It was nice while it lasted Skye thought as she woke up the next morning, covered in a cold sweat. Fresh images burned in her mind of the camp in ruins, it was a lot like the last dream she had with her friends dead and the evil bitch wreaking havoc. This time however it lasted longer and she was forced to listen to the Queens words as she stood frozen among the death.
"Ïs this really what you want Dear?" Cynthia asked. "Äll this mess" She said with disdain, kicking a fallen heroes weapon away as she walked aimlessly around.
Skye wanted to speak but her eyes kept flashing to the bodies littered around her. It wasn't exactly the same, she noticed, her friends were all dead again but in different ways. The sight of Carly and Emma lying a short distance away from James brought tears to her eyes, Emma's long blonde hair stained red, her eyes wide open with blood coating her face. She and Carly had similar wounds, big bloody holes on the sides of their heads.
For a second Skye heard the Crack and was suddenly watching it happen, a Beast lifted them both in its hands and held them wide apart while they stabbed at it. She new what was about to happen immediately but could do nothing to stop it the monster slammed its hands back together, the sound of the girls heads crashing against each other the only sound Skye could hear. Tears fell and she watched the monster drop their bodies on the ground and march off in search of its next victim.
"You can prevent this from happening"
Her eyes passed over Tracey, slain by a cyclops. Then James who had been shot down by a centaur, the arrows sticking from his lifeless chest bristling in the wind. She saw Percy in a similar position to last time, protecting Annabeth with his own body, surrounded by a ring of death.
"If you join me"
Join you? Skye thought in disgust. She whipped around to look at the Queen who stood near the porch of the big house, he monstrous pets by her side.
"Why would i ever Join, You?" Skye asked, anger evident in her voice.
"Well why not my Dear?" She replied, petting the beast on her left.
"WHY NOT?!" Skye yelled. "Whats wrong with you, look what you've done" Skye gestured to the scene around them.
"Oh i haven't done this yet" She sounded kind of innocent when she spoke, like this was nothing. "And i wont do it at all if..."
"If what, if i join you?" Skye asked "Why would you even want that, why me?"
"I have my reasons that you'll learn in due time" She replied turning her back to Skye so she may examine the beast on her left.
"No"
"No?" The queen asked, going still and straightening. "Look darling, i've given you more than one chance",
"NO!" Skye interrupted a little louder.
"This isn't something you want to happen, is it?" The Queen questioned "Would you like me, to kill your friends?"
"You wont" Skye Asked. "or you would of made a move already, you cant hurt them"
"Really?" Her voice went dark and the sky rumbled, the beasts shifted nervously. "Are you sure of that?"
Skye hesitated, "Just leave me alone" she said, throwing her hands out in frustration. She felt the familiar tug in her gut.
"I don't plan to hurt you" She replied almost sweetly though the clouds continued to darken "Not physically at least"
Skye felt uneasy as she watched the Skye "Ït's just a dream" she whispered to herself, She jumped when she heard the voice echo around her head
"How sure are you?"
Skye looked back down to see Cynthia standing in front of a familiar figure.
"Derek" She heard herself say in a half whisper. Stop, she thought, No. Its not real she repeated to herself as She watched him be lifted from the ground by his neck. Its not real. He groaned and her eyes shot up to his face, his Sapphire eyes staring at her helplessly as he tried to the hands from his throat and release the grip on his neck. Skye stumbled forward, its real, she's here.
"STOP!" Skye yelled "STOP IT!"
But the Queen ignored her and drew out a long black spear. Skye felt as if she were miles away as she moved forward to help Derek. She watched helplessly as the Queen turned to her.
"Think about it" She said raising the Spear "You have two days to decide"
"NO!" Skye yelled again, knowing what was about to happen, She tried to speed up to run faster. The Queen Smiled to her the swung around gracefully, plunging her spear into Derek's chest, Her heart stopped and she stumbled. She was suddenly only a few steps away close enough to see the light drain from his eyes, his bright sapphire tuning dull and lifeless. She screamed in rage and wave washed over her.
That's when she had woken, she sat there with her hands over her eyes, willing the images to go away. Her palms pressed against them as she mumbled. Moments later she heard a cry of pain from the distance, she was out the door in seconds, racing towards the sound. She Banged on the Door of the Apollo cabin as the cries died down.
"Will open the door!" She yelled, banging recklessly.
The door swung open to reveal a young girl with raven hair and a worried look.
"Where's Will?" Skye asked her in a rush. The girl pointed down the hall as another cry broke out.
She rushed down the hall and into the room where the cries echoed from. Will stood by the bed, his hands pressing a towel against a boys chest. Nico stood on the other side holding him down, one arm pushing against his forearm, the other on his shoulder. Skye moved forward to help,
"Will" She said stepping forward "What happene-" Her words caught in her throat when she saw Derek's familiar face, scrunched in pain.
"Hold him down" Will commanded sternly. Skye did as she was told, standing by Will as he moved his hands. The Raven haired girl came into the room, her arms ful of medical supplies. She handed them to Will and left the room again.
Skye watched as he removed the blood soaked towel to reveal the wound. A large slash ran across one side of his chest, deep and jagged. NO Skye thought in disbelief, her hand slipping from Derek's arm for a second.
"Skye grab him!" Will yelled, holding up a syringe and whispering something under his breath, like a prayer or a spell, she wasn't sure. He injected it in Derek's arm and his stiff posture loosened, his face relaxed and they let him go.
"What was that?" Skye asked, staring at Derek's now relaxed face.
"Anesthesia, it'll keep him out for a while while i stitch him up" Will answered, getting to work to clean the wound.
"What happened?" She asked, stepping closer to get a better look.
"Not sure, We were talking About plans for capture the flag and then he started yelling and this opened up" Will explained picking up a needle and thread.
"But how, i mean," Skye huffed, debating on what to tell them. Ï think i know she said quietly. Two pairs of eyes shot up to her questioningly, she spoke before they could ask.
"I had another dream and pissed the Queen off" She said, "She asked how sure i was that it was just a dream and then, Stabbed Derek through the chest with her spear" She crossed her arms over her chest self contentiously. The boys exchanged a look.
"Is he going to be okay?" Skye asked "He's not going to," She took a deep breath to calm the nerves that had taken over "He's not going to die, is he?"
"NO," Will and Nico Said together
"Its not that deep, just some stitches and ambrosia and he'll be fine." Will assured her.
"You should go tell the others about your dream" Nico told her, no longer holding Derek down but still standing nearby in case Will needed his help.
"NO!" She said more loudly than she intended "I mean, uh no its just the same as last time. Can i tell them later?" She asked, her eyes on Derek's still bleeding chest.
They seemed to have a silent conversation while she was distracted.
"Sure, do you want to give me a hand?" Will asked her. She nodded and moved closer.
"Uh, what can i...?"
"Just use those gauze to stop the bleeding on that side of the cut while i start to stitch it up." Will instructed her. Nico placed himself in the Chair on the other side of the bed and watched silently.
"Wakey wakey" She said as Derek's eyes cracked open. It had been a few hours since he'd been knocked out and Will had asked her to watch over him while he, with her permission, Went to fill the others in on the situation.
He reached up to rub his eyes but stopped short when the movement pulled at his stitches, he groaned in pain and Skye jumped up unconsciously.
"Whoa whoa, Don't move you idiot." She commanded him, swatting his hand away from his chest and checking for fresh blood. "You'll rip the friggen stitches."
"Stitches?" Derek Mumbled, the effects of the anesthesia making everything slightly foggy. "What happened?"
Skye hesitated "Oh, uh long story, Here" She held out a glass for him and he took it without question, drinking slowly. "Better?"
"Yeah" He responded as the fogginess cleared "Thanks princess" He gave her a smile and placed the half full glass on his bedside table. "Why are you in my room?" He asked glancing around.
Skye shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest nonchalantly, "babysitting" She smirked. Derek rolled his eyes and lied back, repeating his earlier question.
"No seriously, what happened." Again Skye shrugged, "The evil bitch did some sort of voodoo and sliced you up."
"The evil, You mean.." Skye nodded "But how, she cant get in the camp and why me and not someone more high target?"
Skye huffed and dropped into the couch. "I had a dream of her again and she was threatening the camp, Sorry." she added.
"Why are you sorry Princess, you didnt stab me," He paused and looked at her "Did you?"
"No but i pissed her off and that's why she stabbed you with her stupid spear"
"why me?"
"Oh, uh" she felt her cheeks darken and looked to the ground immediately. "You were the closest person to her" She lied.
Derek shrugged with difficulty and adjusted his position so that he was sitting up comfortable.
"How long was i out?" he questioned
"An hour or so. Will said you'll need bed rest for a couple days" Skye answered swinging her legs over the side of the couch
"A few days sounds like a bit much, i'll be fine by lunch time" he argued
"Really" she gave him a doubtful look "You'll be right as rain in what, three or four hours?"
Derek turned his head to get a look out the window, though the curtains were closed, sunshine still filled the room.
"What time is it?"
"About nine i think."
"how long have you been here?"
"I heard you yelling when i woke up this morning"
"And youve been here since then?"
"Yeah, well." She got defensive "Someone had to watch you"
Derek smirked at her "Thanks Princess"
Skye rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, "Whatever"
He chuckled and the room fell silent, Skye leaned back, staring at the ceiling. She replayed her dream over again, conflicted on what she should do.
Derek watched her. She was draped over his couch, arms no longer crossed, one rested on her stomach as the other pulled at the threads from a hole in her shorts. Her hair was a bit messy, hanging loosely over the armrest, her clothes looked slept in, Looses shorts and a old t-shirt that looked a few sizes too big. She looked troubled he noticed when he got looked at her face, her beautiful green eyes staring blankly at his roof.
"You okay?" He asked, interrupting her thoughts. Her head whipped round to him, eyes still clouded.
"Yeah, i was just thinking."
"About?"
She shrugged "Nightmare"
Derek nodded in understanding, "Have you had breakfast yet?"
"No im not hungry, did you want me to get you something?"
"No im okay the nectar filed me up" He smiled "You don't have to stay here" Derek told her.
"Yes i do" Skye replied "I'm your babysitter" she gave him a mocking smirk.
"Very funny" He chuckled "But seriously" Skye rolled her eyes and went back to staring at the ceiling.
"Hey Skye" Emma called, waving at her from the middle of a small group of people. "C'mere"
She smiled but shook her head and continued walking. There was a scuffle behind her as Emma jogged to catch up to her.
"Hey where have you been all day?" Emma asked, walking beside her at the same pace.
"Just helping in the Apollo cabin, Injured campers and all"
"Oh, how come?"
"Will asked me to, he had something to do and i felt sick this morning anyway."
"Oh, are you Okay?" Emma asked brushing her long blonde hair over her shoulder and stepping in front of Skye to examine her. Skye chuckled in response and waved her off.
"No, im fine. A little ambrosia and i was all good." Skye smiled and stepped around Emma to continue walking.
"Alright then where are you going cause we had something to show you" Skye stopped and turned around to look back at Emma who stood with a secretive smile staring at her.
"What is it?" Emma rolled her eyes and turned around, walking back the way they had just came. Skye looked over her shoulder hesitantly before following.
"Suppose you wont tell me?" Skye asked from a few steps behind Emma who shook her head. She walked confidently, hands clasped loosely behind her back. She wore a blue dress that ruffled at the bottom which reached about mid thigh. Skye new she wore shorts under everything anyway so she didn't have to worry about rouge winds blowing up her dresses and though she was often wearing different styles, she was more comfortable in a simple dress.
They waled into the Hermes cabin to find a group of campers huddled around Carly's bunk. At their entrance the beds owner popped up in the middle of the group.
"There you are!" She called "Everyone out!" Carly commanded, the campers groaned and complained but did as they were told shuffling past Skye and Emma who stood near the doorway.
When the group cleared Skye noticed Leo and James still sitting on Carly's bed.
"Hey" She greeted them "Whats going on"
"We have something for you" James grinned excitedly.
Skye stepped towards them hesitantly but Emma Huffed behind her and grabbed her arm to drag her to the group.
"Okay okay, im here what is is." She looked between them suspiciously "What have you done?"
"C'mon thats enough suspense, just give them to her" Emma said.
"Fine, here ya go." Leo Said grabbing something long off the bed, he held it out to her, A beautiful silver longbow. She felt her jaw fall open at its beauty and then she noticed the familiar design on the grip.
"Is this?" She stopped, words stuck in her throat.
"Your bow?" Leo asked "Essentially yes. Yours was damaged after your fight with the Drakon, string broken wood splintered and all that." He explained "Percy asked me to fix it up for you but ive only just had a chance to do it." He handed it to her. "I tried to keep as much as i could but there wasn't much i could use, this one's made from the same type of material that Artemis's hunters have but yours has bronze enlayed in it in case of emergencies."
Leo gestured to the design on the outside of the bow, the bronze looked like fire against the silver, specks of it created a beautifully subtle design.
"Its compact too," he continued excitedly, "Just press here and it folds into a hairpin for easy access" He clicked the spot he'd shown her and she watched as is folded in to a silver clip with a bronze fire, or a flower, she wasn't sure.
"Let me tell you, that took a lot of configuration to get it to work." He smiled proudly "The quiver and arrows are similar but im still working out bugs so i wouldnt go back and forth with sizes too much until its fixed" Leo fished a chain from his pocked, on the end dangled a Charm shaped like a silver quiver. He pressed it carefully and it expanded into a full size quiver with a design matching her new Bow. She admired it while he spoke.
"The arrows aren't unlimited but there are extras with interchangeable heads, i got inspired by hawk eyes quiver." He added
"Who?" Skye asked confused.
"Uh, nevermind." Leo said after a moment. He continued to explain the specifics of the weapons as Skye admired them. Her Daggers had been lost in the fight so leo replaced them with celestial bronze daggers and a belt with holsters to put them in.
Skye was Speechless. This was the most thoughtful and Kind thing anyone had ever done for her and frankly she was at a loss for words.
"Thank you" She said. "Really thank you this is just. The best gift I've ever gotten" She couldn't help her smile as Emma and Carly pulled her into a hug, it was sweet until Leo and James joined in, squishing her in the middle.
There were twenty minutes until dinner and Skye was sitting in her room cross legged with her new bow resting on her lap. She had been there for an hour, after thanking Leo and going with him and the triplets to the archery range. It was lighter than her old one but a perfectly crafted weapon, Leo had kept the grip from her old one which was basically just some old Leather her father had bought with random designs scratched into it over the years.
'Her adoptive father, she reminded herself, he flashed through her mind now as she ran her hand over the worn leather. She remembered him teaching her to use a bow while her mother cut up dinner and watched from the kitchen window. Skye blinked tears from her eyes at the happy memory then tried to put her mind back on track. She had told the others she was tired from helping in the Med bay and headed straight to her room where she had sat in the same position weighing her options.
'Go or stay. If she stayed she would need to tell Percy and the other Councillors the truth of her dream but then she would also be putting their lives in danger if The queen could hurt them or kill them from wherever she was. On the other hand if she left then she would be leaving the only place that had felt anything like a home in years. She would have to leave her friends and her brother. Plus she would have to give herself up to Cynthia."
It should be an easy choice, she thought, Leave. Save the rest from further danger and get as close as you can to Cynthia so that she can stab her through the chest. That's what she had to do, that's what she would do but still she was conflicted. Tramp joined her shortly after she sat down and had laid across from her, watching her inner debate.
"You'll have to stay" She told him, a tear falling from her eye. He turned his head to the side curiously. "cant have you running a muck with those beasts" she added,
reaching over to pet him gently.
Skye sniffed and brought her hand back to wipe her eyes she took a deep breath and swept her hair up, putting it in a high ponytail and the standing up. She straightened her clothes and took another breath.
"C'mon Tramp" she said, wiping her face once more. "Dinner" tramp leaped from the bed and followed Skye out the door, they walked to the pavilion, him running back and forth as if challenging her to a race. She laughed at him and gave in.
"Okay fine" She said as he ran back in her direction crouching on his front paws and barking.
"Ready, go!" She yelled as they ran for the Pavilion, he won by a few feet and came back to taunt her, jumping up and down, circling her.
"Ha ha" She said to him, grabbing him behind the ears and scuffing his fur. He wiggled free and panted happily
"Am i interrupting?" Skye jumped forward, almost trampling Tramp. she turned around to Derek who was chuckling, one hand on his chest.
"What the, don't do that!" Skye yelled at him "Gods, why are you here?" she asked .
"Its dinner time," he said
"Shouldn't you be resting or something?" she asked Derek shrugged then grimaced, Skye stepped forward to help in someway though she didn't know what to do.
"I'm good," he told her, smiling reassuringly.
"Are you?" She asked "Really?" He gave her a gently look which turned into a slightly cocky smile.
"yeah i'm tough, take more than a little scratch to take me down" He said, puffing out his chest, Skye rolled her eyes, amused.
"Okay than tough boy." she said poking him in the chest. "If your all good, then hold your arms like this" she stretched both arms straight up above her head and gave him a daring smile. He glared at her.
"That's what i thought" She said smiling Mockingly, resting her arms on the top of her head.
She noticed Derek's expression change a moment to late as up stepped forward and grabbed her sides, squeezing playfully. She started giggling as he tickled her sides and laughed along. She managed to free herself pretty easily and stumbled backwards, holding onto her sides protectively.
"Don't do that!" She yelled
"Couldn't help it" Derek replied smugly "To hard to resist." he smirked. Skye blushed and looked away, pretending to be looking for Tramp who had run off to play Frisbee with some younger campers. The conch shell blew an campers started filing into the pavilion.
"Later Princess" Derek said, saluting her before stepping backwards, away from her and turning away with a sweet smile.
"Later" She whispered watching him go, then making her way to the table where Percy sat.
"Hey brother." She said in greeting, She was getting used to calling him that.
"Sister" Percy smiled "Hey, you okay?" He asked her. She looked worriedly at him.
"uh, yeah why?" She asked "Will mentioned that you had another nightmare about the witch" he said looking sympathetic.
"Oh yeah that, nah im fine it was just a little bit jarring this morning. Im fine now"
"you sure?"
"Yeah of course" she smiled
"Okay well, did you wanna go down to the beach early tomorrow?" he asked "I can show you that drop off area i told you about."
"Oh actually i was thinking about sleeping in tomorrow, if that's okay. " Skye said "Just cause the nightmare woke me pretty early so..."
"Oh no that's alright. I'll tell Frank you wont be in archery then?" He asked, leaning back so that a nymph could place his dinner on the table in front of him, he thanked her as she did so.
"Yes please" she replied as they stood and picked up their plates. She scraped a chink of chicken and some vegetables into the fire and Whispered into the hearth
"Poseidon, some advice would be nice."
Dinner was delicious as usual. Chicken breasts with rice, beans, carrots and gravy. She ate slowly savoring the meal.
"You sure your okay" Percy asked after swallowing a mouthful of chicken. "You usually inhale your food." he laughed
"I do not" Skye replied indignantly. Percy just raised his eyebrows in challenge. Skye squinted at him then shoveled all of her rice into her mouth, filling it completely.
"Better?" she mumbled, Dropping a few pieces of rice from between her lips. Percy cracked up at her, nearly chocking on his chicken which caused Skye to laugh and spill a few more grains or rice, her hands shot in front of her mouth to hold the rice in as she giggled. The two of them continued for a few minutes before calming down. When they did they each took a few breaths.
"Okay, yeah that's better" Percy said. Skye smiled as wide as she could with a little over half of the rice still sitting in her mouth. He chuckled and went back to eating his own dinner. Skye was working on getting all that rice down what Percy spoke again.
"Hows Derek?" He asked, Skye accidentally inhaled a few grains of rice when she heard him and was currently coughing and spluttering. She reached for her glass and took a large gulp.
"What?" she asked
"Derek?" Percy repeated "Will said you were watching him"
"Huh, oh yeah cause of the" she waved her fingers in a slicing motion a few time "Cut. Yeah he said he's fine." Percy nodded but didn't say anything, Skye was pretty sure she was blushing and she was almost certain she saw Percy smiling knowingly. She finished her dinner by shoveling her remaining chicken in her mouth in one go and pushing her plate forward, again Percy chuckled at her.
Emma and Carly snagged her after dinner and dragged her down to the beach.
"Why didn't you tell me it was Derek you were looking after?" Carly asked, grinning wildly.
"What, i wasn't looking after him" Skye defended "I was just watching him" *Mental face palm* She thought as Carly's grin grew at the sight of her rosy cheeks.
"no, i mean i was babysitting him, For Will"
"Aha" Carly said sharing a wink with her sister. "For Will"
"Don't worry we didn't bring you down here to taunt you" Emma said smiling kindly. "We wanted to discuss something" she sounded cryptic.
"and that would be?" Skye asked, eager to change the subject.
"Capture the flag and another master prank." Carly said mischievously.
"Oh, okay. Who now cause if its the Ares cabin again then i'm up for anything." Skye grinned.
"Well, no this time its someone we haven't pranked yet" Emma told her "But first"
"Oh right, there's this party we've been invited to" Carly added
"And its super fun but you've kind of got to fancy it up" Emma continued.
" I don't really know much about fancying things up so i cant really help" Skye interrupted.
"No no, we were going to ask if you wanted to come with" Emma said.
"It's tonight" Carly added
"And when she says tonight" Emma said gesturing to the darkening sky around them, "She means in a few hours"
"Right and don't worry about clothes cause we have a few connections, we can get anything" Carly said
"Um, Sure" Skye replied hesitantly, "I haven't been to a proper party in ages"
"Really?" Carly asked, now bouncing with energy. They were sitting on the beach playing with mounds of sand.
"Yeah, last one was over four years ago. Wait no sorry i think i accidentally crashed a birthday party, last year, they let me stay for cake though"
The girls laughed together. "Okay so you in?" Carly asked her. Skye nodded
"Yeah, okay" The sisters grinned and jumped up, grabbing her b the arms and dragging her up and off the beach, they raced to the Hermes cabin together in a fit of giggles as one passed another and they tried to push each other, playfully, off course.
"What about the plans?" Skye called to them while they ran.
"They can wait!" Emma yelled back to her, tripping Carly who was trying to pass her. Skye saw an opportunity when they passed a Trough near the path (For the Pegasi) She smirked and sped up passing both girls, she winked at them as she passed and seconds later a spritz of water washed over them. it wasn't enough to soak them but they would definitely be damp.
She heard them squeal behind her and laughed all the way to the door, she let herself in and sat on Emma's bed waiting. Together they burst through the door, trying to look intimidating but having trouble hiding their smiles.
"Hey guys, whats up" Skye said innocently. They ran at her together and tackled her on the bed wetting her with their damp clothes and hair.
It was another fifteen minutes before they calmed down and started got ready for the Party.
"Who's party is this?" Skye asked looking in the mirror at the dress she had on. It had been years since she last wore a dress and it felt kind of weird to be wearing one now.
"Aphrodite cabin" Carly called from the stall in which she was changing. They had grabbed a pile of dresses and hauled them to the girls change room, which was just the shower area of the shared bathrooms.
Skye nodded to the answer and turned to the other side, this was the third dress she had tried and though it was nice it didn't really feel like something she'd typically wear.
"Try this one" Emma suggested, handing her a aqua blue/ green piece, She put it on and found she actually liked it. Once dressed the sisters ushered her over and sat her down in front of the mirror.
"You look great in that" Carly said "Here let me do your make up"
"Make up?" Skye questioned, Carly and Emma had introduced her mascara and eyeliner shortly after she had arrived but otherwise her knowledge and use of makeup had been basically non existent.
"Nothing major, i promise" Carly said placing a hand over her heart and the other in the air honestly.
"Okay, but"
"Dont worry, we got you" She assured her, winking playfully.
"and I'll fix your hair if you like?" Emma said, running a brush through it.
"You dont have to" Skye replied looking between the two.
"oh please, if we have one thing in common with the children of Aphrodite" Carly said.
"It's that we agree that getting dressed up is fun, meaning hair, makeup and accessories." They said giggling. Skye shut and they got to work eventually chatting about random stuff like rumors about other campers.
When they finished the left her in front of the mirror to admire her appearance while they finished getting themselves ready.
Carly did her makeup using blacks and greens. Her eye shadow was a beautiful bright green in the inner corners that darkened as it covered her lids until it was black around the edges. The mascara made her lashes longer, thicker and darker creating a dark look around her eyes that made the green of them stand out. She wore a light pink lip gloss that made her lips shimmer so as to not take focus from her eyes.
Emma had left most of her long hair down, Pinning some up in a loose bun and plaiting a few fishtail braids around the back which she used a second mirror to allow Skye to see. Her usually pretty straight hair had started getting wavy after spending so much time in the ocean, the normal colour had brightened here and there causing a highlighted effect. Emma curled her hair a little bit to emphasize the look.
Her dress fit her frame perfectly. It was sleeveless with a sweetheart neckline and an additional halter type cut made with sheer fabric. It had a beam waist and the skirt flowed out in slight ruffles, stopping just above her knee though the back grew out until it was almost floor length. The colour was a beautiful green that matched her eye shadow.
They gave her some heels to wear but she opted for the boots she saw to the side, Emma did however convince her to choose a pair with heels. She chose a pair of light brown lace up boots with wedge heels so they weren't to difficult to walk in. Which she practiced walking in by pacing the room for a good five minutes while the others finished their looks. She admired their styles as she paced the room.
Carly wore a deep blue dress with a ruffles and a Three quarter sleeve on one side and sleeveless on the other. She wore black ankle boots with studs and buckles, Her makeup was darker than Skye's as well and made her look even more daring than she usually did with her ice blue eyes standing out like a full moon on a dark night sky. Her short dirty blonde hair was stylishly messy, with a plat running from her fringe to the back of her head.
Emma however wore light blue eye shadow that matched her icy blue eyes with a similar pale lipstick to Skye. Her hair was straight and flowed over her shoulders like waves, Half of it was plaited, three or four of the plaits wrapped around her head and pinned down. Her outfit was made up of a lovely white shirt with Lace sleeves paired with a pale blue Skirt that went knee high at the front and flowed out floor length behind her. She wore shiny white, strappy heels to match.
"Are you sure this isn't to much?" Skye asked again as they walked to the Aphrodite cabin, "I feel over dressed"
"This is very mellow compared to what they where" Carly said
"Dont worry you look perfect" Emma added. Skye groaned, looking down at her outfit. She was so used to wearing old worn out clothes, generally pants or shorts at least.
"urgh I'm not used to being like this" she said reffering to the nervous or worried energy she was sure she was putting out.
"well get used to it, cause your here to say" the girls assured her, she smiled back at them and nodded, hoping her eyes didn't betray her.
The cabin was packed with campers, all over the age of sixteen, dressed in an assortment of different styles. Skye was surprised to see any Ares children here and even more surprised to see them dressed up and looking, nice. Music played loudly and people danced happily , there were groups of campers here and there chatting and laughing.
"How often do they do this?" Skye asked Carly who was guiding her through the room.
"Not very, that's why everyone gets dressed up so much." she replied
"They need permission from the councilors so they can arrange for somewhere else for the younger campers to stay and arrange classes to account for late risers" Emma said handing Skye a glass.
"So what do we do?" Skye asked, looking around the room. The girls laughed at her confusion and petted her shoulder innocently.
"we dance, drink and mingle." Carly told her
"Just stick with us" Emma added, They led her to the next room to chat with other people. As the night progressed Skye's mood got lighter as she chatted and danced with everyone, forgetting about what she would do tomorrow. Derek joined their group part way through the night and they all moved through the party alternating between dancing, talking and laughing with others.
"How come the councilors aren't here?" Skye asked at one point.
"Some important matter they had to deal with" Carly told her
"Calry!" Emma yelled, slapping her upside the head "That's meant to be on the down low" She said n a more hushed tone.
"Right, oops" Carly said, "Don't worry it Skye, she wont say anything."
"I know but your very loud" Emma reminded her. Carly nodded guiltily.
"My bad" She apologized.
"Anyway" Derek interrupted handing them fresh drinks, "Anyone wanna dance?" He asked. Emma and Carly conveniently had somewhere else to be as they pushed Skye forward, She glared at them as they backed away.
"Sure" Skye said and Derek led her to the next room where the music was loud and it was filled with dancing campers. The song was upbeat so they seemed to be mainly just jumping around and spinning around.
They joined in moving through the crowd and bouncing along to the music, Skye did what Carly and Emma had shown her earlier when they had first hit the dance floor. She stuck to the basics, swaying, bouncing and spinning.
She smiled when she noticed Derek watching her with a strange grin.
"What?" She asked, speaking loud to be heard over the music. He shook his head, still grinning.
"Nothing." He told her, grabbing her hand and spinning her around a few times, making her dizzy and giggly. The song changes as she was trying to get the world to stop spinning. A slower tune came on with a soft melody.
"You okay?" Derek asked as the stood swaying to the music in the group,
"Uh, yeah i just" She looked around to the rest of the dancers who had paired up for the song. "I don't know how to, um" She looked at the ground nervously, then felt Derek take her hand in his and pull her closer.
"Don't worry about it, just follow me" He said smiling down at her sweetly. He pulled her close and moved one of her hands to his shoulder with the other held in his own. His other hand rested comfortably on her hip, she gave him a warning look which he accepted with smirk.
"Don't Panic Princess," He said stepping backwards and tugging her along with his movements, the swayed together to the song.
"Why are you still Glaring at me?" He asked her after a minute. She raised one brow,
"No reason" She replied resisting the smile that wanted replace her glare.
"Oh," He said pulling her along as he spun them around "So you just glare at everyone like this?" He asked
"No," She said "just you" the smile she had resisted covered her face and she looked at the ground.
"Really?" He asked Smugly, she looked back up with her squinted eyes again and he chuckled. Derek placed her other hand on his shoulder and placed his hand so that they were both on her hips. He Smiled down at her when she gave him a questioning look and continued to sway them.
They were silent as they moved together and tried to sneak a look at his face without him noticing. He was looking to his left when she looked up, his eyes were even Bluer than they were in her dream, and so bright against his dark Hair. She caught herself admiring his feature's, his eyes were perfect and his scruffy hairstyle suited him so well that Skye it couldn't be pulled off by anyone else. His lashes were long and his nose was pretty slim, her eyes caught on his lips, she didn't have any references when it came to them so she wouldn't do a good job at explaining this but to her they seemed full without looking puffy.
"You right there?" Derek asked looking down at her again. Skye shook her head and looked up to find his Sapphire eyes gazing back int her Sea green ones.
"What?" She asked, confused.
"Get a good look?" He chuckled.
"At what, oh" Skye stuttered "Sorry i uh, thought you had a bug. On your, face" Skye nodded confidently. Derek chuckled and nodded along pulling a mocking face.
"Oh, is it gone?" He asked. She nodded. Another slow song played and they continued to dance, barely noticing the switch in tunes. Skye's arms slid around Derek's neck loosely as she relaxed into the music, and Derek's arms circled her waist. Somehow Skye's head ended up on his chest as she closed her eyes to listen to the lyrics.
Just close your eye's
The sun is going down
you'll be all right,
no one can hurt you now
come morning light
you and i'll be safe, and
Sound
Just close your eyes
You'll be alright
Come morning light
You and i'll be safe, and
Sound
She felt his grip on her tighten a seconds before she heard the Bang!
She was thrown to the ground and quickly covered by Derek, shielding her the best he could from the debree. The room was in a state of havoc as campers screamed and ran for cover, a thick cloud of dust made it difficult to see their surroundings. She tried to twist around to see Derek but as she moved a second Bang! sounded from the front of the room and another layer of rubble exploded towards them. Skye pushed up on her arms, knocking Derek off balance enough to push him backwards behind an overturned table, She dived after him.
Authors note:
Okay so in case you wanted to get an idea of the outfits and hairstyles Emma, Carly and Skye had here are their approximate look - Oh and the song was safe and sound by Taylor Swift because its a decent fit to the situation "don't you dare look outside your window, darling every things on fire. the war outside our door keeps raging on.' Such a pretty song.
Anyway here's the links
Carly -
Hair- pin/494903446535264688/ -
Makeup - pin/412360909603511285/
Shoes - pin/494903446535268328/
Dress - pin/123004633552404813/ - but darker Blue and a quarter sleeve.
Emma -
Hair - pin/ASZURrVybtQCjfGesxaJspiW3InkDvwPP1wxhbLSnJ_lobJCV97NldE/ -
Makeup - pin/494903446535173865/
Shoes - pin/268456827759592710/
Dress - pin/494903446535264732/ - But with A lighter blue for the skirt.
Skye -
Hair - pin/494903446535260433/
Makeup - pin/315252042644883887/
Shoes - pin/494903446535173889/
Dress - pin/494903446535267622/ - But this colour - pin/494903446535267933/