"The oracle? What do you mean; I have to go see the oracle?"

Eirene had studied enough Greek mythology to know what the oracle was, a person of supernatural sight which gods were supposed to speak through or prophesy. But she wasn't too fond of them. They never give good prophesies, and it always sounds like someone's dying or someone will be lost forever. She was hoping she could just slide by; this quest didn't seem difficult or hard enough for her to have to go see the oracle.

"The oracle is mandatory when campers receive quests. It lets us know whether we should proceed or not, or whether you truly are worthy to lead the quest."

Eirene's face was blank. "Wait…are you saying that even though I won the battle it still doesn't mean that I can lead the quest?"

He nodded.

"But…but…what if she prophesied that I'm not ready? That someone will die or that I'll fail in my quest?"

"Then Clarisse will be appointed leader. But please don't look so flustered; there is a very small chance that the oracle will reject you. You are the most reasonable choice, and you show great potential."

She sighed, seeing no way to get out of this. "Okay….alright I'll go see her. Where is she, anyways?"

"The oracle, Rachel, is in the garden tending to the flowers with the Demeter campers. I suggest you go there to look for her… and Eirene?"

She had already begun walking in the direction that he'd pointed when she turned around to look at him. "Yes?"

"Good luck."

She smiled softly, silently said thank you, and then continued down towards the gardens. Even though she had only been on the grounds for no longer than two days, you couldn't miss the gardens and the harvesting fields. They were abundant in size and as well in smell, the scent of ripe strawberries and blossoming petunias filled her nose as soon as she sighted it. They were pretty close to each other, and Eirene saw campers in both of the field, planting seeds and harvesting fruits. She walked towards the garden and allowed herself to take in the scenery, a great white arch led into the opening of the garden, with all kinds of flowers entwined into the wooden archway. They were layers and rows of flowers, from Roses, to Daisies to Tulips and even Venus fly traps, they were flowers and conflicting scents everywhere. She thought it beautiful and even stopped to smell a few. Faeries and nymphs sprung from the roots of the flowers and tickled her nose; giggling and flying away.

She turned around and could see two girls crouched low and digging into the ground, both planting a brand of flowers that resembled a heart, drooping. Both were ginger, with freckles spread out all over their skin. Eirene was able to indentify Rachel by the darker frizzy mane and her green eyes, while the other had a straight red hair and brown eyes. She approached them cautiously, sheepishly saying hi.

They both looked up, a smile spreading on Rachel's face. "Hello! Do you need flowers planted?"

She shook her head. Rachel seemed to connect Eirene's body language with her face and was able to tell what was going on. She looked back at her flowers. "Sit down and smell the roses, will ya?"

Eirene crouched down and examined the flowers the girls were planting. They were flowers she had never seen before. "What are these called?"

Rachel looked to the other girl sitting next to them. "What are they called again, Maria?"

Her lips moved, but no sound came out.

"Come on, I know you can speak louder than a whisper." Rachel said, friendly coaxing the girl on.

"B-bleeding hearts," She sputtered. "They're called bleeding hearts…because…because they are shaped like hearts and looks like they're bleeding." She finished kind of robotic and flat, blinking nervously. Eirene cocked her head to the side and stared at her, Maria turning red soon resembling one of the strawberries not-so-far-away.

She relieved the girl and put the attention back on the flowers. "They're something not of the normal sort, are they?"

Rachel nodded, patting the soil down firmly. "It originated from Eastern Asia, places like Japan and such. Their proper name is Lamprocapnos spectabilis, but since it's such an annoying mouthful we just call it a bleeding heart."

Rachel stood up, dusting off her shorts. Eirene noticed that the girl was not only covered in dirt, but paint as well. This is the oracle? Eirene thought strangely. She had seen the former oracle in Percy's memory, and it just seemed like a huge, massive change. She just seemed too…normal.

Rachel's face brightened as she looked behind Eirene, waving a person over. "Daniel! Nice for you to finally pay us a visit," She gestured to Maria, who has looking at Daniel doe-eyed. "She could use some help planting the rest of these flowers." She turned back to Maria and winked, stalking off with Eirene's arm locked with hers. They walked towards a more quiet area, though still in part of the garden. You could see Daniel and Rachel digging a hole where they stood, Maria avoiding eye contact and blushing profusely.

"They are so cute; don't you think they're so cute?" Rachel's voice was that of a doting mother seeing her children's baby pictures. Eirene simply nodding, glancing in their direction briefly; Daniel was still of an anomaly to her, he was simply gorgeous and she suspected he was a child of Aphrodite, but he acted unlike the other campers. His siblings would never be caught dead in a garden, planting and getting dirty. Nor would they have any tattoos or piercings, but Daniel had and did all of that.

"Maria has a crush on him, and I think he likes her too. I swear by it, he never seems interested in conversation or participating unless it has to do with her."

"She seems quite shy."

"Oh yeah, one of the most extreme cases of introverted-ness I've ever seen. But when she does speak, it's always worth hearing. And I think Daniel notices that too," A slow smile crept on her face as she watched them. "I hear he plays the guitar—"

"I'm sorry, it's all very interesting but I came here for a reason other than bleeding hearts and puppy love."

Rachel grinned. "Oh, I know. Sometimes I like to see if I can have a normal conversation with someone before they demand their prophecy."

Guilt quickly washed over Eirene, and she felt her stomach concave. Of course Rachel must miss having a normal everyday conversation with people, she probably felt incredibly lonely. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

Rachel held up her hand, and shook her head. "It's alright, you've actually lasted the longest." She folded her arms. "So tell, what's your name?"

"Eirene,"

"Eirene what?"

She shifted her feet. "Just 'Eirene,'"

She raised her eyebrows. "Well, 'just Eirene' let's see what I can do here. Follow me."

And she followed Rachel out of the garden into a room Eirene assumed was the big house attic. It was damp and empty, and frankly looked like it was used as a storage room. Eirene came across many items that seemed Greek in appearance and radiate a sort of power. Smelling an indescribable aurora, she turned and saw what looked like a pink shimmering scarf lying on a box and reached out to the touch it—

"Don't touch that!"

Eirene snatched her hand back and turned to stare at Rachel with appraising eyes, surprised. "Sorry!"

"That's a love scarf, that is. Whoever wears it falls in love with the first person they see."

"Oh," Eirene backed away from it slowly. "What's it doing here?"

"Dunno, I think Annabeth left it here. Anyways, take my hands." She reached out her hands for Eirene to grab, who followed suit. Rachel closed her eyes, concentrating hard. Not taking long enough for Eirene's mind to wonder; Rachel's eyes glowed white and her mouth opened to reveal a voice that was not her own.

"You shall travel east and find the one who has lied

See him safety returned, your promise abide

An archer, a scholar and a thief shall rise

Becoming the threat that reaches the skies

You shall travel to the west river for a friend

And find that it was useless in the end

A love shall perish, and hell you'll reap

When you anger the one who saved you from sleep

Victorious in the end you shall be

And revive the one who you want to see"

And then she was done. Her eyes no longer glowed white and when she spoke it was not in the eerie drone of the oracle, but in the normal tone that was Rachel. She shivered a bit, as if making sure the last of the prophecy was out of her and smiled brightly at Eirene, who was left with so much information to digest. It had been an unusually long prophecy, which could not have been a good thing. Perhaps her life was destined to be more dangerous than others because of who she was. But what Rachel had said…

An archer, a scholar, and thief shall rise. What did that mean? Would…someone be revived from the dead? Becoming a threat that reaches the skies, that line sounded as if a war that overtook the earth would break out.

Comments and reviews? I'd love if you review/comment, also please share!