I opened the letter first,
Dear Katie,
I hope that you find this and no one takes it before you get it, your very rare, a child of Demeter, I wish you could visit again, you know so much that I would love to know, I hope you enjoy this, it's rare, like you.
From, your friend,
Dannie
I smiled and looked at the package, it was smallish, it was wrapped in grass green silk, like her dress, I carefully took apart the silk and put it on my bedside, inside the wooden box were earings, they had grass green diamonds shaped like stars, small ones, it was a green diamond. I put them to my chest and thanked my friend, who's probably in the underworld. I grabbed the silk again and wrapped the earings in them, then put them in my dresser by my bed. I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror.
My eyebrows were perfect, they used to have sprouts of little hair in uneven places. My eyes looked like they were glowing, I had no bags under my eyes, and no zits or blackheads, I didn't have zits before but I did have blackheads, now they were gone. My lips were a pretty rosy pink, before they were pale. I had no makeup but it looked like I did, I looked at my arm where a ugly cut should've been but there wasn't one. I then took my shirt and plaid pants I had as pajamas and took off my overlayer of a dress, then I took the corset of and the under shirt and put on my pajamas, it felt so much better to have something looser on. I went back to my bed and fell asleep.
"Katie!" I was embraced and that's what woke me up, my eyes came open and I was under my covers so they didn't see my face, just my body.
"Huh?" I said, whoever hugged me laughed then pulled the covers down and kissed my forehead, Travis.
"Hey Travis" I said, my eyes coming open, he was staring at my face.
"Katie, not to sound mean but, what happened?!" he asked, his blue eyes looking over my face.
"I don't know, I went back in time and Aphrodite gave me a makeover, I think" I told him, it reminded me of what I had to do.
"Oh okay, well I'm going to go to the arena, she you later Katie" Travis said, then got off his knees and went to the arena, I got up and got ready for the day, I wore short shorts and a grass green long sleeved shirt, I put on a pair of black uggs that were at my ankles. I walked out, fresh from drying my hair and got breakfast I then got my throwing knives and went to the arena, I saw Travis fighting with Taylor from Dionysus, I grinned and took out my twin daggers. Luck came up to me and we started fighting, she had a shield and a sword. I disarmed her sword within a few minutes. She used her shield to protect her from all of my blows, I kept trying to get her but she was fast, when there was a opening, I took a throwing knife and threw it at the spot where her hand held the shield, it didn't hit her hand, but sent her shield scattering across the arena, I ran towards her and kicked her in the knee socket and held her wrists to the ground, her strawberry blonde hair was all around her and her light brown eyes were staring at my face, I pointed one of my daggers at her neck. I realized the whole arena was quiet, I looked around and saw everyone was staring at us.
"Well, that's interesting" Luck said, she wasn't looking at me but at everyone else, I looked, I mean really looked. We were in a dome thing, made of vines. I know I didn't do this.
"DOWN ON YOUR KNEES!" a pretty woman said coming through, she had dark Auburn hair and pale skin, she had a rose in her hair, I looked close at the vines, they were rose vines. The woman snapped her fingers and everyone else was forced to bow down, some were screaming as the thorns dug down into their wrists and ankles. Luck about kicked ass when she heard Taylor scream. Travis's wrists were bleeding, he was staying still, knowing that if he moved, it would hurt more.
"Everyone! Don't struggle! It'll hurt more!" I yelled, I wanted to cut through the vines but she took my daggers and throwing knife, but I had more, in bracelet form. I felt myself being brought to the ground, I had sharp pains go into my stomach and ankles and wrist. But most important, it came onto my mouth, I felt the warm sticky blood come over me. Luck, being smart shot me a quick look that only I could get that said, I'll handle this.
"Katie!" Travis yelled as I closed my eyes concentrating on making the vines looser.
I felt the vines loosen a little, making it comfortable for me and made it still look like I was passed out.
"Now… Since I have you under control… You! Tell me everyones names and godly parents!" she said.
"That's Travis son of Apollo, Taylor son of Hermes, Katie daughter of Aphrodite, I'm Luck daughter of Nemesis, odd choice of a name I know, my dad's real messed up, Rain, Hecates's daughter, Lou from Dionysus, explains the creepy purple eyes-" Luck said.
"Hey!" I heard Lou's voice say.
"-Melanie, daughter of Hypnos, tells you why she's sleeping, Jake, Ares son, Teddy, son of Tyche, buttload of ginger in there, Hailey, Nike's daughter, don't mess with her too much, she may be small but she is fierce! Oh! And lastly Alice, Athena's daughter, she's one of the only few without grey eyes." Luck finished, she got them all wrong.
"Oh, well, Katie is very smart for a child of Aphrodite… GET UP, LITTLE SLUT!" the woman yelled. I opened my eyes and got up, at least tried, the vines were cutting into to me, I tried to scream but the blood in my mouth made me cough and scream. I leaned my head over and spit out the blood in my mouth. More replaced it, slowly anyway. The lady cleared the vine dome and came over to me with a sharp knife, she cut my cheek then cut me loose.
"I'd like to see what you got, when I win, you will die, it's live or die" she said and took out a sword, only a sword, she didn't give me anything, she charged me, her sword at her side, I simply stood there and then when she got at a good angle, I took a throwing knife and threw it at her stomach, it hit her and she fell back, I took another knife and went over to where her body was, I was covered in blood and I took her sword and kicked it out of her grasp. I bent down to her and took the knife out of her gut and returned it to bracelet form. I looked the woman in the eye.
"What's your name?" I whispered to her, making sure no one else heard our conversation.
"Harina, daughter of Hebe, she never got respect, then when I wasn't old enough she did, I was born with the gift of plants" she told me, slowly dying.
"I'm Katie, daughter of Demeter, I have powers with plants also" I turned her head and made a rose grow next to us. She smiled.
"Good, oh, yes please tell Liam, that he had an older sister, that I do love him, bring me to him my body, my ghost will follow, I'll make myself, I love him, make sure to tell him that" she said and her body lost all tension and her ghost lifted out of her body, she stood next to me. I walked over to Alice, and cut the vines, you could see her bones and she was passed out, I cut the vines on everyone else and after so lost so much energy I passed out with my head on Travis's chest.
"Katie?" a soft voice asked. I woke up and saw the beautiful ghost of Harina floating near me.
"Harina, should we go to Liam?" I asked. She nodded and we got up I walked out of the room and went to the Hebe cabin. It was night I saw outside some of the cabins, two rings until Christmas. It was the day before Christmas eve!
"Harina? How did you stay up here to talk to Liam?" I asked her.
"I made a deal with Hades, I gave up my power of plants, so I could stay up here forever, your powers come with you to the afterlife, but I can go to the underworld and up here whenever I want, mostly because Demeter was visiting and she made Hades do it." I nodded.
"Well, this is the Hebe cabin, I'll knock, I guess…" I knocked on the door and Liam answered, he stared at me and his ghostly sister.
"Harina?" he asked. Then shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "Your- you're a ghost! What happened?" Harina looked down ashamed.
"I got angry, I hurt people with my gift and once I Katie here killed me, I befriended her and since I gave up my gift to Hades so I could go here and back, not many people get that, I can also give it as a gift" she told him. He looked at me.
"You killed my sister?!" he let his hands go to my neck and I was being pushed against a wall.
"Liam! Stop!" Harina was screaming. He did nothing. I felt my lungs burning. I couldn't stand a few more minutes. I started to have red spots and black spots. I was making unattractive noises out of my mouth.
"PUT HER DOWN LIAM!" Harina was screaming and trying to stop him but her hands went right through him. A bolt came and knocked Liam down. I fell to the ground gasping for breath. I coughed and some blood came out of my mouth, I continued to cough up blood while I turned to my ghost friend. She was at my side. The person who tackled Liam came back to me. Her dirty blonde hair was everywhere. Her electric eyes filled with worry. Liam talked her from behind and once she got a good hold on him, she pushed his pressure point until he fell asleep. Mara came over to me and picked me up. I coughed blood all over her shirt, she didn't seem to care about it.
"Katie, we're going to Travis okay?" she said. She carried me bridal style over to the Hermes cabin with Harina next to us. I wasn't coughing up as much blood but still doing it. My stomach was hurting. Travis opened the door.
"What happened!?" he screamed as my bloody face. I smiled sadly up at him. Mara gave me to him. Her face had my blood all over it. Her shirt was soaking wet with blood. I felt light headed and I coughed hard one last time on Travis before I fell asleep from being so tired. The last thing I saw was Travis looking down at me with a frown, his face had some of my blood on it.
"Travis… Harina… Mara?" I asked. Blood was still on my face, I could feel it, it was cold and sticky now. My eyes opened and I was in Travis's arms still. "How long was I out?" my weak voice managed. Mara looked over at me.
"Half an hour" She responded. Liam was next to her. My eyes went wide and I hid in Travis's chest.
"Liam, your scaring her" Mara slapped his arm and he backed away muttering sorry. In my head I was like, 'SORRY?! YOU ALMOST KILLED ME!.' I got out of Travis's arms and went to Liam and punched him in the face. Harina was next to me. Liam fell down and had a shocked expression.
"You almost killed me!" I screamed at him. "Mara was the only thing that stopped you! She tackled you and even Harina couldn't stop you! Bastard…" I said and then kicked him. I walked back to my cabin, angry and fell onto my bed asleep.
I opened my eyes and took a shower and all that then got dressed in a Christmas kind of outfit. I got my white northface and a green shirt that was a quote from the movie elf that said, 'SANTA'S COMING! SANTA'S COMING! I KNOW HIM! I KNOW HIM!'. Then put on red skinny jeans and black combat boots. It's Christmas eve! I love Christmas eve!
"Hey Katie?" I heard Brynn yell. I came over to her.
"When are we exchanging presents?" she asked.
"Tonight when it's 12, so I guess tomorrow" I told her, she nodded. I went and got breakfast and had a boring day really. When it was 11pm I got my present for Mara and went to the tree. I saw Travis and went over to him. We started talking when Piper came grinning over to us.
"Mistletoe!" she yelled at us and I looked up there was mistletoe above us. I laughed and went on my toes to kiss my boyfriend. It wasn't a peck on the forehead but a kiss on the lips, our first one since we started dating. I heard girls screaming in the background. Probably Aphrodite girls.
"FINALLY!" I laughed at them after me and Travis separated. I handed Mara her present when it was time and she opened it to a lightning bolt necklace that had sparks coming off of it. It was gold. I went back to Travis and we celebrated our first Christmas. And what a crazy one at that.
