Alright here is Chapter 2 of Violet's Playlist. I'm honestly kind of shocked at how many of you have already decided to Favorite and Follow the story so thanks for that.
Also a general note about the ages of characters for this first part of the story, Thalia is two years older than Violet while Luke will be four years older than Violet and consequently Violet will end up being about four years older than Annabeth.
And now one last general note before the chapter. The first two scenes of this chapter happen the year that Violet turns 7, the third scene happens the spring of the year that Violet will turn 8, the fourth scene happens about a month or so after Violet turns 9 (so Thalia is still 10 as her birthday isn't until December), and then lastly the Final scene of the chapter happens in about late January early February of the year that Violet will turn 11.
Oh right I also made a few small changes to Chapter 1, nothing you will have to reread just a few different word placements and a few small grammatical changes. Anyway on to the story.
Chapter 2
Someone Who Cares
Late September, 1996
It was a cool fall day as Thalia and Violet made their way through a forest in northern Virginia. The meager supplies they had managed to scrape together were running short. They were making their way towards a relatively small town, hoping to get some food together, along with some winter clothing to help them through the coming winter. The clothes they had on them were beginning to fray and tear and they knew it wouldn't be long before they were useless as clothes or protection.
"How much longer?" Violet asked trying, and failing, to keep the whine out of her voice. She was getting tired. Even after months traveling, she still wasn't completely used to walking everywhere. They had been walking since 6 in the morning.
Thalia sighed. She had grown used to Violet whining and complaining about things but even still she got annoyed herself every time Violet would complain or whine. "We're still a while away Violet, so come on once we get there we'll find a place to sleep for the night."
Violet looked at Thalia, then looked to the ground. She could tell when Thalia was getting annoyed with her and she always felt bad about it. They were both in the same situation, and she knew it wouldn't help either of them if she kept whining. With a steely, determined look appearing in her eye, she sighed, then hefted the worn out backpack she was wearing, She continued walking alongside. The small charms bracelet kept hitting the metal frame of her backpack, as she swung her arms. Shortly after that fateful night on the beach, Violet found out that the trident her father had left her could change into a bracelet. The small charm bracelet made carrying her trident around much easier.
After another few more hours of walking, the two girls finally made it to the outskirts of the town. The sun was low in the sky at this point and both Violet and Thalia knew they were going to need to find a place to sleep for the night. They eventually found a playground with a few pieces that would protect them from the wind, as well as any rain that might crop up in the night. After finding their spot to sleep they made their way into the town looking for anything they could get easily. It took them only a few minutes before they happened upon a gas station. Between the two of them, they had a few dollars from the previous town they had traveled through. They walked into the gas station and managed to get a few granola bars and a couple bottles of water. It would last them maybe a day or two with the last of the other food they had on them. As the sun sank lower in the sky Violet and Thalia made their way back to the playground to try and sleep for the night. After having a small dinner of water and a granola bar each, they both settled under their light coats and used their backpacks as pillows tried to sleep.
A Few Days Later
Thalia and Violet collapsed, gasping for air, in the middle of a forest clearing as the sun hung low in the sky. Violet's trident lay on the ground next to her while Thalia used her spear as a makeshift crutch. The two of them had been running for over an hour from a monster that had found and attacked them in the previous town they were in. They had managed to lure it away from the town but neither of them had managed to kill it and so as a last resort they had run. The sounds of the forest were all around them, but they could still hear the monster in the distance.
"Come on Violet, we need to keep moving or that thing is gonna be on us again." Thalia said, as she used her spear to push herself up. Though she was trying to sound strong the exhaustion was weighing on her just as much as it was on Violet.
"I. Can't. Keep. Up." Violet gasped as she tried to catch her breath. Violet began coughing violently, after she gasped out her response. As Violet stopped gasping and coughing, the monster broke through the trees. It was huge, nearing the size of an elephant, though it had a black horse like head with three horns protruding from its forehead. Thalia gripped her spear and raised it, while her legs shook under her. The monster let out a roar. Then there was a symphony of sound, and a whine from the monster, as arrows impaled it. Gravity started taking hold of the body, before it dissolved into gold dust. Thalia let out a sigh of relief, as she saw the monster crumble before her eyes. Her hold on her spear weakened as she started drooping towards the ground. Just after Thalia dropped to the forest floor, a group of girls dressed in silver clothing came out of the trees and encircled Thalia and Violet. All the girls had bows drawn with arrows notched ready to fire at anything else that might come out of the trees. Violet, still trying to catch her breath looked up at the girls that now surrounded them, her eyes growing wide at the sight. Thalia had a similar reaction to their saviors.
One of the girls approached the two young demigods and offered a hand out to Violet, while also looking at Thalia. "Come on, it is not safe here." She said. The girl looked to be about fifteen with short cut brown hair and light blue eyes. Violet looked at the girl, then to Thalia, almost as if to ask for guidance. Thalia looked around at the other girls, then back to Violet and nodded her head slightly. Seeing this, Violet reached out and took the girls offered hand. The girl helped Violet up, but as soon as she was standing up right again her legs gave out from under her. Seeing this the girl crouched down with her back facing Violet. "Here, I can carry you."
"Thank you." Violet said softly as she pulled herself up with her arms around the older girls neck. Once Violet had her arms in place the older girl stood up and put her arms under Violet's legs and hefted her into a better position on her back.
The girl then turned back to Thalia. "Do you need any help as well?" She asked, while giving her a once over.
"No. I think I can walk by myself." Thalia said, as she used her spear almost like a cane, or crutch.
The girl nodded her head and turned to the rest of the girls in the clearing. "Alright girls we're moving." She called. Almost as one the rest of the girls moved to cover their leader and the two demigods now with them. It took only a few minutes before the group came up to a camp of tents with a large fire roaring in the center of the camp. A few spits rotated near the fire cooking a variety of animals. The girl who carried Violet on her back walked into the center of the camp beckoning Thalia to follow her. The rest of the group scattered across the camp, a few going into tents while others made their way to other girls and began to chat with them. As the lead girl set Violet down in front of the fire she turned around with a smile on her face. "I never introduced myself did I?" She asked with a sheepish laugh. Violet just looked at her and shook her head. "Well I'm Abigail, what's your name?"
"I'm Violet and she's Thalia." Violet said, in a small voice. She wasn't sure what to think about the group that had rescued them. On one hand, they were very helpful, but on the other, after all the travelling, they had too many incidents, where a lot of those that helped them, eventually tried to harm them. "Who are you?" Violet asked Abigail after a few moments of silence. Thalia echoed Violet's question just a moment later a hint of suspicion in her voice.
"I can answer their questions Abigail. Go help Ariana with dinner preparations." A young voice said from behind Violet and Thalia. Both of them turned around where they sat to see a girl in her early teens with shoulder length auburn hair and piercing silvery yellow eyes. She wore black leggings underneath a silver tunic.
"Of course, Lady Artemis." Abigail replied as she turned and walked over to another girl who sat at the opposite end of the fire and was tending to the meat that was cooking over it. The girl looked to be in her early teens, with long blonde hair, and a pale she looked up to Abigail, her bright blue eyes caught the firelight and made them twinkle.
Artemis fixed Thalia and Violet with a calculating gaze. "So. You are the two that my hunters brought back with them." The two of them nodded their heads. "It seems you were very lucky that we decided to make camp here then. Both of you are welcome in the camp for tonight, so enjoy your rest." Thalia and Violet shared a look between them, one that Artemis noticed. "You have questions for me?" She asked them.
Thalia and Violet nodded at this. Though it was Thalia that voiced the first question. "Um, who are you?"
Artemis suppressed a slight chuckle at the question. The girls were young. Even if they knew how to survive by themselves they wouldn't know who she was. "Yes I suppose that would be your first question." she said, a small smile still on her face. "I am Artemis, Goddess of the Moon, and of the Wilderness, Protector of Maidens, and Leader of the Hunters you see around you."
As one both Thalia and Violet exclaimed "You're a god!?" Neither were sure how to act in this situation. All the times Thalia had been around her father, he demanded obedience and respect and her. Violet had no knowledge on how to act either, as her interaction with Poseidon had been limited to brief conversations and his voice in her head once. Thinking of her father Thalia stood, despite her exhaustion, and bowed before Artemis. Following her lead, Violet also stood and bowed. "I'm sorry for our shout, Lady Artemis." Thalia said, still bowing.
Artemis suppressed another chuckle at the two girls. "Raise your head, both of you. A little leeway is allowed with children. Besides we are sisters are we not, Thalia Grace?" Thalia's head shot up at this as she did not remember giving her last name to anyone, not even to Violet. "And I suppose that would make us cousins, Violet Pendolton."
Violet looked up at that. She tilted her head to the side and scrunched her face up a bit, thinking. "What's a cousin?" Violet asked after a minute.
Aretmis smiled down at Violet. "A cousin is someone whose mother or father is a sibling to someone else's mother or father." Violet still looked confused and Aretmis sighed quietly at this. "My father and your father are brothers, so we are cousins." Violet let out a noise of understanding when Artemis was finished with her explanation. "Regardless the two of you are safe here. You may stay the night with us however in the morning we must depart." Thalia looked at her sister. question in her eyes, one that she was too nervous to actually voice it, one that Artemis understood all the same. "I'm sorry I can not allow you to join the hunt at this time. The both of you are too young, and though you seem to have been able to survive on your own, it would be wrong for me to force the hunters oaths on you when you don't fully understand what they mean. Do not worry though, I will provide you with supplies for your journey. So as I said, rest for tonight, for tomorrow your journey continues." After saying her piece, Artemis left the two girls and proceeded back to her tent for the evening. Left by themselves again, Thalia and Violet continued to sit by the fire not sure what to do. Soon, bowls of food were being passed around, and more hunters began to gather around the fire. Though Thalia and Violet had entered the camp exhausted and scared, the night turned into the most restful night the two of them had in a number of weeks.
Mid March, 1997
Thalia and Violet stepped into the little hideout they had managed to make, in a forest somewhere in southern Virginia. It was simple, just a leaf roof held up by some small trees, with more leaves acted as walls. Inside laid a few swords, an extra spear for Thalia, a couple quivers of arrows, and a bow that Violet had taken to using, all made from Celestial Bronze. Both girls dropped their backpacks in one corner of the hideout, the silvery material of the backpacks giving off the same faint glow as the weapons around the hideout. After dropping their packs, they headed outside and began to collect some started to build a small fire, just outside the hideout. After the fire was going, Thalia retrieved her pack from the hideout and grabbed their food bag from it. She opened the bag and pulled out two cans of soup, and a few apples that she had managed to swipe from a grocery store while they had been in town. Violet had grabbed two water bottles, and a few small candy bars from her pack. Violet had managed to grab them from a gas station near the grocery market Thalia was at. .
Thalia took the knife that hung at her waist, and used it to open the soup before placing them close to the fire so that they would heat up. The knife was a silver hunting knife that had been gifted to her from Artemis along with the packs that they both carried, Violet had an identical knife on her as well.
"So what are we doing tomorrow Thalia?" Violet asked as they waited for their dinner to heat up.
"I figured we could try and practice a bit, you know there is a small river just over there." Thalia said as she pointed off behind Violet. At the mention of a river Violet's face lit up. After their meeting with the Hunters and learning exactly who her father was Violet had wanted to try and make the water move like she saw her father do at the beach on that night. So far, she had no noticeable success. Their meals had quickly heated up and the two fell into a comfortable silence, with the crackling of the fire and the sounds of the forest being the only noise as they ate. Once they had finished eating they went inside their hideout to get some sleep for the night.
As the sun shone down through the roof of leaves Thalia and Violet woke quickly from their sleep. Once they had a small breakfast of the apples Thalia had grabbed the night before and some more water the two of them made their way down to the small river in the forest. As the river came into sight Violet ran towards the river and jumped right into the middle of it. Though not deep, the river still came up to her waist.
Thalia laughed slightly at seeing her friends excitement about being able to control water. "Hey if you're going to splash around, try not to get me wet!" She called as Violet gained a look of constipation as she began to try and get the water to move to her will. Thalia shook her head at Violet's antics. Once it looked like Violet was gone in her own little world Thalia began her own practice with trying to create lightning. Similar to Violet Thalia had little success with this though she had been able to create small sparks of electricity, nothing like true lightning however. As the day progressed it looked Thalia was on her way to a breakthrough with her powers when out of nowhere she was assaulted by a torrent of bubbles coming from the river. Spinning around Thalia found Violet absolutely drowning in a sea of bubbles that had formed around her and were spilling quickly into the forest. It seemed the wind had carried a large chunk of the bubbles in Thalia's direction. Seeing that Violet was still lost in her own world Thalia called out to her, "Hey Violet open your eyes!"
At Thalia's shout Violet's eyes snapped open to see the mass of bubbles that had formed around her. After a minute of fighting Violet was able to break free from her self made prison of bubbles to see Thalia with bubbles still in her hair and on her clothes. An apologetic smile found its way onto Violet's face. "Sorry Thalia."
"It's fine, but I think we can be down with this for now. Come on Bubbles, we should grab some lunch." Thalia said as she turned and started making her way back to their hideout.
"Please don't let that be my nickname Thalia!" Violet called out as she ran slightly to catch up to Thalia.
"Hm, I'll think about it, Bubbles." She said with a small smirk on her face.
"Thalia." Violet whined as they continued their walk back to their hideout and then back into the nearby town to find their next meal.
Late August, 1998
Violet heaved a cry as her trident pierced the flesh of a harpy, and watched as it crumbled into golden dust. This was the third time in two days, that monsters had managed to find her and Thalia as they continued to move South following after Amaltheia. Thalia had told Violet that the goat had been a sign from her dad when she first ran away and that occasionally over the few years she had been travelling Amaltheia would appear and lead her to different had mostly been weapons caches and places that were safe. Though Thalia did admit that Amaltheia had lead her to Violet, or specifically the area around the Pendolton beach house and she had heard the Fury attacking Violet and her mother. So it was that whenever Amaltheia showed up, regardless of what they were doing Thalia had always insisted on following her, which is why they packed up their hideout and followed Amaltheia.
"Hey Thalia I got the last one!" Violet called across the clearing they had decided to use as their battle field. Violet looked over her shoulder as Thalia impaled the last harpy on her spear.
Once the harpy had crumbled to dust Thalia looked over to Violet, a triumphant grin on her face. "Sorry Bubbles, point goes to me."
Violet pouted at the nickname Thalia had given her. "Stop calling me that! It was one time!"
Thalia could only laugh at Violet's now predictable reaction to her nickname. "Nope, you earned it, and now you're stuck with it."
Violet continued to pout but she did ask a question she had been wondering about for the last couple days. "So what do you think Amaltheia," she said the goat's name slowly sounding it out to get it right, "wants us to find at this new place?"
Thalia thought about it for a minute before responding. "Don't know. Hopefully it's another weapons place, we're almost out of arrows and I could really use a new spear." It was true, unlike Violet's trident which had some sort of magic on it to keep it in peak condition, Thalia's spear looked like it was ready to fall apart. The bronze spear head had started to chip and corrode, while the shaft was splintering and had to be wrapped in old clothes. The last time she had fought without the cloth wrapped around it, she had gotten splinters that took a week to fall out. After rewrapping Thalia's spear, and searching for any spoils, the two of them continued on their walk in the last direction they had seen Amaltheia.
Soon they came across a road and after following it for a short while they came across a sign that read 'Charleston 10 Miles'. They continued on their walk along the road until they heard something in the forest. It sounded like a fight was going on, they could hear metal clashing against metal and even the sound of someone yelling out as they struck with a weapon. Sharing a glance between them, Thalia and Violet both quickly made their way into the forest following the sounds. It was only a brief run into the forest, when they spotted the fight they heard. It was a fight between a boy in his early teens with sandy blonde hair wielding a sword that shone with the same bronze light that all divine weapons held, fighting against what could only be a dragon. The dragon easily stood taller than the boy even while it stood on all four legs.
It was clear to the two girls that the boy probably wouldn't last much longer. Without much thought, they both readyed their weapons, and charged forth into the fight. Initially the boy was surprised at the new additions to the fight, however he soon regained his focus. With the addition of two new targets, the attention of the dragon was split. As the dragon focused on one of the targets, the other two would focus on going on the offensive. . Eventually the dragon began to tire, at the same time as Violet and Thalia were also losing their stamina. However it would be Violet who would be the one to strike the fatal blow on the dragon. She managed to use her trident as a pole vault and came down on the dragon from above, and used her weight to drive her trident through the dragon's skull. The impact caused imperceptible tremors to spread across the the dragon began to crumble into golden dust the three demigods caught their breath. Once the situation had calmed down and the three of them could breathe normally again it was the boy who spoke first.
"Thanks for the help. I don't think I could have lasted much longer if you two hadn't jumped in."
"Well it's what we're used to at this point." Thalia said walking up to the boy. "I'm Thalia, the pint sized dragon slayer over there is Violet, but feel free to call her Bubbles." She finished with a small smirk.
"Hey don't get him started on that to!" Violet protested.
The boy couldn't help but laugh at the two girls antics. "I'm Luke. You two are like me, aren't you?" He asked after giving his name.
"If you mean we have gods as parents, then yeah we are." Thalia replied. It was at this moment that Thalia's spear finally decided it had seen enough battle and the tip fell from the shaft. "Shoot. Now I really do need a new weapon."
"Hey, I think I found what the goat was leading us to." Violet called, from slightly inside the cave that the dragon had been protecting. Luke and Thalia glanced at each other, and Thalia shrugged as she made her way towards the cave. Once inside the cave, the two other demigods saw what had made Violet call out. Weapons and armor, a lot of them. Some of the weapons were made from bronze like the ones they had been using, a number of them were made of silver, like the ones Thalia and Violet had seen the Hunters of Artemis carry almost two years ago, and a few of them seemed to be made out of gold. The armor on the other hand was almost completely useless to the three demigods, as it looked like the armors were sized to fit adults, not slightly malnourished kids. As they dug through the treasure horde, Violet refilled the small quiver she carried with a few different arrows she could find, Luke grabbed a second sword as well as a leather shield that would be slightly small for an adult but fit his arm near perfectly.
Thalia found a small black can that had an aerosol top on it. Turning it over in her hands a few times she pushed on the top of the can experimentally and found that the can was actually a spear in disguise. "Hey Bubbles I found a spear like your trident!" She called out excitedly.
Violet looked up at that and came over to take a look at the spear. "Really it turns into a bracelet like mine?" She asked Thalia.
Thalia shook her head. "No it's some weird can." She said as she began to test out the spear. It seemed that the spear was balanced specifically for her. The reach was just right for her, every thrust didn't leave her trying to keep the spear level, and even the overall weight of the weapon was just right for her. As she rested the spear on her shoulder, she also put the end of the spear on the ground. She started leaning against the spear. As she put more pressure on the spear, it suddenly turned back into the can that Thalia had originally found it, causing her to lose her balance and fall onto the ground. Violet couldn't help but laugh at the misfortune of her friend. "Oh shut up Bubbles!" Thalia said heatedly, her face flushed in embarrassment.
At this point, Luke came over to the two girls and took a look at the can that had fallen from Thalia's hand when she fell over. "Hey I've seen cans like this before, it's called mace." Both Thalia and Violet gave him questioning looks. "What it's what it's called, I swear."
Thalia shrugged. "Whatever, all I know is that it's a cool magic spear, and it's mine now." She said, as she snatched the can back from Luke, slipping it into the pair of ripped up jeans she wore. She turned to Violet after pocketing her new spear. "Come on Bubbles, we should try and get to the city the sign mentioned, before it gets dark and all the stores close. We need a few new clothes and some more food."
Hearing the girls plans Luke piped up. "If you guys are trying to get stuff I can help. I'm really good at opening locks and stealing stuff." The girls looked at him for a minute, before turning back to each other and holding a silent conversation.
After a few minutes, Thalia turned back to Luke. "Sure, we could use another set of hands, and it will mean we can carry more stuff around so we won't have to go into cities more often."
"Thanks, I promise you won't regret it." Luke said as the new trio exited the cave and started to head back to the road.
Mid February, 2000
It was early in the morning as Luke, Thalia, and Violet entered into another city. Luke was wearing a dark green pull over sweatshirt with a pair of jeans and old sneakers. Thalia wore a grey zip-up hoodie underneath a black leather jacket with studs along the shoulders as well as a pair of black cargo pants and black boots they had managed to grab form a store a few towns back. Her previously long black hair had been cut incredibly short after a fight two days ago, and now instead of falling just past her shoulders it was now just about the length of Luke's hair. However, her hair was cut choppily as all they had to do the job were the hunting knives that Viollet and Thalia still carried on them. Violet who trailed behind slightly wore a faded purple jacket with a blue skirt and a pair of black leggings and like Luke she had a pair of old sneakers on. The trio had come to this city after Thalia had spotted Amaltheia one night during her watch. And so as with all other times she had immediately woken Luke and Violet and they had begun another chase after the magical goat.
"Damn, I lost her." Thalia swore as they entered an alleyway.
"Come on Thals, let's take a breather for a bit," Luke began. "We've been going for a while."
"Yeah you're right Luke." Thalia said as she sat down on an old crate that was in the alleyway.
Violet sat down beside Thalia as Luke sat on the ground leaning against a wall. Violet slung the backpack she had off and fished out three water bottles and tossed one to Luke before handing another to Thalia. "Gods, why can't that stupid goat have picked a better time to appear, instead of in the middle of the night?" Violet said as she took a healthy gulp from her own water bottle.
"Hey don't call her stupid, she-" Thalia began.
"I know Thalia, she always leads us to something good." Violet sighed. "I just wish she didn't have to show up in the middle of the night. It always sucks to travel at night."
At this Thalia sighed as well. "Yeah I get that. But I couldn't ignore her once she showed up."
"We know Thals, we still came with you right?" Luke said. "Well we're here now, might as well stock up before we go searching around again." Both Thalia and Violet agreed to that and so the three of them went out into the city to grab what they could before resuming the search for Amaltheia. After a few more hours of searching the three of them eventually found themselves in front of a statue.
"Who's Robert E. Lee?" Violet asked after reading the name on the statue. Both Luke and Thalia shook their heads at her question, neither knowing the answer. As Violet looked up from the statue she looked past it and saw Amaltheia standing in front of a rather large house. "Hey guys found her!" She said excitedly. The three of them then approached the house that Amaltheia stood before and once the three of them were standing in front of the fence Amaltheia gently nudged Thalia from behind as if she were urging her to go in.
"Well guys I guess we found what she wanted us to." Thalia said. "Who wants to explore an old house?"