Hey, back with Chapter Four! With more OCs, and awesomeness. RAISE YOUR HAND FOR AWESOMENESS! Thanks to thisiscorinth for being my guinea pig, for some of my story ideas. Enjoy!
-SAVE THE NARGLES
Eli decided on the second bus that she was never hiding in a duffel bag again. It was hot, now that it was daytime in Southwest U.S.A, and it was stuffy, and uncomfortable. It gave her too much time to think about her parents. What if they were still there, and they thought she was dead? But she had nowhere to go, and now that she was in this stupid duffel bag, at least she might get some dulces or something. She cuddled closer to Conjito and tightened her grasp around her wooden spoon.
But, she got to hear a lot of the gossip, and she found out that Lucy and Flynn are probably in love, or they just really, really hate each other.
"Ug, this bus ride is taking forever!" She heard Flynn groan from the seat above.
"It'll be worth it once we get back with the teeth." Lucy assured at she was typing something down on a laptop somewhere to the left of Flynn, right above her, the hum of clicking keys lulling Eli.
"What are you writing about?" Milo asked, as he closed what sounded like a book.
"None of your beeswax, I suppose." She snapped as her laptop closed suddenly.
"You must be writing about your life before the Legion, or something like Fifty Shades of Grey if you're this touchy." Flynn noted.
Lucy stayed silent, for once, and Eli assumed that Flynn was right, even if she didn't know what Fifty Shades of Grey was.
"Yes, I'm writing about this one time, when I went to the Kris Kringle market near Christmas with my dad, when I was nine. Just about all the wonder I felt." Lucy sighed. Eli relaxed a bit. She wasn't the only one who felt this way.
"You know we aren't from Chicago." Flynn said imprudently.
"Shut it! I've been in the Legion for six years! Can't you just let me walk down memory lane for a hour or so?" Lucy snapped. "Hm, can you do that?"
"Leave her be, Flynn." Milo murmured. Eli felt him move the bag and unzip it. She placed a book on her stomach and he grasped it and placed the other one back.
"It's her Discordia kicking in." Flynn whispered, and Eli could hear Lucy growl nasty phrases in Latin about him.
"It's your Virtus and Mars kicking in too." Milo retorted. Eli smiled, and she hears Flynn join Lucy in cursing. She smiles a little, because it reminds her of how her parents were. Sometimes they were sweet on each other, but sometime they bickered a lot, like Flynn and Lucy. But it only made her cringe even more.
"I heard from that Fourth Cohort that the Praetors are thinking of starting the search up for Former Praetor Reyna again." Lucy injected. "It's been what, five years since she disappeared?" Eli listened closely. She understood that her mother was once a praetor, but she didn't know much of anything else.
"Yeah, I just joined the Legion then, she was freaky! I was only nine! She wasn't a Praetor anymore, but she still was stiffer than a board with most people, tougher than drakon hide. I could understand why she was able to lead Rome single-handedly, during the Giant War. And she fought next to Former Praetor Jason Grace in the Titan War" Flynn exclaimed excitedly. So she was scary, and fought in the Titan War and lead in the Giant War. She suspected that from the stories already.
"Yeah, but she left willingly, apparently, it was decided by Former Praetors Frank and Hazel and the Senate that there would not be a search." Lucy argued.
"Well, When Frank and Hazel lead Camp Jupiter, it was probably one of the most peaceful times of Rome in the past century, right?" Milo reasoned. Eli knew Frank and Hazel from the stories.
"Yeah, so?" Flynn asked, in a slightly accusing tone.
"Reyna knew that Rome would be fine, so when she left, the reason unknown, she wasn't worried. I bet she was still willing to give her life up for Rome, at least when it was in danger, but the Legion isn't in danger. She decided to put other needs first. " Milo said truthfully, though Lucy and Flynn went back to arguing.
"For familia." Eli said to Conjito, so only they would hear, smiling at what Milo said. She knew that Milo was her favorite so far. She liked him a lot. But she really missed her parents.
Think of dulces. Eli told herself. Habas de jalea y chocolate. Yummy.
She drifted off to sleep, dreaming of eating jellybeans with Mommy, because she never let Daddy eat them.
They day they came back from Houston just happened to be the worst day of Milo's life. The day all of his uselessness was celebrated.
Of course, Flynn and Lucy got most of the glory, they wanted to bathe in it. They were both good people, on the inside, just that they were the popular legionaries. Lucy, a daughter of Discordia, causing her to erupt in anger at the worst of times, but her brutal randomness made her smart, clever, and one of the best warriors on the battlefield. And Flynn was a legacy of Mars, which always made him popular, and Virtus, who as the goddess of chivalry, made him brave, but he did have his short circuits too. But Milo secretly knew that Lucy and Flynn respected each other greatly. Not him, though.
He didn't care much. He was not a people person, and he did know that Lucy and Flynn understood him. He was just a lonely son of Mnemosyne or Moneta, to be Roman. But his mother was called by her Greek name because Juno was often called Juno Moneta. Ever since the Greeks and Romans united, the names were a blur.
Milo felt alone a lot, he was the goddess' only demigod child living today, though she was the mother of the nine Muses. He was a skinny fourteen year old kid who was always cringing at everything. People underestimated him.
But, he could see memories.
When he looked into someone's eyes, he gets a glimpse of their memories, based on how they were feeling. A picnic on a beach, a drunk parent coming home, pain exploding from a wound.
Milo barely remembers his own past, and only pays enough attention in life to get by. He spends his day wallowing himself in happy memories. A kiss, sparks on your skin, a fire burning deep inside, running though dewy grass in your bare feet, wind wrestling your hair into knots. The memories he never had.
He walked down the abandoned Via Principala, abandoned except for a few late Lares heading the other way, late for the celebration. Milo knew that today that no one will notice that he wasn't there. Shaggy brown hair, pale skin, thick glasses, it already made him labeled a loner. But his eyes scared everybody. They were every color possible, but they were fractured, like stained glass. Broken.
He continued walking until he got to Fifth Cohort, and stepped inside, flicking the light on and placed his duffel bag on the bed in the secluded corner where his bed was.
Milo placed the duffel bag on the purple covers, and placed the book he was holding back on the makeshift bookcase, resting near the end on a slight tilt. Books were his only friends. Memories of loneliness flooded his brain. Standing alone at a street corner, not sure which way to go; hiding in a closet, tears streaming down his cheeks, an older boy pushing him to the ground, nobody helping him up, and one real memory, watching the party go on around him, just happening minutes ago, nobody paying any attention to him, except the praetors, Flynn and Lucy. Filling. His. Mind.
He opened his eyes and tears ran down his cheeks. He took off his glasses and wiped the tears away. He'd walked this path though and though. He shouldn't be sobbing like a little kid.
He scowled, and smoothly grasped the zipper and opened the duffel bag.
Something hard smashed into his face, his glasses whipping off of his face. He fell down and he quickly unsheathed a small Imperial Gold switch blade and held it out in front of him, but he was as blind as a bat without his glasses. He got off of the bed and started fumbling around on the ground, until he felt them. He picked them up and placed them on. The left lens was cracked, and the right lens was missing.
Milo sighed, when he saw a blur run past him, to the to other side of the room, crouching behind another bunk. He blinked, then sheathed his blade, and walked over to where he thought who-ever-it-was was. The person crawled out, a small person, and placed something in his hand. His other lens.
He placed the lens back in, and looked at the intruder though his damaged glasses.
A ragged little girl was standing in front of him, maybe four or so, wearing shorts and an oversized sweater. Her feet were bare and covered in dirt, while the rest of her body had scrapes and bruises, the kind you only get in a battle. She was holding the paw of a rabbit in one hand, and a wooden spoon in the other hand, pointing it at Milo. That was what must of hit him when he opened the bag.
He tried getting closer to the girl, but she shuffled away when he got close. He held out his hand to the girl, but she looked into his eyes. Running, running, running, and confusion, fire, rocks.
Milo blinked, and he held his hand closer. The girl slammed the spoon against his hand.
"You are lucky that I didn't bring a potato masher instead." She threatened, staring right into his eyes with a glare that seemed humanly impossible. The eyes took him to a memory of an older woman with the same glare on her face.
"I am lucky." Milo answered, to make the creepy girl happy. He backed away from her, forcing all the memories flowing out of his head. "Who are you? I'm Milo."
The girl lowered her spoon and stuck in in the lining of her shorts, and held out her hand. "Elaine. But I prefer Eli better."
Milo shook the girl's hand, and smiled. "What are you doing here?"
Eli stared at him. "El dragón attacked my home, and I don't know where my parents are, but I came with you, so I would get food." She told him.
"Hopefully dulces. Habas de jalea y chocolate are my favorites." She added, a hopeful glint in her eyes, and a small smile on her face. Milo saw a large bowl of jelly beans, and little chocolate kisses.
"I'll get you some candy. Come with me, we can talk to Praetor Linnea and Nathan about join-."
"No! No! No! ¡No hagas eso!" She interrupted, running and grabbing Milo's legs, so he couldn't walk. "I want you to take me back to Houston, so I can find my parents! I don't want to join the Legion! Son semidioses! Están vivos!"
"Oh." Milo saw the sadness in the girl's eyes, and a fabulous idea worthy of Minerva came into his mind.
"Well...let's make a deal. I'll pinky swear." He told Eli.
"¡Está bien!" She unclenched his legs and popped up and her spoon fell to the ground. She grabbed it and placed it on the ground.
"So, let's play hide and seek." He started. "You will hide, and I will count to sixty." He grabbed a phone from nearby, and set the timer for three minutes. "When I'm done counting to sixty, I will start the timer for three minutes. If I don't find you in less than three minutes, I'll feed you, and I'll take you back to Houston to help you find at least one of your parents. You understand?"
Eli nodded eagerly, and Milo blocked the memories of giddiness. "If I do find you in less than three minutes, I'll still feed you, and I will help you find one of your parents, but you will live with a foster family in New Rome, or join the Legion, your choice. Is it a deal?" Milo crouched down and held out his pinky.
Eli held out her pinky too, and they locked theirs together. "I promise. Te lo prometo. And so does Conjito." A sweet smile graced her face, and her dark eyes glowed warmly, like coals.
Milo smiled, though his head cringed in pain, and walked outside to count.
Two minutes and fifteen seconds later, not including the counting period, Milo was freaking out, and his nerves got him. He checked the bathroom, all the bunks, behind the bunks, behind the curtains and in the closet. He was freaking out.
Where is she? How can a little girl just disappear?
Milo was just about to give up, with fifteen seconds when he heard a small thud. He walked over to the closet again, and saw a little felt ear peaking from the edge. Except it was on a high shelf, with boxes stacked to the top.
Milo started climbing the boxes, and he got to the top of the shelf, and peeked into the box.
Bad thing about not using his skill, he couldn't tell that a. She was smart, b. That she had a plan, and c. He should have never pinky swore an agreement with her.
The spoon hit him in the face, sending him tumbling to the ground, the boxes falling on him. Eli jumped out of the box and onto Milo with Conjito and her wooden spoon, then to the ground as she watched Milo struggle to get up.
"Mi mami said that you should always should swear on the River Styx when you make a big promise. But I'll go with you, because you're nice." Eli told him
"Fine." Milo said grudgingly. Never thought he would be outsmarted by a four-year-old. But now he knew that the girl was a legacy.
He opened the door for Eli, and she walked out slowly, switching from hyper-mode to timid in a spilt second. She still walked next to him, looking bold to most people. But Milo saw memories of being around strangers and being frightened.
"Where are we going?" Eli asked as they walked down the Principala to New Rome.
"I need to talk to Praetors Linnaea and Nathan, to let them know about you and the duffel bag. Then we'll either go back or you will stay with a family in New Rome. And we'll get you food somewhere along the way." Milo told her.
"Ok." Eli said, looking down.
They got to the border, and Milo was hoping that Terminus was more focused on partying today, less on who crosses the Pomeranian Line.
But once they got five feet from a marble marker, yep, Terminus was there.
"Mr. Boroi, don't you dare take one more step!" Terminus shouted, his cheeks going slightly grey. Milo sighed, and Eli scurried behind him.
"Hello, Terminus."
"Weapons please. You and the little girl. Where's her identification?"
"That's why I need to go in, to talk to the praetors about her joining the Legion or staying in New Rome. And getting her identification." Milo explained, while Eli exchanged cautious glances with Terminus.
"I still need your weapon." Terminus nodded lazily towards
Milo handed his switch blade to a floating tray that was nearby.
"And the little girl. She has some Imperial Gold on her. I need it, please, or you won't be allowed to go inside New Rome. dangerous material, along with those teeth."
Eli walked out from behind Milo, and placed three large scales on the tray and a small pile of teeth. Milo had a split second memory of her picking the spoils up, in the ruins of a house. Her home.
She walked away from Terminus, and he stared at her for a couple of seconds, them muttered something. "Have Linnaea come back later to get them, they are spoils of war. Young age to have them, but still. And have the girl brush her hair, and roll up her sleeves to one inch above her palms. And move that rock..."
Milo grasped Eli's hand and dragged her past the border while Terminus blabbed on, though Milo suspected he wasn't at his full power because it was late, or the celebrations were taking up his power, or he was somewhat drunk. He didn't even take Eli's wooden spoon away.
Milo and Eli skirted the crowd in the forum, until Milo saw Linnaea in the crowd, arm and arm with Nathan, Argentum and Aurum at their sides, talking to the citizens of New Rome. Milo ran into a surprisingly clean alley, and the ran behind a bunch of trash cans.
Milo stopped and kneeled down, so he and Eli were about the same height.
"Wait right here, I'll be right back." Eli nodded, and Milo walked away towards Linnaea and Nathan, once they were alone.
Both dogs growled at the same time. Linnaea was the first to notice him, and she nudged Nathan. "Hi, Milo." She smiled at him, but then frowned, taking in the bruises on his face and his cracked glasses.
"Um, what happened to you?" Nathan asked uncertainly.
Milo tried not to scowl. "That's what I want to tell you. I need to show you something." His head started to spin, from blocking the memories out and
"That sounds odd. Who beat you up this time?"
"No one, well, someone did, but it was out of protection. Just trust me."
Nathan glanced at Linnaea uncertainly, but Linnaea nodded toward Milo. "Ok."
Milo lead Linnaea and Nathan into the alley, with Argentum and Aurum at their heels, near the trash cans, and peeked behind the trash cans. Eli was not there.
Milo cursed in Latin, and searched the ground around the bins, some of the other hiding spots.
"She was just here..." Milo said, exasperated.
"Who?" Nathan and Linnaea said at once.
At that point, one of the trash bins opened, the one nearest to Linnaea opened, and there was Eli, sitting on top of the bags, holding her spoon one hand, eating a huge chunk of chocolate in the other, with Conjito on her lap.
"Woah, who's the random little girl?" Nathan asked. Argentum and Aurum growled at her. Then, their ears perked up, and they sprinted over to her and tried to lick her face. Eli giggled and wrapped her arms around Aurum.
"Well, they like the random little girl more than me." Nathan mumbled as he dusted off his toga. Apparently, the dogs had knocked him over to get to her.
"It's Eli" She said, clearly annoyed, trying to get the dogs to stop jumping. She took a huge bite out of her piece of chocolate. "Yo no soy pequeño, tampoco. Soy cuatro!" She held up four fingers.
Linnaea told the dogs a order in Latin, and the dogs ran back to Linnaea's side. "So...the girl hit you with the spoon, I suppose." Linnaea asked Milo.
"Yeah. When we killed the dragon, it partially destroyed a house. She apparently lived there, so she hid in my duffel bag and attacked me with a wooden spoon."
Linnaea and Nathan stared at Milo for a few seconds, until Linnaea snapped out of her daze.
"Eli, did you do all of that?" Linnaea asked, leading closer to Eli.
Eli nodded, then she collapsed into Linnaea's arms and started crying.
"Extraño a mamá y papá! I want to go home!" She wailed, the piece of chocolate falling on the ground. Milo knew how she felt.
Linnaea awkwardly held Eli, and Milo knew that Eli felt more comfortable with Linnaea than she did with him and Nathan.
"She must be tired." Linnaea told them, then turned towards Milo. "She's probably not a mortal, because she got though the border."
"I think she's a legacy, personally." Nathan said. "She says she had two parents, and demigods usually have one parent."
Milo didn't say that she knew about the gods. She knew something.
"Nathan, go back into the forum and socialize. Milo and I will take Eli to a foster home. I know just the one." Linnaea ordered. Nathan nodded, then walked out of the alley and back into the forum, with the dogs at his heels.
Linnaea started to stand up, while holding Eli, but she wriggled out of her arms.
"I don't wanna look like a weenie. Voy a caminar." Eli stood up, and held Milo's hand. Maybe she liked him after all.
Linnaea walked down the alley, where another street was, and they walked down the street until they got to an intersection, where Linnet turned right, and the road went upwards. Milo glanced at Eli from time to time, but she was holding up strong. Only godly blood can do that.
They reached a two story house, covered in ivy, with a whitewashed porch and a swing, painted a pale blue. Linnaea knocked on the door sharply.
A woman opened the door. Long brown hair, loose around her shoulders, dressed in sweatpants and a baggy T-Shirt, and a leather necklace around her neck, a knife around her waist. At that point, Milo knew who that person was.
"Hello, Praetor Linnaea." Piper Grace greeted. "Come inside. You too, Milo."
The three of them walked inside, into a small living room, with a small couch and couple of chairs scattered around a coffee table. Piper sat down on one of the chairs, while Milo and Linnaea sat across from her, with Eli in the middle, playing with Conjito.
"Can you tell me the name of the lovely young lady here?" Piper asked, gesturing to Eli. Milo had only met Piper once, and that was when he first joined the Legion, but she was one of the few Greeks who lived in New Rome full-time. Greeks came to train with the Legion for the summer, and Romans went to Camp Half-Blood for one-on-one combat training, but few actually lived in each others camps.
"Elaine. Call me Eli." She rubbed her eyes, and leaned against Milo's leg.
"Ok, Eli. I expect you want us to take care of her?" Piper assumed.
"At least for the night. Until we make final arrangements for her to join the Legion, or for her to live in New Rome." Linnea told her. "But she's... disagreeable."
Piper nodded. "I understand."
Then, Jason walked in, wearing pajamas.
"Hey, Milo, and Linnaea. Foster mission?" He sat down next to Piper, and held her hand.
"Yes." Piper answered. "We could take care of her." Jason nodded, and Milo knew that he noticed the bruises on Milo's face.
"She's a stubborn one, a born warrior?" Jason stared at Eli, who gave a sleepy wave.
"Looks like it." Milo answered.
"What about when the baby is born?" Linnaea asked. Milo noticed that Piper's stomach was slightly bulged. Piper smiled, and placed her hands on her stomach.
"We'll be fine, It's only been five months. She can sleep in the guest room, until we get a room set up for her."
"It's no problem, really."
"Ok, then. I will arrange final preperations for her to stay here, until further notice." Linnaea stood up and shook Piper and Jason's hands, and Milo did the following. Jason picked up Eli and walked up the stairs and out of sight.
Milo turned around, and saw Eli give him a sleepy wave, and he let one memory in, her getting tucked in bed at the end of a tiring day, just to let him fall back to himself.
Please fav, follow and review, if you do, Eli won't hit you with a wooden spoon. And if you want, please tell me if you have seen, or want to see The Hobbit. :)
-SAVE THE NARGLES