CHAPTER 2: MERIDA

An arrow shot through her massive red hair. "MERIDA!" her cabin leader shamed on safe distance. "I swear to all the gods, if you ride that Pegasus into the field one more time, I'll throw you into the Ares cabin! No kidding!"

It wasn't the first time Merida had been scolded for wanting to ride a horse animal when she practiced her archery. It reminded her of her homeland. Besides, she honestly didn't see the big deal about it – 'Your flying sticks cannot compete with a Pegasus; get the heck down from your high horses, you filthy bastards.'

Helen came stomping angrily up to her with arrows chattering in her quiver with every step. The rest of the Apollo kids sighed and rolled their eyes in prevention of what would happen next. "Every… single… day…" one of them muttered bored and hit his head lightly with his bow.

Helen was a nice girl. …or at least they said so. Since day one she's been a pain to live with, and it didn't make it better that lots of other campers liked her and blamed Merida for Helen's constant tiredness. It's not like Merida tries to annoy her, but no one shall tame this wild stallion. She thought she'll get it easier when she left home, no mother to keep telling her what to do and constantly hold her to a goddamn schedule like she was some other doll she could play with! Helen wasn't that bad though, but she made the Apollo kids do things differently than the other cabins. Everyone else looked so much freer, while they had to stand in a perfect line, shooting arrows on still targets. Sometimes they had healing classes, but it seemed like Apollo forgot to give her that gene. Merida usually ditched that class due lack of knowledge.

Their cabin leader wore an orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, a fresh pair of jeans, her dusty blond hair cut short above her shoulders, and her quiver strapped to her waist. After Merida arrived here, she figured it was only Helen and herself who liked their quiver better when bouncing to the hip rather than having it painfully fastened to their backs.

The leader's eyes were on fire. "Go put that Pegasus back in the stall, Dunbroch. It doesn't belong on an archery field."

The Pegasus, Willow (Merida renamed it because "Flicker" is a goldfish's name), stomped impatiently at the ground. He was pure black from hooves to the tip of his wings. Chiron had told her on one of her first days here, that Willow was the only offspring after the first black Pegasus ever seen on Camp Half-Blood; Black Jack.

Merida couldn't help but lean her head slowly backwards like her cabin mates had done, illustrating a painful death. She was tired too – from always listening to orders and scolding. Merida straightened and sighed. "How would you know? Have you ever tried to resonate with a horse and follow their movements as-"

Willow snorted, like saying 'Horse? Really? I shit you not, half-breed.'

Merida shook her head. "Pegasus, whatever. Anyway, Helen, you don't know what it feels like to-"

"I don't care, Fire!" She raised her arms in a declining gesture. "You are putting the animal's life in danger! What if we hit Flicker? We are using Celestial Bronze arrows; we don't know what would happen."

Merida narrowed her eyes brows. Willow seemed just as offended by Helen's concern. The red head slipped down from the Pegasus' back and stood face to face with her superior. "Willow is the fastest animal we've ever seen. Do you really think you'll manage to make a scratch on him even if you tried? Shrink your pride a couple kilometres and maybe THEN you can be concerned about him."

Merida turned away from her and began her angry walk north, to the cabins with Willow small jumping happily beside her.

It took a couple seconds before Helen managed to say something. Our hero imagined the counsellor's face switch between six different shades of furious red, and it actually made her laugh when she spoke up.

"Remember to lock up Flicker, you- you- you sh-shameless weasel!"

But the good mood didn't last long. As Merida walked between the cabins lined up like a horse shoe, she pouted and groaned all together. Sure, she's having a good time here at camp, but it would be perfect if Helen would stop nagging on every single little thing she did!

Then a boy came racing up to her, tripping and falling on his face a couple times, but he kept going. "Merida!" It seemed like his helmet made him off balance as he tried to switch its weight from one side to another constantly.

This is Hiccup by the way. He came to Camp Half-Blood last year after the satyrs had gotten a report of constant monster attacks on his island Berk. After his mother died, his father had taken good care of him but it never occurred to any of the two that he wasn't really Hiccups father. Though, according to the young Viking, after he was claimed by Hephaestus, he felt kind of relieved. He had never been like his dad in any way. Merida almost felt bad for being happy that Hiccup didn't fit in in his godly father's cabin. She had felt very lonely when being the only outsider in a place where demigods belonged. Then Hiccup had found her stabbing the ground with her Celestial Bronze sword. He didn't say anything, just sat down and joined her grumpy mood. That's how they became friends.

He approached her, smiling smugly. "WHOA, tone down the joy; we don't want people to think our 'Fire' has a nice side. Helen, right?" he asked, though he knew the answer.

Merida snorted along with Willow, who still felt offended. Beside the helmet, Hiccup was covered in thick, black liquid - motor oil probably. Well, you never know with a child of Hephaestus. She had seen him with cloths on fire once; cloths ripped like they'd been trapped in machinery; and his whole being soaked in green slime they still tried to find out what was.

She strangled her urge to laugh. "Um, Hiccup, you got something on your cloths."

"Where?"

"Everywhere!" she exclaimed. "I mean, dang it, have you guys had a water war with oil or something?"

He looked down on his cloths again. "Well, no. But when you mention it... Hey, do you care for a swim?"

She flashed him a grin. "I refuse to scrub you back again, but you're on! First one to get their things and run for the beach wins!" Merida didn't wait for a response, she was just glad to get something else to think about for a while. At least she thought she would, but the Fates didn't have the same idea.

Willow was bored and went in the direction of the stall. As our red headed hero ran for her cabin, she glanced up at the Golden Fleece out of habit - it was hard to miss - and she saw another golden object there as well. Sandy and Astrid were back from their quest. Merida figured Hiccup would beat her anyway, so she ran for the hill at full speed to meet them. It was few demigods who considered Merida a friend, but Astrid and Sandy where two of them, along with the counsellor of the Hermes cabin, Flynn Rider, and a couple more people.

As she got closer, she saw the two were waiting for the third part of their team still climbing the hill. "Hey guys!"

Astrid lit up instantly and dropped her Celestial Bronze axe on the ground. "Merida!" She nudged her friend. Astrid wasn't a hugger. Sandy simply grinned and waved at her. Merida squeezed him in a hug and Astrid spoke up. "How are things here after we left? I bet it's quiet."

"With me still sticking around? Give me some credit, Astrid!" our hero said jokingly.

Just then, Flynn made it up to them, but he looked absolutely exhausted. He was carrying a girl with insanely long golden hair, who's leg was about to split into two pieces in a very bloody way. The colour of her skin matched her eyes as she weakly peeked up at Merida where she stood frozen. Suddenly, Blondie's eyes widen by the sight of her and she gasped, causing some of the colour to rush back to her face. She clung to Flynn, and he looked like he could faint from carrying her.

"FIRE!" Flynn shouted, snapping her out of the shock. "Are you gonna help or just keep standing there like another airhead?"

"Oh geez, sorry!" Merida said with worry in her voice as she kept a close eye on the blonde. She turned towards the camp and whistled one long, high-pitched time. She turned back to the girl once she spotted a flash of black leave the ground by the stalls.

"Can you stand?" she asked, holding out her hands.

Flynn let her down on the ground, making sure she put her weight on her left foot. Strange, Merida thought. He doesn't care like that for other people. Blondie swayed slightly and Merida stepped up to catch her. Even her arms felt weak. What on earth have happened to this girl? And why hasn't Flynn used the little knowledge of first aid he knew of to help her?

"Nectar and ambrosia doesn't work on her," the Hermes counsellor panted. "I don't know why, it just won't affect her. And I'm pretty sure I gave her way too much of that shit." As he told her, Willow landed behind her, causing the blonde to stare at the Pegasus in awe.

Our hero stabbed him with her glare. "Well, maybe that's the reason why she's so weak! Even with her leg like that, this isn't normal!"

"Well, she didn't get any better. Besides, you burn your insides when eating too much, not turning all-"

"We'll talk about this later, Flynn! You get the others to Chiron, at least the rest of you can still walk." Merida growled silently and supported the new girl as they walked over to the Pegasus. She climbed on his back and stretched her hand out to Blondie who smiled and took it. With both girls on the horse back - Pegasus back, whatever - Blondie sitting in the front and Merida behind, Willow spread his wings and they took off.

She introduced herself as Rapunzel. Rapunzel: small; currently sickly weak; seven meters long golden hair. She spoke like every word was a unique melody.

"Where are you taking me, Merida?" she asked, amazed by the view of their little green spot, Camp Half-Blood.

Relived that Rapunzel seemed better, she smiled. "I'm getting you the best future doctors there is, Punzie. Since our godly groceries won't work, you need mortal medical attention." Merida steered them towards the big house and Willow dived downward.

Wind blocked her ears as the speed accelerated, but she still heard a faint 'no, not there.' Merida hit the brakes, if horses have had any brakes, that is. Willow stopped diving and started sailing the winds instead, really annoyed with Merida for not making up her mind about the speed.

She leaned a little back on the Pegasus. "Something wrong?"

Rapunzel fixed her eyes on the horse mane, not interested in the camp's beauty anymore. She sighed. "No, it's just- I don't want to waste good doctors' time. I can get in shape by myself, but…" She trailed off. Her fingers played with her hair, parting golden strands, braiding them…

"So you… can heal yourself?" She had reached Merida's curious side.

Punzie shrugged. "Well, yes. Sort of. I won't have survived for this long if it wasn't for my hair."

Merida thought about that for a while - twisting the idea around in her head. "Willow, take us to my cabin. The others are still out on still-standing archery training." And Willow dived again.

As soon as Merida got Rapunzel inside the Apollo cabin, she locked the front door and helped her into the bathroom. They passed posters of herbs, ways of doing first aid, famous archers from books, movies, and reality. Nailed to the wall by almost every bed was three nails; one for the quiver and two for the bow. But they walked past that.

Rapunzel sat down on the chair by the bathtub as Merida locked the bathroom door after throwing the rest of golden hair inside. Then she walked over to the new camper and stared at her with wonder and unease. "Are you telling me your hair can heal you?"

"Yes, in a way. Why are we insolated like this?"

"Punzie," Merida sat down across from her on the bathtub. "Even here, that's not normal. One can't simply heal themselves with their hair; we don't have that kind of power, no matter what kind of demigod you are." Merida just met this girl, but she didn't want her to be seen as a freak for a special ability. No one deserved that. The red head felt worry build up in her chest. She could see it dawned to her in the way she let her eyes glide down to her hands where she held on to a purple piece of cloth. Suddenly, our hero felt her energy drop.

She fought back the dizziness. "But it's okay to tell me!" Merida grinned, trying to enlighten the mood. "I won't judge you. I bet you'll be claimed by the campfire tonight and then things would give more meaning."

Rapunzel giggled. "Yeah, you got some magic aura yourself, don't you, Merida?"

The archer's joy disappeared instantly. She felt a cold creep up her spine, like Jack was breathing on her back to scare her again. Her eyes widened and she felt off-balanced like Hiccup did while wearing his helmet. 'There's no way she can be aware… of my family's curse.'