By the time the sun was setting, I was covered in bruises and cuts and scrapes. My body looked like a failed art project. "You did good, hotshot!" Said Daphne, giving me a playful punch to the arm. I fell to the ground, but a rock blocked my fall. Joy of joys. I wanted to fall asleep right there on the ground, but my hunger drove me foreword to camp, my arms draped around my friends' shoulders.
"How am I supposed to fight a giant, man-eating fox like this?" I asked, looking at my legs. It was a wonder they were still moving.
"You're the daughter of Hestia, right?" Asked Atlanta, who had stayed all day to watch my training.
"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?" I asked.
"You'll find out when we get you back home." She replied. I liked the word 'home.'
After stumbling half a mile through the woods, seeing my home was like a dream come true. Klaus greeted me at the front door. "Good evening," She said, "Come inside, we have your dinner all ready." I walked into the building, and the chill hit me like a wall. It was obviously either air-conditioned or magical. Either way, I was sure that I never wanted to go outside again.
"We need to get you washed up first." Said Atlanta. I wanted to protest, but she had already led me into a back room and plopped me into a bathtub the size of a pool. The water stung my cuts, but it felt good after awhile. After I was dirt-free, she set me by the hearth. It felt warm and calming, and my cuts on the side that faced the fire started to fade. Atlanta smiled. "So it is true."
"What's true?"
"You're the daughter of Hestia," She explained, "Which means fire is good for you. I want to try something." She took my hand and, before I knew it, it was enveloped in flames… but I wasn't burning.
"Woah!" I said, and the flames crawled up my arms, healing the bruises and scars along the way. Atlanta let go of me and stepped back, watching in awe. When they finally dwindled to nothing, I was covered in ash. I felt energized.
"That was amazing!" Said Atlanta, "I've never seen anything like that- and look, you're not even burned!" She dunked me in the pool much to my dismay, and I returned unscarred by flames. I was clean as ever. She gave me a towel to dry off and instructed that I be in the dining hall as soon as possible. I went back to my room to get dressed to find Philana lying on the bed.
Greetings. Rumor has it that someone around here is quite the natural at ass kicking. She said.
"Look who's learned some slang!" I said, giggling.
You're not the only one can keep up with the times, sister. She said. That made me laugh even harder. They request you at the dining hall. They want you to wear this. She pointed a long red piece of cloth and a golden rope.
"Umm…" I started, but Philana helped me get it on. It was quite a nice robe, to be honest. I walked into the dining hall, and everyone was already enjoying their food. Atlanta patted the empty seat next to her. Philana sat on her regal dog bed while she munched away at her salad.
"Tomorrow," Daphne said from the other side of me, "You'll do some field training."
"What's that?" I asked. I hoped that didn't mean fighting giant, man-eating foxes.
"You're going to help us defend the world from monsters of the Evil Eye," She explained, "They come day and night. You'll come on the morning shift. It starts just before sunrise, so you'll have to get up early!"
"Oh, joy. I love getting up early." I remarked. Daphne laughed.
"Don't worry, it's amazing practice. You get to fight giant anteaters and monkeys! Sound fun?" Atlanta asked.
"Fun was not the word I was looking for, but I would be glad to come." I said. They chuckled.
"You had better get to bed," Daphne said, "It's going to be a long day tomorrow." I yawned in agreement, and walked back to my room with Philana.
Hey, people! It's me again. -^w^- Just wanted to give you all a pop quiz...
Q: What does Lauren do when she gets lots of comments on her story?
A) Jumps up and down in happiness
B) Rushes to MS Word document to write another Chapter
C) Neglects all homework until chapter is done
D) ALL OF THE ABOVE.
(In case you were wondering, the answer is D.)
Seriously! I love comments! Thanks for reading so far! I'll have the next chapter up by tomorrow. :)