Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Alex Follows

Alexander spotted his best friend from across the mess hall. Andrew and his sister were enjoying their food just a minute before, but now stared up at Chiron, who had just come up to them from the Aphrodite table. It was like he was a raincloud. Just a moment before, those two had been contentedly eating up their breakfast, then Chiron comes over, a few sentences are exchanged, and their parade was ruined. Andrew had a look of dread on his face, similar to that his new sister wore, except Andrew seemed to understand what was going on. Emily probably had no clue.

Alex looked around for Lauren, who was sitting with the rest of her Aphrodite siblings. Her usual light-hearted demeanor was now full of worry, which was not at all the normal. Alex felt left out of the loop. He really wished someone would tell him what was going on. It was really irritating sometimes that his two best friends were both head counselors in their cabins, and he was stuck under the leadership of Austin Swift, an over-confident, suave guy with sunshine blonde hair, a charming (and sometimes blinding) smile. He – Austin that is – would be told whatever his best friends were being told. But not Alex. He hadn’t been at camp long enough, or gone on quests enough, to be considered good enough to get that kind of first-hand information. If he could just go on a quest, which he had been training for over the last few years, he could outrank the oh-so-gorgeous Austin and finally get to the same place as his two best friends.

An observation quickly snapped him out of his own world. Andrew and Emily were gone. He scanned the mess hall to make sure they had left and caught Lauren’s eye.

The two of them got up from their tables, Lauren muttering an excuse for her dismissal. Alex didn’t bother. All the other Apollo kids were caught up in their own little conversations, bragging and betting and boasting and sometimes adding in poetry just for the fun of it. No one would give much of a care as to where Alex was going.

He met up with Lauren at the doorway and the two of them headed outside. Lauren spotted the two first, heading down towards the big house. She didn’t seem surprised, and Alex had the sneaking suspicion she had known where they were headed before she had realized where they were. She was probably going there too.

Alex sighed.

“So, what did Chiron tell you guys?”

Lauren gave Alex a sympathetic look, which just made him feel more embarrassed.

“He’s calling a last-minute meeting for all senior counselors to discuss something important. Everyone’s supposed to come right after breakfast. It must be urgent. And-” She hesitated. “And… I think it has something to do with the great prophesy.”

Alex rolled his eyes.

“I think we figured that out this morning, ‘member? In the stables, like, I don’t know, a half hour ago maybe?”

Lauren slapped him, not hard of course. Just playful.

“I know.” She sighed, “but prophesies mean quests and quests mean that we have to fix something, right? So- what would need fixing? Saving? Whatever it is? It’s got to be big, and when the stakes are high, people get hurt. And if Andrew has to go-” she stopped, realizing her voice had been rising higher and higher as the worry leaked into the sentences. Alex knew how she felt. The three of them had been best friends for years. Alex knew him better than anyone else. If anything happened to him…Alex shoved those thoughts aside. No use worrying about “what-ifs”.

“It’ll be fine.” Andrew consoled. “Before you get all worked up, how about you just find out what’s the problem. Then we can worry about all those worries of yours.”

Lauren nodded, and her voice was completely normal when she spoke again.

“We’re almost caught up to them. Let’s speed up a little.”

The two of them began to half jog, half power walk towards the two Jackson siblings. Lauren came up on Andrew’s left and Alex on Emily’s right, sandwiching the two siblings between them.

“Hey Andrew, how’s it going?” Lauren asked, brow furrowed and eyes searching his face with concern. Andrew sighed.

“A little rushed, maybe overwhelmed.” He glanced sideways at his sister, who was seemed to be in a world of her own, silently pondering over everything that was going on. Emily caught his eye and seemed to come back to reality.

“Andrew told me about-about the prophesy. What he thinks is going on.” She hesitated for a second, unsure as to whether or not she should continue. “I- you know what? Never mind.” She looked down at her feet, avoiding eye contact with any of them. 

They drew closer and closer to the big house. Time was running out until Alex would have to go. He, in all technicalities, was not invited.

No one could think of anything to say anymore, anything past the how-are-you-s and such. Too soon, they were there, and Alex would have to leave. He muttered a goodbye to his friends and turned to walk away.

“Wait- why are you going?” Emily asked tentatively. Andrew might have explained to her about his life, about his friends, about the prophesy, about “everything”, but this small little detail was one no one in their trio liked to bring up. He sighed and turned towards Emily, who shrank back just a little when he looked at her.

Trying to rid his tone of any of the frustration, anger, or hurt he felt, he replied, “This meeting is only for senior counselors. Not me.”

“Oh.” She looked down at her shoes again, ashamed to have brought up such a matter. Then she looked up, realization coming upon her.

“I’m not a senior counselor either. Andrew is, right? I’ll keep you company until the counsel is over. Would that be alright?” she looked from Alex to Andrew to Lauren, her eyes darting between the three of them. Alex smiled. He liked that idea. It was a lot less lonely.

                Lauren smiled. “Of course that’s alright. Come on Andrew, we’ll tell you guys everything.”

She put her arm around Andrew’s shoulder and turned him towards the counsel, leaving Emily and Alex to outside the Big House, awaiting their report on the meeting.

 

What you have hopefully just enjoyed was a rough draft, and any feedback on this is very highly appreciated, but please remember to be as honest as possible. No sugar coating. :)

Chapter 11

Chapter 11: The Two Halves Shall The Other Find

                Emily watched her brother anxiously. Would he believe her or just think she was making all this stuff up? She hoped the Athena giving journal thing was pretty normal. She already stood out too much, like usual, but normally that was because she was a demigod. A demigod with what seemed like the worst luck in the world. Now she was in a group of other demigods like her, and she still seemed to stand out. Apparently stumbling into camp via the woods after being chased by monsters wasn’t exactly the most normal demigod entrance. On top of that, she had had to be hospitalized due to blood loss and a broken bone, staying in bed instead of joining the other in the normal camp activities. When she had flown the Pegasus- she absolutely adored horses- and found out she could actually understand Pegasi that had been unique too.  Now she was claiming to be Andrew’s long lost little sister. Oh yeah. She definitely stood out.

                Andrew’s eyes flitted between the silver lettering on the page and Emily. He finally turned to his friends and asked if they could go away for a minute. That just made Emily more nervous. Whatever happened, it might be in her best interest to have a few witnesses. Lauren dragged Alex away back towards the stables, though Emily wasn’t sure why they didn’t just go to the Mess Hall to get breakfast or something. After a minute or two, Andrew turned back to Emily. He looked like he’d just figured out the cure for cancer, with eyes wide with astonishment and unbelief while a grin slowly spread across his face.

“I’m not an only child. That’s not true anymore. I-I think I remember.”

With that, he threw his arms around his little sister and hugged her tight. Emily felt relief flood through her. He didn’t yell at her, or accuse her of being a liar, or flip out on her completely. He even said that he remembered her, even though she had almost no memory of him or their family.

                Andrew pulled away, beaming at her, his eyes looking her over as if seeing her for the first time.

“How long have you known this?” he asked

“About two hours, give or take.” She paused before asking somewhat hesitantly, “Have you suspected something like this would happen? I thought you might yell at me or call me a liar or-“

Andrew cut her off before she could finish, “or completely disregard a evident hint from my grandmother, who knows everything, that you’re the little girl from the photo, the lost half,”

He paused, obviously noticing Emily’s confused expression.

“There’s something I got to show you. But first, I promise, we’ll get you some breakfast.”

They set off towards the mess hall together, the tension between the two of them depleted almost completely within those few minutes.

Walking down to the mess hall, Emily considered how emotionally messed up the few days had been. First, she’d been running away from yet another horrible monster, forced to leave any friends she’d managed to make, mortal though they be, and chased nearly to dealth until she’d passed out in the woods. Then, she’d been relieved to be safe in a camp full of people who knew what it was like to be chased by monsters. She’d felt a little defensive, maybe even ashamed, of herself, thinking of how strong everyone else here must be. She’d found friends, and everything was on the verge of being normal when Athena, her immortal grandmother, reveled that she was Andrew’s sister, meaning she wasn’t a traditional demigod, but the daughter of the son of Poseidon and daughter of Athena. Her health had been restored with uncanny speed it was like magic, which Emily supposed it was. All that was left was a brace on her shoulder, and even that was beginning to become useless as her shoulder had nearly mended itself. It all seemed too good to be true, but her hopes of just fitting as much as any demigod could had been squashed by the strange facts that surrounded her, the strangest of which had to do with her family tree. All of this within, what? Two, almost three days? Now, at last, she was going to face all the other demigods in the mess hall guided by her enlightened new found brother, Andrew.

“You alright?” Andrew asked. His eyebrows were creased in concentration as his dazzling grey eyes studied her face, trying to diagnose her expression.

Emily tried for a smile. Her brother had been so understanding and helpful. Not to mention he had saved her life. She wished she would have been able to grow up with him. He was the best brother any girl could wish for. She just hoped she could meet his standards.

“Never better. So, all this stuff you’re going to tell me. You’re being strangely secretive about all this. Why do we have to wait until we get to the mess hall and why did you send Lauren and Alex away?”

Andrew’s expression relaxed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo which he handed to Emily. She examined the picture. It was a family of four, a mother with curly blonde hair falling loose across her slim yet athletic figure and grey eyes alight with intelligence and joy. She held a small baby girl in her arms, wrapped in a blanket so that only some of her blonde curls stuck out. Next to them was an impressive-looking man with dark, windswept hair and jubilant sea green eyes like a soldier returning from war. A little boy with that same dark hair was below him with eyes grey as his mothers and a wide grin spread across his face.

“This is us? When we were little?” Emily guessed.

Andrew nodded and gently accepted the photo when Emily returned it to his grasp.

“I found it in my parent’s room one night, when they were gone. Kept it on the desk in my room. It never made much sense to me, since I never remember having a little sister, that is, until last night.”

He told her about the dream he’d had the past night: the memory of when the two of them had been separated. Emily felt her skin tingle with goose bumps during the last part.

“You’re an only child now. And that’s what you’ll remember for as long as it is the truth.” Andrew repeated. “Come to think of it, it must have been some sort of magic or something: some enchantment so that I’d never remember having a little sister as long as you were gone. Now I’ve found you, I remember, since it’s not true that I’m an only child. Question is: who did it and why?”

The way he said the last question, Emily suspected he had an idea what the answer was. Before Emily could push for any more answers, though, they reached the Mess Hall where groups of campers, probably from the same godly family, enjoyed their breakfast together. All those demigods in one place. The feeling was ominous and intimidating. Andrew put his hand over her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile.

“Come on. You’ll be at my table.”

The two of them walked over to a table set with silver goblets, plates, and silverware.  Andrew picked one up and Emily did the same with another.

“Bacon and Eggs” Andrew told it. Food appeared on the plate, warm and inviting like it had just been cooked. Emily copied him and was satisfied by the bacon and eggs that appeared on her plate. She followed Andrew to a blazing brazier, where he scraped off select food from his plates and muttered,

“Poseidon.”

Emily followed his example and, assuming this was an offering to the gods of some sort, muttered Athena instead. The smell of the fire was amazing: bacon, eggs, sausage, pancakes, fruit, yogurt, French toast, waffles, and other scents Emily couldn’t quite identify. Normally, the combined scents would have made her sick, but strangely, these combined nicely to produce a wonderful aroma. The two of them returned to their places at Andrew’s table, and began to devour their breakfast. Emily tried her best to eat slowly, knowing too much too fast could make her sick, but the hunger won out and soon her plate was clean. A centaur clip-clopped over towards their table. Chiron, Lauren had told her. His expression was grave and extremely serious. Before he could say anything, Andrew stood to address the centaur, the sentence seeming to burst out of him.

“Chiron! The lost shall the other find, it’s all fitting together. I remember now- Emily’s my sister!”

His voice was hushed but full of barely contained excitement. It seemed like he had just figured it out all over again.

Chiron’s expression lightened a bit, his frown easing into something just short of a smile.

“How are you feeling, my dear?” he asked, though the way he said it made Emily feel like he probably already knew most of the answer.

“Just fine, what about you?” she answered, mustering as much confidence as she could into those few words.

Chiron’s frown returned and he looked, if possible, even more worried than before.

“I shall explain everything at the counsel I shall conduct as soon as breakfast is over. All senior counselors are dismissed from their usual morning activities to accommodate this last-minute meeting. I fear you are correct, Andrew. Everything is fitting together.”

Andrew’s face fell. It was almost heartbreaking to see her brother go from excited, relishing the fact that he had found his little sister, that he could remember her even, like he had just solved a puzzle he’d been working on for years. Now, with only a few words, his euphoria had instantly melted into worry and dread like he’d just been handed a death sentence. Chiron walked away, leaving Emily as confused as ever, just when everything had started to make a little sense.

Her brother just stared at his plate, not daring to make eye contact. She wasn’t sure what to say, and scared of the answer as to why those few sentences had completely flipped his mood. The food on her plate seemed cold, unappetizing. Something was horribly wrong and she had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with her being there.

Guilt swept over her. For as long as she could remember, her presence had endangered those around her. She was a constant target for many monsters, of which wouldn’t mind hurting those around her in the process. Nothing she did could ever stop that. Monsters came and went, leaving her friends and sometimes kind-of family with injuries to prove they were there. All her fault. All of it.

Now, among so many other demigods, she had done it again. She had seemed to stand out from the beginning: she was too old of a recruit, her entrance was different from any other recruit, her heritage was like only one other demigod she knew here, and that was her brother. A brother she had only known was hers for less than a day. The same day Chiron had to announce an emergency meeting. Emily had done it again.

She suppressed an urge to get away from this safe-haven camp, to avoid hurting any more people she cared about. She needed to stay to support her brother; especially after all he’d done for her.

Finally, Andrew stood up, gesturing for Emily to follow him out of the mess hall. She stood up and obediently trailed along after her brother. The two of them headed down past the cabins, staying close to the river flowing into the lake nearby.

And he began to tell me everything.

*Hoped you liked it!! If not, please say so so that I can improve this draft. :)

Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Emily’s Identity Revealed

                Lauren and Alex walked behind the two, quietly discussing the new change of events.

                “Bet she’s a child of Aphrodite like you, Lauren,” Alex hypothesized, “She’s survived this long, which might be because she doesn’t have quite as strong a scent as a more, um, powerful god, you know..” Alex glanced over at Lauren, preparing for some sort of come back, and then quickly continued, “And she’s good with the Pegasus. You must have seen her- a natural. Plus, no one can say she isn’t beautiful. It’d make a lot of sense if she were an Aphrodite kid.”

                In front of them, Alex watched as Emily showed Andrew the journal she was holding in her hands. Andrew examined it and stopped dead in his tracks. If Alex hadn’t been as far away as he was (so as to give Andrew space to ask Emily what he wanted) he would have run straight into his best friend.

                It was like Emily had just given him a bomb. He stared at it, his eyes wide with realization, flitting back and forth between the cover and the girl. They finally rested back on Emily, who looked a little sheepish, anxiously watching his reaction.

                Alex was thoroughly confused. His first instinct was to be angry at Emily for making his friend like this, but she looked so nervous and innocent, his anger melted away into concern and utter confusion & curiosity. He looked over at Lauren, whose expression mirrored his bewilderment and concern. She looked like she wanted to say something, but pursed her lips and stayed silent, watching Andrew and Emily intently. Alex didn’t have quite as much self control.

“Andrew-” he started, but was cut off when his best friend looked at him. His expression was unlike Alex had ever seen it. He looked like he’d just solved something huge out of the blue, but his eyes were glossy like he was trying not to cry. It was so not Andrew, Alex wondered what could have possibly happened.

“Alex, please. Could you guys give me a minute?” His voice was carefully controlled, calm even. Not at all in line with his odd expression.

Alex was completely caught off guard. Lauren grabbed his arm and began to drag him away, back to the stables, yanking him forward whenever he tried to sneak a peek behind him to where Emily and Andrew were.

“Lauren, what in the world?” he snapped once they had gotten back into the stables.

“Do you know what went on there? Why-”

Lauren spun on him, looking exasperated.

“Are you kidding? Did you at least read what the journal said? Do you have any idea about how delicate the situation is right now?”

Alex took a step back, stunned by Laurens retort.

“No. I was a little more concerned with my friend who, if you noticed looked-”

“I know Alex, but you still haven’t answered my questions.”

She looked at him expectantly, like a teacher waiting for the dumb pupil to answer the problem. Alex immediately felt defensive.

“No, I didn’t read what the journal said. I-”

Lauren held up a hand before he could continue.

“The journal had an owl on it, the symbol of Athena. Athena claims her children by giving them one simple, useful item. The coolest I’ve heard of was a New York Yankee’s cap that made the wearer invisible. That was Andrew’s mom, by the way. Andrew got that jacket, remember? He’s never told me what it does though, if it does do anything. Obviously, Emily got that journal. Her name was on there, spelled like the Emelye of Greek mythology,” her voice trailed off for a second, but Lauren snapped herself back to the conversation immediately, “Anyway, her full name was on there. Emelye Jackson. She must be Andrew’s sister. I don’t quite get it myself, but come to think of it,” she paused, collecting her thoughts, but Alex interrupted her, his own thoughts racing to put the pieces together.

“That photo of Andrew’s family when he was really young. The one on his desk. He was really little then, and it was him with both his parents, and his mom held a little girl with golden curls. I remember that part because I thought it was cool how one kid got dark black hair and the other light blonde. Complete opposites. What I don’t get is why Andrew hasn’t told us sooner. We’re his best friends. Why wouldn’t he tell us he wasn’t an only child, what we thought was the truth.”

Lauren nodded. “I wonder the same things.” She agreed. Then she gasped like something big had just occurred to her.

“Hey, Alex, you know how everyone always thought the great prophesy has something to do with Andrew? It’s starting to make sense. When wisdom and water become intertwined, that means a child of both Athena and Poseidon, like Andrew,”

“The two halves shall the other find,” Alex continued for her, “You don’t think- It couldn’t mean- Like if, you know, the two siblings found each other. You know how Andrew doesn’t have all the powers of Poseidon and Athena? How he only has like half of each? Like he can’t speak to Pegasi like his dad can because he’s son of Poseidon. Wait a second. You don’t think-”

“That Emily can speak to Pegasi?” Lauren finished for him, “And that’s kind of why she was so good at it this morning? That’s exactly what I think. The two halves are the siblings, and now they’ve found each other.” She smiled, like the fairy tale had just ended happily ever after.

“But-” Alex interjected, “She who is three shall take they who gave birth. Andrew’s parents are gone, longer than usual. They must have been kidnapped, if we’re assuming that this prophesy is coming true. But who’s she who is three? And, what about the rest of it? A second darkness shall engulf the earth, Only through wisdom may all be saved, or all shall be lost as the minds are enslaved. That doesn’t sound good at all.”

“Oh, just a little ray of sunshine, aren’t you Alex? Pardon the pun.”

Alex just rolled his eyes. “Just looking at it rationally.”

Lauren tried for a smile, but it soon faded.

“How do you think Emily and Andrew are doing? It’s probably a lot to take in, reuniting with a long-lost sibling and all. No wonder Emily looked so nervous earlier.”

“Well, I know where they probably are. Reunion or no, everyone has to eat breakfast.”

He smiled at her and the two of them headed out of the stables back towards the mess hall.

For the, what, 10th time now? Feedback appreciated, yes this is a rough draft, and I still hope you enjoy the story so far. :)

Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Pegasus Rider

            Andrew walked along the grounds with his best friend Alex, son of Apollo. He needed to get away from all the other campers for a little bit: just take a few minutes to breathe without all the expectations weighing on him, without the worries of where his parents were, without a great prophesy to live up to or people depending on him. Just a little time to relax, to walk around the camp with his best friend on an early morning in the summer. He felt like he was on the verge to something huge. He needed to take a step back and just look over it all. Just a little time to sort through his thoughts before the day started. Just a walk around the camp with his best friend to clear his mind, to sort through the many thoughts swarming through his mind. If he just took a step back, he was sure he’d be able to see the bigger picture.

 

            “Can’t wait for capture the flag. We’re gonna cream you guys. We got the Hermes cabin, the Hephaestus kids, Ares…” Alex emphasized this last part and looked with anticipation at Andrew, like he expected his friend to be scared off by this news. When Andrew just nodded his understanding, Alex continued in a much less enthusiastic tone, “and then of course we got Hypnos, Hecate and Nike.” He paused and glanced over at his friend, “okay, not excited about capture the flag,” he noted.

            They strolled along in silence, breathing in the fresh air and relishing in the beautiful summers morning. Golden and white light caught Andrew’s eye like the sunlight had reflected off valuable coins, aiming the resulting beam into his cornea. He looked up to see a pure white Pegasus, which explained the white light. In the direct light, the beautiful Pegasus’s well-groomed coat was the color of fresh snow, sometimes half-blinding campers who looked at it in direct light. The winged horse was moving gracefully through the sky, dipping, weaving, streaking forward and even doing loopy loops.

            Normally, this sort of behavior wasn’t all that abnormal. A Pegasus was a free spirit, and loved to be soaring through the sky at its own liberty.

But what surprised Andrew was that it wasn’t just the Pegasus. Someone was riding it: a girl with long, curly blonde hair. Her face was lit up with joy as she and the Pegasus seemed to soar through the sky with one mind. The resulting wind made her hair seem to ripple like liquid gold behind her, revealing a wide grin and sea green eyes sparkling with delight. When the girl and the Pegasus turned around in another loopy loop, Andrew caught sight of a shoulder brace affixed on her left shoulder.

Andrew realized his jaw was hanging open, and quickly closed it. He composed himself and glanced at Alex, hoping his best friend hadn’t just seen how stupid he must have looked a second ago, but Alex had the same expression of absolute amazement and awe as his gaze followed the girl and her Pegasus. Before long, Alex seemed to realize his best friend had noticed his expression, and quickly masked his astonishment with a mask of polite curiosity, but his face was still a little pink.

The Pegasus took a dangerously steep swoop and sped into the stables in a streak of white, vanishing from the sky in an instant.

Without a word, both boys dashed into the stables. There, looking completely at peace and perfectly healthy was Emily. For the hundredth time it seemed, Andrew was amazed what the food and drink of the gods (and of course some well-deserved rest & water-healing powers) could do. Only yesterday, Emily had only the strength to sit up and talk. She could barely lift her arm up because of the broken clavicle. Now, she was like any normal demigod at Camp Half-Blood: standing, walking, and even riding a Pegasus with no problem. The last part wasn’t exactly normal- not every camper could ride a Pegasus that well, especially on their first day without any guidelines or supervision or instruction.

            “Whoa.”

Emily turned at the sound, spotting the two boys who had just entered the stables, now standing a little dumb-founded, staring at her. She looked a little uncomfortable.

            “E-everything alright with you guys?” she asked. Andrew could hear the nervous tremor in her voice. She was uncomfortable and probably scared that she might have done something wrong. Andrew, for the second time that day, hastily composed his features, feeling rather embarrassed. He glanced over at Alex, whose expression was a mirror image of his own.

            “Everything’s fine,” Andrew answered, trying to keep his tone light and casual, “We were just, um, taking a walk-” Andrew winced, knowing how much the truth sounded like some dumb excuse, and hastily continued, “and we saw you flying with the Pegasus. How did you learn to fly a Pegasus so well?”

            Emily blushed. “I-I don’t really know. Just naturally, I guess” she told the floor, not daring to meet anyone’s eyes. She looked uncomfortable still, but there was something else. Was she holding something back? Why was she so nervous around them? She’d seemed plenty confident talking to them yesterday. What had happened since then?

            Andrew noticed something clutched in the girl’s hands: a journal of some sort. Where had she gotten that? Andrew pushed the thought aside. One thing at a time.

            “Oh. Cool. So, how and why did you get here?” he asked.

“Guys!!” came another voice from the other end of the stables. Lauren stepped inside with a chastising look on her face.

            “Seriously? This girl has been interviewed to death by the two of you. Can’t you just relax for a bit without all your questions?!”

            Andrew seemed to find the floor to be very interesting at that moment, still examining it when he replied,

            “Sorry, um, my bad. But seriously,” he continued, looking up and trying to make the best of the situation,  “you look loads better than you did yesterday.”

            Emily looked up from the floor and smiled.

“Thanks, Andrew. I feel great, thanks to you all of course. I can’t tell you how grateful I am. I owe my life to you all, really,”

            Her eyes shone with adoration, passing from one person to the next as she spoke.

            “To answer your question, Andrew, I got here from that blue house where you left me to recover. I came here because I saw the Pegasus flying in the sky and, well, I couldn’t help myself. I love horses, especially flying horses.” She hesitated for a moment, perhaps unsure of whether or not to say more on the subject, then continued, “I joined in on the fun. Actually, I just barely got back on solid ground. So, you guys going to do anything here in particular?”

            Alex shook his head in reply, “nah. Just came to see our new exceptionally talented Pegasus rider. You could give Lauren a run for her money.”

            Lauren laughed, her face pink. “Before we do that, Emily, have you had any breakfast? You slept through dinner last night, and I’m sure you must be famished.”

            Emily shook her head.

“Well then,” Andrew announced, “Let’s go to the mess hall.”

            A whinny came from the Pegasus she had been riding earlier, and Emily turned to face it. Was she blushing? She stroked the Pegasus’s head and murmured something. Andrew remembered the previous day when the water had mended her swollen shoulder, at least mostly, a power his dad had as a son of Poseidon. Now she had shown herself to be a natural at riding a Pegasus and seemed to not only get along with the winged horse, but understand their whinnies. That would explain why her face went pink after the horse whinnied, and possibly why she had hesitated earlier when talking about how she loved horses, especially those that fly.

            “Come on, Emily,” Andrew prompted.

Emily scratched the Pegasus behind the ears, then turned to follow Andrew out of the stables towards the mess hall.

Same as last time: no revision whatsoever and feedback is VERY MUCH appreciated (hint hint...)

Hoped you liked it though, :)

Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Athena’s Visit

 

            When Emily awoke again, the sun was just barely peeking over the waves, causing the clouds to almost glow yellow, orange or pink. The camp was practically silent. The only noises were of the timid birds chirping in the woods, the waves lapping against the shore, the tree branches rustling in the wind, and, if you listened very closely, the gentle snoring of the campers. Everything seemed peaceful – safe. Emily couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this relaxed. She was in a safe place, with food, water, friends even. It was a relief not to be running around anymore, fighting back the monsters, trying to explain her situation to those who could never understand, barely scraping by with what little she had, being forced to run from one foster home to the next.

            Her vision cleared and she saw a woman standing over her. She was beautiful and powerful with dark hair tumbling over her shoulders, knowing grey eyes and a powerful presence about her, as she seemed to be emitting a soft silver light. Her face was timeless and kind as she gazed down on Emily. When she spoke, her voice was calm, gentle and full of confidence.

            “My dear, how strong you have become. Just like your mother,” she paused for a second, “my favorite daughter.”

            The longing in her voice was unmistakable.

Emily sat up in bed as straight as she could. The calm, collected confidence from the woman seemed to be brushing off on her. She quickly analyzed the situation in her mind, associating what she saw to something she knew from Greek mythology. She looked like a goddess. A grey-eyed goddess.

            “Athena.” Emily whispered in an awed voice, gawking up at her favorite goddess of all time. She was the one who had conquered and punished the ancestor of those nasty, bloodthirsty spiders. She was the patron of the capital of Greece. She had never created monsters, hurt heroes, or was vengeful without reason. She had helped bring about happy endings in all the Greek myths she was part of: reuniting Odysseus with his wife and son, giving Perseus (one of the few heroes with a real happy ending) the means to slay Medusa, one of the worst monsters of Greek mythology. She had helped hundreds off Greeks, demigods or not, to overcome their challenges, from the Trojan war to the invention of the chariots. Joy swelled up inside her. Emily’s mother was the goddess Athena’s favorite daughter. That meant that Athena was Emily’s grandmother. Everything was getting better and better. She’s been rescued, bandaged, fed, protected, and now claimed by her favorite goddess of all time.

            The goddess smiled, her eyes glittering with pride.

“You are intelligent my darling, one of the various traits you have inherited from me.”

            Emily felt like she had just been injected with ambrosia. Blissful warmth circulated through her body. Athena, her grandmother, had called her strong and intelligent. Not a mistake, a wimp, a freak, a weakling, a mess, nothing she usually got.

            The goddess returned Emily’s wide grin and handed her a book wrapped in leather with a silver owl glinting on the cover with the name Emelye Jackson inscribed below in the same silvery color. Emily stared at it. She had never known her full name. She had been abandoned, found along the roadside near a farm in Connecticut when she was only eighteen months old. No one had told her how they had known her name was Emily. No one knew her last name. It changed from home to home, as she had been pushed out of and shoved into foster home after foster home.

            Emelye Jackson. The puzzle pieces clicked into place, revealing a bigger, grander picture. Andrew Jackson’s parents had been a daughter of Athena and a son of Poseidon. Emelye Jackson’s mother was Athena’s favorite daughter. The daughter who had married the son of Poseidon and had two kids, one had been in camp half-blood for nearly their entire life. The other had just arrived, sitting up in a hospital bed in the big house, eyes wide with realization as she stared at the silver letters etched in the leather bound book her immortal grandmother held.

            “This will never burn, and nothing written can ever be erased. I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self. This journal is a tool for you to use, use it wisely. It may help you find your faults and correct them before it is too late. Your enemies are the first to discover your mistakes, but if you find them first, you may have the advantage. This may also help you find happiness in time of need, for happiness depends on us.”

            The goddess placed the book on Emily’s lap, smiling at the girl’s astonished reaction.

            “Remember- Act quickly. Think slowly.”

With that, the goddess vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving Emily to pour over the leather bound journal. She held it with reverence and gentleness, gingerly opening the cover to reveal the blank pages in which Emily was to write. Emily turned back to the cover and stroked the silver owl lovingly, relishing in the new knowledge that she was the granddaughter of the grey-eyed goddess. On the third stroke, a pen appeared in her hand. It looked like a regular ball-point pen, but it was grey-blue, and, as Emily started to fastidiously write in the journal, it gave produced a dark inky-blue ink that almost seemed to glow in the semi-darkness of the early morning. Her curly blonde hair fell down over her shoulders, nearly concealing the presence of the journal Emily was pouring over. In the distance, the sun rose even higher over the long island sound.

After only a few hours, the sky was a clear blue spotted with cotton white clouds here and there. All evidence of the storm was gone, and bird merrily chirped away in the woods as the campers began to get up for the day to come. Emily’s stomach rumbled and she realized it was breakfast time.

            Emily gently put the journal down and slid out of bed. She straightened all she could, laying the sheets smooth across the surface of the cot and making sure that everything was the way it was before she had come here.

            Grasping the journal in one hand (the pen had disappeared once again) she continued out the door, turning in the same direction she had seen the others go. She wasn’t quite sure where she was going, but figured that she’d probably meet up with some other demigods from this camp who would probably lead her to wherever everyone ate breakfast. There, Emily could probably find some familiar faces: Lauren, Alex and Andrew. Andrew Jackson.

            Her heart began to pound with anxiety. How do you break the news? Just go up to him and say, Hey! According to Athena, you’re my long lost brother!! Surprise!!

            Not exactly the sort of thing you say to people, especially those who you just met yesterday.

            She continued all the way down the hallway, finally coming to the exit. The sight nearly took her breath away. Strawberry fields stretched beyond a small river that cut through the camp. Lush green hills surrounded the camp like they were protecting the camp from the outside world. On one hill glittered something gold glittering in the early morning sunlight, hanging from a branch on the pine tree. Birds chirped in the woods, which loomed beyond the shed-looking building and what Emily guessed to be a training arena or something. One sound didn’t make sense- the neighing of horses from above. Emily looked up to see majestic creatures soaring freely through the clouds. A wide grin spread across her face and her eyes lit up with delight like someone had told her it was Christmas.

            For a few minutes, Emily watched in awe and adoration as the winged horses- Pegasi- relished in their freedom, flying high above the rest of the just-waking camp. Her eyes followed one Pegasus as it swooped down back to the stables, lying just beyond the strawberry field. She grinned in anticipation, and began to sprint toward the stables.