Invictus || Book 1

C.02 - Hestia

Hestia dreams of a tunnel.

Made up of bricks and held together by sheer willpower, the tunnel bares no real significance to Hestia and her reality, but in her dreams, it taunts and teases her; a constant reminder that whatever awaits her on the other side, she will never reach it.

"Hestia!"

Hestia wakes with the sensation of her earphones being yanked from her ears and the familiar urgent tone of her mother.

It takes Hestia far too long to remember where she is and by the time she takes in the empty seats and the fact that Cora no longer sits beside her, her mother is already at the front of the bus, motioning with her hand to hurry up.

"Hestia, seriously let's go."

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Hestia stumbles out of her seat and after her mother, squinting when the setting sun outside blinds her the minute she steps off the bus.

"Alright is everyone here?"

Hestia waits beside the twins as her mother does a headcount.

"Minnie! I need your help with this bloody bag!" Hestia stifles a grin when her mother is cut off mid-head count and peers down the pavement to the edge of the tour bus, where her father stands glaring at one of their bags wedged in between hundreds of others.

The twins don't bother hiding their amusement and are more than happy to laugh at their father's frustrated tone.

"Right," Hestia's mother rolls her eyes and then pins Hestia in place with a look. "I'm taking your father to get more painkillers after I sought out the stupid bag. Can you take everyone back to the hotel, make sure they get ready and then meet us at that restaurant we ate at the other night?"

Hestia isn't left with much choice, considering her mother is gone before she can suggest they all go together. Instead when she turns around, she finds several bored and tired faces blinking at her, all ready to get off the nippy streets of what will be another busy night in London.

"Uhh...let's go?"

Fortunately for her, all six siblings make it back to the hotel in one piece and with minimal fighting, save for one stray comment that has Cora shoving Francis to the side as she storms past Hestia to get to the elevator.

"I hate this family!" Francis snaps at the rest of them, like it's their fault she can't control her mouth.

Hestia sighs, "Yeah, yeah. We're all evil, you've never known love and half the issues in your life totally aren't caused by your big mouth. Is that about the gist of it, Francis?"

The group fall into a strained silence as they ride the elevator up to their floor.

The minute Hestia's eyes clock her bed she flops unceremoniously onto it, vaguely registering the sound of Francis slamming the door to their shared bathroom but having no energy to do anything about it.

"Sister."

Hestia keeps her eyes shut, knowing that her brother is standing over her and is gearing up to say something stupid. Although, ever since his voice broke, everything he says sounds stupid to Hestia.

"Nakoa if you say something stupid, I swear-"

"The fact that you assume anything I say is stupid-"

"-Well were you?"

"Was I what?"

"Going to say something stupid?"

Silence. Hestia would smile if she didn't feel like her head was about to explode -courtesy of her impromptu toilet meltdown.