Golden Girl: The Missing Piece (2)

19- A Son of War Proves He's Not One For Words

Thelma arrived with a letter a few days later. Just after her vision in Hades's throne room, it occurred to Ember that she hadn't kept Chiron updated about any of what had been going on. The man would probably be pissed at her for not mentioning it, but she'd Iris Messaged him briefly. He'd been worried and upset, and for a being that had spent centuries dealing with monsters, it was enough to make Ember nervous. All that ended up happening was his promise to look into it, see if he might have any insight, and he'd get back to her.

She also sent letters to Annabeth, Garrett, and Wes, confirming that she'd be back at camp for Christmas. She would have Iris messaged them, too, but she knew that Wes and Annabeth had a fondness for Ember's owl.

It was no surprise, given all of that, that the letter Thelma returned with was several miles long.

The first response was written in childish chicken scratch, rough Ancient Greek letters filling the page is if the sender had only just learned how to write them.

Ember,

I can't believe you've already been gone for two and a half months! It feels like forever!

Do you really go to school in a castle? When was it built? Is it Gothic architecture, or closer to Medieval? Are there towers? Please tell me there's towers.

I miss training with you, I'm not getting near as much done without you here. But I won Capture the flag again! We have reduced teams, cause hardly anyone is here. But this new camper showed up, she's kind of the worst. Daughter of Ares, Clarisse. I can't wait to watch you beat her up this summer!

Annabeth Chase

Ember let out a huff at Annabeth's questions, and her high expectations. She certainly hoped she didn't have to flatten a daughter of Ares, it would likely be a pain in the ass. But she'd do it if this 'Clarisse' character was enough of a jerk to Annabeth. Looking at the letter the eight year old had written, Ember wondered if anyone had told Annabeth about the career field of Architecture.

The lighthearted letter was a great distraction from the problems that Ember had been wrestling with. She hadn't told Annabeth of the things that had happened since the summer. She was just eight, she didn't need to hear about it if it didn't concern her directly.

Garrett's letter was much less pleasant, but that was to be expected, because Ember had told him about what was going on.

Sunshine,

Glad to hear you're coming back to Camp for Christmas. I wasn't intending to go, but if you'll be there I'm not sure I can resist the temptation of knocking you on your ass a few times. It's pretty much therapy. Thelma stole some of my skittles, so if she shits out a rainbow later... well, that's on me.

Now, on to more serious matters.

What the hell are you thinking fighting cyclopses and Kindly Ones by yourself? I mean, you did what you had to, but I know for a fact that you went looking for trouble, somehow. And what's this about Hades thinking Apollo has some sort of a plot, using you? Does he think Apollo wants to be higher on the godly ladder or something?

It doesn't matter. What matters is that you're in danger. It's almost my Christmas break from college, so unfortunately for you, Chiron is sending me to Ilvermorny.

She stopped reading, "Oh, no. This is a disaster."

"What's a disaster?" Indigo asked quietly from where she curled up in an armchair.

They were spending their free period sitting in the common room by the fireplace. Addy was in an extra meeting with Professor Sage, and Mika was probably in Transfiguration at the moment. She and Indigo had settled in to study when Thelma swooped in through the window with the letter.