Chapter 12
The other side of me…
Last time on The Huntress…
"Let the games begin," Poseidon said smirking and getting out his trident. The symbol of his power glowing bright.
"Oh and you had better hope that your god wins. Because I am most certainly not going to be sparing you," but before he could continue his threat a bright blue beam of light hit his leg.
"Prepare to get thrown in Tarturous," Trident said and the battle continued.
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Walking down the hall gave me a familiar sense of comfort , though I had only been through these decorative halls once. I was afraid of this comforting feeling and pushed it away leaving only anxiety and fear. Anacletawas walking briskly behind me. Somehow I knew where I was suppose to go. As I pushed open the double doors the loud roar of monstrous voices stopped suddenly. There they were looking through the crowd of warriors. I heard growling from across the room and there stood a beautiful woman with long black hair and unusually colored eyes. She had a faint mystic glow that gave her a magical but evil look. I knew right away who she was I had only seen her daughter a few minutes ago.
"Lady Hecate what a pleasure to meet you." I spoke sweetly ignoring the strange glances I got from the monsters I passed. Joining the tall woman at her side I saw Kronos giving me a amused look.
"Asteria." She said my name with discomfort. If I knew my mythology well Asteria was her mothers name.
"I see you two already know each other so no need to waste precious time with introductions .Come it is time for you to receive your mark." He turned to me smiling brightly which kind of scared me. He stood from his large "throne" and guided me towards the door with his hand on my back gently showing me the way.
We entered a large garden full of statues that were beautifully carved in white marble but… they were all lacking one thing. Their heads. I forced down whatever was about to come up and continued to walk towards two large stones they were watch towers? What game is he playing at now?
"Your test my Asteria to beat me. In a game of chess. Monsters line up!" He yelled and the monsters that filed out of the meeting room with us lined up.
"Choose your Queen and King." He looked at me with a happy twinkle in his eye (creepy)
"Umm… Harpy girl as my queen and Black Minotaur as my king." I looked to the titan lord telling him it was his turn and so he chose and it went on and on from there until we had a complete set of players.
8 pawns. ,2 Bishop, 2 Knight, 1 King, 1 Queen, 2 Rook
All together 18 pieces just like a normal game. I was white and he was black once we had out prices aligned in to the proper order we were instructed to head towards our towers. I didn't even know what I was doing. Climbing up the white marble stairs took my breath away I felt like I was in another dimension or something. Even with Koronos Almost two miles away it was hard to get rid of the strange feeling I had when I was walking with him. Suddenly I jumped while hearing his voice all around me.
"Scared you didn't I?" He laughed loudly hurting my ears. I held my arm elbow to elbow taking deep breathes.
"White. Begin. Remember when you lose a monster they will die. If you give into me I will spare the remains. Choose well star maiden." He mocked me even when he couldn't see me. I felt frozen, clenching my hands into fists I ordered the first pawn.
"Pawn four one space forwards." I spoke through the horn that was place on the window sill."
"Pawn four one space forwards." The oily voice commanded and his pawn moved forwards growling uncontrollably. I wondered…how long I could hold out against him.
"Pawn five ...Forward." I whispered and the monster moved. The game went on and on. It seemed like hours before I would get a chance to really think.
"Come now Asteria were even finally make your move!" He yelled happily. I knew he could see me, struggling to keep on going monster after monster killing each other. It was just our kings and queens left all the monsters had been…well you know. This was my last chance. I could hear the hollers from below telling me to hurry up and win.
"I…Forfeit the match." Shaking my head I started down the stairs again. I had a plan to get myself out of this mess. To warn the other Demi-gods it was risky but it was the only chance I would have against the Titan lord.
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"About time you start listening to me. Come we shall celebrate this event with a feast. You might want to change though."
Anacleta showed me back to my room. She made me take a long bath hoping this would calm my nerves it did anything but. While she scrubbed my back with a lufa I thought about Lawrence and Tristan hoping somehow they would be alright when the time came. How Maia and Annabeth were surviving was beyond me and Percy…That kid will seriously get himself killed one day.
"This isn't smart you know…He is not stupid Asteria, he has way of turning people when they don't know it. I would know…" She trailed off.
"You figured it out then. What I have to do to get out of here. I'm not some caged animal. I'm the daughter of the Goddess of The Hunt for god's sake. Don't worry about me just help me get ready for this "feast."
From then on Anacleta was my friend. We would plan secretly of our escape though we were secretly sure that it would never become reality.
The feast was formal I have to say Kronos knows how to throw a party if he's willing. But of course attire was totally different than I expected. If you haven't guessed already everyone was wearing full Greek clothing. Unknowingly I walked into the party with a white one sleeved waist gripper dress. Of course I got stares….a lot of stares including all the monsters that had more than one set of eye balls. Suddenly I felt an arm around my waist and gasped lightly.
"Your dressed a little differently than I would have expected. Come over here." He whispered in my ear and pushed me lightly to a dark corner where no one could see us.
"I will have to talk to Anacleta about how you dress from now on. " He said shaking his head as he looked me over.
"What do you mean how I dress from now on?" I asked frowning.
"Lets see….You like white huh? How about this…" He waved his hand and the dress I wore shifted back into its original state. He had control over the robe why am I not surprised.
"What are you talking about I'm not wearing this out there!" I hissed.
"Patience isn't one of your virtues is it?" He looked amused at my childish expression.
"It isn't one of yours either." I looked at the robe again it felt warm against my cool olive skin. The creamy white changed into black that shimmered with silver flecks. The dress tightened slightly on top and it was complete a gown of black and silver shaped into a twist of Greek and Regency, the empire design actually looked flattering to my face frame. When I looked myself over I noticed I had a silver chain around my waist that went down holding charms of the moon and stars. It really felt like he cared for a while until I remembered that he was the whole reason my friends have to live in danger. Why they cannot be carefree and fun when they are outside the camp. And ever since the break in at Camp Half Blood I heard about last year everyone was so tense.
He guided me out of the corner and brought me to his circle of companions. They greeted me with respect and included me in their conversations about bringing down the gods. I joined in every now and then but didn't comment much after I gave them a battle plan for killing Percy. They clearly didn't remember that there was another demi-god Neco son of Hades, whom could decide the fate of the world. Who could defeat them.
