Dear future demigods,
Scars don't heal. Wounds do. Scars just form scabs that get painfully ripped off when you're at your weakest.
Sincerely,
Nico di Angelo
(NICO~(*(NICO)~(NICO*(~NICO*NICO~)*NICO)~(NICO)*)~NICO
When you dream, you are opening up your mind to a whole new world. It may be parallel to the universe we live in when we're awake, but the dream land is just as dangerous. For demigods especially. For demigods who have just fainted, most defiantly. You just have to know when to brace yourself. Sometimes just wearing metal armor and shields isn't enough.
She was sitting on a beach, arms hugging her knees up to her chest. She was wearing a white dress that covered her brown legs, ocean breezes coming and swiping at the crisp ends of the fabric. The brown abyss of her eyes gloomed over the sea. Her hair washing over her back like the feathers of a brown bird. I knew she was the spirit of a dead person immediately. As a son of Hades they come and try to talk to me, asking news of the living world. I didn't expect one to come and visit me after all I've done to avoid them though.
"Hello?" I whispered. I took a small step toward the girl, cautious if she was the type to explode in fits of frustrated tears. It was always like that with spirits. They never really accepted that they were dead so they got a bit short tempered when they came in contact with the living. "Who are you?"
"Nico?" Hopeful voice. Shinning eyes. Gleaming face. Bianca. "Its me, Bianca. I've been trying to contact you for days! Your connection to the Underworld has been foggy lately, Nico. Why are you shutting out?" Yet more than a year away from my sister and I've forgotten how blunt and straight to the point she can be.
"Yeah, its great to see you Bianca, it really is... But well, about the connection you see now..." I rubbed the back of my neck and looked away. I had been avoiding any contact from spirits and the Underworld because it was getting close to Halloween: The day when the veil between life and death would be at its thinnest. Times were always busy just in the month of October, dealing with spirits who tried to come alive again. I found it easier to just avoid death all together. "I, uh, um..."
Bianca shook her head, sighing heavily out of her nose. She let the matter drop. "So you haven't really been noticing the changes in the Underworld lately then, have you?"
I shook my head, feeling a little guilty. Okay so maybe I've been isolating myself from the world of death but so what? I have my reasons.
"No." I finally admitted to my sister. "I've been avoiding all contact with spirits honestly. I'm busy with taking care of Gilbert."
Bianca nodded, analyzing my words and thoughts. "Gilbert, that one with the emerald eyes..." her thoughts drowned out for a moment, them swimming back when I uncomfortably cleared my throat. "Yes," she said. "I've watched over Gilbert before. He seems so... closed off. The way he looks at the world as though there's nothing more to alight the spark in his soul. You've been really busy taking care of him like he's a little kid."
Silence.
How could I respond to that? 'Um yes, mighty ghost sister Bianca. I've been taking care of the helpless kid 'cause I'm all he's got left? Cause he's all alone in this big bad world? Cause he's still young and doesn't need to entirely lose his innocence yet? What did she want me to say?
"You shouldn't protect him so much." Bianca's eyes screwed themselves into mine. There was that big sisterly face she always pulled off. "Gilbert needs to grow strong on his own, not be spoiled from your secure protection."
"Oh cut me some slack here!" I kicked at the sand. The tiny grains found their way into my shoes and I grew more aggravated."Gilbert and his friend were kidnapped just about a year ago. He never got to find out what happened to his friend because he got taken away. Gilbert was left entirely helpless to all of it. He's still trying to recover from all that grief too you know. And he doesn't think I know but I've heard him talking in his sleep when he has the nightmare of it. You don't think I want to protect him from having that happen all over again?"
Bianca was silent. She was listening. She was waiting. I sighed and kicked at the sand again, disturbing a small crab that skirted away from me. "He... He also doesn't have a mom." I chocked out. "She left him when he was four, said he was going to visit his grandparents in Chicago when she boarded him on the wrong train to New York. So in a way the boy's like us: going from place to place with barely any memory of where he comes from. He's got it all in hands with no where to put the grief and... and..."
"And you want him to turn out better than you." It wasn't a question. My big sister sounded so wise then, so calm and collected. She knew me better than anyone in the world; yet after years of living without her, I felt guilty for forgetting how much she understood my feelings.
I nodded carefully, sweating a little under my clothes. It was so sunny out there in the dream. I could feel the sun beating down on my back, the calm coolness of the wind, the patient listener of the ocean. I don't remember any place in reality like that. "Look at me Bianca. I'm a poor teenager with no ID, no birth certificate, no education and no way of finding a life out there in the real world. I'll probably have to make a living at Camp working for Chiron or something. My life sentence was basically already written when I was taken out of the Lotus Casino. But Gilbert..."
"But Gilbert what?" Raised eyebrow. Flat lips. Monotone voice.
"But Gilbert... he has a chance. We carry the same type of grief, yet he can do something with his because he has an identity. He can go make a living out there, find a wife, do his part in some cheesy life story. While me? I've got nothing. I lost it all years ago." In a small voice I added, "he's got more than I could even ask for." I stopped hitting at the sand and just started down on it. Hands in pockets and shoulders slumped. Not trusting myself to speak anymore as the breeze fluffed up stray hairs on my head. The creature of envy sure loves to go and take a bite at you.
"You sound like how a father would talk about his son." Bianca was gazing out at the ocean still, her white clothes blending into the sand. I wanted to have her say something votively human, not something confusing with a thousand answers. Did all spirits have to say wise things you couldn't comprehend?
"Yeah I know." I shrugged, running a hand through my hair. "I can't help it though. Gilbert's a younger, talented, better version of me. Doesn't hurt to see how life would turn out if you just saw a form of yourself in a different situation."
"But if you were in a different situation?" Bianca leaned back on her arms and tilted her head at the sea, looking at it from a different angle. "If you could see your past better... would it help you with your future?"
I rolled my eyes. Oh gods don't make me talk about this again. "I've searched all around the United States, Bianca. Mom has no family here, no way of helping me understand where I came from. Just drop it."
She laughed, rolling her head back and closing her eyes."No you idiot," She teased, "don't you even know where we are?"
I was a little surprised at her words but took a good look at the area for the first time. I noticed he city buildings nearby and the lush mountains a few miles away, the place having this sort of vibrant and healthy look to it. No place in the Underworld looked like this. This area was too lively and green, too calm and coaxing of the natural earth. For all I knew, no place like this existed in the United States.
"No." I said. "We're not in the U.S anymore though are we?"
Bianca shook her head, her eyes returned to the crisp blue ocean. "We're in Italy, at our aunt's hometown. Our mom took us here once when we were little, but the memory got washed away when we took to the River Lethe."
I slowly nodded, just the memory of Mom got me a little sad. I remembered the images Hades had showed me once, the scene of how she died. Fidgeting with a string of pearls around her neck, wearing an elegant black dress, being killed by the hand of Zeus. I pushed all that pain away when Bianca got up and stood in front of me. Knots formed in my stomach when I realized that I was taller than her now; Fifteen years old I am, a few years older than she was when she died.
"Come here to this beach in Italy." She said. It wasn't a request. It was an order. "and you'll meet our aunt Martha, our mom's younger sister. She's probably seventy by now, but she has memories of mom. Much more than we'll ever have probably. Go and ask her about Mom."
"But Bianca-"
She placed a hand on my mouth, silencing my lips. Well that sure shut me up."No buts. Aunt Martha has cancer, she only has a few weeks to live. By Halloween she'll probably already be dead. If that happens then your chances of knowing more about mom will be over."
"And if I'm done with finding anything more about Mom?" It was harsh and blunt, but I didn't need to go over it again. During the second Titan War I had dedicated my life to finding more and more I could about Maria di Angelo. Did I really want to go through all that disappointment again just to find nothing in the end?
"Trust me Nico." Bianca unclipped a string of pearls from her neck, something I hadn't noticed until she coiled it on the palm of my hand. "You will want to find out more about Mom." she pressed my knuckles over the pearls, clasping it with her own hand.
I sighed heavily, staring down at the ancient necklace and fidgeting my fingers with them. Did I really think that this was worth the trouble of raised hopes? "And if Aunt Martha's dead by the time I get to Italy?" I asked.
Bianca grimaced, pressing her lips together in a state of worry."Then I'll have to congratulate you on being the only surviving member of the di Angelo family."
)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(
Bright light played on my closed eyelids. An ice pack on my head dripped steadily onto the soft heavenly sheets I was laying on. The heavy smell of ambrosia filled the air. I moaned softly. I felt like I was run over by a thousand tow trucks. A thousand tow trucks carrying bricks. And gravel. And sand. And elephants. In short, I felt horrible. I groaned when I heard Vanessa's voice.
"Hey sleepyhead." I cursed in my head and tried to open my eyes, the ice bag on my head slipping down to my shoulders. I shivered. Spots danced across my swimming vision as I slowly opened my eyes.
"Ow!" I cursed again and blocked out the blinding white light. Why was it so bright in here? I had to bury my face in my pillow because it hurt so much.
"Here." Vanessa' voice was soft, like a cute stuffed animal with nice fur. Cute stuffed animal? Gods where had that thought come from? I snorted at myself and took the nectar Vanessa offered me, gulping it all down before fully opening my eyes.
Sitting at the side of my bed, Vanessa was peering down at me, her sparkling blue eyes reminding me of the ocean. Her brown hair cascaded down her shoulders, shining as sunlight coming from the open blinds hit her. In my sleepy state, she looked a lot like a goddess, standing there, glowing slightly. The unique gestures she made were flawless; slipping her bangs behind her ears, furrowing her eyebrows in concern, tilting her head slightly. Gods I had seen some pretty beautiful women in my life but Vanessa sure was something different.
"You okay now?" she asked, in that same cute voice.
"Gah-weh-ah?" Smooth Nico... Now try talking to a girl like you actually have a brain here. "I mean uh, yeah. I'm fine now." Vanessa smiled and I felt my stomach flop over.
She nodded and leaned back on a stool, grabbing my empty cup of nectar to set it down on the table beside me. I couldn't help but to watch the way she looked at things. Like she was confused, uncertain, and even afraid of something.
"What's wrong?" I found myself asking. "Why do you look like that?" Vanessa was caught by surprise, flinching as though she'd just been slapped.
"Oh, uh nothing." She waved it away, fluttering her hands nervously. "Do you remember anything from last night?"
"Not really I-" I broke off as it all came back to me. The creepy woman. Her empty eye sockets. Her pearl necklace. The words she said. The crack Gilbert made. Did that really all just happen?
"Yeah I remember." I said, rubbing my eyes and sitting up. "Is Gilbert okay?"
"I'm fine." Vanessa and I both turned our heads to see my brother's body slumped down on another bed, his face tired and worn. "Guess we both fainted huh?" he teased.
I nodded, looking around the room to find that Forest was in the bed on my other side. She had been awake the entire time, her face staring up the ceiling with blank eyes. "Forest?" I wondered out loud. "You okay? You fainted last night."
"In no better condition than you." She sighed. She felt around her bed until she touched the handle bars on the side, using them to prop up her tired body. I was amazed by how calm she seemed. On the inside she must have been screaming from what she saw last night. I almost pitied her when she looked in my direction.
"I can feel you staring at me." She was blunt. "Stop it."
I shrugged but looked away, back to Vanessa when someone else came in the infirmary door.
It was the first time I got a really good look at the stranger.
She was graceful and sleek, the human form of a black panther that matched the determined but battered look in her features. Her body was tall and scary with shoulder length black hair and brown skin. She was Mediterranean maybe? Indian? I gulped when her black eyes landed on my face; powerful, but not exactly intimidating. More like just wise... but scared. Scared of the responsibility that came with power. I wouldn't have noticed that trait of hers if I hadn't been feeling it myself. My pain numbed when she looked at me in full golden sun light. She reminded me of Hecate, the goddess of magic… and her mother.
"You're alive." Alva Bluefyre sounded surprised. Disappointed even.
"You're not the only one who can't believe it." I tried to joke. "I thought I'd be dead back there."
She didn't even flicker a smile. Did that girl have any sense of humor? "Did you kill the creature?" She asked.
"I sent it back to the Underworld." Gilbert spoke up. He glanced at me curiously. "You tried to stop me. Why?"
Everyone looked at me. Alva cocked an eyebrow; Vanessa looked surprised; Forest's face was blank; Gilbert had that intense look in his eyes that was never good. "I..." I choked on the words. What could I say? I wasn't even sure why I had done that, yelled at Gilbert to stop from opening a crack to the Underworld. I actually owed it to him for saving my life. Not ruining a chance.
A chance of what though?
Before I could open my mouth again, somebody else burst through the door.
It was Malcolm; still in his body armor sweating like he just had ran here from sword training practice. There was a sword in his hand while he stomped in here, looking wildly everywhere before his burning gray eyes found Forest. "Forest! I came as soon as I heard you were in the infirmary! Gods what happened to you, I-" His eyes landed over Gilbert and I resting on the beds near the daughter of Demeter. He caught sight of the ice bags on our heads, the way we looked like we had just been in a fight. Stupidly, he put two and two together, or so he thought.
"Di Angelo!" I nearly jumped from the anger, rage even, in his voice when he said my name. "What did you do to Forest?" I stared at him. What? He thought I had hurt her? Gods, no, never would I ever-
"You! Gemma!" Malcolm marched over to my little brother and rested the sword tip on his neck, storm clouds brewing in his gray eyes. "I swear if you ever so much lay another finger on my girl Forest I will rip your-" A possible psychopath was pointing a sword at my brother yet all I think of was 'my girl'?
"Malcolm."Calm. Cool. Controlled. Forced. Forest was glaring in Malcolm's direction. "Put. The. Sword. Away." If looks could kill, those forest green beauties would be mass murderers. But still, 'my girl'? I was pretty sure that they weren't dating, Forest being thirteen and Malcolm already hitting seventeen. But still...
Malcolm hesitated for a moment, but he set down the weapon and sighed. "Forest you know I'll protect you at any cost. And that means protecting you from these-" He gave a dark look to me and my brother "-things."
Forest snorted, shaking her head tiredly. "I know you promised Joseph that you'd keep me safe but that's beside the point. You shouldn't-" Malcolm fired right up again.
"Forest they hurt you of course I'm going to interfere!"
She clenched her fists and walked up to him, resting a pale finger to his lips, cutting him off. "I wasn't going to say that. Now shush. I was going to say that you shouldn't come to conclusions so quickly. If Gilbert and Nico did anything it was that they saved my life. I was attacked in the strawberry fields along with Alva and Vanessa when I fainted. Gilbert had carried me back to Camp in time to help his brother defeat the monster. If anything, you should be thanking them for protecting me when you couldn't." Ouch, that was harsh. Defiantly not boyfriend and girlfriend there.
"What? I-uh-Forest you..." Malcolm glanced between all of us. He took in Vanessa face: shy and quiet. He took in Alva's face: fair and content. He took in Gilbert's face: Brave and scarred. He took in my face: Remorseful and true. At last he took in Forest's face: Gentle and strong. The face of a robin when it stares at you. I gulped when he turned to me and apologized.
"S-sorry di Angelo." Apparently apologizing wasn't something Athena's kids were used to doing. I figured. "Sorry Gemma."
I smirked. "No problem."
Malcolm nodded and turned back to Forest. "I'm here if you ever need me." He bowed his head and kneeled slightly. My eyebrows went up, way up. Wearing his armor and clutching his sword, Malcolm almost looked like Forest's 'Knight in Shining Armor'. Next to me, Gilbert tensed. He didn't like the attention Forest gave Malcolm. I smirked, again.
She was standing in front of him with her arms crossed; gaze trained on the general direction of his voice.
"Just make sure it doesn't happen again." She said slowly.
Malcolm nodded and headed out the door. Forest called out to him about one last thing.
"Wait Malcolm!"
He turned his head slightly. ", not wanting to catch sight of Gilbert glaring at him, "Yeah?"
She smiled. "Thanks for caring about me."
He chuckled and winked, even though she couldn't see it. "I promised Joseph remember? He said that if he couldn't take care of you, I would. Guess old habits never die..."
Forest nodded and Malcolm had ducked out the door. The room all of a sudden felt very quiet.
"Who's Joseph? Is he your boyfriend?" Gilbert asked out loud. Break the ice with an awkward question will you man?
Forest turned on her feet. She tried to pinpoint the location of Gilbert's voice but gave up. She decided to settle down on an empty bed and close her eyes. Her voice just barely above a whisper. "No. Joseph was my best friend. He died three years ago in the Battle of Manhattan."
We all just decided to shut up after that.
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