SANITY; heroes of olympus

04.7

A knock on the door had Zara spinning on her heel, a gasp leaving her lips in surprise. Annabeth was standing there, hand still raised, looking exhausted. She was blaming herself, the daughter of Flora knew. She could tell by the blonde's heavy shoulders and dark eyes and the even darker circles under them. Annabeth's hair was permanently dishevelled, but her clothes were neat as ever.

Zara and Annabeth had never really had a conversation alone. She didn't think they'd ever really been alone together, just the two of them. It wasn't that she didn't like Annabeth, because she did, she just felt like there was some tension between them...the kind that reminded her that she wasn't the only person who Andromeda Storm looked at like a sister.

"Hi." Zara said quietly, waving a little.

Annabeth nodded her head in response and stepped into the doorway beside her, looking around the room in the same way Zara had moments before.

The blonde looked down, her curls falling in front of her face like a curtain, just briefly. "I know we haven't really had a chance to ever talk," so Zara wasn't alone with that thought. "But I wanted you to know that—well, I think that out of all of the people on this ship, I think I may trust you most of all."

Zara's eyes grew wide, startled by the daughter of Athena's words.

"This must be weird for you, but it's true. You know Andy really well, maybe even better than me or Percy. You're her sister and—"

"You are, too." Zara let out with a breathy smile. Annabeth looked up at her, seemingly shocked, maybe a little astounded. "You're her sister, too. Not just me."

"I guess you're right."

The younger girl couldn't help but smile. "I guess that makes us sisters, too. In a way."

Then Annabeth did something Zara had only ever seen her do when talking about a certain daughter of Hephaestus. She blushed. Like full on, red-cheeked. Annabeth blushed, and she looked down at her shoes.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right. In a way."

—🌓—

They were in the middle of cleaning up the boat when four—no, five steps of footsteps echoed on the upper deck of the Argo.

Zara and Annabeth ran for the steps, running up. It was naive, she knew, but she couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, the fifth set of feet belonged to Andromeda, and she could tell she wasn't the only one with that hope, because Percy joined them, his eyes wide and the small, barely there smile on his face.

They were all met with a sudden disappointment upon seeing it was only Hazel, Frank, Donnie, Nico, and someone new.

Someone with the face of a Storm and hair as dark as night.

Eden.

Perhaps that was how she had gotten her name—her beauty. Named after the Garden of Eden.

She looked mature, for one thing. Sculpted features, yet soft. Hard-set eyes and an intimidating demeanour. She was dressed in a pair of jeans, Doc Martens, a maroon tank top, and a leather jacket. Her short, curly hair barely reached her collarbones, and she looked unsure and very on edge. Her skin was the colour of honey and her eyes were dark, but not in the same sense.