Cacy yawned and sat up. She looked out of one of the Hermes cabin's windows. It's still dark. It's only four in the morning and she could see every one sleeping around the cabin. Or try to sleep, at least. No one could actually sleep last night. The air was cool and filled with the smell of salt from Long Island Sound. Perfect time for a little training.
She walked toward the bathroom, change into a camp T-shirt and a pair of jeans. She ties her dark, curly brown hair into a pony tail, grabs her twin daggers and headed towards the arena. Her body still hurt like hell, but she didn't care. The battle of Labyrinth was only 12 hours ago, yet it felt like a life time. She needs to ease her mind from the dead people, or else she would go insane.
She passed the archery area and saw the bows and arrows. She frowned, a picture of a certain son of Apollo came in her mind, beaming as he watched his arrow hit bulleye. Lee Fletcher. But he was not there. He would never be there anymore. He's gone, gone forever. She forces herself go faster, or else she is going to cry. Curse you Aphrodite.
Cacy started practicing her twin daggers on the dummies. She hadn't done well in the battle of Labyrinth, and she knew that. If she had done better, would Lee lives? Would she saved someone else? Like Castor? She chopped the dummy in half. Mom, Dad, please, if you can hear me, please claim me. I have been waiting for it my whole life. Please. Am I that much of a disgrace? Don't I deserve at least to know who my parent is?
"That was a nice move," a voice said. She jumped and turned. Charles Beckendorf was standing there, smiling at her. And she felt it. The skin on her left chest, it started burning. No, she thought, not right after Lee's death. Aphrodite, stop messing with my life! I'm only fourteen!
"Beckendorf", she greeted him, "Up so soon?
"Can't sleep. You?"
"Same. I don't think anyone at Camp could sleep last night. Plan on training?"
"Nah. Just taking a small walk. Hey, you are really awesome with that."
"Thanks. Have fun with your walk."
He nodded and walked away.
Right when he left, she took of running into the woods. She came to a tree near the beach and climbed to the highest branch, looked out at the sea. Her favourite spot. Here she could see the whole world, and nothing can see her. That's nice, she guessed. She liked to be friend with people, but it's hard. She had tried, and had failed. Every single time. She didn't even bother to try anymore. After all, she is different.
Cacy's mind wandered back to her first quest. It was 7 years ago. She was a little young, just seven back then, but it's just a small quest. Beside, she had been here since forever, so it didn't seem to be a big problem. The quest was to find and return Aphrodite's bracelet. She just almost die a couple of times, no big deal. But she had lost it. She lost the bracelet, along with her only friend back then. And of course, failing her quest meant she had to suffer a consequences. Aphrodite cursed her that from then on, she would fall in love with many people, but every times she does, her heart would break.
She didn't really care. After all, what does a seven-year-old know about love? And how much love can such a young heart have anyway? It shouldn't matter. Her friend was gone. And so was her heart.
Or so she thought. The curse didn't started till earlier this year. It all started with Chris Rodriguez. They started out as friends. He was funny and caring, they shared the same Hermes cabinet. Then one evening, as she was at the camp fire, watching him from the other side of that flame, she felt her chest burning. It hurt so much, she almost fainted. No one saw her, so she gathered all her strength and ran off into the woods to check. A small part of her skin on her left chest was burning. And she knew what is this about.
The curse had finally come to her. And Chris Rodriguez would be the first one that would break her heart
And he did.
The day he turned to Kronos side, her reality shattered. The scar that once burned her left somehow was cut open, and she couldn't stop bleeding. But that was only the physical side of the curse. No, the cut and burn didn't hurt. Her feeling hurt. It hurt so much, she just wanted to cut her heart out and throw it away, then sat there till her death. Then he came back, but he was not the same. And her heart bleed, all over again.
Then Clarisse and him started dating. That hurt so much, this time she actually carved further into the bleeding scar. Connor found her dying of blood lost in their cabin, and she made him kept his mouth shut. He made her promise not to do that again.
She didn't try to die anymore, but she wasn't trying to live either.
And then Lee Fletcher from the Apollo cabin came. He's handsome, a great archer and was actually very sweet. And another scar formed on her chest. And yesterday, that scar was cut open. Fellow campers thought she was injured in the Battle of Labyrinth, but it was not true. She wasn't "injured". Her heart was ripped out of her body, and she was left, bruised and broken and dying and still alive.
And now, when the wound of Lee Fletcher hadn't healed yet, Beckendorf stepped into her life, and another burned mark was formed on her left chest.
If she ever get the chance to meet Aphrodite again, she would punch her in the bloody nose.
The sun rising from the sea. Could there be any chance that Apollo was her father? Probably not. She could only sing a little bit. She is too dumb to be a child of Athena. Too clumsy to be a child of Hephaetus. Maybe a child of Demeter or Hermes? Suddenly she felt so angry. Why didn't her parent send her a sign? Just one sign, and her life would be different.
