The Valkyrie; The Beginning

Truth Hurts

Persephone had a wrestling match that night so she had to get home, so Jim followed her and led her to the school. He had explained to her what the Troll hunter is and filled her in on everything, she was quiet the whole way there. Thinking about the fact that if her mother wasn't a Valkyrie, then was she even her mother, or did the gene just pick and choose who it wanted?

She huffed, knowing it was most likely impossible. Then again, trolls and griffins existed... So maybe it was all a mistake.

"I think you'll do great tonight." Jim tried to be encouraging, he almost seemed to know what she was thinking.

"Thanks." She spoke in a plain voice, Jim was quiet until they got to the school. Persey was about to go inside when Jim grabbed her hand "Hey-" She turned around to face him "It's going to be alright, with the griffin I mean." Jim said in a soothing voice "We'll help you." He gave her an encouraging smile. "Now go beat those Whitaker kids!" He referred to the other high school.

Persey felt a little bit better but not a whole lot. She wasn't nervous as she walked into the locker room. Being one of the only girls on the wrestling team, she didn't have to worry about someone walking in.

Someone knocked on the wall when she finished getting dressed in her wrestling attire. "You can come in." She murmured in a dead tone, Coach Lawrence poked his head in, "Hey there Spitfire," He used the nickname "Are you ready? We start in fifteen minutes; your mom has already arrived."

She was about to ask where her father was but instead, she figured he was at work, he never came to her competitions anyway, it's not like he is my father... She said to herself, full of doubt. She nodded to Coach, not wanting her voice to speak for her.

Coach left and she double-checked to make sure everything was in its place before leaving. She waited on the bleachers with her teammates and right at 7:00, she was called to the mat with beefy boy, Williams.

She didn't even have to think about it, he charged straight at her, and she side-stepped before pouncing on him as a lion does to a gazelle. She put him in a headlock and forced him to the mat. "Yield!" She yelled as she pressed her arm to his neck and threatened to choke him.

The referee came up to the two wrestling bodies and began to count down as Persephone shoved the boy entirely to the mat. "One-"

Persey began to think about her mother again, or rather her adoptive mother.

"Two."

Her grip loosened

"Three!"

The boy roared upwards and slammed Persephone to the ground, he lifted her in the air easily then threw her down into the mat. 

"SHIT"

Persey became winded, her chest heaved for air and her body cried out for it. She heard the referee whistling and her mother's cries from the bleachers. Beefy boy had thrown her too hard, "My sweet baby!"

I'm not your baby, and you know it. Coach Lawrence walked up to Persey and lifted her to her feet. "You good kid?" He asked as he waved his hand in front of her face. He held up two fingers, "How many fingers am I holding up?" 

"Two," Persey said numbly

Meanwhile, Beefy Kid was getting yelled at by his coach for throwing a girl like that and getting disqualified in the process. "You can't throw her like that! What if that was yo mama?" The coach yelled 

Meanwhile, Persey's so-called mom came down from the bleachers worry written on her face. "Is she okay Lawrence?" She asked calmly but her face suggested that she wasn't calm. The Coach nodded grimly "Yeah, she doesn't seem to have a concussion of any sort. She just seems winded." He spoke

The woman who had raised her all her life but now seemed like a traitor hugged her, but Persey didn't try to stop it. She instead scanned the strange woman's arms for any sign of the Valkyrie Symbol. Unfortunately, there was none. 

She felt drained of emotion, she felt tears brim in her eyes. She began to cry. The stranger to her immediately noticed and began to question her hastily. "What is it? Did that boy throw you too hard? I'll kill him!" 

"Don't think that's allowed, Nancy." Coach said but she ignored him. "M-Mom..." The word sounded foul in her mouth "Am I adopted?"

The long-awaited question seemed to rip through the woman with no restraint, her eyes widened. "H-How did you know?"