The Ghosts of Millennia

Montana Geography Is Hard

"All better?"

"All better."

The ordeal tired Sora out considerably. Cho lifted her into her bed and tucked her in with another kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight, Sora," she whispered, and flicked the light off.

Cho's phone buzzed as soon as she lied back down on her own bed. Marietta's name lit the screen. She hesitated to answer the phone. They hadn't spoken in weeks.

Get over yourself. Maybe she wants to apologize.

She didn't forgive her... not completely, anyway. She knew why her friend did what she did--Marietta was her best friend, not her babysitter, and had every right to leave if Cho was making her miserable--but that didn't mean Cho had to like it. Marietta had hurt her when she was already vulnerable enough.

She answered the call. "What do you want." It came out cold--a statement, not a question.

"Please Cho, I'm sorry. I want to be friends again. I'm sorry I left you, but you need to understand, I couldn't take the crying anymore. But, Cho, I swear I'm sorry about Cedric and Harry. No, that's no excuse. You're my best friend. I should be there for you, I shouldn't make you feel worse. I'm sorry I said you needed to grow up, I never blamed you, I just needed you to help yourself." A short pause. "I'm sorry, that came out wrong. I'm terrible at this."

"It's okay. You are a brat sometimes."

"It's o... so you forgive me, then?"

"Yeah, I guess I do. I get it. I'm still pissed, but I want my best friend back."

"I know, me too. I don't deserve this. I can make it up to you. Do you still want to work in the Ministry? The Department of International Magical Cooperation wants an intern, my Mum's in charge, and she said it's yours if you want it. We'd work together all summer, maybe get jobs too when we graduate!"

This was her chance to uncover the truth about her dream.

It was just a dream!

"We could even go and visit, Marietta continued, "but not until after Christmas. Some idiots saw that Wizarding Weekly article and now they're staging some protest, day after tomorrow. I don't want to cross a picket line, you know how those things are in the muggle world."

Cho's heart sank. What was in that article? All she had to do was go downstairs, take the newspaper out of the rack, and read it. Why must her legs always feel like lead? It shouldn't be so constantly hard to pull the sheets away and step onto the floor!

"Sure, Marietta. Sounds amazing. I'll call you tomorrow, I'm going to get some rest. Goodnight."

____________________THALIA____________________

Thalia left the Winter Solstice camp meeting without a word. Roszí and Ianthe, her right and left hands, followed close behind. She was back to her usual self after the whole chrysanthemum incident, but she was still pissed about it. The last thing a Hunter of Artemis wants is dulled senses, and she felt like she'd been hit over the head with Zeus's lightning bolt. That stupid goddess had forced her to do her dirty work for the second time, and a happy camper Thalia was not.

No wonder Nico hates the demigod world. If Persephone forces me into one more quest, I swear I'll electrocute her until she looks like a cartoon character post-dynamite.

Though she'd never admit it, Thalia was as angry at Lady Artemis as with Persephone. Well, not as mad, but pretty close. Her blessing was as good as a seal of approval, despite being sent away on a different god's word to do another god's bidding. The Hunters weren't pawns in divine plans, they were guardians of the immortal world, the first line of defense to ensure monsters didn't leave chaos in their wake. They weren't a taxi service. Her Lady should know that.