Alright, guys, so here's the deal.
I'm going through some things right now, and I need some time to work through it. I have depression (and no, it's not because I'm a bitter single person on Valentine's Day. I like being single). I'm not suicidal, or anything, so nobody worry about that. I just find it hard to get through the day sometimes. And right now, it's been getting really bad. The medicine the doctor gives me just makes it worse, for whatever reason, so I have to work through it on my own. And it makes me exhausted. Plus, severe writer's block kind of comes with the whole gloomy thing, so I don't have anything written.
Don't worry, I'm not going to abandon the story, or go months without writing. I'm going to take a week off to write as much as I can, and then I'll try and post at least twice every week until I'm completely back on my feet. Hopefully, that'll be soon. I will post another chapter in a week. I promise.
If you feel like it, you guys are welcome to post ideas for me. I appreciate all the help I can get. But I'm fine either way.
Happy Valentine's Day! See you next week!
Chapter XXX
Reyna
Reyna watches Nico sleep more than she watches for monsters. Coach Hedge has that covered, trotting around and smacking random trees with his baseball bat.
In sleep, Nico's face is completely relaxed, free of worry and stress. He looks so peaceful that it makes Reyna realize just how much he really worries whenever he's awake. But it's not only worry that's gone from his expression. It's anger, bitterness, and loneliness, along with some emotion that looks a lot like longing.
Reyna wonders what he longs for. To forget? She's sure he'd like to forget his experience in Tartarus. He'd be crazy not to.
To remember? Maybe he missed his family. Reyna remembers that he had another sister once, before he found Hazel. She wonders what happened to her. To be accepted, finally, by another? Reyna knows that Nico has always been alone. Just like she has, although unlike her, it was more by choice, not necessity.
Whichever it is, Reyna wants to help him achieve it. He deserves that much at least.
She forgets how young he is sometimes. Only thirteen, maybe fourteen. Too young to be involved in all this. But then, Hazel is even younger than that. And yet both of them were born long before Reyna was. Still, Hazel and Nico have both been forced to grow up prematurely. They deserved more of a childhood than the ones they received.
Reyna herself was around their age when she and her sister, Hylla, were taken captive by the pirates only a little more than four years ago. They both learned to fight quickly. They had no other choice. So Reyna, too, was forced to grow up prematurely. But before then, she spent more time than she'd like to admit worrying about how she looked, and what clothes she should wear, and wearing makeup that covered up her true self. She was nothing more than a Barbie doll for Circe to take out and play with whenever she liked. Her life might have been peaceful, but she would never go back to it. Not in a million years.
She sighs. Too many children are forced to grow up too soon. Thirteen-year-olds shouldn't be part of a quest to save the world that could very well end up in their death. It isn't right. And yet it is the way of life for demigods. Most of them, anyway.
"DIE!" Coach Hedge suddenly shouts into the silence, startling Reyna out of her thoughts.
"Gleeson?" She calls. She can't see him through the trees anymore. "Anything wrong?"
Silence. Reyna slowly stands and draws her sword, scanning the woods for any sign of danger.
"Gleeson?" She says again, trying to keep her voice low.
"No, no nothing's wrong. You can put your sword away." Coach's voice calls quietly. But Reyna can sense that something isn't right. Coach would never tell her to put her sword away. And he's never quiet. Ever.
Reyna steps closer to Nico, putting her back to him to guard against potential threats.
"Come on, you can put that thing away. Don't you trust me?" Coach's voice asks.
"No." Reyna mutters under her breath. "Who are you? What did you do to Gleeson?"
Stupid, maybe, to let the monster know that she isn't fooled by it's tricks. But she wants to get on with the fight. Unfortunately, the monster isn't through trying to trick her.
"It is me, idiot. Put down your sword!" Okay, now it's the monster being stupid. Coach wouldn't call her an idiot. Cupcake, yes. Kiddo, yes. Wimp, definitely. But idiot? Not Coach's style. And now they've progressed from 'put your sword away' to 'put your sword down,' which Coach would definitely never tell her to do. No demigod in their right mind would put their sword on the ground, out of easy reach, when they're trying to guard something. Or someone, in this case.
Reyna doesn't answer this time. Instead, she runs through what it could be in her head. She keeps coming back to the same conclusion. The only one that really makes any logical sense, considering that the monster is imitating Coach Hedge's voice almost perfectly, if not his way of talking.
Just when she decides that she must be right, something moves in the trees in front of her. Something tall, and wide, and definitely not human.
As if it would be. Reyna scoffs at her last thought. Then the monster steps out where she can see it.
The first thing she registers is its size. The figure is massive, easily three times her size, definitely in width and maybe a little shorter than that in height.
The second thins she registers is its hideousness. Its face is disgusting, with a huge, bulbous nose that looks like it's been broken more than once, and crooked yellow and brown teeth. Its eyes though, are what really catch her attention. Or eye, in this case. Because it only has one bloodshot, yellow-green eye right in the middle of its forehead.
Cyclops. Reyna's guess was right.
He (she assumes it's a he, since it's only wearing a loincloth, which, by the way, is making her want to gouge her own eyes out) holds a club that looks like it was made from an entire tree instead of just a branch, like Coach Hedge's.
Can't I ever catch a break? Reyna thinks in exasperation. Just once, she'd like to go somewhere where there aren't any monsters waiting to attack them.
She glares at the Athena Parthenos accusingly. Stupid statue. It's like a freaking monster magnet.
"What did you do to Coach Hedge?" Reyna demands, looking for him.
"Oh, don't worry about him." The Cyclops says, baring his mossy teeth at her in what she assumes is a smile. "He's just catching up on some sleep."
By that, Reyna assumes he's unconscious. Although how he could be, she doesn't know. That old goat can be pretty dang terrifying when he wants to be.
"What do you want?" She asks warily. She's pretty sure she already knows the answer, but hey, it never hurts to check.
"Oh, nothing much." The Cyclops replies, looking her up and down with a look in his eyes that can only be described as hunger. "It's just been a while since a demigod has wandered into these parts. I only want to talk."
Yeah, right. Reyna thinks. And I'm not a daughter of Bellona.
"Yeah, sorry, not happening. You can go now." She says out loud. The Cyclops stares at her. And then he laughs.
"No. No, I don't think I will. Come here, girly. Put down your pointy sword and talk to me." He tells her.
Now it's her turn to stare. If that's the best this guy can do, it's no wonder he's going hungry.
"No, thanks. I'm not really in the mood to talk. So if that's all you wanted, you should go." She gives him another chance.
The Cyclops tightens his grip on his club. "Well, you see, that wasn't all I wanted. I rather like the taste of demigod flesh, and I thought it was about time I got to taste it again. Surrender, and your death will be less painful."
Reyna sighs in resignation. "In that case, you should know who you're dealing with."
Judging from his expression, the Cyclops isn't used to that.
"My name is Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, daughter of Bellona, praetor of New Rome." She shows him the stripes on her forearm. He looks a little uneasy, seeing them, but she continues before she can be sure of that. "I have fought enemies much more powerful than you and won. I don't think you want to mess with me, Cyclops."
She feels strange, saying her full name out loud. It's been so long since the last time she did. She left that name behind a long time ago, when she left Puerto Rico. But for some reason, she feels better after saying it, as if a weight has been lifted off her shoulders.
For a second, the Cyclops hesitates. But then he shakes his head and takes a step towards her, raising his club.
"You don't scare me, girly. Besides, how could you expect me to believe that someone like you could be praetor?" He snorts.
That's the last insult. Reyna's expression becomes stone. Her eyes turn stormy. If looks could kill, half the forest-including the Cyclops-would be dead now. As it is, the Cyclops steps back, shocked at her anger.
But Reyna doesn't let him escape. She lunges forward, her sword swinging. The Cyclops hefts his club. But before he has the chance to use it, Reyna stabs him three times in quick succession-once each in the arm, stomach, and throat.
The Cyclops dissolves into dust.
Reyna looks down at the pile of monster dust on the ground, a little disappointed at the lack of a fight. Then again, she's had enough fighting to last her a lifetime.
She peers into the trees, looking for Coach Hedge.
"Gleeson?" She calls, hoping he's already woken up, although judging from the enormity of the Cyclops' club, he wouldn't have. "Gleeson, are you there?"
Silence. She's about to give up and step out of the clearing completely, which she really doesn't want to do, when Coach Hedge comes flying out of the shadows, swinging his club and screaming with a murderous look on his face.
"DIE! DIE, YOU STUPID ONE-EYED FREAK!" He screams, charging towards Reyna.
"Whoa, Gleeson, it's just me!" Reyna yells, lunging out of the way and falling onto the ground. He stops screaming and turns to her, breathing hard. He starts to lower his bat.
"Where'd he go? Where'd that stupid Cyclops go? I have to kill him!" The satyr insists.
"Calm down, Gleeson. The Cyclops is dead." Reyna tells him, standing and brushing herself off. "Watch where you swing that thing." She adds, gesturing to his baseball bat.
"What do you mean, dead?!" He demands.
"I mean, I killed him. Now go sit down before you hurt yourself." Reyna orders. He does as she says, muttering under his breath.
Reyna pauses to scan the shadows for any new threats. She sees none. Still, something about this place doesn't feel right. It feels...hostile, as if the trees have eyes.
She shivers and turns back to the clearing, sheathing her sword. At least there, not everything is trying to kill her.
Extra long Reyna chapter. Mostly because I was having trouble finding a place to end it. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it.