Prologue: The Arsonist and a Child's Tears
"Mama…? Why can't we go see papa? He always comes to see me at night on my birthday, but can we go see him this time for my birthday?" A little girl asked, her sapphire eyes gleaming slightly as she looked up at the young woman, who looked very similar to her, she called her mother. Her mother smiled softly and touched her cheek as she paused from brushing her long ebony black hair.
"I'm sorry, Annie… But your father wants you and I to be safe from his family. If they found out that you exist, he explained to me that they would try to kill us both. We care too much about you to let that happen…" She replied as Annie's expression grew a little grim.
"Oh… But we always travel because of what we are. Wouldn't that keep us safe, mama?"
"No, they aren't the type to be distracted for too long not to do anything about you. Because of who your father is, we must keep moving or else the monsters will chase you until you die… And I won't allow that, nor would your father." Annie started to tear up a little bit because of this fact, knowing that her mother would always tell her the same story about her existence having to be kept a secret. How her father had to only see them at night when everyone was asleep except for the souls and wanderers.
All this hiding made her feel terrible, but she wasn't going to let anyone know. She had to stay strong for her mother since of the type of life they had to live.
"And you remember where I told you to go if something unfortunate happened to me, right?" Her mother asked, gaining a small nod in reply then hugging the little girl protectively within her arms. A faint smile of melancholy upon her lips as if that would be the very last time that she'd be able to hold her child.
"That's a good girl… My sweet, little Andromeda…" She murmured as her eyes looked into the darkness outside the window, knowing better that they were never truly alone on their journeys.
"Now, Annie. Are you ready for the gifts I have for you? It may not be anything new, but it's something that I trust as well as want you to have." Without waiting for an answer, Annie's mother had placed a rosary-like necklace around her neck and a deck of cards in the young girls hands.
"That necklace was a gift from your father when I first met him… It always protected me and I hope that it does the same for you. And those are the tarot cards that I once used… They may be old and a little worn out, but they are more valuable because of their history with our family. Take care of them and protect them like they were your most precious treasure."
"I will…! Thank you, mama." She said softly as she touched the pendant that hung from the black and crimson red rosary, her fingers tracing over the Greek symbol omega as she slightly smiled at her mother.
"Now get some rest, Andromeda… You don't want to seem tired when you see your father tonight, do you?"
"No." Annie replied with a yawn and climbed into the bed, causing her mother to smile.
"Sweet dreams, my little demigod…" She spoke softly and kissed her forehead before she left to a different part of the inn, allowing a darkened shadow to appear and materialize into the form of a man. He faintly touched Annie's face and pushed a few strands of hair out of her face.
"My dear child… Your time to shine will come and no longer will you have to hide yourself from everyone. The time isn't now, but you will be great… Not even Zeus will be able to harm you… My beloved daughter." The man whispered as he gently took one of her hands and slid a ring upon her middle finger, which had an elegant obsidian gem in the shape of a little heart, before leaving a small stuffed toy of a three-headed dog under her arm and leaving the room.
An hour or so later, Annie felt like she was choking from something, waking up to see the room was full of dark smoke. She could hear people screaming in fear and feel a sense of dread all around the small inn. The building was on fire and there was still people inside.
Quickly, Annie grabbed a few little things and placed them in a bag before rushing out the door, trying to find and assist as many people as she could to escape the burning building. Once everyone was outside, she looked around to see someone in particular and important was missing. Her mother wasn't in the crowd of people. In a panicked state and ignoring the fire men's orders, Annie rushed back inside with tears clinging to her eyes.
"Mama! MAMA, WHERE ARE YOU?" She cried out, only to find a woman standing in the smoky lounge room.
"MAMA!" Right when she was about to reach her, something heavy had knocked her down, causing her to scream in pain from the intense heat that was burning her skin. Her screams caught her mothers' attention, shock and sorrow filling her deep blue eyes.
"Annie… I'm sorry, my child, but it's my time to go. I had foreseen this happening to me and not even your father can stop the Fates. You must live on without me now, my precious daughter." She explained as her body was slowly engulfed in flames, reflecting off of the young girls eyes and tears as she watched helplessly as her mother was dying in front of her.
"N-no… NO! MAMA!" Annie cried out and weakly reached out to the burning corpse of her kind-hearted mother. Soon after her mother's body collapsed to the ground, the young girl was pulled out from under the burning piece of the building and outside with the other survivors.
The other people thanked her and left as quickly as they came, not noticing that she was crying or even to ask why. That was when she heard it. The sound of someone chuckling, enjoying the scene that was playing out now. With tear-filled eyes, Annie looked up at the man who was laughing; no one even noticed the fact that he was there except for her.
Quietly, she snuck up behind him, listening to him rant softly to himself.
"That should teach them…! No one makes a fool out of me and gets away with it…! Hope those gypsy girls go to hell for what they've done…!" He laughed, not even seeing the young girl standing behind him or even noticing that what he just said was going to be the death of him.
"You… You did this…? Y-you killed my mama…?" The man then turned and looked at the little girl behind him, smirking at the fact that she was crying.
"Yeah, and nothing you can do is gonna change that. Why don't you just run back inside and burn with that wench you call your mama?" Through her tears, her eyes shifted to onyx black as rage surge within her, filling her body with power.
"You… YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS!" Annie screamed out as she lunged at him, instinctively aiming at soft parts of his body, making him cry out in pain. As the man doubled over in agony, he looked up at Annie in absolute terror.
"N-no more…! Mercy!"
"Mercy…? Were was your mercy when you killed my mama…? YOU DON'T DESERVE THE CHANCE OF HAVING ANY MERCY!" Right then, she stomped on the ground, creating an abyss to suddenly appear and swallow the man up before vanishing just as it came.
"Ask my papa for mercy and see what he'll say, murderer…" She then fell to the ground crying, sobbing violently at the fact that her mother was gone. The only attachment to family she had with her and now she was gone.
A minute later, she heard the sound of hooves tapping upon the stone street, drawing her attention to a figure that was coming towards her.
"Are you the daughter of Anna Lazuli, little girl…?" Sniffling, Annie looked at him sadly as she stood up, inspecting the person before her. Although nothing surprised her at all, she noticed that from the waist down that he was a white stallion.
"Y-you're a centaur…?"
"Yes, I am. Now please, tell me if you're Anna's child."
"I am… M-my name is Andromeda Lazuli, but my mama called me Annie for short… Wh-who are you and why are you asking me who I am, sir…?" With a smile, he kneeled down in front of her and wiped away a few stray tears from her face.
"My name is Chiron. I'm going to take you to a place called Camp Half-blood where you can be kept safe from now on…"
"M-mama told me about that place… She said that when she was gone or when I'm not safe any more, that I should find you and go to the camp."
"Then I made your job easier, little Annie. Let's be off then if we have nothing else to do." Annie simply nodded as she climbed onto Chiron's horse half, the two of them leaving the burnt remains of the small inn and the death sight of Annie's mother in England behind.