Me: well here it is! Chapter two of Lydia's war!
Lydia: love the title *grimaces*
Me: but you'll love the chapter
Lydia: I know so get on with it already! Acire does not own any of the Percy Jackson characters or places.
Me: fine, fine, but you're going to hate the next one
Lydia: what? Why?
Me: on with the show!
Well, Chiron's mysterious 'its time we discussed the war' left me with almost nothing. All he told me was that the war was between Poseidon and Athena and the gods and goddesses who took sides. The demigods took sides over the matter and fought too. The war lasted for ten years exactly, so I was just a baby when it began, but I already knew that. And I told him that it ended on my birthday, something he knew but didn't piece together.
I left the Big House and headed to the cabins to go relax. Chiron told me that I could stay in the Athena cabin or the Poseidon cabin, so I chose the Poseidon cabin because I thought it would be better.
The group of campers I saw earlier spotted me and came running over when I reached the area in front of the cabins. I sighed and stopped to wait for them, knowing I couldn't really put it off. My hands were empty because my big bag o' stuff was sent ahead of me to my cabin, waiting for me. They ran up to me with enthusiastic looks on their faces. Great, more interrogation. I plastered a fake smile on my face to hide my annoyance as they approached. First up, Karlie.
"How old where you when the war ended?" she asked.
I sighed. "It was my fourteenth birthday. To the day."
"How old are you know?" a boy named Trevor asked.
"I'll be sixteen on winter solstice." I responded.
"Did you lose anyone in the war?" a girl named Annie asked. Me eyes teared up some and I nodded. All their expressions turned sad looking.
"I lost my dad when I was ten," I bit my quivering lower lip. "It's been almost six years. What about all of you? Did you lose anybody at all?" I asked, looking around at each of them. Nobody answered. They just looked at me.
"What?" I asked. I swallowed the lump in my throat and level my voice. "You mean none of your family members died in this freakin' war?" I asked. They all shook their heads, except for Ryan. He looked at me with an emotion I couldn't understand. I held his gaze for a few seconds (his eyes were pretty) before blinking and looking away. "I'm, uh, I'm gonna go take a nap," I told them, still looking away. "I'm pretty tired and all. I'll see you guys at dinner." And with that I turned and ran to my cabin, planning to stay there until Chiron said it was time for dinner.
I sat on my bunk with my back on the wall and let my mind wander. At one point I must've actually fallen asleep because I awoke to a knocking on my cabin door. I got up to see who it was, expecting it to be Chiron telling me that it was dinnertime, and saw Ryan of all people on my doorstep, his hands shoved in his pockets. He looked kinda sad.
"Can I talk to you for a minute or two?" he asked. I would never say it, but I liked how he changed the original phrase into something else; I just thought it was cool. I looked him over (NOT checked him out) and decided that he wasn't gonna hurt me.
"Yeah, come in." I said. He walked in and stood with his hands in his pockets, looking around the room. I shut the door behind him, walked over to my bunk and sat like I was before. He was still standing there, looking around. I rolled my eyes and looked up at him. He met my gaze. "Are you gonna sit down?" I asked with humor in my voice. He smiled slightly.
"Yeah, I was just looking at your cabin. Its pretty cool." He talked as he walked over to the bed. Soon, he was looking down at me.
"I know." I said, smiling. He held my gaze for a few seconds before I blinked and sat back like I was. He joined me now, sitting about a foot and a half away. "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?" I asked, turning my head to look at him. He turned his head toward me, looking at me. I smiled at him, trying to say 'just say it'.
"About losing parents in the war." He said seriously. My smile faded and I stared at him before looking down.
"Yeah I know what that's like." I muttered.
"Me too." He said softly. I looked up at him again.
"You lost your dad too? I mean, you obviously didn't lose your mom, but your dad was mortal, so he wouldn't've been fighting…" I trailed off from my babbling, thinking. My head turned to the front of the room.
"My dad was killed in a Greek firebomb explosion," he said. I turned back to look him in the eyes. "He and I lived near a base where demigods where hiding out apparently, demigods in the war. The opposite side bombed the entire area, trying to get every last demigod. I wasn't home at the time, but my father was." His voice broke. I wanted to comfort him, but I didn't know how. I settled with scooting closer and leaning my head on his shoulder. To my complete surprise, he buried his face in my hair.
"It's ok" I said softly. I put my hand on the side of his face that wasn't against the wall. "My dad was killed in battle. His armor wasn't strong enough to protect him when someone jabbed a knife at his only weak spot. He was killed instantly." I said, sounding very emotionless and hollow. I put my chin on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. His face was less than three inches from mine. I stared into his eyes and realized something. The emotion I didn't understand earlier was understanding; he knew what I was going through. And now I know his pain.
Ok, I know what you're all thinking right now and, no I'm not stupid at all. Just because he wasn't acting like a jackass right now didn't mean anything. But I have to admit, I kind of liked him. And if I know what he's thinking…
He started slowly leaning in and I didn't move back. When his lips were an inch from mine, I brought my hand up and put it over his mouth. He looked surprised. "Enjoying yourself?" I said quietly. I started slowly pulling my hand back, trailing my fingers over his lips, kind of taunting him. I'm so mean.
"Well, so am I." I said and sat up. He looked at me, all disappointed and shit.
"Why did you do that?" he asked, honestly curious. I chuckled a little before answering him.
"Did you honestly think that I would let you kiss me when I barely even know you? You have to admit, I had you fooled, but I'm no fool." I said with a smile on my face. Before long he was grinning too.
"Ok, I admit it that was pretty smart. But do you promise to, someday soon?" he asked with hope in his voice. I grinned back at him.
"If I know you better. Life isn't all physical, you know." I told him with a kind of smirk on my face.
"Yeah I know," he paused "now." I laughed at him and he joined me, whether he thought it was funny or he liked my laugh, I didn't know.
"You're surprisingly levelheaded for a teenage girl." He observed. I shrugged, smirking some.
"I know." He smiled at me again. "And you're not as prissy as a child of Aphrodite normally is." We both laughed as thunder boomed in the distance and a woman's voice screamed "oh no she didn't!" we exchanged looks and laughed harder. Just to be on the safe side, I would toss some of my dinner in the fire for her. I don't need my love life going down the toilet, too.
Just then, the dinner bell rang. We both got up and walked over to the door. I glanced back at him as I pulled the door and, naturally, smacked my face into it. I rubbed my forehead, frowning and fighting a smile at the same time. "Ow," I muttered, looking at him. He burst out laughing.
"You'll kiss a door but you won't kiss me?" he said while laughing. I joined him, but stopped soon.
"Come on, everyone's waiting for us, I think." I said still smiling. He stopped laughing but smiled, too. We walked out of my cabin and to the dining pavilion. The other four campers joined us and Chiron gave us our food. We all sat down at our table to eat, but I got up and pushed some of my food into the fire. "For Poseidon, Athena, and Aphrodite," I said, lowering my voice. "Please forgive me o' goddess of love and beauty." Out of the corner of my eye I saw the storm clouds dissipate. Thank the gods.
I went and sat down. The others exchanged looks and got up. They followed my lead. I smirked as they spoke.
"For Iris," Karlie said.
"For Hermes," Trevor muttered.
"For Apollo," Annie said gently.
"For Hephaestus," the kid whose name I forgot grunted.
"For Aphrodite," Ryan said, bowing his head down slightly for a few seconds.
They all sat down and began eating. I slowly picked at my Jell-O with my…fork? Wait, I don't even remember getting a fork! And what's the point? All I have is soup and Jell-O! And where did my spoon go? Crap. Ah well, I'm done anyway. I got up and went to Chiron. He looked up at me.
"Where's Rachel?" I asked. He pointed to a small cabin at the end of the row that had ORACLE written on in. Duh. I turned to walk away, but turned around. "And where's Mr. D?" I asked. He gestured over to the big house.
"He's passed out. Really bad hangover." He said, fighting a smile. I laughed. Then I turned and jogged over to the oracle cabin. I took a deep breath and raised my hand to knock on the door when she called, "come in."
I opened the door and peeked around it. Rachel was standing on the bed with her red hair back in a ponytail, painting on the wall. She looked at me when the door opened. She smiled and gestured for me to sit on the couch. I smiled tentatively and sat on it. She picked up her painting stuff and put it away. Her painting was pretty. It was very intricate, like a lace pattern almost. I liked it. She came to sit next to me. I smiled at her. Her eyes narrowed, like she was trying to find something.
"You look very familiar. What's your name?" she asked.
"Lydia." I told her. Her eyes widened suddenly.
"What's your last name?" she asked suspiciously.
"Jackson."
She smiled at me again. "So you're Lydia Grace-"suddenly she doubled over like someone had punched her in the stomach. I leaned back against the couch, bracing myself. I had heard what happens next.
Rachel suddenly sprang up, her eyes glowing green, and looked at me. Then she spoke the words of the oracle and her voice sounded tripled.
"The child of two shall be the one
Fought over for a decade the fighting's not done
Goes to heaven to know why
On the eve of their sixteenth,
Final goodbyes echo through the sky."
Then she slumped over on the couch. I was afraid to touch her like she might jump up and start picking my hair. She sat up and looked at me; her eyes were normally colored. She smiled at me again. "So how's your dad?" she asked happily.
"My dad's dead." I answered quickly, still tense. Her eyes widened.
"What? When?"
"Uh, when I was ten. He died in the war." I answered, beginning to relax some. She seemed normal now…
"What's wrong, Lydia? You look like you've seen a ghost or something." I didn't answer. I didn't really know how. She obviously isn't aware when she gives her oracle shit out to people.
"Am I? Sorry, I just have to get back to Chiron soon and I'm worried about time." I lied. Huh, not a bad one either. She actually believed me.
"Ok then, but come back and visit sometime." She said cheerily. I nodded and got up. I got to the door and looked back. She waved at me. I waved a small wave back opened the door and walked out, shutting it behind me. Once the door was shut, I sprinted as hard and as fast as I could away from there. I ran to the Big House. I looked around as I ran and didn't see anyone. Everyone went back to their cabins. I can understand why; when your surroundings are this depressing, you don't want to be outside to see them.
I made it to the Big House. I went up the stairs this time and actually went inside. The hall was empty. "Chiron?" I called.
"Up here!" he called from up the stairs. I raced up and saw Chiron sitting at a table (well standing at a table) with none other than the now awake and still hung over Mr. D. when I walked in the room, Mr. D checked me out. Literally.
"Damn girl you're hott as fuck, which is what I want to do to you. FUCK!" he screamed and started laughing a drunken laugh. "What's your name, sexy?" I swear he was drooling and panting more than a dog in heat.
"I'm Lydia." I answered stiffly. He stopped laughing and stared at me.
"So you're the-"
"Yes Mr., D that's quite enough. You've traumatized the poor girl," Chiron interrupted. He turned to me, lowering his voice, "walk with me." The way he said it, the way he interrupted Mr. D made it seem like there was something he wasn't telling me, something big.
"Tell me, what did Rachel say?" he asked. I told him every line of my prophecy.
"What does it mean?" I asked. He looked perplexed.
"I don't know, Lydia, but I do know one thing." He looked unpleasant about saying something, and I paled. I had a feeling I knew what he was thinking.
I walked out of the Big House to go find Ryan. I had to tell him this. I walked over to the Aphrodite cabin, where he was sitting on his bed, looking pretty pissed about all the pink. I laughed at his expression and he turned to me. He got up and came to me. I pulled him by his hand back to his bed and sat down. He sat next to me.
"What's wrong?" he sounded concerned. I looked up grimly at him.
"It's decided. I'm going to Olympus in the morning to see what caused this damn war."
Me: second chapter, check
Lydia: yeah that one wasn't that bad for me, but I don't like the prophecy you gave me
Me: I didn't give it to you. Rachel did.
Lydia: oh please, save it.
Me: fine but brace yourself
Lydia: what? Why?
Me: please review!
Lydia: you didn't answer my question! Wait!
