Chapter 8: A Deadly Object escapes my Dreams: Cinder's POV
I had to admit, Val's Twin Blades were awesome. All the way to dinner, we gawked at them and their awesomeness. Dinner was just as cool. We sacrificed a portion of our food to the gods, and our new cabin mates seemed to love us. They pointed out the epic fact that my neon orange highlights matched my new Camp Half Blood T-shirt.
They were all so logical and smart. Many of them had gotten straight A's in school. Annabeth had even been the damn architect of Olympus when they rebuilt it after the second Titan War (which they had told us about a little bit on the tour).
It was really cool to hang out with my new brothers and sisters. But there was also a problem.
I didn't belong.
How could I, the girl who's been suspended from school at least a million times be a daughter of Athena? I, the girl who's best grade was a C+. I wasn't smart like those other kids. I was just a delinquent who didn't belong.
On the bright side, Val was now officially my sister! I had always felt a strong connection with her, but now it was verified that we had the same mother. I could tell she was really happy, but I still felt strange.
I guess you could say that I've felt jealous of Val for sometime now. Okay, a lot of time. I mean, just look at Val; Straight A's, a natural-born leader, wielder of the Twin Blades (still epic), and now has a hot boyfriend. Why couldn't I be like that?
Well, she does think I have the hots for Colin, but I always tell her she's wrong. Colin's a nice guy! I could see us being friends. No, no, not like boyfriend. My friend who's a boy! My friendboy!
Okay… maybe I have the tiniest little crush on him... Great, so I'm like all of the other girls now, either flocking to Colin or Ashton. But who can help it? Just look at Colin… his accent, his kindness, the way he always protects me from Chris…
Uhg, Chris. He's such a creeper. I don't know why he's so into me, but it's messed up. Of course, with my rebel status and his criminal record, people think we're the perfect couple. In response, I say to them that I'd rather be dating Voldemort (which will so never happen because he's dead. Also, I don't approve of his lack of a nose).
After dinner, we made our way back to the cabin. Annabeth said we would share a bunk bed at the end of the, near hers. Val and I bolted.
Val tried to pull me off the ladder as the rest of the Athena kids watched in horror. After 'accidentally' kicking her in the nose, I climbed to my rightful bunk.
"TOP BUNK! CALLED IT!" I shouted to Val and my cabin mates.
Annabeth knelt down to Val, who was lying on the ground with a bloody nose. At first I thought she was crying, but then it turned out she was laughing.
"Alright Cinder, you won it… But next time, play fair!" She smiled. We all laughed with her.
"I'll get some nectar and ambrosia for that bloody nose." Annabeth said with her confident voice. "Cinder, you definitely have the makings of a good fighter. But next time, kill a monster, not your sister. Or her nose, for that matter."
I climbed down and helped Val up. She hugged me, and I remembered all of the reasons why we were such great friends.
Percy told us during orientation that demigod dreams suck. He was sure as hell right.
We went to bed after we fixed up Val's nose. I had had bad dreams since I was a little girl, but now that I knew I was a demigod, they seemed to be worse.
In the first dream, I was along side Val, Colin, Chris, Ashton, and Sam. I saw them all die, one by one, right before me. There was a voice too; I recognized it immediately.
"There's no escape, half blood," Nemesis said, "You will all die, and Olympus will be ruled by an iron fist of revenge!"
Suddenly I was sinking into the ground. The black goop grabbed at me as I screamed, until it swallowed me whole.
The second dream was much different. I was eating dinner with the Athena cabin, and they were all talking about some calculus terms I didn't understand. When I asked them to explain to me, they glared at me and said I didn't belong. A wind blew in and snuffed out the torches, and at that moment, everyone vanished. I was all alone, the outcast of the Athena cabin. I was different than them; I wasn't worthy.
"You're wrong." I heard a strong, feminine voice say.
There was a bright light, and suddenly, a woman stood in front of me. She had black hair and wore an Ancient Greek tunic with armor. She had grey eyes, just like me and Val and Annabeth. It took me a moment, but then I knew who she was.
"Mom…? I mean, Athena." I gazed at her in awe.
"Mom is fine, Ella." She must've seen me cringe at the use of my real name, "Okay, Cinder. You know, Ella is a really beautiful name. But if you don't like it, I won't use it."
"Um, thanks."
"It's not a problem. Anyway, as I was saying, you're wrong. You do belong in the Athena cabin. Cinder, you are smart, but just in a different way."
"What do you mean?" I was amazed by my mother's comment.
"Well, let's take Val for an example. She's very logical, academically smart. She's a lot like Annabeth in that way. But you are also like Annabeth."
"You think I could rebuild Olympus…?" I asked skeptically.
"Annabeth is also very wise in strategy and battle. She's quick too, which is why she wields a blade. Val now wields a blade too, if I am told correctly."
"Yeah…"
"Well, it doesn't mean that knife fighters are better than sword fighters! Or any other fighter, for that matter. It's just a fighting style, everyone has there own. But yours, Cinder, is special." She smiled at me delicately.
"What do mean? I'm no fighter…"
"Tell that to Val and her busted nose. Cinder, you were determined to get that bunk bed, so used the best strategy to do so."
"If I understand correctly, you're applauding me for beating up my sister? Any normal mother would be furious!"
The goddess of wisdom chuckled, "Well, I'm certainly no normal mother, now, am I? Cinder, you're going to become one of the greatest warriors in the history of demigods. I think a special demigod needs a special weapon…"
She held out her hands and more light shined, until a sword appeared in her hands. It was slender, and the hilt and handle were extremely ornate. The celestial bronze shimmered in a way that none of the weapons at the shack had. It looked like it had been forged by Hephaestus himself…
"Xífos ti̱s fróni̱si̱s." Athena said, "That's the name of the sword."
"Sword of Wisdom…" I automatically translated the Ancient Greek. Athena rested the sword in my hands. It felt… good. I felt empowered by the sword. I felt like I was worthy of being a child of Athena…
"We won't speak again for a long time." She told me, "But you must hear the prophecy. Ask Annabeth about it tomorrow with Val. Annabeth will have heard about it by then. You have a long journey ahead of you, Cinder. Be safe." And with that, the bright light shimmered again, and she was gone.
I woke up when Val shook me out of bed, and I fell on the floor.
"GAH!" I looked up at my smiling sister, "What was that for?"
"Partly because Annabeth needs to talk to us with the others, and partly revenge for last night's incident." She looked down at my hands. "Is that a sword? Where'd you get it?"
I looked down to realize I was holding Xífos ti̱s fróni̱si̱s. The sword had escaped my dreams along with me… But could I tell Val about my dream?
"Uh, well, I was having this dream about, um, getting a sword from the weapons shack! I must've sleep walked there and picked something out. Ooh! This is a nice sword! I'll keep it." I smiled to try and hide the lie.
Val raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Either she bought the lie, or she knew and was disappointed that I would lie to her.
"Get dressed." She said, "Annabeth and the others are waiting. We've got bad news."
"What is it?" I asked.
She sighed, "It's easier to just show you…" And with that, she grabbed me (even though I only had enough time to change my shirt. So now I was wearing my camp T-shirt, navy blue sweatpants, and I was barefoot.) and dragged me to my dangerous future.
