Wow ok this chapter is way longer than the last one- and it actually has a storyline! (a confusing one but oh well) Let's hear the story of Daria Hebrides.
What is thalassophobia?
Daria can tell you. It's a persistent and intense fear of the ocean.
How did she end up in Cabin 3? Nobody knows.
She hates it there. She thinks it smells of salty, dried seaweed and long-dead fish. It's blue, her least favorite color- ever. Don't ask her why, the color just irks her. The beds are lumpy and her siblings smell of the lake at night. She's not that scared of the lake, but it reminds her of the ocean- and bad memories tumble in her brain, not quite there, but lurking, flashing images and triggering emotions that she otherwise wouldn't have.
Her siblings think she's weird, but as they're laid-back and loyal, they never tease her. They keep to themselves- mostly.
It was just a regular Tuesday. Daria was relaxing on her bed during free time, tying up her almost-ginger-but-kind-of-blonde hair into a tight ponytail. All of her brothers and sisters were at the lake. She relished in the peace and tried to keep her mind off the memories that she couldn't see properly- they gave her headaches.
A small shadow fell across the room. Daria should have known her peace wouldn't last. It was her newest brother, Marcus Litger. He had only come to Camp Half-Blood a week ago, but he had been claimed by Poseidon pretty fast and accepted everything with a calm, pleased expression. He was twelve, but was so immature, most people thought he was nine or ten.
"Daria, why don't you ever come to the lake with us?" he asked, his large green eyes wide with curiosity. Daria groaned. She hated explaining; no one ever seemed to get it. She was SCARED OF THE OCEAN. Thalassophobic. Come on, people, no one's ever heard of it?
She took a deep breath.
"Marcus, I have a phobia of the ocean. I don't know where-"
"What's a phobia?" he interrupted. Daria put her head in her hands, counted to ten, then faced him again.
"It's a fear. A really, really, intense fear. Anyway, it's called thalassophobia. It can get pretty bad sometimes, and I even have to take medication if I get really worked up about it, see?" She took out the tiny bottle of pills from the drawer inside her bedside table.
"But why won't you come into the lake? It's different, it's not the ocean," Marcus exclaimed.
"Well, it's similar to the ocean. It gives me the chills, and it reminds me of the ocean, so that's why I don't go swimming with you guys," Daria explained. She wished the kid would go back to the lake now, before he asked the other question-
"So why are you a daughter of Poseidon? If you're scared of the sea, and he's the god of the sea.." he trailed off as Daria gave him a death glare. And, he asked the question. He backed up and slowly went out of the cabin. Daria heard a muffled whoop and a splash. She hissed through her teeth and started punching her pillow.
Dad, why do I hate the ocean so much? Cure me, cure me! I don't want to feel isolated anymore!
It was a rocky night for Daria. She tossed and turned and couldn't get comfortable. It was like that most nights, but she seriously couldn't get to sleep. Fo the billionth time, she glanced at the seashell clock on the wall- it was about 3 in the morning. She groaned into her pillow.
Finally, after a long, tedious while, she drifted off into her dreams. Usually children of Poseidon had pretty bad dreams- prophecies, seeing things from the past, that sort of thing. But Daria didn't have those- usually. This night, however, was different.
She was watching a pretty woman, with flame-red hair, pick up a child, who was laughing and toddling along. The kid couldn't have been more than three years old. Red-blonde hair was just starting to grow on top of her round head, and her big green eyes shone with happiness.
They were at a pier. A small wooden boat was tied to one side. The water was clear and blue as a summer sky, as blue as the woman's eyes. Seaside, Oregon, Daria thought immediately. She didn't know how she knew that. Must be a daughter of Poseidon thing. A seagull screeched over head, and lazy, fluffy clouds drifted across the sky like cotton candy.
The woman, still holding the giggling girl, got into the boat, untied the rope attaching it to the pier, and, using a paddle, rowed towards the horizon and out into open water.
Whistling, the woman rowed and rowed while the girl peered over the edge of the boat, shouting whenever she saw a fish.
"Mama! Mama!" she yelled. "A big fishy just swam by!"
"That's great, honey! Where do you think it's going?" the mother asked, grinning.
"I think it's going to feed its babies!" the girl said proudly.
Suddenly, the boat pitched sideways. The girl screamed, perhaps with delight, perhaps with confusion.
"Mama, what was that?" she questioned, her big green eyes confused and conflicted.
The woman looked out to the ocean, her eyes clouded.
"He said he would protect us on the sea," she mumbled. "Poseidon said he wouldn't let the spirits hurt us."
Um, what? Daria thought. Poseidon? Something was tickling at her brain, a theory that couldn't possibly be true.
The boat rocked again, harder this time. Something was ramming the boat, something big.
"Poseidon! Poseidon, help!" the woman pleaded.
"Mama! Mama, make it stop! What's happening! Mama, please!" the girl said, desperation creeping into her tone. "Mama, make it stop!"
They both screamed as the small rowboat pitched forward again, and they toppled into the ocean. Water whirled as the two of them fought to the surface. They clutched each other, and tried paddling back to the boat, but it was drifting away, caught by a current.
Daria saw a shadow in the water. Then a fin. The shadow swam closer, and hesitated.
Swim away! Daria wanted to shout to them.
It all happened too fast.
There was a growl, a sound like a billion bones breaking. An ear-splitting scream.
Red stained the water.
The shadow swam away.
The little girl was all alone in the deep blue waters.
She started to cry.
That's when Daria woke up, sweating and feeling dehydrated.
"And that's exactly what happened, Chiron," Daria said.
The centaur scratched his chin. "I'm sorry to say that I have no idea what it means. I'm sorry, Daria." She sighed and wandered back to her cabin.
For some reason, after her dream, she didn't think that the cabin smelled so bad anymore. It was strange.
She had so many questions.. And for some reason, she felt so.. connected to the little girl..
It was a week later. Free time. Sulking in her cabin, she breathed in the salty air. It smelled of sea breezes and the ocean, not of dead fish. The door creaked open, and she heard quiet footsteps.
Marcus.
"Hey, Daria, I think I can cure your phonia!" he chirped.
"It's phobia, Marcus," she corrected.
"Right, I can cure your phobia. I've been researching, in the Athena cabin, and I learnt that you can only overcome fears if you face them head on!" Marcus exclaimed, cheery hope filling his expression.
Daria felt queasy. My dream.. bad things from the ocean... No. I have to overcome this. I'm a daughter of Poseidon. I can't be scared forever.
"Fine," she decided. "I'll do it."
Marcus led Daria to the lake. Her siblings were all at the boardwalk, doing backflips and such into the cool green water. The water was the color of her eyes.
She looked at the lake. Indescribable panic rose inside of her. A ton of dangerous creatures could be lurking in there.. like the shark in her dream...
Her brothers and sisters whooped when they saw her.
"You can do it, Daria!" they shouted, grinning. "It's easy!"
Wrong thing to say. It was definitely not easy, if you're thalassophobic.
She slowly staggered to the edge of the little pier. She gazed into the depths below her.
Just standing there and looking at it was torture.
"If you don't jump in, I'll push you!" Marcus threatened cheekily. Daria gulped.
Face your fears head on...
She jumped.
The cold water hit her like an electric shock. It burned through her veins like fire and ice. She held her breath, her eyes squeezed shut. Wait.. I'm a daughter of Poseidon!
She reluctantly breathed in the water. She could breathe! Opening her eyes, she saw a world of wonder. A school of silver fish chased each other through the water-plants. Green-tinted sunlight made wavy patterns on the sandy lakebed. She shouted with delight, but it must have alarmed her siblings, as Marcus dived in. His eyes flicked with worry as he scanned the water. Daria waved, smiling like a madman. She couldn't believe how easy it was to be in the water! It was like a wonderland. Why was she ever scared of it?
Oh, yeah.
Memories filtered back into her head. She was certain they hadn't been there before. She recalled confusion, a rickety rowboat, a flash of red and a ferocious shark.
She was the little girl in her dream. Her mother had died. She had been shifted from foster homes to boarding schools, but she never remembered what happened to her old family.
Now she did.
That's what made me thalassophobic," Daria explained to her cabin as they walked back from dinner later. "I never remembered it, but the ocean made me nervous after- after what happened. You know."
They nodded grimly. Poseidon's kids always had the worst luck.
"Now, who wants to go swimming?" she asked.