Chapter 2
Explanations
Shocked silence spread through the room like a wildfire. Everyone's eyes swiveled to him, gauging his reaction. Reed let out a breath. Why, oh why did he have to be right all the freaking time? Swallowing down his fear, he tried to arrange his features into a confident smile. All that came was a grimace. Reed wished that he was alone, so he could quietly have a mental breakdown.
"Oh…er…a….quest?" he muttered slowly. He swallowed hard, tapping his fingers against the table. Everyone's eyes were on him, and he hated it. He didn't want their freaking pity. Most of them looked like they were already picking his coffin.
Chiron's eyes softened, the sadness deepening. "Yes, my boy. A quest to Rome, or, more accurately, what used to be Rome, to retrieve the Trojan Palladium. The prophecy—"
At this moment, the door burst open, cutting the old centaur off. A frazzled Rachel Elizabeth Dare scrambled in, panting, and plopped down in the chair next to Annabeth.
"Gods, sorry I'm late. There was this angry nymph and…" she ran a hand through her hair, a blush creeping up her freckled cheeks. "Er…It's a long story…Um, what'd I miss?"
"Ah," Chiron said, looking a tad relieved that he would not be the bearer of such bad news. "Rachel, you're just in time." He gestured to the campers situated around the table. "Would you please tell us your prophecy?" Rachel turned a ghostly white, and her mouth shrank into a thin line.
"With…with all of them here?" she whispered, her head tilted, her eyes a little horrified.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Chiron turned, addressing all the head councilors. "I think it would be best if you all left. The meeting will resume shortly." There was some grumbling, before all of them got up and filed out of the room, throwing him sad looks over their shoulders. He grit his teeth.
"The floor is all yours, Rachel." Chiron told her, spreading his arms.
"Oh…uh, yeah," she took a deep breath. "I'm warning you Reed…it doesn't bode well." Reed practically choked on her look of pity. "Here goes:
The broken traveler to the old of Rome
Far off the path, to the owl's home
A forgotten ghost joins the enemy's band
And all will be lost by thievery's hand"
Reed repeated the words over and over in his mind. Despite the horrible things the prophecy entailed, it was the first line that really stuck with him. The broken traveler. Of course they would think it was him. They were probably right of course, but it still stung.
"Well that's…depressing," he wasn't sure whether he said that out loud or not.
It took him a while to realize that Chiron had just said something, and that both of them were staring at him expectantly.
"I'm sorry, what?" he asked, shaking his head as if to clear it.
"I asked if you accept the quest." He repeated patiently. Reed worked his jaw, his mind running at a million miles an hour. He desperately wanted to just say no and be done with it, but he knew that wasn't an option. Ella always said that he could never resist a challenge. She had also told him that would be the end of him. Maybe she was right.
"I…" sweat trickled down his neck, mixing with sticky soda syrup. "I…I accept," he said slowly. Chiron smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes.
"Good," Chiron said. "You'll need to pick some companions. Given the wording of the prophecy, I would think one of them needs to be a child of Athena. Do you have anyone in mind?"
Reed thought for a moment, shuffling through the faces of people who knew. A slow smile crept across his face, one that no one would see again for quite some time.
"Yeah, I do actually,"
*.*.*.*.*
16 year old Quincy Phillips, preferably Quinn, was having a strangely good day. That was, of course, until her second, slightly less infuriating best friend, Micah Reed, barged through her cabin door, not even bothering to knock. Quinn had been curled up on her bed with her favorite book, enjoying what little free-time she was given today. When the door had suddenly burst open, she had instinctively thrown her book at the intruder. There was a loud thud and a pained grunt as the heavy hardback slammed into the offending person.
"Jesus Christ, Quinn!" the person gasped, and Quinn knew instantly who it was. Frankly, she felt little remorse. "Are you kidding me? Right in the gut! Sometimes, I hate your aim." Quinn just smirked in reply, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Reed stood in the doorway, looking freshly showered, rubbing his stomach gingerly and holding her book in his other hand.
"Any reason you barged into my cabin unannounced?" She drawled lazily, one eyebrow arched. All traces of humor vanished from his face, and his expression hardened. When it came to Reed that was never a good sign. Quinn sat forward, narrowing her eyes.
"Yes, actually," he said quietly, his mouth a flat line. Was it just the lighting, or did he look unusually pale?
"I…I was…um…" he stuttered. The corner of Quinn's twitched up. She couldn't help it.
"Spit it out," she told him. Reed swallowed, alternating wringing his hands and pulling at the holes in his doodle cover jeans.
"I was issued a quest," He told her. Her eyes widened almost comically. She stood from her seat.
"I'm sorry, what?" she sputtered, looking up at him. It infuriated her how short she was.
"I got a quest, to find some statue thingy for the camp," he said solemnly. Reed was never solemn. "And…" he trailed off, uncertain.
"And…" she prompted, gesturing with her hands.
"And, I want you to go on it with me,"
She blanched.
"You…want me…to go on a….quest, with you?" she asked slowly. He nodded. Quinn straightened, swallowing down her apprehension. She stood on her tippy toes and pulled her emergency bag off of a shelf, and began rushing around the room, throwing more things into it.
"Well, then," she said briskly, throwing another set of batteries in. "We better get packed, eh? When are we leaving?" It was Reed's turn to look stupid.
"That's…that's it? You're agreeing that easily?" he sputtered, looking completely dumbstruck. She arched an eyebrow.
"That's what you wanted, right? If you want me to fight with you about it, I'd certainly be happy to. Let me start by telling you you're a big…" she trailed off at the look on his face. She sighed exasperatedly, throwing her pack down on the bed. "Look, idiot. Believe it or not, I actually think of you as my friend. Shocking, isn't it? And thus, I'm going on this quest with you, to make sure you don't get yourself killed, if anything. That would be terribly inconvenient. Now, it appears I've been talking copious amounts, and you've been unnaturally serious, so we better get going before the world explodes. I suggest first thing tomorrow." Reed's mouth twitched into a hesitant half-smile, which was a start.
"Sounds good, Quinny," He said, and Quinn winced at the use of that ridiculous nickname. He turned to leave, and then stopped. He looked over his shoulder, his expression soft.
"Thanks," was all he said, before walking down the path, toward the Hephaestus cabin.
*.*.*.*.*
17 year old Trent Baker, just Trent, had a horrible headache. His eyes swam with all the equations and crap that he had to deal with today. He scrubbed a hand over his face. Tomorrow, he would start actually building the systems, which, as much as he loved that kind of stuff, he was seriously dreading. He sat on his bunk in his cabin, alone. The rest of his siblings were still at the bunker, just like they were every night. He had barely managed to slip away.
A soft knock on the door returned his from his musings.
"Come in," he called. The door creaked slowly opens, and Reed stepped into the room. He leaned lazily against the doorpost, his arms folded.
"Hey," he said. His eyes darted around the room, craning his neck to look through his blind spots, before turning back to Trent. "You alone, dude?"
Trent nodded, a little thrown by his friend's strange behavior.
"Good," Reed murmured, half to himself, and pushed off of the doorframe, elbowing the door closed behind him. "So…you remember that meeting I got called to?"
Trent nodded slowly, wondering where he was going with this. "Yeah…what about it?"
"I…" his eyes were bright with nerves, and his hands fiddled with the hem of his shirt absently. His shoulders sagged. "I got issued a quest. A very dangerous quest, actually, to find some stupid statue before the giants do."
Trent almost didn't process his words.
"You got called to a quest? Like, with a prophecy and everything?" he asked, his eyes wide, his headache forgotten. Reed winced.
"That's usually how it works," he muttered. There was yawning moment of silence. Trent tapped his fingers against his mattress.
"I obviously need two companions…and I already asked Quinn so…" he laughed without humor. "I guess you can figure out why I'm here."
He was right. Something in Trent's mind clicked. "You want me to go on this highly dangerous quest with you." It wasn't a question.
"Uh, yeah. So…?" he trailed off, searching his friend's face. He obviously thought Trent was going to refuse, or something.
"Okay," Trent said, resisting the urge to laugh at how relieved Reed seemed. He stood up and started throwing some stuff into a bag. "We're leaving first thing tomorrow, right?" He paused. "I don't suppose your going to share the prophecy with me, yet?" Reed bit his lip.
"Sorry, dude. Not yet. I'm afraid it you hear it, you're not gonna want to go on this quest," Trent folded his jacket and shoved it into his backpack.
"Well, that's reassuring," the green-eyed boy muttered under his breath.
"Yeah, well, that's life," he rubbed the back of his neck. "Thank, man. Really," he glanced at the door. "Sorry, but I gotta go. I need to talk to Remy…" Trent stopped packing.
"You haven't told her you're going on a death mission?" that I'm going on as well. He crossed the room to smack his slightly shorter friend lightly upside the head. "You idiot! Go! Now!"
Reed started out the door, then stopped. Trent could almost his smirk. Not good.
"Oh look…here come Marcie," he waved at the brown-haired girl, walking out towards the infirmary. Trent's eyes widened. Now he had to…
"Bonjour, Trent," she greeted, flashing a brilliant smile that made his heart flutter. "What was Reed doing here?" Trent's smile melted.
Oh, dear gods…
*.*.*.*.*
Reed padded down to the infirmary, hoping that Remy was still there. Sure enough, he spotted her leaning over a newer camper, who had recently broken her arm on the rock wall. When she saw him in the doorway, her face lit up.
"Ciao, Reed," She grinned at him, putting down a square of ambrosia she had let the camper nibble on. "Sarò subito da te. I'll be right with you." Reed gave a faint smile as he leaned against the wall. Remy finished wrapping the bandage around the girl's arm.
"There we go, all better," she smiled. "Now, be sure not to do much physical activity, and come back daily." She patted the girl's cheek affectionately. "All right,arrivederci." She waved as the girl jumped up and bounced out of the room, careful not to jar her arm.
"Let's hope she listens better than I do," He said, crossing the room to put his arms around Remy. She looped her arms around his neck, standing on her toes, looking up at him through her long dark lashes.
"Reed, everyone listens better than you," she murmured lightly, her lips almost brushing his.
"Ouch. That really wounds me, Remy," he drawled. She giggled and moved a little closer to him.
"Well, I apologize," she whispered, and then closed the distance between them. When they broke apart, Remy smiled, a smile Reed tried to return.
"So, are you here for me to check your shoulder?" she asked him. Reed let go of her.
"Uh, yeah." He lied, tapping his fingers against his legs. Remy drifted over to a comfy looking chair and patted the seat, gesturing for him to sit down. He did, peeling his shirt off to expose his banadaged shoudler. Her breath hitched slightly, and Reed smirked.
"You sure you didn't just wanted to see me shirtless?" he asked cheekily, momentairly forgetting why he was here in the first place. "If that was all you wanted, all you had to do was ask." Remy wacked his good shoulder lightly, laughing. Her fingers hovered over his skin, before moving toward the other shoulder. She began slowly peeling the banadage off, fliching every time Reed winced. Blood spattered the bright white cotton of the bandage, and Remy pursed her lips, looking concerned and reproachful at the same time.
"Looks like the wound has opened up some again," she sighed, getting a cloth to clean the blood from the gash. "Really, Reed, you should start listening to your doctor. You could really mess up your shoulder, even more so." Reed winced as the cloth touched his shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he muttered, twidling his thumbs. Remy sighed.
"I'm going to drip some nectar on it, tutto bene?" she took out a canteen from a cabinet, and dribbled a few drops into the wounds. He nearly finched every time a drop hit. Remy screwed the cap back on and turned to put the canteen away. It was then Reed mustered up enough courage to tell her,
"I'm going on a quest, Remy" he blurted, not beating around the bush. "That's...that's why they called me. To tell me." Remy fronze mid-step. The canteen dropped from her hand hitting the floor and spilling the godly liquid every where.
"A...quest?" she whispered, still not looking at him. "A quest? Dagli dei, Reed!" her voice rose, which hardly ever happens, and she whipped around. "Seifuori di testa?"
"No Remy, I'm not out of my mind!" he shouted. His temper rose, and he stood abruptly from his chair. "It's a quest, Remy! I'm perfectly capable of—"
"No you're not! Deibuoni, why won't you listen? You're injured Reed! You can barely even run right, or hold a sword!" Then her eyes widened, as if she was just realizing what she had said. "Oh, no...Reed, I'm so sorry—"
"No. You know what, I'm sorry," his voice was deadly calm, laced with controlled fury and hurt. "I'm sorry I'm so incompetent. But I'm going on this quest whether you like it or not, and if I'm killed, then so be it. But I'm going Remy, and there's nothing you can do about it." He slapped a bandage on his shoulder and tugged his shirt on. "Don't bother saying goodbye." And with that final barb, he stormed out of the infirmary.
"Reed! I'm sorry! Come back!" she sobbed from the doorway, her eyes streaming with tears.
He barely heard her.
YAY! Oooh...are Reed and Remy...-le gasp- breaking up? You'll have to read...
SIX AND A HALF PAGES! Wowza. Imma go to bed now...it's nearly midnight. Sorry for mistakes, my spell check had a mental breakdown DX. Go to google translate for translations...cause I'm too tired to list them...
With love.
TUC