The days kind of blurred together into a mush of blurry images and pain- lots of pain, but there was always one constant among Freya's half-formed memories. There was a blonde boy, he's always sitting in the corner of her view. His eyes are a deep shade of blue, like the sky, clear and unmovable. The first memory she had of him he was standing by the door, clutching the hilt of his Imperial gold sword. His face was a mix of fear and worry, the deep lines etched in his forehead made him look older than he was. There was no mistaking the blood stains soaked into his white shirt and smeared across his hands and biceps.
The last image Freya had of him, he was asleep in the chair by her bedside, his head was coked to the side, his mouth wide open and a trail of drool was running down the side of his face. He was still wearing the same bloodied shirt but his skin was no longer painted in crimson. The sight of him was equal amounts of adorable and disgusting. She didn't know his name and hasn't heard his voice but she could pick his face out of a crowd without taking a second glance. It was a disconcerting feeling, realizing that this strange boy has been by her side since she arrived. The only person who has ever been kind to her is Nico Di Angelo, everyone Freya has ever met has been terrified of her, afraid of what she could do to them but Nico was different, he took her off the streets when she was ten years old, gave her a safe place to live with clean water and food that wasn't rescued out of a dumpster. He rescued her and there is nothing Freya can do to repay him for everything he's done for her but that won't stop her from trying.
It would come to no surprise to Freya if the blonde was here to make sure she did not harm those in this infernal camp.
She traced the tips of her fingers over the white scars littering her pale arms. She must have been unconscious for longer than she originally thought because the majority of her wounds had healed, including the deep wound that had plagued her left side which was now little more than an angry red scar.
Golden, honey eyes scanned the small room. The sun had come up long ago, bathing the small room in a bright glow. The only window in the room was small and sat on the far wall to the right but it was in such a place that it caught the sun head-on, the bright light coupled with the pale blue walls and the bright yellow door was sickening and made the room appear far too bright and upbeat. There wasn't anything that could be done to make the room more appealing unless they bulldoze the place and started from scratch.
Slowly Freya lowered herself back against the mountain of colorful pillows, being careful not to jostle her aching back. The only upside of ending up at Camp Half-Blood was that the bed was as soft as a feather, it was like lying on a fluffy cloud. Just as Freya was beginning to get comfortable the door squeaked open. A mop of blonde hair poked around the hideous yellow door. At first glance, he looked like the strange boy who has stuck by her side these last few days but upon further inspection, she realized he was not. He had the same blonde hair and the same deep blue eyes but that was where the similarities stopped. This blonde was tall but not freakishly so, he had a light dusting of freckles over his nose but it was barely noticeable under his dark tan, the kind of tan you get after spending several hours a day lying under the hot sun. "Morning," he greeted warmly. He moved further into the room, leaving the door open behind him. He was wearing a pair of green scrubs which wouldn't have been so unsettling if he wasn't also wearing bright orange sandals.
"You probably don't remember me," at Freya's flat look he continued, "I'm Will Solace, lead medic here at camp and Head counselor of the Apollo Cabin."Of course, he is Apollo's boy, how could she not have realized that this blonde moron was the child of the bigger blonde moron.
Will plopped himself down on the stool by her bedside with about as much grace as a baby elephant. He cleared his throat awkwardly and pushed himself closer to the bed so that he could rest his arms on the metal rail. "How are you feeling? You've been in and out of consciousness for the past three days, so it's been a bit difficult to get any information out of you."
"Sore, I suppose." It's the first time Freya has heard her own voice in days and frankly she doesn't recognize her own voice, she sounds brittle and hoarse like she's been screaming nonstop for the past hour. "Not that I am ungrateful for your help but when can I leave?"
"Uh, when you're properly healed we can get you out of here, but we'll need to set you up in the Hermes cabin until we find out who your Godly parent-"
"I already know who my father is and frankly I don't want to stay here any longer than need be." She didn't mean to snap but being this close to people, living people made her skin crawl, especially with the knowledge that at any second she could accidentally kill him with a single touch.
From the corner of her eye Freya could see Will's jaw clench and his eyes narrow but just as quickly his smile was back and Will was leaning in closer. He tilted his head to the side, his chin resting on the palm of his clenched hand. "If you want to leave no one's going to stop you, but could I at least know your name? I seem to be at a bit of a disadvantage here."
'Not that you could stop me'. It was on the tip of her tongue but it wouldn't do her any favors if she continued to anger the one person who can give her a clean bill of health but that didn't mean she had to like it. "Holloway." Her fingers absentmindedly played with a loose thread on the pristine white blanket. "Freya Holloway."
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Freya Holloway."
Will spent the next twenty minutes going over her injuries and trying to not so subtly pry more information out of her, but the son of Apollo wasn't as slick as he liked to believe. "Most of your wounds have healed with minimum scaring but I'm still concerned with your back. There was no breakage or any sort of damage to your spinal cord but there's still significant bruising between your shoulder blades, even with all the nectar and unicorn drought we've been feeding you they still haven't healed." Will chewed on the tip of his blue pen as he flicked through the notes on his clipboard. He looked up suddenly, his pen still wedged between his thin lips. "Do you mind if I take another look?"
Freya suppressed a sigh. Her patience was wearing thin and she didn't want some strange, overly chipper boy poking at her back, but if it meant she could leave here sooner than she would do anything. She settled for nodding instead. Will instructed her to swivel around so that her back was facing him. The metal railing of the bed clicked and squeaked as they were dragged down, giving Will better access to her back. "I'm just going to move aside the gown." She hummed in response.
Surprisingly his hands were warm and held none of the nervousness that she had expected. He was rather clinical and worked with such precision. It was rather obvious that he has been a healer for some time, probably long before he came to Camp Half-Blood. But Freya wouldn't dwell on facts she currently had no desire to learn. He worked swiftly, pressing his fingers into the tender flesh between her shoulder blades. He was silent from that point on which Freya greatly appreciated. Being around the living was difficult enough without adding unnecessarily small talk to the mix.
A bolt of pain jolted up her spine so suddenly that Freya jumped away from the medic. Her knees smashed painfully against the metal railing. "Shit," she cursed between clenched teeth. The pain was like a wave, the initial blast was like liquid fire but as the water withdrew it took with it most of the pain, leaving behind a deep ache that settled deep within her bones. "I don't understand-" Will mumbled to himself but she tuned him out. He kept going on about there being no reason for the bruising or the pain, but at this point, she no longer cared. Her skin felt tight like it was pulled taut against her sharp bones. She felt constricted, tied down with no room to move and no room to breathe.
Warm hands settled on her shoulders. "Stay where you are, I'll get something for the pain. Try not to move too much." His sandals squeaked against the floor as Will raced out of the room, the door slamming shut behind him.
The room was silent again, nothing but Freya's ragged breathing filled the room. She tipped her head back, amber eyes gazed up at the white ceiling as she tried to steady her heavy breathing. An all too familiar ache rippled up her spine and across her shoulders, the pain was so familiar that it almost felt comforting in this strange place, almost. Closing her eyes, Freya took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Pain flared along her spine and her muscles rippled, contracting and releasing as a pressure grew beneath the surface of her skin until it exploded, the pain immediately lessened and the presser dissolved. Freya felt as though she could finally breathe but with that came the aching need to get up and do something.
From the corner of her eyes she glanced towards the still closed door and with one fluid motion, she jumped off the bed. Despite the warm sun filtering in through the window, the floorboards were still cold beneath her bare feet. She adjusted the sides of the hospital like gown, allowing her new appendages room to move. Feathers ruffled. The tips of her fingers traced the delicate lines of think bones and soft feathers. It's been months since she's left them out, let herself be fully free.
The door suddenly flew open with a bang. Freya jumped, not expecting the sound. Her wings extended to their full length, catching the light. She was faced with three wide-eyed and shocked teens. Will stood at the front of the small crowd, his mouth was wide open and he was in the midst of pulling on a pair of latex gloves. Behind him was a small brown haired girl, her features were similar to Will's but there were noticeable differences, like her eyes which were as dark as coffee beans and she had a darkness to her skin that could never be achieved by the sun alone. She too was dressed in a pair of green scrubs but unlike Will, she wore a pair of white sneakers. However, Freya's eyes were instantly drawn to the other occupant in the room. He was taller than the others with close-cropped blonde hair and stormy blue eyes. He held himself in a way that demanded respect and attention. There was no mistaking him, he was definitely ad undeniably the person who has stuck so closely to her side these few days.
"Uh," Will mumbled. His eyes were fixated to the point just beside her head where her wings fluttered under their intense gaze.
"What?" Freya finally snapped. She wasn't accustomed to being stared at or even noticed for that matter. "Honestly, close your mouth before you start catching fly's you moron." Will's jaw snapped shut with an audible 'click'. Another beat of silence passed between them. Their wide-eyed stares were beginning to grate on her last nerve. The girl was the first to snap to attention. She smacked Will's arm none too gently and not so subtlety indicated towards Freya with her head. Her long braid fell over her shoulder but she made no move to push it back. "Right," Will cleared his throat awkwardly. It was like a switch ticked over in his mind, turning him back to the overly friendly medic. Will quickly slipped his gloves on and gestured for Freya to take a seat on the bed. Gingerly she lowered herself onto the edge of the bed, her back as straight as a rode.
Freya diverted her gaze to the small window as the two medics ducked behind her large black wings. From the corner of her eye, she caught the blue and purple hues flicking across the thick feathers but paid them little attention. The first time they appeared she was nine years old, all she really remembers of that night is the blood and the pain, agonizing pain, there are no words that can describe that sort of pain. The next morning Freya remembers picking herself up from the ground. Her clothes were torn to shreds and she was completely covered in blood, her blood. All she remembers after that is running and then darkness. It's not a time she likes to think about, ever.
A pair of cold hands upon the crevice of her back and wings caused Freya to jolt. "Sorry." Will's mop of blonde hair popped out from beneath one of her wings. His bright smile still in place. "All the bruising is gone, there doesn't seem to be any noticeable damage to your…wings," he hesitated but his smile didn't waver in the slightest.
"So I can leave?"
"Don't be such an eager beaver. I want to keep you here till tomorrow morning for observation. Doctors orders." Freya opened her mouth to retort, she didn't see the need to stay any longer than need be. However, Will cut her off before she could get out a single world. "Olive, before you clock off could you duck down to the dining pavilion for me and grab some breakfast for Freya?"
"Yea, course." The young girl had a deep Spanish accent- which Freya was extremely jealous of, having moved to America 10 years ago her own accent from her home of Croatia has long since vanished.
"Now," Will said as he seated himself back into the chair he had been occupying before. "Why didn't you tell me about this before?"
"because I don't know you and I certainly don't trust you." She replied curtly.
"I understand that believe me, I don't know me and I don't know you but I'm your doctor and as your doctor I need to know these things, I can't help you if I don't know what's going on and you keeping these big secrets like this could be detrimental to your health. If you aren't honest with me from this point on Freya, I'm not sure I can consciously let you leave without being one hundred percent sure that you won't collapse and die as soon as you step foot outside this camp."
"You have no choice in the matter anymore." With a flutter of her wings, they shrunk back into her skin, leaving behind nothing but an old scar running down either side of her pale back. "Once the sun has risen I will be leaving this pathetic camp, regardless of if I spill my entire life's story to you, which I will not be doing."
"What is your problem?" the blonde from earlier stormed closer, his face was set in a deep scowl, his eyes ablaze with fury. He situated himself beside the wide-eyed medic. "Ever since you got here, everyone has been nothing but kind to you and all I've heard you say is how much you hate this camp and everyone in it. Like you said before, you don't know us and we don't know you. You can't judge someone based-"
"You want to talk about judgment?" she roared. Freya has had enough of these demigods and being scolded like some child. "How about the judgment you lot have inflicted upon those of us from the Underworld," if he wants to complain about this then Freya will gladly open his eyes to all the horrid stories she has heard of this place. "My best friend has told me all about this place and the rumors you lot spread, the whispered remarks about how we a freaks, monsters and wild animals, how we mean nothing more than a piece of shit that has been smeared on the bottom of your shoe. I have heard all about how those of us from Hades domain are looked down upon, how you glare as we pass, mock us and spread your filthy little lies. The only time you and the rest of the demigod population approach one of us is to ask for a favor and then you turn your backs on us and pretend as though we do not exist.
I have heard far too many stories about you lot and you need to make those of us who are different feel like we are worthless. So, Mr tall and blonde I do not need to get to know you to figure out that you are all a bunch of assholes. My opinion of you was formed long ago when I was approached by a boy who was driven from this camp for the same reason that I do not wish to stay here, and the only reason you have not begun to treat me as you have him is because you are both too thick headed to figure out that I am Thanatos' daughter!"
The floorboards squeaked and groaned. Freya's head whipped towards the door, where the shadows were now the thickest, obscuring her vision of the small figure leaning against the door frame. "I heard there was an angel in the infirmary. I figured it was you." The corners of her lips curled up in a barely there smile.
"Nico."