Chapter 22 ~ Trudy
Trudy attempted at fixing up the major damages after their brutal fight with the Lamia. Nethrys offered to help her fix the engine failure that Elektra had reported earlier. They worked in companionable silence, Adrian or Enryx checking in once in a while. They found a huge clot in the engine, and by the time they managed to get it out, they were covered head-to-toe in grease and machine oil. The rest of them had cleaned up the caravan while they worked, and when Trudy walking into their living quarters, there was hardly a trace of a fight at all.
"You're supposed to cover yourself in flour if you wanted to look like a ghost," Vytoni commented, raising an eyebrow at their general messiness. Nethrys countered her remark and soon they were bantering, though not in the way they used to, Trudy noticed. If Vytoni wasn't in the Hunt, they could make a pretty good couple. She immediately felt guilty for thinking that, and turned away so nobody can see her blushing.
"Engine's working fine?" Enryx asked, sitting down at the driver's seat. Trudy nodded and smiled giving him the thumbs up. "We'll try to make it to Mississippi by tomorrow evening."
"I'm going to go wash up," Nethrys announced, getting up and leaving a black stain on the couch. Lysandra huffed and quickly went over, grabbing a dishcloth on the way.
"Please go, you reek!" Adrian joked. Nethrys made an ugly face and deliberately smeared Adrian's hair with grease by ruffling it.
"I'm guessing I reek too," Trudy said quietly, trying to wipe the grease off her skin.
"No, no, no, I didn't mean it, Trudy," Adrian frowned and stood up.
"I'm just kidding around, Adrian, can't you take a joke?" Trudy laughed and ruffled his hair just as Nethrys did, making Adrian look like he got black highlights by a blind, drunken idiot. She kissed him on the cheek and gave him a huge hug, staining his shirt and jeans with machine oil. Trudy pulled away, quickly gave Adrian a peck on the lips before running upstairs.
Trudy then started to shower to rinse off the sticky motor oil and relax. She proceeded to wash her hair, face and body before drying herself off. After her long relaxing shower, she put on a simple floral dress with a belt around the waist and paired with some black ballet flats. She dried her hair and braided into a damp French plait. She flounced down the stairs, feeling much cleaner.
Adrian greeted her with a kiss, on her way down the stairs, but instead of going downstairs, Adrian led her up, to the roof. They stepped onto the deck, feeling the cool air press against their skin.
"Why did you bring me up here?" Trudy wrapped her arms around Adrian, leaning on his chest. There were a few candles lit up, but Trudy could tell that they were fake since the wind would've blown them out by now.
"It's the end of August," Adrian replied. Trudy recalled their conversation on the beach, and remembered the end-of-summer dance. She nodded, her brain still not catching up. What does that have to do with this? "The dance was, unfortunately, two days ago when we were off on our mini-quests."
"That's a shame, I was looking forward to going with you, Adrian," She said, softly. "But-"
"Anyway, I found out that they had speakers here, so I decided to put on some music." Adrian affirmed, as Trudy giggled, suddenly realizing what he was doing.
"Adrian, what is all this?" Trudy whispered, pretending to be oblivious.
"Well uh, I thought we should have our own mini end-of-summer dance," He wrapped his arms around her waist tight, while she wrapped hers around his neck. Adrian briefly removed an arm from her waist to turn on the music but then immediately embraced her again.
"Adrian," Trudy started, swaying to the slow music, "'I didn't know you could dance."
"I can't, but Kat has been trying to help me," He paused to laugh to himself, "I don't think she achieved much."
"I'm sure you did, she's an experienced dancer," Trudy whispered, grabbing his left hand in her right hand then held it up at shoulder level. Their movements were slow and smooth to the music. They moved gently to the slow beat of the music, Trudy giggling ever-so-often, and near what seemed like the end of the song, Adrian twirled her around and dipped her and stood her back up and the continued to slow dance to the romantic music playing faintly in the background.
Trudy let go of his hand wrapped her free arm around his neck; he did the same around her waist. They stopped and swayed to the music, and they kept doing so, until the song finally ended. They stood in front of the dimming sky, Trudy's arms resting on his shoulders.
"That was incredible," Trudy, awestruck by the amazing dance they had - it was far better alone without the glaring lights and noise from other couples. Trudy stood on her tiptoes and planted a soft tender kiss on his lips. Trudy's body was surrounded by the comfort of the Adrian's warm embrace. Adrian pulled her in closer, wrapping his arms tighter around her waist. Their lips glided over each other are smoothly, Trudy's heart pounded with lust and excitement. They pulled away from each other and smiled, Trudy's amber eyes locked with Adrian's green eyes. His eyes were soft, gentle and soulful as they gazed into Trudy's.
"Trudy, I'm sorry I never got to say this earlier," Adrian gave her a short peck on the lips, his words were full of passion and longing, "But I love you, Gertrude Bellefleur."
She smiled, her heart bursting with mixed emotions. She hugged him again, resting her head on his shoulder. "I love you too," she whispered.
They stayed like that for a while, sitting on the deck and watching the sun sink into the valley and the gleaming moon emerging, and eventually, they drifted off to a blissful sleep.
Trudy awoke the next morning with a soft blanket resting on them. She sat up and stared at the morning sky. She quickly shuffled out of the blanket and kissed Adrian on the forehead and walked downstairs to her bunk and got out some clothes to change into again. Trudy put on some skinny jeans matched with a loose navy blue tank top, still wearing the black flats from last night. She sat down on her bunk where Katerina and Rosamynd came to join her.
"Hey, where were you last night?" Katerina asked as she sat down next to her, brushing her long, golden brown hair.
"I was just on the deck with Adrian," She replied, her cheeks flushing red.
"What'd you guys do?" Rosamynd asked, twiddling her thumbs awkwardly.
"Well, we mostly danced then we just fell asleep," Trudy confessed.
"That sounds nice," Rosamynd muttered.
"That's why, he asked me if I could help him learn how to dance," Katerina laughed, shaking her head, "That's really sweet of him, though," She added.
Trudy nodded in agreement, "It was supposed to make up for the end-of-summer dance we missed, but it was a whole lot better."
Katerina smiled as she braided her hair, "End of Summer dance?"
"It's this dance that happens at the end of summer," Rosamynd explained, "It's really nice, and there are these really cool fireworks in the end."
"Sucks that we're on this quest though," Trudy said wistfully.
"Hm," Katerina looked thoughtful, then she shook her head, "I'm off to take a shower."
Rosamynd also bade Trudy farewell. Trudy decided to go upstairs and watch some TV Trudy settled her beanbag. She flicked through the TV channels hoping to find something interesting to watch. She started feeling extremely drowsy despite just waking up. She closed her eyes, and all of Hades broke loose.
Panic. Panic shot through Trudy's veins as spun around, whipping her head around the room. Where is everyone? She stepped towards the door just on her right, with light seeping through the door crack. She cautiously opened it, poking her head around the corner.
I'm being silly, No one's there. Yet fear was taking over. Her heart was pounding at a rapid pace, goosebumps rising from her skin. She stepped through the doorway, only to step into a place she instantly recognized. Camp Half-Blood. Except no one was sparring in the grassy areas or clambering up the lava climbing wall. There was no sign of movement or sound. Trudy immediately ran towards the cabins. She smiled at the familiar sight of the Aphrodite cabin, the painted blue roof, checkerboard deck with steps, the luminous silver walls. The lavender door was already wide open, welcoming her back home.
She was finally back in her life-sized dollhouse with pink walls and white window trim. The sheets and feather comforters on the bed matched the pastel blue and green laced curtains that blocked out the scorching sun blazing through the windows. She jumped onto her bed, which was neatly made, every single inch of their cabin neat. The exception being the absence of chocolate and sweets wrappers, love notes, and other bits of Aphrodite love junk. Exactly how I left it. She looked around eagerly waiting for her friends to arrive, but hours seemed to have passed, and no one was there. There were traces left from her friends and family, she quickly opened a diary that was kept hidden under one of her half-sister's mattresses, so she checked the date. This morning. Where did everyone go?
The scene changed.
She was in the second floor of the caravan, also known to them as the Den. Again, No one was there. Trudy's breath quickened, and she ran up the roof, down to the kitchens and bunks, looking for any signs of life.
"Adrian?" She called out frantically, tears starting to build up behind her eyes. She never felt more alone. Everywhere, everything was disappearing, when soon; there was only darkness and silence, pressuring her, driving her crazy. She screamed, piercing the quietness. It echoed and multiplied, filling her ears and blinding her brain. She broke down, sinking to the floor. And then she heard her name...
"Trudy!" She woke abruptly, eyes wide and sweat drenching her.
"What happened, you were shaking and screaming, we weren't sure if you were having a nightmare or what!"
"She wasn't," Vytoni confirmed, looking straight into Trudy's eyes. She looked away, embarrassed of what she'd dreamed - no, not dreamed. It wasn't a dream.
"What happened?" Lysandra demanded, her clear, light brown eyes searching Trudy for an explanation. Everyone was crowded around her, all with concerned looks on their faces.
"I don't know, it felt like a dream but I don't think it was," Trudy whimpered, wiping off her cold sweat with the back of her hand.
"Was it like what Kyle had?" Rosamynd asked, blushing at the name but her face still filled with concern.
"It does make sense," Elektra sighed, ignoring Rosamynd's question completely and chewing thoughtfully on a strand of her ebony-colored hair.
"Shh," Adrian told them irritably, looking back at Trudy, "You okay?"
"I'm alright, I guess," Trudy whispered, her hair turning paler and paler with fright. Nethrys and Adrian helped her up and led her down to her bunk, the others trailing behind them. Nethrys' eyes, she noticed, was now practically black with worry, and she reached a conclusion that his eyes shift depending on his mood, usually a cool, steely gray. Sort of like my ability, she subconsciously touched her now platinum blond hair, willing it to go back to their original honey colour as she quickly tied it into a ponytail.
Lying down on her bunk with her head resting on her soft polyester pillow, she thought about her hypnotic state -there was no other way to put it- and her fear. She didn't realize it until now, that she absolutely loathed being left alone, totally alone with not even strangers around her, in a vast area or place. She sighed and stared at her bottom bunk's ceiling where she taped up some of her favourite paintings and sketches.
Trudy sat up again, opening her sketchbook and placing it on her lap. She started to sketch a portrait of Adrian to keep her mind off things. She stared at her piece after she finished, then folded the paper up and pocketed it. I'll never be alone this way. Not really. She shuddered again, getting up and pacing back and forth. She felt a hand slip into hers, and she leaned against Adrian, who put a comforting arm around her.
"Aren't you going to ask me if I'm alright?" Trudy joked, but Adrian looked at her seriously, shaking his head.
"I know you're not," He replied quietly.
Elektra was at the wheel with Rosamynd as guard and was now driving to their next pit stop, Mississippi. She had been to Mississippi once before, when Aphrodite surprised her children to a field trip, to learn about all those inspirational people - Oprah, Elvis, the usual. Trudy was beginning to miss her father, Hephaestus. She rarely saw him and when she did, it was on special occasions or emergencies.
"Why don't we just go to the training room to train a little, I haven't in a while," Trudy suggested, quickly taking out her bronze dagger.
"Why not?" Adrian grinned, he immediately went to go grab his dualswords and they headed up towards the training room on the second floor. They walked through the double doors of the training room and Trudy stopped for moment, taking in the scene. There was a basketball hoop in one corner, a stack of dummies in another, and a couple of punching bags here and there. Despite that, it was potentially sad-looking, with its bland plain colour scheme and dull, gray walls. The problem is, it's too... dull, Trudy decided. We should really brighten this place up.
"Hold on one second, babe," Trudy gave him a quick peck on the cheek and sprinted back down to her bunk, where she kept her paint storage. She lugged buckets of paint back up to the training room, where Adrian was staring at her with a bewildered expression.
"What's all this?" He helped her pick up a particularly heavy bucket of sky-blue paint.
"I just thought the room needed a little colour," Trudy explained cheerfully.
"A little?" Adrian gawked at the dozen of buckets she brought.
"Let's just hope the others don't mind," She shrugged, dipping a paintbrush into a can of pale, silvery paint. Trudy began picturing a nice image to have on the blank wall. She started off painting a full moon in the center, picturing the image from the dance night with Adrian. Her hands swiftly moved across the large canvas, the paint brush gliding across the wall. She felt two arms hugging her from behind, and Adrian rested his head on the crown of hers as he watched.
She painted a nice pattern, starting with her and Adrian's slow-dancing figures; Nethrys' intense, ever-changing eyes with his sword and shield; Lysandra focusing her attention on a huge tome, her feline features outlined carefully; Vytoni's arcs and strokes as she fought, her runes blazing; Katerina's, bright eyes in the midst of disappearing; Enryx and Elektra's gold and silver arrows, crossed in the middle; and Rosamynd with her flaming ruby hair and emerald green eyes.
"This is beautiful, Trudy," Adrian breathed. She stood back to admire her work, and then suddenly- splat. Adrian had flung paint at Trudy's back. Trudy spun around to face him. He laughed, holding a paintbrush that was drenched in yellow paint.
"Hey- what was that for?" She said in an angry tone, but her face trying to refrain of bursting out in laughter.
"What?" Adrian grinned cheekily. Trudy rolled her eyes but laughed, dipping her paintbrush in neon green paint.
"Come here and give me an apology kiss?"
"Oh, all right," Adrian couldn't resist and walked over to her to hug her. Trudy kissed him, and then dabbed her paint brush on his cheek, creating a huge blob of green that was slopping off Adrian's face, random green splotches dripping down onto his shirt.Adrian backed away from Trudy and knelt down to a paint can that was next to him. He sank his hands into the paint can and took them out. His hands were a bright orange color and was dripping down his fingers and onto the floor.
Trudy did the exact same with the pink paint, submerging her hand in the bucket. She smeared some of the paint under her eyes with her index finger, like the American Football players did on TV.
"It's on," She declared. There was paint flying everywhere, splattering across the white walls (the mural she painted was covered and protected with a huge plastic sheet) and ceilings. The floors were sprayed with different colours of paint, and it was clear to say Trudy was, for the first time in what seemed to be a long while, having fun.
"What did you do to the training room?!" Trudy and Adrian paused their paint war and turned to meet Vytoni's angry glare. Katerina and Nethrys, who had come up behind her, stopped dead on their tracks to stare at their beloved training room, which had turned into a pig sty with paint instead of mud.
"Oh," Adrian looked around the room, as if just realizing how much damage they'd done, "We were uh... redecorating?"
"You call this," Nethrys gawked at them with an incredulous look on his face, "redecorating?! Cool," He shrugged, picked up a can of light green paint and poured it on the stunned pair. Katerina joined him, and Vytoni just looked at them disapprovingly.
"C'mon," Nethrys grabbed Vyt's hand, leaving a mark of purple on her hand, and dragged her into the middle of the room to be pelted with flying paint. She murmured something and some sort of protective bubble surrounded her, and then-
"You asked for it," She grinned, and flung a huge glob of paint at Nethrys, who yelled in protest, staggering away.
"Paint war!" Katerina declared and threw a whole bucket of paint at the ceiling; the paint drizzled down like rain, much to everyone's cries of protest. Nethrys snuck up behind Vytoni and smudged her protection rune, so she was drenched in paint, too. Trudy and Adrian decided to gang up on the others and soon, they were all just walking blobs of multi-coloured paint. They were having a lot of fun, until-
"What in Hades did you do?" They guiltily turned to meet the furious Lysandra, who had just gone up the stairs to be smacked in the face by a really big splat of red paint. Red was dripping down her chin and down her neck. She wiped off the paint, but her face still was red; not because of the paint. Enryx was standing behind her, looking bemused and very relieved he was not at the receiving end of Lys' anger. Hmm, they wouldn't make a bad pair, too. Trudy inwardly smacked herself for her Aphrodite-ness when they were in a crisis like this.
"Um, Lysandra, we're sorry about the mess. We were just having a little fun!" Adrian muttered feebly.
"Fun? FUN?!" Lys screeched, "Paint will take forever to come off! Cleaning up will take ages!"
"Or," Nethrys suggested, "We can only clean up the floor, and the three walls and the ceiling can stay that way. It's very artistic, you know." Trudy couldn't tell if he was joking, but she secretly agreed - It does look kind of good. Lysandra paused for a moment, as if she was considering it, but she shook her head and continued to rant.
"Well, even if it was just the floor, it's going to be awhile before it becomes clean!" She fumed, "Oh! What's that?" She pointed at the section of the wall that wasn't dosed in paint - the painting Trudy did earlier.
"Oh..." She stammered, "It's... nothing..."
"She repainted that wall," Adrian clarified, "Come look!" He pulled off the plastic sheet, revealing the mural. Trudy felt her cheeks heating up as everyone 'oohed' and 'aahed', marvelling the masterpiece.
"It's amazing, Trudy," Katerina complemented.
"Wow, these look really realistic," Vytoni added, peering at the miniature versions of themselves.
"How long did it take for you to do this?" Nethrys asked her, his now-bronze eyes glinting with pride.
"Not that long but it did take a while, it's just rough," Trudy replied modestly.
"The details are exquisite," Lysandra even forgot to be mad at them to admire Trudy's work.
"Uh, I really don't know how to complement things, and everyone else took all the good ones, so... good work?" Enryx mumbled, but he smiled warmly at her before turning to look at the painting again.
"Thanks," Trudy laughed.
Then, Lysandra chose that exact moment to step into a can of paint, and all her anger earlier came back. She looked menacingly at them, then said in a quiet, deadly tone, "Now-"
"We're definitely going to clean up this floor though, we promise." Katerina quickly assured her. Lys opened her mouth, probably to chide them even more, when Rosamynd stepped into the room, her eyes taking in all the mess.
"Uh... did I miss something?"
~~~END OF CHAPTER 22~~~