Chapter 2:

ATALANTA

Nico could never forget that day no matter how he tried. He would cry every night before he slept thinking of ways how he could prevent his sister Bianca from dying. He out of all people was forced to understand and appreciate the rules of the dead, being the son of the god of the underworld, Hades. It was harsh knowing he could never bring her back, but deep down inside, he knew that it was what Bianca would have wanted him to do.

He was running away from camp with his eyes full of tears. His heart felt like it would collapse on itself. Percy had promised that he would protect his sister. How could he do this? He had been getting nightmares of his sister's death. He had a feeling that something bad was going to happen. He should have gone himself but what could he have done? Still, he could have tried had Percy not stopped him. Percy was the cause of her death, the same guy that they both had trusted so much. How could he live with that fact? He ran through the trees trying not to fall. Then something one foot bigger stood in the dark obstructing his way. The shadow seemed human and radiated a peaceful aura. He started screaming," I won't go back. You can't make me. I hate that camp."

A voice said," I won't make you go back. I don't want to go there myself. I just wanted to know why when I cry, I see someone else crying."

Nico sniffled," Why were you crying?" He looked closer after wiping away his tears. It was a girl with dark curls bouncing below her ponytail. Her eyes were still a bit red. She said," I am Atalanta, daughter of Apollo. One of my friends betrayed me and tried to get me to join Kronos, the Titan lord of time. Once Kronos rises, he is going to destroy Olympus and all the gods. I mean, yeah..I hate my dad sometimes, but not enough to kill him. What about you? Who is your dad or mom or whatever..?"

Nico studied her face carefully. She looked like someone who could be trusted. It just looked like she had been through a lot. He said," My friend betrayed me too. He let my sister die even though he promised. He..he.." Nico burst into tears. Atalanta walked closer to him and protectively wrapped her arms around him, trying to console him," You lost your sister…Oh, that is so sad. I am so sorry." Her gesture reminded him of Bianca so much that he burst into tears again. She held him for a few more minutes until he sort of cooled down. He continued," I have a feeling that my dad is Hades but I haven't got any sign yet. Bianca was the only one left in my family and now she is gone too."

She said," It's alright. You can think of me as family. You can trust me. I will never let you down unlike some friends."

Later they were sitting under a tree with Happy Meals in their hands and all over their faces. Nico spoke up," I think Apollo is cool. I mean being god of prophecies, the sun and medicine. He is so powerful."

"Yeah, but I haven't inherited any of his powers. I am horrible at shooting arrows and I never remember any spells and ancient prayers."

"Hey, I think they will understand your prayers no matter how you say them."

"Did you get any response to yours?"

Nico looked doubtful," No" His face looked sad with a tinge of anger, his eyes full of remorse and his voice shaky and soft. Atalanta looked at him for a while and figured it wise to change the topic soon. She doubted it was already too late though as his eyes were gaining a bit of determination. She knew he had fixed his mind on something that he probably wasn't supposed to do but she couldn't blame him. Demigods have it in their destiny to suffer a lot. She thought of Nico, so young, so tender, and now all alone with only her for company. She admitted she wasn't the best person for the job; after all, it took so long for her to understand Nico. No wonder she wasn't the daughter of Athena.

"Do you know the story of the original Atalanta?"

Nico shook his head. She continued," Atalanta was a princess, also the daughter of Apollo. She loved running and could run real fast. Everyone used to say she was as fast as light itself. She was given the nickname 'Apollo's pride'. She decided she would only marry the guy who could defeat her in a running race. Everyone who tried lost to her. Then there was this guy, I forget his name…Hippo-something, okay? He was a very clever guy and he knew he needed a few tricks up his sleeve to win. He prayed to some goddess, you see, different versions of the story have different goddesses, some say he prayed to the goddess of luck, some say he prayed to Athena, goddess of wisdom. " Nico shook his head," Can't these people pass on a story without altering it?" Atalanta shrugged and went on," I personally think it is Athena, because I think she is his mother. Anyhow, he was given three golden apples which he threw at Atalanta during the race.."

Nico interrupted with a burst of laughter," Ha ha…He threw it at her. Why? Did he want to hit her on the head? Ha ha ha…" Atalanta was confused for sometime, but joined him with an even bigger jolt of laughter that filled whoever could hear it with joy. Nico clutched his sides, tossed his head back and started laughing with renewed energy forgetting all his worries for the time-being. She corrected," No, I mean he threw it on her side of the road, not at her." As Nico slowly stopped giggling, she said," Atalanta would then stop to admire them which gave the guy some considerable time to win. She got married to him eventually and they lived happily ever after."

Nico said," You're really funny."

Atalanta made a face like as if Nico defeated her in a bet they had placed," What I was trying to say is that the name Atalanta was supposed to mean Apollo's pride. Me? I can't do anything related to him."

Nico patted her on the back," Hey, I think you are just like him. Medicine stands for care and protection. The sun stands for warmth and light. Prophecies stand for… warnings? Apollo in that way stand for the protection and guidance for the people you care for. I think that suits you a lot. You sort of remind me of my sister, Bianca. Always trying to protect me and I couldn't do the same for her."

Atalanta looked up at him. It was still a bit difficult to talk about Bianca, but Nico was getting used to it. There was always a bit of her that wanted to believe him but there was a bigger bit that was scared of trusting anyone. She could only fix her mind on one thing- Nico is a nice person. She said," How old are you, Nico?"

"I think around 11 years old. I am not really sure."

"Well, I am 12"

Nico was about to say something when Atalanta looked around scared and confused," Nico, climb up a tree, run away, just leave now. I sense something bad coming this way. GO NOW" She shook his shoulders and pushed him deeper into the forest in a way that he didn't really like but it had to be done. She had to save him. She ran in the opposite direction screaming," HEY, I'm here. Follow me. Fight me. I am here." Three dark shadows passed through the tree that Nico hid behind. His voice was unheard with Atalanta screaming like insane. The sound was slowly decreasing until Nico could hear no more. His eyes were wide with fear. He could run after them but something told him that he could never find them. He walked slowly and cautiously through the path Atalanta showed him.