Chapter 7 Paths and Prophecies.
At this point, I thought that nothing would surprise me anymore.
As I listened to Percy and Annabeth interrogate Chiron and Perseus, I realized that it was like a jigsaw piece to a gigantic puzzle. A lot of things fitted into place, like why Uncle knew about Camp Half-blood, why the monsters never attacked me; Uncle must have been protecting me from them.
"What about Mom? Because she was a daughter of Hecate. Isn't it, I don't know, dangerous to have a kid with Poseidon." I questioned Chiron.
"Well, its never happened before. Normally, when a demigod is born, they are fifty percent mortal and fifty percent immortal. Perseus is one of the few who have immortal blood from both sides, Zeus being his father and great grandfather" he replied.
"As you know, the gods can be very difficult to handle when it comes to their offspring."
That I had learned from Annabeth.
"Rae, I know you have many questions but we should continue this tomorrow."
"Wait! What about the dream that I had and this mark?! Who is this Mistress?" I rushed, jerking my hand.
"Rae-" Chiron continued.
"Chiron, please! I need know about my Uncle and Aunt! I don't have anybody else in this world. I need to know If they're still alive!"
"They are alive! As of where they are right now, I do not know. We should continue this tomorrow."
When I opened my mouth to try to convince him, Chiron cut me off.
"The hour is ominous. It is not safe for us to speak of her at these dark times."
"The Oracle of Delphi will be arriving tomorrow, what questions you have will be answered tomorrow. I fear that for you, tomorrow will come too soon. Go rest. All of you." He finished.
"Seems like tomorrow's gonna be fun."
Annabeth tugged at my elbow. Chiron was done talking. There was no use of questioning anymore. I didn't realize I was being pulled out until we got outside.
There was a peculiar chill in the air despite being a summer night. The camp was quiet. Everybody had gone to sleep except for the ever burning bonfire. I looked around to see Percy and Nico had followed us out.
Annabeth still had a hand on my shoulder as if to comfort me. I wanted to cry so much. The lump in my throat was as thick as a rock. I don't want to be a blubbery mess.
"I'm going on ahead. Good night, guys." What I wanted to come out as a smooth and even voice, came out as mix between a choke and a croak. I began to swiftly walk towards Cabin Two, if I don't get there fast, I might just breakdown in front of them.
"Wait, Rae!" I heard Percy say but that time I had already broken out in a run. I reached the Cabin and slammed the door shut. I proceeded to climb into my bunk. I didn't bother to change into the pajamas Annabeth had been kind enough to give me.
I was never able to cry before. I don't remember the last time I actually cried. Dry sobs would rack my body but the tears never came. So that's what I did. I sobbed quietly.
I just wanted to wake up. I didn't want to believe this anymore. What could I do?! That crazy monster had my Uncle and Aunt! As hostage?! What does she want with them?!
"They're dead."
No, no, no. They're not dead! They're still alive.
"They're probably being tortured."
Oh god. No, please, no. The thought itself was so scary that it took me all my will power not to wail when I heard the door open.
The door opened and I fell silent.
I heard someone step in and close the door. The floorboards creak with each step. After taking a small peek through a hole in my blanket, I saw that it was Percy.
He scratched his head and then walked towards my bed.
He flopped unto the edge of the bed. He ran his hands through his hair and sighed deeply.
For more than a few minutes, he didn't say a word.
"On the day I came here for the first time, my mom was taken by a Minotaur." He quietly stated.
I shifted slightly to look at him through the hole. He stared at the ceiling.
"We were supposed to be on a short vacation at a beach near here. The Minotaur got her just as we got to the camp."
I lifted the corner of the old weathered blanket and looked up at him.
"What did you do?" I asked him.
He turned to look at me with a startled expression.
"I went to get her back. Just like your case, there was evil dude behind all of it."
"An evil dude?" I questioned incredulously.
"See the one who took my Mom was Hades but the real person behind it was Kronos; A Titan of Time."
Percy paused for a moment, as if reminiscing an old memory and then continued.
"Long story short, Me, Annabeth and Grover went on a mission to get my mom back. Kronos didn't stop at that. He wanted to destroy Olympus."
I looked at Percy, expecting him to finish. When he didn't, I spoke up "You got him to stop, right?"
"Yep but not alone. Every step of the the war, I was never alone. I know a lot things don't make sense and you might feel like everything's trying to kill you. The life of a demigod is the toughest and a lot of people don't really make it through the year." Percy instantly stopped when he realized what he had just said.
"Look, I'm not the best at comforting someone. Heck, I'm the worst. But I guess what I'm trying to say is, you're not alone in this. Whatever it is that's got your Uncle and Aunt is not gonna stand the full force of this camp and not to mention you've got the makings of a warrior, magician, demigod type person."
I chuckled softly but then the reality of the situation was still imminent.
"How can you be so sure, Percy? I keep thinking this is a nightmare and now, I feel like I'll never wake up."
He hesitated for a second and replied quickly "I wasn't always so sure. When I woke up at the Big House after my mom got taken, I felt like I had to go get my mom on my own because there was no one at camp who would help me. But I was wrong. Annabeth and Grover were there for me. Even though Grover got scared at the smallest of things, he still came along with me."
He gazed down at me with a determined look. "No matter what happens, you'll always have someone to help you out. You won't ever be alone. You'll get through this, just you remember that." He said after ruffling my already messy hair
His determination made a lump grow in my throat and I ducked my face under the blanket
I croaked out a soft "Okay.", to which Percy gave a cheer then stated that it was time to sleep and shuffled off to his bed on the other side.
I closed my eyes to try and get some sleep. Just as my mind slowed down and I felt myself slip into slumber "Ah Sleep. As a demigod, it really does come with a price, you know?"
What? For a second, my mind tried to grasp at the voice but by then I had already started to slipping into unconsciousness and I closed my eyes
I opened eyes again, feeling weightless and I saw that there was a peculiar darkness surrounding me. I suddenly felt my feet collide with something solid and I tripped over.
As I regained my balance, I noticed that I'd landed on the side of a mountain. Even though there was a hazy mist over the mountain, I could still make out a large stone structure at the base of the mountain. I don't know how long I stood there with the wind gently breezing and whispering through my hair. As the mist dissipated away, the structure took the shape of a fortress with black spiraling towers rising from its corner. There was a long winding road leading from the gates of the giant castle to some far off distance that I couldn't make it out.
As the wind settled quietly, signaling the appearance of a cloaked figure in the distance. The person walked slowly towards the fortress and bought with them a strange stillness in the air. As he (or she) drew nearer the building, he paused for a moment, looked up towards the mountain and then continued on until they reached the gates.
With a thunderous groan, the gates swung inwards and out came a woman who welcomed the cloaked person by hugging her.
She stepped back as the person walked inside. After waving goodbye, the lady started to walk down the same path but as she walked down the path, the wind picked up and the sun started to rise, bringing a flock of birds flying out of nowhere. They circled the lady a few times before rushing up the side of the mountain. Before I knew it, they were all over me, screeching and flapping their wings.
With a loud cry, I jerked myself awake. What the heck was that?! What was that dream supposed to mean?! After I took a gulp of air, I saw Percy standing a meter away with his arm covering like he had just jumped away from an explosion.
When he saw I was awake, he let his hands down in relief.
"I thought you would punch me in the face." Percy said with a slightly wary smile.
"Lucky you didn't wake me up or I would've knocked you straight out." I grumbled, running a hand through my bird nest hair.
"Whoa, somebody is so definitely not a morning person." Percy laughed, turning towards the door.
"Oh, trust me. This is one of my more pleasant moods." I got up and shook my clothes, grabbed some more clothes that Annabeth lent me and then followed Percy out the door.
There were a lot of reasons why I wasn't a morning person, one of them being my constant crazy dreams. I always had wacky dreams and there wasn't a time I could remember that I had a full night's sleep.
I went out expecting the camp to be bustling with activity but it was still too early in the morning for breakfast. I saw some demigods doing early morning training and jogging about.
Since Percy had got the flag in Capture the Flag, we got first shower time and that meant getting up early in the morning and also meant getting the most time. After a long needed shower and a change into a gray full-sleeved shirt under the signature orange T' and some jeans, I followed Percy to the Big House while chatting about last night's competition. On the way, I saw Nico leave the creepy black cabin and he headed straight towards us with his hands jammed in his pockets.
Percy waved at him with a goofy grin. Death Breath didn't return it but as he came closer, he turned to give me a sidelong glare as if he was angry that I was still around. Friendly guy, isn't he?
And I, being the ever friendly person, returned the glare, to which he rolled his eyes and turned away. A part of me wanted to strangle his scrawny neck but instead I stuffed my hands in my pocket and took to glaring daggers at his back.
Percy must've noticed the tension because he spoke up with a "Nice morning, isn't it?"
I inwardly cringed at Percy's attempt at small talk. Even Nico deadpanned at him.
"Okay, yeah. That was bad." He laughed.
When we reached the Big House, I saw Chiron talking to what looked like a curtain of white mist. Annabeth was sitting at the stairs of the porch with heavy frown on her face. When she saw us coming closer, she got up.
"Hey, Chiron's a bit busy but he told me to take you to Rachel." She said.
"Rachel? I thought we were going to meet the Oracle of Delphi?" I asked, still trying to see who Chiron was talking to.
"She is the Oracle. If you wanna go out of the camp, you have to receive a prophecy from her and lucky you, seems like she's been getting dreams about a new one. That's why she flew in this morning." Annabeth cleared while walking away from the Big House. With a look from Annabeth, Percy and Nico stayed behind.
She took me behind the Big House and up a small hill near the forest.
"Rachel is an Oracle of the camp. She gets possessed by the Oracle of Delphi who was blessed by Apollo with visions and prophecies of the future." Annabeth explained along the way.
"Where does she stay?" I asked, trudging up the hill. She pointed to the top of the hill.
On top of the hill was what looked like a large rock cave. The entrance of the cave was decorated with these old 80's bead curtains and some loud music was echoing through the cave.
Annabeth drew the curtains away and nodded me to go inside and then followed me in. The interior was unexpectedly modern, with a beige carpet and matching sofas and even a sound system playing what sounded like dubstep version of Beethoven. There were canvas aisles with splashes of paint which were scattered around the room and a black coffee table with a lot of junk on top of it. Each of the paintings were done in rather dark shades and had green as the accent.
From the inside of the cave behind another curtain, I saw a girl wearing an ACDC shirt and red hair emerge. She smiled at us but it didn't reach her eyes. She seemed tired and had bags under her eyes.
"Hi, you must be Rae. I've been having a lot of dreams about you." She said but after a second, she responded quickly
"I mean, not weird dreams. Just like prophetic dreams with you in it. Ugh, that was awkward." She finished with a face palm.
Annabeth laughed and patted her on the shoulder. "I'll leave you with Rae."
I stared at Rachel. She seemed pretty normal, a bit weird but not fortune teller hippy weird. I wondered how she would tell me my prophecy, a magical crystal ball?
"Rae, I have to send the Cabin Leaders to the Big House, so I'll see you soon" Annabeth waved a goodbye and left.
And so I was left with the not so mystical mystic.
"So, Percy's sister, huh? You kinda look like him. I mean, you give the same vibe!" She said hurriedly, after taking a can of soda from the small fridge. She offered me one but I politely refused.
"I guess its Child of Poseidon thing, huh?" Rachel flopped on to the sofa.
"I guess. So uh, the prophecy?" I stood in front of her.
"Oh yeah, it should come any minute. It kinda just takes over my body and it spills the beans, or in this case the prophecy. Especially now, that you're here but it'll take some time." She explained with a pop from her soda can.
Great, another waste of time.
"Look, I don't really have time. My Uncle and Aunt are in danger! They've been taken hostage by some Mistress! I have to go save them!" I snapped even though I didn't really mean to.
"I know you're in a hurry, but it's gonna ta-" Before she could finish her sentence, she started to convulse and her eyes went bright green. Her soda can fell from her hand and on to the sofa, staining it a deep purple color.
"Rachel?! Hey, you okay?!" I ran up to her and grabbed her before she slumped of the sofa.
I tried to get her to snap out of it by shaking her shoulders, when she suddenly sat straighter and screeched loudly as if she was in pain.
"Hey, snap out of it!" I shook her again.
Rachel gasped loudly as if she was suddenly above water and then said in a raspy voice, that sounded like sandpaper over sandpaper.
"YOU SHALL GO WEST, TO THE THIRD GRACE!
THE WAIL OF THE TIGER LOTUS, SOOTHED BY THE TWIN STAR'S MELODY!
WITH HELP, YOU SHALL FORGE A PATH THROUGH SHADOW'S SPACE!
CURSED AND INNOCENT, YOU SHALL SAVE THE ONE YOU LOVE DESPERATELY!"
With a violent shake, Rachel stopped immediately but she was still convulsing.
Her mouth kept opening and closing, silently mouthing something.
"What?! What are you trying to say?!"
Suddenly, the color in her eyes changed to a smoky grey shade. She quietened, sat still for a few seconds with the smoke in her eyes swirling and dissipating and then began to speak again. But this time she spoke in an ancient and weathered voice. The voice came quietly but there was a dreadful tone to it.
"The curse shall prevail,
Doom will come.
The quest shall fail,
And you will succumb."
With a final long gasp, Rachel broke out of her trance. She panted hard and sweated.
I stood frozen for a seconds, stunned by what had just happened. My mind was racing, the words that she had just spoken were spinning around in my brain. Fail? Succumb? Did that mean-
"Ugh..." Rachel groaned, interrupting my thoughts.
"Rachel?! You okay?" I realized that she was still in pain.
"I don't know what happened. One minute, it felt like a normal prophecy and then suddenly, something else takes over me. Something old. Did I say something wierd then?" She questioned me while massaging her forehead.
"You-"
Before I could finish, a small whisper came into my mind.
"Don't tell her. It's your prophecy. Just stay quiet."
I blinked. What was that? No, who was that?
"Rae?"
"Uh... You just sat there, like a rock. I got the prophecy, all mumbo jumbo, but after that, you got so stiff, I got scared something bad happened." I explained to her. I don't know what compelled me to hide the truth from her but I couldn't tell her, especially the last part. The last bit was unnerving.
Rachel stared at me for a while. I squirmed slightly under her gaze. What if she didn't believe me?
But before she could actually say anything, Percy came in through the cave entrance. He looked anxiously between me and Rachel, as if expected one of us to explode.
"Is it over? You guys okay?" He worriedly inquired.
"Yup, We're fine! In fact, Rachel just finished!" I exclaimed, trying not too sound hasty.
"Great!" Percy let out a smile in relief. "In that case, we need to get back to the Big House before breakfast starts."
"Let's go then! See you later then, Rachel!" I said, a bit too brightly. Rachel responded with a simple smile and a small wave.
"Uh, Rae?" She stopped me as I was leaving through the entrance.
"You know, the prophecies don't always mean the exact same thing. Don't take it too literally, okay?"
I stared at her for a second.
"You're going to fail. You're going to die trying to save your Uncle and Aunt."
"Sure. I'll keep that in mind."
Like hell I'm gonna believe in some prophecy bullshit.
I ran outside to catch up to Percy, who was waiting.
"So, how'd it go?" He began to walk down to the Big House
"It went great! She freaked me out with the whole possession thing but it went alright." I grimaced inwardly. I wasn't great at acting, especially when it came to lying.
But Percy didn't seem to notice. He laughed out loudly.
"You've got it good. In my time, the Oracle was just a corpse being possessed. Real creepy." He said as he led the way to the Big House.
"Well, you'd know all about it, won't you? Maybe I should start calling you Old Man Percy." I replied, sarcastically.
"Oh my dear Rae, what a pleasure it has been to meet you." He retorted in a wheezy voice, and then bent over with a hand on his back and imitated a hat raise
When I mock curtsied in reply, he laughed and threw out an elbow to nudge me in the ribs which I returned in kind.
As we approached the back of the Big House, I saw Annabeth and Nico standing on the porch, watching us as we approached. Annabeth had a smile on her face and Nico seemed to take a sudden interest in staring at his shoes.
"So Rae, I hope you remember the lines of the prophecy cuz You're gonna have to repeat in front of the Cabin Leaders and Chiron." Annabeth asked, rather cheerily. She led us through the backdoor of the house.
This time, instead of going to the drawing room we went to the meeting room. The meeting room had a ping pong table and chairs surrounding it. There was little décor in the room, making it look bland. The occupants of the room seemed more interesting.
I recognized Jake among the people who were sitting, when he saw me, he gave a tense smile. The rest either nodded at me or ignored me completely. They called a greeting to Percy which he returned. He walked to the table and sat down. I sat down in an empty chair beside Percy.
The room was quiet, as if they were waiting for something. I fidgeted in my seat and then jumped when the door swung open.
Chiron and Annabeth walked with Nico in tow. Chiron sat at the head of the table while Annabeth across from us and Nico beside me. He sat while earnestly avoiding my eyes, which was good. No more glare fests.
"Rae." Chiron called
I started slightly at his voice.
"Yes!" I straightened my back.
"Recite the prophecy please." He solemnly requested.
"All of it." He said after a meaningful pause.
I took a deep breath and repeated the prophecy. I couldn't seem get the words out of my head. I went through the verses in my head. Something about the second line bugged me.
At the end of the final verse, my voice faltered. They waited, expecting me to continue. I took a deep breath, and said "That was about it." I couldn't bring myself to say the last stanza. I had a feeling it would receive a negative response, and they would make me waste even more time.
There was a contemplative silence around the table.
"The Third Grace could be one of the Kharites." Said a girl who had brown hair with flowers and leaves stuck in them. She leaned onto the table and I noticed that she had dirt on her hands. Odd.
Chiron nodded wisely. "That would be Pasithea, wife of Hypnos. An attendant of Aphrodite. She could help you locate your Uncle and Aunt." He spoke, scratching his bushy beard.
"But what about this Tiger Lotus? It's not mentioned in any Greek Mythology."
The campers silently nodded. Annabeth looked like she was scanning every memory she had to find a reference.
Tiger Lotus? Wait, it couldn't be-
"Rae?" Do you have any idea who they are?" Chiron asked me, it was like he could read my mind.
"Umm, I may have an idea. They're, uh, a community of people who live in New York City, they call themselves the Tiger Lotus. At least that's what they used to call themselves. I know their leader. But they're not related to anything Greek." I hesitantly put out. Calling them a community was a bit far. There was a time when I lived in NY but it wasn't the best of times. Let's just say, I ran away when I was a kid and joined a gang. Not the brightest of ideas but I have fond memories of the Tiger Lotus. They weren't all that bad, seeing that they took in an orphaned kid and kept me safe from the outside world, all the while making sure i wasn't involved in their gang fights.
"Whatever the prophecy said is said for a reason. You will go to New York." Chiron calmly accepted my explanation.
"But Chiron, what about the twin star's melody?" Annabeth questioned Chiron while resting her chin on a closed fist.
"The only twin stars that exist in Greek Mythology are the Pollux and Castor brothers and they're dead." She continued.
"That's true but it could also be more of an astrological thing, like someone who was born under those stars." Said a girl on the other end of the table. She was drumming her fingers on the table, while she did so, small glowing particles floated in to the air from her fingertips.
"Do we know someone like that?" Percy asked, leaning back on the chair until he was balancing it on two legs.
"Nora and Daniel Simmons." Called a guy in the corner of the table. He had the look of a surfer dude, blond hair, blue eyes and tanned skin to boot.
"They were born under the twin stars, I had them check. My bet is that they'll do the whole twin star's melody shebang. They're pretty good at music too." The people around the table murmured in agreement.
"That's solves one problem, but what about the Shadow's path?" said the boy sitting two seats across from me, sitting beside him was a guy who looked exactly like him.
"Twins probably." I mused in my head.
Just then Annabeth glanced at Nico, who seemed to understand her look and sighed
"I think I can help there." came his quiet voice. That was surprising, I didn't think he would volunteer himself. But how could he help?
"Of course. You will go with Rae on her quest." Chiron said, and then proceeded like he knew exactly how he would help. And yet again, no one deemed it important to part with the information. I'll have to interrogate Mister Skullface later.
"I think Rae should leave for New York after breakfast. I will have Argus arrange a car that will take you there. Will, inform Nora and Daniel to get their things ready and meet at the tree immediately after breakfast." He clapped his hands after he finished.
At that, the Cabin Leaders stood up and left through the door. Jack patted me on the shoulder and said "Good luck."
Was giving out quest always this easy? It must happen very often.
Chiron stopped just as I was to leave with Percy.
"Rae, a word please?"
When I looked at Percy, he nodded and said "I'll see you at the table."
Chiron then proceeded to lead me to the room I was in last night. He bade me to sit down.
"Rae, I must be honest with you. What you will face out there is beyond your capabilities." He started to speak with solemn tone.
My face crunched in confusion.
"Chiron, I have to get them ba-" I argued.
"And I'm not stopping you." He cut in.
"But there is something you should know about your mother and your uncle."
"Oh this is gonna be good." said a voice in my head.
"From the time they spent in Camp Halfblood, they were well known warriors, both cunning and strong. While your uncle favored the sword over magic, your mother was an outstanding sorceress." He spoke as if telling a story.
"They often fought many monsters, and would go out hunting for them. Over time, their names became well known, both inside and outside Camp Halfblood." A glint of pride flashed through Chiron's eyes but then he sighed, as if he remembered something sad.
"The greatest flaw that any hero carries is hubris. It was inevitable that Teresa and Brian reached to the point that they believed that they could bring even gods to their knees. They didn't challenge the gods themselves but they called out the Fates for their absoluteness."
The Fates? What would they achieve from defeating them?
"But why? Why would they do that?" I voiced my thoughts out to Chiron.
"They did this believing that by defeating the very beings that controlled their destiny, they would make their own. You must understand the weight of their error; it doomed them both to a terrible fate. Fate should never be tampered with and that is for a reason. The deities are old, almost as old time itself."
"What happened to them?" Some part of me didn't want to know. I didn't like where this was going.
"The Fate's curse was simple but devastating. They showed one the other's death and how it would happened. Both of their deaths were changed to a more untimely demise."
I raised an eyebrow. That didn't seem so bad. Chiron saw this and just saddened even more as if it pained him to say even more than that.
"Your mother and uncle loved each other very deeply, more than you can even imagine. The curse threw them completely off balance, either of them not being able to bear the other's death."
"They gave up fighting after that and tried to live normally. I believe that's when your mother had you. They lead free and simple lives outside, happy and satisfied." He smiled kindly, letting off some strange grandfatherly vibes.
"It wasn't happy for long, not after Mom died." Remembering when Uncle went into depression after she died and disappeared, leaving me alone in New York. That was time I used to consider him a jerk and hate him. Now, I don't blame him.
"Rae." Chiron caught my drifting attention as I reminisced the past.
"Your Mother, after seeing her brother's death had become more observant of her faults but your Uncle..." He paused to gather his words.
"He did not take it nicely. He become obsessed in saving your Mother. Somehow, anyhow, he was willing to do everything to save her. He turned to the only power source which was able to the break the curse. But alas while trying to break her curse, your uncle only lead her to her death." He resignedly said.
"Wait, you're telling me that my mother didn't die in a car crash? That's impossible! I saw the accident, I saw the car run in to her!" Vividly remembering the scene, as if it was burned into my mind. The screech of the brakes, the scream in my mother's voice as she pushed me out of the way and the way her body flew over the pavement. Nightmares still rung through my head on cold lost nights when I couldn't sleep.
Chiron stayed silent, giving me a pointed look. Suddenly, I remembered something Annabeth had taught me.'
"Mist is a powerful magic that can make people see things that never even happened. Its mostly used by the Gods to keep their existence a secret."
"No. No no no. Y- you can't be serious?! It was just an illusion?!" When Chiron nodded in response, my heart fell into the pit of my stomach. My mind spun in a thousand directions, memories flashed through my head at lightning speed. Things had happened, things that hadn't. My mother's dying voice echoed through mind "I love you, my sweet selkie. Never forget that." Was it just an illusion? Uncle was so depressed, he didn't even talk to me about it and just disappeared, leaving me at a crazy old grandma's house. How couldn't it be real?!
My thought process stuttered as violent images flashed through my mind. Dark and ominous colors swirling at an incredible speed accompanied by the echoing screams.
"Rae, you are remembering the actual details too fast. You must take time or you will be lost in them. Remember, you have a quest to complete. You have lives to save" Chiron's voice broke through the static in my mind. With a shaky breath, I shook my head. He was right, I couldn't allow myself to dwelve in the past, not until I save Uncle Brian and Aunt Kelly.
I got up from the seat, and turned rigidly towards Chiron.
"Then I can't waste anymore time. I have to save them." I steeled myself. If I was doing this, then there was no room for hesitance.
" Be careful on your journey, child. The Fates will not favor you as long as you are the child of the cursed. Their curse may have transcended to you."
"And one more thing." He called as I made my way to the door.
"Do not anger this Mistress. If she is who I think she is, well, I can only pray that I am wrong. If she is who think she is, she has come to collect her favor from your Uncle."
"Who is she?" My voice came out in a small subdued voice, as if I didn't want to know the answer. A favor from my Uncle? Chiron couldn't mean the same person my Uncle turned to in order to save my Mom.
The old mentor looked at me and held his tongue, a well of jumbled emotions mixing in his eyes.
"Chiron, who is she?" I asked again, this time I wanted the answer.
Suddenly, as if a wind had blown through the closed window, I could feel a presence. This terribly old presence that breathed down on my neck, sending goosebumps down my spine. I felt this before, somewhere before. Chiron took a deep breath, his eyes shut as if he felt it too. Even as I opened to ask again, the air felt so thick, my voice got stuck in my throat.
"Chaos." The voice answered, a mere whisper in my ear.
I felt my breath get caught in my throat. I could feel a buzzing energy in the air. The terrible pain that I felt when I was unconscious echoed through my body.
A singular voice whispered in my head. A voice that horridly sounded like my mother.
"Welcome back, my sweet selkie."
You?! Who are you?!
"Someone who is easily bored. Besides, haven't I already answered that question?"
My mind stuttered in response when I found the voice responding. No! It couldn't be her?! But how-
Before I could think any further, Chiron made a sign with his hand like a claw and pushed it away from his heart, all the while muttering in prayer. The presence dissipated in an instant and after a while (and another sigh), Chiron spoke again.
"It is not my place to say her name. I cannot but I will tell you this, you cannot even hope to defeat her. She does not need a reason to do anything. From the very beginning, she slumbers and dreams up her world, only awakening to sate her boredom. She is imprisoned deep beneath Tarturus, so she will not be able to directly intervene but she will have her supporters. who are few. It is not impossible to save Brian and his wife. You can succeed, Rae." He said while placing his hand on my shoulders in an encouraging gesture.
I took a deep breath and nodded firmly.
"Now go, quickly. Have your breakfast. I will get everything ready for you and the rest and then I will meet you at the entrance of the camp." With that, he leaded me out the door.
I slowly walked towards the dining pavilion. All the tables were empty except for the Poseidon table which was occupied by Percy, Annabeth and Nico.
What was I going to say Nico? That I was taking him on suicidal quest to save my aunt and uncle from a maniac deity who attacked people for the kicks? I know he tried to kill me but I didn't want be responsible for his death. What about Nora and Daniel? The gods must think this is a joke, putting a pair of fraternal twins with me to save my Uncle.
Percy noticed me walking towards the table and waved.
"So, what did Chiron want to talk about?" He asked as I slid into the seat beside him. I hesitated slightly and then said "Nothing, just something about my mom and my Uncle. They were pretty famous back in their days at Camp Halfblood."
I tried diverting the topic but it didn't seem right to me. I didn't like lying to them, and they'd probably guess that I'm hiding something.
"And he said that my mom and Uncle were cursed." When the words left my mouth, I could almost feel the questions rising in them.
"I think I heard about your mom and her brother. A long time ago, one of the seniors used to tell me about a pair of twins who got too arrogant and got cursed by gods." Annabeth said, her grey eyes analyzing me as if she was trying glean information from me just by looking.
"Not by the gods but by the fates. They messed with something they shouldn't have and had to pay for it." I couldn't help but let the bitterness in me slip out. Why did they have to be so bloody cocky?! If they had any common sense, none of this would've ever happen. And maybe Mom wouldn't have had to die when she did.
"Rae, what does the prophecy have to do with this?" Percy spoke up, concerning written all over his face like it was paper.
"The person who took my Uncle may have a hand in my Mom's death." I wasn't looking at them but I could hear a small but quick intake of air. It wasn't the fact that I gave this disturbing bit of information. What made me anxious, was that I would be leading innocent people to person that could defy even the fates. Just by thinking, she could cause them inexplicable pain.
"Rae..." I heard Annabeth coo my name. I looked at all three of them. both Annabeth and Percy had a look of sympathy and concern. When my eyes fell upon Nico, he was staring back at me. Even though he had the same guarded look he used whenever he glared at me, it seemed to me that it wasn't as intense as it used to be. Great, even Death Breath pitied me.
Suddenly, a moment of wildness passed through me and I burst out saying "Look, it doesn't matter now. This person, this Mistress? She's really dangerous. She's crazy, like total wack, yeah? Chiron wasn't even ready to say her name. I don't think anyone else should come with me." I ended with a heavy sigh, running my hand through my hair.
"Hades no! Like hell you're going alone." Percy sharply replied, anger rolling through his eyes like waves.
"The quest can only be completed with other people, Rae. You know that." Annabeth gently put out, her logic was undeniable. But I still couldn't endanger people.
"But Annabeth, its too dangerous!" I tried sounding convincing, and not whiny like a little brat.
"But its not your decision, is it?" Nico quietly declared, his tone conveying mild annoyance.
When I looked towards him, he leaned back and continued "I mean, this is our choice whether we want to come or not. And how do you think you can survive out there? You can't even use your sword, much less hold it right."
Anger whipped through me like a hot knife "That didn't stop me from beating your ass last night." I spat. At that his glare returned to full power. I could almost see the murderous intent in his eyes. He opened his mouth to answer my unspoken challenge, but Percy beat him to it.
"What Nico meant to say was that these attacks that have happened maybe related to the kidnapping." Percy hastily declared, trying to ease the rising tension.
I didn't know about Percy, I'm 100% percent sure that wasn't what Nico meant to say. But Nico was, grudgingly, right. So was Percy. Seems like I would have no say on this topic. I sighed again and finished eating my breakfast (Hash browns and a plate of pancakes drenched in blueberry sauce). Percy and Annabeth continued to converse quietly while I ate. When I was almost done, A thought occurred to me and I rose from the bench. After muttering a small excuse to Percy and Annabeth, I headed towards the bonfire.
The fire was calm compared to last night where the bonfire was blazing a flashy purple color. This time it was just a normal orange colour. When I reached the fire, I tipped the contents of my plate into the fire and thought.
"Hey Poseidon. Uh, I'm not sure if you're even listening. Does this thing have like an answer machine? Uh, anyway, so you're my Dad, right? Percy told you care about me, well if you do, can you tell me that yourself?" Anger accumulated inside of me and I started to blabber out all the things I wanted to ask him.
"Can you at least show yourself to me? Can you tell me why you never bothered to show up at Mom's funeral? Can you tell me why you left Mom alone like that?" I could feel a lump rising in my throat and immediately swallowed. I don't want to end up bawling my eyes out.
"Look, I know you're a busy man. I know you're from a different world entirely and that you shouldn't mess with normal folk but here I am, I'm a part of your world now. The least you could do is welcome me. I have that right as your daughter." My voice come out sharply.
"I'm sorry if I sound whiny but due to the recent events, you'll have to put up with it." I ended there, I didn't know what else to say. I silently waited. I don't know what I was waiting for. Maybe, hoping for Poseidon to just burst into view. But it didn't happen.
I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned and saw Percy behind me. He looked solemnly at me as if he knew exactly what had happened.
"Its time to go."
I nodded slowly and started to walk with him away from the fire.
Just as I reached a meter away from the fire, a breeze gently drifted towards me, making the ever burning fire flicker. It brought a salty smell of the sea and wild flowers. It must have reached Percy nose too because he smiled a melancholic smile and turned to ruffle my hair. With that we continued to to walk towards the entrance of the Camp.
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! I FINISHED IT! Lovely. But honestly, it took a longer time than it should've. I mean, since I've devoted myself to Fanfic, i should atleast stick to it.
But honestly kinks in the story, like one example.
Rae is actually 14 years old. I didn't want her age coinciding with Percy's
She is younger than Percy (obviously. -_-) Percy treats her like a little sister if hadn't established yet, so no this is not a Percy slash OC.
But I was thinking of making it longer but I didn't feel like it so whatevah.
And Rae and Nico don't get along at all. Like ready to beat each other up. But I'm hoping to develop their relationship from mortal enemies to rival friends. (Not friendly rivals cuz their nowhere near being friendly to each other.) Friends cuz I doubt you can stay acquaintances after going through a quest together.
Nora and Daniel! What a coinky- dink?! A pair of fraternal twins going to save Brian who had a twin sister.
Anyways, I'll stop talking before I give too much away.
Expect the next chapter in less than a month (Hopefully)
