, getting more annoyed at him by the second.
"Whoa, chill, Rose," he said, holding up a hand.
"Me? Chill? Look, I've known you for, what, five minutes and you start stalking me? Listen, you. Quit bothering me!" I said, shooting him a frosty glare. I was really moody today. He winced.
"Fine, Rose. Just trying to be nice. See ya some other time. Later," he half-heartedly said and walked away, muttering something about 'Chiron' and 'stubborn demigod'.
I shook my head at his direction, not knowing that my life was about to change in the next five hours of school.
***
Slam! I pushed the double-doors open, rushing down the steps to catch the bus home. I rushed down the length of the tennis court, hoping that Ms. Mendoza wouldn't be too angry at me for being late (yet again, twice in one day).
I had gotten held back ten minutes by my awful advisory teacher, and now there was almost no one left in the courtyard except me. I spied my bus' number about twenty yards away, and I ran for it.
I almost made it, too. That is, I could've made it, if I hadn't bumped into an enormous person standing right in front of me.
I mumbled sorry and tried to go around the large guy, but he grabbed me by my neck and brought his face up close to mine. I then truly saw what he was. He was covered from head to toe in greasy, matted white fur. He was huge, maybe ten feet tall. He smiled a gruesome smile, showing his dirty teeth.
"You're coming with me, half-blood," he said, his breath stinking of rotten fish and… Ice? Frost? Some other unidentifiable smell?
"Y-you can't make me go with you, you… Y-you bestia ripugnante!" I shouted. I was enraged. What did this… This monsterwant from me? Is this what Mamma had prayed to keep me safe from? What was a half-blood? And most of all, why me? My legs dangled twelve feet above the hard pavement, and I was scared to death.
I looked around wildly, trying to find someone to help me. The courtyard was now completely empty, except for one person. I sighed, closing my eyes, preparing to meet my doom.
Wait a minute. One person?! That person was about to go walk home, turning their back towards me. They had floppy brown hair, and… Oh gosh, no. It was Jay.
Oh, too bad, Rose! At least someone is here! Quick, call out to him! A thousand thoughts whirled through my head like snow in a blizzard.
At the last minute, I called out, "Jay! Please help me!" I thrashed around in the monster's grip, sobbing.
Suddenly, the figure turned around, alarmed. Jay sprinted over to me as fast as he could, drawing out something from his backpack. A bronze dagger, a good foot long.
"I'm coming Rose! Just hang on a while longer!" he yelled.
"I'm hanging!" I screamed back, the giant holding out his finger that I was gripping tightly onto, about to drop me.
Jay looked desperate. He pulled his arm back and threw the dagger towards the monster. No, wait. Towards me. No, the monster. Me. The monster. Me.
I closed my eyes again, waiting for the excruciating pain. My instincts told me to open one eye, and I watched as the glinting dagger came whistling through the air, plunging… Into the creature's heart. Bull's eye. It let out a roar of agony before it disintegrated into pale blue dust and was gone with the breeze.
I yelled out again, this time falling towards the earth at an alarmingly quick rate. The sidewalk grew bigger and bigger as I fell, coming up to meet my falling self. Suddenly, in the nick of time, just before I hit the ground, something caught me and I blacked out.
That was horrible. I'll admit it. Anyhow, review, please! I'm really not good with the whole quest/action scenario, not to mention OC's.
Please review! (If you're confused about what an Italian phrase or word in there means, ask me in a review, and I'll translate).
If I don't get enough reviews, I might not be motivated enough to update and I'll just delete this because it seems like no one actually reads it and wants me to continue it, so please review! :)