Chapter 3 -– Have I met you before?
Apollo was humming a lively tune. He just toured around the home of country music- his new interest and heard this striking melody. First it was soft and then will rest for two beats. Then it will continue after a half rest and then will stop again. But at the third time, it will continue gradually from p (piano) to f (forte) as it gets louder and louder. And then, it'll be on decrescendo (descending from loud to soft) again. And then, it'll be in crescendo. The cycle went on and on and the ending was the god's favorite part. At the final part, the tune will be in forte and the last two notes will be on ritardando. Such a lively tune indeed!
He went inside his cheery room filled with happy and vibrant colors - most of them were gold complimenting his golden hair locks. The clear glassy windows were floor to ceiling, catching most of the sun rays shining on Mount Olympus. A fine day, indeed!
He laid himself at his comfortable king-sized bed and rested his manly and muscular hands behind his head. Then, he suddenly yearned to play his ever favorite golden lyre made by his half brother, Hermes. He still remembered everything - how much both of them owed each other. No wonder they decided to be best friends.
Feeling the smooth texture of his oak bedside table, his hand searched for the form of his lyre. But then, he realized it was missing. He shot upright and looked at the bedside table. It wasn't there! Oh the horror! He frantically searched for his beloved lyre. Where did he put it? Where could it be? And then, a possibility sank in his mind. Of course! If it was gone and missing, there was only one reason he could think of.
Someone stole his lyre. And they were going to pay for it.
Caoimhe woke up in an instant. Her surroundings were very vague and blurry she couldn't identify where she was. Suddenly, her eyes finally adjusted with the sudden brightness and saw that she was in the infirmary. She sat up and instantly felt nausea.
She could still remember the dream she had. It was about Apollo losing his lyre. It was Caoimhe's first time to see her favorite sun god mad. And she didn't like it. It was like she wanted to get up there, prepare to have a quest, find the lyre and safely return it.
After a few minutes, the dizziness passed away and Caoimhe saw she wasn't the only person in the infirmary. There were Sabina, Jason, Percy, Annabeth, Clarisse, Piper, Miranda Gardiner, Leo, Charlotte, and Pollux. The clinic was filled with concerned people.
Reality sank in. Everyone who was in this room was all struck by the lightning and she was the first one to wake up.
The daughter of Zeus couldn't take the pain in her chest. Hoping the pain will pass away, she went outside the infirmary, feeling the fresh air fill her lungs. Everything was silent and peaceful. Not until she heard many shouts, cheers and squeals. Curiosity took over her and she quickly went to the location of the big event.
There was a big mass of people. It was like, almost all of the campers were there, cheering- as if though they had seen Justin Bieber or One Direction. Caoimhe wanted to know what the commotion was, thus preparing herself. This was one of her specialties- barging in the crowd. She barged in the crowd earning some 'Heys!' but she didn't care. She was too curious to even do so.
Then finally, she reached the front and her eyes widened as wide as saucers and mouth in an 'O'. She couldn't believe it. The person in front of her was hotter than Justin Bieber himself and One Direction themselves. No wonder there was a big mass of people! Her favorite –and in love with- god was there, standing elegantly in front of her.
Caoimhe fainted because of the hotness.
:O
Apollo flashed charming smiles at everyone that surrounded him like an island surrounded by the ocean waters. He was already used to this kind of treatment. Whenever he went to camp and public places like malls, crowd always gathered around him like swarm of bees buzzing how gorgeous he looked. He would always run his hand through his halo of golden hair around his head and recite another haiku masterpiece, he himself wrote.
And now, here at this camp, was no exception. Thanks to this, he almost forgot about his stolen lyre. Well, almost.
"Apollo," someone said. He turned to the side and saw a messenger. He was no ordinary messenger though. He was Hermes, god of messengers, thieves, travellers, slyness, good fortune, luck, sports, speed, roads and business. "May I remind you again," he continued. "We're here at this camp for a specific reason-". Before he could continue, Apollo interrupted. "Did Dad make you remind me again?"
Hermes nodded. Sometimes - no, all the time, Apollo was thankful he wasn't the official messenger of Mt. Olympus. First, he needed to go and deliver mountain ranges of letters, messages, packages and many other things Hermes wouldn't tell him. Second, you only have a few hours break. Third, after delivering everything for the day, you need to escort the souls to the Underworld. But a tiring task it might be, there were also a few advantages. Only he can go in and out of the Underworld, Mt. Olympus and Earth. When Zeus forbids interacting with mortals, only he can go. Well, they were just three of the few advantages. No wonder Hermes got many children. But, Apollo was proud to say he still had the largest.
"Apollo!" Hermes warned. Zeus was looking at them, instructing them to do the specific reason they were there.
"Fine," Apollo said. He turned to the crowd. "See you later! I need to go and do something boring."
Sounds of protest echoed around but Apollo got no choice. When he was about to turn his heel and leave, he heard a gasp. He turned his back and just in time, caught a fainting girl. He realized it was Caoimhe Mercado, the daughter of Zeus. He grinned. Well, he was very pleased he had accomplished his mission in less than 5 minutes.
Charlotte bolted up. She couldn't believe the dream she just had. She could still remember Lady Themis. Her warnings, advices…
"Charlotte!" someone exclaimed and she felt someone hugging her. "I'm so worried about you! Thank the gods you're awake!" It was Momo.
Charlotte hugged back and couldn't help but to laugh.
Momo stopped and raised an eyebrow. "And why the Hades are you laughing? You nearly died!"
The daughter of Poseidon responded with rambunctious laughter. Every head went to the source of the laugh.
"The look on everyone's faces makes me laugh! Seriously, you looked like you have seen someone raise the dead!" Charlotte exclaimed.
"Ironically," someone spoke. "We already had seen one." It was Maria.
Charlotte stopped laughing and groaned. "Kill Joy," she muttered.
She turned her attention back to Momo. "Where's Will?"
Momo grinned as if she just heard something very pleasant. "He's at the archery."
The quite chubby girl muttered thanks before dashing out of the infirmary.
Will was practicing archery; it didn't mean that he was a son of Hermes, he wasn't good at it and that only Apollo's kids were. He notched another arrow, preparing for another strike at the bulls eye and was about to let go of the string when he heard rustles from the nearby bush. Someone must be stalking him. He strike another bulls eye and prepared for another. Then, instead of focusing it on the target, he directed it at the nearby bush and heard a familiar scream.
He immediately dropped the bow and arrow and checked if his friend was hurt. She was fine. Except for the fact she was glaring daggers at him.
"What was that for?" she asked angrily.
"I thought you're a stalker," Will reasoned simply. "But you're not."
"Thanks for murdering my favorite handkerchief," Charlotte snapped as she showed him a handkerchief with design of purple roses torn into pieces.
Will just laughed. "I'm sorry ok?"
"Fine." Charlotte sighed and stated, "But you're only half-forgiven."
"Come on!" Will kneeled in front of her. "Are you going to give me the other half if I'm going to show you something?"
Charlotte's dark brown eyes instantly sparked with curiosity and excitement. "If I find it interesting."
"I'm positive you will." Will promised as he grabbed Charlotte's hand which gave him jolts of electricity rushing in his body and led the way.
"Come on! We're almost near!" Will exclaimed in excitement.
Charlotte groaned but plunged deeper into the forest.
When Will led her the way since he was going to show her something, they went to a path going to the lake. Charlotte suppressed a laugh. "How did you know I love lakes?" Will just smiled. "A wise guess. Let's ride that canoe!"
They reached the canoe and Will slid it to the water after Charlotte climbed in.
"I didn't know there are two lakes in camp," Charlotte said as she looked around.
"I just found this accidentally while playing Capture the Flag. I don't know if other people know about this but it is larger than the lake we know." Will explained. It was true. Charlotte could hardly see the end of those waters! All she could see were faint figures of trees in the distance.
"Is there something I can do to help?" the girl asked.
Will thought for a while before saying, "Command the waters to push the canoe further."
Charlotte nodded and the canoe was pushed further into the water. She really love it being with this guy. Like all of her worries can go away when she was with him. Will always had that effect on her. Whenever she thought of him, she could always remember that time where she woke up for the first time in the hospital and saw his worried face. She would always remember him taking good care of her. And for that, she would always be grateful to him.
"You're strangely quiet. What are you thinking?"
Will's voice brought her back to the present. She realized she hadn't said much since they'd started, which was very unusual for the Charlotte everyone knew was a talkative and vivacious girl.
"Some things," Charlotte replied and judging by the grinning smile Will was giving her, she could tell he already knew that she was thinking about him.
"You were thinking about me!" Will joked.
"Oh, shut up!" She rolled her eyes. But in truth, she really was. Will chuckled before turning his attention back in rowing the canoe.
After that, it was silent.
Charlotte felt strangely satisfied that he'd torn her favorite handkerchief. Oh goodness. Was she falling in love? She shook her head. She was too young for that. A simple admiration as an inspiration was enough. Dear, this was the age where Annabeth kissed Percy! A girly voice said in her mind. Charlotte shook her head. Her mom wouldn't be glad if she was going to be in a relationship at this age! For once, the quite deep voice didn't say anything. She didn't know why but there was something inside her that missed it. Oh Hades. She was truly going crazy!
"Here we are," Will said as he guided the canoe towards some trees near the bank.
Charlotte looked around, not seeing anything. "Where is it?"
"Close your eyes," he whispered, and Charlotte did, bringing her hands to her face.
"Okay." he finally said after he'd stopped paddling. "You can open them now."
They sat in the middle of a small lake. She was surprised how invisible it had been just moments before.
"Look up," Will whispered with a smile. Charlotte did and gasped in amazement.
It was amazing. Geese were flying on the sky, probably migrating into somewhere safe for their kind. Thousands of them.
"Wow…" she breathed. It was truly amazing. It was her first time to see such wonderful things. "I wonder where they'll go."
"They're migrating to some place suitable for them," Will said. "Probably in Southeast Asia where the weather is tropical or maybe in some place that'll make them feel secured."
Charlotte just nodded, still staring at the sky without a care that she'll get neck cramps later. Finally, after a few minutes, the birds have left and they were alone on a small lake.
They sat in silence for a long while, the memory of the birds still replaying in their minds. After a few minutes, Charlotte spoke. "How did you know the birds will pass by at this time and place?"
Will just smiled. "Well, it was just a mere coincidence."
Charlotte just nodded and lied on the earthy ground by the lake. She inhaled fresh air and enjoyed the relaxing moment of the presence of the water, the earth, air and Will.
After a few more relaxing minutes, she inhaled deeply and turned her head to see Will staring at her. She then took his hand and squeezed it. "Thank you," she said softly. Will squeezed her hand back. "Anytime."
And Charlotte lied there still holding Will's hand as she closed her eyes to take a short nap.
Few hours later, the daughter of the sea woke up to find Will gone. Oh great. After that wonderful show of flying birds he'll just disappear? She stood up and after a momentarily focus, her eyesight was now clear. That was where she saw a note. It said, "Sorry but I've got to leave. Something happened in Hermes's cabin and Travis and Connor need help." Charlotte shook her head but she couldn't stop a smile from forming. Goodness, he always put others before his self.
Oh well, guess she needed to return to her cabin alone. She rode on the canoe and made the waters pushed it towards the deck enjoying the tranquillity and peace around.
She then got off the canoe and went to her cabin. On her way out of the forest, she heard someone singing. It could've only been a nymph alluring every passerby. She then continued but heard it again. She tried to ignore it but the music was enchanting. She concentrated and realized it was rock music. Ok, was there even a nymph in the world who sings rock music? No. Then, it could be just another demigod!
With determination to know to whom the beautiful voice belonged to, she followed the sound and saw Zeus's Fist. A black haired girl sat on it, her back was turned on Charlotte so she couldn't see her face. She was around 13 if she wasn't mistaken. There was a quiver of arrows strapped on her back and a bow sling over her shoulders.
She was tapping her hands on the rock and on her legs to make a rhythm or beat to match the song. Charlotte realized the song she was singing was "That's What You Get" by Paramore. She wondered why she was singing such an angsty song. She just shrugged and was about to turn away when her foot crunched on a stray thin twig.
After a millisecond, Charlotte felt an arrow flew past by, an inch from her face. Whoa, that was seriously almost accurate! Charlotte quickly hid behind a large tree, enough to hide her quite chubby body.
Arrows flew past by once again and Charlotte tried her best to calm down.
"Who's there?" she heard a voice said, powerful and commanding, almost like Zeus himself.
Maybe this was the time to show yourself, Charlotte. The girl thought and went out of her hiding place. She finally saw the black haired girl.
She looked Asian, with small narrow eyes under those glasses and almost white skin. She was also petite and Charlotte wished she was that thin.
"I'm sorry if I interrupted you," she said.
The Asian girl, realizing Charlotte wasn't a threat, put her bow and arrows back in their place and relaxed. "It's alright."
Charlotte then decided to introduce herself properly.
"Hello," she said. "I'm Charlotte Wilson, daughter of Poseidon. Nice to meet you." She extended her hand for a handshake.
The Asian girl shook her hand. "Name's Sabina Li, daughter of Zeus. Nice to meet you too."
Charlotte started the conversation. "Have you gone to a recording company? You are seriously good in singing."
"Not yet," Sabina said and smiled at the daughter of Poseidon to show her appreciation. "And thank you for the compliment."
"So…" Charlotte continued after moments of silence. "How long have you been in camp?"
"Started last year," she said while twirling an arrow. "How about you?"
"Just started yesterday," Charlotte said.
It happened too fast but Charlotte saw it. She saw Sabina's face turned to confusion when she said she started yesterday like she was in disbelief. But when she looked again, it was gone.
"Oh," Sabina said. "Well, I do hope you enjoy camp." She smiled at her once again.
"I did," Charlotte said. "This camp is cool."
Silence followed next.
"Anyway," Charlotte said, wishing to talk to Sabina further. She felt like this girl would be her best friend, and would stay by her side no matter what happens. "Have you seen the movie Rise of the Guardians?"
Sabina suppressed a laugh. "Of course I do! Oh. My. Zeus. It was so amazing."
"I completely agree!" Charlotte exclaimed. "Goodness, Jack Frost is so cute. His carefree attitude and good looks reminded me of someone I knew!"
"I know right?" Sabina said. "It's illegal to make an animated movie character that handsome!"
Charlotte laughed. She liked this girl more and more. "I'm so glad you liked that movie."
"Ditto," Sabina said with a smile.
"You know what, I'm in for an adventure right now." Charlotte said and grinned. "What do you think of going further into the forest and search for a lake?"
Sabina said with excitement surging inside her. "Sounds good! I'm in!"
"Now, that's what I call f-u-n!" Charlotte exclaimed happily as she sat on the ground.
"Exhausting but fun," Sabina agreed and sat beside her new friend.
The trip in the woods while killing monsters on the way towards the lake was full of excitement and adventure.
"Goodness, I didn't know you can summon many lightnings!" Charlotte praised Sabina.
"Well, I didn't know you can summon water out of nowhere!" Sabina praised back.
"Cool!" They both said and laughed.
"Ok," Sabina said after laughing. "Now, where's that lake you're talking about?"
Charlotte looked around. "It's got to be here somewhere. Come on, let's walk around."
After a few minutes of walking, they finally saw a lake. It wasn't the lake Charlotte was talking about, but it'll do.
"It's so peaceful in here," Sabina said admiring the lake. "And very beautiful."
"I know," Charlotte said, calmness washing over her. "If I'll ever own a house, I want to have my own personal lake, similar to this one."
They enjoyed the tranquility around before Sabina spoke.
"Will you ever believe me when I tell you that I have this feeling we'll be best friends forever?" Sabina asked turning to Charlotte.
Charlotte smiled. "What a coincidence! I also got that feeling when I first talked to you."
"That's great to hear," Sabina said as she smiled back.
And then, suddenly, someone pushed Charlotte to the lake.
"Ahh!" The girl screamed and fell into the water. There was a splash and after a few seconds, she swung herself back to the ground, completely dry. Thank goodness she was immune to the word 'wet'.
She glared at the one who pushed her and thought it was Will for the laugh sounded so familiar. Suddenly, her vision seemed to wander somewhere else.
She was on a paradise. At least, that was what the place looked like to her. There were purple rose bushes everywhere and a lake, similar to the lake where she was earlier with Sabina. She heard the laughter once again and followed it. Hiding behind the purple rose bushes and avoiding getting distracted by their wonderful smell, she watched the scene from afar.
She saw a girl with a flowing lavender dress, swinging herself back to ground after falling to the lake. But she was completely dry. "Jeez, H!" the girl exclaimed, obviously annoyed. "Do you really have to repeat the same trick over again?"
She was seriously beautiful. Her waist long black hair was in a long braid and her skin was something in between tan and fair. Her dark brown eyes were shining and she was slim, the body Charlotte dreamed to have.
She heard the laughter once again.
"I'm so sorry, Lot," the guy who must be H said. "But you have to admit, you always fall for that trick." And he laughed once again. Seriously, when will this guy ever stop laughing? But his laugh sounded musical to her ears. Charlotte shook her head and continued watching.
The guy was gorgeous too just like the girl. He was slim and fit, with fair skin, curly black hair and blue eyes always shining mischievously. He was wearing blue clothes.
Lot crossed her arms and glared daggers at H. The guy just laughed at her. She threw her arms up in the air in frustration and after a few seconds, just laughed alongside him.
H approached her and laced his fingers to hers. Lot smiled at him and the guy smiled back. And they went away, hand in hand.
Charlotte blinked and she was back to the present. Her head was feeling like it would explode but she forced herself to regain composure. She needed to deal with what was happening right now.
"Jeez, Will, what was that for?" She asked angrily and glared daggers at him when she realized it wasn't Will who was laughing and who just pushed her on the lake.
He was a guy around seventeen, with curly black hair, blue eyes and fair skin. For a moment, he almost looked like Will except for the curly hair and elfish-like ears.
The guy stopped laughing. "That is just hilarious," he said, still grinning. "Hello Sabina, half-sis." He turned to Sabina and gave her a grin.
Sabina grinned back at him. "Hey, half-bro!" Charlotte could tell they met somewhere before and were close to each other.
The girl just looked at the trees, admiring how the light of the sun shone its rays around the forest.
"BTW, half-bro," Sabina said. "I want to introduce you to my best friend." Snapping out of her thoughts, Charlotte looked at Sabina.
Turning to Charlotte, Sabina said. "Charlotte, this is Hermes, god of messengers, travellers and thieves. He's really cool and a great half-brother if you ask me."
Turning to Hermes, Sabina continued, "Hermes, this is Charlotte, a daughter of Poseidon. She's amazing and a great best friend."
Charlotte looked at Hermes more closely and his appearance changed. He was a man in late twenties, wearing nylon running shorts and a New York Marathon T-shirt. He got salt and pepper hair and blue eyes that twinkled like he was up to no good.
She blinked. But earlier, she saw a seventeen year old guy… Must be her imagination.
And then suddenly, her vision wandered off again.
Charlotte saw herself, walking on the streets of Manhattan late at night. She didn't have any idea why she was walking in Manhattan at such a time like this. She heard herself mutter about a strange name - something like Amos and cursing her curiosity, will and determination.
And then suddenly, she stopped at the sight of the sea. Realizing she got lost, she sighed and was about to walk away when she saw a guy.
In the distance, there was a man in late twentis with salt and pepper hair. He was jogging around the beach in nylon running shorts and a New York City Marathon T-shirt. He was slim, tall and fit. He had a cell phone on his ear and it looked like he was talking to someone.
Charlotte saw herself shrugged and walked away as if she hadn't seen anything.
She blinked once again and she was back to the present. Goodness… What was up with these all weird scenes inside her head?
Hermes's eyes widen at the sight of her and his grin grew bigger. "Hey, Charlotte!" he exclaimed with enthusiasm. "Nice to see you again. So, have you been taking good care of George and Martha? I really miss those two."
The daughter of the sea scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion. What was he talking about? And who were George and Martha? Why would she even take care of them?
Hermes continued, "Anyway, here are the 100 drachmas I promised." Getting a brown sack from his messenger bag (which was too small to hold the thing and must be enchanted), he gave it to Charlotte.
Why did he just give her 100 drachmas? And what was the promise he was saying?
Charlotte's mind started to spin. Please remember…
Goodness… Her head hurts! There was something she was missing that she couldn't put her finger to.
Finally, the pain subsided and Charlotte looked at Hermes.
"I'm sorry, Sir," Charlotte said. "But may I ask you a question?"
Hermes raised an eyebrow when Charlotte said 'Sir' but replied, "Sure."
Charlotte opened her mouth to say it but part of her was telling her she shouldn't say those words for she completely knew this man. How could she know him? She couldn't remember meeting him earlier than now... But there was this part of her who was saying they had met in the past. She got more confused and asked, "Have I met you before?"
He furrowed an eyebrow at her and laughed.
"Oh, come on. I didn't know you have the talent in telling jokes." He said, not taking Charlotte's question seriously. "You really are my love."
My love? Her confusion grew more if that was possible. There was really something wrong. Something she couldn't identify. She sighed, not knowing why the calmness she was feeling earlier disappeared.
"Look, Sir," Charlotte said as calmly as she could manage and saw his blue eyes widen. "I don't know who you are and I'm serious. Here's your sack of 100 drachmas. I don't think I can accept something I don't have any idea how I got it or why you gave it to me. And please, don't call me 'my love' for we're not close nor in a relationship and we've just met. Thank you, Sir Hermes."
Hermes's jaw dropped slightly but closed it instantly. Still eyes in shock, he said, "You've got to be kidding me."