Rhea looks down, trying to not peek up so she wouldn't see Headmaster Cheron's eyes boring into her. The rest of the school year had been hard and her mood had been slipping. With the freak weather that had continued, with a thunderstorm blowing out the windows in her dorm room. A few days after that, the biggest tornado was spotted in the Pledge Grove. One of the current events that they were studying was the unusual number of small planes that had gone in sudden squalls in that year.

Rhea had started to feel cranky and irritable most of the time. It took all her determination to keep her grades from slipping but she had gotten into more fights with Nancy and her friends. She was sent out into the hallways in almost every class. It all led up to the reason why she was now in the Headmaster's office. Her english teacher, Mr. Nicoll, had asked her for a millionth time why she was too lazy to study for spelling tests, not listening to Rhea when she tried to say she did it was her dyslexia. Rhea, not able to stand it anymore when he had spit in her face, had called him an old sot, though she didn't know what it meant. But it seem that it sounded good since he had ordered her here.

Headmaster Cheron sighs, "You know I have every right to write a letter to your mother and tell her that you won't be welcome back next year?" Rhea grimaces at this, "You don't call teachers old sots, Miss. Jackson,"

"I don't know what it means, sir,"

"You called him an old drunk," the headmaster sighs as Rhea smiles at him sheepishly, "You are lucky that I'm not expelling you," Rhea snaps her head up, eyes wide and mouth dropping. Headmaster Cheron sighs, "Miss. Jackson, you are our best battle student, a prodigy in Pokemon Training. And the fact is that Mr. Nicoll was yelling abuse at you when we were all inform of your disability," shaking his head again, he sits down in his chair, "So yes, while you should had not called him that, I will not be expelling you. You have great talent, Miss. Jackson, you might even be accepted at Blueberry High Academy,"

"B-Blueberry High?" Rhea whispers with wide eyes, "You… you really think I could go there?" Blueberry High Academy, founded by Cyrano Bluebert. Originally, Unova didn't have an amazing school like that of other regions. Sure they have many high schools but their trainer courses…they had weak Trainer Courses. Didn't help that when the at the time Champion, Alder Lauro, mention that he didn't bother with going to a high school, or completing his standard education after gaining his license. Which had summoned a surge of many trainers doing the same, which caused many backlashes when they didn't do well on their journey. Only 1 out of 30 starting trainers made it to Vertress Conference during those years.

But then Cyrano founded Blueberry High Academy about ten years ago, and after a few years of its establishment, students who came from that school have shown great leaps and bounds. If anyone wanted to make Pokemon Training their career choice, Blueberry High was the school to go to.

"I see great potential in you, Miss Jackson," Cheron stated, pushing his glasses up, "I do not want to see that potential wasted. I do offer an…opinion if I may?" Suspicious, Rhea nodded her head, "Now that you are 12, you are allowed to have an official trainer's license. I suggest, maybe take a year of independent studying, do online schooling and start building up your team,"

Rhea felt her heart clenching at the thought of that, hours later, thinking of the letter being sent to her mother. Going on a journey was her dream but with Gabe… "Though I think Triton will do something," she said to Murphy out on the training grounds. The little Oshawott looks up at her, tilting his head, "I mean…mom would agree to it! It gets me away from the apartment and Gabe and his stupid poker parties..I'll always be on the move…I can even earn us money," she watches as the training dummies were brought over, "at least I wasn't expelled this year…right?'

"Osha!" Murphy nods his head with a smile, making Rhea laugh. Pulling out her notebook, she grimaces a bit as she tries focus on her own writing, "Ok…so we were able to get you to learn Sword Dance pretty good…though I think now we should start learning dig," Murphy looked up at her, "Your pretty weak against electric type Pokemon…and it will give you more mobility to move on land," he huffs at this making her laugh, "Hey get a good start on this and we can then get started on trying to combine Sword Dance with Night Slash," Cheering up at that, Murphy headed to the soft covered round and to start scratching his little paws against the sand.

She smiles before she looked around. Though she wasn't expelled, she would miss the place for the year that she will be gone. The view of the woods out of her dorm window, the river in the distance, the smell of pine trees. "I'll miss Grover too," she thought. Even though he was strange, he was a good friend. "I hope he will be able to survive without me next year.. Though he might just go back to Camp and not stay here"

She would also miss Latin class, too. Mr. Bunner's crazy tournament days and his faith that she could do well. The first person beside her mom and Triton to believe in her. It was why, later the night before her finals as she sat at her desk in her dorm room, alone that she grew frustrated. With a cry she threw her Guide to the Parthenon Mythology textbook across the room, rubbing her eyes. The words had started swimming off the page, circling her head , letters doing one-eighties as if they were pro skaters. "There's no way I'm going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon…it would just be my luck if I wrote the Headmaster's name…and conjugated those latin words…I'm doom…so doom!" she moans as she paces the room, feeling like Durants were crawling around the inside of her shirt.

Mr. Bunner's serious expression flash in her mind, his thousand-year old eyes, "I will accept only the best of you, Rhea Jackson,"

"It is never a bad thing for a princess, especially a Princess of the Sea to ask for help," Triton's words echo in her head and Rhea took a deep breath as she picked up the textbook. Of all her school career, she had never asked for a teacher's help…the most was when her brother had been training her but maybe if she talked to Mr. Bunner, he could give her some advice.

She walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Bunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the halfway floor. Three steps away from the door's handle, Rhea had to stop in place as Grover's voice rang in her ears, "Worried about Rhea, sir,"

She couldn't help but freeze at this, biting at her lips. Taking a deep breath she inched closer, "alone this summer," Grover's voice trembles, "I mean, a Kindly One in the school! Now that we know for sure, and they know too…"

"We will only make matters worse for her by rushing her" Mr. Brunner stated calmly, "By the looks of things, the Mist kept her from thinking too much on it, that will give us time for her to mature a bit more,"

"Sir, she saw her," Grover pleaded, and Rhea had to fight the urge to charge in and pull him in a hug as it sounded like he was about to cry, "I… I can't fail again… I won't be able to live if I do,"

"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Bunner told him kindly and gently, "I should have seen her for what she was. I was just lucky that one of my own Pokemon has taken a bit of a habit to follow Miss. Jackson. Now let's just worry about keeping Rhea alive until next fall,"

"But sir, what about the summer solstice deadline-"

"Will have to resolve without her, Grover,"

A loud crash was heard further down the hall, making Rhea jump. Paling when she realized that Mr. Bunner had gone silent, she backed down the hall. A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Bunner;s office food, the shadow of something much taller and her wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow.

Opening the nearest door, Rhea slipped inside, her heart pounding in her chest. The slow clop-clop-clop of hooves sounding in her ears right outside the door, followed by an animal shuffling. A bead of sweat trailed down her neck, her knuckles turn light as she grip her textbook tightly. Rhea held her breath as a large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, before moving on.

Mr. Bunner spoke further down in the hallway, "Nothing," he murmured before sighing, "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice,"

"Mine neither," Grover admitted, "But I could have sworn,"

"It doesn't matter now. You should head back to the dorm. You have a long day of exams ahead of you,"

"Please don't remind me," Grover pleaded as the lights went out. Rhea stood there in the dark, mind reeling. "The winter solstice? That's when Triton said that he couldn't call me as much… did something happen that day?" Shaking her head, she slipped out into the hallway and return to her room.

Her roommate looked at her with confusion at her pale face but Rhea ignored her, getting into her bed and pulling Murphy close to her.

Whatever happen during the Winter Solstice, has cause for Mr. Bunner and Grover to believe that she was in danger… "Could Zeus have found out about me? That must be the only reason why he is so angry…I'm a forbidden child…"

The next afternoon, Rhea rubs her eyes, heading towards the door after leaving the three-hour long latin exam. Her eyes were burning in pain from all the squinting she did to focus on not misspelling the words. "Rhea," turning her head, she saw Mr. Bunner gestured towards her. For a moment, she was worried he'd found out about her eavesdropping the night before.

"None of this is easy. Not for you, not for any of us," his tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed her. Even though he was speaking quite, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit was smirking, making sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.

"Okay sir," she mumbles.

Mr. Bunner sighs, wheeling his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say, "Rhea…I have seen a lot of young people go through this sort of thing in my time but of all of them…I suspect that…you might have the most difficult journey…I suspect you are special…so much more so than you know…"

"Just….stop," Rhea felt her eyes sting more. Here was her favorite teacher, in front of the whole class telling her that she wasn't normal. She knew she wasn't with who her father was.

"No…no," Mr. Bunner sighs, "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say…you're not normal, Rhea but there is nothing…"

"I don't need any more stories about how special I don't realize I am," Rhea blurts out, "They aren't helping…and thank you sir for reminding me that," and with that she turns on her heel, ignoring Mr. Bunner's calls to come back.

Running outside to the training field, releasing Murphy from his Pokeball. The Oshawott squeaks seeing the tears going down her face and he goes to her wrapping her leg in a little hug. Wiping her eyes, she smiles shakily, "Its ok…I'm ok…" she gulps as her shoulders shake, before shaking her own head, "Lets…let destroy some stuff huh…how about we do the squishy balls,"

"Osha!' Murphy smiles but looks concern as Rhea headed to the counsel, typing in a few commands. Three small cannons were lifted up from hidden panels on the ground. Murphy smiles as he headed to the center as the cannons are positioned in an arc. Pulling his scalchop from his belly. One cannon faced him, one was on his right and the last on his left, each about twenty feet away.

With a type of a button, soft balls began to rocket out of the barrels and straight at Murphy. The scalchop glowed a whitish-purple, forming a blade which Murphy swung back and forth, trying to cover his front and sides. Seven balls burst, splashing blue paint onto the ground, but another eight lay unharmed on the ground. Rhea smiles, "Great job bud," she praises making Murphy chirp, "you're getting better," she then thinks, "Let's see how well you do if you add Swords Dance with Night Slash, ok?

Murphy nodded his head and turned back to the cannons. Closing his eyes, Murphy began to glow a slight blue, a determined look in his black eyes as he opens them. With a nod, Rhea fired the cannons and her mouth dropped open. It was like Murphy was only aware of the balls that were flying towards him, the Night Slash making a whistling sound as he slishes all fifteen balls until laying at his feet were the oozing shells. Murphy turns to her, blinking at her in shock and she laughs a bit, "Ok…we…should maybe get you to focus on something other than a target when you use Sword Dance,"

"Osha,"

Before long though, Rhea found herself shoving her clothes into her suitcase. The last day of the term had came. The other girls she shared her room with were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Mt. Coronet. Another was cruising the Alola Region for a month. They were her age but they were rich, coming from familys that were either gym leaders, executives, or ambassadors, even celebrities. Rhea while being a daughter of a God…wasn't rich.

"You really should at least pay child support," she thought as Lisa asked her what she would be doing for this summer, "I'm going back home to Castelia City," what she wasn't telling them was she would have to get a summer job to please Gabe, walking Dog Pokemon or selling magazine subscriptions. At least this time she won't be using her free time worrying about where she will be going for school in the fall.

"Oh…" Lisa fidgets a bit, and Rhea could see her fighting the urge to scrunch up her face, "That's cool…I guess," she then turns away from Rhea, and ignores her, as if she never existed.

The only person Rhea had dreaded saying good-bye too was Grover, but it turned out that she didn't gave to…at least just yet. He too had booked a ticket to Castelia City on the same bus as Rhea. So there they were, together again.

Rhea eyes Grover, watching as he kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occurred to her that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when they left the academy. "He's possibly worried about monsters attacking," Rhea thought before she couldn't stand it anymore, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"

Grover nearly fell out of his seat, his eyes wide as he turns to her, "Wha-what do you mean?"

"I mean…that's what you think I saw? I heard you and Mr. Bunner talking about it the night before the exams," she smiles a bit as Grover's eye twitched, "Oh don't worry…I didn't hear much…what's the summer solstice deadline?"

Grover winced, "Look, Rhea…I'm just worried for you… i mean your weird dreams about demon math teachers…"

"Grover,"

"And I was telling Mr. Bunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and…"

"Grover," Rhea stated firmly as he stutters to a halt, "You're a really bad liar,"

His ears turned pink before he rummage through his shirt picket and fished out a grubby business card, "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer,"

Rhea takes the card into her hand and her face scrunches, "Grover…this is really hard to read," he grimaces but after a bit, Rhea was finally able to make it out.

Grover Underwood

Keeper

Half-Blood Hill

Atalanta Cove, Humilau City

(800) 009-0009

"What's Half-"

Grover yelps, waving his hands, "Don't say it aloud! That…" he gulps looking down, "That's my summer address,"

Rhea knew the truth, she knew that this was the address of Camp Half-Blood. It shocked her to find out how close she and her mom had been to the camp all this time. The many times she could have…she shakes her head and turns to Grover, "Okay…so this is life if I want to come over and see you right?"

Grover nodded, "Or…or if you need me,"

"Why would I need you," Rhea grimaces inside at how harsh she sounded but she knew she had to keep it hidden on how much she knew. Grover blushed, his ears, pointy, nonhuman, went down, "Look…Rhea, the truth is…I kind of have to protect you,"

If Rhea didn't know the truth, she would be shocked. And a part of her was still worried, she had been worried about him, what would happen to him, "Grover…what exactly are you protecting me from?"

At that moment a huge grinding noise sounded in their ears as black smoke poured from the dashboard. Grover and Rhea groaned, covering their faces as the smell of rotten eggs filled the bus. The driver himself cursed and drove towards the side of the highway.

After a few minutes he was ordering all of them out of the bus, Rhea stood beside Grover as they watched cars pass by them. They were on a stretch of country road, no place somebody would notice if you didn't break down there. Grover was glaring at their side of the road which beside some maple trees were covered in litter. On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.

Rhea tried to ignore her now growling stomach as she looked at the stuff that was on sale. Heaping boxes of bloodred cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice. There were no customers…just…three old ladies, sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks she had ever seen.

Her blood seemed to turn to ice as she realize they were staring right at her. The lady on the right knitted one sock while the lady on the left knitted the other, both of them the size of sweaters but they were clearly socks. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn. All three women looked ancient, with pale faces, wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.

Rhea took a deep breath turning her head to Grover to say something when she saw the blood had drained from his face. "Grover?" she whispers, seeing his nose twitch.

"Tell me they're not looking at you," he pleads, hand gently grabbing Rhea's arm, "They are, aren't they,"

Rhea slowly nodded her head, "Yeah. Weird, huh?" she smiles a bit, trying to not turn her head and look at the creepy old ladies. She yelps, grabbing her head and looks down to see a small rock. Frowning, she turns back to Grover, "You think those socks would fit me?"

"Not funny, Rhea. Not funny at all," Grover whispers before he whimpers, clutching her arm tighter. Turning, Rhea saw the old lady in the middle took out a huge par of scissors-gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears and Grover catches his breath, beginning to pull her back towards the bus, "Come on. We're getting on the bus,"

"What? Grover!" she yelps, stumbling, "Its a thousand degrees in there,"

"Come on!" he yells frantically, prying open the doors and trying to pull her in. But Rhea turns, seeing the old ladies stare at her, the middle one cutting the yarn and Rhea swore she could hear the snip across four lanes of traffic. Her two friends or sisters most likely, balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for- maybe a Tyranitar or a Slaking.

At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big hunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartent. The bus shuddered before roaring back to life, making the passengers cheer. But Rhea ignores this, shivering in her seat, feeling like she had caught the flu, "¿Cuáles son ellos...? No pueden ser humanos... esto es malo ," shaking her head she gently grabs Grover by the shoulder, who wasn't doing much better with his own trembling and chattering teeth, "Grover?" she whispers, feeling her heart skip a beat.

"Yeah?"

"What…whatis going on,"

He shrugs her hand off, dabbing the forehead with his shirt sleeve, "Rhea, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"

"You mean the old ladies?" Grover nods his head and she swallows, "What about them..they're just some old ladies knitting socks," she hated lying to him, hated that she couldn't tell the truth. But unless Grover started taking her to camp she must keep quiet on how much she knew.

"Just tell me what you saw," he pleads.

"The middle one took out her scissors and she cut the yarn,"

Grover closes his eyes and gives a soft bleat of mourning, making a gesture with his fingers, "You saw her snip the cord…this can't be happening…please," he scratches at his head, "I don't want to be like the last time,"

When she saw tears began to stream down his face, his shoulders shaking, Rhea wraps an arm around him, "I'm not going to die," she whispers to him, but it didn't help as Grover let out a little sob, "Todo estará bien, amigo mío, te lo prometo,"

"Always sixth grade…why is it always sixth grade," he whispers out, shaking his head, "Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me,"

Rea frowns at this, and biting at her lips. That was unfortunately the last thing she wanted to do. She had no idea how much her mother knew about Poseidon, if she knew that Rhea's father was a God or not. She didn't want to drag her mother in this mess, especially if something worse than Mrs. Dodds came after her. And surely something would come if a satyr took her home. But she promised him, which seemed to make him slightly relaxed.

Even if he kept looking at her mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers Rhea would like best on her coffin.