We tried finding the new lair, without very much luck. Luckily, nothing bad happened. At 9:30, we all caved in and went to bed. My dreams were (yet again) strange, confusing and/or horrifying. The first dream I saw was of the young girl who had meet her death by drowning in the ocean after being chased by wolves. She looked about the same age as she was in the previous flashback. She was in a village in ancient Greece. She wore a white tunic and she ran her fingers through her long black hair. A woman approached the young girl.
"Mother... What ever happened to father? Why did he leave us?"
The woman (who was actually Daphne from that one dream with the golden light) looked towards her daughter. "Sweetheart... Father never even knew of your existence."
The girl was saddened. "He didn't?"
"No. As for why he left... I never really knew."
The girl turned away. "I keep seeing all these strange visions... I can't seem to understand why they're happening though..."
"I think those visions are just in your head."
"Mom... you will always be here for me... right?"
"Of course I will, sweetie. I love you and you're my child. I will always be here for you."
Then the scene switched. The young girl stood under a tree under a hill. From afar, she saw a house on fire and gasped. She started running towards the fire and found her mother entrapped within the crumbling walls.
"Mom? Mom, where are you?!"
Daphne's voice could be heard from afar. "Horatia. Why are you here?!"
"I came to save you."
"Horatia. You mustn't step any closer! You'll get trapped here and suffer the same fate. Go, run! Run as fast you can! It's only a matter of time before they come after you."
"Before who comes after me? What's happening?! Tell me!"
"Just run! Run while you can!"
"Mom!"
The girl, named Horatia, was crying. Then she heard a loud howling. A pack of wolves had shown up. As her mother met her fiery demise, Horatia was running away from her own death. Then it showed her falling again. Time was slowing down, then it had stopped. It briefly showed Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades against Kronos before turning back to Horatia. She gasped, time resumed and she then fell into the ocean. Who was this girl? Is it possible that... No. There's no way. This girl couldn't possibly be Diana. Diana was cruel, malevolent rebellious maiden bent on domination. Horatia was a nice girl who wanted to save and protect those dear to her. And who or what sent those wolves after her? And more importantly, why?
The vision then switched to Diana in her new lair. She was pacing around very angrily.
"I can't believe those heroes defeated Keto, Phorcys and Janus! I thought they would be creamed for sure!"
Atlas turned to the maiden. "What do we do now?"
"I have written out a plan to destroy our foes once and for all."
She got out a scroll and passed it around to Atlas. Then he passed to Hercules, and one by one, everyone read the rogue maiden's evil plan.
"Why didn't you just tell us aloud the plan?" Enyo asked.
The maiden smirked. "Great plans need no words."
Kampe sat down in a reclining beach chair. "So now... we wait."
Joe Bob, Skull Eater and Marrow Sucker, all Laistrygon Giants, groaned loudly. "I hate waiting." the first one complained.
"Oh don't worry. In the meantime, we will continue to cause chaos and further divide the Olympians."
"Isn't Pheme making that job a bit too easy though?" Chrysaor asked.
"Oh she doesn't even realize that she's helping us."
Hercules looked towards Diana. "Do you think you could corrupt her?"
The maiden raised her eyebrows, and then she smirked. "You know. That is actually a great idea. I will corrupt her. Right now."
She snapped her fingers and disappeared in a flash of gold light.
"Hey Chryasaor, didn't you mean to get Geryon on our side?" Skull Eater asked.
Chryasaor gasped. "I did, and I forgot to mention it to the boss! How could I have forgotten?"
Enyo raised an eyebrow. "Didn't Percy Jackson kill him years ago?"
"Oh he reformed quicker thanks to Gaea, but he didn't get to join her for the Second Giant War." Clytius answered. "Such a shame."
"Hey you!" Hercules pointed to Marrow Sucker. "Aren't you supposed to be guarding our prisoners?"
The monster sighed. "I always get stuck guarding them! It's so boring!"
Atlas sighed. "Alright then, we'll assign someone else to it for a while. Kampe! Guard Hera and Hestia!"
She hissed and slithered off. "So, who's the second in command here?" Clytius asked.
"Me and Atlas were fighting for second in command, so for now, we're both General/Lieutenant of Diana's faction." Hercules answered. "I know Atlas is used to being second in command.
"I'm more qualified than you are, Herc."
Hercules shot him a dirty look. "Don't get all high and mighty cause you were Kronos's lieutenant."
"Don't be so cocky cause you were once a hero!"
They glared at each other. "Calm down you two. Nobody wants to see you fight." Chryasaor said.
"I agree with the thief." Clytius stated.
Then the scene switched. Gwen was roaming in the forest. She held a list in her hand that read, retrieve 10 lavender flower petals, ten wild strawberries, and a drop of magic. She had a black cloak with her hood up. Perhaps she was trying to hide her true face from nature spirits. She briefly stopped under a tree to rest.
At least Circe already has most of the ingredients. Don't worry, Reyna. Soon you'll be restored.
Why are you doing this? What do you expect to gain by accomplishing this?
I'm trying to save Camp Jupiter.
Even if you should resurrect me, the curse won't be broken. I fear Camp Jupiter may be cursed forever.
Don't say that!
Why not? I have every right to say it. Reyna's spirit sighed. I know you're one of the most optimistic legionaries in Camp Jupiter, but you should just let me go.
Gwen continued searching. Reyna. You don't understand. All that optimism hides a dark and tormented soul. I've hidden my powers for years, and now I feel more exposed than ever. Nobody but the seven heroes know the truth, and everyone else thinks I'm just a legacy of Pluto without powers. But that's far from the truth. Octavian's predecessor knew the truth, but he didn't care. Octavian found out, but I made him swear not to say a word. During the war games, he attempted to kill me because of my power and nearly succeeded. Had my father not been chained up, I would have remained dead. I fear what would happen if the other campers knew...
And what if your husband knew? Would he accept?
Probably not. He'd blame me for the miscarriage and probably try to divorce me. And don't you remember what I told you about how Nathan blamed me? He was right about one thing; the curse is all my fault. That's why I'm willing to risk everything to make things right.
Gwen got all of the wild strawberries and then formed a crack in the ground, quickly making her way to who knows where. I woke up to the sound of a trumpet being played. I got up and then saw Leo with a music player.
"Any reason for that?"
"I just thought it might be fun to do a little prank to liven up your spirits."
Part of me was tempted to grab him by the collar, but I remind myself to stay calm. Save your anger for the monsters. I tell myself.
"So where are the others?"
"They're already up. It's 11:05. I'm surprised you didn't get up earlier."
"11:05? Oh man, I've been asleep for over twelve hours! Why didn't you get me up sooner?"
Leo shrugged. "So what's the game plan?"
"I'm not sure. With Diana and her allies relocated, we're back at square two."
"Look on the bright side. Nobody's dead, nobody's in captivity, and nobody's pregnant. Oh wait, forget that last one. But still, everything's alright."
"For now..."
"Are you still nervous about the interview?"
I nodded. "Very much so."
"That interview is in how many days?"
"The interview is on Saturday, January 7th, so... 12 days."
"That seems like plenty of time to emotionally prepare yourself."
"Then why does it feel like so little?"
"I don't really know. By the way, something I almost forgot to mention. This coming Friday, Piper and Jason will finally be having their wedding. She also wants you to be the maid of honor."
I nearly choked. "Me?"
"Yeah. What's your response? Are you in or not?"
Without even thinking, I answered, "Yeah, I'm in."
Leo smiled. "Alright. Piper will be very happy to hear this."
He ran off to tell Piper about my decision. I began to have second thoughts about this.