Short End of the Stick
By PrincipessaBel

Chapter 8 : First of the Three (Julia)

Dedicated to TheFlamingOwl

Check out her story Missing, it's her first one so be nice. ;)

Darkness filled her vision but Julia could swear she's down, lying in the floor. Am I blind? She thought weakly - her head throbbing in pain. "Urrghh. . ." She groaned in pain. Hey eyes trained in the dark floor, or so she thinks.

"Stand up, dear girl." A voice she never heard spoke to her. The voice, lyrical and melodious even without the music.

Another voice spoke. "We are deeply sorry for the unexpected transition."

The daughter of Ares tried to look up, painfully twisting her stiffed neck to the source. "Sorry-?" Her eyes still blurred, she can manage to distinguish the figures. Both are wearing a mass of curtains in their bodies. "Wha-a-at?" Julia said, her mouth felt like she'd tasted liquid titanium.

Both figures hoisted her up, making Julia's body ache in different places. "Your mind isn't completely calm nor soothing for us to connect with your body and brain." The melodious voice came from the girl whose short-cropped hair is a mixture of copper and ardite. The curtain in which Julia thought she was wearing was not curtains at all! It is a silky cloth in the color of flowing river.

She stayed silent, not hanging into what the girl had said to her. ". . ."

"Your clairvoyance is very much prevailing but your mind. . ." The other girl said with sympathy in her voice, which pretty much ticked Julia. Her hair was as blue as cobalt, wearing what seems to be a peachy ballet outfit. "It's not what we had projected from you."

"Do be misleaded, though." Julia's eyes started to clear and she realize that both girls share the same electric blue eyes. "We can pretty much sing it to you in a dream. . ."

"But father had been growing restless, wanting to find our half-sister, Lady Athanasia, as quick and nippy as possible." The girl in the ballet costume said to her, continuing her company's words.

"So we had to come to you with this important message, in which the Oracle of Delphi told us you'd be needing guidance."

This is the time Julia preferred to spoke up. Her head pretty much had been messed up by something that caused this weird black realm she was in. "Sing? A message? Who are you-? Both of you?"

"I am Euterpe. Muse of Lyrical Poetry and the Giver of Delight." Said the girl with the ardite-but-coppery hair.

"I am Terpsichore. Muse of Ballet and the Dramatic Chorus." Said the girl with the cobalt blue hair.

Julia didn't make connections with Tia Callida and these muses and her stomach twisting and Nico calling her Uriah. "So?" She really hated Greek mythology and never asked for anything else but had her principal steer her away from the subject.

With a frown, Euterpe –as she calls herself- informed her with such seriousness in her harmonic voice. "We are here to tell you that the first key is on sandy lands. . . But beware of the King."

"Key? What key?" The daughter of Ares asked in pure confusion. I did not signed up for this adventure to look for hidden keys! She thought angrily, Heck, I don't even like Ravenhearst that much. "I don't understand a single word you guys are saying. And with the formality, I just realized that both of you aren't to be disrespected." She said.

And I could careless about the black schist around me! Just bring me back, is what she didn't say.

"You have a clever streak, dear child, but have your fellow demigods not informed you yet?" Terpsichore asked her, the muse moved away from Julia – hand on her chin, thinking. Julia just noticed that Terpsichore had been on tiptoe the whole time!

The demigod rolled her eyes, Ballet. Stupid dance. Julia gulped down the words, careful to not offende the muses. "Nope. Not a single word about a key."

"Then, let us have the honor in giving you the Prophecy of the Ender." Terpsichore said, as if the Prophecy was something to be delighted about. Euterpe sang the prophecy, clear as crystal – but the meanings confused her.

"Seven shall be envisioned to come

One is the Greco-Roman girl who has become

Three keys, three junctions,

Three banes, three benedictions

Follow the trail of the Immortal's abduction

The light and dark cause of her desolation

With Immortality's at stake, of winning

Or beginning of the ending

In War's shoulders – must make the final decisions"

"Three keys. . ." Julia mumbled. Trying to think of a place, that if she was the kidnapper of this missing Princess, where she'd hide the key –safely.

"The first is on the Sandy Lands, The King with the Golden sword's new location. He has it, dear girl." Euterpe said in great warning, her eyes stared intensely with such worry in it.

"And. . You want me to get it?" Julia asked slowly. By then, Terpsichore told her with glowing creepy eyes another piece of poetry.

"Vivid strife must be done.

A talent you shall outrun,

In order to get the key

Beware, for this first is primary."

"I'm getting really confused in your poetry. Summarize it please?"

Euterpe sighed, expecting the exact reaction. "The prophecies we have given you has been enough. Do digest the words and-"

"Wait, what do you mean by vivid strife?" The brunette had regained the strength to walk around, her hand on her chin, and she thought of the most literal meanings. "Vivid means bright. . . And strife means war or something like that. How can a war be vivid when bloodshed is- OH!" She smacked her right hand, formed into a fist, on her left palm in surprise. Closing her eyes, Julia focused in getting her answer right.

Terpsichore narrowed her eyes, "Do you understand what it meant?"

Eyes still closed, Julia's left hand changed into a pointing hand but she shook it as if it will ring and bind everything the muses told her. "Shit. So vivid - light, bright. . . It's like the sun! Strife – it means war! It's on me and Will, isn't it?"

Euterpe smiled and gave her a small but appreciative applause. "Clever. So clever!"

"Then, a talent you shall outrun. . . Wait a second." She looked at Euterpe, "So. . . You want me and Will to choreograph a sing-and-dance portion to entertain this creepy dude who might be a pedo?" The muses nodded at her, a little reproachful on Julia's choice of words. "Great. Just Great." The girl said in sarcasm by the sudden deciphering of her own prophecy

Euterpe patted her shoulder, "It is time to wake up now. Remember what you have to do."

"Wait- I still have so many questions!"

Terpsichore shook her head, her body is quicklyfading into the darkness. "The answer will be presented to you in the right time, and the answers shall be as shallow as the creeks. . . For now, focus in your destiny. Good bye, dear child."

"WAIT!" Julia reached for them but she had grabbed nothing.

"Hey! Wake up! Julia!" A shout registered in her brain.

She opened her eyes, "What-"

The daughter of Ares was cut short when Nico attacked her with a hug. "You scared us!" He breathed out shakily.

Julia gasped as she remembered the vision she had. "We have to go to a sandy land! The muses! They-"

Will nodded at her solemnly, "We know. . You had a premonition."

"And something I don't like." Jason frowned. "The King with the Golden Sword? Don't tell me it's Chrysaor again. ."

Leo gave out a groan that seemingly said to Julia that this guy, Chrysaor, is someone Leo and Jason had met.

"But there are so many deserts!" Piper said, panicking. "We can't go in each one and expect to find him quickly! The world is so big and vast."

Julia blinked. "What are the lines in the prophecy again?"

"YOU FORGOT IT SO QUICKLY?!" Leo exclaimed so loud, Julia wanted to punch him. She also noticed that he finally came back from the engine room.

"Hey! Not my fault my brain was being invaded by weird prophetic muses!" She said defensively.

Will spoke up, pointing down to the floor with an expression of amazement and shock. "You wrote it, Julia. Look down."

Nico frowned, "Where did the green sand came from?"

Julia knitted her brows, too, and then she finally looked down, her hair flowing along the movement. "In the sand? I don't understand!" What she saw is a floor infront of her that is full of green sand that looked like someone tried to do sand art but failed epically. Shut up, brain. It was you who did that, idiot. She said in her mind.

"It's written in Greek." Sammi replied.

"I'll get some paper and pencil, and hopefully – we can rewrite it as easy as we can listen to it." Jason said, dashing to the rooms to find the said materials.

"Did I really write that?" Julia asked in hesitation and doubt. She was talking to the muses a while ago and her body felt like wasted vegetables.

"You did, as the muses inside you talk." Will patted her back, his kind and warm eyes saying that it's normal.

"You guys heard me?"

"With the green smoke and glowing eyes? It's hard not to notice." Leo nodded.

"Do it again, Yessa, you look stunning with those eyes!" Nico said in sarcasm, obviously trying to lighten up the mood. "Just let me get my camera and-"

"Don't you dare!" She said, making a face. Sammy and Piper laughed at their silly antics.

"So. . Does it ring a bell? The sandy lands?" Her cousin asked, clearly speaking for the rest of them.

"I've read something about the sandy lands. . . It's in Macedon, I think." Piper added, thinking. "What was it again. . . Uh. . E- Ema. . Ema. ."

"Emathia?" Julia heard a very familiar voice and realized that it was hers. The word came out of her mouth as easy as she say Nico's name.

"Yes! That place. . It's called sandy lands in the Hesiod but it isn't technically sandy. . . More like, swampy?"

"How did you know that Piper?" Will asked in mild amazement. "You're the kind of person who seems to be not into books?"

"Hey, I read, too!" Crossing her arms, Piper pouted but they knew that Will is just lightening the mood, knowing that things will have to go seriously in the next days.

"But- I thought you have dyslexia!" Julia exclaimed, confused in how they are acting. Clearly, she was clueless and oblivious about what's happening.

"My dad helped me. We researched about Greek mythology for his movie- Hhh!" Piper gasped, her hands flew quickly to cover her mouth.

"He's an actor?" The daughter of Ares questioned.

"Yeah. ." Leo said slowly, "Tell her, Pipes" Jason came in with a piece of paper but didn't speak as he turned to listen also.

"Mclean. . Which Hollywood actor's- Oh! The Tristan guy? In that- Pfft!" Julia stifled a laugh.

"Why?" The daughter of Aphrodite felt a bit offended in how Julia reacted.

"Duncan forced me to watch his movie, something about that Greek myths – I don't like the theme but his acting was hilariously good!" Julia said to Piper in pure admiration, in which the girl had accepted as a compliment to her father. "I can't believe it when the whole school population swarmed over him by the release of that movie and most of them had picked fights because of claiming 'he was theirs'."

Piper shrugged. "He gets that a lot."

"Well, shall I ask for an autograph of him and let my classmates fight over it?" Julia asked, eyes sparkling.

"Can I come and get to watch?"

Julia nodded. "Your choice."

"This will be goo-o-od~" Piper said, smiling at Julia.

Nico sighed, shaking his head, "Priorities. ."

"Shut up, Nics. Me and Piper are gonna be best of friends!" The daughter of Ares said, beaming at her newfound friend. Sammi smiled at Piper's progress towards being close to Julia.

"I thought you hate me at first."

"I do. Sparky's fault." -"Hey!"- "Turned out you weren't as bad as I expected."

"First impression never last?"

"Yeah, first impressions never last."

The boys literally were astonished in how Julia and Piper quickly reinforced their relationship from enemies to friends. "Girls. . ."

Chapter 9 : Off to Emathia (Julia)

The others knew it was hard to go to Greece because it was a big mine, waiting to explode by the time they set foot to it. Leo tried to lighten up the mood, though, "Oh, so we're going to Ema's Tia" He said, wriggling his eyebrows comically.

Julia grunted in agitation. "Shut the hell up, Leo."