Daughter of Artemis: Fire and Ice

Daughter of Artemis 1 <>Fire<>*

Media: Sylvia

<>Chapter 1<>

I step into the bus and hand the driver my money. I pick a seat in the back and stare out the window, waiting to get to the laundry mat. My father makes me do all the errands. He's too busy doing 'work.' His version of work is laying on the couch, having his 'binder' out, and watching movies. He's basically a con artist.

Not to mention, he's not the kind of dad you'd want, to be honest. He's horrible. He's a drunk (more than half the time), abusive, terrible father. For example, he smacks me if I talk back, and makes me do everything that he is responsible for. Or pay for everything. Either way, I take care of all his messes. I've gotten used to it though. My mother left after she had me. I never spoke with her.

Before I go any further, my name is Sylvia West. I have blue eyes and brown curly hair. I've got freckles and pale skin. Honestly, I wasn't that pretty compared to others. But I lived with what I got, as I was taught to as a child. Before my dad become an alcoholic, he said I'd be his princess, Snow White. Only difference would be brown hair. After the first few years from when my mom left, he started drinking. He'd leave me in the house all by myself, go out, party for who knows how many days, then come back and give me some food and that was it. How I survived, I have no clue. He went straight to bed for usually the rest of the week, getting up from time to time to get me something to eat. And that was how I was raised up until I became old enough to care for myself. He stopped altogether when I turned seven.

Now back to where I was, as I continued to stare out the window, I saw something unusual fly past the window. Perhaps a couple of leaves? We were in the middle of nowhere for being in Manhattan. No one else seemed to notice the eerie feeling I got right then. What was up with me today? I'd been getting this weird feeling that I was being watched or followed. Something like that. I look at the people getting on, hoping none of them would sit with me. I notice one particular old woman who ended up sitting next to me. She smelled ridiculously like smoke. Her aura screamed creepy, and her outfit did not compliment her.

"It is impolite to stare," she said, breaking me from my trance. Her voice was hoarse, and was very low.

"Oh, uh, sorry.. ma'am," I said and stared out the window again. Strange. . When I looked out the window, there was a lady who stood out among the others walking by. Looking right at me, her eyes glinted. She had beautiful, long white hair that reached her waist and wore a silvery t-shirt and dark blue jean shorts. Her eyes almost appeared. . . silver. Her lips quirked up in what almost seemed a smile. A few people walked in front of her, and when they got out of the way, she was gone.

The bus roared and grunted as it started moving again. I put my earphones in, blocking everything else out like I normally do. Listening to My Chemical Romance, I was actually kind of content. Unfortunately, I was surprised when I heard a ripping noise beside me. My earphones fell out, making everything sound clearer. I turned to a horrid sight. What I saw made me jump in the air.

The old woman's skin was changing color. It was changing to coal black skin. Her green eyes seemed to glow neon, and her nails became so long they were claws. As I watched her horrific transformation, she turned to look at me. The way she smiled wickedly and showed her fangs, and how her eyes narrowed ferociously made goosebumps form upon my skin. A sinister cold took over the air around me, making the situation even more daunting. Her uncomplimentary dress ripped off and she turned into a half demon-like thing and half animal. What was she?

I stared in terror, but whilst being distracted, she lunged at me. I instinctively held my bag up, and her fangs got stuck in it. I ripped it off my shoulder and jumped over the seat. People were giving me weird looks, but they didn't seem to notice the monster in front of them. "Miss, I need to ask you to sit down," the driver said sternly. How could he not see what was going on right in front of him?